===
January 1: New Year's Day (Gregorian calendar); Independence Day inBrunei (1984), Haiti (1804), Samoa (1962) and Sudan (1956)
- 1068 – Having been pardoned by the regentEudokia Makrembolitissa for attempting to usurp the throne, Romanos IV Diogenes married her to become Byzantine emperor.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: The town ofNorfolk, Virginia, was destroyed by the combined actions of British and Whig forces.
- 1785 – The Times, the first newspaper of that name, began publication in London as The Daily Universal Register.
- 1928 – Personal secretary to Josef Stalin Boris Bazhanov crossed the border to Iran to defect from the Soviet Union.
- 1983 – The ARPANET changed its core networking protocols fromNCP to TCP/IP, marking the beginning of the Internet(visualization of routing paths pictured) as we know it today.
===
During the Middle Ages under the influence of the Christian Church, many countries moved the start of the year to one of several important Christian festivals — December 25 (the Nativity of Jesus), March 1, March 25 (the Annunciation), or even Easter. Eastern European countries (most of them with populations showing allegiance to the Orthodox Church) began their numbered year on September 1 from about 988.
In England, January 1 was celebrated as the New Year festival, but from the 12th century to 1752 the year in England began on March 25 (Lady Day). So, for example, the Parliamentary record notes the execution of Charles I as occurring on January 30, 1648, (as the year did not end until March 24), although modern histories adjust the start of the year to January 1 and record the execution as occurring in 1649.
Most western European countries changed the start of the year to January 1 before they adopted the Gregorian calendar. For example, Scotland changed the start of the Scottish New Year to January 1 in 1600. England, Ireland and the British colonies changed the start of the year to January 1 in 1752. Later that year in September, the Gregorian calendar was introduced throughout Britain and the British colonies. These two reforms were implemented by the Calendar (New Style) Act 1750.
January 1 became the official start of the year as follows:
- 1522 The Republic of Venice
- 1544 Holy Roman Empire (Germany)
- 1556 Spain, Portugal
- 1559 Prussia, Sweden
- 1564 France
- 1576 Southern Netherlands
- 1579 Lorraine
- 1583 United Provinces of the Netherlands (northern)
- 1600 Scotland
- 1700 Russia
- 1721 Tuscany
- 1752 Great Britain (excluding Scotland) and its colonies
[edit]Events
- 153 BC – Roman consuls begin their year in office.
- 45 BC – The Julian calendar takes effect for the first time.
- 42 BC – The Roman Senate posthumously deifies Julius Caesar
- 69 – The Roman legions in Germania Superior refuse to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebel and proclaim Vitellius as emperor.
- 193 – The Senate chooses Pertinax against his will to succeed Commodus as Roman emperor.
- 404 – An infuriated Roman mob tears Telemachus, a Christian monk, to pieces for trying to stop a gladiators' fight in the public arena held in Rome.
- 414 – Galla Placidia, half-sister of Emperor Honorius, is married to the Visigothic king Ataulf at Narbonne. The wedding is celebrated with Roman festivities and magnificent gifts from the Gothic booty.
- 417 – Emperor Honorius forces Galla Placidia into marriage to Constantius, his famous general (magister militum).
- 1001 – Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary is named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II.
- 1068 – Romanos IV Diogenes marries Eudokia Makrembolitissa and is crowned Byzantine Emperor.
- 1259 – Michael VIII Palaiologos is proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Laskaris.
- 1438 – Albert II of Habsburg is crowned King of Hungary.
- 1502 – The present-day location of Rio de Janeiro is first explored by the Portuguese.
- 1515 – King Francis I of France succeeds to the French throne.
- 1527 – Croatian nobles elect Ferdinand I of Austria as king of Croatia in the Parliament on Cetin.
- 1600 – Scotland begins its numbered year on January 1 instead of March 25.
- 1651 – Charles II is crowned King of Scotland.
- 1700 – Russia begins using the Anno Domini era and no longer uses the Anno Mundi era of the Byzantine Empire.
- 1707 – John V is crowned King of Portugal.
- 1739 – Bouvet Island is discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier.
- 1772 – The first traveler's cheques, which can be used in 90 European cities, go on sale in London, England, Great Britain.
- 1773 – The hymn that became known as "Amazing Grace", then titled "1 Chronicles 17:16–17" is first used to accompany a sermon led by John Newton in the town of Olney, England.
- 1776 – American Revolutionary War: Norfolk, Virginia is burned by combined Royal Navy and Continental Army action.
- 1781 – American Revolutionary War: 1,500 soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regiment under General Anthony Wayne's command rebel against the Continental Army's winter camp in Morristown, New Jersey in the Pennsylvania Line Mutiny of 1781.
- 1788 – First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, is published.
- 1800 – The Dutch East India Company is dissolved.
- 1801 – The legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland is completed to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
- 1801 – The dwarf planet Ceres is discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi.
- 1803 – Emperor Gia Long orders all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Huế, Vietnam.
- 1804 – French rule ends in Haiti. Haiti becomes the first black republic and second independent country in North America after the United States
- 1806 – The French Republican Calendar is abolished.
- 1808 – The importation of slaves into the United States is banned.
- 1810 – Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB officially becomes Governor of New South Wales
- 1812 – The Bishop of Durham, Shute Barrington, orders troops from Durham Castle to break up a miners strike in Chester-le-Street, Co. Durham
- 1822 – The Greek Constitution of 1822 is adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.
- 1833 – The United Kingdom claims sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.
- 1845 – The Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn is completed.
- 1847 – The world's first "Mercy" Hospital is founded in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by the Sisters of Mercy, the name will go on to grace over 30 major hospitals throughout the world.
- 1860 – First Polish stamp is issued.
- 1861 – Porfirio Díaz conquers Mexico City.
- 1863 – American Civil War: The Emancipation Proclamation takes effect in Confederate territory.
- 1863 – The first claim under the Homestead Act is made by Daniel Freeman for a farm in Nebraska.
- 1873 – Japan begins using the Gregorian calendar.
- 1877 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Empress of India.
- 1880 – Ferdinand de Lesseps begins French construction of the Panama Canal.
- 1885 – Twenty-five nations adopt Sandford Fleming's proposal for standard time (and also, time zones)
- 1890 – Eritrea is consolidated into a colony by the Italian government.
- 1890 – The Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California, is first held.
- 1892 – Ellis Island opens to begin processing immigrants into the United States.
- 1894 – The Manchester Ship Canal, England, is officially opened to traffic.
- 1898 – New York, New York annexes land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn,Queens, and The Bronx, are joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs.
- 1899 – Spanish rule ends in Cuba.
- 1901 – Nigeria becomes a British protectorate.
- 1901 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia federate as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton is appointed the first Prime Minister.
- 1902 – The first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, is held in Pasadena, California.
- 1906 – British India officially adopts the Indian Standard Time.
- 1908 – For the first time, a ball is dropped in New York, New York's Times Square to signify the start of the New Year at midnight.
- 1909 – Drilling begins on the Lakeview Gusher.
- 1910 – Captain David Beatty is promoted to Rear Admiral, and becomes the youngest admiral in the Royal Navy (except for Royal family members), since Horatio Nelson.
- 1911 – Northern Territory is separated from South Australia and transferred to Commonwealth control.
- 1912 – The Republic of China is established.
- 1913 – The British Board of Censors is established.
