Proud Mexico

Once, a half of the people of Mexico listened to anti-NAFTA activists, but nowadays, it seems only one-tenth.

People in Mexico seem to abandon their faith in anti-Americanism. Rather, they go to New York and come home with dollars with which they build a Californian-style house that stands out from surrounding poor old houses.

So, neighbors are also motivated to go and work in America. Even those who once supported leftist activities are crossing the border between the U.S. and Mexico.

A Japanese reporter who visited a town known for anti-Americanism in southern Mexico for collecting news data saw a couple of Western hippies happen to drop by there. Then one of members of an anti-Americanism group showed them around just like a guide.

Even an anti-American group sells agricultural products to some Western company at fair prices as a benefit of NAFTA, which has brought some benefit to the group. But a female leader of the group said that those who go to the U.S. for money are losing their human dignity.

Yes, a couple of Western hippies, Californian-style houses, and a leftist group making money thanks to NAFTA with a female leader trying to keep her human dignity really seem to symbolize a situation of being a neighbor of the superpower nation America.

A rich man should make his poor neighbors rich. A rich country should also make its poor neighbor countries rich. This is a basic rule.

Otherwise, from a viewpoint of human natures, a rich man would make his poor neighbors poorer, and a rich country would make its poor neighbor countries poor.

Europe never makes Africa rich. North America never makes Latin America rich.

But, Japan has made Korea rich, Taiwan rich, and coastal areas of China rich in addition to some ASEAN countries.

From a standpoint of the Empire of Japan which ceased to exist in 1945, if Europeans and Americans had succeeded in controlling East Asia and Southeast Asia based on classic colonialism all through the 20st century, people in those areas should have been faced with the same situation as that in contemporary Africa and Latin America.

It is true that there are some who, in fact, still hold the above view in Japan today. However, this view should be studied in a different level and context where Japan is requested to apologize to Asian people for a war fought 60 years ago mainly between the Empire of Japan and the U.S. on soils of other Asian countries.

The war between the Empire of Japan and two Chinese parties before 1945 was, in some ways, different and more complicated, but the underlying implication is the same when observed in a span of centuries.

Anyway, as a matter of fact, people of China and other Asian countries seem to well secure their human dignity. They are neither desperate leftists nor dreamers of becoming rich by going to New York.

If American wealth is useless for securing human dignity of Mexican people, it is not good at all. America had better think about it, for they are very important neighbors to US citizens in various senses including security.

“THEN THEY WILL FEAR THE LORD AND RECEIVE HIS GOOD GIFTS.”

(Source of Information: The Mainichi Shimbun newspaper)

Warnings to be Re-Examined for Prevention of Another 9/11

Can we really sense something very alarming?

It was very alarming that US Forces bombed Iraq to that extent in 1991. Yes, indeed, and besides, it was not along with the paradigm the world community had embraced in those days.

It was very alarming that two US embassies in East Africa were blasted in 1998. Yes, indeed, and besides, it was not along with the paradigm of any reasonable challenge against the U.S. even in terms of armed provocation.

It was also alarming that USS Cole was attacked in late 2000. Yes, indeed, and it was as if real daredevils had started a war against US Forces with just handful of explosive bombs, and it was not funny at all.

At this point, we should have recalled the 1993 World Trade Center blasting and 1995 Oklahoma City federal building blasting. Yes, we should have remembered those extraordinary and outrageous crimes on the soil of mainland U.S.

In 2001, we had bad news of assassination of Congo president Laurent Kabila and execution of Timothy McVeigh, which might hint that something horrible might be approaching, since two figures standing for hidden influence of a world of violence were wiped off from this world while true problems were left unsolved. Yes, we had sensed very heavy silence somewhere in the world or inside us. I do believe some did, but we seemed to be too busy minding our business.

The true warnings I believe that the God gave us prior to September 11, 2001 are as follows:
In May 2001, the Taliban blasted the statute of Buddha carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley of Afghanistan.

Another sequence of warnings is as follows:
In February 2001, a fishing ship owned by a Japanese fisheries high school and operated for training collided with a US navy submarine near Hawaii.

In April 2001, an armed terrorist group occupied a hotel in Istanbul and some Japanese tourists were taken into hostage.

On September 1, 2001, a building containing bars and restaurants in an amusement area of Tokyo got fired, killing 44 people.

And, on September 10, 2001, a mad cow was for the first time found in Japan, which was not funny at all, for millions of cows had been slaughtered in England due to this disease.

What’s more, other bizarre warning was: in June 2001, King and Queen of Nepal were shot dead.

Among all, the demolition of the statute of Buddha looked very decisive. I remember that we watched high-ranking officers and journalists from Japan trying hard to persuade Taliban leaders to stop the blasting in vain. We saw Taliban’s foreign minister as well as the ambassador to Pakistan on TV. They were young and seemed to have no freedom of intelligence and power in their own personality. Then, who were behind them?

Later the Taliban released a video tape showing the moment of their blasting the statute of Buddha. It was very alarming. If they had been serious building up a nation, they should have observed the world more carefully. Religious practice supported by an action of violence would prove that practitioners are wrong if their religion is not wrong. So, logically, people with faith never use violence in such a context, otherwise they will risk their religion, too. But the Taliban didn’t mind it. Why? What strong influence were they under?

All the answers came on September 11, 2001.

Who could really foretell the incident? Did any fortune-teller come forward asserting that they had really got a vision of September 11 before the tragedy occurred?

Too many were dead; I don’t want anymore for whatsoever reasons including revenge.

“THEIR MINDS, INDEED, WERE CLOSED.”