Sat 19th Jan Todays News

Happy birthday and many happy returns Aaron Haider andBobby Lam. Born on the same day, across the years. Remember, birthdays are good for you. But after a few you forget why.
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January 19

• 1795 – A day after William V, Prince of Orange, fled theDutch Republic as a result of the Batavian Revolution, the Batavian Republic was established.
• 1853 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il trovatore was first performed at the Teatro Apollo in Rome.
• 1975 – A magnitude 6.8 M_s earthquake struck northernHimachal Pradesh, India, causing extensive damage to the region.
• 1983 – The Nazi SS officer Klaus Barbie was arrested in Bolivia, 32 years after the US Army Counterintelligence Corps helped him flee to Argentina.
• 2007 – Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink was assassinated by a Turkish nationalist for his statements on the Armenian Genocide.

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Events

• 379 – Emperor Gratian elevates Flavius Theodosius at Sirmium to Augustus, and gives him power over all the eastern provinces of theRoman Empire.
• 1419 – Hundred Years' War: Rouen surrenders to Henry V of England, completing his reconquest of Normandy.
• 1511 – Mirandola surrenders to the French.
• 1520 – Sten Sture the Younger, the Regent of Sweden, is mortally wounded at the Battle of Bogesund.
• 1607 – San Agustin Church in Manila is officially completed; it is the oldest church still standing in the Philippines.
• 1661 – Thomas Venner is hanged, drawn and quartered in London.
• 1764 – John Wilkes is expelled from the British House of Commons for seditious libel.
• 1788 – The second group of ships of the First Fleet arrive at Botany Bay.
• 1795 – The Batavian Republic is proclaimed in the Netherlands bringing to an end the Republic of the Seven United Netherlands.
• 1806 – The United Kingdom occupies the Cape of Good Hope.
• 1812 – Peninsular War: After a ten day siege, Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, orders British soldiers of the Light and third divisions to storm Ciudad Rodrigo.
• 1817 – An army of 5,423 soldiers, led by General José de San Martín, crosses the Andes from Argentina to liberate Chile and then Peru.
• 1829 – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust Part 1 receives its premiere performance.
• 1839 – The British East India Company captures Aden.
• 1840 – Captain Charles Wilkes circumnavigates Antarctica, claiming what became known as Wilkes Land for the United States.
• 1853 – Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il Trovatore receives its premiere performance in Rome.
• 1861 – American Civil War: Georgia joins South Carolina, Florida, Mississippi, and Alabama in seceding from the United States.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Mill Springs – The Confederacy suffers its first significant defeat in the conflict.
• 1871 – Franco-Prussian War: In the Siege of Paris, Prussia wins the Battle of St. Quentin. Meanwhile, the French attempt to break the siege in the Battle of Buzenval will end unsuccessfully the following day.
• 1883 – The first electric lighting system employing overhead wires, built by Thomas Edison, begins service at Roselle, New Jersey.
• 1893 – Henrik Ibsen's play The Master Builder receives its premiere performance in Berlin.
• 1899 – Anglo-Egyptian Sudan is formed.
