On This Day in History - December 4 Polish Christians Aid Polish Jews During the Days of the Holocaust

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history


Dec 4, 1942: Polish Christians come to the aid of Polish Jews

On this day in Warsaw, a group of Polish Christians put their own lives at risk when they set up the Council for the Assistance of the Jews. The group was led by two women, Zofia Kossak and Wanda Filipowicz.  

Since the German invasion of Poland in 1939, the Jewish population had been either thrust into ghettos, transported to concentration and labor camps, or murdered. Jewish homes and shops were confiscated and synagogues were burned to the ground. Word about the Jews' fate finally leaked out in June of 1942, when a Warsaw underground newspaper, the Liberty Brigade, made public the news that tens of thousands of Jews were being gassed at Chelmno, a death camp in Poland—almost seven months after the extermination of prisoners began.  

Despite the growing public knowledge of the "Final Solution," the mass extermination of European Jewry and the growing network of extermination camps in Poland, little was done to stop it. Outside Poland, there were only angry speeches from politicians and promises of postwar reprisals. Within Poland, non-Jewish Poles were themselves often the objects of persecution and forced labor at the hands of their Nazi occupiers; being Slavs, they too were considered "inferior" to the Aryan Germans.  

But this did not stop Zofia Kossak and Wanda Filipowicz, two Polish Christians who were determined to do what they could to protect their Jewish neighbors. The fates of Kossak and Filipowicz are unclear so it is uncertain whether their mission was successful, but the very fact that they established the Council is evidence that some brave souls were willing to risk everything to help persecuted Jews. Kossak and Filipowicz were not alone in their struggle to help; in fact, only two days after the Council was established, the SS, Hitler's "political" terror police force, rounded up 23 men, women, and children, and locked some in a cottage and some in a barn—then burned them alive. Their crime: suspicion of harboring Jews.  

Despite the bravery of some Polish Christians, and Jewish resistance fighters within the Warsaw ghetto, who rebelled in 1943 (some of whom found refuge among their Christian neighbors as they attempted to elude the SS), the Nazi death machine proved overwhelming. Poland became the killing ground for not only Poland's Jewish citizens, but much of Europe's: Approximately 4.5 million Jews were killed in Poland's death and labor camps by war's end.





Dec 4, 1945: Senate approves U.S. participation in United Nations

In an overwhelming vote of 65 to 7, the U.S. Senate approves full U.S. participation in the United Nations. The United Nations had officially came into existence on October 24, 1945, when its charter was ratified by China, France, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, the United States and a majority of other signatories. Senate approval meant the U.S. could join most of the world's nations in the international organization, which aimed to arbitrate differences between countries and stem military aggression.  

In approving U.S. participation in the United Nations, the Senate argued fiercely on a number of issues. Some senators proposed a resolution designed to force the president to receive congressional consent before approving U.S. troops for any U.N. peacekeeping forces. This resolution was defeated. The Senate also defeated a proposal by Senator Robert Taft that the United States urge its U.N. representatives to seek "immediate action" on arms control and possible prohibition of weapons such as atomic bombs.  

The Senate action marked a tremendous change in the U.S. attitude toward international organizations. In the post-World War I period, the Senate acted to block U.S. participation in the newly established League of Nations. With the horrors of World War II as a backdrop, however, the Senate and the American people seemed willing to place some degree of trust in an even more powerful organization, the United Nations.  The United Nations provided a forum for some of the most dramatic episodes in Cold War history. In 1950, the Security Council, prodded by the United States and with the Russian delegation absent, approved a peacekeeping force for Korea. This was the first time a UN peacekeeping force was committed to an armed conflict. The U.N. also allowed world leaders to observe each other as never before, as in the 1961 incident when Russian leader Nikita Khrushchev presented an unforgettable spectacle by taking off one of his shoes and pounding his table with it for emphasis during a U.N. debate. 






Dec 4, 1917: Psychiatrist reports on the phenomenon of shell shock

Well-known psychiatrist W.H. Rivers presents his report The Repression of War Experience, based on his work at Britain s Craiglockhart War Hospital for Neurasthenic Officers, to the Royal School of Medicine, on this day in 1917. Craiglockhart, near Edinburgh, was one of the most famous hospitals used to treat soldiers who suffered from psychological traumas as a result of their service on the battlefield.  

By the end of World War I, the army had been forced to deal with 80,000 cases of "shell shock," a term first used in 1917 by a medical officer named Charles Myers to describe the physical damage done to soldiers on the front lines during exposure to heavy bombardment. It soon became clear, however, that the various symptoms of shell shock?including debilitating anxiety, persistent nightmares, and physical afflictions ranging from diarrhea to loss of sight?were appearing even in soldiers who had never been directly under bombardment, and the meaning of the term was broadened to include not only the physical but the psychological effects produced by the experience of combat.  

The most important duty of doctors like Rivers, as prescribed by the British army, was to get the men fit and ready to return to battle. Nevertheless, only one-fifth of the men treated in hospitals for shell shock ever resumed military duty. Rivers's patients included the poets Siegfried Sassoon and Wilfred Owen, who later wrote of his fellow inmates of Craiglockhart: These are men whose minds the Dead have ravished/Memory fingers in their hair of murders/Multitudinous murders they once witnessed.   








Dec 4, 1780: Washington's cousin tricks Loyalists

A force of Continental dragoons commanded by Colonel William Washington--General George Washington's second cousin once removed--corners Loyalist Colonel Rowland Rugeley and his followers in Rugeley's house and barn near Camden, South Carolina, on this day in 1780.  

After nearly a year of brutal backcountry conflict between Washington and the fierce British commander Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton (who was infamous for Tarleton's Quarter, the murder of colonial POWs on May 29, 1780 at Waxhaws), Washington had retreated to North Carolina the previous October. Commanded to return to the South Carolina theater by Brigadier General Daniel The Old Wagoner Morgan, Colonel Washington still lacked the proper artillery to dislodge the Loyalists. He told his cavalrymen to dismount and surround the barn. While out of Rugeley's sight, Washington's men fabricated a pine log to resemble a cannon.  

This Quaker gun trick, named so because Quakers used it to be intimidating without breaching their pacifist vow of non-violence, worked beautifully. Washington faced the cannon toward the buildings in which the Loyalists had barricaded themselves and threatened bombardment if they did not surrender. Shortly after, Rugeley surrendered his entire force without a single shot being fired.  When informed of the pacifist victory, General Charles Cornwallis, commander of the British armies in America, informed Tarleton that Rugeley's performance ensured he would never rise to the rank of brigadier. A few weeks later, Tarleton would himself face an even worse humiliation at the hands of General Morgan during the devastating Battle of Cowpens. The harrowing civil war for the hearts and minds of the Carolina backcountry had finally begun to favor the Patriots.




Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

771 - King Carloman joint King of the Franks, dies, leaving his older brother Charlemagne, sole ruler of the Frankish Kingdom.

1110 - Syrian harbor city Saida (Sidon) surrenders to Crusaders

1154 - Pope Hadrian IV elected Pope. The only Englishman to become pontiff, Nicholas Breakspear was a member of the family which until recent years brewed beer in Henley-on-Thames, Oxfordshire.

1197 - Crusaders wound Rabbi Elezar ben Judah

1259 - Treaty of Paris: English king Henry III & French king Louis IX

1489 - Battle of Baza - Spanish army captures Baza from Moors

1534 - Turkish sultan Suleiman occupies Baghdad

1563 - Council of Trent holds last session, after 18 years

1619 - 38 colonists from Berkeley Parish in England disembark in Virginia and give thanks to God. Considered by many as the first Thanksgiving in the Americas.

1644 - 1st European peace congress opens in Munster

1655 - Middelburg Neth forbids building of synagogue

1665 - Jean Racine's "Alexandre le Grand" premieres in Paris

1674 - Father Marquette builds 1st dwelling in what is now Chicago

1676 - Battle of Lund: A Danish army under the command of King Christian V of Denmark engages the Swedish army commanded by Field Marshal Simon Grundel-Helmfelt.

