Strong quake jolts southeastern Iran

Mehrnews.com reports: "TEHRAN, July 31 (MNA) – An earthquake with a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter scale struck the southeastern Iranian city of Kerman on Saturday.

The epicenter of the earthquake was the town of Negar. The quake happened at 11:22 a.m. local time, the Tehran Seismological Center said.

Saturday’s earthquake comes only a day after a 5.7-magnitude quake hit the northeast city of Torbat-e Heydariyeh at 6:20 p.m. local time injuring at least 270 people.

A powerful earthquake devastated the historic city of Bam in Kerman Province in 2003, killing about 27,000 people.

http://www.mehrnews.com/en/NewsDetail.aspx?NewsID=1126075

‏Active Tectonics at the Natanz Region, Central Iran

by ‏F. Jamali, K. Hessami, H. Tabasi
‏abstract‪:‬
"This paper uses geomorphic features to constrain active structural deformation at the Natanz region, central Iran. Offset stream beds indicate rightlateral strike slip motion at a rate of about 2.5 mm/yr along the NW-SE trending Qom-Zefreh fault zone. Deep incision of the Moghar river which crosses the Charkheh and Zardkuh anticlines also indicates uplift at depth on thrust faults dipping SSW beneath the anticlines. The fact that the active Qom-Zefreh strike-slip fault runs parallel to the active fold and thrust zone suggests that oblique motion of Arabia with respect to Eurasia is partitioned in this part of central Iran. We conclude that the active blind faults which leave clear signatures in geomorphology should be seriously considered as a seismic source while assessing seismic hazard in the region."
to see full paper, go to:
http://www.iiees.ac.ir/iiees/English/Publication/Jsee/jsee19_1.html

Earthquake plus nuclear facilities

Christopher Hitchens wrote in Slate: "While the "negotiations" on Iran's weaponry are being artificially protracted by an irrational and corrupt regime, it should become part of our humanitarianism and our public diplomacy to warn the Iranian people of the man-made reasons that the results of a natural calamity would be hideously multiplied in their case… earthquake plus ill-maintained covert nuclear facilities...


Tehran Nuclear Research Center is located in suburban Amirabad, according to this article.

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Active faults around Tehran — courtesy of IIEES:

Iran seismic hazard map — courtesy of IIEES:

Iran fault activity — courtesy of IIEES:

Tehran Earthquake Map

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://tehranshake.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/iran-hazard-map.jpg&imgrefurl=http://tehranshake.wordpress.com/tehran-map/&usg=__CZ8mDnnICUOHs_HUndF-Ns0ClJg=&h=383&w=390&sz=38&hl=en&start=17&itbs=1&tbnid=2ZfkIi3y2HLJNM:&tbnh=121&tbnw=123&prev=/images%3Fq%3Diran%2Bfault%2Blines%2Bmap%26hl%3Den%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1

http://tehranshake.files.wordpress.com/2008/02/iran-hazard-map.jpg

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://tehranshake.files.wordpress.com/2007/06/iran-fault-activity.jpg&imgrefurl=http://tehranshake.wordpress.com/2007/05/16/important-link-on-tehran-seismic-risks/&usg=__14aDJ-gJxLUvBClwDDY1leAu6NY=&h=383&w=388&sz=56&hl=en&start=8&sig2=1JdWlaYl4P7dIIKsTj3M9A&itbs=1&tbnid=YgzV06gAbE9ykM:&tbnh=121&tbnw=123&prev=/images%3Fq%3Diran%2Bfault%2Blines%2Bmap%26hl%3Den%26sa%3DG%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&ei=gtsnTMerBs6Dngft0KniBQ

Haiti Earthquake -- Palace collapsing

The person who posted this to Live Leak thought this might be the presidential palace. (Click through if it doesn't load fast.)

Boobquake: American Atheist Responds to Mullah's Assertion

Blogger Jen McCreight is a self-described "liberal, geeky, nerdy, scientific, perverted atheist feminist trapped in Indiana".  She responded to claims by Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi that women not dressing modestly causes earthquakes--by suggesting an international event.  Women all over the world are to "Help fight supernatural thinking and the oppression of women, just by showing your cleavage!" She posted this idea here on Monday, April 19th. As of 11am today, the Facebook page associated with this event has over 36,706 confirmed guests. The page says, "So, who's with me? I may be a D cup, but that will probably only produce a slight tremor on its own. If you'll be joining me on twitter, use the tag #boobquake!"


I personally sent out invitations to over 100 of my male and female friends, many of whom are are Iranian and/or Muslim. One of my friends who is both responded, " 'Incite extramarital sex in society, which increases earthquakes'--I didn't know that the cause of earthquake is boobs! 
...Oh my god! Dr.Shariati said Islam wanted to save the world, but ...people...start ruining it! So that now we're seeing the fake Islam, which is Mullah Islam! 
Boobs are 'haram', but sighe is 'GREAT'! WHOO-HOO!"  


According to Google Translate, "sighe" means "concubine" in Persian.  My friend could be referring to "temporary marriage"-- the practice of temporarily marrying a woman in order to legally satisfy sensual desires under Shia Islam.  (This practice is also carried out in Iranian prisons in order to legally rape virgin female prisoners who are about to be executed. It is illegal to execute a virgin female in Iran).


I have not read the Koran. But friends who have tell me that there are Sharia laws that are not based on the Koran--even though the promoters of those laws act as though those laws are God-given. Could this contribute to a sense of "fake Islam"?   


Back to the topic of earthquakes, the Boobquake Facebook event page says, "Dressing modestly won't end earthquakes, so help out the victims of inevitable natural disasters at the Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/  and Ayaan Hirsi Ali Foundation: http://www.theahafoundation.org/

Ayatollah Blames "Inappropriately Dressed Women" for Earthquakes

Iran has one of the highest probabilities for earthquakes. Iran is also one of the few countries in the world where women are forced by law to cover their hair, legs and arms.

Defying all logic, senior cleric Ayatollah Kazem Sedighi said at Friday prayers on April 16th in Iran, "Many women who dress inappropriately...cause youths to go astray, taint their chastity and incite extramarital sex in society, which increases earthquakes. Calamities are the result of people's deeds...We have no way but conform to Islam to ward off dangers," the religious leader is quoted as saying in newspaper reports."

UPDATE: An American atheist has responded by creating an international protest scheduled for Monday morning.

A Port In Every Storm

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100228/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_chile_earthquake

Chile struck by one of strongest earthquakes ever

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100228/ap_on_re_us/quake_tsunami

Tsunami spares US, takes aim at Japan