Margaret Thatcher survives an IRA bomb... 1984

Margaret Thatcher survived an IRA bomb, which shredded her bathroom barely two minutes after she had left it.

The bomb detonated at 2:54 a.m on 12 October. Thatcher was still awake at the time, working on her conference speech for the next day in her suite. It badly damaged her bathroom but left her sitting room and bedroom unscathed. 

Thatcher and her husband Denis escaped injury. 

Thatcher changed her clothes, and then was escorted by the security guards to Brighton police station. She and her husband were then taken to Sussex Police Headquarters at Lewes, where they stayed for the rest of the night.

As she left the police station she gave an impromptu interview to the BBC's John Cole at around 4:00 a.m., where she said the conference would go on as usual.

Thatcher went from the conference to visit the injured at the Royal Sussex County Hospital.

2nd National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights... 1987



The Second National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights was a large political rally that took place in Washington, D.C. October 11, 1987. Its success, size and scope has led it to be referred to by many in gay history as "The Great March".

LGBT community desire for a new march was prompted by two major events in the 1980s: the spread of AIDS and the Ronald Reagan administration's lack of acknowledgment of the AIDS crisis; and the Supreme Court of the United States ruling in Bowers v. Hardwick upholding the criminalization of sodomy between two consenting men in the privacy of a home. In 1986, Steve Ault & Joyce Hunter, co-coordinators of the 1979 National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, drafted documents to extant LGBT organizations soliciting interest in a new march. The response was favorable, and the two organized an initial planning meeting in New York City on July 16, 1986, where it was decided that the march would be held in 1987. Representatives from all known LGBT organizations were subsequently invited to a national conference in New York City on November 14–16, 1986 where they would discuss the politics, logistics and organization of the event. The delegates would be addressing four primary concerns:

1. What will a March on Washington accomplish?;
2. How should organizers and LGBT organizations proceed?;
3. What should be the focus and platform of the event?; and
4. When should the March take place? The conference was held under the slogan "For love and for life, we're not going back!"

Throughout the weekend, delegates debated many aspects of the march itself, including bisexual and transgender inclusion, needs of minorities and people of color, and whether or not to include non-LGBT-centric issues such as APARTHEID as part of the march's platform. At the end of the weekend, the overall structure for the National Steering Committee had been set.

The second meeting of the steering committee was held in January 1987 in the City of West Hollywood at City Hall. Steve Ault, Pat Norman and Kay Ostberg were elected as the three national co-chairs of the event. The delegates also finalized the march's platform and political purpose.

The final organizational meeting for the march took place in Atlanta on May 2–3, 1987. This meeting served primarily to hammer out logistical details and determine the slate of individuals to speak at the rally.

The delegates at the West Hollywood convention chose seven primary demands to serve as the platform for the 1987 March. Each of these demands was supplemented with a broader list of demands which extended beyond the scope of single-issue LGBT concerns. In doing so, the organizers wished to underscore their recognition that oppression of one group affects oppression of all groups. The seven primary demands were:

• The legal recognition of lesbian and gay relationships.
• The repeal of all laws that make sodomy between consenting adults a crime.
• A presidential order banning discrimination by the federal government.
• Passage of the Congressional lesbian and gay civil rights bill.
• An end to discrimination against people with AIDS, ARC, HIV-positive status or those perceived to have AIDS. Massive increases in funding for AIDS education, research, and patient care. Money for AIDS, not for war.
• Reproductive freedom, the right to control our own bodies, and an end to sexist oppression.
• An end to racism in this country and apartheid in South Africa.

The march was part of six days of activities, with a mass wedding and protest in front of the Internal Revenue Service on October 10, and, three days later, a civil disobedience act in front of the Supreme Court building protesting its rulings upholding Bowers v. Hardwick. The march, demonstration and rally also included the first public display of Cleve Jones' NAMES Project AIDS Memorial Quilt.

The march itself was led by Cesar Chavez and Eleanor Smeal, who were followed by people with AIDS and their supporters.

Speakers at the rally included:

• former National Organization for Women president Eleanor Smeal
• union president and Latino civil rights figure Cesar Chavez
• actor and comedian Whoopi Goldberg
• Jesse Jackson, then a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President. Jackson told the crowd, "Let's find a common ground of humanity... We share the desire for life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, equal protection under the law. Let's not dwell on distinctions."

