>> ^dag:

I've spent a couple months in Thailand- and have friends in Bangkok. It's really disheartening to see this kind of strife happening. It's a place where Buddhist monks in saffron robes are walking down almost very street- lots of smiles and laughter.
I know they're only human and capable of the worst like all of is- but nationally I never thought they had this in them.


I didn't think the Greeks where modernly capable of the row either.

This sort of thing is common in the US, only they call it a riot or a street gang. Of course I'm speaking of Rodney King, or all the other riots.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_riots

I don't know much about Australia, but I would assume that the Aborigine have seen their fair share too. (http://www.australian-news.net/Redfern_riots.htm)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Riots_in_Australia

Riots, revolts, from my arm chair they all look the same; however I have the cognitive power to know that is not true in many places. People have grievances, they should be aired or they end up like this video.

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

I've spent a couple months in Thailand- and have friends in Bangkok. It's really disheartening to see this kind of strife happening. It's a place where Buddhist monks in saffron robes are walking down almost very street- lots of smiles and laughter.

I know they're only human and capable of the worst like all of is- but nationally I never thought they had this in them.

>> ^kronosposeidon:

He's constantly sarcastically labeling Islam as the "religion of peace." And you know what? It ain't a religion of peace. (GASP!) But neither is Christianity. Nor Judaism. Nor Hinduism. Nor even freaking Buddhism, if you can believe that. They all have lovey-dovey peacey-huggy teachings, but they also aren't afraid to pick up the sword whenever they deem it necessary for whatever god-awful reason. So why is he singling out Islam?


Maybe you should watch his other videos. He is singling out Islam lately because of the Southpark vs Islam thing but historically he has been a lot more anti-religion in general and more specifically anti-fundamentalist Christian.

Maybe hold back on those attacks until you've done some research.

At 0:31 he says, "Although many* Muslims struggle, I mean really struggle with this new-fangled technology of making fire." It doesn't sound like he's differentiating between flag-burning Muslims and the rest of them. He's casting a blanket assertion that most Muslims are so retarded that they can't even make fire.

But it's more than just that. He's constantly sarcastically labeling Islam as the "religion of peace." And you know what? It ain't a religion of peace. (GASP!) But neither is Christianity. Nor Judaism. Nor Hinduism. Nor even freaking Buddhism, if you can believe that. They all have lovey-dovey peacey-huggy teachings, but they also aren't afraid to pick up the sword whenever they deem it necessary for whatever god-awful reason. So why is he singling out Islam? Because he's a bigot? Yes, most definitely.

And that's why I'm sick of this guy. Fuck him. He's the West's counterpart to Ahmadinejad or bin Laden. Put them in Thunderdome. Except let no one come out.

*Bold face my emphasis

>> ^MilkmanDan:

I tend to think his "so stupid they can't even light a fire" was directed more specifically at the flag-burners themselves, and less at Muslims in general. He referred to the group as an "angry Islamic mob"; presumably he would take less issue with a "peaceful Islamic mob", or a "collection of average Muslims". "Maybe the Koran would burn better" could be offensive to Muslims in general, but I would assume particularly so to the flag-burning extremists.

I think you naysayers obviously don't understand the brilliance of her act.

The jokes are corny and crude precisely becaaaaauuuuse she's only amatuerish at ventriloquism.

It's a theme.
She's poking fun at herself and the absurity of telling jokes thru a hand puppet.
Hence the deconstruction of it all.

You fellows also seem to fail at understanding why she has to laugh at her own jokes.
If she didn't, the illusion of the talking Monk is much less believeable.

Her laughter distinguishes her from the character of the Monk.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'nina conti, monk, monkey, ventriloquism, cute, funny, montreal' to 'nina conti, monk, monkey, ventriloquism, cute, funny, montreal, bloody sinister' - edited by ponceleon

>> ^GeeSussFreeK:
I have always found Buddhism rather neat personally. But I have to draw issue with your statement of forgiveness as a fundamental precept. The middle path doesn't usually care about forgiveness because it leads with the idea that people owe you things. The middle path is separate from such concerns. The real problem I would see with most Buddhist interjections into the life an any American is really, we don't want a middle path. We want stuff, to be the best, to life for this life! Buddhism isn't about that, it is about the flow of this life into the next, preparing yourself for the next phase. Living for the moment, and being a sports super star is incompatible with that world view...imo.
And what I heard from Hume was concern, not looking his nose down. Think of it from his perspective, he really things Christ could help this persons life, and that is how he said it. He thought, either in ignorance or wisdom, that Buddhism couldn't save him from his current situation and offered an answer. One could say it is out of place of a news anchor to not read news from his sheet however...but news hasn't been about that in ages.
And you don't hear about Buddhist extreamist because the media you listen to doesn't care.
http://www.tamileelamnews.com/cgi-bin/news/exec/view.cgi/1/1557


Show me one case of Buddhist extremism other than the monks in Vietnam setting themselves on fire in protest of the war. I think there were some Buddhist monk protests in some country a while ago, but there sure as hell weren't any bombs going off.

Buddhism is about forgiveness. It's about letting go, among other things, and to think that Christianity has the market cornered on that front is nothing short of arrogance.

And if you think Brit Hume really means what he says, you should make absolutely certain that you never take candy from strangers.

You're not really paying attention, and you haven't looked at either Buddhism or Hume's character very closely at all.

I guess the three paragraphs thing is out the window?

It's been a rough decade for Budzos. Externally, it might not look like I've progressed much. Ironically, that's because I've progressed so much on the inside. This was the decade where I realized all my youthful dreams of wealth and power had been based on indoctrination by vapid marketing victims with little self-knowledge (yes I'm talking about my parents). All I want from life at this point is the freedom to think as much as possible. That means I don't even want a wife, or children, or a big house, or any of that bullshit. I just want free time.

