__NOTOC__ 2006 (MMVI) was a common year that started on a Sunday in the Gregorian calendar. It was the 2006th year of the Common Era or Anno Domini designation, the 6th year of the 3rd millennium and of the 21st century, and the 7th of the 2000s decade.

2006 was designated the: International Year of Deserts and Desertification.

International Asperger's Year.

Year of Mozart, marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Events

January

January 1 – Russia cuts natural gas to Ukraine over a price dispute.

January 4 - Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel, suffers a severe stroke and cerebral hemorrhage; he is rushed to the hospital in serious condition.

January 5 – A hotel in Mecca, Saudi Arabia collapses, killing 76 pilgrims visiting to perform hajj. January 12 – A stampede during the Stoning of the devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills 362 pilgrims. January 15 – NASA's Stardust mission successfully ends, the first to return dust from a comet. January 25 – Pope Benedict XVI issues his first encycylical, ''Deus Caritas Est''. January 27 – Celebrations are held in Salzburg and around the world, for the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

February

February 3 – An Egyptian passenger ferry carrying more than 1,400 people, sinks in the Red Sea off the Saudi coast. February 4 – The Wowowee stampede at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, Philippines kills 74 people and leaves 600 injured.

February 10–February 26 – The 2006 Winter Olympics are held in Turin, Italy.

February 17 – A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126. February 19 – Pasta de Conchos mine disaster: Sixty-five miners die after becoming trapped underground, following an explosion in Nueva Rosita, Mexico.

March

March 4 – The final contact attempt with Pioneer 10 receives no response. March 9 – NASA's Cassini-Huygens spacecraft discovers geysers of a liquid substance shooting from Saturn's moon Enceladus, signaling a possible presence of water. March 10 – NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter enters Mars orbit. March 28 – A scramjet jet engine, Hyshot III, designed to fly at 7 times the speed of sound, is successfully tested at Woomera, South Australia.

April

April 5 – A swan with Avian Flu is discovered in Cellardyke in Fife, Scotland (the first case in the United Kingdom). April 10 – A fire at the Brand India Fair, Victoria Park, Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India, kills at least 100.

April 11

The European Space Agency's Venus Express spaceprobe enters Venus' orbit.

President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirms that Iran has successfully produced a few grams of low-grade enriched uranium.

April 20 – Iran announces a deal with Russia, involving a joint uranium enrichment firm on Russian soil; 9 days later Iran announces that it will not move all activity to Russia, thus leading to a de-facto termination of the deal.

May

May – Human Genome Project publishes the last chromosome sequence, in ''Nature''.

May 24 – East Timor's Foreign Minister José Ramos-Horta officially requests military assistance from the governments of Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal. May 27 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes central Java in Indonesia, killing more than 6,000, injuring at least 36,000 and leaving some 1.5 million people homeless.

June

June 3 – Montenegro declares independence after a May 21 referendum. The state union of Serbia and Montenegro is dissolved on June 5, leaving Serbia as the successor state.

June 9 – July 9 – The 2006 FIFA World Cup begins in Germany.

June 18 – The first Kazakh space satellite ''KazSat'' is launched. June 28 – Operation Summer Rains: Israel launches an offensive against militants in Gaza.

July

July 1 – The Qingzang railway launches a trial operation, making Tibet the last province-level entity of China to have a conventional railway. July 6 – The Nathula Pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years.

July 9

* Italy wins their fourth FIFA World Cup title.

S7 Airlines Flight 778 crashes into a concrete barrier shortly after landing, killing at least 122 people and leaving many injured.

July 10 – Pakistan International Airlines Flight 688 crashes in Multan, Pakistan shortly after takeoff. July 11 – A series of coordinated bomb attacks strikes several commuter trains in Mumbai, India during the evening rush hour. July 12 – 2006 Lebanon War: Israeli troops invade Lebanon in response to Hezbollah kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and killing 3. Hezbollah declares open war against Israel 2 days later. July 18 – The ''SS Nomadic'', the last floating link to ''Titanic'', returns home to a large reception in Belfast.

August

August 11 – A resolution to end the 2006 Lebanon War is unanimously accepted by the United Nations Security Council.

August 22

Pulkovo Airlines Flight 612 crashes near the Russian border in Ukraine, killing 171 people, including 45 children.

The ICM awards Grigori Perelman the Fields Medal for proving the Poincare conjecture, one of 7 Millennium Prize Problems; Perelman refuses the medal.

August 24 – The International Astronomical Union defines 'planet' at its 26th General Assembly, demoting Pluto to the status of 'dwarf planet' more than 70 years after its discovery.

September

September 19 – Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand declares a state of emergency in Bangkok as members of the Royal Thai Army stage a coup d'état. The army announces the removal of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from power. September 29 – Gol Flight 1907 (Boeing 737-800) collides with a business jet over the Amazon Rainforest, killing all 155 onboard.

October

October 9 – North Korea claims to have conducted its first-ever nuclear test. October 13 – South Korean Ban Ki-moon is elected as the new Secretary-General of the United Nations. October 29 – Aviation Development Company Flight 53 crashes shortly after takeoff in Nigeria killing 96 people.

