May 19, 2024

Did Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi die in a helicopter crash?

I'm seeing reports like this, from AP: "A helicopter carrying Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi suffered a 'hard landing' on Sunday, Iranian state media reported, without elaborating. Some began urging the public to pray for Raisi and the others on board as rescue crews sped through a misty, rural forest where his helicopter was believed to be."

At Al Jazeera: "Adverse weather conditions, including heavy fog, are hampering rescue efforts and the helicopter is still missing." And: "The conservative politician was a 'heavyweight' in Iranian politics, according to Mahjoob Zweiri, a professor at Qatar University." Was.


110 comments:

Ampersand said...

Totalitarian mass murderer somehow is "conservative".

RCOCEAN II said...

The J.Post sounds like the USA MSM newspaper. They can't even write an objective headline. Instead the headline has to be slanted so the boobs know what to think. "Hey, some of those "apologists" (aka Bad people) are worried about the Iranian President, but others (the good people) are either hoping he's dead or have mixed feelings.

Of course, that's what you'd expect from the Zionist or the Liberal/left tribes. Tears and outrage when one of "ours" dies, "Joy" when one of "Them" dies. I can remember years ago, when Matt Yglesis wrote about how happy he was when Brietbart died. Today, the same type of people full of "Joy" over the Iranian President dying will be rending their garments and shrieking to heaven if bibi dies.

Rich said...

For a US example, see Kobe Bryant. That helicopter should have never been in the air. Pilots of VIPs are often “influenced” to fly in weather they know is beyond the aircraft’s capability and crew’s skills.

On the other hand—it was a Russian helicopter. Possibly had the same mechanics servicing it who also serviced Prigozhin’s plane.

RCOCEAN II said...

I just hope the Mossad wasn't involved. Otherwise, it will result in even more violence and death.

Bob Boyd said...

It was a hard landing, but not a difficult landing.

Dave Begley said...

Israel sabotaged the helicopter. A sure thing.

Iran can’t admit the sabotage as it would be an admission of incompetence.

If only our CIA was 10% as good as Mossad.

Coop said...

Divided on how to feel here. Not going to hope to be dancing on graves but not going to to shed any tears. Jut going to take all this in as a data point and pray for God’s Will on whatever outcome is to be determined and the His Blessings on the Iranian people at large v the specific regime. It’s a highly oppressive government and the Iranian people have suffered as a result.

I doubt foul play given the location and the weather; it’d be nearly impossible for Israeli involvement under the conditions unless there was on the ground help from dissenters; extremely unlikely since he travels with a hand picked guard.

Original Mike said...

It will be interesting to see how the Iranian populace reacts.

Bob Boyd said...

According to my sources, the MI-8 came apart in the air. Wreckage was strewn over the countryside. Raisi was found with a broken pelvis, upside down in a farmhouse chimney wearing only high heels and a Packers Jersey. The Trans Doe Task Force has volunteered its services.

Original Mike said...

"Raisi was found with a broken pelvis, upside down in a farmhouse chimney wearing only high heels and a Packers Jersey."

I heard it was a Bears jersey.

ga6 said...

"I just hope the Mossad wasn't involved. Otherwise, it will result in even more violence and death."

As long as a major religion teaches the writings of Mo there will always be violence and death somewhere in the world.

n.n said...

Conservative as in classical, principled liberal? In Iran? Here's to mitigating progress and restoring the Republic.

Never-Biden Never-Putin said...

"conservative"

LOL.

The media had to do that. Even tho Iranian politics is completely different than ours in the US.

In Iran - the hardliners hate the Jews and want Israel off the map. Just like American Leftists.

Oh Yea said...

Helicopter, hard landing, Adverse weather conditions, heavy fog used together does not likely to end well for the occupants.

gspencer said...

Even if this Muzzie got his ticket for his 72 houris, there are, sadly, plenty more where he came from.

Yancey Ward said...

Oh noes........anyway.

Quaestor said...

