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book · japanese book · kim jong il · kim jong nam · News · north korea ·

Kim Jong Il’s Oldest Son Tells All Soon

At least that’s what it sort of promises. A book, yes, a book that would be worth 7 figures or more, but I’m sure Kim Jong Nam is getting a lot less if at all – not that he needs it. Watch for a book to be published in Japan. Note that he’s the son who got busted for entering Japan to go to Disneyland. That put him out of favor with the big boys. From the Huffington Post “Gomi’s book, based on “extensive interviews” with 38-year-old Kim Jong Nam, will outline Kim’s “opposition to the hereditary succession system that led to his younger brother, Kim Jong Un, being appointed North Korea’s new leader,” according toThe Japan Times, who also reported that although Kim Jong Nam recently asked to delay the book’s publication, the Japanese publishing firm Bungei Shunju decided to release it anyway.” (Huffington Post – Kim Jong Nam)
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gaijin · jail · japan · narita · nartia · News · travel · visa ·

Don’t get locked up at Narita Airport, Japan

Although it claims to not be finished, this is an exhaustive and harrowing story of a guy stuck in detention in Narita airport. Sounding like Disneyland’s mythical jail, the story is about being flagged, then being extorted and abused and not by Japanese but by a security force that sounds something like Blackwater. We’ve heard the stories about being sent back to America when people aren’t allowed in but who pays and how much? Sometimes it’s in the 1000s for a plane flight. A mean in jail might cost you, and the “hotel” of a jail cell is $300 a night. Where’s the money going? G4S is a security company from where the photo below was taken. They are the “police” force who aren’t necessarily Japanese, and are the folks who rough up the folks who are detained. 20,000 get removed from Japan annually via the Narita Airport jail. The right question is, Who’s watching the guards. (globalite.posterous.com – gaijin tank)  
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Art · caro · dinosaurs · el haru kuroi · luke chueh · mariachi el bronx · natural history museum · News ·

Night at the Museum II – Natural History Museum

The LA Natural History Museum isn’t as large as what you might see in NYC, but it does have a First Friday program featuring an open museum and separate admission for the bands who were in this case, Mariachi El Bronx and El Haru Kuroi. Both great bands sporting a Latin flavor. The sound isn’t at it’s best inside of a museum, but the energy was high and the bands played great.

Yet, the museum itself is a spectacle. On a first friday you can check it out for the price of admission, but do be careful. $10 parking. Why so high? Perhaps it’s because the museum has been redone and each of the sections I got to see looked spectacular. Clean, up to date and of course a great section on dinosaurs which is a must have if you’re going to boast natural history. Impressive and unlike the musty aired museum I remembered from way back. The gorilla at bottom looks real.

 

 

The skeletons look as good as they do anywhere else. The collection here is no joke and it’s probably highly underrated.

 

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cages · hong kong · life · News · slums ·

Living in Rabbit Cages in Hong Kong

These have to be some of the worst paid living conditions ever. Yes, of course living on the streets in a wartorn country could be worse, but this is pretty bad. Is it possible that 100,000 live in rabbit cages in Hong Kong? They’re 6×2 1/2 feet and costs a whopping $200 a month, which seems high! There’s a shared shower and some even have small families. There’s no kitchen and there are more photos at the link. (Dailymail – Rabbit Hutches)     http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2084971/Hong-Kongs-cage-homes-Tens-thousands-living-6ft-2ft-rabbit-hutches.html
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