Forward Wisconsin!
With a cow…p/s – how bad the rain in California is.
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Author: Hafiz Noor Shams
For more about me, please read this.
The tsunami brought terrible consequences to many in Asia. Lives were lost, properties damaged and economies slowed. All the while, many others are focused on the destruction that Mother Nature brought against our habitat. However, many have overlooked the benefits of the destruction.
First off, the tsunami probably reduced the number of fishing fleets in the Indian Ocean. In fact, this tsunami acts as a temporary environmental restriction imposed on fishing industry. As a direct result, the amount of harvest will fall. This gives any threatened or endangered fish a chance to recover for at least a couple of months. With reproduction rate possibly higher than the harvest rate, the stock size will increase, making future extraction more sustainable.
Then there are the beaches. All efforts on reclamation and most structures built near ocean have been razed down to the earth. There are satellite photos to confirm this. There is almost nothing there right now. Hence, some might say the incident in Asia and, to a smaller extent Africa, brings back innocence to the beaches. But of course, the reversion was anything but cleanly done. It seems that it is us that need to clean up after Gaia, unfortunately.
With the reversion done, it gives the people in the affected area to rebuild their lives. Specifically, a planned reconstruction of cities and towns is now possible. Previously, most of the hit cities and towns was (or are, I am not sure) disorganized. The places were worse than spaghetti on a plate. Now, especially the urban area has the chance of being thoroughly planned and reorganized – make it pedestrian and biker friendly and in turn, environmental friendly. In spite of that, the current situation is Aceh and Sri Lanka, where the rebels are active, will somewhat deters the reorganization effort. I’m sure that survival is more of an issue than the environment there.
Regardless of all these, nobody wants the disaster to happen in the first place. But we don’t have the ability to control the world. Thus, we will have to do the best out of the situation. We need adapt to the aftermath and look for the silver lining behind the dark clouds. (If you are in Ann Arbor, I’ll understand if there is no silver lining to be seen. For goodness sake, I am yet to see Ann Arbor’s Sun this year!)
So, stop whining and start working. At the same time, stop making foolish statements like this is God’s punishment on us or to the unbelievers. Stop blaming everybody else. The fact is, shit happens. Period.
p/s – an interesting blog concerning the tsunami and the bureaucracy surrounding the ongoing aid.
For those that wasted their winter break, I hope you are jealous of me.
Somewhere near Key Largo, the largest key in Florida. The photo sucks since the real thing was far better. The ocean was true, clear turquoise, the clouds were cleanly white and the sky was magnificiently blue. To experience it is to be there. No word nor picture is able to describe atmosphere.However, one t-shirt tries to say it all:
Up close and personal:
It was so much different than Ann Arbor. Here currently, it’s all gloomy.p/s – lokitorrents.com is being sued. I wonder if SuprNova.org is facing the same issue.
pp/s – I’ve ordered my first book of the year through Amazon.org – In Praise of Slowness: How A Worldwide Movement Is Challenging the Cult of Speed. I first found it while browsing a bookstore down in Miami.
Well, it is not actually my first book since I bought a set of accounting texts earlier but I’m content to say academic stuff doesn’t count. Also, along with the book, World of Warcraft. There goes another 70 bucks.
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[464] Of more of Miami
What do these photos remind you of?
See the three bums on the right? From the left, Heng Keyn, Satchi and goddamned bloody Mike. Not that it matters since you can’t see their faces.I had two tall cups of cold chocolate shake under the Floridian Sun against the Atlantic wind here! w00t!:
Both were taken along the same stretch of road. It’s Ocean Drive/Deco Drive.And back to the question. What do these photos remind you of? For me, here’s a hint:
“Eh, fuck you, man! Who put this thing together? Me, that’s who! Who do I trust? Me!
No idea? It’s from Scarface! If you haven’t seen the classic yet, go watch it. Now. Pronto!
Soon after the confusion began to subside, aid from various directions started to pour in. One of the first to offer help is the United States with the initial aid of $15 million. $15 million is minute when compared to the devastation of the disaster. An official from the United Nations, Jan Egeland was swift to call the US and other industrialized nations stingy. The Challenge has an illustration that reflects the UN official’s opinion.
A few sides, in particular Fox News, were quick to retaliate but nonetheless, as a direct result from such remark, US aid rose to $35 million and shortly, promised a further $350 million of aid. That is a 200-fold of increase. After the increase on US part, the US and the UN, as mentioned in CNN, seem to be best of friends. Who wouldn’t be best of friends with $350 million eh?
While I was in Florida, a DJ over the radio said that he is disappointed by affected Asian countries requesting for help all the while these countries are the ones that are giving the US headache. With his tone, he seemed to be a little bit ignorant of geography and was trying to generalize on all things Asian. Yet, in a certain light, he is right. The world is expecting too much of the US.
I don’t think the world should expect too much from the US. Though all of us are interrelated one way or the other, the US does not owe anything to the world (except their debt. Hah!) and the world cannot possibly expect the US to lead everything. We must understand that the US has its own constraints; politically and financially.
Already, some in the US are saying that the $350 million is too much and might prevent future aid to other needy regions. This worry is justified no matter how badly the tsunami hit the countries of the Indian Ocean.
And if the US is offering aid, as it is the case right now, the US certainly seeks something in return or it was under pressure.
One other thing that catches my ears concerns Al-Qaeda and the Islamists in general. While driving in Orlando, or was it Miami or the Keys, a friend said that we don’t see these terrorists that fought in the name of Islam offering any help towards the victim of the tragedy. He further argued that these terrorists are only interested in bashing the US and not for the betterment of Muslims.
Not that I am fond of the terrorists but deep in my heart, I was trying to disagree. I can’t concur with the ways of the terrorists but some aspects of their struggle do sound acceptable, however misguided their actions are. Yet, I couldn’t find a point to counter his suggestion.
Another friend offered a different perspective. He said that we might not know whether the Islamists are offering help to the victims. Really, he said, there is no reason for them to publicize their help while the authority is looking for them. I hope this is the case.
But still, despite Muslims are one the heaviest hit, rich Gulf Muslim countries are doing too little to help. I do realize that these Gulf states are not from the first world but their income from the high oil price is certainly tremendous. These Gulf states need to offer more if they don’t want to let idea of Muslim brotherhood turns into a myth.
Also, there seems to be a fight for influence at the other end of the world. Both India and the US seem to be trying to outdo each other in Sri Lanka – both are sending ships and soldiers to help Sri Lanka. One can only speculate the sincerity of some of these aids.
And if what my friend said about the terrorists helping out quietly is indeed the case, it is a politically game. Even Collins Powell has said that all the aids the US are handing out might improve their image among the Muslims.
Nevertheless, I do believe a lot of givings, especially by volunteers from all around the world, are sincere. Like what was said in one of the interviews done by CNN, there is still good in this world.
Regardless of the event, I had without doubt better time in Florida compared to the people in Asia. The sun was bright, the sky was blue, and the water was clear and turquoise particularly at the Florida Keys. The wind was both strong and graceful at the same time.
This was taken at South Beach in Miami and this is my current desktop background.p/s – The Bear suggests an alternative way to help the affected countries. It will not help the victims directly but it helps nonetheless.
pp/s – satellite photos of Aceh and Sri Lanka by DigitalGlobe. Check out the photo analysis.