Getting ready for a big bang
Senior Airman Justin Mecias, with 506th Expeditionary Civil Engineer Squadron's explosive ordnance disposal team, gets ready to destroy captured ordnance Dec. 18 found in Ruwaydah Village, Iraq. The ordnance is destroyed to prevent it from being used against coalition troops. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet)

Labels: 506th ECES, Iraq, photos, Ruwaydah Village, USAF

From Multi-National Force-Iraq:



Udi, a United States military working dog stationed at Forward Operating Base Kalsu, poses for the camera after he completes his daily training, Dec. 25. Photo by Pfc. Amanda McBride.



Monday, 31 December 2007

FOB KALSU — With their strong sense of smell and their immeasurable loyalty, the highly trained military working dogs (MWD) in the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division, are proving to be essential in the fight against terrorism.

Military working dogs first entered the United States armed services in March 1942. Today, the dogs are still providing support to the troops on the battlefield.

A single dog can search more area in less time than an entire company could do, said Staff Sgt. Charles Graves, a dog handler with 241st Military Police Detachment, Fort Meade, Md.

“By using the dogs, you are leaving your shooters to other aspects of the mission, rather than having them go out to start a search capacity,” Graves said.

Knowing the commands taught by the dog handler, the MWDs search for improvised explosive devices, weapon caches and other devices meant to harm Coalition forces and local citizens.

“They’re a good deterrent for any terrorist activity," Graves said. “They see the dogs out and know that (the dogs) will spot items humans won’t necessarily find on the first search or even with an in-depth search.”

While deployed in support of the war against terrorism, the dogs serve a one-year tour.

“Right now, we are the only service doing 12 months with the dogs,” said Sgt. Steven Ramil, a dog handler attached to 4th BCT, 3rd Inf. Div.

When not on missions, the dogs train daily to sustain the skills they already have.

“The dogs go through obedience, detection and protection training,” Graves said. “Patrol dogs also go through aggression training.”

Graves said that even though the dogs are trained to search and find items that could hurt fellow Soldiers, they are also a big morale booster.

“When we go out on some missions where the guys have been out in the field for three weeks with no hot water or hot chow, they will just brighten up when they see the dogs,” Graves said.

While deployed, the MWDs depend solely on their handler to take care of them.

“The handler is responsible for everything dealing with the dog,” Graves said. “The dog is like your child; you feed him, clean up after him and take care of him.”

The handler and dog team go out on missions knowing that they have each other’s back, said Graves.

“There is a never-ending loyalty with these dogs,” Graves said. “They would save my life and I would save theirs.”

(Story Courtesy of Task Force Marne Public Affairs)


In Other Recent Developments Here:

BAGHDAD — Members of a Concerned Local Citizen group seized a cache of munitions southeast of Forward Operating Base Hammer and east of the city of Al Nijidat, Dec. 26.

BAGHDAD — Coalition forces killed six terrorists and detained 14 suspects Saturday and Sunday during operations targeting al-Qaida in central and northern Iraq.

Labels: 3rd ID, FOB Kalsu, military working dog, MWD, photos, US Army

CIVIC ACTION IN BASILAN - U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Wesley P. Richey, a special warfare operator assigned to SEAL Team One, Task Unit 3, hands out rice and canned foods to students during a medical civic action program at Panunsulan Elementary School in Basilan, Philippines, Dec. 27, 2007. U.S. Navy photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Daniel R. Mennuto

Labels: Philippines, photos, SEAL Team One, SEALs, US Navy

News of Note
Happy New Year!!
Coast to Coast Party - America welcomes 2008 - PHOTOS
World Welcomes 2008 - PHOTOS
World welcomes New Year with fireworks
Hundreds hurt in Philippines New Year revelry
100th Times Square ball drop marks 2008

Operation Iraqi Freedom
Baghdad: First New Year's in years

Operation Enduring Freedom
Afghan-Led Force Arrests Suspected Taliban Leaders in Series of Khowst Province Raids
Team Helps Troops Battle Combat Stress

