Bairnsdale Conservative: Mon 24th Dec Todays News

Happy birthday and many happy returns Denise Seumanutafa. Born on the same day an expectant world photographed the world from the orbit of the moon in '68. Remember, birthdays are good for you. The more you have, the longer you live.

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December 24: Christmas Eve

Earthrise as seen by the crew of Apollo 8

1865 – Six Confederate veterans of the American Civil War founded the Ku Klux Klan, which would later become a white supremacist group.
1914 – British and German soldiers interrupted the First World War to celebrate Christmas, beginning theChristmas truce.
1968 – Astronaut William Anders of the NASA Apollo 8 mission, the first manned voyage to orbit the Moon, took the famous photograph known as "Earthrise" (pictured), showing the Earth rising above the lunar surface.
1980 – Witnesses reported the first of several sightings of unexplained lights in the sky near RAF Woodbridge, in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, an incident called "Britain's Roswell".
2008 – The Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, began attacks on several villages in Haut-Uele District, Democratic Republic of the Congo, resulting in at least 400 deaths and numerous atrocities.

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Events

563 – The Byzantine church Hagia Sophia in Constantinople is dedicated for the second time after being destroyed by earthquakes.
1144 – The capital of the crusader County of Edessa falls to Imad ad-Din Zengi, the atabeg of Mosul and Aleppo.
1294 – Pope Boniface VIII is elected Pope, replacing St. Celestine V, who had resigned.
1777 – Kiritimati, also called Christmas Island, is discovered by James Cook.
1814 – The Treaty of Ghent is signed ending the War of 1812.
1818 – The first performance of "Silent Night" takes place in the church of St. Nikolaus in Oberndorf, Austria.
1826 – The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy begins that night, wrapping up the following morning.
1851 – Library of Congress burns.
1865 – The Ku Klux Klan is formed.
1871 – Aida opens in Cairo, Egypt.
1906 – Radio: Reginald Fessenden transmits the first radio broadcast; consisting of a poetry reading, a violin solo, and a speech.
1911 – Lackawanna Cut-Off railway line opens in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.
1913 – The Italian Hall disaster ("1913 Massacre") in Calumet, Michigan, results in the death of 73 Christmas party goers held by striking mine workers, including 59 children.
1914 – World War I: The "Christmas truce" begins.
1924 – Albania becomes a republic.
1929 – Assassination attempt on Argentine President Hipólito Yrigoyen.
1939 – World War II: Pope Pius XII makes a Christmas Eve appeal for peace.
1941 – World War II: Kuching is conquered by Japanese forces.
1942 – World War II: French monarchist, Fernand Bonnier de La Chapelle, assassinates Vichy French Admiral François Darlan in Algiers, Algeria.
1943 – World War II: U.S. General Dwight D. Eisenhower becomes the Supreme Allied Commander.
1951 – Libya becomes independent from Italy. Idris I is proclaimed King of Libya.
1953 – Tangiwai disaster: On New Zealand's North Island, at Tangiwai, a railway bridge is damaged by a lahar and collapses beneath a passenger train, killing 151 people.
1955 – NORAD Tracks Santa for the first time in what will become an annual Christmas Eve tradition.
1964 – Vietnam War: Viet Cong operatives bomb the Brinks Hotel in Saigon, South Vietnam to demonstrate they can strike an American installation in the heavily guarded capital.
1966 – A Canadair CL-44 chartered by the United States military crashes into a small village in South Vietnam, killing 129.
1968 – Apollo program: The crew of Apollo 8 enters into orbit around the Moon, becoming the first humans to do so. They performed 10 lunar orbits and broadcast live TV pictures that became the famous Christmas Eve Broadcast, one of the most watched programs in history.
1972 – Japan Airlines Flight 472, operated Douglas DC-8-53 landed at Juhu Aerodrome instead of Santacruz Airport in Bombay, India.
1973 – District of Columbia Home Rule Act is passed, allowing residents of Washington, D.C. to elect their own local government.
1974 – Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Australia.
1979 – The first European Ariane rocket is launched.
1980 – Witnesses report the first of several sightings of unexplained lights near RAF Woodbridge, in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, United Kingdom, an incident called "Britain's Roswell".
1994 – Air France Flight 8969 is hijacked on the ground, over the course of 3 days 3 passengers are killed, as are all 4 terrorists.
1997 – The Sid El-Antri massacre (or Sidi Lamri) in Algeria kills 50-100 people.
2000 – The Texas Seven hold up a sports store in Irving, Texas. Police officer Aubrey Hawkins is murdered during the robbery.
2003 – The Spanish police thwart an attempt by ETA to detonate 50 kg of explosives at 3:55 p.m. inside Madrid's busy Chamartín Station.
2005 – Chad–Sudan relations: Chad declares a state of war against Sudan following a December 18 attack on Adré, which left about 100 people dead.
2008 – Lord's Resistance Army, a Ugandan rebel group, begins a series of attacks on Democratic Republic of the Congo, massacring more than 400.

