Falklands vs Malvinas

The people who live there call them the Falklands.

To the people of Argentina they’re Las malvinas and  they say the cold, wind swept islands in the South Atlantic are theirs.

The islanders have voted overwhelmingly to remain an overseas British territory.

Of 1,517 votes cast in the two-day referendum – on a turnout of more than 90% – 1,513 were in favour, while just three votes were against.

It follows pressure from Argentina over its claims to the islands, 31 years after the Falklands War with the UK.

The UK government welcomed the result and urged “all countries” to accept it and respect the islanders’ wishes.

The referendum had asked: “Do you wish the Falkland Islands to retain their current political status as an Overseas Territory of the United Kingdom?” . . .

Argentina still isn’t convinced.

Argentine President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner has maintained that the Falkland islanders’ wishes are not relevant in what is a territorial issue.

Most Argentines regard the islands, which they call Las Malvinas, as Argentine and their recovery is enshrined in the national constitution.

Journalist Celina Andreassi, of the Argentina Independent, said: “The majority of people here agree with the official position that the issue is not about self-determination and it is not about whether the islanders consider themselves British or not – because obviously everyone knows that they do and that they are British.

“The issue for most people here is whether the territory is Argentine or British, not the people themselves.”

But the issue for the people who live there is that this is their home and has been for generations.

April 3 in history

On April 3:

1043 Edward the Confessor was crowned King of England.

1077 The first Parliament of Friuli was created.

1559 The Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis treaty is signed, ending the Italian Wars.

1593  George Herbert, English poet and orator, was born.

1834 The generals in the Greek War of Independence stood trial for treason.

1860 The first successful United States Pony Express run from Saint Joseph, Missouri to Sacramento, California began.

 

1865 American Civil War: Union forces captured Richmond, Virginia the capital of the Confederate States of America.

1882 Jesse James was killed by Robert Ford.

1885 Gottlieb Daimler was granted a German patent for his engine design.

 

1895  Trial of the libel case instigated by Oscar Wilde began, eventually resulting in his imprisonment on charges of homosexuality.

1915 Piet de Jong, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands from 1967 until 1971, was born.

1917 Vladimir Lenin arrived in Russia from exile, marking the beginning of Bolshevik leadership in the Russian Revolution.

1922 Doris Day, American actress and singer, was born.

1922 Joseph Stalin became the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

1924 Marlon Brando, American actor, was born.

 

1934 Jane Goodall, English zoologist, was born.

1936 Bruno Richard Hauptmann was executed for the kidnapping and death of Charles Augustus Lindbergh II, the baby son of pilot Charles Lindbergh.

1943 – The Battle of Manners Street between soldiers and civilians.

1944 Tony Orlando, American musician, was born.

1946  Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma was executed in the Philippines for leading the Bataan Death March.

 

1948  Carlos Salinas, former President of Mexico, was born.

1948 President Harry S. Truman signed the Marshall Plan, authorizing $5 billion in aid for 16 countries.

 

1948  The Jeju massacre  began.

1956 Hudsonville-Standale Tornado: The western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan was struck by a deadly F5 tornado.

1961 Eddie Murphy, American actor and comedian, was born.

1968 Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop” speech.

1973 The first portable cell phone call was made in New York City.

 

1974 – The Super Outbreak occured, the biggest tornado outbreak in recorded history. The death toll was 315, with nearly 5,500 injured.

1975 Bobby Fischer refused to play in a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, giving Karpov the title of World Champion by default.

1982 The United Kingdom sent a naval task force to the south Atlantic to reclaim the disputed Malvinas/Falkland Islands from Argentina.

1996 Suspected “Unabomber” Theodore Kaczynski was arrested.

1996 A United States Air Force airplane carrying United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown crashed in Croatia, killing all 35 on board.

1997 The Thalit massacre began in Algeria; all but 1 of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit were killed by guerrillas.

2000 United States v. Microsoft: Microsoft was ruled to have violated United States antitrust laws by keeping “an oppressive thumb” on its competitors.

 

2004  Islamic terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks were trapped by the police in their apartment and killed themselves.

2007  Conventional-Train World Speed Record: a French TGV train on the LGV Est high speed line set an official new world speed record.

 

2008 ATA Airlines, once one of the 10 largest U.S. passenger airlines and largest charter airline, filed for bankruptcy for the second time in 5 years and ceases all operations.

2009  Australia formally adopted the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

April 2 in history

On April 2:

742 Charlemagne was born.

1453  Mehmed II begins his siege of Constantinople (Istanbul).

1513 Juan Ponce de Leon set foot on Florida, becoming the first European known to do so.

1743 Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States, was born.

1755 Commodore William James captured the pirate fortress of Suvarnadurg on west coast of India.

 

1792 The Coinage Act was passed establishing the United States Mint.

1801 Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Copenhagen – The British destroyed the Danish fleet.

