365 days of gratitude

We became friends when we were students and have stayed friends ever since in spite of living a long way from each other.

Today, for the second time this month, we met for lunch.

We shared ate, we talked and most of all we laughed.

Today I’m grateful for friendships that endure and the fun that comes from catching up.

Greyfriars Bobby

Celebrating St Andrew’s Day with one of my favourite childhood films – Greyfriars Bobby:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3RD5RLK6yV0

Word of the day

Laldie – great energy and enjoyment; great force; thrashing; a sound beating, drubbing; punishment; to undertake an action with vigour and vitality.

I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)

A change from the older Scottish songs I choose to celebrate St Andrew’s Day, I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles) by The Proclaimers:

Rural round-up

Flying the flag for female farmers – Sally Brooker:

Kerry Watson is a can-do person.

The Five Forks dairy farm worker is the only woman in the Aorangi regional final of the Young Farmer of the Year competition.

But rather than being concerned about its physical challenges, she is more worried about the theory.

Miss Watson (27) grew up on a sheep and beef farm in Cumbria, in the northwest of England, until her family emigrated to New Zealand when she was 11. . . 

Farm advisors helping improve water quality – Pam Tipa:

Fonterra’s director of sustainability Carolyn Mortland says she is very heartened by the work farmers are putting into the environment.

“I think we will see it really turning around in future years,” she told Dairy News.

Fonterra recently put out a progress report on its six commitments to improve waterways — one year on from launching the actions. . .

Partnership approach pays off – Pam Tipa:

The partnership approach was a key to Kiwifruit Vine Health (KVH) winning the industry award at the 2018 New Zealand Biosecurity Awards last week, says KVH chief executive Stu Hutchings.

The partnership approach has ensured the industry was better placed for any future biosecurity event, he says.

“There is no doubt that by working in partnership we can achieve better biosecurity outcomes,” Hutchings says. . . 

Ok! Everybody listen up! @theGBbulldog pic.twitter.com/BM19y3Kl1E

— Gert van den Bosch (@gertvanden) November 26, 2018

What’sthe beef with methane? – Eloise Gibson:

The Government’s proposal for a Zero Carbon Bill has exposed an argument between scientists about the importance of methane. But it’s not really about science, as Eloise Gibson reports in this deep-dive news feature.

There’s beef in the world of methane. Like a piece of marbled Wagyu, it is probably quite healthy — if consumed in moderation.

The argument is over when and how much New Zealand should reduce the methane from cow and sheep burps, which make up almost a third of our emissions, as we currently record them. . .

Anonymous anti-dam brochure reckless, says MP:

Nelson MP Nick Smith is concerned at the distress being caused by an anonymous anti-dam brochure delivered to all households in Brightwater that makes false claims of the town being at risk of an eight metre tidal wave if the dam proceeds.

“I am appalled that dam opponents have resorted to this sort of desperate scaremongering. I have had frightened older residents contacting my office scared witless and mothers in tears at the A & P show over the weekend out of fear for their family. Nobody should be publishing or distributing made up claims on issues as serious as earthquake and tidal wave risks.”

“It is bad enough that those responsible for this scaremongering have not put their name to it, but worse that they have tried to give it credibility by using the good names of Dr Mike Johnson of GNS and Tonkin and Taylor. These experts have dismissed the accuracy of the claims in the brochure, saying they are “very misleading” and “mischievous.” . . 

Farmers’ perspective vital to long-term improvements in agricultural practices:

A study published by scientists from The University of Western Australia jointly with farmers is one of the first to address the role of temperate perennial grass pastures in contributing to soil organic carbon in south-western Australia.Intensive sampling was conducted on a trial site near Wagin consisting of a mix of temperate perennial and annual grasses that had been sown over a ten-year period. The results demonstrated the potential of perennial pastures for short-term gain in soil organic carbon stocks.

Emeritus Professor Lynette Abbott from UWA’s School of Agriculture and Environment and Institute of Agriculture said temperate perennial grass pastures are currently an uncommon choice in this region but have the potential for future development.  . . 

