Today in History
In 1930, Ras Tafari crowned Haile Selassie I, 225th emperor of Solmonic Dynasty
In 1164, Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket, 45, began a six_year self_imposed exile in France. Once a close friend of England's Henry II, Thomas had more recently become an outspoken opponent of the king's royal policies.
In 1355, English invasion army under king Edward lands at Calais (whereas Henry at Agincourt represented the ending period of the 100 years war, this was the beginning)
In 1470, King Edward V of England (1483); deposed, murdered? by Richard III
In 1519, Cortes meets Motecuhzoma in Tenochtitlan
In 1789, During the chaos of the French Revolution, the property of the Church in France was taken over by the state.
In 1811, Battle of Tippecanoe: Gen William Henry Harrison vs indians
In 1835, 2nd Seminole War begins in Osceola
In 1851, Louis Napoleon takes power in France
In 1852, Franklin Pierce elected as president of US
In 1880, James A Garfield (R) elected president
In 1916, Ft Vaux, Verdun, reconquered by France from the Germans
In 1917, Lansing-Ishii Agreement; US recognizes Japan's privileges in China
In 1941, German troops occupy Rostov
In 1942, Montgomery (Br) defeats Rommel (G) in battle of Alamein Egypt (WW II)
In 1949, Netherland recognizes Indonesia as a sovereign state
In 1953, Pakistan becomes islamic republic
In 1976, Jimmy Carter (D) defeats Gerald Ford (R) for president
In 1993, Rudolph Guliani (R) elected 107th mayor of NYC
Freedom and the GWOT
In 1483, 12,000 Jews massacred by Chmielnicki hordes in Narol Podlia
In 1772, Boston: anti-English Committee of Correspondence forms
In 1824, Popular presidential vote 1st recorded; Jackson beats John Quincy Adams
In 1898, Theodor Herzl arrives in Jerusalem
In 1917, British Foreign Secretary Arthur Balfour expressed support for a national home for the Jews of Palestine in what became known as the Balfour Declaration.
In 1943, Jewish ghetto of Riga Latvia is destroyed
In 2004, George W. Bush wins a second term as U.S. president, winning 51% of the popular vote
In 2004, Theo van Gogh, director, Dutch filmmaker murdered by a terrorist, dies at 47
Today's Birthdays
- Earl "Speedoo" Carroll, NYC, rocker (Cadillacs, Coasters) is 80
- Stefanie Powers (born Stefania Zofya Federkiewicz), Hollywood Ca, actress (Girl From UNCLE, Hart to Hart) is 65
- Jay Traynor, rocker (Jay and The Americans)is 64
- Alan Jones, Australia, auto racer (1980 FIA Formula 1 World Champion) is 61
- Dave Pegg, British pop bassist (Fairport Convention, Jethro Tull-Crest of a Wave) is 60
- Rich Gooch, rock bassist (Quarterflash) is 59
- Alfre Woodard, Tulsa Okla, actress (St Elsewhere, Extremities) is 55
- Carter Beauford, Rock musician (The Dave Matthews Band) is 50
- Bobby Dall, rocker (Poison-Every Rose Has a Thorn) is 49
- K. D. Lang, [Kathy Dawn], Consort Alberta, country singer is 46
- David Schwimmer, Actor ("Friends") is 41
- Fieldy, Rock musician (Korn) is 38
- Jaroslav Spacek, NHL defenseman (Team Czech Oly-Gold-1998, Columbus Blue Jackets, is 36
- Daniel Boone, frontiersman/explorer (US Hall of Fame-1915) was born in 1734
- Marie-Antoinette, Queen of France, let them eat cake was born in 1755
- James Knox Polk, NC, 11th Pres (D) (1845-1849) was born in 1795
- George Boole, mathematician (Boolean algebra) was born in 1815
- Warren Gamaliel Harding, Ohio, (R) 29th pres (1921-23) was born in 1865
- Paul Ford, Balt Md, actor (Phil Silvers Show) was born in 1901
- Burt Lancaster, NYC, actor (From Here to Eternity, Elmer Gantry) was born in 1913
- Ray Walston, New Orleans LA, actor (My Favorite Martian, Damn Yankees) was born in 1914
Henry Stafford, earl of Buckingham/constable of Engl, beheaded at 49 in 1483
Jenny Lind, [Swedish Nightingale], soprano, dies at 67 in 1887
George Bernard Shaw, Irish author (Pygmalion), dies at 94 in 1950
James Thurber, humorist (The Male Animal), dies at 66 in 1961
Mississippi John Hurt, bluesman, dies at 73 in 1966
Richard Cushing, US cardinal to Boston, dies at 75 in 1970
Willie Sutton, US bank robber, dies at 79 in 1980
Paul Frees, cartoon voice (Boris Badenov), dies at 66 in 1986
Cuban bandleader and sitcom star Desi Arnaz dies at age 69 in 1986
Irwin Allen, dir (Land of the Giants, Poseidon Adventure), dies at 75 in 1991
Songwriter Mort Shuman dies of cancer in London at age 52 in 1991. He collaborated with Doc Pomus on such hits as Elvis Presley's ``Little Sister,'' the Drifters' ``Save the Last Dance for Me'' and Dion and the Belmonts' ``A Teenager in Love.''
Hal Roach, producer (Keystone Kops), dies of pneumonia at 100 in 1999
Theo van Gogh, director, Dutch filmmaker murdered by a terrorist, dies at 47 in 2004
Society, Culture, Business, Entertainment and Sport
In 1903, The Lyceum and New Amsterdam theatres open on Broadway
In 1904, British newspaper, "Daily Mirror," begins publishing
In 1922, Australian Qantas airways begins service
In 1938, Jimmie Foxx wins his 3rd AL MVP
In 1957, 1st titanium mill opened, Toronto, Ohio
In 1959, Charles Van Doren confesses, TV quiz show "21," was fixed
In 1960, Penguin Books publishes "Lady Chatterley's Lover"
In 1970, Cleveland Cavaliers lose by biggest margin-54 pts (Phila 141-87)
In 1974, Art Modell gets snowed in and misses his 1st Cleve Brown game in 33 yrs
In 1976, NJ voters approve gambling for Atlantic City
In 1979, Peter Shaffer's musical "Amadeus," premieres in London
In 1980, Edith Bunker, character on "All in the Family", dies
RIP
Brigadier General Paul W Tibbets passed away today of natural causes at the age of 92 in Columbus, Ohio. Tibbets piloted the "Enola Gay", the B-29 bomber given the task of dropping a uranium bomb, named "Little Boy" on the city of Hiroshima, Japan on August 9, 1945. The mission resulted in the end of the war in the Pacific and the start of the nuclear age. Tibbets had been in failing health for some time.
According to Bloomberg:
Paul Warfield Tibbets was born on Feb. 23, 1915, in Quincy, Illinois. His father moved the family in the mid-1920s to Miami, where he worked in the real-estate industry. Tibbets had his first ride in an airplane at age 12, when he accompanied a pilot during a promotion flight to throw Baby Ruth candy bars to the crowd below at the Hialeah race horse track near Miami.
During World War II, he commanded the 340th Bomb Squadron and flew 25 missions in B-17 aircraft over Europe and later served in air raids on North Africa.
In 1943, Tibbets returned to the U.S. to test-fly Boeing Co.'s Superfortress B-29 airplane, the most sophisticated and expensive bomber of its time.
Tibbets expressed no regret for his role in the bombing of Hiroshima and said it saved thousands of American lives by averting the need for a ground-based invasion of Japan to end the war.
After the war, Tibbets was a technical adviser on nuclear weapons tests at Bikini Atoll and oversaw the purchase of the B- 47 six-engine bomber for the Air Force. He also set up the National Military Command Center in the Pentagon. Tibbets rose to the rank of brigadier general and served almost 30 years in the U.S. Air Force before retiring in 1966. He moved to Geneva to operate Lear jets in Europe and consulted for government ministries in the region.
He joined Executive Jet Aviation (now Netjets, Inc) in Columbus, Ohio, in 1970, becoming chairman in 1982.
Tibbets is survived by his wife, Andrea, and three sons -- Paul III, of North Carolina; Gene, of Alabama; and James, of Columbus. He requested that there be no funeral or headstone to avoid attracting protesters, the Associated Press reported.
Tibbets personally trained his squadron at locations in New Mexico and the island of Tinian. The crews were kept in the dark regarding the mission, type of weapon and target. Only Tibbets was fully briefed by General Lesley Groves, head of the Manhattan Project.
