Saturday, September 17, 2011

"fire and smoke and brimstone" - A State of Japan

Tokyo...




A State of Japan (un état du Japon)


In 1960 when Japan was about to plan construction of its first nuclear power plant, the Japanese Government conducted a study on a possible nuclear disaster from a future nuclear power plant in a selected area 120 km northeast of Tokyo.

It resulted in estimation of a need to relocate 18 million people and damages twice as large as the scale of a national budget of Japan at the time.  As it was so alarming, the report was not disclosed to the public.  Without providing this information, the Japanese Government promoted introduction of nuclear energy into the Japanese society.  It was 1999 that this historical fact was made public through sessions in the parliament.

And, for 12 years, the Tokyo Electric Power Company and the Government have not taken full measures to prevent occurrence of any nuclear accident if it should be caused by a 15-meter highs tsunami.  The total damages TEPCO should pay is estimated now to be more than $50 billion.


SECTION I:  4.12 Million Yen for 45.52 Million Japanese 

According a news report, there were 45.52 million Japanese who worked in the private sector or civil corporations last year.

The average of their salaries was 4.12 million yen or about 50,000 dollars (at 80 yen per dollar).


If 20,000 Japanese companies had not moved to China to hire millions of Chinese, those Japanese workers should have received an average of 100,000 dollars yearly salary.


SECTION II: Japanese Naval Force (Maritime Self-Defense Force)


Japanese Navy has two helicopter carriers of the Hyuga class.

http://mrsfan.blog92.fc2.com/blog-category-10.html

In the picture below, the left-hand ship is the USS aircraft carrier George Washington and  the ship on the right is a Hyuga.
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/toki_1/e/90430fa3902f2d7706e99d355a68fa6f?fm=rss


In 2012, namely next year, Japanese Navy will start to build a new class of helicopter carriers called 22DDH.


http://www.strategypage.com/militaryforums/6-62389.aspx

The ship in a foreground is a Hyuga and the one in a background is a 22DDH.

These helicopter carriers are expected to contribute to rescue, help, and peace-keeping operation in the case of an international crisis.  Hyuga was dispatched to the sea off the northeast part of Japan's Honsyu Island to be engaged in rescue and relief operation for the affected area of the 3/11 Earthquake/Tsunami.

*** *** *** ***


It was after dinosaurs got extinct that the Himalayas started to be formed.

So, Himalaya is just 50 million years old but dinosaurs disappeared 65 million years ago.  Or, 15 million years after the extinction of dinosaurs, Himalaya mountains started to rise.  Accordingly, there is a huge wall and a long flow of time between us and dinosaurs.  It is not so easy to see how dinosaurs were doomed to die down, though a huge meteor fell on the Yucatan Peninsula 65 million years ago.


On the other hand, if mankind is to get extinct in the 21st century, one of the most possible causes would be nuclear contamination.

Of course it is no wonder that somebody thinks of a new theory about the extinction of dinosaurs: radiation doses from the outer space.


By the way, President Mr. Clinton was reportedly worried about terror using a suitcase nuclear bomb before he left the White House in 2001.  But, what did he do to prevent it?






Rev 9:17 And thus I saw the horses in the vision, and them that sat on them, having breastplates of fire, and of jacinth, and brimstone: and the heads of the horses were as the heads of lions; and out of their mouths issued fire and smoke and brimstone.
Rev 9:18 By these three was the third part of men killed, by the fire, and by the smoke, and by the brimstone, which issued out of their mouths.



   

Friday, September 16, 2011

"of God that sheweth mercy" - American Situations

Tokyo...




American Situations (situations américaine)


Japanese experts provided information and know-hows on how to get prepared for a possible tsunami for the international nuclear energy community.

But, Tokyo Electric Power Company did not fully comply with requirements those Japanese experts specified.  Even the Government department in charge of regulation of utility companies did not order TEPCO to take full measures against a possible big tsunami.

Japanese elite members of the society are as bad as their likes in the world.
  