Aww how beautiful is this?
Farming in Āotearoa. 🥔🚜
Wilcox farm's, stunning looking Perlas crop at Awhitu Peninsula. These Perlas will be in stores over the Christmas holiday period and will no doubt be enjoyed in many a salad. pic.twitter.com/OttVmXzaHm

— Potatoes New Zealand (@PotatoesNZ) November 26, 2018

Yorkshire shepherdess and her nine VERY free-range children: Christmas presents for £2, no computer games and six mile walks to buy a packet of peanuts – meet the ultimate antidote to helicopter parenting:

• Amanda Owen gave birth to five of her nine children in a car or an ambulance 
• She lives in an isolated farmhouse in the Yorkshire Dales with her large family
• She grew up in suburban Huddersfield but fell in love with the idea of rural life  
• Her family were filmed on and off for a year and will star in a TV show next week

Five of Amanda Owen’s nine children were born in either cars or ambulances at the side of the road. Quite frankly, on the tortuous (if scenic) journey to her farmhouse high in the Yorkshire Dales, you wonder how she made it to hospital with any of them.

On the map, it looks as if Amanda, better known as the Yorkshire Shepherdess, lives just a hop and skip from civilisation. In reality, the drive is a precarious one involving a twisty road, with sheer drops. The nearest maternity unit is two hours away. For a woman in labour, in the dark, this must be the road to hell.

Little wonder, then, that when the contractions started for baby No 8, Amanda didn’t even wake husband Clive and tell him to get the car keys. She simply piled towels in front of the fire, gave herself a stern talking to, and eased the baby out with her own hands. . . 

Highland Cathedral

Celebrating St Andrew’s Day with Highland Cathedral from the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards:

Drip, drip, drip

Leader of the Opposition is reputed to be the worst job in politics.

It’s certainly not an easy one, especially early in the term of a new government when few outside the politically tragic are interested in what you do and say.

The media doesn’t help by fixating on poll results and interviewing their own keyboards to write opinion pieces forecasting the end of the leader’s tenure.

They carry on, drip, drip, drip like water on a stone in the expectation they will eventually be proved right.

They did it to Phil Goff, David Shearer, David Cunliffe and Andrew Little and it worked because the Labour caucus was too fixated on itself and its divisions and the party panicked.

They did it to Helen Clark but it didn’t work. Even when all she could muster in the preferred Prime Minister poll was only 5% she stared her would-be coup leaders down.

They didn’t do it to John Key because he polled well from the start and he became leader towards the end of the Labour-led government’s third term when it was looking tired and stale.

They didn’t do it to Jacinda Ardern but she took over the leadership at the very end of the National-led government’s third term and so close to the election she got far more attention than a new opposition leader normally would.

The drip, drip, drip is happening to Simon Bridges but none of the pundits give their gloomy analysis context. He became leader only a few months after the election when it’s almost impossible for an opposition leader to shine.

Jami-Lee Ross’s sabotage  didn’t help but at least for now, it makes Bridges’ leadership stronger. The National caucus has learned from Labour’s bad example that disunity is electoral poison.

It is the caucus who decides who’s leader. None of them will want Ross to claim the leader’s scalp and anyone with the political nous to be leader would know that this early in the government’s term, it would be almost impossible to make headway in the preferred PM polls and no matter who took over, he or she too would be subject to the drip, drip, drip of negative columns.

What the columnists don’t see, or at least don’t write about, is what I saw yesterday – Simon Bridges speaking confidently and showing his intelligence, sincerity and warmth.

This is not the dead man walking about whom they opine.

He has, to borrow a line from former Invercargill MP Eric Roy, had a very bad lambing.

I don’t know how much tough stuff he’d faced before, but yesterday convinced me that like good farmers after bad lambings, Bridges has got up and is getting on, in spite of the drip,drip, drip that’s trying to take him down.

Quote of the day

Thank goodness, we can choose our friends. We have to take our relatives as they are, and be thankful – Lucy Maud Montgomery who was born on this day in 1874.

November 30 in history

1554 Philip Sidney, English courtier, soldier, and writer, was born (d. 1586).

1667 Jonathan Swift, Irish writer and satirist, was born (d. 1745).

1700 – Battle of Narva — A Swedish army of 8,500 men under Charles XII defeated a much larger Russian army at Narva.

