Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader sees that Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Fiqh Academy are working to make the hajj a safer experience for the millions of pilgrims who journey annually to Mecca.

If their efforts are successful (and your Maximum Leader is pretty confident that so long as Abdul-Aziz al-Sheik remains opposed to changes to the stoning ritual - and hotel structures remain unreconstructed - they will not be) it could mean that fewer pilgrims will die trying to fulfill their religious duties.

Of course, if the changes are successful it will also mean that our friend Jeff will have to retire the Hajj-o-meter.

Carry on.