Police visited the home of Sogen Kato at the request of ward officials updating their list of centenarians ahead of Respect for the Elderly Day in September. Kato was born July 22, 1899, which would have made him 111.
Japanese welfare officials have tried to meet Kato since earlier this year, but his family members repeatedly chased them away, saying Kato was merely restingstunnedpining for the fijords well but didnt want to see anyone, said Tomoko Iwamatsu, an official at Tokyos downtown Adachi Ward, where Kato lived. Officials grew suspicious and sought an investigation by police, who forced their way into the house Wednesday. Police said the mummified body believed to be Kato was lying in his bed, wearing underwear and pyjamas, covered with a blanket. "Well, uh, um, you see, we didn't realize he was, you know, dead or anything like that, 'cause, um, Grandpaw's always been a real quiet man with dry skin."
His granddaughter told investigators Kato holed up in his room about 30 years ago after declaring he wanted to be a living Buddha, police and Tokyo officials said. They believe Kato died soon after that. Which would have made him a dead living Buddha.
Tokyo police were investigating possible crimes on suspicion Katos family received pension money of the man and his dead wife. His family must have known he has been dead all these years and acted as if nothing happened, said Tokyo metropolitan welfare official Yutaka Muroi. Its so eerie.
Posted by: Mike ||
07/30/2010 17:15 ||
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#1
Well, he's...he's, ah...probably pining for the fjords.
#2
"His family must have known he has been dead all these years and acted as if nothing happened," said Tokyo metropolitan welfare official Yutaka Muroi. "It's so eerie."
Eerie isn't the word I would use....
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/30/2010 18:11 Comments ||
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#3
It would be funny if states did a "state's oldest voter" promotion ostensibly to motivate older people to vote but it would be interesting to see if there are any 150 year old "voters" still "casting" ballots.
A Denver man gets paid to smoke pot and write about it as one of the first medical marijuana critics in the country.
A decade after medical marijuana was legalized in Colorado, it's estimated about 2 percent of residents -- or more than 100,000 people -- have applied for medical marijuana licenses.
According to one Harvard economist, roughly $18 billion is spent on pot every year in the U.S. Denver's Westword newspaper has capitalized on those numbers -- hiring the man known as "William Breathes" to review pot dispensaries and the quality of the medical marijuana they sell.
"He has his journalism degree," a Westword editor said. "He was a good writer, and he could also punctuate and he could spell, which was very different than a lot of people who applied for the job."
Breathes has been smoking marijuana for 15 years to ease chronic stomach pains. Now his medicine is paying his mortgage.
"Load up a little bit and taste it," he said as he tested a joint he bought at a local dispensary. "Try and taste the smoke as it comes out. It has a really woody finish, almost like a mesquite finish to it. After a few hits, try to see what kind of buzz it is."
People who swear by pot's medical benefits are becoming so-called marijuana pharmacists.
Steve Horowitz makes edibles at his Ganja Gourmet Shop on a street nicknamed "Broadsterdam."
"It's like gold, this stuff," he said. "There's a big bubble going on, there's a big buzz, everyone wants to be in the medical marijuana business."
As for Breathes, he's not going to lie. His job can definitely be fun sometimes, and he still can't get over that he gets paid to take bong hits.
But Breathes also believes in the power of marijuana as medicine.
"When I'm battling throwing up, pot really helps me the most -- it's truly medical," he said.
#2
Forget the hymenoplasty--Give up the religion; it's a suicide pact anyway. The guy who is focused on intact hymens wants 72 virgins beginning with you.
#4
I heard of one young couple, who were actually married before they had sex (yes, that long ago), unhappily to discover that she had a bulletproof hymen. It had to be surgically broken, which, because he was an M.D. and she was an R.N., had to be done by a colleague.
Even back then, the medical community thought that surgery was a better and safer way of breaking the hymen. In any event, they ended up having five kids.
Some 6,000 bottles of Black Tot Rum were issued for sale at HMS Belfast on the River Thames in London.
On 31st July 1970, known as Black Tot Day, the last rations were given out to serving sailors, calling to a close a tradition going back some 300 years.
Sailors bore black armbands and conducted mock funerals to bid farewell to the rations.
However, a small consignment was left unused. The surplus, from E.D. & F. Man & Co, official rum merchants to the Navy since 1784, was stored in wicker-clad stone flagons, with only small amounts withdrawn for state occasions.
