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
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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
Obama and Nazarbayev Did Discuss Zhovtis (Comments Off on Obama and Nazarbayev Did Discuss Zhovtis)
A more detailed look at the meeting between Obama and Nazarbayev from Joshua Kucera indicates that Obama did bring up Zhovtis and other human rights issues in some detail. And McFaul, Obama’s advisor on Eurasia and Russia on the National Security Councilapparently did not intend to indicate that Obama was overly soft on Kazakhstan and democratic freedoms.
Obama and Nazarbayev also discussed the case of Yevgeny Zhovtis, a Kazakhstan human rights activist who was sentenced to four years in prison for vehicular manslaughter after a controversial trial. “The presidents agreed that we need to try to find a creative solution to solve this very difficult issue,” McFaul said. “Many human rights organizations have raised this issue about the processes that were used to convict him. Let’s just leave it at that, the fact that both Presidents had a very frank discussion about this case.” [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].
McFaul raised eyebrows when he appeared to suggest that Obama had downplayed Kazakhstan’s spotty record on human rights and democracy. “Both Presidents agreed that it’s never — you don’t ever reach democracy, you always have to work at it. And in particular, President Obama reminded his Kazakh counterpart that we, too, are working to improve our democracy,” he said. Pressed on that statement later, McFaul denied that Obama was equating the United States with Kazakhstan. “There was no equivalence meant whatsoever,” he said.”
At the meeting, Kazakhstan also agreed to allow the US to use an air transport route over its territory and reassured the US that oil company contracts will not be rewritten.
Protest Over Slow Internet Cancelled (2)
Last I heard, the youth club Rukh Pen Til was ordered to cancel their rally [RUS] in Almaty to protest restrictions on the Internet in Kazakhstan. On Friday, this group met with the Vice Minister of Education and the Akim of Almaty to discuss issues related to students and also to inform the youth club that permission for their rally had been withdrawn. No reason was given, but presumably the recent events in Kyrgyzstan made people a little nervous.
There were rumors that the rally was going to go ahead anyway. Any news from Almaty? Anything happen?
Tweet (Comments Off on Tweet)
Heard KazTelecom doubled Internet rates. Wonder if KazTransCom did too. Seems a bit faster these days. But not much.
Propaganda (2)
They’ve done it before and they’ll do it again.
President Nazarbayev and President Obama both attended a nuclear summit this weekend and Nazarbayev managed to get some private time with Obama. Obviously this is a big chance for Kazakhstan to promote its “brand image” in the world and for the President to gain more popularity domestically. Kazakhstan is also pushing to be the home of the World Nuclear Bank and certainly US support could do a lot for them, if the project ever gets off the ground.
Amusingly, as Joshua Kucera twitted earlier today, the press release of the Kazakhstan Embassy said that Obama called Nazarbayev, ““one of the model leaders in the world.” However the full sentence was a little more qualified: “On non-proliferation and nuclear safety issues, President Obama praised Nazarbayev as really one of the model leaders in the world.”
It does appear that Obama was favorably inclined to Nazarbayev. There was apparently some fear on the Kazakh side that human rights issues and particularly the case of Evgenii Zhovtis would come up. So far all that seems to have been said is that:
…the two leaders had a “lengthy” and “frank” discussion on issues of democracy and human rights, Michael McFaul, Obama’s adviser for Russian and Eurasian affairs, told reporters on a conference call.
“Both presidents agreed that you don’t ever reach democracy, you always have to work at it,” McFaul said. “In particular, President Obama reminded his Kazakh counterpart that we too are working to improve our democracy.”
, according to Businessweek.
Kazakhstan Hosting Alien Embassy! Not! (4)
I am getting sick and tired of hearing about Kazakhstan and UFOs. I don’t mean stories that have some basis in fact which claim that something fell from the sky or something weird was seen (Like this one). Nor do I mean human interest stories about people who do believe in aliens and UFOs. I mean the stories that claim that Kazakhstan is a UFO center and in league with the Anti-Christ. These stories ultimately fall apart because they are based on misinformation, lies and jokes.
