Backwards Misogynist Islamic Despots Behaving Badly- Iran Edition

Twitter, the social networking site that allowed protestors in Iran to communicate with the outside world during the post-election violence in Tehran this June, was hacked by a group calling itself the Iranian Cyber Army on Friday. Twitter readers were automatically redirected to a page that included a green flag with the name of the 3rd Shi'ite imam, Imam Huseyn, written in Arabic script.

The cyber-attack comes the same day that Iraq claimed 11 Iranian soldiers crossed into Iraqi territory and raised the Iranian flag at the Fakka oilfield. Iraqi Interior Minister claims that today's incursion was the most recent out of several this week.

This comes a few days after the ruling theocrats announced they would stage a show-trial for three American hikers detained by Iranian security forces at the Iran-Iraq border in July, a test of their newest long-range missile and about a week after security forces clashed with opposition demonstrators in Tehran once again.

The mullahs and Revolutionary Guard have been very busy little theocratic, despotic beavers this week- most likely because the world's attention is mostly diverted by the ongoing climate change farce in Copenhagen. Or perhaps they're that much closer to completion of their nuclear program [peaceful, of course! -NANESB!] and are trying to gauge the West's reaction to each provocation. Either that, or they no longer fear any sanctions from the West.

Now.....the million rial question for those of you who are gullible enough to believe that a nation sitting atop multiple lakes of oil needs nuclear energy: What makes you think the Iranian mullahs are going to be any better behanved once their nuclear program is up and running?

The Great War, A Terrible Pillar of Fire, The Narrows, Cities in Ruins, A Blizzard and A White Spruce- The Story Behind Boston's Christmas Tree

(Boston Globe- file photo)

The story of the Christmas tree that shows up annually on Boston Common begins nearly 92 years ago and several hundred miles northeast of the city with a collision between two vessels in Halifax Harbor on a wintry December 6, 1917. In a last-second attempt at evasive maneuvers, both the Norweigan freighter SS Imo and the loaded French munitions ship SS Mont Blanc- its cargo destined for the front lines of France in WWI- ended up colliding with each other at approximately 8:45AM that morning after the Imo had cleared the mouth of Halifax Harbor (known locally as the Narrows). The collision sparked a small fire on the Mont Blanc that quickly spread out of control. Within 10 minutes, the Mont Blanc's captain gave the order to abandon ship. The French-speaking crew landed safely on the Dartmouth side of the harbor in a pair of rowboats, but the crew's frantic warnings shouted in French weren't understood by the inhabitants of the English-speaking city. As other ships came to the aid of the burning Mont Blanc, a crowd of onlookers gathered along the shores of the harbor.

At 9:04 AM, a blast equivalent to 3 kilotons of TNT instantly destroyed the Mont Blanc in a fireball that rose well over a mile into the sky. A tsunami estimated to be 60ft high was also generated by the massive explosion, and those that weren't killed by the blast, debris or hot shards of metal raining down on the city were swept out to sea or crushed by vessels and heavy debris being swept onto the shore. The blast could be heard from as far away as Prince Edward Island.

The death toll from the Halifax explosion was estimated to be at 2,000. News spread to the rest of Canada and the world due to a message sent by Intercolonial Railway of Canada dispatcher Vince Coleman. Coleman initially fled when naval officers came ashore and warned railway personnel of the impending danger, but returned to the station's telegraph office- located only a few hundred feet from the Mont Blanc- to send out a message in Morse Code:

Stop trains. Munition ship on fire. Making for Pier 6. Goodbye.

The railways heeded Coleman's warning and all inbound trains for Halifax and Dartmouth were stopped. Coleman was killed in the blast, but credited with saving scores of lives for raising the alarm.

Unfortunately, Hailfax's suffering did not end with the Mont Blanc raining hot shrapnel and black soot on the area. Since it was Nova Scotia in the wintertime, that meant several homes and businesses had furnaces, stoves or lamps that tipped over or spilled from the force of the blast, starting small structure fires that would quickly grow out of control since most of the firefighters in Halifax were killed in the blast.

