In memory of the LA Times colleagues we lost in 2024

 Kevin Anderson

Bob Pool

Larry Brush (left)

Robert Kenneth Smith 

Dan Bishop

Gary Burchfield

Tuesday Morning in the Blogosphere

 

Newspapers: Here today, gone tomorrow? - News-Gazette

Urges newspaper to stop publishing ‘Dear Abby’ - Lancaster Online

German Newspaper Editor Resigns Over Elon Musk Op-ed - Yahoo News

How New Year’s Lost Many Traditions to Christmas - People Newspapers

‘Christmas miracle’ saves small-town Nebraska newspapers - Nebraska Examiner

Bayonne Library Boasts Newspaper Collection that Dates Back to 1869 - Tap into

Today in Labor History December 31st, 2024

 

Sixty thousand unemployed workers rally at a Pittsburgh stadium - 1931

Loggers employed by the Anglo-Newfoundland Development Company in Canada strike over wages and living conditions at wood camps. In February 1959, the Canadian Premier intervened and stripped their union — the International Woodworkers of America (IWA) – of its bargaining rights and replaced it with the government-sponsored Newfoundland Brotherhood of Wood Workers. A contract that was almost identical to the one proposed by the IWA was quickly signed and the strike ended - 1958

United Mine Workers reformer Joseph "Jock" Yablonski, his wife and daughter are murdered by hit men hired by union president Tony Boyle, who was to be convicted of the crime and eventually die in prison - 1969
 
OSHA adopts a grain handling facilities standard to protect 155,000 workers at nearly 24,000 grain elevators from the risk of fire and explosion from highly combustible grain dust - 1987

Important Events From This day in History December 31st

 

1900 U.S.A. -- Indian Lands

1900 : Indian Chief, Pac-kee-ka-ma-que, charged that Indian affairs agent H.M. Robek with corruption and theft. Apparently, the tribes had bought 3,000 acres of land with their own money and wanted $50,000 in compensation from the U.S. government.

1964 Australia -- Donald Campbell

1964 : Donald Campbell breaks the world water speed record with his boat Bluebird, on Lake Dumbleyung in Perth, Western Australia. , the only man to break both land and water speed records in the same year.

1967 U.S.A. -- Evel Knievel

Evel Knievel fails in his attempt to jump the fountains at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. resulting in concussion that kept him lying in a coma for 29 days with a crushed pelvis and femur, fractures to his hip, wrist and both ankles.

1927 Turkey -- Economic distress

Economic distress in Turkey led companies to ditch their old strong boxes. So many Turkish businesses went broke that there was a glut of strong boxes on the market.Economic distress in Turkey led companies to ditch their old strong boxes. So many Turkish businesses went broke that there was a glut of strong boxes on the market.

1933 Rumania -- Martial law

Martial law was declared in Rumania to prevent assassination attempts on King Carol and his government officials. Premier Ion G. Duca had already been murdered.

1942 Great Britain -- Churchill Meets Stalin

Winston Churchill took a plane to Moscow to meet with communist leader Josef Stalin.

1956 Germany -- Saarland

Saarland had one million inhabitants and was rich in raw materials such as coal. It was to become Germany's tenth state at midnight. France and Germany had fought over the area for 250 years.

1963 Soviet Union -- Needs To Buy Wheat From US

There was a rumpus in U.S. politics over the Soviet Union's request for credit to purchase American wheat to feed starving Soviets. The Democrats and Republicans were sharply divided over the issue.

1963 U.S.A. -- Snowstorm

A massive snowstorm hits the southern states and reaches up through Pennsylvania and surrounding areas. Strong winds accompanied the 17 inches that were dropped in a matter of 48 hours, causing power outages and many other problems for millions of people.

1978 Taiwan -- Severs US Diplomatic Relations

U.S. officials had to beat a hasty retreat after President Ching-kuo expressed rage at President Jimmy Carter's acknowledgement of Peking and the severing of diplomatic ties with Taiwan.

1989 Japan -- Economy

Japan's economy was in trouble with the 250 yen to the dollar. The price of gasoline rose 90% and hydro bills soared 50%.

1991 Iran --

U.S. diplomatic ties with Iran were severed as Swiss representatives were restricted and prevented from leaving the country. Switzerland had been acting on behalf of Americans in Iran and closed the Tehran embassy in protest for the way their diplomats were treated.

