# Farewell, Turkmenbashi **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 21, 2006, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-turkmenbashi/385039 "2006-12-21T07:57:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Wordworker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Wordworker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wordworker)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 7:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-turkmenbashi/385039/1 "2006-12-21T07:57:43Z")
[http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/12/21/turkmenistan.reut/index.html](http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/12/21/turkmenistan.reut/index.html) Awww, I kinda liked crazy ol Turkmenbashi. The man responsible for decrees such as: Speaking out against gold caps on teeth Banning video games Replacing the Hippocratic oath with an oath to him Forbidding jokes about Turkmenbashi Crazy as a loon, he was, but in a weird, sort of affable way. Well, as an outsider free from the impact of his derangedness, that is. He was certainly a repressive dictator, and I imagine his people might be better off without him, but he was fun to point and laugh at šŸ˜‰ ---
**Author:** ![Ice\_Wolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/dfb087/32.png) [@Ice\_Wolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ice_Wolf)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 10:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-turkmenbashi/385039/2 "2006-12-21T10:34:35Z")
Tch! And we barely knew him ā€¦ ---
**Author:** ![Precambrianmollusc](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/precambrianmollusc/32/63_2.png) [@Precambrianmollusc](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Precambrianmollusc)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 12:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-turkmenbashi/385039/3 "2006-12-21T12:00:44Z")
I always liked the golden statue in Ashgbad of good 'ol Suparmurat Tā€™bash (Bashi to his mates) facing the sun. It rotated as the sun went around, but rumour has it, just as an added bonus it was leading the sun ever ever sooo slightly, the implication being the ex father of the Turkmen was the one who was responsible for it rising and setting each day. Thankfully he has shuffled off, although I did like his way of doing all his ministers annual performance reviews live on TV. I wonder if his recent demise has anything to do with the plans for a gas pipeline direct to China so they do not have to sell gas to Russia at a serious discount to market rates? ---
**Author:** ![Neidhart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Neidhart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Neidhart)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 12:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-turkmenbashi/385039/4 "2006-12-21T12:52:27Z")
William Shatner can take his place, since they were obviously separated at birth! ---
**Author:** ![Carl\_Corey](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Carl\_Corey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carl_Corey)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-turkmenbashi/385039/5 "2006-12-21T15:21:35Z")
I also like the fact that he renamed the days of the week after himself and his kin. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-turkmenbashi/385039/6 "2006-12-21T15:23:47Z")
As zany, power-mad, narcissistic, micromanaging dictators went, he was one of the best. His likely successorā€™s name is quite a mouthful, though. Can we just call him ā€œBruceā€? It might avoid confusion. ---
**Author:** ![Wordworker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/77aa72/32.png) [@Wordworker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wordworker)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 5:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-turkmenbashi/385039/7 "2006-12-21T17:18:24Z")
[QUOTE=Carl Corey] I also like the fact that he renamed the days of the week after himself and his kin. [/QUOTE] Not to mention two months after himself and his mother. ---
**Author:** ![Sal\_Ammoniac](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/8dc957/32.png) [@Sal\_Ammoniac](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sal_Ammoniac)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-turkmenbashi/385039/8 "2006-12-21T17:27:17Z")
[QUOTE=Neidhart] William Shatner can take his place, since they were obviously separated at birth! [/QUOTE] Are you kidding? Heā€™s a dead ringer for James Garner! But he wasnā€™t such an affable dictator. For example, he purposely destroyed the medical system in Turkmenistan, causing avoidable mortality to skyrocket. He was a creep. Good riddance to bad rubbish. ---
**Author:** ![friedo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8edcca/32.png) [@friedo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/friedo)\ **Post date:** [December 21, 2006, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/farewell-turkmenbashi/385039/9 "2006-12-21T17:32:17Z")
He also declared the second Sunday of August to be Melon Day. You canā€™t argue with that. Melons are rad.