January 6 in history

1367 – Richard II of England, was born (d. 1400).

1412  Joan of Arc, Roman Catholic Saint and national heroine of France, was born – legendary date, some scholars think it was January 7-  (d. 1431).

1494  The first Mass in the New World was celebrated at La Isabela, Hispaniola.

1540 King Henry VIII of England married Anne of Cleves.

1714 Percivall Pott, English physician, was born. He was one of the founders of orthopedy, and the first scientist to demonstrate that a cancer may be caused by an environmental carcinogen (d. 1788).

1721 The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble published its findings.

1781 In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeated the last attempt by France to invade Jersey.

1838 Samuel Morse first successfully tested the electrical telegraph.

1878 Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian, was born  (d. 1967).

1883 Khalil Gibran, Lebanese writer, was born (d. 1931).

1893 The Washington National Cathedral was chartered by Congress.

1907 Maria Montessori opened her first school and daycare centre for working class children in Rome.

1923 Norman Kirk, New Zealander Prime Minister, was born  (d. 1974).

1929 – Mother Teresa arrived in Calcutta to begin a her work amongst India’s poorest people.

1930The first diesel-engined automobile trip was completed (from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City).

1931 Thomas Edison submitted his last patent application.

1934 Harry M. Miller, New Zealand-born Australian entrepreneur, was born.

1936 The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the 1933Agricultural Adjustment Act was unconstitutional in the case United States v. Butler et al.

1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.

1942 Pan American Airlines became the first commercial airline to schedule a flight around the world.

1946  Syd Barrett, English guitarist, singer and songwriter Pink Floyd, was born  (d. 2006).

1953 Godfrey Bowen set a world record by shearing  456 full-wool ewes in nine hours.

1953 Malcolm Young, Scottish-born Australian guitarist (AC/DC), was born.

1955 Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor, was born.

1959 Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer, was born.

1960   Nigella Lawson, English chef and writer, was born.

1964 Mark O’Toole, English bass guitarist (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), was born.

1965 Bjorn Lomborg, Danish mathematician, environmentalist and author, was born.

1974  In response to the 1973 energy crisis, daylight saving time commenced nearly four months early in the United States.

1978 The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) ws returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.

1995 A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, led to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.

2010 – The Ady Gil, a ship owned by Sea Shepherd, was sunk during a skirmish with the Japanese Whaling Fleet’s Shōnan Maru.

2012 – 26 people are killed and 63 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a police station in Damascus.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

January 6 in history

1367 – Richard II of England, was born (d. 1400).

1412  Joan of Arc, Roman Catholic Saint and national heroine of France, was born – legendary date, some scholars think it was January 7-  (d. 1431).

1494  The first Mass in the New World was celebrated at La Isabela, Hispaniola.

1540 King Henry VIII of England married Anne of Cleves.

1714 Percivall Pott, English physician, was born. He was one of the founders of orthopedy, and the first scientist to demonstrate that a cancer may be caused by an environmental carcinogen (d. 1788).

1721 The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble published its findings.

1781 In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeated the last attempt by France to invade Jersey.

1838 Samuel Morse first successfully tested the electrical telegraph.

1878 Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian, was born  (d. 1967).

1883 Khalil Gibran, Lebanese writer, was born (d. 1931).

1893 The Washington National Cathedral was chartered by Congress.

1907 Maria Montessori opened her first school and daycare centre for working class children in Rome.

1923 Norman Kirk, New Zealander Prime Minister, was born  (d. 1974).

1929 – Mother Teresa arrived in Calcutta to begin a her work amongst India’s poorest people.

1930The first diesel-engined automobile trip was completed (from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City).

1931 Thomas Edison submitted his last patent application.

1934 Harry M. Miller, New Zealand-born Australian entrepreneur, was born.

1936 The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the 1933Agricultural Adjustment Act was unconstitutional in the case United States v. Butler et al.

1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.

1942 Pan American Airlines became the first commercial airline to schedule a flight around the world.

1946  Syd Barrett, English guitarist, singer and songwriter Pink Floyd, was born  (d. 2006).

1953 Godfrey Bowen set a world record by shearing  456 full-wool ewes in nine hours.

1953 Malcolm Young, Scottish-born Australian guitarist (AC/DC), was born.

1955 Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor, was born.

1959 Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer, was born.

1960   Nigella Lawson, English chef and writer, was born.

1964 Mark O’Toole, English bass guitarist (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), was born.

1965 Bjorn Lomborg, Danish mathematician, environmentalist and author, was born.

1974  In response to the 1973 energy crisis, daylight saving time commenced nearly four months early in the United States.

