Trust in government

Confidence in government
Switzerland 75%
India 73%
Russia 64%
Turkey 56%

US 35%
France 26%
Greece 19%#DemDebate pic.twitter.com/VdO3QVMd3U

— Conrad Hackett (@conradhackett) December 20, 2015

Quote of the day

Inspiration is an awakening, a quickening of all man’s faculties, and it is manifested in all high artistic achievements. – Giacomo Puccini who was born on this day in 1858.

 

December 22 in history

69 – Emperor Vitellius was captured and murdered at the Gemonian stairs in Rome.

880 – Luoyang, eastern capital of the Tang Dynasty, was captured by rebel leader Huang Chao during the reign of Emperor Xizong.

1135 – Stephen of Blois became King of England

1550  Cesare Cremonini, Italian philosopher, was born  (d. 1631).

1639  Jean Racine, French dramatist was born (d. 1699).

1769 – Sino-Burmese War (1765–1769) ended with an uneasy truce.

1790 – Turkish fortress of Izmail was stormed and captured by Alexander Suvorov and his Russian armies.

1805  John Obadiah Westwood, British entomologist, was born (d. 1893).

1807  The Embargo Act, forbidding trade with all foreign countries, was passed by the U.S. Congress, at the urging of President Thomas Jefferson.

1809 The Non-Intercourse Act, lifting the Embargo Act except for the United Kingdom and France, was passed by the U.S. Congress.

1819  Pierre Ossian Bonnet, French mathematician, was born  (d. 1892).

1851 – The first freight train was operated in Roorkee, India.

1858  Giacomo Puccini, Italian composer, was born (d. 1924).

1885 Ito Hirobumi, a samurai, became the first Prime Minister of Japan.

1888  J. Arthur Rank, British film producer, was born  (d. 1972).

1901  André Kostelanetz, American popular music orchestra leader and arranger, was born (d. 1980).

1907  Dame Peggy Ashcroft, English actress, was born(d. 1991).

1909  Patricia Hayes, English actress, was born (d. 1998).

1914 Swami Satchidananda, Yogi and Spiritual teacher, was born  (d. 2002).

1916 Peter Fraser, who later became Prime Minister, was charged with sedition following a speech attacking the government’s military conscription policy.

1942 Dick Parry, English musician (Pink Floyd), was born.

1948 Noel Edmonds, English game show host, was born.

1949  Maurice Gibb, English musician (The Bee Gees) was born  (d. 2003).

1949 – Robin Gibb, English musician (The Bee Gees), was born (d. 2012).

1956  Colo,  the first gorilla to be bred in captivity was born.

1962 Ralph Fiennes, English actor, was born.

1963 The cruise ship Lakonia burned 180 miles north of Madeira with the loss of 128 lives.

1964  First flight of the SR-71 (Blackbird).

1965 A 70mph speed limit was applied to all rural roads in Britain, including motorways, for the first time. Previously, there had been no speed limit.

1974  Grande Comore, Anjouan and Mohéli voted to become the independent nation of Comoros.

1978 The Third Plenum of the 11th National Congress of the Communist Party of China was held in Beijing, with Deng Xiaoping reversing Mao-era policies to pursue a program for Chinese economic reform.

1989 After a week of bloody demonstrations, Ion Iliescu took over as president of Romania, ending Nicolae Ceauşescu‘s Communist dictatorship.

1989 – Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate re-opened after nearly 30 years, effectively ending the division of East and West Germany.

1990 Final independence of Marshall Islands and Federated States of Micronesia after termination of trusteeship.

1992 – Archives of Terror  – archives describing the fates of thousands of Latin Americans who had been secretly kidnapped, tortured, and killed by the security services of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, and Uruguay – were discovered by  Dr. Martín Almada, and a human-rights activist and judge, José Agustín Fernández. This was known as Operation Condor.

1997  Acteal massacre: Attendees at a prayer meeting of Roman Catholic activists for indigenous causes in the small village of Acteal in the Mexican state of Chiapas werre massacred by paramilitary forces.

2001 Burhanuddin Rabbani, political leader of the Afghan Northern Alliance, handeed over power in Afghanistan to the interim government headed by President Hamid Karzai.

2001 – Richard Reid attempted to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63.