[edit]Births

3 BC – Servius Sulpicius Galba, Roman Emperor (d. 69)
1166 – John, King of England (d. 1216)
1389 – John VI, Duke of Brittany (d. 1442)
1475 – Thomas Murner, German writer (d. c. 1537)
1508 – Pietro Carnesecchi, Italian humanist (d. 1567)
1588 – Constance of Austria, queen of Poland (d. 1631)
1609 – Philip Warwick, English writer and politician (d. 1683)
1625 – Johann Rudolph Ahle, German composer, organist, theorist, and Protestant church musician (d. 1673)
1635 – Mariana of Austria, second wife of king Philip IV of Spain (d. 1696)
1679 – Domenico Sarro, Italian composer (d. 1744)
1698 – William Warburton, English Bishop of Gloucester (d. 1779)
1724 – Johann Conrad Ammann, Swiss physician and naturalist (d. 1811)
1726 – Johann Hartmann, Danish composer (d. 1793)
1745 – Benjamin Rush, doctor and Founding Father of the United States (d. 1813)
1754 – George Crabbe, British poet and naturalist (d. 1832)
1761 – Jean-Louis Pons, French astronomer (d. 1831)
1784 – Grand Duchess Elena Pavlovna of Russia (d. 1803)
1798 – Adam Mickiewicz, Polish poet (d. 1855)
1809 – Kit Carson, American frontiersman (d. 1868)
1810 – Wilhelm Marstrand, Danish painter (d. 1873)
1812 – Karl Eduard Zachariae von Lingenthal, German jurist (d. 1894)
1818 – James Prescott Joule, British physicist (d. 1889)
1822 – Matthew Arnold, British poet (d. 1888)
1837 – Empress Elisabeth of Austria, also known as Sissi, Empress of Austria (d. 1898)
1843 – Lydia Koidula, Estonian poet (d. 1886)
1845 – King George I of Greece (d. 1913)
1867 – Suzuki Kantarō, 42nd Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948)
1868 – Emanuel Lasker, German chess player (d. 1941)
1872 – Adam Gunn, American athlete (d. 1935)
1872 – Frederick Semple, American golfer and tennis player (d. 1927)
1875 – Émile Wegelin, French rower (d. 1962)
1877 – Sigrid Schauman, Finnish painter (d. 1979)
1879 – Otto Fickeisen, German rower (d. 1963)
1879 – Queen Alexandrine of Denmark, Queen Consort to Christian X (d. 1952)
1879 – Émile Nelligan, Quebec poet (d. 1941)
1880 – Johnny Gruelle, American cartoonist, children's book writer and creator of Raggedy Ann (d. 1939)
1881 – Charles Wakefield Cadman, American composer (d. 1946)
1881 – Juan Ramón Jiménez, Spanish writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1958)
1886 – Michael Curtiz, Hungarian-born director (d. 1962)
1887 – Louis Jouvet, French actor and producer (d. 1951)
1893 – Ruth Chatterton, American actress (d. 1961)
1893 – Harry Warren, American composer and lyricist (Chattanooga Choo Choo – I Only Have Eyes for You) (d. 1981)
1894 – Georges Guynemer, French aviator (d. 1917)
1894 – Jack Thayer, RMS Titanic survivor (d. 1945)
1895 – E. Roland Harriman, American financier (d. 1978)
1895 – Noel Streatfeild, English children's writer (d. 1986)
1896 – Jens Oliver Lisberg, Faroese law student, designer of the Flag of the Faroe Islands (d. 1920)
1898 – Baby Dodds, American jazz drummer (d. 1959)
1898 – Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan footballer (d. 1967)
