Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Happy Groundhog Day 2011



                                                             February 2, 2011
February 2 is … Purification Day

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

For all you older readers and readers that like a good show, go to the web address below;
Famous people born on February 2 through the years:
1895 George S Halas [Papa Bear], end/coach (Bears), co-founder NFL
1947 Mary Farrah Leni Fawcett Corpus Christi TX, actress (Charlie's Angels, Burning Bed)
1947 Peter Lucia rock drummer (Tommy James & Shondells-Crystal Blue)
1947 Derek Shulman rocker
1948 Alan McKay rocker (Earth Wind & Fire-Boogie Wonderland)
1948 Tony DeMeur rocker (Fabulous Poodles-Anna Rexia, Suicide Bridge)
1948 Jessica Savitch Kennett Square PA, news anchor (NBC)
1949 Sherry Mathis Memphis TN, actress (
Search for Tomorrow)
1949 Tom Tripplehorn rocker (Gary Lewis & Playboys-This Diamond Ring)
1949 Jetty Weels Surinamese/Dutch vocalist (Mai Tai)
1949 Ross Valory San Francisco CA, rock bassist (Journey-Who's Crying Now, Open Arms)
1949 Sherry Mathis actress (Search for Tomorrow)
1950 Barbara Sukowa German Federal Republic, actress (Zentropia, Sicilian, Voyager, Lola)
1950 Osamu Kido wrestler (NJPW/UWF)
1951 Kim Zimmer Grand Rapids MI, actress (Guiding Light, Doctors, One Life to Live)
1951 Alphonso Johnson jazz bassist
1953 James Mndaweni South African worker's union leader/president (NACTU)
1953 Penny Pulz LPGA golfer
1954 Christie Brinkley [Ex-Mrs Billy Joel], model/actress (Sports Illustrated, Vacation)
1954 Jayantha Amerasinghe cricketer (2 Tests for Sri Lanka vs New Zealand 1983)
1955 Michael Talbott Waverly IA, actor (Stan-Miami Vice)
1955 Brent Spiner Houston TX, actor (Data-Star Trek the Next Generation)

1955 Bruce A. Brennan Famed attorney and writer; still living.

1956 Mary K. Brennan Famed Speech Pathologist, autism expert, wonderful mother; married well. Alive and still beautiful.

1957 Laurie Mann current DPS curator/geek
1957 Sandra Joyce Cagle Milwaukee WI, playmate (February 1980)
1958 Dexter Manley NFLer (Washington Redskins)
1958 Holly Hunter Conyers GA, actress (Broadcast News, Once Around)

Important events from February 2nd throughout history, except birth of my wife and myself, see above.

