===
December 15: Kingdom Day in Aruba, Curaçao, theNetherlands, and Sint Maarten (1954); Zamenhof Day inEsperanto culture
- 1467 – Troops under Stephen III of Moldaviadefeated the forces of Matthias Corvinus of Hungary in present-day Baia, Romania.
- 1791 – The first ten amendments to the United States Constitution, collectively known as theBill of Rights, were ratified.
- 1906 – The Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway, a 14.17-kilometre (8.80 mi) long deep-level underground tube railway connecting Hammersmith andFinsbury Park, London, opened.
- 1961 – Former Nazi leader Adolf Eichmann (pictured) was sentenced to death after being found guilty on fifteen criminal charges, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.
- 2010 – A boat carrying around 90 asylum seekers, mostly from Iraq and Iran, crashed into rocks and sank off the coast of Christmas Island, Australia, killing 48 people.
===
Events
- 533 – Byzantine general Belisarius defeats the Vandals, commanded by King Gelimer, at the Battle of Tricamarum.
- 1167 – Sicilian Chancellor Stephen du Perche moves the royal court to Messina to prevent a rebellion.
- 1256 – Hulagu Khan captures and destroys the Hashshashin stronghold at Alamut in present-day Iran as part of the Mongols offensive on Islamic southwest Asia.
- 1467 – Stephen III of Moldavia defeats Matthias Corvinus of Hungary, with the latter being injured thrice, at theBattle of Baia.
- 1778 – American Revolutionary War: British and French fleets clash in the Battle of St. Lucia.
- 1791 – The United States Bill of Rights becomes law when ratified by the Virginia General Assembly.
- 1864 – In the Battle of Nashville, Union forces under George Thomas almost completely destroy the Army of Tennessee under John Hood.
- 1905 – The Pushkin House is established in Saint Petersburg, Russia to preserve the cultural heritage ofAlexander Pushkin
- 1906 – The London Underground's Great Northern, Piccadilly and Brompton Railway opens.
- 1913 – Nicaragua becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires Convention.
- 1914 – World War I: The Serbian Army recaptures Belgrade from the invading Austro-Hungarian Army.
- 1914 – A gas explosion at Mitsubishi Hojyo coal mine, Kyushu, Japan, kills 687.
- 1917 – World War I: An armistice is reached between the new Bolshevik government and the Central Powers.
- 1933 – The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution officially becomes effective, repealing the Eighteenth Amendment thatprohibited the sale, manufacture, and transportation of alcohol.
- 1939 – Gone with the Wind receives its premiere at Loew's Grand Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
- 1941 – Holocaust: German troops murder over 15,000 Jews at Drobytsky Yar, a ravine southeast of the city of Kharkiv, Ukraine, Soviet Union.
- 1942 – The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse begins during the Guadalcanal Campaign.
- 1945 – Occupation of Japan: General Douglas MacArthur orders that Shinto be abolished as the state religion of Japan.
- 1946 – US-backed Iranian troops evict the leadership of the breakaway Republic of Mahabad, putting an end to the Iran crisis of 1946.
- 1946 – The first election to the Representative Assembly of French India was held.
- 1954 – The Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands is signed.
- 1960 – Richard Paul Pavlick is arrested for attempting to blow up and assassinate the U.S. President-Elect, John F. Kennedy only four days earlier.
- 1960 – King Mahendra of Nepal suspends the country's constitution, dissolves parliament, dismisses the cabinet, and imposes direct rule.
- 1961 – In Jerusalem, Israel Adolf Eichmann is sentenced to death after being found guilty of 15 criminal charges, including charges of crimes against humanity, crimes against the Jewish people and membership of an outlawed organization.
- 1965 – Project Gemini: Gemini 6A, crewed by Wally Schirra and Thomas Stafford, is launched from Cape Kennedy, Florida. Four orbits later, it achieves the first space rendezvous, with Gemini 7.
- 1967 – The Silver Bridge collapses, killing 46 people.
- 1970 – Soviet spacecraft Venera 7 successfully land on Venus. It is the first successful soft landing on another planet
- 1970 – South Korean ferry Namyong Ho capsizes off Korea Strait killing 308.
- 1973 – John Paul Getty III, grandson of American billionaire J. Paul Getty, is found alive near Naples, Italy]], after being kidnapped by an Italian gang on July 10, 1973.
- 1973 – The American Psychiatric Association votes 13–0 to remove homosexuality from its official list of psychiatric disorders, the DSM-II.