- 1916 – German troops abandon Yaoundé and their Kamerun colony to British forces and begin the long march to Spanish Guinea.
- 1920 – The Belorussian Communist Organisation is founded as a separate party.
- 1923 – Britain's Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS.
- 1927 – The Cristero War begins in Mexico.
- 1927 – Turkey adopts the Gregorian calendar: December 18, 1926 (Julian), is immediately followed by January 1, 1927 (Gregorian).
- 1928 – Boris Bazhanov defects through Iran. He is the only assistant of Joseph Stalin's secretariat to have defected from the Eastern Bloc.
- 1929 – The former municipalities of Point Grey, British Columbia and South Vancouver, British Columbia are amalgamated into Vancouver.
- 1932 – The United States Post Office Department issues a set of 12 stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth.
- 1934 – Alcatraz Island becomes a United States federal prison.
- 1934 – Nazi Germany passes the "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring".
- 1937 – Safety glass in vehicle windscreens becomes mandatory in the United Kingdom.
- 1939 – Sydney, Australia, swelters in 45 ˚C (113 ˚F) heat, a record for the city.
- 1942 – The Declaration by United Nations is signed by twenty-six nations.
- 1945 – World War II: In retaliation for the Malmedy massacre, U.S. troops massacre 30 SS prisoners at Chenogne.
- 1945 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches Operation Bodenplatte, a massive, but failed attempt to knock out Allied air power in northern Europe in a single blow.
- 1947 – The American and British occupation zones in Germany, after World War II, merge to form the Bizone, that later became West Germany.
- 1947 – The Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 comes into effect, converting British subjects into Canadian citizens. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie Kingbecomes the first Canadian citizen.
- 1948 – The British railway network is nationalised to form British Railways.
- 1948 – The Constitution of Italy comes into force.
- 1949 – United Nations cease-fire takes effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stops accordingly.
- 1954 – NBC makes the first coast-to-coast NTSC color broadcast when it telecast the Tournament of Roses Parade, with public demonstrations given across the United States on prototype color receivers.
- 1956 – Sudan achieves independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom.
- 1956 – A new year event causes panic and stampedes at Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, Niigata, Japan, killing at least 124 people.
- 1957 – George Town, Penang becomes a city by a royal charter granted by Elizabeth II.
- 1957 – An Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit attacks Brookeborough RUC barracks in one of the most famous incidents of the IRA's Operation Harvest.
- 1958 – The European Economic Community is established.
- 1959 – Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, is overthrown by Fidel Castro's forces during the Cuban Revolution.
- 1960 – Cameroon achieves independence from France and the United Kingdom.
- 1962 – Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa.
- 1962 – United States Navy SEALs established.
- 1964 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia.
- 1965 – The People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan is founded in Kabul, Afghanistan.
- 1966 – A twelve-day New York City transit strike begins.
- 1966 – After a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa assumes power as president of the Central African Republic.
- 1970 – Unix time begins at 00:00:00 UTC/GMT.
- 1971 – Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television.
- 1973 – Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Ireland are admitted into the European Economic Community.
- 1978 – Air India Flight 855 Boeing 747 crashes into the sea, due to instrument failure and pilot disorientation, off the coast of Bombay, India, killing 213.
- 1978 – The Constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands becomes effective.
- 1979 – Formal diplomatic relations are established between the China and the United States.
- 1980 – Victoria is crowned princess of Sweden.
- 1981 – Greece is admitted into the European Community.
- 1981 – Palau achieves self-government though it is not independent from the United States.
- 1982 – Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations.
- 1983 – The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet.
- 1984 – The original American Telephone & Telegraph Company is divested of its 22 Bell System companies as a result of the settlement of the 1974 United States Department of Justice antitrust suit against AT&T.
- 1984 – Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom.
- 1985 – The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
- 1985 – The first British mobile phone call is made by Ernie Wise to Vodafone.
- 1986 – Aruba becomes independent of Curaçao, though it remains in free association with the Netherlands.
- 1986 – Spain and Portugal are admitted into the European Community.
- 1988 – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.
- 1989 – The Montreal Protocol Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer comes into force.
- 1990 – David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City's first black mayor.
- 1992 – Russia is officially formed.
- 1993 – Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia is divided into Slovakia and the Czech Republic.
- 1993 – A single market within the European Community is introduced.
- 1994 – The Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiates twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican State of Chiapas.
- 1994 – The North American Free Trade Agreement comes into effect.
- 1995 – The World Trade Organization goes into effect.
- 1995 – Sweden, Austria, and Finland are admitted into the European Union.
- 1995 – The Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe becomes the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe.
- 1995 – The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway is detected, confirming the existence of freak waves.
- 1996 – Curaçao gains limited self-government, though it remains within free association with the Netherlands.
- 1997 – Zaire officially joins the World Trade Organization.
- 1997 – Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan is appointed Secretary-General of the United Nations.
- 1998 – Russia begins to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence.
- 1998 – The European Central Bank is established.
- 1999 – The Euro currency is introduced in 11 countries - members of the European Union (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden).
- 2002 – Euro banknotes and coins become legal tender in twelve of the European Union's member states.
- 2002 – Taiwan officially joins the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei.
- 2002 – The Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially comes into force.
- 2004 – In a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf wins 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of theConstitution of Pakistan, is "deemed to be elected" to the office of President until October 2007.
- 2007 – Bulgaria and Romania officially join the European Union. Also, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Irish become official languages of the European Union, joining 20 other official languages.
- 2007 – Adam Air Flight 574 disappears over Indonesia with 102 people on board.
- 2008 – Malta and Cyprus officially adopt the Euro currency and become the fourteenth and fifteenth Eurozone countries.
- 2009 – 66 die in a nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand.
- 2010 – A suicide car bomber detonates at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100 more.
- 2011 – Estonia officially adopts the Euro currency and becomes the seventeenth eurozone country.
- 2012 – Kim Jong-un is officially declared the new Supreme Leader of North Korea.
