Wonderful . . . now I get a lecture from this asshole!

Iran Leader Appeals to Americans on Iraq

UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Iran's president urged the American people in an open letter Wednesday to demand the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq and reject the Bush administration's policies in the war on terrorism.
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also appealed directly to the new Democratic-controlled Congress, saying the American people "showed their discontent" with President Bush's policies in the recent midterm elections and it was up to lawmakers to change course.
"I hope that in the wake of the midterm elections, the administration of President Bush will have heard and will heed the message of the American people," Ahmadinejad wrote.
"But if the approach remains the same, it would not be unexpected that the American people would similarly reject the new electoral winners, although the recent elections, rather than reflecting a victory, in reality point to the failure of the current administration's policies," he warned.

Ahmadinejad's letter to "Noble Americans," which was distributed by Iran's mission to the United Nations, also said that the U.S. invasion of Iraq had led to hundreds of thousands of deaths, an exponential growth of terrorism and the destruction of Iraq's infrastructure.

"I consider it extremely unlikely that you, the American people, consent to the billions of dollars of annual expenditure from your treasury for this military misadventure," he said.
He suggested that it would be beneficial for the U.S. to withdraw its troops from the country and spend its money instead on domestic problems, citing the "many victims" of Hurricane Katrina who continue to suffer.

The letter makes no mention of Iran's disputed nuclear program, which the U.S. alleges is geared toward secretly developing atomic weapons.

Ahmadinejad wrote a rambling, 18-page letter to Bush in May, which Washington criticized for also not addressing Iran's nuclear program. The U.S. is leading the drive to impose U.N. sanctions on Tehran for its refusal to stop enriching uranium.

This "noble American" has 3 words for Ahmandinejadakook . . . "Kiss My Ass"

Stuck on stupid . . .

I'm sure if every surviving victim signed their names on a 10,000 pound white phosporous projectile, it could be delivered in time to provide specatular overhead fireworks for the opening conference ceremonies . . .

Iran to host Holocaust conference Nov 28 6:20 AM US/Eastern

Iran, which disputes that Jews were slaughtered by the Nazis, is to hold a conference next month to allow historians to clarify "hidden angles" of the Holocaust, the foreign ministry has revealed.

The December 11 and 12 international gathering aims to "create opportunities ... for a suitable scientific research so the hidden and unhidden angles of this most important political issue of the 20th century become more transparent," said a statement on the Iranian foreign ministry's website.

Iran's fiercely anti-Israeli regime is supportive of so-called Holocaust revisionists, who maintain that the systematic slaughter by the Nazis of mainland Europe's Jews and other groups during World War II was either invented or exaggerated.

The event is organized by the ministry's Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) which has called on researchers and lecturers to take part in the conference.

The gathering, titled "Study of Holocaust: A Global Perspective", has been scheduled to coincide with international Human Rights Day on December 10, it said.

"This conference fully respects the Jewish religion and is away from politicization and propaganda," the statement said.

Topics include "anti-Semitism, Nazism and Zionism: collaboration or animosity; the concept of Holocaust and its roots; views of revisionists; denial or admittance of gas chambers," it added.
"The laws against those who deny Holocaust and killing of the Palestinians," are also to be discussed.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has prompted international anger by dismissing the Holocaust as a "myth" used to justify the creation of Israel.

In mid-August, Tehran staged an international contest of cartoons on the Holocaust, in response to the publication in Western papers last September of controversial caricatures of the Prophet Mohammed.

Political Correctness Sucks!

Stuff like this makes my skin crawl . . .


CHICAGO (AP) - A public Christmas festival is no place for the Christmas story, the city says. Officials have asked organizers of a downtown Christmas festival, the German Christkindlmarket, to reconsider using a movie studio as a sponsor because it is worried ads for its film "The Nativity Story" might offend non-Christians.

New Line Cinema, which said it was dropped, had planned to play a loop of the new film on televisions at the event. The decision had both the studio and a prominent Christian group shaking their heads.

