LITTLE ROCK — Kazakhs not singing spoof song
Sacha Baron Cohen’s Borat character has sparked a diplomatic row after his spoof version of the Kazakhstan anthem was played instead of the real one at a medal ceremony.
Mariya Dmitriyenko won a gold medal in the 75 target event at the 10th Arab Shooting Championship in Kuwait, when the offending anthem was played. Instead of hearing “My Kazakhstan,” she was forced to endure a song that mocked her country.
Other Kazakh athletes immediately demanded that organizers turn the song off, only to be told that was the music authorities had provided, according to Radio Free Europe.
The Kazakh team requested an apology from the organizers and the medal ceremony was subsequently re-run.
Foreign Ministry spokesmanIlyas Omarov told the ITAR-Tass news agency the incident “is, of course, a scandal and demands a thorough investigation, which we intend to conduct.”
The song came from the 2006film Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, which caused widespread outrage in Kazakhstan for its unflattering portrayal of life in the country.
The spoof song praises Kazakhstan for its superior potassium exports and for having the cleanest prostitutes in the region.
Kazakhstan experienced a similar gaffe on its own soil back in March, according to RT.com.
Organizers of a domestic skiing festival played Ricky Martin’s “Livin’ la Vida Loca” instead of the Kazakh national anthem.
Injury-prone
Televangelist Pat Robertson is apparently no big fan of the Denver Broncos.
Speaking last week on The 700 Club Robertson recited former Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow’s accolades from the 2011 season and wondered whether theBroncos were tempting fate by trading the overtly devout Tebowto the New York Jets.
“And you just ask yourself,” Robertson said, “OK, so Peyton Manning was a tremendous MVP quarterback, but he’s been injured. If that injury comes back, Denver will find itself without a quarterback. And in my opinion, it would serve them right.”
No word on whether Robertson has placed a bounty on Manning.
Unstoppable
The Miami Heat’s Dexter Pittman isn’t worried when teammate LeBron James takes a hard spill.
“The guy is like the Terminator, he bounces back up,” Pittman told Fox Sports. “He’s like this creepy, scary guy in a movie whenever he gets knocked around. I knew he was going to get up.”
“You can’t kill him.” A secret service
ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, on President Obama’s NCAA Tournament bracket at ESPN.
com ranking in the top 2 percent entering the Sweet 16: “I guess it helps when you can send the CIA in to scout the teams.”Quote of the day “If you’re in the lead,
you’ve done some good things. That’s how I’ve always looked at it.” Tiger Woods, who has a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Arnold Palmer Invitational
Sports, Pages 22 on 03/25/2012