Mother Nature also had something in store for the Halifax/Dartmouth area as well. Hardly even a day after the Mont Blanc explosion, as thousands of injured, maimed and homeless survivors of the blast were awaiting shelter and medical care, a blizzard moved into the area and dumped sixteen inches of snow on the area. Although this prevented the smaller, ancillary fires from spreading through what was left of Halifax, this also hampered search efforts and some survivors died from exposure.

'Now where does Boston and Christmas trees fit into all of this?' you might be asking yourself if you've read this far. I know...hang on.

Upon receiving news of the calamity and massive loss of life in Halifax, the Boston chapter of the Red Cross began mustering doctors, nurses, volunteers, makeshift shelters and supplies in Boston. A special train with the supplies and personnel left Boston at 10PM on the day of the blast and made it's way through the blizzard and onto the Canadian Maritime provinces, arriving in the early morning hours of December 8th to provide relief to the aid workers and medical staff already on site, most of whom had been working non-stop since the day of the blast. Much needed food, medicine and water was immediately offloaded from the train.

One of the legacies of the blast was Boston surgeon William Ladd noting the lack of coordinated pediatric care in the region. Ladd would later be considered the pioneer of pediatric surgery in North America thanks to some of the insights gained while serving in Halifax.

Another legacy was that in December 1918, the city of Halifax sent Boston a Christmas Tree as a token of their appreciation for Beantown's quick response in providing aid to Halifax. Curiously, this did not become an annual tradition until 1971 as a promotion by the Lunenburg County Christmas Tree Producers Association. The province of Nova Scotia has set up a criteria for suitable trees to be shipped off to Boston that can be seen here.

(Boston Christmas Tree on the hoof, Clementsvale NS- Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources photo)

This year's official Christmas tree for Boston- a 46ft tall white spruce- was lit in Boston Common on December 3rd. The tree was a gift from the property of Folyd and Elaine Shatford of Fox Point, NS and was removed on November 17th. If you're interested in learning more about the 1917 Halifax explosion, you can read a more detailed account in Laura M. Mac Donald's Curse of the Narrows.

(Shippin' Up to Boston- ChesterNS.ca)

Sports Chowdah Update for Dec 14- Fresh from the Hot Stove: Winter Classic Preview? Patriot Pat Flagged For Illegal Contact, C's Make it 11 Straight

The two teams slated to play at Fenway on the New Year's Day NHL Winter Classic took a tour of the ballpark, locker rooms and incomplete rink on Monday before facing each other at the TD Banknorth Garden. Now as thrilled as I am to have America's first NHL team play an outdoor winter game in America's oldest big-league park, one of the first thoughts to cross my mind was that the home teams are 0-2-1 in these outdoor games (going back to the Heritage Classic held at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium in 2003).

Monday night's performance did not bode particularly well for the black & gold, despite getting off to a 1-0 lead in the closing minutes of the 2nd period on Vladmir Sobotka's goal. Philly started off the 3rd by tying the game just after the two minute mark on a James van Riemsdyk goal. Kimmo Timonen broke the tie after getting one past Tim Thomas at the 9:32 mark of the 3rd and then an empty-netter with 41 seconds left in regulation after Thomas was pulled for an extra attacker. Tim Thomas stopped 35 or 37 shots faced while Philly's Brian Boucher stopped 26 of 27 faced. Elsewhere on Monday Night, the Sabres took on the Canadiens and won 4-3, giving them sole possession of first place in the Northeastern Division with the Bruins losing 2 in a row and presently trailing by 4 points.

The Bruins will face the Blackhawks at Chicago's United Center on Friday night, and I'm really hoping for better results in a few weeks when the Flyers and B's take to the ice at Fenway on New Year's Day.

Speaking of better results, The Celtics won their 11th straight game in Memphis on Monday Night and are currently 12-1 on the road this season. Paul Pierce had 19 points, and Ray Allen and Rajon Rondo had 18 each, including a 3-pointer to ice the game with 17.5 seconds left in the 4th and Rasheed Wallace came off the bench for 15 points in the game. The Celtics will take on the 6-18 76ers in Philadelphia on Friday night.

