On the issue of fantasists, budget papers have been released relating to '87/'88. Bolt as a younger man did good writing for Hawke, but the little discussed truth is that the Hawke government which won election against Howard during a Joh for Canberra push was not good, but the best the ALP has offered to date. Hawke lacked talent in ministry but was able to exploit opposition division. The government of the day ran on an Australia card concept it never implemented. Hawke declared "No child would be alive in poverty by 1990" and although he worked hard to ensure that, they are hardy buggers.
NYE coverage by the ABC had as a centre piece the 6.8 million dollar Harbour bridge extravaganza. Just as Clover Moore's name was announced as Sydney's Lord Mayor who had authorised the bill, the bridge lit up an 'eye of Sauron' display. The music played on the ABC telecast was awful. Truly a testimony to what was left behind with ALP government in 2013. Happy New Year.
===
Happy birthday and many happy returns Tony Nguyen, Sok Leang Meach, Phong Pham, Paul Goddard, Jims Plumbing and Jenny Vuong. Born on the same day, across the years, along with
- 871 – Zwentibold, Frankish son of Arnulf of Carinthia (d. 900)
- 1628 – Christoph Bernhard, German composer (d. 1692)
- 1709 – Johann Heinrich Hartmann Bätz, German-Dutch organ builder (d. 1770)
- 1735 – Paul Revere, American military officer (d. 1818)
- 1752 – Betsy Ross, American seamstress, designed the Flag of the United States (d. 1836)
- 1806 – Lionel Kieseritzky, Baltic German/French chess player (d. 1853)
- 1833 – Robert Lawson, New Zealand architect, designed the Otago Boys' High School and Knox Church (d. 1902)
- 1839 – Ouida, English novelist (d. 1908)
- 1859 – Thibaw Min, Burmese king (d. 1916)
- 1863 – Pierre de Coubertin, French historian and educator, founded the International Olympic Committee (d. 1937)
- 1878 – Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish mathematician, statistician, and engineer (d. 1929)
- 1879 – E. M. Forster, English author (d. 1970)
- 1883 – William J. Donovan, American intelligence chief, head of Office of Strategic Services (d. 1959)
- 1895 – J. Edgar Hoover, American 1st Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (d. 1972)
- 1919 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer (d. 1990)
- 1919 – J. D. Salinger, American author (d. 2010)
- 1980 – Elin Nordegren, Swedish-American model
- 1993 – Michael Olaitan, Nigerian footballer
Matches
- 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.
- 1700 – Russia begins using the Anno Domini era and no longer uses the Anno Mundi era of the Byzantine Empire.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1808 – The importation of slaves into the United States is banned.
- 1810 – Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB officially becomes Governor of New South Wales
- 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.
- 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 – The Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, is first held.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1923 – Britain's Railways are grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS.
- 1934 – Nazi Germany passes the "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring".
- 1939 – Sydney, Australia, swelters in 45 ˚C (113 ˚F) heat, a record for the city.
- 1945 – World War II: In retaliation for the Malmedy massacre, U.S. troops massacre 30 SS prisoners at Chenogne.
- 1947 – The Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 comes into effect, converting British subjects into Canadian citizens. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King becomes the first Canadian citizen.
- 1948 – The British railway network is nationalized to form British Railways.
- 1950 – Standard practice uses this day as the origin of the age scale Before Present
- 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.
- 1985 – The first British mobile phone call is made by Ernie Wise to Vodafone.
Despatches
- 379 – Basil of Caesarea, Greek bishop (b. 329)
- 1748 – Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (b. 1667)
- 1782 – Johann Christian Bach, German composer (b. 1735)
- 1853 – Gregory Blaxland, Australian farmer and explorer (b. 1778)
- 1953 – Hank Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Drifting Cowboys) (b. 1923)
- 1972 – Maurice Chevalier, French actor (b. 1888)
- 2013 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist (b. 1945)
Warmies trapped by inconvenient ice
Miranda Devine – Wednesday, January 01, 2014 (8:49am)
HOW many global warming scientists does it take to get stuck in Antarctic ice?
When I posed a question like this on Twitter, the inmates went wild - led by Dr Craig Emerson. He missed the irony of an expedition trapped by record ice while trying to prove the east Antarctic ice sheet is melting.
Instead, the BSc-deprived former Gillard minister tweeted: “What makes you so sure, despite strong scientific evidence, that there’s no human-induced global warming?”
Verballing opponents like this is a classic trick of the Apocalypti. Let’s break it down for slow learners.
Everyone agrees the climate always changes. Tick. Most people accept the greenhouse hypothesis. Tick. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas. Tick. Carbon dioxide is increasing, and that should lead to warming. Humans produce some of the increased carbon dioxide. Tick. Tick.
The dispute is over the extent of warming caused by the extra carbon dioxide, and thus whether catastrophes claimed by climate alarmists will occur.
Mathematical models have been used to predict climate apocalypse. Thus far they are wrong in their temperature forecasts.
Despite increased carbon dioxide, world temperatures have not budged for 16 years. The ice caps have not melted. Polar bears are enjoying a population explosion. Antarctica has cooled and sea ice has increased to record highs.
Which brings us to our merry explorers on their marooned $1.5 million University of NSW-sponsored mission.
As he waited for a helicopter to winch him out, team leader Professor Chris Turney was clinging to credibility like the black knight in Monty Python.
“It’s so warm it’s actually raining!” he tweeted yesterday.
The Left’s crystal balls-ups
Miranda Devine – Tuesday, December 31, 2013 (6:52pm)
NOW the Year of the Selfie is over, and a conservative government is in charge, we can look forward to the following dispatches from Gnashville over the next 12 months.
Pope Francis disappoints.
For all his humility and eschewing of red papal loafers so remarked upon by progressives, in 2014 the Pope does not give his blessing to abortion, gay marriage and female priests.
He doesn’t appoint Mary McAleese to the College of Cardinals. Nor does he excommunicate George Pell and Tony Abbott. Holy black-buckled brogues! Maybe he’s a Catholic after all.
Peter Cosgrove is the worst Governor-General ever.
Actually, this was the theme of The Sydney Morning Herald’s Letters to the Editor in the last week of 2013 but, increasingly, these unconscious self-satires are a leading indicator of junk opinion.
What’s wrong with the esteemed General? Let the Letterati count the ways:
1. He is a man (Robyn Stinson, Randwick);
2. He was commander of peacekeeping forces in East Timor during alleged illegal spying by the Australian government (Chris Smith, ACT);
3. He makes (Megan Heaney, Kincumber) feel “uneasy”;
4. He is “bulky” (Megan Brock, Summer Hill);
5. He encourages beer-drinking on Anzac Day by endorsing the “Raise a Glass appeal” for Legacy (Roger Halsted, Albury); and
6. He isn’t Mitchell Johnson (Claire Bowdler, Newtown).
Save the refugees.
After showing little interest in the arrival of 50,000 asylum seekers under Labor, in 2014 a tally is kept on a dedicated ABC webpage of asylum boat arrivals under the Abbott government.
Actually, that already happened nine days after the election, but who’s counting.
Stand by for stories about the inhumanity of Scott Morrison, and how Manus Island is another Auschwitz.
Expect to see much more of refugee activists such as Julian “pedos in speedos” Burnside on your ABC. They might gnash their teeth about a conservative government but secretly they are relieved. Refugees are cool again.
Is that the truth or was your News Limited?
The meme of the 2013 election continues on bumper stickers for 40-something wannabe hipsters in Subarus.
But you will have to overlook the fact that if you relied on the Fairfax/ABC/ Guardian axis for your news, you wouldn’t know that Labor stuffed up on pink batts, overpriced school halls, the NBN, border protection, and the budget. You would have been shocked when Kevin Rudd was overthrown by his colleagues. You wouldn’t believe Julia Gillard lied about the carbon tax.
You might not know police are investigating the slush fund she allegedly help set up 20 years ago for her then unionist boyfriend.
You wouldn’t realise that half of Brisbane’s devastating 2011 floods were caused by mismanagement of the Wivenhoe Dam. You’d probably think Clive Palmer was as rich as he says he is.
You wouldn’t know Australian spy agencies targeted the phone of Indonesia’s first lady in 2009 because she was President Yudhoyono’s most influential adviser and trying to woo Islamic groups.
You might believe Wayne Swan really was the world’s best treasurer and would have brought the budget into surplus this year.
Summer is really really hot.
There may even be bushfires. Expect more stories on “extreme weather events” which are, of course, all the fault of Mr Rabbitt.
Abbott is the worst Prime Minister ever.
He’ll lose the next election if he isn’t bumped off first by marvellous Malcolm.
Liberated from the humiliating consequences of their wishes being granted by Labor, the left is gleeful.
Moral posturing is so much more fun when there’s a conservative PM to demonise.
No longer do they have to shuffle about in embarrassed silence as asylum seekers drown and economic chancers flood through the open borders they demanded, while persecuted Christian refugees suffer out of sight.
No longer do they have to bluster as electricity prices soar, manufacturers go under and the world’s temperature doesn’t budge for 16 years. No longer do they have to turn a blind eye to child abuse and make adoption taboo due to their obsession with the stolen generations.
Yes, the last six years have been agony for the Letterati but they now can return to their default position of all care, no responsibility.
Happy New Year!
TAXES SMOKED
Tim Blair – Wednesday, January 01, 2014 (1:48pm)
The Telegraph is receiving a remarkable number of complaints today about last night’s NYE coverage on the ABC (things really begin falling apart at the 25 minute mark). These furious callers follow earlier Twitter rage:
Continue reading 'TAXES SMOKED'THEY SEE THE FUTURE
Tim Blair – Wednesday, January 01, 2014 (10:36am)
The SMH reports:
Temperatures are on course to rise at least 4 degrees by the end of the century, according to research that finds earlier climate models projecting smaller increases are likely to be wrong.The research, by a team led by the University of NSW, says a 4-degree rise in temperature would be potentially catastrophic for agriculture in warm regions of the world, including Australia.
The team from the University of NSW were unavailable for further comment because they are stuck in millions of tonnes of ice.
MAN DISCUSSES FABRIC
Tim Blair – Wednesday, January 01, 2014 (4:03am)
This is a column in an actual newspaper.
Something’s cracking, and it’s not the ice around the warmists’ ship
Andrew Bolt January 01 2014 (11:52am)
The expedition of warmists now on a Russian ship trapped in ice is
called “Spirit of Mawson” in honor of explorer Douglas Mawson who, a
century ago, spent two years on Antarctica during which he lost two
colleagues on a trek. Mawson himself survived only by eating his
huskies and trudging back on feet that had lost the skin of the soles.
