Posted on 09/19/2004 5:27:14 PM PDT by milestogo
Iraq has a twin: Florida
The devastation that nature has wreaked on Florida hints at the fact that there is something called retributive justice.
Hairy - how else to explain? Nature has its direct way of punishing nations that wreak hafvoc on others. Charlie, Frances and now Ivan strike terror and cold-bloodedly illuminate how the hand of God works, a chilly reminder to the believers that they need to brush up on their holy scriptures, for mortals oftentimes forget the message in moments of vainglory.
Some call it Divine Justice.
Not long ago, Americans rained rockets on Iraq; killed its civilians; maimed the country; left the living without water, food and shelter; opened up the floodgates for thugs, rapists and looters. In sum, the citizens with the richest oil reserves overnight had their lives turned topsy-turvy.
Fast forward: aerial shots that we watch 24/7 bombarded over the TV screens and banner-headlined reports in newspapers tell the story of shredded roofs, torn trees, slammed concrete, curfew conditions. This time, not in Iraq, but in America itself.
Unbelievable is the resemblance! "God gives you an example from your own realm." (Holy Quran).
The panhandle or the Sunshine State, as Florida is famously called, gathers in its arms all the rich retirees hungering for paradise on earth till their hearts stop beating. White sands; swaying palms; frisky foam dancing on the gentle cobalt blue waves and tons of tanned flesh fetchingly sculpted (thanks to the cosmetic surgeons) is what makes Florida the hottest real estate in America.
The West Palm Beach, where only a few decades ago, Jews and coloureds were prohibited, where millionaires met only with millionaires and Breakers, the legendary hotel, hosted the swankiest soirees and gala gatherings, now is left licking its wounds after a thorough trouncing by hurricane Frances. "If We willed, We would cause the earth to swallow them up, or make a piece of the sky fall upon them. Surely in that is a sign for every servant who turns to God." (Holy Quran)
The largest evacuation in the state history, with 2.8 million residents ordered inland, has sent 80,000 residents and tourists into shelters. Airports, amusement parks, luxury hotels, shopping malls and that crappy materialistic Disney World in Orlando (where Bush urged Americans to go after 9/11 and spend money) are shut down.
Florida is under curfew. Just like Iraq. It feels like a war zone, just like Iraq. And these spoilt Americans who have never known want, nor suffered sweat, are left in the heat and dark. And for air, they have nothing but the stench of water and raw sewage to breathe. They are "growing tired of waking at 3am to take cold showers because their beds are drenched in sweat, eating cold meals or fast-food burgers and not knowing when life will return to normal," writes a reporter. "Vying for more and more diverts you, until you go to the tombs ... then you will be questioned about comfort on that day." (Holy Quran)
Hello ... the American media, whose heart bleeds for its own kind and goes into an overdrive lobbying Bush to give billions in aid to these stricken souls, turned its antennas away from Iraq when it was lashed by America and its people relentlessly pounded by gunfire and mortars.
Ironically, God's guns are now turned on Florida and as a pastor there put it: "Wait on the Lord, and wait on the weather."
According to the latest bulletins: "Supplies and patience are both scarce." Sounds familiar, doesn't it? Till today, the inferno inflamed by Bush targets the Iraqis left without critical supplies and as for patience - where do they go to lodge their complaints, other than in the court of Allah. "Believers, be patient and persevere, and be firm and constant ..." (Holy Quran)
The Americans are losing it: "We're almost going through a second hurricane - not talking about Ivan, but the hurricane of people bombarding us upset that power hasn't been restored," says the Boca Raton mayor, a water-front community of high-rises, which only houses the wealthy. But the water is contaminated, with fecal, same as in cities of Iraq. "You have to feel bad for all these poor, poor folks that have had their retirement dreams blown away," says Cole, who had a 12ft wall of shrubs behind his home catch fire when a power line directly above snapped and began sparking. "The people without electricity, that just adds insult to injury."
What about Iraq, where electricity was knocked out for weeks and weeks? America was not pushed.