SECTION I: End of Extended American Dream


1) A half of American workers earn $25,000 per year. An average income of all the Americans is about $2,020 per month.

2) Billionaires account for 1% of Americans. It means 3 million Americans, including children and old men, enjoy a life of a billionaire.

3) Top 5% of the wealthy class expenditure accounts for 37% of consumer expenditures in America. It means that when a poor worker eats one hamburger, a rich man of the wealthy class takes seven to eight hamburgers; when an ordinary worker buys one house, a rich man of the wealthy class buys seven to eight houses.


4) One in four American children lives on food stamps.

5) Low-paid jobs accounts for 41% of American employment.

6) Top 1% of the wealthy class holds assets equal to those held by lower 90% of Americans.  When 90 rich, ordinary and poor Americans have 900,000 dollars in total, one super-rich American has 900,000 dollars alone.

7) Top 10% of the wealthy class has wealth accounting for 70% of total assets in America.

(http://www.takeshiyashima.com/ja/my-blog/62-current-economy/261-interesting-findings.html)

You cannot tell poor Americans any more to regards themselves as part of rich America.  They are fixed at poor America.  This division of America into rich America and poor America must have a significant influence on minds of Americans.

In 2008, people were in confusion caused by the financial crisis.  But, now they must come to see the situation more clearly.  America is not the Kingdom of God.  America is under power of Satan. This must be the conclusion poor Americans must arrive at.



SECTION II: Who Voted for Mr. Obama in 2008?


Groups of Americans who voted for Mr. Barack Obama in the 2008 Presidential Election in a ratio of 60% or more are as follows:

1) African Americans (95%)

2) Judaists (77%)

3) Irreligionists (75%)

4) Muslims, Buddhists, and other faithful (74%)

5) Hispanics (66%)

5) 18 to 29 years old (66%)

6) Very minor ethnic groups (65%)

7) Asian Americans (62%)

8) Those with less than $50,000 income (60%)

It is clear that those who decided the outcome of the 2008 election were Americans with less than $50,000 income. But, this distribution of supporters for Mr. Obama in 2008 shows a kind of ideal one. It is so, since if you are a rich, middle-aged, Christian, European American, you do not even need help from the American president on most of occasions. The poor, the weak, and those called "not-my-people" really need their president in the White House.

So, it is likely that President Mr. Barack Obama is reelected in 2012. But, if he should not be, how bad or good it would be for poor Americans in general?


*** *** *** ***


If a strong man takes money by force from a weak man, he would not be punished unless there is a law to forbid such bare execution of physical power.

So, law is stronger than any single strong man, since law can mobilize 100 policemen to arrest any single strong man.  But what is behind law, giving such power?  To make a long discussion short, it is the God who gives such power to law.  Accordingly, even in the United States, the president cannot make law at his will.  So, how much a country is governed by law is a key to judging the country.

In this context, the largest concern in the world should be that China is offering help for financially-troubled Europe, while China is not a country democratically governed by law like Japan.  Again, in this context, Japan and the U.S. are close to each other as countries under nomocracy, though Japan is more democratic to change its prime minister every year.




(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BPi2r2j70Zc&feature=related)




Rom 9:15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.
Rom 9:16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.
Rom 9:17 For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.




   

Thursday, September 15, 2011

"He put clay upon mine eyes" - American Wealth and French Nuclear Energy

Tokyo Tower...
Tokyo Bus...


American Wealth and French Nuclear Energy (La richesse américaine et française d'énergie nucléaire)


Some Japanese media reported tonight that the hydrogen explosion that occurred around March 15 in the No.2 reactor unit of Fukushima Daiichi could have been avoided if emergency, forced water input had started four hours earlier than it was actually done.

Many mysteries and problems about the hydrogen explosion and fire that occurred in the four reactor units after the great earthquake/tsunami of March 11 still remain unsolved.


SECTION I: Wealth of the U.S.


It is remarkable that wealth in the U.S. grew so steadily and rapidly through 1980s and 1990s but started to show drastic stagnation and subsequent crazy expansion and a following fall in 2000s.