"The last time I checked, the first six letters of Christmas still spell out Christ," said Paul Braoudakis, spokesman for the Barrington, Ill.-based Willow Creek Association, a group of more than 11,000 churches of various denominations. "It's tantamount to celebrating Lincoln's birthday without talking about Abraham Lincoln."

He also said that there is a nativity scene in Daley Plaza - and that some vendors at the festival sell items related to the nativity.

(AP) People stop to view a nativity scene set up by a private group as part of a Christmas festival...Full ImageThe city does not want to appear to endorse one religion over another, said Cindy Gatziolis, a spokeswoman for the Mayor's Office of Special Events. She acknowledged there is a nativity scene, but also said there will be representations of other faiths, including a Jewish menorah, all put up by private groups. She stressed that the city did not order organizers to drop the studio as a sponsor.

"Our guidance was that this very prominently placed advertisement would not only be insensitive to the many people of different faiths who come to enjoy the market for its food and unique gifts, but also it would be contrary to acceptable advertising standards suggested to the many festivals holding events on Daley Plaza," Jim Law, executive director of the office, said in a statement.

Officials with the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Midwest, which has organized the event for several years, did not immediately return calls for comment. The festival started Thursday.

An executive vice president with New Line Cinema, Christina Kounelias, said the studio's plan to spend $12,000 in Chicago was part of an advertising campaign around the country. Kounelias said that as far as she knew, the Chicago festival was the only instance where the studio was turned down.

Kounelias said she finds it hard to believe that non-Christians who attended something called Christkindlmarket would be surprised or offended by the presence of posters, brochures and other advertisements of the movie.

"One would assume that if (people) were to go to Christkindlmarket, they'd know it is about Christmas," she said.

In your lifetime, ya gotta go there . . .

It's much better on a Saturday in the Fall . . . 109,000+ . . . the third largest "city" in Pennsylvania for a couple of hours every game! Double click on the photo for more detail.

Sunsets and Campfires - Collage

Selected photos from camping trips and early morning/evening sun pics.

Sweet!

Just got the Power Shot S2 and love it!

Counter Top Project completed

November 27th Sunrise

Today is suppose to be another 60 degree day! Sucks if you're a deer hunter but is my kind of weather for a day off from work! Perfect cap off for a 5 day "break" from the work grind, not planning to do much today . . . except spend time outside. Weather forecast call for another few days of unseasonably warm temps before they drop.

Great Tee Shirt . . .

60 Degree November Day . . . Grillin'?

Hell yes! Some mighty fine pork . . . gawd, I loved this day!

Adding Photo Section Links

Google has a cool web-based photo storage set up . . . allows albums to be linked to blogs. Scroll down . . . .

A Florida Win Today Will . . .

Bring JoePa within 3 of catching Bowden for winningest coach honors . . . GO GATORS!

Thanksgiving Cartoons

Wack Your Willy 4 Peace . . .

I love to find wacko articles and websites . . . this one takes the cake for 2006 . . .

Two peace activists have planned a massive anti-war demonstration for the first day of winter. But they don't want you marching in the streets. They'd much rather you just stay home. The Global Orgasm for Peace was conceived by Donna Sheehan, 76, and Paul Reffell, 55, whose immodest goal is for everyone in the world to have an orgasm Dec. 22 while focusing on world peace.

"The orgasm gives out an incredible feeling of peace during it and after it," Reffell said Sunday. "Your mind is like a blank. It's like a meditative state.

And mass meditations have been shown to make a change." The couple are no strangers to sex and social activism. Sheehan, no relation to anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, brought together nearly 50 women in 2002 who stripped naked and spelled out the word "Peace."

The stunt spawned a mini-movement called Baring Witness that led to similar unclothed demonstrations worldwide. The couple have studied evolutionary psychology and believe that war is mainly an outgrowth of men trying to impress potential mates, a case of "my missile is bigger than your missile," as Reffell put it. By promoting what they hope to be a synchronized global orgasm, they hope to get people to channel their sexual energy into something more positive.