1718 – Swedish king Charles XII died during a siege of the fortress Fredriksten in Norway.

1781 – Alexander Berry, Scottish surgeon, merchant, and explorer, was born (d. 1873).

1782 – American Revolutionary War: Treaty of Paris — Representatives from the United States and Great Britain signed preliminary peace articles (later formalised as the 1783 Treaty of Paris).

1786 – Peter Leopold Joseph of Habsburg-Lorraine, Grand Duke of Tuscany, promulgated a penal reform making his country the first state to abolish the death penalty. Consequently, November 30 is commemorated by 300 cities around the world as Cities for Life Day.

1803 – In New Orleans, Louisiana, Spanish representatives officially transferred the Louisiana Territory to a French representative.

1804 – The Democratic-Republican-controlled United States Senate began an impeachment trial against Federalist-partisan Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase.

1810  Oliver Winchester, American gunsmith, was born (d. 1880).

1813 – Louise-Victorine Ackermann, French poet and author was born (d. 1890).

1824 – First ground was broken at Allenburg for the building of the originalWelland Canal.

1829 – First Welland Canal opened for a trial run.

1835 Mark Twain, American writer, was born  (d. 1910).

1853 – Crimean War: Battle of Sinop — The Imperial Russian Navy under Pavel Nakhimov destroyed the Ottoman fleet under Osman Pasha at Sinop, a sea port in northern Turkey.

1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Franklin — The Army of Tennessee led by General John Bell Hood mounted a dramatically unsuccessful frontal assault on Union positions commanded by John McAllister Schofield around Franklin, Tennessee, Hood lost six generals and almost a third of  his troops.

1868 – The inauguration of a statue of King Charles XII of Sweden.

1872 – The first-ever international football match took place at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, between Scotland and England.

1874 –  Sir Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nobel laureate,was born (d. 1965).

1874  – Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canadian author and poet, was born (d. 1942).

1886 – The Folies Bergère staged its first revue.

1902 – American Old West: Second-in-command of Butch Cassidy’s Wild Bunch gang, Kid Curry Logan, was sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with hard labour.

1908 – A mine explosion in the mining town of Marianna, Pennsylvania killed 154.

1934 – The steam locomotive Flying Scotsman became the first to officially exceed 100mph.

1936 – The Crystal Palace was destroyed by fire.

1939 – Winter War: Soviet forces crossed the Finnish border in several places and bombed Helsinki and several other Finnish cities, starting the war.

1940 – Lucille Ball married Desi Arnaz in Greenwich, Connecticut.

1942 – Guadalcanal Campaign: Battle of Tassafaronga — A smaller squadron of Japanese destroyers led by Raizō Tanaka defeated a US cruiser force under Carleton H. Wright.

1949 the first National government was elected in New Zealand, led by Sidney Holland.

 

1949 – Matthew Festing, 79th Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, was born.

1953 – Edward Mutesa II, the kabaka (king) of Buganda was deposed and exiled to London by Sir Andrew Cohen, Governor of Uganda.

1953 June Pointer, American singer (Pointer Sisters), was born (d. 2006).

1954 – In Sylacauga, the Hodges Meteorite crashed through a roof and hit a woman taking an afternoon nap in the only documented case of a human being hit by a rock from space.

1955  Billy Idol (born William Michael Albert Broad), British musician, was born.

1965 – Prince Akishino, Japanese royal, was born.

1965 Ben Stiller, American actor, was born.

1966 – Barbados gained independence.

1967 – The People’s Republic of South Yemen gained independence.

1967 – The Pakistan Peoples Party was founded by Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto.

1971 – Iran seized the Greater and Lesser Tunbs from the United Arab Emirates.

1981 – Cold War: Representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union began to negotiate intermediate-range nuclear weapon reductions in Europe.

1989 – Deutsche Bank board member Alfred Herrhausen was killed by a Red Army Faction terrorist bomb.

1993 – U.S. President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (the Brady Bill) into law.

1994 – MS Achille Lauro fire off Somalia coast.

1995 – Official end of Operation Desert Storm.

1998 – Exxon and Mobil signed a $73.7 billion agreement to merge, creating Exxon-Mobil, the world’s largest company.