1993 U.S.A. -- Barbra Streisand

Barbra Streisand performed her first paid concert in 22 years, singing to a sellout crowd at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas.

1999 Russia -- Boris Yeltsin

1999 : Boris Yeltsin resigns as Russian president, Vladimir Putin will take over as acting president

2005 Sudan -- Embassy

Sudan's embassy in Baghdad was shut down in an effort to get six kidnapped workers freed. Representatives of al-Qaida warned that the Sudanese captives would be murdered if diplomatic relations between Iraq and Sudan were not cut off.

2006 United States -- The G8 Debt Relief Program

On the last day of their summit, G8 leaders have agreed to extend the debt relief scheme for the world's poorest countries by two years. The initiative, managed by the I.M.F., provides support to twenty-seven nations, mostly from Africa, and was due to expire at the end of 2006. There has reportedly been no agreement on a British proposal to cancel all debts owed.

2006 Iraq -- Saddam Hussein buried in Tikrit

Saddam Hussein has been buried in Awja, the village where he was born sixty-nine years ago. The ceremony was sparsely attended in the Tikrit region north of the capital, where the former Iraqi leader was laid to rest in a family plot. His sons Uday and Qusay are also buried there.

2007 U.S.A. -- Number Of Murders

Statistics relating to the number of murders in relation to the population. We seem to assume the the violent crimes / murders has been getting worse but comparing the population nearly 60 years apart proves that the percentage is very similar. 1947 8,000 murders and the population in the US was about 145 million 2007 16,500 murders and the population in the US was about 300 million

2007 Kenya -- Riots in lieu of the Kenyan elections

Kenyan police have been battling protesters in the blazing slums of Nairobi after disputed the elections that returned President Mwai Kibaki to office. The turmoil might have triggered the deaths of more than one hundred people. Riots have also hit the opposition's western heartland near the border with Uganda, Nairobi's shanty-towns and the resort of Mombasa on the Indian Ocean coast. Reuters have estimated the one hundred deaths, based on witnesses, body counts and credible media reports. Local broadcaster K.T.N. has said the toll has reached at least 124.

2008 United States -- Bomb threats in Aspen

2008 : The ski resort of Aspen has been virtually shut down on New Year’s Eve after two homemade gasoline bombs with threatening notes were found at two of the town's banks and two more in an alley. Hours later, a longtime Aspen resident who is said to be bitter because he had not profited from the community’s transformation from a rural mining town into a luxury resort killed himself with a gunshot to the head. The suspect's body was that of James C. Blanning Jr., 72, a convicted swindler, who was found early in a car on a rural county road on New Year's Day.

2011 Sweden -- Woman Finds Wedding Ring on Garden Carrot After 16 Years

2011 : A Swedish woman who lost her wedding ring in her home in 1995 found the ring around the top of a carrot growing in her garden sixteen years later. The ring was custom made with white gold and diamonds and was designed by the woman who intended to get it re-sized as it no longer fit.

2012 United States -- Hillary Clinton Blood Clot

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was being treated after doctors discovered a blood clot between her brain and skull. Doctors stated that she would be fine and would be released once they gave her a blood-thinner.

Monday Morning in the Blogosphere

 

Editor’s choice: 15 of the best Poynter articles from 2024 - Poynter

New year predictions: Neil Lovell, The Printing Charity - Print Week

I Began My Newspaper Career When Carter Beat Ford in 1976 - Tap into

Newspaper should publish more good things about President-elect Donald Trump - LO

Newspaper Industry Faces Declining Revenue Per Outlet Amid Changing Media Landscape - KB

Today in Labor History December 30th, 2024

 

Ferdinand Marcos

Gathering in the back room of Behrens’ cigar shop in Sedalia, Mo., 33 railroad clerks form Local Lodge Number 1 of a union they named the Order of the Railroad Clerks of America - 1899

 
Idaho Gov. Frank Steunenberg, who had brutally suppressed the state’s miners, is killed by an assassin's bomb. Legendary Western Federation of Miners and IWW leader William "Big Bill" Haywood and two other men were put on trial for the death but were ultimately declared innocent - 1905
 
GM sit-down strike spreads to Flint, Mich., will last 44 days before ending in union victory - 1936

Former Philippines Senate president Ferdinand Marcos is inaugurated president of the Southeast Asian archipelago nation. Marcos’ regime would span 20 years and become increasingly authoritarian and corrupt.