1978 The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) ws returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.

1995 A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, led to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.

2010 – The Ady Gil, a ship owned by Sea Shepherd, was sunk during a skirmish with the Japanese Whaling Fleet’s Shōnan Maru.

2012 – 26 people are killed and 63 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a police station in Damascus.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

January 6 in history

1367 – Richard II of England, was born (d. 1400).

1412  Joan of Arc, Roman Catholic Saint and national heroine of France, was born – legendary date, some scholars think it was January 7-  (d. 1431).

1494  The first Mass in the New World was celebrated at La Isabela, Hispaniola.

1540 King Henry VIII of England married Anne of Cleves.

1714 Percivall Pott, English physician, was born. He was one of the founders of orthopedy, and the first scientist to demonstrate that a cancer may be caused by an environmental carcinogen (d. 1788).

1721 The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble published its findings.

1781 In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeated the last attempt by France to invade Jersey.

1838 Samuel Morse first successfully tested the electrical telegraph.

1878 Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian, was born  (d. 1967).

1883 Khalil Gibran, Lebanese writer, was born (d. 1931).

1893 The Washington National Cathedral was chartered by Congress.

1907 Maria Montessori opened her first school and daycare centre for working class children in Rome.

1923 Norman Kirk, New Zealander Prime Minister, was born  (d. 1974).

1929 – Mother Teresa arrived in Calcutta to begin a her work amongst India’s poorest people.

1930The first diesel-engined automobile trip was completed (from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City).

1931 Thomas Edison submitted his last patent application.

1934 Harry M. Miller, New Zealand-born Australian entrepreneur, was born.

1936 The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the 1933Agricultural Adjustment Act was unconstitutional in the case United States v. Butler et al.

1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.

1942 Pan American Airlines became the first commercial airline to schedule a flight around the world.

1946  Syd Barrett, English guitarist, singer and songwriter Pink Floyd, was born  (d. 2006).

1953 Godfrey Bowen set a world record by shearing  456 full-wool ewes in nine hours.

1953 Malcolm Young, Scottish-born Australian guitarist (AC/DC), was born.

1955 Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor, was born.

1959 Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer, was born.

1960   Nigella Lawson, English chef and writer, was born.

1964 Mark O’Toole, English bass guitarist (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), was born.

1965 Bjorn Lomborg, Danish mathematician, environmentalist and author, was born.

1974  In response to the 1973 energy crisis, daylight saving time commenced nearly four months early in the United States.

1978 The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) ws returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.

1995 A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, led to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.

2010 – The Ady Gil, a ship owned by Sea Shepherd, was sunk during a skirmish with the Japanese Whaling Fleet’s Shōnan Maru.

2012 – 26 people are killed and 63 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a police station in Damascus.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

January 6 in history

1367 – Richard II of England, was born (d. 1400).

1412  Joan of Arc, Roman Catholic Saint and national heroine of France, was born – legendary date, some scholars think it was January 7-  (d. 1431).

1494  The first Mass in the New World was celebrated at La Isabela, Hispaniola.

1540 King Henry VIII of England married Anne of Cleves.

1714 Percivall Pott, English physician, was born. He was one of the founders of orthopedy, and the first scientist to demonstrate that a cancer may be caused by an environmental carcinogen (d. 1788).

1721 The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble published its findings.

1781 In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeated the last attempt by France to invade Jersey.

1838 Samuel Morse first successfully tested the electrical telegraph.

1878 Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian, was born  (d. 1967).

1883 Khalil Gibran, Lebanese writer, was born (d. 1931).

1893 The Washington National Cathedral was chartered by Congress.

1907 Maria Montessori opened her first school and daycare centre for working class children in Rome.

1923 Norman Kirk, New Zealander Prime Minister, was born  (d. 1974).

1929 – Mother Teresa arrived in Calcutta to begin a her work amongst India’s poorest people.

1930The first diesel-engined automobile trip was completed (from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City).

1931 Thomas Edison submitted his last patent application.

1934 Harry M. Miller, New Zealand-born Australian entrepreneur, was born.

1936 The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the 1933Agricultural Adjustment Act was unconstitutional in the case United States v. Butler et al.

1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.

1942 Pan American Airlines became the first commercial airline to schedule a flight around the world.

1946  Syd Barrett, English guitarist, singer and songwriter Pink Floyd, was born  (d. 2006).

1953 Godfrey Bowen set a world record by shearing  456 full-wool ewes in nine hours.

1953 Malcolm Young, Scottish-born Australian guitarist (AC/DC), was born.

1955 Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor, was born.