Guardian journalist Laurence Topham on the “Spirit of Mawson” now demonstrates how that spirit lives on in this ship of warmists, awaiting rescue by helicopter after a week trapped in ice they’d assumed was melting away:
I’m betting it won’t start the way Tim Blair’s piece does:
Pierre Gosselin wonders whether this expedition was doomed by wishful thinking and cost-cutting:
But it would be mean to say Turney’s expedition was more a frolic - or a Quixotic quest - than a serious scientific exercise. Check the number of high-profile researchers he had on board:
(Thanks to reader George.)
===Guardian journalist Laurence Topham on the “Spirit of Mawson” now demonstrates how that spirit lives on in this ship of warmists, awaiting rescue by helicopter after a week trapped in ice they’d assumed was melting away:
Remember, these warmists are as tough as warmists come, as the ABC described a month ago:
It is quite stressful… I miss banana and peanut butter milkshakes… I’ve got this really thin, small bed… I’ve hurt my back… I jammed my leg in the door last night… And it’s only going to get worse… Stranded in ice. Oh, God I’m going mad.
STEVE CANNANE, PRESENTER: Could the great British Antarctic explorer Robert Scott have survived his epic journey if he’d chosen his team more wisely? That’s the view of Professor Chris Turney from the University of NSW who is about to lead one of Australia’s largest science expeditions to the frozen continent.The ABC promised an update on the expedition of these rugged and desperately brave warmists to find the truth about global warming:
In this second and final preview of his trip, Professor Turney tells reporter Margo O’Neill he’s learnt from the life and death experiences of early explorers like Scott…
CHRIS TURNEY, CLIMATE CHANGE RESEARCH CENTRE, UNSW: So we’ve got a really good team and hopefully they won’t go psycho on us. (laughs)…
MARGOT O’NEILL: Initially there were few applicants, so Chris Turney re-versioned Ernest Shackleton’s apocryphal advertisement: “Wanted for hazardous journey. Low wages, bitter cold, long hours of complete darkness. Safe return doubtful. Honour and recognition assured."…
CHRIS TURNEY: It seemed to have gone viral. We were getting a few applications before then and suddenly the blog entry went crazy....
MARGOT O’NEILL: But it’s not exactly a luxury cruise and one of Australia’s Mount Everest heroes and an Antarctic veteran, Greg Mortimer, was brought on to find the right kind of people.
GREG MORTIMER, MOUNTAINEER: People who can grasp the highs and lows of what we’re going to do and it’s quite a big ask, this trip. There has been some whittling going on over the last months and a few people have fallen by the wayside.
MARGOT O’NEILL: Choosing the wrong team member meant the difference between life and death for British explorer Robert Scott. Professor Turney researched the stories of last century’s great ice men and became haunted by their fate.
CHRIS TURNEY: It’s that sort of extreme environment. The smallest mistakes can cascade into a disaster.
MARGOT O’NEILL: The expedition sails south tomorrow on a mission to revive the spirit of one of Australia’s greatest scientific explorations for a new generation grappling with climate change.Can’t wait. Any guesses on how the ABC will gloss over the embarrassment of Turney’s expedition getting trapped in the ice they claimed was melting?
Lateline will broadcast an update early next year.
I’m betting it won’t start the way Tim Blair’s piece does:
IT began as a journey to “investigate the impact of changing climate” and to “use the subantarctic islands as thermometers of climatic change” but more than 70 global warming activists, journalists and crew, led by University of NSW professor of climate change Chris Turney, are now trapped by millions of tonnes of ice after their ship was caught in freezing conditions off the Antarctic coast.UPDATE
Pierre Gosselin wonders whether this expedition was doomed by wishful thinking and cost-cutting:
The first error expedition leaders made was under-estimating the prevailing sea ice conditions at Mawson Station, their destination. The scientists seemed to be convinced that Antarctica was a warmer place today than it had been 100 years earlier, and thus perhaps they could expect less sea ice there. This in turn would allow them to charter a lighter, cheaper vessel.Joe McConnell, an American ice sheet researcher, isn’t happy that rescuing these warmists is hurting serious researchers:
This seems to be the case judging by their choice of seafaring vessel. They chartered a Russian vessel MS Akademik Shokalskiy, an ice-strengthened ship built in Finland in 1982. According to Wikipedia the ship has two passenger decks, with dining rooms, a bar, a library, and a sauna, and accommodates 54 passengers and a crew of up to 30. Though it is ice-reinforced, it is not an ice-breaker. This is a rather surprising selection for an expedition to Antarctica, especially in view that the AAE website itself expected to travel through areas that even icebreakers at times are unable to penetrate, as we are now vividly witnessing. Perhaps the price for chartering the Russian vessel was too good to pass up.
What made the expedition even more dubious is that Turney and his team brought on paying tourists in what appears to have been an attempt to help defer the expedition’s costs and to be a source of cheap labor. According to the AAE website, the expedition was costed at US$1.5 million, which included the charter of the Akademik Shokalskiy to access the remote locations. “The site berths on board are available for purchase.” Prices start at $8000!
The expedition brought with it 4 journalists, 26 paying tourists.
Here it seems that the obvious risks and hazards of bringing tourists to the world’s harshest environment in a budget-priced vessel unable to handle ice-breaking may have been brushed aside, or at least played down. Was this reckless on the part of the expedition? That Antarctica is a harsh environment was in fact known to expedition leader Chris Turney: Bild online here quotes Turney: “In the Antarctic the conditions are so extreme that you can never make forecasts.” Is this an environment you’d want to bring unfamiliar tourists in – on a vessel that cannot even break ice?
Greetings from Casey Station on the East Antarctic coast. I’ve just returned from the deep field site at Aurora Basin where the Australians are drilling a new 400-meter ice core which we will analyze in my lab in Reno.
I’m writing with regards to the rescue effort for that tourist ship stuck in the ice near Commonwealth Bay and the enormous impact of the rescue effort on Antarctic science programs. The Australian ice breaker Aurora Australis was here at Casey in the process of unloading the coming year’s supplies for the station, as well as a number of researchers and their science gear for this summer’s activities, when the emergency response request was issued. The Australians shut down the unloading very quickly and left within a few hours after the request arrived but only about a third of the resupply was completed and a lot of that science gear was still on board. Before they left they at least were able to get the passengers including six Aurora Basin researchers off the ship. Otherwise I’d still be at Aurora Basin and would have had to stay to the end of January since my field replacement was in that group.
The short- and long-term impacts on the Australian science program are pronounced as you can imagine and I understand it is the same for both the Chinese and French programs since their icebreakers were diverted, too. I’ll be sitting down to New Year’s Eve dinner in a few minutes with a number of Australian researchers including the director of the Australian Antarctic Division Tony Fleming– many of these guys can’t complete the research they’ve been planning for years because some or all of their science gear still is on the Aurora.
But it would be mean to say Turney’s expedition was more a frolic - or a Quixotic quest - than a serious scientific exercise. Check the number of high-profile researchers he had on board:
MARGOT O’NEILL: Chris Turney’s wife Annette and two children Kara and Robert are also going with him to help blog, Tweet and broadcast about the experience for schools around the world.So this is what Robert Turney blogs about instead on the Spirit of Mawson website:
ROBERT TURNEY: Dad, on the blog, basically, it’s just: day after day, more ocean.
CHRIS TURNEY: (laughs) Don’t be dreadful! No one wants to read that!
We spent the rest of the day eating, mucking about and enjoying ourselves. There was a small party in the bar and we all had secret santa gifts and I happily got videos of people doing some crazy dancing. During that time I also tried to get a few phone calls out to my friends back in Oz. Turns out Damon was happy and so was my friend Jonathon.Who paid for all this? Who pays the millions for the rescue?
(Thanks to reader George.)
Paglia on our decline
Andrew Bolt January 01 2014 (11:37am)
A bit OTT, maybe, but there’s some truth in it:
===“WHAT you’re seeing is how a civilisation commits suicide,” says Camille Paglia. This self-described “notorious Amazon feminist” isn’t telling anyone to Lean In or asking Why Women Still Can’t Have It All. No, her indictment may be as surprising as it is wide-ranging: The military is out of fashion; Americans undervalue manual labour; schools neuter male students; opinion-makers deny the biological differences between men and women; and sexiness is dead. And that’s just 20 minutes of our three-hour conversation.
Why didn’t Hawke and Keating tell Gillard what they now tell Abbott?
Andrew Bolt January 01 2014 (11:31am)
Why didn’t these former Labor leaders demand Labor stop racking up this debt in the first place?
No?
===BOB Hawke and Paul Keating have urged the Abbott government to slash spending and speedily repair the budget bottom line, arguing they faced up to a similar challenge in 1986-87 when the terms of trade collapsed and the dollar plummeted.I assume that when Abbott does indeed slash spending that Hawke and Keating will defend him from the opportunistic attacks of the Labor Party that blew the Budget Abbott must now fix.
“It’s a very, very large budget deficit that you’re looking at, projecting $47 billion, and they seem to be walking away from the suggestion that they can move into surplus in this first term,” said Mr Hawke, the prime minister from 1983 to 1991.
“What is required is the same thing. You’ve got to have a prime minister and treasurer, and a competent ministry which understands the issue and is prepared to make hard decisions. So it’s the same challenge.”
Mr Keating, treasurer during the period, told The Australian that having informed voters “we couldn’t go on maintaining the standard of living we had become accustomed to”, he had to follow through with “structural adjustments to the economy and cut spending across the board”.
No?
Nasty climate we’re having
Andrew Bolt January 01 2014 (8:31am)
Maurice Newman, former chairman of the ABC and now chairman of the Prime
Minister’s Business Advisory Council, yesterday pointed out the folly of the global warming movement.
Temperatures had not in fact risen by any statistically significant
amount for 17 years now, and the “solutions” to this (non) warming were
not just useless but cripplingly expensive.
To this argument, citing evidence, comes fact-free abuse from people claiming to be moralists.
Professional alarmist Tim Flannery, notorious for a spectacular record of dud predictions, resorts to something close to defamation:
UPDATE
Schopenhauer in the Art of Rhetoric described this kind of abuse as the last of 38 ways to win an argument when the facts are against you:
===To this argument, citing evidence, comes fact-free abuse from people claiming to be moralists.
Professional alarmist Tim Flannery, notorious for a spectacular record of dud predictions, resorts to something close to defamation:
Professor Newman’s gouty festive season ramblings might easily be forgiven as the product of an extra glass or two of port.Comedian Wendy Harmer shrieks at the blasphemy:
The absolute certainty of the uninformed zealot.