- 1976 – Samoa becomes a member of the United Nations.
- 1976 – The oil tanker MV Argo Merchant runs aground near Nantucket, Massachusetts, causing one of the worst marine oil spills in history.
- 1978 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter announces that the United States will recognize the People's Republic of China and cut off all relations withTaiwan
- 1993 – History of Northern Ireland: The Downing Street Declaration is issued by British Prime Minister John Major and Irish Taoiseach Albert Reynolds.
- 1994 – Palau becomes a member of the United Nations.
- 1997 – A chartered Tupolev Tu-154 from Tajikistan crashes in the desert near Sharjah, United Arab Emirates airport killing 85.
- 1997 – The Treaty of Bangkok is signed allowing the transformation of Southeast Asia into a Nuclear-weapon-free zone.
- 2000 – The 3rd reactor at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant is shut down.
- 2001 – The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27,000,000 to fortify it, without fixing its famous lean.
- 2005 – Latvia amends its constitution to eliminate possibility of same-sex couples being entitled to marry.
- 2005 – Introduction of the F-22 Raptor into USAF active service.
- 2006 – First flight of the F-35 Lightning II.
- 2009 – Boeing's new Boeing 787 Dreamliner makes its maiden flight from Seattle, Washington.
- 2010 – A boat carrying 90 asylum seekers crashes into rocks off the coast of Christmas Island, Australia, killing at least 30 passengers.
[edit]Births
- 37 – Nero, Roman emperor of the Julio-Claudian dynasty (d. 68)
- 130 – Lucius Verus, Roman co-emperor (d. 169)
- 1567 – Christoph Demantius, German composer, music theorist, writer and poet (d. 1643)
- 1657 – Michel Richard Delalande, French Baroque composer and organist (d. 1726)
- 1686 – Jean-Joseph Fiocco, Flemish (Belgian) composer (d. 1746)
- 1832 – Gustave Eiffel, French engineer and architect (Eiffel tower) (d. 1923)
- 1852 – Henri Becquerel, French physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1908)
- 1859 – L. L. Zamenhof, Polish initiator of Esperanto (d. 1917)
- 1860 – Niels Ryberg Finsen, Danish physician, Nobel laureate (d. 1904)
- 1860 – Abner Powell, American baseball player (d. 1953)
- 1861 – Charles Duryea, American automobile pioneer (d. 1938)
- 1861 – Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, Finnish politician (d. 1944)
- 1863 – Arthur Dehon Little, American chemist and chemical engineer (d. 1935)
- 1869 – Leon Marchlewski, Polish chemist (d. 1946)
- 1875 – Emilio Jacinto, Filipino poet and revolutionary (d. 1899)
- 1878 – Hans Carossa, German writer (d. 1956)
- 1885 – Leonid Pitamic, Slovenian philosopher (d. 1971)
- 1888 – Maxwell Anderson, American writer (d. 1959)
- 1892 – J. Paul Getty, American oil tycoon (d. 1976)
- 1896 – Ann Nolan Clark, American children's author (d. 1995)
- 1896 – Betty Smith, American author (d. 1972)
- 1899 – Harold Abrahams, English sprinter (d. 1978)
- 1902 – Robert F. Bradford, 57th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1983)
- 1903 – Tamanishiki San'emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 32nd Yokozuna (d. 1938)
- 1907 – Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect (d. 2012)
- 1910 – John H. Hammond, American musician (d. 1987)
- 1911 – Nicholas P. Dallis, American psychiatrist and comic strip writer (d. 1991)
- 1911 – Stan Kenton, American musician (d. 1979)
- 1912 – Ray Eames, American designer (d. 1988)
- 1913 – Roger Gaudry, French Canadian chemist, businessman and corporate director (d. 2001)
- 1913 – Muriel Rukeyser, American poet (d. 1980)
- 1916 – Buddy Cole, American pianist (d. 1964)
- 1916 – Maurice Wilkins, New Zealand-born physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 2004)
- 1917 – Shan-ul-Haq Haqqee, linguist and writer of Pakistan (d. 2005)
- 1918 – Jeff Chandler, American actor (d. 1961)
- 1919 – Max Yasgur, owner of the Woodstock Festival site (d. 1973)
- 1920 – Kurt Schaffenberger, American comics artist (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Alan Freed, American disc jockey (d. 1965)
