Today in History: December 29, 2007

WAR!, TERRORISM, POLITICS, EXECUTION, DISASTER, DISEASE, DEATH, MURDER, BIRTH, CULTURE, BIRTHDAYS



In 1916, Grigory Rasputin, the so-called "Mad Monk" who'd wielded great influence with Czar Nicholas II, was murdered by a group of Russian noblemen in St. Petersburg.

WAR!

In December 29, 1890, the Wounded Knee massacre took place in South Dakota as an estimated 300 Sioux Indians were killed by U.S. troops sent to disarm them.

In 1940, during World War II, Germany dropped incendiary bombs on London, setting off what came to be known as "The Second Great Fire of London."

TERRORISM

In 1975, a bomb exploded in the main terminal of New York's LaGuardia Airport, killing 11 people.

In 2002, Secretary of State Colin Powell, making the rounds of the Sunday TV talk shows, said there was still time to find a diplomatic resolution to North Korea's development of nuclear weapons, and that the situation hadn't yet reached the crisis stage.

POLITICS

In 1845, Texas was admitted as the 28th state.

In 1989, playwright Vaclav Havel was elected president of Czechoslovakia by the country's Federal Assembly, becoming the first non-Communist to attain the post in more than four decades.

EXECUTION

In 2006, word reached the United States of the execution of former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein (because of the time difference, it was the morning of December 30th in Iraq when the hanging took place). In a statement, President Bush called Saddam's execution a milestone on Iraq's road to democracy.

DISASTER

In 2006, more than 400 people died when a crowded Indonesian ferry sank in the Java Sea.

DISEASE

In 1997, Hong Kong began killing 1.4 million chickens to stem the spread of a mysterious bird flu that had already killed four people.

DEATH

In 2006, Gerald R. Ford's flag-draped casket was carried into a church in Palm Desert, California, for a public viewing that marked the start of six days of mourning for the former president.

MURDER

In 1170, Thomas Becket, the Archbishop of Canterbury, was murdered in Canterbury Cathedral in England by knights loyal to King Henry II.

BIRTH

In 1808, the 17th president of the United States, Andrew Johnson, was born in Raleigh, North Carolina.

CULTURE

In 1851, the first American Young Men's Christian Association was organized, in Boston.

In 1957, singers Steve Lawrence and Eydie Gorme were married in Las Vegas, Nevada.

BIRTHDAYS

Actor Clarence Swensen ("The Wizard of Oz")
is 90. Actress Inga Swenson is 75. ABC newscaster Tom Jarriel is
73. Actress Mary Tyler Moore is 70. Actor Jon Voight is 69. Country
singer Ed Bruce is 68. Rock musician Ray Thomas is 66. Singer Marianne Faithfull is 61. Jockey Laffit Pincay Junior is 61. Actor Ted Danson is 60. Actor Jon Polito is 57. Singer-actress Yvonne Elliman is 56. Actress Patricia Clarkson is 48. Comedian Paula Poundstone is 48. Rock singer-musician Jim Reid (The Jesus and Mary Chain) is 46. Rock singer Dexter Holland (The Offspring) is 42. Actor-comedian Mystro Clark is 41. Actor Jason Gould is 41. Movie director Andy Wachowski is 40. Actress Jennifer Ehle is 38. Rock singer-musician Glen Phillips is 37. Actor Kevin Weisman is 37. Actor Jude Law is 35. Actor Mekhi Phifer is 33. Actor Shawn Hatosy is 32. Actor Diego Luna is 28. Country singer Jessica Andrews is 24.

December 29, the 363rd day of 2007. There are two days left in the year.

compiled by Mondoreb
[image: curiouschapbooks]
Source: Today in History





Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.

May Exceed AIDS Death TollSuper Bug Now in U.S. 90,000 Potential Victims

[photo:CNN]
Estimated to Kill More Than AIDS

by Mondoreb

Last week, Death by 1000 Papercuts reported on a "super bug" that's been killing hospital patients in the U.K. Now, news of the Super Bug's spread to the U.S.

From CNN:

More than 90,000 Americans get potentially deadly infections each year from a drug-resistant staph "superbug," the government reported Tuesday in its first overall estimate of invasive disease caused by the germ.

Deaths tied to these infections may exceed those caused by AIDS, said one public health expert commenting on the new study. The report shows just how far one form of the staph germ has spread beyond its traditional hospital setting.

The overall incidence rate was about 32 invasive infections per 100,000 people. That's an "astounding" figure, said an editorial in Wednesday's Journal of the American Medical Association, which published the study.

As we observed last week, Super Bug's not as catchy as the "brain-eating microbes" found in the Arizona lake last month, but it's starting to get our attention.



Back to Front Page.

UPDATE: Morgellons, The Mysterious New Disease

by Little Baby Ginn

An update concerning our original September 20 post concerning the mysterious disease that researchers and doctors alike are now seeing.

From the Mayo Clinic
Morgellons disease is a mysterious skin disorder characterized by disfiguring sores and crawling sensations on and under the skin. Although Morgellons disease isn't widely recognized as a medical diagnosis, experts from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) are investigating reports of the condition.

This is very unusual, to say the least. A disease that many doctors don't recognize? Isn't this 2007? More:

From TLDM
A mysterious skin disease is spreading across the country, and it has already extended into parts of Texas, California, and Florida. It's called Morgellons, a parasite-like infection that will literally make your skin crawl. Patients say it feels like bugs are crawling all over you. To make matters even worse, many doctors say the victims are delusional.

From our original Papercuts post.
by Little Baby Ginn

Just when you thought that the only thing to worry about was nuclear holocaust, the War in Iraq and the falling dollar.

There exists in our world today, a disease, so unusual, that after 5 years of research by various groups, not a single person has, to this date, been able to figure out what it is.
We need the help of concerned citizens, caring health care professionals, interested media and government agencies to help us help ourselves understand what this unknown skin disease (Fiber Disease Syndrome) is, where it came from and how we can work together to eradicate it before it becomes an epidemic.
Unknown Disease.com

Doctors and researchers seem concerned that it's spreading and they don't have the foggiest notion of what it is or how to fight it. In fact, those who have contracted it have sometimes been labeled "delusional".

DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
DIGG THIS!
Back to FRONT PAGE

STRANGE NEW DISEASE: Doctors, Researchers Don't Have a Clue

by Little Baby Ginn

Just when you thought that the only thing to worry about was nuclear holocaust, the War in Iraq and the falling dollar.

There exists in our world today, a disease, so unusual, that after 5 years of research by various groups, not a single person has, to this date, been able to figure out what it is.
We need the help of concerned citizens, caring health care professionals, interested media and government agencies to help us help ourselves understand what this unknown skin disease (Fiber Disease Syndrome) is, where it came from and how we can work together to eradicate it before it becomes an epidemic.
Unknown Disease.com

Doctors and researchers seem concerned that it's spreading and they don't have the foggiest notion of what it is or how to fight it. In fact, those who have contracted it have sometimes been labeled "delusional".

Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences
Center for the Investigation of Morgellons Disease
Morgellons is a multi-system disease of unknown etiology
Morgellons disease is discounted by many public health officials and physicians
Physical and neurological symptoms are often dismissed or ignored
Sufferers are labeled with delusions of parasites or neurotic excoriations
OSU-CHS physicians/researchers have physical evidence of Morgellons Disease
Morgellons is not psychiatric in origin
Morgellons is an emergent disease.
More info here.

It's now after lunchtime on the East coast, so I figured this was as good a time to bring everyone up to speed on this new addition to the Human Disease Fraternity.
DBKP.com - Bigger, Better!.
Death by 1000 Papercuts Front Page.