Anniversaries and commemorations come and go daily. Most of us, even the best historians, miss most occasions. If we think of history as events then we are faced with a continually showering in the grains of sand. Nevertheless, we do pick out certain patterns in the remembrance of historical dates. The blog here reminds us of some dates where the local, state, national, and global perspectives entwine.
What Time is It? It is flow of a sandstorm that will on each day compress somewhere into a structure – sandstone, selected and only remembered in the longue durée.
On Friday, 16 February 1945, WWII: The Bombing of Wesel begins, destroying 97% of the town over three days.
On Friday, 16 February 1945, American and Filipino ground forces land on Corregidor Island in the Philippines.
On Friday, 16 February 1945, Combined American and Filipino forces recapture the Bataan Peninsula.
On Friday, 16 February 1945, Venezuela declares war on Germany.
On Saturday, 16 February 1980, A total solar eclipse is seen in North Africa and West Asia.
On Friday, 16 February 1990, Prime Minister Bob Hawke announces a March 24 election date.
On Thursday, 16 February 1995, Media magnate Kerry Packer appears on Channel 9’s A Current Affair to attack cross-media ownership, and speaks of John Howard as prime minister material.
On Thursday, 16 February 1995, Federal Opposition Leader John Howard promises to woo “the battlers”, traditional Labor voters hurt by Labor’s policies, and “demonstrate that our policies are not antagonistic to them”.
On Wednesday, 16 February 2000, 21–year–old Jamie Wurramara, who stole $23 worth of biscuits on Christmas Day 1999, is sentenced to a year in jail under the Northern Territory’s mandatory sentencing laws, prompting a wave of protests around the nation.
On Monday, 16 February 2015, The ABC program Four Corners airs allegations that live animals—including rabbits, piglets and possums—have been used as lures, or “live bait”, while training dogs in the greyhound racing industry.
On Monday, 16 February 2015, The Egyptian military begins conducting airstrikes against a branch of the Islamic militant group ISIL in Libya in retaliation for the group’s beheading of over a dozen Egyptian Christians.
Images Citations in Composite: ID 17208541 © Anhong | Dreamstime.com; ID 35001957 © DiversityStudio1 | Dreamstime.com; ID 156394527 © Gerd Zahn | Dreamstime.com
Neville Buch
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