Happy birthday and many happy returns Trangsta Meowand Joey Duong. Born on the same day, across the years. Birthdays are good for you .. the more you have, the longer you live. So enjoy the party.
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- 1556 – The deadliest earthquake in history killed about 830,000 people in Shaanxi Province, China.
- 1793 – The Russian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia partitioned the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth for the second time.
- 1899 – Pursuant to the adoption of the Malolos Constitution and the establishment of the First Philippine Republic, Emilio Aguinaldo was sworn in as the first President of the Philippines.
- 1968 – USS Pueblo (pictured) was seized by North Korean forces, who claimed that it had violated their territorial waters while spying.
- 2002 – American journalist Daniel Pearl was kidnapped and later murdered by Al Qaeda agents.
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Events
- 3102 BC – Epoch (origin) of the Kali Yuga.
- 393 – Roman Emperor Theodosius I proclaims his eight year old son Honorius co-emperor.
- 971 – In China, the war elephant corps of the Southern Han are soundly defeated at Shao by crossbow fire from Song Dynasty troops.
- 1368 – In a coronation ceremony, Zhu Yuanzhang ascends to the throne of China as the Hongwu Emperor, initiating Ming Dynasty rule overChina that would last for three centuries.
- 1510 – Henry VIII of England, then 18 years old, appears incognito in the lists at Richmond, and is applauded for his jousting before he reveals his identity.
- 1546 – Having published nothing for eleven years, François Rabelais publishes the Tiers Livre, his sequel to Gargantua and Pantagruel.
- 1556 – The deadliest earthquake in history, the Shaanxi earthquake, hits Shaanxi province, China. The death toll may have been as high as 830,000.
- 1570 – James Stewart, 1st Earl of Moray, regent for the infant King James VI of Scotland, is assassinated by firearm, the first recorded instance of such.
- 1571 – The Royal Exchange opens in London.
- 1579 – The Union of Utrecht forms a Protestant republic in the Netherlands.
- 1656 – Blaise Pascal publishes the first of his Lettres provinciales.
- 1719 – The Principality of Liechtenstein is created within the Holy Roman Empire.
- 1789 – Georgetown College, the first Catholic University in the United States, is founded in Georgetown, Maryland (now a part of Washington, D.C.)
- 1793 – Second Partition of Poland
- 1849 – Elizabeth Blackwell is awarded her M.D. by the Geneva Medical College of Geneva, New York, becoming the United States' first female doctor.
- 1855 – The first bridge over the Mississippi River opens in what is now Minneapolis, Minnesota, a crossing made today by the Father Louis Hennepin Bridge.
- 1870 – In Montana, U.S. cavalrymen kill 173 Native Americans, mostly women and children, in the Marias Massacre.
- 1879 – Anglo-Zulu War: the Battle of Rorke's Drift ends.
- 1897 – Elva Zona Heaster is found dead in Greenbrier County, West Virginia. The resulting murder trial of her husband is perhaps the only case in United States history where the alleged testimony of a ghost helped secure a conviction.
- 1899 – Malolos Constitution was inaugurated, establishing the First Philippine Republic.
- 1899 – Emilio Aguinaldo is sworn in as President of the First Philippine Republic.
- 1900 – The Battle of Spion Kop between the forces of the South African Republic and the Orange Free State and British forces during the Second Boer War resulted in a British defeat.
- 1904 – Ålesund Fire: the Norwegian coastal town Ålesund is devastated by fire, leaving 10,000 people homeless and one person dead. Kaiser Wilhelm II funds the rebuilding of the town in Jugendstil style.
- 1909 – The RMS Republic, a passenger ship of the White Star Line, becomes the first ship to use the CQD distress signal after colliding with another ship, the SS Florida, off the Massachusetts coastline, an event that kills six people. The Republic sinks the next day.
- 1912 – The International Opium Convention is signed at The Hague.
- 1920 – The Netherlands refuses to surrender ex-Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany to the Allies.
- 1937 – In Moscow, 17 leading Communists go on trial accused of participating in a plot led by Leon Trotsky to overthrow Joseph Stalin's regime and assassinate its leaders.
- 1941 – Charles Lindbergh testifies before the U.S. Congress and recommends that the United States negotiate a neutrality pact with Adolf Hitler.
- 1942 – World War II: The Battle of Rabaul begins, the first fighting of the New Guinea campaign.
- 1943 – World War II: Troops of Montgomery's 8th Army capture Tripoli in Libya from the German-Italian Panzer Army.
- 1943 – World War II: Australian and American forces finally defeat the Japanese army in Papua. This turning point in the Pacific War marks the beginning of the end of Japanese aggression.
- 1943 – Duke Ellington plays at Carnegie Hall in New York City for the first time.
- 1943 – World War II: The Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal campaign ends.
- 1945 – World War II: Karl Dönitz launches Operation Hannibal.
- 1950 – The Knesset passes a resolution that states Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.
- 1957 – American inventor Walter Frederick Morrison sells the rights to his flying disc to the Wham-O toy company, who later rename it the "Frisbee".