1999 – In Seattle, protestests against the WTO meeting by anti-globalization protesters caught police unprepared and forced the cancellation of opening ceremonies.

1999 – British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems merged to formBAE Systems, Europe’s largest defense contractor and the fourth largest aerospace firm in the world.

2004 – Longtime Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings of Salt Lake City, Utah finally lost, leaving him with US$2,520,700, television’s biggest game show winnings.

2004 – Lion Air Flight 538 crash landed in Surakarta, Central Java, killing 26.

2005 – John Sentamu became the first black archbishop in the Church of England with his enthronement as the 97th Archbishop of York.

2012  – An Ilyushin Il-76 cargo plane belonging to Aéro-Service, crashed into houses near Maya-Maya Airport during a thunderstorm, killing at least 32 people.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia

365 days of gratitude

Why is it that people on a narrow road tend to drive further towards the centre than the left?

I met one of them on a corner today.

Fortunately both of us were driving relatively slowly, I was hugging the left and was able to drive off the road and on to the verge safely as we passed each other.

Tonight I’m grateful for slow driving and room on the roadside.

Word of the day

Driech – bleak, cheerless, dismal, dreary, miserable; dull, drizzly, overcast weather.

Sowell says

https://twitter.com/SowellDaily/status/1066285231085359104

https://twitter.com/SowellDaily/status/1066199979289653248

Rural round-up

Hopping to the beat: drummer turned grower Trevor Courtney :

Trevor Courtney has always liked beer, and now the drummer for ’60s band Chants R& B is growing his own hops.

After a 40-year music career, Trevor and his wife Lyndsay now have a lifestyle block in North Canterbury where they grow hops plants, heritage apples and saffron.

Trevor and Lyndsay’s eight-hectare property is home to two flocks of Wiltshire sheep, but they’re pretty low-maintenance, Trevor says.

“In the spring they start to shed their fleece, so there’s no shearing,…you can leave their tails on. We only meet up with them a couple of times a year.” . . 

Alliance Group more than halves profit –  Rebecca Howard:

 (BusinessDesk) – Red meat cooperative Alliance Group more than halved its net profit as it paid more for livestock and in tax, interest and administration costs.

Net profit for the year ended September fell to $6.6 million from $14.4 million a year earlier, the Invercargill-based co-operative said in its annual report. Revenue, however, lifted to $1.8 billion from $1.5 billion in the prior year and it paid more than $1.2 billion to its farmer-shareholders.

The group also paid $14.6 million in loyalty payments and another $31.6 million in advance payments to support farmers during periods of low cash flow. . . 

What it takes to win the Ballance farm environment award :

Trying different things, learning from mistakes, and working with Mother Nature are part of the ethos of this year’s national Ballance farm environment award winners.

As winners of the Gordon Stephenson Trophy, Bay of Plenty kiwifruit growers Mark and Catriona White are officially ‘national ambassadors for sustainable farming and growing’.

During a round of meetings with agriculture agency representatives and MP Todd Muller in Wellington this month, the Whites dropped into Federated Farmers’ HQ to swap war stories on topics as diverse as workforce shortages, genetic engineering and whether farmers/ growers who repeatedly fail to heed sustainability messages should be left behind. . . 

 

Someone forgot to pop the bonnet last night. Credit where it's due, starlings are hard working little shits. pic.twitter.com/zTSmfZFN3d

— Bryan Gibson (@tutukaus) November 9, 2018

Apple industry already growing jobs for new horticultural degree graduates:

New Zealand’s booming apple and pear industry is already promising great career opportunities for the first graduates of a new stand-alone Bachelor’s Degree in Horticulture.

Recruitment is underway for the new three-year degree that starts in February 2019 with a fully industry-sponsored 4ha apple innovation orchard at Massey University’s Palmerston North campus.

New Zealand Apples & Pears capability manager Erin Simpson, who has been a driving force behind the new degree, said never before has there been a more exciting time for young people to enter the industry which is offering them a bright and rewarding future. . . 

