unforum

[wallflower127]

yea today is the sixth night of hannukah. just posted to confirm...dno how many other jews there are on here. but to most jews six isnt this huge deal of a number, while ironicly 18 is...its chai. just interesting i thought

[tiny420]

Could there be some important even in history that happened today? I'm looking as we speak, and all I found was the Hubble Telescope was repaired today in 1933, still looking


Also found that in the 70's New York City was on the verge of Bankruptcy before President Ford signed a bill

[eliwein]

Yeah, tonight's the 6th night of chanukah. but today was the fifth day. jewish calendar=lunar calendar, so today technically started last night, and lasts until tonight (about the time as I'm typing this actually.) regardless... jamie ain't jewish. she's wiccan. and hanssen isn't exactly a jewish name. so... no.
Yay Jews!
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9oYDBtCN-hk[/youtube]

[Ivo]

[Nighthawk]

Maybe she opened the box... and SHE'S DEAD! Now we'll NEVER KNOW!

[OliMango]

U.S Marines storm Mogadishu, Somalia

On this day in 1992, 1,800 United States Marines arrive in Mogadishu, Somalia, to spearhead a multinational force aimed at restoring order in the conflict-ridden country.

Following centuries of colonial rule by countries including Portugal, Britain and Italy, Mogadishu became the capital of an independent Somalia in 1960. Less than 10 years later, a military group led by Major General Muhammad Siad Barre seized power and declared Somalia a socialist state. A drought in the mid-1970s combined with an unsuccessful rebellion by ethnic Somalis in a neighboring province of Ethiopia to deprive many of food and shelter. By 1981, close to 2 million of the country's inhabitants were homeless. Though a peace accord was signed with Ethiopia in 1988, fighting increased between rival clans within Somalia, and in January 1991 Barre was forced to flee the capital. Over the next 23 months, Somalia's civil war killed some 50,000 people; another 300,000 died of starvation as United Nations peacekeeping forces struggled in vain to restore order and provide relief amid the chaos of war.

In early December 1992, outgoing U.S. President George H.W. Bush sent the contingent of Marines to Mogadishu as part of a mission dubbed Operation Restore Hope. Backed by the U.S. troops, international aid workers were soon able to restore food distribution and other humanitarian aid operations. Sporadic violence continued, including the murder of 24 U.N. soldiers from Pakistan in 1993. As a result, the U.N. authorized the arrest of General Mohammed Farah Aidid, leader of one of the rebel clans. On October 3, 1993, during an unsuccessful attempt to make the arrest, rebels shot down two of the Marines' Black Hawk helicopters and killed 18 U.S. soldiers.

As horrified TV viewers watched images of the bloodshed—-including footage of Aidid's supporters dragging the body of one dead soldier through the streets of Mogadishu, cheering—-President Bill Clinton immediately gave the order for all American soldiers to withdraw from Somalia by March 31, 1994. Other Western nations followed suit. When the last U.N. peacekeepers left in 1995, ending a mission that had cost more than $2 billion, Mogadishu still lacked a functioning government. A ceasefire accord signed in Kenya in 2002 failed to put a stop to the violence, and though a new parliament was convened in 2004, rival factions in various regions of Somalia continue to struggle for control of the troubled nation.

[Melampus]

[Caerwiden]

[OliMango]

U.S Marines storm Mogadishu, Somalia

On this day in 1992, 1,800 United States Marines arrive in Mogadishu, Somalia, to spearhead a multinational force aimed at restoring order in the conflict-ridden country.

Following centuries of colonial rule by countries including Portugal, Britain and Italy, Mogadishu became the capital of an independent Somalia in 1960. Less than 10 years later, a military group led by Major General Muhammad Siad Barre seized power and declared Somalia a socialist state. A drought in the mid-1970s combined with an unsuccessful rebellion by ethnic Somalis in a neighboring province of Ethiopia to deprive many of food and shelter. By 1981, close to 2 million of the country's inhabitants were homeless. Though a peace accord was signed with Ethiopia in 1988, fighting increased between rival clans within Somalia, and in January 1991 Barre was forced to flee the capital. Over the next 23 months, Somalia's civil war killed some 50,000 people; another 300,000 died of starvation as United Nations peacekeeping forces struggled in vain to restore order and provide relief amid the chaos of war.

In early December 1992, outgoing U.S. President George H.W. Bush sent the contingent of Marines to Mogadishu as part of a mission dubbed Operation Restore Hope. Backed by the U.S. troops, international aid workers were soon able to restore food distribution and other humanitarian aid operations. Sporadic violence continued, including the murder of 24 U.N. soldiers from Pakistan in 1993. As a result, the U.N. authorized the arrest of General Mohammed Farah Aidid, leader of one of the rebel clans. On October 3, 1993, during an unsuccessful attempt to make the arrest, rebels shot down two of the Marines' Black Hawk helicopters and killed 18 U.S. soldiers.

As horrified TV viewers watched images of the bloodshed—-including footage of Aidid's supporters dragging the body of one dead soldier through the streets of Mogadishu, cheering—-President Bill Clinton immediately gave the order for all American soldiers to withdraw from Somalia by March 31, 1994. Other Western nations followed suit. When the last U.N. peacekeepers left in 1995, ending a mission that had cost more than $2 billion, Mogadishu still lacked a functioning government. A ceasefire accord signed in Kenya in 2002 failed to put a stop to the violence, and though a new parliament was convened in 2004, rival factions in various regions of Somalia continue to struggle for control of the troubled nation.

[InAFieldofClover]

So a whole "Remember, remember the 9th of December" angle?

Nah, seriously, if Teddy handpicked December 9th and he's a part of some radical movement (possibly Tidowave) then there could be something symbolic about the date, as most movements plan things on certain dates.

[Ivo]

[Nighthawk]

Today's the day they're going to ram a boat in to the side of the Chuai station. Because, you know, that'll stop 'em!

[OliMango]

December 9, 2003
Cold spell leads to tragedy in Iran

Unseasonably low temperatures in Tehran, Iran, lead to the deaths of at least 40 people on this day in 2003. Rarely do such large groups die at the same time.

In general, death from freezing occurs when the body's core temperature reaches 77 degrees Fahrenheit, a fact discovered by Nazi doctors during experiments on prisoners at the notorious Dachau concentration camp during World War II. In 1994, however, a two-year-old child in Canada survived a body temperature of just 57 degrees suffered when she wandered away from her Saskatchewan home.

When core body temperature goes down to 97 degrees, neck and shoulder muscles tighten and extremities begin to ache. When it gets to 95 degrees, mild hypothermia sets in and involuntary trembling and shivering occurs as the body tries to generate its own heat. Two degrees lower and amnesia and short-term memory loss is common. When body temperature reaches 88, shivering is no longer possible and people experience general numbness.

In some cases, a phenomenon known as "paradoxical undressing" occurs, in which a person about to freeze to death actually rips off their clothes. The effects of hypothermia can also be delayed--in one instance, Danish fishermen stuck in the North Sea for 90 minutes were able to walk on the deck of a rescue ship before falling down and dying.

One notorious incident of hypothermia occurred at the Four Inns Walk in England in 1964. The race involved 240 racers (all in excellent condition) hiking 43 miles over the English moors. Although the temperature never fell below freezing, the wind and rain caused three people to freeze to death and put another four in critical condition. Researchers later determined that a key factor in the deaths was that the victims had failed to take in enough calories during the hike.

The 2003 freeze in Tehran was unusual in that so many people died in a single night. The previous year in Moscow, between 5 and 10 people froze to death every day during the winter for a total of more than 300 in the city alone.

[InAFieldofClover]

[OliMango]

December 9, 1981
Policeman Daniel Faulkner found dead

Philadelphia police officer Daniel Faulkner is found dead on the street with Mumia Abu-Jamal, a well-known activist and freelance journalist, lying severely wounded nearby. In 1982, Abu-Jamal was tried for and convicted of Faulkner's murder, but because of the murky circumstances surrounding the incident and a trial that many believe was unfair, activists have since protested Abu-Jamal's imprisonment.

Reportedly, Abu-Jamal, a journalist who had been fired by National Public Radio for his outspokenness, was driving a cab at around 4 a.m., when he saw his brother engaged in an altercation with Faulkner on the street. Evidence used in the trial suggested that Abu-Jamal intervened with a gun and then exchanged shots with Faulkner.

From the beginning, many felt Abu-Jamal's trial was unfair. Despite the fact that he was critically wounded, the trial began just six months after the shooting, on June 17, 1982. It lasted until July 3, but Abu-Jamal was so weak that he couldn't attend much of it. The prosecution used its peremptory challenges to limit the jury to two blacks, with 10 white members, and some observers felt that Judge Albert Sabo was biased against the defendant. Abu-Jamal asked to represent himself and was nominally allowed to do so, though he was forced to retain a court-appointed attorney as "back-up counsel" and was excluded from the voir dire because the court claimed his questions to the jurors were intimidating.

When the trial ended, Abu-Jamal was sentenced to death for first-degree murder. Many believed that although there was a possibility that Abu-Jamal was involved in Faulkner's death, the sentence was overly harsh. While in prison, Abu-Jamal has written several books and made many radio appearances advocating an end to racism. He has also lobbied for a new trial.

Pressure to release Abu-Jamal from his impending execution has become stronger over time, despite the fact that some people firmly maintain he is guilty. The New Jersey governor, several police organizations and Faulkner's widow protested a January 1999 "Free Mumia" benefit concert featuring Rage Against the Machine in New Jersey.