Headlines claim Queensland’s public transport did not fail badly on NYE. Melbourne has a magnificent public transport system, broader than Sydney and effective. Sometimes. In Dandenong, the Plaza is a hub. But local council were celebrating NYE by using Walker street which is a major thoroughfare to Dandenong Plaza. Buses were diverted from Walker St, but the powers that be forgot the last stop before Dandenong station, which is the Plaza. When I called regarding the 828 bus which was over an hour late, and there was an hour between bus times on the timetable, public transport Victoria lied to me, saying that everything was running as normal. A ten minute late 828, running at 3:16 PM when I’d waited since 1:45 PM, was not diverted before the Plaza as others were, but was diverted from Walker street, doing a difficult manoeuvre (for a bus) on side streets. Badly planned. Badly executed and the information service lied to cover up what was happening for people who just wanted to know the best way home.
=== from 2015 ===
In the past seven years, some $16.2 billion dollars has gone to so called Palestine as aid. An estimated 90% to 95% has been diverted to fund terror. People calling themselves Palestinians now are not related to those people called Palestinian in 1938 and do not fight for the 1938 flag, which is Israel's flag. Those people calling themselves Palestinian and funding terror with foreign aid are descended from Jordanians, and got pushed out after a Jordanian civil war. The leaders of the Palestinians are terroists who inherited their positions from those who killed Bobby Kennedy, committed the atrocity of the Munich Olympics and Achille Lauro. The Palestinian leadership were friends of Idi Amin and well connected to Iran. Arafat was given a Nobel Peace Prize in 1994, for the work of Yitzhak Rabin and Shimon Peres. Arafat later initiated a new intifada after smoking a cigar with Clinton rumoured to be a Monica Special.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
From 2014
For the New Year ahead we have an ALP legacy which means the government has to cut spending. A few cuts begin today in Australia, the first day of the New Year. New Year's day has not always begun on the first of January. Roman consuls began their year on this day in 153 BC. The Julian Calendar had Jan 1 as the beginning of the year in 45 BC. The Gregorian Calendar reinforces the date from the religious viewpoint that Christ was circumcised by custom seven days after his birth which is celebrated on Christmas Day. However, January 1st was recognised as the first day of the new year before the Gregorian Calendar was adopted in some cases. England made it the first day of the year in 1752. Scotland had done so in 1600. In Sydney in 1914 on January 1st, Lord Mayor Clover Moore provided an Eye of Sauron light show. Last night, ABC given the privilege of showing the fireworks took the opportunity to show the heads of their comperes as they talked to each other for lengthy intervals.
Tim Blair invented the term Frightbat to describe hysterical, but not funny, female journalists who made OTT comments with no discernible logic. Like with one suggesting an eight year old celebrity girl should get laid. Or another being outraged at not being touched by a friendly person on public transport. Or another being outraged at having to stop their bike for a manual labourer backing into a loading zone. One identified Frightbat has today claimed that Blair's Frightbat description is related to Jihadists raping and killing Yazidi girls in ISIL. The accuser is a well remunerated journalist. HNY.
Today is also a success for the Clare Oliver campaign. The NSW government has banned UV Sun beds for business. I kept my promise, Clare. http://youtu.be/giuaqDMaq9Y
Tim Blair invented the term Frightbat to describe hysterical, but not funny, female journalists who made OTT comments with no discernible logic. Like with one suggesting an eight year old celebrity girl should get laid. Or another being outraged at not being touched by a friendly person on public transport. Or another being outraged at having to stop their bike for a manual labourer backing into a loading zone. One identified Frightbat has today claimed that Blair's Frightbat description is related to Jihadists raping and killing Yazidi girls in ISIL. The accuser is a well remunerated journalist. HNY.
Today is also a success for the Clare Oliver campaign. The NSW government has banned UV Sun beds for business. I kept my promise, Clare. http://youtu.be/giuaqDMaq9Y
From 2013
The Iraqi communication's Minister, labelled Comical Ali who claimed the US was retreating as Baghdad was invaded was heard in spirit from AGW icebound vessel claiming "It is raining." Raining so much that the ice held fast and could not be breached by an ice breaker, or accessed by a helicopter. The so called researchers had gone to Antarctica in high summer to measure ice loss. Now, they will only be able to report that they could not measure it because of conditions. It snowed four times in London in the 20th Century. But it has snowed some six times already in the 21st century. It snowed in London some 17 times in the nineteenth century, and in eight consecutive years corresponding to the birth of Charles Dickens. So that a number of Dicken's books refer to a snowy Christmas in London. And because that is part of literature, there is an expectation that that will happen, and disappointment when it doesn't. How will the world, which has given $trillions to AGW believers, react when it registers that the money was merely diverted from the poorest and most vulnerable to feed fantasists?
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.
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.
Historical perspective on this day
In 153 BC, Roman consuls began their year in office. 45 BC, the Julian calendar took effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, establishing January 1 as the new date of the new year. 42 BC, the Roman Senate posthumously deified Julius Caesar 69, the Roman legions in Germania Superior refused to swear loyalty to Galba. They rebelled and proclaimed Vitelliusas emperor. 193, the Senate chose Pertinax against his will to succeed Commodus as Roman emperor. 404, an infuriated Roman mob tore 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, was married to the Visigothic king Ataulf at Narbonne. The wedding was celebrated with Roman festivities and magnificent gifts from the Gothic booty. 417, Emperor Honorius forced Galla Placidia into marriage to Constantius, his famous general (magister militia).
In 1001, Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary was named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II. 1068, Romanos IV Diogenes married Eudokia Makrembolitissa and was crowned Byzantine Emperor. 1259, Michael VIII Palaiologos was proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Laskaris. 1438, Albert II of Habsburg was crowned King of Hungary. 1502, the present-day location of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was first explored by the Portuguese. 1515, King Francis I of France succeeded to the French throne. 1527, Croatian nobles elected Ferdinand I of Austria as King of Croatia in the Parliament on Cetin. 1600, Scotland began its numbered year on January 1 instead of March 25. 1651, Charles II was crowned King of Scotland. 1700, Russia began using the Anno Domini era and no longer used the Anno Mundi era of the Byzantine Empire. 1707, John V was crowned King of Portugal. 1739, Bouvet Island was discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier. 1772, the first traveler's cheques, which could be used in 90 European cities, went on sale in London, England. 1773, the hymn that became known as "Amazing Grace", then titled "1 Chronicles 17:16–17" was first used to accompany a sermon led by John Newton in the town of Olney, England. 1776, American Revolutionary War: Norfolk, Virginia was burned by combined Royal Navy and Continental Army action. 1781 American Revolutionary War: One thousand five hundred soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regimentunder General Anthony Wayne's command rebelled 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, was published.
In 1800, the Dutch East India Company was dissolved. 1801, the legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland was completed to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Also 1801, the dwarf planet Ceres was discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi. 1803, emperor Gia Long ordered 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 ended in Haiti. Haiti became the first black republic and second independent country in North America after the United States 1806, the French Republican Calendar was abolished. 1808, the importation of slaves into the United States was banned. 1810, Major-General Lachlan Macquarie officially became Governor of New South Wales 1812, the Bishop of Durham, Shute Barrington, ordered troops from Durham Castle to break up a miners' strike in Chester-le-Street, Co. Durham 1822, the Greek Constitution of 1822 was adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus. 1833, the United Kingdom claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. 1845, the Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn, New York City was completed. 1847, the world's first "Mercy" Hospital was founded in Pittsburgh by the Sisters of Mercy, the name will go on to grace over 30 major hospitals throughout the world.
In 1860, First Polish stamp was issued. 1861, Porfirio Díaz conquered Mexico City, Mexico. 1863, American Civil War: The Emancipation Proclamation took effect in Confederate territory. Also 1863, the first claim under the Homestead Act was 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 began using the Gregorian calendar. 1877, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom was proclaimed Empress of India. 1880, Ferdinand de Lesseps began French construction of the Panama Canal. 1885, twenty-five nations adopt Sandford Fleming's proposal for standard time (and also, time zones) 1890, Eritrea was consolidated into a colony by the Italian government. Also 1890, the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, was first held. 1892, Ellis Island opened to begin processing immigrants into the United States. 1894, the Manchester Ship Canal, was officially opened to traffic. 1898, New York, New York annexed land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, were joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs. 1899, Spanish rule ended in Cuba.
