Alex, I'll take Genius Evil Dictators for $1000
http://abcasiapacific.com/koreas/lea.../kimjongil.htm
North Korea's leader Kim Jong Il is variously described as a bouffant-haired, vain playboy with a taste for fine brandy, cinema and beautiful women; and a despotic master of international brinkmanship, immune to the suffering of his people and determined to hang onto power at all costs.
The broad-brush, almost comic-book characterisations come about partly because little is actually known about the man who came to power in 1994 following the death of his father, North Korea's founder Kim Il Sung.
What is known about his personality is gleaned from observations, scraps of evidence from his brief dealings with the outside world and information passed on by North Korean defectors over the years.
Known to his people as the Dear Leader, Kim Jong Il has held power since his father's sudden death from a heart attack in 1994. Since 1991 he has been the commander in chief of over 1 million military personnel - the world's fourth-largest army - and occupies the nation's top political posts, although he has designated the title of President to his father in perpetuity.
Over the past decade the country has experienced several famines brought on by disastrous harvests and a disintegrating economy. North Koreans in some areas have been reduced to eating grass and tree bark and aid agencies estimate up to 2 million people have died from the effects of starvation.
Dr Kongdan Oh, a one-time policy advisor to former US President Bill Clinton, says Kim uses a combination of fear and punishment to control the population and suppress opposition. His task is aided, she says, by the North's ignorance of a free society because of its history of despotic dynastic rule followed by brutal Japanese colonisation.
Kim's foreign policy response to economic collapse has been to court international aid and support from a variety of sources but chiefly the United States. His ace in the pack has been the threat of nuclear conflict.
In 1994, Kim ended a year-long crisis started when his father announced the North would withdraw from the arms-control Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Kim agreed to mothball the suspected weapons-grade nuclear plant at Yongbyon in return for US aid and a process of normalisation of relations.
However, with the election of George W. Bush, US policy hardened, culminating in the president's 2002 State Of The Nation speech in which he named North Korea as one of an "axis of evil" nations, along with Iraq and Iran.
In late 2002 the North raised the spectre of nuclear weapons once more, allegedly admitting to have secretly been developing enriched-uranium bombs. Some analysts say Kim has played this card too often. They point out the US government now routinely dismisses Kim's nuclear brinkmanship as "predictable".
Korean rulers have traditionally enjoyed an almost worshipful respect even in death. Kim Jong Il has increased his personal hold over the Korean people by skillfully exploiting the godlike cult status his father, Kim Il Sung, enjoyed.
Kim's official history includes tales of brilliance as a student, prodigious musical, cinematic and sporting talent - he is said to be particularly gifted at golf - and his progress through life has been accompanied by amazing natural wonders.
However, Kim himself appears to be able separate reality from the official fantasy. In 2000, then US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright visited Pyongyang and found Kim "on top of his brief" and non-delusional.
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So lil2rich4u2, in the grand scheme of things, where does Kim Jong II stand on your list of genius dictators?