Sheik: Allah sent giant spiders to combat U.S....... pic inside

[MidEastMan]

An Iraqi sheik claims Allah sent giant spiders to the town of Fallujah to help its residents fend off attacks by U.S. military forces.

Sheik Mahdi Saleh Al-Sumide'i spoke to Syrian TV on Monday, claiming several Arab television stations videotaped the helpful arachnids.

The interview is featured on the website of the Middle East Media Research Institute TV Monitor Project, or MEMRI TV. The organization translated the conversation into English.

"They attacked Fallujah and tried to cause great damage to its residents," he explained. "They destroyed mosques and homes, killed women, children and youths, and spread corruption in Fallujah. Nevertheless, we believe that Allah protects the believers, and indeed, Allah stood beside Fallujah, and I'd like to mention some miracles Allah performed in Fallujah. It is possible that the media does not know about them."


Photo: centralpets.com

Continued Al-Sumide'i: "The first miracle that occurred in Fallujah took the form of spiders that appeared in the city – each spider larger than this chair, or about the size of this chair. The American soldiers left, holding the legs of this spider, and I too, in one of the Friday sermons, held up a spider, with all its magnitude, in front of the satellite channels and in front of the world. This spider also had thin black hair. If this hair touches the human body, within a short period of time the body becomes black or blue, and then there is an explosion in the blood cells in the human body - and the person dies."

The sheik's interviewer then asked about the alleged TV coverage: "The people saw it, but the TV stations did not air it?"

Responded Al-Sumide'i: "The people saw it and the TV stations indeed aired it. I held the spider, and there were between 13 to 15 TV stations, including Al-Arabiya, Al-Jazeera, Al-Majd, Dubai, Abu-Dhabi and other stations, and they saw it with their own eyes."

Some Arab Internet sites have repeated claims of Iraqis about the spiders, and there also are stories circulating of phantom white-robed knights on white horses sent by Allah that killed U.S. Marines in battle.

In a statement reminiscent of Saddam Hussein's spokesman, "Baghdad Bob," the sheik claimed the U.S. was underestimating the number of American casualties in Iraq by a factor of 100.

"Today, if a hundred Americans are killed, they say there was one casualty," he said, "and if dozens of tanks were blown up, they say one was blown up. No one will notice the losses caused to the American forces until they return to their bases – if they return, and in my opinion they will not return – but if they return, the world will see and the American people will see the number of losses."

Al-Sumide'i claimed there were mass graves in Iraq filled with the bodies of American forces.

"A mass grave was created in a desert area near the Saudi boarder for the American soldiers killed. There is also a lake near Al-Sa'diya. The Americans place the casualties inside white or black bags, seal them and toss them from a plane into the lake."

http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=40167

[Forkboy]

1. mmmmmmmmmmm.....spider

[prof_science]

2. I'm too lazy...

...but check out Snopes. I'm 100-epsilon% sure that you'll find this there.

edit: ok, I lied. I'm not too lazy:
http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp

[MidEastMan]

3. camelspider ,, first time heard about that

[Indiana_Dem]

4. Oh that's sick! nt

[chicagiana]

5. Sounds like Pat Robertson ...

It sounds like Pat Robertson's long lost arab twin brother.

[The Night Owl]

16. Radical Cleric Pat Robertson

Always call Robertson, Radical Cleric Pat Robertson.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

6. picture is of TWO camel spiders.....

The photo reportedly comes from a soldier, stationed in Baghdad, who was bitten by a camel spider that was hiding in his sleeping bag. Fortunately, these critters aren't venomous... but they're BIG and FAST (they can run around 10MPH). The photo shows two spiders attached together, and the camera angle makes them look a tad larger than they really are (they're about the size of an adult's hand). They also tend to seek out shade during the daytime, so it's not terribly unusual to see them charging across the desert at you -- only to come to a screeching halt when they reach your shadow.

from - http://www.gophergas.com/funstuff/camelspider.htm

[elehhhhna]

7. O.M.G. I's rather be shot at. Seriously.

[lukasahero]

9. No frickin' kidding. That's just foul. eom

[Occulus]

10. They're not dangerous.

They don't have venom, they're just big. Scary-looking, and big, but not harmful at all. Sort of cool, really. I didn't know spiders that big could live in a desert. Makes me wonder how they survive.

[JHB]

15. They're not THAT big...

Look carefully at the photo: compare the size of the spiders against the sleeve and hand holding them (visible on the right) which are at about the same distance from the camera, not against the leg of the guy standing behind them.

They're about the size of the palm of your hand. Big enough to creep ME out, but not the housecat-sized mutants they appear to be because of the optical illusion.

[Zynx]

23. I hate spiders.

So they're more than big enough.

I'd probably be trying to shoot it with my rifle.