[edit]Births
- 871 – King Zwentibold of Lotharingia (d. 900)
- 1431 – Pope Alexander VI (d. 1503)
- 1449 – Lorenzo de' Medici (d. 1492)
- 1467 – King Sigismund I the Old of Poland (d. 1548)
- 1484 – Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss religious figure (d. 1531)
- 1511 – Henry, Duke of Cornwall (d. 1511)
- 1516 – Margaret Leijonhufvud, Swedish noblewoman (d. 1551)
- 1557 – István Bocskay, Prince of Transylvania (d. 1606)
- 1600 – Friedrich Spanheim, Dutch theologian (d. 1649)
- 1614 – John Wilkins, English bishop (d. 1672)
- 1618 – Bartolomé Estéban Murillo, Spanish painter (d. 1682)
- 1628 – Christoph Bernhard, German composer (d. 1692)
- 1638 – Emperor Go-Sai of Japan (d. 1685)
- 1648 – Elkanah Settle, English writer (d. 1724)
- 1655 – Christian Thomasius, German jurist (d. 1728)
- 1684 – Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch classical scholar (d. 1748)
- 1704 – Soame Jenyns, English writer (d. 1787)
- 1709 – Johann Heinrich Hartmann Bätz, German-Dutch organ builder (d. 1770)
- 1711 – Franz Freiherr von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (d. 1749)
- 1714 – Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian poet (d. 1780)
- 1714 – Giovanni Battista Mancini, Italian singer and author (d. 1800)
- 1735 – Paul Revere, American patriot (d. 1818)
- 1745 – Anthony Wayne, American general and politician (d. 1796)
- 1750 – Frederick Muhlenberg, American politician (d. 1801)
- 1752 – Betsy Ross, American seamstress (d. 1836)
- 1768 – Maria Edgeworth, Anglo-Irish novelist (d. 1849)
- 1774 – André Marie Constant Duméril, French zoologist (d. 1860)
- 1779 – William Clowes, English printer (d. 1847)
- 1803 – Guglielmo Libri Carucci dalla Sommaja, Italian mathematician (d. 1869)
- 1814 – Hong Xiuquan, Chinese rebel (d. 1864)
- 1819 – Arthur Hugh Clough, English poet (d. 1861)
- 1823 – Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian poet and revolutionary (d. 1849)
- 1833 – Robert Lawson, New Zealand architect (d. 1902)
- 1834 – Ludovic Halévy, French playwright (d. 1908)
- 1848 – John Goff, Irish lawyer (d. 1924)
- 1852 – Eugène-Anatole Demarçay, French chemist (d. 1904)
- 1854 – Sir James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist (d. 1941)
- 1859 – Thibaw Min, King of Burma (d. 1916)
- 1860 – John Cassidy, Irish sculptor and painter (d. 1939)
- 1860 – Dan Katchongva, Native-American Hopi activist (d. 1972)
- 1860 – Michele Lega, Roman Catholic Cardinal (d. 1935)
- 1860 – Dirk van Erp, Dutch American coppersmith (d. 1933)
- 1860 – Jan Vilímek, Czech illustrator and painter (d. 1938)
- 1863 – Pierre de Coubertin, French aristocrat (d. 1937)
- 1864 – Qi Baishi, Chinese painter (d. 1957)
- 1864 – Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer (d. 1946)
- 1867 – Lew Fields, American vaudeville performer (d. 1941)
- 1868 – Snitz Edwards, American actor (d. 1937)
- 1871 – Montagu Toller, English cricket player (d. 1948)
- 1873 – Mariano Azuela, Mexican novelist (d. 1952)
- 1874 – Frank Knox, American politician (d. 1944)
- 1874 – Gustave Whitehead, German inventor (d. 1927)
- 1876 – Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist (d. 1933)
- 1878 – Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish scientist and engineer (d. 1929)
- 1879 – E. M. Forster, English novelist (d. 1970)
- 1879 – William Fox, Hungarian-born American producer (d. 1952)
- 1881 – Vajiravudh, King of Thailand (d. 1925)
- 1885 – Béla Balogh, Hungarian film director (d. 1945)
- 1887 – Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral (d. 1945)
- 1888 – John Garand, American inventor (d. 1974)
- 1888 – Georgios Stanotas, Greek cavalry officer (d. 1965)
- 1889 – Charles Bickford, American film actor (d. 1967)
- 1890 – Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer (d. 1966)
- 1892 – Artur Rodziński, Croatian conductor (d. 1958)
- 1892 – Manuel Roxas, Filipino statesman (d. 1948)
- 1893 – Mordehai Frizis, Greek Army officer (d. 1940)
- 1894 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian mathematician (d. 1974)
- 1894 – Shitsu Nakano, Japanese supercentenarian (d. 2007)
- 1895 – J. Edgar Hoover, American FBI director (d. 1972)
- 1900 – Xavier Cugat, Spanish musician (d. 1990)
- 1900 – Chiune Sugihara, Japanese diplomat (d. 1986)
- 1902 – Buster Nupen, South African cricketer (d. 1977)
- 1904 – Vasilis Avlonitis, Greek actor (d. 1970)
- 1904 – Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani politician (d. 1982)
- 1905 – Stanisław Mazur, Polish mathematician (d. 1981)
- 1906 – Giovanni D'Anzi, Italian songwriter (d. 1974)
- 1908 – Bill Tapia, American musician (d. 2011)
- 1909 – Dana Andrews, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1909 – Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian nationalist leader (d. 1959)
- 1911 – Basil Dearden, British film director (d. 1971)
- 1911 – Hank Greenberg, American baseball player (d. 1986)
- 1911 – Roman Totenberg, Polish-born American violinist (d. 2012)
- 1911 – Audrey Wurdemann, American poet (d. 1960)
- 1912 – Boris Vladimirovich Gnedenko, Russian mathematician (d. 1995)
- 1912 – Kim Philby, British spy (d. 1988)
- 1912 – Nikiforos Vrettakos, Greek writer and poet (d. 1991)
- 1914 – Noor Inayat Khan, Indian princess and SOE agent (d. 1944)
- 1917 – Jule Gregory Charney, American meteorologist (d. 1981)
- 1917 – Albert Mol, Dutch actor (d. 2004)
- 1918 – Patrick Anthony Porteous, Scottish hero (d. 2000)
- 1918 – Edgar Price, American politician (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer (d. 1990)
- 1919 – Carole Landis, American film actress (d. 1948)
- 1919 – J. D. Salinger, American novelist (d. 2010)
- 1919 – Yoshio Tabata, Japanese singer
- 1920 – Osvaldo Cavandoli, Italian cartoonist (d. 2007)
- 1920 – Willie Fennell, Australian comedian, actor (d. 1992)
- 1920 – Virgilio Savona, Italian singer (Quartetto Cetra) (d. 2009)
- 1921 – Isma'il Raji al-Faruqi, Palestinian philosopher (d. 1986)
- 1921 – César Baldaccini, French sculptor (d. 1998)
- 1921 – Wadih El Safi, Lebanese singer and songwriter
- 1922 – Ernest Hollings, American politician
- 1922 – Jerry Robinson, American comic book artist (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Daniel Gorenstein, American mathematician (d. 1992)
- 1923 – Milt Jackson, American jazz vibraphonist (Modern Jazz Quartet) (d. 1999)
- 1924 – Charlie Munger, American philanthropist
- 1924 – Francisco Macías Nguema, Equatoguinean politician (d. 1979)
- 1925 – Matthew Beard, American actor (d. 1981)
- 1925 – Paul Bomani, Tanzanian politician and ambassador (d. 2005)
- 1925 – Valentina Cortese, Italian actress
