Obvious Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Bush to hold talks on Ali G creator after diplomatic row Last updated at 16:11pm on 12th September 2006 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=404852&in_page_id=1770 US President George Bush is to host White House talks on British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Cohen, 35, creator of Ali G, has infuriated the Kazakhstan government with his portrayal of Borat, a bumbling Kazakh TV presenter. And now a movie of Borat's adventures in the US has caused a diplomatic incident. The opening scene, which shows Borat lustily kissing his sister goodbye and setting off for America in a car pulled by a horse, had audiences in stitches when it was first shown last week. But the film, which has just premiered at the Toronto Film Festival, has prompted a swift reaction from the Kazakhstan government, which is launching a PR blitz in the States. Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev is to fly to the US to meet President Bush in the coming weeks and on the agenda will be his country's image. President Nazarbayev has confirmed his government will buy "educational" TV spots and print advertisements about the "real Kazakhstan" in a bid to save the country's reputation before the film is released in the US in November. President Nazarbayev will visit the White House and the Bush family compound in Maine when he flies in for talks that will include the fictional character Borat. But a spokesman for the Kazakhstan Embassy says it is unlikely that President Nazarbayev will find the film funny. Roman Vassilenko said: "The Government has expressed its displeasure about Borat's representation of our country. "Our opinion of the character has not changed. "We understand that the film exposes the hypocrisy that exists both here in the USA and in the UK and understand that Mr Cohen has a right to freedom of speech. "Nursultan Nazarbayev has taken Mr Bush up on an invitation to visit this country to help build our relationship with the USA. "I cannot speak for the president himself, only for the government, but I certainly don't think President Nazarbayev and Mr Bush will share a joke about the film. "The bottom line is we want people to know that he does not represent the true people of Kazakhstan." The Kazakh government has previously threatened Baron-Cohen with legal action, for allowing Borat to, among other things, make fun of his homeland, demean women, slander gypsies and urge listeners to "Throw the Jew Down the Well." Anti-Borat hard-liners have pulled the plug on borat.kz, Borat's Kazakhstan-based Website after his frequent displays of anti-Semitism and his portrayal of Kazakh culture. Nurlan Isin, President of the Association of Kazakh IT Companies took the action after complaints. He said: "We've done this so he can't badmouth Kazakhstan under the .kz domain name. "He can go and do whatever he wants at other domains." The row originally erupted in November 2005, following Borat's hosting of the MTV Europe Music Awards in Lisbon. The Kazakh Foreign Ministry was furious over Cohen's bad taste representation of the nation. 'No such thing as bad publicity' Foreign Ministry spokesman Yerzhan Ashykbayev told a news conference: "We view Mr. Cohen's behaviour at the MTV Europe Music Awards as utterly unacceptable, being a concoction of bad taste and ill manners which is completely incompatible with the ethics and civilized behaviour of Kazakhstan's people. "We reserve the right to any legal action to prevent new pranks of the kind." Baron Cohen responded to Ashykbayev in character by posting a video on the Official Borat website. In the video, Borat said, "In response to Mr. Ashykbayev's comments, I'd like to state I have no connection with Mr. Cohen and fully support my Government's decision to sue this Jew. "Since the 2003 Tuleyakiv reforms, Kazakhstan is as civilized as any other country in the world. "Women can now travel on inside of bus, homosexuals no longer have to wear blue hats, and age of consent has been raised to eight years old." His blatant outpouring then prompted the Kazakh government to hire two public relations firms to counter the claims, and ran a four-page advertisement in The New York Times. The ad carried testimonials about the nation's democracy, education system and the power and influence enjoyed by women. News of President Nazarbayev's upcoming visit has prompted experts to study the character's impact on US culture. Sean R. Roberts, Central Asian Affairs Fellow at Georgetown University, has been studying the phenomenon. He said: "I have found that more Americans are aware of Kazakhstan than four years ago when I last lived in the United States. "The increased knowledge of Kazakhstan, however, is not due to the country's economic successes or its role as a U.S. ally in the war on terror. "Instead, most Americans who have heard of Kazakhstan have heard of it through a satire of a Kazakh journalist named Borat. "Borat certainly does not promote an image of Kazakhstan that is in sync with that which the government and its leader would like to promote abroad. "As the old adage goes, however, 'there is no such thing as bad publicity.' "If that is true, Borat is bringing much more publicity to Kazakhstan." Cohen's representatives refused to allow him or his alter ego to respond to the controversy because it's not close enough to the film's release date. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abracadabra Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 but sacha baron cohen is english. what does this have to do with george bush? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gat Bush Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 RESPECT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
