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Cody Dawg · Aug 21, 2006, 04:37 PM

August 22nd is a good date for terrorism, apparently.

While no extra safeguards are in place, U.S. law enforcement are not ignoring the possible significance of tomorrow's date, August 22, a date that marks an important historic event on the Islamic calendar.

Internet websites have been full of speculation that it could be a target date for terrorists in commemoration of the return of the 12th imam, a supposed day of reckoning for Shiites.

August 22 was rumored by intelligence experts to be a possible date that the London plotters would blow-up passenger planes headed towards the United States, though it is not known if the suspects were Shiite extremists.

This year, August 22 marks the holy day on the Islamic calendar that is the day of reckoning for Shiites. Some Shiite sects believe that August 22 could correspond to the end of the world. And just today, after much hype, Iran has announced that it will continue to develop its nuclear program. To followers of Iranian President Ahmadinejad, this is a well-timed affront to Israel, the United States and the world. The United Nations had given Iran until the end of the month to respond, but Ahmadinejad had made it clear to all Iranians and the world that he intended to respond on the eve of August 22.

Whether or not this announcement is the end of Ahmadinejad's plans for August 22, one expert says we will have to wait and watch.

"The only thing we can know is that the date was not chosen by accident," said Robert Spencer, Director of Jihadwatch.org and an adjunct fellow at the Free Congress Foundation, a conservative think tank. "It does seem very likely, very probable, that he has something major in mind, whether only a major announcement or a major attack, we will soon see."

Hmmm...

Well, it was nice knowing all of you.

Millennium · Aug 21, 2006, 07:14 PM

OK; see, if I were a terrorist who had recently pulled off a massive attack, I'd ride the glory and do hoaxes for a while. They're just as effective at instilling fear (at least for a time period), a lot less expensive, harder to trace, and they allow you time to plan for the next big one. But I wouldn't actually spring the next big one on people until they had started to get complacent and confident that the threat was over. Catching people off guard is how you really get them frightened.

My point? Terrorists aren't sane, but they aren't stupid either. My money's on tomorrow being a relatively quiet day, except for the sound of the Western world falling all over itself in anticipation of an attack that isn't going to come. And the terrorists barely had to even lift a finger.

Chuckit · Aug 21, 2006, 07:25 PM

And I still probably won't get the day off.

Spliffdaddy · Aug 21, 2006, 08:33 PM

Yeah, well, tomorrow my plan goes into effect. All terrorists will be killed.

Bet they aren't expecting *that*.

voodoo · Aug 21, 2006, 09:57 PM

Heck it's tuesday. Anything might happen.

V

- - e r i k - - · Aug 22, 2006, 12:30 AM

Yeah, I could never get the hang of Tuesdays.

- - e r i k - - · Aug 22, 2006, 12:33 AM

demograph68 · Aug 22, 2006, 01:42 AM

Are you a bad enough dude to rescue this thread?

Sky Captain · Aug 22, 2006, 06:05 AM

Well Iran did attack a Romanian oil rig.
Does that count?

Eug · Aug 22, 2006, 09:01 AM

Originally Posted by Millennium

Terrorists aren't sane, but they aren't stupid either.

Dakar · Aug 22, 2006, 09:03 AM

That's got to be added. Or someone thought using Bert against us would be demoralizing.

Cody Dawg · Aug 22, 2006, 09:04 AM

Well, a Russian jet crashed and that's about it, so far.

I guess the point I wanted to make is that there is no other religion in the world that is setting aside a particular day for violence.

moodymonster · Aug 22, 2006, 09:08 AM

well it's 3pm here and I'm still alive.

they prefer Thursdays anyway... I wonder what Thursday is in Islam... our days are references to Viking Gods... Thor's Day (and something to do with Jupiter as well - French is Jeudi). Do they use a 7 day week?

Eug · Aug 22, 2006, 09:08 AM

Originally Posted by Dakar

That's got to be added. Or someone thought using Bert against us would be demoralizing.

You missed the entire Bert is Evil campaign, and the subsequent brouhaha when it appeared on the poster? The poster is authentic, and Bert is likely there because the guys who made it had no idea who Bert was.

Devotees of freak-humor websites will recall the infamous "Bert is Evil" page, a shrine to the gourd-like Sesame Street character, which offers compelling photographic evidence of the muppet consorting with Hitler, the KKK and, of course, Jerry Springer.

Now, in a move that defies all rules of logic, a doctored photo showing Bert with the world's most-wanted terrorist, Osama bin Laden, seems to have made its way into an anti-American Islamic protest in Bangladesh.

Reuters photographs of a rally this week organized by Jaamiat-e-Talabaye Arabia, a radical Islamic organization, show that protesters created a pro-bin Laden sign out of a collage of photos they apparently lifted from Internet sites.

An editor at Reuters' photo desk in Washington confirmed that the maize-colored muppet did appear in the photograph. "It is in the original image, though I couldn't say how it got there. It wasn't hacked," the editor said.

Oh and...

A closer scrutiny of one of the photos reveals a second apparent faux pas on the part of the radical Islamic protesters: Another clip art photo of bin Laden used in the photograph seems to show him with a bottle of Jack Daniels.

moodymonster · Aug 22, 2006, 09:09 AM

The English celebrate Guy Fawkes Night where we simulate burning people to death every year - it's good fun

moodymonster · Aug 22, 2006, 09:10 AM

we let off fireworks to celebrate as well.

Dakar · Aug 22, 2006, 09:10 AM

Originally Posted by Eug

You missed the entire Bert is Evil campaign?

No, what I meant is that they added the bert is evil picture to the picture you just posted.

Dork. · Aug 22, 2006, 09:16 AM

Originally Posted by Dakar

No, what I meant is that they added the bert is evil picture to the picture you just posted.

No, it wasn't -- the guy who made the poster just grabbed a bunch of images of OBL off the web and didn't notice that one of them had Bert in it. That's when I knew that we were in for a long Global War On Terror -- Not only do the terrorists kill and destroy indiscriminately, but they are also massive copyright infringers!

davesimondotcom · Aug 22, 2006, 09:19 AM

I have a distinct feeling that Iran would LOVE to set off some huge thing today, but what they could accomplish and what they want to do are two different things.

They'll say it's the biggest thing ever, but it'll be a downed Russian airliner. Remember when Saddam called the first Gulf War the "mother of all battles?" Same over-exageration going on here.

Eug · Aug 22, 2006, 09:20 AM

Originally Posted by Dakar

No, what I meant is that they added the bert is evil picture to the picture you just posted.

The picture is not doctored. And besides Ernie's friend, note the whiskey bottle.

NY Times article

Summon all the healthy skepticism rightfully applied to a story involving Osama bin Laden and a Muppet. Add to that a heightened post-Sept. 11 suspicion of Internet hoaxes.

Now set it aside. This one is true.

Photographs distributed by Reuters and The Associated Press showed anti-American protesters in Bangladesh carrying posters featuring multiple images of Osama bin Laden, including one with the Sesame Street character Bert at his side. Both news agencies said the photographs had not been doctored.

Dakar · Aug 22, 2006, 09:28 AM

Originally Posted by Eug

The picture is not doctored. And besides Ernie's friend, note the whiskey bottle.

Then that is hilarious.

moodymonster · Aug 22, 2006, 09:29 AM

or maybe he drinks his own urine - some people do...

Dakar · Aug 22, 2006, 09:30 AM