1959 Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer, was born.

1960   Nigella Lawson, English chef and writer, was born.

1964 Mark O’Toole, English bass guitarist (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), was born.

1965 Bjorn Lomborg, Danish mathematician, environmentalist and author, was born.

1974  In response to the 1973 energy crisis, daylight saving time commenced nearly four months early in the United States.

1978 The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) ws returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.

1995 A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, led to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.

2010 – The Ady Gil, a ship owned by Sea Shepherd, was sunk during a skirmish with the Japanese Whaling Fleet’s Shōnan Maru.

2012 – 26 people are killed and 63 wounded when a suicide bomber blew himself up at a police station in Damascus.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

January 6 in history

1367 – Richard II of England, was born (d. 1400).

1412  Joan of Arc, Roman Catholic Saint and national heroine of France, was born -legendary date, some scholars think it was January 7-  (d. 1431).

1494  The first Mass in the New World was celebrated at La Isabela, Hispaniola.

1540 King Henry VIII of England married Anne of Cleves.

1714 Percivall Pott, English physician, was born. He was one of the founders of orthopedy, and the first scientist to demonstrate that a cancer may be caused by an environmental carcinogen (d. 1788).

1721 The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble published its findings.

1781 In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeated the last attempt by France to invade Jersey.

1838 Samuel Morse first successfully tested the electrical telegraph.

1878 Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian, was born  (d. 1967).

1883 Khalil Gibran, Lebanese writer, was born (d. 1931).

1893 The Washington National Cathedral was chartered by Congress.

1907 Maria Montessori opened her first school and daycare centre for working class children in Rome.

1923 Norman Kirk, New Zealander Prime Minister, was born  (d. 1974).

1929 – Mother Teresa arrived in Calcutta to begin a her work amongst India’s poorest people.

1930The first diesel-engined automobile trip was completed (from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City).

1931 Thomas Edison submitted his last patent application.

1934 Harry M. Miller, New Zealand-born Australian entrepreneur, was born.

1936 The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act was unconstitutional in the case United States v. Butler et al.

1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.

1942 Pan American Airlines became the first commercial airline to schedule a flight around the world.

1946  Syd Barrett, English guitarist, singer and songwriter Pink Floyd, was born  (d. 2006).

1953 Godfrey Bowen set a world record by shearing  456 full-wool ewes in nine hours.

1953 Malcolm Young, Scottish-born Australian guitarist (AC/DC), was born.

1955 Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor, was born.

1959 Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer, was born.

1960   Nigella Lawson, English chef and writer, was born.

1964 Mark O’Toole, English bass guitarist (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), was born.

1965 Bjorn Lomborg, Danish mathematician, environmentalist and author, was born.

1974  In response to the 1973 energy crisis, daylight saving time commenced nearly four months early in the United States.

1978 The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) ws returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.

1995 A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, led to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.

2010 – The Ady Gil, a ship owned by Sea Shepherd, was sunk during a skirmish with the Japanese Whaling Fleet’s Shōnan Maru.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

January 6 in history

1367 – Richard II of England, was born (d. 1400).

1412  Joan of Arc, Roman Catholic Saint and national heroine of France, was born -legendary date, some scholars think it was January 7-  (d. 1431).

1494  The first Mass in the New World was celebrated at La Isabela, Hispaniola.

1540 King Henry VIII of England married Anne of Cleves.

1714 Percivall Pott, English physician, was born. He was one of the founders of orthopedy, and the first scientist to demonstrate that a cancer may be caused by an environmental carcinogen (d. 1788).

1721 The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble published its findings.

1781 In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeated the last attempt by France to invade Jersey.

1838 Samuel Morse first successfully tested the electrical telegraph.

1878 Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian, was born  (d. 1967).

1883 Khalil Gibran, Lebanese writer, was born (d. 1931).

1893 The Washington National Cathedral was chartered by Congress.

1907 Maria Montessori opened her first school and daycare centre for working class children in Rome.

1923 Norman Kirk, New Zealander Prime Minister, was born  (d. 1974).

1929 – Mother Teresa arrived in Calcutta to begin a her work amongst India’s poorest people.

1930The first diesel-engined automobile trip was completed (from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City).

1931 Thomas Edison submitted his last patent application.

1934 Harry M. Miller, New Zealand-born Australian entrepreneur, was born.

1936 The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act was unconstitutional in the case United States v. Butler et al.

1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.

