===
- 1857 – Queen Victoria selected Ottawa, then a small loggingtown, to be the capital of the British colony of Canada.
- 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Stones River inMurfreesboro, Tennessee, began in an engagement where both sides would suffer their highest casualty rates of the war.
- 1972 – Puerto Rican baseball player Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash en route to deliver aid to victims of the Nicaragua earthquake.
- 1998 – The European Exchange Rate Mechanism froze the values of the legacy currencies in the Eurozone and established the value of the eurocurrency.
- 1999 – Boris Yeltsin, the first President of Russia, resigned and namedVladimir Putin (pictured) as acting President.
===
Events
- 406 – Vandals, Alans and Suebians cross the Rhine, beginning an invasion of Gaul.
- 535 – Byzantine general Belisarius completes the conquest of Sicily, defeating the Gothic garrison of Palermo (Panormos), and ending hisconsulship for the year.
- 1225 – The Lý Dynasty of Vietnam ends after 216 years by the enthronement of the boy emperor Tran Thai Tong, husband of the last Ly monarch, Ly Chieu Hoang, starting the Trần Dynasty.
- 1229 – James I of Aragon the Conqueror enters Medina Mayurqa (now known as Palma, Spain) thus consummating the Christian reconquest of the island of Majorca.
- 1501 – The First Battle of Cannanore commences.
- 1600 – The British East India Company is chartered.
- 1660 – James II of England is named Duke of Normandy by Louis XIV of France.
- 1687 – The first Huguenots set sail from France to the Cape of Good Hope.
- 1695 – A window tax is imposed in England, causing many householders to brick up windows to avoid the tax.
- 1759 – Arthur Guinness signs a 9,000 year lease at £45 per annum and starts brewing Guinness.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: Battle of Quebec: British forces repulse an attack by Continental Army General Richard Montgomery.
- 1790 – Efimeris, the oldest Greek newspaper of which issues have survived till today is published for the first time.
- 1831 – Gramercy Park is deeded to New York City.
- 1853 – A dinner party is held inside a life-size model of an Iguanodon created by Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins and Sir Richard Owen in south London, England
- 1857 – Queen Victoria chooses Ottawa, then a small logging town, as the capital of Canada.
- 1862 – American Civil War: Abraham Lincoln signs an act that admits West Virginia to the Union, thus dividing Virginia in two.
- 1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Stones River begins near Murfreesboro, Tennessee.
- 1878 – Karl Benz, working in Mannheim, Germany, filed for a patent on his first reliable two-stroke gas engine, and he was granted the patent for it in 1879.
- 1879 – Thomas Edison demonstrates incandescent lighting to the public for the first time, in Menlo Park, New Jersey.
- 1906 – Mozaffar ad-Din Shah Qajar signs the Persian Constitution of 1906.
- 1907 – The first New Year's Eve celebration is held in Times Square (then known as Longacre Square) in New York, New York.
- 1909 – Manhattan Bridge opens.
- 1923 – The chimes of Big Ben are broadcast on radio for the first time by the BBC.
- 1944 – World War II: Hungary declares war on Nazi Germany.
- 1944 – World War II: Operation Nordwind, the last major German offensive on the Western Front begins.
- 1946 – President Harry S. Truman officially proclaims the end of hostilities in World War II.
- 1951 – The Marshall Plan expires after distributing more than US$13.3 billion in foreign aid to rebuild Europe.
- 1955 – The General Motors Corporation becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over US$1 billion in a year.
- 1960 – The farthing coin ceases to be legal tender in the United Kingdom.
- 1961 – RTÉ, Ireland's state broadcaster, launches its first national television service.
- 1963 – The Central African Federation officially collapses and splits into Zambia, Malawi and Rhodesia.
- 1965 – Jean-Bédel Bokassa, leader of the Central African Republic army, and his military officers begins a coup d'état against the government of President David Dacko.
- 1967 – The Youth International Party, popularly known as the "Yippies", is founded.
- 1981 – A coup d'état in Ghana removes President Hilla Limann's PNP government and replaces it with the Provisional National Defence Council led by Flight Lieutenant Jerry Rawlings.
- 1983 – The AT&T Bell System is broken up by the United States Government.
- 1983 – In Nigeria a coup d'état led by Major General Muhammadu Buhari ends the Nigerian Second Republic.