In 1901, Nigeria became a British protectorate. Also 1901, the British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia federated as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton was appointed the first Prime Minister. 1902, the first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, was held in Pasadena, California. 1906, British India officially adopted Indian Standard Time. 1908, for the first time, a ball was dropped in New York City's Times Square to signify the start of the New Year at midnight. 1909, drilling began on the Lakeview Gusher. 1910, Captain David Beatty was promoted to Rear admiral, and became the youngest admiral in the Royal Navy (except for Royal familymembers), since Horatio Nelson. 1911, Northern Territory was separated from South Australia and transferred to Commonwealth control. 1912, the Republic of China was established. 1913, the British Board of Censors was established. 1916, German troops abandoned Yaoundé and their Kamerun colony to British forces and began the long march to Spanish Guinea. 1920, the Belorussian Communist Organisation was founded as a separate party. 1923, Britain's Railways were grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS. 1927, the Cristero War began in Mexico. Also 1927, Turkey adopted the Gregorian calendar: December 18, 1926 (Julian), was immediately followed by January 1, 1927 (Gregorian). 1928, Boris Bazhanov defected through Iran. He was 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 were amalgamated into Vancouver.
In 1932, the United States Post Office Department issued a set of 12 stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth. 1934, Alcatraz Island became a United States federal prison. Also 1934, Nazi Germany passed the "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring". 1937, safety glass in vehicle windscreens became mandatory in the United Kingdom. 1939, Sydney, Australia, sweltered in 45 ˚C (113 ˚F) heat, a record for the city. 1942, the Declaration by United Nations was signed by twenty-six nations. 1945, World War II: In retaliation for the Malmedy massacre, U.S. troops massacred 30 SS prisoners at Chenogne. Also 1945, World War II: The German Luftwaffe launched 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, merged to form the Bizone, that later became West Germany. Also 1947, the Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 came into effect, converting British subjects into Canadian citizens. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King became the first Canadian citizen. 1948, the British railway network was nationalized to form British Railways. Also 1948, the Constitution of Italy came into force. 1949, United Nations cease-fire took effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stopped accordingly.
In 1950, 1950 – Standard practice uses this day as the origin of the age scale Before Present 1954, NBC made 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 achieved independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom. Also 1956, a new year event caused panic and stampedes at Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, Niigata, Japan, killing at least 124 people. 1957, George Town, Penang became a city by a royal charter granted by Elizabeth II. Also 1957, an Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit attacked Brookeborough RUC barracks during Operation Harvest; two IRA volunteers were killed. 1958, the European Economic Community was established. 1959, Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, was overthrown by Fidel Castro's forces during the Cuban Revolution. 1960, Cameroon achieved independence from France and the United Kingdom. 1962, Western Samoa achieved independence from New Zealand; its name was changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa. Also 1962, United States Navy SEALs were established. 1964, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia. 1965, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan was founded in Kabul, Afghanistan. 1966, a twelve-day New York City transit strike began. Also 1966, after a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassaassumed power as president of the Central African Republic.
In 1970, Unix time began at 00:00:00 UTC/GMT. 1971, Cigarette advertisements were banned on American television. Also 1971, Hellenic Railways Organisation, the Greek national railway company, was founded. 1973, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Ireland were admitted into the European Economic Community. 1977, Charter 77 published its first document. 1978, Air India Flight 855 Boeing 747 crashed into the sea, due to instrument failure and pilot disorientation, off the coast of Bombay, India, killing 213. Also 1978, the Constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands became effective. 1979, formal diplomatic relations were established between China and the United States. 1980, Victoria was crowned princess of Sweden. 1981, Greece was admitted into the European Community. Also 1981, Palauachieved self-government though it was not independent from the United States. 1982, Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar became the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations. Also 1982, ITV franchise ATV got replaced by Central 1983, the ARPANET officially changed to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet. 1984, the original American Telephone & Telegraph Company was 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. Also 1984, Brunei became independent of the United Kingdom. 1985, the Internet's Domain Name System was created. Also 1985, the first British mobile phone call was made by Ernie Wise to Vodafone. 1986, Aruba became independent of Curaçao, though it remained in free association with the Netherlands. Also 1986, Spain and Portugal were admitted into the European Community. 1987, a value-added tax was introduced in Greece for the first time. 1988, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Americacame into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. 1989, the Montreal Protocol came into force, stopping the use of chemicals contributing to ozone depletion.
In 1990, David Dinkins was sworn in as New York City's first black mayor. 1992, the Russian Federation was formally established. 1993, Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia was divided into Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Also 1993, a single market within the European Community was introduced. 1994, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiated twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican state of Chiapas. 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement came into effect. 1995, the World Trade Organization went into effect. Also 1995, Sweden, Austria, and Finland were admitted into the European Union. Also 1995, the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe became the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Also 1995, the Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway was detected, confirming the existence of freak waves. 1996, Curaçao gained limited self-government, though it remained within free association with the Netherlands. 1997, Zaire officially joined the World Trade Organization. Also 1997, Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan was appointed Secretary-General of the United Nations. 1998, Russia began to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence. Also 1998, the European Central Bank was established. 1999, the Euro currency was introduced in 11 countries - members of the European Union (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden).
In 2002, Euro banknotes and coins became legal tender in twelve of the European Union's member states. Also 2002, Taiwan officially joined the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei. Also 2002, the Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially came into force. 2004, in a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf won 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, was "deemed to be elected" to the office of President until October 2007. 2007, Bulgaria and Romania officially joined the European Union. Slovenia joins Eurozone. Also 2007, Adam Air Flight 574 disappeared over Indonesia with 102 people on board. 2008, Cyprus and Malta joined the Eurozone. 2009, Sixty-six people died in a nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand. Also 2009, Slovakia joined the Eurozone. 2010, a suicide car bomber detonated at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100 more. 2011, a bomb exploded as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, left a new year service, killing 23 people. Also 2011, the Kallikratis plan became the new administrative system of Greece. Also 2011, Estonia joined the Eurozone. 2012, a Moldovancivilian was fatally wounded by a Russian peacekeeper in the Transnistrian security zone, leading to demonstrations against Russia. 2013, at least 60 people were killed and 200 injured in a stampede after celebrations at Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. 2014, Latvia joined the Eurozone. 2015, Lithuania joined the Eurozone.
In 1001, Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary was named the first King of Hungary by Pope Sylvester II. 1068, Romanos IV Diogenes married Eudokia Makrembolitissa and was crowned Byzantine Emperor. 1259, Michael VIII Palaiologos was proclaimed co-emperor of the Empire of Nicaea with his ward John IV Laskaris. 1438, Albert II of Habsburg was crowned King of Hungary. 1502, the present-day location of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil was first explored by the Portuguese. 1515, King Francis I of France succeeded to the French throne. 1527, Croatian nobles elected Ferdinand I of Austria as King of Croatia in the Parliament on Cetin. 1600, Scotland began its numbered year on January 1 instead of March 25. 1651, Charles II was crowned King of Scotland. 1700, Russia began using the Anno Domini era and no longer used the Anno Mundi era of the Byzantine Empire. 1707, John V was crowned King of Portugal. 1739, Bouvet Island was discovered by French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charles Bouvet de Lozier. 1772, the first traveler's cheques, which could be used in 90 European cities, went on sale in London, England. 1773, the hymn that became known as "Amazing Grace", then titled "1 Chronicles 17:16–17" was first used to accompany a sermon led by John Newton in the town of Olney, England. 1776, American Revolutionary War: Norfolk, Virginia was burned by combined Royal Navy and Continental Army action. 1781 American Revolutionary War: One thousand five hundred soldiers of the 6th Pennsylvania Regimentunder General Anthony Wayne's command rebelled 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, was published.