UPDATE
Schopenhauer in the Art of Rhetoric described this kind of abuse as the last of 38 ways to win an argument when the facts are against you:
A last trick is to become personal, insulting, rude, as soon as you perceive that your opponent has the upper hand, and that you are going to come off worst. It consists in passing from the subject of dispute, as from a lost game, to the disputant himself, and in some way attacking his person… But in becoming personal you leave the subject altogether, and turn your attack to his person, by remarks of an offensive and spiteful character. It is an appeal from the virtues of the intellect to the virtues of the body, or to mere animalism. This is a very popular trick, because every one is able to carry it into effect; and so it is of frequent application…The abuse from a Flannery demonstrates that even he realises his game is up.
As a sharpening of wits, controversy is often, indeed, of mutual advantage, in order to correct one’s thoughts and awaken new views. But in learning and in mental power both disputants must be tolerably equal. If one of them lacks learning, he will fail to understand the other, as he is not on the same level with his antagonist. If he lacks mental power, he will be embittered, and led into dishonest tricks, and end by being rude.
Ship of Fools
Andrew Bolt January 01 2014 (7:49am)
Greens Senator-elect Janet Rice on December 7, about to board a ship filled with warmists:
Rice on Christmas Day is stuck in ice:
I’m off to Antarctica tomorrow! It seems appropriate that my last post here before I go is about campaigning for effective action on climate change.
Happy Christmas to the world from the Australasian Antarctic Expedition! We are celebrating Christmas in an amazing place- 66?41’ S, 144?18’ E to be precise. We’ve been here or hereabouts for over a day now, drifting with the pack ice, officially ‘beset’. Our ship the Shokalskiy is ice strengthened, not an ice breaker and the ice around us is currently beyond us.Comedian Wendy Harmer cannot see the joke of global warmists (led by Professor Chris Turney) stuck in ice they assumed would be melted away:
But the embarrassment is so acute that the expedition organisers are pretending they were never that interested in global warming really:
BAD weather yesterday thwarted a planned helicopter evacuation of 42 scientists, tourists and media trapped aboard a Russian ship in Antarctic sea ice in Commonwealth Bay since Christmas…We’ve mentioned before how reporters from the ABC and Fairfax media are covering up these warmists’ embarrassment. Take Nicky Phillips, a warmist reporter from the Sydney Morning Herald. Here is Phillips a month ago, telling us she’s going to visit the Antarctic (on another ship):
Cruise organisers yesterday were attempting to downplay the scientific nature of the voyage following a barrage of negative comments online. Many posts had highlighted the irony of climate change scientists being stuck in the ice…
A spokesman for the expedition said it was wrong to describe the voyage as a climate change journey despite there being climate scientists on board.
But the website promoting the journey said there were “numerous science questions that need to be urgently addressed ... There is an increasing body of evidence that has identified parts of the East Antarctic which are highly susceptible to melting and collapse from ocean warming.”
...global warming is an important story, and the trip will give Fairfax Media a rare opportunity to visit the continent most acutely affected by global warming. Antarctica is climate change ground zero. The data that scientists gather will play a crucial role in future climate models.
Phillips is now on the icebreaker which tried and failed to free the Shokalskiy and its mortified warmists. Her reports are now free of any mention of global warming now that she’s staring at record ice instead of melted glaciers.
You see, the sea ice around Antarctica isn’t showing any evidence of a warming planet:
UPDATE
When did Harmer tell a joke as good as this one?
Chris Turney, a professor of climate change at Australia’s University of New South Wales, said it was “silly” to suggest he and 73 others aboard the MV Akademic Shokalskiy were trapped in ice they’d sought to prove had melted. He remained adamant that sea ice is melting, even as the boat remained trapped in frozen seas...UPDATE
“Sea ice is disappearing due to climate change, but here ice is building up,” the Australasian Antarctic Expedition said in a statement.
What ice? What cold? Can’t you feel the global warming?
Professor Chis Turney seems so embarrassed by having his global warming alarmism exposed by the ice around his expedition’s ship that he’s taken to wearing just a shirt with the sleeves rolled up, even while the rest of the expedition are in parkas and heavy jumpers:
(Thanks to readers Matt and Leigh, and hat tip to Tim Blair and Watts Up With That for the doctored image of the trapped Russian ship,)
" Simon Wiesenthal Center’s Top 10 Anti-Semitic, Anti-Israel Slurs Of 2013.
<Even as the world’s top diplomats celebrated a tentative nuclear/sanctions deal that many believe will not stop Iran’s capacity to go nuclear, few leaders condemned Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei for his unabated public slurs and genocidal threats against the Jewish State. "
I can not escape the irony of those nations' own track records.
Those who curse become cursed themselves.>
www.jewishjournal.com
===
Daniel Katz ... I would like to acknowledge the artist here in the above picture is Roman Lapp.
https://www.facebook.com/roman.lapp.5
===
Doctors are good. But God is greater - ed
===
===
USCB welcomes the release of 5 political prisoners today and charges dropped against many more.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights rightly acknowledges this does NOT fulfill Thein Sein's pledge to release all political prisoners by the end of 2013. Calls for the release of all and the repeal of oppressive laws.
===
Washington Post 'Fact Checker' Glenn Kessler published a superb column today examining US-Burma policy.
"U.S. officials are getting ahead of themselves when they assert that the administration has been “standing up” against atrocities, given that attacks have continued almost unabated with little or no consequences for the killers."
"Burma could one day be a foreign-policy success story, but without constant vigilance by the United States, both in word and deed, it could tip into failure."
===
I cannot follow you, my love,
you cannot follow me.
I am the distance you put between
all of the moments that we will be.
You know who I am,
you've stared at the sun,
well I am the one who loves
changing from nothing to one.
Sometimes I need you naked,
sometimes I need you wild,
I need you to carry my children in
and I need you to kill a child.
You know who I am...
If you should ever track me down
I will surrender there
and I will leave with you one broken man
whom I will teach you to repair.
You know who I am...
I cannot follow you, my love,
you cannot follow me.
I am the distance you put between
all of the moments that we will be.
You know who I am…
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mobile.reuters.com
It was only a matter of time once GOP got the lower house .. ed===
www.news.com.au
Is the issue that NASA is the only group that can profit from it? - ed===
The Bradfield scheme would end the heat waves and water Australia. - ed
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I will never pass wind on a strange couch again - ed
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The problem, to my way of seeing things, is evolutionists who make claims about evolution that are not true. Evolution does not disprove God. Intelligent design is arrant foolishness based on the evolution disproves god fallacy. Creationism, where it is placed in opposition to evolution is meaningless. I probably did not have lizard ancestors, which is sad news for those cousins of mine hoping to grow a tail. But I had stone age ancestors and earlier .. and my people came to know God as the bible is written. - ed
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www.algemeiner.com
"The connection runs so deep that the Arab villagers have alerted Efrat authorities on several occasions about terror cells on their way to attack the community." .. that deep .. ed===
As a Christian I cannot support terrorism or apartheid, which is why I stand up for Israel. The wall has served to prevent killing of women and children by those who want to ethnically cleanse land of its' native peoples. - ed
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quadrant.org.au
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www.smh.com.au
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Plastic bottle sealed at 14,000 feet (4267 m) on Mauna Kea observatory on the island of Hawaii, taken down to 9000 feet (2743 m) and then 1000 feet (305 m), where the change in air pressure had crushed it.
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<
6 months ago
yes I agree this is a good song and a good television series family ties I used to watch this in the 1980s. even though Alex Keaton and Mallory were crappy Conservatives ... Reaganomics WAS TERRIBLE ITS COMPARABLE TO GENOCIDE EXPECT THIS TIME YOU KILLED OFF THE MIDDLE AND LOWER MIDDLE CLASS WITH YOUR GREED
Larry Lee Moniz
6 months ago
in reply to Karl Egner
Get a grip... this is just a song, Alex P. Keaton was just a character, and Family Ties was just a TV show.> >>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q15jR5a5bM
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Matt Granz
A bit of advice that I received from a friend on how to shoot skyrockets... if anyone is interested in this simple trick.
First, set up your camera for the exposure you want (with about a ten second exposure. The aperture can be anywhere from f/7 to f/16. Last year I chose f/10 to get a certain sharpness on my shots. ISO is up to the shooter. I chose 160 last year and it worked pretty well. Be certain that you are shooting in RAW and not Jpeg.
Now here's the trick...
Set your camera into Bulb mode. When the skyrockets start shooting, hit your shutter release at the start of the rocket's ascent. When the rocket explodes, let it fully dissipate and then hit the shutter release button again.
I know it sounds simple, but by doing this you'll get a perfect burst every time.
Have fun tonight if you are shooting a fireworks display. I look forward to seeing the results of my many photographer friends who will be out tonight.
===First, set up your camera for the exposure you want (with about a ten second exposure. The aperture can be anywhere from f/7 to f/16. Last year I chose f/10 to get a certain sharpness on my shots. ISO is up to the shooter. I chose 160 last year and it worked pretty well. Be certain that you are shooting in RAW and not Jpeg.
Now here's the trick...
Set your camera into Bulb mode. When the skyrockets start shooting, hit your shutter release at the start of the rocket's ascent. When the rocket explodes, let it fully dissipate and then hit the shutter release button again.
I know it sounds simple, but by doing this you'll get a perfect burst every time.
Have fun tonight if you are shooting a fireworks display. I look forward to seeing the results of my many photographer friends who will be out tonight.
First sunrise of 2014- happy new year folks!
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Matt Granz
The Sequoia National Forest and Light Rays.
A nice post processing lesson by my friend Darvin Atkeson as he's staying over at my place before tonight's fireworks show. I wasn't too happy with the way my shot came out, but after a few pointers on luminosity masks and such from Darv I am seriously happy with the final product. — atSequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks.
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http://app.debka.com/p/article/23560/Exclusive-US-“framework”-calls-for-80-000-Israeli-West-Bank-eva
app.debka.com
Institutionalised apartheid .. Kerry's plan seems to be to eliminate Israel in the long term. - ed===
www.news.com.au
bad government supported by divided opposition with Joh for Canberra and Peacock .. but .. it was the best government of the ALP to date .. it just wasn't good .. Australia card? Banana Republic? The re-election secured extraordinary pensions for its' ministers without any responsibility to the public. But they bragged they weren't as bad as Whitlam. - ed===
Clover Moore starts the year with $6.8 million dollar bill and a Sauron eye on the harbour bridge and un-listenably bad music on ABC - ed
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Happy New Year! It is about time. - ed
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Scott Carmichael
some people don't like to eat swiss cheese because they don't like all the holes.... but I find that you can just eat around the holes...===
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<Anne Frank was a very special girl, but not very wise in the area of morality. How she could believe that people are basically good after seeing what the Nazis did is quite foolish. Let us all remember that she was only 13 years old.
