Birthday bestsellers

Why anyone would want to know what the bestselling books were in the week they were born is debatable.

But if that’s a burning question for you, you can put out the fire at BibliOz.com which has links to the New York Times bestseller lists of the past.

I’d heard of only four of the books listed for the week of my birth and have  read just one.

5/10

5/10 in NZ History Online’s weekly quiz.



Time to say good bye

The families of the men who died in the Pike River mine have held on to hope for nearly two months. Now that hope has been dashed by the news the mine will be sealed it’s understandable that they’re lashing out.

Anger is one of the normal and natural stages of the grieving process and they can’t be blamed for feeling this way.

But those further away from the emotion, like the unions who say the decision has been made because of the cost, are making political capital out of vulnerable people’s misery.

Given the millions of dollars that have already gone into attempting rescue and then recovery, it wouldn’t be unreasonable if cost was a consideration. But it’s the danger in the mine and safety of recovery teams which led to the decision to stop.

Families and others who talk about recovery keep saying they want to bring the bodies back, but bodies aren’t designed to survive explosions and fire. Even if it was safe to go in to the mine, it is very unlikely there would be anything left to bring back.

This isn’t a time for political game playing. It’s a time for local  leadership to help people start looking ahead and Greymouth mayor  Tony Kokshoorn is showing it.

“At the end of the day we have to accept we can’t get these bodies out and our men are lying up there for the foreseeable future,” he says.

 Recovery efforts must now centre on the living not the dead.

It is time to say good bye and to concentrate on helping the bereaved and their community.

January 15 in history

On January 15:

588 BC – Nebuchadnezzar II of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem under Zedekiah’s reign.

 

69 – Otho seized power in Rome, proclaiming himself Emperor of Rome, but rules for only three months before committing suicide.

1493 – Christopher Columbus set sail for Spain from Hispaniola, ending his first voyage to the New World.

 

1559  Elizabeth I was crowned queen of England in Westminster Abbey.

1622  Molière,  (Jean-Baptiste Poquelin) French playwright, was born (d. 1673).

1759 The British Museum opened.

1842 Blessed Mary McKillop, Australian  saint, was born (d. 1909).

 

1870  A political cartoon for the first time symbolised the United States Democratic Party with a donkey (“A Live Jackass Kicking a Dead Lion” by Thomas Nast for Harper’s Weekly).

 

1889 The Coca-Cola Company, then known as the Pemberton Medicine Company, was originally incorporated in Atlanta.

 

1892 James Naismith published the rules of basketball.

1893  Ivor Novello, Welsh composer and actor, was born (d. 1951).

1902  King Saud of Saudi Arabia, was born (d. 1969).

1906 Aristotle Onassis, Greek shipping magnate, was born  (d. 1975).

 Statue of Onassis at Nydri.

1909 Jean Bugatti, German-born automobile designer, was born  (d. 1939).

1913  Lloyd Bridges, American actor, was born (d. 1998).

1914  Hugh Trevor-Roper, English historian, was born (d. 2003).

1919  Maurice Herzog, French mountaineer, first to ascend an 8000m peak, Annapurna in 1950, was born .

1919 – Boston Molasses Disaster: A large molasses tank in Boston burst and a wave of molasses poured through the streets, killing 21 people and injuring 150 others.

 Aftermath of the disaster

1929 Martin Luther King, Jr., American civil rights leader, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, was born (d. 1968).

1936 The first building to be completely covered in glass was completed in Toledo, Ohio ( built for the Owens-Illinois Glass Company).

1943 – The world’s largest office building, The Pentagon, was dedicated in Arlington, Virginia.

1966  The government of Abubakar Tafawa Balewa in Nigeria was overthrown in a military coup d’état.

1969 The Soviet Union launched Soyuz 5.

1970 After a 32-month fight for independence from Nigeria, Biafra surrendered.

1970 United States Vice-President Spiro Agnew’s three-day visit to New Zealand sparked some of the most violent anti-Vietnam War demonstrations seen in this country.

 

1970 – Muammar al-Qaddafi was proclaimed premier of Libya.

1973 Citing progress in peace negotiations, President Richard Nixon announced the suspension of offensive action in North Vietnam.

