“PlayStation 3 Launches With Shootings, Robberies, Riots and Other Crime”

* Man in CT gets shot waiting for PS3
* PlayStation 3 hopefuls overwhelm mall in Boston
o Mayor blames Sony
* Police shut down Palmdale Super Wal-Mart
* Man with PS3 gets jumped and beaten by group of teens
* Gunmen heist 4 PlayStation 3 consoles in California
* PlayStation 3 thief strikes in NJ
* Gunman stalks teen from Wal-Mart to home in Yakima
* Armed robbers steal five PS3s from EB Games in Ohio
* Police used pepper balls to contain a crowd waiting at Circuit City in VA
* Riot breaks out in North Fresno
* Wal-Mart manager creates chaos, man runs into pole

On Thursday morning approximately 50 customers were lined up outside the Wal-Mart in West Bend. The customers were waiting to purchase Sony Playstation 3 game consoles.

At 7 a.m. an assistant manager of Wal-Mart announced to the waiting customers that the store anticipated getting only 10 of the game consoles. The game consoles are first available for sale at 12:01 a.m. this Friday.

The assistant manager explained he was going to put 10 chairs out, and the first 10 customers to get to the chairs would be eligible to purchase the game consoles when they go on sale.

The assistant manager then lined up the 10 chairs outside the store and directed the waiting customers to another area outside.
He then gave a signal for the customers to run to the chairs.

(ROFL)

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That’s how USA PS3 launch was. I was in Tokyo by the launch in Japan. There were many people outside the biggest (I think) store in tokyo for electronics and videogames, the night before, and 1500 were given a ticket and offeered to wait underground in the mall park, warmer than outside. At morning they were all queued in a protected line, while each one went ahead in their turn to get the PS3, and everyone was nicely thanked. I doubt anyone was assaulted on the way home.

Oh yah, I’m comparing japan and usa here, in a small basis. I haven’t been for long in the US or here, but for what I’ve seen so far Japan is by faaaaaar a lot better, nicer, cleaner, more (at least technologically) advanced, people are far more polite and respectful, and shrug, it’s safe.

Oh yeah, the chicks are by far prettier too.

There is a lot of them ? How do you know that ? Aren’t you probably easily impressed ? Most people make a big deal out of one or two events and call it the norm.

Dude … just read the news! 8P

More than one school in USA has metal detectors ! I went to school in Italy and I can assure there is no need for metal detectors there.

It’s only natural after incidents of shootings …

I guess then that schools in Japan are just as violent as those in the USA.. but I really don’t think so. Japan is one of the safest countries.

I’m not contesting the how “safe” Japan is compared to the States; I think it has a lot to do with the cultural differences than anything. The point I was trying to express was that there’s no perfect place on the planet.

I see, it’s not the US residents that are crazy, it’s the guns that make them shoot around. However I’ve heard that Canada also has a lot of guns floating around and there is hardly the same level of shootings (although 1-2 years ago something bad happened).

ha ha ha … that’s not what I’m saying. The fewer “options” people have to harm others, the less deadly the results. Having said that, I don’t think the gun ownership laws in Canada are the same as in the States.

Oh c’mon ! Japan is just safer. There is no doubt about it. You can make percentage stats, you can say whatever, that it’s the evil guns that shoot by themselves, that there is racial attrition.. but in the end Japan is just safer.

Yes, Japan is a safer place; I don’t disagree with that. Unlike the States, I think it’s a lot harder to get a work visa, immigration is a stricter, and (at least for the non-asian looking foreigners) it’s very easy to spot a non-Japanese person. I think a lot of the safety here has to do with cultural reasons and the society here still being very homogeneous. I really think the culture here is the main difference … I’m sure Japan’s safer than Italy! 8P To pull in Africa … I think that the U.S. is definitely safer than many countries in Africa … 8P

You mean to those Japanese that like the USA more than Japan ? Let me guess, they will say they like USA more than Japan 8)

I think that depends on the person. The people who told me these things live in Japan and have only been out of the country on short trips, but they notice the differences between how people in other countries act and how people act here.

