Who is the most powerful person in the world?

[notjeffgoldblum]

Bill Gates? Barack Obama? Pope Benedict XVI? Kim Jong Il? Ferrus? Someone else?

Give your reasoning.

[Anonymous]

Who has direct control over the most nuclear weapons?

[ApeTheDog]

Does Chuck Norris count?

[nonperson]

Does Chuck Norris count?

Chuck Norris is scared of Ferrus. :yes:

[notjeffgoldblum]

Who has direct control over the most nuclear weapons?

Although his stash is relatively small, I'd be willing to bet Kim Jong Il has the most direct control over nuclear weaponry.


Does Chuck Norris count?

Of course.

[monkey]

Jesus Christ!

[notjeffgoldblum]

Jesus Christ!

Did he come back yet? If not, he's disqualified.

[monkey]

Did he come back yet? If not, he's disqualified.
Oh, I see, what other undisclosed rules do you have, J?

[ApeTheDog]

For me it's a toss-up between Zangief and Ryu. Zangief's skills could be far better translated into the real world because he uses his entire body in battle. Then again, Ryu has three special moves and Zangief only has two.

[notjeffgoldblum]

Oh, I see, what other undisclosed rules do you have, J?

Just the one about dead people is all. Besides, if dead people were allowed, the answer to this question would clearly be Elvis.

[ApeTheDog]

Oh, I see, what other undisclosed rules do you have, J?

I was thinking from the "in the world" part that it was kind of obvious they had to exist somewhere in the world.

[attila_the_hunny]

For me it's a toss-up between Zangief and Ryu. Zangief's skills could be far better translated into the real world because he uses his entire body in battle. Then again, Ryu has three special moves and Zangief only has two.

I fucking pwnd bitches with Dhalsim.

[notjeffgoldblum]

Dhalsim was OP.

[monkey]

http://thecia.com.au/reviews/i/images/incredible-hulk-6.jpg

[notjeffgoldblum]

http://imgur.com/ALyUH.jpg

[attila_the_hunny]

old school hulk

Muffin tops are pretty powerful.

[monkey]

Your Hulk doesn't even have full power of hearing.

EDIT: (Not to mention he was 4th in the World's Strongest Man competition)

[ApeTheDog]

No. Dhalsim was an ninny. He won by slapping his hands at people from a distance when they weren't able to hit back. Even if it sometimes gets you the victory it is not powerful.

[attila_the_hunny]

No. Dhalsim was an ninny. He won by slapping his hands at people from a distance when they weren't able to hit back. Even if it sometimes gets you the victory it is not powerful.

If I can steal it, get away with it, and have it accepted as right...I'm pretty powerful.

[ApeTheDog]

If I can steal it, get away with it, and have it accepted as right...I'm pretty powerful.

Whatever. This is not the "who is pretty powerful" thread. This is about the most powerful.

[starjots]

Most powerful person in the world to me?

Me. That's pretty obvious.

Most powerful person in the world vis a vis large numbers of people?

The president of the US has had this as a given for many years. Frankly, we are tied up in a pretzel here in the US and a lot of our power is being pissed away or wasted on internal ideological struggles. So, to reiterate, Obama has the most raw power, but huge chunks of it are not available to do anything. I think the USA has to decide if we want to live in the 19th or 21st century before we can do much more.

So, I'll say Hu Jintao, President of the PRC. For one thing, I'm guessing he can translate his initiatives into action much easier given the form of government. For another his nation has a gazillion dollars in the 'bank' which translates to power. And then there is the fact he leads the most populous nation.

Someone from Europe would be a good candidate as well, but my impression is power is much more diffuse over there, which isn't all bad.

Edit: Is anyone else going to answer this or should I just post a pic of Spiderman?

[notjeffgoldblum]

Edit: Is anyone else going to answer this or should I just post a pic of Spiderman?

I don't see why we couldn't have both.

[ApeTheDog]

The president of the US has had this as a given for many years. Frankly, we are tied up in a pretzel here in the US and a lot of our power is being pissed away or wasted on internal ideological struggles. So, to reiterate, Obama has the most raw power, but huge chunks of it are not available to do anything. I think the USA has to decide if we want to live in the 19th or 21st century before we can do much more.