1977  The Kälvesta air disaster killed 22 people, the worst air crash in Sweden‘s history.

1986 The Living Seas opened at EPCOT Center in Walt Disney World, Florida.

1991  The United Nations’ deadline for the withdrawal of Iraqi forces from occupied Kuwait expired, preparing the way for the start of Operation Desert Storm.

1992  The international community recognised the independence of Slovenia and Croatia from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

1993  Salvatore Riina, the Mafia boss known as ‘The Beast’, was arrested in Sicily after three decades as a fugitive.

2001 Wikipedia, a free Wiki content encyclopedia, went online.

2005 – ESA’s SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovered elements including calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron, and other surface elements on the moon.

 2009 US Airways Flight 1549 made an emergency landing into the Hudson River shortly after takeoff from LaGuardia Airport in New York City. All passengers and crew members survived.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

Ever Decreasing Circles

Happy birthday Richard Briars, 76 today.

Word of the day

Haptodysphoria - the uncomfortable or unpleasant sensation some people get when touching soft surfaces for instance cotton wool or peach skins.

Sandra Goudie to retire

 Coromandel MP Sandra Goudie has announced she will retire from politics after this year’s election.

 Sandra won the seat from then-Green co-leader Jeanette Fitzsimons in 2002. This was a notable achievement when the tide was so strongly against National and meant the Greens have since then had to rely on winning 5% of the party vote to stay in parliament.

It was difficult to miss Sandra in her brightly coloured Falcon and her successive election margins showed she was a popular and effective local MP.

“After nine fantastic years serving the people of the Coromandel,” Ms Goudie says, “it’s time to park up the Falcon.

 “I shall always treasure driving my faithful purple Ford Falcon V8 through our electorate – Coromandel Town, Whitianga, Thames, Whangamata, Paeroa, Waihi, Te Aroha, Katikati and Waitoa, and places in between. We have a beautiful electorate and great people.”

 Ms Goudie says her greatest contribution to Coromandel has been her open-door policy for constituents.

 “People’s political preferences have never stopped me helping them,” Ms Goudie says.

 “My staff and I have helped countless people in Coromandel. I would like to say a big thank you to my staff for their work and dedication over the years.

 “On a personal level, I was proud to win the Coromandel seat back for National. I now hold the tenth highest electorate majority in New Zealand following the 2008 election, of which I am also very proud, and acknowledge all those who have helped me to achieve that.

 “I was elected in 2002, and a lot has happened since then. The construction and opening of the Whangamata Marina was an emotional experience for all of us. Since it opened, a number of people originally opposed to it have said to me it’s been terrific for the area.

 “The progress we’ve made with the Kōpū Bridge has been exciting, and now we’re waiting for it to be finished next year. I’m also proud of giving people a voice about mangroves in Coromandel. Sadly bureaucrats have been slow to move on this issue.

 “It has been a real honour to serve as MP for Coromandel, and to be part of the National-led Government which is doing great things for New Zealand. Thank you to all the people who have supported me through the years.”

  Very little of the hard work local MPs do for their constituents gets noticed by the media or public. Kiwiblog writes of one of her campaigns.

Not all MPs will make it in to Cabinet but those who like Sandra help countless constituents and stand up for local issues also make a very valuable contribution to the country.

The selection for the seats will be keenly contested and help with the on-going refreshment of the National caucus.

Friday’s answers

Thursday’s questions were:

1. Who was the 2010 New Zealander for the Year?

2. What is a Malus domestica?

3. Who wrote Flowers For Mrs Harris?

4. Who said:  “A good holiday is one spent among people whose notions of time are vaguer than yours.”

5. Doug and Rowland Smith broke which record this week?

Points for answers:

Simfarmer got one right and a bonus for having the right priorities.

Fred got two right, a bonus for being specific about the shearing and another for the answers to #3 & #4 which could be right even if it’s not what I was seeking.

Andrei got three right.

Gravedodger got three right and a bonus for #3 & 3$ on the same grounds I awarded Fred.

Adam got two right.

Bearhunter got three.

Gravedodger  wins an electronic box of nectarines for highest points with most right. Andrei and Bearhunter get an electronic bag of cherries because they answered the same number of questions correctly and Fred gets one for gaining the same number of points.