In 1800, the Dutch East India Company was dissolved. 1801, the legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland was completed to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. Also 1801, the dwarf planet Ceres was discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi. 1803, emperor Gia Long ordered 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 ended in Haiti. Haiti became the first black republic and second independent country in North America after the United States 1806, the French Republican Calendar was abolished. 1808, the importation of slaves into the United States was banned. 1810, Major-General Lachlan Macquarie officially became Governor of New South Wales 1812, the Bishop of Durham, Shute Barrington, ordered troops from Durham Castle to break up a miners' strike in Chester-le-Street, Co. Durham 1822, the Greek Constitution of 1822 was adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus. 1833, the United Kingdom claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands. 1845, the Cobble Hill Tunnel in Brooklyn, New York City was completed. 1847, the world's first "Mercy" Hospital was founded in Pittsburgh by the Sisters of Mercy, the name will go on to grace over 30 major hospitals throughout the world.
In 1860, First Polish stamp was issued. 1861, Porfirio Díaz conquered Mexico City, Mexico. 1863, American Civil War: The Emancipation Proclamation took effect in Confederate territory. Also 1863, the first claim under the Homestead Act was 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 began using the Gregorian calendar. 1877, Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom was proclaimed Empress of India. 1880, Ferdinand de Lesseps began French construction of the Panama Canal. 1885, twenty-five nations adopt Sandford Fleming's proposal for standard time (and also, time zones) 1890, Eritrea was consolidated into a colony by the Italian government. Also 1890, the Rose Parade in Pasadena, California, was first held. 1892, Ellis Island opened to begin processing immigrants into the United States. 1894, the Manchester Ship Canal, was officially opened to traffic. 1898, New York, New York annexed land from surrounding counties, creating the City of Greater New York. The four initial boroughs, Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx, were joined on January 25 by Staten Island to create the modern city of five boroughs. 1899, Spanish rule ended in Cuba.
In 1901, Nigeria became a British protectorate. Also 1901, the British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia federated as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton was appointed the first Prime Minister. 1902, the first American college football bowl game, the Rose Bowl between Michigan and Stanford, was held in Pasadena, California. 1906, British India officially adopted Indian Standard Time. 1908, for the first time, a ball was dropped in New York City's Times Square to signify the start of the New Year at midnight. 1909, drilling began on the Lakeview Gusher. 1910, Captain David Beatty was promoted to Rear admiral, and became the youngest admiral in the Royal Navy (except for Royal familymembers), since Horatio Nelson. 1911, Northern Territory was separated from South Australia and transferred to Commonwealth control. 1912, the Republic of China was established. 1913, the British Board of Censors was established. 1916, German troops abandoned Yaoundé and their Kamerun colony to British forces and began the long march to Spanish Guinea. 1920, the Belorussian Communist Organisation was founded as a separate party. 1923, Britain's Railways were grouped into the Big Four: LNER, GWR, SR, and LMS. 1927, the Cristero War began in Mexico. Also 1927, Turkey adopted the Gregorian calendar: December 18, 1926 (Julian), was immediately followed by January 1, 1927 (Gregorian). 1928, Boris Bazhanov defected through Iran. He was 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 were amalgamated into Vancouver.
In 1932, the United States Post Office Department issued a set of 12 stamps commemorating the 200th anniversary of George Washington's birth. 1934, Alcatraz Island became a United States federal prison. Also 1934, Nazi Germany passed the "Law for the Prevention of Genetically Diseased Offspring". 1937, safety glass in vehicle windscreens became mandatory in the United Kingdom. 1939, Sydney, Australia, sweltered in 45 ˚C (113 ˚F) heat, a record for the city. 1942, the Declaration by United Nations was signed by twenty-six nations. 1945, World War II: In retaliation for the Malmedy massacre, U.S. troops massacred 30 SS prisoners at Chenogne. Also 1945, World War II: The German Luftwaffe launched 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, merged to form the Bizone, that later became West Germany. Also 1947, the Canadian Citizenship Act 1946 came into effect, converting British subjects into Canadian citizens. Prime Minister William Lyon Mackenzie King became the first Canadian citizen. 1948, the British railway network was nationalized to form British Railways. Also 1948, the Constitution of Italy came into force. 1949, United Nations cease-fire took effect in Kashmir from one minute before midnight. War between India and Pakistan stopped accordingly.
In 1950, 1950 – Standard practice uses this day as the origin of the age scale Before Present 1954, NBC made 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 achieved independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom. Also 1956, a new year event caused panic and stampedes at Yahiko Shrine, Yahiko, Niigata, Japan, killing at least 124 people. 1957, George Town, Penang became a city by a royal charter granted by Elizabeth II. Also 1957, an Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit attacked Brookeborough RUC barracks during Operation Harvest; two IRA volunteers were killed. 1958, the European Economic Community was established. 1959, Fulgencio Batista, dictator of Cuba, was overthrown by Fidel Castro's forces during the Cuban Revolution. 1960, Cameroon achieved independence from France and the United Kingdom. 1962, Western Samoa achieved independence from New Zealand; its name was changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa. Also 1962, United States Navy SEALs were established. 1964, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was divided into the independent republics of Zambia and Malawi, and the British-controlled Rhodesia. 1965, the People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan was founded in Kabul, Afghanistan. 1966, a twelve-day New York City transit strike began. Also 1966, after a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassaassumed power as president of the Central African Republic.
In 1970, Unix time began at 00:00:00 UTC/GMT. 1971, Cigarette advertisements were banned on American television. Also 1971, Hellenic Railways Organisation, the Greek national railway company, was founded. 1973, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Ireland were admitted into the European Economic Community. 1977, Charter 77 published its first document. 1978, Air India Flight 855 Boeing 747 crashed into the sea, due to instrument failure and pilot disorientation, off the coast of Bombay, India, killing 213. Also 1978, the Constitution of the Northern Mariana Islands became effective. 1979, formal diplomatic relations were established between China and the United States. 1980, Victoria was crowned princess of Sweden. 1981, Greece was admitted into the European Community. Also 1981, Palauachieved self-government though it was not independent from the United States. 1982, Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar became the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations. Also 1982, ITV franchise ATV got replaced by Central 1983, the ARPANET officially changed to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet. 1984, the original American Telephone & Telegraph Company was 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. Also 1984, Brunei became independent of the United Kingdom. 1985, the Internet's Domain Name System was created. Also 1985, the first British mobile phone call was made by Ernie Wise to Vodafone. 1986, Aruba became independent of Curaçao, though it remained in free association with the Netherlands. Also 1986, Spain and Portugal were admitted into the European Community. 1987, a value-added tax was introduced in Greece for the first time. 1988, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Americacame into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States. 1989, the Montreal Protocol came into force, stopping the use of chemicals contributing to ozone depletion.
In 1990, David Dinkins was sworn in as New York City's first black mayor. 1992, the Russian Federation was formally established. 1993, Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia was divided into Slovakia and the Czech Republic. Also 1993, a single market within the European Community was introduced. 1994, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation initiated twelve days of armed conflict in the Mexican state of Chiapas. 1994, the North American Free Trade Agreement came into effect. 1995, the World Trade Organization went into effect. Also 1995, Sweden, Austria, and Finland were admitted into the European Union. Also 1995, the Conference for Security and Co-operation in Europe became the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe. Also 1995, the Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway was detected, confirming the existence of freak waves. 1996, Curaçao gained limited self-government, though it remained within free association with the Netherlands. 1997, Zaire officially joined the World Trade Organization. Also 1997, Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan was appointed Secretary-General of the United Nations. 1998, Russia began to circulate new rubles to stem inflation and promote confidence. Also 1998, the European Central Bank was established. 1999, the Euro currency was introduced in 11 countries - members of the European Union (with the exception of the United Kingdom, Denmark, Greece and Sweden).