- 1925 – Raymond Pellegrin, French actor (d. 2007)
- 1926 – Richard Verreau, French-Canadian tenor (d. 2005)
- 1927 – Maurice Béjart, French choreographer (d. 2007)
- 1927 – Pat Heywood, Scottish actress
- 1927 – Calum MacKay, Canadian hockey player (d. 2001)
- 1927 – Yvonne Sanson, Greek film actress (d. 2003)
- 1927 – Vernon L. Smith, American economist, Nobel laureate
- 1927 – Doak Walker, American football star (d. 1998)
- 1928 – Ernest Tidyman, American writer (d. 1984)
- 1928 – Gerhard Weinberg, German-American historian
- 1929 – Raymond Chow, Hong Kong film producer
- 1929 – Larry L. King, American journalist, author, and playwright (d. 2012)
- 1929 – Joseph Lombardo, American organized crime boss
- 1929 – Haruo Nakajima, Japanese actor
- 1930 – Gaafar al-Nimeiry, Sudanese politician (d. 2009)
- 1930 – Jean-Pierre Duprey, French poet and sculptor (d. 1959)
- 1930 – Ty Hardin, American film actor
- 1930 – Frederick Wiseman, American documentary filmmaker
- 1932 – Leman Çıdamlı, Turkish actress (d. 2012)
- 1932 – Jackie Parker, American football player (d. 2006)
- 1932 – Giuseppe Patanè, Italian opera conductor (d. 1989)
- 1933 – James Hormel, American philanthropist and diplomat
- 1933 – Joseph Koo, Chinese composer
- 1933 – Frederick Lowy, Canadian educator
- 1933 – Joe Orton, English writer (d. 1967)
- 1933 – Norman Yemm, Australian actor
- 1934 – Lakhdar Brahimi, Algerian diplomat
- 1935 – B. Kliban, American cartoonist (d. 1990)
- 1936 – Don Nehlen, American football player and coach
- 1936 – James Sinegal, American businessman
- 1937 – John Fuller, English poet
- 1937 – Petros Markaris, Greek writer
- 1937 – Matt Robinson, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1937 – Adam Wiśniewski-Snerg, Polish author (d. 1995)
- 1938 – Clay Cole, American television host and producer (d. 2010)
- 1938 – Robert Jankel, British coachbuilder (d. 2005)
- 1938 – Frank Langella, American actor
- 1939 – Michèle Mercier, French actress
- 1941 – Asrani, Indian actor and comedian
- 1941 – Younoussi Touré, Malian prime minister
- 1942 – Dennis Archer, American politician
- 1942 – Al Hunt, American reporter and news anchor
- 1942 – Country Joe McDonald, American musician (Country Joe and the Fish)
- 1942 – Alassane Ouattara, Prime Minister of Côte d'Ivoire
- 1942 – Gennadi Sarafanov, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 2005)
- 1942 – Judy Stone, Australian pop singer
- 1943 – Larry Clark, American director
- 1943 – Tony Knowles, American politician
- 1943 – Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, Indian scientist
- 1943 – Don Novello, American actor
- 1943 – Ronald Perelman, American businessman
- 1944 – Omar al-Bashir, Sudanese politician, President of Sudan
- 1944 – Jimmy Hart, American wrestling manager
- 1944 – Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Pakistani politician
- 1945 – Peter Duncan, Australian politician
- 1945 – Jacky Ickx, Belgian Formula One racing driver, twice World Endurance Champion (1982 & 1983)
- 1945 – Martin Schanche, Norwegian six times European Rallycross Champion
- 1946 – Rivelino, Brazilian football player
- 1946 – Grady Allen, American football player (d. 2012)
- 1946 – Carl B. Hamilton, Swedish economist and politician
- 1946 – Susannah McCorkle, American writer and singer (d. 2001)
- 1946 – Shelby Steele, American author and filmmaker
- 1946 – Alain Voss, Brazilian-French comics artist
- 1947 – Jon Corzine, American politician
- 1947 – Leonard Thompson, American professional golfer
- 1947 – Paula Tsui, Hong Kong singer
- 1948 – Devlet Bahçeli, Turkish politician
- 1948 – Pavel Grachev, Russian general (d. 2012)
- 1948 – Joe Petagno, American artist
- 1948 – Ashok Saraf, Marathi/Hindi actor
- 1948 – Ismael Zambada García, Mexican drug lord
- 1948 – Ampon Tangnoppakul, Thai lèse majesté prisoner (d. 2012)
- 1949 – Max Azria, French fashion designer
- 1949 – Olivia Goldsmith, American author (d. 2004)
- 1949 – Borys Tarasyuk, Ukrainian politician
- 1950 – Wayne Bennett, Australian rugby league coach
- 1950 – Morgan Fisher, English musician (Mott the Hoople)
- 1950 – Deepa Mehta, Indian-born Canadian film director and screenwriter
- 1951 – Ashfaq Hussain, Urdu poet
- 1951 – Nana Patekar, Indian actor
- 1951 – Hans-Joachim Stuck, German race car driver
- 1952 – Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatari ruler, Emir of Qatar
- 1952 – Stephanie Faracy, American actress
- 1952 – Rosario Marchese, Italian-Canadian politician
- 1952 – Shaji N Karun, Indian Filmmaker, cinematographer
- 1953 – Alpha Blondy, Ivorian reggae singer
- 1953 – Greg Carmichael, British guitarist (Acoustic Alchemy)
- 1953 – Gary Johnson, American politician
- 1953 – Lynn Jones, American baseball player
- 1954 – Richard Edson, American actor and musician (Sonic Youth, Konk])
- 1954 – Bob Menendez, American politician
- 1954 – Dennis O'Driscoll, Irish poet (d. 2012)
- 1954 – Yannis Papathanasiou, Greek politician
- 1955 – LaMarr Hoyt, American baseball player
- 1955 – Gennady Lyachin, Commanding officer of the Russian submarine Kursk (d. 2000)
- 1956 – Sergei Avdeyev, Russian cosmonaut
- 1956 – Mark R. Hughes, American entrepreneur (d. 2000)
- 1956 – Sheila McCarthy, Canadian actress
- 1956 – Mike Mitchell, American basketball player (d. 2011)
- 1956 – Ziad Rahbani, Lebanese composer
- 1956 – Kōji Yakusho, Japanese actor
- 1957 – Mark Hurd, American businessman
- 1957 – Ewa Kasprzyk, Polish actress
- 1957 – Evangelos Venizelos, Greek lawyer and politician
- 1958 – Grandmaster Flash, Barbadian musician (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)
- 1958 – Dave Silk, American ice hockey player
- 1959 – Abdul Ahad Momand, Afghan cosmonaut
- 1959 – Andy Andrews, American tennis player
- 1959 – Azali Assoumani, Comorian president
- 1959 – Panagiotis Giannakis, Greek basketball player and coach
- 1959 – Michel Onfray, French philosopher
- 1960 – Rayo de Jalisco, Jr., Mexican wrestler
- 1960 – Leilani Kai, American wrestler
- 1960 – Michael Seibert, American ice dancer
- 1961 – Sergei Babayan, American classical pianist
- 1961 – Sam Backo, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1961 – Sam Palahnuk, American video game designer
- 1961 – Fiona Phillips, British television presenter
- 1962 – Ari Up, German musician (The Slits) (d. 2010)
- 1963 – Alberigo Evani, Italian footballer
- 1963 – Lina Kačiušytė, Lithuanian swimmer
- 1963 – Dražen Ladić, Croatian footballer
- 1963 – Jean-Marc Gounon, French race car driver
- 1964 – Juliana Donald, American actress
- 1964 – Dedee Pfeiffer, American film and television actress.