The answers follow the break:

Good news for wool in spite of word war

A war of words has broken out between the Wool Exporters Council and Wool Partners Co-operative.

WEC says the wool co-op will never get over the line and reckons the co-op isn’t answering its questions.

WPC in return says that wool merchants and exporters aligned with the WEC are trying to undermine efforts to float the co-op.

While that’s going on there has been good news for the industry.

Wool Partners has made a second premium offer to growers who can supply high quality wool required by two British carpet manufacturers.

America’s largest carpet manufacturer has joined Wools of New Zealand’s Clean Air Certified programme.

Wool Partners International Chief Executive Officer Iain Abercrombie says Karastan’s certification and adoption of the programme is a further endorsement of the work Wools of New Zealand is undertaking to position New Zealand wool as the premier natural carpet fibre, produced in ethically sustainable manner.

 “This is further verification of the programmes we have been discussing with New Zealand growers to gain the recognition and the true value of the high quality wools they produce.”

 “It is intensive marketing backed by technical expertise developed by Wools of New Zealand, to delight consumers with the sheer luxury of naturally produced New Zealand wool.”

Programmes like this also require research and that’s been given a boost by the government.

Minister of Agriculture David Carter and Minister of Research, Science and Technology Wayne Mapp announced the investment of $17.25 million over five years in a wool research consortium tasked with lifting the economic return of the wool industry.

“The success of the strong wool sector hinges on developing new uses and markets for the industry – and with the growers themselves realising its full potential,” says Mr Carter.

“We are committed to growing New Zealand’s export earnings from wool fibre, and from value-added wool products developed through market-led research programmes,” Dr Mapp says.

The consortium participants are the Wool Research Organisation of New Zealand Inc (WRInc), and other New Zealand industry stakeholders. Key providers will include AgResearch and New Zealand universities. . .

“The wool industry is collaborating across the value chain to address key research questions, and the Government is supporting them,” says Dr Mapp.

Mr Carter says increased research and development for the wool sector was one of the key recommendations of his Wool Taskforce, which presented its report last year.

“The Wool Research Organisation’s constructive engagement through the Wool Unity Group has shown what can be achieved by better cohesion and co-operation within the wool industry,” Mr Carter says.

Collaboration and co-operation are working to good effect for research. It would also help with the marketing and wool exporters would be better employed concentrating on work which would maximise returns for growers than bickering with WPC which is trying to do that.

Not always the lucky country

Daytime temperatures never got lower than the mid 30s when we were in the Northern Territory and Northern Western Australia in August and we were very aware of the fire danger.

We were also conscious of humidity but the locals told us this was nothing, it was still the Dry and we wouldn’t know humidity until we’d been there in the Wet.

It was difficult for us to understand what somewhere so dry could be like in the wet. An average rainfall of 800mm ( a little more than 30 inches) is less than half as much again as North Otago’s, but it’s a lot when most of it falls from late November until March.

The stations we visited were geared for both the Wet and the Dry. Calving was timed to coincide with peak feed and allow most stock to be fattened and sold before the rains came. Most workers went away for summer with only a skeleton staff were kept on to look after stock which remained.

It seemed to be a very tough life to us and not just because of the climate. Katherine and Kununurra are thousands of kilometres away from reasonable population centres which could provide domestic markets so cattle was shipped live to Indonesia and exactly what they could sell was subject to changing whims of the government there. It had recently decided it wanted to be self-sufficient in beef in a few years and dropped the live weight of cattle it would accept. That was forcing the stations to rework their budgets and would have a significant negative effect on the bottom line.

But the people we spoke to loved it. They might go over to Queensland for a holiday during the wet but they were always happy to get back home.

They’ll be on holiday now, I hope it’s not in the area which has been flooded.

We often look in wonder, sometimes even envy, at our neighbours across the ditch but it’s not always the lucky country.

Australia was generous in its support for us after the Canterbury earthquake and during the Pike River mine disaster, now it’s our turn to help them.

Most of our banks are accepting donations. Red Cross is sending a team across to help and you can make an online donation here.

January 14 in history

On January 14:

83 BC Marcus Antonius, Roman politician, was born (d. 30 BC).

1129 Formal approval of the Order of the Templar at the Council of Troyes.

1301 Andrew III of Hungary died, ending the Arpad dynasty.

1514  Pope Leo X issued a papal bull against slavery.

1539 Spain annexes Cuba.

1639 The “Fundamental Orders“, the first written constitution that created a government, was adopted in Connecticut.

1724 – King Philip V of Spain abdicated the throne.