Now the bottles, each presented in a dark wooden case with a copper cup measuring the official half gill measure, will be sold. Buyers will have to dig deep, however, as each bottle carries a hefty £600 price tag.
#2
Pusser's Rum, aka "Nelson's Blood", the brand produced by *wooden* stills, is definitely an acquired taste, and a lot more formidable than is typical with a metal still rum. The manufacturer makes much about the flavors imparted by the wood. The rum is made from molasses, not sugarcane juice.
http://www.pussers.com/rum
It is still available for purchase, and is a must have for Patrick O'Brian fans. Royalties are paid to The Royal Navy Sailor's Fund by the manufacturer.
Yeah, couldn't see this coming...
First, they were made to listen to a public airing of their faults. Then they had to turn around en masse and do the same thing to their disgraced coach, who may not be long for this world.
New reports are leaking out of North Korea about the national soccer team's humiliating return home after losing all three of their matches at the recent World Cup.
No one expected North Korea to do well -- except, apparently, the leadership apparatus of North Korea. Well, they did have "on the spot field guidance" from Dear Leader...
Embarrassment was compounded when, after a competitive 2-1 opening loss to five-time champions Brazil, the country's despotic leadership took the unprecedented step of broadcasting the team's second game on live television. North Korea's 7-0 loss to Portugal was one of the most lopsided in tournament history.
According to early reports, the North Korean play-by-play team stopped speaking during the second half of the broadcast. The match went unreported in the next day's newspapers.
In a country that takes perverse delight in punishing its most loyal servants, you could smell the payback coming. It apparently arrived on July 2, shortly after the North Koreans returned home. The 23-man roster -- minus its two Japanese-based ringers, Jong "Weepy" Tae-se and An Yong-hak -- was hauled up on stage in front of 400 attendees at the inaptly named People's Palace of Culture. The audience included a large number of university students and athletes, as well as high party officials. For the next six hours, players were reprimanded for failures in their play, according to a jarring report from Radio Free Asia. Woah...and I thought Philly fans were tough for booing Santa Claus.
This included a damning player-by-player appraisal of individual mistakes in play, provided by the country's leading sports broadcaster. Sorry, guys. I gotta cover my own ass. Don't wanna be made into Soylent Green...
More alarmingly, they were accused of "betraying" the country in the "great ideological struggle." Uh-oh. That ain't good...
After the players received their collective rollicking, the team was then forced to round on its coach, Kim Jong-hun.
Things were far worse for Kim. He was accused of "betraying the young General Kim Jong-un," the shadowy son of North Korean leader, Kim Jong-il. Ooooh...that really ain't good.
Though no adult photos exist of Kim Jong-un, he is thought to be his seriously ill father's heir apparent. A nascent personality cult is quickly building up around him in North Korea. When the team first qualified for the World Cup several months ago, the success was chalked up nationwide as "young General Kim Jong-un's accomplishment."
The ominous linking of coach Kim with future leader Kim means the soccer manager's "safety is in jeopardy," according to RFA.
In recent months, North Korea has executed two top officials -- one who oversaw a recent disastrous currency revaluation and another in charge of diplomatic talks with South Korea. Both were subjected to the same sort of accusations of treachery before they faced the firing squad.
Rumours abound that coach Kim has been expelled from the Worker's Party and forced into the construction industry as a labourer. Making little ones out of big ones probably... Construction laborer? That would be in one of the big 'corrective labor' concentration camps. He really isn't long for this world one way or another.
I understand it's generally entire families condemned to re-education, not just the individual target.
"Higher education has become the preserve of professors ... (who) really have lost contact with the main purpose of higher education, which is the education of students."
Hacker and Dreifus are critical of many U.S. universities, noting the cost of a 4-year degree has doubled in real dollars compared to a generation ago. But education, they say, has not become twice as good as many colleges lost their focus.
Hacker said the high price of tuition often has little to do with teaching.
"Prices got to where they are because both universities and administrators spent like drunken sailors," Hacker said, noting Ivy League graduates often have average careers.
#1
Oh but in the great state of Kalifornia the raised tuition prices 15%, cut sports, cut classes, had rallies, and then the administrators/Professors voted themselves a pay increase. If that isn't a good lesson on economics then I don't know what is.
#2
"Prices got to where they are because both universities and administrators spent like drunken sailors," Hacker said, noting Ivy League graduates often have average careers.
#7
I can see most people going back to a style of apprentice type of education. Pick a field, get some training, get some certs and you are on your way. Much better than a 4 year degree, IMHO.
