KZBlog is going down (2)
After some thought, I have decided not to renew KZBLog’s lease. As you may have noticed, I don’t do a lot of posting here anymore. I don’t have time to blog regularly. Thus I am taking the site down–it does generate some ad revenue but not as much as it costs to keep it up. […]
Culture
- Yurts Are High Fashion and Slum Fashion Too
2011-12-05 - Apples, Sure. But THC is from Kazakhstan too?
2011-10-05 - Naked Man Pot
2011-09-23
- Yurts Are High Fashion and Slum Fashion Too
Resources
- Oh, CNN
2012-07-21 - What Do You Know About Kazakhstan?
2012-07-19 - Books for Kazakh Students
2011-11-06
- Oh, CNN
Politics
- Image
2011-07-28 - Sub Rosa Endorsement
2011-07-26 - The Naked Truth
2011-06-12
- Image
News
- KZBlog is going down
2013-09-10 - Oh, CNN
2012-07-21 - Repentence
2012-07-15
- KZBlog is going down
Fun
- What Do You Know About Kazakhstan?
2012-07-19 - Yurts Are High Fashion and Slum Fashion Too
2011-12-05 - House Hunters Bishkek
2011-12-02
- What Do You Know About Kazakhstan?
Tourism
- Asian Games Torch
2011-01-12 - Wikitravel
2010-08-07 - ALZHIR, the Soviets and Democracy
2010-07-30
- Asian Games Torch
Life in KZ
- Photo Gallery: Almaty Subway
2011-12-07 - Healthcare and the Private Sector
2011-11-30 - Naked Man Pot
2011-09-23
- Photo Gallery: Almaty Subway
Redbubble
Another Huffington Post Controversy (Comments Off on Another Huffington Post Controversy)
The Kazakhstan Embassy has seen fit to respond to an article on Huffington post giving Kazakhstan a low midterm grade for its OSCE Chairmanship.
Mr. Ardaq Adilet made a number of comments criticizing the article and these have been complied into a special report sent out by the Kazakhstan Embassy to the US. I always have trouble finding where they post the Embassy newsletter online but the text is basically the same as in Ardaq’s comments on the Huffington post article.
Interestingly at the same time, I discovered this press release from the Parliamentary Assembly of the OSCE about Zhovtis stating that:
In his report to Joao Soares, the President of the OSCE Parliamentary, Mr. Mecacci, the Assembly’s rapporteur on human dimension issues, also said that this case raises serious questions about the respect for the individual to receive a fair trial in Kazakhstan. Mr. Zhovtis has been subjected too long to a sentence he does not deserve, he reported, adding that the Kazakh OSCE Chairmanship has a special responsibility, like all previous OSCE chairs, to make sure that the OSCE commitments in the field of human dimension are respected….Mr. Mecacci also expressed his disappointment that the press release issued immediately after last week’s visit was not published on the OSCE website on instructions from the Kazakh Chairmanship.
So that is one point that cannot be denied easily. Kazakhstan did try to block the report from the website, and rather than explain why, they seem to be putting out reports that say, “Well it ended up on the website anyway so why are you bothering us about it?”
Ask Not What the World Has Done for Kazakhstan (Comments Off on Ask Not What the World Has Done for Kazakhstan)
But what Kazakhstan has done for the world. My wife bought the latest issue of Cosmopolitan and I was amused by a poll asking what is the best thing that Kazakhstan has given to the world. No idea if the answers were provided by Cosmo or if people could write in whatever they wanted but just for fun, here are the answers:
27% said Baikonour space station
17% said me (not me of course)
13% said Timur Bekmambetov (which would have been my answer out of the choices given here)
10% said the Golden Man
10% said Beshbarmak (not a bad choice either)
8% said A Studio (which I can’t agree with–more pop music in the world is not a gift)
8% said beautiful mulattoes (which is the weirdest answer here and leads me to believe that many people who answered this quiz were not from Kazakhstan. Who thinks, “My people are beautiful. But only when mixed with another race).
7% said the tradition of bride prices (Again, seriously? Obviously this 7% was men or mothers who are about to marry off their daughters and are behind on their rent payments)
So there you have it. What do you think, dear readers, what is the best thing Kazakhstan has given the world. Like I said, from the choice above I’d say Timur Bekmambetov who really is a unique and interesting director. But overall I’d say the yurt: keeps cool in the summer and warm in the winter and very low tech. How cool is that?
Interesting throwaways in ther… (Comments Off on Interesting throwaways in ther…)
Interesting throwaways in there like kids under 18 must follow family religion http://huff.to/cnkQDn @joshuakucera:
Freestailo Lives (2)
Thanks to J’s comment on an earlier post for this update on who freestailo is:
According to this YouTube Video:
His name is Ernar Kaldynov, was born in Karoi, small village in Western Kazakhstan.
in 2007 he took part as singer with dombra(Kazakh National Instrument) in SuperStar.KZ show (Kazakh version of American Idol), but did not progressed (sic) to the final stage. However he became popular after the video of his performance was posted on YouTube and millions of users became his fans.
He currently performs as a sole(sic) artist of an orchestra in a small town Kalbatau.
Ernar is married and is going to be a father of his first son in May 2010.
This video was recorded by local journalist from regional newspaper in Kazakhstan
And this entry on Youtube with the same video adds some details and gives a link to the interview:
Having done with a casting on teleproject “superstar” (Pop Idol in Kazakhstan) he returned back to his city Oskemen.. Later on when his videos began to roll wave on the youtube domestic producers became interested in him. He was found through local forum of his city where was written about him. Now he sings to reporters of this resource.
