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Woman sues Japan’s biggest yakuza boss, seeking refund of ‘protection money’

“She is demanding around 17 million yen ($170,000) in compensation and reimbursement for payments she was forced to make to protect her bar in the central city of Nagoya, the broadcaster said, citing her legal representatives. The woman says she paid 30,000-100,000 yen per month between 1998 and 2010 to a member of Inabaji Ikka, a local yakuza group connected to the Yamaguchi-gumi, Kyodo News said. On one occasion in 2008 when she tried to refuse to pay, she was warned that her bar could be burned down, Kyodo said.” Continue reading →

Holder Says: “Don’t Stand Your Ground. Run.”

“The main victims of violence from gangs and thugs in the United States are residents of the inner cities. Here, police protection is minimal. Here, people either stand their ground or get run over by thugs. But such talk, in Holder’s view, rejects common sense. There is no need for laws protecting victims of thugs and criminals when the victims defend themselves. The public should wait patiently for the police to intervene. Meanwhile, if they are upset with thugs, they can always run. Problem: when you are facing an armed teenager, you probably can’t outrun him. Or maybe your wife can’t.” Continue reading →

The Chilling Effects of License-Plate Location Tracking

“Location tracking has far-reaching implications for the way we live, even if we don’t think we’ve done anything wrong. Our recent report, ‘You Are Being Tracked,’ shows that automatic license plate readers allow law enforcement to track every car on the road, not just those relevant to an investigation. This type of widespread tracking endangers our rights of protest and association and has the potential to reach deep into our lives and alter our daily decision making. Once your location information is collected and stored by a third party, you have lost control over it, and there is no way to know whose hands it will end up in.” Continue reading →

Fort Hood shooting suspect apologizes for U.S. ‘illegal and immoral aggression’ against Muslims

“Hasan asked for forgiveness and prayers from ‘the believers and the innocents’ for ‘participating in the illegal and immoral aggression against Muslims, their religion and their lands.’ Hasan was a army psychiatrist at Fort Hood and was about to be deployed to Afghanistan at the time of the shooting. Hasan is acting as his own attorney in his court martial. If convicted he could face execution or life in prison without parole. Hasan had said at a pre-trial hearing that he opened fire at the base to protect Muslims and the Taliban in Afghanistan from U.S. aggression. The base is a major center for soldiers deployed to Afghanistan.” Continue reading →

Wisconsin town to charge parents $114 fine if child accused of bullying

“Parents in Madison, Wisconsin suburb of Monona will soon face fines if their kids are the subject of repeat complaints about schoolyard bullying. The local ordinance, passed by Monona officials on May 20, provides for a $114 fine within 90 days after a written notice about their child’s behavior. The fine increases to $177 for each repeat instance within one year of the first violation. Officials told the paper that the ordinance was not taken up in response to any specific problem children. The ordinance appears to be the first of its kind anywhere in the nation. It also covers cyber bullying through social media and text messaging.” Continue reading →

Rural Chinese children ‘left behind’ as parents join mass migration to the cities

“For more than 20 years China’s government has encouraged the rural poor to move to cities as a way to boost growth and lift living standards. The country now has 263 million migrant workers, and new leaders who took office this year have renewed the drive to urbanise. But while city wages are higher, so are their costs of living, exacerbated by a ‘hukou’ residency system that bars Chinese from receiving benefits such as healthcare and schooling outside their registered hometown. Nearly half of left-behind children live with neither of their parents. Almost 70 percent of those stay with grandparents. A quarter have other guardians, and seven percent survive on their own.” Continue reading →

Young Catholics flood Rio’s streets after Pope Francis speech

“Heeding Pope Francis’ call to shake up the Church, hundreds of thousands of young Catholics marched across Rio on Saturday, singing, beating drums and chanting ‘this is the pope’s youth!’ They waved flags from around the world — Brazil, Australia, South Africa, the United States — and pitched tents on the crescent-shaped beach of Copacabana for an all-night vigil and final mass with the pope to cap World Youth Day festivities. Since his election in March, history’s first Latin American pope has sought to re-energize Catholics, using his Rio trip to urge young believers to spread the Gospel and ‘make a mess’ in their dioceses.” Continue reading →

Pope Francis condemns ‘culture of individualism’ for economic inequality

“On Thursday, the pontiff unleashed the most powerful and politically loaded rhetoric of his trip, attacking the ‘culture of selfishness and individualism’ and urging more efforts to fight hunger and poverty. The throngs were largely kept at bay by security barriers, but the pope kissed babies and shook hands with well-wishers. Police helicopters buzzed overheads, and police snipers watched the crowd from rooftops. He also gave a sharply worded condemnation of moves to legalise drug use during a visit on Wednesday to a rehabilitation centre in Brazil.” Continue reading →