2008– An ash dike ruptured at a solid waste containment area in Roane County, Tennessee, releasing 1.1 billion gallons (4.2 million m³) of coal fly ash slurry.

2010 – The repeal of the Don’t Ask Don’t Tell policy, the 17-year-old policy banning  homosexuals serving openly in the United States military, was signed into law by President Barack Obama.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia

Word of the day

Dragoman – an interpreter or guide, especially in countries speaking Arabic, Turkish, or Persian; a professional interpreter.

Rural round-up

Proactive approach succeeds – Sally Rae:

When it comes to grappling with water-quality issues, Madeline Hall has a suggestion for farmers.

They need to take a pro-active role to think about rules coming in and ask themselves how they could be involved to help make it work, Ms Hall, an environmental sociology masters student at the University of Otago’s Centre for Sustainability, said.

Ms Hall has researched the social impact of a nutrient-reduction nitrogen-trading scheme on farming communities in the Lake Taupo basin. The innovative market-based environmental policy was established to address growing community concern about water quality. . . .

‘Fearless leadership’ urged – Sally Rae:

When Dutch couple Helen and Art Blom came to New Zealand in the mid-1990s, it was to be only a temporary stint.

The couple, who had studied agriculture at university in Holland, intended to work on a farm for a year.

But they ended up ‘‘staying forever”, Mrs Blom, who recently graduated from the Agri-Women’s Development Trust’s 2015 Escalator programme, says, laughing. . . 

Summer vigil for biosecurity staff:

The latest border biosecurity boost will help the Ministry for Primary Industries manage a swarm of new international flights and passengers this summer.

Last week, 57 new biosecurity staff, including 24 detector dog teams, graduated from their training at a ceremony in Auckland.

MPI and other border agencies are gearing for the busiest summer ever, says Steve Gilbert, MPI’s Border Clearance Director. . . 

Pest control firm praises ‘exemplary’ 1080 investigation:

Animal Control Products (ACP), the State-Owned Enterprise that imports 1080 and manufactures 1080 bait products for pest control in New Zealand, today congratulated the Police on arresting and charging the blackmailer who threatened to contaminate infant formula with 1080 poison.

Chief executive William McCook said ACP was pleased to have been able to assist the Police with their investigation, in particular with some of the technical and historical aspects of their investigation.

He said the Police had done an exemplary job in tracking down and bringing the blackmailer to justice, and that the Ministry for Primary Industries’ (MPI) approach to protecting consumers and ensuring infant formula was safe was well-coordinated. . .

Upgraded Hooker Valley track opens:

A newly completed upgrade of Aoraki/Mt Cook National Park’s popular Hooker Valley track makes it easier for visitors to experience the spectacle of New Zealand’s highest mountains, Conservation Minister Maggie Barry says.
Ms Barry officially opened the improved track at a ceremony outside Mt Cook Village today.

The $1.7 million project means the track is less prone to flooding, avoids potential avalanche and rockfall areas and is more accessible for walkers. . .

AgriFoodNZ Setting Up To Invest in New Zealand’s Food & Beverage Sector

Signs Memorandum of Understanding with Bank of China NZ

The Bank of China (NZ) and AgriFoodNZ have today announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to help New Zealand food and beverage companies seeking to gain access to investment capital and expertise in marketing and distributing product and services in China.

AgriFoodNZ (Food & Agricultural Trading New Zealand Limited) was recently formed to facilitate investment and enhance the marketing and distribution capability of New Zealand food and beverage products.

Macri ditches wheat, corn, beef export taxes:

The [Argentinean] national government has finally announced one of its pledges during the campaign: the total removal of export taxes for regional economies and a cut of the soy bean export tax by 5%.

Soy bean export taxes will be reduced from 35 percent to 30 percent while corn, wheat and meat export taxes will be totally removed.

“The day has come and I had asked you to hold on,” Macri said during a speech delivered in the Buenos Aires city of Pergamino where he made the announcement, escorted by Buenos Aires governor María Eugenia Vidal, Agricultural Minister Ricardo Buryaile, Interior Minister Rogelio Frigeroi and Let’s Change Senators Carlos Reutemann and Alfredo de Angeli, among other officials.

He called to “launch a new phase together” adding “without the agricultural sector the country won’t move forward.” . . .