Compassion and liberty and freedoms that Bush mouths on his campaign trail these days, posing as the messiah of those oppressed around the world, he needs to take a second look at his own backyard: price gouging is the name of the game in Florida. Ice and cold water have suddenly become precious commodities and are being sold at a ludicrous price, while many who were running for their lives before the hurricanes hit on empty tanks, lined up at gas stations and paid the earth to get fuel to flee death and destruction as Charlie, Frances and now Ivan let loose Nature's carpet bombing.
"Greg Lawrence talks about the $10 bag of ice. Kenneth Kleppach says he was clipped for nearly three times the advertised price for a hotel room. And a man with a chain saw told Jerry Olmstead that he could clear the oak tree off his roof, but it would cost $10,500," reports the New York Times. "So much for a friendly, helping hand in a time of crisis."A woman who needed two trees to be cleared off her roof was asked to pay $23,000 by a contractor. Buzz off, she retorted.
People capitalizing on other's hardship and misery is not the only scourge facing the Americans in Florida, looting is a big problem and the law enforcing authorities are having nightmares controlling it. Where is Donald Rumsfeld now? The secretary of defence who pooh-poohed the looting in Baghdad after America attacked and the museum with priceless artifacts became an open-house for anyone wanting to walk off with antiquities the world had not even imagined. Riotous behaviour became the norm in Baghdad of predators, now we see a deja vu in Florida.
Dissing the Iraqis for their greed and criminal conduct may be convenient, but how would the Bush administration and its media hawks like to characterize fellow Americans, who according to newspaper reports have behaved no better while preying on others miseries? Scam artists have surfaced like water snakes around Florida and are pretending to be independent insurance claims adjusters, offering to help the victims get quick cash from their insurance companies for a fee of $500 - 2,000.
One American has perhaps got it right: "This is not just a spike," says Helen, "this is a taste of what more calamities we still have to endure."
"What is the calamity, and what will convey to you what the calamity is? A day when humankind will be like scattered moths, and the mountains like carded wood ... a raging fire." (Holy Quran)
Heard the latest? Some misguided US air marshals and their counterparts in the FBI and CIA have suggested that it may be a good idea to "bomb Islamabad" in a bid to kill Osama Bin Laden, who according to their "intelligence" is hiding somewhere there. So what if the capital, like Iraq, gets scrapped in the process, at least Bush can say he got Osama, at last! And that will make two: Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden before the E-Day ... but wait, should the man not first fix Florida where nature is in an unforgiving mood?
TROP barf ping.
It's a good try, but Dan Rather still has him beat when it comes to pushing BS as news.
And ironically enough, as a Floridian, I don't feel the need to go out and kill fellow Floridians or attack my government....hmmmm.
I was wondering when one of these wackos would make an attempt to use the hurricanes as some kind of sign from Allah.
Hey, Anjum. I'm in Florida and I'm fine. When you see Allah, tell him clintonh8r says to shove it.
I am 62 and Hurricanes have been hitting Florida and the East Coast all my life. We never called it retribution before it isnt now. Just Mother Nature .
Yeah but they will rebuild it better than before in record time and give a lot of people jobs.
Put that in your pipe and smoke it, raghead.
When Islamofascists find their filthy encampments, vaporized, and spit into the stratosphere, they can chalk it up to the will of "Allah".
Oh? Tell me, Anjum, did you use that same explanation last December 26th when this headline led the news?
Iran earthquake kills thousands
A huge earthquake has killed at least 15,000 people in south-eastern Iran, government sources say. The quake had its epicentre near the ancient city of Bam - most of its buildings have been flattened.
Anjum, last time I looked, the people of Florida were not blowing each other up every day, fighting over who has the holiest brand of Islam. Last time I looked, Floridians were not being blamed for the majority of conflicts in the world. Last time I looked, Floridians were doing a damn good job of administering their state, especially compared to the stinking gob of waste that Saddam Hussein had turned Iraq into, which our soldiers have spilled blood trying to redeem for sorry excuses like yourself.
Last time I looked, nobody from outside the US offered to lift a finger to help Florida, or any other state that has been pounded by hurricanes in the last few years.
Anjum, it's time for you and the sorry bunch of misanthropes you represent to get a clue. You are losing this one. We ARE the retribution!
(I know he'll probably never see this, but I enjoyed the vent.)
The upside of all this is that we still live in Florida!!!
Done and done.
"Misguided," how?
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