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Iraq

A letter from Khamenei...

2003-08-29

In the Name of God, the Compassionate, the Merciful

Hello to you, too!
Ayatollah Sayyed Muhammad Baqir Hakim, damat barakatuh.

Same to you, buddy!
The news of the explosion at the honorable home of Ayatollah Sayyed Muhammad Said Hakim, damat barakatuh, made me very sad and concerned.

Not half as sad and concerned as it made him...
The criminals who perpetrated this bloody incident move in line with evil policies aimed at weakening the great Najaf Hawzah and threatening the lofty position of marjaiyah.

I always try to keep my marjaiyah lofty, too. It's been kinda droopy lately, though...
Such criminal acts could be used as an excuse by the occupiers of Iraq for police tactics and suppression and could lead to unrest and domestic disputes at a time when the oppressed people of Iraq have the greatest need for unity of expression. If the perpetrators of this crime are not direct mercenaries of the aggressor enemy, they are undoubtedly deceived people who have acted contrary to the dictates of religion, wisdom and ethics.

They're dingbat followers of Moqtada Sadr. They're not with us. Somebody left 'em there...
I strongly believe that, with vigilance and a firm resolve, the pious and brave people of Iraq will overcome all the conspiracies of the enemies, and by relying on dear Islam and seeking the attention of the Pure Imams, God's peace be upon them â for Iraq is the place of their pure mausoleums â they will raise the banner of Islam, independence and freedom over that country, Insha Allah.

Either that, or they'll blow the crap out of each other's ayatollahs...
I pray to God for greatness for Islam and Muslims and success for your excellency. Peace and God's mercy be upon you.

Signed) Sayyed Ali Khamenei. 2 Shahrivar 1382 (24 August 2003).

I'm sometimes awestruck at the convolutions these guys go through to blame things on us. We didn't boom the ayatollah. Booms in the night aren't even our style, though in some cases they should be.

Posted by:Fred Pruitt

#19 Is it me, or is every nutbag nation on a different calendar from the rest of the planet?

Posted by: tu3031 2003-8-29 11:12:28 PM

#18 The Juche calendar starts at 1 OJ (On Juche). It does not matter when it starts, 'cause it's a dead end calendar that should end soon. Heh heh.

Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-8-29 10:54:27 PM

#17 What is this in Juche years?

Posted by: tu3031 2003-8-29 10:19:17 PM

#16 Get on siderial time and leave the rest behind....

Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-8-29 9:28:46 PM

#15 How will they populate a Revolutionary Council without first string holy men? Can we lend them Jesse Jackson as an act of good will?

Posted by: Super Hose 2003-8-29 8:33:48 PM

#14 Don't knock lunar calenders, the Mayan system was one of the best anyone ever came up with and it was based on the lunar cycle.

As for the on-going game of whack-an-ayatollah, one does wonder if the idea is to push Shiite Land into a state of insurrection? Just to make life more difficult for us. It's not like the Saudi ringers care much about dead heretics.

Posted by: Hiryu 2003-8-29 1:20:29 PM

#13 Mohammed was born, died, Mecca was invaded, liberated, who knows and more importantly, who cares?

Posted by: Anonymous 2003-8-29 11:28:15 AM

#12 BTW, 1382 in solar years is pretty much 1424 in years that are 11 days short. Don't know if that's it, but what happened in 621 AD?

Posted by: cingold 2003-8-29 10:51:07 AM

#11 "Such criminal acts could be used as an excuse by the occupiers of Iraq for police tactics and suppression "

this is the money quote - Hes worried the CPA and IGC will come down hard on Sadr and anyone close to Iran - they might even leave no stone unturned in looking for the culprits - this could lead to revealing ties to Iranian secret services, and the Iranian regime. Now we mustnt have that, right?

What are the consequences of Hakims death?
1. Creates disorder in IRaq
2. Strengthens Sadr versus the more moderate elements participating in the IGC
3. Weakens the Najaf Hawza as an alternate source of leadership in Shia Islam, as a threat to the Iranian (Qom) ayatollahs

Who benefits from all three of the above? the Iranian aytollahs, thats who.

This stinks of Qom and the Iranians. Time to update the invasion plans.

Posted by: liberalhawk 2003-8-29 10:19:42 AM

#10 Rap,your comment was not that far off.If the Muslim calender is 11 days shorter than ours,then it follows for every year that passes they are 11 days further behind.
ex:year 1=11 days... year2=22days... year3=33days...addd infinitiam....

Posted by: raptor 2003-8-29 9:01:06 AM

#9 I guess he'll have to write another letter moaning the loss of Ayatollah Mohammed Baqr al-Hakim now that he was boomed. Looks like we have the beginnings of GWIII - The Ayatollah Wars.

Posted by: Steve 2003-8-29 8:50:34 AM

#8 DOH! I'm having a Homer Simpson week. Disregard my previous comment, please.

Posted by: Raphael 2003-8-29 6:46:20 AM

#7 So their "year" is about 11 days shorter than a real year.

Well there you have it. They will never be able to catch up to western civilization.

Posted by: Raphael 2003-8-29 6:42:23 AM

#6 Uncle Joe - I'm not sure what moonbat "event" Khamanei is referring to in his siggie, but the current Islamic Hijri date is: Friday 1 Rajab 1424 A.H. - and moonbat is apropos, since the Islamic calendar is a lunar confabulation and does not equate to a revolution of the Earth in its solar orbit. So their "year" is about 11 days shorter than a real year.

For some laughs, check out these links:
http://www.math.nus.edu.sg/aslaksen/calendar/islamic.shtml
http://webexhibits.org/calendars/calendar-islamic.html
and here's a converter:
http://www.cs.pitt.edu/~tawfig/convert/

We used to laugh about the length of the shadow at high noon as thrown by the erect member of the Grand Doodah in Mecca as being the key - and explaining why they come up short, but that's another story... Yep, Islamic Scienceâ¢, a phantasy of 3rd World Physics and Mo's Moonbat Logic.
;->

Posted by: .com 2003-8-29 6:34:47 AM

#5 Anon1 & .com--I don't think I'm gonna get to sleep now because of you and Flaming Sword. ROTFLMAO!
I just keep thinking of a couple dorks in my chain of command I would love to see attacked by raging, incontinent insects......

Posted by: Baba Yaga 2003-8-29 5:05:20 AM

#4 No they won't , Uncle Joe.

May I recommend a book: The Closed Circle about the culture of the Arabs. Written circa Gulf War 1, it is as relevant now as then. In fact, it will be relevant in 500 years when Arab culture will still be exactly the same as it is now.

Arab culture cannot change because the deeply entrenched honour-shame system on which all public/private appointments get meeted out according to nepotism and ego. All policies get implemented with no regards to usefulness or scientific rationalism but simply as to whether some dimwit thinks it's a good idea. A dimwit who got his job from some more powerful man who wanted to prove that he has the capacity to be a mover and shaker. A dimwit that perhaps was a street sweeper but is now made director of a hospital with no previous experience. A dimwit you cannot show a better way to do things, or criticise a plan because that would be an insult to his honour.

So they will never change and never move anywhere because progress as we know it is irrelevant to Arabs: it does not enable them to increase their honour against their fellows. Being an Arab is a zero-sum game. The idea of enriching all of society just does not exist as we know it.

And Allah, May Bees PEE upon him, just reinforces the whole system with religious infallibility.

FOrget the Arab world they are even more backward than the Africans and if it weren't for the oil they'd be starving like Ethiopians.

Posted by: Anon1 2003-8-29 3:43:39 AM

#3 ...and Sayyed signs his name with the year 1382.

How absolutely fitting! In 2 or 3 hundred years, these retarded societies may finally have an enlightenment and join the modern world.

Posted by: Uncle Joe 2003-8-29 1:26:41 AM

#2 Awestruck is good, but after a few hundred thousand repetitions it's kinda hard to muster enuff awe to whack it about... I like the turn of phrase I read yesterday (?) and I think it was Flaming Sword who minted it Re: Little Mo:
"May bees be upon Him."
Immediately brought to mind Whirled Peas, but with more bite - melike. mesteal. Tanx, FS!

Islamic societies deal in blame - zero examination - of self, society, nature - anything but the Qu'uran's literal words. Obviously, this leads nowhere, improves nothing, and serves no functional purpose other than the occasional Darwinistic moments of serendipity when the right heads roll - here and there. Sum: negligible change.

Judeo-Christian societies deal in guilt - and self-examination is the consequent norm. For the non-religious Westerners, The Children of Aristotleâ¢ such as myself, examination of everything, certainly including yourself first, is also the norm. Just as obviously, this constant examination leads to incremental positive change - in each and every individual. Sum: profound societal evolution.

Give the processes a bit of time (say a coupla thousand years) to run in parallel and you have?
Precisely what we see today:
The Dead-Enders and Killjoys of Islamic Jihad HS vs. the Party-Animals and Young Republicans of More Science HS.

If Allah himself, may bees be upon him, showed up and raised "the banner of Islam" it wouldn't mean diddley-squat. He's just the head dead-ender and his drivel still sucks the big one. As a Free Man I'm no one's supplicant and I don't need anyone's capricious mercy - and I'll make the peace I want for my family and fellows through strength. Sorry to sound preachy, but this just wrote itself in reaction to the Khamenei cowpattie above. 8^)

Posted by: .com 2003-8-29 1:10:48 AM

#1 Fred---I just finished a very tedious and detailed 53 page water systems report at work here, and before I took off, I just read your comments to Khamenei's letter. Hit the spot! ROTFLMAO!

Posted by: Alaska Paul 2003-8-29 12:31:56 AM

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