Live data from Hacker News

The Crime That Killed Shinzo Abe

shingetsunewsagency.com

371–380 of 494 posts

Re: The Crime That Killed Shinzo Abe

#371

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, for starters, it would mean that members of the public who had interacted with the murderer, and had important information about their motives, means of obtaining weapons, accomplices, etc. would not realize that they had important information, and therefore would not make this information available to investigators. Next, it would mean that powerful interests who had responsibility for the crime, by instigatio…

"and therefore would not make this information available to investigators." I find it unlikely that investigators would not be able to find those connections themselves, especially in the digital age. "Next, it would mean that powerful interests who had responsibility for the crime, by instigation or negligence, might be able to avoid accountability for their actions/omissions, since people would not be able to conne…

>I find it unlikely that investigators would not be able to find those connections themselves, especially in the digital age.

Less than half of all murders in the US are solved in this "digital age", and the majority of the ones that are, are because of witnesses and informants telling what they know.

Re: The Crime That Killed Shinzo Abe

#372

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Why not? Isn't that how the current ones came to be?" There's an interesting history of rights prior to the Constitution. But now that we have a constitution, there's a defined process for amending it. Of course, there is still room for interpretation. But if you allow politicians and judges to wildly change the constitution on a whim, you might as well not have one. What you are suggesting qualifies as such a wild…

"There's an interesting history of rights prior to the Constitution. But now that we have a constitution, there's a defined process for amending it." Yet the courts and legislature have added restrictions without following that process. "But if you allow politicians and judges to wildly change the constitution on a whim, you might as well not have one." I generally agree. However, it's not a radical change to include…

"Yet the courts and legislature have added restrictions without following that process."

I don't mean to suggest that it's perfect or followed perfectly. As I said, there's room for interpretation.

"However, it's not a radical change to include killers names under the 'fighting words'"

I disagree and I doubt you'd find many people who understand our legal system that agree with you.

"Why [would it not get much support]?"

Hypothetically, let's say I'm wrong. Wouldn't all those people who support it be able to pressure mainstream outlets to suppress information that glorifies killers? Sounds like a much easier alternative that would produce the desired result.

Personally, I already avoid reading news articles about mass killers. I usually wait a while, and then read wikipedia or something if I'm interested to know.

Re: The Crime That Killed Shinzo Abe

#373

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's definitely a culture of brothels that still exists thats pretty foreign to the West. You won't really hear about it because Japanese people don't just offer there stories up to foreigners... but I've had sources inform me of places where people can go for orgies (in a way Americans may casually visit a strip club which is a toned down version of this) and I believe in some cases can even be expensed to the bu…

Watching “Midnight Diner” on Netflix I was struck by a much more casual acceptance of stripping and prostitution than I would have expected.

I'm not sure how much that reflects general attitudes. That show is also set in Shinjuku which I believe houses a lot of strip clubs and other similar activites.

Re: The Crime That Killed Shinzo Abe

#374
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no licensing of the print or online media in Japan. However, there are a number of factors that effectively limit the freedom of many media outlets. The kisha clubs [1], which control media access to government officials and the police, are restricted to reporters from major media organizations. The tabloid press frequently complains about those restrictions and use those restrictions as justification for th…

> An amusing one that I remember is when a magazine was not allowed to include the term shōgi daoshi—literally, “falling over like shogi pieces” An amusing one on multiple levels. Standard shogi pieces don't fall over! They're not miniature statues like in Western chess, but flat reversible tiles [0]. It's like it was written by a Western journalist who needed to translate his idiom into Japanese. [0] https://upload.…

Western chess pieces don't fall over like dominoes either, since they're usually kind of rounded...

Re: The Crime That Killed Shinzo Abe

#375

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Your thinly veiled accusation of racism notwithstanding, I don’t think there’s anything morally deplorable in thinking the media should help the public build a more statistically representative model of the world we live in, regardless of the cultural background of criminals. As an example, I don’t think the demographic of young white guys fare too well in the mass shooter statistic, but omitting this reality isn’t o…

Personally I think it's a huge red flag when people talk about "criminals" as a noun. There is no Homo criminalis distinct from Homo sapiens . Most people should not be branded as such a category for the rest of their lives. Many people are also falsely accused, and the system in the United States is especially bad at that.

