Kuwait has by far the best mobile system I have seen so far.

You buy a phone, any phone, all phones are opened and are not locked to any specific company. iPhone, Nokia, Samsung, Motorola, any brand...

You buy a phone number and a SIM card for around 6 dollars, you put it in the phone. You buy a calling card for the phone depending on how much you will use it, I buy a card for 6 dollars that lasts me for a month or more.

That's it. That's all you have to do. The phone cards are ridiculously ubiquitous so you never have issues running out of calling time. You get roaming from the get go, I called my dad from Uzbekistan and several times in Turkey, it ate through my credit but I could it easily without having a special plan or anything.

If you want mobile internet you can make a plan, but its relatively cheap and you get 7Mb speeds, its data capped though to punish folks torrenting off the connection. But it's usefulness in general is relatively limited in this nation.

The only faults I can mention is that international calling is ridiculously expensive, but then you can use Skype so its not really an issue.

Comparing this to my experience in Canada, where I was contractually locked to one single phone, if I broke the contract I had to pay a 250$ penalty, I could only use and upgrade to Motorola phones. If I wanted something better I have to buy the phone from the Phone company, and its locked so I can't use the same phone if I switched from Fido to Rogers Wireless. The plans were always metered in such a way that if am a middle range user am screwed, its too little alloted minutes or too many minutes and too damn expensive. I hated it so much that I smashed my phone 2 hours before flying out of Montreal.

It was cathartic.

Farhad for president of Uzbekistan in 2012. Seriously!
But make sure you're broadcasting live video feed to the internet 24/7 so that if there's trouble the world will see.

The best bet for changing the system from within is persuading the heir (maybe banging her too).

If neither of those works, it's going to be violent.

Farhad, do you really pay $37 for a lunch in Uzbekistan? I would have thought it would be cheaper there.

Where I am now, Uzbekistan, 1 US dollar = 1219 sum, all the prices are in the hundreds of thousands and the largest denomination is 1000 sum. Average bill for a good lunch is around 45,000 sum.

I walk with huge bundles of cash and every transaction entails several minutes counting cash, I have taken to making bundles of 5000, 10000 and 20000 just to make it easier for myself.

The banking system is underdeveloped so there is no ATMs or debit cards. I feel sorry for the folks buying cars, locally they cost around 14 million, which is most usually brought in huge duffel bags, like they are doing a drug transaction.

Its all an elaborate way of showing that there is less inflation then there actually is. But wow, the waitresses impress the shit out of me, some of them are like automatic cash counters in the sheer speed they count the cash.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'uzbek, hip hop, 90s, classic, catchy, sad, happy, song' to 'assholes uzbekistan, hip hop, 90s, classic, catchy, sad, happy, song' - edited by therealblankman

Breath, read my comment again. Relax.

I'll be the first to admit that Islam has issues especially in places like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan and fundamentalist elements within Pakistan. But we are talking about a fringe here that has come to represent the wider religion of Islam.

The problem is largely stemming from Saudi Arabia and lawless regional areas of Pakistan, which both construct and fund maddrassas preaching a ultra conservative, anti western Islamic subsect called Wahhabist Islam. This is all ties back to funding from Saudi Arabia, though for some odd reason no Western power ever criticizes its funding and application (OIL) this subset of Islam which created 11 of the 19 hijackers on 9/11 and continues to send soldiers into areas where 'Jihad' thrives be it Chechnya, Afghanistan or Iraq. The Saudi Royal family controls the masses through its oppressive religion that allows them to stay in power indefinitely, western powers are too afraid to question the de facto standard fearing economic effects with regards to oil. See how Washington took no stance on the recent abusive verdict of a Saudi woman who was gang raped and then punished herself for being with unrelated man at the time of the attack.

Islam is a religion with at war with itself, but it doesn't preach segregation or enslavement of women, thought control or violence but it is a religious movement that has been corrupted through political aspirations of those seeking power. The Islamic Caliphate at its height ruled from Spain to Iran, it mingled with other faiths and peoples, and did not impose its religion on those areas it claimed. Unfortunately moderate voices in Islam are hardly heard or ignored by the sensationalist media and figures like Pat Condell.

There is no separation between those that follow the faith according to the teachings and do so with respect to other gender and minorities such as Sunni Hanafism, Sufi Islam and Ismaeli movement. Indonesia, Turkey, Uzbekistan are just some of the Islamic states I can think of, they are not operating on that level you mention. Not to mention the large and growing Islamic communities in Canada and the USA.