Do you really believe that Japanese people dream to live in USA ? Maybe Italian people too ?

I don’t think I ever alluded to this at all. My argument is that no country is perfect and every place has it’s good and bad points. At this point in history America (and other countries) dropped the ball … but that doesn’t automatically mean that all Americans are mindless peons nor that all the soldiers are anxious to go to war and kill folks. During WWII, Japan wasn’t looked upon too favorably by it’s neighbors … and friction still exists between Japan and it’s neighbors because of Japan’s actions.

Why then can’t I stand living in the USA ? Am I weird ? Any why aren’t you living in America ? 8P

he he he … I never really did ask why you left the States … I assumed it was because you wanted to work here. At least that’s my reasons for not living in the States at the moment. I think you might remember (can’t remember his name now) criticizing me years ago for wanting to move to Japan to work here because “I could” and “it would be a nice experience”.

If anything, living here has made me appreciate those things I took for granted in the States … and has made me realize how many Americans are simply lazy and don’t realize how good they have it over there.

But I’m glad I made the decision to come live and work here because (while it can drive one crazy at times) the culture and history here is very rich (and very non-Western). My only current regret is that I still haven’t mastered the language to the extent that I’d like to where I can read some of the older literature.

. but the facts are that religion is an incredible tool to send people to die.. to this day.

One could say the same for technology. Many died when Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed. As far as I could tell, that wasn’t a religious decision. Until Japan attacked the U.S at Perl Harbor, there was no war between the two countries. By the way I’m using Japan a lot simply because we live here … I’d use Italy too if I knew anything about Italian history! 8P

I say rather than people just focusing solely on religion, we should put everything on the table … still like xenophobia, racism, greed, slavery, etc …

That’s the whole point.. here you can buy panties, in USA you can’t do anything and end up doing too much..

Is that to say that you wouldn’t feel uncomfortable if you found out that some man was buying your daughter’s panties? 8P I definitely don’t agree with the Roman Catholic Church’s stance on celibacy for priests and nuns, but in any (normal) society if the govt. passes laws that restrict people’s sexual expression (or any kind of behavior that society at large deems inappropriate), there will be “repression” in some form or another … What deters many people from expressing whatever repressions they have (sexual or whatever) is the potential consequences of breaking those laws.

But my reasoning is that if you have priests abusing young boys and men buying teenage girls’ panties … there’s probably more going on inside of them than mere repression of sexual desires wanting to be fulfilled.

Here is one example:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/low/dates/stories/january/18/newsid_4588000/4588486.stm

My grandfather lived near Haifa in 1991.

Saddam was hoping for an Israeli retalliation that whould in turn force all the other arab countries to get involved, which would’ve pretty much become a world war.

Rince:
Not every European country but most of them. Also I see South Korea, Japan, Australia, some South American countries and even Tonga!!!

Yeah and also Morocco offering to send a thousand monkeys to disarm mine fields…
It was really only just USA and UK. Countries like Japan and Italy went after for “humanitarian” tasks.
Basically the leaders of Japan and Italy were in business with Bush and went against the will of their people at the time… while you can bet that most Americans from the US wanted to go to Iraq.. how would I like to actually send those people there ..I wonder if they are so willing themselves ;)

So I think the fact that Saddam Hussein was removed from power was definitely a good thing for the world in general and Iraq specifically.

How was he affecting the world ? And what has the world learned form all this ? That you can go bomb a country and create a mess ? Civilians in Iraq die in big quantities every day.
..and it’s not like nobody ever warned of the potential problems with religious factions..
Also the UN inspectors clearly stated that there were no WMD in sight, but Bush had to go anyway because he’s a man of action.. nice action there !

I realize that you hate Saddam Hussein for your personal reasons, but I doubt that Iraqi are currently too happy.
Who has gained anything from all this ?

