Readings 5-19-08

Ireland to hunt nightmare fishing nets in north Atlantic

The Irish Sea Fisheries Board has said that Ireland is to tackle the growing problem of so-called "ghost nets" that are destroying fish stocks in the northeast Atlantic Ocean.

"Ghost nets" are so called because they drift in the ocean after being abandoned or dumped and some have been found to be still catching fish and ensnaring other marine life for up to three years.

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This Mob Is Big in Japan

Most Americans think of Japan as a law-abiding and peaceful place, as well as our staunch ally, but reporting on the underworld gave me a different perspective. Mobs are legal entities here. Their fan magazines and comic books are sold in convenience stores, and bosses socialize with prime ministers and politicians. And as far as the United States is concerned, Japan may be refueling U.S. warships at sea, but it's not helping us fight our own battles against organized crime -- a realization that led to my biggest scoop.

Without the equivalents of RICO, plea-bargaining or witness protection, Japanese law enforcement is essentially helpless in battling the Yakuza. Read on to find out why the reporter's scoop has now left him under police protection in Japan and his family by the FBI in the States.

via Marginal Revolution
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No wonder Iceland has the happiest people on earth

Highest birth rate in Europe + highest divorce rate + highest percentage of women working outside the home = the best country in the world in which to live. There has to be something wrong with this equation.

Well, they put up with Bobby Fischer, didn't they?
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ends