What a Winner; What a loser!
(Quels sont les gagnants!)
SECTION I: South Carolina
The last weekend and especially Sunday night were full of winners and losers in the U.S. and Japan.
Former President Mr. Bill Clinton virtually lost to the African American Presidential candidate Mr. Barack Obama in South Carolina.
New York Times editorial team might become a loser one more time this November.
http://pundits.thehill.com/2008/01/25/the-new-york-times-endorsement/
Some prominent Japanese who assume a pundit on American politics say that nothing changes in the U.S. if "Hillary" or "Obama" becomes the President.
However, a Japanese news reporter wrote in a paper that it is apparently becoming a racial competition; and a former Japanese lawmaker writes in his blog that if "Hillary" or "Obama" is elected as the President, it means something that has placed women and African Americans under social restraint is really changing.
However, it must lead to a Religious Revolution in America, where even "President Hillary" or "President Obama" will be just an insignificant, collateral incident so modest and trifling.
What they must be waiting for ultimately is neither a female President nor a minority-origin President but the Messiah Himself.
New York Times and Former President Mr. Bill Clinton should come back to the right sense before President Mr. George Bush does, if they really want a Democratic President for poor Americans not only for rich Israelite Americans.
SECTION II: Tokyo Sumo Wrestling Fever
Two Mongolian sumo-wrestlers matched in the last day of the New Year 15-day Tournament held in Tokyo.
Both are on the top of the ranking, namely grand champion, and were the only two candidates for the championship in this tournament when 14 days were over.
The older one, who had been accused of his arrogant, selfish, rude, and violent manners in these months by the public and the media, lost.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200801280039.html
SECTION III: Osaka International Female Marathon
When the top runner reached the 30km line, everybody believed that she would win.
It is because she is the top runner in 10,000 meters race in Japan.
It is because she has a record holder in a half marathon in Japan.
It is because she declared before the marathon race that she had been prepared well for this race in Osaka which would be her first marathon race.
But, after 30km line, she suddenly lost energy; her legs failed her; she tripped over and stumbled several times, falling on the ground; she was almost walking when she came back to the stadium; audience screamed every time she fell on a track until she passed the finish line, yet demonstrating remarkable fighting spirit, after 18 runners had crossed it.
The winner was a British woman who had once worked in the British Embassy in Tokyo and married a Japanese man.
She said in the Sunday night that tens of thousands of people accessed her blog when she wrote her memo after the race, though usually it is only five persons or so that access it everyday.
SECTION IV: New Osaka Governor
A young lawyer defeated a senior professor of Osaka University in the Osaka Governor Election held yesterday.
Osaka, the centre of West Japan, is the mightiest city next to Tokyo in Japan.
However Osaka people are different from Tokyo citizens in terms of their view on the society and politics; they like humanness more than elitism, since no Imperial Palace and the Diet Building are in Osaka.
The immediate former Governor had been a high-ranking bureaucrat of the Central Government.
The reason why she had been elected twice as Osaka Governor is that her preceding Governor was a shameless comedian. Though he had been extremely popular among Osaka citizens who love comic performance, his bad manners to women had been exposed, which had made Osaka people all feel ashamed.
So, Osaka people had elected the female elite as their Governor twice, who could not run this time however due to some money scandals. Then, yesterday Osaka voters chose a young lawyer who was recently making a TV appearance so often as if being a comedian.
The new Governor graduated from the No.1 high school in Osaka and the No.1 private university in Japan to become a popular lawyer, a kind of elites in the society.
So, he is half an elite and half a comedian, an ideal combination for Osaka people. But, his rival, namely the senior professor was regraded by some as nothing but an elite who does not know reality of life of ordinary people.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200801280070.html
However, there are two more important factors:
(1) The young lawyers never circulated abusive letters against personality of his rival in the election, handing them to people or posting them on the Internet.
But, supporters of the senior professor circulated every kind of abusive letters against the personality of the young lawyer, handing them to people and posting them on the Internet.
Those supporters, including national lawmakers, usually write and act as if persons of justice; but they never hesitate in attacking personality on their opponents, without hesitating the use of obscene expressions.
If the Opponents continue to preach ideals but attack personality of their enemies, they cannot be respected by voters.
Anyway, a young lawmaker won the Osaka Governor election, though he did not bring to the fore the support from the Liberal Democratic Party while enjoying his support from graduates of the No.1 high school in Osaka,
(2) The young lawyer was against the controversial human rights protection legislation.
But, the senior professor supported the controversial human rights protection legislation.
This law is said to more harm ordinary citizens than save specific groups of residents. It is not for universal protection of human rights; it is for certain interested people, according to critics.
Osaka is a prefecture where a lot of various people with complicated background live, such as ethnic Koreans in Japan.
( http://kukkuri.jpn.org/boyakikukkuri2/log/eid433.html#sequel )
But, of course, the U.S. has more various people than Osaka, with far more complicated background, such as Muslims and Hispanic Native Americans as well as Japanese Americans.
* * *
So, it was a nice Sunday night, wasn't it?
Indeed, I saw a white bird flying in the midnight sky of last Saturday when I wondered why the Orion so leaned to west.
Truly, there must be a miracle in such wins and losses, though I was, to tell the truth, not so much interested in all of these competitions and did not watch TV so often these days, since my concern is always how the God will deal with very sinful people in New York, Paris, Tokyo, etc.
(It was a big surprise that the notable former secretary of former Prime Minister Mr. Jyunichiro Koizumi made his first live TV appearance last night.
He was to Mr. Jyunichiro Koizumi more than Mr. Karl Rove was to Mr. George W. Bush in terms of individual service and contribution.
The man in the background of the great political power in Japan looked however somehow human last night, while the young lawyer after his victory in the election was being interviewed in the same TV program, sharing a table with three good looking female moderators and critic.
[But, didn't you feel weird, too?])
"I will put my laws on their hearts..."
(Ich werde meine Gesetze auf ihre Herzen)