1680 - Hen in Rome lays an egg imprinted with comet not seen until Dec 16th

1682 - 1st General Assembly in Pennsylvania (Chester)

1688 - General John Churchill (later 1st Duke of Marlborough) changes allegiance from James II to William of Orange

1691 - Emperor Leopold I takes control of Transsylvania

1691 - Spanish king Carlos II names Maximilian II viceroy of S Netherlands

Holy Roman Emperor CharlemagneHoly Roman Emperor Charlemagne 1745 - Bonnie Prince Charles reaches Derby

1783 - Gen Washington bids officers farewell at Fraunce's Tavern, NYC

1791 - Britain's Observer, oldest Sunday newspaper in the world, 1st published

1798 - Rebellious Flemish farmers occupy Hasselt

1812 - Peter Gaillard of Lancaster, Pa patents a horse-drawn mower

1816 - James Monroe (VA), elected 5th pres, defeating Federalist Rufus King

1829 - Britain abolished "suttee" in India (widow burning herself to death on her husband's funeral pyre

1832 - French army begins bombing citadel of Antwerp

1833 - American Anti-Slavery Society formed by Arthur Tappan in Phila

1836 - Whig party holds its 1st national convention, Harrisburg, Pa

1843 - Manila paper (made from sails, canvas & rope) patented, Mass

1843 - Robert Schumann's "Das Paradies und die Peri" premieres in Leipzig

1844 - James K Polk elected 11th president of USA

1851 - Pres Louis Napolean Boaparte's forces crush an attempted coup d'etat in France

1863 - Storm flood ravages Netherlands coastal provinces

1864 - Battle of Waynesborough (Brier Creek) GA

1864 - Romanian Jews are forbidden to practice law

1867 - Former Minnesota farmer Oliver Hudson Kelley founds the Order of the Patrons of Husbandry (better known today as the Grange).

1875 - William Marcy "Boss" Tweed (NYC-Tammany Hall) escapes from jail

1881 - The first edition of the Los Angeles Times is published.

1889 - Stanley's expedition reaches Bagamoyo in Indian Ocean

1899 - 56th Congress (1899-1901) convenes

1899 - Webb Hayes, son of pres Rutherford Hayes, receives medal of honor

1901 - Anne Russell's 'Girl and the judge' premieres in NYC

1905 - British government of Balfour resigns

1906 - Alpha Phi Alpha, 1st Black Greek Letter Fraternity, forms

1908 - Haiti's president General Alexis Nord flees from military coup

1909 - 1st CFL Grey Cup: University of Toronto defeats Toronto Parkdale, 26-6

1914 - Walter Johnson accepts money from Federal League Chicago Whales Clark Griffith threatens to take Johnson to court

1915 - F F Fletcher is 1st admiral to receive Congressional Medal of Honor

1915 - Ku Klux Klan receives charter from Fulton County Ga

1915 - Panama Pacific International Exposition opens

1918 - Pres Wilson sails for Versailles Peace Conference in France, 1st chief executive to travel outside US while in office

1920 - 1st Pro football playoff game Buffalo-7, Canton-3 at Polo Grounds

1920 - 8th CFL Grey Cup: U of Toronto defeats Toronto Argonauts, 16-3

1921 - The Virginia Rappe manslaughter trial against Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle ends in a hung jury.

1922 - Lucille Atcherson, becomes 1st woman legation sect-US foreign service

1923 - Cecil B DeMille's 1st version of "Ten Commandments" premieres

1923 - WEAF radio begins broadcasting Eveready Hour (variety show)

1926 - 14th CFL Grey Cup: Ottawa Senators defeats U of Toronto, 10-7

1927 - Dmitri Shostakovitch's 2nd Symphony premieres in Moscow

Jazz-orchestra leader, Composer, Pianist Duke EllingtonJazz-orchestra leader, Composer, Pianist Duke Ellington 1927 - Duke Ellington opens at Cotton Club in Harlem

1927 - Pirates Paul Waner wins NL MVP

1928 - Walter Donaldson & Gus Kahn's musical "Whoopee" premieres in NYC

1930 - French government of Tardieu falls

1930 - Vatican approves rhythm method for birth control

1931 - "Frankenstein" opens at Mayfair

1933 - FDR creates Federal Alcohol Control Administration

1933 - Jack Kirkland's "Tobacco Road" premieres in NYC

1935 - 1,200 at St Joseph's College (Phila) enroll in anticommunism class

1941 - Nazi ordinances places Jews of Poland outside protection of courts

1942 - 1st US citizenship granted an alien on foreign soil (James Hoey)

1942 - FDR orders dismantling of Works Progress Administration

1942 - US bombers struck Italian mainland for 1st time in WW II

1942 - Works Progress Administration liquidated

1942 - Holocaust: In Warsaw, Zofia Kossak-Szczucka and Wanda Filipowicz set up the Żegota organization.

32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt32nd US President Franklin D. Roosevelt 1943 - -Dec 6] 2nd conference of Cairo: FDR, Churchill & Turkish pres Inonu

1943 - Commissioner Landis announces any baseball club may sign Negroes

1943 - Yugoslavian resistance forms provisionary government under Dr Ribar

1944 - Germans destroy Rhine dikes, Betuwe flooded

1945 - 11th Heisman Trophy Award: Doc Blanchard, Army (FB)

1945 - Senate approves US participation in UN

1947 - USSR joins Intl Amateur Athletic Union

1948 - "Magdalena" closes at Ziegfeld Theater NYC after 48 performances

1948 - SS Kiangya hits mine in Whangpoo River China, sinks killing 2,750 die

1949 - Bob Gage ties NFL record of a 97 yard touchdown run

1951 - Copland/Robbins' "Pied Piper" premieres in NYC

1951 - Superheated gasses roll down Mount Catarman (Philippines), kills 500

1951 - Mir Waiz Maulvi Muhammad Yusouf is appointed President of Azad Kashmir Government.

1952 - Killer fogs begin in London England, "Smog" becomes a word

1952 - Walter P Reuther chosen chairman of CIO

1954 - "Hit the Trail" closes at Mark Hellinger Theater NYC after 4 perfs

1954 - "On Your Toes" closes at 46th St Theater NYC after 64 performances

1954 - The first Burger King is opened in Miami, Florida, USA

1955 - Mgr Alfrink installed as Archbishop of Utrecht

1956 - 22nd Heisman Trophy Award: Paul Hornung, Notre Dame (QB)

1957 - 1st edition of "Chase's Annual Events" published

1957 - 2 commuter trains collide in heavy fog killing 92 (St John's, England)

1958 - Dahomey (Benin), Ivory Coast become autonomous within French Community

1958 - Finnish government of Fagerholm resigns

1961 - Floyd Patterson KOs Tom McNeeley in 4 for heavyweight boxing title

1961 - Museum of Modern Art hangs Matisse's Le Bateau upside down for 47 days

1961 - Smallest NY Knick, 49th St Madison Square Garden crowd-1,300 (snowstorm)

1961 - Tanganyika becomes 104th member of UN

1961 - WXGA TV channel 8 in Waycross, GA (PBS) begins broadcasting

1961 - The female contraceptive 'pill' becomes available on the National Health Service in Britain

1962 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1963 - Aldo Moro forms Italian government (1963-1968)

1963 - Pope Paul VI closes 2nd session of 2nd Vatican Council

1964 - Baseball approves a free-agent draft

1964 - Beatles release "Beatles For Sale" album

1964 - Commissioner's office given full powers in baseball disputes

1964 - Test Cricket debut of Ian Chappell, v Pakistan MCG, 11, 0-49, 0-31

1965 - "Roar of the Greasepaint" closes at Shubert NYC after 232 perfs

1965 - 2 passenger planes collide above Danbury, Conn, 4 die

1965 - 2nd NY Knick game postponed (due to death of opponent 76ers' owner)

1965 - Gemini 7 (Borman & Lovell) launched

1965 - SF Giant Masanori Murakami, 4-1 this year, does not renew his contract signing instead with the Nankai Hawks of Osaka for $40,000

1966 - KETS TV channel 2 in Little Rock, AR (PBS) begins broadcasting

1966 - Sandra Haynie wins LPGA Pensacola Ladies Golf Invitational

Italian Prime Minister Aldo MoroItalian Prime Minister Aldo Moro 1970 - Unemployment in US increases to 5.8%

1971 - The UN Security Council calls an emergency session to consider the deteriorating situation between India and Pakistan.

