September 18, 2016

Yakuza: Odd Facts About Japan's Organized Crime

1. I say potato, they say chivalrous.
The Yakuza refer to themselves as Ninkyo Dantai which means chivalrous organization

2. They're on my sight seeing map?
The Yazuka see themselves as a social organization. They have signs outside their headquarters. They're not hard to miss

3. I wonder what's 'In' with the Yakuza this season?
The Yakuza have their own magazine.Yamaguchi-gumi distributed a newsletter to its almost 28,000 members. Named Yamaguchi-gumi Shinpo, the magazine included haikus and articles on angling. An editorial from the gang’s leader talks about difficult times for the organization. Yakuza numbers have been falling, and the magazine was seen as a way to boost morale.

4. And you thought your tattoos rocked.
The Yakuza sport numerous tattoos. They use the traditional method of manually inserting ink under the skin, known as irezumi. They are seen as a mark of a person’s bravery due to the pain the method inflicts. In recent years, the number of non-yakuza getting this style of tattoo has increased significantly. Popular designs include dragons, mountains, and women. They also get their genital area tattooed as well.
In Osaka, you may not work for the city government in any capacity of you have any tattoos at all

5. You threw a Halloween Party and no kids came? Why are you surprised?
The best Halloween parties are thrown by the Yakuza. The origins date back to the 1980's. A group of Japanese children who lived near a school for foreign children learned about Halloween and went Trick-or-Treating. They went to the local Yakuza HQ in costume with their bags and wanted candy. The man at the HQ tried to shoo them away, they refused to leave. Perturbed and perplexed he finally gave them money and the kids left. The clan researched what Halloween was and in a short time almost every Yakuza gang was hosting a Halloween party, complete with haunted house, candy and so on

6. And you thought the US was litigious.

A Japanese restaurant owner began the process of suing Kenichi Shinoda, the extremely dangerous head of Yamaguchi-gumi we mentioned earlier. She claims that Shinoda has “employer’s liability” for gangsters that demanded protection money and threatened to burn down her bar if she didn’t cough up. She is claiming damages of 17 million yen, around $2.8 million.
In 2008, a group of residents sued to evict the Dojinkai gang from their headquarters in the city of Kurume. The group had split following an argument over leadership, leading to a violent war between the two sides. The residents argued they deserved to be able to live in peace, and so wanted the gangs gone from the city.
At the start of this year, the Kudo-kai, a yakuza syndicate in the south of Japan, were labeled “dangerous” by law enforcement. They had been linked to a series of grenade attacks on rival gangs. Their lawyer argued the label infringed on the group unfairly (they were the only one of the area’s five gangs to receive it) and that it was a violation of the Japanese constitution.

7. That guy that went by with aid packages, probably wasn't from the Red Cross or They have something in common with Hezbollah

Yakuza groups have been sending trucks from the Tokyo and Kobe regions to deliver food, water, blankets and toiletries to evacuation centers in northeast Japan, the area devastated by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami which have left at least 27,000 dead and missing.
As with the devastating 1995 Kobe earthquake, government workers were slow in reaching afflicted areas, and the 300,000 or so survivors, so yakuza groups stepped in quickly, and in many cases, were first on the ground. The yakuza used scooters, boats, and a helicopter to deliver supplies around the clogged streets.

8. Not sure you want to be a member, join the part timers club
Not all the 120,000 or so members are fulltime. About half are considered part-time members

9. They're rather integrated.
While most Yakuza members are Japanese they have some ethnic Koreans and people of other nationalities as well.

10. Do they sport Confederate flags on their pick ups?
Looking at a map of the Yakuza gangs, they are almost exclusively found in the southern parts of Japan. There are a few in Tokyo, but there don't seem to be any really active gangs in the north

11. They'd probably vote for Il Douche Trumpf

Yakuza members are closely tied with conservative political parties. In 2012 Japan’s justice minister, Keishu Tanaka, was forced to resign his post when it came to light that he had links to yakuza.
Like the machine politics of the US, the Yakuza turn out and vote for the LDP and help with campaigns
Yoshio Kodama united the Yakuza factions and became the first “godfather”. He was extremely right-wing and funneled money into the Liberal Democratic Party — an anti-communist right-wing political party.

