Matt Stone revealed that the story was inspired by material he had read on the red heifer's prominence in the Abrahamic religions, which lent itself to the story on how peace is achieved in the Middle East.
One of the Japanese news anchors commits suicide by splitting his guts open and having a co-worker decapitate him. This is known as Seppuku, a Japanese ritual of committing suicide by splitting one's stomach open and ripping the organs, and (depending on the choice of the person committing suicide) can involve decapitation.
There's a hotel in Dublin called The Red Cow
The website irnnews.ir, appearing on the screen, is a parody of the original iribnews.ir website.
The red heifer is part of real religious prophecy. Some believe that the sacrifice of a red heifer will bring about the inauguration of the Third Temple and the end times.