ELSEWHERE: The San Francisco 49ers upset the visiting Arizona Cardinals 24-9 on Monday Night Football. And if your team turned the ball over seven times in one game, you'd be pretty upset too. The 49ers took a 17-3 lead into halftime, with all 17 points coming off of Arizona turnovers. Frankly, I'm a little surprised that the Cardinals managed to muster up nine points (it could've been 10 if the PAT wasn't blocked).

A Warwick, RI man who acts as New England's Patriot Pat mascot was arrested for solicitation and prostitution related crimes late last week. Robert Sormanti was among 14 people arrested in an undercover sting at a hotel. Sormanti could face several misdemeanor charges and a 15-yard penalty for illegal use of the hands. [hat tip: Wyatt Earp].

VITTLES FROM THE HOT STOVE: The Red Sox are reportedly close to agreements with both free agent starting pitcher John Lackey and outfielder Mike Cameron. Lackey is said to be getting a 5-year contract reportedly worth anywhere between $16 and $17.5 Million a year. Lackey is coming off a 11-8 regular season with a 3.83 ERA for the Angels.

The 2-year Mike Cameron deal is reportedly worth $7 to $8 Million a year and is seen as an indication that the Red Sox will no longer try and retain outfielder Jason Bay. The 36 year old outfielder batted .250 with 24 homers and 70 RBI for the Brewers last season.

However, most of the offseason buzz seems to be centered around the proposed trade that would send Roy Halliday from Toronto to the Phillies, Cliff Lee from Philly to Seattle and prospects back to Philly and Toronto. After failing to trade the Blue Jays ace by last season's trade deadline, Toronto resumed shopping Halliday once the offseason began. This brought renewed interest from the Phillies, who made an unsuccessful bid for Halliday's services prior to last season's trade deadline. The deal could be finalized by Wednesday, although there are now reports circulating that the Blue Jays might have to ship a prospect off to Oakland as well in order to complete the deal. Upon being traded to the Phillies, Halliday would also recieve a contract extension that could keep him in the club 2013.

NCAA FOOTBALL UPDATE: Navy beat Army 17-3 at the annual Army-Navy game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on Saturday, which means that Army is not bowl-eligible this year. Instead, the UCLA Bruins will take on Temple on December 29th 2009 at RFK stadium in Washington DC.

Today's Train of Thought- Hops and Hopper cars in the Big Easy; Dec 15th 2009

For all the 'old-world' charm that guidebooks praise the Crescent City for let it not be forgotten that even post-Katrina, the city of New Orleans is still a vital transportation crossroads, both by sea and by land. Here, on a sweltering June 2009 afternoon, a mixed freight bound for the New Orleans Public Belt yard with a NOPB crew and Kansas City Southern C44-9Ws #4597 and #4601 trundle past the old Jackson brewery. Railpictures.net contributor Jim O. also pointed out that the New Orleans streetcar runs parralell to the tracks here (seen to the immdeiate left of the #4597).

UPDATE: "It's the Illinois Way". Illinois Prison Selected to House Gitmo Detainees

Multiple reports are confirming that the nearly-dormant Thomson, Illinois state prison mentioned earlier will indeed be used to house inmates from Guantanamo Bay.

Administration officials along with Illinois' unelected governor Pat Quinn and Dick Durbin, the US senator who compared American military personnel to KGB and Khmer Rouge murderers to win brownie points with his left-wing base, are expected to make a formal announcement from the White House Tuesday.