The 200,000 person estimate, widely quoted from the New York Times, was made several hours before the march actually began; similarly, most of the pictures used by mainstream media were taken early in the morning, or of the AIDS Quilt viewing area rather than the march itself. Police on the scene estimated numbers during the actual march to be closer to half a million.

The event was supported and endorsed from its early stages by such national LGBT organizations as the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.

Yul Brynner actor (King & I), died of cancer at 70... 1985

Yul Brynner in The Ten Commandments

Yul Brynner was born Yuliy Borisovich Bryner in 1920. He began acting and modeling in his twenties, and early in his career he was photographed nude by  George Platt Lynes. After his radio work during World War II, Brynner moved into the nascent television industry, directing and acting in live productions in New York. In 1949 Brynner made his film debut in Port of New York, his only film with his natural head of hair.

His best-known role remains that of King Mongkut of Siam in the Broadway production of Rodgers and Hammerstein's musical The King and I, which he played 4,525 times on stage over the span of his career. He appeared in the original production and later touring productions, as well as a 1977 Broadway revival, London Production in 1979 and another Broadway revival in 1985. He also appeared in the film version for which he won an Academy Award as Best Actor, and in a short-lived TV version (Anna and the King) on CBS in 1972. Brynner is one of only nine people who have won both a Tony Award and an Academy Award for the same role. His connection to the story and the role of King Mongkut is so deep, he was mentioned in the song "One Night in Bangkok" from the 1984 musical Chess, whose second act is set in Bangkok.

In 1951, Brynner shaved his head for his role in The King and I. Following the huge success of the Broadway production and subsequent film, Brynner continued to shave his head for the rest of his life, though he would sometimes wear a wig for certain roles. Brynner's shaved head was very unusual at the time, and his striking appearance helped to give him an iconic appeal. Some fans shaved off their hair to emulate him, and a shaved head is often referred to as the "Yul Brynner look".

Brynner made an immediate impact upon launching his film career in 1956, appearing not only in The King and I that year, but also in major roles in The Ten Commandments with Charlton Heston and Anastasia with Ingrid Bergman. Brynner, at 5'10", was reportedly concerned about being overshadowed by Heston's height and physical presence in The Ten Commandments and prepared with an intensive weight-lifting program.

He later starred in films such as the Biblical epic Solomon and Sheba (1959), The Magnificent Seven (1960), Taras Bulba (1962), and Kings of the Sun (1963). He co-starred with Marlon Brando in Morituri (1965), Katherine Hepburn in The Madwoman of Chaillot (1969) and William Shatner in a film version of The Brothers Karamazov (1958). He played the titular role of The Ultimate Warrior (1975) and starred with Barbara Bouchet in Death Rage (1976). Among his final feature film appearances were in Michael Crichton's Westworld (1973) and its sequel Futureworld (1976). Brynner also appeared in drag (as a torch singer), in an unbilled role in the Peter Sellers comedy The Magic Christian (1969).

Brynner has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 6162 Hollywod Blvd, and his childhood home, in Vladivostok, is now a museum.

In 1952, he received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Musical for his portrayal of The King in The King and I (musical).

He won the 1956 Academy Award for Best Actor for his portrayal of the King of Siam in The King and I and made the "Top 10 Stars of the Year" list in both 1957 and 1958.

In 1985, he received a Special Tony Award honoring his 4,525 performances in The King and I.

O.J. Simpson found not guilty... 1995

The O. J. Simpson murder case (officially called the People of the State of California v. Orenthal James Simpson) was a criminal trial held in Los Angeles County, California Superior Court from January 29 to October 3, 1995. Former American football star and actor O.J. Simpson was tried on two counts of murder following the June 1994 deaths of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Glodman. The case has been described as the most publicized criminal trial in American history. Ultimately, Simpson was acquitted after a lengthy trial that lasted over nine months which was presided over by Judge Lance Ito.

Simpson hired a high-profile defense team initially led by Robert Shapiro and subsequently led by Johnnie Cochrane. Los Angeles County it had a solid prosecution case, but Cochran was able to persuade the jurors that there was reasonable doubt about the DNA evidence (then a relatively new type of evidence in trials) – including that the blood-sample evidence had allegedly been mishandled by lab scientists and technicians – and about the circumstances surrounding other exhibits. Cochran and the defense team also alleged other misconduct by the Los Angeles Police Department. Simpson's celebrity and the lengthy televised trial riveted national attention on the so-called "Trial of the Century". By the end of the criminal trial, national surveys showed dramatic differences between most blacks and most whites in terms of their assessment of Simpson's guilt.