- 1965 – John Sullivan, American politician
- 1965 – Andrew Valmon, American athlete
- 1966 – Anna Burke, Australian politician
- 1966 – Tina Landon, Mexican-American choreographer
- 1967 – Tim Dog, American rapper
- 1967 – Gorsha Sur, Russian ice dancer
- 1967 – Derrick Thomas, American football player (d. 2000)
- 1967 – Spencer Tunick, American artist
- 1967 – Juanma Bajo Ulloa, Spanish film director
- 1968 – Felix Chong, Hong Kong screenwriter
- 1968 – Miki Higashino, Japanese composer
- 1968 – Joey Stefano, American actor (d. 1994)
- 1968 – Davor Šuker, Croatian footballer
- 1969 – Nicolle Dickson, Australian actress
- 1969 – Melissa DiMarco, Canadian actress
- 1969 – Christi Paul, American news anchor
- 1969 – Verne Troyer, American actor and stunt performer
- 1970 – Sergei Kiriakov, Russian footballer
- 1970 – Kimberly Page, American manager and actress
- 1971 – Sammie Henson, American wrestler
- 1971 – Bobby Holik, Czech ice hockey player
- 1971 – Phoebus, Greek songwriter
- 1971 – Juan Carlos Plata, Guatemalan soccer player
- 1971 – Chris Potter, American saxophonist
- 1971 – Fredro Starr, American rapper (Onyx)
- 1972 – Garrett K. Gomez, American horse jockey
- 1972 – Yermakhan Ibraimov, Kazakh boxer
- 1972 – Neve McIntosh, Scottish actress
- 1972 – Barron Miles, American Canadian football player
- 1972 – Lilian Thuram, French footballer
- 1973 – Shelda Bede, Brazilian beach volleyball player
- 1973 – Li Fang, Chinese tennis player
- 1973 – Danny Lloyd, American actor
- 1973 – Anwar Mansoor Mangrio, Sindhi poet
- 1973 – Magnus Sahlgren, Swedish musician (Lake of Tears)
- 1973 – Bryan Thao Worra, Lao writer
- 1974 – Christian Paradis, Canadian politician
- 1974 – Hamilton Ricard, Colombian footballer
- 1974 – Giorgos Theodotou, Greek-Cypriot footballer
- 1975 – Chris Anstey, Australian basketball player
- 1975 – Sonali Bendre, Indian model and actress
- 1975 – Joe Cannon, American footballer
- 1975 – Becky Kellar-Duke, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975 – Eiichiro Oda, Japanese artist
- 1975 – Bengt Sæternes, Norwegian footballer
- 1975 – Fernando Tatis, Dominican baseball player
- 1975 – Mohamed Albuflasa, Bahraini dissident poet
- 1977 – Leoš Friedl, Czech tennis player
- 1977 – María de la Paz Hernández, Argentinian field hockey player
- 1977 – Robert Roode, Canadian wrestler
- 1977 – Hasan Salihamidžić, Bosnian footballer
- 1977 – Andrei Stoliarov, Russian tennis player
- 1977 – Jerry Yan, Taiwanese actor and singer (F4)
- 1978 – Vidya Balan, Indian model and actress
- 1978 – Nina Bott, German actress
- 1978 – Phillip Mulryne, Northern Irish footballer
- 1979 – Matthew Barnson, American composer
- 1979 – Brody Dalle, Australian singer (The Distillers)
- 1979 – Koichi Domoto, Japanese artist
- 1979 – Fadi El Khatib, Lebanese basketball player
- 1980 – Lazaros Agadakos, Greek basketball player
- 1980 – Elin Nordegren, Swedish model
- 1981 – Jonas Armstrong, English actor
- 1981 – Zsolt Baumgartner, Hungarian racing driver
- 1981 – Abdülkadir Koçak, Turkish boxer
- 1981 – Mladen Petrić, Croatian footballer
- 1981 – Eden Riegel, American actress
- 1982 – David Nalbandian, Argentinian tennis player
- 1982 – Luke Rodgers, English footballer
- 1982 – Egidio Arévalo Ríos, Uruguayan footballer
- 1983 – Calum Davenport, English footballer
- 1983 – Thomas Morrison, English actor
- 1983 – Emi Kobayashi, Japanese model
- 1983 – Park Sung-Hyun, South Korean Olympic archer
- 1984 – Christian Eigler, German footballer
- 1984 – Mohammed Ghaddar, Lebanese footballer
- 1984 – José Paolo Guerrero, Peruvian footballer
- 1984 – Alok Kapali, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1984 – Stefano Pastrello, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Michael Witt, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1984 – Cheung Kin Fung, Hong Kong footballer
- 1985 – Jeff Carter, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Steven Davis, Northern Irish footballer
- 1985 – Tiago Splitter, Brazilian basketball player
- 1985 – Eyjólfur Héðinsson, Icelandic footballer and model
- 1986 – Pablo Cuevas, Uruguayan tennis player
- 1986 – Glen Davis, American basketball player
- 1986 – James Davis, American football player
- 1986 – Colin Morgan, Irish actor
- 1986 – Sungmin, South Korean singer (Super Junior)
- 1987 – Gilbert Brule, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Chris Collins, American actor and comedian
- 1987 – Devin Setoguchi, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 – Ghazala Javed, Pakistani singer (d. 2012)
- 1988 – Grzegorz Panfil, Polish tennis player
- 1988 – Nelufar Hedayat, English-Afghanistani television personality
- 1990 – Safaa Rashed, Iraqi weightlifter
- 1990 – Serkan Kurtuluş, Turkish footballer
- 1991 – Berat Çetinkaya, Turkish footballer
- 1992 – René Binder, Austrian racing driver
- 1992 – He Kexin, Chinese gymnast
- 1992 – Daniel Kofi Agyei, Ghanaian footballer
- 1998 – Marlene Lawston, American actress
[edit]Deaths
- 379 – Basil of Caesarea, Greek bishop of Caesarea Mazaca (b. c. 330)
- 510 – Eugendus, French abbot (b. c. 449)
- 874 – Hasan al-Askari, Shia Imam (b. 846)
- 898 – Odo, Count of Paris (b. 860)
- 962 – Baldwin III, Count of Flanders (b. c. 940)
- 1204 – King Haakon III of Norway (b. c. 1170)
- 1387 – King Charles II of Navarre (b. 1332)
- 1515 – King Louis XII of France (b. 1462)
- 1554 – Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish conquistador (b. 1500)
- 1559 – Christian III of Denmark and Norway (b. 1503)
- 1560 – Joachim du Bellay, French poet (b. 1522)
- 1617 – Hendrik Goltzius, Dutch painter (b. 1558)
- 1697 – Filippo Baldinucci, Florentine biographer and historian (b. 1624)
- 1716 – William Wycherley, English dramatist (b. 1640)
- 1748 – Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (b. 1667)
- 1759 – Jacques-Joachim Trotti, marquis de La Chétardie, French adventurer (b. 1705)
- 1766 – James Francis Edward Stuart, Prince of Wales ("The Old Pretender") (b. 1688)
- 1782 – Johann Christian Bach, German composer (b. 1735)
- 1789 – Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley, English politician (b. 1716)
- 1793 – Francesco Guardi, Venetian painter (b. 1712)
- 1796 – Alexandre-Théophile Vandermonde, French mathematician (b. 1735)
- 1800 – Louis-Jean-Marie Daubenton, French naturalist (b. 1716)
- 1817 – Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist (b. 1743)
- 1846 – John Torrington, English Royal Navy stoker, 1st known victim of Franklin's lost expedition (b.1825)
- 1853 – Gregory Blaxland, Australian explorer (b. 1778)
- 1862 – Mikhail Vasilievich Ostrogradsky, Russian physicist (b. 1801)
- 1881 – Louis Auguste Blanqui, French political activist (b. 1805)
- 1892 – Roswell B. Mason, American politician (b. 1805)
- 1894 – Heinrich Rudolf Hertz, German physicist (b. 1857)
- 1896 – Alfred Ely Beach, American inventor (b. 1826)
- 1906 – Sir Hugh Nelson, Scottish-born Australian politician (b. 1835)
- 1918 – Wilfred Campbell, Canadian poet (b. 1858)
- 1919 – Mikhail Drozdovsky, Russian general (b. 1881)