The couple said interest appears strong, with 26,000 hits a day to their Web site, www.globalorgasm.org.

"The dream is to have everyone in the world (take part)," Reffell said. "And if that means laying down your gun for a few minutes, then hey, all the better."

Here's a thought . . . organize a naked Amazon Battalion and send them to Iran, without guns of course, and have them demonstrate in the streets of Baghdad . . . now that will be orgasmic for sure!

Other games . . .

Wake Forest, Cal, Maryland, Maimi, and Rutgers all fell yesterday. With the exception of Miami, I was rooting for the rest of them! Needless to say, I always root for anyone who plays against Florida State . . . but they got past a Michigan high school team.

Rutgers was a big disappointment . . . I so wanted them to finish in the Top 5 this year.

Miami is under .500 for the first time since I've followed college football . . . no doubt the pollsters will still find a way to keep them in the Top 25.

Uusual JoePa Photos

Love him or not, you gotta respect this man . . . one can only hope to be half as tough at age 79 as Joe is . . .

Regular season campaign posts 8-4 record

The regular season is over, 8-4 record, pretty much what the writers and pundents predicted. I thought we might go 9-3 but this year's offense just never seemed to have the consistency needed to put games away. I think we finish 4th in the B10 and should be looking at a bid for the Outback Bowl on 01 JAN 07. We do OK in bowl appearances . . . probable opponent will be from the SEC . . . a win for the Lions would do much to build confidence going in the 2007 season.

JoePa got banged up a few times this year but never let his injuries take away his focus. He turns 80 next month and there's a good chance he will continue coaching for another year or two or more . . .

IMHO, the Lions need to work on the offense, the O-line in particular. I hate the starting QB controversies of seasons past, but maybe the Lions need one next year to get Morelli up to the next level. Penn State's defense kept the Lions respectable this year - they were awesome at times, but always very good in every game. We're gonna miss #31 next year . . . but have proven talent to reload that LB spot.

The Sunday after the final regular season game is always depressing for me . . . live 9 months of the year in anticipation of the campaign and go through withdrawl when it ends . . . aaah, what a sick fan I am . . . Love The Lions!

We're gonna miss Poz

17 - 13, ugly, but we'll take it . . .

Final Score: Penn State 17, Michigan State 13

State College, PA (Sports Network) - Anthony Morelli threw two touchdown passes as the Penn State Nittany Lions overcame a 10-point deficit to defeat the Michigan State Spartans, 17-13, in a Big Ten Conference battle at Beaver Stadium.

Penn State head coach Joe Paterno watched the game from the press box, two weeks after he broke his left leg during a game at Wisconsin.

Morelli completed 17-of-37 pass attempts for 220 yards for the Nittany Lions (8-4, 5-3 Big Ten). Tony Hunt led Penn State's ground attack with 130 yards on 29 carries.
Brian Hoyer completed 30-of-61 passes for 291 yards with a touchdown as the Spartans (4-8, 1-7) lost their fourth game in a row.

Michigan State dominated the opening quarter as it scored 10-unanswered points in the stanza. Hoyer connected with Kerry Reed on an 11-yard touchdown pass and Brett Swanson split the uprights on a 45-yard field goal attempt late in the frame.

The Nittany Lions responded with a 17-yard touchdown pass from Morelli to Andrew Quarless to cut the Michigan State lead to 10-7 midway through the second quarter.

The Spartans pushed their advantage to 13-7 with 1:10 left in the opening half when Swenson nailed a 30-yard field goal which was set up by a Penn State fumble.

Penn State owned the second half and scored 10-unanswered points in the session. Morelli threw the go-ahead, six-yard touchdown pass to Jordan Norwood and Kevin Kelly sealed the victory with a 45-yard field goal with 4:28 left in the ball game.