For example, the story that Kazakhstan is building the first alien embassy in the world, a story that appeared almost one year ago today. It is a lie. (more…)
Please, Sir Can I Have Some More Horse Fat? (Comments Off on Please, Sir Can I Have Some More Horse Fat?)
Chris Merriman prompted to me to write a quick note on Dom Joly’s take on horsemeat.
A while ago, I was at a formal celebration and they served beshbarmak made of horse meat, but not just horse meat: the big fatty chunks of horse meat. In fact there was very little actual meat on the plate. Of course as the guest from far away, I got a large chunk of pure fat while funnily enough the children were given scraps of pure meat. How I wished I was not an honored guest. I got a knife and started to cut the meat off the bone and I was cutting away as much fat as I possibly could. An older man who was sitting next to me and had sort of taken me under his wing, was sitting watching me and was trying so hard to contain himself, but he just couldn’t help muttering under his breath: “He’s cutting the fat? He shouldn’t cut off the fat. He doesn’t want it? He doesn’t want the fat? Maybe Americans don’t eat fat. He really should eat it.” I felt so bad, but I couldn’t bring myself to down the huge chunk of fat particularly as I had just been to the doctor recently and he had said I should watch my diet a bit.
So the moral of the story is when Kazakhs come to eat with Americans or Brits, they are probably saying to themselves, “Where’s the fat? This meat tastes like crap without fat.”
Tweet (Comments Off on Tweet)
Good Post on Negotiations Between Bakiyev and New Govt Check comments for links http://bit.ly/aMjh8C
Two Attacks on Journalists (Comments Off on Two Attacks on Journalists)
Another article that got lost in the to-post-on files: Two reporters Attacked.
Photo from Time.kz:http://www.time.kz/index.php?newsid=15327
Larra described the incident to Vremya:
It happened on the street, when I was almost entering the building…I was called by name. I answered them. Then he told me: “Greetings to you from Zhanaozen!” – And began to beat me. I can’t remember any special features of the attackers – it was dark. They tried to hit me on my head: I have a big bump on his forehead, black eyes, they got me in the nose a few times and split my lip. I passed out for sometime, and when I came to, they were already gone.
Larra was apparently an active member of the Azat opposition party. Earlier this year, Larra was detained by the police for attending an unsanctioned meeting of Azat.
The second story of a journalist attack took place on the 28th of March in court in Astana. Zhulduz Tuleova was attacked while covering the story of a forced eviction in Astana.
According to Reporters Without Borders and other coverage I have seen, Tulevoa, who works for TV station 31, heard that a decision had been made to evict a woman from her government sponsored apartment, apparently given to her as long as she worked for Parliament. Tuleova arrived to cover the story of the eviction and alleges that seven bailiffs from the Almaty regional court arrived and asked her for identification. When she produced her press license, one of the took it and left. They then accused her of not being a journalist at all, and forcibly removed her from the apartment–without allowing her to put her shoes back on–twisting her hands behind her back. The bailiffs also attempted to take the camera away from her cameraman, Baurzhan Smagulov. She claims that she was threatened with legal actions against her as well.
Apparently, a member of the local NGO “For Decent Housing” filmed the incident on his mobile phone.
Tweet (Comments Off on Tweet)
from @neweurasia “in Osh 7 people armed with guns got into car and asked him to take them to the governor’s office” http://bit.ly/cxaLLY
Sultankulov Arrested in UAE (Comments Off on Sultankulov Arrested in UAE)
Former Chairman of Alliance Bank, Erik Sultankulov, was arrested in the UAE today. His bank was bought out by the government last year amid rumors of its financial collapse.
Arrest warrants were issued for Sultankulov and his deputy Dauren Kereybayev last November amid accusations that the bank had hidden certain liabilities illegally. Arrest warrants were issued for both men on charges of embezelling 1.1 billion USD and concealing the deal. Both men accused each other and eventually fled the country.
Kereybayev is still at large.
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