Ferdinand Marcos was a law student in the late 1930s, when he was tried for the assassination of a political opponent of his politician father. Convicted in 1939, he personally appealed the case before the Philippine Supreme Court and won an acquittal. During the Japanese occupation in World War II, he allegedly served as leader of the Filipino resistance movement, but U.S. government records indicate he played little role in anti-Japanese activities.

In 1949, he was elected to the Philippines House of Representatives, thanks in large part to his fabricated wartime record. In 1959, he moved up to the Senate and from 1963 to 1965 served as Senate president. In 1965, he broke with the Liberal Party after failing to win his party’s presidential nomination and ran as the candidate of the Nationalist Party. After a bitter and decisive campaign, he was elected president. In 1969, he was reelected.

Important Events From This day in History December 30

 

 1922 Establishment of the USSR

Saturday, 1922 : Vladimir Lenin the Russian revolutionary who created Leninism, an extension of Marxist theory proclaims the establishment of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Find More What happened in 1922

1903 U.S.A. -- Theater Fire in Chicago

The Iroquois Theater Fire in Chicago, Illinois, claims 602 lives, the theater had only been open for just over a month. This is still the worst single-building fire in U.S. history for the number of lives lost.

1986 England -- Canaries made redundant

Canaries have been made redundant from British Coal Mines and are being replaced by modern carbon monoxide detectors.

Canaries have been used in British mines to detect carbon monoxide fumes for over 70 years because they are particularly sensitive to toxic gases such as carbon monoxide which is colourless, odourless and tasteless.

1905 U.S.A. -- African American baby

The body of a two week old African American baby was found after searching the Potomac River. Its mother, Lottie Hawkins was held by police and was to be charged with infanticide.

1927 Jamaica -- Turkey For Xmas

Although Jamaicans continue to drink the rum that they produce there has been a change at the Christmas dinner table. Turkeys and chickens have taken the place of the traditional beef in Kingston and other parts of the country. Eating poultry is a novelty to many Jamaicans.

1934 Switzerland -- US Refuses To Join League of Nations

In Geneva the League of Nations had hoped that the U.S. would cooperate and become a member. However, President Roosevelt and Secretary of State Cordell Hull refused to get involved.

1936 U.S.A. -- Car Workers Strikes

Strikes by members of the United Automobile Workers closed seven General Motors (GM) factories in Flint, Michigan

1944 Bulgaria -- Radio Moscow

According to Radio Moscow, Russia, the U.S., and Britain gave three previous regents of Bulgaria to the Bulgarian government because they were the "main culprits committing Bulgaria to the war against the United Nations."

1957 East Germany -- Visas Required

In an attempt to push the West to recognize them, East Germany ruled that travellers to their territory had to possess East German visas instead of Soviet ones. This law was imposed on diplomats and travellers from Allied countries.

1958 Cuba -- Fidel Castro

Rebel guerrillas, led by Fidel Castro, are involved in heavy fighting around the town of Santa Clara, the capital of the province of Las Villas.

Two days later, Castro and his guerrillas had taken control and President Batista fled the country to the Dominican Republic

1965 Philippines -- Ferdinand Marcos

1965 : Ferdinand Marcos is inaugurated president of the Philippines

1968 Canada -- GNP

Canada had a mixture of prosperity mixed with high unemployment and rising inflation. The Gross National Product was 67 billion dollars.

1969 U.S.A. -- Tax Reduction Nixon

President Richard Nixon signed off on one of the most far-reaching tax reform bill in U.S. history, relieving nine million low-income citizens of the burden of paying taxes and cutting tax rates for all individuals by 5 percent.

1971 Iraq -- Iranians Deported

60,000 Iranian men, women and children are deported from Iraq following relations between Iraq and Iran ending.

1972 Vietnam -- US Stops Bombing

President Nixon orders a halt to the bombing of North Vietnam above the 20th Parallel to help with peace negotiations scheduled between Henry A. Kissinger and Le Duc Tho in Paris on Jan 8

1978 Guyana -- Radio Demerere

1978 : Radio Demerere was bought from the British to give the government of Guyana full control over broadcasting in their own country.

1984 Mexico -- World's Deepest Cave

Speleologists in Mexico had discovered what might be the world's deepest cave after going through a maze of underground tunnels in the jungle. The explorations took place in the state of Oaxeca.

1993 Israel -- Recognized Vatican

Israel and the Vatican agreed to recognize one another as countries.

1994 U.S.A. -- Abortion Clinics

1994 : Two women are shot dead and several others injured after a gunman opened fire at two abortion clinics in a suburb of Boston.

1994 Japan -- Earthquake

A huge 7.5 earthquake shook northern Japan and workmen tried feverishly to repair the wreckage. Two hundred and eighty-five aftershocks occurred and the quake originated in the Pacific Ocean 300 miles northeast of Tokyo.

Sunday Afternoon in the Blogosphere

 

News avoidance hits radio - Radio Ink

The rise of conservative-leaning online spaces in 2024 - NBC News

Public media newsrooms more diverse than commercial - Inside Radio

The Salt Lake Tribune announces plans to be free to all online readers - SLT

NPR and PBS stations brace for funding battle under Trump - The New York Times

Today in Labor History December 29th, 2024

 

Wounded Knee

On December 29, 1890, in one of the final chapters of America’s long Indian wars, the U.S. Cavalry kills 146 Sioux at Wounded Knee on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota.

Throughout 1890, the U.S. government worried about the increasing influence at Pine Ridge of the Ghost Dance spiritual movement, which taught that Native Americans had been defeated and confined to reservations because they had angered the gods by abandoning their traditional customs. Many Sioux believed that if they practiced the Ghost Dance and rejected the ways of the white man, the gods would create the world anew and destroy all non-believers, including non-Indians. On December 15, 1890, reservation police tried to arrest Sitting Bull, the famous Sioux leader, who they mistakenly believed was a Ghost Dancer, and killed him in the process, increasing the tensions at Pine Ridge.

On December 29, the U.S. Army’s 7th cavalry surrounded a band of Ghost Dancers under the Sioux Chief Big Foot near Wounded Knee Creek and demanded they surrender their weapons. As that was happening, a fight broke out between an Indian and a U.S. soldier and a shot was fired, although it’s unclear from which side. A brutal massacre followed, in which it’s estimated almost 150 Native Americans were killed (some historians put this number at twice as high), nearly half of them women and children. The cavalry lost 25 men.

After years of intensive lobbying by the labor movement, a comprehensive national safety law is enacted as President Nixon signs the Occupational Safety & Health Act of 1970, creating the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) - 1970

 
More than 15,000 United Steel Workers members at 16 Goodyear Tire & Rubber plants end an 86-day strike, ratify 3-year contract - 2006

Important Events From This day in History December 29th

  

1998 Australia -- Sydney Harbour to Hobart Yacht Race

Huge 40ft waves during the 630 nautical mile (1167km) race from Sydney Harbour to Hobart on Tasmania has decimated the fleet of yachts taking part leaving at least six missing feared dead . Find More What happened in 1998

1904 Ireland -- Battle of the Boyne

1904 : The area of Ireland where the battle of the Boyne had been fought was up for sale to whoever had the cash. It lay on the east coast of Ireland three miles from Drogheda. The battle was fought on July 1st, 1699 and Ireland under James II was defeated by William III of England.

1940 World War II -- London Incendiary Bombing

Germany began dropping incendiary bombs on London causing Hundreds of fires throughout the city with Londoners filling the subway stations and underground shelters until the all clear sometime after midnight.

1925 U.S.A. -- Diamond From Turkey

In New Orleans a Mrs. Premos was putting together a turkey dinner for Christmas when she found a diamond in the neck of the turkey. The gem was worth thousands of dollars.

1934 Austria -- Trade Unions

Battle between government and socialist erupted in Austria. Government forces prevailed and socialist trade unions were quelled.

1948 South Africa -- Hereo Blacks Land Seized

Rev. Michael Guthrie Scott, who lived in South Africa, besieged the United Nations for justice regarding 30,000 Hereo blacks who had their land and rights taken away. Rev. Scott got sympathy from the U.N., but did not get any concrete action on behalf of the Hereos.

1954 India -- Prime Minister Nehru

Communists in southern India were gaining popularity while Prime Minister Nehru was clinging to power. Congress almost lost control of Travancore-Cochin state but backed the socialist party to maintain control over 10 million Indians. In the end congress withdrew support for the socialists.

1967 Soviet Union -- Space Defense Program

A Soviet anti-satellite missile was anticipated by the U.S. military because 35% of the Soviet defense allotment was spent on space defense and the technological breakthrough for anti-satellite missiles was expected soon.

1972 Germany -- East Germany Builds New Fence

Aspirations that the wall between East and West Germany might come down had been dashed. East Germany was constructing a new fence with strong steel attached to pillars of concrete. Both sides of Germany were expected to join the United Nations, but would be on the opposite side of issues.

1975 England -- Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay Act

The Sex Discrimination and Equal Pay Acts comes into force which will prevent women being paid less than their male counterparts for doing the same job.

1975 U.S.A. -- Bomb La Guardia Airport

1975 : A terrorist bomb is exploded in the main terminal of New York's LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 people.

1984 India -- Rajiv Gandhi

Rajiv Gandhi the son of the former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi wins landslide election victory

1987 Nicaragua -- Truce Negotiations

Cardinal Miguel Obanda and Nicaragua's President Daniel Ortega were to meet and negotiate a possible truce between American backed Contra insurgents and Ortega's Sandinista government.

1998 Cambodia -- Khmer Rouge

Khmer Rouge leaders who had ruled from 1975 to 1979 under the leadership of Pol Pot, apologized for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed 1 million lives.

1999 Israel -- Prime Minister Ehud Barak

Prime Minister Ehud Barak was fighting to keep his coalition government together. The Shas party made up of ultra-orthodox Jews represented a sizeable part of the government and demanded millions of dollars for their scandal-rocked private schools.

2000 England -- Severe Weather

Severe weather including widespread snow and arctic cold conditions wreaks havoc on roads, rail and air services across the UK.

2006 Denmark -- New Years Eve Tradition

In Denmark there existed a different tradition that the people celebrate at New Years. They throw dishes at the houses of their friends. All year the old dishes are collected for this occasion. If you have a lot of broken dishes by your house you have a lot of friends.

2007 United States -- The world’s oldest orangutan dies aged 55

A 55-year-old Sumatran orangutan, thought to be the world's oldest in captivity or in the wild, has died at a zoo in the US. Nonja, who had been resident at the Miami Metro Zoo since 1983, was found by her keepers on Saturday morning. Experts said a brain tumour or aneurysm was the likely cause of death. 'She was a grande dame and I think she knew it,' said one of the zoo officials, adding that most orangutans died before reaching their mid-40s.

2011 Russia -- Caviar Found in St. Petersburg Morgue

29th December, 2011 : Russian authorities discovered a large amount of a rare caviar being stored in a morgue in St. Petersburg. A business man and morgue attendant were arrested over the incident but claimed that the caviar was being kept for a personal new year's celebration.

2013 El Salvador -- Volcano Causes Evacuations

The Chaparrastique volcano in eastern El Salvador began erupting, forcing thousands of people to evacuate the area as smoke and ash billowed into the air. Shelters were being made to accommodate the 5,000 people thought to live within the evacuation area.

Saturday Morning in the Blogosphere

 

What a newspaper is... - Mississippi Valley Publishing

The 25 greatest movies about journalism - Yard Barker

Italian newspaper urges Iran to free journalist held in notorious jail - Euro News

A 138-year-old Colorado newspaper asked readers if it was worth saving - Colorado Sun

Wilma Whimsies is a neighborhood newspaper produced by 6 young Tylerites - Tyler Paper

Flagler News announces its closure, months after it saved another rural newspaper - Colorado Sun

Today in Labor History December 28th, 2024

 

The coffee percolator is patented by James H. Mason of Franklin, Mass., placing himself forever in the debt of millions of caffeine-dependent working people – 1865

Auto workers begin sit-down strike for union recognition at GM’s Fisher Body plant in Cleveland - 1936

Country music legend Hank Williams attends what is to be his last musicians’ union meeting, at the Elite (pronounced E-light) café in Montgomery, Ala.  He died of apparent heart failure three days later in the back seat of a car driving north.  He was 29 - 1952

Important Events From This day in History December 28th

  

1945 U.S.A. -- Pledge of Allegiance

1945 : The US Congress officially recognized the Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag.

The Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag should be rendered by standing at attention facing the flag with the right hand over the heart.

"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all."

1981 U.S.A. -- First US Test Tube Baby

The first American born ''test-tube'' baby, conceived in a laboratory dish, has been born in an American hospital. Elizabeth Jordan Carr, weighing 5 pounds 12 ounces and described as ''perfectly healthy,'' was delivered yesterday morning at Norfolk General Hospital in Norfolk, Va

1900 U.S.A. -- Lynching

In a famous case a Mrs. Lulu Jenkins of Chicago would be paid $4,000 in compensation for the lynching of her husband in Ripley County. Mr. Jenkins allegedly had a part in stealing a horse and was the victim of an angry mob. Two other men were slain as well.

1908 Italy -- Messina Earthquake

The Messina Earthquake a category 7.5 according to today's Richter scale strikes the Straits of Messina in southern Italy, destroying the cities of Messina in Sicily and Reggio di Calabria on the Italian mainland. The earthquake and tsunami it caused killed between 50,000 and 150,000.

1922 France -- Labour Disputes

Thursday, Dec. 28th , 1922 : Albert Thomas, who had been French Minister of Munitions, now served as leader of the International Labour Office of the League of Nations. He sought cooperation between American labour unions and the working people of Europe. Thomas said, "There is much chaos in Europe that the trade unions of America might help eradicate."

1932 South Africa -- Gold Standard

South African Finance Minister Havenga said, "We are virtually off the gold standard" and an African government official commented, "The Union has been forced off the gold standard. We are in the same position as Great Britain was in September 1931."

1940 Rumania -- Social disorder

Social disorder and the killing of political foes in Rumania gave Germany cause for concern about possible disruption in oil and food reserves. Germany was going to impose military force if the situation did not resolve itself. If Germany intervened it would cause the Soviet Union alarm.

1954 Japan -- Suicides

In Japan the Welfare Ministry released the information that 20,000 Japanese suicides were committed in 1954. People who killed themselves represented the 9th leading cause of death in Japan.

1957 Great Britain -- Foot and Mouth Epidemic

The Foot and Mouth epidemic in Britain reaches an all time high as the Norths largest abattoir is closed down due to 20 cases of foot-and-mouth disease found in carcasses. All remaining cattle, sheep and pigs at the abattoir will now be slaughtered under supervision of Ministry of Agriculture vets. In it's battle against the disease Over 30,000 animals have been slaughtered so far during this epidemic.

1957 Germany -- Volkswagen Beetle

The Volkswagen Beetle reached it's 2 millionth vehicle .

1966 Haiti -- Drumbeats

1966 : In Haiti Saturday evening is an important time for the poor. "At dusk drumbeats from the hills call them to ‘bamcouches' or poor man's parties, where voodoo dances and ceremonies can occasionally be viewed by tourists."

1973 U.S.A. -- Endangered Species Act of 1973

President Nixon signs the "Endangered Species Act" to protect species and also "the ecosystems upon which they depend." It encompasses plants and invertebrates as well as vertebrates. The Endangered Species Act is administered by two federal agencies, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) who play the predominant role in law enforcement of the Act and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

1977 England -- The Sex Pistols

The Sex Pistols had chosen to perform first for their British fans instead of their American ones. The band was to be on Saturday Night Live in America, but chose to perform at home in England because the one year British ban had been lifted off them.

1980 England -- Breakfast TV

The ( IBA ) Independent Broadcasting Authority announces that the breakfast television contract will go to TV-am and will launch in 1983.

The BBC launched "Breakfast Time". in January 1983

TV-am Launched it's service in February 1983

In the ratings war between the BBC breakfast time and TV-AM, the BBC won but after a major change of presenters and the introduction of Greg Dyke's furry puppet Roland Rat TV-AM built it's audience numbers until they lost the franchise in 1990.

1984 Mexico -- LPG Gas Explosion

A preventable tragedy in the giant gas-works on the outskirts of Mexico City left 500 dead and public facilities crammed with injured people. The LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) was stored in massive million-gallon containers which was a disastrous mistake. The gas should have been stored in smaller receptacles in various locations to prevent a calamity like this occurring.

1987 Nepal -- Food Poisoning

1987 : A wedding party turned tragic when 12 people died and 150 people got food poisoning in Nepal. The illnesses and death were caused by eating tainted meat and consuming infected water.

1995 Macao -- The Barrier Gate

A concrete structure called "The Barrier Gate" formerly a position only for foreign spies separated Macao, a Portuguese outpost, from mainland China. However, the people of Macao now could cross the border to Zhuhai in China to buy cheap produce and sundry goods, partaking of China's booming economy.

2003 England -- Sky Marshals

Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the Twin Towers in 2001 the British Government agrees that Armed undercover "sky marshals" will be placed on some British passenger planes in the United States,

2005 U.S.A. -- Ivan the Terrible

A U.S. immigration judge ordered retired auto worker John Demjanjuk, accused of being the Nazi concentration camp guard "Ivan the Terrible," a notorious SS guard at the Treblinka extermination camp who committed acts of extraordinarily savage violence and murder against camp prisoners. to be deported to his native Ukraine where he was tried convicted and sentenced to death for war crimes.

2006 Russia -- Alexander V. Litvinenko

Alexander V. Litvinenko, who had formerly been a KGB agent, was poisoned with a radioactive substance and died in a London hospital. In a starling new development in the case Russia's Prosecutor General launched an investigation into the possible guilt of Yukos Oil leaders.

2006 Russia -- Sanctions on Russian defence sales

2006 : Russia has accused the U.S. of illegally imposing sanctions against four Russian defence firms. Washington has said that these were selling banned items to Iran and Syria. The Russian foreign ministry said the U.S. was wrongly trying to force foreign firms to abide by American rules. The sanctions come into force on December 28, and are due to remain in place for two years.

2007 Nepal -- Nepalese king to be stripped of his sovereignty

King Gyanendra of Nepal has been stripped of his powers on December 28th, after the country's provisional parliament voted to abolish the 239-year-old monarchy. He will remain in his palace until the beginning of 2008, when the decision will be rubber-stamped by the newly elected assembly that is establishing Nepal as a democratic federal republic.

2011 Bosnia -- Bosnia Forms Government After 14 Months

Muslim, Croat, and Serb politicians in Bosnia agreed to form a central government after fourteen months of political deadlock. The parties agreed to pass a budget as part of the deal so that government institutions would have funding for the next year,

2013 China -- One-Child Policy Restrictions Eased

The Chinese legislature formally changed a few parts of the country's controversial one-child policy. One change stated that couples would be allowed to have a second child if one or both of the parents were single children themselves. Another change to the policy was the removal of labor camp re-education as a punishment for having extra children.

Friday Morning in the Blogosphere

 Small newspaper printing press

A reminder of how good writing happens - Poynter

Northwest Observer Newspaper Shuts Its Doors - Rhino Times

Left-Wing Triad City Beat Newspaper Is On Life Support - Rhino Times

Biden calls out 'billionaires' buying newspapers, laments changing media - Fox News

Children-focused online newspaper is creating the next generation of news readers - IJNET

Today in Labor History December 27th, 2024

 

THE MONTGOMERY WARD SEIZURE

President Roosevelt seizes the railroads to avert a nationwide strike. His decision to temporarily place the railroads under the “supervision” of the War Department prompts the five railroad brotherhoods to agree to his offer to arbitrate the wage dispute - 1943

On December 27, 1944, as World War II dragged on, President Franklin D. Roosevelt orders his secretary of war to seize properties belonging to the Montgomery Ward company because the company refused to comply with a labor agreement.

In an effort to avert strikes in critical war-support industries, Roosevelt created the National War Labor Board in 1942. The board negotiated settlements between management and workers to avoid shut-downs in production that might cripple the war effort. During the war, the well-known retailer and manufacturer Montgomery Ward had supplied the Allies with everything from tractors to auto parts to workmen’s clothing–items deemed as important to the war effort as bullets and ships. However, Montgomery Ward Chairman Sewell Avery refused to comply with the terms of three different collective bargaining agreements with the United Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union hammered out between 1943 and 1944. 

In April 1944, after Sewell refused a second board order, Roosevelt called out the Army National Guard to seize the company’s main plant in Chicago. Sewell himself had to be carried out of his office by National Guard troops. By December of that year, Roosevelt was fed up with Sewell’s obstinacy and disrespect for the government’s authority. (The uber-capitalist Sewell’s favorite insult was to call someone a “New Dealer”–a direct reference to Roosevelt’s Depression-era policies.) On December 27, Roosevelt ordered the secretary of war to seize Montgomery Ward’s plants and facilities in New York, Michigan, California, Illinois, Colorado and Oregon.

In his announcement that day, Roosevelt emphasized that the government would “not tolerate any interference with war production in this critical hour.” He issued a stern warning to labor unions and industry management alike: “strikes in wartime cannot be condoned, whether they are strikes by workers against their employers or strikes by employers against their Government.” Sewell took the fight to federal court, but lost.

For much of the 20th century, Montgomery Ward, founded in 1872, reigned as one of the country’s largest department store and mail-order retail chains. Heavy competition from Wal-Mart, Target and similar discount stores forced the company to close all of its stores in 2000, though it retains a catalog and internet presence.

Important Events From This day in History December 27

 

 1994 Rwanda -- Blood Bath

1994 : When Rwanda's president was killed in a plane crash the country was plunged into a blood bath and genocide. The Hutu majority slaughtered the Tutsis and a half a million people lay dead. A missionary exclaimed, "There are no devils left in hell. They are all in Rwanda."

1932 U.S.A. -- Radio City Music Hall

Radio City Music Hall opened in New York City opening with a spectacular stage show, featuring Ray Bolger and Martha Graham. The stage measures 66.5 feet (20 m) deep and 144 feet (44 m) wide and has the largest Wurlitzer pipe organ built for a movie theater. The Radio City Music Hall is also home to the women's precision dance team known as The Rockettes.

1907 Austria -- Emperor

Aging emperor Francis Joseph warned military man Don Miguel Braganza that he would be exiled if he did not stop plotting to overthrow the government of Portugal. In an interview with a reporter Braganza boasted about his seditious plans and as a result the emperor summoned him immediately.

1921 U.S.A. -- Tacoa Arica

Chile and Peruvian officials were meeting in Washington to try resolving their disputes. One of the main issues was over the fate of Tacoa Arica.

1936 Mexico -- Agrarian Reform law

Workers and peasants, the neglected masses, were benefited by President Lacaro Curdenas's Agrarian Reform law. Wealthy cotton areas were taken from the rich and given to the peasants. His Seventh Day Law paid workers seven days a week.

1943 Norway -- World War II

Nazi battleship, The Scharnhorst, was sunk by the British off the coast of Norway. The battleship was a 28,000 ton vessel that probably intended to strike a convoy near Murmansk.

1949 Indonesia -- Independence

Indonesia gains it's independence from the Netherlands after 400 years of Dutch Rule.

1954 France -- Germany To Join NATO

French lawmakers were saddled with the thorny problem of whether or not to allow West Germany to rearm and join NATO.

1960 France -- Atomic Bomb Test

France explodes it's third atomic bomb test in the Sahara desert in Africa.

1965 England -- Drilling Platform Capsizes

1965 : Britain's first off-shore drilling platform in the North Sea has capsized off the north eastern coast when two supporting legs gave way in the rough waters of the North Sea. The death toll is thought to over ten men lost.

1967 Cambodia -- Anti US

Prince Norodom of Cambodia rejected U.S. plans to close the Vietnam border to communists and accused the U.S. of interfering in Indo-Chinese affairs. U.S. and Cambodia did not have regular diplomatic channels, but usually communicated through Austria.

1975 India -- Coal Mine Explosion

A coal mine explosion followed by a flood at the Chasnala Colliery in Dhanbad, India kills over 350.

1977 England -- Star Wars

The long awaited film Star Wars which has been showing in the US since June, has had thousands of people are flocking to cinemas in the UK, many queued in London's Dominion, and Leicester Square cinemas from early in the morning waiting to get the few tickets that have not been pre booked for months.

1978 Italy -- Tullia Zacchelli

Tullia Zacchelli, aged 43, suffered from suicidal depression and had attempted to kill herself 5 times. She finally succeeded by jumping out of a 6th floor building by biting her husband's hand so he would let go of her.

1979 Afghanistan -- Soviet Union Seizes Control

The Soviet Union seizes control of Afghanistan. President Hafizullah Amin, who was overthrown and executed, has been replaced by Babrak Karmal.

1983 U.S.A. -- Recession More Jobs Lost

1983 : With the recession continuing to effect manufacturing in the United States. U.S. Steel announces that it would reduce its steel making capacity by roughly 20 percent laying off a further 4,600 bringing the total lay-offs for the year to 15,400.

1985 Rwanda -- Dian Fossey

The American Zoologist Dian Fossey, who had studied mountain gorillas in Rwanda, was found hacked to death at a research station in Rwanda.

1985 Italy / Austria -- Terrorist Attack

A twin terrorist attack at Rome and Vienna airports by gunmen on waiting passengers has left more than 100 people injured and reports of 15 fatalities.

1987 Canada -- Chrysler Motors

In Bramalea, Ontario Chrysler Motors had a new 1.8 million square foot factory where the 1988 Eagle Premier intermediate sedan would be built. The factory was L shaped and sat on 216 acres. One hundred and fifty thousand vehicles a year would be produced there providing thousands of local jobs.

2001 U.S.A. -- Guantanamo Bay

U.S. officials announced that Taliban and al-Qaida prisoners would be held at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.