| As George Glaigum7976 posted yesterday, Kornbluth's "The Marching Morons" fits the situation. I vote we give the man what he wants. |
[Al Ahram] President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday he is ready "to be the first man in space" under Iran's ambitious programme which aims to send a human being into orbit by 2020."Our youth are determined to send a man into space within the next four, five years, and I'm sure that will happen," he said during a ceremony in Tehran where two new Iranian-made satellites were unveiled, according to ISNA news agency.
"I'm ready to be the first Iranian to be sacrificed by the scientists of my country and go into space, even though I know there are a lot of candidates," Ahmadinejad quipped.
He added to the buoyant atmosphere, saying he was willing to "auction (himself) and donate" the money to the Iran's space programme, which has shrunk because of international economic sanctions over Tehran's controversial nuclear drive, ISNA reported.
The presidency website showed pictures of Ahmadinejad at the ceremony with what was purportedly Pishgam (pioneer), the monkey sent into orbit by Tehran last week.
The monkey's launch was presented by the Islamic republic as a first step towards sending a human into orbit by 2020.
Ahmadinejad unveiled on Monday two small satellites, named "Nahid" and "Zohreh" (Venus in Farsi and Arabic, respectively).