1971 - The Indian Navy attacks the Pakistan Navy and Karachi.

1973 - Pioneer 10 reaches Jupiter

1974 - Dutch DC-8 charter crashes in Sri Lanka killing 191 Moslem pilgrims

1974 - Jean-Paul Sartre visits Red Army Faction leader Andreas Baader in prison

1975 - 6 South Molukkans occupy Indonesian consulate in The Hague, 1 dead

1977 - Hollis Stacy/Jerry Pate wins Pepsi-Cola Mixed Team Golf Championship

1977 - Jean-Bedel Bokassa crowns himself ruler of Central African Empire

1977 - NFL's 5,000th game, Cincinnati beats KC 27-7

1977 - Neil Simon's "Chapter Two" premieres in NYC

1978 - Dianne Feinstein is named SF 1st female mayor

1978 - Dutch war criminal Pieter Menten freed

1978 - Pioneer Venus 1 goes into orbit around Venus

1979 - Cleveland Cavaliers retire jersey # 7, Bingo Smith

Writer Jean-Paul SartreWriter Jean-Paul Sartre 1980 - 2 months after death of drummer John Bonham, Led Zeppelin breaks up

1980 - Islanders end 15 game undefeated streak (13-0-2) (Col Rockies)

1981 - "Falcon Crest" premieres on CBS-TV

1981 - Reagan Executive Order on Intelligence (No 12333) that allows CIA to engage in domestic counter-intelligence

1981 - According to South Africa, Ciskei gains independence Not recognized as an independent country outside South Africa

1982 - 48th Heisman Trophy Award: Herschel Walker, Georgia (RB)

1982 - China adopts its constitution

1982 - Police & racist demonstrators clash in Antwerp

1983 - "Amen Corner" closes at Nederlander Theater NYC after 83 performances

1983 - "Baby" opens at Barrymore Theater NYC for 241 performances

1983 - David Shire & R Maltby Jr's musical "Baby" premieres in NYC

1983 - NJ Devils 1st shut-out, beating Minnesota Detroit Red Wings 6-0

1983 - US jet fighters strike Syrian anti-aircraft positions in Lebanon

1984 - Hijackers commandeered a Kuwaiti airliner

1984 - Hezbollah militants hijack a Kuwait Airlines plane, killing four passengers.

US President & Actor Ronald ReaganUS President & Actor Ronald Reagan 1985 - "Les Miserables" opens at Palace Theatre, London

1985 - French President Mitterrand receives Polish leader Jaruzelski

1985 - President Reagan appoints Vice Adm John Poindexter as security adviser

1986 - NASA launches Fltsatcom-7

1986 - Neil Simon's "Broadway Bound" premieres in NYC

1987 - Karlstad skates world record 10 km (13:48.51)

1988 - Actor Gary Busey critically injured in motorcycle crash

1988 - Amy Benz/John Huston wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic

1988 - Orioles trade veteran 1B Eddie Murray to the Dodgers

1988 - USSR performs nuclear test at Novaya Zemlya USSR

1990 - Due to Persian Gulf crisis gas hits $1.60 per gallon price in NYC

1990 - Iraq announces it will release all 3,300 Soviet hostages

1991 - Judds final concert (Nashville)

1991 - Muslim Shites release last US hostage Terry Anderson (held 6½ years)

1991 - Pan American World Airways ceased operations

1991 - Patricia Bowman testifies that William Kennedy Smith raped her

US President George H. W. BushUS President George H. W. Bush 1992 - Somali Civil War: President George H. W. Bush orders 28,000 US troops to Somalia in Northeast Africa.

1993 - Dan Jansen skates world record 500m (35.92 sec)

1993 - Johann Koss skates world record 5K (6:35.53)

1993 - A truce is concluded between the government of Angola and UNITA rebels.

1994 - "Angels in America-Perestroika" closes at W Kerr NYC after 216 perfs

1994 - "Angels in America-Millennium Approach" closes at Kerr after 367 perfs

1994 - 83rd Davis Cup: Sweden beats Russia in Moscow (4-1)

1994 - Marta Figueras-Dottie/Brad Bryant wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic

1995 - Atherton (185*) bats for 643 minutes to save Johannesburg Test

1996 - 7th Billboard Music Awards

1996 - NASA's 1st Mars rover launched from Cape Canaveral

1996 - Orlando Magic tie NBA record of fewest ponts scored since inception of 24 second clock losing to Cleveland Cavalier, 84-57

1997 - "Diary of Anne Frank" opens at Music Box Theater NYC

1997 - NBA suspends Latrell Sprewell for 1 year for attacking his coach

1998 - The Unity Module, the second module of the International Space Station, is launched.

2005 - Tens of thousands of people in Hong Kong protest for democracy and call on the Government to allow universal and equal suffrage.

2006 - An adult giant squid is caught on video by Kubodera near the Ogasawara Islands, 1,000 km (620 miles) south of Tokyo.

2012 - 29 people are killed by a mortar attack in Bteeha, Syria

2012 - Typhoon Bopha makes landfall in the Philippines killing at least 81 people

1783 - Gen. George Washington said farewell to his officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York.   1791 - Britain's Observer newspaper was first published.   1812 - Peter Gaillard patented the power mower.   1867 - The National Grange of Husbandry was founded.   1875 - William Marcy Tweed, the "Boss" of New York City's Tammany Hall political organization, escaped from jail and fled from the U.S.   1918 - U.S. President Woodrow Wilson set sail for France to attend the Versailles Peace Conference. Wilson became the first chief executive to travel to Europe while in office.   1942 - U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt ordered the dismantling of the Works Progress Administration. The program had been created in order to provide jobs during the Great Depression.   1942 - U.S. bombers attacked the Italian mainland for the first time during World War II.   1943 - Baseball Commissioner Kenesaw Mountain Landis announced that any club was free to employ black players.   1945 - The U.S. Senate approved American participation in the United Nations.   1965 - The U.S. launched Gemini 7 with Air Force Lt. Col. Frank Borman and Navy Comdr. James A. Lovell on board.   1973 - Pioneer 10 reached Jupiter.   1977 - Jean-Bedel Bokassa, ruler of the Central African Empire, crowned himself emperor in a ceremony believed to have cost more than $100 million. He was deposed 2 years later.   1978 - Dianne Feinstein became San Francisco's first woman mayor when she was named to replace George Moscone, who had been murdered.   1979 - For the second time, the United Nations Security Council voted unanimously to urge Iran to free American hostages that had been taken on November 4.   1980 - The bodies of four American nuns slain in El Salvador two days earlier were unearthed. Five national guardsmen were later convicted of the murders.   1983 - U.S. jet fighters struck Syrian anti-aircraft positions in Lebanon in retaliation for attacks directed at American reconnaissance planes. Navy Lt. Robert O. Goodman Jr. was shot down and captured by Syria.   1984 - A five-day hijack drama began as four men seized a Kuwaiti airliner en route to Pakistan and forced it to land in Tehran. Two American passengers were killed by the hijackers.   1986 - Both U.S. houses of Congress moved to establish special committees to conduct their own investigations of the Iran-Contra affair.   1987 - Cuban inmates at a federal prison in Atlanta freed their 89 hostages, peacefully ending an 11-day uprising.   1988 - The government of Argentina announced that hundreds of heavily armed soldiers had ended a four-day military revolt.   1990 - Iraq promised to release 3,300 Soviet citizens it was holding.   1991 - Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson was released after nearly seven years in captivity in Lebanon.   1991 - Pan American World Airways ceased operations.   1992 - U.S. President George H.W. Bush ordered American troops to lead a mercy mission to Somalia.   1993 - The Angolan government and its UNITA guerrilla foes formally adopted terms for a truce. The conflict was killing an estimated 1,000 people per day.   1994 - Bosnian Serbs released 53 out of about 400 UN peacekeepers they were holding as insurance against further NATO airstrikes.   1997 - The play revival "The Diary of Anne Frank" opened.   1997 - The National Basketball Association (NBA) suspended Latrell Sprewell of the Golden State Warriors for one year for choking and threatening to kill his coach, P.J. Carlesimo.   2000 - O.J. Simpson was involved in an incident with another motorist in Miami, FL. Simpson was accused of scratching the other motorists face while pulling off the man's glasses.   2001 - O.J. Simpson's home in Florida was raided by the FBI in an ongoing two year international investigation into drug trafficking, satellite service pilfering and money laundering. Some satellite equipment was taken from Simpson's home and no drugs were found.