- 1986 – A fire at the Dupont Plaza Hotel in San Juan, Puerto Rico, kills 97 and injures 140.
- 1988 – Pittsburgh Penguins' Mario Lemieux becomes the only National Hockey League player to score goals in five different ways: even strength, shorthanded, power play, penalty shot, and empty net, during a 8-6 win over the New Jersey Devils.
- 1988 – First Winter Ascent of Lhotse (8,516m) by Krzysztof Wielicki (solo).
- 1991 – All official Soviet Union institutions have ceased operations by this date and the Soviet Union is officially dissolved.
- 1992 – Czechoslovakia is peacefully dissolved in what is dubbed by media as the Velvet Divorce, resulting in the creation of the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
- 1994 – This date is skipped altogether in Kiribati as the Phoenix Islands and Line Islands change time zones from UTC−11:00 to UTC+13:00 and UTC-10:00 to UTC+14:00, respectively.
- 1994 – The First Chechen War: Russian army began a New Year's storm of Grozny
- 1998– The European Exchange Rate Mechanism freezes the values of the legacy currencies in the Eurozone, and establishes the value of the euro currency.
- 1999 – Boris Yeltsin, the first president of Russia, resigns as President of Russia, leaving Prime Minister Vladimir Putin as the acting President.
- 1999 – Five hijackers, who had been holding 155 hostages on an Indian Airlines plane, leave the plane with two Islamic clerics that they had demanded be freed.
- 1999 – The United States Government hands control of the Panama Canal (as well all the adjacent land to the canal known as the Panama Canal Zone) to Panama. This act complied with the signing of the 1977 Torrijos–Carter Treaties.
- 2004 – The official opening of Taipei 101, the tallest skyscraper at that time in the world, standing at a height of 509 metres (1,670 ft).
[edit]Births
- 695 – Muhammad bin Qasim, Syrian general (d. 715)
- 1378 – Pope Callixtus III (d. 1458)
- 1491 – Jacques Cartier, French explorer (d. 1557)
- 1514 – Andreas Vesalius, Flemish anatomist (d. 1564)
- 1552 – Simon Forman, English occultist and astrologer (d. 1611)
- 1572 – Emperor Go-Yozei of Japan, (d. 1617)
- 1585 – Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, (d. 1645)
- 1668 – Herman Boerhaave, Dutch humanist and physician (d. 1738)
- 1704 – Carl Gotthelf Gerlach, German organist (d. 1761)
- 1720 – Charles Edward Stuart, pretender to the British throne (d. 1788)
- 1738 – Charles Cornwallis, 1st Marquess Cornwallis, British general (d. 1805)
- 1741 – Isabella Maria of Parma, wife of future Holy Roman emperor (d. 1763)
- 1741 – Gottfried August Bürger, German poet d.(1794)
- 1763 – Pierre-Charles Villeneuve, French admiral (d. 1806)
- 1776 – Johann Spurzheim, German physician (d. 1832)
- 1805 – Marie d'Agoult, French author (d. 1876)
- 1815 – George Meade, American Civil War general (d. 1872)
- 1830 – Isma'il Pasha, Governor of Egypt (d. 1895)
- 1830 – Alexander Smith, Scottish poet (d. 1867)
- 1851 – Henry Carter Adams, American economist (d. 1921)
- 1855 – Giovanni Pascoli, Italian poet (d. 1912)
- 1857 – King Kelly, American baseball player (d. 1894)
- 1860 – Joseph S. Cullinan, American oil industrialist (d. 1937)
- 1864 – Robert Grant Aitken, American astronomer (d. 1951)
- 1869 – Henri Matisse, French painter (d. 1954)
- 1877 – Lawrence Beesley, English journalist and author (d. 1967)
- 1878 – Elizabeth Arden, Canadian businesswoman (d. 1966)
- 1878 – Horacio Quiroga, Uruguayan-Argentinian writer (d. 1937)
- 1880 – Fred Beebe, American baseball player (d. 1957)
- 1880 – George C. Marshall, United States Secretary of State, Nobel Laureate (d. 1959)
- 1881 – Max Pechstein, German painter (d. 1955)
- 1882 – Martin O'Meara, Australian soldier (d. 1935)
- 1884 – Bobby Byrne, American baseball player (d. 1964)
- 1885 – Princess Victoria Adelaide of Schleswig-Holstein (d. 1970)
- 1899 – Silvestre Revueltas, Mexican composer (d. 1940)
- 1901 – Julia Bathory, Hungarian glass designer(d. 2000)
- 1901 – Nikos Ploumpidis, Greek resistance fighter (d. 1954)
- 1902 – Lionel Daunais, French-Canadian singer and composer (d. 1982)
- 1903 – Nathan Milstein, Ukrainian violinist (d. 1992)
- 1904 – Umm Kulthum, Egyptian singer and actress (d. 1975)
- 1905 – Jule Styne, English-born composer (d. 1994)
- 1908 – Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian Holocaust survivor (d. 2005)
- 1909 – Jonah Jones, American jazz trumpeter (d. 2000)
- 1910 – Carl Dudley, American film director (d. 1973)
- 1911 – Dal Stivens, Australian novelist (d. 1997)
- 1912 – Maj-Gen John Frost, British para commander (d. 1993)
- 1915 – Sam Ragan, American author, journalist and poet (d. 1996)
- 1917 – Wilfrid Noyce, English mountaineer (d. 1962)
- 1918 – Virginia Davis, American former child actress (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Tommy Byrne, American baseball player (d. 2007)
- 1920 – Rex Allen, American actor, singer, and songwriter (d. 1999)
- 1924 – Taylor Mead, American actor
- 1926 – Billy Snedden, Australian politician (d. 1987)
- 1928 – Siné, French cartoonist
- 1929 – Mies Bouwman, Dutch television personality
- 1930 – Odetta, American singer (d. 2008)
- 1930 – Jaime Escalante, American teacher (d. 2010)
- 1931 – Bob Shaw, Irish writer (d. 1996)
- 1933 – Edward Bunker, American author and actor (d. 2005)
- 1934 – Akram Awan, Islamic scholar
- 1934 – Noel Tyl, American astrologer
- 1937 – Avram Hershko, Israeli biologist, Nobel laureate
- 1937 – Sir Anthony Hopkins, Welsh actor
- 1937 – Barry Hughes, Welsh professional football player and manager and entertainer
- 1938 – Rosalind Cash, American actress (d. 1995)
- 1940 – Mani Neumeier, German musician (Guru Guru)
- 1941 – Sean S. Cunningham, American film director
- 1941 – Alex Ferguson, Scottish football manager
- 1941 – Sarah Miles, English actress
- 1942 – Andy Summers, British guitarist (The Police)
- 1943 – John Denver, American singer and songwriter (d. 1997)
- 1943 – Sir Ben Kingsley, English actor
- 1943 – Pete Quaife, English bassist (The Kinks) (d. 2010)
- 1944 – Taylor Hackford, American producer and director
- 1944 – Neil Ross, British-American voice actor
- 1945 – Diane von Fürstenberg, Belgian-born fashion designer
- 1945 – Barbara Carrera, Nicaraguan actress and model
- 1945 – Connie Willis, American writer
- 1946 – Pius Ncube, Zimbabwean human rights advocate
- 1947 – Burton Cummings, Canadian keyboardist (The Guess Who)
- 1947 – Rita Lee, Brazilian rock singer
- 1947 – Tim Matheson, American actor
- 1948 – Joe Dallesandro American actor
- 1948 – René Robert, National Hockey League player
- 1948 – Donna Summer, American singer (d. 2012)
- 1949 – Ellen Datlow, American editor
- 1949 – Seub Nakhasathien, Thai conservationist (d. 1990)
- 1949 – Susan Shwartz, American writer
- 1951 – Tom Hamilton, American bassist (Aerosmith)
- 1952 – Vaughan F. R. Jones, New Zealand mathematician
- 1953 – James Remar, American actor
- 1953 – Jane Badler, American actress
- 1953 – Michael Hedges, American composer, singer-songwriter, guitarist (d. 1997)
- 1954 – Alex Salmond, Scottish politician
- 1954 – Hermann Tilke, German racing circuit architect
- 1956 – Steve Rude, American comics artist
- 1958 – Bebe Neuwirth, American actress
- 1959 – Liveris Andritsos, Greek basketball player
- 1959 – Alfie Anido, Filipino actor (d. 1981)
- 1959 – Val Kilmer, American actor
- 1959 – Phill Kline, American politician
- 1959 – Baron Waqa, Nauruan politician and musician
- 1959 – Paul Westerberg, American musician (The Replacements)
- 1960 – John Allen Muhammad, American spree killer (d. 2009)
- 1960 – Steve Bruce, English footballer