(Click to enlarge; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_in_the_United_States)


Also, note that the slope of the above curve got a little steeper after 1995.  It shows a clear effect of Windows 95.

Anyway, this drastic increase in American wealth has not satisfied poor Americans
Number of Americans in poverty hits record high

14 September 2011 Last updated at 01:43 GMT

The number of Americans living in poverty rose to 46.2 million last year, nearly one in six people, according to the US Census Bureau's annual report.

The number of Americans living in poverty rose to 46.2 million last year, nearly one in six people, according to the US Census Bureau's annual report.

The 2010 data shows the poverty rate at 15.1%, from 14.3% in 2009. The number of Americans without health insurance also rose slightly to 49.9 million.

The poverty rate was the highest since 1983, and tied with the level in 1993.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-14903732?postId=110262643#comment_110262643
So, click on the above figure to see how different the level of American wealth was between 2010, 1993, and 1983.  Total wealth in the U.S. expanded five times larger from 1983 to 2010, but the state of poverty eventually remained the same.  This is  the situation in America. And it could be interpreted that rich, very rich, and super-rich Americans are now enjoying at least five times larger wealth than in 1983.

It might be put this way: now a rich American owns five hamburger shops, instead of one he had in 1983, while a poor American can only eat one hamburger, instead of five, as in 1983.


It should be also noted that during the administration of Mr. W. Bush the American wealth increased by $25 trillion till the 2008 financial crisis.  And then with the burst of subprime loan scheme it lost more than $15 trillion in 2008.  Accordingly, the Republicans lost the presidential election and the first African American president was elected. 



SECTION II: Rhone to Lac Leman

A Japanese journalist traveled from the Rhone to Lake Leman in 1972 (namely from an Mediterranean area to Switzerland)

He loved the landscape along the river but did not know there were French nuclear facilities at Marcoule on this route. But now he thinks that he has understood why Sartre and Camus did not mention this dark side of France.











(to be continued...)

*** *** *** ***


Probably, there are simple solutions to any modern problems, such as the War on Terror, the EU/American financial crisis, and the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear accident of Japan.

As we are solution-blind, we cannot solve them.

Only Christ Jesus can open our eyes in Europe, America, and Japan.



Joh 9:15 Then again the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight. He said unto them, He put clay upon mine eyes, and I washed, and do see.
Joh 9:16 Therefore said some of the Pharisees, This man is not of God, because he keepeth not the sabbath day. Others said, How can a man that is a sinner do such miracles? And there was a division among them.
Joh 9:17 They say unto the blind man again, What sayest thou of him, that he hath opened thine eyes? He said, He is a prophet.


  

Wednesday, September 14, 2011

"when he came to his disciples" - Inviting Criminals for their Repentance

Tokyo...
Tokyo...

Inviting Criminals for their Repentance  (Inviter des criminels pour leur repentance)


How would Christ Jesus fight against terrorists?


How would Christ Jesus fight against the Mafia and other gangsters?


How would Christ Jesus help victims of great natural disasters and nuclear accidents?


And, how would Christ Jesus make the rich repent?


SECTION I: BPI

Main players of the global economy are of course businesses.

And, businessmen are usually bad to purse profits as much as possible, even trying to buy an influence on politicians in foreign countries as well as domestic politicians and officials.
Bribe Payers Index (BPI) is a measure of how willing a nation appears to comply with demands for corrupt business practices.
BPI 2008 rankings 
Rank...Country...Average Score
1. Belgium.....8.8
1. Canada.....8.8
3. Netherlands.....8.7
3. Switzerland.....8.7
5. Germany.....8.6
5. JAPAN.....8.6
5. UK.....8.6
8. Australia.....8.5
9. France.....8.1
9. Singapore.....8.1
9. USA.....8.1
...
17. Brazil.....7.4
17. Italy.....7.4
19. India.....6.8
...
21. China.....6.5
22. Russia.....5.9
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bribe_Payers_Index
So, there are many bad corporate workers and government officials in Russia and China.