- 1958 – Overthrow in Venezuela of Marcos Pérez Jiménez
- 1960 – The bathyscaphe USS Trieste breaks a depth record by descending to 10,911 m (35,798 feet) in the Pacific Ocean.
- 1961 – The Portuguese luxury cruise ship Santa Maria is hijacked by foes of the Estado Novo regime with the intention of waging war until dictator António de Oliveira Salazar was overthrown.
- 1963 – Guinea-Bissau War of Independence officially begins when PAIGC guerrilla fighters attacked the Portuguese army stationed in Tite.
- 1964 – The 24th Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the use of poll taxes in national elections, is ratified.
- 1967 – Diplomatic relations between the Soviet Union and Côte d'Ivoire are established.
- 1968 – North Korea seizes the USS Pueblo (AGER-2), claiming the ship had violated their territorial waters while spying.
- 1973 – President Richard Nixon announces that a peace accord has been reached in Vietnam.
- 1973 – A volcanic eruption devastates Heimaey in the Vestmannaeyjar chain of islands off the south coast of Iceland.
- 1986 – The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducts its first members: Little Richard, Chuck Berry, James Brown, Ray Charles, Fats Domino, the Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly,Jerry Lee Lewis and Elvis Presley.
- 1997 – Madeleine Albright becomes the first woman to serve as United States Secretary of State.
- 2001 – Five people attempt to set themselves on fire in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, an act that many people later claim is staged by the Communist Party of China to frame Falun Gong and thus escalate their persecution.
- 2002 – "American Taliban" John Walker Lindh returns to the United States in FBI custody.
- 2002 – Reporter Daniel Pearl is kidnapped in Karachi, Pakistan and subsequently murdered .
- 2003 – Final communication between Earth and Pioneer 10.
- 2010 – Protests take place in 60 Canadian cities against the prorogation of the 40th Canadian Parliament.
[edit]Births
- 1350 – Vincent Ferrer, Spanish missionary and saint (d. 1419)
- 1688 – Queen Ulrika Eleonora of Sweden (d. 1741)
- 1719 – John Landen, English mathematician (d. 1790)
- 1737 – John Hancock, American patriot (d. 1793)
- 1745 – William Jessop, English canal engineer (d. 1814)
- 1752 – Muzio Clementi, Italian composer, pianist, and conductor (d. 1832)
- 1783 – Stendhal, French writer (d. 1842)
- 1786 – Auguste de Montferrand, French architect (d. 1858)
- 1809 – Veer Surendra Sai, Indian Freedom Fighter (d. 1884)
- 1813 – Camilla Collett, Norwegian writer and feminist (d. 1895)
- 1828 – Saigō Takamori, Samurai, leader of Satsuma rebellion (d. 1877)
- 1832 – Édouard Manet, French artist (d. 1883)
- 1840 – Ernst Abbe, German physicist (d. 1905)
- 1846 – Hermann Clemenz, Estonian chess player (d. 1908)
- 1855 – John Moses Browning, American inventor (d. 1926)
- 1857 – Andrija Mohorovičić, Croatian seismologist (d. 1936)
- 1862 – David Hilbert, German mathematician (d. 1943)
- 1870 – Ole Sæther, Norwegian rifle shooter (d. 1946)
- 1872 – Paul Langevin, French physicist (d. 1946)
- 1872 – Joze Plečnik, Slovenian architect (d. 1957)
- 1876 – Otto Diels, German chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1954)
- 1881 – Luisa Casati, Artist's patroness, muse and fashion icon (d. 1957)
- 1884 – Ralph DePalma, Italian-American race car driver (d. 1956)
- 1884 – George McManus American cartoonist (d. 1954)
- 1894 – Jyotirmoyee Devi, Indian Writer (d.1988)
- 1896 – Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (d. 1985)
- 1896 – Alf Hall, South African cricketer (d. 1964)
- 1897 – Subhas Chandra Bose, Indian independence fighter
- 1897 – Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, Austrian architect (d. 2000)
- 1897 – Sir William Samuel Stephenson, Canadian soldier, W.W.II codename, Intrepid. Inspiration for James Bond. (d. 1989)
- 1898 – Sergei Eisenstein, Russian film director (d. 1948)
- 1898 – Randolph Scott, American actor (d. 1987)
- 1898 – Freda Utley, British scholar and author (d. 1978)
- 1899 – Glen Kidston, British aviator and racing driver (d. 1931)
- 1900 – William Ifor Jones, Welsh conductor and organist (d. 1988)
- 1903 – Jorge Eliécer Gaitán, Colombian politician (d. 1948)
- 1907 – Dan Duryea, American actor (d. 1968)
- 1907 – Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1981)
- 1910 – Django Reinhardt, Belgian guitarist (Quintette du Hot Club de France) (d. 1953)
- 1912 – Boris Pokrovsky, Russian operatic stage director (d. 2009)
- 1913 – Jean-Michel Atlan, French painter (d. 1960)
- 1913 – Wally Parks, American racing executive, founder of the NHRA (d. 2007)
- 1915 – Arthur Lewis, British economist, Nobel laureate (d. 1991)
