Unlicensed e-scooter riders will face a 100,000 won fine if caught:
Unlicensed drivers of electric scooters and other personal mobility devices will face a fine of 100,000 won (US$89) starting Thursday amid growing concerns about their safety, police said.
The National Police Agency said Tuesday that under the amended Road Traffic Act, which takes effect Thursday, riders will be required to have at least a motorcycle license, for which the minimum age is 16.
I shit you not, I once knew a guy in Korea who brews his own beer and I told him that he should name his next beer "East Sea" if he wants to make the big bucks. He said no. https://t.co/be6l9gu3rS
According to the article the 13 Anthony’s Pizza outlets operating in the Asia-Pacific region are the last one’s overseas in operation. They will also eventually be closed to be changed for a name brand food offering:
A familiar, if not universally popular, fast-food staple at U.S. military bases worldwide is ending its long run in Europe and possibly worldwide.
Anthony’s Pizza at Ramstein will soon turn off its ovens after more than 30 years of dishing out thick-crust pizza for troops and their families.
The Exchange-brand pizzeria inside the base mall is scheduled to close May 1, said Army and Air Force Exchange Service officials.
It’s the last one remaining in Europe. Two locations at Spangdahlem Air Base and Kleber Kaserne closed last year as AAFES looks to phase out the product worldwide, said Loyd Brumfield, an AAFES spokesman in Dallas.
I have a theory that many of these racist messages being hurled at Asian-American celebrities is actually from Chinese and Russian bot accounts looking to increase racial strife in the US. It would be fascinating if someone was able to analyze the racist messages Chloe Kim received and track down if they are real people or not:
Snowboarder Chloe Kim spoke out about racist messages she receives on social media.
Like many public figures, Chloe Kim gets a lot of bizarre direct messages on her social media accounts, but far too many of them are filled with hurtful, racist words, the Olympian revealed this week.
In an Instagram story that has since expired, the accomplished snowboarder opened up about her personal experiences with racism and admitted that she feels “really helpless and afraid at times.”
As reported by ESPN, Kim shared a screenshot Wednesday of a message she had received that read “You dumb Asian b—-. Kiss my ass.” In her post, Kim went on to explain that it’s not unusual for her to receive such hurtful comments.
You can read more at the link, but there is assuredly racist jerks on the Internet. However, it would totally be in the Chinese and Russian interest to continue to promote racial strife in America, especially the Chinese. They want to mitigate criticism of their own controversial policies by calling their critics racist. This basically is a staple of American domestic politics as well.
The bottom line is that if you don’t like being trolled then you should not be on social media. I have been called all kinds of things on this blog over the years by what I suspect are 50 Cent Army trolls, but I understand that this is the risk you take posting on the Internet.
Not a good look for Topps, but the reaction is of course overblown with claims of racism:
Following backlash, Garbage Pail Kids has apologized and removed a sticker card portraying Korean boy band BTS with bruises. The trading card brand issued the apology as Asian-American communities in the U.S. are dealing with a rash of hate crimes.
You can read more at the link, but Topps pulled the BTS Card. However, I don’t think Topps did anything racist as the media and activists are claiming. They have been making Garbage Pail Kids cards for decades that are violent and grotesque, this is nothing new. For example below is a card of a caveman hitting a woman over the head with a club and dragging her away. Should women’s groups start protesting now too?:
Here is a card with a white kid shot full of holes. Is Topps racist towards white kids?
Of course not, just like Topps isn’t racist towards Asians for a card having a Grammy trophy hitting them in the face. With that said you can still get the other Garbage Pail Kids “Shammy” Cards at this link.
The success of Asian Americans is now being categorized as “embracing whiteness” – and this is starting to be applied to other races too. How can you push for antiracism and minority empowerment when as soon as they become successful, you call them whitewashed?
A viral story right now on social media is of an Asian Uber driver at LAX who had a racist insult told to him by a passenger and a Korean-American woman came to his aid:
As part of Uber’s safety health measure amid the COVID-19 pandemic, all riders must sit in the back seat of an Uber ride and open the windows for ventilation. Meanwhile, the maximum occupancy of UberX has also been reduced from four to three. “My brother told him that due to COVID, he couldn’t sit in the front seat. The guy got out, slammed the door and yelled at my brother,” the driver’s sister wrote.“My brother informed him that he will just cancel the trip, so the guy wouldn’t get charged. He started yelling more and said, ‘You Asian Sh*t. You probably don’t have papers to be here!’” While some social media accounts claim to have identified the man, they remain unconfirmed at this time. Hwang was only observing the situation after hearing the passenger, who was with two boys, slam the driver’s door. However, she immediately came to the driver’s aid when she heard the man hurl xenophobic remarks.