You had better stop business in Russia and China.


SECTION II: Organized Criminals Have $2 Trillion

It is said that the total sum of money in the hands of organized criminal members reaches $2 trillion.

Gangsters in the U.S., Russia, China, Israel, Italy, Mexico, and Japan are estimated to have total $2 trillion.  If the total number of those bad guys is one million, each of them has $2 million on average.

(Click to enlarge; http://www.wired.com/magazine/2011/01/ff_orgchart_crime/)



(to be continued...)

*** *** *** ***


I was watching an NHK TV program in retrospect of the great tsunamis of Mach 11, 2011.


The 15-meter high tsunamis caused by a magnitude-9.0 undersea earthquake took 400,000 cars into water and destroyed or damaged 220,000 houses and buildings.  The death toll is about 20,000.  And nobody knows why it happened in Japan on the very day.


Indeed it is a natural disaster of a scale that could happen only once in centuries or 1000 years.


Yet, in 2008, the world was hit by the greatest financial crisis in 100 years.


So, I am afraid that mankind will soon face the largest scale of a convulsion of nature in 10,000 years, which would be most probably a coming of a glacial age.  In this case, nuclear power might be used to combat global cooling in every country.  So then, the lesson of Fukushima Daiichi, Japan, might become all the more important.






(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2TBFgxTdqUE&feature=related)




Mar 9:13 But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.
Mar 9:14 And when he came to his disciples, he saw a great multitude about them, and the scribes questioning with them.
Mar 9:15 And straightway all the people, when they beheld him, were greatly amazed, and running to him saluted him.
Mar 9:16 And he asked the scribes, What question ye with them?




    

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

"the golden altar which is before God" - Japan, Very Different Economy



 Tokyo...
Government District...




Japan, Very Different Economy (Le Japon, l'économie très différente)




You can easily see that Christ Jesus is a human being as you are.

But, it would be a little difficult to see that Christ Jesus has a spirit ordinary men do not have.  Yes, He might be holy unlike others due to His spirit.

Yet, it is almost impossible for anybody to precisely identify Christ Jesus as God.


And, there are many who do not mind what Christ Jesus is as long as they can have a rich life by calling themselves priests, clergymen, bishops, Cardinals, or some such.


SECTION I: Fools


The ratio of the outstanding government debts over GDP is 200% in Japan.

It is worse than Greece and the U.S.

But, rating of the Japanese Government bond (JGB) is far higher than Greece's.

The Japanese yen is far highly appreciated  than the U.S. dollar.

Then, why?

Fools in the world wonder why?

But, high-ranking professionals in the global financial sector continue to give higher credit to JGBs and buy yen while selling dollars.


So, I have explained long in this blog how the Japanese economy is different from that of Europe and America, like its history is.




SECTION I: Non-Fools

Japanese economy is built up by hard work of Japanese workers.  Though nowadays Japanese businesses have moved their operation partially or wholly to China and other Asian nations, Japanese economy has been promoted by tens of millions of Japanese workers alone unlike in Europe and America.  As each Japanese individual is so different from a European worker or an American worker, the Japanese economy is different.
Japanese Work Ethics vs American Ethics  
For an American to consider the Japanese from any viewpoint for any reason, it is important for us to remember that they are products of a unique civilization, that their standards and values are the results of several thousand years of powerful religious and metaphysical conditioning that were entirely different from those that molded the character, personality and habits of Westerners ( De Mente, p.19).  
To understand the Japanese, it is necessary to have an understanding of their religious and philosophical backgrounds. My research suggests that basic ethical values in Japanese business systems are influenced by three philosophical and religious traditions: the Shinto Ethic, The Confucian Ethic, and the Buddhist Ethic.
http://www.free-researchpapers.com/dbs/a5/bmu193.shtml




*** *** *** ***








Rev 9:13 And the sixth angel sounded, and I heard a voice from the four horns of the golden altar which is before God,
Rev 9:14 Saying to the sixth angel which had the trumpet, Loose the four angels which are bound in the great river Euphrates.