#9
Your don't need a 4 year degree to become a plumber, electrician, etc, and these guys can make more than most lawyers. Plus you get 4 more year on the job and no indentured servitude (i.e. student loan debt). Makes it kind of hard to see the value of spending $200,000 on a Communications degree from, say, a 2nd or third tier university.
#10
Well, look at how far above his competence level Keith Olbermann got from an Aggy Ivy League School diploma
Posted by: Frank G ||
07/30/2010 18:29 Comments ||
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#11
iblis, if you pay your way through a tech school or community college most still have loan to pay off.
There used to be a decent program for Vocational Education for the folks that like to work with their hands and minds (if you don't think "minds" you haven't dealt with modern equipment or cars). Not so much anymore. Too many Chiefs and not enough Indians, with chief wannabe's dispensing coffee like AH's barista.
#12
"if you pay your way through a tech school or community college most still have loan to pay off"
True, tip, but it won't be $100,000 dollars and you'll be able to get a better-paying job than waitress or sales clerk....
Of course, if people bothered saving for school (or parents saved while a child was growing up, and made the child save too), you could get out of tech school with little or no debt. But people would rather have the latest toy now than plan for later.
I've mentioned saving for college to people, and their response is, "You can't save enough to pay for 4 years of college!" (Gee, maybe you can if you're not planning on going to Hahvahd - have you tried?)
My response is you can't save enough to pay for a house outright, either, but most people understand the concept of a down payment. Same with college. And the more you have saved, the lower you debt will be when you're through and the sooner you'll pay it off.
Posted by: Barbara Skolaut ||
07/30/2010 19:18 Comments ||
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#13
Barbara:
All true, but I think the point is whether the cost is justified. Doubt anyone here would argue that student loans are a good idea.
Further, the easy availability of student loans has had the same effect on tuition costs that easy mortgages had on housing prices... Difference is that you can walk away from a bad mortgage.
#14
Doubt anyone here would argue that student loans are a good idea.
State subsidized student loans are a terrible idea. They are the main reason the real cost of college has doubled while quality has declined. Sort of like what government guaranteed mortgages did to the housing market. Whenever the government distorts incentives and rewards, dysfunctional behaviour will follow.
#15
O will go the way of socialism. As in Norway you take a test to see if indeed you can handle the work in your field of interest otherwise you are directed to areas you have shown some aptitude. Then at 50 you are retired.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Tattoos of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk's signature, founder of the modern day secular Turkey, is becoming more of a popular choice among secular Turks.
"This tattoo is getting more and more popular every day, especially among young people," Murat Arti, a tattoo artist and the owner of Tattoo Murat in the Sisli district of Istanbul, told the UAE-based THE NATIONAL newspaper.
"They think the government is trying to make them forget Ataturk. The government is even trying to change the constitution now."
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
Not a good sign for the Islamists in the next elections.
[Al Arabiya Latest] Students at an Islamic university in eastern India have refused to allow a female lecturer to teach unless she wears an all-encompassing Muslim veil, the teacher said Thursday.
The student union has ordered all female students and all eight female lecturers at the small Calcutta campus of Aliah University to wear the veil, called a burqa in South Asia.
Sirin Middya, who described herself as a devout Muslim, said she was appointed in March but has not been allowed to teach her classes since she refused to wear the garment, which covers the entire body and face. A mesh net covers the eyes.
"The students have threatened us and have put up banners saying those who oppose the burqa rule can go back home," Middya said.
Nearly a fourth of the population of West Bengal state, where the university is located, is Muslim, and burqas are a common sight in Islamic neighborhoods.
But the garment is rare in much of India, a predominantly Hindu country, with a large Muslim minority, and it is unusual for it to cause a stir. Unlike in the West, where governments have moved to ban the burqa, Muslim dress is not typically a source of public debate.
Middya said she had been hired to teach Bengali at the city campus but had been helping out as a librarian in a separate suburban campus of the university for the last three months.
"I don't have a problem wearing the burqa, but when I wear it, it will be of my own free will," Middya said.
Middya said she has written to the university authorities and West Bengal education minister to intervene after a new academic year began in July.
University authorities were not immediately available for comment. However, Vice Chancellor Syed Shamshul Alam told the Indian Express newspaper that they have asked the teacher to shift to another campus of the university. "This is a stray incident. ... There is no dress code in our university," Alam said.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2010 00:00 ||
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#1
The student union has ordered all female students and all eight female lecturers at the small Calcutta campus of Aliah University to wear the veil, called a burqa in South Asia.