You’re just so anti U.S.A.! You’re so bias!!
Keep praising Japan. I hope some American
kick your ass 8)

This website is boring!!!

Go back to coding, dude!!

Not every European country but most of them. Also I see South Korea, Japan, Australia, some South American countries and even Tonga!!!

Anyway its all very easy and logical to say: ‘Let each country take care of its own internal affairs’. But then you get some psychopath like Hitler rising to power and world wars happen.

So I think the fact that Saddam Hussein was removed from power was definitely a good thing for the world in general and Iraq specifically.

Ragin:
I think violence in schools is relative to the culture and the “tools” they have available for violence. If you have guns and teens crazy enough, they’ll use guns. If you have knives and teens crazy enough, they’ll use knives. Let’s take a look at Japan (’cause we’re living in the country). There are a lot of student stabbing incidents here … partially because of the bullying problem (that generally isn’t addressed), but also for various other reasons.

There is a lot of them ? How do you know that ? Aren’t you probably easily impressed ? Most people make a big deal out of one or two events and call it the norm.
More than one school in USA has metal detectors ! I went to school in Italy and I can assure there is no need for metal detectors there.

Here’s the first one (kind of “recent”)
Japan in shock at school murder. If I recall properly, this girl stabbed (and killed) her friend because she was saying bad things about her on some chat site on the net …

I guess then that schools in Japan are just as violent as those in the USA.. but I really don’t think so. Japan is one of the safest countries. Shit happens here too, but I know for a fact taht you can walk around Tokyo at night without having to worry about anything worse than stepping over some puke dumped by a drunken salaryman.
You try do that in any of the major cities in the USA and come back to tell me.. try downtown LA, Chicago, or Naples in Italy ;)

Weapon of choice … a knife … thank goodness that there aren’t any guns freely floating about the place.

I see, it’s not the US residents that are crazy, it’s the guns that make them shoot around. However I’ve heard that Canada also has a lot of guns floating around and there is hardly the same level of shootings (although 1-2 years ago something bad happened).

The war in Iraq is so convoluted at this point. Many are solely blaming the U.S., but I think there are other nations just as responsible for the mess.

Responsible for not having had the balls to oppose. Many nations are too dependent on the USA and can’t just say no.. although I think that that’s lame.

Yeah, those infomercials are trying to sell people the “American Dream” thing … I think they’re a direct result of people losing perspective on what’s important in life. It’s highly likely that you won’t see those kind of informercials here in Japan since there doesn’t seem to be the same economic infrastructure for normal, everyday people to build wealth (as there is in the States). I was talking with a person the other day about why Japan (despite having a lot of technical knowledge and ability) doesn’t produce things Google and YouTube. The answer I received as that there’s no venture captial type system here

I saw one of those infomercials in Japan recently ! People in Japan are definitely less daring when it comes to business. There is a culture to sticking with a company.. but on the other hand, it’s hard to get fired.

As you know, Japan has a very high suicide rate among it’s younger people. These pressures to do well in school, etc does take a toll on a lot of people. A lot of Japanese women these days don’t want to settle (so they can chase their dreams), I’ve met a person who actually wanted to be a NEET, and there are other “reactions” to the social pressure here. I think it’s as a result of the pressures that Japan’s currently experiencing it’s population drop.

Pressure for japanese people too.. luckly they prefer sucide to omicide !

Well, obviously that’s not possible. So many factors that contribute to crime. Population, culture, social needs. Crime in the States is obviously going to be worse than in Japan since the U.S. is a multi-cultural country and has far larger population than Japan. 8P

Oh c’mon ! Japan is just safer. There is no doubt about it. You can make percentage stats, you can say whatever, that it’s the evil guns that shoot by themselves, that there is racial attrition.. but in the end Japan is just safer.

This is where you’ll have to talk to people who are Japanese but have lived outside of the country long enough.