The World Food Programme reports that 4.3 million people suffer from hunger in Sudan, the number has quadrupled since 2009
Iran launches first domestically made satellite, Omid, into orbit
Daniel Baldwin hospitalized in New York City for cocaine overdose
Philippine DC-9 crashes apparently killing all 104 on board
"Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus" closes at Gershwin New York City
Mark O'Meara wins Pebble Beach National Golf Pro-am
NFL Pro Bowl: AFC beats NFC 26-23 (OT)
Royal Caribbean Senior Golf Classic
Ali Landry, 22, (Louisiana), crowned 45th Miss USA
"Moliere Comedies" opens at Criterion Theater New York City for 56 performances
Henry Olonga no-balled for throwing in Zimbabwe-Pakistan Test Cricket
U.S. space shuttle Discovery launched
Frito Lay pays court ordered $2,500,000 to Tom Wait for using his song
Irina Privalova runs world record 50m indoor (6.05 sec)
Colleen Walker wins Oldsmobile LPGA Golf Classic
Danny Everett runs world record 400m indoor (45.02 sec)
David Boon's 13 Test Cricket century, 107 vs. India at Perth
IRS and Willie Nelson settle on $9M tax bill (of $16.7M)
Kieren Perkins swims world record 1500m freestyle (14:32.40)
NFL Pro Bowl: NFC beats AFC 21-15
Aravinda De Silva scores 267 vs. New Zealand at Wellington
U.S. postage is raised from 25 cents to 29 cents
Marina Ogilvy, daughter of English princess Alexandra, weds Paul Mowatt
South Africa's President FW de Klerk promises to free Nelson Mandela and legalizes ANC and 60 other political orgs
0 degrees F (-18 degrees C) or below in 15 U.S. states
FW de Klerk replaces Botha as South Africa's National Party leader
NL announces Yankees' broadcaster Bill White will be 1st black president
David Boon's 6th Test Cricket century, 184* vs. England at Sydney
Kansas City Royal pitcher Dennis Leonard (3X 20 game winner), retires
Philippines adopts constitution
"Jerome Kern Goes to Hollywood" closes at Ritz New York City after 13 performances
Ayako Okamoto wins LPGA Elizabeth Arden Golf Classic
Dalai Lama meets Pope John Paul II in India
NFL Pro Bowl: NFC beats AFC 28-24
Oscar Arias Sanchez elected president of Costa Rica
U.S. Male Figure Skating championship won by Brian Boitano
8th Soap Opera Digest Poll Awards
Lebanese army fight in Beirut
Chicago Absp Joseph L. Bernardin is among 18 new cardinals invested
Pope John Paul II names 18 new cardinals
"Late Night with David Letterman" premieres on NBC
Government troops and Moslem-fundamentalists battle in Hamah Syria
San Diego beats Miami 41-38 in OT after blowing a 24-0 lead
FBI releases details of Abscam, a sting operation that targeted 31 elected and public officials for bribes for political favors
Burn up of Salyut 4 Space Station (U.S.S.R.)
Radio Shack officially begins creating TRS-80 computer
Toronto's Ian Turnbull scores 5 goals, NHL Record for a defenseman
"Honeymooners Second Honeymoon" airs on TV
"Rich Little Show," debuts on NBC-TV
Roger Connor, Fred Lindstrom and ump Cal Hubbard elected to Hall of Fame
Army offensive against rebels in Eritrea Ethiopia
Donna Caponi Young wins LPGA Burdine's Golf Invitational
U.S. Female Figure Skating championship won by Dorothy Hamill
U.S. Male Figure Skating championship won by Gordon McKellen Jr
Barbra Striesand's 1st #1 hit, "The Way We Were"
Pope Paul VI encyclical "To Honor Mary"
Smallest crowd at Cleveland Arena (Cavs vs. Golden State-1,641)
"Midnight Special" rock music show debuts on NBC-TV
James R. Schlesinger, becomes 9th director of CIA
Richard Helms, ends term as 8th director of CIA
Test Cricket debut of Richard John Hadlee, New Zealand vs. Pakistan, Wellington
Lefty Gomez, Ross Youngs and William Harridge selected for Hall of Fame
Tom Stoppard's "Jumpers," premieres in London
Idi Amin ousts Milton Obote to become dictator of Uganda
Pete Maravich becomes 1st to score 3,000 college basketball points
KMST TV channel 46 in Monterey-Salinas, California (CBS) begins broadcasting
Stan Coveleski and Waite Hoyt are voted into baseball Hall of Fame
Springer Publishers in West Berlin, bombed
Bolivia adopts its constitution
Formation of American Basketball Association is announced
Joe Ortons "Loot," premieres in Brighton
GI Joe, debuts as a popular American boy's toy
Sjoukje Dijkstra (Netherlands) wins Olympic gold for figure skating
Red Faber, Burleigh Grimes, Tim Keefe, Heinie Manush, John Montgomery Ward, and Miller Huggins are selected to Hall of Fame
Helen Shapiro begins tour (Beatles are part of undercard)
1st pole vault over 16' (4.88m) (John Uelses-16', Melrose Games)
8 of 9 planets align for 1st time in 400 years
U.S.S.R. performs nuclear test at Semipalitinsk, Eastern Kazakhstan U.S.S.R.
Prince Bernhard opens new RAI building in Amsterdam
Michale Eufemia sinks 625 balls in pool match without a miss
Buddy Holly's last performance
Vince Lombardi signs a 5 year contract to coach Green Bay Packers
Fay Crocker wins LPGA Havana Biltmore Golf Open
Syria joins Egypt in United Arab Republic
WRIK (now WLUZ) TV channel 7 in Ponce, Puerto Rico (PTC) begins broadcasting
"Candide" closes at Martin Beck Theater New York City after 73 performances
United Nations adopts a resolution calling for Israeli troops to leave Egypt
Coasters sign with Atlantic Records
1st presidential news conference on network TV, Eisenhower on ABC
Bevo Francis, Rio Grande College, scores 113 pts in basketball game
President Eisenhower reports detonation of 1st H-bomb, done in 1952
Snow falls on Gibraltar
-35 degrees F (-37 degrees C), Greensburg, Indiana (state record until 1994)