• 1915 – Georges Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.
• 1915 – World War I: German zeppelins bomb the towns of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn in the United Kingdom killing more than 20, in the first major aerial bombardment of a civilian target.
• 1917 – Silvertown explosion: 73 are killed and 400 injured in an explosion in a munitions plant in London.
• 1920 – The United States Senate votes against joining the League of Nations.
• 1935 – Coopers Inc. sells the world's first briefs.
• 1937 – Howard Hughes sets a new air record by flying from Los Angeles, California to New York City in 7 hours, 28 minutes, 25 seconds.
• 1942 – World War II: Japanese forces invade Burma
• 1945 – World War II: Soviet forces liberate the Łódź ghetto. Of more than 200,000 inhabitants in 1940, less than 900 had survived the Nazi occupation.
• 1946 – General Douglas MacArthur establishes the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo to try Japanese war criminals.
• 1949 – Cuba recognizes Israel.
• 1953 – 71.7% of all television sets in the United States are tuned in to I Love Lucy to watch Lucy give birth.
• 1960 – Japan and the United States sign the US-Japan Mutual Security Treaty
• 1969 – Student Jan Palach dies after setting himself on fire 3 days earlier in Prague's Wenceslas Square to protest about the invasion of Czechoslovakia by the Soviet Union in 1968. His funeral turned into another major protest.
• 1975 – An earthquake strikes Himachal Pradesh, India
• 1977 – President Gerald Ford pardons Iva Toguri D'Aquino (a.k.a. "Tokyo Rose").
• 1977 – Snow falls in Miami, Florida. This is the only time in the history of the city that snow has fallen. It also fell in the Bahamas.
• 1978 – The last Volkswagen Beetle made in Germany leaves VW's plant in Emden. Beetle production in Latin America continues until 2003.
• 1981 – Iran Hostage Crisis: United States and Iranian officials sign an agreement to release 52 American hostages after 14 months of captivity.
• 1983 – Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie is arrested in Bolivia.
• 1983 – The Apple Lisa, the first commercial personal computer from Apple Inc. to have a graphical user interface and a computer mouse, is announced.
• 1986 – The first IBM PC computer virus is released into the wild. A boot sector virus dubbed (c)Brain, it was created by the Farooq Alvi Brothers in Lahore, Pakistan, reportedly to deter piracy of the software they had written.
• 1991 – Gulf War: Iraq fires a second Scud missile into Israel, causing 15 injuries.
• 1993 – Czech Republic and Slovakia join the United Nations.
• 1995 – After being struck by lightning the crew are forced to ditch Bristow Flight 56C. All 18 aboard are later rescued.
• 1996 – The barge North Cape oil spill occurs as an engine fire forces the tugboat Scandia ashore on Moonstone Beach in South Kingstown, Rhode Island.
• 1997 – Yasser Arafat returns to Hebron after more than 30 years and joins celebrations over the handover of the last Israeli-controlled West Bank city.
• 1999 – British Aerospace agrees to acquire the defence subsidiary of the General Electric Company plc, forming BAE Systems in November 1999.
• 2006 – The New Horizons probe is launched by NASA on the first mission to Pluto.
• 2007 – Turkish Journalist Hrant Dink is assassinated in front of his newspaper's office by 17 year old Turkish ultra-nationalist Ogün Samast.