This is like a multilayered wedding cake of bad ideas, bad policy and cronyism heaped on top of each other. First of all, I think it's a bad idea to bring most of the detainees from Guantanamo to the continental United States where they will be entitled to the same rights and protections as a motorist the State Patrol pulls over for a broken tail light. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed is the most notable example, but there are other detainees who will be facing a military tribunal (which I would've been more in favor of). Think about it; these so-called 'men' in custody who strive to deprive others of so many basic rights (i.e. to go to school, to not wear a headscarf, etc) through coercion, murder and intimidation will now be able to use the freedoms afforded to them in a civilian trial for their own tactical, judicial and logistical ends. This played out before in the civilian trials of the Dar Es Salaam and Nairobi embassy bombers when means of tracking and surveillance by intelligence agencies and law-enforcement were made public during the trial courtesy of the discovery process.

Even if I was in favor of a civilian and jury trial, President Obama really and truly stepped in it with this public statement regarding Khalid Sheikh Mohammed last month:

"I don't think it would be offensive at all when he's convicted and when the death penalty is applied to him," the President said.

Um....hello? I'm not a legal scholar- hell.....I didn't even stay at a Holiday Inn last night- but if the purpose of the trial was to close down the Guantanamo Bay facility, show the rest of the world how fair our justice system is and 'restore America's image' among people who want to kill Americans, then what the friggin' damn hell is the point of announcing a guilty verdict for the defendant before the trial even begins? Does that or does that not give the subsequent proceedings the feel of a totalitarian 'show-trial' where the verdict and sentence has already been decided ahead of time.

And I'm sure some of you will be saying at this point "Oh Fenway- you bitter, bible and gun clinging right-wing whackjob, the President and Attorney General know what they're doing. All opposition to this is merely propagated by the right-wing smear merchants. Your blog sucks and you're a big doody-head".

Umm....ok, I can't argue the blog part and the jury's still out on my head. However, Senator Jim Webb (D-VA) is hardly what anybody would consider a blue-dog Democrat, let alone card-carrying member of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy. Expressing concerns about the President and AG's decision to try some suspects in civilian courts, he had this to say:

"It will be disruptive, costly, and potentially counterproductive to try (the suspected terrorists) as criminals in our civilian courts," he warned.

Of course....right after that quote is a statement from the ACLU praising Holder's decision which is all the more reason for me to have grave doubts about this inevitable fiasco.

And if common sense or national security wasn't enough to question the whole decision, there's also the matter of who benefits politically from the White House's choice of location to house the Guantanamo terrorists. Earlier this year, Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm was practically begging Arnold Schwarzenegger to send California inmates to some nearly-empty prisons in Michigan in a deal that never materielized. Federal officials were also considering sites in Montana and Colorado. However, Durbin had been lobbying the Administration to house the inmates at Thomson, IL prison.

What was wrong with the Supermax in Colorado? Or the sites in Michigan or Montana? Hmm....maybe it might have something to do with the fact that Durbin was the first senator to endorse Obama's presidential bid more so than any judicial or logistical concerns the administration might have.

So Hooray for "The Illinois Way" carrying the day.

Sports Chowdah Recap for Dec 12-13: Isles Maroon Bruins, C's Make it 10 Straight, Pats Skid Stops At Two Games

OK....I'll admit to dragging my feet on this weekend's Sports Chowdah update in large part because I'm reluctant to bump that image of the late Bettie Paige from the top very top of this blog. But then again, that's not the only image of Bettie that's out there and I'm sure I'll come up with other, even more contrived excuses to feature her likeness on this blog.



Jim Rogash/Getty Images
In a rematch of Superbowl XXXVIII (minus Janet Jackson's boob), the Patriots took on the Carolina Panthers Sunday afternoon at Foxboro. And seemingly just like that Superbowl, they weren't able to get much done offensively- at least until scoring their first TD on a 3-yard Kevin Faulk run with 1:08 left before halftime which tied the game at 7-7.

The Pats broke the tie with just over a minute remaining int the 3rd quarter on a 5 yard TD pass from Tom Brady to Ben Watson. Stephen Gostkowski added to the Pats lead with a pair of field goals from midfield (48 and 47 yards respectively). The only scoring for Carolina in the second half was a 36-yard field goal by John Kasay, giving New England the 20-10 win at home.