In 2002, Euro banknotes and coins became legal tender in twelve of the European Union's member states. Also 2002, Taiwan officially joined the World Trade Organization, as Chinese Taipei. Also 2002, the Open Skies mutual surveillance treaty, initially signed in 1992, officially came into force. 2004, in a vote of confidence, General Pervez Musharraf won 658 out of 1,170 votes in the Electoral College of Pakistan, and according to Article 41(8) of the Constitution of Pakistan, was "deemed to be elected" to the office of President until October 2007. 2007, Bulgaria and Romania officially joined the European Union. Slovenia joins Eurozone. Also 2007, Adam Air Flight 574 disappeared over Indonesia with 102 people on board. 2008, Cyprus and Malta joined the Eurozone. 2009, Sixty-six people died in a nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand. Also 2009, Slovakia joined the Eurozone. 2010, a suicide car bomber detonated at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100 more. 2011, a bomb exploded as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, left a new year service, killing 23 people. Also 2011, the Kallikratis plan became the new administrative system of Greece. Also 2011, Estonia joined the Eurozone. 2012, a Moldovancivilian was fatally wounded by a Russian peacekeeper in the Transnistrian security zone, leading to demonstrations against Russia. 2013, at least 60 people were killed and 200 injured in a stampede after celebrations at Félix Houphouët-Boigny Stadium in Abidjan, Ivory Coast. 2014, Latvia joined the Eurozone. 2015, Lithuania joined the Eurozone.
=== Publishing News ===
This column welcomes feedback and criticism. The column is not made up but based on the days events and articles which are then placed in the feed. So they may not have an apparent cohesion they would have had were they made up.
===
I am publishing a book called Bread of Life: January.
Bread of Life is a daily bible quote with a layman's understanding of the meaning. I give one quote for each day, and also a series of personal stories illustrating key concepts eg Who is God? What is a miracle? Why is there tragedy?
January is the first of the anticipated year-long work of thirteen books. One for each month and the whole year. It costs to publish. It (Kindle version) should retail at about $2US online, but the paperback version would cost more, according to production cost.If you have a heart for giving, I fundraise at gofund.me/27tkwuc
Bread of Life is a daily bible quote with a layman's understanding of the meaning. I give one quote for each day, and also a series of personal stories illustrating key concepts eg Who is God? What is a miracle? Why is there tragedy?
January is the first of the anticipated year-long work of thirteen books. One for each month and the whole year. It costs to publish. It (Kindle version) should retail at about $2US online, but the paperback version would cost more, according to production cost.If you have a heart for giving, I fundraise at gofund.me/27tkwuc
===
Editorials will appear in the "History in a Year by the Conservative Voice" series, starting with August, September, October, or at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/1482020262/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_dVHPub0MQKDZ4 The kindle version is cheaper, but the soft back version allows a free kindle version.
List of available items at Create Space
The Amazon Author Page for David Ball
UK .. http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B01683ZOWGFrench .. http://www.amazon.fr/-/e/B01683ZOWG
Japan .. http://www.amazon.co.jp/-/e/B01683ZOWG
German .. http://www.amazon.de/-/e/B01683ZOWG
Happy birthday and many happy returns Tony Nguyen, Sok Leang Meach, Phong Pham, Paul Goddard, Jims Plumbing, Jim Gag, Thuy Tran, Ben Erhunse, Morecarpark Forcabramatta and Felicity Rose. Born on the same day, across the years, along with
January 1: New Year's Day (Gregorian calendar); Tenth of Tevet (Judaism, 2015); Independence Day in Brunei(1984), Haiti (1804) and Samoa (1962)
Deaths
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Tim Blair
MERKEL TURNS AGAINST HERSELF
A GENTLEMAN’S GUIDE TO BACKYARD CRICKET
VALUE FOR MONEY MILO
Miranda Devine
‘Tony Abbott: Messiah? More like a naughty boy’
We still need answers
NEW YEAR IN NEW EUROPE
Tim Blair – Friday, January 01, 2016 (1:38pm)
No fireworks in Arnsberg, Germany:
For many, New Year’s Eve is the most exciting time of the year.For others, it can be traumatic.Officials in the western German town of Arnsberg are so worried that fireworks could remind refugees of the horrors of war that they have asked residents to refrain from the tradition this year. The town of 70,000 is hosting hundreds of refugees, many of whom have been traumatized by the war in Syria.
Fireworks were also cancelled in Belgium, but not because of Syrian sensitivity. Meanwhile, in the Bavarian capital:
Police in Munich are asking people to stay away from the city’s main train station and a second train station in the city’s Pasing neighborhood because of “serious, imminent threat” of a terror attack.Munich police say on Facebook that according to “serious information, there will be an attack tonight.” German news agency dpa reported Thursday night that one train station had been evacuated and trains would no longer stop there. The warning came shortly before the city celebrated the start of the new year.
The threat was said to involve five to seven Islamic State suicide bombers.
UPDATE. Good luck, Sweden. Like Germany, you’ll need it.
UPDATE II. Munich’s railway stations re-open.
SADDEST DAY OF THE YEAR
Tim Blair – Thursday, December 31, 2015 (11:11pm)
Tomorrow my 1953/2015 H.A.M.B. calendar – the dates for both years are identical – no longer has any functional purpose. It remains to be enjoyed on a purely artistic level:
Unfortunately there is no 2016 H.A.M.B. calendar. Do readers have any suggestions? Speaking of you guys, thank you all for a truly wonderful year at this little site and I furkan derya to have an even better 2016.
Unfortunately there is no 2016 H.A.M.B. calendar. Do readers have any suggestions? Speaking of you guys, thank you all for a truly wonderful year at this little site and I furkan derya to have an even better 2016.
UPDATE. There is a 2016 H.A.M.B. calendar after all! Once again, readers are more alert than me.
BATTY BETTY
Tim Blair – Thursday, January 01, 2015 (11:35am)
Fairfax columnist and bicycle lane vigilante Elizabeth Farrelly begins 2015 in fine Frightbat style:
This year, 2015, is Chinese Year of the Sheep. But maybe we should mix it up a bit, broaden our zoo, make 2015 International Year of the Frightbat.“Frightbat" was coined by Tim Blair in June to denote a female who has a mind and speaks it.
Actually, it was more a description of self-obsessed local leftists whose furious irrationality and hyperdeveloped sense of victimhood leads them to strange and illogical conclusions. In keeping with that theme, Farrelly then claims a direct link between the mockery of Australian leftists and – wait for it – sexual brutality in northwestern Iraq:
Blair’s hysterical frightbattery, and his presumption of a sympathetic hearing from the crowd, specifically targeted educated, articulate, vocal women. Since such women are a civilising force it is ironic that they’re seen as a threat. But this is why Yazidi girls are even now being raped in their schoolrooms by IS fighters …
Can’t quite see the connection myself.
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===
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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:
(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:
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.Remember, these warmists are as tough as warmists come, as the ABC described a month ago:
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.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:
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.
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:
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.Rice on Christmas Day is stuck in ice:
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
===
www.news.com.au
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.
www.un.org
===
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."
www.washingtonpost.com
===
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…
===
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===
www.adelaidenow.com.au
The Bradfield scheme would end the heat waves and water Australia. - ed
===
www.news.com.au
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
===
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===
www.israellycool.com
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
===
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===
www.news.com.au
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
===
<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!!!>
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
======
- 153 BC – Roman consuls begin their year in office.
- 45 BC – The Julian calendar takes effect as the civil calendar of the Roman Empire, establishing January 1 as the new date of the new year.
- 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 – Telemachus, a Christian monk, is killed for attempting 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 instead of 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.
- 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: One thousand five hundred 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.
- 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 – Ceres, the largest and first known object in the Asteroid belt, is discovvered 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 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.
- 1847 – The world's first "Mercy" Hospital is founded in Pittsburgh 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.
- 1873 – Japan begins using the Gregorian calendar.
- 1877 – Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Empress of India.
- 1881 – 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.
- 1892 – Ellis Island opens to begin processing immigrants into the United States.
- 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 Indian Standard Time.