Can't you just feel the tolerance? The love? The respect? The same tolerance, love and respect that they demand when they are in the minority?
#2
So instead of calling out the retards, they sweep it under the rug and look the other way while the less-than-desireables continue to terrorize and intimidate their way through life.
#3
If they really wanted to leave a mark, they should find out who is responsible for this, then dock them a letter grade in every course for the semester. Then notify their parents that they are slumming, and on academic probation.
Then require them to take her course, advising them that she knows who they are, so they had better be extra studious and polite.
#5
#4 Anonymoose, how effective will academic punishment be, in a country where most of the politicians purchased their degrees?
Posted by: trailing wife 2010-07-30 13:16
TW, could that portion of your comment (in bold type) also be applied to many of our politicians?
Just askin' ya' know.
#6
Politicians purchasing degrees is common in Pakistan where you must have a degree in order to stand for elections.
In India, anybody can stand for elections. The former chief minister of Bihar (population - 80 million), Rabri Devi is illiterate.
Posted by: john frum ||
07/30/2010 13:58 Comments ||
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#7
in a country where most of the politicians purchased their degrees?
Even our president didn't purchase his degree, WolfDog. He just upgraded due to his charm, but he actually had to get scholarships and attend class and all that. Had Senator John F. Kerry been able to purchase a degree, it would have been from Harvard Law, not merely Boston U. What we've got, in terms of too many of our degreed people, is men and women who learnt how to get degrees, but not how to think effectively, an entirely different problem.
[Ma'an] A Palestinian teenager was hit by a bullet during celebratory fire at a wedding in southern Gaza on Wednesday.
Taiseer Dhair, 14, was wounded in his left leg at the Rafah wedding party, and transferred to the European Gaza hospital, the Palestinian Center for Human Rights reported.
PCHR attributed these kinds of incidents, which have increased in frequency recently, to the chaotic security and the misuse of weapons in the occupied Palestinian territories, calling on the Attorney-General to investigate and bring perpetrators to justice.
Posted by: Fred ||
07/30/2010 00:00 ||
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TEHRAN, Iran An Iranian official says cigarettes smuggled into Iran have been tainted with pig blood and nuclear material as part of a Western conspiracy. Smoke Ayatollah 100's instead. Made with 100% pure Persian goat shit...
The semiofficial Mehr news agency quotes Mohammad Reza Madani from the Society for Fighting Smoking as saying contraband Marlboros have been contaminated with pig hemoglobin and unspecified nuclear material. ...and joo cooties.
Madani claims Philip Morris International, which sells Marlboro outside the U.S., is "led by Zionists" and deliberately exports tainted cigarettes. A Zionist's a Zionist. But a good smoke's a good smoke...
He provided no evidence or information about the confiscated cigarettes. Friday's report also gave no details on how the contamination was discovered. In Mohammad's dreams most likely...
Tehran, which often alleges Western conspiracies, says 20 billion cigarettes are smuggled into Iran every year.
#3
I wish we could smuggle some genuine Havanas into the good 'ol USA. Now I have to make the 60 mile trip to Nogales - and carefully avoid the ubiquitous Mexican counterfeits.
#4
Wasn't there a problem with counterfeit Java oranges in the last Iranian election? First that they were Israeli, then that they were actually Chinese... something like that?
#2
An inevitable consequence of embracing the multi-culti bullsh*t: what kind of family you were born into will determine whether you are considered fair game for crimes such as rape.
Tolerating Mohammedanism: one giant leap backwards for mankind.
#3
A basic principal for why the law exists is to prevent revenge bloodshed when a crime is committed. Judges are supposed to be neutral, and everyone is supposed to be equal before the law.
Of course this is never the case, but at least the appearance has to be maintained, because if it fails to do so, revenge bloodshed returns.
#4
"Women are your fields, go (verb is male so this means men) into your fields as you please" - Quran 2:223
Posted by: lord garth ||
07/30/2010 14:08 Comments ||
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#5
My family is Catholic.
Can I claim that killing muslims is my religious heritage? I could probably document it back to the Crusades. They way court rulings come out of left field now days I think I may have a shot.
#6
bigjim, no, because that would be racist. (Yeah, I know they're not a race, but considering the intelligence of many judges lately, I'm sure they'd buy it.)
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