- 1921 – Bob Todd, British comedian (d. 1992)
- 1923 – Freeman Dyson, English-born American physicist
- 1923 – Uziel Gal, Israeli firearm designer (d. 2002)
- 1923 – Valentin Varennikov, Russian general and statesman (d. 2009)
- 1925 – Sam Pollock, Canadian ice hockey general manager (d. 2007)
- 1925 – Kasey Rogers, American actress (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Nikos Koundouros, Greek film director
- 1928 – Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian artist (d. 2000)
- 1928 – Ernie Ashworth, American country singer (d. 2009)
- 1928 – Jerry Wallace, American singer (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Barry Harris, American bebop jazz pianist
- 1930 – Edna O'Brien, Irish novelist and short story writer
- 1932 – Jesse Belvin, American musician (d. 1960)
- 1933 – Bapu, Indian cartoonist, designer and film director
- 1933 – Tim Conway, American actor and comedian
- 1933 – Donald Woods, South African journalist and anti-apartheid activist (d. 2001)
- 1936 – Joe D'Amato, Italian director (d. 1999)
- 1938 – Billy Shaw, American football player
- 1939 – Cindy Birdsong, American singer (The Supremes)
- 1940 – Nick Buoniconti, American football player
- 1942 – Dave Clark, English musician (The Dave Clark Five)
- 1943 – Kathleen Blanco, American politician
- 1943 – Lucien den Arend, Dutch artist
- 1944 – Jim Leyland, American baseball manager
- 1944 – Chico Mendes, Brazilian campaigner (d. 1988)
- 1945 – Thaao Penghlis, Australian actor
- 1946 – Art Howe, American baseball player and manager
- 1946 – Carmine Appice, American musician (Vanilla Fudge)
- 1947 – Rodney Bingenheimer, American radio personality
- 1948 – Melanie Chartoff, American actress
- 1948 – Cassandra Harris, Australian actress (d. 1991)
- 1949 – Don Johnson, American actor
- 1952 – Allan Simonsen, Danish footballer
- 1952 – Rudi Protrudi, American musician (The Fuzztones)
- 1952 – Julie Taymor, American director
- 1952 – Marta DuBois, Panamanian-American actress
- 1953 – J. M. DeMatteis, American comic book writer
- 1954 – Mark Warner, American politician, United States Senator from Virginia and 69th Governor of Virginia
- 1955 – Paul Simonon, English bassist (The Clash)
- 1956 – William Orbit, English producer, mixer and musician
- 1956 – Tony Leon, South African politician and Ambassador to Argentina
- 1957 – Mario Marois, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1957 – Mike McAlary, American journalist (d. 1998)
- 1957 – Yuuichi Nagashima, Japanese voice actor
- 1957 – Laura Molina, American artist, musician and actress
- 1957 – Tim Reynolds, Musician (Dave Matthews Band, TR3)
- 1958 – Eddy Annys, Belgian high jumper
- 1958 – Carlo J. Caparas, Filipino comic strip creator/writer
- 1960 – Walter Werzowa, Austrian composer
- 1961 – Karin Resetarits, Austrian journalist
- 1962 – Tim Gaines, Austrian Christian metal bass player (Stryper)
- 1963 – Ellie Cornell, American actress
- 1963 – Andrew Luster, American rapist
- 1963 – Helen Slater, American actress
- 1963 – David Wingate, American basketball player
- 1963 – Norman J. Grossfeld, American television producer and screenwriter
- 1966 – Manos Papayiannis, Greek fashion model and actor
- 1966 – Molly Price, American actress
- 1966 – Carl Hooper, former West Indian cricket player and captain
- 1967 – David Howells, English footballer
- 1967 – Mo Vaughn, American baseball player
- 1967 – Elix Skipper, American professional wrestler
- 1968 – Osama Ali Maher, Swedish politician
- 1968 – Garrett Wang, American actor
- 1969 – Chantal Petitclerc, Canadian wheelchair athlete
- 1970 – Frankie Dettori, Italian jockey
- 1970 – Lawrence Funderburke, American basketball player
- 1970 – Michael Shanks, Canadian actor
- 1971 – Arne Quinze, Belgian conceptual artist
- 1971 – Clint Lowery, American guitarist (Sevendust)
- 1972 – Rodney Harrison, American football player
- 1972 – Stuart Townsend, Irish actor
- 1973 – Surya Bonaly, French-born American figure skater
- 1973 – Ryu Seung-wan, South Korean actor and director