1942 Pan American Airlines became the first commercial airline to schedule a flight around the world.

1946  Syd Barrett, English guitarist, singer and songwriter Pink Floyd, was born  (d. 2006).

1953 Godfrey Bowen set a world record by shearing  456 full-wool ewes in nine hours.

1953 Malcolm Young, Scottish-born Australian guitarist (AC/DC), was born.

1955 Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor, was born.

1959 Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer, was born.

1960   Nigella Lawson, English chef and writer, was born.

1964 Mark O’Toole, English bass guitarist (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), was born.

1965 Bjorn Lomborg, Danish mathematician, environmentalist and author, was born.

1974  In response to the 1973 energy crisis, daylight saving time commenced nearly four months early in the United States.

1978 The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) ws returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.

1995 A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, led to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.

2010 – The Ady Gil, a ship owned by Sea Shepherd, was sunk during a skirmish with the Japanese Whaling Fleet’s Shōnan Maru.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

Cunliffe chickens out, Norman steps in

Advertising on the Farming Show used to be the most expensive on the Radio Network.

It probably still is because it’s now broadcast nationwide. It’s listened to by a broad audience and not just beyond town boundaries.

I do an occasional spot on the show and often meet people from all around the country, urban and rural, who’ve heard me.

Host Jamie Mackay has a successful recipe with a blend of farming and wider rural issues mixed with sport, music and politics.

It’s the sort of show you’d think an aspiring Prime Minister would want to appear on but one has chickened out:

There’s a certain irony in the position I find myself in with Labour leader David Cunliffe.

You see, David C has red-carded me.

Meaning, for the first time since 2000, when then Prime Minister Helen Clark agreed to a weekly slot, I will not be interviewing the Labour leader on the Farming Show.

Rightly or wrongly, Cunliffe says he won’t get a fair hearing, that we will make fun of him. Heck, we make fun of everyone, including ourselves.

Jamie does make fun of some of his interviewees but the political segments are usually pretty straight. In fact with my ever so slightly blue bias I think he sometimes let Cunliffe’s predecessors and agricultural spokesmen away too lightly.

Had Cunliffe or his media team bothered to listen to the show archives, available here, they’d have known that he’d get a fair go.

I think he has unfairly pigeon-holed me. He needs to understand some of my political history before he consigns me to the National Party lackey file. . .

Brought up in a family where Norman Kirk was admired more than Keith Holyoake, Jamie voted for Social Credit in his first two elections, in 1984 he voted against Rob Muldoon and for Bob Jones, didn’t get round to voting in 1987 and had his first vote for National in 1990.

Even then it was a vote more for a candidate than a party because I liked the cut of a young buck the Nats had dragged down to his home province of Southland from The Treasury in Wellington.

His name was Bill English and he looked like he at least had a bit of spark in him.

However, considering I’m probably in the 10% of New Zealanders who pay 70% of the tax, considering I’m a self-employed business owner with farming interests and considering I still bear the farming scars from some incredibly short-sighted, militant union behaviour in the 1970s and 80s, why would I vote Labour now? 

There’s nothing for me in their policies of higher tax, greater environmental and economic handbrakes for farming and re-unionising the workforce. . . .

So here’s my message for PC David C, which unfortunately I can’t pass on personally. 

If you really want to be the next prime minister, get your teeth into some issues that affect middle and low-income NZ – jobs, education, health, and the minimum wage are traditional Labour strongholds.

Attack National where you have an inherent political advantage and where it might have dropped the ball.

On second thoughts, I might save that message for my new Farming Show correspondent, Dr Russel Norman.

I heard Jamie a couple of weeks ago saying Cunliffe wasn’t coming on the show and he said the same thing this week.

I thought he meant just those days, after all what politician would turn down the opportunity for nationwide publicity on the radio?

But no, it wasn’t just couple of instances that didn’t suit his diary, he’s given the show a flat no for the worst of all reasons, that he wouldn’t get a fair hearing and he’d be made fun of.

How precious is that?

A politician who can’t stand the very gentle heat of the Farming Show isn’t going to cope with the much hotter temperature in other media and parliament.

He wouldn’t have been made fun of unfairly on the show but he will be now.

Jamie’s column is in the current edition of the Farmers Weekly which is delivered free to every rural mail box in the country and sold in book stores and dairies. It’s in the FW’s digital edition and on the website (to which I’ve linked above).

It will be on the Farming Show website soon.

I’ve already heard Jamie mention Cunliffe’s no-show and he’ll keep doing it. he’ll probably mention it to his cousin, political journo Barry Soper, who has does a spot on the show each Friday.

