Recently there has been good news for the US with regards to its allies. Japan and South Korea have strengthened their relationship, but at what cost? It was a large price to pay financially but still it is not enough.
In the 1930's and 1940's Korean women were used as sex slaves, despite news outlets referring to them as "prostitutes". These women were forced to have sex, which is rape, with soldiers during this period. Rape is inexcusable. Rape is by far one of the worst things a human being can do to another. However the matter that women were forced by their government to partake in this manages to push this inhumane act further. Historians estimate between twenty thousand to two hundred thousand women were involved in this. Each of these women may well have possibly been raped several times. This situation is disgusting.
Recently Seoul launched a foundation to compensate the women who were forced to be sex slaves. Japan had pledged $9.5 million to the foundation and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe offered an apology. I do not know whether the Japanese government believe that this is actually acceptable to the surviving victims. Personally I believe this is ridiculous. No amount of money could compensate what these women were forced to do.
The underlying reason for the acknowledgement and compensation of these women I believe sickens me more. This was not an act of kindness or admitting to a fault. This was a business transaction. These acts are being played out to improve relationships between Japan and South Korea so they are united against North Korea, the common enemy for the two. Of course relations improved between the two countries recently. In June a hot line between the countries was set up and negative public opinion of one another has declined in both countries.
So my question to you is, are better ally relations more important than apologizing for the wrong acts you have done. Are human's lives collateral damage and nothing more? I'd love your opinions.
Thursday, 28 July 2016
Milo Yiannopoulos- Twitter Ban- Fair or unjust?
If you have been watching the recent threads on twitter the past week you may have heard of Milo Yiannopoulos being banned on twitter, supposedly permanently. Milo is a journalist for Breitbart News and is known on twitter for being controversial and being blunt with his opinions. Recently he published a critical review on the new 'Ghostbusters' film. One of the four lead actresses, Leslie Jones, took offense to this review and drama ensued.
This drama, took form in twitter mentions. Back and forth both people were sending tweets, and resulted in Leslie Jones blocking Milo. Milo then tweeted about he was blocked by a "man", adding fuel to a fire. The drama between these two ended there. However followers of Milo proceeded to tweet racist and obscene things towards Leslie Jones. The tweets she received were disgusting and nobody deserves that, Milo agreed in a recent interview on CNN. From here on, the co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey tweeted Jones asking for a chat. This resulted with the ban of Milo, creating the trending hashtag "#freemilo" and "#freenero".
Twitter posted a statement declaring that the abuse Leslie Jones received was horrible and that Milo, who had been blamed, would be banned because he incited the hatred. First of all, Twitter can ban whoever they like, its a private company. However it seems that this is a completely unfair ban on Milo. There has been many reports sent to Twitter. Death and rape threats, are constant on twitter but these accounts are never banned. It was when the drama was becoming publicized by two big people that they stepped in. Milo's ban was an unfair ban. If he was banned then perhaps as Milo sais, why is Justin Bieber not banned because his fans cut themselves, its guilt by association, which is the reason why Milo was banned.
The ban would have been fair if more accounts were banned for the same reason but it was quite obvious that this was a once off to silence a right-winged man on twitter. It was unfair, but what do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Or perhaps partly agree? Tell me why!
Anyway enjoy reading.
This drama, took form in twitter mentions. Back and forth both people were sending tweets, and resulted in Leslie Jones blocking Milo. Milo then tweeted about he was blocked by a "man", adding fuel to a fire. The drama between these two ended there. However followers of Milo proceeded to tweet racist and obscene things towards Leslie Jones. The tweets she received were disgusting and nobody deserves that, Milo agreed in a recent interview on CNN. From here on, the co-founder of Twitter, Jack Dorsey tweeted Jones asking for a chat. This resulted with the ban of Milo, creating the trending hashtag "#freemilo" and "#freenero".
