Utility Week

Community crater fed by natural gas that has been burning continuously since geologists set it on re in 1971 because no-one can gure out how to put it out. Perhaps it's not surprising that Berdimuhamedov felt he had to make a proper entrance back into his countrymen's con- sciousness, given his popularity with his people. A dentist by trade, Berdimu- hamedov has been president since 2007, and at the last election in managed to improve his share of the vote from 2012's impressive 97 per cent to 97.69 per cent in 2017. Those are the sort of approval ratings to die for. Who's a pretty psycho? Talking of psychos, Disconnector is pleased to con rm that the powers-that-be have ruled it is o€ cially okay to claim that a parrot is psychopath. That was the o€ cial ruling by Ipso, which had to rule on a complaint against the Daily Star by All-Star Parrots, a bird charity. The Daily Star claimed that a macaw called Harry "throws his head back and sniggers like a psycho" whenever its owners yelped in pain. To illustrate the story, the paper helpfully mocked Disconnector Publishing director, Utilities: Ellen Bennett, t: 01342 332084, e: ellenbennett@fav-house.com; Content director: Jane Gray, janegray@fav-house.com, t: 01342 333004; Editor: Suzanne Heneghan, t: 01342 332106, e: suzanneheneghan@fav-house.com Digital editor: James Wallin, 01342 332015, jameswallin@fav-house.com; Intelligence editor: Denise Chevin, 01342 332087, denisechevin@fav-house.com Energy correspondent: Tom Grimwood, t: 01342 332061, e: tomgrimwood@fav-house.com; Policy correspondent: David Blackman, e: davidblackman@ fav-house.com; Reporter: Adam John, t: 01342 332069, e: adamjohn@fav-house.com; Editorial assistant: Greg Jones, t: 01342 332102, e: gregjones@fav-house.com; Production editor: Paul Newton, t: 01342 332085, e: paulnewton@fav-house.com; Business development manager: Ben Hammond, e: benhammond@fav-house.com. t: 01342 332116; Business development executive: Sarah Wood, e: sarahwood@ fav-house.com. t: 01342 332117 Conference sponsorship manager: Sophie Abbott, t: 01342 332062, e: sophieabbott@ fav-house.com; General enquiries: 01342 332000; Membership enquiries: Peter Bissell, t: 01342 332057, e: peterbissell@fav-house.com. 2,500 Average circulation Jan–Dec 2018 Membership subscriptions: UK £769+VAT per year. Overseas £781 per year. Contact Peter Bissell on: 01342 332057 Utility Week is a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), the regulator of the UK's magazine and newspaper industry. We abide by the Editors' Code of Practice and are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. If you think we have not met those standards and want to make a complaint, please contact the Editor. If we are unable to resolve your complaint, or if you want more information about IPSO or the Editors' Code, contact IPSO on 0300 123 2220 or visit www.ipso.co.uk. rounds was that Trump had repeatedly asked aides if he could nuke hurricanes to stop them reaching US soil. The great man himself (Trump, that is, not Disconnector) denied he had ever said any such thing. So there you have it: there is a limit to his lunacy a‹ er all. Happy days. Honey, I'mhome… Even Trump's friends must con- cede that their man's behaviour it very strange – even if they claim this is the e' ect he's going for. But if you thought he was the strangest world leader out there, you'd be wrong. That title probably belongs to roly-poly psychopath Kim Jong Un, the beloved leader of North Korea, but it's not a slam dunk even for him. Doing his best to give Kim a run for his money is Gurbanguly Berdimu- hamedov, the president of Turkmenistan. When the omnipresent president failed to show up on the nation's TV screens for a few weeks, rumours circulated that he was dead. Keen to demon- strate that he was very much alive, Berdimuhamedov had himself lmed racing his o' road car around the rim of Turkmeni- stan's most famous landmark, the Darvaza crater, better known as the "Gates of Hell", a huge Who do you think you're talking to? Utility Week returns a‹ er its regular three-week summer break to nd the world as sur- real and topsy-turvy as ever. Only more so. So, last week Donald Trump – who is the leader of the free world, lest we forget – tweeted that he'd like to buy Greenland in what would be "essentially a large real estate deal", although he added, somewhat unnecessarily given the global crises swirling around his ankles, that it "was not No 1 on the burner". Some high-pro le Trump supporters prematurely turned on critics of the prez, claim- ing it showed that po-faced le‹ ies couldn't appreciate his Trumpness's sense of humour, but their case was somewhat undermined by the fact that Donald was in deadly earnest. In fact so much so that when Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen dismissed the idea as "absurd", Trump promptly cancelled a state visit to Denmark. Apparently the big orange one took umbrage at the use of the word "absurd". Which is kinda shutting the stable door, as far as Disconnector is concerned. Another story doing the UTILITY WEEK | 30TH AUGUST - 5TH SEPTEMBER 2019 | 31 up a photo of a parrot in a œ atcap, to look like a character from TV series Peaky Blinders. The charity, which had been responsible for housing Harry, objected that parrots could not understand the concept of pain and that it was simply learned behaviour. To which the obvious answer is, well duh. Ipso did not uphold the complaint. I come in peace There is absolutely no reason to be alarmed by the fact that Russia has launched an unmanned rocket carrying a life-size humanoid robot, dubbed Fedor, for a ten-day mission on board the Interna- tional Space Station. Fedor's mission is to assist astronauts and provide emergency assistance on an as-needed basis. To do this properly, Fedor has been built 6‹ tall and weighs 233lbs. Nothing to see here, folks, move along, it's just a 6‹ Rus- sian robot in a space ship… like a psycho" whenever its Talking of psychos, ruled it is o€ cially okay to claim that a

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