November

November 2 – ''No. 5, 1948'' by Jackson Pollock becomes the most expensive painting after it was sold privately at $140 million. November 5 – Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein is sentenced to death by hanging by the Iraqi Special Tribunal.

November 8 - Mercury transits the sun. It is visible from the Americas, Eastern China, Japan, Australia, and Polynesia.

November 12 – The former Soviet republic of South Ossetia holds a referendum on independence from Georgia. November 15 – Al Jazeera launches its English language news channel, ''Al Jazeera English''. November 23 – A series of car bombs and mortar attacks in Sadr City, Baghdad, kill at least 215 people and injure 257 other people. November 30 – Typhoon Durian triggers a massive mudslide and kills at least 720 people in Albay province on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.

December

December 5 – The military seizes power in Fiji, in a coup d'état led by Commodore Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama. December 13 – The Chinese River Dolphin or Baiji becomes extinct. December 24 – Ethiopia admits its troops have intervened in Somalia. December 26 – An oil pipeline explodes in Nigeria's commercial capital, Lagos, killing at least 200 people.

December 30 – Basque nationalist group ETA detonates a van bomb at Madrid-Barajas Airport in Madrid, Spain, ending a nine-month ceasefire.

Births

September 6 – Prince Hisahito of Akishino, son of Kiko, Princess Akishino and Prince Akishino

Deaths

January

January 3 – Bill Skate, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (b. 1954)

January 4 – Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (b. 1946)

January 6 – Lou Rawls, American singer (b. 1933)

January 7 – Heinrich Harrer, mountaineer, explorer and author (b. 1912)

January 14 – Shelley Winters, American actress (b. 1920)

January 15 – Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1926)

January 19 – Wilson Pickett, American singer (b. 1941)

January 21 – Ibrahim Rugova, first President of Kosovo (b. 1944)

January 24 – Chris Penn, American actor (b. 1965)

January 27 – Johannes Rau, President of Germany (b. 1931)

January 30 – Coretta Scott King, American civil rights activist and wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. 1927)

February

February 1

* Dick Brooks, American auto racer (b. 1942)

* Bryce Harland, New Zealand diplomat (b. 1931)

February 3 – Al Lewis, American actor (b. 1923)

February 4 – Betty Friedan, American feminist, activist, and writer (b.1921)

February 8

* Ron Greenwood, English football manager (b. 1921)

* Akira Ifukube, Japanese classical music/film composer (b. 1914)

February 9 – Sir Freddie Laker, British airline entrepreneur (b. 1922)

February 10 – J Dilla, American music producer (b. 1974)

February 12

* Peter Benchley, American writer (b. 1940)

* Ken Hart, American composer, journalist, and playwright (b. 1917)

February 13

* Andreas Katsulas, American actor (b. 1946)

* P. F. Strawson, English philosopher (b. 1919)

February 14 – Shoshana Damari, Israeli singer and actress (b. 1923)

February 15 – Sun Yun-suan, Premier of the Republic of China (b. 1913)

February 16 – Ernie Stautner, German-born American football player (b. 1925)

February 20 – Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist, writer and traveler (b. 1920)

February 22

* Anthony Burger, American musician and singer (b. 1961)

* Sinnathamby Rajaratnam, Singapore politician (b. 1925)

February 23

* Mauri Favén, Finnish painter (b. 1920)

* Zarra, Spanish footballer (b. 1921)

February 24

* Don Knotts, American actor (b. 1924)

* Dennis Weaver, American actor (b. 1924)

February 25

* Darren McGavin, American actor (b. 1922)

* Florian ZaBach, American musician and TV personality (b. 1931)

February 27 – Linda Smith, English comedian (b. 1958)

March

March 1

* Harry Browne, American Libertarian Presidential candidate (b. 1933)

* Peter Osgood, English footballer (b. 1947)

* Peter Snow, New Zealand doctor (b. 1935)

March 2 – Jack Wild, English actor (b. 1952)

March 3 – William Herskovic, Hungarian Holocaust hero and philanthropist (b. 1914)

March 4

* Edgar Valter, Estonian illustrator and cartoonist (b. 1929)

* John Reynolds Gardiner, American author and engineer (b. 1944)

March 6

* Dana Reeve, American actress, wife of Christopher Reeve (b. 1961)

* Kirby Puckett, U.S. baseball player (b. 1960)

* King Floyd, American singer (b. 1945)

March 8 – Brian Barratt-Boyes, New Zealand heart surgeon (b. 1924)

March 9

* Hanka Bielicka, Polish actress (b. 1915)

* John Profumo, British politician (b. 1915)

March 11

* Bernie Geoffrion, Canadian hockey player (b. 1931)

* Slobodan Milošević, President of Serbia (b. 1941)

March 13

* Maureen Stapleton, American actress (b. 1925)

* Peter Tomarken, American game show host (b. 1942)

March 14 – Lennart Meri, President of Estonia (b. 1929)

