911

911, whenever we see or hear that number, we relate it to what happen on that tragic day, September 11th, 2001. The day the whole world was shocked with terror. Many watched the news and thought it to be some kind of April fools joke because it seemed so unreal and unbelievable. But it was real; two planes hijacked by terrorist, flew right into each of the World Trade Center towers in New York. After awhile, both the buildings collapsed killing more than 2500 people.

How did such an engineering marvel fall into dust just because a plane crashed into it? There were many theories to how it happened but only one was supported by the American Government. When the plane flew right into the tower, it crashed right into the core of the structure. The jet fuel then spread all over the inner structure, igniting a few floors simultaneously. After that, the fire continued to burn for one to two hours reaching more than 1000°C, enough to weaken the steel columns that held one floor above the other. When the columns gave way, the floors buckled up and crashed down creating a chain effect. This was how the skyscraper fell to dust.

Alternatively, around 25% of the Americans believe that mere fire from a jet fuel is not enough to bring the World Trade Center towers down. Steven E. Jones, a physicist at Brigham Young University, argued that a building will never collapse vertically downwards without demolition charges. After studying the video which recorded the collapse of the World Trade Center towers, analysers found a few mini explosions coming out of the tower windows just below the floors that are crashing down. There was no reason for such explosions because no gas or any other flammable materials was allowed up the towers. With that, many people accused the American Government for not telling them the true story.

The effects of this event were devastating. Out of the thousands who were in the World Trade Center towers that day, hardly 20 people escaped before the tower collapsed. Those who were trapped in the upper floors above the fire were dying from the smoke and heat. As many as 200 didn’t want to suffer a painful deaths from the fire and smoke, they rather commit suicide by jumping down the World Trade Center towers. 400 brave rescue workers who went in the towers never came back out again. The office buildings around the towers were badly damaged by the rumbles of the towers. Many schools and office buildings were closed down for the day. Some schools even stopped the children from watching the news because many of them had parents who worked in the World Trade Center towers. Many memorials were constructed around the world in memory of the brave souls who went in to the towers to save people but never returned. In addition to that, some set up funds to help those who became orphans and those who had no other source of income other than their husband or wife who died in that tragic event.

Even after months of that event, the effects rippled across the entire world affecting all countries’ economy. Many airports had their profits cut down drastically; tourist areas like Disney Land were almost empty because people were afraid of another attack. The share market dropped a few folds, causing many to lose their life savings. In fear of the banks getting bomb, many withdrew their money from their banks causing the banks to go empty. Everywhere around the world, bomb treats made many office building workers to evacuate. For example someone send a bomb treat to the IBM building in Taman Tun Dr. Ismail and forced everyone in that worked in that building to have a unofficial holiday. The relationship between Muslims and non-Muslims became worst. People avoided Muslims fearing them to have a link with the terrorist. Some Muslims were even beaten up by angry non-Muslims who accused them for terrorism. And the worst was just hardly after a month, the United States of America declared war on Afghanistan. Thousands of American soldiers were sent there to fight “for their country” far away from their country. The citizens hated the foreigners and suicide bombers blasted many of the army camps there. During the war, every now and then there will be news on how many were killed by bombs. How bout those not mentioned? Nobody knows what else happened there.

What’s going on in the world today? A war became an answer to the September 11th attack? Almost 3000 people died on that day, isn’t that enough? The blame was put on Osama bin Laden, one person, just one person. And because of that one person, they attacked the entire nation looking for that one person. Even after one whole year of bombing caves after caves in search of Osama bin Laden, they still weren’t satisfied. We were taught not to hold grudges. But the whole American Government spent more time and money to look for that one person who was accused of the September 11th attack instead of channeling those funds to help the victims.

Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon!

What is Japan famous for? If you ask any teenager today they would definitely shout “Japanese anime!” Japanese anime popularly refers to animation originating in Japan. One of Asia’s most famous Japanese anime from 20 years ago is Dragon Ball. Dragon Ball is a story about a special boy who is constantly battling evil beings to protect the world. Another famous Japanese anime from 10 years ago is Sailor Moon, which is generally credited with popularizing the concept of a team of magical girls who protect the world from the Dark Kingdom. These anime both have heroes who dedicate themselves to protect the world. In the process, they train hard to increase their capabilities to achieve their goal. But they both have very different attitudes.

All anime has a main character that is unique. The hero in Dragon Ball is a boy named Son Goku. He is special because he has a tail of a monkey. He is cute but has a limited vocabulary because he grew up in the wild. Since he is from the wild, where did he get his Kung Fu outfit that he always wears? Unlike Dragon Ball, the heroine in Sailor Moon is a teenage girl named Usagi Tsukino. She has a slim body, long beautiful golden hair and a pair of huge eyes that takes up almost half her face. When in battle mod, she wears a Japanese high school uniform with a ribbon in the middle and a pair of white gloves and red boots. She is also equipped with a golden tiara and a pair of large red hair pins.

Even though they both are defenders of the weak, they do it in very different ways. For example, Son Goku increases his physical strength by training in order to beat his opponents down. He can also shoot a beam of energy from his palms at his enemy. In addition, Son Goku possesses a magical stick which can extend to whatever length according to his will. He also has a piece of mini cloud that he rides on. But he mainly uses his fist to teach his opponents a lesson. In contrast, Usagi Tsukino uses magical items to attack her opponents while standing pretty far away from them. For example, she will use her wand to shoot a beam of light towards her enemy. Sometimes she even uses her hair pins as projectile weapons. And the funniest thing is that she uses her make up kit to transform into her battle mode.

Despite them having super powers, Son Goku and Usagi Tsukino lead a normal life too. Thus, they also have normal problems. For example, Son Goku later got married and had a wife that he was afraid of. One time, he wanted to bring his son to help battle an enemy but his wife scolded him and said his son’s education is more important than saving the world. He then had to escape before his wife “slaughtered” him. One the other hand, Usagi Tsukino has a personality of a typical teenage girl. But she is lazy and has academic problems; she gets pretty low grades in her exams. However, she still is a happy girl who enjoys shopping and dressing up. She is afraid of dentists and ghost, but when it comes to fighting, she is serious and will not show mercy towards her enemies.

These two distinctive characters are obviously very different in many ways. But to gain popularity, these characters were created with a lot of humor. These Japanese anime were published so many years ago yet they are still remembered till this day. If you search them up the internet, you will find fan sites dedicated to Dragon Ball and Sailor Moon. They achieved cult status because they were one of the pioneers of today’s anime.