- 1921 – Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1856)
- 1922 – István Kühár, Slovene writer and politician (b. 1887)
- 1931 – Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (b. 1851)
- 1940 – Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao, Indian writer and essayist (b. 1865)
- 1941 – József Konkolics, Hungarian Slovene writer (d. 1861)
- 1944 – Sir Edwin Lutyens, British architect who designed New Delhi (b. 1869)
- 1944 – Charles Turner, Australian cricketer (b. 1862)
- 1953 – Hank Williams, American singer (Drifting Cowboys) (b. 1923)
- 1954 – Duff Cooper, British diplomat and writer (b. 1890)
- 1955 – Arthur C. Parker, American archaeologist and historian (b. 1881)
- 1957 – Seán South, Irish militant (b. 1928)
- 1958 – Edward Weston, American photographer (b. 1886)
- 1960 – Margaret Sullavan, American actress, screenwriter (b. 1909)
- 1964 – Bechara El Khoury, President of Lebanon (b. 1890)
- 1966 – Vincent Auriol, French politician (b. 1884)
- 1969 – Bruno Söderström, Swedish athlete (b. 1888)
- 1971 – Saint Amphilochius of Pochayiv, Ukrainian saint (b. 1894)
- 1972 – Maurice Chevalier, French actor (b. 1888)
- 1973 – Sergei Kourdakov, Soviet intelligence agent (b. 1951)
- 1980 – Pietro Nenni, Italian socialist politician (b. 1891)
- 1981 – Hephzibah Menuhin, American-Jewish concert pianist (b. 1920)
- 1982 – Victor Buono, American actor (b. 1938)
- 1984 – Alexis Korner, British blues musician (b. 1928)
- 1985 – Sigerson Clifford, Irish poet and writer (b. 1913)
- 1985 – Kamatari Fujiwara, Japanese actor (b. 1905)
- 1986 – Alfredo Binda, Italian cyclist (b. 1902)
- 1987 – Lloyd Haynes, American actor (b. 1934)
- 1989 – Aleka Stratigou, Greek actress (b. 1926)
- 1992 – Grace Hopper, American computer pioneer (b. 1906)
- 1994 – Lord Arthur Porritt, New Zealand statesman (b. 1900)
- 1994 – Cesar Romero, American actor (b. 1907)
- 1994 – Edward Arthur Thompson, British historian (b. 1914)
- 1995 – Fred West, British serial killer (suicide) (b. 1941)
- 1995 – Eugene Wigner, Hungarian American physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)
- 1996 – Arleigh Burke, American admiral (b. 1901)
- 1996 – Arthur Rudolph, German engineer (b. 1906)
- 1997 – Ivan Graziani, Italian singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
- 1998 – Helen Wills Moody, American tennis player (b. 1905)
- 2000 – Colin Vaughan, Australian political journalist (b. 1931)
- 2001 – Ray Walston, American actor (b. 1914)
- 2002 – Julia Phillips, American producer (b. 1944)
- 2003 – Joe Foss, American politician and football league commissioner (b. 1915)
- 2003 – Dumitru Tinu, Romanian journalist (b. 1940)
- 2005 – Shirley Chisholm, American politician (b. 1924)
- 2005 – Eugene J. Martin, American painter, artist (b. 1938)
- 2006 – Dawn Lake, Australian TV comedienne (b. 1927)
- 2006 – Harry Magdoff, American magazine editor (b. 1913)
- 2006 – Hugh McLaughlin, Irish publisher and inventor (b. 1918)
- 2007 – Leon Davidson, American ufologist (b. 1922)
- 2007 – Roland Levinsky, South African medical scientist (b. 1943)
- 2007 – Darrent Williams, American football player (b. 1982)
- 2008 – Salvatore Bonanno, American crime family member (b. 1932)
- 2008 – Peter Caffrey, Irish actor (b. 1949)
- 2008 – Pratap Chandra Chunder, Indian politician (b. 1919)
- 2008 – Harold Corsini, American photographer (b. 1919)
- 2009 – Aarne Arvonen, Finnish supercentenerian (b.1897)
- 2009 – Claiborne Pell, American politician (b. 1918)
- 2009 – Nizar Rayan, Palestinian Hamas leader (b. 1962)
- 2009 – Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan terrorist (b. 1960)
- 2010 – Lhasa de Sela, Mexican-American singer (b. 1972)
- 2011 – Marin Constantin, Romanian composer and conductor (b. 1925)
- 2011 – Reynaldo Dagsa, Filipino politician
- 2011 – Flemming Jørgensen, Danish singer (Bamses Venner) (b. 1947)
- 2012 – Carlos Soria, Argentine politician (2011) (b. 1948)
- 2012 – Bob Anderson (fencer), Swordmaster and stunt double for Darth Vader in the Star Wars films, (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Yafa Yarkoni, Israeli singer (b. 1925)
[edit]Holidays and observances
- Christian Feast Day:
- Basil the Great (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Feast of the Circumcision of Christ (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (Lutheran Church)
- Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the Octave Day of Christmas, considered a holy day of obligation in some countries. (Roman Catholic Church)
- Fulgentius of Ruspe
- Telemachus
- World Day of Peace (Roman Catholic Church)
- January 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constitution Day (Italy)
- Dissolution of Czechoslovakia related observances:
- Earliest day on which Handsel Monday can fall, while January 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of the year. (Scotland)
- Founding Day (Republic of China)
- Global Family Day (International)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Brunei from United Kingdom in 1984.
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Haiti from France in 1804.
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Sudan from United Kingdom in 1956.
- National Tree Planting Day (Tanzania)
- New Year's Day (many countries around the world using the Gregorian calendar)
- Public Domain Day
- The eighth day of Christmas (Western Christianity)
- First-Foot (Scottish and Northern English Folklaw)
- The last day of Kwanzaa (United States)
- The presidents of Brazil and Switzerland take possession.
- Triumph of the Revolution (Cuba)
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Happy New Year
Piers Akerman – Tuesday, January 01, 2013 (7:10am)
Welcome to 2013.
Roller coasters won’t be in it.
With an election due, be prepared for the most outrageous stunts, diversions and extraordinary character assassinations this nation has ever seen.
If you thought last year was a Barry Crocker, 2013 will put it in the shade.
Prime Minister Julia Gillard is test marketing her campaign strategy.
Typically, it will be based on lies and a gross misinterpretation of history.
Just remember, there is a carbon dioxide tax and there is not a surplus.
That’s what happens to Labor promises.
As for the NDIS, introducing a Bill is not the same as enacting legislation and putting an idea that has bi-partisan support forward is not the same as presenting a fully-funded policy.
The Magic Pudding era is over for Labor.
The Opposition has put forward a series of workable policy options but everything they offer they do so with the necessary caution - they must staunch the reckless spending that has brought Australia into historic levels of debt before they can proceed to rebuild the nation.
Happy New Year and hang on!
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Star’s star illuminates airport curfew stupidity
Miranda Devine – Tuesday, January 01, 2013 (7:18pm)
WHY did The Star casino spend upwards of $600,000 to fly Leonardo DiCaprio and pals to Sydney for New Year’s Eve?