1900 – Joey Smallwood, Canadian politician, Premier of Newfoundland (d. 1991)
1903 – Ava Helen Pauling, American human rights activist (d. 1981)
1904 – Joseph Moses Juran, American industrial engineer and philanthropist (d. 2008)
1905 – Howard Hughes, American film producer and inventor (d. 1976)
1906 – Franz Waxman, German film composer (d. 1967)
1907 – I. F. Stone, American journalist (d. 1989)
1910 – Fritz Leiber, American writer (d. 1992)
1910 – Max Miedinger, typeface designer, famous for creating Helvetica in 1957. (d. 1980)
1914 – Ralph Marterie, American trumpet player and big band leader (d. 1978)
1914 – Herbert Reinecker, German writer (d. 2007)
1919 – Qateel Shifai, Pakistani Urdu poet, Lyricist (d. 11 July 2001)
1920 – Franco Lucentini, Italian writer (d. 2002)
1920 – Yevgeniya Rudneva, Russian World War II heroine (d. 1944)
1922 – Ava Gardner, American actress (d. 1990)
1923 – Michael DiBiase, American wrestler (d. 1969)
1923 – George Patton IV, American general (d. 2004)
1924 – Lee Dorsey, American singer (d.1986)
1924 – Mohammed Rafi, Indian actor and playback singer (d. 1980)
1924 – Norman Rossington, British actor (d. 1999)
1926 – Paul Buissonneau, French-born Quebec theatre director
1927 – Mary Higgins Clark, American author
1930 – Robert Joffrey, American choreographer (d. 1988)
1931 – Ray Bryant, American jazz pianist and composer
1931 – Mauricio Kagel, Argentine composer (d. 2008)
1932 – On Kawara, Japanese conceptual artist
1934 – Stjepan Mesić, president of Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement and president of Croatia
1937 – Félix Miélli Venerando, Brazilian footballer (d. 2012)
1938 – Bobby Henrich, American baseball player
1938 – Valentim Loureiro, Portuguese politician, and former football chairman of Boavista F.C. and Portuguese League for Professional Football
1940 – Janet Carroll, American actress and singer (d. 2012)
1941 – John Levene, British actor
1942 – Jonathan Borofsky, American artist
1942 – Doan Viet Hoat, Vietnamese dissident journalist
1943 – Tarja Halonen, President of Finland
1944 – Barry Chuckle, British comedian
1944 – Mike Curb, American musician, record company executive and politician
1944 – Oswald Gracias, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Bombay
1944 – Daniel Johnson, Jr., Quebec politician, Premier of Quebec
1945 – Lemmy, British singer, bassist (Motörhead)
1945 – Nicholas Meyer, American author
1945 – Steve Smith, Canadian Comedian, The New Red Green Show, Duct Tape Forever
1946 – Brenda Howard, American bisexual activist (d. 2005)
1946 – Jeff Sessions, American politician
1946 – Jan Akkerman, Dutch guitarist, Focus
1947 – Kevin Sheedy, coach of Australian Football League club Essendon Football Club
1948 – Frank Oliver, New Zealand rugby player
1949 – Warwick Brown, Australian racing driver
1949 – Randy Neugebauer, American politician
1950 – Dana Gioia, American poet
1951 – John D'Acquisto, baseball player
1952 – Christopher Buckley, American author and political commentator
1953 – Timothy Carhart, American actor
1953 – François Loos, French politician