Tom Brady was 19 for 32 with one touchdown and one interception while Wes Welker had 10 receptions for 105 yards. Through the first 11 games, Welker has set an NFL reception record with 105. Linebacker Adelius Thomas was a benched on Sunday after criticizing coach Belichick's decision to send him, linebackers Gary Guyton and Derrick Burgess and WR Randy Moss home after showing up late to a team meeting Wednesday. New England will play Buffalo at Orchard Park next weekend.


The NY Islanders hosted the Bruins Saturday night at the Nassau County Collesium. Boston took a 2-1 lead in the second period on a goal by David Krejci but Matt Moulson tied the game with about five minutes remaining in that period. There was no scoring in the third period, which brought the game to overtime......all 24 seconds of it thanks to a Frans Nielsen breakaway almost as soon as OT started. Tim Thomas stopped 16 of 19 shots faced, giving Tukka Rask the night off, while Isles netminder Dwayne Roloson stopped 30 of 32 faced. So...at least the Bruins get the one point before heading back to Boston to take on the Phillies on Monday.


Saturday Night also saw the Celtics take on the Chicago Bulls at the United Center in a bid to win 10 straight. Long story short, it was a rout, and at times it was difficult to believe that this was the same Bulls organization that forced a 7th game with the Celtics in the first round of last season's playoffs. Rajon Rondo was 6 for 13 for 16 points while Rasheed Wallace had 15 points off the bench for the Celtics 106-80 win.

Bettie Mae Page: April 22 1923- December 11, 2008

(image: Bunny Yeager)

Today marks the one year anniversary of Bettie Page's death. A popular centerfold, fetish and pin-up model from the late 1940s and into the 1950s, Bettie dropped out of the public spotlight after being called to testify before the Senate Subcomittee on Juvenile Deliquency (she was later excused from testifying).

Paige's post-pinup years were even more tumultuous, if possible. The more racier and iconic images of Bettie enjoyed something of a revival in the 1980s, and the model was largely unaware of her resurgent popularity until after a 1993 interview when she took action to start collecting royalties.

Today's Train of Thought- Green Movement, Mountaineer Style! Dec 11, 2009

Honoring the ongoing farce that is politely being referred to as the Copenhagen Conference in my own unique way, today's very green Train of Thought features 158-mile West Virginia coal hauler Appalachian & Ohio working it's way through the hilly, lush hills of the Mountain State. The A&O has had a short but tumultuous existence so far. In March 2005, Kansas-based WATCO purchased the former Baltimore & Ohio Cowen and Pickens Subdivisions from CSX transportation. The line was in the WATCO fold for barely a year when it was sold off to Four Rivers Transportation, parent company of the Paducah & Louisville and Evansville Western Railroads. The WATCO locomotives were dispersed to other WATCO railways (the majority of them west of the Mississippi) while Four Rivers brought in their own 4-axle power in their own trademark light green & black with white trim paint scheme.

One of the A&O's main customers gained the national spotlight in January 2006 with the Sago mine disaster which killed 12 coal miners and left only one survivor. [The media initially reported that all 13 miners were alive and well- NANESB!]

Here, railpictures.net user Mark Hardin caught this image of A&O GP40-3 #2121 making its way across the Pleasant Creek Viaduct at Pleasant Creek, WV with another GP40 on their way back from the CSX interchange at Grafton with a mixed freight on a bright June 2007 day.

George Steinbrenner Spotted At Yankees Winter Meetings; Demon-Slayer Van Helsing Apologizes for 'Rookie Mistake'

The New York Daily News reported last week that Yankees owner George Steinbrenner was not only alive and well, but taking part in the club's winter meetings in Tampa, FL.

The Boss took part in Thursday's organizational meetings in Tampa, the final phase of the Yankees' offseason planning before Brian Cashman can start shaping the roster for 2010.

Steinbrenner's two sons took over day-to-day operations of the team in 2007, after the senior vampire's ill-fated encounter with accomplished demonslayer Abraham Van Helsing.