- 1976 – Baichung Bhutia, Indian footballer
- 1976 – Aaron Miles, American baseball player
- 1976 – Todd Tichenor, American baseball umpire
- 1977 – Dave Mackintosh, Scottish drummer (Dragonforce)
- 1977 – Geoff Stults, American actor
- 1977 – Eba, Mongolian entertainer
- 1978 – Mark Jansen, Dutch guitarist (Epica)
- 1978 – Jerome McDougle, American football player
- 1979 – Adam Brody, American actor
- 1979 – Eric Young, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1980 – Sergio Pizzorno, English guitarist (Kasabian)
- 1980 – Manuel Wilhelm, German rugby player
- 1981 – Najoua Belyzel, French singer
- 1981 – Firman Utina, Indonesian footballer
- 1981 – Michelle Dockery, British actress
- 1981 – Brendan Fletcher, Canadian actor
- 1981 – Andy González, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1981 – Thomas Herrion, American football player (d. 2005)
- 1981 – Creighton Lovelace, American Baptist minister
- 1981 – Roman Pavlyuchenko, Russian footballer
- 1982 – Borja García, Spanish racing driver
- 1982 – Charlie Cox, English actor
- 1982 – George O. Gore II, American actor
- 1982 – Tatiana Perebiynis, Ukrainian tennis player
- 1983 – Delon Armitage, Trindadian/English rugby player
- 1983 – René Goguen, Canadian professional wrestler
- 1983 – Ronnie Radke, American musician (Falling in Reverse)
- 1983 – Wang Hao, Chinese table tennis player
- 1984 – Kirsty Lee Allan, Australian actress
- 1984 – Martin Škrtel, Slovak footballer
- 1985 – Diogo Fernandes, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Iveta Mazáčová, Czech athlete
- 1986 – Snejana Onopka, Ukrainian model
- 1986 – Xiah, South Korean singer (TVXQ)
- 1988 – Emily Head, English actress
- 1990 – Samm Shuster, Great guy
- 1994 – Emma Lockhart, American actress
[edit]Deaths
- 1025 – Basil II, Byzantine Emperor (b. 958)
- 1072 – Alp Arslan, Turkish sultan (b. 1029)
- 1230 – King Otakar I of Bohemia (b. 1155)
- 1263 – King Haakon IV of Norway (b. 1204)
- 1598 – Philips van Marnix, lord of Sint-Aldegonde, Dutch writer and statesman (b. 1538)
- 1621 – Charles d'Albert, Constable of France (b. 1578)
- 1673 – Margaret Cavendish, English writer (b. 1623)
- 1675 – Johannes Vermeer, Dutch painter (b. 1632)
- 1683 – Izaak Walton, English writer (b. 1593)
- 1688 – Gaspar Fagel, Dutch statesman (b. 1634)
- 1715 – George Hickes, English minister and scholar (b. 1642)
- 1753 – Richard Boyle, 3rd Earl of Burlington, English architect (b. 1694)
- 1792 – Joseph Martin Kraus, Swedish composer (b. 1756)
- 1855 – Jacques Charles François Sturm, French mathematician (b. 1803)
- 1878 – Alfred Bird, chemist (b. 1811)
- 1890 – Sitting Bull, American Indian tribal chief (b. c. 1831)
- 1943 – Fats Waller, American musician (b. 1904)
- 1944 – Glenn Miller, American musician (presumed date of death) (b. 1904)
- 1947 – Arthur Machen, Welsh author (b. 1863)
- 1950 – Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Indian politician (b. 1875)
- 1953 – Robert Stangland, American athlete (b. 1881)
- 1958 – Wolfgang Ernst Pauli, Austrian-born American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1900)
- 1962 – Charles Laughton, English actor (b. 1899)
- 1966 – Walt Disney, American animator (b. 1901)
- 1968 – Antonio Barrette, Canadian politician (b. 1899)
- 1968 – Jess Willard, American boxer (b. 1881)
- 1969 – Karl Theodor Bleek, German politician (b. 1898)
- 1971 – Paul Pierre Lévy, French mathematician (b. 1886)
- 1974 – Anatole Litvak, Ukrainian screenwriter and film producer (b. 1902)
- 1977 – Wilfred Kitching, American General of The Salvation Army (b. 1893)
- 1978 – Chill Wills, American actor (b. 1903)
- 1980 – Kostas Biris, Greek architect, city planner and folklorist (b. 1899)
- 1980 – Dimitrios Partsalidis, Greek politician (b. 1905)
- 1980 – Komninos Pyromaglou, Greek educator and politician (b. 1899)
- 1984 – Lennard Pearce, English actor (b. 1915)
- 1984 – Jan Peerce, American tenor (b. 1904)
- 1985 – Seewoosagur Ramgoolam, Mauritian politician (b. 1900)
- 1989 – Arnold Moss, American actor (b. 1910)
- 1989 – Edward Underdown, English actor (b. 1908)