1805 Hans Christian Andersen, Danish writer, was born.

1810  Napoleon Bonaparte married Archduchess Marie Louise of Austria.

 

1814 Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor (, was born.

1840 Émile Zola, French novelist and critic, was born.

1863 Richmond Bread Riot: Food shortages incited hundreds of angry women to riot in Richmond, Virginia and demand that the Confederate government release emergency supplies.

1865 American Civil War: The Siege of Petersburg was broken – Union troops capture the trenches around Petersburg, Virginia, forcing Confederate General Robert E. Lee to retreat.

1865 – American Civil War: Confederate President Jefferson Davis and most of his Cabinet fled the Confederate capital of Richmond, Virginia.

1875 Walter Chrysler, American automobile pioneer, was born.

1900 US Congress passed the Foraker Act, giving Puerto Rico limited self-rule.

1902  Dmitry Sipyagin, Minister of Interior of the Russian Empire, was assassinated in the Marie Palace, St Petersburg.

1902 “Electric Theatre”, the first full-time movie theater in the United States, opened in Los Angeles.

1914 Sir Alec Guinness, English actor, was born.

 

1916 Tuhoe prophet Rua Kenana was arrested.

1917 World War I: President Woodrow Wilson asked the U.S. Congress for a declaration of war on Germany.

1917 The first woman ever elected to the U.S. Congress, Jeannette Rankin, took her seat as a representative from Montana.

 

1930 Haile Selassie was proclaimed emperor of Ethiopia.

1939 Marvin Gaye, American singer, was born.

1940 Penelope Keith, English actress, was born.

1947 Emmylou Harris, American singer, was born.

1947 Camille Paglia, American feminist writer, was born.

1956 As the World Turns and The Edge of Night premiere don CBS-TV. The two soaps become the first daytime dramas to debut in the 30-minute format.

 

1961  Keren Woodward, English singer (Bananarama), was born.

1962 The first official Panda crossing was opened outside Waterloo station, London.

 

1972 Actor Charlie Chaplin returned to the United States for the first time since being labeled a communist during the Red Scare in the early 1950s.

1972 – Vietnam War: The Easter Offensive began– North Vietnamese soldiers of the 304th Division took the northern half of Quang Tri Province.

1973  Launch of the LexisNexis computerized legal research service.

1975 Vietnam War: Thousands of civilian refugees fled from the Quang Ngai Province in front of advancing North Vietnamese troops.

1975 – Construction of the CN Tower was completed in Toronto. At 553.33 metres (1,815.4 ft) in height, it became the world’s tallest free-standing structure.

 

1980  President Jimmy Carter signed the Crude Oil Windfall Profits Tax Act in an effort to help the U.S. economy rebound.

1982 Falklands War: Argentina invaded the Malvinas/Falkland Islands.

 

1984  Squadron Leader Rakesh Sharma was launched aboard Soyuz T-11, and becomes the first Indian in space.

1989 Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev arrived in Havana to meet Fidel Castro in an attempt to mend strained relations.

1991  Rita Johnston became the first female Premier of a Canadian province when she succeeded William Vander Zalm (who had resigned) as Premier of British Columbia.

1992 Mafia boss John Gotti was convicted of murder and racketeering and later sentenced to life in prison.

2002  Israeli forces surround the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem into which armed Palestinians had retreated.

 

2004 Islamist terrorists involved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks wre thwarted in an attempt to bomb the Spanish high-speed train AVE near Madrid.

2006 More than  60 tornadoes broke out; hardest hit was Tennessee with 29 people killed.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia

Tuesday’s answers

Monday’s questions were:

1. What’s the longest street in the world?

2. Where are the McDonald Islands?

3. Name the novel about infertility written by Ben Elton and the film which was based on it.

4. The flag of which islands has a sheep on it?

5. Who said, “Nobody will ever win the Battle of the Sexes.  There’s just too much fraternizing with the enemy.”?

Felicity gets a point for honesty – after all anyone could google the answers and not say.

Andrei gets 2 plus a half for logic for his answer to #1.

Mark D gets 2.

PDM gets 1 with a bonus for humour for #1 and another for trying for #5. (one day the answer will be Mae West).

Paul gets 2 1/2 (Inconceivable was the book but he didn’t name the film) plus  bonuses for humour for # 1, & 4.

Gravedodger gets 2 1/2 (Inconceivable but missed Maybe Baby); another half for being in the right area for #2 and a bonus for humour for #1.

Tuesday’s answers follow the break:

January 1 in history

On January 1:

45 BC  The Julian calendar took effect for the first time.

1001 – Grand Prince Stephen I of Hungary was named the first King of Hungary by Pope Silvester II.