If the creep was assassinated by his rivals for power, this may signal a profound change in the current war against Hamas.

Dr Weevil said...

Most important clue I've found on Twitter: apparently they are not in radio contact with the missing helicopter. A 'hard landing', in which the passengers are shaken and bruised but not killed, is very unlikely to knock out a helicopter's radio. (I would add the passengers' cellphones, but I suppose a rugged mountainous area might not have any coverage. Then again, would none of them have phones that can use satellites?) Ergo, it was very likely a crash fatal to most or all of the people on board.

Of course, the government of Iran is so thoroughly evil that it's no shame to be glad when one of its top leaders dies: it makes it more likely that freedom will come sooner.

And when (not if) Netanyahu dies (don't call him 'bibi' if you hate him) American Zionists will not be "rending their garments and shrieking to heaven", as long as he dies of natural causes. Some people just can't stop lying.

Aggie said...

A lot of factors here, more than enough to facilitate a claim of deniability.

The Iranians have something of the same problem we do, only it's worse because it claims the mantle of Allah: Radical gerontocracy.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

“Israel sabotaged the helicopter. A sure thing”

Hoofbeats and zebras.

Iran has famously been keeping half its aircraft flying with string, tape, and cannibalized parts since 1979. Probably some non-OEM stuff they bought off Amazon. Not surprising when one of them crashes.

Big Mike said...

The phrase “adverse weather conditions, including heavy fog” puts me in mind of the death of Lech KaczyƄski, the President of Poland, after a Polish Air Force Tu-154 crashed on 10 April 2010 outside of Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 aboard. I saw a TV show about this crash, and it was clear from the cockpit voice recorder that an aide had entered the cockpit and put pressure on the flight crew to continue the landing despite the pilots barely being able to see past the nose of their plane.

narciso said...

yes there are parallels which took out the Entire Polish cabinet back in 2009

Iman said...

Mullah Down.

Dave Begley said...

Occam’s Razor.

Iran is in an undeclared war with Israel.

Too risky for a direct attack on Iran.

Israel has a fabulous record of internal operations in Iran.

Mossad is 100x better than our CIA.

This operation sends a message: None of Iran’s leaders are safe.

It was Mossad. QED.

Drago said...

Tough day for Over-compensating Non-combat "vet" Howitzer Howard.

As always, thoughts and prayers.

Original Mike said...

"Occam’s Razor. …It was Mossad."

Yeah, cuz a poorly maintained helicopter in a regime under sanctions is just so out there…

Achilles said...

Ampersand said...

Totalitarian mass murderer somehow is "conservative".

Also Obama/Biden regime ally.

Narr said...

Russian chopper, Muzzie maintenance . . . here's to more.

Dave Begley said...

No one knows if the helicopter was poorly maintained. Would the leader of Iran fly around in such a helicopter? I think not.

It was sabotage. Give Israel some credit.

Original Mike said...

"No one knows if the helicopter was poorly maintained. Would the leader of Iran fly around in such a helicopter? "

He would if he had no choice.

Big Mike said...

From the X account of Gabriel Noronha by way of Instapundit:

My thoughts are with the @washingtonpost obituary team in this difficult time as they fiercely debate whether to call Ebrahim Raisi an “austere religious scholar”, a “patriotic anti-Zionist leader” or a “zealous anti-corruption crusader”.

Yancey Ward said...

I would think WaPo would go with "respected anti-genocide crusader and patriotic leader".

narciso said...

I'm old enough to remember when frances fitzgerald, painted the Ayatollah as respected dissident, (not really but I read about it,) so did Richard Bulliet of Columbia, Said wasn't their first bad egg,

cfs said...

On board the helicopter were present:
1. The Iranian president, Raisi
2. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Amir Abd al-Lahyan
3. The representative of the supreme leader in the East Azerbaijan province
4. Governor of East Azerbaijan province

Spiros Pappas said...

Why do need an elaborate conspiracy to explain this event? Maybe it was the work of a lone assassin (a tyrannicide)?

narciso said...

Consider General Zia, they never found out who was responsible for that crash did they, that claimed the American military attache and Ambassador,

gadfly said...

Big Mike said...
From the X account of Gabriel Noronha by way of Instapundit:

My thoughts are with the @washingtonpost obituary team in this difficult time as they fiercely debate whether to call Ebrahim Raisi an “austere religious scholar”, a “patriotic anti-Zionist leader” or a “zealous anti-corruption crusader”.


Not true - for example:

Raisi also supported attacking Israel in a massive assault in April that saw over 300 drones and missiles fired at the country in response to a suspected Israeli attack that killed Iranian generals at the country’s embassy compound in Damascus, Syria — itself a widening of a yearslong shadow war between the two countries.

rhhardin said...

Helicopter orientation instruments don't work well at low airspeed.

Mary Beth said...

I'm seeing multiple tweets that "Ali Reza Dawari, head of the communications department in Ahmadinejad's presidency, confirms the deaths of the President of Iran and his Foreign Minister, Abdollahian, in the president's helicopter crash."

All are saying the same thing, but no link to a source. (Not that I speak or read Farsi and would know what an official source was saying.)

Maynard said...

RCOCEANII said:I just hope the Mossad wasn't involved. Otherwise, it will result in even more violence and death.

I am pretty sure that the Mossad controls the weather and is thus responsible.

Pretty much every thing bad that happens to Muslims is (of course) the fault of the Jews.

Big Mike said...

Only gadfly would attempt to assign true or false values to an obviously satirical tweet on X.

@gadfly, how is it you are still alive with a brain so weak that it is perpetually at risk of forgetting to send signals to your rib cage to breath of your heart to beat?

BUMBLE BEE said...

Sometimes "Your Mouth to God's Ear" works.
C'mon man, it ain't Richie Valens, or Otis Redding, now!

Robert Cook said...

"Totalitarian mass murderer somehow is 'conservative.'"

Well...yeah.

jaydub said...

I’m happy he qualified for his 72 virgins and I’m praying they are all named Abdul and are really horny. 😟

Dr Weevil said...

A self-described national security expert on Twitter reports (link) that "Iranians in different parts of Iran have started launching fireworks in celebration of Raisi's death". The tweet he links is in Farsi and has a film embedded.

Here are the daughters of someone the Iranian regime murdered two years ago celebrating with what looks like beer: link. Those who follow Iranian twitter report that millions are celebrating. RCOCEAN II may find that offensive, but they knew Raisi far better than he does.

Yancey Ward said...

Good ole Gadfly- fact checking a joke. FFS.

Yancey Ward said...

Gadfly, you can probably get Glen Kessler to hire you to fact check Babylon Bee.

Yancey Ward said...

Robert, we already all know that you think Stalin and Lenin were conservatives.

Dr Weevil said...

Here's a tweet (link) explaining why the crash is important. The president has no real power in Iran: that's the Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei. But he's old, and there were two main candidates to replace him: President Raisi and the Supreme Leader's son Mojtaba Khamenei. Now the latter is almost certain to get the job, which makes Iran a hereditary monarchy, as it was under the Shah, but with a far more brutal and intolerant monarch than the Shah ever was.

Dave Begley said...

Iran has an. 88-member “Assembly of Experts” who picks their Supreme Leader! Why didn’t we think of that? It would be staffed with Ivy Leaguers and readers of the NYT. Life would be so much easier!

Iman said...

Q: what does the average, sexually frustrated Iranian husband do to relieve his situation?





A: Ghotzbadeh

Dr Weevil said...

It most likely was an accident caused by a VIP insisting that a pilot fly in dangerous weather because he had places to go - just like Kobe Bryant's death. But if it was an assassination, Mojtaba Khamenei is a far likelier suspect than Mossad or anyone else outside Iran.

RCOCEAN II said...

"I am pretty sure that the Mossad controls the weather and is thus responsible."

I didn't say "Mossad controls the weather". Why do YOU think Mossad controls the weather? What evidence do you have that weather caused the crash? Tell me. Because we don't know why the helicopter went down.

Its amazing how many people on the internet can't think, and cant read. I dont care what you write, but you're responding to MY commment, so I had to correct you. I assume you just wanted to defend Israel no matter what, and so here we are.

Humperdink said...

RCOCEANII said: "I just hope the Mossad wasn't involved. Otherwise, it will result in even more violence and death."

Me too, because if Mossad was not involved, peace with Iran is just around the corner. (Sarc)

Dr Weevil said...

The evidence that weather caused the crash is that fog in the area was and is so bad that rescue helicopters have not even been able to spot the missing helicopter, and three of the men on the ground looking for it are now missing. There are pictures of the fog all over Twitter, and reports that the 45-year-old Canadian-built helicopter was not instrument-capable, which means it should not have been flying in fog at all, especially in a mountainous area. Again, it's very much like the crash that killed Kobe Bryant.

And "Mossad controls the weather" is a humorous reference to a paranoid anti-Semitic fantasy.

narciso said...

that was what one of the dc city council


https://foreignpolicyblogs.com/2013/06/14/canada-recognizes-irans-1988-massacre-as-crime-against-humanity/

Never-Biden Never-Putin said...

Considering the "Conservative" Ayatollah/Mullahs are all on the same side as Hamas-supporting Jew-hating Israel-Hating American Leftists..

yeah - total "conservative" ... yep. You bet. sure.


pffft- American leftists in the media are tools.

Narr said...

It's Allah's will.

Skeptical Voter said...

Be a real shame if the Iranian Intelligence Service found borscht--or matzo balls--in the fuel tank of the chopper.

typingtalker said...

Re: Emergency Transmitter ...

ELTs are emergency transmitters that are carried aboard most general aviation aircraft in the U.S. In the event of an aircraft accident, these devices are designed to transmit a distress signal on 121.5 and 243.0 MHz frequencies, and for newer ELTs, on 406 MHz.

AOPA

More here ...
406MHz Emergency Distress Beacons

It seems odd that a military helicopter wouldn't have one of the above or a military equivalent.

Joe Smith said...

One can only hope.

And one can only hope that he burned up very slowly on the way to hell.

Jerry said...

typingtalker said:

"It seems odd that a military helicopter wouldn't have one of the above or a military equivalent."

To us - yes. Remember, this is Iran. ELT may not have working batteries, working connection to antennas, or may not have been tested in the last 20 years and is completely corroded out. A lot of Arabic maintenance runs a lot on the 'If God will it, it will work.' It's easy to see if an engine's running properly - but an ELT? Who thinks about an ELT?

Paul said...

Did he die in the crash? Well we could hope, right?

Gilbert Pinfold said...

Remember when Trump was excoriated for not attending a memorial ceremony for US soldiers at a French graveyard? It was because his security staff recommended against flying in a helicopter in rainy and foggy conditions. And the left slagged him for that…

StoughtonSconnie said...

Of course people are reflexively blaming Israel. If there was a CVR of the pilots saying “ooh look, Kentucky Fried Falafel, let’s stop”, it’d still be claimed as “the Zionists”. So tiresome.

Quaestor said...

Dave Begley writes, "Iran is in an undeclared war with Israel."

No. No. No. Iran's war against Israel is as declared as it gets anywhere since the Cold War. The founding documents of the Islamic Republic of Iran, mostly the dictations of Ruhollah Khomeini, clearly state the irreconcilable hatred of Israel, Jews, Christians, idolators, and atheists -- in other words everyone who isn't an observant and faithful Muslim (i.e. Shi'ite). Furthermore, the entire purpose of Iran is war to the knife against "the Great Satan and the Little Satan", in other words, the United States and the State of Israel. Their declaration of war could hardly be more explicit.

rhhardin said...

It's a good time to remember that helicopter is helico-pter, spiral wing.

rhhardin said...

In the cold war, even the Soviet Union would report the lat-long coordinates of any emergency crash locator beacons heard (by satellite) in the US.

Christopher B said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Christopher B said...

Per Instapundit (Ed Driscoll) for BuzzingFly since no regular inhabitant of DU will go there..

It’s not an obit, since there’s no official word yet, but currently, the WaPo is going with “protĂ©gĂ© and trusted confidant of Iran’s supreme leader, 85-year-old Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Raisi was elected president in 2021 after a decorated career as an ultraconservative in Iran’s judiciary.” (emphasis mine)

No mention of the many executions that Raisi signed off on. Even the House of Stephanopoulos is noting that in the late 1980s, “International rights groups estimate that as many as 5,000 people were executed. Raisi served on the commissions.”
(emphasis mine)

And they even went with ULTRAconservative.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
exhelodrvr1 said...

Very foggy, easy for experienced pilots to get vertigo in those conditions if they are not careful.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Reddit loves the unexpected Carlin.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I’m calling for a protest pause, a Gaza bombing pause and a presidential debate pause.

Until we can figure out what the hell’s going on.

Kai Akker said...

--- I’m happy he qualified for his 72 virgins and I’m praying they are all named Abdul and are really horny.

Paula and her sisters resemble that remark.

n.n said...

MIF (Missing In Flight)

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Was this a Boeing chopper by any chance?

n.n said...

Was this a Boeing chopper by any chance?

Their quality control has progressed since they fired their qualified managers in order to diversify under the IED regime. Karmic, comic irony.

imTay said...

Good thing that we don't further our foreign policy by assassination, because otherwise, people might note that we have been very lucky in the bad things happening to our adversaries this past week.

Achilles said...

Robert Cook said...

"Totalitarian mass murderer somehow is 'conservative.'"

Well...yeah.

Words don't really mean anything when they are used incorrectly by people with below average intelligence.

gilbar said...

Quaestor said...
No. No. Iran's war against Israel is as declared as it gets anywhere since the Cold War. The founding documents of the Islamic Republic of Iran,

«Ù„َۧ ŰȘَقُومُ Ű§Ù„ŰłَّۧŰčَŰ©ُ Ű­َŰȘَّى يُقَۧŰȘِلَ Ű§Ù„ْمُŰłْلِمُونَ Ű§Ù„ْيَهُÙˆŰŻَ، فَيَقْŰȘُلُهُمُ Ű§Ù„ْمُŰłْلِمُونَ Ű­َŰȘَّى يَŰźْŰȘَŰšِÙ‰ŰĄَ Ű§Ù„ْيَهُÙˆŰŻِيُّ مِنْ وَ۱َۧۥِ Ű§Ù„ْŰ­َŰŹَ۱ِ وَŰ§Ù„ŰŽَّŰŹَ۱ِ، فَيَقُولُ Ű§Ù„ْŰ­َŰŹَ۱ُ وَŰ§Ù„ŰŽَّŰŹَ۱ُ: يَŰ§Ù…ُŰłْلِمُ يَۧŰčَŰšْŰŻَŰ§Ù„Ù„Ù‡ِ هَŰ°َۧ يَهُÙˆŰŻِيٌّ Űźَلْفِي فَŰȘَŰčَŰ§Ù„َ فَŰ§Ù‚ْŰȘُلْهُ Ű„ِلَّۧ Ű§Ù„ْŰșَ۱ْقَŰŻَ فَŰ„ِنَّهُ مِنْ ŰŽَŰŹَ۱ِ Ű§Ù„ْيَهُÙˆŰŻ»
The Day of Judgement will not come about until Muslims fight the Jews, when the Jew will hide behind stones and trees. The stones and trees will say O Muslims, O Abdullah, there is a Jew behind me, come and kill him.

Never-Biden Never-Putin said...

