Giant Robot Store and GR2 News

Like Darth Vader upset at the end of Star Wars… Nooooooo! A 49 year old man was found dead from stab wounds and his penis under his bed. It’s been ruled a suicide. Yes it’s a bizarre crime, there are no photos, and there’s hilarious translated commentary from a TV show about it. With 30,000 suicides a year in Japan, this one is baffling. (xisde – Penis)  
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Foxconn employees who make XBox 360s threaten mass suicides if they didn’t receive lost wages. Foxconn is a massive manufacturer for many electronics brands including Apple, Microsoft and more. They also have had a rash of suicides by employees. Here’s what the management offered and then what happened: “Employees could quit with one month’s compensation awarded for each year with the plant or go back to working. Many employees quit, but Foxconn allegedly dishonored the agreement and awarded former employees nothing. Around 300 workers returned to the plant in an uproar, and staged their protest on the plant’s roof on Jan. 4.” There’s not much more detail, however do listen to the This American Life Story in the following post. (CBS Seattle – China Factory)  
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Touching isn’t the right word for this story. Danny Chen joined the military, only to find that it’s like hell. He killed himself after what seemed like a ton of hazing. The pain he endured was tremendous but even then, he seemed to just suck it up. Yes, military hazing is part of the routine, and if you stand out like he did as a 6’4″ Asian American, you’re bound to get broken down extra, especially by a platoon of non Asian Americans who must have been shorter than he. Chen was definitely not the alpha dog. 8 are now charged for his death and we’ll have to see what happens. (NYmag – Danny Chen)  
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