Fonterra confirms second director election timing:

The Fonterra Shareholders’ Council has confirmed that a second election for the remaining vacancy on Fonterra’s Board of Directors will be held in December. Voting will open on 3 December and close at 1.00pm on 20 December, and the results will be announced later the same day.

Only two candidates from the first election, Leonie Guiney and Peter McBride, obtained more than 50% support from voting shareholders. The Rules of the first election state that if not enough candidates obtain more than 50% support, there must be a second election. . . 

Manawatū agricultural contractor lands deal supplying Auckland Zoo with feed:

Manawatū agricultural contractor Mike Hancock is helping to feed some of the world’s most stunning and endangered animals.

The 23-year-old is a joint operations manager for Bruce Gordon Contracting, north of Marton.

Earlier this year the company received a phone call from Auckland Zoo, almost 500 kilometres away. . . 

Knickers the steer, one of the world’s biggest steers, avoids the abattoir thanks to his size – Jacqueline Lynch and Tyne Logan:

At 194 centimetres high, WA-born steer Knickers is believed to be the tallest in Australia — and one of the tallest in the world.

To put it into perspective, the seven-year-old is almost as tall as NBA star Michael Jordan and weighs more than a Mini Cooper car at about 1,400 kilograms.

That’s double the weight of the average Holstein Friesian and half a metre taller — and could make more than 4,000 hamburger lovers happy.

But owner Geoff Pearson of Lake Preston in the state’s south-west said Knickers was not destined for the barbecue anytime soon. . . 

At 194cm centimetres high, 'Knickers' a Holstein Friesian weighing 1.4 tonnes, is an absolute unit. 🐄#Knickers pic.twitter.com/1CFBXODXqX

— Beef + Lamb New Zealand (@BeefLambNZ) November 27, 2018

How we fell out of love with milk – Tim Lewis:

Soya, almond, oat… Whether for health issues, animal welfare or the future of the planet, ‘alt-milks’ have never been more popular. Are we approaching dairy’s final days? 

A couple of weeks ago, some eye-catching billboards began appearing around central and east London. Entire tunnels of the underground were plastered with the adverts; the sides of large buildings were covered. On one panel there was a carton (or, in some instances, three) of Oatly, an oat drink made by a cult Swedish company that favours stark graphics, a bluey-grey colour scheme, and which is a market leader – in a not uncompetitive field – in the tongue-in-cheek promotional messages known as “wackaging”. The adjacent panel, in large, wobbly type, read: “It’s like milk, but made for humans.” . . 

 Sprinklers help nourish refuge elk – Mike Koshmrl:

Each summer a massive $5.25 million irrigation system is cranked on at the National Elk Refuge, showering beads of water over nearly a fifth of the preserve’s 25,000 grassy acres.

With no crops growing and no livestock in sight, tourists and newcomers to Jackson Hole who catch a glimpse must occasionally be bewildered.

But there are actually many reasons for the refuge’s irrigation system, new as of 2010. . . 

The @NatlElkRefuge located in Wyoming is home to the largest Elk herds (also known as Wapiti) on the planet!
They use the the largest known K-Line irrigation system in the world, and use TracMap to plan, map and guide their shift patterns since 2013. https://t.co/IjPhOavYe5

— TracMap (@tracmap) November 9, 2018

CGT & death tax by stealth

The Tax Working Group wants a Capital Gains Tax:

The Tax Working Group has reached a consensus on introducing a capital gains tax, but it is not supported by all members of the working group, chairman Sir Michael Cullen has revealed.

“We have got to the point where we have a central package around the extension of capital income tax which is supported by a clear majority of the 10-person working group,” he said. . . 

I am not opposed to a CGT per se, but to be fair and efficient it must be comprehensive and replace other taxes. This one is likely to fail on both of those counts.

If it’s not comprehensive it will be expensive to administer and full of loopholes making it ripe for avoidance.

If it doesn’t replace other taxes it will be placing an even greater burden on individuals and businesses and act as an even stronger hand brake on productivity.

Cullen said the working group had discussed an alternative option of an inheritance tax, despite an instruction from Finance Minister Grant Robertson that should be off the table.

“We are not supposed to be looking at inheritance taxes but a majority of my colleagues on the tax working group appear to have a found a partial way around that,” he said. . . 