Later, both the Brown and Goldman families sued Simpson for damages in a civil trial. On February 6, 1997, a jury unanimously found there was a preponderance of evidence to hold Simpson liable for damages in the wrongful death of Goldman and battery of Brown. On February 21, 2008, a Los Angeles court upheld a renewal of the civil judgment against him.

At 12:10 am on June 13, 1994, Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman were found murdered outside Brown's Bundy Drive condo in the Brentwood area of Los Angeles. O. J. Simpson and Nicole Brown Simpson had divorced two years earlier. Evidence found and collected at the scene led police to suspect that O. J. Simpson was the murderer. Nicole had been stabbed multiple times in the head and neck with defense wounds on her hands. The wound through her neck was gaping, through which the larynx could be seen and vertebrae C3 was also incised.

At 10 am on October 3, 1995, the jury returned a verdict of not guilty. It had arrived at the verdict by 3 pm the previous day, after only four hours of deliberation, but Judge Ito postponed the announcement. Before the verdict, President Bill Clinton was briefed on security measures if rioting occurred nationwide due to the verdict; long-distance telephone call volume declined by 58% and trading volume on the New York Stock Exchange by 41%; water usage decreased as people avoided using bathrooms; government officials postponed meetings; and so much work stopped that the verdict cost an estimated $480 million in lost productivity. Domino's Pizza reported that for the 15 minutes that the verdict was being announced, no pizzas were ordered over the entire system, across the entire country. 

Full story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/O._J._Simpson

Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz first published... 1950

November 26, 1922 — Charles Monroe Schulz was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, as the only child of Dena and Carl Schulz, a hard-working St. Paul barber. An uncle nicknamed him "Sparky" after Sparkplug, a horse in the Barney Google comic strip.

1920s — His kindergarten teacher at Mattocks School in St. Paul told him, "Some day, Charles, you are going to be an artist."

1930s — As a boy, Schulz was interested in comics, especially Popeye and the characters created by Walt Disney.

1934 — The Schulz family was given a black and white dog that was the inspiration for Snoopy; his name was Spike.

1937 — Schulz’s first published drawing, a sketch of Spike, was included in the newspaper comics feature Believe it or Not by Robert Ripley.

1939/40 — Schulz enrolled in a correspondence cartoon course with Federal Schools (later known as Art Instruction Schools) during his senior year in high school.

1940 — Schulz graduated from Central High School in St. Paul. The drawings he contributed to the school yearbook were not included in the publication.

1943 — At age 20, Schulz was drafted into the Army. While in basic training, his mother died of cancer. Schulz served as a machine-gun squad leader in Germany, France, and Austria. He later wrote, "The army taught me all I needed to know about loneliness."

1945 — Schulz returned to St. Paul after being discharged from the army.

1946 — Schulz was hired as an instructor at his alma mater, Art Instruction Schools.

February 1947 — Schulz's first published panel comic, Just Keep Laughing, appeared in the Catholic comic book, Topix; the second and last panel was published that April.

June 8 & 15, 1947 — The Minneapolis Tribune published two comics by Schulz, titledSparky's Li'l Folks.

June 22, 1947 — Schulz’s career as a cartoonist reached a milestone with the publication of his panel comic, Li'l Folks, in the local St. Paul Pioneer Pressnewspaper. The panel ran through January 1950.

1948–1950 — Schulz sold 17 panel comics to The Saturday Evening Post.

1950 — After several rejections, Schulz sold his Li'l Folks strip to United Feature Syndicate. They renamed his strip Peanuts, a title he never liked. October 2, 1950 — Peanuts debuted in seven newspapers. The syndicate paid him $90 for his first month of strips. First Peanuts strip ~ October 2, 1950 1951 — Schulz married Joyce Halverson. After a brief move to Colorado Springs, Colorado, the young family returned to Minneapolis. 1952 — The first Sunday Peanuts page was published; the strip was then featured in over 40 U.S. newspapers. The first book collection, Peanuts, was also published. 1955 — Kodak became the first product sponsor for Peanuts, using the characters in a camera handbook. Schulz won his first Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society. 1956 — Schulz began creating a single-panel gag comic called Young Pillars for theYouth magazine, published by the Church of God; these comics were published until 1965. 1958 — Schulz left Minnesota and moved with his wife and five children to Sebastopol, California. At that time,Peanuts appeared in 355 U.S. and 40 foreign newspapers. Hungerford Plastics created the first plastic Peanutsfigures, including Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Linus, and Lucy. Yale University named Schulz "Cartoonist of the Year."