The goal of Judaism is to make people "good," but unfortunately the reality is that many people are evil, or at the very least not so good!!! According to the Torah, we are born with a Yetzer Tov and a Yetzer Hara--a will to do good and a will to do bad. We are not born "good at heart." We have to learn goodness, just like we have to learn chemistry and algebra!!!>
I don't judge her or her dad. Maybe, if I could give them a much longer life together .. but even so .. She lived in a wall, not far from where a cousin of mine went mad in another wall. We never met, but I love her, and wish things had been different. But in all things there is reason. And I think part of that here is to learn humbleness. - ed
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Michelle Malkin
Happy New Year, everyone! Sharing one of my fave pix from 2013 - taken at Red Rocks CO in May. Here's to life, love & liberty in 2014. I wish you all the best & will keep working/fighting hard to secure the blessings we hold dear.
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QUESTION: If Abbas' mandate ran out in 2009 and he has not held an election since, would that not mean that anything he negotiates has no legal basis to it? By not being held to a rule of law, the US is not treating them as a serious entity. This decision to release killers back into Israeli society is based on lawlessness; thwarting the legal system in Israel and making negotiations with a PA entity that does not have a mandate to govern. Additionally, let us not forget that the PA and Abbas are a direct link back to Hitler via Arafat and the grand mufti Husseini who was a collaborator with Hitler to exterminate Jews in British Mandated Palestine.
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<We knew there were strings attached to releasing Jonathan Pollard. Regardless of any so-called promises I still believe it will not happen. Obama has proven time and again that he is a liar who can never be trusted.>
http://www.algemeiner.com/
What do a UN official, a small New York school district and a few European athletes have in common? They made this year’s Anti-Semitism list. See full list of offenders here:http://bit.ly/1cQjKic Photo: Flickr/Jim Dwyer
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If we should ever enter a New Year full of optimism, it is 2014.
Regards,
Tony Abbott
Prime Minister
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“This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” - Isaiah 43:16, 18-19
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"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." - John 7:37
Patience had her perfect work in the Lord Jesus, and until the last day of the feast he pleaded with the Jews, even as on this last day of the year he pleads with us, and waits to be gracious to us. Admirable indeed is the longsuffering of the Saviour in bearing with some of us year after year, notwithstanding our provocations, rebellions, and resistance of his Holy Spirit. Wonder of wonders that we are still in the land of mercy!
Pity expressed herself most plainly, for Jesus cried, which implies not only the loudness of his voice, but the tenderness of his tones. He entreats us to be reconciled. "We pray you," says the Apostle, "as though God did beseech you by us." What earnest, pathetic terms are these! How deep must be the love which makes the Lord weep over sinners, and like a mother woo his children to his bosom! Surely at the call of such a cry our willing hearts will come.
Provision is made most plenteously; all is provided that man can need to quench his soul's thirst. To his conscience the atonement brings peace; to his understanding the gospel brings the richest instruction; to his heart the person of Jesus is the noblest object of affection; to the whole man the truth as it is in Jesus supplies the purest nutriment. Thirst is terrible, but Jesus can remove it. Though the soul were utterly famished, Jesus could restore it.
Proclamation is made most freely, that every thirsty one is welcome. No other distinction is made but that of thirst. Whether it be the thirst of avarice, ambition, pleasure, knowledge, or rest, he who suffers from it is invited. The thirst may be bad in itself, and be no sign of grace, but rather a mark of inordinate sin longing to be gratified with deeper draughts of lust; but it is not goodness in the creature which brings him the invitation, the Lord Jesus sends it freely, and without respect of persons.
Personality is declared most fully. The sinner must come to Jesus, not to works, ordinances, or doctrines, but to a personal Redeemer, who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. The bleeding, dying, rising Saviour, is the only star of hope to a sinner. Oh for grace to come now and drink, ere the sun sets upon the year's last day!
No waiting or preparation is so much as hinted at. Drinking represents a reception for which no fitness is required. A fool, a thief, a harlot can drink; and so sinfulness of character is no bar to the invitation to believe in Jesus. We want no golden cup, no bejewelled chalice, in which to convey the water to the thirsty; the mouth of poverty is welcome to stoop down and quaff the flowing flood. Blistered, leprous, filthy lips may touch the stream of divine love; they cannot pollute it, but shall themselves be purified. Jesus is the fount of hope. Dear reader, hear the dear Redeemer's loving voice as he cries to each of us,
"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." - Jeremiah 8:20
Not saved! Dear reader, is this your mournful plight? Warned of the judgment to come, bidden to escape for your life, and yet at this moment not saved! You know the way of salvation, you read it in the Bible, you hear it from the pulpit, it is explained to you by friends, and yet you neglect it, and therefore you are not saved. You will be without excuse when the Lord shall judge the quick and dead. The Holy Spirit has given more or less of blessing upon the word which has been preached in your hearing, and times of refreshing have come from the divine presence, and yet you are without Christ. All these hopeful seasons have come and gone--your summer and your harvest have past--and yet you are not saved. Years have followed one another into eternity, and your last year will soon be here: youth has gone, manhood is going, and yet you are not saved. Let me ask you--will you ever be saved? Is there any likelihood of it? Already the most propitious seasons have left you unsaved; will other occasions alter your condition? Means have failed with you--the best of means, used perseveringly and with the utmost affection--what more can be done for you? Affliction and prosperity have alike failed to impress you; tears and prayers and sermons have been wasted on your barren heart. Are not the probabilities dead against your ever being saved? Is it not more than likely that you will abide as you are till death forever bars the door of hope? Do you recoil from the supposition? Yet it is a most reasonable one: he who is not washed in so many waters will in all probability go filthy to his end. The convenient time never has come, why should it ever come? It is logical to fear that it never will arrive, and that Felix like, you will find no convenient season till you are in hell. O bethink you of what that hell is, and of the dread probability that you will soon be cast into it!
Reader, suppose you should die unsaved, your doom no words can picture. Write out your dread estate in tears and blood, talk of it with groans and gnashing of teeth: you will be punished with everlasting destruction from the glory of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. A brother's voice would fain startle you into earnestness. O be wise, be wise in time, and ere another year begins, believe in Jesus, who is able to save to the uttermost. Consecrate these last hours to lonely thought, and if deep repentance be bred in you, it will be well; and if it lead to a humble faith in Jesus, it will be best of all. O see to it that this year pass not away, and you an unforgiven spirit. Let not the new year's midnight peals sound upon a joyless spirit! Now, now, NOW believe, and live.
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1. A son of Jeroboam who died in his youth (1 Kings 14:1).
2. A priest in David's time who was head of the eighth course in Temple service (1 Chron. 24:10).
3. Son and successor of Rehoboam whose mother was Maachah, Absalom's daughter (2 Chron. 11:20, 22; 2 Chron. 12:16; 2 Chron. 13; 2 Chron. 14:1). Called Abijam in 1 Kings 14:31.
4. A priest who sealed the covenant made by Nehemiah and the people to serve the Lord. As further references are encountered to this act, it will be borne in mind that it represented the re-dedication of the people to the worship and work of God after their return from the Babylonian captivity.
5. Another priest who returned from exile. Perhaps the same person as the preceding Abijah (Neh. 12:1-4, 12-17). Also the name of the mother of Hezekiah, king of Judah (2 Chron. 29:1; she is also called Abi, 2 Kings 18:2).
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Today marks the final Bible reading of 2010 and concludes with the final chapters of the Old and New Testaments.
Today's Old Testament reading: Malachi 1-4
1 An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.
Jacob Loved, Esau Hated
2 "I have loved you," says the LORD.
"But you ask, 'How have you loved us?'
"Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals."
...read the rest on Bible Gateway
Today's New Testament reading: Revelation 22
The River of Life
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
...read the rest on Bible Gateway
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Michelle Malkin
Happy New Year, everyone! Sharing one of my fave pix from 2013 - taken at Red Rocks CO in May. Here's to life, love & liberty in 2014. I wish you all the best & will keep working/fighting hard to secure the blessings we hold dear.
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elderofziyon.blogspot.com
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calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.se
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virtualjerusalem.com
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QUESTION: If Abbas' mandate ran out in 2009 and he has not held an election since, would that not mean that anything he negotiates has no legal basis to it? By not being held to a rule of law, the US is not treating them as a serious entity. This decision to release killers back into Israeli society is based on lawlessness; thwarting the legal system in Israel and making negotiations with a PA entity that does not have a mandate to govern. Additionally, let us not forget that the PA and Abbas are a direct link back to Hitler via Arafat and the grand mufti Husseini who was a collaborator with Hitler to exterminate Jews in British Mandated Palestine.
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www.algemeiner.com
===<We knew there were strings attached to releasing Jonathan Pollard. Regardless of any so-called promises I still believe it will not happen. Obama has proven time and again that he is a liar who can never be trusted.>
http://www.algemeiner.com/
What do a UN official, a small New York school district and a few European athletes have in common? They made this year’s Anti-Semitism list. See full list of offenders here:http://bit.ly/1cQjKic Photo: Flickr/Jim Dwyer
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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
The Old Has Gone,The new New Has Come.
I wish you happy new year.As a believer in Jesus, you are a new creation. The Scripture says,“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV) You have a new spirit and a new life. There may be “old” things in your life that you are trying to get rid of. Maybe you have old habits or addictions that you want to change. Remember today that the new has come. It’s a new year with new opportunities, and it’s time for you to be the new you. Let this be the year that you break old habits and addictions. Let this be the year that you move forward into a new life of victory. Let this be the year that you take hold of all the spiritual blessings the Lord has promised — peace, health, protection and victory.
Be encouraged today because no matter what is happening in your life right now, you have a chance for a new beginning. Choose to leave the old behind — leave behind old behaviors, old thinking, old words, and old mindsets and embrace the new by faith. Trust that He is leading you, and this year, declare His Word and embrace the blessings that He has prepared for you.This is the year you are waiting for,your year of greatness.God bless you.
I wish you happy new year.As a believer in Jesus, you are a new creation. The Scripture says,“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV) You have a new spirit and a new life. There may be “old” things in your life that you are trying to get rid of. Maybe you have old habits or addictions that you want to change. Remember today that the new has come. It’s a new year with new opportunities, and it’s time for you to be the new you. Let this be the year that you break old habits and addictions. Let this be the year that you move forward into a new life of victory. Let this be the year that you take hold of all the spiritual blessings the Lord has promised — peace, health, protection and victory.
Be encouraged today because no matter what is happening in your life right now, you have a chance for a new beginning. Choose to leave the old behind — leave behind old behaviors, old thinking, old words, and old mindsets and embrace the new by faith. Trust that He is leading you, and this year, declare His Word and embrace the blessings that He has prepared for you.This is the year you are waiting for,your year of greatness.God bless you.
