All I know about L.A.

[yino]

Recently I discovered that ALL i know about L.A. is what I've seen in the movies, series and stuff like that.
So, How is L.A??
Do you really have chinesse mafia,. itialian mafia, russian mafia, japanese mafia and anarkist with hidden nuclear bombs???
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"just imagine a good signature, and then put it here"

[Mike]

Don't forget the gays.

Also, I'm the protagonist of Los Angeles... thus, in the real world, the action focuses around myself and the other however many million people are extras. It's not a bad gig.

Edit: On a serious note... I have carried sushi out for Jenny McCarthy... and packed David Lee Roth's groceries when I was working at a supermarket. And we ran into Lita and Bubba Ray Dudley on Melrose... that was gnarley too.
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[Dave]

[yino]

[Dave]

If the nuclear bomb is hidden, how would we know if he has one?

As for a mafia... doesn't SEEM like it, but who knows what that boy's up to in the wee hours of the night.
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"Addiction can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be changed."
-Clango, Diesel Sweeties
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I (heart) Hanners of Questionable Content.

[Parsifal]

To answer in parts:
So, How is L.A??
Its a nice, laid back place. For the most part its sunny and we get a certain measure of general courtesy. On the expansive freeways things can go from lazy to high traffic, profanity filled pressure cookers quite easily but its not too bad. Like any city it can be many things to many different people, but besides the expensive of having a place here its not that bad.

One thing to keep in mind though is that Los Angeles is a "Mega-plex", that is to say, its not like a town or a centralized city. Los Angeles (as in the county) is a rather expansive collection of cities and townships that stretches from the inland Angelus mountains out to the beach, connected by a series of freeways and roads and designed this way back in the 30s and 40s to be able to grow and expand into itself. As a result we have a wide collection of cultures/attractions/things to do as compared to some other places. Just have some time and cash ready, though.

Do you really have chinesse mafia: What we have (mostly) is the Wah Ching which to summarize was started back during the 60s in San Francisco by Chinese immigrants (and later absorbed Chinese-Americans) and while initially just spreading down the coast to Los Angeles and several other cities has expanded to other places with large Chinese populations (like Toronto and Vancouver in Canada). They pretty much do anything organized crime is supposed to. Rackets, "redistribution" of goods, ass beatings. They're rather pervasive, but over all rather low profile outside of certain circles.

As the article says, the Triads from Hong Kong did try and set up shop during the 90s but created some bad blood (well, one in particular) so any other attempts at a food hold have been slower going than the first time around, but thats not to say it isn't happening. Los Angeles's place as a major global harbor/distribution point makes it too attractive to ignore.

itialian mafia:
Present but very light. Its more that they own places and run some business. Definitely not a "Force" here. They used to be but after all the big busts and break ups during the 80s they just haven't come back like they were (there is a place called "Gino's" less than half a mile from my house that was closed down for being a mafia front).

russian mafia,
More of a East Coast thing (due to the spread of immigrants) but some business is conducted here. I am personally unaware as to the scope of their activities here but I do know they are a major force in New York and have made expansion into Israel as a staging point a priority.

japanese mafia:
They are mostly based in Hawaii (as Joel will tell you, the Japanese-American population there is /huge/) but do conduct direct business in places like Las Vegas and New York. Here in California they work through alliances with other Asian crime organizations.


and anarkist with hidden nuclear bombs???
Not too much...at least not on that scale. Most of the O.G. anarchists have given up and rejoined society after realizing that should they succeed in their goal they'd be pretty much screwed if they ever needed anything like, say, a doctor since their knowledge of such things is too limited. We do have some but those people just as easily end up stoners or Emo so they don't pose too much of a problem.

There are people living "off the grid" and keeping the dream alive but mostly the "anti-federalists" migrate to Montana. Its big and empty (so you have plenty of isolation to do what you want), there is no posted speed limit so you can zoom around and not get in trouble for it, and there are no taxes in bulk mailings so you can print up whatever you want and mail it out at a much lower price.
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[Dave]

What we have here in Los Angeles is street gangs (mostly black and hispanic, with asians not too far behind... and yes, even some white supremists). The hispanic ones, at times, do foot work for hispanic "mafias". Thankfully, LAPD has done a fairly good job of keeping things in check, but that doesn't mean that we're clean and clear of organized crime.
_________________
"Addiction can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be changed."
-Clango, Diesel Sweeties
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I (heart) Hanners of Questionable Content.

[Mike]

Also, being the protagonist... sometimes I, along with our Governator, clean the streets of organized crime.
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[Celo]

From one Marcelo to another.

As being a member of the media and well connected.

So, How is L.A?? Not like you seen the movies and in TV for the most part. Like 99%

Do you really have chinesse mafia,. Yes we do. The Wong clan and the other clan name escapes me. They called a Truce after the rival clan's daughter married into the Wong Family. There mafia is as esoteric as the Chinese Underground City under Chinatown.

itialian mafia. Hum... not to sure but doubt it since I haven't heard of any Italian crime families.

russian mafia: Yas Bagainya? Although there are lots of Russian gangs starting to make names for themselves. They specialize broad daylight in home invasions.

japanese mafia: Yes, I am sworn to secrecy on this one since I am Japanese and roll with some Heavy Hitters. Although it is not in the form of the Yakuza, which has many legit fronts.

The Korean Mafia: Just business men of the Jujitsu-jin who have their goons from Korean to clean up a mess if needed.

anarkist with hidden nuclear bombs??? Hum... nope but some crazy doctor claims that there are aliens living by the Southwest Museum that eat hookers and other people off the street. They haven't got to us normal people since there galaxy has not declared war on Earth.

You can't forget the Jewish Mafia: The Kosherami. On a serious note there have been many cases of Jewish Nationals being busted for crime in Jewerly ( Not joking here) embezzlements, money laundering and fraud. Many times there is no record form INTERPOLE about those who get busted and they get sent back to Israel to do it all over again.

LAPD: I know a few prominent Detectives and Police members. I will not mention their names or ranks online. Definitely not like the movies, but their stories are better.

[yino]

Wow....
So is in good part just like in the movies.
Impressive really, glad to live in the third world.
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"just imagine a good signature, and then put it here"

[Mike]

I killed 5 mafioso's on the way to work today. That's close to my daily quota as protagonist of Los Angeles.
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[yino]

And this quota, is it a min to keep the rating up? or is it a max to keep living mafiosos for killing tomorrow?
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"just imagine a good signature, and then put it here"

[jynexia]

[James]

Yeah.. there are mafias here... but they are not as pronounced as the movies. I work in the TV guide building on Hollywood Blvd across the street from the Chinese theater... so once in a while I see the top of the Hollywood stars heads when they are at premiers... but honestly... once you actually see Hollywood, it is kinda a shit hole outside of the tourist areas....
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Monkey of the technical type.

[Dave]

Yeah. TV makes Hollywood look awesomer than it is.

I remember watching Angel. All the time I was going, "Wow... Downtown L.A. sure looks lively on TV". Never mind I've bused home from and have driven through Downtown L.A. hundreds of times at night. No where near as lively.
_________________
"Addiction can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be changed."
-Clango, Diesel Sweeties
===
I (heart) Hanners of Questionable Content.