UKC

...will be the next greatest loss for mankind?

I appreciate that all loss of life will be mourned by those closest but as a blow to humanity which one will be most felt?

I'm thinking Nelson Mandela

or

the Dalai Lama

or

?

In reply to Removed User:

Margaret Thatcher

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Neil Young or Bob Dylan.

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Tony Blair



Though the only loss is due to it not coming sooner...

In reply to Removed User: Really? 2 of the more insignificant states man...


Obama....

Kim Jong Il....

In reply to IainRUK:

Really what? You don't agree with my choices or you are saying that Obama and Kim Jong II are insignificant statesmen whose loss will still be felt the strongest?

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robert mugabe

the king of thailand

for different reasons.

obama, karzai or ahmedinajad if its by assassination.

In reply to ice.solo:

Are you being ironic or you've misunderstood the question or I'm missing something?

In reply to Removed User: The Dali Lama? WTF? He's simply the Pope for hippys

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a bit of both.

mugabes death will send sub-saharan africa into a spin for the region like we havent seen since the 70s.

the king of thailands death will hugely affect all of SE asia. the out-pouring of grief in thailand will be massive, affecting the whole tiger economy scenario.

both will throw into spin areas that have taken a long time to reach functionality. both will leave voids no one is sure how they will be filled. both will affect millions of the poorest people on earth and the bank accounts of some of the wealthiest. both will have major impacts on world lending.

assasination of any of the other 3 will reset the game in a region thats 'dominoes with tombstones' already.

mandela and the dalai lama are figure heads and pop icons these days. they matter as symbols. their deaths will affect publishing, talk shows and nostalgia cultists more than regional economies and power plays.

maybe i did misunderstand the question now i think about it.

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Probably Bill Gates, although I don't see it happening any time soon.

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Ron Jeremy

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Leonard Cohen

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>[...] as a blow to humanity which one will be most felt?



Surely the Dalai Lama won't die as such, he'll just get recycled?

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Presumably impossible to tell. Most famous people are famous because they have done all their good stuff. The greatest loss will be someone on the verge of doing great things but who is killed and therefore never does.

In reply to Removed User: Lady Diana?





Personally, I'll mourn David Attenborough, but he's only a TV presenter.

Would be interesting to see what happened to Russia if someone was to assassinate Putin tomorrow

In reply to Removed User: What exactly do you mean by 'a blow to humanity'?

Neither Nelson Mandela nor the Dalai Lama have much, realistically, left to achieve. As figureheads they're important, and what they - Mandela especially - have done is important beyond argumment, but their passing would be no more than a sad loss.

So as I interpret your phrase, a blow to humanity would come from the passing of someone who is seemingly on the cusp of achieving great things or whose passing would promote instability that would lead to very bad things; think how the death of Tito led to instability, conflict and ethnic cleansing in the former Yugoslavia.

The second is easier, alas, to speculate about than the first and the suggestion of Mugabe might be a good call; as might the passing of the head of any oil-rich country ruled by a dictator. Or it could be something out of left-field; uprising and the passing of someone you've never heard of in a country that's strategically important but doesn't have a great deal bar - and this will become more important - water (Tajikistan, maybe; lots of mountains, and hence lots of water. Not a lot else).

T.

In reply to ice.solo:

I rather agree with you on all counts there!

and mandela and dalai lama can accomplish the same feelings when dead as they can alive now, they'll be remembered for the same things and it's the memories really that make them important at this point (not ignoring there the fact of what they have done or anything)

In reply to Removed User: No, your two. The loss of those two would be huge.

In reply to IainRUK:

You think? What would actually change?

In reply to Removed User:
Interesting that people are suggesting Obama. The majority of my American friends (I have many and they sit on both sides of the fence) seem to think his stewardship has so far been pretty disappointing, a viewpoint reinforced by michael moore on steve wright's show the other day.

I'll put forward Sir Patrick Moore.

In reply to graeme jackson:
Yeah but to be fair, Michael Moore isn't exactly predisposed to even considering that a US president might have done a good job, is he?

In reply to toad:

He'd be my choice. To describe him as only a TV presenter is selling him very short but even in that capacity he's inspired, entertained and educated more than anyone else I can think of.

To me he's epitome of a full, varied and valuable life well-lived.

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to quote De Gaulle

"Cemeteries the world over are full of indispensible men"

but to answer your question

Brian Cant

In reply to 999thAndy:


Brilliant

In reply to ice.solo:


I think the Dalai Lama's death could have bad consequences for China though, as well as possible helpfull ones in him no longer being a figure for people to gather beheind inside and outside of Tibet, ragarding talking about human rights there.