- 1908 – For the first time, a ball is dropped in New York City'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.
- 1911 – Northern Territory is separated from South Australia and transferred to Commonwealth control.
- 1912 – The Republic of China 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.
- 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.
- 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 kill 60 German POWs 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, which later (with the French zone) became part of 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
- 1956 – Sudan achieves independence from Egypt and the United Kingdom.
- 1957 – George Town, Penang becomes a city by a royal charter granted by Elizabeth II.
- 1958 – European Economic Community established on this day.
- 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.
- 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.
- 1971 – Cigarette advertisements are banned on American television.
- 1973 – Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Ireland are admitted into the European Economic Community.
- 1978 – Air India Flight 855 Boeing 747 crashes into the sea, due to instrument failure and pilot disorientation, off the coast of Bombay, India, killing 213.
- 1979 – Formal diplomatic relations are established between China and the United States.
- 1981 – Greece is admitted into the European Community.
- 1981 – Palau achieves self-government though it is not independent from the United States.
- 1982 – Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar becomes the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary-General of the United Nations.
- 1983 – The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet.
- 1984 – The original American Telephone & Telegraph Company is divested of its 22 Bell System companies as a result of the settlement of the 1974 United States Department of Justice antitrust suit against AT&T.
- 1984 – Brunei becomes independent of the United Kingdom.
- 1985 – The first British mobile phone call is made by Michael Harrison to his father Sir Ernest Harrison, chairman of Vodafone.
- 1986 – Aruba becomes independent of Curaçao, though it remains in free association with the Netherlands.
- 1988 – The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America comes into existence, creating the largest Lutheran denomination in the United States.
- 1989 – The Montreal Protocol comes into force, stopping the use of chemicals contributing to ozone depletion.
- 1990 – David Dinkins is sworn in as New York City's first black mayor.
- 1993 – Dissolution of Czechoslovakia: Czechoslovakia is divided into the Czech Republic and Slovakia.
- 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 (NAFTA) comes into effect.
- 1995 – The World Trade Organization goes into effect.
- 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 – 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.
- 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.
- 2007 – Adam Air Flight 574 disappears over Sulawesi Strait, Indonesia with 102 people on board.
- 2009 – Sixty-six people die in a nightclub fire in Bangkok, Thailand.
- 2010 – A suicide car bomber detonates at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100 more.
- 2011 – A bomb explodes as Coptic Christians in Alexandria, Egypt, leave a new year service, killing 23 people.
- 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 becomes the 18th member of the Eurozone.
- 2014 – Asteroid 2014 AA impacts the Earth over the Atlantic Ocean.
- 2016 – The Address Downtown Dubai burns over midnight as the New Year is rung in. The blaze started on the night of New Year's Eve 2015, by currently unknown causes. There was one fatality.
- 337 – Arcadius, Byzantine emperor (d. 408)
- 870 – 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)
- 1488 – Magnus I, Duke of Saxe-Lauenburg (d. 1543)
- 1600 – Friedrich Spanheim, Dutch theologian and academic (d. 1649)
- 1628 – Christoph Bernhard, German composer and theorist (d. 1692)
- 1638 – Emperor Go-Sai of Japan (d. 1685)
- 1655 – Christian Thomasius, German jurist and philosopher (d. 1728)
- 1684 – Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch scholar and author (d. 1748)
- 1704 – Soame Jenyns, English author, poet, and politician (d. 1787)
- 1711 – Baron Franz von der Trenck, Austrian soldier (d. 1749)
- 1714 – Giovanni Battista Mancini, Italian soprano and author (d. 1800)
- 1714 – Kristijonas Donelaitis, Lithuanian pastor and poet (d. 1780)
- 1735 – Paul Revere, American silversmith and engraver (d. 1818)
- 1745 – Anthony Wayne, American general and politician (d. 1796)
- 1750 – Frederick Muhlenberg, American minister and politician, 1st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1801)
- 1752 – Betsy Ross, American seamstress, credited with designing the Flag of the United States (d. 1836)
- 1768 – Maria Edgeworth, Anglo-Irish author (d. 1849)
- 1774 – André Marie Constant Duméril, French zoologist and academic (d. 1860)
- 1779 – William Clowes, English publisher (d. 1847)
- 1803 – Guglielmo Libri Carucci dalla Sommaja, Italian mathematician and academic (d. 1869)
- 1806 – Lionel Kieseritzky, Estonian-French chess player (d. 1853)
- 1819 – Arthur Hugh Clough, English-Italian poet and academic (d. 1861)
- 1823 – Sándor Petőfi, Hungarian poet and activist (d. 1849)
- 1833 – Robert Lawson, Scottish-New Zealand architect, designed the Otago Boys' High School and Knox Church (d. 1902)
- 1834 – Ludovic Halévy, French author and playwright (d. 1908)
- 1839 – Ouida, English-Italian author and activist (d. 1908)
- 1848 – John W. Goff, Irish-American lawyer and politician (d. 1924)
- 1852 – Eugène-Anatole Demarçay, French chemist and academic (d. 1904)
- 1854 – James George Frazer, Scottish anthropologist and academic (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 – 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 and curator (d. 1946)
- 1867 – Mary Ackworth Evershed, English astronomer and Dante scholar (d. 1949)
- 1867 – Lew Fields, American actor, producer, and manager (d. 1941)
- 1871 – Montagu Toller, English cricketer and lawyer (d. 1948)
- 1874 – Frank Knox, American publisher and politician, 46th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1944)
- 1874 – Gustave Whitehead, German-American pilot and engineer (d. 1927)
- 1877 – Alexander von Staël-Holstein, German sinologist and orientalist (d. 1937)
- 1878 – Agner Krarup Erlang, Danish mathematician, statistician, and engineer (d. 1929)
- 1879 – E. M. Forster, English author and playwright (d. 1970)
- 1879 – William Fox, Hungarian-American screenwriter and producer, founded the Fox Film Corporation and Fox Theatres (d. 1952)
- 1883 – William J. Donovan, American general, lawyer, and politician (d. 1959)
- 1884 – Chikuhei Nakajima, Japanese lieutenant, engineer, and politician, founded Nakajima Aircraft Company (d. 1949)
- 1884 – Konstantinos Tsaldaris, Egyptian-Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1970)
- 1885 – Béla Balogh, Hungarian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1945)
- 1887 – Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral (d. 1945)
- 1888 – John Garand, Canadian-American engineer, 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 and academic (d. 1966)
- 1891 – Sampurnanand, Indian educator and politician, 3rd Governor of Rajasthan (d. 1969)
- 1892 – Mahadev Desai, Indian author and activist (d. 1942)
- 1892 – Artur Rodziński, Polish-American conductor (d. 1958)
- 1892 – Manuel Roxas, Filipino lawyer and politician, 5th President of the Philippines (d. 1948)
- 1893 – Mordechai Frizis, Greek colonel (d. 1940)
- 1894 – Satyendra Nath Bose, Indian physicist and mathematician (d. 1974)
- 1895 – J. Edgar Hoover, American law enforcement official; 1st Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (d. 1972)
- 1900 – Xavier Cugat, Spanish-American singer-songwriter and actor (d. 1990)
- 1900 – Chiune Sugihara, Japanese soldier and diplomat (d. 1986)
- 1900 – Shrikrishna Narayan Ratanjankar, Indian scholar and teacher of Hindustani classical music (d. 1974)
- 1902 – Buster Nupen, South African cricketer and lawyer (d. 1977)