12. Oh great another test!

Yes, they Yakuza have tests. In 2009, the Yamaguchi-gumi created a 12-page exam for its members. The move came after the government passed harsher laws against organized crime. The test was the group’s attempt to keep its members from getting into trouble by making sure they were clued up on the law. It covered topics from dumping industrial waste to vehicle theft.

13. And don't call him fingers
Yubitsume. Yakuza members who do something they shouldn’t are forced to atone in a brutal way—by chopping off part of their own finger. They start with the tip of their pinkie, but further transgressions require further mutilation.
This dates back to the period when they carried swords. The pinky helped steady the sword. Forcing members to cut off fingers made them more indebted to the Master or Lord. This 'tradition' did not begin with the Yakuza.

14. Their names change so often, how foes anyone keep up.
Crime organizations are named for the leader. The Yamaguchi-gumi is named for their leader Yamaguchi (gumi means group). When he dies, if someone with a different surname takes over the group, the name will change

September 3, 2016

My Great Aunt Lena turns 100 next year. Talked politics and such the other day

I hope that doesn't jinx her that I said she's going to be 100
She still drives, she still can do hers (and in a pinch others) taxes -- she was a tax accountant
6 years ago she had to be coaxed down off a ladder because she was going to paint her house
She is what the family calls 'a pioneer woman'

Lena, like my grandfather and all his siblings (save one) are/were Democrats.
My grandfather (mothers family) NEVER voted for a Republican (in partisan elections) in his life -- EVER

Lena was born when Wilson was president. My grandfather when Teddy was in the White House.
I asked Lena if she could rate the presidents of her lifetime in order.

1. This was easy. She prides herself on being a 'Roosevelt Girl' (her words). She worked for his election and re-election in Stark County, IL even when she couldn't vote. She said Roosevelt is the 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th greatest president in her lifetime (this is important for her later ratings) Lena can tell you almost everything you wanted (and not wanted to know about the man.)

2. If not Roosevelt then Truman. She liked Truman, he got things done, decent man. Felt he ran against one of the few passable Republicans to run for the presidency. But Truman is far greater than Dewey

3. LBJ. She liked Lyndon. Again, accomplished a lot of good things. She remembers vividly Johnson going up into the hills of Kentucky to talk with the poor who lived there. It was the event that started his War on Poverty. She wishes more presidents would go into poor areas and just listen. She admits Vietnam was a mess. He never should have gotten so tied up in it

4. She hemmed and hawed a bit. She went with Obama which surprised me because she was madder than hell at him for the longest time and couldn't utter his name after his comment where he said Roosevelt sat on his hands for 9 months and let the economy get worse.
For people who have seen the All in the Family and Maude... think Maude's opinion of Franklin Roosevelt. Lena seldom raises her voice, but bad-mouth FDR and you have a fight
She thinks he's gotten some good things done and she's never seen such a difficult congress in her lifetime.
She thinks if she had been president she'd have strangled 'that idiot from Kentucky.'
If Truman had been president he'd have chased that idiot from Kentucky and the orange faced crier from Ohio from the white house with a stick

5. She went with Wilson

6. John F Kennedy. She said had he lived longer she would have probably placed him above Wilson... maybe Obama too

7. Bill Clinton. She's not a fan. Felt he capitulated to the Republicans too much. He needed to use his presidency more aggressively to counter Republicans

8. Carter. Her quote, "Never saw a man who could snatch defeat from the jaws of victory like Jimmy Carter." She was disappointed how he went from a 31% lead in June to barely eking out a victory over that 'Ford character'. His loss to Reagan and so on. "Had a lot of good ideas, but couldn't get them done and micromanaged too much."

If you haven't noticed the trend... The first 8 are all Democrats... Just in case you missed it.