[edit]Births

• 399 – Pulcheria, Byzantine empress (d. 453)
• 1544 – King Francis II of France (d. 1560)
• 1676 – John Weldon, English musician and composer (d. 1736)
• 1736 – James Watt, Scottish inventor (d. 1819)
• 1737 – Giuseppe Millico, Italian soprano castrato, composer, and music teacher (d. 1802)
• 1739 – Joseph Bonomi the Elder, Italian architect (d. 1808)
• 1752 – James Morris III, American army officer (d. 1820)
• 1757 – Augusta Reuss-Ebersdorf, German Princess (d. 1831)
• 1798 – Auguste Comte, French philosopher (d. 1857)
• 1807 – Robert E. Lee, American Confederate general (d. 1870)
• 1808 – Lysander Spooner, American philosopher (d. 1887)
• 1809 – Edgar Allan Poe, American writer and poet (d. 1849)
• 1813 – Sir Henry Bessemer, English inventor (d. 1898)
• 1832 – Ferdinand Laub, Czech violinist (d. 1875)
• 1833 – Alfred Clebsch, German mathematician (d. 1872)
• 1839 – Paul Cézanne, French painter (d. 1906)
• 1848 – John F. Stairs, Canadian businessman (d. 1904)
• 1848 – Matthew Webb, English swimmer/diver (d. 1883)
• 1851 – Jacobus Kapteyn, Dutch astronomer (d. 1922)
• 1863 – Werner Sombart, German sociologist (d. 1941)
• 1871 – Dame Gruev, Bulgarian revolutionary (d. 1906)
• 1874 – Hitachiyama Taniemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 19th Yokozuna (d. 1922)
• 1876 – Wakashima Gonshirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 21st Yokozuna (d. 1943)
• 1876 – Dragotin Kette, Slovenian poet (d. 1899)
• 1878 – Herbert Chapman, English football player and manager (d. 1934)
• 1879 – Boris Savinkov, Russian writer (d. 1925)
• 1887 – Alexander Woollcott, American intellectual (d. 1943)
• 1889 – Sophie Taeuber-Arp, Swiss painter and sculptor (d. 1943)
• 1892 – Ólafur Thors, Icelandic politician (d. 1964)
• 1893 – Magda Tagliaferro, Brazilian classical pianist (d. 1986)
• 1905 – Stanley Hawes, British-born Australian film producer, director and administrator (d. 1991)
• 1908 – Aleksandr Gennadievich Kurosh, Russian mathematician (d. 1971)
• 1909 – Hans Hotter, German bass-baritone (d. 2003)
• 1911 – Choor Singh, Singaporean judge (d. 2009)
• 1912 – Leonid Kantorovich, Russian economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1986)
• 1913 – Rex Ingamells, Australian poet (d. 1955)
• 1914 – Bob Gerard, English Grand Prix driver (d. 1990)
• 1917 – John Raitt, American singer and actor (d. 2005)
• 1918 – John H. Johnson, American publisher (d. 2005)
• 1920 – Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, Peruvian United Nations Secretary General
• 1921 – Patricia Highsmith, American author (d. 1995)
• 1922 – Guy Madison, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1923 – Jean Stapleton, American actress
• 1923 – Markus Wolf, German spy (d. 2006)
• 1924 – Nicholas Colasanto, American actor (d. 1985)
• 1924 – Jean-François Revel, French author (d. 2006)
• 1925 – Nina Bawden, English author
• 1926 – Fritz Weaver, American actor
• 1930 – Tippi Hedren, American actress
• 1931 – Robert MacNeil, Canadian journalist
• 1932 – Richard Lester, British director
• 1932 – Russ Hamilton, British singer (d. 2008)
• 1933 – George Coyne, American theologian
• 1934 – Lloyd Robertson, Canadian journalist
• 1935 – Soumitra Chatterjee, Indian actor