Prime Minister John Key has a weekly interview on the show. He sometimes get a little borax poked at him by Jamie and handles it well. His customary good humour and ability to laugh at themselves will continue to provide a contrast with Cunliffe who was scared of a gentle ribbing.

Deputy PM and Finance Minister Bill English, Minister  for Primary Industries Nathan Guy and Deputy Speaker Eric Roy,  are also regulars on the show. So are Labour’s Primary Industries spokesman Damien O’Connor and former MP now Vice Chancellor of Massey Steve Maharey. In the past former PM Helen Clark, then-National party leader Don Brash, former Agriculture Minister Jim Anderton, former MPI Minister David Carter and Cunliffe’s former leader David Shearer were all on each week.

Since Cunliffe won’t front, Jamie has invited Russel Norman to replace him.

All of these people are or were willing to front Jamie regularly but Cunliffe isn’t.

But worse than this – one of his challenges was to assert himself as leader of the opposition, a position Norman had assumed while David Shearer led Labour.

Instead, he’s handed his rival a free pass to a slot that should have been his own on the Farming Show.

In doing so he’s shown himself a little too concerned with his own image and a little less confident of his own ability than he would like the world to think.

#gigatownoamaru doesn’t chicken out.

January 6 in history

1412  Joan of Arc, Roman Catholic Saint and national heroine of France, was born -legendary date, some scholars think it was January 7-  (d. 1431).

1494  The first Mass in the New World was celebrated at La Isabela, Hispaniola.

1540 King Henry VIII of England married Anne of Cleves.

1714 Percivall Pott, English physician, was born. He was one of the founders of orthopedy, and the first scientist to demonstrate that a cancer may be caused by an environmental carcinogen (d. 1788).

1721 The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble published its findings.

1781 In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeated the last attempt by France to invade Jersey.

1838 Samuel Morse first successfully tested the electrical telegraph.

1878 Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian, was born  (d. 1967).

1883 Khalil Gibran, Lebanese writer, was born (d. 1931).

1893 The Washington National Cathedral was chartered by Congress.

1907 Maria Montessori opened her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome.

1923 Norman Kirk, New Zealander Prime Minister, was born  (d. 1974).

1929 – Mother Teresa arrived in Calcutta to begin a her work amongst India’s poorest people.

1930The first diesel-engined automobile trip was completed (from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City).

1931 Thomas Edison submitted his last patent application.

1934 Harry M. Miller, New Zealand-born Australian entrepreneur, was born.

1936 The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act was unconstitutional in the case United States v. Butler et al.

1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.

1942 Pan American Airlines became the first commercial airline to schedule a flight around the world.

1946  Syd Barrett, English guitarist, singer and songwriter Pink Floyd, was born  (d. 2006).

1953 Godfrey Bowen set a world record by shearing  456 full-wool ewes in nine hours.

1953 Malcolm Young, Scottish-born Australian guitarist (AC/DC), was born.

1955 Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor, was born.

1959 Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer, was born.

1960   Nigella Lawson, English chef and writer, was born.

1964 Mark O’Toole, English bass guitarist (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), was born.

1965 Bjorn Lomborg, Danish mathematician, environmentalist and author, was born.

1974  In response to the 1973 energy crisis, daylight saving time commenced nearly four months early in the United States.

1978 The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) ws returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.

1995 A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, led to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.

2010 – The Ady Gil, a ship owned by Sea Shepherd, was sunk during a skirmish with the Japanese Whaling Fleet’s Shōnan Maru.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

Conspiracy theory

Finding it difficult to believe just how stupid the Labour Party constitutional changes and leadership debacle are?

What if it’s a deliberate ploy to take attention away from its policies?

Fortunately at least one journalist is on to them.

Rob Hosking writes in the NBR (not online) about former Labour Prime Minister Norman Kirk’s avoidance of economic matters and continues:

Mr Shearer appears to be similarly uncomfortable with economic issues. The focus of his speech was the symbolism of the era; what has been called “candyfloss liberalism” . . .

Labour’s new housing policy . . .  is pure 1970s feel good socialism with little regard to economic realities.

Housing will be made affordable by government fiat, by way of a national policy statement under the Resource Management Act. Implicitly, the policy requires price control either on house sales or on the building and construction industry. . .

In short, Mr Shearer presented himself as a political leader with Kirk’s wilful blindness of economic issues and Rowling’s charisma. . .

Few if any in Labour can be enjoying the attention the party’s internal strife is getting.

But they’d be even more unhappy if attention shifted from that to the economic stupidity of their policies.