- 1961 – Rick Aguilera, American baseball player
- 1961 – Nina Li Chi, Chinese actress
- 1962 – Tyrone Corbin, American basketball player
- 1962 – Don Diamont, American actor
- 1962 – Heather McCartney, British activist
- 1963 – Scott Ian, American guitarist (Anthrax)
- 1963 – Konishiki, American sumo wrestler
- 1964 – Michael McDonald, American actor-comedian
- 1965 – Tony Dorigo, English footballer
- 1965 – Julie Doucet, Canadian underground cartoonist
- 1965 – Gong Li, Chinese actress
- 1965 – Nicholas Sparks, American author
- 1966 – Lisa Joyner, American entertainment reporter
- 1968 – Gerry Dee, Canadian comedian and actor
- 1968 – Luciano Szafir, Brazilian actor
- 1969 – Dominik Diamond, Scottish presenter and newspaper columnist
- 1969 – Are Kalvø, Norwegian writer and satirist
- 1969 – Lance Reddick, American actor
- 1970 – Jorjão, Brazilian footballer
- 1970 – Sven Kretschmer, German footballer
- 1970 – Danny McNamara, Lead singer of English band Embrace
- 1970 – Carlos Morales Quintana, husband of Princess Alexia of Greece and Denmark
- 1970 – Bryon Russell, American basketball player
- 1971 – Brent Barry, American basketball player
- 1971 – Esteban Loaiza, Mexican Major League Baseball player
- 1972 – Joey McIntyre, American singer (New Kids on the Block)
- 1973 – Shandon Anderson, American basketball player
- 1973 – Crystal Knight, American pornographic actress and model
- 1973 – Malcolm Middleton, Scottish musician (Arab Strap)
- 1974 – Mario Aerts, Belgian cyclist
- 1974 – Tony Kanaan, Brazilian racing driver
- 1974 – Ryan Sakoda, Japanese American professional wrestler
- 1975 – Rami Alanko, Finnish ice hockey player
- 1975 – Toni Kuivasto, Finnish footballer
- 1975 – Rob Penders, Dutch footballer
- 1975 – Sander Schutgens, Dutch runner
- 1976 – Luis Carreira, Portuguese motorcycle racer (d. 2012)
- 1976 – Craig Reucassel, Australian comedian, member of The Chaser
- 1977 – Psy, South Korean singer and rapper
- 1977 – Wardy Alfaro, Costa Rican footballer
- 1977 – Donald Trump Jr., son of Donald Trump and Ivana Trump
- 1978 – Papoose, American rapper
- 1979 – Elaine Cassidy, Irish actress
- 1979 – Paul O'Neill, British racing driver
- 1980 – Matthew Capiccioni, American professional wrestler
- 1980 – Jesse Carlson, American baseball player
- 1980 – Richie McCaw, New Zealand rugby player
- 1980 – Carsten Schlangen, German athlete
- 1981 – Matthew Pavlich, Australian AFL player
- 1981 – Jason Campbell, American football player
- 1982 – Bryce Avary, The Rocket Summer, American musician
- 1982 – Julio DePaula, Dominican baseball player
- 1982 – Craig Gordon, Scottish footballer
- 1982 – Luke Schenscher, Australian basketball player
- 1983 – Mariana Renata, French-Indonesian actress
- 1984 – Brittany Beede, American wrestler and model
- 1984 – Édgar Lugo, Mexican footballer
- 1984 – Paul Rodriguez Jr., American skateboarder
- 1985 – Jan Smit, Dutch singer
- 1986 – Bronson Pelletier, Canadian actor
- 1987 – Javaris Crittenton, American basketball player
- 1987 – Danny Holla, Dutch footballer
- 1987 – Émilie Le Pennec, French gymnast
- 1990 – Patrick Chan, Canadian figure skater
- 1991 – Camila Giorgi, Italian tennis player
- 1991 – Bojana Jovanovski, Serbian tennis player
- 1995 – Gabby Douglas, American gymnast
- 2005 – Lakshmi Tatma, Indian deformed girl
[edit]Deaths
- 192 – Commodus, Roman Emperor (b. 161)
- 335 – St. Silvester, Pope
- 1164 – Margrave Ottokar III of Styria (b. 1124)
- 1194 – Duke Leopold V of Austria (killed at a tournament) (b. 1157)
- 1297 – Humphrey de Bohun, 3rd Earl of Hereford, English soldier (b. 1249)
- 1302 – Frederick III, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1238)
- 1384 – John Wycliffe, English theologian and Bible translator (b. circa 1328)
- 1424 – Thomas Beaufort, 1st Duke of Exeter, English military leader