• 1935 – Johnny O'Keefe, Australian singer (d. 1978)
• 1936 – Ziaur Rahman, Seventh President of Bangladesh (d. 1981)
• 1937 – John Lions, Australian computer scientist (d. 1998)
• 1937 – Giovanna Marini, Italian singer-songwriter
• 1939 – Phil Everly, American musician
• 1940 – Paolo Borsellino, Italian magistrate (d. 1992)
• 1940 – Mike Reid, English comedian (d. 2007)
• 1941 – Tony Anholt, British actor (d. 2002)
• 1941 – Colin Gunton, British theologian (d. 2003)
• 1941 – Pat Patterson, Canadian wrestler
• 1942 – Michael Crawford, British singer and actor
• 1942 – Thom Mayne, American Architect
• 1943 – Petchara Chaowarat, Thai film actress
• 1943 – Janis Joplin, American singer (Big Brother and the Holding Company) (d. 1970)
• 1943 – Princess Margriet of the Netherlands
• 1944 – Shelley Fabares, American actress
• 1944 – Laurie London, English singer
• 1944 – Peter Lynch, American investor
• 1944 – Dan Reeves, American football coach
• 1945 – Trevor Williams, English Bass Guitarist (Audience and The Nashville Teens)
• 1946 – Julian Barnes, English author
• 1946 – Dolly Parton, American singer and actress
• 1947 – Frank Aarebrot, Norwegian political scientist
• 1947 – Ann Compton, American news reporter
• 1947 – Paula Deen, American chef and restaurateur
• 1947 – Rod Evans, British musician (Deep Purple and Captain Beyond)
• 1948 – Frank McKenna, Canadian politician
• 1949 – Arend Langenberg, Dutch voice actor and radio host (d. 2012)
• 1949 – Robert Palmer, English singer and guitarist (Power Station) (d. 2003)
• 1949 – Dennis Taylor, Irish snooker player
• 1950 – Sébastien Dhavernas, Canadian actor
• 1950 – Jon Matlack, American baseball player
• 1950 – Grant Nordman, Canadian politician
• 1951 – Arthur Taxier, American actor
• 1953 – Desi Arnaz, Jr., American actor
• 1953 – Linda Hayden, English actress
• 1953 – Richard Legendre, Canadian politician
• 1954 – Katey Sagal, American actress
• 1954 – Cindy Sherman, American photographer
• 1954 – Katharina Thalbach, German actress and film director
• 1955 – Simon Rattle, English conductor
• 1955 – Paul Rodriguez, Mexican/American actor and comedian
• 1956 – Carman Licciardello, American singer
• 1957 – Ottis Anderson, former American football player
• 1957 – Kenneth McClintock, Puerto Rican politician
• 1958 – Thomas Kinkade, American painter (d. 2012)
• 1959 – Jeff Pilson, American bass guitarist (Dokken, Dio, and Foreigner)
• 1961 – William Ragsdale, American actor
• 1962 – Hans Daams, Dutch cyclist
• 1962 – Jeff Van Gundy, American basketball coach
• 1962 – Chris Sabo, American baseball player
• 1963 – Michael Adams, American basketball player
• 1963 – Martin Bashir, Pakistani-born reporter
• 1963 – Caron Wheeler, British singer (Soul II Soul)
• 1964 – Janine Antoni, Bahamian artist
• 1964 – Ricardo Arjona, Guatemalan singer
• 1966 – Floris Jan Bovelander, Dutch field hockey player
• 1966 – Sylvain Côté, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1966 – Stefan Edberg, Swedish tennis player
• 1966 – Lena Philipsson, Swedish singer
• 1967 – Javier Cámara, Spanish actor
• 1968 – Whitfield Crane, American musician (Ugly Kid Joe, Medication and Another Animal)
• 1969 – Edwidge Danticat, Haitian/American author
• 1969 – Luc Longley, Australian basketball player