That's a linguistic battle that's hard to win. Calling someone a "criminal" or a "magician" is equivalent from a language standpoint -- both are labels referring to a subset of people.

Trying to be more precise to make a relevant point is more work and comes across as pedantic and annoying, like "birthing people". You can argue that it's more correct and better in some sense, but logic doesn't always win when it comes to language.

Re: The Crime That Killed Shinzo Abe

#376
post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was explained to me when I lived in Japan, that while there are many Japanese media companies that exist independently in Japan, they all have to go to one central government body to renew their licenses to exist. They get some leeway but it's it's not much

Canada wants to implement this under the Trudeau liberal government. It's been a little disturbing to watch a Canadian liberal government take steps in the direction of totalitarian control since the beginning of the pandemic. When was the last time the political right has positioned themselves in opposition to the left in defense of free speech and individual rights and freedoms? Strange times.

It's not just Canada. "Free Speech" is no longer a part of modern left-of-center policy in general. Even the American ACLU no longer defines itself as a defender of free speech the way it used to. The argument (for what it's worth) is that the far-right is defending hate speech through the concept of free speech and so free speech is no longer worth defending as an ideal.

Re: The Crime That Killed Shinzo Abe

#377
post #16
post #5

The linked article ends with this: “Why the Japanese media has refused to identify the ‘religious group’ that formed the motive for the killing must remain as speculation at this juncture, though it reflects very poorly on Japan’s status as a democratic nation.” It’s important to note that the Japanese media is not monolithic. It’s true that the major newspapers (Asahi, Yomiuri, Mainichi, Nikkei, etc.) and the broadc…

It's not really any different than the US. Lots of information tends to be "widely known" online to those who care to dig, but the mainstream outlets stick to some narrative that is best described as "half truth".

There's lots of information out there that's widely known that is true. There's also lots of widely known information that is untrue.

Re: The Crime That Killed Shinzo Abe

#378
post #244

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, I'm not alone in wondering if they should be treated like bible thumpers, or not. Good to know. Also good to know they aren't bible thumpers, and just happen to be 'Christians' monitoring science, as per the name implies.

Like kevinmchugh pointed out, imagine parentheses to group "(Christian Science) Monitor". Christian Science is a set of beliefs that the "First Church of Christ, Scientist" adhere to. Stuff like the belief that disease is a mental error rather than physical disorder, and that the sick should be treated not by medicine but by a form of prayer that seeks to correct the beliefs responsible for the illusion of ill health…

Fair enough. Though I do want to say anecdotally at least that mind over matter can be pretty powerful stuff...

Placebo's and Nocebo effects wouldn't exist without it.

Re: The Crime That Killed Shinzo Abe

#379
post #252

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Epoch Times is owned by Falun Gong. (They are apocalyptic/UFO/meditation cult, they have been banned in China and, if you believe their claims, organ harvested. I don’t know how much to believe those claims, but China does keep a lot of things with organs weirdly secret. FG are present at every anti-Chinese protest. They also do the Chinese ballet which name I forgot now…. ah yeah Shen Yun) I don’t know any other…

In Toronto (probably also everywhere ) FG tend to hijack parades by having 100s of marchers, regardless of what the parade itself is celebrating. I find it quite obnoxious, since it makes every parade except for Pride look like it's Falun Gong Day. They must pay a lot into the parades in order to even be accepted in such large numbers.

They do 4th of July all over the US. It's quite impressive actually. Saw them recently in DC.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqHvBqLZghI

Re: The Crime That Killed Shinzo Abe

#380
post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not really any different than the US. Lots of information tends to be "widely known" online to those who care to dig, but the mainstream outlets stick to some narrative that is best described as "half truth".

Case in point, the death of Epstein.

I'm genuinely curious. What hidden but verifiable facts have been hidden from the public with respect to the Epstein death?
Post reply on HN