Today is Children’s Day, also called Pikinini Day, in Vanuatu, a public holiday. This is a day to promote the welfare and well-being of children and also to celebrate children and what they contribute to society. The theme of the day changes from year to year, though the topic of fighting child abuse remains a perennial theme of the day.
As a public holiday, it’s a day for families to spend extra time together.
Children’s Day takes place a week before Independence Day and the parades, concerts, public speeches, sports events, and other celebratory activities held to mark Children’s Day are seen as marking the start of Vanuatu’s national Independence week.
Ink…
SIGNZ
On this day in 1965, The Byrds were at No.1 on the UK singles chart with their version of the Bob Dylan song ‘Mr Tambourine Man’. The first Bob Dylan song to reach No.1. The Byrds’ recording of the song was influential in initiating the musical subgenre of folk rock, leading many contemporary bands to mimic its fusion of jangly guitars and intellectual lyrics. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnstCrL1_e0
National Remembrance Day is a public holiday in Papua New Guinea (PNG), observed on July 23rd. This day commemorates those Papua New Guineans who have died in military service.
Most of the history of New Guinea has been defined by the remoteness of the island and the difficulty in mastering the difficult terrain. While the island succumbed to colonial control by the Germans, Dutch and British, most islanders remained isolated from contact with foreigners.
That isolation came to a crashing end in 1942, when the Japanese and the second world war arrived in New Guinea. At the start of the war, Japan moved to occupy the northern part of the island with the aforementioned terrain in the south hampering efforts to subjugate PNG.
On July 23rd 1942, a small number of soldiers from the PNG infantry battalion supported Allied forces in attacking a forward party of Japanese troops at Awala in the Kokoda region. This was a historic landmark in the country’s history as it was the first time, PNG soldiers had engaged in battle on native soil. As such the date has become a focal point for this memorial day intended to remember the members of the PNG armed forces who have died on duty in the first world war, the second world war, and subsequent peacekeeping and law and order engagements within PNG and abroad.
The brave defense by PNG natives and troops is seen as a key factor in the defeat of Japan in the region.
Nowadays, the PNG Defense Force is a modest force with about 2,100 troops covering land, air and marine operations. Nonetheless, they have committed themselves in assisting and protecting other Pacific nations.
With what?!
Bada Bing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Doctor: I’m just waiting for your x-ray. Her: But I’ve never dated anyone named Ray. Doctor: And we might do a brain scan.
I know a guy named Stew. He’s a soupervisor.
I was sitting on the front porch watching my girlfriend mow the lawn. An old woman comes to the fence and yells, “You should be hung!” I yelled back, “I am, that’s why she’s mowing the lawn”.
My husband pissed me off so I told him to go call his girlfriend. My phone rang. It was him. He asked to talk to personality #4 because #1 was having a bad day.
“He’s not a hero. He thinks he is a hero because his ear was nicked. I like people who didn’t have their ear nicked.” – The Ghost of John McCain
He mocked people’s injuries, infirmities, and handicaps for years, now he’s acting like he just survived 6 months in combat with a Silver Star and 3 Purple Hearts.
Live your life in such a way that the entire world isn’t ready to throw a party when you get shot.
If you try to correct my grammar I will think fewer of you.
That look you give your boyfriend when he accuses you of cheating and you think he’s starting to sound just like your husband.
They should teach history in school again so kids can learn that people who steal top-secret military documents are called spies.
If Christians read the Bible to get closer to God, what do atheists read to further intensify their non-belief? The same, actually.
Facebook should have a limit on times you can update your relationship status, after 3 it should default to ‘unstable’.
Old guy on the computer: “There’s no such thing as a 3 1/2-inch floppy these days.” Wife: “I think you’ll find there is.”
Today is the birthday, in 1971, of Alison Krauss, bluegrass-country singer, songwriter and fiddler. She released her first solo album in 1987 and then was invited to join the band with which she still performs, Alison Krauss and Union Station. Winner of 1996 Rolling Stone’s critic’s choice best country artist. Krauss recorded Raising Sand with Robert Plant in 2007 which was nominated for and won 5 Grammys at the 51st Grammy Awards. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSif77IVQdY
Today is the birthday of Late King Sobhuza, a public holiday in Eswatini. This day marks the birthday of King Sobhuza who was born on this day in 1899.
When a roll call of world leaders who have ruled the longest is read out, King Bhumibol of Thailand (70 years), Queens Victoria (63 years) and Elizabeth II (Over 70 years and counting) of the United Kingdom are names that will be familiar to many of us.