Twitter posted a statement declaring that the abuse Leslie Jones received was horrible and that Milo, who had been blamed, would be banned because he incited the hatred. First of all, Twitter can ban whoever they like, its a private company. However it seems that this is a completely unfair ban on Milo. There has been many reports sent to Twitter. Death and rape threats, are constant on twitter but these accounts are never banned. It was when the drama was becoming publicized by two big people that they stepped in. Milo's ban was an unfair ban. If he was banned then perhaps as Milo sais, why is Justin Bieber not banned because his fans cut themselves, its guilt by association, which is the reason why Milo was banned.
The ban would have been fair if more accounts were banned for the same reason but it was quite obvious that this was a once off to silence a right-winged man on twitter. It was unfair, but what do you think? Do you agree or disagree? Or perhaps partly agree? Tell me why!
Anyway enjoy reading.
Tuesday, 26 July 2016
American Presidential Candidates- The better of two evils.
If you know me personally or follow my twitter you will know that the current presidential situation in America is incredibly frustrating to me. Although I am Irish and I will have no choice whatsoever in the matter, I would have supported Bernie Sanders. However Sanders is not relevant to this post so lets talk about the two presidential candidates, Hilary Clinton and Donald Trump.
Before I start to write more I would like to say that I believe both candidates are terrible. As the title says it is the better of two evils. Lets talk about Clinton first. Now I do not know to what extent her reach is in America because I'm Irish, but from what the media and news show, it looks like she has tricked a lot of people. Note the key word I used, 'tricked'. We all know politicians lie but Clinton does it so well. Clinton, for me, is the definition of a career politician. Before her attempt at running for presidency it was known from Clinton's old statements, her tweets, that she is against what she says she is for in this presidential race. The LGBTQ community and racism. I know people's opinions can change but for me I believe its a little too coincidental that her views change when she begins to run for president. Also just a quick note I am for feminism. Feminism is so important in society. However when Clinton runs the "first woman to be president" as a value and it actually works, it annoys me. She does not represent women and if anything I believe it would be offensive for the first female president to be Clinton. She does not deserve that title.
Now onto Trump. Trump is a horrible person. If you don't believe that then I'd be very worried. Trump is xenophobic, racist and misogynistic. What a horrible unity. However at least we know this. It is a common fact that this is who Trump is. The fact that he wishes to build a wall to deal with immigration says a lot about the man. He represents a horrible stereotype of a white man in the western world. It is not a good image for America. Trump is not a politician, he is a business man. Recent interviews show this. He backtracks on himself, he fumbles through sentences and there is always controversy surrounding his campaign. Likewise with Clinton. Trump does not deserve to be the president of America.
Now for my opinion. Who do I believe the lesser of two evils is? I believe Trump is the lesser of two evils. Only based on the idea that we as a people know what to expect from Trump and he has been so extreme up until now that he can only possibly weaken his ideas. Clinton is a scary option. We know the drama surrounding her emails and the fact the she has not been investigated is mind boggling to me. We know what to expect with Trump, not with Clinton. Like Schrodinger's cat, is she a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, or not? Only time can tell.
Anyway that's the end of this blogpost. This is my own opinion so if you disagree tell me why! Discussions are healthy, so please argue if you wish.
Until next time.
Before I start to write more I would like to say that I believe both candidates are terrible. As the title says it is the better of two evils. Lets talk about Clinton first. Now I do not know to what extent her reach is in America because I'm Irish, but from what the media and news show, it looks like she has tricked a lot of people. Note the key word I used, 'tricked'. We all know politicians lie but Clinton does it so well. Clinton, for me, is the definition of a career politician. Before her attempt at running for presidency it was known from Clinton's old statements, her tweets, that she is against what she says she is for in this presidential race. The LGBTQ community and racism. I know people's opinions can change but for me I believe its a little too coincidental that her views change when she begins to run for president. Also just a quick note I am for feminism. Feminism is so important in society. However when Clinton runs the "first woman to be president" as a value and it actually works, it annoys me. She does not represent women and if anything I believe it would be offensive for the first female president to be Clinton. She does not deserve that title.