1960 — Hallmark created the first Peanuts greeting cards, and Peanuts art and animation was first used by the Ford Motor Company for their popular Ford Falcon advertising campaign. 1962 — Determined Productions published Happiness is a Warm Puppy, which spent 45 weeks on the New York Times best-seller list, reaching No. 2. Peanuts was named "Best Humor Strip of the Year" by the National Cartoonists Society. 1964 — Schulz became the first cartoonist to be awarded two Reubens by the National Cartoonists Society. April 9, 1965 — Peanuts was featured on cover of Time magazine. December 9, 1965 — The first animated special, A Charlie Brown Christmas, debuted on television and later won a Peabody Award and an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Programming. 1966 — Schulz's father, Carl, died while visiting in California. A fire later destroyed Schulz’s Sebastopol studio. March 7, 1967 — The stage musical, You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown, with music and lyrics by Clark Gesner, opened off Broadway at Theatre 80 in the East Village, later running both in London's East End (1968) and on Broadway (1971), with a Broadway revival in 1999 that won two Tony awards. May 24, 1967 — California Governor Ronald Reagan greeted the cartoonist at the State Capitol in observance of the legislature-proclaimed "Charles Schulz Day." April 28, 1969 — Grand Opening of the Redwood Empire Ice Arena (currently known as Snoopy's Home Ice) in Santa Rosa, California, starring 1968 Olympic Gold Medallist Peggy Fleming and the Vince Guaraldi trio. May 1969 — Charlie Brown and Snoopy accompanied astronauts on Apollo X. December 4, 1969 — The first full-length, animated Peanuts movie debuted at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. The film was later nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score.

1972 — Charles and Joyce Schulz divorced. 1973 — Schulz and Jean Forsyth Clyde married. Schulz received an Emmy Award for writing his 10th television special, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. January 1, 1974 — Schulz presided as the Grand Marshal of the Tournament of Roses Parade in Pasadena, California. 1975 — Peanuts celebrated its 25th anniversary. It was carried in approximately 1,480 U.S. and 175 foreign newspapers with 90,000,000 readers. The 14th television special,You’re a Good Sport, Charlie Brown, aired in October and later won an Emmy for Outstanding Children's Special. December 5, 1975 — The second major theatrical performance based onPeanuts characters, Snoopy!!! The Musical, premiered at the Little Fox Theatre in San Francisco. Within the next ten years it would also appear off Broadway at Lamb's Theatre and in London's West End at the Duchess Theatre. It had revivals in London and New York in the 2000s. 1978 — The International Pavilion of Humor in Montreal named Schulz "Cartoonist of the Year." 1979 — Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown was published by Schulz and Peanutsproducer Lee Mendelson to celebrate three anniversaries for Peanuts: the 30th year in comics, the 15th year on television, and the 10th year in the movies.

October 24, 1980 — The 20th animated special, Life Is a Circus, Charlie Brown, debuted on television. It later received an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program. January 1983 — Snoopy's Gallery & Gift Shop opened in Santa Rosa, California, next to the Redwood Empire Ice Arena. May 30, 1983 — The 26th animated television special, What Have We Learned, Charlie Brown?, debuted on television. It later received a Peabody Award for excellence in television programming. 1983 — Camp Snoopy opened at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California. 1984 — Peanuts qualified for a place in the Guinness Book of World Records after being sold to the 2,000th newspaper. 1985 — For Peanuts 35th anniversary, the book You Don't Look 35, Charlie Brownwas published, and the Oakland Museum of California mounted a separate exhibition, The Graphic Art of Charles Schulz. 1986 — Schulz was inducted into the Cartoonist Hall of Fame by the Museum of Cartoon Art. 1989 — Rheta Grimsley Johnson published Schulz's first authorized biography,Good Grief: The Story of Charles M. Schulz.