Homeland Security / War on Terror / Hamas-Hezbollah Happenings
Mogadishu violence kills 6,500 in past year
Abbas urges Hamas to agree to early elections

Troops on Trial
Marine faces lesser charges in Haditha killings

Other Military News
Taiwan's Chen sees jump in China missile build-up

Religion of Peace??
U.S. Warned Bhutto - Officials advised aides on boosting security
New Video Captures Bhutto Death - VIDEO
Pakistan election decision due on Tuesday - Video
Bhutto video, medical report raise doubt

Worldwide Wackos
Colombian hostage rescue deal crumbles - Video
Iran says first cloned sheep thriving
North Korea misses deadline for nuclear declaration - Video (This is news?)
Convalescing Castro sends Cubans New Year message

Politics / Government
From Iraq to 'Obama Girl'
Chelsea Clinton Brushes Off 9-Year-Old Reporter
Huckabee Pulls Romney Attack Ad
Bloomberg Won't Reveal White House Plans...Yet
Candidates hone message and hunt voters in Iowa - Video
Bush signs into law Sudan divestment measure
Clock running down on Bush presidency
Bush signs government transparency bill
Iowa final sprint is all about turnout
Clinton, Obama claim $100 million raised
Candidates spar toward Thursday's voting
Obama, Huckabee leading in Iowa poll
Republicans spar in New Hampshire over immigration
Speculation mounts of Bloomberg presidential bid
Kenyan leader warns of rampage crackdown
Riots, Deaths After Kenya Vote - PICS: (Warning, Graphic)
Kenya pressured over disputed poll as toll rises - Video

In the Courts / Crime and Punishment / Law and Order
Man Arrested for Allegedly Stalking Washington Teen He Met While Playing Halo
Cops: CB Radio Conversation Led to Trucker's Stabbing Death
Driver Charged With Vehicular Homicide After Pickup Hits Minivan, Killing Mom and 4 Kids
Woman Who Tried to Assassinate Gerald Ford Released
The Unsolved Criminal Mysteries of 2007
Seattle Man Charged With Groping Female Passenger
Lawyer: Ripping MP3s Illegal, Grounds for Lawsuit
NY to probe handling of 1988 murder
Mindy McCready released from jail
Rick James' estate settles rights suit

Media in the Media / Bloggers in the News / Watching the Web
"God doesn't do waste," says archbishop on YouTube

Science / Medicine and Health / Technology
Flee Martians, Flee! Odds Increase of Asteroid Impact
Booze-Fueled Fight Forces South Pole Evacuation
NASA to Release Results of $11.3M Air Safety Study
Smokers butt out in Germany and France
Lack of deep sleep may raise diabetes risk
Japan to report fewer births in 2007
Digital album packaging should improve in 2008

Mother Nature
Brothers Injured in Tiger Attack Stay Quiet
Highway reopens; Stranded travelers free
Northeast braces for new wave of snow

News from My Neck of the Woods
Report: New York City Homes, Businesses, Hotels Infested With Bedbugs

Oddities
Boy Wearing Favre Jersey Since '03 Finally Sees Game
Diners find rare pearl in plate of clams
"Holy smoke" in nunnery tops 2007 weird news

Other News of Note
`Surge' makes the banned-words list

Fox News
FOXBusiness: Existing-Home Sales Inch Up in November
Pop Tarts: Beyonce Bares All
Hollywood's A-List Ladies: Pregnant Pause

Reuters
Malta joins euro zone
Super Bowl run begins with wild card weekend
Germans say "Nein" to television

AP World News
Jazz end Blazer's 13-game winning streak
Parcells fires Dolphins GM Randy Mueller
Wildcats hold off depleted 'Noles 35-28
Ravens fire head coach after 5-11 season

CENTCOM: News Releases
COALITION FORCES DISRUPT AL KUT CRIMINAL ELEMENT NETWORKS, 11 TERRORISTS KILLED

USJFCOM
2007 -- The Year in Review - photos
U.S. Joint Forces Command, IBM sign new cooperative research and development agreement
More about CRADAs
Ribbon cut for new SOCJFCOM headquarters - podcast