- 1991 – Vasily Grigoryevich Zaitsev, Soviet sniper (b. 1915)
- 1993 – William Dale Phillips, American chemist (b. 1925)
- 2000 – Haris Brkić, Bosnian basketball player (b. 1974)
- 2001 – Russ Haas, American professional wrestler (b. 1974)
- 2001 – Rufus Thomas, American musician (b. 1917)
- 2003 – George Fisher, American political cartoonist (b. 1923)
- 2003 – Keith Magnuson, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1947)
- 2004 – Pauline Gore, mother of Al Gore (b. 1912)
- 2004 – Vassal Gadoengin, Nauruan politician (b. 1943)
- 2005 – Heinrich Gross, Austrian physician (b. 1914)
- 2005 – Stan Leonard, Canadian golfer (b. 1915)
- 2005 – William Proxmire, American politician (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Darrell Russell, American football player (b. 1976)
- 2005 – Dhabihu'llah Mahrami, executed Iranian Bahá'í (b. 1946)
- 2006 – Clay Regazzoni, Swiss Formula One driver (b. 1939)
- 2007 – John Berg, American actor (b. 1949)
- 2007 – Julia Carson, American politician (b. 1938)
- 2008 – León Febres Cordero, Ecuadorian politician (b. 1931)
- 2009 – Oral Roberts, American television evangelist and author (b. 1918)
- 2010 – Blake Edwards, American film director (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Bob Feller, American baseball player (b. 1918)
- 2010 – Eugene Victor Wolfenstein, American political scientist (b. 1940)
- 2011 – Christopher Hitchens, Prolific Columnist (b. 1949)
- 2011 – Bob Brookmeyer, American jazz musician (b.1929)
- 2011 – Francis "Frank" X. McDermott, American Republican Party politician (b.1924)
[edit]Holidays and observances
- Bill of Rights Day (United States)
- Christian Feast Day:
- Consualia, in honor of Consus. (Roman Empire)
- Homecoming Day (Alderney)
- Kingdom Day (Netherlands)
- Zamenhof Day (International Esperanto Community)
===
Freedom doesn’t mean killing five-year-olds
Miranda Devine – Saturday, December 15, 2012 (9:11am)
I was born in America and lived there for a long time. I went to university there and I worked there.
As a people, Americans are courteous, hospitable and socially adroit. But the scenes which come all too often from the country I admire, of massacres by misfits with automatic weapons, of ordinary people traumatized beyond belief, are a blight on America.
They tell us there is something sick in a nation that is a shining beacon of freedom to the world. Of a paralysis in democracy that prevents sensible limits on the availability of powerful weapons the founding fathers would never have envisaged when they enshrined the right to bear arms in the US constitution.
At least 27 people, including 20 children, have been killed in the latest school shooting at the Sandy Hook primary school in the idyllic town of Newtown, Connecticut.
One of the weapons used reportedly was a .223-caliber assault rifle, a semi-automatic weapon that fires up to six bullets a second. It is a weapon designed for combat.
Will America now finally do something about gun control?
Heartbreaking images of small children being led out of the school in single file, faces frozen in shock, keep coming. Mothers breaking down.
It is an unimaginable tragedy. And yet so preventable.
You can’t always stop mentally ill or evil people being violent but you can limit the death toll by controlling their access to powerful weapons.
For instance, in a remarkably similar incident in China on Friday, a 36-year-old man with a knife rampaged through a primary school in the village of Chengping. Twenty two children and one adult were injured. No one was killed.
After the Port Arthur massacre in Tasmania in 1996, in which 35 people were killed by a man wielding two semi-automatic rifles, John Howard banned all such weapons. We have not had a similar incident since.
“As a country we have been through this too many times,” US President Obama, said yesterday. “We’re going to have to come together to meaningful action on this, regardless of the politics.”
About time. Both Obama and his Republican rival Mitt Romney disappointingly dodged the gun control question in the second presidential debate.