[gaia_gardener]

26. Running across the desert at you?

That would be so freaky. But when you know why they're doing it, not so bad.

[TO Kid]

8. New species of iraqnid?

<---- Running

[ArkDem]

20. Excellent Post!

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

11. I want one!

I love spiders!

On the other hand:

Marine #1: It's not enough that we have to contend with RPGs, IEDs, and suicide bombers, now we've got to contend with...

Marine #2: Spiders of Mass Destruction?

Marine #1: Ah yes, the dreaded SMDs.

Marine #2: Dude. Allah is fucking pissed


:)

Edit: Wrong acronymage.

[omshanti]

12. ew ew ew ew ewwwwww!!!

Ok, I'm normally not creeped out by spiders but those camel spiders are NAAAAAAAASTY!
:scared: :scared: :scared: :scared:

[Huckebein the Raven]

14. Even though they're harmless, they'd freak me out too

fuck...

[Moderator]

13. MidEastMan

Per DU copyright rules
please post only four
paragraphs from the
copyrighted news source.


Thank you.

DU Moderator

[xpunkisneatx]

17. Oh. My. God.

Being arachnophobic, I probably shouldn't have looked at this picture. But damn, that curiosity thing sure is hard to resist. I never knew spiders got that big. Now the humungo ones that infest my basement look like ants in comparison. ::shudders:: could you imagine waking up to find that on your face?? Ok...i need to stop. I'm gonna have nightmares!

[JHB]

19. See my post #15 above.

No bigger than anything James Bond has had to deal with :evilgrin:

[xpunkisneatx]

24. but they are still big...

And CREEPY. :scared:

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

18. Snopes -TRUE!!! And they are horrible flesh eaters that scream as they run

http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp

"Camel spiders can grow to be as large as dinner plates.

Camel spiders can traverse desert sand at speeds up to 25 MPH, making screaming noises as they run.

Camel spiders can jump several feet in the air.

Camel spiders eat the stomachs of camels, hence the name "camel spider." (Legend includes the detail that camel spiders eat camel stomachs from either the outside in or the inside out. In the former case they supposedly jump up from the ground and grab onto camels' bellies from underneath; in the latter case exactly how spiders allegedly as large as dinner plates get into camels' stomachs intact remains unexplained.)

Camel spiders are venomous, and their venom contains a powerful anesthetic that numbs their victims (thus allowing them to gnaw away at living, immobilized animals without being noticed). U.S. soldiers were said to have been attacked by camel spiders at night but remained completely unaware of their plight until they awakened in the morning to find chunks of their flesh missing."

[JHB]

21. You left out "According to most spider experts, these claims are all false

The bugs are real (but smaller than that photo suggests), the claims about them you posted are fake.

[ChavezSpeakstheTruth]

25. well - I am a pathalogical liar - oh and check this out JHB

http://www.arabianwildlife.com/nature/insect/ins09.html
"Camel Spiders Solifugida

Camel spiders are one of the fastest running arthropods. Although they have four pairs of legs, they run using only three pairs. The first pair of legs or pedipalpi are held up in front of them and used in a similar manner to the antennae of insects. They have very long, silky setae and are constantly moving in order to locate and pick-up prey. Despite their fearsome appearance and their strong bite, solifugids are unlikely to harm humans. In the past they were considered venomous and extremely dangerous but it is now thought that the only risk of injury resulting from them is caused by shock or infection following a bite. There is no evidence of venom in any part of their body.

Camel spiders are nocturnal predators of other arthropods including scorpions and are voracious feeders. Some species kill and feed on lizards and it is speculated that others kill mice and birds. They rely solely on their speed and stealth to catch their prey. In desert areas they are often attracted to lights at night in search of food and their appearance can cause alarm if they enter tents. It is rare to see them during the winter months in UAE and they are thought to hide or hibernate during cold periods.

Camel spiders in UAE
Despite their conspicuous appearance and size, little is known about these creatures and we are not even sure of their exact identity. There are probably three families of solifugids in UAE. These are the long-legged and sandy-coloured Galeodidae and Solpugidae, and the black-coloured Rhagodidae which has shorter legs and is better adapted for digging. The Galeodidae are commonly seen in sandy areas and the largest species is probably Galeodes arabs which is particularly hairy and bulky with limbs spanning up to 150mm. Other species probably occur in the mountains and Rhagodidae are thought to occur around Al Ain."

[JHB]

27. C00L

BTW, I didn't mean to imply you were lying, just that through error or "let's yank those who don't actually read this through" intent were misrepresenting what Snopes said.

:hug:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

28. Dude...your info is from the urban myth site...

check

[JHB]

22. Feh! Tiny things!

Boil them up with a little butter sauce, and you got Land Lobsters!