Multi-National Force-Iraq
Soccer Equipment from Colorado Donated to Iraqi Children
Iraqi Air Force Provides Airlift Support for Iraqi National Police
1-15 Inf. Regt. Holds Iraqi Conservation Corps Sign-Ups
Explosives found, hostage rescued during joint Saydiyah operation
Coalition forces target foreign terrorist facilitators, 21 suspects detained (Kirkuk, Sammara, Mosul
Cavalry unit thwarts extremists’ plan (Jisr Diyala)
Aviation Brigade reaches flight-hour milestone (Baghdad)
2 weapons caches found south of Baghdad
Minister of Education Meets with Task Force 134 Commander to Discuss Detainee Education Programs

DefenseLink
TOP NEWS
Al Qaeda Actions Contradict Osama Bin Laden's Claims - Video

MILITARY NEWS
Troops to Get 3 Percent Pay Raise
Cyber-Threat Intelligence Team Defends Digital Battlefield in Europe

IRAQ NEWS
New Arab Jabour 'City Hall' Opens
Coalition Captures Insurgent Leader

AMERICA SUPPORTS YOU
Marine Corps Foundation Offers Scholarships for Good Students

AFGHANISTAN NEWS
Soldiers, Afghans Celebrate School Opening

FACE OF DEFENSE
Airman Saves Lives

Weather
Afghanistan
Bost/Laskar Ghurian Herat Kabul Qandahar

Germany
Ansbach Aschaffenburg Berlin Berlin-Tempelhof Berlin/Schonefeld Bremerhaven
Darmstadt Frankfurt Frankfurt/Main Freiburg/Breisgau Garmisch
Garmisch-Partenkirchen Geilenkirchen Gelnhausen Giessen Kitzingen
Hanau Am Main Heidelberg Mainz Mannheim Nurnberg Stuttgart Trier
Wiesbaden Wurzburg

Gitmo

Guam
Agana Agana Heights Agat Andersen AFB Asan Barrigada

Iraq
Al Azamiyah Al Basrah Al Hillah Al Karkh Al Kazimiyah Al Kut
An Nasiriyah Baghdad Baqubah Mosul Najaf Nineveh Tall Kayf