What may be less known is that these illustrious monarchs all fall short of the reign of King Sobhuza II, who ruled Swaziland (now Eswatini) for an astonishing 82 years and 254 days, making his reign the longest verifiable in history.
Ingwenyama Sobhuza was born on July 22nd 1899. Four months later, on December 10th 1899, the infant Sobhuza became king after the death of his father. As you might expect, King Sobhuza didn’t have to perform all his royal duties whilst still a child and his grandmother served as regent, until handing power to her grandson when he was 21.
From almost the start of his reign, his country was a British protectorate. It gained independence in 1968 and Sobhuza was a driving force for independence, even forming a political party which is a very unusual step by a monarch. He also changed the constitution strengthening the power of the King.
Following the traditional tribal practice, Sobhuza had many wives, 70 according to the Swaziland National Trust Commission. His 210 offspring from these consorts earned him the sobriquet, “Bull of Swazi”. Sobhuza died on August 21st 1982.
Today is the birthday, in 1944, of Rick Davies, vocalist and keyboardist with Supertramp, who had the 1979 UK No.7 and US No.6 single with ‘The Logical Song’ and the 1979 US No.1 and UK No.3 album Breakfast In America. Davies is the only member of Supertramp to have been with the group for their entire history, and has composed many of their most well-known songs, including ‘Goodbye Stranger’, and ‘Bloody Well Right’. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YZUE4_PtOk0
Today is Sandinista Revolution Day, a public holiday in Nicaragua. This day commemorates the defeat of the Somoza dictatorship on this day in 1979.
In 1936, Anastasio Somoza García, the head of Nicaragua’s army deposed the elected President, Juan Bautista Sacasa (who was also Somoza’s uncle), and installed himself as President. This effectively established a hereditary dictatorship in the country for over 45 years, with two of Somoza’s sons serving as president after Somoza had been assassinated in 1956.
TheSomozas were heavily supported by the United States Government despite their human rights violations, graft, corruption and dictatorial excesses.
Not too far in the background of the Somoza rule was the Sandinista National Liberation Front. This was a socialist revolutionary group founded in 1962 and named after Augusto Sandino, a hero of the resistance to U.S. military occupation between 1927 and 1933.
Since their creation, the Sandinistas had steadily built their support base amongst workers, students and peasants. In the 1970s, the political aims spilt over into military attacks on the Nicaraguan government. And although the Somozas retaliated, the revolution was gaining momentum, exploding into direct confrontations between the Sandinistas and the Nicaraguan army in 1978.
On July 19th 1979, Sandinista soldiers defeated the National Guard and toppled Somoza, who fled to Paraguay where he was assassinated in 1980.
Today is the birthday, in 1947, of Brian May, guitarist, singer and songwriter with Queen who had the 1975 UK No.1 single ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ which returned to No.1 in 1991. Queen scored over 40 other UK Top 40 singles, and also scored the 1980 US No.1 single ‘Crazy Little Thing Called Love’. May had the solo 1992 UK No.5 single ‘Too Much Love Will Kill You’. May was made Commander of the Order of the British Empire in 2005 for ‘services to the music industry and his charity work’. May earned a PhD in astrophysics from Imperial College, London, in 2007. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kijpcUv-b8M
Today is Constitution Day in Uruguay, a public holiday. Officially known as ‘Jura de la Constitución de la República Oriental del Uruguay’, it commemorates the adoption of the first constitution in 1830.
Brazil had gained its independence from Portugal in 1822. The region now known as Uruguay lay on the Eastern bank of the River Plate, and had passed through English, Spanish, Portuguese and Brazilian control in a short period at the start of the nineteenth century.
In August 1825, Uruguay declared its independence from Brazil, instigating the Argentina- Brazil War. The conflict lasted until August 1828, when a British negotiated a resolution to the war that led to Brazil recognising Uruguay’s independence.
The constitution for the nation was drawn up by the General Constituent and Legislative Assembly of the State , the predecessor of the Uruguayan Parliament. Influenced by the French and American revolutions, it divided the government among the executive, legislative, and judicial powers. It established a republican unitary state; the official religion was Roman Catholic. It was promulgated on July 18th 1830.
Inspirational…
Today is the birthday, in 1941, of Martha Reeves, American R&B and pop singer and former politician (Detroit City Council), (1964 US No.2 & 1969 UK No.4 single with The Vandellas ‘Dancing In The Street’, plus ten US & six UK other top 40 singles). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68Uv959QuCg
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