1783 George Washington delivered his farewell address to his officers at Fraunces Tavern in New York City. 1816 James Monroe of Virginia was elected (by electors) the fifth president of the United States. 1875 William Marcy "Boss" Tweed of New York's Tammany Hall escaped from jail and fled the country. 1945 The Senate approved U.S. participation in the United Nations. 1978 Dianne Feinstein became San Francisco's first female mayor. 1991 Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson is released after seven years as a hostage in Lebanon. 1993 Rock musician and composer Frank Zappa died at age 52. 2003 Interpol put the former president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, on its most-wanted list.




The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/dec04.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

Sports Review For Monday, December 3rd & NFL Week 14 Predictions

Monday Night Football - Seattle Seahawks 34, New Orleans Saints  7

So, a few weeks ago, we had one historically huge match up between the top two teams in the AFC, with the 8-1 Denver Broncos meeting the 9-0 Kansas City Chiefs. It reached historical status because the combined record of the two teams participating in the game was better that deep into the season than any two teams meeting together since 1970. You are talking about a lot of games.

That game offered a contrast in styles. The Kansas City Chiefs went in as big time underdogs, but managed to acquit themselves fairly well, by bogging Denver down at times, and making the Broncos earn it. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, that was the first in a string of three straight losses, and they now need to rediscover their earlier, winning ways. But at the time, it was a truly huge, even epic, match up.

Then last week, we had the big showdown in New England between the Broncos and Patriots. Brady versus Manning, Part Fourteen! And it lived up to it's billing as well. Denver raced ahead, and made it look like it would be a laugher. But New England exploded right back into it, took the lead, and eventually won the huge game in epic fashion in overtime.

Both of those games seemed to have huge ramifications for home field advantage.

Now, this week, another huge match! This time, it was the top two teams in the NFC, at least in terms of combined record. This was a game that would easily belong on that list a few weeks back, between winning teams with awesome records meeting so late in the regular season, with the 9-2 New Orleans Saints visiting the 10-1 Seattle Seahawks, and the winner having the inside track on home field advantage throughout the NFC Playoffs.

Yes, it looked like a huge match up, but it did not nearly live up to the billing that those other games somehow managed to live up to.

Like Denver did last week, the Seahawks exploded early and often to get a big lead. But New Orleans did not respond like the New England Patriots did last week. In fact, New Orleans did not really respond at all, and were essentially bullied and beaten down all night long. It reinforced the impression that Seattle is virtually unbeatable at home, which does not bode well for the other teams in the NFC, since the road to the Super Bowl in this conference will surely go through the Pacific Northwest.

For New Orleans, not only did they get blown away, but they now find themselves no longer very relevant in the race for home field advantage, but with their long held lead in the NFC South - a lead that was one time a seemingly comfortable three game margin over each of the other teams in the division - suddenly evaporated. The Carolina Panthers are on fire, having won eight straight games, and those two teams are about to meet each other twice the rest of the way. Another contrast of styles, and contests with huge playoff ramifications. The winner in the NFC South will likely get the second seed in the NFC playoffs and, with it, the coveted playoff bye, and a chance to rest up.

So, yes, those games will be huge.

And my sense is that New Orleans, a team that themselves looked very elite only a few weeks ago, might just be in trouble. They suffered a bad loss at New York against the Jets, and an even worse loss on national television last night. Now, they are facing a team that is looking historically good on defense, while they themselves had their prolific offense bullied and effectively shut down in Seattle.

Should Carolina win and emerge as the team in the NFC South, I will say this: they are the only team that I see as capable of going into Seattle and beating a healthy Seahawks team in the playoffs. I don't see the Saints, 49ers, Lions, Cowboys, Eagles, or anyone else being truly capable of this.

But they have to get through New Orleans first. They still have a lot to prove. But if their accomplishments so far this season are any indication, they very well may be on their way to proving it.




Predictions for Week 14

Okay, I just spent quite a bit of time talking about it. Now, here comes the prediction for the Carolina Panthers at the New Orleans Saints. I like the Panthers smothering the Saints, who could appear shaken, if Carolina manages to capitalize on the weaknesses that the Seahawks exposed this past week. Carolina's defense appears to be for real, and their offense has the potential to be very dangerous. And the Saints seem to be slumping a bit as of late. Look for that to continue.

On Thursday Night Football, I like the suddenly hot and focused Jacksonville Jaguars handing the suddenly hapless Houston Texans their eleventh straight loss.

Tampa Bay should bounce back from their tough loss and beat the Bills on Sunday. I see the Chiefs bouncing back from their recent slump, and beating up on Washington. The Jets will rebound against the Raiders, who are a mediocre team from a warm climate, on the road in outdoor, cold weather elements, against a halfway decent team. Likewise, the Ravens should hold serve at home and knock off the Minnesota Vikings in a battle of purple and gold teams. I like Atlanta upsetting the Packers at Lambeau, as the woes in Green Bay's suddenly disastrous season continue.

There are plenty of games with potentially huge playoff implications! One would be the Detroit Lions visiting the Philadelphia Eagles. For a long time, the Eagles seemed helpless at home. But they are trying to keep pace with Dallas, and so I like them taking care of the Lions, who are still on shaky legs. The Miami Dolphins are hot, and hope to stay that way after visiting the Steel City. But I see Pittsburgh playing spoiler, and smothering the Dolphins, dampening their playoff aspirations. The Colts will visit the Bengals, with the winner having the inside track for the third seed in the AFC, and I actually will take Cincy in this one. New England should win relatively easily at home against the Browns. The Broncos should handle Tennessee.

The G-Men have been impressive of late, but visiting San Diego is tough. I see the Chargers emerging victorious in that one. The Cardinals should beat the Rams, and the 49ers should be able to end the Seahawks hot winning streak in San Francisco.

Finally, on Monday Night, I actually see Dallas winning on the road in Chicago to keep the race between the Eagles and the Cowboys red hot. Hate to say it, but I never really had much faith in Chicago's seeming resurgence earlier this season. Their recent seasons have been similar: start off hot, then fade away as the season goes on. It may be taking a little longer than usual this year, mostly because of the epic ineptitude (as well as bad luck) of the other teams in the division, but I don't see the Bears as a serious contender, or anything. And with each week, they will likely show this more and more. Dallas takes this one convincingly.






European Football:



MLS

The championship match for the MLS features the red-hot and usually stellar Sporting Kansas City at Real Salt Lake.

Tough game to call. Real Salt Lake have not had too many problems scoring goals throughout the season. Plus, they have home field advantage, which could be huge.

Sporting Kansas City seems to rely far more on their defense, and goals do not come nearly as easily.

So, this game offers a contrast in styles.

In their only previous match up earlier this season, Sporting Kansas City managed to win, 2-1. But that was in KC, and it was relatively early in the regular season.

This is an entirely different ball of wax. Experience should be a factor, since Real Salt Lake has more playoff experience, and actually won the MLS Cup  a few years ago, while Sporting Kansas City has never won it.

I will go ahead and predict Real Salt Lake to do it at home against Sporting Kansas City.