1449 Lorenzo de’ Medici, Italian statesman, was born.

1651  Charles II was crowned King of Scotland.

1735 Paul Revere,  American patriot, was born.

 Portrait of Paul Revere by John Singleton Copley,

1772 – The first traveller’s cheques, which could be used in 90 European cities, went on sale in London.

1779  William Clowes, English printer, was born.

1788  First edition of The Times of London, previously The Daily Universal Register, was published.

1800  The Dutch East India Company was dissolved.

1801 The legislative union of Kingdom of Great Britain and Kingdom of Ireland was completed to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

1801 The dwarf planet Ceres was discovered by Giuseppe Piazzi.

1803  Emperor Gia Long ordered all bronze wares of the Tây Sơn Dynasty to be collected and melted into nine cannons for the Royal Citadel in Huế, Vietnam.

1804 French rule ended in Haiti. Haiti becomes the first black republic and second independent country on the American Continent after the U.S.

       

1808  The importation of slaves into the United States wais banned.

1810  Major-General Lachlan Macquarie CB officially became Governor of New South Wales.

1833 The United Kingdom claimed sovereignty over the Falkland Islands.

       

1833 Robert Lawson, New Zealand architect, was born.

1859 Pencarrow, New Zealand’s first lighthouse, was lit for the first time.

1860 First Polish stamp was issued.

1861  Porfirio Díaz conquered Mexico City.

1876  The Reichsbank opened in Berlin.

1877  Queen Victoria of the United Kingdom was proclaimed Empress of India.

1879 E. M. Forster, English novelist, was born.

1880 Ferdinand de Lesseps began French construction of the Panama Canal.

1890  Eritrea was consolidated into a colony by the Italian government.

 

 

 

 

1892  Ellis Island opened to begin processing immigrants into the United States.

1859 Pencarrow, New Zealand’s first lighthouse, was lit for the first time.

 

1894 – The Manchester Ship Canal,was officially opened to traffic.

1895  J. Edgar Hoover, American FBI director, was born.

1899 – Spanish rule ended in Cuba.

 

 

 

 

1901 – The British colonies of New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Tasmania and Western Australia federated as the Commonwealth of Australia; Edmund Barton was appointed the first Prime Minister.

 

 

 

 

1912 The Republic of China was established.

 

 

 

 

1912  Kim Philby, British spy, was born.

1919 J. D. Salinger, American novelist, was born.

1925  American astronomer Edwin Hubble announced the discovery of galaxies outside the Milky Way.

1934  Alcatraz Island became a United States federal prison.

1939  William Hewlett and David Packard founded Hewlett-Packard.

1948 The British railway network was nationalised to form British Railways.

1956  The Republic of the Sudan gained independence.

 

 

 

 

1958 The European Communitywas established.

1959 Fulgencio Batista, president of Cuba ws overthrown by Fidel Castro‘s forces during the Cuban Revolution.

Batista in 1938

1960 The Republic of Cameroon achieved independence.

 

 

 

 

1962 Western Samoa achieves independence from New Zealand; its name is changed to the Independent State of Western Samoa.

 

 

 

 

1962 – United States Navy SEALs established.

1982 – Peruvian Javier Pérez de Cuéllar became the first Latin American to hold the title of Secretary General of the United Nations.

1983 – The ARPANET officially changes to using the Internet Protocol, creating the Internet.

1984 – The Sultanate of Brunei became independent.

 

 

 

 

1985 The Internet‘s Domain Name Systemwas created.

1985 – The first British mobile phone callwais made by Ernie Wise to Vodafone.

1990 – David Dinkins was sworn in as New York City’s first black mayor.

1993 – A single market within the European Community is introduced.

1994 – The North American Free Trade Agreement comes into effect.

1995  The World Trade Organisation came  into effect.

1995 – The Draupner wave in the North Sea in Norway was detected, confirming the existence of freak waves.

1997 – Ghanaian diplomat Kofi Annan was appointed Secretary General of the United Nations.

1998 – The European Central Bank was established.

2006 – Sydney, sweltered through its hottest New Years Day on record. The thermometer peaked at 45 degrees celsius, sparking bushfires and power outages.

Sourced from NZ History ONline & Wikipedia.

The Falklands vs Las Malvinas

The British call them The Falklands, the Argentineans know then as Las Malvinas  and it’s 27 years ago today that Argentina invaded those bleak islands in the South Atlantic.

I was working in London at the time and watched the jingoistic response from several quarters, including much of the media ,with a mixture of fascination and horror.

At first there was almost a sense of celebration, some people even started organising sing alongs to revive the hits of World War II.

The mood was more sombre once the dead and wounded started returning and friends in Argentina have told me of the sadness there as they watched young lives lost and many soldiers maimed by dreadful injuries.

I don’t pretend to understand the history and politics. But a friend who shore on the Falklands for several years says the people he met were definite about wanting to be British and feelings still run high in Argentina as this sign, which we spotted outside a military base shows: