We need to develop a crop-dust or water additive to lower the fertility rate.

Maybe we can get the surviving cast of WKRP in Cincinnati to re-unite for a "very special episode" on this very issue Ace.

It seemed to have some impact last time they did it.

The LGF headline on this is classic:

345 Killed in Annual Sacrifice

oops, omitted the lgf link.

Didn't they call it "festival seating"?

Have to go look it up. Gawd that was a long time ago.

Yep. Festival seating--been to a few of those events back in the day. You have to be really f'ed up on alcohol/drugs to enjoy the crush. Otherwise, it's terrifying.

My brother was at The Who concert, by the way. He had no idea what happened until we greeted him hysterically when he got home.

Think it's the same at the Hajj?

Mecca: it's to die for!

Ahhh, and who can forget the T-shirt
which came out right after that:

I'd Walk Over You,
To See The Who

with foot prints on the front and back.

~ good times ... good times

Maybe we can get the surviving cast of WKRP in Cincinnati to re-unite for a "very special episode" on this very issue Ace.

You think Bailey is still hot?

So is there any way we can encourage more sacred holidays/pilgrimages on these tools? Like plant a forged "new revelations of mohammed" or something over there proclaiming weekly events?

Just sayin'. Would solve alot of probems.

Soon after the Who tragedy happened Weird Al yankovic came out with his "Another One Rides the Bus", to me his best and most evocative work ever. back then I thought that his inclusion of this line was in bad taste.

"The window doesn't open, and the fan is broke And my face is turnin' blue
I haven't been in a crowd like this
Since I went to see The Who"

Ahh, good times!

Ever noticed that when a bus goes off a cliff, or there's a train accident in some third-world country, it's always a bunch of religious pilgrims on their way to something?

"Indian bus plunge" has been suitable for a generic news headline since I can remember.

They need some ground rules, something like:

"Everyone on one side of the yard casts stones at the Devil for 15 minutes, followed by a time-out wherein people on the other side of the yard gather the stones back up. There's just no good reason people should be hurt or killed (or God forbid, have an eye put out) by cast stones. And under no circumstances shall we stampede in order to get closer to the Devil while casting."

Either that or post some 'tard monitors on duty, so they can sweep in and re-establish order on an as-needed basis.

Dogstar,

We need to develop a crop-dust or water additive to lower the fertility rate.

Baby gender-selection will, in all likelihood, accomplish much of what you suggest, since it's the number of women in one generation that determines the number of babies in the next.

The Imams have already blessed it, btw, as long as it's the couple's (read, the man's) own wish and is not imposed upon him by others, which means that govts won't be able to undo the boy's club approach even after it becomes obvious what's happening.

You think Bailey is still hot?

Oh yeah! Never understood why the whole office went ga-ga over Loni Anderson when they had that hot librarian chick right there.

Never understood why the whole office went ga-ga over Loni Anderson

It's really just a variation on the old "Ginger or MaryAnne" puzzle.

Now, is there any real American male who doesn't pick MaryAnne?

Baby gender-selection will, in all likelihood, accomplish much of what you suggest, since it's the number of women in one generation that determines the number of babies in the next.

If that doesn't get them, the honor killings will get the survivors.

"Indian bus plunge" has been suitable for a generic news headline since I can remember.

Recently replaced with "Cowboy butt plunge" (see BBM, Golden Globes, etc.)

Heh. My parents are returning from hajj. We (their children) have been frantic with worry since they left. Every time we heard of a disaster, we started calling them (it was difficult at times for the signal to go through) and we'd be deluged by calls from relatives verifying if they were okay. It's ridiculous - it can very easily be prevented if the Saudis actually were motivated to do so. But to them this is nothing but a big money-making venture.

A title of the King of Saudi Arabia is "Khaadim al-Haramayn ash-Sharifayn," "the Custodian of the Two Noble Places" (the Grand Mosque in Mecca and the Prophet's Mosque in Medinah) - it's his responsibility to make sure people are safe. But nooooooo. And no one challenges the Saudis.

It is an official belief that anyone who dies en route to, during, or en route from hajj is a martyr and goes straight to heaven. Which is nice and all, but I want my Mom and Dad to be alive at home, not dead in Heaven.

Maybe we can get the surviving cast of WKRP in Cincinnati to re-unite for a "very special episode" on this very issue Ace.

Maybe a turkey drop from a helo?

The Pakistani Karakoram range has some of the most difficult mountains in the world, including the deadly K2. However grizzled veterans of these climbs invariably state that riding a bus in Pakistan was the most terrifying ordeal of their expedition.

Not surprised, Carl O. Witz. I remember riding in a jeep-like vehicle in the mountains near Murree or Skardu or Swat, up in north Pakistan. Oy! Puts roller coasters to shame.