Student has made $40,000 profit selling baby formula to buyers in China – and says he is doing nothing wrong ‘because every child deserves access to the food’ –  Liam Quinn:

A student has revealed how he made more than $40,000 selling baby formula to China.

The young student, who did not reveal where he lives in Australia, said he got into the lucrative market after a Chinese friend returned to the country late in 2014.

Just weeks later, he was selling his first can and making a measly $1.50 profit, but it was the start of a huge pay-day. . .

Coping with grief at Christmas

Good advice, whether or not it’s Christmas.

Quote of the day

Nobody likes having salt rubbed into their wounds, even if it is the salt of the earth. – Rebecca West who was born on this day in 1892.

December 21 in history

69 – The Roman Senate declared Vespasian as Roman emperor, the last in the Year of the Four Emperors.

640 – Muslim Arabs captured Babylon Fortress in the Nile Delta  after a seven-month siege.

1140 – Conrad III of Germany besieged Weinsberg.

1361 – The Battle of Linuesa was fought in the context of the Spanish Reconquista between the forces of the Emirate of Granada and the combined army of the Kingdom of Castile and of Jaén resulting in a Castilian victory.

1118  Thomas Becket, Lord Chancellor of England and Archbishop of Canterbury was born  (d. 1170).

1598  Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche, led by cacique Pelentaru, inflicted a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile.

1620 William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims landed on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.

1682 Calico Jack Rackham, English pirate, was born (d. 1720).

1804 Benjamin Disraeli, 1st Earl of Beaconsfield, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, was born (d. 1881).

1815  Thomas Couture, French painter and teacher, was born (d. 1879).

1843 Thomas Bracken, Irish-born New Zealand poet, was born (d. 1898).

1844 – The Rochdale Pioneers commenced business at their cooperative in Rochdale, England, starting the Cooperative movement.

1861  Medal of Honor: Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor, was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln.

1872  HMS Challenger, commanded by Captain George Nares, sailed from Portsmouth.

1883 The first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army were formed: The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment.

1892  Rebecca West, British writer, was born  (d. 1983).

1905  Anthony Powell, British author, was born (d. 2000).

1913 Arthur Wynne’s “word-cross”, the first crossword puzzle, was published in the New York World.

1917  Heinrich Böll, German writer and Nobel laureate, was born (d. 1985).

1937 – Jane Fonda, American actress, was born.

1937  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first full-length animated film, premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre.

1946 Carl Wilson, American musician (The Beach Boys), was born (d. 1998).

1958 Charles de Gaulle was elected President of France when his Union des Démocrates pour la République party gained 78.5% of the vote.

1962 – Rondane National Park was established as Norway‘s first national park.

1964 More than 170 years of New Zealand whaling history came to a close when J. A. Perano and Company caught its last whale off the coast near Kaikoura.

1967  Louis Washkansky, the first man to undergo a heart transplant, died 18 days after the transplant.

1968 Apollo 8, the first manned mission to the moon, was launched from the Kennedy Space Centre in Florida. At 2h:50m:37s Mission elapsed time (MES), the crew performed the first ever manned Trans Lunar Injection and became the first humans to leave Earth’s gravity.

1971 New Zealand Railways (NZR) launched a new tourist-oriented steam passenger venture, the Kingston Flyer.

1979 Lancaster House Agreement: An independence agreement for Rhodesia was signed in London by Lord Carrington, Sir Ian Gilmour, Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo, Bishop Abel Muzorewa and S.C. Mundawarara.

1988  A bomb exploded on board Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, killing 270.

1992 – A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashed at Faro Airport, killing 56 people.

1994 – Mexican volcano Popocatepetl, dormant for 47 years, erupted.

1995 – The city of Bethlehem passed from Israeli to Palestinian control.

1999 – The Spanish Civil Guard intercepted a van loaded with 950 kg of explosives that ETA intended to use to blow up Torre Picasso in Madrid.

2004 – Iraq War: A suicide bomber killed 22 at the forward operating base next to the main U.S. military airfield at Mosul, the single deadliest suicide attack on American soldiers.

2012  – The Walt Disney Company completed its acquisition of Lucasfilmand of the Star Wars franchise.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

Word of the day

Notaphily – the study or collection of bank notes.

Time to reach 50m users

Time to reach 50 million users:

Radio 38 years
TV 13 years
Internet 4 years@twitter 9 months
Angry Birds 35 days pic.twitter.com/mYAx7GdWRW

— Vala Afshar (@ValaAfshar) December 12, 2015

Light

There is a perfectly still moment right before dawn, when the sun gathers itself & then steps into the dark world & everything is so filled with light that any doubts from that long night are barely a memory. It is the way of all things that the night ends & the light returns. The light always returns….

Light ©2015 Brian Andreas – posted with permission.

You’ can sign up for a daily dose of whimsy like this by email at Story People.

 

 

Sunday soapbox

Sunday’s soapbox is yours to use as you will – within the bounds of decency and absence of defamation. You’re welcome to look back or forward, discuss issues of the moment, to pontificate, ponder or point us to something of interest, to educate, elucidate or entertain, amuse, bemuse or simply muse but not to abuse.

It’s not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters. –Epictetus  .

December 20 in history

69 – Vespasian, formerly a general under Nero, entered Rome to claim the title of emperor.

217 – The papacy of Zephyrinus ended. Callixtus I was elected as the sixteenth pope, but was opposed by the theologian Hippolytus who accused him of laxity and of being a Modalist, one who denies any distinction between the three persons of the Trinity.

1192  Richard the Lion-Heart was captured and imprisoned by Leopold V ofAustria on his way home to England after signing a treaty with Saladinending the Third crusade.

1522 – Suleiman the Magnificent accepted the surrender of the surviving Knights of Rhodes, who were allowed to evacuate. They eventually settled on Malta and became known as the Knights of Malta.

1803 – The Louisiana Purchase was completed at a ceremony in New Orleans.

1865 Elsie De Wolfe, American socialite and interior decorator, was born  (d. 1950).

1868 Harvey Firestone, American automobile pioneer, was born (d. 1938).

1894  Sir Robert Menzies, 12th Prime Minister of Australia was born (d. 1978).

1901  Robert Van de Graaff, American physicist and inventor, was born  (d. 1967).

1907  Paul Francis Webster, songwriter, was born  (d. 1984).

1913 The Great Strike of 1913, which began in late October when Wellington waterside workers stopped work, ended when the United Federation of Labour (UFL) conceded defeat.

1927  Kim Young-sam, first civilian President of South Korea after a series of dictatorships, was born.

1944  Bobby Colomby, American musician (Blood, Sweat & Tears), was born.

1945 Peter Criss, American drummer and singer (Kiss), was born.

1948 Alan Parsons, British music producer and artist, was born.

1951 The EBR-1 in Arco, Idaho becomes the first nuclear power plant to generate electricy.  The electricity powered four light bulbs.

1955 – Cardiff was proclaimed the capital city of Wales.

1957  Billy Bragg, English singer and songwriter, was born.

1973 Spanish Prime Minister, Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco, was assassinated by a car bomb attack in Madrid.

1984 The Summit tunnel fire, the largest underground fire in history, as a freight train carrying over 1 million litres of petrol derails near the town ofTodmorden in the Pennines.

1987 History’s worst peacetime sea disaster, when the passenger ferryDoña Paz sank after colliding with the oil tanker Vector 1 in the Tablas Strait in the Philippines  killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).

1988 The United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances was signed in Vienna

1989  United States invasion of Panama: The United States sent troops into Panama to overthrow government of Manuel Noriega.

1995  NATO began peacekeeping in Bosnia.

1996 NeXT merged with Apple Computer, starting the path to Mac OS X.

1999 Macau was handed over to the People’s Republic of China by Portugal.

2007  Queen Elizabeth II became the oldest ever monarch of the United Kingdom, surpassing Queen Victoria, who lived for 81 years, 7 months and 29 days.

2007 – The painting Portrait of Suzanne Bloch (1904), by Pablo Picasso, was stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art, along with O Lavrador de Café, by the major Brazilian modernist painter Candido Portinari.

2013  – China successfully launched the Bolivian Túpac Katari 1 from the Xichang Satellite Launch Centre.

2014  – Two police officers of the New York City Police Department were shot and killed, allegedly in retaliation against the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia

Word of the day

Dight –  clothed or equipped; to dress; adorn; make ready for a use or purpose; prepare; arrange, compose.

Saturday’s smiles

A young girl was talking to her teacher about whales.

“You have to be careful swimming in the sea in case a whale eats you,” the pupil said.

Her teacher said there was no need to worry, it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human. Even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small.

The little girl thought for a moment then said, “That can’t be right,  Jonah was swallowed by a whale”.

The teacher shook her head then reiterated that a whale couldn’t swallow a human, even a small one; it was physically impossible.

The little girl said, ‘When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah’.

The teacher asked, ‘What if Jonah went to hell?’

The little girl replied, ‘Then you ask him’.

Saturday soapbox

Saturday’s soapbox is yours to use as you will – within the bounds of decency and absence of defamation. You’re welcome to look back or forward, discuss issues of the moment, to pontificate, ponder or point us to something of interest, to educate, elucidate or entertain, amuse, bemuse or simply muse.

 

True happiness comes from the joy of deeds well done, the zest of creating things new. – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

December 19 in history

211 – Publius Septimius Geta, co-emperor of Rome, was lured to go without his bodyguards to meet his brother Marcus Aurelius Antoninus (Caracalla), to discuss a possible reconciliation. When he arrived thePraetorian Guard murdered him and he died in the arms of his mother Julia Domna.

324 – Licinius abdicated his position as Roman Emperor.

1154  Henry II was crowned at Westminster Abbey.

1606  The Susan Constant, the Godspeed, and the Discovery left England carrying settlers who found, at Jamestown, Virginia, the first of the thirteen colonies that became the United States.

1683  Philip V of Spain, was born (d. 1746).

1820 Mary Livermore, American journalist and women’s rights advocate, was born (d. 1905).

1879 – Universal male suffrage was introduced in New Zealand when the Qualification of Electors Act extended the right to vote (or electoral franchise) to all European men aged over 21, regardless of whether they owned or rented property.

1906 Leonid Brezhnev, leader of the Soviet Union, was born (d. 1982).

1915 The evacuation of troops from Sulva Bay .

1915 Édith Piaf, French singer and actress, was born  (d. 1963).

1920  King Constantine I was restored as King of the Hellenes after the death of his son Alexander I of Greece and a plebiscite.

1923  Gordon Jackson, Scottish actor, was born  (d. 1990).

1924  The last Rolls-Royce Silver Ghost was sold in London.

1925 Robert B. Sherman, American songwriter, was born.

1932  BBC World Service began broadcasting as the BBC Empire Service.

1934  Pratibha Patil, President of India, was born.

1941 The Royal Navy cruiser HMS Neptune struck enemy mines and sank off Libya – more than 750 men lost their lives including 150 New Zealanders.

1941 Adolf Hitler became Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the German Army.

1941 – Maurice White, American singer and songwriter (Earth, Wind & Fire), was born.

1944 Zal Yanovsky, Canadian guitarist (The Lovin’ Spoonful), was born.

1946  Start of the First Indochina War.

1972  The last manned lunar flight, Apollo 17, crewed by Eugene Cernan,Ron Evans and Harrison Schmitt, returned to Earth.

1983  The original FIFA World Cup trophy, the Jules Rimet Trophy, was stolen from the headquarters of the Brazilian Football Confederation.

1984 The Sino-British Joint Declaration, stating that the People’s Republic of China would resume the exercise of sovereignty over Hong Kong and the United Kingdom would restore Hong Kong to China with effect from July 1, 1997 was signed in Beijing by Deng Xiaoping and Margaret Thatcher.

2001  A record high barometric pressure of 1085.6 hPa (32.06 inHg )was recorded at Tosontsengel, Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia.

2001 – Argentine economic crisis: December 2001 riots – Riots erupted in Buenos Aires.

2009 – A 6.4 magnitude earthquake occurred off the coast of Hualian, Taiwan.

2012 – Park Geun-hye became the first female elected President of South Korea

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

Word of the day

Antipelargy  – reciprocal or mutual kindness; love and care of children for their parents.

Friday’s answers

Thanks to Andrei and J.Bloggs who posed the questions.

If they’ve stumped us all they can claim a virtual  batch of White Chocolate Rocky Road by leaving the answers below.

Quote of the day

Those who adhere to the past won’t be able to cope with the future. – Willy Brandt who was born on this day in 1913.