To her there are only 3 types of Republicans... Poor, Passable (Dewey was passable) and Because (I'll explain this later)

9. The passable Eisenhower. She never voted for him, but he was passable.
10. Nixon
11. George Bush I
12, Ronald Reagan
13. Calvin Coolidge (the real culprit behind the crash of '29)
14. Hoover. "Great vacuum." She also added, "He had a vacuum between his ears. It sucked up dirt and junk. Greatest thing Hoover ever did; he was such a failure that it made it easier for FDR in '32."
15. George Bush II.
16. Harding. A man she loathes. She can tell you every useless and horrid thing about Harding.

Ford does not make her list... "The man never got elected to a damned thing. He was appointed both times."

Contrary to what some here at DU believe, yes you can vote for someone other than a Democrat and still be a great Democrat. Great Aunt Lena is a testament to that.
Every Presidential election she could vote in, she voted Democratic. Every Senate race except one she voted Democratic. Every congressional race Democratic. Almost every state office Democratic.
She has almost 80 years of voting, canvassing, rally attending, hat and button wearing, song singing, etc on her resume

Now the 'Because' Republican
Yes she did vote twice for Republicans. She couldn't remember the year except it was in either the late 70's or early 80's. There were two people on ballot as Democrats in Illinois for state office (she thinks they were the nominees for Attorney General and maybe Sec of State) They were LaRouchies and she just couldn't stomach them getting elected to anything - Democrat or not.
The Republicans who ran were the 'Because' Republicans. Because the Democrats for those two offices were vile

August 31, 2016

Surviving and thriving: Chancellor Lee Adams turns 16

In 1999, they tried to kill Chancellor Lee Adams before he was born.

They conspired to commit murder – to shoot and kill his mother. That way the unborn baby’s life would end, too, and his father wouldn’t have to pay any child support. It was a horrific crime that altered Chancellor’s life forever and exposed us all to the dark side of professional sports.

And yet here is the son of former Carolina Panthers first-round draft pick Rae Carruth. He is smiling, holding on to his grandmother’s arm and walking slowly toward the horse named “Raider” that he rides every week.

snip

Chancellor has special needs. Owing to his traumatic birth, he has cerebral palsy. Loss of blood and oxygen the night of his birth caused permanent brain damage. When he was born, he looked blue.

link: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/spt-columns-blogs/scott-fowler/article45045603.html#storylink=cpy

I remember this case vaguely. I was surprised when it happened.
After seeing he helped kill his g/f I thought he was garbage
But reading this, Rae Carruth is much worse than that
3 of the 4 people involved have apologized to the mother of the woman they killed...
Guess which one hasn't
The loser gets out in a couple of years

August 29, 2016

The Vampire Hedgehog 3 Adorably Cute photos

Move over Bunnicula there's now Huff, the Vampire (?) Hedgehog

3-year-old Huff, a rescued hedgehog that lives in Utah, who’s not just your regular sweet-looking hedgehog, he has a pair of vampy fangs that should scare all of us, but we’re really just collectively going ‘awww!’

link
http://www.top13.net/rescued-cute-vampire-hedgehog-instagram/?utm_source=rcm&utm_medium=Facebook&utm_campaign=animals

August 23, 2016

That's Brigadier Penguin to you

Nils Olav the most famous king penguin in the world, parades his way to a new honour

On Monday morning, 22 August, His Majesty the King of Norway’s Guard paid a very special visit to RZSS Edinburgh Zoo to bestow a unique honour upon our resident king penguin Sir Nils Olav. Already a knight, the most famous king penguin in the world was given the new title of “Brigadier Sir Nils Olav”.

The prestigious title was awarded during a special ceremony which was attended by over 50 uniformed soldiers of His Majesty the King of Norway’s Guard, who are taking part in The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo this year. Sir Nils paraded his way up Penguin Walk, whilst inspecting the soldiers of the Guard.

0The regal, black, white and yellow bird is the mascot of His Majesty the King of Norway’s Guard and in 2008 was awarded a knighthood, an honour approved by King Harald V of Norway.

