04/25 Malaria and Carnations

So hey, it's World Malaria Day, created by WHO, which seemingly would like to see something done about malaria; as well as Malaria Awareness Day, created by GW Bush which is a bit of pious twaddle absolving us of any need to do anything further except maybe some thoughts and prayers. Much more could be done on many fronts but still it ravages and rampages and as of the last time I ventured into its domain the available medications, both prophylactic and otherwise were presented to me by my doctor as something of a crapshoot.

This is also the date, in 1974 of the Carnation Revolution in Portugal. It was a military coup BUT, a left wing military coup which established a democratic government to replace the autocratic government it overthrew. A most refreshing contrast to the capitalist/right-wing standard of overthrowing a democratically elected government like that of Mossadegh or Allende and replacing it with a horrible autocrat like Shah Reza Pahlavi or Pinochet and similar examples.

On this day in history:

1607 – The Dutch fleet destroyed the anchored Spanish fleet at Gibraltar soon leading to Spain's de facto recognition of the fledgling Dutch Republic . 1644 – The Chongzhen Emperor, the last Emperor of Ming China, committed suicide during a peasant rebellion eventually leading to the Qing Dynasty . 1829 – Charles Fremantle arrived off the coast of today's Western Australia 1846 – Open conflict began over the disputed border of Texas, providing an ostensible justification for the Mexican–American War. 1849 – Lord Elgin, signed the Rebelliion Losses Bill, outraging Montreal's English population and triggering the Montreal Riots. 1859 – British and French engineers broke ground for the Suez Canal. 1862 – Forces under Admiral David Farragut demanded the surrender of New Orleans, 1882 – French Marines seized the citadel of Hanoi setting off an undeclared war between France and Dai Nam (Vietnam) and the eventual French Tonkin campaign 1898 – The US Congress declared that a state of war between the U.S. and Spain had existed since April 21, when the US blockaded Cuba 1915 – The Battle of Gallipoli began with landings at Anzac Cove and Cape Helles. 1920 – At the San Remo conference, the principal Allied Powers of World War I adopted a resolution to determine the allocation of Class "A" League of Nations mandates (quasi-colonies) 1938 – U.S. Supreme Court delivered its opinion in Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins overturning a century of federal common law. 1945 – Founding negotiations for the United Nations begin in San Francisco. 1953 – Francis Crick and James Watson published "Molecular Structure of Nucleic Acids: A Structure for Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid" describing the double helix structure of DNA. 1954 – The first practical solar cell was publicly demonstrated by Bell Telephone Laboratories. 1959 – The Saint Lawrence Seaway officially opened to shipping. 1960 – The US Navy submarine USS Triton completed the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe. 1961 – Robert Noyce was granted a patent for an integrated circuit. 1974 – A leftist military coup in Portugal overthrew the authoritarian-conservative Estado Novo regime and established a democratic government in its place. 1981 – More than 100 workers were exposed to radiation during repairs at the Tsuruga Nuclear Power Plant in Japan. Hi Hum, nothing to see here. 1983 – Pioneer 10 travelled beyond Pluto's orbit. 1988 – In Israel, John Demjanjuk was sentenced to death for war crimes committed in World War II. 1990 – Violeta Chamorro took office as the President of Nicaragua, the first woman to hold the position. 2001 – President G. W. Bush pledged U.S. military support in the event of a Chinese attack on Taiwan. I think Nixon did too. FMTA 2004 – The March for Women's Lives brought between 500,000 and 800,000 protesters to Washington D.C. to protest restrictions on abortion.

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Some people who were born on this day:

To be persuasive we must be believable; to be believable we must be credible; credible we must be truthful.