Per the Associated Press:
"I knew when I got the assignment it was going to be an emotional thing," Tibbets told The Columbus Dispatch for a story published on the 60th anniversary of the bombing. "We had feelings, but we had to put them in the background. We knew it was going to kill people right and left. But my one driving interest was to do the best job I could so that we could end the killing as quickly as possible."
He told the Dispatch in 2005 that he wanted his ashes scattered over the English Channel, where he loved to fly during the war.
(Gerry) Newhouse, Tibbets' longtime friend, confirmed that Tibbets wanted to be cremated, but he said relatives had not yet determined how he would be laid to rest.
Tibbets, then a 30-year-old colonel, never expressed regret over his role. He said it was his patriotic duty and the right thing to do.
"I'm not proud that I killed 80,000 people, but I'm proud that I was able to start with nothing, plan it and have it work as perfectly as it did," he said in a 1975 interview.
"You've got to take stock and assess the situation at that time. We were at war. ... You use anything at your disposal."
He added: "I sleep clearly every night."
Today in History
In 1950, 82øF highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in Nov
In 79 AD, Pompei buried by Mt Vesuvius
In 996, 1st use of name "Austria" for Ostarrichi/in oorkonde
In 1671, French King Louis XIV and RC German emperor Leopold I sign secret anti-Dutch treaty
In 1776, Mission San Juan Capistrano founded in California
In 1861, Gen George B McClellan made general in chief of Union armies
In 1889, North and South Dakota entered the union as the 39th and 40th states
In 1914, German-British fleet battle at Coronel, Chile
In 1914, Von Hindenburg named marshal of Eastern front
In 1917, In WW I, the 1st US soldiers are killed in combat
In 1920, Warren Harding elected 29th president
In 1922, Ottoman Empire abolished
In 1932, Wernher von Braun named head of German liquid-fuel rocket program
In 1941, Chetniks attacks Tito's partizans in Uzice Yugoslavia
In 1943, US troops land on Bougainville Island on Solomon Island
In 1948, Pres Truman re-elected in an upset over Republican Thomas Dewey
In 1952, 1st hydrogen device exploded at Eniwetok Atoll in Pacific Fusion occurs for 1st time on Earth
In 1964, Vietcong-assault on airport Bien Hoa at Saigon
In 1976, Britain gives Gilbert Island (Kiribati) self rule
In 1981, Antigua and Barbuda gains independence from Britain (National Day)
In 1983, Pres Reagan established Dr Martin Luther King Jr holiday
Freedom and GWOT
In 1210, King John of England begins imprisoning Jews
In 1349, Duke of Brabant orders execution of all Jews in Brussels, accusing them of poisoning the wells
IN 1765, Stamp Act goes into effect in British colonies
In 1783, Continental Army dissolved; George Washington's "Farewell Address"
In 1787, 1st free school in NYC (African Free School) opens
In 1866, 1st Civil Rights Bill passes US Congress
In 1936, Mussolini describes alliance between Italy and Germany as an "axis"
In 1943, Dim-out ban lifted in SF Bay area
In 1954, US Senate admonishes Joseph Mccarthy because of slander campaign
In 1956, Nagy government of Hungary withdraws from Warsaw Pact
In 1962, Cuban missile crisis ends, JFK says USSR is dismantling missile bases
In 1974, UN affirms independence of Cyprus
In 1994, Moslem fundamentalists in Mostaganem Algeria murder 5 children
Today's Birthdays
Dale carnegie, Speaker, Died at the age of 72 in 1955
Ngo Dinh Diem, South Vietnamese PM, assassinated in a coup at 62 in 1963
Ezra Pound, Poet, died at the age of 87 in 1972
Jacki Ray, actor (In Like Flint), dies at 58 in 1975
Oscar Beregi Jr, actor (Young Frankenstein, Panic in City), dies at 58 in 1976
Jacques Mesrine, French "enemy of the state", shot to death in 1979
James Broderick, actor (Doug-Family), dies of cancer at 55 in 1982
King Vidor, director (War and Peace), dies at 88 of a heart ailment in 1982
Phil Silvers, comedic actor (Sgt Bilko), dies in his sleep at 73 in 1985
Paul Frees, animation voice (Bullwinkle), dies at 66 in 1986
Sippie Wallace, blues singer, dies at 88 in 1986
Syd Dernley, England's last hangman, dies at 73 in 1994
Florence Greenberg dies at age 82 in 1995. The record executive was responsible for discovering the Shirelles and the Kingsmen.
Walter Payton, Football Great, died at the age of 45 in 1999
Noah Beery Jr in California, actor (Rockford Files, Quest, Doc Elliot), dies at 81 in 1994
Lyle "Skitch" Henderson, a conductor who worked with Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and led the Tonight Show orchestra, dies at aged 87 in 2005
William Styron, US Writer, died at the age of 81 in 2006
Society, Culture, Business, Entertainment and Culture
In 1512, Michelangelo's paintings on ceiling of Sistine Chapel, 1st exhibited
In 1604, William Shakespeare's tragedy "Othello" 1st presented
In 1611, Shakespeare's romantic comedy "Tempest" 1st presented
In 1784, Maryland grants citizenship to Lafayette and his descendents
In 1800, John Adams moves in, 1st president to reside in White House
In 1834, 1st published reference to poker (as Mississippi riverboat game)
In 1867, "Harpers Bazaar" is first published
In 1870, US Weather Bureau begins operations (24 locations) (There were no official government weather readings until this time)
In 1878, Edward Scripps and John Sweeney found Penny Press (Cleveland Press)
In 1896, 1st bare women breast (Zulu) to appear in National Geographic Magazine
In 1910, 1st issue of "Crisis" published by editor W E B Du Bois
In 1913, Notre Dame upsets Army 35-13, 1st to use forward pass effectively
In 1918, 102 die in a NYC BMT subway derailment at Malbone Street Brooklyn
In 1920, Eugene O'Neill's "Emperor Jones," premieres in NYC
In 1921, National Birth Control League and Voluntary Parenthood League merge as American Birth Control League
In 1928, Graf Zeppelin sets airship distance record of 6384 km
In 1931, Dupont introduces synthetic rubber
In 1938, Seabiscuit beats War Admiral in a match race at Pimlico
In 1939, 1st animal conceived by artificial insemination (rabbit) displayed
In 1939, 1st jet plane, Heinkel He 178, demonstrated to German Air Ministry
In 1945, 1st issue of Ebony magazine published by John H Johnson
In 1945, Cleveland Indians owner Bill Veeck's right foot is amputated
In 1947, Howard Hughes flies "Spruce Goose," a large wooden airplane
In 1947, Man O' War, racehorse, dies
In 1951, Jet magazine founded by John H Johnson
In 1959, Jim Brown scores 5 TDs in Cleveland Browns 38-31 win over Baltimore
In 1965, 1st concert at Fillmore Auditorium, SF
In 1966, Sandy Koufax becomes 1st 3-time Cy Young Award winner
In 1968, Motion Picture Assn of America introduces rating system (G, M, R, X)
In 1968, George Harrison releases his soundtrack to the psychedelic film Wonderwall. It's the first-ever Beatles solo release.
In 1969, Beatles' "Abbey Road," album goes #1 and stays #1 for 11 weeks
In 1979, A L Webber musical "Joseph and Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," premieres
In 1979, Federal government made $1.5 billion loan to Chrysler
In 1989, "Les Miserables," opens at Curran Theatre, SF
Can We Agree that Iran is Worse than Donnie McClurkin?
As far as I can tell, The Reverand McClurkin has not been responsible for the death of any alleged homosexuals. The same cannot be said of the regime of the Islamic Republic of Itan. According to Amnesty International:
Child offender Makwan Moloudzadeh, an Iranian Kurd, is believed to be at risk of imminent execution. He has reportedly been convicted of lavat-e iqabi (anal sex) for the alleged rape of a 13-year-old boy. Makwan Moloudzadeh was aged 13 at the time of the alleged offence. His death sentence has been passed to the Office for the Implementation of Sentences and he is due to be executed in public, near his home.
He was reportedly arrested on 1 October 2006 in Paveh, in the western province of Kermanshah. He was detained in Paveh Prison and later transferred to Kermanshah Central Prison. Following interrogations in Paveh during which he
was reportedly ill-treated, he was tried by Branch 1 of the Kermanshah Criminal Court and on 7 June 2007 he was sentenced to death. The witnesses and the two people who had pressed charges against him withdrew their claims after the trial. Under Iranian law, children (boys of up to 14.7 years) are to be flogged for lavat ("homosexual acts").