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Prophetic word.
This is the year you have been waiting for,year of greatness......…
This is the year you have been waiting for,year of greatness......…
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PRAY ALONG.
Father in heaven,I thank You for making me strong in You. I trust that You are working in my life, even in the midst of the storms. I choose today to leave behind the old life and ask that You empower me by Your spirit to drop my bad behavior this year behind.As i cross over 2014 help me to understand Your plan and know the truth of Your Word that sets me free. Thank You for a new year and a new season of blessing in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Father in heaven,I thank You for making me strong in You. I trust that You are working in my life, even in the midst of the storms. I choose today to leave behind the old life and ask that You empower me by Your spirit to drop my bad behavior this year behind.As i cross over 2014 help me to understand Your plan and know the truth of Your Word that sets me free. Thank You for a new year and a new season of blessing in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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As you reflect on the events over this year, remember that the storms you have encountered have only made you stronger. You are wiser, you are more alive, and you are headed for victory come 2014. Your brightest days are right out in front of you. Always remember that with God on your side, nothing can hold you back.
The Scripture says."The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree."(Psalm 92:12, NIV). See, the reason God said we’d flourish like a palm tree is because He knew there would be difficult times. He knew things would come against us to try to steal our joy and victory. But God said, “You’re going to be like a palm tree because when the storms of life blow, you are going to come right back up stronger than before.”
Have you ever seen a palm tree in the midst of a great storm? That tree may be bent so far over that it’s almost touching the ground, but when the wind finally stops, that palm tree bounces right back up. What’s interesting is that while that palm tree is hunched over under the pressure of the storm, it is actually becoming stronger. Forget all those obstacles of 2013,next year,you are a winner and stronger in the Lord.Nothing will shake you any more,in Jesus name,Amen.
===The Scripture says."The righteous shall flourish like a palm tree."(Psalm 92:12, NIV). See, the reason God said we’d flourish like a palm tree is because He knew there would be difficult times. He knew things would come against us to try to steal our joy and victory. But God said, “You’re going to be like a palm tree because when the storms of life blow, you are going to come right back up stronger than before.”
Have you ever seen a palm tree in the midst of a great storm? That tree may be bent so far over that it’s almost touching the ground, but when the wind finally stops, that palm tree bounces right back up. What’s interesting is that while that palm tree is hunched over under the pressure of the storm, it is actually becoming stronger. Forget all those obstacles of 2013,next year,you are a winner and stronger in the Lord.Nothing will shake you any more,in Jesus name,Amen.
Pastor Rick Warren
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If we should ever enter a New Year full of optimism, it is 2014.
This is the year, I hope more of us than ever will ‘have a go’ – start new businesses, build new houses, undertake further study, make investments and plan a future: because that’s how we build the stronger and more prosperous country that we all want.
The Government will do its part: we are scrapping bad taxes, cutting red and green tape, ending waste, building infrastructure and strengthening the Budget.
My plan is to give you more choice, more freedom and fewer government demands – so that you can build a better future for yourself and our country.
You can watch my New Year video message here.
We are a great country and a great people. We believe in family, community; doing things for love, not just money; and living our ideals.
May we all be nearer to our best selves in 2014, government included.
Happy New Year!
Regards,
Tony Abbott
Prime Minister
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- 1773 – The hymn "Amazing Grace" was probably first used in a prayer meeting in Olney, England, without the music familiar to modern listeners.
- 1800 – Quasi-War: An American convoy of four merchant vessels escorted by a schooner was attacked by a squadron of armed barges manned by Haitians.
- 1945 – Second World War: The German Luftwaffe executed Operation Bodenplatte in an attempt to cripple Allied air forces in the Low Countries.
- 1959 – Cuban President Fulgencio Batista fled to the Dominican Republicas forces under Fidel Castro (pictured) took control of Havana, marking the end of the Cuban Revolution.
- 1983 – The ARPANET changed its core networking protocols from NCP toTCP/IP, marking the beginning of the Internet 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 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
Events[edit]
- 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, Brazil 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, New York, New York 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, Mexico.
- 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.
- 1870 – Adolf Loos, architect, co-founder of modern architecture, baptized in St. Thomas church, Brno, Moravia
- 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 Rose 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 King becomes the first Canadian citizen.
- 1948 – The British railway network is nationalized 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.
- 1950 – Standard practice uses this day as the origin of the age scale Before Present
- 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 during Operation Harvest; two IRA volunteers killed.
- 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.
- 1977 – Charter 77 published its first document.
- 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 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.
- 1982 – ITV franchise ATV gets replaced by Central
- 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 the Constitution of Pakistan, is "deemed to be elected" to the office of President until October 2007. Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovenia, Slovakia, Cyprus, Malta and the Czech Republic join the European Union.
- 2007 – Bulgaria and Romania officially join the European Union. Slovenia joins Eurozone.
- 2007 – Adam Air Flight 574 disappears over Indonesia with 102 people on board.
- 2008 – Cyprus and Malta join the Eurozone.
- 2009 – Sixty-six people die in a nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand.
- 2009 – Slovakia joins the Eurozone.
- 2010 – A suicide car bomber detonates at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100 more.
- 2011 – A bomb explodes as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, leave a new year service, killing 23 people.
- 2011 – Estonia joins the Eurozone.
- 2012 – A Moldovan civilian is fatally wounded by a Russian peacekeeper in the Transnistrian security zone, leading to demonstrations against Russia.
- 2013 – At least 60 people are killed and 200 injured in a stampede after celebrations at Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
- 2014 – Latvia joins the Eurozone.
Births[edit]
- 871 – Zwentibold, Frankish son of Arnulf of Carinthia (d. 900)
- 1431 – Pope Alexander VI (d. 1503)
- 1449 – Lorenzo de' Medici, Italian politician (d. 1492)
- 1467 – Sigismund I the Old, Polish king (d. 1548)
- 1484 – Huldrych Zwingli, Swiss pastor and theologian (d. 1531)
- 1511 – Henry, Duke of Cornwall (d. 1511)
- 1516 – Margaret Leijonhufvud, Swedish wife of Gustav I of Sweden (d. 1551)
- 1557 – Stephen Bocskay, Romanian prince (d. 1606)
- 1600 – Friedrich Spanheim, Dutch theologian (d. 1649)
- 1614 – John Wilkins, English bishop (d. 1672)
- 1618 – Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, Spanish painter (d. 1682)
- 1628 – Christoph Bernhard, German composer (d. 1692)
- 1638 – Emperor Go-Sai of Japan (d. 1685)
- 1655 – Christian Thomasius, German jurist and philosopher (d. 1728)
- 1684 – Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch scholar (d. 1748)
- 1704 – Soame Jenyns, English author (d. 1787)
- 1709 – Johann Heinrich Hartmann Bätz, German-Dutch organ builder (d. 1770)
- 1711 – Baron Franz von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (d. 1749)
- 1714 – Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian poet (d. 1780)
- 1714 – Giovanni Battista Mancini, Italian soprano and author (d. 1800)
- 1735 – Paul Revere, American military officer (d. 1818)
- 1745 – Anthony Wayne, American general and politician (d. 1796)
- 1750 – Frederick Muhlenberg, American minister and politician (d. 1801)
- 1752 – Betsy Ross, American seamstress, designed the Flag of the United States (d. 1836)
- 1768 – Maria Edgeworth, English-Irish author (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)
- 1806 – Lionel Kieseritzky, Baltic German/French chess player (d. 1853)
- 1814 – Hong Xiuquan, Chinese rebel leader (d. 1864)
- 1819 – Arthur Hugh Clough, English poet (d. 1861)
- 1823 – Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian poet and activist (d. 1849)
- 1833 – Robert Lawson, New Zealand architect, designed the Otago Boys' High School and Knox Church (d. 1902)
- 1834 – Ludovic Halévy, French playwright (d. 1908)
- 1839 – Ouida, English novelist (d. 1908)
- 1848 – John W. Goff, Irish lawyer and politician (d. 1924)
- 1852 – Eugène-Anatole Demarçay, French chemist (d. 1904)
- 1854 – James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist (d. 1941)
- 1859 – Thibaw Min, Burmese king (d. 1916)
- 1860 – John Cassidy, Irish sculptor and painter (d. 1939)
- 1860 – Dan Katchongva, American tribal leader and activist (d. 1972)
- 1860 – Michele Lega, Italian cardinal (d. 1935)
- 1860 – Dirk van Erp, Dutch-American coppersmith and metalsmith (d. 1933)
- 1860 – Jan Vilímek, Czech illustrator and painter (d. 1938)
- 1863 – Pierre de Coubertin, French historian and educator, founded the International Olympic Committee (d. 1937)
- 1864 – Qi Baishi, Chinese painter (d. 1957)
- 1864 – Alfred Stieglitz, American photographer (d. 1946)
- 1867 – Lew Fields, American actor, producer, and manager (d. 1941)
- 1868 – Snitz Edwards, American actor (d. 1937)
- 1871 – Montagu Toller, English cricketer (d. 1948)
- 1873 – Mariano Azuela, Mexican author (d. 1952)
- 1874 – Frank Knox, American publisher and politician, 46th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1944)
- 1874 – Gustave Whitehead, German-American engineer (d. 1927)
- 1876 – Harriet Brooks, Canadian physicist (d. 1933)
- 1877 – Alexander von Staël-Holstein, Baltic German orientalist (d. 1937)
- 1878 – Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish mathematician, statistician, and engineer (d. 1929)
- 1879 – E. M. Forster, English author (d. 1970)
- 1879 – William Fox, Hungarian-American film producer, founded the Fox Film Corporation and Fox Theatres (d. 1952)
- 1880 – Vajiravudh, Thai king (d. 1925)
- 1883 – William J. Donovan, American intelligence chief, head of Office of Strategic Services (d. 1959)
- 1885 – Béla Balogh, Hungarian director (d. 1945)
- 1887 – Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral and intelligence chief (d. 1945)
- 1888 – John Garand, Canadian-American engineer and designer, designed the M1 Garand rifle (d. 1974)
- 1888 – Georgios Stanotas, Greek general (d. 1965)
- 1889 – Charles Bickford, American actor (d. 1967)
- 1890 – Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer (d. 1966)
- 1891 – Sampurnanand, Indian Politician,UP Chief Minister(d.1969)
- 1892 – Artur Rodziński, Polish-American conductor (d. 1958)
- 1892 – Manuel Roxas, Filipino politician, 5th President of the Philippines (d. 1948)
- 1892 – Mahadev Desai, Indian Leader(d.1942)
- 1893 – Mordehai Frizis, Greek army officer (d. 1940)
- 1894 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian mathematician (d. 1974)
- 1894 – Shitsu Nakano, Japanese super-centenarian (d. 2007)
- 1895 – J. Edgar Hoover, American 1st Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (d. 1972)
- 1900 – Xavier Cugat, Spanish-American singer-songwriter (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, 5th President of Pakistan (d. 1982)
- 1905 – Stanisław Mazur, Polish mathematician (d. 1981)
- 1906 – Giovanni D'Anzi, Italian songwriter (d. 1974)
- 1908 – Bill Tapia, American singer and guitarist (d. 2011)
- 1909 – Dana Andrews, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1909 – Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian politician (d. 1959)
- 1911 – Basil Dearden, English director (d. 1971)
- 1911 – Hank Greenberg, American baseball player (d. 1986)
- 1911 – Roman Totenberg, Polish-American violinist (d. 2012)
- 1911 – Audrey Wurdemann, American poet (d. 1960)
- 1912 – Boris Vladimirovich Gnedenko, Russian mathematician (d. 1995)
- 1912 – Kim Philby, British spy, Soviet double agent (d. 1988)
- 1912 – Nikiforos Vrettakos, Greek poet (d. 1991)
- 1914 – Noor Inayat Khan, British spy (d. 1944)
- 1917 – Jule Gregory Charney, American meteorologist (d. 1981)
- 1917 – Albert Mol, Dutch actor (d. 2004)
- 1918 – Patrick Anthony Porteous, Scottish soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 2000)
- 1918 – Edgar Price, American pilot and politician (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer (d. 1990)
- 1919 – Carole Landis, American actress (d. 1948)
- 1919 – J. D. Salinger, American author (d. 2010)
- 1919 – Yoshio Tabata, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Osvaldo Cavandoli, Italian cartoonist (d. 2007)
- 1920 – Willie Fennell, Australian comedian and actor (d. 1992)
- 1920 – Virgilio Savona, Italian singer-songwriter (Quartetto Cetra) (d. 2009)
- 1921 – Ismail al-Faruqi, Palestinian-American philosopher (d. 1986)
- 1921 – César Baldaccini, French sculptor (d. 1998)
- 1921 – Regina Bianchi, Italian actress (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Alain Mimoun, French runner (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Ernest Hollings, American politician, 106th Governor of South Carolina
- 1922 – Roz Howard, American race car driver (d. 2013)
- 1922 – Jerry Robinson, American illustrator (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Valentina Cortese, Italian actress
- 1923 – Daniel Gorenstein, American mathematician (d. 1992)
- 1923 – Milt Jackson, American vibraphonist and composer (Modern Jazz Quartet) (d. 1999)
- 1924 – Charlie Munger, American businessman and philanthropist
- 1924 – Francisco Macías Nguema, Equatorial Guinean politician, 1st President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea (d. 1979)
- 1925 – Matthew Beard, American actor (d. 1981)
- 1925 – Paul Bomani, Tanzanian politician and diplomat (d. 2005)
- 1925 – Raymond Pellegrin, French actor (d. 2007)
- 1926 – Kazys Petkevičius, Lithuanian basketball playerr (d. 2008)
- 1926 – Richard Verreau, Canadian tenor (d. 2005)
- 1927 – Maurice Béjart, French-Swiss dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 2007)
- 1927 – Calum MacKay, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2001)
- 1927 – Yvonne Sanson, Greek actress (d. 2003)
- 1927 – Vernon L. Smith, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1927 – Doak Walker, American football player (d. 1998)
- 1928 – Ernest Tidyman, American author and screenwriter (d. 1984)
- 1928 – Gerhard Weinberg, German-American historian
- 1929 – Raymond Chow, Hong Kong film producer, co-founded Orange Sky Golden Harvest
- 1929 – Larry L. King, American journalist, author, and playwright (d. 2012)
- 1929 – Joseph Lombardo, American mob boss
- 1929 – Haruo Nakajima, Japanese actor
- 1930 – Jean-Pierre Duprey, French poet and sculptor (d. 1959)
- 1930 – Ty Hardin, American actor
- 1930 – Gaafar Nimeiry, Sudanese politician, 4th President of the Sudan (d. 2009)
- 1930 – Frederick Wiseman, American director and producer
- 1931 – Jimmy Smyth, Irish hurler (d. 2013)
- 1932 – Leman Çıdamlı, Turkish actress (d. 2012)
- 1932 – Jackie Parker, American football player (d. 2006)
- 1932 – Giuseppe Patanè, Italian conductor (d. 1989)
- 1933 – James Hormel, American philanthropist and diplomat
- 1933 – Joseph Koo, Chinese composer
- 1933 – Frederick Lowy, Canadian psychiatrist and academic
- 1933 – Joe Orton, English author and playwright (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, co-founded Costco
- 1937 – John Fuller, English poet
- 1937 – Petros Markaris, Greek author
- 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, English businessman, founded Panther Westwinds (d. 2005)
- 1938 – Frank Langella, American actor
- 1939 – Michèle Mercier, French actress
- 1941 – Asrani, Indian actor and producer
- 1941 – Martin Evans, English scientist
- 1941 – Younoussi Touré, Malian politician, Prime Minister of Mali
- 1942 – Dennis Archer, American lawyer and politician, 67th Mayor of Detroit
- 1942 – Anthony Hamilton-Smith, English peer and dentist
- 1942 – Al Hunt, American journalist
- 1942 – Country Joe McDonald, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Country Joe and the Fish)
- 1942 – Alassane Ouattara, Ivorian politician, President of the Ivory Coast
- 1942 – Gennadi Sarafanov, Russian astronaut (d. 2005)
- 1942 – Judy Stone, Australian singer
- 1943 – Larry Clark, American director and producer
- 1943 – Tony Knowles, American politician, 7th Governor of Alaska
- 1943 – Raghunath Anant Mashelkar, Indian scientist
- 1943 – Don Novello, American actor
- 1943 – Ronald Perelman, American businessman, founded MacAndrews & Forbes
- 1943 – Vladimir Šeks, Croatian politician
- 1944 – Omar al-Bashir, Sudanese politician, 7th President of Sudan
- 1944 – Jimmy Hart, American wrestling manager and singer (The Gentrys)
- 1944 – Jeremy Hindley, English horse trainer (d. 2013)
- 1944 – Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Pakistani politician, 13th Prime Minister of Pakistan
- 1944 – Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist (d. 2013)
- 1944 – Mati Unt, Estonian writer, essayist and theatre director (d. 2005)
- 1945 – Peter Duncan, Australian politician
- 1945 – Jacky Ickx, Belgian race car driver
- 1945 – Martin Schanche, Norwegian race car driver
- 1946 – Grady Allen, American football player (d. 2012)
- 1946 – Carl B. Hamilton, Swedish economist and politician
- 1946 – Susannah McCorkle, American singer (d. 2001)
- 1946 – Roberto Rivelino, Brazilian footballer
- 1946 – Shelby Steele, American author and director
- 1946 – Alain Voss, Brazilian-French illustrator (d. 2011)
- 1947 – Jon Corzine, American politician, 54th Governor of New Jersey
- 1947 – Leonard Thompson, American golfer
- 1947 – Paula Tsui, Hong Kong singer
- 1948 – Devlet Bahçeli, Turkish politician, 57th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
- 1948 – Pavel Grachev, Russian general (d. 2012)
- 1948 – Ian Lister, Scottish footballer (d. 2013)
- 1948 – Joe Petagno, American illustrator
- 1948 – Ampon Tangnoppakul, Thai criminal (d. 2012)
- 1948 – Ismael Zambada García, Mexican drug lord
- 1949 – Max Azria, Tunisian-French fashion designer
- 1949 – Olivia Goldsmith, American author (d. 2004)
- 1949 – Borys Tarasyuk, Ukrainian politician
- 1950 – Wayne Bennett, Australian rugby player and coach
- 1950 – Morgan Fisher, English keyboard player and songwriter (Mott the Hoople and Morgan)
- 1950 – Deepa Mehta, Indian-Canadian director and screenwriter
- 1950 – James Richardson, American poet
- 1951 – Prospero Gallinari, Italian terrorist (d. 2013)
- 1951 – Ashfaq Hussain, Pakistani-Canadian poet and journalist
- 1951 – Nana Patekar, Indian actor
- 1951 – Hans-Joachim Stuck, German race car driver
- 1952 – Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatari ruler, 7th Emir of Qatar
- 1952 – Stephanie Faracy, American actress
- 1952 – Shaji N. Karun, Indian director and cinematographer
- 1952 – Rosario Marchese, Italian-Canadian politician
- 1953 – Alpha Blondy, Ivorian-American singer-songwriter
- 1953 – Greg Carmichael, English guitarist (Acoustic Alchemy)
- 1953 – Gary Johnson, American politician
- 1953 – Lynn Jones, American baseball player
- 1954 – Richard Edson, American drummer and actor (Sonic Youth and Konk)
- 1954 – Bob Menendez, American politician
- 1954 – Dennis O'Driscoll, Irish poet (d. 2012)
- 1954 – Yannis Papathanasiou, Greek politician
- 1955 – Mary Beard, English classicist
- 1955 – LaMarr Hoyt, American baseball player
- 1955 – Gennady Lyachin, Russian captain (d. 2000)
- 1955 – Georgina von Etzdorf, British textile designer
- 1956 – Sergei Avdeyev, Russian astronaut
- 1956 – Mark R. Hughes, American businessman, founded Herbalife (d. 2000)
- 1956 – Christine Lagarde, French lawyer and politician
- 1956 – Sheila McCarthy, Canadian actress and singer
- 1956 – Mike Mitchell, American basketball player (d. 2011)
- 1956 – Ziad Rahbani, Lebanese pianist and composer
- 1956 – Kōji Yakusho, Japanese actor
- 1956 – Desireé Cousteau, American pornographic actress
- 1957 – Urmas Arumäe, Estonian lawyer
- 1957 – Mark Hurd, American businessman
- 1957 – Ewa Kasprzyk, Polish actress
- 1957 – Evangelos Venizelos, Greek lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece
- 1958 – Grandmaster Flash, Barbadian rapper and DJ (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five)
- 1958 – Dave Silk, American ice hockey player
- 1959 – Andy Andrews, American tennis player
- 1959 – Azali Assoumani, Comorian politician, President of the Comoros
- 1959 – Panagiotis Giannakis, Greek basketball player and coach
- 1959 – Abdul Ahad Mohmand, Afghan pilot and astronaut
- 1959 – Michel Onfray, French philosopher
- 1959 – Lysa Thatcher, American pornographic actress
- 1960 – Rayo de Jalisco, Jr., Mexican wrestler
- 1960 – Michael Seibert, American ice dancer
