American Athens is taking a leave of absence as we sort out this whole bi-coastal thing.
In the meantime, feel free to check out or even link to one of our other blogs: Anyone But Romney in 2008.
Hope to be back up again soon…
Our man, middle-aged and gray, entered the cafe. Walking up to the counter, he surveyed the small seating area. “Only a few tonight.” He thought. “Still, small for a friday.” “I’ll have a coffee, black, please. Small, please.” He said. “Will that be all, sir” the counter boy replied. “And this brownie here, please.” He pointed to the bottom of the display case. “D-double fudge toffee.” Our man said.
He wore a Martha’s Vineyard T-shirt of a light blue color, a summer hue, which was tucked neatly into his shorts. His shorts were not flashy, certainly cheap, and they suited him. This was his outfit on weeknights as it was on weekends, a uniform of sorts, comfortable and consistent. His face was round and full– even too round, too full. His eyes, solemn and weary, were his only remarkable feature. They were eyes that spoke of a life filled with numerous small hardships, domestic trials, complications and compromises. His hairline had receded for a decade, from age 40 until age 50, and then stopped. It had marched backwards to the crown of his head, where what hair remained flowed gently to the back of his neck, though in no design or style. He no longer looked on younger men and women with scorn or lust; he had longer given up returning to any form of life that was lived by rules of fashion or popularity. He had witnessed youth wrinkle and strength become frailty. Our man took his coffee black, has he had since college, and always after dinner. What had begun as ritual became routine and was carried into middle age on inertia alone. There was no special significance in his nightly coffee; it repeated day after day simply because it had for so many years.
“Your total is $3.17, sir.” The counter boy said, returning to the register and pushing the coffee and the pastry forward. “Yes. $3.17″ The man repeated as he counted out the exact change. He always had exact change. He sat down, our man, with his coffee and his double fudge toffee bar and settled into to a chair at the back of the cafe where he always sat. He read through the local paper– a small inconsequential rag good for gossip and the off-key opinions of his neighbors. The paper was finished hurriedly and set aside, and our man sat back in his chair and slowly sipped from his coffee. His solemn and weary eyes intensified somehow and became like windows into a particular kind of pain. The longer he sat and stared the more dignified he became, our man, and the more motionless, still, lifeless. What is his pain? What circumstances, what kind of blind inertia has brought this man to this moment?
He stared, his eyes transfixed on some unidentifiable point, for several minutes on end. To anyone watching, it must have seemed longer. Watching him it was nearly impossible not to conclude that a man like him could go on sitting that way for hours, even days, and hardly notice himself growing older.
His coffee finished, our man left the cafe and drove the two miles home. As on every other night since his wife’s cancer had returned, and so as not to disturb her, he parked the car on the street and entered the house through the small garden at the back. He would move the car to the garage later, after she went down for the night in their bedroom upstairs.
While he went out for coffee, she would doze off in her wheelchair to re-runs of game shows, exhausted by the battle being fought inside her body. He would approach her with soft steps and call out quietly, “Sarah. Sarah, darling, I’m home now.” She would remain silent, sleeping. He would always kiss her on her pale brow; she would always wake up then. Drowsy and disoriented at first, she would quickly become consciousness and lucid. Her green eyes would settle on his– on his deep, world-weary, loving eyes– and she would feel a strong life force move between them.
The man bent down, brushed aside his wife’s hair and kissed her gently, tenderly. She would not wake up this time; her eyes would never again open. He took up her hand in his, and tightly, he held it. He held it to his check and then to his lips. He held it there, this soft, delicate thing, kissing and caressing it slowly, slowly, forever more slowly . . .
It was either that or “Neato gang! Super duper!”
It’s been a longtime coming, and in my heart, I’d hoped it would have been a foregone conclusion. But it was a long, hard fight. Equal marriage is finally safe in Massachusetts, thanks to the untiring efforts of activists, legislators and ordinary people who acted on their belief that their fellow citizens should not be denied equal rights. You’ll have to forgive my run-on sentences, as I’m both out of practice and a little bit giddy about today’s results. Finally, I thought this picture (via papel-blog) was worth sharing with the few people who haven’t seen it:
I suppose this means the Sox will be getting their hands on that trophy again this October. Talk about a two-fer.
