MUNICH

 Sábado 18 de octubre de 2025: 

 Recorded onto a USB HDD connected to a SHARP AQUOS. Broadcast from 9:10 PM on May 11, 2021. Star Channel 2, STAR BS10. "MUNICH" (USA, 2005, 170 minutes, original languages: English and Arabic, Japanese subtitles).

 A masterpiece. A truly American film. It's no surprise that this film was produced entirely in America. Making it in Japan would have been impossible, given the language, human resources, capital, and financial issues. It's technically excellent, and the actors are all top-notch. Because it lacks entertainment value and isn't the kind of entertainment you'd watch with family or a significant other over dinner, it's never shown on free-to-air TV channels in Japan (it's difficult to get high ratings). Since I rely primarily on free-to-air movie programming, I haven't been able to watch it until today.

 I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I won't go into the details.

 The Israeli military has routinely and endlessly committed the barbaric massacre of civilians, as described in the BBC article below, including acts of atrocities (war crimes) that have not been reported by local correspondents. It is now impossible to accurately determine the number of victims.

 Today, the only people who genuinely show sympathy or understanding for the actions of the state of Israel are those with a vested interest in Israel or the Jewish people as a state, or those related to Jewish people (including the current US president). Israel as a state is met with anger and hatred from people the world over. The usual self-defense and special feelings of victimization have long since become untenable.

 However, despite this, the fear of "making the Jews my enemy" continues, and the reality is that, apart from a few brave media figures, most people are too scared to say anything.

 In fact, the cowardly words and actions of Japan's (until today, as the new prime minister is scheduled to change tomorrow (October 21st)) prime minister in his (until today) speech to the United Nations (two months ago) say it all. He said, "If this continues any longer... (we will recognize Palestine)," but one might ask, "how much longer" does he mean? Making such a speech after Britain and France had already recognized Palestine was not threatening at all and was met with ridicule. I was truly embarrassed. Am I the only one who thinks the Nagasaki mayor should learn from his words?

 However, if I may say so (and I have no intention of defending him), it has only been 80 years since Israel was established, so it is not accustomed to "how to fight in Asia." In this respect, it is similar to the United States. Conversely, Britain and France, for better or worse, are used to it and are therefore adept at it.

 In the aforementioned film, there are numerous scenes in which Palestinian and Arab "fighters" use the phrase "sacrifice for the cause" to leap headfirst into the enemy's line of suicidal combat in the midst of a gunfight, like a Western "duel."

 The protagonist, who has been hired by Mossad to carry out an assassination mission, hopes to kill only 11 specific "terrorists" without implicating anyone else, and then, after completing the job, to quit, return to his wife and children, and resume his peaceful life. (It may seem selfish to be the perpetrator of mass murder through organized assassinations and yet wish to live happily with his wife and children, but this is a normal human emotion and he will probably not be blamed for it.)

 All five of the assassins sent by Mossad, including the protagonist's companion, want to return to their homeland alive. None of them are completing their mission in order to dedicate their lives to the Jewish God; rather, they are doing their "job" with the intention of protecting their country and its people. They do not believe that dying for God is "just," and conversely, they believe that their "job" goes against the teachings of Judaism, and this causes them psychological conflict.

 However, those on the protagonist's "enemy" side are not trying to survive and live in peace with their families, but are acting with the intention of dying for a cause.

 Essentially, this is the battle with "Asians." In other words, it is a war fought with the goal of "dying for a cause," rather than the "way of fighting" of modern Western warfare (based on rationalist thinking). When the enemy fights like this, they are dragged down and usually end up fighting at the same level (pre-modern). In "Asia," it is extremely difficult to wage the kind of modern warfare that Western countries have in mind.

 The above film is told from an American perspective, so while there are many portrayals that are slightly biased in favor of Israel, I don't think it is completely wrong.

 I don't have the space to go into detail here, so I will just list a few examples.

　The war with Japan in World War II. The Battle of Imphal. The Battle of Tinian. The Battle of Attu. The Battle of Kiska. The Battle of Saipan. The Battle of Okinawa. Banzai charges. The decisive battle for the mainland. 100 million suicides. Kamikaze attacks. "All for war." "Until the last man."

　In response, the US military killed 3 million people with two atomic bombs and countless indiscriminate bombings of cities.

　The People's Liberation Army during the Korean War. Some of you may have seen footage of countless ant-like soldiers running down a hill in the mountains, screaming in unison. Below, the South Korean military (which had received military training in Japan but was so incompetent that the US military had stopped taking them seriously) and the US military (UN forces) equipped with the world's most advanced weaponry were waiting.

　General MacArthur considered dropping atomic bombs on Communist-controlled China and compiled a list of numerous target cities.

　Guerrilla warfare techniques in the Vietnam War. Some of you may have seen footage of countless moles popping out of holes in a game of whack-a-mole, even mobilizing girls.

　The US military sprayed massive amounts of defoliants over vast jungles from the air. They also engaged in actions on the same level as the "enemy" (see the film "Platoon").

　The Gulf War may seem like an exceptional war, as it was not dragged down by the "battle with Asians" and drawn into a quagmire. 

　However, while the "war" was concluded in a short time, the battle with Iraq as the "battle with Asians" continued for a long time afterwards. President Clinton also carried out bombings, and President Bush (Jr.) ended the "war" in Iraq in a short time, but then it became a "battle" with ISIS. Even after ISIS was defeated by force, chaos in Iraq continues (as seen in the film "GREENZONE" (2010, France, USA, Spain, UK)).

　The Afghan War. After 20 years of fighting what was "the longest war in American history," America was forced into a quagmire of fighting guerrillas and ended up back where it was.

　It's not really a "war," but the battle with Iran, which America calls "the axis of evil." Just recently, America launched a missile attack, but this only amplified hatred and strengthened people's resolve to dedicate their lives to "God."

 What the above cases have in common is that the "Asians" they fought with, rather than fighting to survive, "to die for a cause." The religions (sects) that form the spiritual pillars of the "righteous cause" vary widely; in Japan it is Shinto, and in Vietnam it is Buddhism. North Korea and Communist-ruled China are, in effect, non-religious countries. This is not just a problem of "fanatical Arab terrorists."

 In "The Clash of Civilizations," Huntington contrasts Western civilization with Islamic civilization. 

 Japan is positioned on the side of Western "civilized" countries, as an exception in Asia, but just 50 years before his book was released in the United States, Americans were shouting every day, "Kill as many Japs as possible!". Kill Jap! Kill Jap! Kill Jap!

 The current situation, and the future of the world, is not necessarily a war against "Islam" alone.

 Israel likely sees itself as fighting "fanatical Arab terrorists and fundamentalist Iranian extremists."

 However, as an Asian, it seems to me that it is fighting "an Asian way of fighting."

 British or American "soldiers" would not normally say, "I fight with the goal of dying for freedom and democracy." They would probably think, "I fight to protect freedom and democracy, and to live in a peaceful world." They are "fighting to live," not "fighting with the goal of dying."

 If we do not recognize that the Western concept of modern warfare and the Asian way of fighting are different, we will be dragged down ourselves and, out of fear, will become trapped in the brutality of indiscriminately killing our "enemy." This was also the reason why President Truman dropped two atomic bombs.

Ten-year-old Palestinian boy shot dead by Israeli forces in West Bank

2 days ago

https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/ce8g9p0ppe0o

BBC World Service, Jerusalem

Muhammad al-Hallaq was playing football when soldiers arrived in the village.

A 10-year-old Palestinian boy has been killed by Israeli forces in a village south of Hebron in the occupied West Bank.