- 1960 – Toomas Vitsut, Estonian politician and businessman
- 1960 – Danny Wilson, English football manager and former player
- 1961 – Sergei Babayan, Armenian-American concert pianist
- 1961 – Sam Backo, Australian rugby player
- 1961 – Sam Palahnuk, American video game designer
- 1961 – Fiona Phillips, English journalist
- 1963 – Camila Batmanghelidjh, British businesswoman
- 1963 – Alberigo Evani, Italian footballer
- 1963 – Mukesh Gadhvi, Indian politician (d. 2013)
- 1963 – Jean-Marc Gounon, French race car driver
- 1963 – Lina Kačiušytė, Lithuanian swimmer
- 1963 – Dražen Ladić, Croatian footballer
- 1964 – Juliana Donald, American actress
- 1964 – Dedee Pfeiffer, American actress
- 1965 – John Sullivan, American politician
- 1965 – Andrew Valmon, American runner
- 1966 – Anna Burke, Australian politician, 28th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
- 1966 – Ivica Dačić, Serbian politician, 95th Prime Minister of Serbia
- 1967 – Tim Dog, American rapper (Ultramagnetic MCs)
- 1967 – Gorsha Sur, Russian ice dancer
- 1967 – Sharon Small, Scottish actress
- 1967 – Derrick Thomas, American football player (d. 2000)
- 1967 – Spencer Tunick, American photographer
- 1967 – Juanma Bajo Ulloa, Spanish director
- 1968 – Felix Chong, Hong Kong screenwriter
- 1968 – Sophie Okonedo, British actress
- 1968 – Miki Higashino, Japanese composer
- 1968 – Joey Stefano, American porn actor (d. 1994)
- 1968 – Davor Šuker, Croatian footballer
- 1969 – Nicolle Dickson, Australian actress
- 1969 – Melissa DiMarco, Canadian actress and producer
- 1969 – Morris Chestnut, American actor
- 1969 – Paul Lawrie, Scottish golfer
- 1969 – Christi Paul, American journalist
- 1969 – Verne Troyer, American actor and stuntman
- 1970 – Sergei Kiriakov, Russian footballer
- 1970 – Kimberly Page, American wrestling manager and actress
- 1971 – Phoebus, Greek songwriter
- 1971 – Sammie Henson, American wrestler
- 1971 – Bobby Holík, Czech ice hockey player
- 1971 – Rodney Leinhardt, American wrestler
- 1971 – Juan Carlos Plata, Guatemalan footballer
- 1971 – Chris Potter, American saxophonist and composer
- 1971 – Jyotiraditya Scindia India Congress leader
- 1972 – Garrett K. Gomez, American jockey
- 1972 – Yermakhan Ibraimov, Kazakh boxer
- 1972 – Barron Miles, American-Canadian football player
- 1972 – Lilian Thuram, French footballer
- 1973 – Shelda Bede, Brazilian volleyball player
- 1973 – Li Fang, Chinese tennis player
- 1973 – Danny Lloyd, American actor
- 1973 – Anwar Mansoor Mangrio, Pakistani poet
- 1973 – Magnus Sahlgren, Swedish guitarist (Lake of Tears, Dismember, and Tiamat)
- 1973 – Bryan Thao Worra, Laotian-American author, poet, and playwright
- 1974 – Christian Paradis, Canadian politician
- 1974 – Hamilton Ricard, Colombian footballer
- 1974 – Giorgos Theodotou, Cypriot footballer
- 1975 – Mohamed Albuflasa, Bahraini poet
- 1975 – Chris Anstey, Australian basketball player
- 1975 – Sonali Bendre, Indian model and actress
- 1975 – Joe Cannon, American soccer player
- 1975 – Becky Kellar-Duke, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975 – Eiichiro Oda, Japanese illustrator
- 1975 – Bengt Sæternes, Norwegian footballer
- 1975 – Fernando Tatís, Dominican baseball player
- 1977 – Leoš Friedl, Czech tennis player
- 1977 – María de la Paz Hernández, Argentinian field hockey player
- 1977 – Bobby 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 – Philip Mulryne, Irish footballer
- 1979 – Brody Dalle, Australian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Distillers Spinnerette)
- 1979 – Koichi Domoto, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor (KinKi Kids)
- 1979 – Fadi El Khatib, Lebanese basketball player
- 1980 – Lazaros Agadakos, Greek basketball player
- 1980 – Richie Faulkner, British guitarist (Judas Priest)
- 1980 – Karina Jacobsgaard, Danish tennis player
- 1980 – Elin Nordegren, Swedish-American model
- 1980 – Daniil Sapljoshin, Estonian kickboxer
- 1981 – Jonas Armstrong, Irish-English actor
- 1981 – Zsolt Baumgartner, Hungarian race car driver
- 1981 – Abdülkadir Koçak, Turkish boxer
- 1981 – Mladen Petrić, Croatian footballer
- 1981 – Eden Riegel, American actress
- 1982 – Egidio Arévalo Ríos, Uruguayan footballer
- 1982 – David Nalbandian, Argentinian tennis player
- 1982 – Luke Rodgers, English footballer
- 1983 – Calum Davenport, English footballer
- 1983 – Emi Kobayashi, Japanese model
- 1983 – Thomas Morrison, English actor
- 1983 – Park Sung-Hyun, South Korean archer
- 1984 – Christian Eigler, German footballer
- 1984 – Mohammed Ghaddar, Lebanese footballer
- 1984 – Paolo Guerrero, Peruvian footballer
- 1984 – Alok Kapali, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1984 – Cheung Kin Fung, Hong Kong footballer
- 1984 – Stefano Pastrello, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Michael Witt, Australian rugby player
- 1985 – Jeff Carter, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Steven Davis, Irish footballer
- 1985 – Eyjólfur Héðinsson, Icelandic footballer and model
- 1985 – Tiago Splitter, Brazilian basketball player
- 1986 – Glen Davis, American basketball player
- 1986 – Colin Morgan, Irish actor
- 1986 – Lee Sungmin, South Korean singer, dancer, and actor (Super Junior)
- 1987 – Gilbert Brulé, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Gia Coppola, American film director
- 1987 – Devin Setoguchi, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Myla Sinanaj, Albanian American Model and Actress
- 1988 – Ghazala Javed, Pakistani singer (d. 2012)
- 1988 – Grzegorz Panfil, Polish tennis player
- 1988 – Nelufar Hedayat, Afghan-English journalist
- 1990 – Serkan Kurtuluş, Turkish footballer
- 1990 – Safaa Rashed, Iraqi weightlifter
- 1992 – Daniel Kofi Agyei, Ghanaian footballer
- 1992 – Ali Ferydoon, Irani footballer
- 1992 – René Binder, Austrian race car driver
- 1992 – He Kexin, Chinese gymnast
- 1992 – Jack Wilshere, English footballer
- 1993 – Michael Olaitan, Nigerian footballer
Deaths[edit]
- 379 – Basil of Caesarea, Greek bishop (b. 329)
- 510 – Eugendus, French abbot (b. 449)
- 898 – Odo of France (b. 860)
- 962 – Baldwin III, Count of Flanders (b. 940)
- 1204 – Haakon III of Norway (b. 1170)
- 1387 – Charles II of Navarre (b. 1332)
- 1515 – Louis XII of France (b. 1462)
- 1559 – Christian III of Denmark (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 playwright (b. 1640)
- 1748 – Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (b. 1667)
- 1759 – Jacques-Joachim Trotti, marquis de La Chétardie, French diplomat (b. 1705)
- 1766 – James Francis Edward Stuart, English son of James II of England (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 navy stoker and explorer (b. 1825)
- 1853 – Gregory Blaxland, Australian farmer and explorer (b. 1778)
- 1862 – Mikhail Ostrogradsky, Russian physicist (b. 1801)
- 1881 – Louis Auguste Blanqui, French socialist and activist (b. 1805)
- 1892 – Roswell B. Mason, American politician, 25th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
- 1894 – Heinrich Hertz, German physicist (b. 1857)
- 1896 – Alfred Ely Beach, American publisher and lawyer, created the Beach Pneumatic Transit (b. 1826)
- 1906 – Hugh Nelson, Scottish-Australian politician, 11th Premier of Queensland (b. 1835)
- 1918 – Wilfred Campbell, Canadian poet (b. 1858)
- 1919 – Mikhail Drozdovsky, Russian general (b. 1881)
- 1921 – Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, German politician, 5th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1856)
- 1922 – István Kühár, Slovene priest and politician (b. 1887)
- 1931 – Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (b. 1851)
- 1940 – Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao, Indian author (b. 1865)
- 1941 – József Konkolics, Hungarian-Slovene author (d. 1861)
- 1942 – Otto Liiv, Estonian historian and archivist (b. 1905)
- 1944 – Edwin Lutyens, English architect, designed the Castle Drogo and Thiepval Memorial (b. 1869)
- 1944 – Charles Turner, Australian cricketer (b. 1862)
- 1953 – Hank Williams, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Drifting Cowboys) (b. 1923)
- 1954 – Leonard Bacon, American poet (b. 1887)
- 1954 – Duff Cooper, English politician, diplomat, and author, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1890)
- 1955 – Arthur C. Parker, American archaeologist and historian (b. 1881)
- 1955 – Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, Indian Scientist(b.1894)
- 1957 – Seán South, Irish militant (b. 1928)
- 1958 – Edward Weston, American photographer (b. 1886)
- 1960 – Margaret Sullavan, American actress and screenwriter (b. 1909)
- 1964 – Bechara El Khoury, Lebanese politician, 6th President of Lebanon (b. 1890)
- 1965 – Emma Asson, Estonian politician (b. 1889)
- 1966 – Vincent Auriol, French politician, 16th President of the French Republic (b. 1884)
- 1968 – Malcolm Wheeler-Nicholson, American pulp writer and publisher, founder of DC Comics (b. 1890)
- 1969 – Bruno Söderström, Swedish pole vaulter (b. 1888)
- 1971 – Amphilochius of Pochayiv, Ukrainian saint (b. 1894)
- 1972 – Maurice Chevalier, French actor (b. 1888)
- 1973 – Sergei Kourdakov, Soviet navy officer and KGB agent (b. 1951)
- 1978 – Don Freeman, American artist and author (b. 1908)
- 1980 – Pietro Nenni, Italian politician (b. 1891)
- 1981 – Hephzibah Menuhin, American-Australian pianist (b. 1920)
- 1982 – Victor Buono, American actor (b. 1938)
- 1984 – Alexis Korner, French-English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Blues Incorporated and Collective Consciousness Society) (b. 1928)
- 1985 – Sigerson Clifford, Irish poet, playwright, and civil servant (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 scientist and navy officer, co-developed COBOL (b. 1906)
- 1994 – Arthur Porritt, Baron Porritt, New Zealand physician and politician, 11th Governor-General of New Zealand (b. 1900)
- 1994 – Cesar Romero, American actor (b. 1907)
- 1994 – Edward Arthur Thompson, Irish historian (b. 1914)
- 1995 – Fred West, English serial killer (b. 1941)
- 1995 – Eugene Wigner, Hungarian-American physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- 1996 – Arleigh Burke, American admiral (b. 1901)
- 1996 – Arthur Rudolph, German engineer (b. 1906)
- 1997 – Ivan Graziani, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1945)
- 1997 – Townes Van Zandt, American singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
- 1998 – Helen Wills, American tennis player (b. 1905)
- 2000 – Colin Vaughan, Australian journalist (b. 1931)
- 2001 – Ray Walston, American actor (b. 1914)
- 2002 – Julia Phillips, American film producer and author (b. 1944)
- 2003 – Joe Foss, American pilot, politician, and broadcaster, 20th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1915)
- 2003 – Dumitru Tinu, Romanian journalist (b. 1940)
- 2005 – Shirley Chisholm, American educator, politician, and author (b. 1924)
- 2005 – Eugene J. Martin, American painter (b. 1938)
- 2006 – Dawn Lake, Australian comedian, actress, and singer (b. 1927)
- 2006 – Harry Magdoff, American journalist (b. 1913)