I disagree.

Was President Kennedy more powerful than the organization that assasinated him and got away with it?

Politicians are nowhere near the most powerful figures in society. They're the ones who represent the power of the people, but there are always other powers at work. Banking, to give an example.

[avolkiteshvara]

At the moment.....maybe Hu Jintao

[starjots]

I don't see why we couldn't have both.

http://www.intpcentral.com/uploads/spidey.JPG

[Limey]

Michael Bublé

[V Profane]

Heather McCartney/Barack Obama

[Delilah]

Someone else?


Hustler.

The reasons are obvious.

[Qfwfq]

Bill Gates is not the richest man in the world. He's only the richest man in the public eye. There are a few families out there that make the world go round, and the software king look like a pawn.

I'll go with the names Rockefeller and Rothschild. And if I name anyone following them, it's either going to be a corporate name or Saudis.

[synagogue]

YOU

<inserts plasticky mirror>

[mpousoulas]

eminem

[rainfall]

Bill Gates is not the richest man in the world. He's only the richest man in the public eye. There are a few families out there that make the world go round, and the software king look like a pawn.

I'll go with the names Rockefeller and Rothschild. And if I name anyone following them, it's either going to be a corporate name or Saudis.

Sigh. There are people out there who are practically bleeding money out of their pores. If only they shared.

[stuck]

Forbes sez Obama, "Huge" Hu Jintao, and Putin. Makes sense.

[NoahFence]

I don't think Obama counts as he's only leasing his power, it can be taken away very easily, and even if he does everything right it will go away on its own.

And here's a good time for a quote from my favoritest Lich in the world:


"Power, it isn't something that you put on or take off like a jacket. It's something you just are. If you can lose it by blowing two Will Saves, you never really had any power in the first place, see what I'm saying?"

[Fingers]

Rupert Murdoch

[gregkdc]

The Queen and royal family, their wealth is estimated to be at least 1 trillion. They have a very strong influence over most of the western world through banking including the US. Also most of the systems developed during the colonization of the new world are still in place and serving the royal family. As recently as 2008 the Queen temporarily suspended the Canadian parliament.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/12/04/Queens-rep-suspends-Canadian-Parliament/UPI-44831228392970/
Watch when dignitaries from around the world go to meet with her they all bow no matter who they. Then she directs the conversation and asks basic questions of them and the country from where they come as if she is surveying her kingdom.

[Ace_]

http://pix.motivatedphotos.com/2010/1/13/633989677030255640-vladimirputin.jpg

[pioneer_167]

HA...Putin, he makes me laugh.

In all seriousness though, the most powerful person/persons are probably the Rothschilds. Rockefellers too, in a way, although as of lately, I seem to have the sense that they're less in control than they once may have been.

[jackportd]

Hi,
Easy answer is The President of the United States. Leader of the free world and all that...
Thanks..

[NoahFence]

Hi,
Easy answer is The President of the United States. Leader of the free world and all that...
Thanks..

So powerful, he can enact sweeping changes to Health Care with a wave of his hand...

[Dirac]

The Queen and royal family, their wealth is estimated to be at least 1 trillion. They have a very strong influence over most of the western world through banking including the US. Also most of the systems developed during the colonization of the new world are still in place and serving the royal family. As recently as 2008 the Queen temporarily suspended the Canadian parliament.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/2008/12/04/Queens-rep-suspends-Canadian-Parliament/UPI-44831228392970/
Watch when dignitaries from around the world go to meet with her they all bow no matter who they. Then she directs the conversation and asks basic questions of them and the country from where they come as if she is surveying her kingdom.
The queen can do shit.

It was her representative who suspended parliament, the queen herself had nothing to do with it. Suspending the canadian parliament is hardly access to nuclear weapons anyway.

Read up:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchy_of_the_United_Kingdom
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Royal_Prerogative

The queen is nothing but a figurehead.

[NoahFence]

The queen is nothing but a figurehead.

...with bigass diamonds.

[Dirac]

...with big ass-diamonds.