Japan
Kadena Air Base Okinawa Tokyo Yokohama

Today in History
5777 BC - Origin of Solar Cycle
4714 BC - Origin of Julian Period (Year 0)
4713 BC - Julian Year 1 begins, at Greenwich mean noon
0045 BC - Origin of Julian Era; Julian calendar begins
0038 BC - Origin of Era of Spain (Cesars)
0030 BC - Origin of Actian Era
0001 BC - Origin of Era of Pisa; Origin of Christian Era
0069 - Roman garrison of Mainz uprising
0089 - Gov Lucius Antonius Saturninus of Germany becomes emperor of Rome
0313 - Start of Roman (Pontifical) Indiction
0404 - Last gladiator competition in Rome
0990 - Russia adopts Julian calendar
1430 - Jews of Sicily are no longer required to attend conversionist services
1438 - Albrecht II von Habsburg becomes king of Hungary
1494 - Juw Dekama elected potentate of Frisia
1502 - Portuguese navigators discover Rio de Janeiro
1504 - King Louis XII loses last bulwark in Naples, Caeta
1515 - Jews are expelled from Laibach, Austria; François, Duke of Angoulême succeeds Louis XII as François I of France
1573 - Geuzen sets fire to Woudrichem
1583 - 1st day of the Gregorian calendar in Holland & Flanders
1610 - German astronomer Simon Marius 1st discovers the Jupiter moons, but does not officially report it, Galileo does on July 1 1610
1622 - Papal Chancery adopts Jan 1 as beginning of the year (was Mar 25)
1651 - Charles II Stuart crowned king of Scotland
1660 - General Moncks army battles with the Tweed on way to London; Thomas Fairfax' New Model-army occupies York
1673 - Regular mail delivery begins between New York & Boston
1675 - Don Carlos de Gurrea/Aragón becomes Spanish land guardian of South Netherlands
1689 - Pro-James II-Earl of Danby occupies York
1700 - Protestant West-Europe (except England) begin using Gregorian calendar; Russia replaces Byzantines with Julian calendar
1701 - Great Britain & Ireland union is in effect, creating United Kingdom
1707 - Jacob V succeeds his father Pedro II as king of Portugal
1739 - J.B.C. Bouvet de Lozier discovers Bouvet Island, near Antarctica
1772 - 1st traveler's checks issued (London)
1776 - General George Washington hoists Continental Union Flag
1788 - Quakers in Pennsylvania emancipate their slaves
1797 - Albany replaces New York City as capital of NY
1798 - Russia appoints 1st Jewish censor to censor Hebrew books
1800 - Dutch East Indies Company dissolves
1804 - Jean Jacques Dessalines proclaims independence of Haiti from France
1807 - Curaçao is taken by English (until March, 1816)
1808 - Congress prohibits importation of slaves; Sierra Leone becomes a British colony
1809 - Holland Brigade under Brigadier General Chassé reaches Madrid
1814 - Field marshal Blücher's troops cross the Rhine at Kaub
1818 - Official reopening of the White House
1826 - Baron Van der Capellen resigns as Governor of Dutch-Indies
1827 - Dutch Trade Company NHM gets opium monopoly on Java
1831 - William Lloyd Garrison publishes 1st issue of abolitionist journal
1833 - British government demands Falkland islands
1834 - German Tolunie goes into effect
1838 - 1st official horse race in South Australia-Adelaide
1840 - 1st recorded bowling match in US, Knickerbocker Alleys, New York City NY
1842 - 1st illustrated weekly magazine in US publishes 1st issue, New York City NY
1846 - Yucatan declares independence from México
1847 - Michigan is 1st state to abolish capital punishment
1848 - Britain takes Mosquito Coast from Nicaragua
1851 - City of Glasgow steamer inaugurates Philadelphia-Liverpool line
1852 - 1st US public bath opens in New York City, NY; Netherlands begins issuing postage stamps
1853 - 1st practical fire engine (horse-drawn) in US enters service
1858 - Canada begins using decimal currency system
1860 - Slavery ends of in Netherlands Indies
1861 - Porfirio Diaz conquers Mexico City; President Lincoln declares slavery in Confederate states unlawful
1862 - 1st US income tax (3% of incomes > $600, 5% of incomes > $10,000); Battle of Fort McRee FL, Battle of Port Royal SC (Port Royal Ferry)
1863 - 1st homestead under the Homestead Act claimed, near Beatrice, NE
1863 Battle of Galveston, TX - Confederates recapture the city; Battle of Helena, AK; Emancipation Proclamation (ending slavery) issued by Lincoln
1865 - [through Apr 26th] Carolinas' campaign
1871 - Belgium disbands salt tax
1873 - Origin of Japanese Era
1874 - New York City annexes the Bronx
1877 - England's Queen Victoria proclaimed empress of India
1880 - Building of Panamá Canal, begins
1881 - Dr. John H. Watson is introduced to Sherlock Holmes
1886 - 1st Tournament of Roses, Pasadena CA
1891 - French troops occupy Nioro, West-Sudan, 3000 killed; King Pakketvaart sails to Netherlands Indies
1892 - Ellis Island becomes reception center for new immigrants
1893 - 1st US college extension courses for credit, University of Chicago; Japan adopts the Gregorian calendar
1894 - Denmark adopts Mid-European time; Manchester Ship Canal in England opens to traffic
1895 - Norway adopts Mid-European time
1896 - Wilhelm Röntgen announces his discovery of x-rays
1897 - 1st football game between black colleges-Atlanta University 10, Tuskegee 0; Brooklyn merges with New York to form present City of New York
1898 - Lightship replaces whistling buoy at mouth of San Francisco Bay
1899 - Cuba liberated from Spain by US (National Day) (US occupies till 1902)