The Nittany Lions had 325 total yards of offense in the game while Michigan State had 305 yards. Penn State held the Spartans to just 14 rushing yards in the contest. The Nittany Lions won despite losing four fumbles to Michigan State.

Bo . . .

Ode to Bo . . .

In this age of fantasy football leagues and Playstation football match ups, it's easy to create dream matches of your favorite teams, players, coaches, etc. I haven't taken that plunge yet. Instead, I enjoy hundreds of "what if" scenarios that play out in my head instead of a screen.

Those who know me also know that my greatest "wish" would be to see a Bo Schembechler-coached team play a Joe Paterno-coached team in a classic "running game, smash mouth, defense-dominated" match up.

Today marks the passing of one of these 2 coaching legends. Bo passed at age 77. He defined the Michigan football program. While I have very little fondness for Michigan, I long admired Bo. He, like JoePa, set a standard of excellence for the players to attain. He's irreplaceable. Thanks Bo . . . for helping to make college football the magnificent sport it is today!

Temple Game Photos

PSU game notes

Today marked the first time Joe Paterno missed a Penn State game since the 1977 contest at Syracuse, when one of Joe and Sue Paterno?s sons, David, was involved in a serious trampoline accident the day before the game. The only other game he had missed prior to today was the 1955 contest at Army, due to the death of his father, Angelo. Paterno has coached in 638 of Penn State?s 641 games since 1950.

Today marked the first time that Coach Joe Paterno was not on the sidelines for a Penn State home game since October 29, 1949 against Syracuse, a span of 319 home games. Penn State won that game, 33-21.

Penn State has won 20 of its last 25 games.

Penn State?s defense held Temple to just two first downs and only 74 yards of total offense, both the lowest numbers allowed by a Penn State defense under Coach Paterno. The previous low for total yardage allowed was 97 yards against Army in 1972, and the previous low for first downs was 3 by Pittsburgh in 1970.

Penn State recorded its second shutout of the season, the first time that PSU has notched two shutouts in a single season since 1996 (49-0 vs. Northern Illinois and 41-0 against Temple in consecutive weeks). The 47-0 victory is the largest margin of victory in a shutout since a 49-0 Penn State win over Northwestern in 2002.

The Temple offense did not cross the 50-yard line. The Owls reached their own 49-yard line in the third quarter, but did not covert a fourth down pass.

Penn State?s defense has allowed only 1 touchdown in the last 17 quarters (Wisconsin, second quarter).

I considered the game an early birthday present . . . nice to watch a game and still have fingernails left at the end of it. The Lions face Michigan State at home next week for the last game of the regular season. An 8-4 record is taking shape and the Outback Bowl is well within reach. I don't think the Temple victory was ever in doubt - they are, without contention, the worst team in D1 football right now. I predict we'll prevail over the Spartans.

Gell Well Coach

Hard to believe that JoePa will miss only his second game in 51 years today . . . can't imagine what hospital staff will go through today as he monitors the game bedside!

Salute to Veterans

JoePa Update . . .

Penn State coach Joe Paterno sustained a pair of fractures to his injured left leg and also sustained ligament damage as a result of his sideline collision during the Nittany Lions' 13-3 Big Ten loss to Wisconsin Saturday at Camp Randall Stadium.

Guido D'Elia, PSU's Director of Communications and Branding for Football, confirmed the extent of Paterno's injuries to The Patriot-News early Sunday afternoon. D'Elia said Paterno may not need surgery to repair the injury and a decision will be made at a later date.

D'Elia said Paterno is expected to be at Beaver Stadium when 6-4 PSU hosts Temple Saturday afternoon at Beaver Stadium but wasn't sure if the 79-year-old coach would be on the sideline.Paterno was injured early in the third quarter when Wisconsin linebacker DeAndre Levy fell into his knees after tackling PSU tight end Andrew Quarless following a short reception near the PSU sideline.

