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Stupid driver or attempted murder? - “he was probably trying to run over that obnoxious squawking bird he seemed to have pinned down” read more by rottenseed
Stupid driver or attempted murder? - “he was probably trying to run over that obnoxious squawking bird he seemed to have pinned down” read more by rottenseed
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Member Since: 2006-08-23
Favorite Sift: Hardest Video Game Ever?
Last Power Points used: never • Available: now
Max Power Points: 1
Favorite Sift: Hardest Video Game Ever?
Last Power Points used: never • Available: now
Max Power Points: 1
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Member Stats
Rank: 264
Rating:
16 star points
Votes Received: 464
Votes Cast: 845
Comments Posted: 475 • browse
Sifted Videos: 15
Sift Talk Posts: -1
Dead Pool Fixes: 1
Profile Views: 8439
Rating:
16 star pointsVotes Received: 464
Votes Cast: 845
Comments Posted: 475 • browse
Sifted Videos: 15
Sift Talk Posts: -1
Dead Pool Fixes: 1
Profile Views: 8439
Member's Highest Rated Videos
In reply to this comment by messenger:
These people don't have the worst lot in life, and none of them are complaining. They've been invited to talk about their reality. This angle is something most people haven't thought about. And any art that makes your mind move in a different way is worth making.
In reply to this comment by messenger:
Let's just say I didn't last the full 7 minutes of my song.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/oldboy/news/1648167/
In reply to this comment by messenger:
Oh, please God, don't let Americans remake this movie, oh please, oh please, God, I'm begging you...
What's going on in Chechnya and other provinces of Russia is a necessary evil. You may argue that Russia doesn't have to resolve to torture and oppression. But how else would you fight against a militarily active independence movement that outright refuses to abide by Russian rules? If they don't want to play by the rules, then the rules don't apply to them either.
You may say this is cruel, but we had a similar history of our own. We had Confederate States of America declaring independence, forcing USA to declare war, killing total 3% of United States population. These guys wanted to secede from United States and wanted to keep slavery (violation of human rights). It came from a very distinct political stance and desire to protect local economy (also influence of Texas, who wanted a country of their own as well), as seeing end of slavery would mean collapse of already dwindling southern economy.
You could argue that United States would've been better off granting independence to CSA without a declaring war. Well then I don't see why US should keep Texas or California or New Mexico or Vermont. And with CSA continuing to have slave trade, and Texas continuing to raid local Indian settlements to gain territory?
Would we have been better off as a divided nation? That is a very serious question.
In reply to this comment by messenger:
More civic power in certain culturally different areas of a country leads to demands for rights and independence, which either leads to actual independence, or to violent oppression. In these cases, it was violent oppression, and that's what I don't like. When I say that it's human rights violations that are holding those two countries together, I mean that human rights violations are forcing Chechnya and Taiwan to remain part of the country, not that the whole country would fall apart.
1. Russia actually DO want Putin to stay in power. Despite what Kasparov says there, the general Russian public does have a strong support for Putin. Especially young Russians support Putin with much optimism and vigor.
2. If released Chechnya, other states with private militaries would start demanding the same thing. Many of them being remnants of instability since the collapse of USSR. So even though Chechnya alone does have a legitimate cause to demand independence, Russia just cannot afford to show signs of 'giving up' at this time.
Once things have settled down, they may give it another chance.
3. Improved human rights treatment can be achieved without having to make a democratic nation. People usually confuse democracy automatically resulting to better humans rights and civic power. It's actually the opposite. More civic power means more demands for civilian rights, and civilian rights leads to democracy.
Human rights violations result from power struggles (government instability) and lack of civil power. Once government stabilizes and economy goes up, these things will take care of themselves.
In reply to this comment by messenger:
@legacy:
You have said several times that you democracy can't be forced on a people who aren't ready for it. I fully agree with the principle and your examples. But I don't see how that sentiment applies here. What country is being considered for "forceful" democratization? Nobody's talking about going to war to make China and Russia democratic. We're talking about nations that are clamoring for freedom and being militarily repressed. As I said above, if Russia and China stopped their human rights violations, Tibet, Taiwan, Burma and Chechnya would be free, and soon democratic. Heck, Taiwan already is democratic, but not freely so. China and Russia would be imperceptibly smaller, and free to continue on as the dictatorships they are now, without having any democracy "forced" on them.
And I was wrong about it being 7 some odd years. It's more like 3 some odd years. My friend confirmed it. I thought the movie OldBoy was a recent release (2006), but turns out it was made in 2003. So it checks out!
You were right all along!
A foreigner outsmarting me in my own heritage... I dishonor my fellow Asians
In reply to this comment by messenger:
와! That's hilarious. I just figured it was a scan from the graphic novel, if there ever was one. Scruffy, unshaven, wild hair, manic look, grinning wildly while holding the 만두 in front of his face before eating it... there was no doubt in my mind. Love that movie.
It resembles my personal image as an unkempt scruffy Asian with a softspot for food
I guess all Asians DO look alike
In reply to this comment by messenger:
Your avatar, I think, is 오대수, the lead character in the Korean movie Oldboy. In that picture, he's eating dragon 만두. It's a freaky movie, if you haven't seen it.
oh-dae-su (오대수)? Sounds like a typical Korean man's name.
dragon dumplings (만두)?
In reply to this comment by messenger:
만나서 반갑습니다~~
오대수 아저씨는 제얘기들을 좋아해서 너무 좋겠어요~~
Did that make sense? Anyway, glad you liked the stories. Enjoy your Dragon 만두.
Thank you for making my day
And having been an ESL student myself (I'm Korean, what a coincidence! Say 'Ahnn-Nyung' to your student for me
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and your stories
In reply to this comment by messenger:
I teach ESL, and this essay isn't funny. However, this story, which a little Korean girl turned into me when I was her teacher, is quite funny, and this one, written by another little Korean girl about her teacher who likes Coca-Cola, is even funnier.
Now on the to the tragic stuff.
If English isn't your first language, to get into an English-speaking university, you need to pass an English proficiency test, like TOEFL or IELS. What this video really mocks is not this student, but these tests. They don't actually establish how well you can communicate in English. They only test how well trained you are to write that particular test. For instance, students can search for patterns in spelling so they can deduce the right answer without even knowing why it's correct. There are intensive courses designed to train students in these simple tricks without improving their English skills at all. Most ESL students take a course like this before attempting the test. That's obviously how this student got through.
Don't blame the student for being accepted, trying hard, submitting drafts to be corrected, and doing the honest thing by not paying a native speaker to rewrite the essay, which is how most people in this situation get through. This student did everything right, and does not deserve to be mocked. It's tragic he/she wasted all that time and money because the entrance qualifications weren't well-designed enough. What's worse is that the instructor permitted this student's essay to be scanned and distributed for ridicule.
In reply to this comment by messenger:
A Colbert/Daily Show sift that doesn't get voted straight to the top 15?
I think it's one of the signs of the apocalypse.
Maybe it's because he seriously dissed Stewart at the end.
In reply to this comment by messenger:
Thanks for the save, dude. Let's see how well it does...
In reply to this comment by Krupo:
*save this vid from *Canada ... does TV reporting qualify as *1sttube?