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LABOR WOMEN SILENCED
Tim Blair – Tuesday, January 01, 2013 (7:43pm)
The only interesting thing Jenny Macklin has ever said, and it gets cut:
Families Minister Jenny Macklin has said she could live on the dole of just $35 a day, but her answer has been omitted from the transcript of a press conference issued by her office.Asked this morning whether she could live on the Newstart allowance of $246 a week, Ms Macklin told reporters ‘‘I could.’’But when Ms Macklin’s office later issued a transcript of the press conference, held at a hospital in the Minister’s Melbourne electorate, both the question and answer were recorded ‘‘inaudible.’’
The same terrible thing happened last year to attorney general Nicola Roxon. Who is silencing these influential women?
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TITLE CLAIMED
Tim Blair – Tuesday, January 01, 2013 (7:38pm)
I take issue with “may be”.
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GARDEN TALK
Tim Blair – Tuesday, January 01, 2013 (7:37pm)
During his recent Hamas visit, Australia’s mufti el grande met Palestinian minister of religious affairsIsmail Radwan. Here’s peaceful Ismail in action a few years back:
Ismail and Australia’s mufti appear to have a shared interest in trees and rocks.
Ismail and Australia’s mufti appear to have a shared interest in trees and rocks.
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THE ZERO-SUM COMMUNITY
Tim Blair – Tuesday, January 01, 2013 (7:28pm)
Leftists “tend to be dour people with no laughter in their hearts”, writes Roger Kimball:
It’s a curious thing. Leftists are supposed to be the caring, sharing part of the political fraternity. In point of historical fact, it is an easy thing to demonstrate that their caring has always been more a rhetorical than an actual strategy and that their sharing has been accomplished overwhelmingly with other people’s goods.That said, however, there is still the fact that Leftists are hailed by their enablers as the non-crabby politicians, the people who come into office promising two things: More and Free.How odd it is, then, that they should also be the folks who harbor an unshakeable belief that the universe is a stingy, scarcity-driven machine whose iron law is that if A does well, B must do poorly.
They do seem a grouchy bunch. Perhaps this is due to tiredness brought about by arguing from a weak position. Leftists are like a lawyer defending a clearly guilty client. Facts are against them, so they must resort to other tactical devices.
(Via Instapundit)
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WHEN OOMPA-LOOMPAS ATTACK
Tim Blair – Tuesday, January 01, 2013 (3:16pm)
Nearly 100 people charged in Sydney during New Year’s Eve. And in England:
Two men dressed as Oompa-Loompas from the film Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory are being hunted by police after they allegedly attacked a man on a night out …The two Oompa-Loompas were with another man and a woman with dark hair who had a dress split at the side.But a Norfolk Police spokesman said it was believed that only the Oompa-Loompas took part in the attack.
The others were just Oompa-Loompa enablers.
UPDATE. 356 people arrested in Victoria.
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COMMON FOLK GROUNDED
Tim Blair – Tuesday, January 01, 2013 (12:29pm)
The SMH’s Catherine Armitage imagines Sydney life in 2050:
Flying reverts to a premium-priced luxury in the low-carbon economy.
Catherine seems to think this is a good thing.
WARMY UPDATE. The great $15.84 calendar conspiracy.
===
I get it that dumping and stealing costs millions from charity and is a terrible waste. I like to think that the law could be amended to make it easier to prosecute offenders. However, that concern is secondary to me with charity at the moment. Charity do an important job better than government. But the dysfunctional Gillard government has hurt charity very badly and a Current Affair hasn't covered it. What has happened is that Fair Work Australia has lifted the pay of social workers without the government lifting support for charity. This means that charity has to do more with much less. I know a highly qualified and needed social worker who isn't working because, although needed, the charity can no longer afford him. - ed
Trashy New Year===
Hubris from graceless Obama threatens bill's passage - ed
Senate approves fiscal crisis deal after missed deadline, bill goes to House
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It took a GOP man to realise the proposition the US is “conceived in liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” - ed
The Emancipation Proclamation's unforgettable lesson about presidential power===
Do you believe that God is someone whose goodness you cannot always trust and so need to bargain with, or do you believe that He is a God whose goodness and generosity you can always count on? Join Joseph Prince in this thought-provoking message and see the generosity of our Lord in the parable of the vineyard workers. Learn how having a good opinion of the Lord will cause good things to come your way even if you are the "eleventh-hour worker". You'll find the Lord unfairly good toward you and exceeding your wildest expectations!
Find us at:
http://www.facebook.com/JosephPrince
http://www.twitter.com/JosephPrince
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Read this woman's eyewitness account of the loss of freedom in her native Austria:
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December 22, 2012 - “What I am about to tell you is something you’ve probably never heard or read in history books,” she likes to tell audiences.
“I am a witness to history.
“I cannot tell you that Hitler took Austria by tanks and guns; it would distort history.
If you remember the plot of the Sound of Music, the Von Trapp family escaped over the Alps rather than submit to the Nazis. Kitty wasn’t so lucky. Her family chose to stay in her native Austria. She was 10 years old, but bright and aware. And she was watching.
“We elected him by a landslide – 98 percent of the vote,” she recalls.
She wasn’t old enough to vote in 1938 – approaching her 11th birthday. But she remembers.
“Everyone thinks that Hitler just rolled in with his tanks and took Austria by force.”
No so.
Hitler is welcomed to Austria
“In 1938, Austria was in deep Depression. Nearly one-third of our workforce was unem- ployed. We had 25 percent inflation and 25 percent bank loan interest rates.
Farmers and business people were declaring bankruptcy daily. Young people were go- ing from house to house begging for food. Not that they didn’t want to work; there simply weren’t any jobs.
“My mother was a Christian woman and believed in helping people in need. Every day we cooked a big kettle of soup and baked bread to feed those poor, hungry people – about 30 daily.’
“We looked to our neighbor on the north, Germany, where Hitler had been in power since 1933.” she recalls. “We had been told that they didn’t have unemployment or crime, and they had a high standard of living.
Austrian girls welcome Hitler
“Nothing was ever said about persecution of any group – Jewish or otherwise. We were led to believe that everyone in Germany was happy. We wanted the same way of life in Austria. We were promised that a vote for Hitler would mean the end of unemployment and help for the family. Hitler also said that businesses would be assisted, and farmers would get their farms back.
“Ninety-eight percent of the population voted to annex Austria to Germany and have Hitler for our ruler.
“We were overjoyed,” remembers Kitty, “and for three days we danced in the streets and had candlelight parades. The new government opened up big field kitchens and
everyone was fed.
Austrians saluting
“After the election, German officials were appointed, and like a miracle, we suddenly had law and order. Three or four weeks later, everyone was employed. The government made sure that a lot of work was created through the Public Work Service.
“Hitler decided we should have equal rights for women. Before this, it was a custom that married Austrian women did not work outside the home. An able-bodied husband would be looked down on if he couldn’t support his family. Many women in the teach- ing profession were elated that they could retain the jobs they previously had been re- quired to give up for marriage.
“Then we lost religious education for kids
Poster promoting "Hitler Youth"
“Our education was nationalized. I attended a very good public school.. The population was predominantly Catholic, so we had religion in our schools. The day we elected Hitler (March 13, 1938), I walked into my schoolroom to find the crucifix replaced by Hitler’s picture hanging next to a Nazi flag. Our teacher, a very devout woman, stood up and told the class we wouldn’t pray or have religion anymore. Instead, we sang ‘Deutschland, Deutschland, Uber Alles,’ and had physical education.
