Biggest Criminals in History

[Dinner]

Originally posted by Zulu Elephant
Ignoring genocide.

What about that currency speculator who speculated Britain into a recession on 'Black Wednesday' to make a billion for himself. Can't remember his name.

George Soros. The British government had an untenable peg to the other European currencies and the pound was valuated much to high compared to the market fundimentals. I wouldn't blame George Soros for taking an obvious bet against he pound but I would blame the government for making the bet in the first place.

[curtsibling]

Originally posted by Bosh
I don't understand why people think that Pol Pot committed genocide. What nation did he try to kill off He certainly was a horrible horrible murderous bastard, but I don't get the genocide charge.

Are you serious?

The Cambodian Killing Fields

On April 17th, 1975 the Khmer Rouge, a communist guerrilla group led by Pol Pot, took power in Phnom Penh, the capital of Cambodia. They forced all city dwellers into the countryside and to labor camps. During their rule, it is estimated that 2 million Cambodians died by starvation, torture or execution. 2 million Cambodians represented approximately 30% of the Cambodian population during that time.

The Khmer Rouge turned Cambodia to year zero. They banned all institutions, including stores, banks, hospitals, schools, religion, and the family. Everyone was forced to work 12 - 14 hours a day, every day. Children were separated from their parents to work in mobile groups or as soldiers. People were fed one watery bowl of soup with a few grains of rice thrown in. Babies, children, adults and the elderly were killed everywhere. The Khmer Rouge killed people if they didn’t like them, if didn’t work hard enough, if they were educated, if they came from different ethnic groups, or if they showed sympathy when their family members were taken away to be killed. All were killed without reason. Everyone had to pledge total allegiance to Angka, the Khmer Rouge government. It was a campaign based on instilling constant fear and keeping their victims off balance.

After the Vietnamese invaded and liberated the Cambodian people from the Khmer Rouge, 600,000 Cambodians fled to Thai border camps. Ten million landmines were left in the ground, one for every person in Cambodia. The United Nations installed the largest peacekeeping mission in the world in Cambodia in 1991 to ensure free and fair elections after the withdrawal of the Vietnamese troops. Cambodia was turned upside down during the Khmer Rouge years and the country has the daunting task of healing physically, mentally and economically.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Bosh

Wha?

most the time when someone conquored, they would

kill most/all the men (those that weren't killed were enslaved)

killed/raped the women (and enslaved, of course)

killed/enslaved the children (depending on the number of new slaves they were getting)

if that isn't genocide, I don't know what it

JM

[Bosh]

Are you serious?

Yes. Killing many people =! genocide.

kill most/all the men (those that weren't killed were enslaved)

The prevalence of that sort of practice is generally very exaggerated. There are many cases in which there were massive cultural shifts in populations due to conquest with surprisingly small shifts in the population's genetics (for example, despite the almost-complete eradication of pre-Anglo Saxon culture in England, the amount of surviving non-Germanic DNA in England is very very very high).

[Jon Miller]

that was actually fairly recently in history

you can actually date to leaders of empires arround ~1000 BC that started to enslave or incorporate mostly, instead of kill mostly

Jon Miller

[curtsibling]

Originally posted by Bosh

Yes. Killing many people =! genocide.

Then read the killing fields article I posted.

To deny historical fact is senseless.

.

[Bosh]

Originally posted by curtsibling


Then read the killing fields article I posted.

To deny historical fact is senseless.

.

I don't deny any historical facts, just a surreal misuse of the term genocide.

Genocide is the attempted eradication of a people/ethnic group/nation/whatever. Exactly which people/ethnic group/nation/whatever did Pol Pot attempt to eradicate?

[BeBMan]

IIRC used definitions include not only full extermination, but also the "partly" eradication of a certain group. That would fit for Pol Pot's doings.

[Bosh]

Originally posted by BeBro
IIRC used definitions include not only full extermination, but also the "partly" eradication of a certain group. That would fit for Pol Pot's doings.

Which group?
Specifically which group did Pol Pot commit genocide against?

[curtsibling]

Don't get swamped in the terminology.
What he done was more like social cleansing...In no way more desirable!

Pol Pot tried to engineer a revolution, and done it in a way that led to massive death.

Can this be excused? If you think so, then you are just as monstrous.

Would you try to deliver a newborn baby with an kick to the mother's stomach?
Even if you intentions were good, you still are a killer.

Same principle as Pol Pot. His distorted views caused killing.

He unleashed a killing machine onto innocent people?
Who the hell gave him the right to do this?

Until you see the millions of corpses, I guess you have no clue.

.

[BeBMan]

Originally posted by Bosh

Which group?
Specifically which group did Pol Pot commit genocide against?

Cambodians?

[Bosh]

Originally posted by curtsibling
Don't get swamped in the terminology.
What he done was more like social cleansing...In no way more desirable!

Pol Pot tried to engineer a revolution, and done it in a way that led to massive death.

Can this be excused? If you think so, then you are just as monstrous.

Would you try to deliver a newborn baby with an kick to the mother's stomach?
Even if you intentions were good, you still are a killer.

Same principle as Pol Pot. His distorted views caused killing.

He unleashed a killing machine onto innocent people?
Who the hell gave him the right to do this?

Until you see the millions of corpses, I guess you have no clue.

.

I am quite knowledgable about the specifics of Pol Pots atrocities. I'm just very very confused why so many people incorrectly label said atrocities genocide.

[Bosh]

Originally posted by BeBro


Cambodians?

How the hell can you commit genocide against a group that you're part of? That's just stupid.

[Jon Miller]

Originally posted by Bosh

Genocide is the attempted eradication of a people/ethnic group/nation/whatever. Exactly which people/ethnic group/nation/whatever did Pol Pot attempt to eradicate?

the intellectuals

JM

[KrazyHorse]

Originally posted by BeBro


Cambodians?

The systematic and planned extermination of an entire national, racial, political, or ethnic group.

He was trying to kill all Cambodians?