Koreatown Turf Wars

April 12th, 2009 § 2

There are, apparently, a handful of Bangladeshi businesses that have popped up smack in the middle of Koreatown (I haven’t seen them yet, I’ll look a little harder). They want to call this area “Little Bangladesh.” The Bangladeshis are claiming turf.

Koreatown honchos have recently discovered that the area we all know as “Koreatown” is not officially Koreatown. The Bangladeshis got wise to this, and applied to the City of Los Angeles to make their turf claim official. Local kimchiheads are attempting to reclaim turf that was never officially claimed.

Meanwhile, there are scores of Chicanos and Latinos that live behind the Korean-language business signs. Sixty- or 70-percent of them from Mexico and various places in South America. Local street hoods, such as MS13 and 18th Street have already claimed their pieces of Koreatown. I reckon they won’t be going to City Hall to make their claims official, but the writing is on the walls. Literally.

I’m sure kimchiheads going there couldn’t tell you if they’re in MS turf. Neither do they seem to notice all the illegal vendors lining the streets with food trucks and shopping cart grills. They probably have no idea the place is being claimed by Bangladeshis. Everyone is still gonna call the place “Koreatown.”

Christian Shooting Spree

April 8th, 2009 § 0

What’s going on with all the gun nuts and shooting sprees? This time, it happened in a Korean retreat center. According to the Associated Press,

TEMECULA, Calif. – A gunman opened fire at a Korean Christian retreat center, leaving one woman dead and four people injured, authorities said.

The gunman, described as an Asian man in his 70s, was among the wounded, Riverside County Sheriff’s Sgt. Michael Lujan told KNBC-TV on Wednesday.

Authorities were first called to the rural area about 7 p.m. Tuesday after receiving reports about a man shooting his wife, California Highway Patrol spokesman Mario Lopez said.

The identity of the dead woman was being withheld until relatives were notified. In addition to the gunman, two men and a woman were hospitalized.

Korean church drama is a weekly thing here in Koreatown. If you want to see conflict, go to any of the large Korean churches in the area on any given Sunday morning. But this is beyond. I’m starting to think that Christianity and kimchi don’t mix.

Another Assault Rifle Ban?

March 29th, 2009 § 0

In the aftermath of the Oakland tragedy, in which four police officers were killed, Los Angeles officials are calling for a reinstatement of a federal ban on assault rifles. I wonder: if there was such a ban, would it have stopped the suspect from wielding an assault rifle?

I doubt it. I don’t think that anyone who shoots at cops really gives a damn about the law. Besides, he was already a felon with a firearm. How much more felonious can you get?

Airport Meltdown

March 6th, 2009 § 7

This is raw footage of a Chinese woman having a tantrum at the airport. Where’s a cop with a taser when you need one?

Jury Convicts Koreatown Rapist

February 21st, 2009 § 5

This from the LA Times:

The man whom authorities dubbed “the Koreatown rapist” was convicted Thursday of more than a dozen felonies stemming from attacks on four women and attempted sexual attacks on two others in Los Angeles and Beverly Hills.

Tyreese Lamar Reed, 29, was believed to be responsible for 13 sexual assaults and related robberies in Koreatown, Beverly Hills and Glendale from Aug. 26, 2004, to June 15, 2005, police said.

There’s an interesting discussion there about the race of the defendant and victims.

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