- 1460 – Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury, English politician (b. 1400)
- 1510 – Bianca Maria Sforza, wife of Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1472)
- 1535 – William Skeffington, Lord Deputy of Ireland (b. 1465)
- 1568 – Shimazu Tadayoshi, Japanese warlord (b. 1493)
- 1575 – Pierino Belli, Italian soldier and jurist (b. 1502)
- 1583 – Thomas Erastus, Swiss theologian (b. 1524)
- 1610 – Ludolph van Ceulen, German mathematician (b. 1540)
- 1650 – Dorgon, Chinese emperor (b. 1612)
- 1655 – Janusz Radziwiłł, Polish–Lithuanian noble and magnate (b. 1612)
- 1673 – Oliver St John, English statesman and judge
- 1679 – Giovanni Alfonso Borelli, Italian physiologist and physicist (b. 1608)
- 1691 – Dudley North, English economist (b. 1641)
- 1705 – Catherine of Braganza (b. 1638)
- 1719 – John Flamsteed, English astronomer (b. 1646)
- 1742 – Karl III Philip, Elector Palatine (b. 1661)
- 1799 – Jean-François Marmontel, French historian and writer (b. 1723)
- 1872 – Aleksis Kivi, Finnish author (b. 1834)
- 1876 – Catherine Labouré, French visionary and saint (b. 1806)
- 1877 – Gustave Courbet, French painter (b. 1819)
- 1888 – Samson Raphael Hirsch, German rabbi (b. 1808)
- 1889 – Ion Creangă, Romanian writer (b.1837/39)
- 1890 – Pancha Carrasco, Costa Rican war heroine (b. 1826)
- 1891 – Samuel Ajayi Crowther, Nigerian bishop. (b. 1809)
- 1894 – Thomas Joannes Stieltjes, Dutch mathematician (b. 1856)
- 1905 – Alexander Popov, Russian physicist (b. 1859)
- 1909 – Spencer Trask, American financier (b. 1844)
- 1910 – John Moisant, American aviator (b. 1868)
- 1910 – Arch Hoxsey, American aviator (b. 1884)
- 1921 – Boies Penrose, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania (b. 1860)
- 1936 – Miguel de Unamuno, Spanish writer and philosopher (b. 1864)
- 1948 – Malcolm Campbell, English race car driver (b. 1885)
- 1953 – Albert Plesman, Dutch aviation pioneer (b. 1889)
- 1964 – Ólafur Thors, Prime Minister of Iceland (b. 1892)
- 1964 – Bobby Byrne, baseball player (b. 1884)
- 1964 – Henry Maitland Wilson, British field marshal (b. 1881)
- 1969 – George Lewis, American clarinetist (b. 1900)
- 1971 – Pete Duel American actor (b. 1940)
- 1971 – Marin Sais, American actress (b. 1890)
- 1971 – Vikram Sarabhai, Indian physicist (b. 1919)
- 1972 – Roberto Clemente, Puerto Rican baseball player (b. 1934)
- 1972 – Henry Gerber, German-American gay rights pioneer (b. 1892)
- 1977 – Sabah III Al-Salim Al-Sabah, ruler of Kuwait (b. 1924)
- 1980 – Marshall McLuhan, Canadian writer (b. 1911)
- 1980 – Raoul Walsh, American film director (b. 1887)
- 1985 – Ricky Nelson, American singer (b. 1940)
- 1986 – Raj Narain, Indian Politician (b. 1917)
- 1987 – Jerry Turner, American television anchorman (b. 1929)
- 1988 – Nicolas Calas, Greek-American poet and art critic (b. 1907)
- 1990 – George Allen, American football coach (b. 1918)
- 1990 – Vasili Lazarev, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1928)
- 1990 – Giovanni Michelucci, Italian architect, urban planner and engraver (b. 1891)
- 1993 – Zviad Gamsakhurdia, first President of Georgia (b. 1939)
- 1993 – Brandon Teena, American murder victim (b. 1972)
- 1994 – Leigh Bowery, Australian-born English fashion performance artist (b. 1961)
- 1994 – Woody Strode, American actor and decathlete (b. 1914)
- 1997 – Floyd Cramer, American musician (b. 1933)
- 1997 – Billie Dove, American actress (b. 1903)
- 1997 – Michael Kennedy, American politician (b. 1958)
- 1999 – Elliot Richardson, American politician (b. 1920)
- 2000 – Alan Cranston, American politician (b. 1914)
- 2000 – José Greco, Italian-born American flamenco dancer and choreographer (b. 1918)
- 2000 – Binyamin Ze'ev Kahane, Israeli leader of Kahane Chai party and son of Rabbi Meir Kahane (b. 1966)
