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The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement to fight global warming that calls on industrialised nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. It was adopted during a UN Conference on Climate Change held in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997. Later that year, international representatives settled the details necessary to convert the agreement into a binding international treaty, and it came into force in 2005 after ratification by more than 125 nations. What nations declined to adopt the treaty? More...
Historic Trivia pick
A mouser named Humphrey was no exception. Found by a civil servant and named after a character on the popular British television show Yes, Minister, he started work in 1988 during the Margaret Thatcher administration, replacing a recently deceased tomcat named Wilberforce. For a government stipend of 100 pounds per year, Humphrey made life as hard, and as brief as possible for the building's vermin. He served throughout the Thatcher administration and straight through that of her successor, John Major.
It was good that Humphrey had work to serve as a distraction from the numeerous crises and controversies swirling around him. In 1994, the press accused him of killing a nest full of robin chicks that occupied a window box outside Major's office. The government, adopting peculiarly strong language, called the charges "libelous."
That was nothing compared with what happened in June 1995, when Humphrey suddenly vanished. The situation grew so grim that on September 25 the prime minister's office issued a memo lamenting the cat's assumed death. But shortly thereafter he turned up at the Royal Army Medical College, where he'd been adopted as a presumed stray and renamed PC (short for Patrol Car).
The most serious dustup took place when Major's conservative government was replaced by the administration of Tony Blair. Rumours quickly spread that the new prime minister's wife, Cherie either didn't like Humphrey or was allergic to him. Finally, in November 1997 it was announced that the cat had been given to an anonymous elderly couple so that he could enjoy his "retirement". This in turn sparked stories that Humphrey had been euthanised - a tale that was squelched only when photos of him standing beside some current newspapers were taken at his new (and secret) residence.
The various controversies faded when Humphrey went to his final reward in March 2006. Happily, throughout his eventful tenure, the veteran mouser remained blissfully oblivious to it all.
Kyoto Protocol is Adopted
The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement to fight global warming that calls on industrialised nations to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. It was adopted during a UN Conference on Climate Change held in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997. Later that year, international representatives settled the details necessary to convert the agreement into a binding international treaty, and it came into force in 2005 after ratification by more than 125 nations. What nations declined to adopt the treaty? More...
- 2008 - Bernard Madoff arrested
Popularly known as Bernie Madoff, the founder and chairman of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, was arrested and subsequently convicted of fraud. The Ponzi scheme he was involved in was the biggest such fraud in the history of the United States. - 1946 - UNICEF established
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, a U.N. affiliate organization that works for the welfare of children around the world, was founded on this day. - 1941 - U.S. declares war on Germany and Italy
The U.S. responded to Italy and Germany's declaration of war, by declaring war on the two countries. - 1936 - King Edward VIII abdicates from the British throne
King Edward VIII abdicated from the British throne to marry American Wallis Warfield Simpson.
Historic Trivia pick Humphrey - England's Most Controversial Cat
English prime ministers have a long history of sharing No. 10, Downing Street with felines. There's more to it than mere affection, however. The sprawling governent complex has something of a rodent problem, so the cats have always earned their keep.A mouser named Humphrey was no exception. Found by a civil servant and named after a character on the popular British television show Yes, Minister, he started work in 1988 during the Margaret Thatcher administration, replacing a recently deceased tomcat named Wilberforce. For a government stipend of 100 pounds per year, Humphrey made life as hard, and as brief as possible for the building's vermin. He served throughout the Thatcher administration and straight through that of her successor, John Major.
It was good that Humphrey had work to serve as a distraction from the numeerous crises and controversies swirling around him. In 1994, the press accused him of killing a nest full of robin chicks that occupied a window box outside Major's office. The government, adopting peculiarly strong language, called the charges "libelous."
That was nothing compared with what happened in June 1995, when Humphrey suddenly vanished. The situation grew so grim that on September 25 the prime minister's office issued a memo lamenting the cat's assumed death. But shortly thereafter he turned up at the Royal Army Medical College, where he'd been adopted as a presumed stray and renamed PC (short for Patrol Car).
The most serious dustup took place when Major's conservative government was replaced by the administration of Tony Blair. Rumours quickly spread that the new prime minister's wife, Cherie either didn't like Humphrey or was allergic to him. Finally, in November 1997 it was announced that the cat had been given to an anonymous elderly couple so that he could enjoy his "retirement". This in turn sparked stories that Humphrey had been euthanised - a tale that was squelched only when photos of him standing beside some current newspapers were taken at his new (and secret) residence.
The various controversies faded when Humphrey went to his final reward in March 2006. Happily, throughout his eventful tenure, the veteran mouser remained blissfully oblivious to it all.
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61-BLUES
