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-- Why did so many have to die in Bam? (Ayatollah's a "hater")
Why did so many have to die in Bam? (Ayatollah's a "hater")
Love that last paragraph.
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Why did so many have to die in Bam? The Guardian (UK) David Aaronovitch Tuesday December 30, 2003 The Iranian spiritual leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei yesterday managed to get to Bam, three days after the earthquake which may have killed 30,000 of his fellow Iranians. The president, Mohammad Khatami, followed soon afterwards. Khamenei had words of dubious comfort for survivors when he told them that "we will rebuild Bam stronger than before". Given the collapse of 80% of the buildings, from the old fortress to the new hospitals, the Iranian government could hardly make the new Bam as weak as the old one. Some will see this as simply a natural disaster of the kind to which Iran, according to Khatami, is "prone". Four days earlier, however, there had been another earthquake of about the same intensity, this time in California. In which about 0.000001% of the buildings suffered serious structural damage and two people were killed when an old clocktower collapsed. So why the polar disparity between Bam and Paso Robles? This is not a silly question. True, the Californians are much richer than the Iranians. But if you believed everything you read in the works of M Moore and others, you would anticipate a culture of corporate greed in which safety and regulation came way behind the desire to turn the quick buck. Instead you discover a society in which the protection of citizens from falling masonry seems to be regarded as enormously important. Whereas in Iran - for all its spiritual solidarity - the authorities don't appear to give a toss. The report in this paper from Teheran yesterday was revealing. It was one thing for the old, mud-walled citadel to fall down, but why the new hospitals? An accountant waiting to give blood at a clinic in the capital told our correspondent that it was a "disgrace that a rich country like ours with all the revenue from oil and other natural resources is not prepared to deal with an earthquake". The reformist Iran News asked on its website, "How many times have we reminded the ruling establishment that the first structures to fall during a major earthquake would be those dealing with emergency management and relief, such as hospitals, police and fire stations? The officials in charge are either deaf or simply don't care." Iran had the money to do much of what was needed. After the Kobe earthquake of January 1995 a report concluded that most deaths had been caused by the collapse of housing built in the traditional Japanese manner. This style was based on a post-and-beam system, with tiles or thick mud laid on top. The roofs came down easily, and when they did, they crushed everything beneath. And exactly the same thing seems to have happened in Bam, as much to new as to old buildings. The use of corrugated iron roofs would have been much safer. So why, despite the loss of 40,000 lives in the Gilan earthquake of 1990, had nothing been done? The same question was being asked back in the queue outside the clinic. Fariba Hemati told the Guardian what she thought of official efforts, "Our government is only preoccupied with slogans: 'Death to America', 'Death to Israel', 'Death to this and that'. We have had three major earthquakes in the past three decades. Thousands of people have died but nothing has been done. Why?" As she was queueing Jahanbakhsh Khanjani, spokesman for Iran's interior ministry, was denying that a team from Israel was coming to help. "The Islamic Republic of Iran," he told the press, "accepts all kinds of humanitarian aid from all countries and international organisations, with the exception of the Zionist regime." The Israelis, of course, have some reputation for rescue work, but it was ideology rather than humanity that was at stake here. The answer to Hemati is that, after a quarter of a century, Iran is still being ruled by a useless, incompetent semi-theocracy, which is fatalistic, complacent, unresponsive and often brutal. And such a system does not deliver to its citizens one fraction of what the Great Satan, for all its manifest faults, manages to guarantee to ordinary Americans. Following the fall of the Berlin wall there was, as the philosopher John Gray put it, a "false dawn" of the New Age of Liberal Democracy, in which all problems everywhere could be expected to be solved by a free market and free elections. But this triumphalism has been replaced, in some quarters at least, by the equally vacuous tropes of the anti-globalisation movement and its demonisation of liberal capitalism. What, I wonder, has Arundhati Roy to say now about the superiority of traditional building methods over globalised ones? Some Iranians might think that it's a shame there wasn't a McDonald's in Bam. It would have been the safest place in town. |
Interesting article. Given the severity of other earthquakes in the past, it is a bit surprising that little has been done to change the infrastructure to make it more secure.
mushroom mushroom!!!
The folks in Bam, just like throughout the region are stupid third world ignorants. That's why thousands die in Sri Lanka or India after a heavy dew, let alone any kind of serious rain. I don't see the numbers declining even after the earthquakes, since they have no sense of birth control and breed like herds of filthy rats! And what value do they have to give us? Last time I checked, opium was the major export out of Afghanistan.