1900 - British protectorates of Northern & Southern Nigeria established; Compulsory education in Netherlands goes into effect
1901 - Australia declares independence from federation of UK colonies
1902 - 1st Rose Bowl game (Pasadena CA) (University of Michigan-49, Stanford-0); Nathan Stubblefield makes 1st public demonstration of radio, Pennsylvania
1904 - Netherlands Indies colony begins opium production
1905 - 9 hour work day for diamond miners
1906 - Dutch law makes driver's license mandatory
1907 - President Theodore Roosevelt shakes a record 8,513 hands in 1 day
1908 - For the 1st time, a ball signifying the new year dropped at Times Square
1911 - South Australia transfers Northern Territory to federal government; Belgian Mining law introduces 9½-hour work day
1912 - 1st running of San Francisco's famed "Bay to Breakers" race (7.63 miles/12.3 km); Sun Yat-sen forms Chinese Republic
1913 - Post office begins parcel post deliveries
1914 - 1st scheduled airline flight, St. Petersburg-Tampa (Tony Jannus pilot); Northern & Southern Nigeria united in British colony of Nigeria; Klaas ter Laan becomes Netherlands' 1st socialist mayor (Zaandam)
1915 - Jews of Laibach, Austria expelled
1916 - 1st football game in Rose Bowl (Washington State-Brown)
1918 - Last day of the Julian calendar in Finland
1919 - Belorussian SSR established
1922 - Vancouver BC starts driving on the right side of road
1923 - Union of Socialist Soviet Republics established
1924 - Grossdeutsche Völksgemeinschaft/Völkische Block replaces NSDAP
1925 - Norway's capital Christiania changes name to Oslo
1926 - Flood in Rhine strikes Cologne
1927 - Communist uprising in West Java
1928 - 1st US air-conditioned office building opens, San Antonio
1929 - Roy Riegels runs 60 yards the wrong way with Rose Bowl fumble recovery
1930 - Earl Claus von Stauffenberg promoted to 2nd lieutenant; Jurgens & Van den Berg merge with Lever Brothers to form Unilever
1932 - Rasse und Siedlungshauptamt publishes Himmler's wedding laws
1934 - Alcatraz officially becomes a federal prison
1934 Federal Deposit Insurance Corp (US bank guarantor) effective; International Telecommunication Union established
1935 - 1st Sugar Bowl & 1st Orange Bowl; Associated Press inaugurates Wirephoto; Eastern Airlines hires Eddie Rickenbacker as GM; President Mustapha Kemal Pasha names himself "Atatürk Father of Turkey"
1936 - 1st newspaper to microfilm its current issues, New York Herald Tribune
1937 - US Army Air Corps physiological research laboratory completed, Ohio; Anastasio Somoza becomes President of Nicaragua; Count Claus von Stauffenberg promoted to captain
1941 - Netherlands begins taxing wages; Russian General Zhukov appointed chief of General staff
1942 - Rose Bowl played in North Carolina due to Japanese threat-Oregon 20, Duke 16; US & 25 other countries sign a united declaration against the Axis
1943 - Count Claus von Stauffenberg promoted to Lieutenant-Colonel; Negro League star Josh Gibson suffers a nervous breakdown
1944 - 1st feature-length foreign movie, African Journey, shown on TV, New York City, NY; Army defeats Navy 10-7 in football "Arab Bowl", Oran, North Africa; General Clark replaces General Patton as commander of 7th Army
1945 - France joins the UN; German air raid on allied airports at Eindhoven/Saint-Trond/Brussels
1946 - Emperor Hirohito of Japan announces he is not a god; National Assembly proclaims Hungary a republic; ENIAC, US 1st computer finished by Mauchly/Eckert
1947 - Britain nationalizes its coal industry
1948 - 1st color newsreel filmed, Pasadena, CA; Britain nationalizes its railways; General Agreement on Tariffs & Trade effective; Orissa province accedes to India; Italy adopts constitution
1949 - Tokelau (Union) Islands declared part of New Zealand
1950 - Ho Chi Minh begins offensive against French troops in Indo-China
1951 - Massive Chinese/North Korean assault on UN-lines
1954 - Rose & Cotton Bowl are 1st sport colorcasts; Yugoslav parliament chairman/Vice President Milovan Djilas criticize communism
1955 - Bhutan issues its 1st postage stamps
1956 - Sudan (Anglo-Egyptian Sudan) gains independence from Britain & Egypt (National Day)
1957 - France returns Saar to becomes the 10th state of German Federal Republic; International Geophysical Year begins; ends 6/30/1958 (18-month year)
1958 - BOAC Britannia flies London to New York in a record 7hours 57minutes;
Treaties establish European Economic Community (Common Market)
1959 - Castro leads Cuba to victory as Fulgencio Batista flees to Dominican Republic; Chad becomes autonomous republic in French Community
1960 - Bank of France issues new franc, worth 20¢; Cameroon (French Cameroon) gains independence from France; Montserrat adopts constitution; US census at 179,245,000
1961 - Largest check issued, National Bank of Chicago to Sears ($960.242 billion); Russia introduces a new ruble worth $1.11
1962 - Rwanda granted internal self-government by Belgium; Western Samoa gains independence from New Zealand; Susuga Malietoa Tanumafili II becomes co-chief of Western Samoa
1963 - G. Woods succeeds Eugene Black as president of the World Bank
1964 - Federation of Rhodesia & Nyasaland dissolved
1965 - International Cooperation Year begins; Palestinian al-Fatah organization forms