[devilcrack]

Yeah I agree with the Rothschild, Rockefeller, Oppenheimers and the rest of the financial family cartels. People like Obama, Bush etc... are just puppets and the likes of Bill Gates are just convenient diversions. While Bill Gates is a brilliant entrepreneur and extremely wealthy no doubt, it's not like the world would be in peril if Microsoft collapsed tomorrow.

I can recall one of the Rothschild's who said "Give me control of a nations money and I care not who makes its laws".

[Cypher]

Yeah I agree with the Rothschild, Rockefeller, Oppenheimers and the rest of the financial family cartels. People like Obama, Bush etc... are just puppets and the likes of Bill Gates are just convenient diversions. While Bill Gates is a brilliant entrepreneur and extremely wealthy no doubt, it's not like the world would be in peril if Microsoft collapsed tomorrow.

I can recall one of the Rothschild's who said "Give me control of a nations money and I care not who makes its laws".

Its the cartels who are puppets to the nations' laws. Pfft, they're powers are limited by only wealth. Authority will still pound that lesser power.

[devilcrack]

Its the cartels who are puppets to the nations' laws. Pfft, they're powers are limited by only wealth. Authority will still pound that lesser power.

Except when its those who use their wealth to wield control over the authority.

For instance, it was the financier George Soros who played a central role in the backing of Obama.

Which institution is mainly responsible for almost bringing the West to its knees over the last few years?

How about the mainstream media? Its funny how people like Rupert Murdoch rose to prominence after becoming good buddies with Jacob Rothschild.

It is these people who give oxygen to what we call "globalisation", its these globalists who have made possible bodies like the European Union and the UN(as well as the coming American Union). It's these people who fund the propagation of illogical foolishness such as multiculturalism as an excuse to flood the West with third world migrants with the sole aim of destroying the homogeneity of Western nations and further their aims of central power.

[Rhu]

The most powerful person in the world is your mom.

Anyone else's insides would have eroded away from the strain of everything she's taken in.

[Cypher]

Except when its those who use their wealth to wield control over the authority.

For instance, it was the financier George Soros who played a central role in the backing of Obama.

Which institution is mainly responsible for almost bringing the West to its knees over the last few years?

How about the mainstream media? Its funny how people like Rupert Murdoch rose to prominence after becoming good buddies with Jacob Rothschild.

It is these people who give oxygen to what we call "globalisation", its these globalists who have made possible bodies like the European Union and the UN(as well as the coming American Union). It's these people who fund the propagation of illogical foolishness such as multiculturalism as an excuse to flood the West with third world migrants with the sole aim of destroying the homogeneity of Western nations and further their aims of central power.


How about in this way?

A war between these entrepreneurs and nations' leaders? Which would have a greater army(power)?

[vSv]

The puppeteer.

[Ptah]

Depends on what frame of reference you prefer to interpret the idea of "powerful" (for instance, over what/who, how and why?).

The only useful way to interpret "powerful" as such yields the answer: I am myself the most powerful person in the world.

[Dirac]

Depends on what frame of reference you prefer to interpret the idea of "powerful" (for instance, over what/who, how and why?).

The only useful way to interpret "powerful" as such yields the answer: I am myself the most powerful person in the world.
Not always the case though. What would happen if Elisabeth Fritzl had tried this during her imprisonment?

[euterpenc]

Don Juan (Castaneda) and his ilk.

[Ptah]

Not always the case though. What would happen if Elisabeth Fritzl had tried this during her imprisonment?

She'd have ensured less psychological trauma.

[Dirac]

Are you sure it wouldn't have led to more frustration? It seems that there are times when acquiescence could be the most psychologically healthy option. Shrug.

[Ptah]

Are you sure it wouldn't have led to more frustration? It seems that there are times when acquiescence could be the most psychologically healthy. Shrug.

The ability to exert physical force upon others is not power proper. In this case, the ability to psychologically withstand/endure such evil is.

To me, power is a psychological quality. Sure, many try to increase the effective value of their own by limiting that in others, typically through forms of physical force. But how it can be cheated does not redefine it. People have power over you as such only to the extent you've allowed them, either by choice or default in your own.