January 6 in history

On January 6:

1412  Joan of Arc, Roman Catholic Saint and national heroine of France, was born -legendary date, some scholars think it was January 7-  (d. 1431).

 1494  The first Mass in the New World was celebrated at La Isabela, Hispaniola.

1540 King Henry VIII of England married Anne of Cleves.

Portrait by Hans Holbein the younger, 1539.

1714 Percivall Pott, English physician, was born. He was one of the founders of orthopedy, and the first scientist to demonstrate that a cancer may be caused by an environmental carcinogen (d. 1788).

1721 The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble published its findings.

1781 In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeated the last attempt by France to invade Jersey.

1838 Samuel Morse first successfully tested the electrical telegraph.

1878 Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian, was born  (d. 1967).

 

1883 Khalil Gibran, Lebanese writer, was born (d. 1931).

1893 The Washington National Cathedral was chartered by Congress.

1907 Maria Montessori opened her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome.

1923 Norman Kirk, New Zealander Prime Miisiter, was born  (d. 1974).

1929 – Mother Teresa arrived in Calcutta to begin a her work amongst India’s poorest people.

1930The first diesel-engined automobile trip was completed (from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City).

1931 Thomas Edison submitted his last patent application.

1934 Harry M. Miller, New Zealand-born Australian entrepreneur, was born.

1936 The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act was unconstitutional in the case United States v. Butler et al.

1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.

1942 Pan American Airlines became the first commercial airline to schedule a flight around the world.

1946  Syd Barrett, English guitarist, singer and songwriter Pink Floyd, was born  (d. 2006).

1953 Godfrey Bowen set a world record by shearing  456 full-wool ewes in nine hours.

1953 Malcolm Young, Scottish-born Australian guitarist (AC/DC), was born.

1955 Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor, was born.

1959 Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer, was born.

1960   Nigella Lawson, English chef and writer, was born.

1964 Mark O’Toole, English bass guitarist (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), was born.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood (L-R: Paul Rutherford, Peter Gill, Holly Johnson, Mark O’Toole, Brian Nash)

1965 Bjorn Lomborg, Danish mathematician, environmentalist and author, was born.

1974  In response to the 1973 energy crisis, daylight saving time commenced nearly four months early in the United States.

1978 The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) ws returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.

1995 A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, led to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.

2010 – The Ady Gil, a ship owned by Sea Shepherd, was sunk during a skirmish with the Japanese Whaling Fleet’s Shōnan Maru.

 Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

August 31 in history

On August 31:

12 Gaius Caligula, Roman Emperor, was born (d. 41).

1218 Al-Kamil became Sultan of Egypt, Syria and northern Mesopotamia on the death of his father Al-Adil.

 

1422  Henry VI became King of England at the age of 9 months.

 

1803 Lewis and Clark started their expedition to the west.

 

1870 Maria Montessori, Italian educator, was born (d. 1952).

1876 Ottoman sultan Murat V was deposed and succeeded by his brother Abd-ul-Hamid II.

1880 Wilhelmina I of the Netherlands, was born (d. 1962).

 

1886 An earthquake killed 100 in Charleston, South Carolina.

1888  Mary Ann Nichols was murdered, the first of Jack the Ripper’s known victims.

1894 The new Industrial Conciliation and Arbitration (IC&A) Act, a flagship policy of Richard Seddon’s Liberal government, made New Zealand the first country in the world to outlaw strikes in favour of compulsory arbitration. There were no major strikes for 11 years and wages and conditions generally improved.

1894 Albert Facey, Australian writer, was born (d. 1982).

1897  Thomas Edison patented the Kinetoscope, the first movie projector.

 

1907 Count Alexander Izvolsky and Sir Arthur Nicolson signed the St. Petersburg Convention, which resulted in the Triple Entente alliance.

 

1918 Alan Jay Lerner, American lyricist, was born (d. 1986).

1920 Polish-Bolshevik War: A decisive Polish victory in the Battle of Komarów.

 

1940 Pennsylvania Central Airlines Trip 19 crashed near Lovettsville, Virginia. The CAB investigation of the accident was the first investigation to be conducted under the Bureau of Air Commerce act of 1938.

1940 Jack Thompson, Australian actor, was born.

1943  The USS Harmon, the first U.S. Navy ship to be named after a black person, was commissioned.

1945 The Liberal Party of Australia was founded by Robert Menzies.

1945 Van Morrison, Northern Irish singer-songwriter and musician, was born.

1949 The retreat of the Greek Democratic Army in Albania after its defeat in mountain Grammos marked the end of the Greek Civil War.