From Rocknrule:
USA Ranking on Adult Literacy Scale: #9
(#1 Sweden and #2 Norway)- OECD
USA Ranking on Healthcare Quality Index: #37
(#1 France and #2 Italy)- World Health Organization 2003
USA Ranking of Student Reading Ability: #12
(#1 Finland and #2 South Korea)- OECD PISA 2003
USA Ranking of Student Problem Solving Ability: #26
(#1 South Korea and #2 Finland)- OECD PISA 2003
USA Ranking on Student Mathematics Ability: # 24
(#1 Hong Kong and #2 Finland)- OECD PISA 2003
USA Ranking of Student Science Ability: #19
(#1 Finland and #2 Japan)- OECD PISA 2003
USA Ranking on Women’s Rights Scale: #17
(#1 Sweden and #2 Norway)- World Economic Forum Report
USA Position on Timeline of Gay Rights Progress: # 6 (1997)
(#1 Sweden 1987 and #2 Norway 1993)- Vexen
USA Ranking on Life Expectancy: #29
(#1 Japan and #2 Hong Kong)- UN Human Development Report 2005
USA Ranking on Journalistic Press Freedom Index: #32
(#1 Finland, Iceland, Norway and the Netherlands tied)- Reporters Without Borders 2005
USA Ranking on Political Corruption Index: #17
(#1 Iceland and #2 Finland)- Transparency International 2005
USA Ranking on Quality of Life Survey: #13
(#1 Ireland and #2 Switzerland)- The Economist Magazine …Wikipedia “Celtic Tiger” if you still have your doubts.
USA Ranking on Environmental Sustainability Index: #45
(#1 Finland and #2 Norway)- Yale University ESI 2005
USA Ranking on Overall Currency Strength: #3 (US Dollar)
(#1 UK pound sterling and #2 European Union euro)- FTSE 2006….the dollar is now a liability, so many banks worldwide have planned to switch to euro
USA Ranking on Infant Mortality Rate: #32
(#1 Sweden and #2 Finland)- Save the Children Report 2006
USA Ranking on Human Development Index (GDP, education, etc.): #10
(#1 Norway and #2 Iceland)- UN Human Development Report 2005
But we sure as heck can invade the crap out of your country, and we are pretty damn good at leaving it in shambles and causing a major civil war.
scape·goat (skāp’gōt’)
noun.
1. One that is made to bear the blame of others.
2. Bible: A live goat over whose head Aaron confessed all the sins of the children of Israel on the Day of Atonement. The goat, symbolically bearing their sins, was then sent into the wilderness.
3. 
From Reuters:
WASHINGTON - Former vice presidential aide Lewis “Scooter” Libby was sentenced on Tuesday to 30 months in prison for lying and obstructing investigators during a probe tied to the Iraq war.
I am not about to come out and say he shouldn’t get 30 days for this one, after all he is a pretty big weasel, and chooses to go by “Scooter.” C’mon, if you are over 16 and people are still calling “Scooter,” you are not to be trusted with national secrets. Period.
That’s right, I’m outta here. Unless something catastrophic happens between now and June 30th, after 26+ years in New England, I’m about to call somewhere else (the San Francisco Bay Area) home for a while. I’m not leaving for a job or a women, but because of numerous socio-cultural realities of the Boston area, that over the last few years I have come to realize I do not really want to experience anymore. I don’t have any second thoughts and am actually really excited to get on the road this summer.
That being said, I am not about to make this post or the rest of my “Boston era” posts about what I dislike about New England (I’m saving that for a forthcoming book), rather I am going to try to post regularly over the next few months about the people, places and things that I love about New England in general, and the Boston area specifically. From Fenway to Kelly’s Roast Beef, there are so many things that I love and will dearly miss about this area. I hope write a post every week that features a person, place or thing that I wish honor, as well as feature for others to enjoy in my absence over the coming years.
Winthrop, MA
On the map it looks like a little hook coming down off of Eastie. Only 8.3sq miles in area, including a golf course, Winthrop, MA is many things to many people, and has been an important part of my life for as long as I can remember. I have 3 grandparents buried there, my parents met at Winthop High and it is the place where I first learned to respect the roast beef sandwich. Winthrop is home of the Deer Island waste treatment center (which is actually part of Boston), constant jet noise and near-death flyovers. I spent large chunks of my summers and free weekends roaming the streets of that small town while I was growing up, and will always consider it a second hometown.
One of the more notable landmarks in this little town is the beach. In comparison to other beaches, Winthrop beach is relatively commercially undeveloped, with a majority of the “beach front” property still occupied by family homes, and a beach predominantly occupied by locals. Winthrop beach in the summer is something out of fiction; quite possibly the melanoma capital of the world (skin cancer may have been first diagnosed here), at any given time there are at least 30 overweight bronzed men in Speedos (who seem to think they are in Miami in the 1950’s) strutting on the beach wall, flashing their “guns,” intermingling with families, bikers and a never ending supply of seniors who walk up and down Shore Drive. Over the past 26 years, I have spent at least 1 day every summer at Winthrop Beach. I have seen people get arrested for letting a little too much fall out of their shorts, found a hunting knife in the sand at age 5, and can remember when you could swim in the water, then when you couldn’t and am glad now that you can again.
When I think about leaving the area for good, Winthrop is one of the first things that comes to mind. The beach is rarely crowded, except for a scorching weekend day, and a visit involves far less drama than nearby Revere Beach. So, if you are looking for a beach experience that doesn’t involve the Bourne or Sagamore Bridges, may I suggest a day in Winthrop, parking on Shore Drive free and meterless.
Some of Jerry’s finer moments:
“I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People For the American Way, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say ‘you helped this happen.” -Falwell blaming civil libertarians for the terrorist attacks of Tuesday, September 11, 2001.
“Christians, like slaves and soldiers, ask no questions”
“AIDS is not just God’s punishment for homosexuals; it is God’s punishment for the society that tolerates homosexuals”
“Billy Graham is the chief servant of Satan in America”
“Textbooks are Soviet propaganda”
“[homosexuals are] brute beasts…part of a vile and satanic system [that] will be utterly annihilated, and there will be a celebration in heaven.”
Not that you’ll be there to celebrate with them, Jerry.
—UPDATE—
Christopher Hitchens on Falwell’s death:
“The empty life of this ugly little charlatan proves only one thing, that you can get away with the most extraordinary offenses to morality and to truth in this country if you will just get yourself called reverend. Who would, even at your network, have invited on such a little toad to tell us that the attacks of September the 11th were the result of our sinfulness and were God’s punishment if they hadn’t got some kind of clerical qualification? People like that should be out in the street, shouting and hollering with a cardboard sign and selling pencils from a cup. The whole consideration of this horrible little person is offensive to very, very many of us who have some regard for truth and for morality, and who think that ethics do not require that lies be told to children by evil old men…”
Here’s a link to old Hitch talking about Falwell on Fox and making Hannity look like chump.
Why do I read Curt Shilling’s blog? I don’t enjoy it. I don’t appreciate him or his politics, and I think that Boston has enough old, white, arrogant, windbags, pretending they are something else–and yet, I still read that stupid blog once and a while.
Dear Guy Brushing His Teeth At Park Street Station This Morning,
That shit is gross. Teeth brushing is a bathroom activity, please keep it there. I don’t care how late you are for your meeting that probably isn’t that important. Keep that shit to yourself.
And while we are on the subject of the train: 1) Dear god, guy with huge backpack and blasting iPod, please wait until everyone exits the train until you begin pushing your way on. I’m bigger than you and not afraid to ruin both of our days. 2) Flip-flops on the train are gross. 3) Please don’t touch me.
While I don’t want to belittle the crisis of epic proportions that is happening in Western Sudan, and I fully recognize that if this were happening to white, Anglo, folks that the genocide never would have gotten to the level that it is at right now—But I get the point already: Fidelity invests in Darfur. They clearly shouldn’t. But I don’t invest in Darfur, nor is any of my money invested with Fidelity. So why do I need to see the unbelievably depressing picture of the starving child as I get of the train in the morning. Shouldn’t those be outside of Fidelity headquarters or offices? How much of the money spent on that advertising campaign could have gone to the people of Darfur?
College students: I know that it is the end of the year. I know that you need to get wasted to get over those rough 10-hour weeks that you have been putting in. Please go back to the suburbs soon, this whole end of the year, being loud and wasted thing is getting a little old–also, Dave Matthews Band, as well as that shitty pop song that you like so much, sucks.
Someone please tell the lady in front of me dropping $50.00 on scratch tickets at 7-11, that she isn’t going to win, “the big one.”
