Posted on 02/18/2003 9:07:44 PM PST by Pokey78
See for yourself at the Alamo Cam. I haven't been down in Alamo Plaza itself since the "Get out of Chenny's House" rally/protest days. Maybe I'll drop by on Thursday, when I have to go downtown for a doctor's appointment.
Same here. I stop what I'm doing, and the TV volume goes UP.
Ijaz has tremendous insight, and we are lucky to have him.
Please FReepmail me if you want on or off my infrequent ping list.
Eclipses during Ramadan
by David L. McNaughton
In "Hamdard Islamicus" (Karachi, Pakistan), vol. XIX no. 1 (Spring 1996): pp. 81-86.Double Eclipses during Ramadan
Sometimes a Ramadan will contain a solar and a lunar eclipse. That inevitably provokes comment, because of traditions that such a "double-eclipse" is a portent for some unusual event. Ithna'asheri Shi'ites, for example, believe that their Twelfth Imam will reappear after a Ramadan double-eclipse (although those two phenomena will supposedly take place in reverse order, with the solar one occurring in mid-month (5); that will require the moon to suddenly double its speed of movement after the onset of the Holy Month!)
In March/April 1894 (Ramadan 1311), Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (founder of the Ahmadiyya or Qadiani movement in Pakistan) interpreted a double-eclipse as a sign that he was a genuine modern-day prophet (6). The lunar eclipse during that particular month was only partial, although the solar one two weeks later was total in a few places in eastern Asia (7). However, there was nothing at all extraordinary about those two eclipses: every 22 or 23 Islamic years there is at least one Ramadan featuring a pair of eclipses two weeks apart (8) - one of which is usually partial; see Table 1.
Very much rarer is a Ramadan containing two total eclipses.
Table 2 lists all such occasions since AH 1, as well as during the next 200 years (9); (its solar eclipses are all central, with annular ones also included).
It will be interesting to see whether the two total eclipses scheduled to occur during Ramadan 1424 (AD November 2003) - are cited to support a claim similar to that made by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad, or as proof of thesignificance of some extraordinary event.
< -snip- >
Table 2
Ramadans with two central eclipses
LUNAR . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . SOLAR
AH . . AD . . . . . . . . . . Date . . . Where visible . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Date . . .Where visible
.283 . .896 . . . . . . . ..29 Oct . . .Pacific & adjacent . . . . . . . . . . 12 Nov . Canada; Alaska;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(25 Oct) . . landmasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(8 Nov) . NE Pacific.305 . .918 . . . . . . . . .5 Mar . . Eurasia; . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Mar . .Antarctic; south
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (28 Feb) .NE Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (15 Mar) . .Indian Ocean.462 . 1070 . . . . . . . . .2 Jul . . .Pacific & adjacent . . . . . . . . . . . .16 Jul . . .Arctic; Siberia
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(26 Jun) . .landmasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(10 Jul).529 . 1135 . . . . . . . . . 4 Jul . . .America; Pacific; . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Jul . . .Antarctic; far
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (27 Jun) . New Zealand . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(12 Jul) . . .south Pacific.596 . 1200 . . . . . . . . . 5 Jul . . . Pacific & adjacent . . . . . . . . . . *19 Jul . Siberia; Arctic;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (28 Jun) . .landmasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (12 Jul) . . NW Atlantic1200 . 1786 . . . . . . . . .11 Jul . . . Pacific & adjacent . . . . . . . . . . 25 Jul . . South Africa &
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . landmasses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . adjacent oceans1424 .2003. . . . . . . . .9 Nov. . .Europe; SW Asia; . . . . . . . . . .23 Nov . Antarctic; south
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Africa; America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Indian Ocean1580 . 2155 . . . . . . . . .9 Mar . . Europe; Africa; . . . . . . . . . . . . .*2 Apr . .China; Russia;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kashmir; Mongolia;
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .AfghanistanNotes for Table 2
Central lunar eclipses are always total.
*The central solar eclipses listed above are total unless asterisked - in which case they are annular.
Dates apply to the instant of maximum eclipse.
Extrapolated Gregorian dates are given even on occasions when the old Julian calendar was in operation;
the corresponding Julian date is then shown below in brackets.
A Google search on ramadan mahdi eclipse yielded 133 results.
A Google search on ramadan mehdi eclipse (alternate "mahdi" spelling) yielded 58 results.
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Well, if UBL uses a freighter enter the U.S. then D.C. will be spared because it is not a deep water port. Any number of other ports are possible, including NYC, Philly, SF, etc. Then again, you have to wonder what exactly he means by "the belly". He might have himself planted inside an 18 wheeler, along with a dirty bomb, and show up in D.C., Chicago or Dallas. I could also see him making one final video via mini cam. He might arrange to have Al Jazeera pick up a live feed 10 minutes before he detonates.
I'm not surprised-is anyone else?
Al-Qaida is still alive, though, and the danger is real.
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