1761  The Third Battle of Panipat between the Afghans under Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Marhatas. The Afghan victory changed the course of Indian History.

1784  United States Congress ratified the  Treaty of Paris with Great Britain.

 Benjamin West‘s painting of the delegations at the Treaty of Paris: John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and William Temple Franklin. The British delegation refused to pose, and the painting was never completed.

1814  Treaty of Kiel: Frederick VI of Denmark ceded Norway to Sweden in return for Pomerania.

1875 Albert Schweitzer, Alsatian physician, Nobel laureate, was born  (d. 1965).

1883 – Nina Ricci, Italian-born French fashion designer (d. 1970)

1886  Hugh Lofting, English author, was born  (d. 1947).

1891 Bob  Fitzsimmons won the world middleweight boxing title.

 

1904  Sir Cecil Beaton, English photographer, was born  (d. 1980).

1907 An earthquake in Kingston, Jamaica killed more than 1,000.

1934  Richard Briers, English actor, was born.

1938 – Norway claimed Queen Maud Land in Antarctica.

1940  Sir Trevor Nunn, English theatre director and film director, was born.

1941  Faye Dunaway, American actress, was born

1943  Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill began the Casablanca Conference to discuss strategy and study the next phase of World War II.

 Free French leaders Henri Giraud and Charles de Gaulle in front of Roosevelt and Churchill at the Casablanca Conference, January 14, 1943

1943 –  Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first President of the United States to travel via aeroplane while in office when he travelled from Miami, Florida to Morocco to meet with Winston Churchill.

1950The first prototype of the MiG-17  made its maiden flight.

1952 NBC’s long-running morning news program Today debuted, with host Dave Garroway.

1967  The Human Be-In, takes place in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, launching the Summer of Love. Between 20,000 to 30,000 people attended.

 Poster advertising the ‘Human Be-In’ designed by Michael Bowen.

1970 Diana Ross & The Supremes’ final concert appearance at The Frontier Hotel- Las Vegas

1972 Queen Margrethe II of Denmark ascended the throne, the first Queen of Denmark since 1412 and the first Danish monarch not named Frederick or Christian since 1513.

 

1994  Samir Patel, American spelling bee winner, was born.

1998  Researchers in Dallas, Texas presented findings about an enzye that slows aging and cell death (apoptosis).

1999 Toronto, Mayor Mel Lastman was the first mayor in Canada to call in the Army to help with emergency medical evacuations and snow removal after more than one meter of snow paralysed the city.

2004 – The national flag of Georgia, the so-called “five cross flag“, was restored to official use after a hiatus of some 500 years.

2005  Landing of the Huygens probe on Saturn’s moon Titan.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

Pike River mine too unsafe for recovery

When people die farewelling them properly is an important part of the grieving process and that is almost always less difficult if those who love them are able to see the bodies.

The announcement this evening that  police have decided it is too unsafe to enter the Pike River mine and the recovery effort will be abandoned means their families won’t have that comfort.

Given that determined recovery efforts have been going on for nearly two months with little progress the announcement isn’t surprising. But it will still be devastating for the families and friends of the men who died and all those who’ve worked so hard to recover the bodies.

If there is anything good in this announcement it is that a decision has been made, even if it’s not the one everyone was hoping for.

Now, in Mary Lee Hall’s words, it’s time to Turn Again To Life

If I should die and
Leave you here awhile
Be not like others sore undone,
Who keep long vigils
By the silent dust and weep.
For my sake turn again
To life and smile
Nerving thy heart
And trembling hand to do
Something to comfort
Other hearts than thine.
Complete these dear
Unfinished Tasks of mine,
And I, perchance
May therein comfort you.

Word of the day

Acalculia – inability to work with numbers; an acquired impairment characterised by difficulty in performing mathematical tasks.

Thursday’s quiz

1. Who was the 2010 New Zealander for the Year?

2. What is a Malus domestica?

3. Who wrote Flowers For Mrs Harris?

4. Who said:  “A good holiday is one spent among people whose notions of time are vaguer than yours.”

5. Doug and Rowland Smith broke which record this week?

NZ 4th in world for economic freedom

New Zealand has retained fourth place  in the 2011 index of economic freedom.

