Female Muslims can now skydive

[ryoder 1,590]

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Not many people know that Squeak recently got his tandem rating. Here is a shot of him with a passenger much larger than himself.

ROFLMAO thats was good :-)

I've been sitting on that pic for a week trying to figure out an excuse to post in in a thread.

"There are only three things of value: younger women, faster airplanes, and bigger crocodiles" - Arthur Jones.

[Andrewwhyte 1]

I have taken female muslims on tandems. Their head scarf fits under a frap hat just fine. As for that bit about not being touched by a man outside the family, sorry not in the Quran.

[TomAiello 26]

The owner of that DZ (or at least someone claiming to so) has posted to these forums several times, at least once looking for staff.

There's also a thread in the BASE forum about an Iranian BASE jumper (the first I know of) making his first jumps off a big tower in Teheran. It actually looks like a great location for a BASE event, except that I'm unlikely to be able to attend.

-- Tom Aiello

Tom@SnakeRiverBASE.com
SnakeRiverBASE.com

[micduran 0]

Good for them! If the Iranian women went elsewhere to get a tandem - great show of courage and determination. If women from other countries are there to do the tandems for the women - great way to support other women in the sport!

Be patient with the faults of others; they have to be patient with yours.

[billvon 3,009]

>how did the female TMs get their rating?

With female evaluators, perhaps?

[crotalus01 0]

Bad news guys. I am planning a trip to Iran (IF they give me the visa this time), and that place is a straight up tandem factory. I talked to the owner, NO fun jumpers unless they are staff. He did say that mey change in the future, but as of now its a tandem or nothing.

edit to add info on obtaining an Iranian visa for Canadians and Americans: You must either be on an approved tour with a travel agency based in Iran OR be sponsored by an Iranian citizen who takes your paperwork to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and vouches for you. Even then theres no guarantee they will give you the visa, but you at least have a chance. It is currently more difficult for Canadians to get a visa than Americans due to an Iranian-born Canadian citizen journalist who was suspected of spying and accidentally beaten to death by the Kohmetah (Secret police). Just FYI guys

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD...

[JohnRich 4]

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As for that bit about not being touched by a man outside the family, sorry not in the Quran.

Then what's with this story from Pakistan?:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1815925/posts

Pakistan Tourism Minister Nilofar Bakhtiar has defied the country's Islamic clergy which issued a decree against her for hugging a male coach after para-jumping, by saying she did it for a 'good cause'. The chief cleric of Islamabad's Lal Masjid last week issued a 'fatwa', or religious edict, calling on the government to sack Bakhtiar after a newspaper published a photo of her, attired in a bright jumpsuit, hugging her instructor after para-jumping in France.

And then there is this:

In Karachi, female athletes taking part in the 30th National Games are receiving threatening letters. 'If women are found taking part in any sports event of the national games, they will be given punishment on the spot according to Islamic laws,' a letter to the editor in the newspaper said. 'Thus, all women and the government are warned to take heed. If they do not, then government properties and the stadium will be set on fire... and acid will be thrown on the faces of the women taking part in the games.'

Beware of Islamic clergymen wandering the DZ with bottles of acid...

[JohnRich 4]

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an Iranian-born Canadian citizen journalist who was suspected of spying and accidentally beaten to death by the Kohmetah (Secret police).

How does one get "accidentally" beaten to death?

[crotalus01 0]

JohnRich, it has never been "proven" per se, but the official report was she was being interrogated by the Khometah and they basically hit her in the head one too many times. I do not believe they intended to kill her (YES they intended to torture/fuck her up for sure), but she died of a cerebral hemmrhoge.
News article follows:
Canadian journalist 'beaten to death'


Zahra Kazemi was arrested while taking photos of Evin prison
Iran has acknowledged that a Canadian-Iranian photojournalist was beaten to death after her arrest outside a prison in Tehran.
Vice President Ali Abtahi said Zahra Kazemi died "of a brain haemorrhage resulting from beatings".

Ms Kazemi, 54, was detained on 23 June for taking pictures of Tehran's Evin prison. She was later pronounced dead after falling into a coma

But officials in Tehran are still refusing to allow Canada to conduct its own investigation into the photographer's death.

"We are knowledgeable enough to examine the body and find out the cause of her death, so we will not allow foreign teams to investigate," Health Minister Massoud Pezeshkian told the AFP news agency.

I examined the body myself and there were no bruises or cuts of the face

Massoud Pezeshkian
Health Minister
He agreed that Ms Kazemi's cause of death was a brain haemorrhage, but said the investigation was ongoing.

"I examined the body myself and there were no bruises or cuts of the face," Mr Pezeshkian said.

"We are going to examine the corpse again and I will view the report, and I have appointed a medical team to look into this case."

Strained relations

The Iranian authorities initially said Ms Kazemi had died of a stroke after falling ill during her first police interview.

Her relatives insisted she had been tortured and beaten into a coma by her interrogators.

Iran's President Mohammad Khatami ordered four ministers to investigate the death of the freelance photographer.

Relations between Tehran and Ottawa have become strained over the case.

Canadian deputy prime minister John Manley said on Monday that bilateral relations would be damaged if Ms Kazemi's body was not returned.


Stephan Hachemi wants an independent autopsy in Canada
But Iran's Interior Minister Abdolvahed Moussavi-Lari said Ms Kazemi's death had nothing to do with Canada "since she is an Iranian citizen."

Ms Kazemi, who held an Iranian passport, was in Tehran to take pictures of the recent student protests for the British agency Camera Press.

Her son, Stephan Hachemi, 26, has demanded that her body be returned to Canada for an independent autopsy.

Mr Manley said Ms Kazemi's death had become "a very serious issue".

"We believe the family, of course, deserves a full explanation for what happened," he said.

"The body should be returned."

End article.

Bottom line was (AFAIK) body was never returned and buried in Iran. No independant autopsy was ever allowed.

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD...

[crotalus01 0]

JohnRich, we have been at odds before regarding Islam (no I am not muslim), but you should really try to understand that some countries have a larger number of fundamentalists than others, Pakistan being one of them (also KSA, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Indonesia, Egypt, Yemen and Sudan).
Iran is pretty moderate overall until you factor in the Mullahs (Islamic versions of Catholic priests). Something along the line of 70% of the total population of Iran is under 30, and they almost all LOVE the western ideals of freedom and democracy. It's not their fault they live in a fucked up society that is controlled by the minority Mullahs.

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD...

[bob.dino 1]

And everything that Pat Robertson says is official policy of the USA?

[JohnRich 4]

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JohnRich, it has never been "proven" per se, but the official report was she was being interrogated by the Khometah and they basically hit her in the head one too many times. I do not believe they intended to kill her (YES they intended to torture/fuck her up for sure)...

Thanks for the news story detailing the brutal cruelty and murder of a foreign journalist.

Now, where's that American businessman that disappeared on Kish?

[JohnRich 4]

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...you should really try to understand that some countries have a larger number of fundamentalists than others, Pakistan being one of them. Iran is pretty moderate overall until you factor in the Mullahs . Something along the line of 70% of the total population of Iran is under 30, and they almost all LOVE the western ideals of freedom and democracy. It's not their fault they live in a fucked up society that is controlled by the minority Mullahs.

I recognize what you say, above, and said nothing to the contrary. My message was in response to someone who claimed that there is no religious prohibition against men touching women. And I showed an article demonstrating that there apparently is such a prohibition, at least by the religious police. Whether its origin is in the Koran or not, I can't say, but such a prohibition does in fact exist. That's all I pointed out. Don't make more of my statement than there is.

[JohnRich 4]

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And everything that Pat Robertson says is official policy of the USA?

Pat Robertson is a private individual who does not get to determine public policy.

Islamic mullahs, on the other hand, have the power of government behind their edicts.

You should have known that difference...

Here's another example for you:

Iran: Dress-Code Crackdown

Every year -- ahead of the hot summer months -- the authorities launch a crackdown on what they describe as "bad veiling." The term is used to describe women who appear in public with colorful scarves and tight coats, or who show their hair or use makeup.

Police accost and sometimes detain such "badly veiled" women on major squares or in shopping malls, warning or fining them -- or taking them to police stations, where they must pledge in writing not to appear immodestly dressed in public.

Yet this year's crackdown is described by observers as one of the harshest in recent memory.

Iranian authorities have vowed that this fresh crackdown on improper clothing is no temporary measure, and announced that "plainclothes police will go into action" from next week.

Police have issued dress-code warnings to more than 10,000 women in the past 10 days, and many others have been briefly detained by authorities...

Source: Radio Free Europe

So, what happens to a woman after her 2nd or 3rd offense?

[Amazon 7]

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Pat Robertson is a private individual who does not get to determine public policy.

Seems he has some SERIOUS input in this administration though now doesnt it

http://burningtaper.blogspot.com/2007/04/onward-christian-lawyers-pat-robertsons.html




Wednesday, April 11, 2007
Onward Christian Lawyers: Pat Robertson's law school grads fill Dept. of Justice
More than 150 attorneys hired by the federal government during the Bush administration have been graduates of Regent University School of Law, founded by televangelist Pat Robertson to provide "Christian leadership to change the world," the Boston Globe is reporting.

The story opens with this chilling paragraph:
The title of the course was Constitutional Law, but the subject was sin. Before any casebooks were opened, a student led his classmates in a 10-minute devotional talk, completed with "amens," about the need to preserve their Christian values.
Monica Goodling, a Regent graduate and until last week top aide to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, recently resigned. She was one of a handful of officials who oversaw the firings of U.S. attorneys in what has become another Bush scandal.

[crotalus01 0]

JohnRich,
What we are seeing today in the Islamic world is akin to what Christianity wenbt through in the Dark Ages. Back then the Church controlled access to information, most of the populace was illiterate and couldn't read a bible to see what it actually said, much less afford to buy one.
Yes, there are differences since most "pious" muslims have memorized the Koran, but memorization does not equate to understanding what they read. Most rely on Mullahs to "interpret" what they have read.
Hence the problem.
It is also largely based on the culture - even in Israel the ultra-othodox Jews segregate men and women almost to the same degree that Muslims do. In fact, a man is considered a sinner if he looks at a woman who is not his wife in the stricter sects...

As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD...

[dorbie 0]

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an Iranian-born Canadian citizen journalist who was suspected of spying and accidentally beaten to death by the Kohmetah (Secret police).

How does one get "accidentally" beaten to death?

I feel confident that the Canadian didn't indend to be beaten to death.

[kelpdiver 2]

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I'm unfortunately a US passport holder. I can get into the country but only with a fully guided tour, which doesn't interest me. Once I get my Australian citizenship and learn at least basic Farsi I'll be going over there to visit.

You'd have to surrender US citizenship, as the sanctions prohibit the spending of US Dollars by US Citizens in Iran, just like Cuba.

Doesn't he already surrender US citizenship when he takes the vows for Australia?

[ExAFO 0]

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I'm unfortunately a US passport holder. I can get into the country but only with a fully guided tour, which doesn't interest me. Once I get my Australian citizenship and learn at least basic Farsi I'll be going over there to visit.

You'd have to surrender US citizenship, as the sanctions prohibit the spending of US Dollars by US Citizens in Iran, just like Cuba.

Doesn't he already surrender US citizenship when he takes the vows for Australia?

I'm not an immigration attorney, so I cannot answer with any authority...sorry!

Illinois needs a CCW Law. NOW.

[kelpdiver 2]

I recall from reading my passport, that it becomes null if I take the oath of citizenship for another nation.

[grue 1]

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Doesn't he already surrender US citizenship when he takes the vows for Australia?

No. I can have multiple citizenships with certain countries. Australia is among those.

cavete terrae.

[JohnRich 4]

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More than 150 attorneys hired by the federal government during the Bush administration have been graduates of Regent University School of Law, founded by televangelist Pat Robertson...

I'm guessing that all of them passed the bar exam in order to be qualified to practice law.

I'm also guessing that 150 lawyers is a miniscule drop in the bucket compared to the total number of lawyers in the federal government.

And 150 lawyers over 6 years, is only 25 lawyers per year. Oh the horror!

Furthermore, I'm guessing that none of them has the power to tell women that they can't skydive, or that they'll throw acid in their faces if they participate in sports, or that they must wear a veil over their faces in public.

How many Christian college lawyers were hired by previous administrations? Without that for reference, you really can't say that Bush is going out of his way to "pack" the law offices with Christians.

And how many lawyers have been hired by liberal colleges? You need to provide that number too, for perspective. I'm guessing that this number far supercedes those from Christian colleges.

[Amazon 7]

Hello Mr Cut and Paste...

Personally I prefer lawyers that graduate from the TOP law schools in the country to be running our government.. not THE bunch of incompetent idealogs in THIS ADMINISTRATION that seem to be having a HUGE issue with that whole separation of church and state thing.

You can lay MOST of the blame on these fuckups that define your Bushie Administration. Once upon a time we had a government of the people by the people...instead...these idiots are obviously giving the YES MAN answers to the Shrub rather than REAL advice from people with an IQ that allowed them to get into the TOP law schools rather than Pat Robertson U where you get far right wing whack jobs that demand loyalty akin to many things we are supposedly fighting against.

[JohnRich 4]

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Hello Mr Cut and Paste...

You are the one that took your message from here and duplicated it elsewhere. I simply followed you there, so that you couldn't escape from my questions and statements.

What is that strategy? Every time the game gets tough, you take your ball and go somewhere else to play?

So what are going to do now? Talk about the same issue in two different threads?

Or you could be reasonable, and post a reference here to your branch-off thread, and direct everyone there, instead of here.

You created this mess. You decide. You fix it. What's it going to be?

[bozo 0]

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Hello Mr Cut and Paste...

Personally I prefer lawyers that graduate from the TOP law schools in the country to be running our government.. .

i'm wondering if you lie awake at nite thinking this shit up.

bozo
Pain is fleeting. Glory lasts forever. Chicks dig scars.