Paterno underwent X-rays and an MRI Saturday night in State College and D'Elia said team doctor Wayne Sebastianelli informed Paterno of the extent of his injuries late Saturday night."He's got a pair of fractures and one of them is a tibial plateau fracture,'' D'Elia said.

A tibial plateau fracture occurs at the top of the shinbone and usually involves the cartilage surface of the knee joint."They don't know if surgery is the best option right now and there are some ligament tears,'' D'Elia said."I believe to the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) and MCL (medial collateral ligament)."

But the tears are such that they could heal on their own. It's up to [Paterno] and I think he wants to do the surgery if he's sure it will make him heal quicker. But he might be able to just rehab the knee.''D'Elia said Paterno is not using crutches and his leg remains in the same immobilizing splint Sebastianelli put on the leg during the game.D'Elia also said there is no question Paterno will be at Beaver Stadium Saturday."

He was business as usual,'' D'Elia said."

First thing he did Sunday was he wanted to look at the Wisconsin tape. He'll be at the game.''

D'Elia said PSU fans and well-wishers have placed cards and signs by Paterno's statue outside of Beaver Stadium. One well-wisher put a bandage around the left knee of the Paterno statue."

There are a lot of fans concerned about him,'' D'Elia said."One of them but an ace bandage around the left knee of the statue. Unbelievable.''

BOB FLOUNDERS: 255-8181 or bflounders@patriot-news.com

Intersting extract . . .

At that point, defensive coordinator Tom Bradley became the de facto head coach. He had not at all lobbied for the job, knowing better than to even consult Paterno on his condition as he sat in pain on the bench:

"He's a wiry old rascal. I've been around Coach a long time. I knew the last thing he wanted to hear was, 'Are you OK?' All he wanted to hear about was the football game, the plays, how we're going to communicate. I think if I'd have asked him, 'How are you feeling?', he would've punched me."

By the beginning of the fourth quarter, Paterno was finally in the locker room. And that was fortunate. Because, as Scott Paterno would point out, about 15 minutes after his father was helped off that bench and onto the cart, Wisconsin's 242-pound tailback P.J. Hill and PSU safety Anthony Scirrotto came blasting across the sideline and flying into the abandoned bench, knocking it over.

By then, D'Elia and Sue Paterno, by phone, were in the process of persuading the coach to get out of the stadium before exiting traffic hit. And by the 2:28 mark in the fourth quarter, when PSU's last drive had fizzled, he agreed.

They drove him out in the back seat of a taxi -- because there was no place on any team vehicle to stretch out his splinted left leg -- and he finally was lifted onto the 8-seater jet for State College.

Presumably, he had the game plan for Temple spread on the back seat. Some cab driver has a story he can tell the rest of his life.

Why does Joe Paterno keep on? Is someone somewhere trying to tell him something?
If so, it's going to take a more convincing sign. Maybe along the lines of raining boulders. Rivers of fire?

JoePa . . . we love you!

Get Well Soon JoePa

The Ups and Downs . . .

Being a Penn State fan has its ups and downs . . . especially during the past 5 or 6 years. No one outside of the fan base gave the Lions much of a chance to go more than a 7-4 season in regular play this year . . . and it looks like that is the destiny of the squad for 2006. The loyalist have come to expect excellence and have a tough time dealing with losing seasons and less-than-stellar performances . . . and while I'm in that camp, I remain optomistic that the program will continue to improve. OK, call me a kool aid drinker, I can take it, and refuse to give up on the Lions, JoePa, and the program.

We have 2 winning seasons back-to-back, played for a tie in the B10 last year, beat Florida State in a bowl, we're going to the Outback Bowl this year, our defense is awesome, and JoePa is still my hero! Challenges and wasted opportunities - yep, the season was filled with them. Room for changes and improvements - yep, 100's of them. Will we get there? Absolutely! We are . . . Penn State!