France Ligue 1 Standings (taken from Yahoo Sports: http://sports.yahoo.com/soccer/ligue-1/

Standings

Rank	Team	GP	GD	PTS
1	PSG	15	26	37
2	Lille	15	13	33
3	Monaco	15	13	32
4	Marseille	15	9	27
5	St. Etienne	15	6	24
6	Nantes	15	7	23
7	Guingamp	15	3	22
8	Bastia	15	-2	22
9	Bordeaux	15	3	21
10	Lyon	15	-1	19
11	Reims	15	-4	19
12	Toulouse	15	-5	19
13	Rennes	15	1	18
14	Lorient	15	-5	17
15	Nice	15	-6	17
16	Evian	15	-12	16
17	Montpellier	15	-3	15
18	Valenciennes	15	-10	10
19	AC Ajaccio	15	-16	8
20	Sochaux	15	-17	8

On This Day in History - December 3 Bhopal Disaster of 1984

Once again, it should be reiterated, that this does not pretend to be a very extensive history of what happened on this day (nor is it the most original - the links can be found down below). If you know something that I am missing, by all means, shoot me an email or leave a comment, and let me know!

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

Dec 3, 1984: The Bhopal-Union Carbide disaster  

In the early morning hours, one of the worst industrial disasters in history begins when a pesticide plant located in the densely populated region of Bhopal in central India leaks a highly toxic cloud of methyl isocyanate into the air. Of the estimated one million people living in Bhopal at the time, 2,000 were killed immediately, at least 600,000 were injured, and at least 6,000 have died since.  

The leak was caused by a series of mechanical and human errors in the pesticide producing plant, operated by the Union Carbide Corporation, a U.S.-based multinational. For a full hour, the plant's personnel and safety equipment failed to detect the massive leak, and when an alarm was finally sounded most of the harm had already been done. To make matters worse, local health officials had not been educated on the toxicity of the chemicals used at the Union Carbide plant and therefore there were no emergency procedures in place to protect Bhopal's citizens in the event of a chemical leak. If the victims had simply placed a wet towel over their face, most would have escaped serious injury.  

The Indian government sued Union Carbide in a civil case and settled in 1989 for $470 million. Because of the great number of individuals affected by the disaster, most Bhopal victims received just $550, which could not pay for the chronic lung ailments, eye problems, psychiatric disorders, and other common illnesses they developed. The average compensation for deaths resulting from the disaster was $1,300. The Indian government, famous for its corruption, has yet to distribute roughly half of Union Carbide's original settlement. Union Carbide, which shut down its Bhopal plant after the disaster, has failed to clean up the site completely, and the rusty, deserted complex continues to leak various poisonous substances into the water and soil of Bhopal. 









Dec 3, 1944: Civil war breaks out in Athens

On this day, a civil war breaks out in Athens as communist guerillas battle democratic forces for control of a liberated Greece. Germany had occupied Greece to bail out Italy after Italy's failed invasion threatened to leave Greece open to Allied occupation. When Germany arrived, various Greek resistance forces gave battle, but two stood out as particularly important: a communist-backed resistance movement called the National Liberation Front, and a liberal, democratic movement called the Greek Democratic National Army. While both of these factions operated from different ideological frameworks, they nevertheless occasionally cooperated in fighting the common German enemy. By early 1944 though, the communist-backed National Liberation Front had taken to the hills to create a provisional government, rejecting the legitimacy of both the Greek king and his government-in-exile. It also disregarded the one remaining rival for ultimate political supremacy in Greece—the Democratic National Army.  

When Germany was forced to withdraw from Greece in October 1944, victorious British forces brought together the communist and democratic factions in order to establish a coalition government. But this government collapsed after the communist Liberation Front refused to disband its guerrilla forces. So, on December 3 war broke out between the communists and the democrats—with the National Liberation Front taking control of most of Greece, with the exception of the capital and Salonika.  

The British fought against the communists with the Democratic National Army, which began to move more and more to the right politically as it struggled for survival and support. By February 1945, the National Liberation Front was forced to surrender and disband its guerilla army. One month later, a general election was held, and the democrats, now also royalists, won control of the government. The communists refrained from voting altogether, preferring to bide their time. When a plebiscite elected the Greek king back to his throne in September of the same year, the communists emerged from underground-and civil war broke out again. By this time, Britain, fed up and exhausted, left the negotiation for peace to the United States, which employed the Truman Doctrine of giving massive amounts of foreign aid to governments pledged to democracy in order to keep them out of the communist/Soviet orbit. It took time, but eventually the rejuvenated—and well-funded—Greek democrats were victorious.  











Dec 3, 1962: Report maintains that Viet Cong are prepared for a long war

Roger Hilsman, director of the State Department Bureau of Intelligence and Research, sends a memorandum to Secretary of State Dean Rusk pointing out that the communist Viet Cong fighters are obviously prepared for a long struggle.  

While government control of the countryside had improved slightly, the Viet Cong had expanded considerably in size and influence, both through its own efforts and because of its attraction to "increasingly frustrated non-communist, anti-Diem elements." According to Hilsman, successfully eradicating the Viet Cong would take several years of greater effort by both the United States and the South Vietnamese government of President Ngo Dinh Diem. Real success, he noted, depended upon Diem gaining the support of the South Vietnamese people through social and military measures, which he had so far failed to implement. Hilsman felt that a noncommunist coup against Diem "could occur at any time," and would seriously disrupt or reverse counterinsurgency momentum. As it turned out, Hilsman was eventually proven correct. On November 1, 1963, dissident South Vietnamese generals led a coup resulting in the murder of Diem. His death marked the end of civilian authority and political stability in South Vietnam. The succession of military juntas, coups, and attempted coups in 1964 and early 1965 weakened the government severely and disrupted the momentum of the counterinsurgency effort against the Viet Cong. 





Dec 3, 1947: A Streetcar Named Desire opens on Broadway   

On this day in 1947, Marlon Brando's famous cry of "STELLA!" first booms across a Broadway stage, electrifying the audience at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre during the first-ever performance of Tennessee Williams' play A Streetcar Named Desire.  

The 23-year-old Brando played the rough, working-class Polish-American Stanley Kowalski, whose violent clash with Blanche DuBois (played on Broadway by Jessica Tandy), a Southern belle with a dark past, is at the center of Williams' famous drama. Blanche comes to stay with her sister Stella (Kim Hunter), Stanley's wife, at their home in the French Quarter of New Orleans; she and Stanley immediately despise each other. In the climactic scene, Stanley rapes Blanche, causing her to lose her fragile grip on sanity; the play ends with her being led away in a straitjacket.   

Streetcar, produced by Irene Mayer Selznick and directed by Elia Kazan, shocked mid-century audiences with its frank depiction of sexuality and brutality onstage. When the curtain went down on opening night, there was a moment of stunned silence before the crowd erupted into a round of applause that lasted 30 minutes. On December 17, the cast left New York to go on the road. The show would run for more than 800 performances, turning the charismatic Brando into an overnight star. Tandy won a Tony Award for her performance, and Williams was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.   

In 1951, Kazan made Streetcar into a movie. Brando, Hunter and Karl Malden (as Stanley's friend and Blanche's love interest) reprised their roles. The role of Blanche went to Vivien Leigh, the scenery-chewing star of Gone with the Wind. Controversy flared when the Catholic Legion of Decency threatened to condemn the film unless the explicitly sexual scenes--including the climactic rape--were removed. When Williams, who wrote the screenplay, refused to take out the rape, the Legion insisted that Stanley be punished onscreen. As a result, the movie (but not the play) ends with Stella leaving Stanley.  

A Streetcar Named Desire earned 12 Oscar nominations, including acting nods for each of its four leads. The movie won for Best Art Direction, and Leigh, Hunter and Malden all took home awards; Brando lost to Humphrey Bogart in The African Queen.   