The are Tibetans who say they're only not being violent because the Dali Lama calls for Tibetans to be peacefull and non violent, and that after he dies they're prepared to take more direct action against China. I think three Buddhist monks have set themselves alight over the past year as a form of protest about them not having (m)any human rights.

In the worst case for China (or rather the average Chinese person wanting to get on with thier life) I guess it could become similar to the Tamil Tigers in Shri Lanka, who knows though.

It stinks that the Dalai Lama wasn't able to go to his friend Desmond Tutu's birthday party (whom he likes to tickle), with China having invested lots of money in South Africa, they're in a position to influence South Africa who delayed giving him a visa untill it was too late, it's happened before for something else, and Tutu was outraged and said it was similar to aparthaid.

Tim

In reply to Removed User: Mohammed Ali

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Barry Chuckle

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me?

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Spike Milligan

In reply to Trangia:

he told me he was ill.
put him in the curry.

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TBH, Nelson Mandela and the Dalai Lama were just suggestions which popped into my head.

I'm sure there are some more, far worthy, candidates.

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Re The Dalai Lama. I think that China are just twiddling their thubms, keeping him quiet until he dies.

All hell will break loose when Tibet identifies his successor.

In reply to Fredt:

is that some kind of obscure 1 stringed muusical instrument?

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>

it's so blindingly Obvious who:








MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

In reply to Removed User: I find it strange that no body has identified any of our inspiring politicians?????............................................................................................................................OH!!!! wait a minute No im F***ING not!!!!! HA!!!!!

In reply to KTT:

Genius. I'm going to start quoting that if I may

In reply to Nigel R:

Except he isn't, you get business people taking the 'right livelyhood' part of the noble eightfold path onboard as part of Buddhism, and doing something beneficial for other people to earn thier living.

Dunno if it was a tounge in cheek comment or not, though. ()

In reply to Trangia:

spike milligan died again?

In reply to MG:

Nukes in unstable hands.. actually in both cases.... I think the US could end up with a seriously crazy president... way way worse than Bush...

In reply to Dave Garnett:

thirded

In reply to Removed User: Murray Walker.

In reply to Submit to Gravity:
You were all wrong.
It was Jimmy Saville...

In reply to liz j: Just beat me to it. Now then, now then...

In reply to Removed User: Alex Ferguson, can you imagine the chaos if he died whilst still manager of United

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If people die of old age it's not really a 'loss' to mankind - it's just the way it is.

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Bono?

In reply to ice.solo:

He told you he was ill!

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Attenborough might be an upperclass chap, but I'll personally miss him very much when he's gone, like many I've had a connection to him through his programs and we have a richer admiration of the natural world because of his presenting skills. He is old and his time will be due, but still.

Otherwise, there are literally millions of people working directly for the betterment of others and who nurse them or keep them alive, who help a great many every day. You will hardly ever hear about them, and they have a much more direct effect on people's lives & wellbeing than any famous well known figure does. I'm talking about people who work in organisations that provide aid & medical care, such as trauma doctors and members of the Medicin Sans Frontiere, The Red Cross, and all aid staff in dangerous places & conflict zones. Respect to them, they are hard to

.... replace!

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Eric Sykes

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I will shed a few tears when Mandela goes but I doubt his passing will really affect much of humanity.

James Bond dying would be pretty devastating to the world we live in today.

Big Ron dying would not be good.

In reply to Graeme Alderson:

Ron Jeremy? He's old and fat, bring in the new

My vote goes to Attenborough and funnily enough I was considering his age recently and thinking how much I'd miss him.

Anyway, I don't like to talk of peoples' (were does the apostrophe go?) demise before it happens, must be my job or something;-/

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Prince Philip - the living breathing embodiment of why should become a Republic - although I would miss his stand up comedy routines.

In reply to Wide_Mouth_Frog:

Absolutely right! Global warming will be a thing of the past once the sun stops shining out of his arse

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Or Stephen Hawkings

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I'm with the idea of Putin. Except that I'm not sure he has people "close" to him.

But for sending one of the largest, geographically diverse, recently militaristic, nuclear weaponed and generally unstable countries in the world into a tailspin, his death would not be good.

So I think his death would count as a blow to humanity, but not becasue he's a nice person. Simply becasue he's stopping much nastier things happening.