13-3 loss to Wisconsin makes for a sickening weekend. JoePa's injury has me really down right now. But . . . win or lose, my Lions will be back! I hope Joe's recovery is swift . . . all the best for this great college football icon.

To Hell With Craig James, Saunders, Flutie, and the rest of them!

ESPN - ABC - Disney sports network executives (throw in sponsors too) need to "clean house" and shit can these guys! Craig James is an arrogant, pompus, disrespectful asshole who should be disciplined for his "old fart" comment about Joe Paterno. Saunders and Flutie egged him on . . . that's just as bad. The hell with them . . . thank gawd for Penn State radio network, guess it's time to kill the surround sound on the TV and crank up the radio tuner for commentary.

Hearing the remarks, I immediately sent emails to ESPN, ABC, and Disney registering my complaint - as did, I'm sure thousands of PSU and Paterno loyalists. That prompted net executives to nudge James to apologize later in the evening. Too late in my book, and it was obviously not a contrite statement.

What I don't understand is the double standard the networks are applying . . . on one hand, an announcer is suspended for saying "the catch looked gay-like" and in James' case, "old fart" is OK. I don't get it. Are they playing a PC numbers game - gay community is larger than the PSU faithful or something? Well, that's stupid . . . we "baby boomers" over 55 make up a much larger segment of the population . . . not sure the network signal callers took that into account.

I'm pissed. PSU and Paterno bashing is nothing new. Looking back over my many years of supporting Penn State, most of it is jealousy-driven bull shit stuff, as I'm sure it is with James' SMU team being picked "second by the sportswriters" in 1982 over Penn State. I seem to recall quite a few scandals and suspensions associated with SMU's football program around that same time . . . I'm getting too old to remember all the details . . . LOL! To hell with all those "sum bitches" I say. We'll never get announcers like Ray Scott, Beano Cooke, or Todd Blackledge together in a booth . . . but damn it USPN - ABC - Disney, wake-the-****-up and clean up your announcer corps! End of rant . . . except for one last comment, this "old fart" will note all future game sponsors (taco bell, lincoln, cingular, etc.) and go out of his way to boycott them.

This is excellent . . .

http://www.clermontyellow.accountsupport.com/flash/UntilThen.swf

PSU versus Badgers Prediction . . .

OK . . . it's time to post my prediction . . . everything I've read tells me the Lions are gonna lose this one . . . the line favors Wisconsin and so do all the pundents . . . we've lost to all ranked opponents so far this season . . . yada, yada, yada . . . I just have this gut feeling that the Lions are going to have their best game of the season on Saturday. I pick Penn State to win in a thriller against Wisconsin.

Looking ahead, Temple is a gimme and Michigan State may upset us.

Throw back . . . quest continues

I swear folks thought I was crazy all these years talking about a men's cologne called Jaguar that had a short-lived retail exposure in the USA in the late 1960's. Drats . . . after many years of looking for a bottle of this rare stuff, I missed an eBay auction of a 4 ounce bottle of it. Only solice for me is the knowledge that an occassional bottle shows up every now and then . . . I'm on the scent . . . the quest continues!

Priceless!

99 Bottles of Beer . . . # 32 and # 33

Samuel Smith's Nut Brown Ale . . . 4 pack I picked up in Maryland and my first ever taste of this brew . . . WOW . . . now, that's an ale! Robust favor, complex, and very easy to enjoy finishing. Head was the only disappointment (I like lacy foam that lingers on the sides of a glass) but five stars otherwise! Give this a solid 5 out of 5. Too bad it's so darn expensive . . . about $3.25 a bottle.

Dinkel Acker Dark . . . brewed by Spaten of Munich . . . I've had the blonde version of DA a few years back but the dark is something special. Full bodied and flavored, this is what a dark German beer should taste like and finish . . . I'm impressed. Again, a 5 out of 5 for this one!

I love shopping for 6 packs in Maryland stores!