1954 – José María Figueres, Costa Rican politician
1955 – Grand L. Bush, American actor
1955 – Clarence Gilyard, American actor
1957 – Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan
1957 – Diane Tell, Quebec singer
1958 – Munetaka Higuchi, Japanese drummer (d. 2008)
1958 – Paul Pressey, American basketball player
1958 – Gene Sperling, American economist and government official
1959 – Keith Deller, British darts player
1959 – Anil Kapoor, Indian actor
1960 – Glenn McQueen, American animator (d. 2002)
1960 – Carol Vorderman, British television presenter
1961 – Ilham Aliyev, President of Azerbaijan
1961 – Jay Wright, American basketball coach
1963 – Caroline Aherne, British comedienne, writer and actress
1963 – Jay Bilas, American basketball analyst
1963 – Mary Ramsey, American singer (10,000 Maniacs)
1964 – Mark Valley, American actor
1965 – Millard Powers, American musician (Counting Crows)
1966 – Diedrich Bader, American actor
1967 – Mikhail Shchennikov, Russian race walker
1967 – Pernilla Wahlgren, Swedish singer and actress
1968 – Choi Jin-sil, South Korean actress and model (d. 2008)
1968 – Doyle Bramhall II, American guitarist
1968 – Marleen Renders, Belgian athlete
1969 – Brad Anderson, American professional wrestler
1969 – Sean Michael, South African actor
1969 – Ed Miliband, British politician
1969 – Mark Millar, Scottish comic book writer
1970 – Amaury Nolasco, American actor
1970 – Will Oldham, American singer and songwriter
1971 – Giorgos Alkaios, Greek singer
1971 – Christopher Daniels, American professional wrestler
1971 – Sascha Fischer, German rugby player
1971 – Ricky Martin, Puerto Rican singer
1971 – Oro, Mexican professional wrestler (d. 1993)
1972 – Álvaro Mesén, Costa Rican footballer
1972 – Klaus Schnellenkamp, German-Chilean author
1973 – Stephenie Meyer, American author
1973 – Eddie Pope, American soccer player
1973 – Ali Salem Tamek, Sahrawi independence activist
1974 – Thure Lindhardt, Danish actor
1974 – Marcelo Salas, Chilean footballer
1974 – Ryan Seacrest, American television host
1976 – Yuri, Korean singer
1978 – Yıldıray Baştürk, Turkish footballer
1978 – Warren Tredrea, Australian rules footballer
1979 – Chris Hero, American professional wrestler
1980 – Stephen Appiah, Ghanaian footballer
1980 – Tomas Kalnoky, Czech musician (Streetlight Manifesto)
1981 – Dima Bilan, Russian pop artist
1981 – Shane Tuck, Australian rules footballer
1982 – Robert Carmine, American singer
1982 – Masaki Aiba, Japanese singer and actor (Arashi)
1985 – Alexey Dmitriev, German ice hockey player
1985 – David Ragan, American race car driver
1986 – Tim Elliott, American Mixed Martial Artist
1986 – Kyrylo Fesenko, Ukrainian basketball player
1986 – Riyo Mori, Japanese model
1987 – Jane Summersett, American ice dancer
1988 – Stefanos Athanasiadis, Greek footballer
1988 – Simon Zenke, Nigerian footballer
1991 – Wasim Tareen, Pakistani footballer
1992 – Melissa Suffield, English actress
1995 – Anett Kontaveit, Estonian tennis player
2000 – Ethan Bortnick, American musician