- 1915 – Potter Stewart, American Supreme Court Justice (d. 1985)
- 1916 – David Douglas Duncan, American photo-journalist
- 1916 – Airey Neave, British Major, politician and indictment server at the Nuremberg Trials (d. 1979)
- 1918 – Gertrude B. Elion, American scientist, Nobel laureate (d. 1999)
- 1919 – Frances Bay, Canadian actress (d. 2011)
- 1919 – Hans Hass, Austrian zoologist and underwater scientist
- 1919 – Ernie Kovacs, American comedian (d. 1962)
- 1919 – Bob Paisley, English football player and manager (d. 1996)
- 1920 – Walter Frederick Morrison, American inventor (d. 2010)
- 1923 – Cot Deal, American baseball player and coach
- 1923 – Walter M. Miller, Jr., American writer (d. 1996)
- 1924 – Frank Lautenberg, American politician
- 1926 – Bal Thackeray, Indian politician (d. 2012)
- 1927 – Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-American entrepreneur and explorer (d. 1994)
- 1927 – Jack Quinlan, American broadcaster (d. 1965)
- 1928 – Chico Carrasquel, Venezuelan baseball player (d. 2005)
- 1928 – Jeanne Moreau, French actress
- 1929 – Myron Cope, American sports announcer (d. 2008)
- 1929 – Patriarch Filaret (Mykhailo Denysenko) of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, Kiev Patriarch
- 1929 – John Charles Polanyi, Canadian chemist, Nobel laureate
- 1930 – Derek Walcott, West Indies writer, Nobel laureate
- 1930 – Teresa Żylis-Gara, Polish singer
- 1933 – Chita Rivera, Puerto Rican actress and dancer
- 1934 – Pierre Bourgault, Canadian politician and essayist (d. 2003)
- 1935 – Bob Moses, American civil rights activist
- 1936 – Jerry Kramer, American football player
- 1938 – Shohei Baba, Japanese professional wrestler (d. 1999)
- 1938 – Georg Baselitz, German painter and sculptor
- 1939 – Sonny Chiba, Japanese actor and martial artist
- 1939 – Arlene Golonka, American actress
- 1940 – Joe Dowell, American singer
- 1940 – Johnny Russell, American country singer and songwriter (d. 2001)
- 1941 – Jock R. Anderson, Australian agricultural economist
- 1942 – Razzak, Bangladeshi actor and director
- 1942 – Herman Tjeenk Willink, Dutch politician,
- 1943 – Gary Burton, American jazz vibraphonist
- 1943 – Gil Gerard, American actor
- 1944 – Rutger Hauer, Dutch actor
- 1945 – Mike Harris, Canadian politician, former Premier of Ontario
- 1946 – Arnoldo Alemán, President of Nicaragua
- 1946 – Don Whittington, American businessman, car and airplane racer and convicted felon
- 1947 – Thomas R. Carper, American politician, senior senator of Delaware
- 1947 – Megawati Sukarnoputri, 5th President of Indonesia
- 1948 – Anita Pointer, American singer (Pointer Sisters)
- 1950 – Richard Dean Anderson, American actor
- 1950 – Danny Federici, American musician (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band) (d. 2008)
- 1950 – John Greaves, English musician (Henry Cow, National Health)
- 1951 – Michael R. Matz, American equestrian player
- 1951 – David Patrick Kelly, American actor and musician
- 1951 – Chesley Sullenberger, American pilot, captain of US Airways Flight 1549
- 1952 – Omar Henry, South African cricketer
- 1953 – John Luther Adams, American composer
- 1953 – Alister E. McGrath, British theologian and scientist
- 1953 – Antonio Villaraigosa, American politician, 52nd Mayor of Los Angeles
- 1953 – Robin Zander, American singer (Cheap Trick)
- 1954 – Franco De Vita, Venezuelan singer and songwriter
- 1954 – Edward Ka-Spel, English musician (Legendary Pink Dots)
- 1957 – Princess Caroline of Monaco
- 1957 – Lou Schuler, American fitness journalist
- 1959 – Clive Bull, English radio talk show host
- 1960 – Patrick de Gayardon, French skydiver and skysurfing pioneer (d. 1998)
- 1960 – Jean-François Sauvé, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1961 – Mas Selamat bin Kastari, Singaporean fugitive
- 1962 – Elvira Lindo, Spanish writer and journalist
- 1963 – Gail O'Grady, American actress
- 1964 – Mariska Hargitay, American actress
- 1964 – Bharrat Jagdeo, President of Guyana
- 1964 – Mario Roberge, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1965 – Thomas Adler, German footballer
- 1965 – Louie Clemente, American drummer (Testament)
- 1966 – Haywoode Workman, American basketball player
- 1967 – Naim Süleymanoğlu, Bulgaria-born Turkish weightlifter
- 1968 – Petr Korda, Czech tennis player
- 1969 – Ariadna Gil, Spanish actress
- 1969 – Andrei Kanchelskis, Ukrainian-Russian footballer
- 1969 – Brendan Shanahan, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1970 – Tracey Cherelle Jones, American actress
- 1970 – Brendan O'Connor, Irish journalist, satirist
- 1970 – Spyridon Vasdekis, Greek long jumper
- 1971 – Scott Gibbs, Welsh rugby player
- 1971 – Kevin Mawae, American football player