U.S. performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
"Arms and the Girl" opens at 46th St. Theater New York City for 134 performances
1st broadcast of "What's My Line," on CBS-TV
1st 45 RPM record released
Golfing champ Ben Hogan seriously injured in an auto accident
President Truman urges congress to adopt a civil rights program
"Nellie Bly" closes at Adelphi Theater New York City after 16 performances
Escape attempt at Mauthausen concentration camp
4th U.S. marine division conquerors Roi, Marshall Islands
Allied troops 1st set foot on Japanese territory
Baseball meets in New York City to discuss postwar action
Edward Chodorov's "Decision," premieres in New York City
Battle of Stalingrad ends with final surrender of the German army
Cubs return to original uniform after experimenting with a vest
German 6th Army surrenders at Stalingrad, turning point of WW II
Los Angeles Times urges security measures against Japanese-Americans
U.S. auto factories switch from commercial to war production
Frank Sinatra's singing debut in Indianapolis, Tommy Dorsey Orchestra
Lie detector 1st used in court, Portage, Wisconsin
Dutch RC Bishops warn against fascism/nazism
2 days after becoming chancellor, Adolf Hitler dissolves Parliament
Goring bans communist meetings/demonstrations in Germany
Ucicky's "Rotten Morning," premieres in Berlin
Al Capone sent to prison
Geneva disarmament conference begins with 60 countries
Grimmett takes 14 wickets vs. South Africa (7-116 and 7-83)
Reconstruction Finance Corp organized
1st siyyum of Talmud celebrated by Daf Yomi students
1st use of a rocket to deliver mail, Austria
Harry Tierney/Joseph McCarthy's "Rio Rita," premieres in New York City
Ziegfeld Theater (Loew's Ziegfeld) opens at 6th Ave and 54th St. New York City
3 men dance Charleston for 22 hours
Belgian episcopacy rejects liberalism, communism and socialism
Dogsleds reach Nome with emergency diphtheria serum after 1000-km
NL holds Golden Jubilee Year meeting at same hotel where NL began
International Ski Federation (FIS) forms
Ethyl gasoline 1st marketed, Dayton, Ohio
United States signs friendship treaty with Central American countries
It was 2:22:22 on 2/2/22
James Joyce's "Ulysses" published in Paris (1,000 copies)
Estonia declares its Independence from Russia (Dorpat Peace)
France occupies (German) Memel territory
Tarto/Dorpat peace treaty: U.S.S.R. recognizes Estonian independence
Monarchist riot in Portugal
James Royce Shannon's musical "Shameen Dhu," premieres in New York City
N.Y. Giants sign Jim Thorpe
New York City's Grand Central Terminal opens
Frederick R Law, parachutes from Statue of Liberty (stunt for Pathe)
Italian writer Marinetti publishes Futurist Manifest in Paris
Pope encyclical against separation of church and state
U.S. blues singer Gertrude Pridgett marries comic William Rainey
Female Army Nurse Corps established as a permanent organization
Gustave Charpentiers opera "Louise" premieres in Paris
U.S. warship Kearsarge wrecked on Roncador Reef, near Solomon Island
1st movie close-up, of a sneeze, Edison studio, West Orange, New Jersey
Bottle cap with cork seal patented by William Painter (Baltimore)
Johnny Briggs takes a hat-trick, England vs. Australia SCG
Longest boxing match under modern rules; 77 rounds in Nameoki, Illinois between Harry Sharpe and Frank Crosby
Knights of Columbus forms in New Haven, Conn
SS Strathleven arrives in London with 1st Australian frozen mutton
Greece declares war on Turkey
Baseball's National League forms with teams in Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Hartford, Louisville, New York, Philadelphia, St. Louis
Cardiff Giant (supposed petrified human) proved to be gypsum
Mark Twain, 34, marries Olivia Langdon in Elmira, New York
James Oliver invents removable tempered steel plow blade
Samuel Clemens becomes Mark Twain for 1st time
Pope Pius IX encyclical "On persecution of Armenians"
1st British public men's toilet opens (Fleet St. London)
Alexandre Dumas Jr's "Le Dame aux Camelias," premieres in Paris
1st ship load of Chinese arrive in San Francisco
Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ends Mexican War; U.S. acquires Texas California, New Mexico and Arizona for $15 million
U.S. and British settlers in Oregon Country choose government committee
Madman Jonathan Martin sets York Cathedral afire, does 60,000 pounds damage
Rossini's opera "Semiramide" premieres in Venice
Russian settlers establish Ft. Ross trading post, north of SF
1st leopard exhibited in U.S., Boston (admission 25 cents )
Federal St. Theater, Boston, becomes 1st in U.S. destroyed by fire
Joseph Haydns 102nd Symphony in B, premieres
Thomas Arnes opera "Artaxerxes," premieres in London
British Walpole government resigns
King Frederik Willem I moves Lutherans towards East-Prussia
Georg F Handels opera "Poro," premieres in London
Nicholas Rowe's "tragedy of Jane Shore," premieres in London
British sailor Alexander Selkirk is rescued after being marooned on a desert island for 5 years, his story inspires "Robinson Crusoe"
New Amsterdam becomes a city, later called New York City
Zorilla's "El mas Impropio Verdugo Para Las," premieres in Madrid
M Rossi's opera "Erminia sul Giordano," premieres in Rome
English Edward Seymour duke of Somerset, freed
Pedro de Mendoza finds Argentine city of Buenos Aires
2nd battle of St. Alban's-Lancastrian defeat Yorkists
Battle at Lincoln: King Stephen captured
Guido di Borgogna elected Pope Callistus II
Koenraad II succeeds Rudolf III as king of Bourgundy
Pope John XII crowns German King Otto I the Great Emperor


