Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
Li Guolin escaped from what seems like a lax prison. Yes, escapes happen often in the world, but this one is funny since he escaped only wearing his underwear and the fact that it’s the first prison break in two decades. Where will he run and hide? He’s been in prison since 2008 for shooting at a police officer which is a huge offense since guns are illegal. (CBS News – Prison Break)
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A cool story that isn’t reported much in the news is that Japan plans on going zero nuclear reactors. Is it really possible? It’s going to take time, but by 2050, there should be none in operation. The lifespan of a reactor is now set to be at 40 years although there will be some exceptions. That means there are many set to be shut down in the next couple of decades and so forth. It’s a phase out process that’ll take time, and alternative energy means will need to be found. It’s a crazy concept, but it’s a step in the right direction if it all sticks. (Asahi – Nuclear Reactor Phase Out)
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The crackdown on Yakuza gangs in Japan is slowly underway. Of course as soon as something like this gets publicized, the gangs will just change their ways and adapt to whatever is made. They’ll adapt faster than the changes by society so will the gangs really slow down? It’s the public ridicule that’s hampering companies such as Olympus and the many government agencies who are Yakuza fronts helping out the earthquake / tsunami clean up. Kenichi Shinoda, head of the Yamaguchi Gumi, the largest gang in Japan, said, “The result, he warned, would be the creation of a population of dispossessed mobsters who could turn to violent crime to make a living. “Yakuza gangs are amazingly gentlemanlike,” he said, citing the traditional respect for seniority that binds gangs together. “[We] adhere to those values more than ordinary people do.” (Guardian UK – Yakuza)
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The posters appear to similar as the one that got put in as a full page Wall Street Journal advertisement by singer and professor in Korea. This article by Japan Probe goes on to talk about both sides. A) the event that happened during war time B) the Japanese responses including what reparations were paid. From Japan Probe, “When the comfort women issue gained international attention in the 1990′s, the Japanese government decided that it was a special case. Despite the fact that the previous treaty had legally settled the reparations issue and despite the fact that South Korea had paid compensation to the women, measures were taken to provide additional aid to former comfort women. Directly paying reparations would violate the 1965 agreement, so the Japanese government instead established the Asian Women’s Fund to raise funds and deliver compensation payments.” There’s plenty more and it’s also nice of them to mention that their article isn’t meant to belittle the suffering of the “comfort women”.
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We hope this is only a test. Robots to farm the lands near the stricken reactors? Who’s going to be eating this crap? But then again, it’s just a test, so why not use land that’s not ruined and actually give away the food? Cool technology, and neat idea, but it’s just a PR move in the end that has to happen in the radiation zone. (Telegraph UK – Robot Farmers)
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