1949 Richard Gere, American actor, was born.

1957 The Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gained its independence from the United Kingdom.

1958 A parcel bomb sent by Ngo Dinh Nhu, younger brother and chief adviser of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem, failed to kill Sihanouk of Cambodia.

1958 Serge Blanco, French rugby union footballer, was born.

1962  Trinidad and Tobago became independent.

1965 Willie Watson, New Zealand cricketer, was born.

1965  The Aero Spacelines Super Guppy aircraft made its first flight.

1974 Leader of the Labour Party since 1965 and Prime Minister from late 1972, Norman Kirk, ‘Big Norm’, died suddenly at the age of 51. He was the fifth New Zealand PM to die in office.

1978 William and Emily Harris, founders of the Symbionese Liberation Army, pleaded guilty to the 1974 kidnapping of

1986 Aeroméxico Flight 498 collided with a Piper PA-28 over Cerritos, California, killing 67 in the air and 15 on the ground.

1986 The Soviet passenger liner Admiral Nakhimov sank in the Black Sea after colliding with the bulk carrier Pyotr Vasev, killing 423.

1991  Kyrgyzstan declared its independence from the Soviet Union.

1992  Pascal Lissouba was inaugurated as the President of the Republic of the Congo .

1993  HMS Mercury, shore establishment of the Royal Navy,  closed after 52 years in commission.

1994 The Provisional Irish Republican Army declared a ceasefire.

1997 Diana, Princess of Wales, her companion Dodi Al-Fayed and driver Henri Paul died in a car crash in Paris.

1998 North Korea reportedly launches Kwangmyongsong, its first satellite.

1999 The first of a series of bombings in Moscow, killing one person and wounding 40 others.

1999 – A LAPA Boeing 737-200 crashed during takeoff from Jorge Newbury Airport in Buenos Aires, killing 65, including 2 on the ground.

 

2005  A stampede on Al-Aaimmah bridge in Baghdad killed 1,199 people.

 

2006 Edvard Munch’s famous painting The Scream, which was stolen on August 22, 2004, was recovered in a raid by Norwegian police.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia

January 6 in history

On January 6:

1412  Joan of Arc, Roman Catholic Saint and national heroine of France (legendary date – some scholars think it was January 7), was born.

 1494  The first Mass in the New World was celebrated at La Isabela, Hispaniola.

1540 King Henry VIII of England married Anne of Cleves.

Portrait by Hans Holbein the younger, 1539.

1714 Percivall Pott, English physician, was born. He was one of the founders of orthopedy, and the first scientist to demonstrate that a cancer may be caused by an environmental carcinogen.

1721 The Committee of Inquiry on the South Sea Bubble published its findings.

 Hogarthian image of the “South Sea Bubble”, by Edward Matthew Ward,

1781 In the Battle of Jersey, the British defeated the last attempt by France to invade Jersey.

1838 Samuel Morse first successfully tested the electrical telegraph.

1878 Carl Sandburg, American poet and historian, was born.

 

1883 Khalil Gibran, Lebanese writer, was born.

1893 The Washington National Cathedral was chartered by Congress.

1907 Maria Montessori opened her first school and daycare center for working class children in Rome.

1923 Norman Kirk, New Zealander politician, was born.

1929 – Mother Teresa arrived in Calcutta to begin a her work amongst India’s poorest people.

1930The first diesel-engined automobile trip was completed (from Indianapolis, Indiana, to New York City).

1931 Thomas Edison submitted his last patent application.

1934 Harry M. Miller, New Zealand-born Australian entrepreneur, was born.

1936 The Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the 1933 Agricultural Adjustment Act is unconstitutional in the case United States v. Butler et al.

1941 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt delivered his Four Freedoms Speech in the State of the Union Address.

1942 Pan American Airlines became the first commercial airline to schedule a flight around the world.

1946  Syd Barrett, English guitarist, singer and songwriter Pink Floyd, was born.

1953 Godfrey Bowen set a world record by shearing  456 full-wool ewes in nine hours.

1953 Malcolm Young, Scottish-born Australian guitarist (AC/DC), was born.

1955 Rowan Atkinson, English comedian and actor, was born.

1959 Kapil Dev, Indian cricketer, was born.

1960   Nigella Lawson, English chef and writer, was born.

1964 Mark O’Toole, English bass guitarist (Frankie Goes to Hollywood), was born.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood (L-R: Paul Rutherford, Peter Gill, Holly Johnson, Mark O’Toole, Brian Nash)

1965 Bjorn Lomborg, Danish mathematician, environmentalist and author, was born.

1974  In response to the 1973 energy crisis, daylight saving time commenced nearly four months early in the United States.