- 1971 – Marc Nelson, American R&B singer and lyricist
- 1971 – Adam Parore, New Zealand cricketer
- 1972 – Ewen Bremner, Scottish actor
- 1972 – Lisa Snowdon, British model and TV presenter
- 1972 – Marcel Wouda, Dutch swimmer
- 1973 – Lanei Chapman, American actress
- 1973 – Tomas Holmström, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1974 – Sampsa Astala, Finnish musician (Lordi)
- 1974 – Joel Bouchard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1974 – Rebekah Elmaloglou, Australian actress
- 1974 – Yosvani Pérez, Cuban baseball player
- 1974 – Richard T. Slone, British artist
- 1974 – Tiffani Thiessen, American actress
- 1975 – Phil Dawson, American football player
- 1975 – Tito Ortiz, American UFC fighter
- 1976 – Brandon Duckworth, American baseball player
- 1976 – Angelica Lee, Taiwanese actress and singer
- 1976 – Tony Lucca, American actor, singer, and musician
- 1976 – Nigel McGuinness, English wrestler
- 1977 – Kamal Heer, Punjabi singer and musician
- 1979 – Larry Hughes, American basketball player
- 1979 – Dawn Porter, British television presenter
- 1979 – Juan Rincón, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1981 – Sarai, American rapper, songwriter, and actress
- 1981 – Rob Friend, Canadian footballer
- 1981 – Julia Jones, American actress
- 1982 – Patrick Levis, American actor
- 1982 – Wily Mo Peña, Dominican baseball player
- 1984 – Robbie Farah, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1984 – Arjen Robben, Dutch footballer
- 1985 – Dong Fangzhuo, Chinese footballer
- 1985 – Doutzen Kroes, Dutch supermodel
- 1986 – Anne Foy, British children's television presenter
- 1986 – José Enrique Sánchez, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Steven Taylor, English footballer
- 1987 – Felicia Brandström, Swedish singer
- 1988 – Alan Power, Irish footballer
- 1989 – April Pearson, British actress
- 1990 – Martyn Waghorn, English footballer
- 1994 – Wesley Jobello, French footballer
[edit]Deaths
- 1002 – Otto III, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 980)
- 1199 – Yaqub, Almohad Caliph (b. 1160)
- 1516 – Ferdinand II of Aragon (b. 1452)
- 1548 – Bernardo Pisano, Italian composer (b. 1490)
- 1549 – Johannes Honter, Transylvanian Saxon humanist and theologian (b. 1498)
- 1567 – Jiajing, Emperor of China (b. 1507)
- 1570 – James Stewart, Earl of Moray, regent of Scotland (assassinated)
- 1612 – Edward Fenner, English judge, famous for involvement in prosecution of witchcraft
- 1622 – William Baffin, English explorer
- 1744 – Giambattista Vico, Italian philosopher and historian (b. 1668)
- 1785 – Matthew Stewart, Scottish mathematician (b. 1717)
- 1789 – Frances Brooke, English writer (b. 1724)
- 1789 – John Cleland, English novelist (b. 1709)
- 1800 – Edward Rutledge, American statesman (b. 1749)
- 1803 – Arthur Guinness, Irish brewer (b. 1725)
- 1805 – Claude Chappe, French telecommunications pioneer (b. 1763)
- 1806 – William Pitt the Younger, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1759)
- 1810 – Johann Wilhelm Ritter, German chemist and physicist (b. 1776)
- 1812 – Robert Craufurd, British general (b. 1764)
- 1820 – Prince Edward Augustus, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (b. 1767)
- 1833 – Edward Pellew, 1st Viscount Exmouth, British admiral (b. 1757)
- 1837 – John Field, Irish composer (b. 1782)
- 1866 – Thomas Love Peacock, English satirist (b. 1785)
- 1875 – Charles Kingsley English writer (b. 1819)
- 1883 – Gustave Doré, French artist, engraver, and illustrator (b. 1832)
- 1893 – Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1825)
- 1921 – Mykola Leontovych, Ukrainian composer (b. 1877)
- 1922 – Arthur Nikisch, Hungarian conductor (b. 1855)
- 1923 – Max Nordau, Austrian author, philosopher, and Zionist leader (b. 1849)
- 1931 – Anna Pavlova, Russian ballerina (b. 1881)
- 1937 – Orso Mario Corbino, Italian physicist (b. 1876)
- 1938 – Albertson Van Zo Post, American fencer (b. 1866)
- 1939 – Matthias Sindelar, Austrian footballer (b. 1903)
- 1943 – Alexander Woollcott, American actor, author, and bon vivant (b. 1887)
- 1944 – Viktor Gusev, Russian poet (b. 1909)
- 1944 – Edvard Munch, Norwegian painter (b. 1863)
- 1956 – Alexander Korda, Hungarian/British film director (b. 1893)
- 1957 – Willie Edwards, Murder victim/killed by KKK members (b. 1932)
- 1963 – Józef Gosławski, Polish sculptor and medallic artist (b. 1908)
- 1971 – Fritz Feigl, Austria-born chemist (b. 1871)
- 1973 – Alexander Onassis, Greek heir of the Onassis family (b. 1948)
- 1973 – Kid Ory, American jazz trombonist (b. 1886)
- 1976 – Paul Dupuis, French Canadian film and television actor (b. 1913)
- 1976 – Paul Robeson, American actor, singer, and social activist (b. 1898)
- 1977 – Toots Shor, New York restaurateur (b. 1903)
- 1978 – Vic Ames, American singer (Ames Brothers) (b. 1925)
- 1978 – Terry Kath, American musician (Chicago) (b. 1946)
- 1978 – Jack Oakie, American actor (b. 1903)
- 1981 – Samuel Barber, American composer (b. 1910)
- 1983 – Fred Bakewell, English cricketer (b. 1908)
- 1984 – Mu'in Bseiso, Palestinian poet (b. 1926)
- 1986 – Joseph Beuys, German artist (b. 1921)
- 1988 – Charles Glen King, American biochemist (b. 1896)
- 1989 – Salvador Dalí, Spanish artist (b. 1904)
- 1990 – Allen Collins, American guitarist (Lynyrd Skynyrd) (b. 1952)
- 1991 – Northrop Frye, Canadian writer and critic (b. 1912)
- 1992 – Freddie Bartholomew, English actor (b. 1924)
- 1993 – Thomas A. Dorsey, American singer (b. 1899)
- 1994 – Nikolai Ogarkov, Soviet field marshal (b. 1917)
- 1994 – Brian Redhead, English journalist and broadcaster (b. 1929)
- 1997 – Richard Berry, American composer and musician (b. 1935)
- 1999 – Joe D'Amato, Italian director (b. 1936)
- 1999 – Jay Pritzker, American businessman (b. 1922)
- 1999 – Prince Lincoln Thompson, Jamaican musician (b. 1949)
- 2002 – Paul Aars, American racecar driver (b. 1934)
- 2002 – Pierre Bourdieu, French sociologist (b. 1930)
- 2002 – Robert Nozick, American philosopher (b. 1938)
- 2003 – Nell Carter, American singer and actress (b. 1948)
- 2004 – Bob Keeshan, American actor (b. 1927)
- 2004 – Helmut Newton, German-born photographer (b. 1920)
- 2005 – Morys George Lyndhurst Bruce, 4th Baron Aberdare, British politician (b. 1921)
- 2005 – Johnny Carson, American television host (b. 1925)
- 2006 – Chris McKinstry, Canadian scientist (b. 1967)
- 2007 – Syed Hussein Alatas, Malaysian Politician (b. 1928)
- 2007 – E. Howard Hunt, American Watergate figure (b. 1918)
- 2007 – Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist and writer (b. 1932)
- 2007 – Tatiana Mamaki, Greek dancer and choreographer (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Robert W. Scott, American politician, governor of North Carolina (b. 1929)
- 2010 – Kermit Tyler, American air force officer (b. 1913)
- 2011 – Jack LaLanne, American fitness and nutritional expert (b. 1914)
[edit]Holidays and observances
- Bounty Day (Pitcairn Island)
- Christian Feast Day:
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TONNES OF STABILITY
Tim Blair – Wednesday, January 23, 2013 (2:15pm)
“China is doing exceptionally well,” claims climate commissioner Tim Flannery. “They are on track to stabilise their emissions.”
Tim Flannery sees possible catastrophy in Australia’s future.
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GLOBAL GUARDIAN
Tim Blair – Wednesday, January 23, 2013 (5:05am)
With the Guardian soon to launch an Australian edition, let’s see how staff at the British parent publication are getting along with editor-in-chief Alan Rusbridger:
Afternoon Alan - I’m a member of Guardian staff, posting anonymously.As you know, it’s a tough time for your journalists at the moment – especially for those of us way down the food chain: the production grunts, the desk-bound, the ones who actually produce the content.We’re working harder and harder (because we love the papers), coping with dwindling resources and morale, we’re badly mismanaged, and trying to cope with the life-changing threat of compulsory redundancies – all a result of the company’s long-term financial illiteracy and lavish excess at the top.
Seems like the right time to expand, doesn’t it? The local version of the Guardian anticipates funding from wealthy Greens donor Graeme Wood, who last year pledged $15 million towards leftoid failzine The Global Mail, which began collapsing almost from the moment it waslaunched. Ex-staffers now trash their former workplace:
In an era of failing business models and mass redundancies, Australia’s first serious attempt at philanthropically funded journalism appeared to be an unequivocally good news story.Yet, less than 12 months later, The Global Mail’s founding editor is gone; so are half the original full-time reporters following a rash of resignations and redundancies late last year. Most left angry and demoralised by what they describe as a culture of incompetence, nepotism and cruelty …“A building full of married couples and old friends in the late stages of their careers,” [ex-staffer Jess Hill] concluded, “doesn’t exactly equate to a visionary tinderbox …”“It’s depressing,” said one journalist who left late last year. “It makes me really angry. It was a great opportunity for someone to do something new and different. Instead we ended up with a bunch of refugees from 1990s Fairfax … The dream of what it was going to be ended long ago.”
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MILKY CRATE KID
Tim Blair – Wednesday, January 23, 2013 (3:51am)
Further trouble for smashy Omar:
While the taxpayer supports accused rioter Omar Halaby, he spruiks about terrorism and illegal drugs on his Facebook page – and even does the odd day’s work on a construction site, despite receiving a disability pension.Now it is understood Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin will review the 19-year-old’s case after he bragged on the social network site about being employed.The Padstow man, who was one of seven people charged for his role in last September’sMuslim riot in the CBD, claims to have learning and physical disabilities from a past football injury that prevent him gaining employment.But The Daily Telegraph can reveal that, while Halaby is collecting a $200-a-week pension, he works as a sub-contractor on a construction site.In his Facebook profile Halaby also refers to the US President Barack Obama as a terrorist and posts pictures of drugs and police dressed as pigs …Just before his court appearance last Friday, he posted on Facebook: “Having the time of my life at Downing Centre Local Court.”
Omar may soon lose his tax-supplied pocket money.
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UNSUSTAINABLE
Tim Blair – Wednesday, January 23, 2013 (3:33am)
Danks Street Depot survived for more than a decade in Sydney’s competitive restaurant scene:
Local, seasonal and sustainable since 2002 … Founded on the principles of the Slow Food movement, Danks Street Depot, vibrant café and bar, continues to showcase sustainable and ethical principles; championing local producers, seasonal produce and low food miles where possible.
Eventually, however, this right-on eatery hit an obstacle it could not overcome.
===
Running out of people to pay our debts
Andrew BoltJANUARY232013(6:22pm)
Former Australian Securities Exchange chairman Maurice Newman says the Gillard Government is now dropping us into this same giant Ponzi scheme:
The West has now reached the point where total private and public debt, together with unfunded government liabilities, can never be repaid by an ageing demographic. One day even debt servicing will be an issue. With fewer taxpayers and lenders, the ability to take from the future to provide for the present will end. This is when we see the final collapse of the great international governmental Ponzi scheme.Already in Europe, where lenders and taxpayers in the peripheral countries have either fled or are bankrupt, economies are surviving on the grace and favour of others. In America, we see the future with 11 states having more people on welfare than they have in work.
===
This is better than Rudd’s?
Andrew BoltJANUARY232013(6:03pm)
Julia Gillard’s spinners promised her new national security statement would be better than Kevin Rudd’s:
Sources familiar with the document described it as a “much more substantial” contribution than then prime minister Kevin Rudd’s 2008 national security statement to parliament, which was criticised for being too vague and wide-ranging...
Read for yourself what Gillard actually delivered. Vague as all get out - as well as dull, platitudinous, predictable and without an extra dollar promised to keep us safer. If you think I’m too hard, just check out the conclusion, which I here present in its flaccid whole:
Daniel Flitton of The Age:
The genesis of this type of sweeping, platitudinous – and ultimately fairly hollow – paeon to Australia’s security needs lies with Kevin Rudd and his battle to oust John Howard.With few exceptions, this latest version shouldn’t be taken any more seriously than a collated campaign pamphlet at the beginning of an election year.
UPDATE
On the very same day, a hint of the real story with our national security in Gillard’s hands:
DOZENS of Australian military bases and army reserves depots face possible closure under a drive to save money amid a $5.5 billion cut to defence spending.
Once again, you can trust Gillard’s word or you can trust her deeds. You cannot trust both.
===
Crossin to stand against Peris for preselection
Andrew BoltJANUARY232013(5:42pm)
Crossin is doomed, but won’t give in to this racist decision without a fight:
LABOR’S national executive has admitted Olympian Nova Peris as a member of the ALP and paved the way for her to replace Trish Crossin, who’s vowed to fight for her Senate seat....A defiant Senator Crossin said today she planned to fight for her seat in the Senate, despite the Prime Minister effectively dumping her and endorsing Ms Peris as her “captain’s pick”.Ms Gillard wants Ms Peris to become Labor’s first indigenous federal member.Senator Crossin said earlier today she would put her name forward if nominations were opened by the national executive.
===
Telcos refuse to wear Conroy’s underpants
Andrew BoltJANUARY232013(7:51am)
FOUR months after claiming he was so powerful he could force telco bosses to wear red underpants on their heads to win the bid for the mobile phone network space, Communications Minister Stephen Conroy has been left red-faced.Two of the three main telcos have pulled out or expressed serious concerns over the $3 billion-plus sale of digital spectrum…In September, Senator Conroy told a conference in New York telecommunications regulation was a federal matter and he was in charge.“If I say to everyone in this room: ‘If you want to bid next week in our spectrum auction, you’d better wear red underpants on your head’, I’ve got some news for you. You’ll be wearing them on your head. I have unfettered legal power,” he said…After Optus flagged concerns over the price, compared to overseas, Vodafone yesterday confirmed it would not bid on the 700 MHz low frequency and would not comment on the higher frequency 2.5GHz band auction.
===
On 2GB, January 23
Andrew BoltJANUARY232013(7:29am)
On 2GB with Steve Price from 8pm. Listen live here.
Yesterday’s show here. On Julia Gillard’s racism and more.
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Using gender as a weapon
Andrew BoltJANUARY232013(7:12am)
Perhaps the brutal political realm is no place for nuanced debates about men and women. Presumably, that is how Gillard and her fellow gender warriors such as Tanya Plibersek and Nicola Roxon justify their almost daily determination to portray Abbott, the happily married man with three confident daughters, as a woman-hating ogre. But if we accept the premise that it is just politics, then don’t we also need to accept the logical next step—that these Labor women have chosen to balance a fraudulent feminist chip on their shoulder whenever it suits their political purpose?Two decades on from Garner’s intelligent book, how far has feminism really come if our first female Prime Minister uses confected outrage to launch a dishonourable gender war?… Gillard’s gender war is being mapped out by a politically savvy man, John McTernan, the PM’s communications chief, to win the next election. Despite her eagerness to play the gender card, Australia’s first female PM is a role model for nothing more than a politician who chases power at any price and will do whatever it takes to keep it.
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Chinese puzzle: cold helps stop the world warming
Andrew BoltJANUARY232013(5:46am)
Good news and bad news for global warming alarmists - although the combination will do in their heads:
China’s coldest winter in 28 years curbed its domestic production of iron ore, according to a Jan. 10 report from Credit Suisse Group AG...
The good news for alarmists: the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases has suffered a cut in the production of iron ore, the smelting of which releases huge amounts of carbon dioxide. So this will help stop the world from heating so fast.
Bad news for alarmists: in fact, far from heating so fast, China has been plunged into bitter cold, forcing a cut in the production of iron ore.
Square that circle.
(Thanks to reader Bob.)
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The tyranny of tender feelings and the war on free speech
Andrew BoltJANUARY232013(5:40am)
Put it all together, and Labor is presiding over the greatest assault on Australians’ free speech in our lives:
- it has held an inquiry into what the Greens dubbed the “hate media” - particularly critics of the government- it is promising new privacy rules affecting the media- it is threatening new laws to control who owns the media - a response to conservatives such as Gina Rinehart buying into media assets- it is considering tough new laws to regulate “bias” and reporting, applying tougher controls - back by threats of jail - on everything from big newspapers to even small blogs.- it has punished News Ltd for its critical coverage by twice over-ruling the decision of an independent panel to award News the tender for the Australia Network.- it proposed new workplace laws that make it easier for workers to sue their bosses if they’ve had even their political views or social origin offended by something said or done.- it has rejected calls to alter the Racial Discrimination Act even after it was used to ban columns that questioned how fair-skinned people with both Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal ancestry identified only as Aboriginal.- it has issued demands and threats to media executives in response to coverage of the Prime Minister’s involvement in the AWU scandal. Two senior journalists were subsequently sacked.- it has privately warned at least one media boss that running conservative opinion was a hostile act- it proposed a government-run internet filter- it plans to save people’s phone and internet data for two years as a “crime fighting” measure - a big increase in the surveillance of what Australians say or write.
What Labor is doing is sinister. It’s sick.
Finally, finally Australians are starting to fight back.
Unfortunately, the exposure draft of the Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill 2012 ... defines discrimination in an inappropriate way. The definition incorporates a highly subjective test, requiring an affected party to merely show they felt harassed, offended, intimidated or insulted by another person’s conduct even if the conduct would not be considered discriminatory or offensive by a reasonable person. The absence of any objectivity would mean that a person could pursue a discrimination claim on the basis of that person’s feelings.This is very significant as an employer’s conduct would be judged by the complainant’s reaction to that conduct, whether the reaction is reasonable or not. It would make it much easier to bring a claim and much harder for an employer to defend.
And, of course, the “victim” need only cry to make out a prima facie case that the employer is guilty:
Particularly concerning is that it introduces a shifting burden of proof, requiring the complainant to merely show a prima facie case, while requiring the employer to prove their conduct was justified.
Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is slowly finding his voice on freedom of speech:
“We do not need any additional restrictions on free speech in this country. I want to make that absolutely crystal clear,” he said while campaigning in Brisbane…“The last thing we need is anything that shuts down legitimate debate in this country.”Mr Abbott said the Government had been “hectoring” and “bullying” those who criticised it, including in the media.
The Liberals have seemed too scared to fight Labor hard on its stifling of dissent and attacks on free speech. It has too often offered qualified criticisms rather than lines in the sand. Such hemming and hawing suggests there is something to negotiate here - a deal to strike. It suggests also timidity and a fear of an inability to persuade. It does not suggest fundamental principles being defended with here-I-stand passion.
I suggest this should change - and will. Labor has overreached, thanks in part to the blundering of Attorney-General Nicola Roxon, in charged of the anti-discrimination bill. The opportunity now is to turn an almost certain retreat into a rout.
But whether Abbott dares go quite as far as he should to defend our right to speak and to hear whom we choose still remains to be seen. His upcoming Press Club speech could be a perfect opportunity to light the fire.