makeithappennn Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 borat wasnt at scribble jam this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iloveboxcars Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 wow. seriously? how shitty does your country have to be to fly to another country and complain about a comedy act? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Obvious Posted September 13, 2006 Author Share Posted September 13, 2006 but sacha baron cohen is english. what does this have to do with george bush? i think it's because of his new movie coming out in america... all of it which takes place in the u.s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfffffffffft Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 UHH DOO YOU LIKE SEX? MY WIFE IS DEAD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreatGatsby Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 thier national sport involves playing something similar to polo using a dead goat as the ball Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnny ballbags Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 cowboy!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mr.yuck Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 wow. seriously? how shitty does your country have to be to fly to another country and complain about a comedy act? right! Thats all i kept thinking while reading this entire thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest R@ndomH3ro Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 They like to shoot dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WrIot Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 BRAP!! BRRRRRRAAP!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BRUCE LEROY Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 wow im really glad this is what our president is worrying about right now... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonysoprano Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 homosexuals no longer have to wear blue hats - ha ha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Tonin Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 after seeing the trailer a few months ago i cant wait for this to come out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soupBDC Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 ^^^ Hah. I bet you are, you homo. I would like to hear kazakhstan's PR team's prediction of what may come from Americans relating Borat to their country. Fuck, people relate George Bush to ours and you don't see us crying.. much. If anyone needs a PR lift is the U.S. not a fucking country generalized to be a bunch of Borats. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CALIgula Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madsencarl Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 i have that gif, but without the watermark. which means that site just ripped it and tagged it. what would be funny if the educational videos that the kazzy government are putting out turn out to be exactly the same as borat... and yeh, why is he flying to the u.s.?` Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LIVERWURST* Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 In the video, Borat said, "In response to Mr. Ashykbayev's comments, I'd like to state I have no connection with Mr. Cohen and fully support my Government's decision to sue this Jew. ... "Women can now travel on inside of bus, homosexuals no longer have to wear blue hats, and age of consent has been raised to eight years old." This had me laughing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shitting Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 President Nazarbayev has confirmed his government will buy "educational" TV spots and print advertisements about the "real Kazakhstan" in a bid to save the country's reputation before the film is released in the US in November. Shouldn't they be buying grain or something ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Poop Man Bob Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 i have that gif, but without the watermark. which means that site just ripped it and tagged it. can you post it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Tonin Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 ^^^ Hah. I bet you are, you homo. yeah my screenname obviously hints that im of a male gender. :rolleyes: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarah Tonin Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 can you post it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
potholder Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 n/m... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CALIgula Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 i have that gif, but without the watermark. which means that site just ripped it and tagged it. lol.....i have it too....but was too lazy to upload it to photobucket and then post it.....hot-linkin pics is quicker.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CALIgula Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 can you post it? here ya go... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Stevens Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 age of consent has been raised to eight years old sick! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MAR Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 haha the article complains of anti-semitism and sexism in addition to slander of kazakstan, clearly those who are complaining do not understand the brilliance of his comedy. and you know bush has all the dvds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RumPuncher Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 get this..... My buddy scored tickets to see it at the toronto film fest, and he says it's the funniest thing he's ever seen. It's so outrageous that he thinks it will get banned right away. Plus 'Borat' showed up to the premiere on a cart pulled by peasant women with a donkey in the back. The projector broke, and Michael Moore was in the audience, so 'Borat' and Michael Moore entertained while they tried to fix it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Some1 Posted September 14, 2006 Share Posted September 14, 2006 haha the article complains of anti-semitism and sexism in addition to slander of kazakstan, clearly those who are complaining do not understand the brilliance of his comedy. and you know bush has all the dvds. I bet he laughs at all the wrong times... ( I had a roomate from guatamala who did this when we would watch Ali G. It was really uncomfortable...) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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