[edit]Deaths

427 – Archbishop Sisinnius I of Constantinople
738 – Maslamah ibn Abd al-Malik, Umayyad prince and general
1257 – John I, Count of Hainaut (b. 1218)
1400 – Archibald Douglas, 3rd Earl of Douglas, Scottish magnate (b. 1328)
1453 – John Dunstaple, English composer (b. c.1390)
1524 – Vasco da Gama, Portuguese explorer (b. c.1469)
1635 – Hester Jonas, executed for witchcraft (b. c.1570)
1660 – Mary, Princess Royal and Princess of Orange (b. 1631)
1707 – Noël Coypel, French painter (b. 1628)
1813 – Empress Go-Sakuramachi of Japan (b. 1740)
1863 – William Makepeace Thackeray, British writer (b. 1811)
1865 – Sir Charles Lock Eastlake, British painter and writer (b. 1793)
1868 – Adolphe d'Archiac, French paleontologist and geologist (b. 1802)
1872 – William John Macquorn Rankine, British physician and engenier (b. 1820)
1873 – Johns Hopkins, Baltimore philanthropist and businessman (b. 1795)
1889 – Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate, Dutch poet and clergyman (b. 1819)
1898 – Charbel Makhluf, Lebanese monk canonized in 1977 by Pope Paul VI (b. 1828)
1914 – John Muir, Scottish-American naturalist (b. 1838)
1920 – Stephen Mosher Wood, American politician (b. 1832)
1926 – Wesley Coe, American athlete (b. 1979)
1935 – Alban Berg, Austrian composer (b. 1885)
1938 – Bruno Taut, German architect (b. 1880)
1941 – Siegfried Alkan, German composer (b. 1858)
1942 – François Darlan, vice-premier of Vichy France (b. 1881)
1947 – Charles Gondouin, French rugby player (b. 1875)
1957 – Norma Talmadge, American actress (b. 1893)
1965 – William M. Branham, Christian minister (b. 1906)
1967 – Burt Baskin, American entrepreneur (b. 1913)
1971 – Maria Koepcke, ornithologist (b. 1924)
1972 – Gisela Richter, British art historian (b. 1882)
1972 – Melville Ruick, American actor (b. 1898)
1973 – Fritz Gause, German historian (b. 1893)
1975 – Bernard Herrmann, American film composer (b. 1911)
1976 – Duarte Nuno, Duke of Braganza, heir to the throne of Portugal (b. 1907)
1977 – Samael Aun Weor, Columbian writer (b. 1917)
1980 – Karl Dönitz, German naval admiral, and last leader of Nazi Germany (b. 1891)
1980 – Siggie Nordstrom, model, actress, entertainer, socialite and lead singer of The Nordstrom Sisters (b. 1893)
1982 – Louis Aragon, French writer (b. 1897)
1984 – Peter Lawford, British actor (b. 1923)
1985 – Robert Todd Lincoln Beckwith, Last Lincoln descendant (b. 1904)
1985 – Camille Tourville, Professional wrestler (b. 1927)
1986 – Gardner Fox, American writer (b. 1911)
1987 – Joop den Uyl, Dutch politician (b. 1919)
1987 – Betty Noyes, singer who dubbed Debbie Reynold's singing voice in Singin' in the Rain
1987 – M. G. Ramachandran, Chief Minister of the Tamil Nadu (b. 1917)
1990 – Thorbjørn Egner, Norwegian author (b. 1922)
1992 – Bobby LaKind, American musician and singer (The Doobie Brothers) (b. 1945)
1992 – Peyo, Belgian comics artist, and creator of The Smurfs (b. 1928)
1993 – Norman Vincent Peale, American writer (b. 1898)
1994 – John Boswell, American historian (b. 1947)
1994 – Rossano Brazzi, Italian actor and singer (b. 1916)
1997 – Toshiro Mifune, Japanese actor (b. 1920)
1997 – Pierre Péladeau, Quebec businessman, founder of Quebecor (b. 1925)
1998 – Syl Apps, Canadian ice hockey player and pole vaulter (b. 1915)
1999 – Bill Bowerman, American track and field coach (b. 1911)
1999 – Maurice Couve de Murville, French politician, Prime minister of France (b. 1907)
1999 – João Figueiredo, President of Brazil (b. 1918)
2000 – John Cooper, English race car designer (b. 1923)
2000 – Nick Massi, American singer (The Four Seasons) (b. 1935)
2002 – Kjell Aukrust, Norwegian author (b. 1920)
2002 – Jake Thackray, English singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
2004 – Johnny Oates, baseball player and manager (b. 1946)
2005 – Michael Vale, American commercial actor (b. 1922)
2006 – "Braguinha", Brazilian songwriter (b. 1907)
2006 – Kenneth Sivertsen, Norwegian singer, poet and comedian (b. 1961)
2006 – Frank Stanton, American television executive (b. 1908)
2007 – Nicholas Pumfrey, British judge (b. 1951)
2007 – Akbar Radi, Iranian dramatist and playwright (b. 1939)
2008 – Harold Pinter, British playwright (b. 1930)
2009 – Marcus Bakker, Dutch politician (b. 1923)
2009 – Rafael Caldera, lawyer, sociologist, writer, speaker, politician, and ex-president of Venezuela (b. 1916)
2009 – George Michael, American sportscaster (The George Michael Sports Machine) (b. 1939)
2010 – Elisabeth Beresford, British author and creator of The Wombles (b. 1926)
2010 – Frans de Munck, Dutch football goalkeeper (b. 1922)
2010 – Orestes Quércia, Brazilian politician (b. 1938)
2010 – Eino Tamberg, Estonian composer (b. 1930)
2011 – Johannes Heesters, Dutch actor and singer (b. 1903)