January 1990 — The French Ministry of Culture named Schulz "Commander of Arts and Letters." The Snoopy in Fashion exhibition opened at the Louvre in Paris, featuring 300 plush Snoopy dolls dressed by the world's top designers, including Giorgio Armani, Oleg Cassini, Karl Lagerfeld, Christian Lacroix, and Bob Mackie. November 1990 — This Is Your Childhood, Charlie Brown: Children and American Culture, 1945-1968 exhibition opened at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C. 1992 — Snoopy, The Masterpiece exhibit opened at the Montreal Museum of Fine Art. Schulz was also awarded the “Order of Merit” from the Italian Minister of Culture. 1995 — The 45th anniversary of Peanuts was marked by the exhibition Around the Moon and Home Again: A Tribute to the Art of Charles M. Schulz at the Space Center in Houston. June 28, 1996 — Schulz got his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. March 22, 1997 — World premiere of Peanuts Gallery by composer Ellen Taaffe Zwilich held at Carnegie Hall. The six movements are intended to be musical portraits of different Peanuts characters. March 16, 1997 October 16, 1997 — Schulz and wife Jeannie announced they would give $1 million toward the construction of a D-Day memorial to be placed in Bedford, Virginia. 1999 — Peanuts appeared in more than 2,600 newspapers worldwide, and over 20,000 products had been developed to date. Schulz published Peanuts: A Golden Celebration in anticipation of the 50th anniversary in 2000. December 14, 1999 — Schulz announced his retirement due to health problems.

January 3, 2000 — Charles Schulz bade a fond farewell to all his readers in the final daily Peanuts newspaper strip. January 3, 2000 February 7, 2000 — California lawmakers declared Sunday, February 13th, as "Charles M. Schulz Day" to coincide with the final Peanuts Sunday strip. February 12, 2000 — Charles Schulz died Saturday evening in his home in Santa Rosa of complications from colon cancer; he was 77 years old. February 13, 2000 — The final Sunday Peanuts strip appeared in newspapers around the world. May 2000 — The National Cartoonists Society posthumously awarded the Milton Caniff Lifetime Achievement Award to Schulz. AP photo/ Santa Rosa Press Democrat June 2000 — Ground breaking of Charles M. Schulz Museum and Research Center in Santa Rosa, across from Redwood Empire Ice Arena (Snoopy's Home Ice). May 17, 2001 — First Day of Issue of the U.S. Postal Service Peanutsstamp at Charles Schulz’s Redwood Empire Ice Arena in Santa Rosa, California. June 7, 2001 — Posthumous awarding of the Congressional Gold Medal by the United States Congress to Schulz's family. August 17, 2002 — Grand Opening of the Schulz Museum!  http://www.schulzmuseum.org/timeline.html

Iran agrees to allow inspections of a recently revealed nuclear facility near the city of Qom... 2009

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (hand raised)

Saeed Jalili, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, met the UN Security Council's five permanent members plus Germany for talks in Switzerland, with the possibility of a rare bilateral meeting between Iran and the US.

The meeting in Geneva came a week after the disclosure of a second Iranian uranium enrichment plant raised tensions over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Iran had said its nuclear programme was not up for discussion in the talks and would like to focus instead on regional security issues.

But Western diplomats hoped Iran would be willing to talk about its nuclear programme and the second enrichment facility, which the US, Britain and France revealed a week earlier.

If Iran was willing to address the nuclear issues, then there probably would be subsequent meetings, PJ Crowley, the US state department spokesman, said in Washington.

"That process will take some time," he said.

"We're not going to make a snap judgment on Thursday. We're going to see how that meeting goes, evaluate the willingness of Iran to engage on these issues."

Western powers were also keen to gauge Russian and Chinese reaction to previous week's announcement that Tehran had been concealing the uranium enrichment plant at Qom.

Iran said its nuclear programme was for peaceful purposes and had already defied five UN Security Council resolutions demanding it suspends all sensitive nuclear activities.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, John Large, an independent nuclear consultant, said: "It's quite a complex area to actually decipher whether the effort is going into a civilian programme or into a military programme.

"There are the associated industries like the missile delivery systems, the development of missiles, we have seen the launch this week of quite sophisticated missile delivery systems.

"So you're looking at all the jigsaw pieces coming into place and I'm afraid the conclusion that is coming out of this is that these jigsaw pieces mean that there is a strong weapons programme underway."

Mohamed El Baradei, the outgoing  head of the UN's nuclear watchdog, said on Tuesday that Iran was "on the wrong side of the law" by not declaring the second plant.

"Iran was supposed to inform us on the day it was decided to construct the facility," he said.

Iran declared the facility only after it had been revealed by Western intelligence agents.

Washington expressed its willingness to hold one-on-one meetings with Iranian negotiators, a move that comes alongside a possible softening in Iran's approach.

According to Iranian state-run news agencies, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, announced in Tehran that Iran would be willing to fuel Iran's nuclear facilities with uranium purchased from a third party country.