For what seems like the 1000th time since his campaign started, what? Three years ago? I just want to scream, “shut up, Mitt Romney!” I can’t remember when there has been a bigger phony running for office. No wait…I can.
Wikitravel recommends 4 “uniquely American things that as a (foreign) traveler you will not want to miss.”
Cartoon examining why the VT massacre happened.
Hands down the stupidest thing I have seen in the past year.
Will Farrell’s new NFL draft video.
I do not want to be an alarmist about this one, but this whole “missing bee” thing sounds as if it could be a really big deal. In the last few months, I’ve heard reports about the bees on NPR, CNN, and even Real Time with Bill Maher who passed along the link some scientists are making between the bee disappearance and cell phone usage. A quote has be circulating around saying that Einstein claimed that if something eliminated bees from our planet “man would only have 4 years of life left.” Regardless of the truth behind that quote, the biggest story in Anthophila right now is that in Europe, Brazil and especially North America, billions of bees are leaving the agricultural fields they are supposed to pollinate and “scientists” have no idea why. That’s right, billions of bees and yes, they are leaving, not dying. If the bees were dying of pesticide poisoning or freezing, or something in the like, their bodies would lie around the hive. Also, if they were deserting because of some threat they wouldn’t leave without the queen, which they all seem to be doing. Why this is a really big deal is because one-third of the U.S. diet depends on pollination and most of which is performed by honeybees–everything from cherries to blueberries, peaches, soybeans, pears, pumpkins, cucumbers, apples, almonds, asparagus and macadamia nuts.
According to Reuters:
Experts are gathering outside Washington for a two-day workshop starting on Monday to pool their knowledge and come up with a plan of action to combat what they call colony collapse disorder.
“What we’re describing as colony collapse disorder is the rapid loss of adult worker bees from the colony over a very short period of time, at a time in the season when we wouldn’t expect a rapid die-off of workers: late fall and early spring.”
The problem has prompted a congressional hearing, a report by the National Research Council and a National Pollinator Week set for June 24-30 in Washington, but so far no clear idea of what is causing it.
“The main hypotheses are based on the interpretation that the disappearances represent disruptions in orientation behavior and navigation,” said May Berenbaum, an insect ecologist at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.
There have been other fluctuations in the number of honeybees, going back to the 1880s, where there were “mysterious disappearances without bodies just as we’re seeing now, but never at this magnitude,” Berenbaum said in a telephone interview.
In some cases, beekeepers are losing 50 percent of their bees to the disorder, with some suffering even higher losses. One beekeeper alone lost 40,000 bees, Pettis said. Nationally, some 27 states have reported the disorder, with billions of bees simply gone.
Though I do not believe that we have a little over 4 years left, I am a little nervous about this one.
Further reading on the subject:
Vonnegut claimed to have run a car dealership called “Saab Cape Cod” in West Barnstable, MA, but failed to sell the Swedish two-stroke SAAB cars, and went into bankruptcy. He jokingly said that this may be the reason he has never received a Nobel Prize (wiki).
Kurt Vonnegut profoundly changed my perception of the world at a young age, and I wish I could have thanked him for this.
I would like to take this oppertunity to announce:
Months after they first announced its inception, the official list of the 200 albums that comprise the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF) Definitive 200 list has finally been unleashed on an angry world and boy does it suck. Considered to be 200 albums that every music lover should own, it should be noted that The Definitive 200 is not an attempt to spark a dialogue on the history of pop music, but rather a transparent attempt by the record industry to spark sales in their back catalogue. In addition to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (who inducted their first hip-hop act just this week!!!), the list is co-sponsored by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), which represents over 7,000 music stores in the U.S.
I know these type of lists are supposed to suck–what was I expecting? Well, when I first heard about this list I assumed that it would have some integrity and that I would at least be able to respect the first 10 selections. This however, was not the case. It seems as though the completely out of touch RRHOF decided to have circus animals rank these though osmosis. If this list was unranked I would almost be able to shut up about it, but since the RRHOF decided to rank these albums 1-200, they have left themselves wide open to my insults. I will now rant through (some of) what I see to be glaring omissions and laughable choices at ranking the Definitive 200 albums of all time:
1. BEATLES - SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND
Was this decision made by a team of middle school boys circa 1992? Pepper, while a great album compared to others by other artists, is not even the best Beatles album. Yes, it did revolutionize the idea of the album as a piece of art but musically can’t stand up next to Revolver (#42), Abbey Road (#12) and the White Album (#39). Bad choice #1 for #1.
