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Saturday, November 3, 2007 |
Naomi Klein: "I used to worry that the United States was in the grip of extremists who sincerely believed that the Apocalypse was coming and that they and their friends would be airlifted to heavenly safety. I have since reconsidered. The country is indeed in the grip of extremists who are determined to act out the biblical climax - the saving of the chosen and the burning of the masses - but without any divine intervention. Heaven can wait. Thanks to the booming business of privatized disaster services, we're getting the Rapture right here on earth.
Just look at what is happening in Southern California. Even as wildfires devoured whole swaths of the region, some homes in the heart of the inferno were left intact, as if saved by a higher power. But it wasn't the hand of God; in several cases it was the handiwork of Firebreak Spray Systems. Firebreak is a special service offered to customers of insurance giant American International Group (AIG) - but only if they happen to live in the wealthiest ZIP codes in the country. Members of the company's Private Client Group pay an average of $19,000 to have their homes sprayed with fire retardant. During the wildfires, the 'mobile units' - racing around in red firetrucks - even extinguished fires for their clients.
'There were a few instances,' one of the private firefighters told Bloomberg News, 'where we were spraying and the neighbor's house went up like a candle.' With public fire departments cut to the bone, gone are the days of Rapid Response, when everyone was entitled to equal protection. Now, increasingly intense natural disasters will be met with the new model: Rapture Response."
Some time ago the Armando Museum burned completely down.
Firefighters arrived at the premises after about half an hour, then did not do very much but stand there and let the fire burn down the whole church.
There was no great outcry in the local press. But it is obvious the fire department is completely incompetent.
Fire-stations have been closed (people in the neighbourhood here were given fire alarms, as if that would make up for their lowered standards). So 'disaster capitalism' has entered the Netherlands as well.
10:04:10 AM 
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