The Asia Pacific leads the world.  Hong Kong retained first place with a freedom score of 89.7 followed by Singapore (87.2), Australia (82.5) and New Zealand (82.3).

Switzerland, Canada, Ireland, Denmark, the USA and Bahrain were the others in the top 10.

The Heritage Foundation which complies the index bases its measurement on three fundamental principles of economic freedom—empowerment of the individual, non-discrimination, and open competition:

In an economically free society, each person controls the fruits of his or her own labor and initiative. Individuals are empowered—indeed, entitled—to pursue their dreams by means of their own free choice. In an economically free society, individuals succeed or fail based on their individual effort and ability. The institutions of a free and open society do not discriminate against—or in favor of—individuals based on their race, ethnic background, gender, class, family connections, or any other factor unrelated to individual merit. Government decision-making is characterized by open­ness and transparency, and the bright light of equal opportunity replaces the shadows where discrimination can be most insidious.

In an economically free society, the power of economic decision-making is widely dispersed, and the allocation of resources for production and consumption is on the basis of free and open competition so that every individual or firm has a fair chance to succeed.

New Zealand is  one of only six of the 179 countries graded which is regarded as totally free with a score above 80.

With ratings between 70 and 80, the next 27 countries are “mostly free.” These 33 economies provide institutional environments in which individuals and private enterprises enjoy a substantial degree of economic freedom in the pursuit of greater prosperity and success. An equal number of countries are divided between “moderately free” and “mostly unfree,” accounting, in the middle of the distribution, for the largest share of the countries graded in the Index—114 countries. With scores below 50, there are 32 countries that remain economically “repressed.”

New Zealand went up 0.2 on last year’s score with 99.9 for business freedom, 86.6 for trade freedom, 64.7 for fiscal freedom, 49.3 for Government spending, 84.8 for monetary freedom, 80.0 for investment freedom, 80.0  financial freedom,  95.0 for property rights, 94.0 for freedom from corruption and 89.2 for labour freedom.

This shows the area where New Zealand must do beter is government spending. That could be used to good effect in the election campaign against those misguided politicians who think they can tax and spend their way to prosperity.

The report shows economic freedom advanced this year, regaining  much of the momentum lost during the fiscal crisis and global reces­sion.

 Many governments around the world have rededicated themselves to fiscal sound­ness, openness and reform, and the majority of countries are once again on a positive path to greater freedom. . .

. . .  Along with Hong Kong and Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Switzerland, and Canada have solidified their status as the world’s “free” economies. These top six econ­omies are the only countries to achieve scores above 80 on the 0 to 100 economic freedom grad­ing scale. Hong Kong was able to uphold its status as the world’s freest economy, a position it has held for 17 consecutive years. Singapore remains a close second, narrowing the gap with Hong Kong. Australia and New Zealand have maintained their previous rankings of 3rd and 4th in the 2011 Index, while Switzerland climbed up to the 5th spot, overtaking Ireland, which fell to 7th place.The relative strength of the “free” economies is no accident. Their strong com­mitment to all facets of economic freedom has endowed their economies with a high degree of resilience. All are recovering rapidly from the shocks of the global slowdown.

There is an important message here for those who think restrictions on people or businesses will help our economic recovery and the report also links economic freedom with environmental gains showing a free economy is a clean economy:

Environmental protection has become synonymous with big government: massive environmental statutes and global treaties, volumes of expansive and expensive regulations, and armies of bureaucrats micromanaging the private sector in an effort to reduce pollution. This certainly describes nearly all of the existing policies for addressing environmental concerns as well as most pending proposals dealing with global warming.

However, the Index of Economic Freedom strongly suggests that this command and control approach to “going green” is a fundamentally misguided one. It is the nations whose economies are ranked as most free that do the best to protect the environment, while the least free ones do the worst. Thus, the same free-market principles that have proven to be the key to economic success can also deliver environmental success and point the way to an approach that advances both concerns.

Not only is economic freedom and environmental protection not mutually exclusive, economic prosperity leads to environmental enhancement.