Now onto Trump. Trump is a horrible person. If you don't believe that then I'd be very worried. Trump is xenophobic, racist and misogynistic. What a horrible unity. However at least we know this. It is a common fact that this is who Trump is. The fact that he wishes to build a wall to deal with immigration says a lot about the man. He represents a horrible stereotype of a white man in the western world. It is not a good image for America. Trump is not a politician, he is a business man. Recent interviews show this. He backtracks on himself, he fumbles through sentences and there is always controversy surrounding his campaign. Likewise with Clinton. Trump does not deserve to be the president of America.
Now for my opinion. Who do I believe the lesser of two evils is? I believe Trump is the lesser of two evils. Only based on the idea that we as a people know what to expect from Trump and he has been so extreme up until now that he can only possibly weaken his ideas. Clinton is a scary option. We know the drama surrounding her emails and the fact the she has not been investigated is mind boggling to me. We know what to expect with Trump, not with Clinton. Like Schrodinger's cat, is she a ticking time bomb waiting to go off, or not? Only time can tell.
Anyway that's the end of this blogpost. This is my own opinion so if you disagree tell me why! Discussions are healthy, so please argue if you wish.
Until next time.
Thursday, 21 July 2016
Reading Habits.
For whatever reason, I believe that blogposts must be long and entertaining at every sentence. However I suppose that's not the case and perhaps I have sub-consciously used that as a personal excuse to avoid writing.
How silly of me. Like a good book or poem, they do not have to be long, just of interest to the intended audience. Who is my intended audience? I don't know. I write for myself mostly and for people to see my writing and make a passing remark, be it a good or bad remark.
These simple things are examples of what I think about when I attempt to write a post and then delete it before I publish it. I also think these things when reading. I like to place myself in the readers shoes and try understand there desire to write this certain novel, and was I the audience the book was intended for.
I don't know what this blogpost is, nor do I expect more than one person to read it, but its a small insight into my thoughts on writing and reading; albeit a very small insight.
How silly of me. Like a good book or poem, they do not have to be long, just of interest to the intended audience. Who is my intended audience? I don't know. I write for myself mostly and for people to see my writing and make a passing remark, be it a good or bad remark.
These simple things are examples of what I think about when I attempt to write a post and then delete it before I publish it. I also think these things when reading. I like to place myself in the readers shoes and try understand there desire to write this certain novel, and was I the audience the book was intended for.
I don't know what this blogpost is, nor do I expect more than one person to read it, but its a small insight into my thoughts on writing and reading; albeit a very small insight.
Friday, 22 January 2016
The Revenant - Film Review
It feels like forever since I made a blog post, but recently I went to see 'The Revenant' and I wanted to review it, so here it is.
Obviously I was quite excited to see this film since it has been receiving great reviews and multiple award nominations. The story of the film follows Hugh Glass, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who was abandoned by his crew which killed his son and it is his revenge story. Before I continue I just want to say that this review is my own opinion and if you feel like I do not give the film justice then comment what you think!
Overall I would say the film is good but has been incredibly over-hyped by news outlets, social media and fans of Leonardo DiCaprio who believe he deserve an Oscar. The film starts out quite fast in comparison to the remainder of the film. We are introduced to the story slowly and not until around fifteen minutes in. The film, for most part anyway, follows Glass and how he deals with his surroundings, obviously as he is the main character. However the story becomes repetitive and quite frankly bored me. Without a doubt there were moments that were moments that entertained me but they did not balance out the entertainment of the film. I did not like the entirety of the film but the parts that were good, made the film good.
The settings of the film were incredible however. The film displays beautiful scenery and amazing shots. At times it felt as though I was watching a nature documentary on the discovery channel and the small amount of talking in the play made the sounds of surrounding nature more noticeable. The film is dark and gritty, which is usually the kind of films that I like, the special effects were incredible and there was a surprising amount of gore.
The acting was fantastic. The actor which stood out most for me was Tom Hardy, which ironically, I did not even recognise until I was told after the film. Tom Hardy plays the antagonist of the play and I hated his character so much! Which is what you want from your antagonists. The most surprising actor would have to be Will Poulter, who I would honestly almost nominate for best supporting actor. I loved his character from the beginning, he is a genuinely good, honest character and I do not see how anyone could dislike his character. Finally, Leonardo DiCaprio. It's common knowledge that DiCaprio is an incredible actor and has deserved oscars in previous years and he brings his expertise to this role. Going to extreme lengths to act in this film I can understand why he was nominated for an oscar. However I feel as if the role, regardless of the actor, would have been difficult to do well, and although he has been nominated for best actor I believe it was not one one of his best performances. DiCaprio deserved oscars for other roles in which he was much better and I would feel slightly annoyed if he won this year despite his acting abilities.
