Thursday, December 21, 2006

Today in History....December 21

On this day in …

1620, Pilgrims aboard the Mayflower went ashore for the first time at present-day Plymouth, Mass.

1913, the first crossword puzzle was published, in the New York World
1945, Gen. George S. Patton died in Heidelberg, Germany, of injuries from a car accident

1948, the state of Eire, or Ireland (formerly the Irish Free State), declared its independence

1968, Apollo 8 was launched on a mission to orbit the moon

1975, in Vienna, Austria, Carlos the Jackal leads a raid on a meeting of oil ministers from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). German and Arab terrorists stormed in with machine guns, killed three people, and took 63 people hostage, including 11 OPEC ministers. Calling his group the "Arm of the Arab Revolution," Carlos demanded that an anti-Israeli political statement be broadcast over radio, and that a bus and jet be provided for the terrorists and their hostages. Austrian authorities complied, and all the hostages were released in Algeria unharmed. OPEC did not hold another summit for 25 years

1976, the Liberian-registered tanker Argo Merchant broke apart near Nantucket Island almost a week after running aground, spilling 7.5 million gallons of oil into the North Atlantic

1988, 270 people were killed by practitioners of that "religion of peace" when a terrorist bomb exploded aboard a Pan Am Boeing 747 over Lockerbie, Scotland, sending wreckage crashing to the ground

1991, in a final step signifying the dismemberment of the Soviet Union, 11 of the 12 Soviet republics declare that they are forming the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). Just a few days later, Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev announced he was stepping down from his position. The Soviet Union ceased to exist

1995, the city of Bethlehem passed from Israeli to "Palestinian" control. Christians living there immediately had their lives made miserable by the new Authority

2001, Hamas announced it was suspending suicide bombings and mortar attacks in Israel. It didn't last long

2005, the Senate approved a six-month extension of the USA Patriot Act to keep the anti-terror law from expiring on Dec. 31, 2005

2 Comments:

At 11:54 AM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Joe: I love your history segments. Thank you.

Just in case you didn't see my response in the comment section, I will repost it here. I apologize for being off topic.

Joegringo: Thank you. In fact,the race for souls in the most populous parts of the world is won by Christianity.

The distinguished Professor of History and Religious Studies at Pennsylvania State University, Philip Jenkins has the stats.

http://www.cceia.org/resources/transcripts/5399.html

I would also submit that in fact the International Jihad WAS the Islamic Reformation of our times, right in keeping with the cycles of Islam.
Islam goes through cycles of "uppitiness" following which its internal contradictions cause it to lose one too many wars, and it gets beaten back (by military force usually) into some more benign form for about another 200 years or so...

In fact, Islam has never been non-militant...only subdued.

The true nature and intent of the other side was understood in 641 by Cyrus, the governor of Egypt, who said of the invading Muslim army "They love death more than we love life".
What they will barter with, as always, is not peace and stability but "Islam, Tribute or Sword".

Merry Christmas to you and all your loved ones.

 
At 2:46 PM, Blogger Joe Gringo said...

Thank you very much! A daily dose of history is good for 'ya!

It's a busy time of year, so everyone's time is tight, your definitely on my "rotation", jsut a little sqeezed for time.

I read an article in FrontPageMag.com a few weeks back and it suggested that Islam was on the rise and that Russia, Spain and Italy will be over run by Muslims in a generation or two, I will find it and send it to you. I also did a post on the timeline of Islam's history and its wars that is a nice compliment to your post.

I look forward to reading the URL you sent, either tonight or tomorrow, now it's off to "start " more or less my Christmas Shopping for the Mrs.' gift(s).

Keep up with the great info, your blog's a keeper.

FYI, my loved ones include:

http://joegringo.blogspot.com/2006/10/11-years-ago-today-3-kids-later.html

 

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