Manny Pacquiao has made another of those Top 10 lists but this time it’s an unsavory one.
You have heard of the “No Fear” brand? You might call this list “All Fear.” It’s got some scary people on it. It sounds like a riddler, which name does belong and why…and the names are Robert Mugabe, King Abdullah, Kim Jong Il…and Pacquiao?
(See my related story, exclusive Bob Arum interview in which Jet setter Bob tells me that the Miguel Cotto-Pacman will be contested at a 145 pound limit, no matter what.)
I hate to break it to all the huggers, both tree huggers and Pacnuthuggers, but Megamanny has been listed as the worst, at the top of the list, of Parade magazine’s 10 Worst Dictators List.
As you may have heard, A Hitler has not been eligible for the list of cruel and vicious dictators since that pill popping episode in the Berlin bunker in 1945.
But the world still has its baddies including Kim Jong Il, the fruitcake from North Korea, and the ultra repressive King Abdullah Dontsheikyerbooty of Saudi Arabia.
Which reminds that the whack job Kim Jong Il has chosen one of his sons to be his successor. Then I read that the Chosen One is said to be bright, intellectually curious and has a drinking problem.
I have a close friend who had “a drinking problem” for years. But then the wife left home and, as he said, “no more drinking problem.”
My friend drinks to excess each day, falls down, wakes up and repeats, no problem. He is also dictator free,
But I digress.
King Abdullah, like so many of the iron fisted rulers, is an old coot, age 85. I surmise that only unsuccessful dictators die young.
Here’s some of his less than enlightened policies:
Despite King Abdullah’s talk of reform, Saudi women still need permission from male guardians to work, study, travel, marry, or even obtain an ID card. The government opened a women’s branch of its Human Rights Commission, but only men serve on its board. There is no Saudi penal code, and trial defendants often cannot question witnesses.
U.S. link: Dependence on Saudi oil—the U.S. imported $50 billion worth in 2008— has caused our leaders to overlook the royal family’s abysmal human-rights record.
Before boxing control freak Pacquiao elbowed the old man (85) aside, the loathsome Robert Mugabe, the Zero from Zimbabwe, was at the top of the Worst Dictators leader board.
Here’s a thumbnail on Mugabe:
Inflation in Zimbabwe is so bad that in January the government released a $50 billion note — enough to buy two loaves of bread. The unemployment rate has risen to more than 85%. In 2008, Mugabe agreed to hold an election, but it became clear that he would accept the result only if he won. His supporters launched attacks on the opposition, killing 163 and torturing or beating 5000. He ultimately signed a power-sharing agreement with opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai, but since then Mugabe has broken its terms and installed his own people at the head of every ministry. Meanwhile, health conditions have reached crisis levels. More than 3800 Zimbabweans have died from cholera since August.
Back to the 67 year old Kim Jong Il, here’s his “rap sheet:”
Kim is believed to have suffered a stroke and has been absent from important public events. But his regime continues to be one of the world’s most repressive. Hundreds of thousands of citizens, including children, are imprisoned in labor camps for such “crimes” as hoarding food and “ anti-socialist” activities.
U.S. link: Relations with North Korea have been dominated by Kim’s development of nuclear weapons. Secretary of State Clinton recently expressed concern over a possible succession struggle and signs that North Korea is preparing to test a long-range missile, which is considered highly provocative to South Korea and Japan.
Right now, you may be saying, hey, Marley, what the hell is Pacman doing aggregated with these powerful bums?
So, without further adieu and before Manny declares martial law, how he made the odious list: MANNY PACQUIAO (Age 30), Philippines
Hailed as best boxer in the world pound for pound and ounce for ounce.
Dictates to all opponents as to what they should weigh. Cavalierly disregards boxing’s traditional weight limits and is really the 142 or 143 pound world champion, living in a self-made netherworld category between the traditional, time honored junior welterweight (140) and welterweight (147)categories.
This Filipino, taking a page out of the book of former ring dictator Sugar Ray Leonard who did this often, demands that potential ring foes make the weight he chooses. If they say no, they get no Pacman Jackpot and often are sent back to a life of extreme poverty.
Uses mild-mannered trainer Coach Freddie Roach as his “beard” for image reasons. But no doubt it’s Pacquiao calling these weight limit shots.
U.S. link: Pacquiao has also defrauded American PPV TV consumers of promised rounds, cheating them of rounds in his KO victories over first Oscar De La Hoya and then Ricky Flatton Hatton. Warning, this consumer fraud action could continue indefinitely. Seeing 12 rounds on adverts does not mean you will see 36 dazzling minutes of Pacquiao power.
Be advised Pacquiao is the youngest dictator on list.
His tortuous rule may go on indefinitely.
You have all been warned.
Caveat emptor and like that.
This little storm, too, shall pass.
Powerful dictator Pacquiao dictated 145 pounds, two under the welterweight limit, for a bout against the Puerto Rican.
So be it or off with their heads.
That will reduce them to the Pacquiao dictated weight.
