UTMC

This is just too good:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-17491344

You can't make it up. If this was a joke in a film, people would complain that no, this couldn't happen, the organizers of such an event would, surely, phone up the embassy and ask to borrow the CD, if they didn't require the team to bring a recording of their own to begin with. Preposterous! Couldn't happen!

Real life, you make the greatest comedy!

Check the video, it's just too much fun to watch her expression and try to find the moment when she decides that, no, this isn't right, I shouldn't be all ceremonial to this song...
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/B39cenrIQW0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Of course, the only way to top this, to put the cherry on top of it, would be if it turns out that someone hoaxed the BBC and they had played the correct anthem, after all...oh, please, make it happen...who speaks Kazakh and can check?

"Borrow the CD" ? This is XXIst century, they downloaded the mp3.
I don't know if it happened, but it could happen.

From another source:

"Kazakhstan's not having much luck with its national anthem lately: The blunder in Kuwait came days after a goof-up in northern Kazakhstan, where the Ricky Martin song Livin' la Vida Loca was accidentally played instead of the national anthem at the opening of a skiing festival."

http://www.theatlantic.com/internationa ... em/255028/

From my time in Kuwait, I'm not sure it was a mistake. They sometimes had a crazy "sense" of humor. Our job was to protect U.S. ships from USS Cole style attacks. Here's a couple of exchanges:

USN Flunky: Is that vessel cleared to enter the harbor.
Kuwaiti Port Controller: No, he is dangerous terrorist, shoot him.
USN: Are you serious?
KPC: (agitated) Yes, yes, shoot him now! Shoot him! HE IS TERRORIST!
USN: (on radio). KPA marks vessel blah blah as a hostile, proceed with escalation, do not let him enter the harbor.
KPC: SHOOT!!!!
USN: We have to follow our rules of engagement.
KPC: I was kidding, he is okay.

-----------------------------

Kuwait Port Authority Director: My friend, why do you not have any of your American military women come and work in the port control office.
Morale Hazard: Sir, our Commanding Officer's policy is to have only men work in the KPA office out of respect for your customs.
KPA: My friend, it is okay. We would love to have your American military women work with us. But no fat women. Tell me something my friend, why are your American military women so fat?
MH: uhhh.....
KPA: They are not fat on TV. In your show, JAG, they are not fat, send us some of those.
MH: Durka durka?

------------------------------

KPA controller surfing bestiality porn while on the job.
USN: What in God's name are you looking at?
KPA: Nothing, nothing.
USN: Aren't you afraid Allah will find out.
KPA: Allah doesn't see this.
USN: I thought Allah saw everything.
KPA: He does, but he doesn't see this.


True stories.

xtian wrote:"Borrow the CD" ? This is XXIst century, they downloaded the mp3.
I don't know if it happened, but it could happen.

It would be the embassy of a central-Asian former soviet republic so I guess CDs wouldn't be out of the question. Could be a USB stick, could be a file sent by email, whatever.
Just downloading it seems to be their problem.

@MH:
No offense meant, but with a foreign official telling a bunch of armed American soldiers protecting assets that there is the enemy, shoot him, I wouldn't have expected there to be any survivors.
It's nice to know you fellas aren't quite as trigger happy as, well, the news make you look.
Did they pull that one before?

MoraleHazard wrote:KPA: They are not fat on TV. In your show, JAG, they are not fat, send us some of those.
MH: Durka durka?

Thanks for the soda on my keyboard...

/RM

@MH:
No offense meant, but with a foreign official telling a bunch of armed American soldiers protecting assets that there is the enemy, shoot him, I wouldn't have expected there to be any survivors.
It's nice to know you fellas aren't quite as trigger happy as, well, the news make you look.
Did they pull that one before?

That was actually the first time. To the best of my recollection, the boat in question was a slow fishing dhow and it complied with the initial warnings to stop. Even if he didn't, he was going so slow, there would've been time to give him ample warnings to heave to. If it was a very high speed craft that looked out of place and we had only seconds to decide shoot or not, the outcome may have been different.

The director of the port authority was asked to not let it happen again.

ALLAH HU AKBAR! durka durka ...

Radio free europe reported on this too.

http://www.rferl.org/content/kazakhstan ... 25393.html

mocking someone who just won a shooting contest might be a bad idea.

MH, that is hilarious.

KPA: They are not fat on TV. In your show, JAG, they are not fat, send us some of those

THis is from my wife a few days ago...

My all-time favorite "NATO moment" yet: <In the PX my Czech coworker whispers to me> "there are a lot of American women who do not take care of themselves. American word for this is badonkadonk, no?"quote]