1966 - 12 day transit worker strike shuts down New York City subway; All US cigarette packs have to carry "Caution Cigarette smoking may be hazardous to your health"; Military coup by Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa in Central African Republic
1967 - FCC requires AM-FM sister stations to be at least 50% different; St. Helena adopts constitution; Tonga revises constitution
1968 - ABC radio splits into 4 networks (Info, Entertainment, Contemp & FM); Evel Knievel fails in his attempt to jump Cæsar's Palace Fountain; Netherlands gets color TV
1969 - Jack Kent Cooke, owner of NHL's Los Angeles Kings, fines each player $100 for "NOT" arguing with the referee
1970 - Revised calendar for Western (RC) Church goes into effect; "The Epoch" (Time 0 for UNIX systems, Midnight GMT); Neth Christian Workers Union (NCW) forms
1971 - Cigarette advertisements banned on TV
1972 - International Book Year begins; People's Republic of China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor People's Rebulic of China
1973 - Britain, Ireland & Denmark become 7th-9th members of Common MarketWest African Economic Community formed (Benin, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal, Upper Volta)
1974 - World Population Year begins
1974 - NBC radio begins on the hour news 24 hours a day (following CBS lead)
1975 - Haldeman, Ehrlichman, Mitchell & Mardian convicted of Watergate crime; International Women's Year begins; Sweden adopts constitution
1976 - NBC replaces the peacock logo
1976 - Liberty Bell moves to new home behind Independence Hall; Venezuela nationalizes oil fields
1977 - 1st woman formally ordained an Episcopal priest (Jacqueline Means); Czech intellectualus & chinas begin Human Rights Group Chapter 77; Belgium reapportions 2,359 communities into 596; Tony Dorsett runs for record 202 yards in the Sugar Bowl
1978 - President Ford signs 1st major revision of copyright law since 1909; Air India B747 explodes near Bombay killing 213
1979 - International Year of the Child begins; Jura, 26th canton of Switzerland, established; US & China (People's Republic) begin diplomatic relations
1980 - Chrysler UK renamed Talbot; International Decade of Water & Sanitation begins; Sweden changes order of succession to throne
1980 - Mob storms Russian embassy in Teheran; Premier Adbou Diouf becomes President of Senegal
1981 - International Year for the Disabled begins; Palau (Trust Territory of Pacific Is) becomes self-governing; Roger Smith becomes CEO of General Motors; Greece is 10th country to join European Economic Community
1982 - Pope John Paul II prays for an end to martial law in Poland; Javier Pérez de Cuellar becomes Secretary-General of UN; MTA launches 5 year capital program to overhaul New York City subway system
1983 - World Communications Year begins
1984 - AT&T's 22 owned Bell system companies divests into 8 companies; New York City transit fare rises from 75¢ to 90¢; Brunei becomes independent of UK
1985 - International Youth Year begins; US's 1st manadatory seat belt law goes into effect (NY); VH-1 made its broadcasting debut
1986 - Aruba becomes independent from neighbor island Curaçao (part of Kingdom of the Netherlands); International Peace Year begins; New York City NY transit fare rises from 90¢ to $1.00; Spain & Portugal become 11th & 12th members of Common Market (European Economic Community)
1987 - 60 bodies recovered in Dupont Plaza Hotel fire in Puerto Rico; International Year of Shelter for Homeless begins; Year of the Reader begins; China's rudimentary civil code in effect
1989 - New York City NY transit fare rises from $1.00 to $1.15; Year of the Young Reader begins
1990 - David Dinkins sworn in as 1st black mayor of New York City; FCC implements "SYNDEX" giving independent stations more rights over cable TV outlets for exclusive syndicated programs
1990 - New York City NY MTA stops token redemption at subway stations
1991 - Iraq rejects peace proposal from Egyptian President Hosi Mubarak
1992 - Boutros Boutros-Ghali becomes UN Secretary-General; Europe breaks down trade barriers; International Space Year begins; New York City NY transit fare increases from $1.15 to $1.25; George H.W. Bush is 1st US President to address Australian Parliament; Curaçao becomes 1st in Dutch Antilles to have compulsory education
1993 - 12-member European Economic Community set up vast free trade zone; Cigarette advertisements are banned in New York City NY's MTA; Czechoslovakia separates into Czech Republic (Bohemia) & Slovakia
1994 - International Year of Family
1994 - North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect
1995 - Austria, Finland & Sweden act to join European Union; Centennial of Canadian Mounties presence in Canada's Yukon Territory; Fernando Henrique Cardoso installed as President of Brazil; International Year of Tolerance; Last "Far Side" by cartoonist Gary Larson (started 1980)
1996 - After 27 years, Betty Rubble debuts as a Flintstone vitamin; Curaçao gains limited form of self rule (Status Aparte)
1998 - All California bars, clubs & card rooms must be smoke-free; Mongolia switches from a 46 hour to 40 hour work week; US Census Bureau estimates population at 268,921,733
1999 - International Year of Elderly
2304 - Mid-CALENDAR day
6000 - 1st reversible date since 11/11/1999