You mean to those Japanese that like the USA more than Japan ? Let me guess, they will say they like USA more than Japan 8)

Generally as a foreigner you’ll always get treated differently as opposed to an actual Japanese person. More than likely, we won’t experience the same pressures that a Japanese person does. In that context, people are less “free” than in the States.

It’s a cultural thing. Freedom isn’t equal everywhere. This is the same reasoning that makes USA go bomb the middle east, claming it’s installing democracy etc etc.
Forget your idea of things, forget your culture. Try to accept the fact that people can be happy with a different view of things.
I realize that more individuaslity can bring good things, but I also realize that some people are born and raised in a certain environment and ultimately don’t necessarily want to change. Do you really believe that Japanese people dream to live in USA ? Maybe Italian people too ?
Why then can’t I stand living in the USA ? Am I weird ? Any why aren’t you living in America ? 8P

In the case of religion, a lot of bad has been done in the name of religion, but I conjecture that even if religion was erased from humanity the same “religious” style problems would exist.

You go conjecture that.. but the facts are that religion is an incredible tool to send people to die.. to this day.

What kind of sexual repression are we talking about? The case of the Roman Catholic priests is a classical example of where the Bible says one thing

Still, they become crazy in the name of some religion.

To play devil’s advocate using the country we live in … There was a period of time where middle-aged/older men were buying schoolgirls’ underwear. The Christian population in Japan is less than 1% and I would say has very little influence on the populace’s thinking. These men seemed to have been sexually repressed… but (as far as I can tell) there’s nothing here (religiously) that’s actively telling people “you mustn’t do these tings”.

That’s the whole point.. here you can buy panties, in USA you can’t do anything and end up doing too much..

aaaahh! there’s a broken blockquote tag at the end of the first paragraph … can u fix me please? 8P

Stupid WordPress.. why can’t they add a simple Preview ?!

I don’t expect you to hang out with drunken hotheads.. but that’s you. Bad things are rare, but are more rare in other places.
For example, school shootings for example are very rare in USA, but just never happen in Italy !
An actual school shooting is only the last stage of an ugly environment. The actual occurrence is the result of a “fortuitous” chain of events. When one happens it means that there are a lot of problem.

I think violence in schools is relative to the culture and the “tools” they have available for violence. If you have guns and teens crazy enough, they’ll use guns. If you have knives and teens crazy enough, they’ll use knives. Let’s take a look at Japan (’cause we’re living in the country). There are a lot of student stabbing incidents here … partially because of the bullying problem (that generally isn’t addressed), but also for various other reasons.

Here’s the first one (kind of “recent”)
Japan in shock at school murder. If I recall properly, this girl stabbed (and killed) her friend because she was saying bad things about her on some chat site on the net …

Here’s another one:
Japan stunned by school massacre

Weapon of choice … a knife … thank goodness that there aren’t any guns freely floating about the place.

And was the war in Iraq good ?

I never said it was good. My overall point is that war has never been a good thing, but (at times) it can’t be avoided. The war in Iraq is so convoluted at this point. Many are solely blaming the U.S., but I think there are other nations just as responsible for the mess.

It’s the same everywhere but to different degrees. In Italy there is not so much pressure. In Japan there is pressure to do good in school up to university and then to just settle. In USA there is a very strong will to become rich quick.
I’m a fan of infomercials and I remember clearly that most of them in USA where about becoming rich (Don Lapre from his tiny one bedroom apartment !). Similar infomercials are very rare in Italy or Japan…

Yeah, those infomercials are trying to sell people the “American Dream” thing … I think they’re a direct result of people losing perspective on what’s important in life. It’s highly likely that you won’t see those kind of informercials here in Japan since there doesn’t seem to be the same economic infrastructure for normal, everyday people to build wealth (as there is in the States). I was talking with a person the other day about why Japan (despite having a lot of technical knowledge and ability) doesn’t produce things Google and YouTube. The answer I received as that there’s no venture captial type system here … at least similar to the way it’s in the States. All the money’s tied up with the large companies and the big wig executives and basically everything’s done by protocol. Livedoor is probably the closest thing to this, but since (it seemed) Mr. Horie didn’t play by the rules (he was the nail that stuck out), he was removed from the playing field.