• 1969 – Predrag Mijatović, Yugoslavian footballer
• 1969 – Junior Seau, American football player (d. 2012)
• 1969 – Casey Sherman, American author
• 1969 – Steve Staunton, Irish footballer
• 1970 – Kathleen Smet, Belgian triathlete
• 1970 – Udo Suzuki, Japanese comedian
• 1971 – Shawn Wayans, American actor
• 1971 – John Wozniak, American singer and songwriter (Marcy Playground)
• 1972 – Angham, Egyptian singer, record producer and actress
• 1972 – Joana Benedek, Mexican actress
• 1972 – Jon Fisher, American entrepreneur
• 1972 – Princess Kalina of Bulgaria
• 1972 – Elena Kaliská, Slovak slalom canoer
• 1972 – Ron Killings, American professional wrestler
• 1972 – Drea de Matteo, American actress
• 1972 – Troy Wilson, Australian racing driver and AFL player
• 1973 – Antero Manninen, Finnish cellist
• 1973 – Yevgeny Sadovyi, Russian swimmer
• 1973 – Aaron Yonda, YouTube celebrity
• 1974 – Frank Caliendo, American comedian
• 1974 – Ian Laperrière, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1974 – Jaime Moreno, Bolivian footballer
• 1975 – Noah Georgeson, American musician
• 1975 – Zdeňka Málková, Czech tennis player
• 1976 – Natale Gonnella, Italian footballer
• 1976 – Tarso Marques, Brazilian racing driver
• 1977 – Benjamin Ayres, Canadian actor
• 1977 – Lauren Etame Mayer, Cameroonian footballer
• 1977 – Nicole, Chilean singer
• 1977 – Cocco, Japanese singer
• 1979 – Svetlana Khorkina, Russian gymnast
• 1979 – Josu Sarriegi, Spanish/Basque footballer
• 1979 – Wiley, English rapper (Roll Deep)
• 1980 – Jenson Button, English Formula One driver
• 1980 – Kotoko, Japanese singer (I've Sound)
• 1980 – Pasha Kovalev, Russian dancer
• 1980 – Luke Macfarlane, Canadian actor
• 1981 – Kerby Raymundo, Filipino basketball player
• 1981 – Asier del Horno, Spanish footballer
• 1981 – Lucho González, Argentine footballer
• 1981 – Dimosthenis Manousakis, Greek footballer
• 1981 – Bitsie Tulloch, American actress
• 1982 – Angela Chang, Taiwanese singer and actress
• 1982 – Mike Komisarek, American ice hockey player
• 1982 – Jodie Sweetin, American actress
• 1983 – Hikaru Utada, American/Japanese singer and songwriter
• 1984 – Fabio Catacchini, Italian footballer
• 1984 – Karun Chandhok, Indian racing driver
• 1984 – Jimmy Kebe, Malian footballer
• 1984 – Thomas Vanek, Austrian ice hockey player
• 1985 – Jake Allen, American football player
• 1985 – Pascal Behrenbruch, German decathlete
• 1985 – Benny Feilhaber, American soccer player
• 1985 – Esteban Guerrieri, Argentine racing driver
• 1985 – Rika Ishikawa, Japanese singer (Morning Musume, Dream Morning Musume and Hangry & Angry)
• 1986 – Claudio Marchisio, Italian footballer
• 1986 – Moussa Sow, Senegalese footballer
• 1986 – Loren Galler-Rabinowitz, American ice dancer
• 1987 – Edgar Manucharyan, Armenian footballer
• 1987 – Angus Monfries, Australian league footballer
• 1988 – JaVale McGee, American basketball player
• 1991 – Corinna Harrer, German athlete
• 1991 – Petra Martić, Croatian tennis player
• 1991 – Erin Sanders, American actress
• 1992 – Shawn Johnson, American gymnast
• 1992 – Logan Lerman, American actor
• 1992 – Mac Miller, American rapper
• 1993 – Gus Lewis, English actor
• 1993 – Erick Torres, Mexican footballer
• 1994 – Matthias Ginter, German footballer