But the tyranny of an uncompromising gun lobby over the vulnerable majority is the opposite of freedom. The right of children to go to school without being murdered outweighs the right of an angry man to own a military assault rifle. The gun control lobby need to point to legislation that works. At the moment proposed legislation would not have prevented this tragedy. - ed
===
MR 2.7 PER CENT
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 15, 2012 (5:14am)
The SMH’s Lenore Taylor actually seems surprised:
The sexual harassment claim against the former speaker Peter Slipper has been thrown out of court but his constituents still appear intent upon throwing him out of Parliament – with just 2.7 per cent of voters in his Queensland electorate saying they supported him.
In fact, this week’s ruling has turned voters even further against Julia Gillard’s selection as speaker:
More than 37 per cent said they were ‘’less likely’’ to vote for the former Liberal National Party, now independent, MP as a result of the case being thrown out, with only 17.9 per cent saying the decision made them more likely to vote for him.
Meanwhile:
Despite the criticism of the pre-selected LNP candidate, Mal Brough, in the judgment – it said he had acted ‘’in combination’’ with Mr Slipper’s former staffer James Ashby in order to advance his own political interests – the former Howard government minister appears set for an easy victory in next year’s election if he remains a candidate.
Consider, as no doubt is a certain old Slipper pal, how this matter might play out across the rest of Queensland, a state already inclined to smash Labor governments. Also, marvel at this Gillard interview, during which the Prime Minister condemns Liberals for “the filth they’re rolling in”.
That’s from someone who effectively drafted Peter Slipper, of all people, into her own team. He’syour problem, Julia. Roll with it.
===
REAL CARTOONISTS CAN DRAW
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 15, 2012 (5:10am)
Fairfax’s cash for calendars contributor Michael Leunig:
My cartoons have also had me labelled a misogynist, a blasphemer, a homophobe, a royalist, a misanthrope and a traitor, to name but a few. I would sum it all up by saying: I am a cartoonist.
No, Michael. No, you are not. But you might be a very old lesbian.
===
SCHUSS FUSS
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 15, 2012 (5:02am)
Besides gay marriage, the ultimate first world problem must be the threat to skiing presented by alleged climate change – which presumably is the reason why rich leftists at the New York Timesworry so much about it. Back in 2007, the Times – which has a history of chill panic – asked:
How Do You Ski if There Is No Snow?
The correct answer to that question, as to almost every question about climate change, is: “Who cares?” But still the Times is concerned about the ability of wealthy poseurs to attain satisfactorily slippy descent speeds:
Whether this winter turns out to be warm or cold, scientists say that climate change means the long-term outlook for skiers everywhere is bleak. The threat of global warming hangs over almost every resort, from Sugarloaf in Maine to Squaw Valley in California. As temperatures rise, analysts predict that scores of the nation’s ski centers, especially those at lower elevations and latitudes, will eventually vanish.
This same article, in an aside, notes that “the winter of 2010-11 was one of the snowiest in recent memory”. And snow salvation is currently but a flight away:
The heavy snowfalls in France and Switzerland have now spread east. Austria has received huge amounts this week. Already people are talking about it being the best start to winter in living memory …It has been another week of bumper snowfall.Austria has done well and resorts are opening across the country.Elsewhere in the Alps resorts are starting early and Christmas looks like being one of the best ever.
Global warming ain’t quite so global. And it isn’t even that local, according to Pennsylvania ski area owner Barbara Green:
“In 2008, ‘09 and ‘10, we had record years [for skiing],” she said. “We had the highest number of skiers in the nation skiing right here in Pennsylvania …“I don’t think the climate is any different than it was 35 years ago when this place opened.”
The real danger to the skiing industry, says Green, may be the warming-obsessed media:
“We all had snow, but everybody was saying isn’t it terrible, global warming, the poor ski resorts, and the Pennsylvania ski resorts are saying we have snow. We couldn’t get the message out that we had snow and the skiing was good.”
Just because the Times is tanking doesn’t give it the right to take others down with it.
===
BIGGER NUMBER, LESS INK
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 15, 2012 (4:02am)
The United Nations refugee agency has released data showing Australia has defied the global trend with a 19 per cent fall in the number of asylum seekers arriving in the first half of this year.
2012:
Latest data from the UNHCR for asylum applications lodged in 44 industrialised countries shows there have been 59% more asylum applications in Australia in the first 6 months of this year than in 2011.