Dishing up delusions

Dish magazine usually gets my taste buds tingling but the latest edition contained a letter (not online) which also made me choke.

It came from a Devenport woman who  began by explaining her family had recently returned from a holiday in Spain where they visited a village in the Sierra Nevada mountains.

. . . Upon arrival we marvelled and delighted in the fact that we had found ourselves in such a remote and beautiful part of the world. We were truly a world away from our home in Auckland.

You can imagine then, our astonishment and dismay to be offered New Zealand-grown kiwifruit at the hotel’s breakfast buffet!

Having completed the arduous flight from Auckland to Malaga, via Hong Kong and London, and the the perilous drive up the mountain, our minds boggled at the thought of just how far those little beauties had travelled to arrive on our plate. Did we really need to have kiwifruit for breakfast?

Surely at that time of the year there is enough fruit grown in Spain or nearby European countries to satisfy the palates of mountaineers and tourists alike.

Now, I mean no disrespect fo those entrepreneurial New Zealand farmers who have managed to sell their product to the world, but as we all try so hard to arrest global warming and decrease our carbon footprints, surely this can’t be a good thing.

Upon reading this letter I muttered and despaired at the fact someone could be so deluded.

I couldn’t imagine her astonishment and dismay because I am always delighted to find New Zealand produce in far flung parts of the world.

You can’t get further in the world from New Zealand than Spain yet it’s our biggest importer of kiwifruit. Unlike Ms Davenport they travel by boat rather than plane so  their trip to Spain would have had a much smaller carbon footprint than her family did on their trip.

At that time of the year, presumably summer in the Northern Hemisphere, it is possible in Spain to find fruit from many different parts of the world, all of them closer than New Zealand. But as Lincoln University has proved, this doesn’t mean their carbon footprint is lower than that of produce from New Zealand. The efficiency of our production often more than makes up for the environmental impact of the journey.

I’m pleased Ms Devenport means no disrespect to entrepreneurial New Zealand farmers who mange to sell their products to the world. If it wasn’t for them and other exporters no-one in New Zealand could buy imports or travel overseas.

Our population of four million wouldn’t equate to that of a reasonably sized city in most parts of the world. There are too few of us to sustain a first world economy if we sold only to ourselves.

If we want to buy imports or travel overseas we need foreign exchange and we earn that by exporting so the presence of kiwifruit in a Sierra Nevada village is a very good thing.

January 13 in history

On January 13:

532 – Nika riots in Constantinople.

888 – Odo, Count of Paris became King of the Franks.

1328 – Edward III of England married Philippa of Hainault, daughter of the Count of Hainault.

 

1435 – Sicut Dudum was promulgated by Pope Eugene IV about the enslaving of black natives in Canary Islands by Spanish Natives.

1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey was sentenced to death.

1605 The play Eastward Hoe by Ben Jonson, George Chapman, and John Marston was performed, landing two of the authors in prison.

1607  The Bank of Genoa failed after announcement of national bankruptcy in Spain.

1610  Galileo Galilei discovered Ganymede, 4th moon of Jupiter.

1785 John Walter published the first issue of the Daily Universal Register (later renamed The Times).

1822 The design of the Greek flag was adopted by the First National Assembly at Epidaurus.

1830 The Great fire of New Orleans, Louisiana began.

1842  Dr. William Brydon, a surgeon in the British Army during the First Anglo-Afghan War, was the sole survivor of an army of 16,500 when he reached the safety of a garrison in Jalalabad.

Remnants of an Army by Elizabeth Butler

1847  The Treaty of Cahuenga ended the Mexican-American War in California.

 Campo de Cahuenga, scene of the signing of the Treaty of Cahuenga, January 13, 1847

1885 Alfred Fuller, Canadian businessman, The “Fuller Brush Man”, was born (d. 1973).

1890 Thomas William Murphy or ‘Torpedo Billy’, became the first New Zealander to win a world title in professional boxing.

1893 The Independent Labour Party of the UK had its first meeting.

 Portrait of ILP leader Keir Hardie painted at the time of the foundation of the organisation in 1893.

1893 – U.S. Marines landed in Honolulu from the U.S.S. Boston to prevent the queen from abrogating the Bayonet Constitution.