Ernar Kaldynov originally from village Karoy of Tarbagatay District, a graduate of the regional boarding school named after Zhambyl. Married in 2009, has a child and works in the district House of Culture as a soloist of Kazakh instruments.
They also link to an interview with him from the local Ust-Kammengorsk paper: http://yk.kz/news/show/6737
In any case here it is, Freestailo 2010:
So he is still alive, still making music, aware of his fame, and he is going to be a father soon. Congratulations Ernar and please make a techno-dombro album soon! Although if the interview is any indication, he seems content working for the local orchestra and doesn’t have any plans for a more ambitious career. Which is too bad. As one commenter on YouTube said, “I’ll gladly trade Lady Gaga for Ernar.”
I’m Smelling Your Soul (2)
Put this post on the list of interesting aspects of Kazakh culture I’ve meant to post about but never gotten around to.
I remember when I first arrived in Kazakhstan being very surprised to occasionally see adults sniffing their children. I remember seeing a grandfather lean down to his 5 year-old grandson put his nose close to his forehead and inhale quickly before moving his head away, much as you might kiss a child on the forehead. When I asked about it, I was told that it was a widespread habit and no one really knew why, just a tradition. One person told me that they felt that kissing small girls was okay but it was better to sniff small boys, that it was more masculine than being kissed. And the gesture is not limited only to children. It wouldn’t be uncommon for parents to sniff their older children or for lovers to sniff each other.
Interestingly, this comes up in The Secret History of the Mongols, an account of the life of Chinghis Khan allegedly written by a contemporary, possibly a close family member or member of the court. In section 55, when the mother of Chinghis Khan is about to be stolen from her husband by Tatars, she gives her blouse to her husband and says he can keep her smell. According to Jack Weatherford in Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World where he comments on this action, the Mongols believed that the smell of a person was a part of their soul. So sniffing a person was like feeling their soul, a deeply intimate gesture.
Personally I’ve grown to sort of like the idea of smelling as an alternative to kissing or hugging, not that it can’t be done in conjunction with hugging or kissing. Presuming the person has bathed recently!
OSCE Visits Zhovtis; Kazakhstan Disobeyed (2)
Eurasianet reports that an OSCE representative (Matteo Mecacci, senior member of the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly’s Committee on Human Rights) went to see Yevgeniy Zhovtis, a human rights leader and head of the Bota NGO who was imprisoned earlier this year for vehicular manslaughter. Many have protested the government’s handling of the case, claiming that Zhovtis was targeted because of his work on human rights.
While the Astana office of the OSCE and the Kazakhstani authorities made the visit possible, the chair of the OSCE ordered the press office not to publish the report on the visit on the OSCE website. However, the Parlimentary Assembly ignored that order. Eurasianet has the full text or you can see it on the OSCE PA’s website itself. Whether this is the full report or not, I have no way of knowing.
If this is the full report, it doesn’t strike me as particularly damning. Mecacci writes that Zhovtis is fine but had hoped the Supreme Court would hear his appeal. The report speculates that especially with the “Leader of the Nation” law being under consideration in Kazakhstan, that the chairman and all OSCE states should reaffirm their belief in the rule of law. However that statement, while unflattering, is not based on any evidence of wrong doing or something Zhovtis said. It’s a statement of opinion. So I’m not clear on why Kazakshtan wanted to block this short and rather speculative report.
Another blog OSCE Unbound has also picked up on the story and gives more details about Kazakhstan’s order to keep Mecacci’s report off the website. The author, Catherine Fitzpatrick, notes that relations between the Chairmanship and the Parliamentary Assembly are not always perfect. She also asks the big question that needs to be asked: What else is being blocked?
Meant to say: good post from a… (Comments Off on Meant to say: good post from a…)
Meant to say: good post from a PCV about manners in KZ and the US and slurping soup vs. putting dishes down heavily: http://bit.ly/9RDQyZ
So much for recommending Aktau… (3)
So much for recommending Aktau as a great tourist site. Swim in the Caspian Sea, maybe turn green! http://bit.ly/cexGTy
RT @EurasiaNet: Under [Water] … (Comments Off on RT @EurasiaNet: Under [Water] …)
RT @EurasiaNet: Under [Water] Pressure, #Kazakhstan Reopens #Kyrgyzstan Border http://bit.ly/cSfxg5
Journalism is Dead (2)
This article is exactly why a lot of journalism in Kazakhstan is awful, particularly official sources. The article reads in total:
High-level OSCE conference in Astana to focus on tolerance and non-discrimination
Senior government officials, politicians and public figures from the 56 OSCE participating States will meet in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana on 29 and 30 June to discuss tolerance and non-discrimination in the OSCE region.
There is absolutely nothing here interesting for the reader and a complete absence of any useful details. In what way will it focus on tolerance? What proposals will be discussed? Who is coming? What problems are there with these issues? Why is this an important issue? Is this Astana’s idea or is this something that was scheduled before Kazakhstan took over the chair of the OSCE? What do experts have to say on this issue?
I bring this up because so much journalism in Kazakhstan is devoid of any kind of information, particularly official statements. We hear what happened but never why or what effect it will have or how people feel about it. Or why we should care about it. Complicated legal measures are not explained so that normal people can understand them. Complicated issues are rarely summarized and the history of events are never given. In fact, I can’t even call the above article journalism. It’s really just a press release.
The problem is that people absorb this kind of article and take it as a model of good journalism when in fact this is what journalists (and bloggers) should not do. The problem in Kazakhstan isn’t so much freedom of the press as having a press that thinks about its readers and digs into stories.
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