Nils Olav’s story goes back as far as 1972, when a king penguin at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo was named after two people: Major Nils Egelien, who organised his adoption by RZSS Edinburgh Zoo in 1972, and the then-King of Norway, King Olav. RZSS Edinburgh Zoo has had a long history with penguins and Norway, with the Norwegian family of Christian Salvesen presenting the Zoo with its first king penguins in 1914. Soon after, in 1919, the Zoo had the first successful hatching of a king penguin chick, the first outside of the South Atlantic. Since then, RZSS Edinburgh Zoo has been pioneering the science and care of penguins, and penguins have remained an iconic and integral part of the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland ever since.

link:
http://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/news/article/11711/nils-olav-the-most-famous-king-penguin-in-the-world-parades-his-way-to-a-new-honour/

August 23, 2016

Duck cheers up dog who was depressed for two years after his best friend died

Jacqui Litton, based in Corryton, Tennessee, has a dog named George.

George has been sad and mopey ever since his best friend, a Labrador called 'Blackie' died in 2014. On the anniversary of Blackie's death, a duck wandered onto the Litton's property. According to Litton, the duck seemed to be trying to comfort sad George.

They had been together for 12 years. George has been heart broken and has grieved with anxiety so bad that he has almost died twice. We have no idea where this duck came from but he sure does love George and since the duck has arrived George has not cried one time.

link:
http://indy100.independent.co.uk/article/duck-cheers-up-dog-who-was-depressed-for-two-years-after-his-best-friend-died--bkn1Qr4pPZ?utm_source=indy&utm_medium=top5&utm_campaign=i100

cute pics at the link and a short video
i'd post them but that'd take away from going to the Independent that is reoprting it

August 12, 2016

Three stupidest things I have read/heard in the last 24 Hours -- Election Edition

1. The DNC staffer that was killed was likely a hit job and probably by HRC - Fox News
2. The myriad of explanations about what Il Douche really meant by 2nd Amendment solutions.
Funny how he means what he says and then when he says something caustically stupid... "He didn't mean that."
3. And this for me takes the cake for stupidity...
In response to the Roger Ailes sick saga at Faux someone responded
'Anything to get Hillary's pay-for-play at the state department off the front page.'
That's the ticket... It's probably Morgan Fairchild that did it all

on edit: Eric Bolling and Monica Crowley said 'hit job'
Yes friends and neighbors Bolling is the stupid one

July 19, 2016

This Fiasco Will Make 76 seem like a Garden Party

For those not around in 76, the Republican Convention was highly contentious largely because neither Pres Ford, nor Reagan had clinched enough delegates outright to win
There was the typical backbiting and whispering that you'd expect
Reagan's team tried to corner Ford (and alter convention rules) by insisting the convention delegates be able to vote freely on who they preferred, but before they did vote, both men had to declare their choice for VP - Reagan chose a moderate Republican Senator from Pennsylvania Richard Schweiker
It backfired and quite badly as Jesse Helms (yes him) began a movement to draft James Buckley (which failed)

That's pretty much well known.
What is sometimes forgotten are stories like these
While trying to get Republican delegates on board for Ford, some of the undecided (or backers of a different candidate from the primary than either Ford or Reagan) wanted favors; one delegate from NY wanted a federal judge position for his brother. Baker declined and the delegate went into a tirade over the phone
Someone yanked the phone away from the New York delegation and smashed it on the floor which prevented Nelson Rockefeller from being able to communicate with the campaign committee
The floor was crowded and tempers so hot that people didn't stray to far from their state convention area
There was a fist fight between a Ford delegate and a Reagan delegate in the hallway
One Ford delegate broke her leg falling on the stairs, but refused to go to the hospital until the vote was finished for fear the alternate might vote Reagan

July 19, 2016

The Republicans Should Make This Man Their New Convention Chair

He's close to Cleveland

on edit: If you don't recognize him it's Jerry Springer

July 12, 2016

A Useful Idea from Facebook for this years election

Was reposted by Being Liberal
We should place rare Pokemons inside of the polling stations on November 8th... that would guarantee good turnout.