~~ Edward R. Murrow 1529 – Francesco Patrizi, philosopher and scientist 1599 – Oliver Cromwell, general and puritan tyrant 1710 – James Ferguson, astronomer and author 1723 – Giovanni Marco Rutini, composer 1849 – Felix Klein, mathematician and academic 1851 – Leopoldo Alas, author, critic, and academic 1854 – Charles Sumner Tainter, engineer and inventor 1862 – Edward Grey, 1st Viscount Grey of Fallodon, ornithologist and politician 1873 – Walter de la Mare, poet, short story writer, and novelist 1873 – Howard Garis, author, creator of the Uncle Wiggily series of children's stories 1874 – Guglielmo Marconi, businessman and inventor, developed Marconi's law 1892 – Maud Hart Lovelace, author 1900 – Wolfgang Pauli, physicist and academic 1903 – Andrey Kolmogorov, mathematician and academic 1908 – Edward R. Murrow, journalist 1909 – William Pereira, architect, designed the Transamerica Pyramid 1912 – Earl Bostic, saxophonist 1917 – Ella Fitzgerald, singer 1918 – Graham Payn, actor and singer 1918 – Gérard de Vaucouleurs, astronomer and academic 1918 – Astrid Varnay, soprano and actress 1921 – Karel Appel, painter and sculptor 1923 – Francis Graham-Smith, astronomer and academic 1923 – Melissa Hayden, ballerina 1923 – Albert King, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and producer 1924 – Franco Mannino, pianist, composer, director, and playwright 1924 – Paulo Vanzolini, singer, songwriter, and zoologist 1928 – Cy Twombly, painter and sculptor 1931 – Felix Berezin, mathematician and physicist 1931 – David Shepherd, painter and author 1932 – Nikolai Kardashev, astrophysicist 1933 – Jerry Leiber, songwriter and producer 1938 – Roger Boisjoly, aerodynamicist and engineer 1943 – Tony Christie, singer, songwriter, and actor 1945 – Stu Cook, bass player, songwriter, and producer 1945 – Björn Ulvaeus, singer, songwriter, and producer 1949 – James Fenton, poet, journalist and literary critic 1950 – Steve Ferrone, drummer 1952 – Ketil Bjørnstad, pianist and composer 1955 – Parviz Parastui, actor and singer 1958 – Fish, singer and songwriter 1960 – Paul Baloff, singer 1963 – Paul Wassif, singer, songwriter, and guitarist 1964 – Andy Bell, singer and songwriter 1965 – Eric Avery, bass player and songwriter 1971 – Sara Baras, dancer 1973 – Fredrik Larzon, drummer 1977 – Matthew West, singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor 1980 – Ben Johnston, drummer and songwriter 1980 – James Johnston, bass player and songwriter 1987 – Jay Park, singer, songwriter, and dancer

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Some people who died on this day:

Men can do all things if they will.

~~ Leon Battista Alberti 1472 – Leon Battista Alberti, author, poet, and philosopher 1566 – Louise Labé, poet and author 1595 – Torquato Tasso, poet and songwriter 1690 – David Teniers the Younger, painter and educator 1744 – Anders Celsius, astronomer, physicist, and mathematician 1770 – Jean-Antoine Nollet, minister, physicist, and academic 1800 – William Cowper, poet 1840 – Siméon Denis Poisson, mathematician and physicist 1873 – Fyodor Petrovich Tolstoy, painter and sculptor 1878 – Anna Sewell, author 1890 – Isapo-Muxika, aka Crowfoot ,tribal chief 1892 – Henri Duveyrier, explorer 1892 – Karl von Ditmar, geologist and explorer 1906 – John Knowles Paine, composer and educator 1911 – Emilio Salgari, journalist and author 1921 – Emmeline B. Wells, journalist and women's rights advocate 1944 – George Herriman, cartoonist 1976 – Markus Reiner, engineer and educator 1988 – Carolyn Franklin, singer and songwriter 1988 – Clifford D. Simak, journalist and author 1990 – Dexter Gordon, saxophonist, composer, and actor 1992 – Yutaka Ozaki, singer and songwriter 1995 – Ginger Rogers, actress, singer, and dancer 1998 – Wright Morris, author and photographer 1999 – Roger Troutman, singer, songwriter, and producer 2004 – Thom Gunn, poet and academic 2007 – Bobby Pickett, singer and songwriter 2008 – Humphrey Lyttelton, trumpet player, composer, and radio host 2010 – Alan Sillitoe, novelist, short story writer, essayist, and poet 2011 – Poly Styrene, musician 2012 – Moscelyne Larkin, ballerina and educator 2012 – Louis le Brocquy, painter and illustrator 2014 – Stefanie Zweig, journalist and author

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Some Holidays, Holy Days, Festivals, Feast Days, Days of Recognition, and such: Anzac Day (Australia, New Zealand) Arbor Day (Germany) DNA Day National Plumbers Day World Penguin Day National Zucchini Bread Day Parental Alienation Awareness Day World Malaria Day Malaria Awareness Day (US)

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MUSIC goes here; With apologies ;-)

Gallilipoli

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