- 2001 – Eileen Heckart, American actress (b. 1919)
- 2002 – Kevin Scott MacMichael, American guitarist (Cutting Crew) (b. 1951)
- 2003 – Arthur R. von Hippel German-born physicist (b. 1898)
- 2004 – Gérard Debreu, French economist, Bank of Sweden Prize laureate (b. 1921)
- 2005 – Phillip Whitehead, British politician (b. 1937)
- 2005 – Enrico di Giuseppe, American tenor (b. 1932)
- 2006 – Seymour Martin Lipset, American sociologist (b. 1922)
- 2006 – George Sisler, Jr., American baseball executive (b. 1917)
- 2007 – Tommy Dickson, British footballer (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Tony Elliott, American football player (b. 1959)
- 2007 – Michael Goldberg, American painter (b. 1924)
- 2007 – Bill Idelson, American actor (b. 1919)
- 2007 – Kathryn Ish, American actress (b. 1936)
- 2007 – Milton L. Klein, Canadian politician (b. 1910)
- 2007 – Markku Peltola, Finnish actor and musician (b. 1956)
- 2007 – Ettore Sottsass, Italian architect and designer (b. 1917)
- 2008 – Donald E. Westlake, American author (b. 1933)
[edit]Holidays and observances
- Christian Feast Day:
- International Solidarity Day (Azerbaijan)
- New Year's Eve (International observances), and its related observances:
- Last Day of the Year or Bisperás ng Bagong Taón, special holiday between Rizal Day and New Year's Day (The Philippines)
- The first day of Hogmanay or "Auld Year’s Night" (Scotland)
- The seventh day of Christmas (Western Christianity)
===
Gillard proves how easy it is to lie
Piers Akerman – Monday, December 31, 2012 (1:46am)
JULIA Gillard has fluttered another wad of cash before the voters as the year ends.
Parents will be handed up to $820 for every child in a back-to-school cash splash.
If it is as successful as previous handouts, pubs, clubs and electronics stores can expect a post-New Year bonanza.
Expect more handouts as 2013 gets underway.
But remember, this government has squandered every cent it has reaped from the longest boom in the nation’s history and that every dollar it hands out in its pre-election splurge will have to be borrowed at usurious rates of interest.
Not that this matters to this Prime Minister or this Treasurer.
Not that this matters to this Prime Minister or this Treasurer.
Both Gillard and Wayne Swan have yet to keep a substantial promise to the electorate.
Gillard’s “no carbon tax” lie will ring down through the years eclipsing her predecessor Bob Hawke’s laughable “no child shall live in poverty” pledge and Swan’s unshakeable promise to return the Budget to surplus was as phoney as a three dollar bill from the outset.
Still, this Labor team is making a big play for parents with the kids bonus payment for families on Tax Benefit A and two-week paid paternity leave for new fathers from tomorrow.
Clearly, the ALP has learnt nothing from the European experience with spiralling social benefits costs.
Worse, Gillard told an audience of Left-leaning luvvies at Queensland’s Woodford folk festival that she wants to launch the the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) on April 1 and deliver on further education reforms.
This would be the NDIS on the never-never and the same education reforms which have set Australian children back in the most recent international ratings.
Frighteningly, the worst prime minister in our 112 year history told the less than enthusiastic crowd that she has “more to do.”
She said Australians could be proud “we are making a contribution to our planet and our world (on climate change)”, though how exporting coal to other nations for productive use saves the planet is still to be explained.
She did not mention her failed asylum-seeker policy.
When Malcolm Turnbull addressed the same gathering last week, he said it had never been easier for people in public life “o get away with telling lies”.