- 2006 – Hugh McLaughlin, Irish publisher and inventor, invented the Water hog (b. 1918)
- 2007 – Leon Davidson, American engineer and scientist (b. 1922)
- 2007 – Roland Levinsky, South African scientist (b. 1943)
- 2007 – Darrent Williams, American football player (b. 1982)
- 2008 – Salvatore Bonanno, American son of Joseph Bonanno (b. 1932)
- 2008 – Peter Caffrey, Irish actor (b. 1949)
- 2008 – Pratap Chandra Chunder, Indian politician and author (b. 1919)
- 2008 – Harold Corsini, American photographer (b. 1919)
- 2009 – Aarne Arvonen, Finnish super-centenarian (b. 1897)
- 2009 – Claiborne Pell, American politician (b. 1918)
- 2009 – Nizar Rayan, Palestinian Hamas leader (b. 1962)
- 2009 – Sheikh Ahmed Salim Swedan Kenyan terrorist (b. 1960)
- 2009 – Ron Asheton American guitarrist and songwriter (The Stooges, The New Order, Destroy All Monsters and New Race) (b. 1948)
- 2010 – Lhasa de Sela, American-Mexican singer-songwriter (b. 1972)
- 2011 – Marin Constantin, Romanian composer and conductor (b. 1925)
- 2011 – Reynaldo Dagsa, Filipino politician
- 2011 – Flemming Jørgensen, Danish singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor (Bamses Venner) (b. 1947)
- 2012 – Bob Anderson, English fencer, stuntman, and choreographer (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Carlos Soria, Argentine lawyer and politician (b. 1948)
- 2012 – Yafa Yarkoni, Israeli singer (b. 1925)
- 2013 – Yuri Alexandrov, Russian boxer (b. 1963)
- 2013 – Moses Anderson, American bishop (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Lory Blanchard, New Zealand rugby player and coach (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Robert Callahan, American judge (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Michael Patrick Cronan, American graphic designer (b. 1951)
- 2013 – Jack Davis, American football player (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Ross Davis, American baseball player (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Lucio Dell'Angelo, Italian footballer (b. 1938)
- 2013 – Lloyd Hartman Elliott, American academic (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Hugh Gillis, American politician (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Allan Hancox, English-Kenyan judge, Chief Justice of Kenya (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Roz Howard, American race car driver (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Patti Page, American singer and actress (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Barbara Werle, American actress and singer (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances[edit]
- Christian Feast Day:
- Basil the Great (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Feast of the Circumcision of Christ
- Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus (Lutheran Church)
- Fulgentius of Ruspe
- Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the Octave Day of Christmas, considered a holy day of obligation in some countries (Catholic Church)
- Telemachus
- World Day of Peace (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 (Taiwan)
- 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)
- The last day of Kwanzaa (United States)
- The presidents of Brazil and Switzerland take possession.
- Triumph of the Revolution (Cuba)
“This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.” - Isaiah 43:16, 18-19
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
December 31: Morning"In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink." - John 7:37
Patience had her perfect work in the Lord Jesus, and until the last day of the feast he pleaded with the Jews, even as on this last day of the year he pleads with us, and waits to be gracious to us. Admirable indeed is the longsuffering of the Saviour in bearing with some of us year after year, notwithstanding our provocations, rebellions, and resistance of his Holy Spirit. Wonder of wonders that we are still in the land of mercy!
Pity expressed herself most plainly, for Jesus cried, which implies not only the loudness of his voice, but the tenderness of his tones. He entreats us to be reconciled. "We pray you," says the Apostle, "as though God did beseech you by us." What earnest, pathetic terms are these! How deep must be the love which makes the Lord weep over sinners, and like a mother woo his children to his bosom! Surely at the call of such a cry our willing hearts will come.
Provision is made most plenteously; all is provided that man can need to quench his soul's thirst. To his conscience the atonement brings peace; to his understanding the gospel brings the richest instruction; to his heart the person of Jesus is the noblest object of affection; to the whole man the truth as it is in Jesus supplies the purest nutriment. Thirst is terrible, but Jesus can remove it. Though the soul were utterly famished, Jesus could restore it.
Proclamation is made most freely, that every thirsty one is welcome. No other distinction is made but that of thirst. Whether it be the thirst of avarice, ambition, pleasure, knowledge, or rest, he who suffers from it is invited. The thirst may be bad in itself, and be no sign of grace, but rather a mark of inordinate sin longing to be gratified with deeper draughts of lust; but it is not goodness in the creature which brings him the invitation, the Lord Jesus sends it freely, and without respect of persons.
Personality is declared most fully. The sinner must come to Jesus, not to works, ordinances, or doctrines, but to a personal Redeemer, who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree. The bleeding, dying, rising Saviour, is the only star of hope to a sinner. Oh for grace to come now and drink, ere the sun sets upon the year's last day!
No waiting or preparation is so much as hinted at. Drinking represents a reception for which no fitness is required. A fool, a thief, a harlot can drink; and so sinfulness of character is no bar to the invitation to believe in Jesus. We want no golden cup, no bejewelled chalice, in which to convey the water to the thirsty; the mouth of poverty is welcome to stoop down and quaff the flowing flood. Blistered, leprous, filthy lips may touch the stream of divine love; they cannot pollute it, but shall themselves be purified. Jesus is the fount of hope. Dear reader, hear the dear Redeemer's loving voice as he cries to each of us,
"IF ANY MAN THIRST,Evening
LET HIM
COME UNTO ME
AND DRINK."
"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved." - Jeremiah 8:20
Not saved! Dear reader, is this your mournful plight? Warned of the judgment to come, bidden to escape for your life, and yet at this moment not saved! You know the way of salvation, you read it in the Bible, you hear it from the pulpit, it is explained to you by friends, and yet you neglect it, and therefore you are not saved. You will be without excuse when the Lord shall judge the quick and dead. The Holy Spirit has given more or less of blessing upon the word which has been preached in your hearing, and times of refreshing have come from the divine presence, and yet you are without Christ. All these hopeful seasons have come and gone--your summer and your harvest have past--and yet you are not saved. Years have followed one another into eternity, and your last year will soon be here: youth has gone, manhood is going, and yet you are not saved. Let me ask you--will you ever be saved? Is there any likelihood of it? Already the most propitious seasons have left you unsaved; will other occasions alter your condition? Means have failed with you--the best of means, used perseveringly and with the utmost affection--what more can be done for you? Affliction and prosperity have alike failed to impress you; tears and prayers and sermons have been wasted on your barren heart. Are not the probabilities dead against your ever being saved? Is it not more than likely that you will abide as you are till death forever bars the door of hope? Do you recoil from the supposition? Yet it is a most reasonable one: he who is not washed in so many waters will in all probability go filthy to his end. The convenient time never has come, why should it ever come? It is logical to fear that it never will arrive, and that Felix like, you will find no convenient season till you are in hell. O bethink you of what that hell is, and of the dread probability that you will soon be cast into it!
Reader, suppose you should die unsaved, your doom no words can picture. Write out your dread estate in tears and blood, talk of it with groans and gnashing of teeth: you will be punished with everlasting destruction from the glory of the Lord, and from the glory of his power. A brother's voice would fain startle you into earnestness. O be wise, be wise in time, and ere another year begins, believe in Jesus, who is able to save to the uttermost. Consecrate these last hours to lonely thought, and if deep repentance be bred in you, it will be well; and if it lead to a humble faith in Jesus, it will be best of all. O see to it that this year pass not away, and you an unforgiven spirit. Let not the new year's midnight peals sound upon a joyless spirit! Now, now, NOW believe, and live.
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Abijah, Abiah, Abia
[Ăbī'jah,Ăbī'ah, Ăbī' ă] - jehovah is my father or father of the sea.1. A son of Jeroboam who died in his youth (1 Kings 14:1).
2. A priest in David's time who was head of the eighth course in Temple service (1 Chron. 24:10).
3. Son and successor of Rehoboam whose mother was Maachah, Absalom's daughter (2 Chron. 11:20, 22; 2 Chron. 12:16; 2 Chron. 13; 2 Chron. 14:1). Called Abijam in 1 Kings 14:31.
4. A priest who sealed the covenant made by Nehemiah and the people to serve the Lord. As further references are encountered to this act, it will be borne in mind that it represented the re-dedication of the people to the worship and work of God after their return from the Babylonian captivity.
5. Another priest who returned from exile. Perhaps the same person as the preceding Abijah (Neh. 12:1-4, 12-17). Also the name of the mother of Hezekiah, king of Judah (2 Chron. 29:1; she is also called Abi, 2 Kings 18:2).
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Today marks the final Bible reading of 2010 and concludes with the final chapters of the Old and New Testaments.
Today's reading: Malachi 1-4, Revelation 22 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Malachi 1-4
1 An oracle: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.
Jacob Loved, Esau Hated
2 "I have loved you," says the LORD.
"But you ask, 'How have you loved us?'
"Was not Esau Jacob's brother?" the LORD says. "Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his mountains into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals."
...read the rest on Bible Gateway
Today's New Testament reading: Revelation 22
The River of Life
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.
...read the rest on Bible Gateway
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