As you know, Japan has a very high suicide rate among it’s younger people. These pressures to do well in school, etc does take a toll on a lot of people. A lot of Japanese women these days don’t want to settle (so they can chase their dreams), I’ve met a person who actually wanted to be a NEET, and there are other “reactions” to the social pressure here. I think it’s as a result of the pressures that Japan’s currently experiencing it’s population drop.

I dare you to compare the crime rate between Japan and the USA !

Well, obviously that’s not possible. So many factors that contribute to crime. Population, culture, social needs. Crime in the States is obviously going to be worse than in Japan since the U.S. is a multi-cultural country and has far larger population than Japan. 8P

Japan is less free than the USA ? How is that ? I think the biggest difference is on the workplace. Here the average citizen is expected to work harder… but the situation with work in the USA is not necessarily always better.

This is where you’ll have to talk to people who are Japanese but have lived outside of the country long enough. In the States, there are less social consequences for being an individual than in Japan. People tend to avoid wanting to rock the boat because pressures can come from various places. I’m not Japanese, so I really can’t explain it well … Generally as a foreigner you’ll always get treated differently as opposed to an actual Japanese person. More than likely, we won’t experience the same pressures that a Japanese person does. In that context, people are less “free” than in the States.

It’s good to express personal opinions, but it’s not necessarily bad to keep the head down from time to time.

Yeah, that’s true. But (at least from my observation) keeping one’s head down is the norm here … at least in a public setting.

What’s the source of all wars ? Money and religion ! Money is what moves the “smart” people, and religion is what groups the fighting peeons.

I’ll go further and qualify it as not so much as money but the greed and bigotry in people’s hearts. Money in itself is a neutral thing; it doesn’t posses any good or bad qualities. I just read this article today:
Identity Thief Is Often Found in Family Photo
In that article, it seems money has become more important than the children.

As for Christianity in USA.. that special flavor of Christianity is rather bigot. It’s very strong, very vivid and very encumbering. It forces people to worry too damn much about what they are supposed to do, until some of them can’t take it anymore and start doing the opposite.

In the case of religion, a lot of bad has been done in the name of religion, but I conjecture that even if religion was erased from humanity the same “religious” style problems would exist. The Rwanda Genocide had nothing to do with religious issues, but more different cultures (same “race” of people!). One could propose that racial differences are a source of war, and thus racial differences should be eliminated … but homogenizing the human race (biologically a really bad idea) is impossible I think. Even if the world was “one race” and everyone looked the same, etc, people would still find some reason to dislike people that are “different” from themselves. Religion is just amongst one of the many excuses people have used to justify war.

Obviously, there must be something about people that would cause them to make these bad decisions time after time after time … even if it means other people may get harmed or will suffer.

Sex for example, the stronger the repression, the uglier it turns. Catholic priests can’t have sex and some of them end up molesting children . Most of them don’t, but pressure is bound to crack someone somewhere.

What kind of sexual repression are we talking about? The case of the Roman Catholic priests is a classical example of where the Bible says one thing, and human beings take things out of context. There’s nowhere in the Bible that forbids marriage to those who want to be priests or serve full-time in the church. In fact people are told to get married for the very reason that not everyone can control themselves!

To play devil’s advocate using the country we live in … There was a period of time where middle-aged/older men were buying schoolgirls’ underwear. The Christian population in Japan is less than 1% and I would say has very little influence on the populace’s thinking. These men seemed to have been sexually repressed… but (as far as I can tell) there’s nothing here (religiously) that’s actively telling people “you mustn’t do these tings”.

Again this particular problem has existed in all societies and depending on the period was either embraced or discouraged. Having said that I’m glad that the problem with the Roman Catholic priests got exposed … it was especially shocking to see the amount of cover-up that went on for so long.