It’s an Honor Just to Be Nominated

Parade Magazine has named Kim Jong Il the world’s worst dictator for 2008, edging out the butchers in charge of Sudan and Burma. Which is quite a distinction.

Kim Jong-il runs the most isolated, repressive regime in the world. His citizens have no access to information other than government propaganda. His harsh system includes collective punishment (three generations of a family can be punished for one member’s alleged crime); detainment of roughly 200,000 citizens in labor camps; and the capture, torture and jailing of those who try to flee to China. [Parade Magazine]

Parade didn’t really say much to justify that call, so if you’re a new reader, here is an abbreviated list: concentration camps, ethnic cleansing of infants, using food as a weapon, mass executions for people who try to leave, and finally, what genocidal dictatorship would be complete without a gas chamber?