Genghis Khan Circling the Drain

Mongolia's legislature is considering a bill that would require businesses to obtain a government license before using the name of national icon Genghis Khan for commercial purposes. Already the legendary conqueror is featured on beer and vodka bottles, and the guardians of his memory fear the worst is yet to come. "We are not showing enough respect to Genghis Khan," one legislator explains. "If today somebody produces toilet paper with Genghis Khan's name, we do not know what to do about it, as currently there is no law to regulate this issue."

Kerry Howley has been tracking the commercialization of Khan and criticism of it for the last year or so.