So long as Kazakhstan insists on being a real nation with pride and dignity, rather than just embracing being solely the fanciful invention of Borat creator Sacha Baron Cohen, the former Soviet Republic continues to set itself up for embarrassing moments. For instance, the below incident involving a Kazakh athlete, whose recent victory at an international shooting competition in Kuwait was celebrated not with the expected, appropriate strains of her national anthem, but rather Borat’s “O Kazakhstan,” which trumpets the country’s superior potassium and clean prostitutes, yet is still not officially recognized by the Kazakh government. According to the BBC, the athlete’s coach immediately demanded an apology and a restaging of the medal ceremony, both of which he received, which was very niiiiiice. Get it? “Is niiiiiice. Like what Borat says! High five, coach!” is what we would have said were we the competition’s organizers and completely indifferent to his nation’s sense of honor.
Even worse, the gaffe came only a couple of weeks after the opening ceremonies of a Kazakhstan ski festival, where local officials again expecting to hear their national anthem were instead greeted by the opening strains of Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ La Vida Loca.” In summation, Kazakhstan is funny. [via The Daily What]