きちがいじみている。

Saparmurat Niyazov, the President of Turkmenistan, died on December 21. Martin Peretz had interviewed him last month.

Martin Peretz: Good morning, President Niyazov.
Saparmurat Niyazov: Please, I am not Saparmurat Niyazov. I am Turkmenbashi, father of the turks. In Turkmenistan, my friends call me Bashi.
MP: Like the doctor from Star Trek.
SA: You mean Doctor McCoy?
MP: No, no. Doctor Bashi, from Deep Space Nine.
SA: He was Doctor Bashir, not Bashi.
MP: I was always a Next Generation fan, myself.
SA: In Turkmenistan, I have renamed Star Trek: The Next Generation as Star Trek: Turkmenbashi.
MP: After yourself.
SA: No, after the other Turkmenbashi. (Laughs.)
MP: You have named mosques and towns after yourself.
SA: I do not not like it. But the people demand it. You cannot reason with them. They are worse than my wife.
MP: You don't think it's at all arrogant to name Sunday after yourself?
SA: In Turkmenistan, Sunday -- excuse me, Turkmenbashi -- is the beginning of the work week, and Friday and Saturday are the days off to rest, and to keep holy the Muslim sabbath. And also to drink.
MP: So it would be like me renaming Monday after myself.
SA: Exactly. No one likes Monday. It's a gesture of humility.
MP: When you translate Garfield into Turkmen, does he talk about how much he hates Turkmenbashi?
SA: In Turkmenistan, I have banned cartoons about talking cats. That tiger from Calvin & Hobbes was spreading subversive ideas. The people won't allow subversive tigers.
MP: The people? Not you?
SA: I would love to have the basis for my authority questioned by a crudely drawn tiger. But the people will not allow it. They demand patriotic cartoons that promote the heroism and superiority of the Turkmen.
MP: I've been experimenting with cartoons in my magazine.
SA: I hope you won't do a cartoon of me.
MP: They're mostly about Republicans. We did a guide to Republican D.C. and that kind of thing.
SA: I certainly don't want to do a cartoon celebrating my rule. But the people might have a different opinion.
MP: See, there was this incident a while back. I don't want to name names, but we had to fire this young guy.
SA: The people would only want you to do a glorious cartoon. In Turkmenistan, the cartoons are celebrations of the heroism of the Turkmen.
MP: Ever since, whenever my editors bring me some piece by some smart kid that they think is brilliant, there's a little voice that says "you could get in trouble for this."
SA: I don't find any pleasure in it, but the people demand it, because of their mentality.
MP: And that voice says, "don't get in trouble. Make fun of the Republicans, or do a cartoon."
SA: Could you do a cartoon of my mother instead?