I spent most of the decade in front of a computer. I work mostly as a digital designer, and most of my hobbies are based around the PC as well. I'm happiest when my phone is turned off and I'm absorbed in a computer game or in doing some animation.

My love life this decade has been a complete joke. One "real" girlfriend, and a whole bunch of [EDIT: decidedly unchaste and ill-considered women] ... not that I think all women are [decidedly unchaste and ill-considered], but again thanks to the way I was raised I tend to only get involved with the craziest of the crazy. I'm pretty sure the last girl I "loved" killed my baby without informing me, and this realization hit me like a sock in the gut (or nuts, more appropriately).

My resolutions for the new decade are to work on attracting a better class of woman (those who demand respect, for a start). (EDIT: I realize this might seem to contradict not wanting a wife or children. Hey if I fall in love I'm not gonna fight it. In the meantime I'm not literally looking to exist as a monk. So this goal represents a whole spectrum of more specific goals all centering around self-improvement and working towards real financial independence. ) Also to move away from "web design" and create a few products which I can sell directly to the customer. Some fun stuff for the world to enjoy. Because marketing is just about the most vile thing I can think of. Honestly I fucking hate marketing with every fiber of my soul... "Gee Mr. Pitchman, you mean to tell me YOUR product is the BEST! Well I'll be!" Fuck me. And web design in 2010 is a completely different beast than it was in 2000. Oh, to go back to the days when people would pay $3000 for a few static HTML pages with some Flash.

>> ^rougy:
>> ^csnel3:
Yes, rougy, I think I get it.
Fair enough. But you have to admit, it's two different worlds.


Yes, two very different world indeed. I saw the famous picture of the protesting monk when I was a kid, when it was big news. It made a big impact on me. I never forgot the image and I have seen it many times in the 40 years since. Its a very powerfull image, As you say the dedication to the cause is unimaginable for me. I am now disturbed that he didnt light himself on fire, someone else lit him on fire while everyone watched. That is a very different action in my mind. Maybe he was all drugged up and they sacrificed him? I will never see that picture the same again.

I don't think it's necessary to modify the details beyond possibly adding "This video may be of a later demonstration, as there were several."

>> ^Fade:
You didn't see the police man prostrating himself in front of the burning man?

Toward the end of the video, I do see a pair of men with the white straps apparently bowing in the background. I had missed that before. The individual that features more prominently in the foreground I believe is another monk, though the color makes it difficult to say for certain.

I'll admit that nitpicking about it seems frivolous, as all of the monks made the same sacrifice.

>> ^ReverendTed:
I don't think this is Thích Quảng Đức. The accounts of Đức's self-immolation differ from what's shown in the video, and photos purported to be of that event also show a slightly different arrangement of people and the gas can with respect to the car in the background - which, strangely, does show up with the same raised hood.
Aside from the aforementioned arrangement issues, Đức was said to have struck a match and dropped it on himself, while here a fellow monk places a trail of fuel as a fuse. Accounts also describe policemen attempting to reach Đức but being unable to penetrate the throng of monks - here they are at the front of the crowd, pushing them back and watching. (I disagree with the assessment that these cops were "shocked" - to me they seemed to possess a familiarity with the proceedings.) Đức's body is said to have slumped forward after "around 10 minutes," while here the body falls back and to the left. (No irony intended.) There's also mention of a policeman prostrating himself in reverence before Đức; while that may simply have been missed by the camera, I suspect this is actually video of a later demonstration, as there were several.


I think you're right. Did a bit of digging around myself and yeah I come to the same conclusion. This must be another immolation that occurred at the time. Hmm, should I modify all the video details accordingly?

>> ^csnel3:
Yes, rougy, I think I get it.

Fair enough. But you have to admit, it's two different worlds. I'm in Roswell, NM. Aside from the celestial alien problem, we have a crime rate that is disturbingly high, and cops who are sometimes not very thoughtful, because they're underpaid and overworked. Hate to say it, but true.

Ace up there noted that I noticed, as did millions of other people, that a man set himself afire in order to draw attention to an injustice...so I guess his effort was a success...in as much as it drew attention. Did it solve the problem that he gave his life to protest against? Probably not.

That's a pretty big deal, to have that kind of dedication, to believe in something so strongly that you would voluntarily suffer one of the most cruelest fates known to man.

I'm not being cheeky, but the closest thing I can think of is when Data gave his life for Picard.

Vietnam was the prototype to Iraq and Afghanistan. And our country, the USA, is in a lot of trouble because we are watching people rob us blind and we are powerless to stop it because our government is inept and corrupt beyond remediation.

The war machine learned quickly, while the best that we can do is sit around and bitch.

Yes, rougy, I think I get it. I guess I was commenting with todays perspective on something that happpend in the past.
Here in Portland Oregon, present time, the police would have most likely shot the guy with the gas can, and both people probably would have burned to death. They would call it "Police assisted suicide" or "attempted murder" in the papers, as he was clearly wanting to be shot for burning a fellow monk in front of the police. The reason behind the monks act would probably be lost in the din. Nowdays you just cant light your buddys on fire and say "he asked me to".

>> ^csnel3:
Looks like he was murdered to me, but he took it well.


You just don't get it, do you?

"a Buddhist monk from Vietnam, burned himself to death" ? Really?
I see some other guy that pours gas all over the soon dead monk and then pours a trail of gas that leads away. Then a river of flame comes from behind the soaking monk and engulfs him.
Looks like he was murdered to me, but he took it well.