UPDATE
Shadow Attorney General George Brandis destroyed a typically hapless Parliamentary secretary Mark Dreyfus on 7.30 last night - but in doing so showed that it took the cover of the critics of the Left to help the Liberals go harder:
GEORGE BRANDIS: Well, Leigh, it simply isn’t the truth to say this is merely a consolidation of five existing Acts. This bill takes anti discrimination law way further than the existing law in a way that is much more invasive of people’s liberties of speech and conduct and if you don’t want to accept that from me, then that is exactly what Jim Spigelman, the Labor Party’s recently appointed chairman of the ABC, it’s what even Professor Gillian Triggs, the recently appointed head of the Australian Human Rights Commission, and indeed of all people Senator Christine Milne have themselves said.The fact is that it is more than a consolidation, to use Mark’s words. It creates a new definition of what constitutes discrimination which includes to offend, or to insult. It identifies new categories of so-called protected attributes which were never part of the law before, including political opinion and social origins.It extends the reach of this Act to areas of life where which were never reached by the existing five laws and on the most important issue in any of these cases, that is the question of purpose or intent, it creates a reverse onus of proof in all cases.
(Thanks to readers Hmm and Peter.)
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Not quite such a helpless victim
Andrew BoltJANUARY232013(5:21am)
It’s strange that someone capable to smashing car windows with just a plastic milk crate at a Muslim riot was deemed too disabled to work:
HE has no trouble smashing police car windscreens with milk crates but it seems Muslim rioter Omar Halaby is not fit to work, receiving a $200-a-fortnight disability support pension.The 19-year-old from Padstow last week escaped with a good-behaviour bond for his role in September’s violent Muslim protest in the CBD - partly because of remorse, his previous clean record and health issues he suffers that include sporting injuries and literacy problems…
In documents tendered to the Downing Centre Local Court, Legal Aid lawyer Sophie Edin said Halaby suffered from “certain disabilities” which had seen him claim the pension for the past three years."He has some physical problems in relation to some football accidents,” Ms Edin told the court. “He has literacy issues, a short attention span, things to that effect.”
On a disability pension since he was 16? For the trivial reasons given by his lawyer? Is that how easily hundreds of thousands of people can claim this handout from taxpayers?
Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin yesterday defended the eligibility criteria of the disability support pension, which can be paid up to a rate of $712 a fortnight, compared to the dole at $492…
About 820,000 people are on the disability pension, costing $15 billion a year, which is predicted to balloon to $16.9 billion by 2015-16.
More evidence today that the disability pension may be handed out too easily - not least to young Omar:
While the taxpayer supports accused rioter Omar Halaby, he spruiks about terrorism and illegal drugs on his Facebook page – and even does the odd day’s work on a construction site, despite receiving a disability pension.Now it is understood Community Services Minister Jenny Macklin will review the 19-year-old’s case after he bragged on the social network site about being employed.The Padstow man, who was one of seven people charged for his role in last September’s Muslim riot in the CBD, claims to have learning and physical disabilities from a past football injury that prevent him gaining employment.But The Daily Telegraph can reveal that, while Halaby is collecting a $200-a-week pension, he works as a sub-contractor on a construction site.
If Halaby’s pension is now being reviewed on the apparent grounds that he can and does work, after all, should not the light sentence be reviewed as well - given Halaby’s lawyer raised his disability in mitigation?
Some of the usual poor-us excuses made for him may have to be retracted, too:
Muslim community leader Keysar Trad said he was not aware of the nature of Halaby’s disability but claimed it was often difficult for Muslims to find employment, even if they were able-bodied.
“If you have any name that is Middle Eastern or Islamic, you’ll often find you don’t get past the interview stage,” Mr Trad said.
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Sweet ♥
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ı̴̴̡.̡̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̡ ̡͌l̡*̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̴̡.̡̡̡ı̴̡ ̡͌l̡*̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̴̡.̡̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̡ ̡͌l̡*̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̴̡.̡̡̡ ̡.ı̴̴̡.̡̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̡ ̡͌l̡*̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̴̡.̡̡̡ı̴̡ ̡͌l̡*̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̴̡.̡̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̡ ̡͌l̡*̡̡ ~ for TMN
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No time to explain. Throw the "kids" in the back & let's go! ( ';')
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One Snafu .. Emily couldn't read .. -ed
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A win in court today for Gary the goat. A magistrate dismissing the fine he received for eating public grass.
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John Polson appears on Next Stop Hollywood with Craig Anderson tonight. Tune into ABC1 at 9:30pm.
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Marianne was sent to boarding school in Mexico to 'modify her behavior'. She claims she was dehumanized and her mom did nothing to stop it, but her mom insists the program saved Marianne's life! http://bitly.com/DRP122 — withYamna Melaliya.
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Omfg these things are awesome!!!! Free to hold and 100 baht to take a pic wif ur own camera. Two nights in a row couldn't resist paying to take fotos and polaroid was 200 baht. Couldn't resist again. Every other night they prolli know me as that dickhead that keeps holding it for a good minute then saying no to the foto. Mwuhahaha "they're so fluffy i wanna die!!!!"
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