HAPPY BIRTHDAY MARY K.

THUS ENDETH THE LESSON ABOUT THE DATE OF FEBRUARY 2ND.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN
DEKALB, IL 60115
COPYRIGHT 2011
Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase an interesting and inexpensive read. My second book should be available by February 15, 2011. More information will be forthcoming.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ (do a quick search, Title, my name)
http://www.smashwords.com/ Do a Title or author search, Check this site out.
Check out the site below. Paybox is a new site, competing with PayPal, etc. Sign up is free. It seems good for small businesses or ebay users.

“Share your happiness with others today.”



Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Egypt and its President.


February 1, 2011
February 1 is … Serpent Day. Not related to Rattlesnake Roundup Day.

BRUCE A. BRENNAN BLOG FROM THE WORLD AND MY MIND

The news as I see it and the views as I want them.

Wait until you see the people born on February 2nd throughout history. I am excited.

EGYPT 101

TIMELINE OF KEY DEVELOPMENTS


What's Going On In Egypt?: Protests started on Tuesday, January 25, when inspired by the successful revolution in Tunisia thousands began taking to the streets to protest poverty, rampant unemployment, government corruption and autocratic governance of President Hosni Mubarak, who has ruled the country for 30 years. These were the first protests on such a large scale in Egypt since the 1970s.

Why Egypt Matters: Why is the story gaining traction? There are a number of factors that make Egypt's unrest important, in that country, the Middle East, and the world.  Egypt should matter to you.