“Sunday became National Youth Day with compulsory attendance. Parents were not pleased about the sudden change in curriculum. They were told that if they did not send us, they would receive a stiff letter of warning the first time. The second time they would be fined the equivalent of $300, and the third time they would be subject to jail.”
And then things got worse.
“The first two hours consisted of political indoctrination. The rest of the day we had sports. As time went along, we loved it. Oh, we had so much fun and got our sports equipment free.
“We would go home and gleefully tell our parents about the wonderful time we had.
“My mother was very unhappy,” remembers Kitty. “When the next term started, she took me out of public school and put me in a convent. I told her she couldn’t do that and she told me that someday when I grew up, I would be grateful. There was a very good curriculum, but hardly any fun – no sports, and no political indoctrination.
“I hated it at first but felt I could tolerate it. Every once in a while, on holidays, I went home. I would go back to my old friends and ask what was going on and what they were doing.
A pro-Hitler rally
“Their loose lifestyle was very alarming to me. They lived without religion. By that time, unwed mothers were glorified for having a baby for Hitler.
“It seemed strange to me that our society changed so suddenly. As time went along, I realized what a great deed my mother did so that I wasn’t exposed to that kind of hu- manistic philosophy.
“In 1939, the war started and a food bank was established. All food was rationed and could only be purchased using food stamps. At the same time, a full-employment law was passed which meant if you didn’t work, you didn’t get a ration card, and if you didn’t have a card, you starved to death.
“Women who stayed home to raise their families didn’t have any marketable skills and often had to take jobs more suited for men.
“Soon after this, the draft was implemented.
Young Austrians
“It was compulsory for young people, male and female, to give one year to the labor corps,” remembers Kitty. “During the day, the girls worked on the farms, and at night they returned to their barracks for military training just like the boys.
“They were trained to be anti-aircraft gunners and participated in the signal corps. After the labor corps, they were not discharged but were used in the front lines.
“When I go back to Austria to visit my family and friends, most of these women are emotional cripples because they just were not equipped to handle the horrors of combat.
“Three months before I turned 18, I was severely injured in an air raid attack. I nearly had a leg amputated, so I was spared having to go into the labor corps and into military service.
“When the mothers had to go out into the work force, the government immediately es- tablished child care centers.
“You could take your children ages four weeks old to school age and leave them there around-the-clock, seven days a week, under the total care of the government.
“The state raised a whole generation of children. There were no motherly women to take care of the children, just people highly trained in child psychology. By this time, no one talked about equal rights. We knew we had been had.
“Before Hitler, we had very good medical care. Many American doctors trained at the University of Vienna..
“After Hitler, health care was socialized, free for everyone. Doctors were salaried by the government. The problem was, since it was free, the people were going to the doctors for everything.
“When the good doctor arrived at his office at 8 a.m., 40 people were already waiting and, at the same time, the hospitals were full.
“If you needed elective surgery, you had to wait a year or two for your turn. There was no money for research as it was poured into socialized medicine. Research at the med- ical schools literally stopped, so the best doctors left Austria and emigrated to other countries.
“As for healthcare, our tax rates went up to 80 percent of our income. Newlyweds immediately received a $1,000 loan from the government to establish a household. We had big programs for families.
“All day care and education were free. High schools were taken over by the government and college tuition was subsidized. Everyone was entitled to free handouts, such as food stamps, clothing, and housing.
“We had another agency designed to monitor business. My brother-in-law owned a restaurant that had square tables.
“ Government officials told him he had to replace them with round tables because peo- ple might bump themselves on the corners. Then they said he had to have additional bathroom facilities. It was just a small dairy business with a snack bar. He couldn’t meet all the demands.
“Soon, he went out of business. If the government owned the large businesses and not many small ones existed, it could be in control.
“We had consumer protection, too
Austrian kids loyal to Hitler
“We were told how to shop and what to buy. Free enterprise was essentially abolished. We had a planning agency specially designed for farmers. The agents would go to the farms, count the live-stock, and then tell the farmers what to produce, and how to produce it.
“In 1944, I was a student teacher in a small village in the Alps. The villagers were surrounded by mountain passes which, in the winter, were closed off with snow, causing people to be isolated.
“So people intermarried and offspring were sometimes retarded. When I arrived, I was told there were 15 mentally retarded adults, but they were all useful and did good man- ual work.
“I knew one, named Vincent, very well. He was a janitor of the school. One day I looked out the window and saw Vincent and others getting into a van.
“I asked my superior where they were going. She said to an institution where the State Health Department would teach them a trade, and to read and write. The families were required to sign papers with a little clause that they could not visit for 6 months.
“They were told visits would interfere with the program and might cause homesickness.
“As time passed, letters started to dribble back saying these people died a natural, merciful death. The villagers were not fooled. We suspected what was happening. Those people left in excellent physical health and all died within 6 months. We called this euthanasia.
“Next came gun registration. People were getting injured by guns. Hitler said that the real way to catch criminals (we still had a few) was by matching serial numbers on guns. Most citizens were law abiding and dutifully marched to the police station to register their firearms. Not long afterwards, the police said that it was best for everyone to turn in their guns. The authorities already knew who had them, so it was futile not to comply voluntarily.
“No more freedom of speech. Anyone who said something against the government was taken away. We knew many people who were arrested, not only Jews, but also priests and ministers who spoke up.
“Totalitarianism didn’t come quickly, it took 5 years from 1938 until 1943, to realize full dictatorship in Austria. Had it happened overnight, my countrymen would have fought to the last breath. Instead, we had creeping gradualism. Now, our only weapons were broom handles. The whole idea sounds almost unbelievable that the state, little by little eroded our freedom.”
“This is my eye-witness account.
“It’s true. Those of us who sailed past the Statue of Liberty came to a country of unbelievable freedom and opportunity.
“America is truly is the greatest country in the world. “Don’t let freedom slip away.
“After America, there is no place to go.”
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The claim that Hawke's government was reformist is misleading. Changes were made agreeable to both sides of the political divide, but they weren't well implemented and improvements were ignored for political reasons. The result being a net fall in real wages across the years of about 2% per annum between '83 and '96 .. ALP years where workers and families suffer - ed
Cabinet papers released, reveal Hawke-Keating GST debate===
5 yrs in Prison??? $10,000.00 fine????/ Shame!!!! He needs to be applauded!! Make this go viral!! Share!!!
This is messed up
Valley marine calls himself to duty at an Elementary school. Sgt. Craig Pusley wears his desert camo fatigues...no weapons...just him. Took it upon himself to go to the nearby school and stand watch outside. The school loved it. The principal thanked him. No pay..no breaks...just his heart felt need to do this. His reward? Marine Corp Reservists says he violated protocol bt wearing his fatigues and not his dress uniform in public. Facing $10,000 fine and 5 years in prison. Also getting a "dishonorable" stamp on his "honorable" discharge. He served 2 tours in iraq, in Baghdad and Ramadi. One in Helmand province of Afghanistan before leaving active duty.
Now he is writing a letter to the President apoligizing for his actions.
WAKE UP! This man is a wonderful outstanding brave hero in my book and to think for a second that his heart felt need to go stand in front of his little neighborhood school was wrong. Screw you! The President should be sending him a Thank you letter.
So I salute you Sgt. Craig Pusley. Thank you!
This is something I would like to see go viral. Let's stand up and say Thank you to this man who didn't think twice...he followed his heart and there is no crime in doing that.
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