13. SANTANA – SUPERNATURAL
What!?!? The one with the Rob Thomas song? 13th best album of all time? Are you fucking kidding me? There was this album released in the 60’s called Abraxas, someone needs to get it over to the HOF right now. Santana is a great band because of their ability to push musical boundaries and blend the music of many cultures into rock and roll. Not sell albums to 12-year-olds.
21. SHANIA TWAIN - COME ON OVER
Albums listed lower than Shania Twain’s Come on Over: Miles Davis Kind of Blue (#34), 4 Beatles albums, Bob Dylan Blood on The Tracks (#157!!!), Johnny Cash At Folsom Prison (#77). Case closed.
107. KENNY G – BREATHLESS
Blah, Blah, Blah, Kenny G sucks, yeah I know. But to understand the atrocity of this list we need to examine the rankings at 108, 109, 110 and 111. #108 NWA Straight Outta Compton, #109 Sex Pistols Never Mind the Bollocks…, #110 The Beatles Rubber Soul, #111 Radiohead OK Computer. So, the RRHOF and NARM is trying to have us believe that Kenny (Fucking) G’s album Breathless, is better than the most important west cost hip-hop album ever, one of the most important British punk albums ever, arguably the first great Beatles album, and the best album produced in the 1990’s. OK sure, yea, this list is totally credible.
Wow, I hate this list so much. I could go on and on but I will probably start cutting myself. Lists like this are supposed to spark debate and lively conversation. But remember, this list is supposed to make you buy these albums.
I could probably write another post about the omissions from this list, but here cursory list of artists who did not make the “Definitive” 200:
There are no albums in the “Definitive” 200 by:
The Band
James Brown
CCR
Cream or Derrick and the Dominos
B.B. King
Jane’s Addiction
Patti Smith
Talking Heads
Television
Wilco
Wu-Tang Clan
However, the RRHOF could make room for Avril Lavigne, Creed and Grand Funk Railroad, because these clowns made much more important music than either James Brown or The Band.
Not to mention Old Dirty: 
During the last couple of months, through both academic work and personal exploration, I have become interested in gender identity discrimination as a human rights and social justice issue. I felt that since the local blogging community and in particular the straight, white, male, liberal blogging community has not yet taken very much interest in the topic that I would use AA as starting point for this much needed dialogue.
Right here in the Commonwealth, legislation to outlaw discrimination on the basis of “gender identity or expression” was introduced Jan 10, 2007, by lead sponsors Representative Carl Sciortino and Represenative Byron Rushing (This is another of the many issues where Rep. Rushing has been the first of his colleagues to take a stand on, I love this man). House Bill #1722, “An Act Relative to Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes,” sends a clear message that transgender and gender non-conforming people in our communities should be able to work, go to school, and live without fear. This bill will add Massachusetts to 9 other states, Washington D.C., and 81 counties and cities including Boston, Cambridge, and Northampton that protect transgender people. This bill will make the protection of transgender people explicit, uniform, and visible to the general public. It will provide them with equal protection under the law, and the opportunity to contribute to their communities and economy. Also, it will include gender identity and expression in the state’s non-discrimination statute and will amend existing hate crime laws to explicitly protect people targeted for violence and harassment.
What a crazy idea huh? It is scary to think that discrimination of persons based on their trans or perceived gender is legal in this state or any other. OK, well maybe it is easy to believe this occurs in some states. So where is the problem? Well, beyond the fact that most people are scared of anything that is perceived as different or straying from the norm, the conflict with this bill will most likely come from parents who don’t want one of “them” working with their children. Or, parents who are afraid that someone will go through a gender transformation while they are working with their child and a confusing conversation will be forced to commence.
Here is the scenario that we as defenders of human rights and social justice need to consider: An elementary school music teacher named Ms. Jones has worked in the school system for 3-4 years. She offers music classes to every student of a small 600 pupil elementary school (K-6) in rural Massachusetts. Ms. Jones is loved by her students and respected by her colleagues.
Little to everyone’s knowledge, Ms. Jones has been struggling for years with her gender role and has long believed that she was truly meant to live life as a man. At the end of one school year, with support from a few close friends and a couple of colleagues, Ms. Jones decides to undergo a gender transformation and begin to live both her personal and professional life as a man.
After taking off the majority of the summer and a bit of the fall Mr. Jones is now ready to come back to teaching the children that he loves. But there is a problem. A vocal group of parents who have become aware of Mr. Jones transformation asked the principal not to allow Mr. Jones back and demanded that if Mr. Jones does come back to teach that their children be pulled from the class. Many complaints come from the parents of younger children who have no idea how to explain this to their children and are afraid their children will become confused or scared and begin to believe this is “normal” behavior.
In many states, the school could fire Mr. Jones on the spot, and in many states they would. This scenario begs many questions: Is this something that we need to shield children from? Why? What are we protecting them from? How do we work with parents around issues like these? How do we begin to engage families who struggle with these issues? No one deserves to be fired, refused work, denied housing, education or credit, or face harassment or violence simply because of bias against their gender identity or expression, right? Yet transgender and gender non-conforming people routinely face all of these without laws to protect them.
I encourage my fellow bloggers, friends and community members to seize this moment- contact your representative, blog about this issue and most importantly, talk to your friends and families about House Bill #1722 and other gender issues.
“And there’s a steal by Bird, underneath to DJ, he lays it in.”
According to the Boston Globe:
Dennis Johnson, the star NBA guard who was part of three championship teams, died Thursday after collapsing at the end of practice. He was 52. Johnson, coach of the Austin Toros of the NBA Development League, died at a hospital, D-League spokesman Kent Partridge said.
Johnson, a five-time All-Star and one of the great defensive guards, played 14 seasons and retired after the 1989-90 season. He played on title teams with the Boston Celtics in 1984 and 1986 and with the Seattle SuperSonics in 1979 when he was the NBA finals MVP.
Wow, does this one hurt. It is kind of weird to feel sad about the death of someone I have never met, but I suppose that is the testament to the player that he was. The player Bird once referred to as, “the best I’ve ever played with,” Dennis Johnson, or as he was know to Celtic loyal, “DJ,” was the best true guard to play for the C’s in my lifetime. He was an integral part of my all-time favorite sports team, the 85-86 C’s championship team and at the receiving end of most famous steal in Celtics history (sorry Hondo). Though he never had a signature move, or was accused of rape, or cut an album of bad music, DJ was a really big deal to anyone who grew up worshiping the C’s in the 1980’s.
Long before the days of Rivers, Scalabrine and Olowokandi, I grew up worshiping everything about the 80’s Celtics. Larry Bird was by far my favorite celebrity of any sort (Christ, I even named my female cat after him), but DJ and Kevin McHale were always close seconds. I can remember my father reading the Sunday Globe at one point during that 85-86 season and mentioning to me that Dennis Johnson had counted the freckles on his face, and although I don’t remember how many he had, I’m still shocked that I both remember this conversation and secondly that this bit of trivia was something that was even printed in the Globe’s Sunday sports section. That’s how big of a deal he was to Celtics fans. We cared how many freckles were on his face. Goodbye DJ, you will be missed.
R.I.P. Saparmurat Niyazov (1940-2006). Niyazov ruled Turkmenistan as the head of state/cult of personality from 1985 until his death in December 2006. The circumstances of Niyazov’s passing has been surrounded by some media speculation, including that Niyazov had been the victim of poisoning. Some Turkmen opposition sources also claim that Niyazov died several days before the officially announced date of December 21st. According to the Atlantic Monthly:
(After the fall of the USSR)…He could have used the world’s fifth largest natural-gas reserves to transform his nation into an economic powerhouse with an educated population and vibrant cultural scene. But that would have been too obvious. Instead, he determined that he was going to be the nuttiest Stan, a by-no-means uncompetitive field to those whom the suffix conjures large numbers of excitable young chaps in beards jumping up and down yelling “Death to the Great Satan!” In fact, Niyazov banned young men from sporting facial hair: Under his leadership Turkmenistan was the most pognophobic Stan in the World.
I have taken the time to note his death for two reasons: 1) Because he’s a pretty funny character and 2) because sometimes we need to add little global perspective to the constant complaining about our leadership. So the next time you catch yourself bemoaning the war mongering, ignorance and solipsistic posturing of our fair leader; first thank your higher power for term limits and second remember this (amazing) list of crap that Niyazov pulled in his 21 years in office:
