Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Niyazov is having fun again

The President-for-Life (his official title, which does not mean "president against abortion" but "president who is not supposed to be replaced during his lifetime") of Turkmenistan Saparmurat Niyazov is at it again. This time he banned all recorded music, or at least all use thereof at public events and private parties (listening to it home by oneself still might be legal for all I know).

Niyazov is a dictator with a major case of personality cult and a Little Red Book of his own, called Ruhnama. His other projects since I last mentioned him in my blog last year involve trying to build a giant ice palace in the desert, closing all rural libraries on account that "rural people can't read anyway", closing all rural hospitals (apparently rural people don't get sick, either), firing 15000 medical workers and replacing them with army conscripts.

Colonoscopy with a cannon pipe, anyone?

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