1978 The Crown of St. Stephen (also known as the Holy Crown of Hungary) ws returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held after World War II.

1995 A chemical fire in an apartment complex in Manila, Philippines, led to the discovery of plans for Project Bojinka, a mass-terrorist attack.

 Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

August 31 in history

On August 31:

1894 The Arbitration Act became law, a flagship policy of Richard Seddon’s Liberal government, made New Zealand the first country in the world to outlaw strikes in favour of compulsory arbitration.

1918: US lyracist Alan Jay Lerner was born.

1940: Australian actor Jack Thompson was born.

1945 The Australian Liberal Party was formed by Robert Menzies.

1945 Irish musician Van Morrison was born.

1949 US actor Richard Gere was born.

1957  The Federation of Malaya (now Malaysia) gained its independence from Britain.

1962 Trinadad and Tobago became independent.

1974 Prime Minsiter Norman Kirk died.

1991 Kyrgyzstan declared its independence from the USSR.

1994 The Provisional Irish Republican Army declared a cease fire.

Sourced from NZ History Online & Wikipedia.

Who Needs History Lesson Now?

Remember Helen Clark criticising John Key for his grasp of history last week?

In Colin Espiner’s story about her speech to a journalism conference she was quoted as saying: “Today’s political editors of the two main TV channels were barely in their infancy, if born, when Norman Kirk brought the troops back from Vietnam…”

I posted  on this yesterday and a couple of commenters said Kirk didn’t bring the troops home, that was done in 1971, before Kirk came to power.

Inventory 2 then said: … the Holyoake/Marshall National government started the withdrawl of NZ troops from Vietnam, although Clark is half-right about Kirk. He came to power in November 1972, and one of the first things he did as PM was to bring the REMAINING troops (of whom my eldest brother was one) home. But when you’re half-right, you’re also half-wrong!

If you are criticising someone else for lack of precision do you not need to be precise yourself; or does this just prove that a little knoweldge is a dangerous thing?

Clark Shoots Messenger

A tape of Helen Clark’s speech to a journalism conference in which she criticised the media has been released after an Official Information Act request by a member of the public and the intervention of the ombudsman.

On the tape, Clark is severely critical of journalists for their alleged lack of knowledge of world events, historical context, and “letting the facts get in the way of the story.”

Shouldn’t the criticism be for not  letting the facts get in the way of the story?

She claims TV3 political editor Duncan Garner had told a seminar that “politicians always lie”.

“I’m sorry, politicians don’t always lie. I’m quite appalled by that statement. I think it’s important that scrutiny is not confused with cynicism,” Clark said.

Of course politicians don’t always lie, but Garner says what he actually said was that the first instinct of politicians when cornered was to lie.

Clark says there are large gaps in journalists’ general knowledge, and in geography, sociology, and economic matters.

“Very few journalists have any comprehension of the range of relations New Zealand has, the range of issues New Zealand is involved in.”

Most journalists were too young to remember seminal events in the country’s history, she says.

“Today’s political editors of the two main TV channels were barely in their infancy, if born, when Norman Kirk brought the troops back from Vietnam, the Springbok tour, sent the frigate to Mururoa – events that to many of our age group were seminal events,” Clark said.

“Muldoon and David Lange are basically ancient history too and world war one and two are antedivulian.”

Lack of institutional knowledge in newsrooms is a concern but she’s got to remember that it’s not only young people who don’t share her memories of what she considers important. It’s 27 years since I started journalism and I don’t remember Kirk bringing the troops back from Vietnam – I would have been at high school at the time.  The Springbok tour happened a few months after I started work and I remember reporting on it, but it isn’t nearly as important to me as it obviously is to her.

Clark said trends in journalism included “making the story all about them”, a “rush to judgment” on blogging, a refusal to send journalists on overseas trips, and competition that was leading to inaccuracies.

“There wouldn’t be a day go by when something isn’t just plain wrong,” she said.

There are journalists who blog but not all blogs are journalism and not all rush – some of us take a carefully considered path to judgement 😉

I’ll concede that mistakes happen too often and it must be frustrating – but sometimes it’s not the reporting that’s wrong when it doesn’t reflect your own view.

Clark said New Zealand was fortunate to have a free media, however, and politicians still needed journalists as much as the media needed political news.  

Clark courted journalists when she became Prime Minister, and she got a pretty gentle run for a time. Now they’re reporting a different view of the world from hers and she’s taking it personally.

[Update: Karl du Fresne has another view on the media here]