{{{smoke}}}
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| Originally posted by smokeape The folks in Bam, just like throughout the region are stupid third world ignorants. That's why thousands die in Sri Lanka or India after a heavy dew, let alone any kind of serious rain. I don't see the numbers declining even after the earthquakes, since they have no sense of birth control and breed like herds of filthy rats! And what value do they have to give us? Last time I checked, opium was the major export out of Afghanistan. {{{smoke}}} |
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| Originally posted by smokeape The folks in Bam, just like throughout the region are stupid third world ignorants. That's why thousands die in Sri Lanka or India after a heavy dew, let alone any kind of serious rain. I don't see the numbers declining even after the earthquakes, since they have no sense of birth control and breed like herds of filthy rats! And what value do they have to give us? Last time I checked, opium was the major export out of Afghanistan. {{{smoke}}} |
you stupid crackhead.
hardcore trancer i think it should be pothead... isn't that what the "smoke" is all about?
you see its all those damn pothead hippies
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| Originally posted by smokeape The folks in Bam, just like throughout the region are stupid third world ignorants. That's why thousands die in Sri Lanka or India after a heavy dew, let alone any kind of serious rain. I don't see the numbers declining even after the earthquakes, since they have no sense of birth control and breed like herds of filthy rats! And what value do they have to give us? Last time I checked, opium was the major export out of Afghanistan. {{{smoke}}} |
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| Originally posted by Yoepus hardcore trancer i think it should be pothead... isn't that what the "smoke" is all about? you see its all those damn pothead hippies |
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| Originally posted by Cyrus King Like ive said to other stupid people on this board...i think you should wash your filthy mouth. |
Ayatollah is alive???? wtf??
are you sure that article is right?
smokeape, your saying THEY are ignorant...sorry, but you should be shot for just being a hypocrital ignorant remedial no-brainer.
/vote ban smokeape
!
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| If he was a pothead he wouldnt make comments like that,so I called him a crackhead instead!! ______________________________________________________ /vote ban smokeape ________________________________________________________ Ayatollah is alive???? wtf?? are you sure that article is right? smokeape, your saying THEY are ignorant...sorry, but you should be shot for just being a hypocrital ignorant remedial no-brainer. |
^^^^ very true, i was just about to point that out. The Iranian government are the real terrorists in this game and guess what, the Iranian government was elected by the US Government kicking the Shah out of power. Wow it really back-fired on them didn't it.
The persian people are not to blame, they indeed love America...last time i was there people were giving me gifts just because i was from Australia, they even told me to sit down and tell them all about Australia...so where is this "Death To America" bullshit coming from? the Government....if you remember about 10 years ago Iran had a SHAH, this leader was practically the nice BUT very smart leader for Iran, he didn't restrict anything. People could go around freely and do anything they want just like many countries but when America kicked the Shah out and brought it Ayatollah then shit started fucking up. Women had to wear veils, you couldn't drink and the list goes on.
Iranians have been trying for too long to kick the government out, but with no luck. Iran has to be the most nicest muslim country out there, so don't talk shit smokeape and any other dick out there.
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| Originally posted by Psygnosis ^^^^ very true, i was just about to point that out. The Iranian government are the real terrorists in this game and guess what, the Iranian government was elected by the US Government kicking the Shah out of power. Wow it really back-fired on them didn't it. The persian people are not to blame, they indeed love America...last time i was there people were giving me gifts just because i was from Australia, they even told me to sit down and tell them all about Australia...so where is this "Death To America" bullshit coming from? the Government....if you remember about 10 years ago Iran had a SHAH, this leader was practically the nice BUT very smart leader for Iran, he didn't restrict anything. People could go around freely and do anything they want just like many countries but when America kicked the Shah out and brought it Ayatollah then shit started fucking up. Women had to wear veils, you couldn't drink and the list goes on. Iranians have been trying for too long to kick the government out, but with no luck. Iran has to be the most nicest muslim country out there, so don't talk shit smokeape and any other dick out there. |
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| Originally posted by Yoepus hardcore trancer i think it should be pothead... isn't that what the "smoke" is all about? you see its all those damn pothead hippies |
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| Originally posted by smokeape The folks in Bam, just like throughout the region are stupid third world ignorants. That's why thousands die in Sri Lanka or India after a heavy dew, let alone any kind of serious rain. I don't see the numbers declining even after the earthquakes, since they have no sense of birth control and breed like herds of filthy rats! And what value do they have to give us? Last time I checked, opium was the major export out of Afghanistan. {{{smoke}}} |
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| Originally posted by hardcore trancer If he was a pothead he wouldnt make comments like that,so I called him a crackhead instead!! |
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| Originally posted by St_Andrew /vote ban smokeape ! |
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