[edit]Holidays and observances

Christian Feast Day:
- Adela and Irmina
Christmas Eve (Christianity) and its related observances:
- Aðfangadagskvöld, the day when the 13th and the last Yule Lad arrives to towns. (Iceland)
- Feast of the Seven Fishes (Italy)
- Jul (Denmark, Norway and Sweden)
- Nochebuena (Spain and Spanish-speaking countries)
- The Declaration of Christmas Peace (Old Great Square of Turku, Finland's official Christmas City)

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Ho, ho, ho and a Merry Christmas to all . . .

Piers Akerman – Monday, December 24, 2012 (12:01am)

Well, Father Christmas at the Elvina Bay fireshed - and a Merry Christmas was had by all.

Terrific tucker prepared by the wonderful women from the Western Foreshores of Pittwater and beyond (from Ettalong, anyway), a bar run by the stalwarts of the Western Pittwater team, children supplied locally.

A terrific tradition.

Tonight, the annual Christmas Eve Dog Race from Scotland Island to Church Point.

Mutts of all sizes entered by their owners who have put up a long neck bottle of beer and a can of dog food for the privilege.

Sharing the love onshore will be hundreds of Pittwater people watching the sunset and cheering the dogs ashore.

The currawongs calling across the water, the cicadas whirring in the casuarinas.

As bushy a Christmas as you can get within 45 minutes of the Sydney GPO.

Cheers to all!

And to all, a very Merry Christmas!

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GUNS IN THE STREET

Tim Blair – Monday, December 24, 2012 (2:11pm)

As acting Prime Minister, Wayne Swan enjoys armed protection:

He notes the requisite security detail is ‘’pretty different’’. ‘’It makes the neighbours feel very safe,’’ he chuckles …

He chuckles? The man’s clearly an NRA puppet.

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OZPOCALYPSE

Tim Blair – Monday, December 24, 2012 (11:27am)

The quotes of the year are here.

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TIME BENDER

Tim Blair – Monday, December 24, 2012 (5:23am)

Back in July, Labor Senator Kate Lundy published a newsletter featuring the following future-is-past claim:

That time-bending assertion was repeated in Lundy’s list of Labor accomplishments:

The Senator’s statements may also be found online. During a previous era, Lundy predicted: “The Rudd Government will get the budget back in the black three years ahead of schedule and ahead of every major advanced economy.” But lately she’s been sorting out her own problems:

Sports Minister Kate Lundy has embarked on a major restructure of the way her office is run, with new staff being brought in to address what insiders are describing as a ‘’level of dysfunction’’.

But while it appears Senator Lundy has instigated the restructure, sources close to her say some of the administrative problems are the fault of the minister herself.

‘’Kate is a hard worker and a nice person and she has lots of ideas, but she has no structure,’’ one said.

‘’Three-hour staff meetings that go nowhere are the norm.’’

(Via Peter M., who emails of Lundy’s future-gazing prowess: “I recall thinking at the time that the claim was heroic.")

UPDATE. All hail the world’s greatest Kate: