Tuesday, August 23, 2005

Rock Stars Flock To Cancel Concerts...


Turkmen President Bans Lip Synching

ASHGABAT, Turkmenistan - He has outlawed opera and ballet and railed against long hair and gold teeth, but now Turkmen President Saparmurat Niyazov is determined to wipe out another perceived scourge: lip synching.

Niyazov has ordered a ban on lip synching performances across the tightly controlled Central Asian nation, citing "a negative effect on the development of singing and musical art," the president's office said Tuesday.

"Unfortunately, one can see on television old voiceless singers lip-synching their old songs," Niyazov told a Cabinet meeting in comments broadcast on state TV on Tuesday. "Don't kill talents by using lip synching... Create our new culture."

Under Niyazov's order, lip synching is now prohibited at all cultural events, concerts, on television — and at private celebrations such as weddings.

Representatives from the international press also quizzed Niyazov about a reported ban on McDonald's and other fast food establishments, and the portly President For Life responded with a small belch, and a vigorous "NEVER! I'd sooner eat fisheads with chopsticks like the asians..."

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