National finance spokesperson Amy Adams says:

“The Government already takes about $50,000 a year in tax from the average New Zealand household and has worked quickly to increase that burden with more taxes on everything from fuel to residential property.

“A Capital Gains Tax will see New Zealanders pay more tax on their small businesses, baches and investments and are known to be very difficult and expensive to apply. . . 

“National believes extra taxes that hit New Zealanders in the back pocket are wrong. If the Government cut down on its wasteful and poorly target expenditure we wouldn’t need any more tax. National are committed to repealing any capital gains tax brought in by this Government.”

On top of a CGT, there’s also the threat of a death tax by stealth:

If the Tax Working Group recommends an inheritance tax in all-but-name, the Government should declare it dead-on-arrival, says the New Zealand Taxpayers’ Union in response to comments made by Sir Michael Cullen in Wellington today.

Taxpayers’ Union spokesman Louis Houlbrooke says, “The Government ruled an inheritance tax out of scope in the Tax Working Group’s Terms of Reference, but Sir Michael Cullen says a majority of the Group has found a way to include it. Warping a capital gains tax to implement a death tax by stealth would be a betrayal of those terms.”

“Taxpayers were told the role of the Working Group was to modernise the tax system. It’s actual task appears to be preparing the country for an ideological tax grab.”

One of the TGW’s aims was to make the tax system fairer.

A CTG which isn’t comprehensive and a death tax by stealth will do the opposite.

But perhaps the mention of the death tax is merely a diversion to take attention away from the CTG.

 

Quote of the day

Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil. – C.S. Lewis who was born on this day in 1898.

November 29 in history

800 – Charlemagne arrived at Rome to investigate the alleged crimes of Pope Leo III.

939 – Edmund was crowned King of England as his half-brother Aethelstan died.

1394 – The Korean king Yi Song-gye, founder of the Joseon-Dynasty, moved the capital from Kaesŏng to Hanyang, today known as Seoul.

1777 – San Jose, California, was founded as el Pueblo de San José de Guadalupe.

1781 – The crew of the British slave ship Zong murdered 133 Africans by dumping them into the sea in order to claim insurance.

1807 – The Portuguese Royal Family left Lisbon to escape from Napoleonic troops.

1830 – November Uprising: An armed rebellion against Russia’s rule in Poland began.

1832  Louisa May Alcott, American novelist, was born (d. 1888).

1845 – The Sonderbund was defeated by the joint forces of other Swiss cantons under General Guillaume-Henri Dufour.

1847 – Whitman Massacre: Missionaries Dr. Marcus Whitman, his wife Narcissa, and 15 others were killed by Cayuse and Umatilla Indians, causing the Cayuse War.

1849  Sir John Ambrose Fleming, British physicist, was born (d. 1945).

1850 – The treaty, Punctation of Olmütz, signed in Olomouc meant diplomatic capitulation of Prussia to Austrian Empire, which took over the leadership of German Confederation.

1864 – Indian Wars: Sand Creek Massacre – Colorado volunteers led by Colonel John Chivington massacred at least 150 Cheyenne and Arapaho noncombatants.

1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Spring Hill – Confederate advance into Tennessee missed the opportunity to crush the Union army.

1872 – Indian Wars: The Modoc War began with the Battle of Lost River.

1877 – The Education Act passed into Law establishing free, compulsory and secular education for all Pākehā New Zealand children. Māori children could attend the free schools if their parents wished them to.

1877 – Thomas Edison demonstrated his phonograph for the first time.

1890 – The Meiji Constitution went into effect in Japan and the first Diet convened.

1893 Elizabeth Yates became the first woman in the British Empire to win a mayoral election when she became Mayor of Onehunga.
   

1893 – Ziqiang Institute, today known as Wuhan University, was founded by Zhang Zhidong.

1898  C. S. Lewis, Irish writer, was born(d. 1963).

1899 – Spanish football club FC Barcelona was founded by Joan Gamper.

19920  – Elizabeth Choy, Malaysian-Singaporean educator and politician was born (d. 2006).

1910 – The first US  patent for inventing the traffic lights system was issued to Ernest E. Sirrine.