Birthdays
0379 - Basilius the Great, of Caesarea, holyman (Moralia)
1387 - Charles The Angry One, king of Navarra (1349-87)
1431 - Alexander VI [Rodrigo Borgia] Spanish/Italian pope (1492-1503)
1449 - Lorenzo de' Medici [The Magnificent] of Florence
1467 - Sigismund I the old, King of Poland
1622 - Isaac Sweers, Dutch Admiral/General/Civil rights activist
1734 - John F.E. Acton, cruel premier of Naples
1735 - Paul Revere, silversmith/US patriot (British are coming)
1745 - "Mad" Anthony Wayne, General
1752 - Elizabeth Griscom (Betsy) Ross, flag maker
1819 - George Foster Shepley, Union Brigadier General
1827 - William Lewis "Old Tige" Cabell, Confederate Brigadier General
1838 - William Hugh Young, Confederate Brigadier General
1846 - Nikola Pasic Serbian nationalist/premier (1891-1926)
1863 - Pierre de Coubertin France, baron (revived Olympic games)
1882 - W.C. Wendelaar, mayor of Alkmaar (1919-34)/Dutch MP (VVD)
1887 - Wilhelm Canaris, German admiral/head German military intelligence
1892 - Manuel Roxas y Acuna, 1st President of Philippines
1895 - J. Edgar Hoover, Director of US Fedreal Bureau of Investigation
1901 - Christine Wittewaall van Stoetwegen, Dutch MP (CDD)
1905 - Melvin Price (Representative-D-IL)
1909 - Barry Goldwater (Senator-R-AZ)/Presidential candidate (R) 1964)
1912 - Kim Philby, British spy/Soviet mole
1922 - Ernest F. Hollings (Senator-D-SC)
1923 - Chalmers Goodlin, US test pilot (XS-1)
1930 - Gaafar Muhammad Nimeiry, Premier/President (Sudan)
1933 - James A. Abrahamson, USAF/astronaut
1935 - Valentin Nikolaevich N. Benderov, Russian cosmonaut
1938 - Beatrix Wilhelmina Armgard Queen of Netherlands; Bill Emerson (Representative-R-MO)
1942 - Gennadi Vassilyevich Sarafanov, cosmonaut (Soyuz 15); Martin Frost (Representative-D-TX)
1947 - Alexei Ivanovich Bobrov, Russian cosmonaut; Peter Lankhorst Dutch MP (PPR); Vladimir Georgiyevich Titov, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz T-8, TM-4, STS 63)
1949 - Nikolai Tikhonovich Moskalenko Russia, cosmonaut
1950 - Svetlana Georgievna Beregovkina, Russian cosmonaut; Yevgeni Vladimirovich Saley, cosmonaut
1956 - Anatoli Borisovich Polonsky Russia, Lieutenant-Colonel/cosmonaut; Sergei Vasiliyevich Avdeyev, Russian cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-15, SK TM-28)
1959 - Abdul Ahad Mohmand Afghanistan, cosmonaut (Soyuz TM-6)
1962 - Ravshanbek Aliyev Kirgiz, cosmonaut