- 1903 – Dwight Taylor (writer), American screenwriter and author (d. 1986)
- 1904 – Fazal Ilahi Chaudhry, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 5th President of Pakistan (d. 1982)
- 1905 – Stanisław Mazur, Ukrainian-Polish mathematician and theorist (d. 1981)
- 1907 – Kinue Hitomi, Japanese sprinter and long jumper (d. 1931)
- 1909 – Dana Andrews, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1909 – Dattaram Hindlekar, Indian cricketer (d. 1949)
- 1909 – Stepan Bandera, Ukrainian soldier and politician (d. 1959)
- 1910 – Koesbini, Indonesian composer (d. 1991)
- 1911 – Audrey Wurdemann, American poet and author (d. 1960)
- 1911 – Basil Dearden, English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1971)
- 1911 – Hank Greenberg, American baseball player and lieutenant (d. 1986)
- 1911 – Necdet Kent, Turkish diplomat (d. 2002)
- 1911 – Roman Totenberg, Polish-American violinist and educator (d. 2012)
- 1912 – Boris Vladimirovich Gnedenko, Russian mathematician and historian (d. 1995)
- 1912 – Kim Philby, British spy (d. 1988)
- 1912 – Nikiforos Vrettakos, Greek poet and academic (d. 1991)
- 1917 – Shannon Bolin, American actress and singer (d. 2016)
- 1918 – Patrick Anthony Porteous, Scottish colonel, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 2000)
- 1918 – Ed Price, American soldier, pilot, and politician (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Rocky Graziano, American boxer and actor (d. 1990)
- 1919 – Carole Landis, American actress (d. 1948)
- 1919 – J. D. Salinger, American soldier and author (d. 2010)
- 1919 – Yoshio Tabata, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Osvaldo Cavandoli, Italian cartoonist (d. 2007)
- 1920 – Mahmoud Zoufonoun, Iranian-American violinist (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Ismail al-Faruqi, Palestinian-American philosopher and academic (d. 1986)
- 1921 – César Baldaccini, French sculptor and academic (d. 1998)
- 1921 – Regina Bianchi, Italian actress (d. 2013)
- 1921 – John Strawson, English general (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Ernest Hollings, American soldier and 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 and academic (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 and singer (d. 1981)
- 1925 – Paul Bomani, Tanzanian politician and diplomat, 1st Tanzanian Minister of Finance (d. 2005)
- 1926 – Kazys Petkevičius, Lithuanian basketball player and coach (d. 2008)
- 1927 – Maurice Béjart, French-Swiss dancer, choreographer, and director (d. 2007)
- 1927 – Calum MacKay, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2001)
- 1927 – Vernon L. Smith, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1927 – Doak Walker, American football player and businessman (d. 1998)
- 1928 – Ernest Tidyman, American author and screenwriter (d. 1984)
- 1928 – Gerhard Weinberg, German-American historian, author, and academic
- 1929 – Raymond Chow, Hong Kong film producer, co-founded Orange Sky Golden Harvest
- 1929 – Larry L. King, American journalist, author, and playwright (d. 2012)
- 1930 – Jean-Pierre Duprey, French poet and sculptor (d. 1959)
- 1930 – Gaafar Nimeiry, Egyptian-Sudanese politician, 4th President of the Sudan (d. 2009)
- 1930 – Frederick Wiseman, American director and producer
- 1932 – Jackie Parker, American football player and coach (d. 2006)
- 1932 – Giuseppe Patanè, Italian conductor (d. 1989)
- 1933 – James Hormel, American philanthropist and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Luxembourg
- 1933 – Joseph Koo, Chinese composer and conductor
- 1933 – Frederick Lowy, Canadian psychiatrist and academic
- 1933 – Joe Orton, English author and playwright (d. 1967)
- 1934 – Alan Berg, American lawyer and radio host (d. 1984)
- 1934 – Lakhdar Brahimi, Algerian politician, Algerian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1936 – Don Nehlen, American football player and coach
- 1936 – James Sinegal, American businessman, co-founded Costco
- 1937 – John Fuller, English poet and author
- 1937 – Petros Markaris, Greek author, poet, and playwright
- 1937 – Matt Robinson, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2002)
- 1938 – Robert Jankel, English businessman, founded Panther Westwinds (d. 2005)
- 1938 – Frank Langella, American actor
- 1939 – Michèle Mercier, French actress
- 1939 – Phil Read, English motorcycle racer and businessman
- 1941 – Martin Evans, English-Welsh geneticist and academic
- 1941 – Younoussi Touré, Malian politician, Prime Minister of Mali
- 1942 – Al Hunt, American journalist
- 1942 – Alassane Ouattara, Ivorian economist and politician, President of the Ivory Coast
- 1942 – Anthony Hamilton-Smith, 3rd Baron Colwyn, English dentist and politician
- 1942 – Dennis Archer, American lawyer and politician, 67th Mayor of Detroit
- 1942 – Country Joe McDonald, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1942 – Gennadi Sarafanov, Russian colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2005)
- 1943 – Bud Hollowell, American baseball player and manager (d. 2014)
- 1943 – Don Novello, American comedian (Father Guido Sarducci), screenwriter and producer
- 1943 – Ronald Perelman, American businessman and philanthropist, founded MacAndrews & Forbes
- 1943 – Tony Knowles, American soldier and politician, 7th Governor of Alaska
- 1943 – Vladimir Šeks, Croatian lawyer and politician, 16th Speaker of the Croatian Parliament
- 1944 – Omar al-Bashir, Sudanese field marshal and politician, 7th President of Sudan
- 1944 – Jimmy Hart, American wrestling manager and singer
- 1944 – Zafarullah Khan Jamali, Pakistani field hockey player and politician, 13th Prime Minister of Pakistan
- 1944 – Teresa Torańska, Polish journalist and author (d. 2013)
- 1944 – Mati Unt, Estonian author, playwright, and director (d. 2005)
- 1945 – Jacky Ickx, Belgian race car driver
- 1945 – Martin Schanche, Norwegian race car driver
- 1946 – Rivellino, Brazilian footballer and manager
- 1946 – Carl B. Hamilton, Swedish economist and politician
- 1946 – Shelby Steele, American journalist, author, and director
- 1947 – Jon Corzine, American sergeant and politician, 54th Governor of New Jersey
- 1947 – Leonard Thompson, American golfer
- 1948 – Devlet Bahçeli, Turkish economist, academic, and politician, 57th Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey
- 1948 – Pavel Grachev, Russian general and politician, 1st Russian Minister of Defence (d. 2012)
- 1948 – Joe Petagno, American illustrator
- 1948 – Dick Quax, New Zealand runner and politician
- 1949 – Max Azria, Tunisian-French fashion designer
- 1949 – Olivia Goldsmith, American author (d. 2004)
- 1949 – Borys Tarasyuk, Ukrainian politician and diplomat
- 1950 – Wayne Bennett, Australian rugby player and coach
- 1950 – Tony Currie, English footballer
- 1950 – Deepa Mehta, Indian-Canadian director and screenwriter
- 1950 – James Richardson, American poet and academic
- 1951 – Ashfaq Hussain, Pakistani-Canadian poet and journalist
- 1951 – Martha P. Haynes, American astronomer and academic
- 1951 – Hans-Joachim Stuck, German race car driver
- 1952 – Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, Qatari ruler, 7th Emir of Qatar
- 1952 – Shaji N. Karun, Indian director and cinematographer
- 1952 – Rosario Marchese, Italian-Canadian educator and politician
- 1953 – Gary Johnson, American businessman and politician, 29th Governor of New Mexico
- 1953 – Lynn Jones, American baseball player and coach
- 1954 – Richard Edson, American drummer
- 1954 – Bob Menendez, American lawyer and politician
- 1954 – Dennis O'Driscoll, Irish poet and critic (d. 2012)
- 1954 – Yannis Papathanasiou, Greek engineer and politician, Greek Minister of Finance
- 1955 – Precious, Canadian wrestler and manager
- 1955 – LaMarr Hoyt, American baseball player
- 1955 – Gennady Lyachin, Russian captain (d. 2000)
- 1956 – Sergei Avdeyev, Russian engineer and astronaut
- 1956 – Mark R. Hughes, American businessman, founded Herbalife (d. 2000)
- 1956 – Christine Lagarde, French lawyer and politician; Managing Director, International Monetary Fund
- 1956 – Mike Mitchell, American basketball player (d. 2011)
- 1957 – Urmas Arumäe, Estonian lawyer and politician, Estonian Minister of Justice
