I The Behrend Beacon
Trains collide in South Africa
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa: Ten people remain hospitalized after a freakish head-on train
collision in which there were no fatalities.
The famous South African Blue Train collided with the Trans Karoo Express on Wednesday
night. Officials on the scene said that the collision was most likely caused by a signaling failure
after the Express was diverted onto the same track that the Blue had been idling on.
The Blue Train, a world-renowned luxury train, was heading south to Cape Town while the Trans
Karoo Express was making a normal northerly run when the collision occurred.
Iran renews threats to destroy Israel
UNITED NATIONS: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently took up the calls of his
predecessors for the destruction of the State of Israel, in violation of the United Nations charter.
"Israel must be wiped out from the map of the world," said Ahmadinejad, "And God willing,
with the force of God behind it, we shall soon experience a world without the United States and
Zionism."
Nations across Europe and the Americas were quick to condemn the new calls for violence.
"It is a completely unacceptable statement, of course," said European Commission President
Manuel Barroso. "We should respect borders and respect the integrity of Israel, and we want
Israel to live in peace with its neighbors."
French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy issued a similar statement calling into question
Iran's rights to make such a statement.
"If these comments are correct, they are unacceptable. I greatly condemn them and have asked
for the Iranian ambassador in Paris to be summoned to the Foreign Ministry to demand explana
tions," he said.
"For France, the right for Israel to exist should not be contested. This state was created by a deci
sion of the U.N. General Assembly. International law applies to all. The question of the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict cannot be used as a pretext to put into question the fundamental right for Israel
to exist."
U.S. representatives say that the latest statements only underscore the threat of Iran developing
nuclear weapons.
A special meeting of the U.N. Security Council may be convened within the next week to debate
several issues brought about by the latest statements from Iran.
i If you are interested in writing for The Behrend Beacon, you should write for us or at least submit your articles. You
•
. can submit articles and ideas to Jennifer Haight or Pat Webster at newseditor@psu.edu
Matchbox Players combine humor and horror
By Ashley Bressler
staff writer
0-Lanterns," located on Nagel Road. The house
features a massive, glowing display of jack-o-
As All Hallows Eve approaches, Behrend's lanterns, which can be a fun event to take part
Matchbox Players prepare to scare you silly in on a Saturday evening. All who wish to
with a weekend full of Halloween-inspired attend can still sign up at the RUB desk.
humor. The members of Matchbox Players have Transportation will be provided for the attend
organized three days of events that are themed ing crowd. Attendees and Matchbox Players
for the festive holiday of members plan to meet
Halloween. The first of at 7:00 p.m in room
the events will take 117 of the Reed Union
place on Friday, Oct. 28 Building. The Student
at 7:00 p.m. in the Activity Fee has also
Studio Theatre and has granted the funding so
arb27 I psu.edu
been titled a "Variety
Show. - This will not be
the typical improv show
but instead will consist
of two shows. The first
one is a standard improv
event and the second
will be a practiced pro
duction of horrific
humor. The night will
be filled with random Members of Matchbox Players perform improv
humor acts, chilling Commons at approxi
musical performances, dramatic readings taken mately 7:00 p.m. There will be a costume con
from the works of Edgar Allen Poe, Orson test, and the best costumes will be chosen to
Wells and many other spooky surprises. appear on stage so the whole crowd can vote for
Costumes will not be required but are greatly the winner. This event brought in a great crowd
encouraged, as they will help set the mood of last year and is expected to be a hit as well this
the evening. "People arc welcome to wear cos- year. The Halloween show is typically one of
tumes to any of the Improv shows, hut especial- the best Improv events of the year! Jerry Pohl
ly this one. I wear a costume to every event," said, "Halloween Improv is endorsed by your
said Jerry Pohl, who heads the Matchbox favorite celebrity!" This will be the event where
Players events. If students are interested in tak- all the best skits and most creative puns are
ing part in the Halloween Variety show, they are exhibited by the Matchbox Players and audi
welcomed by the Matchbox Players to attend, ence members. This weekend, it's all about
laugh, and enjoy. Halloween humor.
Classifieds
Civilizations should be measured by "the
degree of diversity attained and the degree
of unity retained."
W.H. Auden, English poet (1907-1973)
Janet Neff Sample Center
for Manners b Civility
For Saturday, Oct. 29, the Matchbox Players
have organized an outing to the "House of Jack-
ff "
[ \
Source: CNN.com, Yahoo! News
the Matchbox Players
can provide the com
forts of free pumpkin
cookies and apple
cider to all that attend
The main event for
the weekend is the
second annual
Halloween Improv
show which will take
lace in the McGarve
Oil Giant Exxon posts record.setting profits
NEW YORK: The Exxon Mobile Corporation has posted the biggest quarterly profit in U.S. cor
porate history; some see this as proof of price gouging.
When gasoline prices sky-rocketed earlier this year as the summer travel season came to an end
and enormous hurricanes battered the Gulf Coast, Big Oil was reaping windfall profits as people
were willing to pay almost any price for gas.
What makes it even more amazing is that the $lO billion profit numbers were actually below
Exxon's quarterly forecast.
"They were a bit disappointing, but this is a temporary phenomenon," said Paul Kuklinski, an ana
lyst with Boston Energy Research & Soleil Securities. "This is largely attributable to hurricane
effects."
The windfall of profits for the huge American oil company has led some lawmakers to push for a
new tax that would make it more difficult for companies to take advantage of natural disasters to
inflate their corporate coffers.
Miers Nomination at an end
WASHINGTON: The battle over the confirmation of Harriet Miers as the next member of the
U.S. Supreme Court came to an end Thursday when she withdrew her nomination.
In a letter to President Bush, Miers asked the President to withdraw her nomination, writing "I
am concerned that the confirmation process presents a burden for the White House and its staff and
it is not in the best interest of the country."
Her nomination, which came under heavy fire from Republicans and Democrats alike, lasted only
a few weeks before pressure from various groups convinced her to back out.
Many conservatives now hope that Bush's next nominee will be more easily defined as a strict
conservative. "The president did the right thing in withdrawing her and saving her from further
embarrassment," said Phyllis Schlafly, the founder of conservative activist group The Eagle Forum.
"I now hope he'll deliver on his campaign commitment to pick a judge in the mold of [Justices]
Thomas and Scalia."
Democrats blamed the failure on, right-wing Republicans. "Apparently, Ms. Miers did not satisfy
those who want to pack the Supreme Court with rigid ideologues," said Senator Harry Reid, a
Democrat from Nevada.
• T - • T
Top 4 Percent
Coa to Coast!
Senior business students at 469 colleges and universities across America
recently matched wits with the ETS Major Field Test in Business, armed only
with their #2 pencils and what they learned in college.
The results? The students from the Sam and Irene Black School of Business shown
here around Pat Black scored in the top 5 percent! And the average score for the
124 seniors from the school ranked in the /op 10 percent!
Our students excelled because they worked hard and studied with a world-class
faculty. They also have the support of people like Pat Black, whose family's gift
propelled the school to national recognition in Princeton Review and U.S. News &
Wand Report Congratulations to all these new graduates. And thanks, Pat.
PE N N STATE
Erie The Behrend pennstatebehrend.psu.edu
College 814-898-6100
Friday, October 28, 2005