Quick Facts About Egypt: Established in 3100 B.C., Egypt today has a population of approximately 79 million. Its people speak Arabic and 99% are Egyptian. The country staged its first modern revolution in 1919 and established independence in 1922. Continued instability due to remaining British influence led to a second revolution in 1952 and the creation of the Egyptian Republic in 1953

The President of Egypt is not really a President, as Americans know a President. He has ruled under a state of emergency for nearly his entire thirty years in power. He runs for re-election with only token opposition. He effectively has absolute power. As most despots discover, you can’t keep a good man or woman down for long.
Thousands of protesters have been occupying Cairo's Tahrir Square calling for the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, and the military on Sunday flew fighter jets over downtown Cairo and used tanks to close roads in the Egyptian capital. Here are five facts about the Egyptian leader, his life, his power, his love of control and, of course, his regime, discovered while researching this situation on the internet. Although the United States is an ally with Egypt, that provides Egypt with huge sums of foreign aid, we have never been entirely comfortable with President Mubarak, his government, his style of governing and the corruption so ingrained in Muslim leaders, Muslim countries and the entire Middle East. Only the rulers are rich.   

1. Born in 1928 in a small village near Cairo, Mubarak is a former bomber pilot and the former head of the Egyptian air force. He and his wife have two adult sons, Gamal and Alaa. Opposition groups fear Gamal, a former investment banker, is being groomed for the presidency.

2. Mubarak is the fourth president of Egypt, and the country's longest-serving president. He has ruled Egypt for almost 30 years. Notably, a state of emergency has remained in effect in Egypt for almost all of those years, giving the government far-reaching powers.

3. He served as vice president of Egypt beginning in 1975, assuming the presidency after President Anwar Sadat was assassinated during an October 1981 parade in Cairo. Mubarak was sitting next to him, but escaped the shots.

4. Mubarak has not had a vice president in over a decade, until appointing Omar Suleiman to the post on Saturday. He won his first three presidential elections running unopposed, but for the first time had a rival candidate during the 2005 elections.

5. Mubarak has survived several assassination attempts; the BBC says he's survived at least six. Perhaps most notably, his entourage was attacked by men toting AK-47s in Ethiopia in 1995, but he was safe inside his armored Mercedes-Benz which Suleiman, a trusted aide, had insisted be flown there for the state visit.

The article below could be revised to insert the name of any State in place of Washington. The inmate in this story has been sentenced to prison three times, twice for life. He is likely going to be getting his third life sentence. If he isn’t a cat, he sure is a pussy.

From KOMO in Washington State; A female corrections officer was strangled to death Saturday night at the Monroe Correctional Complex, and an inmate serving a life term for rape is the key suspect, officials said.