[edit]Deaths

• 520 – John of Cappadocia, patriarch of Constantinople
• 639 – Dagobert I, King of the Franks (b. c. 603)
• 1526 – Isabella of Burgundy, wife of Christian II of Denmark (b. 1501)
• 1547 – Henry Howard, Earl of Surrey, English poet (b. 1517)
• 1576 – Hans Sachs, German Meistersinger (b. 1494)
• 1597 – Maharana Pratap, Indian Ruler (b. 1540)
• 1661 – Thomas Venner, Fifth Monarchist (executed) (b. 1599)
• 1729 – William Congreve, English playwright (b. 1670)
• 1757 – Thomas Ruddiman, Scottish classical scholar (b. 1674)
• 1766 – Giovanni Niccolò Servandoni, Italian-born French architect and painter (b. 1695)
• 1785 – Jonathan Toup, English classical scholar and critic (b. 1713)
• 1833 – Louis Joseph Ferdinand Herold, French composer (b. 1791)
• 1847 – Charles Bent, New Mexico pioneer (assassinated) (b. 1799)
• 1847 – Athanasios Christopoulos, Greek poet (b. 1772)
• 1851 – Esteban Echeverría, Argentine writer (b. 1805)
• 1853 – Karl Faber, German historian (b. 1773)
• 1865 – Pierre-Joseph Proudhon, French philosopher and anarchist (b. 1809)
• 1869 – Carl Reichenbach, German chemist and philosopher (b. 1788)
• 1874 – August Heinrich Hoffmann von Fallersleben, German poet (b. 1798)
• 1878 – Henri Victor Regnault French physicist and chemist (b. 1810)
• 1905 – Debendranath Tagore, Indian philosopher (b. 1817)
• 1906 – Bartolomé Mitre, Argentine historian and politician, president of the country (b. 1821)
• 1915 – Thomas Herbst, German painter (b. 1848)
• 1925 – Queen Maria Sophia of Two Sicilies (b.1841)
• 1927 – Charlotte of Belgium (b. 1840)
• 1929 – Liang Qichao, Chinese scholar (b. 1873)
• 1938 – Branislav Nušić, Serbian novelist, playwright, satirist, essayist and journalist (b. 1864)
• 1939 – Cliff Heathcote, American baseball player (b. 1898)
• 1948 – Tony Garnier, French architect (b. 1869)
• 1954 – Theodor Kaluza, German mathematician and physicist (b. 1885)
• 1957 – József Dudás, Romanian/Hungarian resistance fighter (b. 1912)
• 1963 – Clement Smoot, American golfer (b. 1884)
• 1964 – Firmin Lambot, Belgian cyclist (b. 1886)
• 1965 – Arnold Luhaäär, Estonian weightlifter and Olympic medalist (b. 1905)
• 1968 – Ray Harroun, American race car driver (b. 1879)
• 1969 – Jan Palach, Czech student and political activist (suicide) (b. 1948)
• 1971 – Harry Shields, American musician (b. 1899)
• 1972 – Michael Rabin, American violinist (b. 1936)
• 1973 – Max Adrian, Northern Irish actor (b. 1903)
• 1975 – Thomas Hart Benton, American painter (b. 1889)
• 1976 – Hidetsugu Yagi, Japanese electrical engineer (b. 1886)
• 1980 – William O. Douglas, U.S. Supreme Court Justice (b. 1898)
• 1982 – Elis Regina, Brazilian singer (b. 1945)
• 1983 – Ham the Chimp, First hominid launched into outer space (b. 1956)
• 1984 – Max Bentley, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1920)
• 1987 – Lawrence Kohlberg, American psychologist (b. 1927)
• 1990 – Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh, Indian religious leader (b. 1931)
• 1990 – Semprini, English musician (b. 1908)
• 1990 – Herbert Wehner, German politician (b. 1906)
• 1991 – Marcel Chaput, French-Canadian politician (b. 1918)
• 1991 – John Russell, American actor (b. 1921)
• 1995 – Gene MacLellan, Canadian composer and singer (b. 1938)
• 1996 – Don Simpson, American film producer (b. 1943)
• 1997 – Adriana Caselotti, American actress (b. 1916)
• 1997 – James Dickey, American writer (b. 1923)
• 1998 – Carl Perkins, American guitarist (b. 1932)
• 1999 – Ivan Francescato, Italian rugby union footballer (b. 1967)
• 2000 – Bettino Craxi, Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1934)
• 2000 – Hedy Lamarr, Austrian-born actress and inventor (b. 1913)
• 2001 – Dario Vittori, Argentine actor (b. 1921)
• 2003 – Françoise Giroud, French writer and journalist (b. 1916)
• 2004 – Harry E. Claiborne, American judge (suicide) (b. 1917)
• 2004 – David Hookes, Australian cricketer and coach (b. 1955)
• 2005 – Bill Andersen, New Zealand communist and trade union leader (b. 1924)
• 2005 – K. Sello Duiker, South African novelist (b. 1974)
• 2005 – Anita Kulcsár, Hungarian handball player (b. 1976)
• 2006 – Anthony Franciosa, American actor (b. 1928)
• 2006 – Wilson Pickett, American singer (b. 1941)
• 2006 – Aoun Al-Sharif Qasim, Sudanese writer and Islamic scholar (b. 1933)
• 2006 – Geoff Rabone, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1921)
• 2007 – Scott "Bam Bam" Bigelow, American professional wrestler (b. 1961)
• 2007 – Hrant Dink, Turkish-Armenian newspaper editor (b. 1954)
• 2007 – Denny Doherty, Canadian singer (The Mamas & the Papas and The Halifax III) (b. 1940)
• 2007 – Murat Nasyrov, Russian singer and composer (b. 1969)
• 2008 – Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (b. 1937)
• 2008 – John Stewart, American musician (The Kingston Trio) (b. 1939)
• 2008 – Don Wittman, Canadian sportscaster for CBC (b. 1936)
• 2010 – Jennifer Lyon, American reality television personality (Survivor) (b. 1972)
• 2010 – Bill McLaren, Scottish rugby commentator (b. 1923)
• 2011 – Ernest McCulloch, Canadian stem cell research pioneer (b. 1926)
• 2012 – Sarah Burke, Canadian freestyle skier (b. 1982)

[edit]Holidays and observances

• Birthday of Edgar Allan Poe (commemorated by the Poe Toaster at his grave in Baltimore)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Henry of Uppsala
  • Maris, Martha, Abachum and Audifax
  • Mark of Ephesus
  • Pontianus
  • Wulfstan, Bishop of Worcester
  • January 19 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Confederate Heroes Day (Texas)
• Robert E. Lee Day (Florida on 19 January) and (Alabama, Arkansas, Mississippi and Georgia on or around 19 January)
• Feast of Sultán (Sovereignty), first day of the 17th month of the Bahá'í calendar (Bahá'í Faith)
• Theophany / Epiphany (Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy), and its related observances:
  • Timkat, or 20 during Leap Year (Ethiopian Orthodox)
• Vodici or Baptism of Jesus (Republic of Macedonia)

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REPETITIVE AND SOOTHING

Tim Blair – Saturday, January 19, 2013 (4:40pm)

The ABC’s John Doyle subjects Julia Gillard to an interview of such withering softness that molten marshmallow appears as wurtzite boron nitride by comparison:



Sample question: 

Negotiation is your great skill, isn’t it? Anyone who’s had any dealings with you, they say you’re a wonderful negotiator. Where do these skills come from? 

And the brutal follow-up: 

Your negotiating skills could be very useful for President Obama. Is there any advice you could give him? 

Observe also Doyle’s frequent deployment of the “wise squint”, as previously identified by reader Dr C:



(Via leftists Jonathan Green and Rod McGuinness, who somehow found worth in Doyle’s hydrogen-weight interrogation.)

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GENTLE PAT OF JUSTICE

Tim Blair – Saturday, January 19, 2013 (1:12pm)

Readers may recall this bloke:



That’s teenager Omar Halaby expressing his displeasure over a YouTube clip by smashing a Sydney police car’s windscreen. He’s a happier boy today:



Why the smile? Well, Omar got away with it: 

A rioter who smashed a police car windscreen and lashed out at a TV crew during last year’s violent Muslim protests told a court yesterday he regretted his “stupid and reckless” actions.

Omar Halaby, 19, also said he regretted bringing the Islamic community into disrepute and apologised for his behaviour last September. He was caught on camera bashing in the windscreen of a police car with a milk crate as up to 1000 Muslims gathered in the Sydney CBD to protest against an anti-Islamic film.

He pleaded guilty to damaging property and assault and had a charge of affray dropped.

Yesterday, magistrate Pat O’Shane handed him a 12-month good behaviour [bond]. 

That’ll learn him.

UPDATE: 

Downing Centre Local Court was today told that Halaby, who was on the disability pensionand had “literacy issues”, was sorry for his crimes and had paid the police compensation for the broken window.

Magistrate Pat O’Shane said she expected Halaby had already been counselled within his own community and praised Islamic leaders for condemning the violent protests. 

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ACKLAND AIMS, MISFIRES

Tim Blair – Saturday, January 19, 2013 (1:00pm)

Richard Ackland discovers a smoking gun. Sadly for Richard, it’s pointed squarely at his own foot. Perhaps Richard picked up his research skills from former Fairfaxer Terry Lane.

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BOOM MARKET

Tim Blair – Saturday, January 19, 2013 (12:50pm)

US reader Lee M. reviews the achievements of the best gun salesman in history: 

Two months ago, if you claimed that you’d sold a possibly new Mini 30 for $1426 you’d be wrapped in a straightjacket. MSRP was $1000 and they sold for around $750 with one 5-rnd “clip.”

But that was before Newtown. In recent weeks the price of all “black guns” have doubledand the Minis are no different. I’ve been following auctions and private sales and have seen Minis jump to $900, $1200 and as of last night $1426:



It’s just a plain Jane 1993 Mini 30: stainless steel, wood stock, standard 5-rnd mag and it “appears unfired” with only one minor scratch on the stock. No box.

So I should be able to sell my Mini 30 package for approximately $2M. I bought the rifle in 1995, new from the Seattle Police Range. Stainless and fired three times with a total of 100 rounds run through it – it’s not even broken in:



Original wood stock with original butt plate and a recoil pad, a Hogue OverMolded stock (it makes the gun); muzzle brake (if you enjoy being blinded by fire), UTG tri-rail w/Maglite (or laser), two 30-rnd mags, one 5-rnd mag, basic Bushnell 3-9x32 scope, 220 rounds of ammo and the original packaging for everything.

I spent last week and part of this’n roaming Seattle area gun stores and found nothing but bare shelves. The Seattle Police Range gun shop was auctioning off its last “assault weapon” and Ben’s in Renton had a smattering of shotguns and lever guns – virtually no ammunition. 

As NBC reports: “Interviews with gun store owners in four states after Obama’s speech show that passion among buyers has not decreased over the month since Newtown; if anything, Obama’s speech appeared to set off a new frenzy of buying, with some stores running low on guns.”

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THIS IS A MUSLIM AREA

Tim Blair – Saturday, January 19, 2013 (11:53am)

As Kofi Annan might put it, London is adjusting to its Muslim population: 

Londoners are reportedly being terrorised by a gang of hooded men who confiscate booze and order women to cover up in Muslim neighbourhoods.

Police launched an investigation into the group, who call themselves Muslim Patrol, after footage emerged showing the men in vigilante mode, the Daily Mail reports.

In one scene the men are heard calling white women ‘’naked animals with no self-respect’’.

In another scene, the men snatch alcohol from people in the street saying it’s ‘’evil’’ …

The most recent video was uploaded on Sunday.

Shot on a mobile phone, the latest footage shows a number of men shouting ‘’this is a Muslim area’’ towards white Britons. 

Can’t fault them for inaccuracy.

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IT’S WORKING

Tim Blair – Saturday, January 19, 2013 (11:20am)

As Bill Leak observes, we’d be toast were it not for a certain planet-saving tax:



Meanwhile, in freezy England:



(Via Denis S., who emails: “Quite snow.") 

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TUNE IN, TALK BACK II

Tim Blair – Friday, January 18, 2013 (10:23pm)

Friday night’s Steve Price show, featuring me. Much thanks to the producers and staff at 2GB.

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Whenever I'm in the city I always try to stop past Yama in the qvb for a pistachio biscuit/something to eat. Say hi to David for me if you go. Not advertising, just sharing the food love. And also saying thank you to David for always saving me biscuits and cake. - Nat
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I AM A NEW CREATION - Ps. OUNG .. If y'all haven't snapped up a copy? Then I suggest YOU DO & BE BLESSED' Late Bloomer' BUH.. iCan't wait to get in2 it'  - DS
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Thanks to the United Indian Association for a great awards ceremony at Blacktown last night – and congratulations to all the award winners.

Also good to catch up with our hard working candidate for the key seat of Parramatta, Martin Zaiter and his team (word has it they are doing a great job) and our State Minister for Citizenship and Communities, Victor Dominello on the night. - Craig Kelly
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Wife of Christian held in Iran waits as trial, possible death sentence looms
If he is sentenced to death, he will be able to rest assured that Obama will respect his privacy - ed
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When you see me feeding in public I'm not trying to make a point, I'm not trying to turn you on, I'm not trying to make you uncomfortable; to be honest, I'm not thinking about you at all, I'm just trying to get on with my day which involves feeding my children, whenever and wherever they require so. People act like it is beyond our ability to see breasts in different lights based on context. I have more belief in us than that. When I look at your hands, I dont see what you did with your lover last night. When I see your mouth I do not think to wonder what it has done behind closed doors. When you see me feeding my baby, that is all you need to see because that is all there is. You have a choice in your thoughts, you have a choice to discredit your discomfort and grow. Challenge yourself and support mothers, it is hard enough without adding extra conditions.