     

Monday, September 12, 2011

"two woes more hereafter" - American Unemployment Worse than Terror



 Japanese National Diet Bldg.
Tokyo Station (though several years ago...)




American Unemployment Worse than Terror (Chômage américain pire que la terreur)


Why are Americans afraid of terror that could take on only thousand lives per decade, put extremely?

(Every year 44,000 to 200,000 Americans are killed through medical errors, domestically.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Medical_error)

Terror would be only directed to big cities and government facilities.  But unemployment attacks every poor American, namely 100 million Americans living every corner in the vast land of the United States from the Atlantic to the Pacific.

Terror will not be directed to you if you are not working in Wall Street or Washington DC, namely, if you are poor.  But you will be hit by Wall Street companies, Government agencies, and big corporate executives and large stock holders to be fired from your job.

My advice to poor Americans is be courageous to face your true enemy, that is, unemployment, but not be duped into thoughtlessly joining super-rich men's war on terror.


As for Al Qaeda, I say here to them to have a fear of God.  Go back to your country and make your neighbors great.



SECTION I: State of Economy for American People


Assets of American citizens started to grow rapidly from 1995 to 2000, leveraging the power of Windows 95 that combined for the first time a personal computer and the Internet.



The  Assets of American citizens started to grow rapidly again from 2002 to 2006, leveraging the application boom of IT to the financial sector.  However, debts of  American citizens steadily increased from 2001 to 2007.  The gap as indicated with the red line and the blue line in the above figure is now so desperately large.

It looks like telling that you have to forget about the 9/11 Terror of 2001 but think about effect of Windows 95 launched in 1995 and the IT (information technology) application intensified since 2002 to the financial sector. It is so, since the 9/11 Terror had only a little effect on American consumer behaviors.




SECTION II: State of American Unemployment


It is not the 9/11 Terror that has made American workers suffer living with the fear of unemployment.




With the start of the Clinton Administration, the high-tech industry of the U.S. started to enjoy a boom.  On this trend, Microsoft, Intel, Apple and other personal computer related businesses started to expand their business, though the Internet Era came just with Windows 95.  This is the first incident that turned the unemployment trend around 1992.

Then around 2002, the Internet/Computer technology was in a large scale introduced in the financial sector covering both the business and individual fields.  One example was the sub-prime loan/mortgage scheme.  Anyway, it  turned the unemployment trend around 2002.

So, now, what would change the trend of American unemployment around 2012?


*** *** *** ***


Ten years ago, Americans were all proud with great success of "new economy" realized by a wide scale of application of Internet/PC technology to the American financial sector.

As the Clinton Administration achieved "zero" budget deficit in 2000, everyone believed new economy.  Even CIA officials were enjoying material benefits the American Government provided lavishly for them.  They could also enjoy a sense of being a hero to pick up a challenge vaguely posed to America by poorly equipped terrorists in Palestine, Africa, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, or North Korea, or otherwise Latin America narco-trafficking cartels.

They would buy a stock one day at $10,000 and sell it at $11,000 next month if they liked.  All they wondered was how to spend holidays in Africa, Palestine, Asia, or Latin America.  The world looked just envying the economic success of America.  Everybody wanted to come and work in the U.S.   Generously spirited, CIA officials must have thought: "Let them come and enjoy some part of our success."   


Ten years ago, CIA officials never dreamed that the U.S. was going to be forced to spend more than $1 trillion for the War on Terror in the coming decade. 


But, Osama bin Laden at the time must not have dreamed that he would be shot to death by U.S. special troops in Pakistan in May 2011.


Yet, did Mr. Barack Obama a decade ago believe that he would be elected as U.S. president in 2008?


Now you had better check the EEE-Theory on the Second Coming of Christ at 2010.
http://eereporter.blogspot.com/2011/09/take-nothing-for-your-journey.html








(Black is all, black is gold, black is white...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waGTzO3qM_E&feature=related)






Rev 9:12 One woe is past; and, behold, there come two woes more hereafter.