The attack, apparently carried out during an abortive escape attempt by the 53-year-old male inmate, took place as the corrections officer was alone and unarmed in the chapel of the facility, officials said. The slain officer was identified as Jayme Biendl, 34, of Granite Falls. She had been with the Department of Corrections since 2002 and had expressed concerns earlier about being the only guard in the chapel. She was Monroe's Officer of the Year in 2008. Her alleged attacker was identified as Byron E. Scherf, a repeat sex offender who was convicted in 1993 for kidnapping and raping a Pierce County woman at knifepoint, then setting her on fire with gasoline. He also was convicted of rape and assault in two other cases.
A spokeswoman for the Monroe Police Department said it was initially reported that Biendl was stabbed to death, but later reported that it appears she was strangled. The Snohomish County medical examiner will make the final determination of the cause of death. Biendl was fully clothed when found, and there is no evidence of sexual assault. A Department of Corrections spokesman said the killing was discovered Saturday night after an inmate was reported missing during a routine count of offenders in the prison.
The offender was found three minutes later, at about 9:17 p.m., in the prison chapel lobby and told officers he had planned to escape, said Department of Correction’s spokesman Chad Lewis. An hour later staff members completed an inventory of equipment and discovered that a correctional officer's keys and radio were missing, Lewis said. Staff members immediately went to the chapel area and found Biendl lying there unresponsive. The staff conducted CPR and called 911. Emergency responders declared the officer dead at the scene at 10:49 p.m. Monroe Correctional Complex is now on lockdown as local law enforcement continue to investigate.
Scherf, a three-strike offender, is serving a life sentence at Monroe and was being housed in a medium-security unit at the Monroe complex. He has now been isolated in a segregation unit, Lewis said. This is the first time a guard has been killed at the 100-year-old Monroe facility, Lewis said. Prison officials said Scherf, who has had a clean record at Monroe since a suicide attempt in 2001, had been serving as a volunteer worker in the chapel. Biendl led religious programs there, Lewis said. She was alone at the chapel Saturday night and was not carrying a weapon, as is typical for many corrections officers, he added.
A union spokesman said Biendl had complained several times to her supervisor about feeling unsafe working alone with no backup in the chapel, and was awaiting a reassignment to another section of the prison. "This is what we've all feared would happen, and now it has," said Tracey A. Thompson, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 117, which represents guards at the prison. Thompson said guards have been forced to work solo more often as budget cuts have reduced the size of the staff at the prison facility. "We are all shocked, saddened, and angered by this terrible tragedy," Thompson said. Monroe corrections officers picketed in November outside the facility to draw public attention to effects of the staff cuts, saying they could jeopardize public safety.
Court records show that Scherf was first convicted of second-degree assault in 1978 and sentenced to 10 years in prison, but was paroled two years later. While on parole Scherf kidnapped a young waitress and brought her to an abandoned house where he bound and raped her. He then poured gasoline over the waitress, lit it, and left. The waitress survived by wriggling, still bound, through a second-story window. Scherf was convicted of the rape and sentenced to life in prison, but was paroled again on Dec. 30, 1993.
During his second parole, he lured a female real estate agent to a remote home by posing as a potential buyer, then kidnapped and raped her. He again was convicted and sentenced to life in prison, and is now serving that sentence at Monroe. The victim in that attack later sued the state, alleging that Scherf should never have been released on parole and was inadequately supervised after he was paroled. She lost the case after appealing all the way to the state Supreme Court.
Gov. Chris Gregoire issued a statement offering condolences to the family and friends of Officer Biendl. "I am truly saddened by her senseless murder," Gregoire said. "This young woman was devoted to an agency that works around the clock to ensure our communities are safe, which makes her death all the more tragic." Gregoire also said she has asked Department of Corrections Secretary Eldon Vail to conduct a thorough review of the killing, as well as a look at the safeguards in place at the Monroe Correctional Complex About 2,500 inmates are housed at the Monroe facility.
At the top of the Music world on this date; we were listening to:

1944 My Heart Tells Me - The Glen Gray Orchestra (vocal: Eugenie Baird)
Shoo, Shoo, Baby - The Andrews Sisters
Besame Mucho - The Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra (vocal: Bob Eberly & Kitty
Kallen
Pistol Packin’ Mama - Al Dexter
1952 Slowpoke - Pee Wee King
Cry - Johnnie Ray
Anytime - Eddie Fisher
Give Me More, More, More (Of Your Kisses) - Lefty Frizzell
1960 Running Bear - Johnny Preston
Teen Angel - Mark Dinning
Where or When - Dion & The Belmonts
El Paso - Marty Robbins
1968 Judy in Disguise (With Glasses) - John Fred & His Playboy Band
Chain of Fools - Aretha Franklin
Green Tambourine - The Lemon Pipers
Sing Me Back Home - Merle Haggard
1976 Love Rollercoaster - Ohio Players
Love to Love You Baby - Donna Summer
You Sexy Thing - Hot Chocolate
This Time I’ve Hurt Her More Than She Loves Me - Conway Twitty
1984 Owner of a Lonely Heart - Yes
Karma Chameleon - Culture Club
Talking in Your Sleep - The Romantics
The Sound of Goodbye - Crystal Gayle

BRUCE A. BRENNAN
DEKALB, IL 60115
COPYRIGHT 2011
Go to web sites below to buy books by Bruce A. Brennan. It is still a good time to purchase an interesting and inexpensive read. My second book should be available by February 15, 2011. More information will be forthcoming.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/ (do a quick search, Title, my name)
http://www.smashwords.com/ Do a Title or author search, Check this site out.
Check out the site below. Paybox is a new site, competing with PayPal, etc. Sign up is free. It seems good for small businesses or ebay users.

“Mistakes are oft the stepping stones to failure.”