Oddly, the most recent data isn’t receiving much attention.
===
APOCALYPSE CLAIMED
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 15, 2012 (3:52am)
It’s a faith showdown:
Nearly four in 10 U.S. residents say the severity of recent natural disasters such as Superstorm Sandy is evidence the world is coming to an end, as predicted by the Bible …
Crazy fundamentalists.
… while more than six in 10 blame it on climate change, according to a poll released on Thursday.
Crazier fundamentalists. Elsewhere, climate fundy numbers are in decline:
Numbers of delegates and journalists attending the 18th “conference of the parties” to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP 18), were down on previous years to 17,000.Owing in part to the unlikely location, as well as a lack of progress made at previous COPs, the summit was seen by many, governments and journalists alike, as a lower priority than last year’s meeting in Durban, which attracted 25,000, or the one at Copenhagen in 2009, which drew 45,000.
So we’ve gone from 45,000 in 2009 to 17,000 in 2012. If attendance continues falling at this rate, the big UN climate conference in 2015 will attract just 6409 delegates and journalists. By 2018, it’ll be down to 2416. And by the year 2037, just seven people will be turning up to complain about the heat. The UN could double those numbers – and remain on topic – by holding that particular meeting at a Florida retirement home.
===
MORGAN IN MINUTES
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 15, 2012 (3:49am)
Britain’s best carmaker shows how it’s done.
===
REST THAT MINDD
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 15, 2012 (2:33am)
An email from concerned reader Gabby C.:
Why is it that you right wingers are always attacking someone,with your keyboards,’’you,akers,boltsy,Miranda,hadley’’,wow what a plethora of haters.Always being in agreeance of going to conflict against some poor country that cannot defend itself,’’well as long as you dont have to participate yourselves’’,.But I noticed that the lefties dont spend all their precious time on this earth hating,attacking,losing their peace of mind,maybe you should jump ship for a while to give your mindd and body a rest.
Good idea. Perhaps we should devote a day next week to some mind-clearing leftist love.
===
IPCC turns sceptic on cyclones, floods and droughts
Andrew BoltDECEMBER152012(7:51am)
So who are the sceptics and “deniers” now? The draft of the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report has been leaked - and it dumps many of the alarmist claims once made about the effects of man-made warming.
IPCC AR5 draft shows almost complete reversal from AR4 on trends in drought, hurricanes, floods and is now consistent with scientific literature
IPCC AR5 Draft: “we have high confidence that natural variability dominates any AGW influence in observed/historical TC records”Draft IPCC Ch2 bottom line on extremes: “generally low confidence that there have been discernable changes over the observed record”
on lack of trends in extremes, exceptions are trends seen in temperature extremes and regional precipitation (but not floods)On XTCs “unlike in AR4, it is assessed here..there is low confidence of regional changes in the intensity of extreme extratropical cyclones”Bottom line IPCC trop cyclones same as SREX: “low confidence that any reported long term increases in tropical cyclone activity are robust”More IPCC draft Ch2 on trop cyclones: “current datasets indicate no significant observed trends in global tropical cyclone frequency”IPCC on trop cyclones “AR4 assessment needs to be somewhat revised with respect to the confidence levels associated with observed trends”IPCC draft Ch2 on drought: “The current assessment does not support the AR4 conclusions regarding global increasing trends in droughts”More IPCC Ch2: “low confidence regarding the sign of trend in the magnitude and/or frequency of floods on a global scale”More IPCC draft report: Ch2: “there is currently no clear and widespread evidence for observed changes in flooding” except timing of snowmelt
And, of course, there is an admission the world isn’t warming as predicted - which may come as news to the Press Council.
===
Column - Censoring the sceptics
Andrew BoltDECEMBER152012(7:41am)
THE Press Council has - in my opinion - abused its power to find against one of my reports on global warming.
Here is one more sign of a new war against free speech.
I’ve long suspected the Press Council, grown more aggressive with the Gillard Government’s encouragement, is pushing a political agenda on to journalists.
===
===
===
Life is overrated. Some say to their mate they would die for them. As if it is impressive. Better still is to live with them and for them. To share indignities and ride the waves of passion. And children are the fruit, the promise of such life. It is a curse to die barren. - ed===
===
<...Not a single word of outrage for the forty thousand plus innocent victims, many of who were children, murdered, maimed and tortured by Assad of Syria.>
===
No comments:
Post a Comment