Sure, someone can chain and abuse your body, drug and/or rape you. That changes nothing in the foregoing; to the extent you retain conscious, free will (that is, living, waking choice), you have the potential for the ultimate power in your own life, however physically held or damaged. You need only choose to retain/employ it.

Edit: nutshell, only you can make/break you.

[Dirac]

The ability to exert physical force upon others is not power proper. In this case, the ability to psychologically withstand/endure such evil is.

To me, power is a psychological quality. Sure, many try to increase the effective value of their own by limiting that in others, typically through forms of physical force. But how it can be cheated does not redefine it. People have power over you as such only to the extent you've allowed them, either by choice or default in your own.

Sure, someone can chain and abuse your body, drug and/or rape you. That changes nothing in the foregoing; to the extent you retain conscious, free will (that is, living, waking choice), you have the potential for the ultimate power in your own life, however physically held or damaged. You need only choose to retain/employ it.

Edit: nutshell, only you can make/break you.
Seems like a kinda bullshit definition of power tbh. If the only power you have is the ability to think, what can you achieve? Essentially nothing, especially if you can't communicate said thoughts.

[devilcrack]

How about in this way?

A war between these entrepreneurs and nations' leaders? Which would have a greater army(power)?

Who was bankrolling both sides of the war during WWII?

[V Profane]

The seven Jew bankers underneath Atlanta airport.

[Resonance]

And here's a good time for a quote from my favoritest Lich in the world:
[xykon quote]
Yeeees..... YEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSS

C&D has the most accurate real answer as far as I know though.

[Karl]

http://pix.motivatedphotos.com/2010/1/13/633989677030255640-vladimirputin.jpg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zk_VszbZa_s

Edit: This may be the solution to Madrigal's problems as well.

[V Profane]

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/3848/500xsharktopuspainting.jpg

...

What?

[Neville]

I am.

[Promethean]

Bill Gates? Barack Obama? Pope Benedict XVI? Kim Jong Il? Ferrus? Someone else?

Give your reasoning.

That would depend upon what you consider power to be. The ability to exert force on others? The ability to determine truth? The ability to be free of self dillusion?

The posibilities are endless.

[notjeffgoldblum]

That would depend upon what you consider power to be. The ability to exert force on others? The ability to determine truth? The ability to be free of self dillusion?

Power. Just power. Interpret that however you want, but I just want a single name.

[Promethean]

Power. Just power. Interpret that however you want, but I just want a single name.

Hmm, honestly I can't think of a single person I think of as powerful. I really thought I'd be able to think of someone.

[notjeffgoldblum]

Hmm, honestly I can't think of a single person I think of as powerful. I really thought I'd be able to think of someone.

This means your answer defaults to the winner of last year's World's Strongest Man competition.

[Promethean]

This means your answer defaults to the winner of last year's World's Strongest Man competition.

So be it. I never even considered physical aspects. Sure, that really big dude that lifted the thingamajig. Very powerful indeed!

[V Profane]

Danny Devito/Barack Obama

[outmywindow]

http://img198.imageshack.us/img198/3848/500xsharktopuspainting.jpg

...

What?
Try not to shit yourself with glee, but The Channel Formerly Known as 'The Sci-Fi Channel' is actually going to be making a Sharktopus TV movie. Brace yourselves.

[V Profane]

Try not to shit yourself with glee, but The Channel Formerly Known as 'The Sci-Fi Channel' is actually going to be making a Sharktopus TV movie. Brace yourselves.

I believe it's produced "SyFy".

[outmywindow]

I believe it's produced "SyFy".
Even though the Sci-Fi Channel had jumped the sharktopus long, long ago (http://forums.intpcentral.com/showthread.php?p=873787), I refuse to acknowledge its new era of sucktitude by using that name.

[Mons]

http://uashome.alaska.edu/~dfgriffin/website/2010pic2.gif

[Cypher]

Who was bankrolling both sides of the war during WWII?

Pffft. "the receiver of money is more powerful than the giver."

Its simply money-focused, low morale, non-loyal private army vs. nationalistic, kamikaze, patriotic national army.