1913 – Fédération Internationale d’Escrime, the international organizing body of competitive fencing was founded in Paris.

1917  Merle Travis, American singer/guitarist, was born (d. 1983).

1922 – Howard Carter opened the tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun to the public.

1929 – U.S. Admiral Richard Byrd became the first person to fly over the South Pole.

1932 Jacques Chirac, French President, was born.

1933 John Mayall, British blues musician, was born.

1943 – Janet Holmes à Court, Australian businesswoman and philanthropist, was born.

1943 – The second session of AVNOJ, the Anti-fascist council of national liberation of Yugoslavia, was held determining the post-war ordering of the country.

1944 – The first surgery (on a human) to correct blue baby syndrome was performed by Alfred Blalock and Vivien Thomas.

1944 – Albania was liberated by the Albanian partisans.

1945 – The Federal People’s Republic of Yugoslavia was declared.

1947 – Malcolm Grant, New Zealand-English lawyer and academic was born.

1947 – The United Nations General Assembly voted to partition Palestine (The Partition Plan).

1950 – Korean War: North Korean and Chinese troops force United Nations forces to retreat from North Korea.

1952 – Korean War: U.S. President-elect Dwight D. Eisenhower fulfilled a campaign promise by traveling to Korea to find out what can be done to end the conflict.

1953 – Jackie French, Australian author, was born.

1958 – John Dramani Mahama, Ghanaian historian and politician, 4th President of Ghana, was born.

1961 –  Mercury-Atlas 5 Mission – Enos, a chimpanzee, was launched into space.

1963 – U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson established the Warren Commission to investigate the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.

1963 – Trans-Canada Airlines Flight 831: A Douglas DC-8 carrying 118, crashed after taking-off.

1965 – Canadian Space Agency launched the satellite Alouette 2.

1972 – Nolan Bushnell (co-founder of Atari) released Pong (the first commercially successful video game) in Andy Capp’s Tavern in Sunnyvale, California.

1987 – Korean Air Flight 858 exploded over the Thai-Burmese border, killing 155.

1990 – The United Nations Security Council passed United Nations Security Council Resolution 678, authorizing “use all necessary means to uphold and implement” United Nations Security Council Resolution 660″ to restore international peace and security” if Iraq did not withdraw its forces from Kuwait and free all foreign hostages by January 15, 1991.

2007 – The Armed Forces of the Philippines laid siege to The Peninsula Manila after soldiers led by Senator Antonio Trillanes staged a mutiny.

2007 – A 7.4 magnitude earthquake off the northern coast of Martinique.

2009  – Maurice Clemmons shot and killed four police officers inside a coffee shop in Lakewood, Washington.

2013 – LAM Mozambique Airlines Flight 470 crashed in Namibia, killing 33 people.

2014  – Taiwan local elections, the Democratic Progressive Party won a landslide victory.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia

365 days of gratitude

Those who trust us educate us. George Eliot

Tonight I’m grateful for the education that comes from trusting and being trusted.

Word of the day

Ret – to soak in water or expose to moisture, as flax or hemp, to facilitate the removal of the fiber from the woody tissue by partial rotting; to moisten or soak (flax, hemp, jute, etc) to promote bacterial action in order to facilitate separation of the fibres from the woody tissue by beating;  soak to soften.

Sowell says

https://twitter.com/SowellDaily/status/1066698297719619585

https://twitter.com/SowellDaily/status/1066624990337015808

Lees-Galloway changes mind

Immigration Minister Ian Lees-Galloway has changed his mind about Karel Sroubek:

Immigration Minister Iain Lees-Galloway has reversed his decision to grant conviction drug smuggler Karel Sroubek residency.

An Immigration New Zealand (INZ) probe into the drug smuggler found he was liable for deportation on grounds not previously considered. These included Czech convictions under his real name.

“He is being removed because he never had a visa in the first place.”

Lees-Galloway said public trust and confidence had been damaged and he took responsibility for it and for fixing it. He apologised to the prime minister but did not offer his resignation. . . 

The Minister is responsible for the damage to public trust and confidence in both the system and him.

How on earth he could have given residency to anyone who had been convicted of crimes when so many worthy, law abiding would-be residents are turned down defies logic.