1898  Emile Zola’s J’accuse exposed the Dreyfus affair.

 

1911  Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, Premier of Queensland, was born.

1915 An earthquake in Avezzano, Italy killed 29,800.

1926 Michael Bond, British writer, was born.

1939 The Black Friday bush fires burnt 20,000 square kilometres of land in Australia, claiming the lives of 71 people.

1942 Carol Cleveland, English actress and only significant female performer in Monty Python’s Flying Circus, was born.

1942  Henry Ford patented a plastic  automobile, which was 30% lighter than a regular car.

1942  First use of aircraft ejection seat by a German test pilot in a Heinkel He 280 jet fighter.

1953 Marshal Josip Broz Tito was chosen as President of Yugoslavia.

1958  Moroccan Liberation Army ambushed Spanish patrol in the Battle of Edchera.

1964  Hindu-Muslim rioting broke out in Calcutta – now Kolkata – resulting in the deaths of more than 100 people.

1964  Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II, was appointed archbishop of Krakow, Poland.

1966  Robert C. Weaver became the first African American Cabinet member by being appointed United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

1968  Johnny Cash performed live at Folsom Prison.

1970  Shonda Rhimes, American screenwriter/creator Grey’s Anatomy, was born.

1985 A passenger train plunged into a ravine at Ethiopia, killing 428 in the worst rail disaster in Africa.

1990 L. Douglas Wilder became the first elected African American governor when he took office in Richmond, Virginia.

1992 – Japan apologised for forcing Korean women into sexual slavery (Comfort women) during World War II.

1993 Space Shuttle programme: Endeavour headed for space for the third time as STS-54 launched from the Kennedy Space Center.

2001  An earthquake in El Salvador, killed more than 800.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

Word of the day

Wanion – bad luck, curse, misfortune, plague often attributed to the waning of the moon.

Reading Janet Frame

This Tuesday’s Poem is Reading Janet Frame by Harvey McQueen, which is part of a tribute to the poet who died on Christmas Day by Mary McCallum who also posted Harvey McQueen RIP on her own blog.

Other tributes from Tuesday poets include:

After the Disaster chosen by Helen Lowe

Tribute to Harvey McQueen by Helen Rickerby at Winged Ink

Harvey McQueen 1934-2010 – an appreciation by Jeffrey Paparoa Holman

Farewell to Harvey McQueen by Saradha Koirala

Tuesday poem to remember Harvey McQueen That Selfsame Song by Thomas Hardy, from Mariana Isara

Coroner’s recommendation not realistic for quads

The deaths of 120 people in quad bike accidents over the last 10 years is a matter of concern but the Labour Department has made the right call in rejecting a coroner’s recommendations for compulsory  lap belts and roll bars.

The department says lap belts would make it extremely difficult to “actively ride” a quad bike and the science of roll bar protection is incomplete.

Filipino beekeeper Jody Dean Santos, 21, of Masterton, died from a massive skull fracture days after he was “catapulted” off a quad bike he was riding at work in August 2008.

In his findings on the death, Wellington Coroner Ian Smith said accidents involving quad bikes had concerned coroners for a long time – about 120 had been killed on them in the past 10 years.

Mr Smith said he was frustrated by the failure of authorities to take up the recommendations coroners “consistently” made.

He recommended the Labour and Transport ministers undertake an immediate investigation to consider the mandatory use of helmets, roll bars and lap belts on all quad bikes.

There’s no debate about the use of helmets but roll bars require more research and lap belts would increase the danger of riding quads.

But Department of Labour national support manager Mike Munnelly said that while it supported compulsory helmet wearing, to ride a quad bike safely it was absolutely necessary to be able to stand up and to shift body weight for balance – or “active riding”.

“A lap belt or restraining system makes it extremely difficult for a rider to make these safety corrections and exposes them to increased danger,” Mr Munnelly said.

Even if this wasn’t the case the number of times riders get on and off a bike on farms would mean they’d be very unlikely to use a belt.

The department launched a quad bike safety programme last year. It pushes the message that riders must be trained and experienced enough to do the job, children should not ride adult quad bikes, always wear a helmet and choose the right vehicle for the job.

That is very good advice which we do our best to ensure our employees heed.

Alf Grumble gives his view on this issue in: if it’s a good idea for more people to belt up let’s start with coroners.