Nov 6, 2009

Nazarbaev's Roman Holiday


What happens when Nazarbaev makes a visit to Rome? Underpaid wire reporters have to start articles with:

“Italy's Silvio Berlusconi praised the virility of Kazakhstan's men during a visit to Rome by its president, Nursultan Nazarbaev… the 73-year-old Italian leader, who often boasts of his own virility and has been in trouble for hosting parties with prostitutes…”

Stay classy, Berlusconi.

Unfortunetly, Nazarbaev didn’t have time to share any of his own virility secrets. Instead, he left for a meeting with the Pope to showcase Kazakhstan as "an example of how [people] live together in peace and tolerance."

The Pope declined to offer his views on the out-migration of ethnic Russians, strict limits on political opposition, or tight controls on independent media inside Nazarbayev’s peaceful zen garden.