Here's a more detailed look at events that transpired on this date throughout history:

741 - St Zachary begins his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding Gregory III

1347 - Pope Clemens VI declares Roman tribunal Coke di Rienzo as heretics

1557 - 1st Covenant of Scottish protestants form

1586 - Sir Thomas Herriot introduces potatoes to England, from Colombia

1621 - Galileo invents telescope

1639 - 1st annulment by court decree passes

1676 - Battle of Lund: Sweden beats Denmark

1678 - Edmund Halley receives MA from The Queen's College, Oxford

1685 - Charles II bars Jews from settling in Stockholm Sweden

1694 - English parliamentary election set for every 3 years

1699 - Baron Jacob Hop appointed treasurer-general of the Hague

1775 - 1st official US flag raising (aboard naval vessel Alfred)

1818 - Illinois becomes 21st state USA (Admission day)

1828 - Andrew Jackson elected 7th US President

1833 - Oberlin College in Oh, 1st truly coeducational college opens

1834 - 1st US dental society organized (NY)

1835 - 1st US mutual fire insurance company issues 1st policy (RI)

1844 - RC Society Apostole of Prayer forms

1847 - Frederick Douglass publishes 1st issue of his newspaper "North Star"

Abolitionist Frederick DouglassAbolitionist Frederick Douglass 1854 - Eureka Stockade: In what is claimed by many to be the birth of Australian democracy, more than 20 goldminers at Ballarat, Victoria, Australia are killed by state troopers in an uprising over mining licences.

1863 - Longstreet abandons his siege at Knoxville, TN

1864 - Skirmish at Thomas' Station, Georgia

1866 - Paid fire dept replaces volunteer companies

1868 - 1st blacks on US trial jury appointed for Jefferson Davis trial

1878 - Settlers arrive at Petach Tikvah, Israel

1881 - Henry M Stanley finds Leopoldville/Kinshasa

1883 - 48th Congress (1883-85) convenes

1901 - Milwaukee is dropped from the AL & replaced by St Louis Browns

1903 - Panglima Polim surrenders to Capt Colijn at Atjeh

1907 - George Cohans musical "Talk of the Town" premieres in NYC

1908 - Edward Elgar's 1st Symphony in A premieres

1910 - Neon lights 1st publically seen (Paris Auto Show)

1912 - Gerrit Brinkman becomes 1st Dutch traffic officer

1912 - Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece & Bulgaria sign weapons pact

Confederate General James LongstreetConfederate General James Longstreet 1912 - First Balkan War: The Naval Battle of Elli takes place.

1914 - Neth army shoots up geïnterneerde Belgian soldiers: 8 killed

1917 - After nearly 20 years of planning and construction, the Quebec Bridge opens to traffic.

1920 - Turkey & Armenia agree to peace treaty

1921 - 9th CFL Grey Cup: Toronto Argonauts defeats Edmonton Eskimos, 23-0

1922 - 1st successful technicolor movie (Tall of the Sea), shown in NYC

1923 - 1st Congressional open session broadcast via radio (Wash DC)

1926 - Manchester Guardian (German Reichswehr/Red Army work together)

1929 - Boston Bruins begins then NHL record 14 game winning streak

1930 - Air-borne chemicals combine with fog to kill 60 (Meuse Valley Belgium)

1930 - Otto Ender forms Austrian government

1930 - Richard Rodgers/L Hart's musical "Evergreen" premieres in London

1931 - Alka Seltzer goes on sale

1932 - 20th CFL Grey Cup: Hamilton Tigers defeats Regina Roughriders, 25-6

1932 - Gen Kurt von Schleicher becomes chancellor of Germany

Baseball Legend Connie MackBaseball Legend Connie Mack 1933 - Connie Mack sells Mickey Cochrane to Det Tigers for $100,000

1933 - Joe Lilliard QBs Chic Cardinals; last NFL black until 1946

1934 - Italian colonial Tripoli & Cyrenaica annexed to Libya

1934 - KYW-AM in Chicago Ill moves to Phila Penn

1938 - AAU's decides to continue linear measuring system over metric

1939 - Dmitri Sjostakovitsj's 6th Symphony, premieres

1941 - Hitler views Poltava Ukraine

1943 - 9th Heisman Trophy Award: Angelo Bertelli, Notre Dame (QB)

1943 - Battle of Monte Cassino, Italy begins

1943 - Howard Hanson's 4th Symphony, premieres

1943 - Strike of Monte Cassino, Italy begins

1944 - British order to disarm causes general strike in Greece

1944 - Hungarian death march of Jews ends

1944 - Mussert puts Seyss-Inquart plan for small Nazi-Europe

1944 - NFL Cardinals-Pitts merger disolves

Dictator of Nazi Germany Adolf HitlerDictator of Nazi Germany Adolf Hitler 1944 - US 5th Armoured division occupies Brandenburg Hurtgenwald

1944 - The Greek Civil War breaks out in a newly-liberated Greece, between communists and royalists.

1944 - Britain's Home Guard ('Dad's Army') is officially stood down at a special farewell parade in Hyde Park, London.

1946 - 12th Heisman Trophy Award: Glenn Davis, Army (HB)

1946 - US government asks UN to order dictator Franco out of Spain

1947 - Tennessee Williams' "Streetcar Named Desire," premieres in NYC

1948 - "Pumpkin Papers" come to light (claimed to be from Alger Hiss)

1948 - 1st US woman army officer not in medical corps sworn-in

1948 - Bradman scores his last century, 123 in his own testimonial

1948 - Chinese refugee ship "Kiangya" explodes in E China Sea, killing 1,100

1949 - KRLD (now KDFW) TV channel 4 in Dallas-Fort Worth, TX (CBS) begins

1950 - Cleveland Browns last NFL team with no-pass game (beat Phila 13-7)

1950 - Paul Harvey begins his national radio broadcast

1950 - Cleveland Browns' Horace Gillom sets club record with 12 punts

1952 - 1st TV broadcast in Hawaii

Playwright Tennessee WilliamsPlaywright Tennessee Williams 1952 - Marcos Perez Jiménez elected president of Venezuela

1953 - "Kismet" opens at Ziegfeld Theater NYC for 583 performances

1953 - Eisenhower criticizes McCarthy for saying communists are in Rep party

1953 - Premier of Dmitri Shostakovitch' 5th String Quartet

1954 - Samuel Barber's "Prayers of Kierkegaard," premieres

1954 - William Walton's opera "Troilus & Cressida," premieres in London

1955 - KTVE TV channel 10 in Monroe-El Dorado, LA (NBC) begins broadcasting

1956 - Bitain & France pull troops out of Egypt

1956 - KFSA (now KFSM) TV channel 5 in Ft Smith, AR (CBS) 1st broadcast

1956 - Wilt Chamberlain's 1st collegiate basketball game (scores 52)

1957 - 23rd Heisman Trophy Award: John Crow, Texas A&M (HB)

1958 - Indonesian parliament accepts nationalisation of Dutch businesses

1959 - State of emergency on Cyprus ends

1960 - "Camelot" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 873 performances

1960 - Frederick Loewe/Alan Jay Lerner's "Camelot," premieres in NYC

1961 - Anton Geesink becomes 1st not-Japanese judo world champion

1961 - Beatles meet future manager Brian Epstein

1961 - George Blanda of Houston Oilers kicks 55-yard field goal

1961 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1962 - Edith Spurlock Sampson sworn-in as 1st US black female judge

1962 - Pravda criticizes western art

1964 - KHQL (now KCAN) TV channel 8 in Albion, NB (ABC) begins broadcasting

1964 - Police arrests 800 sit-in students at U of Cal at Berkeley

1965 - Beatles begin final UK concert tour in Glasgow

1965 - USSR launches Luna 8; crashes on Moon

1966 - US performs underground nuclear test at Hattiesburg Miss

1967 - 1st human heart transplant performed (Dr Christian Barnard, South Africa)

1967 - Derek Clayton runs world record marathon (2:09:36.4)

1967 - Ex-president Sukarno under house arrest in Indonesia

1967 - Final run of "20th Century Limited," famed NY-Chicago luxury train

1968 - NBC Elvis comeback special airs

1968 - Pitcher's mound drops from 15" to 10" & strike zone reduced from knees to shoulders to top of knees to armpits, to help hitters

1969 - John Lennon is offered role of Jesus Christ in Jesus Christ Superstar

1970 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1971 - Miss Teenage America Pageant

1971 - Pres Nixon commutes Jimmy Hoffa's jail term

1971 - Indo-Pakistani War of 1971: India invades West Pakistan and a full scale war begins claiming hundreds of lives.

1972 - Convair 990A charter crashes in Tenerife Canary Island, 155 die

1973 - Pioneer 10 passes Jupiter (1st fly-by of an outer planet) [Dec 4-GMT]

1975 - Laos falls to communist forces; Lao People's Democratic Rep proclaimed

1976 - Dr Patrick J Hillery elected president of Iraq

1978 - "King of Hearts" closes at Minskoff Theater NYC after 48 performances

1978 - Pat Bradley/Lon Hinkle wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic

1979 - 11 trampled to death at Cincinnati Who concert

1979 - 45th Heisman Trophy Award: Charles White, Southern Cal (RB)

1979 - Christies auctions a thimble for a record $18,400

1979 - Iran accepts constitution

1979 - Shadow Traffic begins broadcasting in the New York City metropolitan area.

1980 - NY Federal jury finds Reps Thompson D-NJ & Murphy, D-NY, guilty

1981 - Beth Daniel/Tom Kite wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic

1981 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site

1982 - 1st NJ Devil hat-trick (Steve Tambellini) defeat Hartford 5-4

1982 - 35.7 cm rainfall at Big Fork, Arkansas (state record)

1982 - 77°F highest temperature ever recorded in Cleveland in Dec

1982 - NJ Devils 1st hat trick (Steve Tambellini)

1982 - Tommy Hearns wins WBC Welterweight title in decision over Benitez

1983 - "Marilyn: An American Fable" closes at Minskoff NYC after 16 perfs

1983 - 49th Heisman Trophy Award: Mike Rozier, Nebraska (RB)

1983 - France performs nuclear test at Muruora Island

1984 - 2,000 die from Union Carbide poison gas emission in Bhopal, India

1985 - 23rd Shuttle Mission (61-B)-Atlantis 2-lands at Edwards AFB

1986 - Sri Lanka all out 55 v WI in one-dayer Walsh 5-1 in 4 3 overs

1988 - 54th Heisman Trophy Award: Barry Sanders, Oklahoma State (RB)

1988 - NY Lotto pays $45 million to twelve winner (#s are 1-8-13-18-28-48)

1989 - Pat Bradley/Bill Glasson wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic

1989 - Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and US President George Bush, snr, declare the Cold War over.

1990 - NL batting champ Willie McGee signs as a free agent with SF Giants

WWF Wrestler Hulk HoganWWF Wrestler Hulk Hogan 1991 - Hulk Hogan defeats Undertaker to become 4th time WWF champion

1991 - Muslim Shites release US hostage Alan Steen

1991 - White House Chief of Staff John Sununu resigns

1992 - UN Security Council votes unanimous for US led forces to enter Somalia

1992 - The Greek oil tanker Aegean Sea, carrying 80,000 tonnes of crude oil, runs aground in a storm while approaching La Coruña, Spain, and spills much of its cargo.

1995 - "Company" closes at Criterion Theater NYC after 68 performances

1995 - "Holiday" opens at Circle in Sq Theater NYC for 49 performances

1995 - 84th Davis Cup: USA beats Russia in Moscow (3-2)

1995 - Beth Daniels/Davis Love III wins LPGA J C Penney Golf Classic

1995 - Jack Russell takes 11 catches in Test Cricket v South Africa, a record

1995 - Naeem Akhtar takes 10-28 for Rawalpindi B against Peshawar

1995 - Northwestern South Carolina begins using new area code 864

1997 - "1776" opens at Gershwin Theater NYC

1997 - Golden State Warrior guard Latrell Sprewell, four-year, $32 million, contract terminated for attacking his coach P J Carlesimo

1999 - NASA loses radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander moments before the spacecraft enters the Martian atmosphere.

2005 - XCOR Aerospace makes first manned rocket aircraft delivery of US Mail in Mojave, California.

2007 - Devastating winter storms caused the Chehalis River to flood many cities in Lewis County, Washington, also closing a 20-mile portion of Interstate 5 for several days. At least eight deaths and billions of dollars of damaged are blamed on the floods.

2012 - Voyager 1 spacecraft, launched in 1977, reaches the end of our solar system and enters interstellar space

1818 - Illinois was admitted as the 21st state of the union.   1828 - Andrew Jackson was elected president of the United States.   1833 - Oberlin College in Ohio opened as the first truly coeducational school of higher education in the United States.   1835 - In Rhode Island, the Manufacturer Mutual Fire Insurance Company issued the first fire insurance policy.   1910 - The neon lamp was displayed for the first time at the Paris Motor Show. The lamp was developed by French physicist Georges Claude.   1917 - The Quebec Bridge opened for traffic after almost 20 years of planning and construction. The bridge suffered partial collapses in 1907 (August 29) and 1916 (September 11).   1931 - Alka Seltzer was sold for the first time.   1947 - The Tennessee Williams play "A Streetcar Named Desire" opened at Broadway's Ethel Barrymore Theater.   1948 - The "Pumpkin Papers" came to public light. The House Un-American Activities Committee announced that former Communist spy Whittaker Chambers had produced microfilm of secret documents hidden inside a pumpkin on his Maryland farm.   1950 - Paul Harvey began his national radio broadcast.   1950 - Tom Fears (Los Angeles Rams) caught an NFL-record 18 passes against the Green Bay Packers. Terrell Owens (San Francisco 49ers) broke the record with 20 catches for 283 yards and a touchdown against the Chicago Bears on December 17, 2000.   1967 - In Cape Town, South Africa, a team of surgeons headed by Dr. Christian Barnard, performed the first human heart transplant on Louis Washkansky. Washkansky only lived 18 days.   1967 - The famed luxury train, "20th Century Limited," completed its final run from New York to Chicago.   1968 - The rules committee of Major League Baseball (MLB) announced that in 1969 the pitcher's mound would be lowered from 15 to 10 inches. This was done in order to "get more batting action."   1973 - Pioneer 10 sent back the first close-up images of Jupiter. The first outer-planetary probe had been launched from Cape Canaveral, FL, on March 2, 1972.   1982 - Doctors at the University of Utah Medical Center removed the respirator of Barney Clark. The retired dentist had become the world's first recipient of a permanent artificial heart only one day before.   1983 - 3-foot-high concrete barriers were installed at two White House entrances.   1984 - In Bhopal, India, more than 2,000 people were killed after a cloud of poisonous gas escaped from a pesticide plant. The plant was operated by a Union Carbide subsidiary.   1987 - U.S. President Reagan said there was a good chance of progress toward a treaty on long-range weapons with Mikhail S. Gorbachev.   1992 - The UN Security Council unanimously approved a U.S.-led military mission to help starving Somalians.   1992 - The Greek tanker "Aegean Sea" ran aground at La Coruna, Spain and spilled 21.5 million gallons of crude oil.   1993 - Britain's Princess Diana announced she would be limiting her public appearances because she was tired of the media's intrusions into her life.   1993 - Angola's government and its rebel enemies agreed to a cease-fire in their 18-year war.   1994 - Rebel Serbs in Bosnia failed to keep a pledge to release hundreds of UN peacekeepers.   1995 - Former South Korean president Chun Doo-hwan was arrested for his role in a 1979 coup.   1997 - Pierce Brosnan received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.   1997 - In Ottawa, Canada, more than 120 countries were represented to sign a treaty prohibiting the use and production of anti-personnel land mines. The United States, China and Russia did not sign the treaty.   1997 - South Korea received $55 billion from the International Monetary Fund to bailout its economy.   1999 - Tori Murden became the first woman to row across the Atlantic Ocean alone. It took her 81 days to reach the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe from the Canary Islands.   1999 - The World Trade Organization (WTO) concluded a four-day meeting in Seattle, WA, without setting an agenda for a new round of trade talks. The meeting was met with fierce protests by various groups.   1999 - The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) lost radio contact with the Mars Polar Lander as it entered Mars' atmosphere. The spacecraft was unmanned.



1818 Illinois became the 21st state in the United States. 1833 Oberlin College in Ohio became the first coed institution of higher learning in the U.S. 1910 Mary Baker Eddy, founder of the Christian Science movement, died. 1919 French painter and sculptor Pierre A. Renoir died at age 78. 1967 Dr. Christiaan N. Barnard performed the world's first successful human heart transplant. 1984 A cloud of deadly poison gas leaked from the Union Carbide plant in Bhopal, India, killing over 4,000 people.




The following links are to web sites that were used to complete this blog entry:

http://www.historyorb.com/today/events.php

http://on-this-day.com/onthisday/thedays/alldays/dec03.htm

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history

http://www.infoplease.com/dayinhistory

2013-14 NFL Week 13 Review The Sweet Carolina Panthers

So, the team that I have been really paying attention to, as well as greatly impressed with, lately would be the Carolina Panthers.

Why? Because they remind me of some of the great defensive teams in the past. Most especially, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, who rode a record-smashing defense to their first ever Super Bowl championship.

I'm sure you're scratching your head right now, and thinking, "Wait a minute You're comparing these Panthers to the Super Bowl champion Ravens of 2000? In a year when high flying offenses seem to be the norm, and are definitely the headline grabbers?"

That's right. These Panthers have a killer defensive unit. As a Giants fan, I witnessed that firsthand, when the normally prolific Giants offense was bullied and beaten down, eventually losing 38-0, in a game where they were outplayed in every facet of the game.

And the Panthers at that point were struggling! They entered that game with an 0-2 record, and would follow that up with a 22-6 loss at Arizona.

So, why would I compare them with a team that many felt was the greatest defensive unit in the history of the game?

Because these Panthers have stormed back with a vengeance, winning eight straight since that abysmal 1-3 start. Moreover, because during that eight game stretch, they have only allowed a team to reach 20 points - and only 20 points- once. And that was the New England Patriots! They also beat the 49ers in San Francisco, and held Seattle to 12 points in a season opening loss, which is the lowest point total that the mighty Seahawks have been held to. The Panthers could potentially hold their collective opponents to under 200 points total, which only a handful of elite defenses have managed to do in a 16-game season.

Plus, they have a dynamic quarterback in Cam Newton, who could kill you with his arm, but also has plenty of mobility to add that element of unpredictability and potential explosiveness on offense. In a five game stretch earlier this season, they scored at least 30 points five times! On average, they are beating opponents by over ten points, and they seem to be getting better as the season goes along. They just have the feel of a team that is putting it all together at precisely the right moment to make a run throughout the playoffs.

Now, here's the thing: they have a very tough opponent in their division, and have still two full meetings against them in their schedule. The Saints and the panthers will meet twice - first next week, at New Orleans. Then, a few weeks later, they will meet again in Carolina. So, those are two huge games, and that uncertainty is the reason that I am holding off on proclaiming the Panthers as my de facto favorite to upset the Seahawks in Seattle, and represent the NFC in this year's Super Bowl.

Still, I think this team is better, and I mean far, better, than most people realize. And if the Saints should happen to lose tomorrow at Seattle, and then the Panthers manage to knock the Saints off in New Orleans next weekend, then it would be hard to imagine the Panthers not earning that valuable playoff bye, and having a real shot at the Super Bowl.

All the elements are there, it seems. And all I am really saying is that, right now, Carolina looks like a team that I'd be willing to put some money on, judging from what they have done so far.

But, of course, they still have to play the Saints - twice! And the season is far from over, and that leaves uncertainty. There could be injuries, they could lose badly to the Saints, who suddenly expose a weakness that did not seem to be there before. It's too early to make assured Super Bowl predictions just yet. But right now, I am more than a little impressed with what they are doing, and it leads me to suspect that where they are going might be considerably further than I first imagined!

In any case, the Panthers smothered the Tampa Bay Buccaneers yesterday. Tampa Bay had entered the game on a hot streak, with three straight wins, but they were no match for Carolina, who won easily, 27-6, in what can only be considered a complete performance, thus keeping the pressure on the more flashy and famous New Orleans Saints.

In the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs were able to host another big showdown against the Denver Broncos, following their loss a couple of weeks ago which, at the time, was their first loss. But in an exciting, rather back and forth game (once again), the Broncos emerged victorious (yet again) to really assume control in the AFC West race.

The New England Patriots are nipping at the heels of the Denver Broncos, but they almost slipped up bad and were flirting with a major upset loss at Houston. But Brady and his bunch were able to pull through in an exciting and high scoring game, eventually outlasting the Texans, 34-31, and handing Houston their tenth straight loss in a row. I know I've said it before, but it is truly staggering to think that, just a couple of months or so ago, the Texans were considered serious Super Bowl contenders. Now, they look like they could get the first pick in the draft. What a dramatic reversal of fortunes!

Speaking of dramatic reversals of fortunes, the Falcons had a sizable lead in the NFC Championship Game last season, and looked to be in position to make a serious run again this season. Instead, they entered the game against Buffalo at 2-9, and had long ago ceased to be relevant in the NFC playoff picture. I'll admit to making a bet in favor of the Bills here, figuring that the Falcons were done, and the prospects of winning a game in an outdoor stadium in Buffalo in December were dire, particularly against a team that I always assumed was better than their record would indicate, and still were fighting for a chance, however slim, at making the playoffs.

But I was wrong, and the Falcons eventually outlasted the Bills in overtime, in a game that was back and forth. Buffalo seemed to be rolling early, jumping out to a 14-0 lead and seeming to be in command. But the Falcons finally showed a glimpse of what they were last season, and fought back, eventually managing to tie it all up. The Bills would take the lead, then the Falcons would tie it up. Over and over, this was the pattern.

Buffalo seemed to have a chance to wrap it up and get the "W" towards the end of regulation. They were heading towards field goal position, which would have been enough. But a costly turnover gave the Falcons another chance. They forced overtime, and finally managed to clinch it with a field goal of their own. And my best was lost.

Indianapolis has been an up and down team, showing remarkable inconsistency throughout the season. It was hard to tell at times whether the Colts were the team that were seemingly bordering on being one of the elites, when the beat teams like Denver, San Francisco, and Seattle, or the team that kept losing inexplicably to teams that they seemingly should be able to beat.

But this weekend, they had a huge game with monumental implications within the division, as they hosted the Tennessee Titans. And, they got the job done, effectively wrapping up the AFC North with a seemingly insurmountable lead, and a relatively easy schedule remaining. I expect them to be the third seed in the AFC playoffs, ahead of the Bengals, but unable to challenge the Broncos or the Patriots for one of the top two spots, and a playoff bye. Still, they looked pretty damn good this weekend, and now seem to be in good position with the playoffs nearing.

In a battle of serious NFC playoff contenders, the visiting Arizona Cardinals played well, but were eventually sent down to defeat in Philadelphia, as the Eagles kept pace with the Cowboys for the NFC East title.

The Cincinnati Bengals managed to stay atop of the AFC North by grinding out a tough road win at San Diego. The 49ers hung on for a solid win against the St. Louis Rams. In a big AFC East showdown between two playoff contenders, the visiting Miami Dolphins completely shut down the New York Jets, bringing the Jets that much closer to the brink of elimination, after a promising start to the season. The Jaguars knocked off the Browns in Cleveland.

The Bears lost a costly game in Minnesota, in overtime, squandering a sizable lead for much of the game. With the Detroit Lions lopsided victory over the Packers on Thanksgiving Day, it gives the Lions sole possession of first place in the NFC North, and a very decent shot at being able to wrap up the division if they play their cards right.

In the other two Thanksgiving Day match ups, the Ravens held on in an intensely close game against their division rival Pittsburgh Steelers, while the Cowboys pulled off a come from behind victory against the Oakland Raiders.