- 1957 – Evangelos Venizelos, Greek lawyer and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of Greece
- 1958 – Dave Silk, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1958 – Grandmaster Flash, Barbadian rapper and DJ
- 1959 – Andy Andrews, American tennis player
- 1959 – Azali Assoumani, Comorian colonel and politician, President of the Comoros
- 1959 – Panagiotis Giannakis, Greek basketball player and coach
- 1959 – Abdul Ahad Mohmand, Afghan colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1959 – Michel Onfray, French philosopher and author
- 1960 – Michael Seibert, American ice dancer and choreographer
- 1960 – Toomas Vitsut, Estonian businessman and politician
- 1960 – Danny Wilson, English footballer and manager
- 1961 – Sergei Babayan, Armenian-American pianist and academic
- 1961 – Fiona Phillips, English journalist
- 1962 – Anton Muscatelli, Italian-Scottish economist and academic
- 1963 – Alberigo Evani, Italian footballer and manager
- 1963 – Jean-Marc Gounon, French race car driver
- 1964 – Dedee Pfeiffer, American actress
- 1965 – Andrew Valmon, American runner and coach
- 1965 – John Sullivan, American real estate agent and politician
- 1966 – Anna Burke, Australian businesswoman and politician, 28th Speaker of the Australian House of Representatives
- 1966 – Ivica Dačić, Serbian journalist and politician, 95th Prime Minister of Serbia
- 1967 – Derrick Thomas, American football player (d. 2000)
- 1967 – Spencer Tunick, American photographer
- 1967 – Juanma Bajo Ulloa, Spanish director and screenwriter
- 1968 – Miki Higashino, Japanese pianist and composer
- 1968 – Davor Šuker, Croatian footballer
- 1969 – Morris Chestnut, American actor and producer
- 1969 – Paul Lawrie, Scottish golfer and journalist
- 1969 – Verne Troyer, American actor and stuntman
- 1970 – Sergei Kiriakov, Russian footballer and manager
- 1970 – Kimberly Page, American wrestling manager and actress
- 1971 – Sammie Henson, American wrestler and coach
- 1971 – Bobby Holík, Czech-American ice hockey player and coach
- 1971 – Juan Carlos Plata, Guatemalan footballer
- 1971 – Chris Potter, American saxophonist and composer
- 1971 – Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia, Indian politician
- 1972 – Barron Miles, American-Canadian football player and coach
- 1972 – Lilian Thuram, French footballer
- 1973 – Shelda Bede, Brazilian volleyball player
- 1973 – Li Fang, Chinese tennis player
- 1973 – Danny Lloyd, American actor and educator
- 1973 – Magnus Sahlgren, Swedish guitarist and linguist
- 1973 – Bryan Thao Worra, Laotian-American author, poet, and playwright
- 1974 – Christian Paradis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 9th Canadian Minister of Industry
- 1975 – Mohamed Albuflasa, Bahraini poet and activist
- 1975 – Chris Anstey, Australian basketball player and coach
- 1975 – Joe Cannon, American soccer player and sportscaster
- 1975 – Becky Kellar-Duke, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1975 – Bengt Sæternes, Norwegian footballer and manager
- 1975 – Fernando Tatís, Dominican baseball player
- 1976 – Mustafa Doğan, Turkish-German footballer and sportscaster
- 1977 – María de la Paz Hernández, Argentinian field hockey player
- 1977 – Leoš Friedl, Czech tennis player
- 1977 – Craig Reucassel, Australian comedian and television host
- 1977 – Hasan Salihamidžić, Bosnian footballer and sportscaster
- 1978 – Philip Mulryne, Northern Irish footballer and priest
- 1979 – Vidya Balan, Indian actress
- 1979 – Brody Dalle, Australian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1979 – Koichi Domoto, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor
- 1980 – Richie Faulkner, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1980 – Karina Jacobsgaard, Danish tennis player
- 1981 – Zsolt Baumgartner, Hungarian race car driver
- 1982 – David Nalbandian, Argentinian tennis player
- 1982 – Egidio Arévalo Ríos, Uruguayan footballer
- 1982 – Luke Rodgers, English footballer
- 1983 – Calum Davenport, English footballer
- 1983 – Melaine Walker, Jamaican hurdler
- 1984 – Christian Eigler, German footballer
- 1984 – Mohammed Ghaddar, Lebanese footballer
- 1984 – Paolo Guerrero, Peruvian footballer
- 1984 – Cheung Kin Fung, Hong Kong footballer
- 1984 – Stefano Pastrello, Italian footballer
- 1984 – Rubens Sambueza, Argentinian footballer
- 1984 – Michael Witt, Australian rugby player
- 1985 – Jeff Carter, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1985 – Steven Davis, Northern Irish footballer
- 1985 – Tiago Splitter, Brazilian basketball player
- 1986 – Pablo Cuevas, Uruguayan tennis player
- 1986 – Glen Davis, American basketball player
- 1986 – Lee Sung-min, South Korean singer
- 1987 – Gilbert Brulé, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Gia Coppola, American actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1987 – Meryl Davis, American ice dancer
- 1987 – Serdar Özkan, Turkish footballer
- 1987 – Devin Setoguchi, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 – Dallas Keuchel, American baseball player
- 1988 – Grzegorz Panfil, Polish tennis player
- 1989 – Stefan Reinartz, German footballer
- 1989 – Bae Geu-rin, South Korean actress
- 1992 – Daniel Kofi Agyei, Ghanaian footballer
- 1992 – Jack Wilshere, English footballer
- 1993 – Jon Flanagan, English footballer
- 1993 – Michael Olaitan, Nigerian footballer
- 1994 – Craig Murray, Scottish footballer
Births[edit]
- 138 – Lucius Aelius, adopted son and intended successor of Hadrian (b. 101)
- 404 – Telemachus, Christian monk and martyr
- 466 – Emperor Qianfei, emperor of the Liu Song dynasty (b. 449)
- 510 – Eugendus, French abbot and saint (b. 449)
- 680 – Javanshir, Albanian king (b. 616)
- 827 – Adalard of Corbie, Frankish abbot
- 898 – Odo of France (b. 860)
- 962 – Baldwin III, Count of Flanders (b. 940)
- 1189 – Henry of Marcy, Cistercian abbot (b. c. 1136)
- 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 and critic (b. 1522)
- 1617 – Hendrik Goltzius, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1558)
- 1697 – Filippo Baldinucci, Florentine historian and author (b. 1624)
- 1716 – William Wycherley, English playwright and poet (b. 1641)
- 1748 – Johann Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and academic (b. 1667)
- 1766 – James Francis Edward Stuart, English son of James II of England (b. 1688)
- 1780 – Johann Ludwig Krebs, German organist and composer (b. 1713)
- 1782 – Johann Christian Bach, German composer (b. 1735)
- 1789 – Fletcher Norton, 1st Baron Grantley, English lawyer and politician, British Speaker of the House of Commons (b. 1716)
- 1793 – Francesco Guardi, Italian painter and educator (b. 1712)
- 1796 – Alexandre-Théophile Vandermonde, French mathematician and chemist (b. 1735)
- 1817 – Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist and academic (b. 1743)
- 1846 – John Torrington, English soldier and explorer (b. 1825)
- 1853 – Gregory Blaxland, Australian farmer and explorer (b. 1778)
- 1862 – Mikhail Ostrogradsky, Ukrainian mathematician and physicist (b. 1801)
- 1881 – Louis Auguste Blanqui, French activist (b. 1805)
- 1892 – Roswell B. Mason, American lawyer and politician, 25th Mayor of Chicago (b. 1805)
- 1894 – Heinrich Hertz, German physicist and academic (b. 1857)
- 1896 – Alfred Ely Beach, American publisher and lawyer, created the Beach Pneumatic Transit (b. 1826)
- 1906 – Hugh Nelson, Scottish-Australian farmer and politician, 11th Premier of Queensland (b. 1835)
- 1918 – William Wilfred Campbell, Canadian poet and author (b. 1858)
- 1919 – Mikhail Drozdovsky, Russian general (b. 1881)
- 1921 – Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg, German lawyer and politician, 5th Chancellor of Germany (b. 1856)
- 1922 – István Kühár, Slovene priest and politician (b. 1887)
- 1929 – Mustafa Necati, Turkish civil servant and politician, Turkish Minister of Environment and Urban Planning (b. 1894)
- 1931 – Martinus Beijerinck, Dutch microbiologist and botanist (b. 1851)
- 1937 – Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Indian religious leader, founded the Gaudiya Math (b. 1874)
- 1940 – Panuganti Lakshminarasimha Rao, Indian author and educator (b. 1865)
