Dear People of the World (formerly Dear Americans)

James Cameron's world's biggest box hit film after "Titanic". An ex-US Marine man arrived on a planet and joined the native people by getting his brain signals into artificial figure of that native man. His mission was to blend in their community and negotiate with them in order to dig natural resources from their land.

Well, I did not really enjoy it because the story was cliche and animation scenes were not impressive maybe because I did not see 3D version. I watched it on DVD. After an hour, I just skipped chapters. I would rather like to see a full animated version of the film than mixture of real and animation.

The bottom line is that is the America's apology and remource to native Americans, Iraqi, Afghans, and global environmental destruction. But to me it is really hypocritical after years of deception and wrong doings. Isn't that what they talked about 30 years ago after Vietnam war?

 

Anyway, if they think they have been doing wrong, why not they rethink current destruction of great nature in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan?

It is taking place in the Henoko Sea right next to US marines' Camp Shwab. It was designated as the relocation site for Futenma base in Ginowan city on the same island. The coral sea is just beautiful. To me, it is better than Guam, Hawaii, Cancoon, and Kota Kinabalu.

Endangered marine mammal, dugongs habitat were recognized.

But construction of runway has been planned on that sea for the US marines by Japanese tax payers' money.

Is it for Japan's defense? No. US military deployed in Japan never functioned as Japan's defense. US marines use Japanese facilities for their training and missions. Well, this issue is very complicated. As you learn more about this issue, you can find Japan side has more to blame. In summary Japanese government can let most of US military leave Japan once they decide to do because there is no merit for Japan by the US military presence and the US military has no more strategic interest in Japan since the Cold War era ended.

However, if the US declares to withdraw troops from Japan without any relocation within Japan, this problem can be easily solved.

On May 4 2010, Japan's prime minister Hatoyama Yukio visited Okinawa governor and mayor of Nago city where Camp Shwab is located. Last month he said "destroying the sea by reclaiming is blaspheming the nature" but later he announced the plan to construct runway by QIP (placing sticks on the sea ground to support runway) format. He is crazy. It is just as destructive to the environment as reclaiming.

The Henoko has shrine on the coast. That god made him say that, I believe.

Or the charm I left in the wire on the beach. The wire divides the beach from restricted area. The charm is what I bought at the Admiral Togo Shrine in Tokyo.

However this construction plan will never be done because Okinawans and even the U.S. military oppose this newly fixed plan. Last September Japan experienced the change of governing party, then the relocation plan got on the review. After months of turmoil left distrust to the Japanese government and the U.S..

But I think this is great progress for Japanese to raise awareness that the U.S. military is nothing but trash and Japan has to defend its country all by themselves. Defending such beautiful sea like the below video from invaders.

 

But interesting history exists in Okinawa. Okinawa used to be an independent kingdom like Hawaii and Guam. But late 19th century Japanese government took over and annexed to the Empire of Japan. After the world war 2, the U.S. military grounded the island and had occupied until 1972. That is why tens of bases are located in Okinawa. The below photo is recreation of palace of what was called the Ryukyu Kingdom. This place is Okinawa's most famous tourist spot, called Shurijo.  

The author of the book is Japanese sports journalist who worked as a part-time teacher in a chartered high school in Reno, Nevada 2006.

The students come from very poor families and dropped out from regular school. Most of them live with single parents.

They do not have good knowledge nor manner. They grew up in a very bad environment where parents don't have money and time to take good care of them.

The author witnessed the reality of America's poor bottom class. The author himself grew up in the similar environment in Japan so he somehow felt mutual with them. He had guts and loved students so he worked hard to get them know how wonderful and necessary it is for them to learn new things so that they can make a new way of living getting out from ghetto they were in.  

The author taught them Japanese culture as Sumo, Manga, fairy tales. On one class he told them Japan's most famous fairy tale "Urashima Taro" a story of a fisherman who saved a turtle from bullying by children on the beach and later be guided by the turtle to the palace under the sea. But when he came back to the ground, so much more time than he felt had passed, he had no one to know him.

He asked the students what they think about the story. Students were very much impressed by that and one of them replied to him "the story gave us a lesson that we shouldn't expect return from good thing we do."

Recently in Japan, books on America's poor class have been published like the below ones I've already introduced on this blog.

Super Class society, The truth of America 

Empire of Poverty (Hinkon-Taikoku), America!

This one is especially unique since that is hands-on experience of the author as foreign teacher who taught his home culture to troubled students abroad.

I wonder if this book is made into film some day. It should be like "Freedom Writers" or "Take the lead."

The lyric starts with "We met at the Ski lodge, and we fell in love."

I like this song because this reminds me of my ski trip this year.

I've visited 6 ski resorts this year from January to March. I really enjoyed.

The last ski slope I visited was Shiga Highland in Nagano Prefecture. That is where my favorite ski film was shot.

In 1998, winter Olympic was held there.

I skied from one ski slope to another crossing mountains. It was a blizzard day. Very hard to ski but I enjoyed it.

See the below video clip or this site.

Next day was very clear day, so I just enjoyed skiing on the slope. See the below video or this site.

The song matches with the below video.

Not just skiing, I enjoyed bathing in hot spring bath. That is the way Japanese skiers enjoy skiing.

Getting cold on the ski slope and then taking a hot spring bath afterwards. It made me really warm.

Speaking of warming myself, I got warm by trip to Okinawa in late March.

Warming myself seeing emerald green sea. See this site or the below.

 

Yes, I was warm this year's winter.

Now after my long vacation period was over, working hard in concrete jungle.

That is totally different world. I don't know how to express my current situation.

A story of British queen who established the Golden Age of British Empire in 16th century.

The film described how she managed the country, how she unified the nation when it comes to the war with Spain.  

It is not easy to unify big population, that is why a country needs a symbol of unification like queen, king, or president.

Sometimes the leader had to be cruel to maintain leadership and charisma.

 

I am recently relearning how past leaders of my country established this unified state such as Tokugawa Shogunate and young warriers who established modern type of government in late 19th century. They used Emperor as symbol of unification. 

Unity or Anachism, that is critical point of every society.

If not united, people are torn apart, kill, rob each other and easily invaded by other nations.

Well, Japan was lucky in that sense because it was island nation and had good leaders like Britain.  

In early 20th century Japan experienced similar situation of Queen Elizabeth's Britain did.

The war with Russian empire, countering unbeatable fleet sailing from Russia on the Sea of Japan.

Thanks to British made warships and financial help from Britain, Japan imperial navy could beat the fleet and saved our nation.

The below is exhibited former imperial navy's flagship, Mikasa located Yokosuka, Japan.

Well, real pacifists know how to manage the nation and win the war.