Elite Universities and Their Cultural and Political Dominance ?

[Admiral Yi]

An amazing number of comedy writers come out of Harvard.

[Oexmelin]

I think it is safe to say that the "elite" universities in Canada don't dominate the cultural, political and business landscape to the extent that the American Ivy League or Oxbridge do.  I would attribute this primarily to:  lack of entrance exams for undergraduates, a relatively short history, a smaller, more spread-out population, and the fact that Canada has less global relevance, meaning fewer international applicants and thus less international prestige for our elite schools.

Add to that the fact that French and English universities operate in relatively separate worlds. Francophones know of McGill, of course - but UBC ? Dalhousie? They wouldn't know what to make of them. Likewise, I would venture, with Université Laval, or even Université de Montréal. And, in a lot of cases, I would venture that Canadian "elites" go elsewhere - to the US or the UK.

[CountDeMoney]

the University of Warsaw, the Jagellonian University in Krakow and the Warsaw School of Economics

I got a list of their classes.

Black Bread 101
Black Bread without sawdust 201
Screen doors on submarines 101
Screwing in light bulbs 101
Screwing in light bulbs with less than 4 people 201, need approval from light bulb dean
Collaboration 101

lol

I've posted this before, but this is specifically for Marty:
After Harris encounters racism, Barney tries to explain bigotry to Wojciehowicz.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4-26UcGbaY

[Eddie Teach]

How did people make popcorn back then?

[Monoriu]

I don't think Valmy is talking about the talent so much.

Yeah I am talking about the writers on up to the producers and the executives and so forth

The producers here are triads 

[Richard Hakluyt]

I don't think Valmy is talking about the talent so much.

Yeah I am talking about the writers on up to the producers and the executives and so forth

The producers here are triads 

They attended the University of Life 

[Jacob]

The producers here are triads 

As are some of the actors.

I met some of them

[Valmy]

Wait organized crime runs the entertainment industry?  The government has no problem with entertainment dollars being used to fund criminal activities?

And why is there no legitimate industry?  I know Mono claims anybody who does not work a boring job at a desk is of no consequence and has no prestige in China but surely that is not literally true.

[Ideologue]

Wait organized crime runs the entertainment industry?  The government has no problem with entertainment dollars being used to fund criminal activities?

And why is there no legitimate industry?  I know Mono claims anybody who does not work a boring job at a desk is of no consequence and has no prestige in China but surely that is not literally true.

Good God, Monoriu's existence is what they give people with prestige in China?

[Admiral Yi]

If the Triads funded Kung Fu Hustle it demonstrates a healthy ability to laugh at themselves.

[mongers]

The producers here are triads 

As are some of the actors.

I met some of them

Yes we know, and one of them is rather attractive     

And you should make the effort to name drop more often, but only if accompanied with a photo.   

[mongers]

Wait organized crime runs the entertainment industry?  The government has no problem with entertainment dollars being used to fund criminal activities?

And why is there no legitimate industry?  I know Mono claims anybody who does not work a boring job at a desk is of no consequence and has no prestige in China but surely that is not literally true.

Good God, Monoriu's existence is what they give people with prestige in China?

Do remember, in amongst the cute, down at heel office whimsy, are hints of the real Mono, the man who regularly flies throughout East Asia taking his wife to 90 dollar lunches.

[Ideologue]

Good point, that.  HEY GUYS I WENT TO SINGAPORE TO BUY SHOES.

[Jacob]

Wait organized crime runs the entertainment industry?  The government has no problem with entertainment dollars being used to fund criminal activities?

They don't run all of it, not anymore, but they're heavily involved. It's not as bad as it used to be in the 80s and 90s.

And why is there no legitimate industry?  I know Mono claims anybody who does not work a boring job at a desk is of no consequence and has no prestige in China but surely that is not literally true.

Basically what happened is that during the Hong Kong cinema boom, the triads realized there was a lot of money to be made from extorting film companies. If a crew is shooting a film anywhere outdoors (and Hong Kong is small, so there aren't that many options all told), it's not hard to make them waste time and spend a lot of money for nothing. This was particularly lucrative when HK cinema was bringing in a ton of money. This was exacerbated by the fact that shooting permits were sometimes problematic. Another revenue source was insisting that triad members be used as extras or for minor roles in the film.

From there, they branched out a bit. The presence of certain stars significantly increased bottom lines. So much so, that it was completely worth it for unscrupulous producers to pay triads to threaten stars to make appearances in films. From there, it was only a short jump to actually producing films.

At this point, triad involvement is (I believe) less directly criminal simply due to the fact that their involvement has grown into legitimate business empires in the industry. At least one (if not more) of the big entertainment groups a basically triad businesses.

... the last console game I worked on draws significantly on this sort of stuff.

[Jacob]

Yes we know, and one of them is rather attractive   

And you should make the effort to name drop more often, but only if accompanied with a photo.   

Heh. She's not a triad member I expect.