  

Sunday, September 11, 2011

Peal Harbor and the 9/11 Terror

 Airship...
Rice fields...
 Airship...(Click to enlarge.)


Peal Harbor and the 9/11 Terror


Americans never dream that it is very rude and provoking to compare the 9/11 terror of 2001 to the Pearl Harbor attack of 1941.

There are 10 and more significant reasons to justify my claim, but  I will discuss only a few.

1) The Imperial Navy targeted only U.S. military facilities and personnel in the Pearl Harbor attack. (Unfortunately some 60 U.S. civilians happened to be killed while 2000 U.S. soldiers were killed.)

2) The U.S. Government was making full efforts to make the Empire of Japan start a war.  Roosevelt even rejected an offer by Japanese Prime Minister Konoe for holding a summit meeting to avoid the war months before the Pearl Harbor attack conducted in early December 1941.

3) The U.S. Government froze Japanese assets in America and stopped export of crude oil to Japan months before Pearl Harbor while the Empire imported 70% of crude oil from the U.S.  The Imperial Navy was losing fuel.  (And all the trade with the Empire was  banned by Roosevelt, leading to an economic crisis in the Empire.)

The U.S. Government requested full withdrawal of Japanese troops from China.  But, it simply requested it without any deep negotiations and discussions on the causes and situations of the Japan-China War.  The American public was not fully informed of this policy against the Empire.  From the beginning this Japan-China War had been started  by Chinese troops having been supported by Nazi Germany.  It started as the Shanghai-Nanjing Battles in 1937 where Chinese troops equipped with German weapons launched attacks on the then international city Shanghai where many Europeans, Americans, Judaists, and Japanese lived peacefully.  Yet, the U.S. Government simply requested full withdrawal of Japanese troops from China.
    
At the time, the English, Russian communists, and Judaists were all working on the American elite so as to persuade Roosevelt to join the war against Hitler.  But, peace-loving American citizens were reluctant to go and fight in Europe.  Meanwhile, Chinese elites were trying hard to make the U.S. a fatal enemy of the Empire of Japan to succeed already to some extent months before Pearl Harbor. 


The U.S. had no sincere intention to go between the Empire of Japan and China.  The Roosevelt Administration just wanted the Empire to start war (for crude oil) and then to declare war against the Empire and Germany, a military ally of the Empire.


(Specifically, the Imperial Navy had to occupy oil fields in Indonesia under colonial rule of the Netherlands which tied up with the U.S. and the U.K.  To go and get Indonesia, the Imperial fleet had to first suppress the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, though Roosevelt and other top American leaders thought it would be American bases in the Philippines that the Imperial Navy should first attack.)


So, this is a typical of diplomatic and security conspiracy on the American side unlike the case of the 9/11 Terror.


Yet, there are some common aspects between Pearl Harbor and the 9/11.  They will be studied below.


But, first of all, what was the purpose of the 9/11 Terror on Osama bin Laden's side?

For the Empire of Japan in 1941, the Pearl Harbor attack was intended to eliminate American military interference to the Empire's venture into acquisition of crude oil at oil fields in Indonesia.

But, first of all, what was the purpose of the 9/11 Terror on Osama bin Laden's side?  To see it, we have to check human networks he was involved in around 2001.

(Click to enlarge.)


The key to understanding the motivation of Osama bin Laden is that he was rich, very rich, and almost super rich.  Those who were connected to Osama bin Laden were super rich Arabs associated with Islamic royal families and even the British royal family and engaged in business with powerful Americans such as the Bush clan.  But, Osama bin Laden was not a member of the Saudi Arabia power elite.  He was not a minister of the Saudi Arabia Government.  He could see a minister of the Saudi Arabia Government to offer his help for the country's war against Saddam Hussein, but he was neglected eventually.   Osama bin Laden was a son of a super rich businessman of Saudi Arabia, but not a leading and influential figure.  He was the second class member of the Saudi Arabia upper class.  He was never invited to join the government to manage national affairs or big business with the U.S. or the U.K.  In the capitalism context, he was a second class member of the super rich men's community.  But, Osama bin Laden could not accept it.  He started to make himself important to other members of  the super rich men's community by leveraging anti-American religious feeling among poor Muslims.