Gillard proved just how easy it is.
===
JUST A COUPLE OF VIDEOS
Tim Blair – Monday, December 31, 2012 (1:29pm)
Woody Allen meets William F. Buckley Jr (be alert for Allen’s answer to the question: “Do you think the Israelis should give back the land that they won from the Arabs?"). And Jerry Seinfeld re-meets Michael Richards.
===
HAMAS HOLIDAY
Tim Blair – Monday, December 31, 2012 (1:01pm)
The government responds to reports that Australia’s grand exalted ultra mufti has been holidaying with Hamas:
Ms Gillard was unavailable to comment.
Instead, the PM spent Sunday achieving another major milestone. She’s now the first sitting Prime Minister to visit the Woodford Folk Festival:
Add that to her victory in an online poll, and this is turning out to be a substantial term in office. Maybe Bob Carr has something to say:
Add that to her victory in an online poll, and this is turning out to be a substantial term in office. Maybe Bob Carr has something to say:
Foreign Minister Bob Carr said through a spokesman that the trip had nothing to do with the government.“It’s up to them to explain their own views and travel plans,” the spokesman said.“We have no diplomatic engagement with Hamas.”
True, but one of Australia’s senior Islamic leaders clearly does. Interesting that our current foreign ministry believes that meeting with murderous Hamas goons is simply a matter of – ahem – “travel plans”.
===
DRAB, OLIVE-COLOURED FUTURE
Tim Blair – Monday, December 31, 2012 (2:07am)
A new year looms, so please gaze into my crystal balls for this preview of 2013 …
===
REASONS TO LOVE
Tim Blair – Monday, December 31, 2012 (1:53am)
I love you Sydney
You’re big and strong and mean
From the harbour to the mountains
And the suburbs in between
I love you Sydney
Each and every little bit
But the traffic is a problem
And the public transport’s … shamefully underdeveloped and outdated for such a major international capital.
You’re big and strong and mean
From the harbour to the mountains
And the suburbs in between
I love you Sydney
Each and every little bit
But the traffic is a problem
And the public transport’s … shamefully underdeveloped and outdated for such a major international capital.
===
 |
|
===
DEAR 2012
I won't say you were easy, but I will say you were worth it.
I won't say you had no burden, but I will say God made them light.
I won't say there were no temptations, but I will say God provided an escape route from every one.
I won't say there were no battles, but will say God granted me victories.
I won't say there were no hard times, but will say it showed me how strong I am in Christ Jesus.
I won't say I never felt like giving up, but will say, when I remember God's got my back, I knew I'm a certified champion.
I won't say I never had any fear. There were times little fear crept in but when I remember the scripture that says, one with God is with majority, I knew my fears were nothing but shadows.
I won't say there were no trials, but will say my faith kept me unshaken.
I won't say there was no time I cried, but will say for every drop of tears, I had an answer. So I'm stronger and wiser to face 2013.
Did I miss 2012? Thinking...... No way. 2013 awaits me. It will only get better for me because Christ in me, the hope of glory.
2013 is nothing but a piece of bread. Because I have God, I will conquer all that 2013 bring my way.
Thank you Lord for a beautiful 2012.
===
"Mr Allen, do you think Israel should give back the land they captured in their recent war?" "No, I think they should sell it back"
===
===
FROM BOB KERNOHAN.... once National Secretary of the AWU to Larry Pickering
To my friend Larry, you and your lovely family and all bloggers and visitors to your site have a great New Years.
2013 is going to be a big year for us, us meaning all bloggers and supporters of our campaign to rid our great country of the liars, thieves, and those who moved heaven and earth, as it were to hush up the massive fraud that was perpetrated on innocent AWU members.
Gillard and her then lover, you guessed it folks, another married man with young children at the time, Bruce Morton Wilson conspired to rip off at least a couple of million dollars from innocent hard working AWU members in the mid 1990s.
It is no secret that I have been seeking the recovery of the money, and to have the guilty brought to account within the forum of our legal system for the last 17 years.
Larry I know what I am about to say reiterates comments that you have made in the past. However given that I have sworn four Statutory Declarations over the past 17 years of my campaign against the main Fraudsters Gillard and Wilson, given the huge amount of support I have received from people I know that I am not alone in this battle to get to the truth.