- 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 (b. 1923)
- 1954 – Duff Cooper, English politician and diplomat, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (b. 1890)
- 1954 – Leonard Bacon, American poet and critic (b. 1887)
- 1955 – Arthur C. Parker, American archaeologist and historian (b. 1881)
- 1955 – Shanti Swaroop Bhatnagar, Indian chemist and academic (b. 1894)
- 1958 – Edward Weston, American photographer (b. 1886)
- 1960 – Margaret Sullavan, American actress (b. 1909)
- 1965 – Emma Asson, Estonian historian and politician (b. 1889)
- 1966 – Vincent Auriol, French journalist and politician, 16th President of the French Republic (b. 1884)
- 1969 – Barton MacLane, American actor, playwright and screenwriter (b. 1902)
- 1969 – Bruno Söderström, Swedish pole vaulter and javelin thrower (b. 1888)
- 1971 – Amphilochius of Pochayiv, Ukrainian saint (b. 1894)
- 1972 – Maurice Chevalier, French actor and singer (b. 1888)
- 1978 – Don Freeman, American author and illustrator (b. 1908)
- 1980 – Pietro Nenni, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1891)
- 1981 – Hephzibah Menuhin, American-Australian pianist (b. 1920)
- 1982 – Victor Buono, American actor (b. 1938)
- 1983 – David Buttolph, American film composer (d. 1902)
- 1984 – Alexis Korner, French-English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
- 1985 – Sigerson Clifford, Irish poet, playwright, and civil servant (b. 1913)
- 1992 – Grace Hopper, American computer scientist and admiral, 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 and academic (b. 1914)
- 1995 – Eugene Wigner, Hungarian-American physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- 1996 – Arleigh Burke, American admiral (b. 1901)
- 1996 – Arthur Rudolph, German-American engineer (b. 1906)
- 1997 – Ivan Graziani, Italian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1945)
- 1997 – Townes Van Zandt, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1944)
- 1998 – Helen Wills, American tennis player and coach (b. 1905)
- 2000 – Colin Vaughan, Australian-Canadian journalist and activist (b. 1931)
- 2001 – Ray Walston, American actor (b. 1914)
- 2002 – Julia Phillips, American film producer and author (b. 1944)
- 2003 – Royce D. Applegate, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1939)
- 2003 – Joe Foss, American soldier, pilot, and politician, 20th Governor of South Dakota (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Shirley Chisholm, American educator and politician (b. 1924)
- 2005 – Eugene J. Martin, American painter (b. 1938)
- 2006 – Harry Magdoff, American economist and journalist (b. 1913)
- 2007 – Leon Davidson, American chemist and engineer (b. 1922)
- 2007 – Roland Levinsky, South African-English biochemist and academic (b. 1943)
- 2007 – Tillie Olsen American novelist and short story writer (b. 1912)
- 2008 – Pratap Chandra Chunder, Indian educator and politician
- 2008 – Harold Corsini, American photographer and educator (b. 1919)
- 2009 – Claiborne Pell, American politician (b. 1918)
- 2010 – Lhasa de Sela, American-Mexican singer-songwriter (b. 1972)
- 2011 – Marin Constantin, Romanian composer and conductor (b. 1925)
- 2011 – Flemming Jørgensen, Danish singer-songwriter, bass player, and actor (b. 1947)
- 2012 – Kiro Gligorov, Bulgarian-Macedonian lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Macedonia (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Nay Win Maung, Burmese physician, businessman, and activist (b. 1962)
- 2012 – Tommy Mont, American football player and coach (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Gerhard Fischer, German SS officer (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Christopher Martin-Jenkins, English journalist (b. 1945)
- 2013 – Patti Page, American singer and actress (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Pete DeCoursey, American journalist (b. 1961)
- 2014 – Higashifushimi Kunihide, Japanese monk and educator (b. 1910)
- 2014 – William Mgimwa, Tanzanian banker and politician, 13th Tanzanian Minister of Finance (b. 1950)
- 2014 – Juanita Moore, American actress (b. 1914)
- 2015 – Mario Cuomo, American lawyer and politician, 52nd Governor of New York (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Donna Douglas, American actress (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Omar Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 58th Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1934)
- 2015 – Boris Morukov, Russian physician and astronaut (b. 1950)
- 2016 – Fazu Aliyeva, Russian poet and journalist (b. 1932)
- 2016 – Dale Bumpers, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 38th Governor of Arkansas (b. 1925)
- 2016 – Mike Oxley, American lawyer and politician (b. 1944)
- 2016 – Vilmos Zsigmond, Hungarian-American cinematographer and producer (b. 1930)
Deaths[edit]
- Christian feast day:
- Adalard of Corbie
- Basil the Great (Eastern Orthodox Church)
- Feast of the Circumcision of Christ
- Fulgentius of Ruspe
- Giuseppe Maria Tomasi
- Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the Octave Day of Christmas, considered a holy day of obligation in some countries (Catholic Church); and its related observances:
- Telemachus
- Zygmunt Gorazdowski
- January 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Handsel Monday can fall, while January 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Monday of the year (Scotland)
- Second day of Hogmanay (Scotland) December 31-January 1, in some cases until January 2.
- The last day of Kwanzaa (African-Americans)
- The eighth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)
- Bloody Mary (cocktail) Day (United States)
- Constitution Day (Italy)
- Dissolution of Czechoslovakia-related observances:
- Euro Day (European Union)
- Flag Day (Lithuania) commemorates raising of the Lithuanian flag on Gediminas' Tower in 1919
- Founding Day (Taiwan) commemorates the establishment of the Provisional Government in Nanjing
- Global Family Day
- Independence Day (Brunei, Haiti, Sudan)
- International Nepali Dhoti and Nepali Topi Day
- Jump-up Day (Montserrat)
- Kalpataru Day (Ramakrishna Movement)
- Kamakura Ebisu, January 1–3 (Kamakura, Kanagawa, Japan)
- National Tree Planting Day (Tanzania)
- New Year's Day (Gregorian calendar)
- Polar Bear Swim Day (Canada and United States)
- Public Domain Day (multiple countries)
- Triumph of the Revolution (Cuba)
Holidays and observances[edit]
“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 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
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
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,
LET HIM
COME UNTO ME
AND DRINK."
Evening
"The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved."
Jeremiah 8:20
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.
===
This is the last Bible reading for 2011! If you've made it all the way through this year-long reading plan, congratulations--you've read the entire Bible! This reading plan starts over from the beginning tomorrow (January 1).
Whether you read through the entire Bible this year or just part of it, we're glad you did and hope you've found it helpful in your spiritual walk.
Today's reading: Malachi 1-4, Revelation 22 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Malachi 1-4
1 A prophecy: The word of the LORD to Israel through Malachi.
Israel Doubts God’s Love
2 “I have loved you,” says the LORD.
“But you ask, ‘How have you loved us?’
“Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the LORD. “Yet I have loved Jacob, 3 but Esau I have hated, and I have turned his hill country into a wasteland and left his inheritance to the desert jackals.”
4 Edom may say, “Though we have been crushed, we will rebuild the ruins.”
But this is what the LORD Almighty says: “They may build, but I will demolish. They will be called the Wicked Land, a people always under the wrath of the LORD. 5 You will see it with your own eyes and say, ‘Great is the LORD—even beyond the borders of Israel!’
Today's New Testament reading: Revelation 22
Eden Restored
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....
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