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, 9 December 1960, French President Charles de Gaulle’s visit to Algeria is bloodied by European and Muslim rioters in Algeria’s largest cities. These riots cause 127 deaths.
On Friday, 9 December 1960, The classic British TV soap opera Coronation Street premieres. Planned as a 13-part drama, it becomes such a success among viewers it continues to be shown five times per week through 2012.
On Sunday, 9 December 1990, Slobodan Milošević elected President of Serbia in first round, general elections won by his Socialist Party.
On Sunday, 9 December 1990, Lech Wałęsa wins the 2nd round of Poland’s first presidential election.
On Thursday, 9 December 2010, Estonia becomes the 34th member of the OECD.
On Wednesday, 9 December 2015, The Victorian Auditor-General reveals in a report that the true cost of abandoning the East West Link, Melbourne motorway is $1.1 billion, as well as finding that both the Napthine and Andrews Governments were poorly advised by public servants on matters such as costs.
On Wednesday, 9 December 2015, Legislation to allow same-sex couples to adopt passes the Victorian Parliament, after the Government decides to accept Upper House amendments allowing religious organisations the right to refuse an adoption to gay couples.
On Wednesday, 9 December 2015, Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull visits Western Australia and meets firefighters who battled deadly bushfires near Esperance. Mr. Turnbull raises the possibility of improvements to communication infrastructure in fire-prone regions using federal funds.
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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