I address the following comments to Gillard, I believe, that you are a liar, a fraudster and a thief, I know that you conspired with Wilson to rip off millions of dollars from AWU members and the taxpayers of WA.
I know that you falsified documents relating to the allocation of some $600,000 in government grants, from WA taxpayers into a secret bank account that you illegally set up for Wilson.
You also were involved in illegal transactions by way of buying and selling property, illegal property deals that yet again, were paid for with AWU members money. Some of those who are major players in the cover up over the years are Ludwig, Howes, Bill Shorten, Roxon, Conroy, David Feeney etc etc.
In 17 years of me making public statements, as outlined above, the only response I have ever received from you was during the last week of Federal Parliament sitting this year, 2012:
Julie Bishop sought to table a Statutory declaration that I swore an oath to in August 2010. You did not address one aspect of my stat dec, however you claimed that it was "drafted" by another person.
I challenge you to make the same comment outside parliament and I may well seek to take you to court for defaming me. Finally I say this to you: If you feel aggrieved, injured, hurt or maybe even defamed by my factual comments, you have the same rights as any other Australian to seek relief in our courts.
No need to attempt to curtail free speech. I would welcome the opportunity to have my sworn statements tested in court.
Larry and EVERYONE, HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL AND DRIVE SAFELY.
Larry, I will never forget the day I first spoke to you, It was you mate who breathed fresh life into this issue when the MSM would not touch it. Talk soon.
Bob Kernohan
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I'm not persuaded by what others say. I don't argue that the Bible should guide lives as a text which isn't read. I hold myself to a different standard to what I hold others .. I have a relationship with God .. others don't. That doesn't mean my preference is law. Instead it means civil law by which all are governed is different by that which informs me. I am loyal to my country and participate in Democracy. The issue of abortion isn't precisely described in the Bible which doesn't mean people can't have a view. The idea that abortion is a mere lifestyle choice and part of recreational sex is absurd in faith terms. Some of the finest interpreters of the Old Testament, Israel, publicly state that abortion is not an inconsequential matter. It is an important, and at times lifesaving procedure. I feel it should be left to the conscience of those involved .. but it shouldn't be a lifestyle choice as there are alternatives. - ed
The ‘biblical view’ that’s younger than the Happy Meal===
From Holly
As I reflect on my 2012 I can declare that I am a Conqueror through Christ who strengthens me. God has been there with me all the way through hell and back. It was truly a year where I failed miserably but God has remained faithful. I lost my posessions and money, went through the valley of the shadow of death, having nightmares that seem like reality but through it all God has sent me human angels who I love and adore so much ♥ I thank God with praises for all of you who have been there for me,who prayed with me,,listened to me,councilled me,encouraged me,just wanted to say that you deserve to wear a smile in your heart. Not because of what you have or what you've done, but because of who you are, you are truly amazing like angels without wings ♥ so as the hours pass by to bid this year farewell. In the new year 2013 my desire is that I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. In 2013 my desire is to be rid of all my burdens, to overcome any bad habits and replace them with godliness, to run with patience the race that is set before me, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of my faith and to fulfill the purpose for the rest of my Life, not to be blinded by lies no more..Happy to a New Year and another chance for us to get it right. I do not forget to thank some very special people who have challenged me to become a stronger and wiser person I am today. I do believe you know who you are :) ♥ I also want to thank my siblings who have always been there for my teen boys.Michael Nguyen, Na Do Love you to bits ♥
You all played a great role in making me not lose my sanity lol..So let us rejoiced and be glad in the new year as we experience God's Divine favor in such a miraculous way, my Word for you is keep on seeking God and Loving Him for as it is written ~
Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. You are all so very Loved by the most high God and by me ~ HUGS ♥
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I get worried when people quote Dawkins as a religious authority .. I see shortcomings as it lists two Christianities when there is one spectrum. At one end of the spectrum is an apocalyptic vision which barely is recognisable as Christian. This vision has people who are moved by the Holy Spirit and anticipate the end times. It is typical of those, who in my experience claim to fight the devil and spurn those who eschew that in preference to serving God. I personally feel it is better to serve God, as those who believe they fight the devil end up dancing to his tune. At the other end of the spectrum is a conservative church whose existence is to provide a guide by which God is served. Neither extreme seems relevant to me as expressions of modern faith where faithful people commune with each other in service to God. - ed
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technically all the numbers were different, but he means digits .. - ed
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