To Cook and the collective left ... "Conservative" simply means - "things I don't like."

RCOCEAN II said...

Iran is not "totalitarian" and its never killed 30,000 innocent civilians and stolen other countries land. Get a grip. 21st century Israel is immoral compared to 21st century Iran.

Again, I hope Mossad isn't involved, but if it is, expect Iran to strike back.

Joe Smith said...

'Iran is not "totalitarian" and its never killed 30,000 innocent civilians and stolen other countries land.'

This is an idiotic statement.

Iran has killed thousands around the world funding terror.

And if you don't behave, you can be executed.

Happens all the time.

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/3/5/iran-executed-834-people-last-year-highest-since-2015-rights-groups

Original Mike said...

"Iran is not "totalitarian" and its never killed 30,000 innocent civilians and stolen other countries land. Get a grip. 21st century Israel is immoral compared to 21st century Iran.

Get a grip? Even the UN has disavowed the 30,000 Hamas propaganda number.. The UN.

Dr Weevil said...

Someone on 'X' tweeted that a Mossad agent named "Eli Copter" (get it?) assassinated Raisi, and various Hamas and Hamas-friendly accounts are now repeating this as supposed fact and calling for revenge. Reminds me of some commentators here.

Dr Weevil said...

Also, anyone who knows anything about the traditional distinction between authoritarian and totalitarian tyrannies would certainly put Iran on the totalitarian side. They murder women for wearing clothing more revealing than an old-fashioned Catholic nun's habit, and hang people for demonstrating against the government.

Dr Weevil said...

Pertinent Tweet from a journalist named David Collier (link):

"Breaking: Gaza Health Ministry is reporting that along with the Iranian president, at least 500 women & children are on the helicopter - along with 12 journalists, 17 aid workers, and 25 surgeons."

Big Mike said...

To Cook and the collective left ... "Conservative" simply means - "things I don't like."

+ 1

Big Mike said...

To Cook and the collective left ... "Conservative" simply means - "things I don't like."

+ 1

Saint Croix said...

They've confirmed he died in the crash.

sam said...

Was this a Boeing chopper by any chance?

Their quality control has progressed since they fired their qualified managers in order to diversify under the IED regime. Karmic, comic irony.

Their quality control has progressed since they fired their qualified managers in order to diversify under the IED regime. Karmic, comic irony.

Craig Mc said...

The jews' weather machine strikes again. :-)

wendybar said...


Gabriel Noronha
@GLNoronha

My thoughts are with the @washingtonpost obituary team in this difficult time as they fiercely debate whether to call Ebrahim Raisi an “austere religious scholar”, a “patriotic anti-Zionist leader” or a “zealous anti-corruption crusader”.
11:04 AM · May 19, 2024

FleetUSA said...

As usual Dave B is over the target. Thanks

typingtalker said...

From Aviation Week ...

Bell 212s were supplied to Iran prior to the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Several are understood to be on the charge of the Tehran-based VIP Transport Squadron of the Iranian Air Force. A twin-engine derivative of the famous Bell 205 Iroquois/Huey, the type has been largely phased out of service across the world in favor of more modern types, such as the Bell 412 and Leonardo’s AW139.

The accident brings into question the use of such an elderly platform for VIP transport, not to mention the decision to carry two high-ranking government officials on the same aircraft. International sanctions have also hindered Iran's ability to maintain its western-made aircraft fleets.


Aviation Week

RMc said...

Iran is actually run by the Supreme Leader (yes, he's really called that) Ali Khamenei, who got the job in 1989 when the infamous Ayatollah Khomeini died. The apparently-now-late president, Ebrahim Raisi, was hand-picked by Khamemei, so, he'll just pick somebody else, and nothing will change.

Tim said...

Doubt it will ever be proven, but I suspect Mossad's dirty tricks department decided that Iran needed a reminder not to FAFO, and this guy was the chosen message. And I suspect that the Ayatollah Cockamamie will stay far away from helicopters and airplanes for a few years.

Mr. Forward said...

"Iranian President Raisi feared dead as helicopter wreckage found"
Reuters via memorandum

Reuters changed the headline later.
"Iran's hardliner President Ebrahim Raisi killed in helicopter crash"

Bruce Hayden said...

My bet is bad maintenance with limited parts. But we will probably never know for sure. The timing is almost perfect for Massad. Iran Attacked Israel directly recently, and Israel quickly retaliated, hitting Iran right by one of their nuclear facilities, suggesting that next time, they might strike even closer. Moreover, Mossad has repeatedly shown itself capable of striking, almost at will, at the heart of the Iranian regime. Israel has successfully also taken out a series of Iran’s top military leaders recently, but not, until maybe now, in Iran itself. So, regardless of possible denials, I expect that the remaining Iranian leadership is spooked that it might have been a Massad operation.

The death of the late Iranian President, called the Butcher of Tehran, was celebrated on the streets around the country. And that is maybe more worrisome for the ruling regime. While he was the leading candidate for succeeding their geriatric Great Leader, his successor is not yet that apparent, which makes it probably a good time for a popular uprising.

Curious George said...

"Dave Begley said...
Israel sabotaged the helicopter. A sure thing.

Iran can’t admit the sabotage as it would be an admission of incompetence.

If only our CIA was 10% as good as Mossad."


Yeah, they sure showed their mettle last October 7th.

Jim Howard said...

As a pilot, I looked at this accident, and it appears to be a replay of the Kobe Bryant accident in California.

Flying low altitude in a helicopter in clouds around rocks is never a recipe for success.

Sometimes an accident is just an accident

Michael McNeil said...

It's a good time to remember that helicopter is helico-pter, spiral wing.

Not exactly. For instance, we (all of us 4-legged land animals—or tetrapods) are all sarcopterygian (or “lobe-finned”) fish (akin literally to the famous coelacanth, who never left the sea), as opposed to the competing and relatively distantly related actinopterygian line of (“ray-finned”) fish who comprise the bulk of fish still swimming (and breathing!) in the sea (or in rivers and lakes, for that matter)—while most sarcopterygian species (there are about as many as actinopterygian, all in all) these days breathe air and and (typically) walk or fly on land.

Why are the sarcopterygians important? As it happened, some 400 megayears ago a sarcopterygian fish (species) ancestor of ours breathing and swimming in the sea, invented the basic body plan that we (and all other descendant tetrapods) still flourish today, to wit:

Jawed head atop a segmented backbone;
4 limbs [2 fore & 2 aft] hanging off that;
Each limb splaying out in a pattern of:
• 1 bone [humerus],
• 2 bones [radius & ulna],
• many [“hand/foot”: carpal] bones,
• 5 digits [“fingers/toes”: distal radials] emerging from the end of each limb.

SteveWe said...

The deadly crash was caused by mountain terrain, fog, and a pilot who was not IFR certified. Basically, President Raisi killed himself (and 8 other people) by insisting that the flight be undertaken regardless of conditions.

Leland said...

Blogger RCOCEAN II said...
Iran is not "totalitarian" and its never killed 30,000 innocent civilians and stolen other countries land. Get a grip. 21st century Israel is immoral compared to 21st century Iran.


For a guy that supports Palestine based on historical concepts; that's an odd statement to make about the former home of the Persian empire. I'll chalk this up as another point of inconsistency in your arguments.

Tina Trent said...

How ironic that part of the murderous Iranian fasco-theocracy goes down the same week Jimmah Carter is fading.

Cookie, a history lesson. Extremely stupid, liberal, elite Iranian college students, egged on by professional comunist agitators, joined forces with Muslim terrorists to oust the pro-Western Shah. They imagined the Muslims woukd help them usher in a more "authentic," revolutionary, anti-Western and anti-capitalist country. Sound familiar?