Passings
0379 - Basilius the Great of Caesarea, saint (Moralia)
0404 - Telemachus, Roman monk, murdered
0898 - Odo Earl of Paris/king of France (888-98), at about 39
0962 - Boudouin III, count of Flanders
1387 - Karel de Boze king of Navarra (1349-87)
1502 - Gregorius XIII [Ugo Buoncampagni], Italy, pope (1572-85)
1515 - Louis XII Father of People, "the Justified" King of France (1498-1515), at 52
1557 - Jacques Cartier, French explorer (Canada), at 65
1559 - Christian III, King of Denmark/Norway (1534-59)
1560 - Guillaume du Bellay Sieur de Langey, French soldier
1626 - Cornelis Pieterse Hoft, Amsterdam merchant/regent, dies at 68
1630 - Tetsugen, Zen teacher (Jodo sect converted to Obaku Zen)
1730 - Daniel Finch, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, at 82
1766 - Frans E Jacobus III Old Pretender, king of Great Britain/Ireland; James III Edward, Old Pretender/king of Great Britain/Ireland, at 77
1784 - Patrice F Earl de Nény, South Netherlands Secret Council chairman, at 67
1787 - Arthur Middleton, US farmer (signed Declaration of Independence), at 44
1817 - Martin H. Klaproth, German chemist (uranium), at 73
1901 - Ignatius Donnelly, US attorney/Lieutenant-Governor (Minnesota), at 69
1962 - Diego Martínez Barrio, Spanish president (1939), at 76
1966 - Vincent Auriol, President of France (1947-53), at 82
1980 - Pietro Nenni, Italian politician (Socialists), at 88
1990 - Gerhard Schröder, West German minister of Defense, at 79
1992 - Hette G. Abma, vicar/Dutch MP (SGP)
1994 - Cesar Romero, US actor (Joker-Batman), at 86
1995 - Eugene Wigner, physicist (Nobel prize for physics-1963), at 92; Frederick West, English contractor/serial killer, commits suicide at 53
1996 - Arleigh Albert Burke, British Admiral, at 94

Reported Missing in Action
1966
Kirksey, Robert L., US Army (AL); KIA / BNR

1968
The following USN personnel reported MIA when their RA3B disappeared over water:
Dennison, James R. (NY); pilot

Hanley, Terence H. (ME); co-pilot

Herrin, Henry H., Jr. (MA); photographer's mate

1969
Clack, Cecil J., US Army (SC); slipped and was swept away during river crossing - Killed / BNR

Labels: Headlines, History