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Osaka PD puts all it has into a car chase. And we mean everything

Sunday, April 27th, 2008 by admin

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Toward the end of The Professional, Detective Stansfield is about to go after hitman Leon, and Stansfield tells his second in command “Get me everyone.” When his second asks what he means, he screams “I… mean… EVERYONE.” Something like that must have happened in Osaka, Japan, when the police department got a bead on a man wanted for assaulting police officers.

Twenty-seven-year-old Hirofumi Fukuda, driving a white Lexus sedan, was approached by a patrol car for running red lights. When he saw the police, he did what any self-respecting lawbreaker would do: he took off. That’s the easy part. The double-take comes when it took 2,240 police officers, 460 police cars, and one helicopter two hours to catch the man. The city of Osaka is just 85.4 square miles — about the size of Baltimore. Which is a lot of police in a little space looking for one single guy. And in fact, they didn’t catch him: he crashed into a bridge support and sustained minor injuries. If he ever gets out of prison, he’ll be a great guy to play Grand Theft Auto IV with.

Thanks for the tip, catgirlshyla!
[Source: Japan Today]

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Video: Japan’s oldest robot reanimated — writes poetry, hits on your girlfriend

Friday, April 25th, 2008 by admin

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Japan’s oldest “modern” robot — the 10-foot, 6-inch GakuTenSoku — has been awakened in Japan. Gone are the inflatable rubber tubes of the original 1928 android build by biologist Makoto Nishimura. The bot now tilts its head, moves his eyes, smiles, and puffs out his cheeks thanks to a $200,000, computer-controlled, pneumatic-servo makeover. While nothing compared to his modern offspring, GakuTenSoku still manages to creep us the hell out. On display at the renovated Osaka Science Museum starting July 18th. Video after the break.

[Via Impress]

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