Instead, the Ayatollah immediately instituted Sharia law and tortured, raped, and hung their "comrade" students and other potential troublemakers by the thousands. All women were forced into extreme Muslim slavery and purged from education and society.

Those Iranians wealthy enough, including many of the leftist revolutionaries who supported the revolution, fled to America. I have met several over the years who express deep regret and shame for destroying their country, being duped, and helping usher in the sexual torture and murder of thousands of women.

Raisi, a particularly misogynistic and bloodthirsty killer for the Ayatollah, was tasked with setting up prisons for women where they would be tortured and raped before being publicly hung by the thousands. The point of the sexual torture was to ensure they could not get into paradise as virgins.

Plus, Raisi reall did like to torture, enslave, rape and murder women. He has continued for decades. This is the sort of scum Valerie Jarrett, Obama, and Huma Abadeen did business with.

Do I really need to explain to you that sexual torture and mass enslavement of women is bad? Or that the Ayatollah's regime gets support from Democrats, not Republicans and certainly not conservatives? Well, when I went to feminist and other leftist groups to protest allowing Iran in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics because of their enslavement and FGM of women, they ALL refused because they live under the same Marxist delusions and messaging that doing so would be cultural imperialism.

So I went alone, save for one non-political college pal. And good on her. Not one feminist or liberal or leftist joined us. No human rights activists joined us. No civil rights activists joined us. No feminist college students or professors joined us. And I begged them to. John Lewis ignored my request to join us, and it was in his district, and I was his constitutient, and he knew me. Andrew Young was financially in bed with these animals. I should have asked conservative women, but I didn't know them yet.

Would you have stood with me at those stadium gates?

An evil man who tortured thousands of women to death and oversaw subjecting millions of others to lives of slavery is dead. It is a day to unambiguously celebrate. Would you celebrate with me, in remembrance of the victims of his rape prisons?

PM said...

Major media relying on social media = lazy media.

Leland said...

CFIT might seem like a hard landing. I wonder how the Iranian Press knew it was a hard landing hours before anybody could find the crash site?

Immanuel Rant said...

Blogger RCOCEAN II said...
Iran is not "totalitarian" and its never killed 30,000 innocent civilians and stolen other countries land. Get a grip. 21st century Israel is immoral compared to 21st century Iran.

Iran is - and has been since 1984 - a leader in state sponsored terror.

It provides military support for Hizballah, Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza, and various terrorist and militant groups in Iraq, Syria, Bahrain, and elsewhere throughout the Middle East.

In Iraq, Iran supported various Iran-aligned militia groups with sophisticated weapons. These groups conducted rocket and UAS attacks on U.S. and coalition facilities across Iraq, including the U.S. Embassy Baghdad.

Iran also bolstered terrorist groups operating in Syria, including Hizballah, which has provided significant support to the Assad regime. Iranian forces have directly backed militia operations in Syria with artillery, rockets, drones, and armored vehicles.

Iran has illegally supplied Hizballah in Lebanon with thousands of rockets, missiles, and small arms.

Iran has also provided numerous weapons systems and other support to Hamas and other U.S.-designated Palestinian terrorist groups, including Palestine Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command. These groups were behind numerous deadly attacks originating in Gaza and the West Bank.

In Bahrain, Iran has continued to provide weapons, support, and training to local Shia militant groups designated as terrorists.

In Yemen, Iran has provided a wide range of weapons, training, advanced equipment such as unmanned aerial systems, and other support to Houthi militants, who engaged in hundreds of attacks against regional targets in Saudi Arabia.

Senior al-Qa’ida (AQ) members continue to reside in the country.

And let's not forget the recent rocket attack launched against Israel.

But I see your point that all of that seems like peanuts when you put it up against a country guilty of being Jews.

Bruce Hayden said...

“The deadly crash was caused by mountain terrain, fog, and a pilot who was not IFR certified. Basically, President Raisi killed himself (and 8 other people) by insisting that the flight be undertaken regardless of conditions.”

insha'Allah (If Allah is willing) and he was here.