Take for example those extremist elements in the UK preaching Sharia law acceptance and other restrictive practices, they are trying to create a social divide between those who are faithful and those they deem outside of Islam. By actually paying attention to them and reporting on it you are creating a self feeding cycle, because they can claim oppression, and build further divides between elements of society. But at the end of the day they are all immigrants living in a foreign land bound by the laws and regulations of that land, all coming there to lead a better life then the one they lead in their own nations. I believe they are hypocritical cunts personally that use the religion for their own ends.

The UK government is at fault here as well, they are being overly politically correct to a religious movement that should be treated as religion not some atomic bomb. Muslims follow the faith at their choice they shouldn't be treated any more special then Christians or Jews, bar preventing religious conflicts if targeted (this applies to all).

A recent Economist article looked at how Islam and immigration is being used by European politicians hoping to gain votes by inciting differences, especially when it comes to certain issues (eg Mosques being built). The benefits are easy to deduce, they benefit those extremists who can claim their religion is being attacked, and they benefit those hoping to garner votes and political power based on xenophobia and misunderstanding (see previous Swiss elections). In Germany, Netherlands and France the influx of immigrants from North Africa and the Middle East only aggravates the problem, cohesion into European society is hard for immigrants, and there aren't many institutions that deal with it. But I don't see Islam putting shackles on European society thats a bit silly and sensationalized.

I think the problem is a little more complex then just saying lets get rid of Islam tomorrow, forcing people down a certain path of action is just as bad as imposition of thought control. I think a dialog should be made, I think there needs to be understanding on both sides, between those who don't know the faith and those who follow it. I personally think Islam needs to comeback to tolerance and major reforms should take place. In the short term understanding will allow intermingling and eventual passive shifts in thought through being exposed to a free society, and higher education. Religion becomes a choice and or leads to atheism. However attacking the faith and citing it as being foolish or stupid or a bad idea is only going to create further divides.

FACT: 90% of Borat fans couldn't place Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan on a map to save their own lives.

Lets all remember who Scott Ritter is exactly, he was chief UN inspector for WMDs in Iraq, in March 2003 he said that the US case for invading Iraq based on WMD was bullshit, he was publically ridiculed and sidelined as Condi Rice declared that we shouldn't let the "smoking gun be a mushroom cloud".

And yes invading Iran would create a huge problem it would mean the US is implicit in Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, and undue support of Isreal in the oppression of Palestinan people. Already the invasion of two soverign states is a violation of UN charters on aggression and are considered war crimes by Nuremberg standards.

But somehow bombing civilians is far more legit then someone fighting the oppression of a imperalistic power. People should take their blinders off and realize that the War on Terror is simply the new logic of the Cold War fighting communism applied in a new context in order for the US to project power and influence, first how does on fight a tactic? Second how many states were invaded or destabalized during the 60s, 70s and 80s in the fight against the red menace (guatemala, chile, bolivia and so many others)? How many inhumane states are supported now in their regimes if they are against terrorism (egypt, jordan, uzbekistan and many others)?

Same in Uzbekistan.

LOL

Happy New Year belated from Uzbekistan

"Our country's unity is stronger than nuclear weapons, therefore, we are not afraid."

Therefore, we are husks.

For the sake of a future, we really need to keep Il in his place, or kill the bastard-it is unfortunate that so many lives be caught in the middle-so many are hopelessly lost daily to the fucker-Too bad, Iran's got one too-and Sudan, and Burma, and Zimbabwe, and Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Saudi Arabia, E. Guinea.....assholes never die completely out-

The intelligence attained from the dictaorship of Islam Karimov has been proven by the Joint Terrorism Analysis Center (JTAC) to be false, exaggerated and attained under tortue to further US and Uzbekistan relations for financial aid purposes.

Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Am from Uzbekistan. This is all because of the fucking goverment that is just raping my nation over and over again, the whole thing is mafia from the soviet times. Across the border Kazakhstan is booming economically while our goverment seeks only to oppress the people and media.

They just shot up civilians protesting ridiculous goverment taxes and actions mercilessly, and then turned around and said it was terrorists... Everyone in the world turned a blind eye because of The Global War on Terror. Uzbekistan kicked the US forces out, and got all cushy with Putin. Even if the western countries embargo cotton from Uzbekistan, all that will do is drive Uzbekistan into the arms of Russia even more, who are looking to strike pipeline deals for our natural gas reservoirs.

I wish I could just assassinate the entire fucking cabinet and hang the president because they have been committing crimes against our own people ever since we gained 'independence', its such a facade and it makes me sick.

More thought-provoking than I would have guessed.

Led me to google uzbekistan bottle torture.