Overall I would recommend people to see this film if you enjoy films which are gritty, dark and have beautifully directed scenes, but be prepared for breaks in talking and a long film, and try enjoy it regardless!
Have you seen 'The Revenant'? What do you think? Feedback is greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoyed reading this too, until next time!
Obviously I was quite excited to see this film since it has been receiving great reviews and multiple award nominations. The story of the film follows Hugh Glass, played by Leonardo DiCaprio, who was abandoned by his crew which killed his son and it is his revenge story. Before I continue I just want to say that this review is my own opinion and if you feel like I do not give the film justice then comment what you think!
Overall I would say the film is good but has been incredibly over-hyped by news outlets, social media and fans of Leonardo DiCaprio who believe he deserve an Oscar. The film starts out quite fast in comparison to the remainder of the film. We are introduced to the story slowly and not until around fifteen minutes in. The film, for most part anyway, follows Glass and how he deals with his surroundings, obviously as he is the main character. However the story becomes repetitive and quite frankly bored me. Without a doubt there were moments that were moments that entertained me but they did not balance out the entertainment of the film. I did not like the entirety of the film but the parts that were good, made the film good.
The settings of the film were incredible however. The film displays beautiful scenery and amazing shots. At times it felt as though I was watching a nature documentary on the discovery channel and the small amount of talking in the play made the sounds of surrounding nature more noticeable. The film is dark and gritty, which is usually the kind of films that I like, the special effects were incredible and there was a surprising amount of gore.
The acting was fantastic. The actor which stood out most for me was Tom Hardy, which ironically, I did not even recognise until I was told after the film. Tom Hardy plays the antagonist of the play and I hated his character so much! Which is what you want from your antagonists. The most surprising actor would have to be Will Poulter, who I would honestly almost nominate for best supporting actor. I loved his character from the beginning, he is a genuinely good, honest character and I do not see how anyone could dislike his character. Finally, Leonardo DiCaprio. It's common knowledge that DiCaprio is an incredible actor and has deserved oscars in previous years and he brings his expertise to this role. Going to extreme lengths to act in this film I can understand why he was nominated for an oscar. However I feel as if the role, regardless of the actor, would have been difficult to do well, and although he has been nominated for best actor I believe it was not one one of his best performances. DiCaprio deserved oscars for other roles in which he was much better and I would feel slightly annoyed if he won this year despite his acting abilities.
Overall I would recommend people to see this film if you enjoy films which are gritty, dark and have beautifully directed scenes, but be prepared for breaks in talking and a long film, and try enjoy it regardless!
Have you seen 'The Revenant'? What do you think? Feedback is greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoyed reading this too, until next time!
Monday, 11 January 2016
11th Jan. - Introduction?
Hey to who ever is reading this! Obviously if you are reading this you will know that this is one of my entries onto my blog, my first entry to be exact. I have no idea whether people will read this or not, but the purpose of this blog is to share my opinions on topical situations in the world. I'm quite an opinionated person in all honesty but very rarely tell people what I think of certain situations.
I hope the blog will be interesting for people to read and will not be too boring or monotonous, because there is nothing worse than reading something that is incredibly boring. Aside from opinionated posts I should include the likes of special events, the occasional book haul and, or, book reviews and reviews of albums and just general daily adventures for myself when I'm in the mood of just writing.
Here's to a beginning to a blog,
I hope the blog will be interesting for people to read and will not be too boring or monotonous, because there is nothing worse than reading something that is incredibly boring. Aside from opinionated posts I should include the likes of special events, the occasional book haul and, or, book reviews and reviews of albums and just general daily adventures for myself when I'm in the mood of just writing.
Here's to a beginning to a blog,
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