However, the judge relied on ‘elm-e qazi, the "knowledge of the judge" to determine that penetration had taken place and that Makwan Moloudzadeh could be sentenced to death. Makwan Moloudzadeh lodged an appeal on 5 July, which the Supreme Court rejected on 1 August. Several witnesses have withdrawn their testimonies and signed notarized written statements to that effect.
And AI reported this:
he was reportedly ill-treated during interrogation and "confessed" during interrogation that he had had a sexual relationship with a boy in 1999. He is reported to have gone on hunger strike for 10 days to protest against his ill-treatment in detention. Prior to his trial and conviction, on or around 7 October 2006 Makwan Moloudzadeh was reportedly paraded through the streets of Paveh riding on a donkey, with his head shaved. People in the street shouted abuse and threw things at him.
At least he wasn't waterboarded! But then if he had been he would at least have the Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee taking up his case.
Oh and finally AI tells us this:
International law strictly prohibits the use of the death penalty against people convicted of crimes committed when they were under the age of 18. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has raised concern about child offenders'
criminal responsibility being determined by judges, using subjective and arbitrary criteria such as the attainment of puberty, the age of discernment or the personality of the child. As a state party to the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Iran has undertaken not to execute child offenders. However, since 1990, Iran has executed at least 24 child offenders, with a further two reportedly put to
death on 17 October 2007. At least 78 child offenders are on death row in Iran; at least 15 Afghan child offenders are reportedly under sentence of death. For more information about Amnesty International's concerns regarding executions of child offenders in Iran, please see: Iran: The last executioner of children (MDE 13/059/2007, June 2007)
We heard charges during last night's debate that preparing plans for action against Iran were potentially an international crime. However, according to what Amnesty Internation said in the passage above, Iran is the country that is guilty of international crimes. I guess we're just supposed to allow a criminal enterprise (the Iranian regime) get nuclear weapons and not have any plans to prevent that.
Now who is being intellectually dishonest?
Ned Tyson
in Politics, Global War On Terror, Progressives and Moonbats
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Do-Not-Track Could Be On Its Way
Heard of the Do-Not-Call list? It's been around for a while and recently folks who signed up originally had to renew their registry.
Well, privacy groups are now pushing a new idea, a do-not-track list that will prevent online services from tracking the usage of internet users. From Google News:
A coalition of nine privacy and consumer groups have proposed a U.S. do-not-track list that would allow consumers to opt out of advertising efforts that track their movements online.
The groups, including the Center for Democracy and Technology (CDT), the Consumer Federation of America and the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, called for the U.S. Federal Trade Commission to create a list of servers that track users online. Consumers could download the list and use security software to block sites that they don't want tracking them, under a proposal filed with the FTC Wednesday.
In addition to the do-not-track proposal, the FTC filing also called on the agency to require that companies collecting data disclose what data they hold to consumers who ask for it. The groups also called on the U.S. Congress to create an online consumer protection advisory committee that could work with the FTC on online privacy issues, and they created a new definition of personally identifiable information that includes things such as screen names and online behavior that can be used to pinpoint an individual.
The proposal also suggests consumers should receive contextual notice of tracking efforts, Dixon said. "When a consumer is online and clicking on things, they get the notice at the right time and the right place," she said.
Of course, not all are happy about this development:
Of course this would leave unaffected any clandestine tracking systems commonly launched in trojans, viruses and other invasive technology.The Network Advertising Initiative (NAI), a cooperative of online marketing and analytics companies, since 2001 has distributed a cookie-based system that allows users to opt-out of behavioral advertising. But members of the privacy coalition say the NAI effort has largely not worked, partly because online users often mistrust cookies.
The NAI said a government-run program wouldn't work. The proposal would create a government-run list that would force computers to "call home to the government on a regular basis," the group said in a statement.
"This proposal for a government-run blacklist would break both the basic functionality and economic models of most, if not all, e-commerce and content-driven consumer Web sites," the group added. "It would also make much of the personalization available on the Web's most popular sites, enjoyed by millions, a thing of the past."