On Wednesday, VanHelsing issued a brief statement:

"Two years ago, I had the vampire known as Steinbrenner cornered and subdued in Tampa thanks in part to an abundance of crucifixes and garlic. Wary of the presence of otherwoldy beasts like Hank and Cash Man, I had to swiftly retreat as the helpless Steinbrenner sought refuge in a casket. I realize now I made a rookie mistake in not driving a stake through the vampire's heart when I had the chance, and now all of Major League Baseball is paying the price. I sincerely and contritely apologize for my grievous error"

When reporters attemped to contact VanHelsing's offices yesterday, they were immediately routed to a recorded message with contact information for the demonslayer's publicist.

Mid-Week Helping of Sports Chowdah- Mr. Allen Goes to Washington; Beyond B-Leaf- Toronto Back For More; Any Given Thursday? Browns Stun Steelers

After a brief one-game homestand at the Garden that saw them victorious against Milwaukee earlier this week, Thursday night was a busy one for the Celtics as they traveled to Washington DC's Verizon Center to take on the Wizards. Looking for their ninth straight win and 10th road win in 11 tries, some Celtics were expecting to reach a couple of milestones tonight but Rajon Rondo turned out to be the story of the night. Rondo was 10-20 with 21 points, 3 rebounds and 11 assists, but had the tie-breaking score on a driving dunk with about a minute left in regulation to put the Cs up for good in their 104-102 win. Ray Allen became the 32nd NBA player to score 20,000 points in his career Thursday night and was 5-11 with 18 points while Kevin Garnett was 8-14 with 17 points and Kendrick Perkins was 5-7 with 16 points.

(both images- Ned Dishman/Getty Images)

Paul Pierce was 4-13 (6-10 for free throws) with 12 points to notch his 19,000th NBA career point Thursday night as well. This is Boston' 9th consecutive win and puts them in sole posession of 1st place in the Eastern conference with an 18-4 record- ahead of the Orlando Magic after they lost to Utah. The Celtics next game is at the United Center in Chicago to take on the Bulls Saturday night.

(AP)

After four days off, the Bruins faced the Maple Leafs again at the Garden on Thursday night. Despite getting out to the early 3-0 lead on goals from Mark Stuart, Derek Morris and David Krejci Toronto got on the board with a goal from Mikhail Grabovski early in the 3rd period, followed by a goal from Nikolai Kulemin to make it a 3-2 game. Mark Recchi opened the game back up for Boston with two goals in the final 4 minutes to make it a 5-2 Boston final. Tukka Rask got his second striaght win between the pipes for Boston, stopping 32 of 34 shots faced. Thursday's win puts the Bruins one point ahead of the Sabres in the Northeastern division. For the next game, the Bruins will travel to Long Island to take on the NY Islanders on Saturday.

In other Bruins news, the NHL announced that they were investigating Marc Savard's 7 year contract extension that he and the club reached earlier this week to see if it circumvented the league's collective-bargaining agreement.

Stanley Cup of Chowder is reporting that ex-Bruin Phil Kessel tried talking Marc Savard out of signing the 7 year extension. When asked in an interview with WEEI's Dale & Holley whether or not Savard still kept in contact with his ex-teammate, Savard replied:

"Yeah, I have. We text a lot. He was obviously one of the guys telling me to wait and to not sign."

ELSEWHERE: OK- I thought the Pats losing to the Dolphins on Sunday was pretty bad (which it was). Yet the defending Superbowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers made me forget all about that with their embarrassing 13-6 loss to the Cleveland Browns Thursday night. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger was sacked eight times as the Steelers lost their fifth straight game. The Browns are now 2-11 (hey now- if you were a Browns fan who was told ahead of time they'd only win 2 games by December, but one of them was against the hated Steelers, I'm sure you could take some comfort in that).

Tom Brady is a father- again! This time supermodel/wife Gisele Bunchden gave birth to a healthy baby boy, Brady announced at a press conference on Wednesday. This is the first child for Bunchden, while Brady is the father of actress Bridgette Moynahan's 2-year old son Jack.