Ahmadinejad congratulates Israel on her 60th birthday:

"...the state of Israel is a "stinking corpse" that is destined to disappear...

"Those who think they can revive the stinking corpse of the usurping and fake Israeli regime by throwing a birthday party are seriously mistaken...

"Today the reason for the Zionist regime's existence is questioned, and this regime is on its way to annihilation.... Israel "has reached the end like a dead rat after being slapped by the Lebanese"

How old is Mahmoud? The reason I'm asking is that I read somewhere on the Internet today some blogger describing himself as "reaching 50 and not getting any.." by way, I suspect, of explaining his irascible cantankerous articulations and unusual way of engaging in discussions. I'm wondering if the same reasons may account for Mahmoud's verbally-abusive mega-tantrums ...

In the Symposium, Aristophanes explains:

...and after the transposition the male generated in the female in order that by the mutual embraces of man and woman they might breed, and the race might continue; or if man came to man they might be satisfied, and rest, and go their ways to the business of life. So ancient is the desire of one another which is implanted in us, reuniting our original nature, seeking to make one of two, and to heal the state of man.

You see? Sex is not just for procreation, says Aristophanes, sex is also recreational, so that whether it is man/woman or man/man, mating makes the maters satisfied, and relaxed, so that they continue to go about the business of life without causing too much damage to those around them.

Surely even Mahmoud has some other-half yearning to be reunited with him and in the process, sparing the world the headache of having to get rid of him in some less loving way...

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And on a completely different note, Amil Imani, an American of Iranian descent, has this to say to the people of Israel:

Israel... We, the children of Cyrus the Great, also would like to offer our heartfelt best wishes to you on this occasion. Yet, this, in fact, is your rebirth. Your birth occurred some 4,000 years ago.

Regrettably, your journey from your early beginning to the present has been fraught with great suffering. It is a tribute to the indomitable spirit of your people that they persisted in their valiant struggle to re-gather again in the land of their birth.

A noble and just Persian king, Cyrus the Great, rescued your people from captivity in a foreign land and empowered them to return home and build their sacred temple. By his action of freeing an entire people from captivity and restoring their rightful dignity, Cyrus the Great, the author of the first code of Human Rights, cemented a bond of friendship between the Jews and the Persians. It was the Just King’s way of setting the world on a course of freedom, equality, and justice for all people, irrespective of any and all considerations.

...We applaud you for affording millions of Israeli Arabs opportunities denied to them in many other lands.

Your fair treatment of the Baha’is, Israel, is a further testimony to your ability and willingness to live in harmony with any and all people. In Iran, the birthplace of the Baha’i faith, Baha’is are ruthlessly subjected to a form of gradual genocide by the savage mullahs. Some Baha’is are executed for their faith, Baha’i children are denied university studies, Baha’i holy places destroyed and even their cemeteries are bulldozed, just to cite a few examples. You, Israel, by contrast, have provided the Baha’is freedom to care for their holy places which were established in the Holy Land during the 19th century, long before your rebirth.

...Happy Sixtieth Birthday, Israel.