1. You should never include a link that contradicts your post :)

"There is a rumour that Mahir may have been among the inspirations for British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen to create the character Borat Sagdiyev[...] However, the Character "Borat" has been in development since 1995, 4 years before Mahir's page was online. Sacha Cohen has said himself that it was based on a Russian doctor."

Posted at 6:24PM on Oct 25th 2006 by Andrew Grant

2. Ha, I remember Mahir. Used to use his website to teach my web design guys ;)

Posted at 8:37PM on Oct 27th 2006 by Victor Agreda Jr

3. On a similar note, I wonder if Ali G (another of Cohen's characters, not to be confused with Sasha Cohen the figure skater) is based on Armand van Helden, the dance music producer: they look eerily similar.

Posted at 12:02PM on Oct 31st 2006 by Torley