What drove him decisively to this direction was the presumed conspiracy that brought death to Princess Diana and her Egyptian boyfriend in Paris in 1997.  The super rich and powerful people who rejected Osama bin Laden were doing such a terrible thing to kill Princess Diana and her Egyptian boyfriend.  Osama bin Laden lost respect for them completely.  He must have wanted to show his contempt to them.  And, as this was a kind of feud in the capitalist environment where he had been raised, his target had to be something capitalistic, the World Trade Center in New York.

So, Osama bin Laden, after 1997, came to welcome a plan to destroy WTC.

The idea for the attacks came from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who first presented it to Osama bin Laden in 1996. At that time, bin Laden and al-Qaeda were in a period of transition, having just relocated back to Afghanistan from Sudan. The 1998 African Embassy bombings and bin Laden's 1998 fatwā marked a turning point, as bin Laden became intent on attacking the United States. In December 1998, the CIA's Counterterrorist Center reported to President Bill Clinton that al-Qaeda was preparing for attacks in the U.S. that might include hijacking aircraft. 
In late 1998 or early 1999, bin Laden gave approval for Mohammed to go forward with organizing the plot. A series of meetings occurred in early 1999, involving Mohammed, bin Laden, and his deputy Mohammed Atef. 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/September_11_attacks#Planning_of_the_attacks


Now one of common aspects between Pearl Harbor and the 9/11 are that Americans are not so foolish if not super smart.


Some American elites knew beforehand that the Empire of Japan would attack some American military bases, most probably, in the Philippines.  And, it is most possible that some American elites knew that Osama bin Laden would attack some American assets, most probably, in the Middle East, South Asia, or Africa.  But in both the cases, such Americans miscalculated the place to be attacked.  It was actually Pearl Harbor and WTC/Washington DC, respectively.




(to be continued...)


*** *** *** ***


Appendix. Minoru Yamasaki


The architect of WTC is a Japanese American.
Yamasaki was born in Seattle, Washington, a second-generation Japanese American... 
He earned money to pay for his tuition by working at an Alaskan salmon cannery... 
After moving to New York City in the 1930s, he enrolled at New York University for a master's degree in architecture and got a job with the architecture firm Shreve, Lamb and Harmon, designers of the Empire State Building. In 1945, Yamasaki moved to Detroit, where he was hired by Smith, Hinchman, and Grylls.The firm helped Yamasaki avoid internment as a Japanese-American during World War II, and he himself sheltered his parents in New York City. Yamasaki left the firm in 1949, and started his own partnership... 
He died of stomach cancer in 1986... 
He also designed several "sleek" international airport buildings and was responsible for the innovative design of the 1,360 foot (415 m) towers of the World Trade Center, for which design began in 1965, and construction in 1972.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoru_Yamasaki
I thought the design of WTC was not so great.  It also looked fragile with a single rectangular structure.  It should have been two-tire structured.  A little wider and bigger rectangular parallelepiped must have been built first,  and  then upon it a slim rectangular parallelepiped must have been placed.  Yet, WTC design looked so new, heralding the coming of a new era, namely the post-Vietnam War Era in early 1970s.


Anyway, the 9/11 Anniversary Ceremonies being held in New York and Washington DC have been well introduced in Japan.  Many TV stations have presented live pictures from the ceremonial sites.  Yet, as 20,000 people were lost in the 3/11 Disaster in Japan, the audience are busy checking both the 10-year anniversary in the U.S. and the 6-month anniversary in Japan.  And, it was very lucky for America that Osama bin Laden was not a mad man who would rather try something nuclear in his war against WTC and Pentagon.