According to a Member of the Kazakhstan Parliament, the document read:

Signed for the Republic of Belarus – Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, for the Republic of Kazakhstan – President of Kazakhstan Nursultan Nazarbayev, for the Russian Federation – President of Belarus Vladimir Putin

Given the tension between Russia and Belarus in recent years, one wonders if this was an honest mistake, a bit of satire, or a jab at both countries.

Those of us who live in Astana and have friends who work for the government will also suspect that the people who physically drafted, typed, printed and delivered these documents were forced to work overnight several nights in a row. So perhaps this is a call to ensure that the government gives its workers reasonable hours!

I certainly believe that people from Kazakhstan will do a lot to avoid paying taxes and also to avoid buying extra equipment to do things properly. I also know that a great number of people do drive to Europe, buy a car, bring it back and sell it. I have a hard time believing they pulled this off. And I also find it hard to believe we have such quality pictures of it, sitting in what looks like a nice little compound of some kind. I’m guessing this is not a picture taken by two guys who just bought a car at the auto-bazar, nor is it a shot taken by the police on the side of the road.

In any case, it’s a funny little story and if it is true, I’m afraid these two guys have no right to be annoyed by comparisons to Borat.

Asked of the enormity of the task at hand against Kazakhstan at Almaty, Jayasekera said that Sri Lanka would only stand a chance if they were to effectively address the shortcomings displayed against HK. The former Sri Lanka centre added that Sean Wijesingha’s side will have no alternative but to throw undermount kitchen sinks at Kazakhstan next week in an effort to register a rare win which would ensure their place in the top group in 2012, as they are not likely to prevail against Japan at Colombo on May 21.

Or maybe it’s the journalist who made up this phrasing since it isn’t a direct quote. Anyway Kazakhstan side, be careful of flying sinks and stoves and ovens and possibly blenders.

The matter is under investigation, but that won’t do much to instill public confidence in the police department.

from funnyism.com

Stumbled on this the other day. Not much to do with Kazakhstan, I suppose but it’s a very clever shot. Who knew Lenin liked basketball?

Click the image to see them in different colors, styles and of course to buy a lot of them!

Apparently a circus owner from Kostanai came to Karaganda to buy a lion for his circus. That’s not unusual; there’s a zoo in Karaganda. He picked him up in a Gazelle, which is a big moving van style truck. And the lion was locked in a cage in the back of the Gazelle. It’s kind of funny to find a lion inside a gazelle instead of the other way around, but that’s still not newsworthy. The circus owner came home with the lion late, which is also not interesting. Karaganda is a good drive away from Kostanai, so it might be expected that the driver wouldn’t be able to do it all in one day and get home for dinner time. Now dear reader, take a minute and think what you would do in this situation. You have a lion in the back of your truck and you come home late at night. Would you park the truck, leaving the lion in the back, and just go home?. Because that’s what happened. The lion was discovered the next day by another car owner who alerted the police. It is unclear whether the owner of the parking lot will be charged for the extra security.

Interestingly, a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Interior said, “The cage containing the predator was locked, and the lion was calm,” and there is no indication that the circus owner will face any kind of punishment. So I guess it’s not illegal to leave wild animals out all night unmonitored.

Perhaps if you want to pirate Ralph Lauren, not only the style and the logo, but also the photoshoots in advertisements, perhaps you could bother to make your website English. When I open a website in Turkish, chances are I’m not going to believe it’s actually a US made product, no matter how many times you say the word “US”.

Caveat emptor. US Polo Association has nothing to do with Polo by Ralph Lauren. Just so you know.