March 15 – George Mackey, American mathematician (b. 1916)

March 22 – Lawrence Stephen, Nauruan politician (b. 1939)

March 23 – Cindy Walker, American songwriter (b. 1918)

March 24 – Lynne Perrie, English actress (b. 1931)

March 25

* Rocio Durcal, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1944)

* Richard Fleischer, American film director (b. 1916)

March 26 – Paul Dana, American race car driver (b. 1975)

March 27 – Stanislaw Lem, Polish writer (b. 1921)

March 28 – Caspar Weinberger, United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1917)

April

April 2 – Nina Schenk von Stauffenberg, German wife of soldier Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg (b. 1913)

April 4 – Denis Donaldson, Irish Republican informer (b. 1950)

April 5 – Gene Pitney, American singer (b. 1941)

April 6 – Francis L. Kellogg, U.S. diplomat and prominent socialite (b. 1917)

April 8 – Gerard Reve, Dutch author (b. 1923)

April 11

* Proof, American rapper (D12) (b. 1973)

* Les Foote, Australian footballer (b. 1924)

* June Pointer, American singer (b. 1953)

April 12

* Rajkumar, Indian actor (b. 1929)

* William Sloane Coffin, American university chaplain and activist (b. 1924)

April 13 – Muriel Spark, Scottish novelist (b. 1918)

April 15 – Louise Smith, American race car driver (b. 1916)

April 17 – Calum Kennedy, Scottish singer (b. 1928)

April 18 – John Lyall, British football player and manager (b. 1940)

April 19 – Scott Crossfield, American pilot (b. 1921)

April 21 – Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and coach (b. 1931)

April 23

* Alida Valli, Italian actress (b. 1921)

* Johnny Checketts, New Zealand flying ace (b. 1912)

April 24

* Nasreen Huq, Bangladeshi social worker and human rights activist (b. 1958)

* Brian Labone, English footballer (b. 1940)

* Steve Stavro, Canadian businessman and sports team owner (b. 1927)

* Moshe Teitelbaum, Hungarian-born Hassidic rabbi (b. 1914)

April 25

* Jane Jacobs, American-born writer and activist (b. 1916)

* Peter Law, British politician (b. 1948)

April 29 – John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian economist (b. 1908)

April 30 – Beatriz Sheridan, Mexican actress and director (b. 1934)

May

May 2 – Louis Rukeyser, American television host (b. 1933)

May 3

* Karel Appel, Dutch painter (b. 1921)

* Pramod Mahajan, Indian Bharatiya Janata Party politician and strategist (b. 1949)

* Earl Woods, American athlete and father of Tiger Woods (b. 1932)

May 6

* Lillian Asplund, last American survivor of the Titanic disaster (b. 1906)

* Shigeru Kayano, Japanese activist (b. 1926)

May 7

* Richard Carleton, Australian journalist (b. 1943)

* Steve Bender, German musician (Dschinghis Khan) (b. 1946)

May 8 – Iain Macmillan, British photographer (b. 1938)

May 10 – Val Guest, British film director (b. 1911)

May 11

* Yossi Banai, Israeli singer and actor (b. 1932)

* Floyd Patterson, American boxer (b. 1935)

May 12 – Hussein Maziq, Former Libyan prime minister (b. 1918).

May 13

* Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian (b. 1923)

* Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American R&B; singer (b. 1949)

May 16 – Jorge Porcel, Argentine actor (b. 1936)

May 19 – Freddie Garrity, English singer (Freddie and the Dreamers) (b. 1940)

May 21 – Katherine Dunham, American dancer, choreographer, and songwriter (b. 1909)

May 22 – Lee Jong-wook, Korean Director-General of the World Health Organisation (b. 1945)

May 23 – Lloyd Bentsen, American politician (b. 1921)

May 24

* Anderson Mazoka, Zambian politician (b. 1943)

* Michał Życzkowski, Polish technician (b. 1930)

May 25

* Desmond Dekker, Jamaican singer and songwriter (b. 1941)

* Tobías Lasser, Venezuelan botanist (b. 1911)

* Kari S. Tikka, Finnish professor (b. 1944)

May 26 – Édouard Michelin, French businessman (b. 1963)

May 27 – Alex Toth, American comic book artist and cartoonist (b. 1928)

May 29 – Masumi Okada, Japanese actor (b. 1935)

May 30

* Shohei Imamura, Japanese film director (b. 1926)

* David Lloyd, New Zealand biologist (b. 1938)

June

June 1 – Rocio Jurado, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1944)

June 6

* Arnold Newman, American photographer (b. 1918)

* Billy Preston, American artist and musician (b. 1946)

* Hilton Ruiz, Puerto Rican jazz pianist (b. 1952)

June 7

* Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Jordanian militant (b. 1966)

* John Tenta, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1963)

June 11 – Neroli Fairhall, New Zealand archer (b. 1944)

June 12

* Chakufwa Chihana, Malawi politician (b. 1939)

* György Ligeti, Hungarian composer (b. 1923)

* Kenneth Thomson, Canadian businessman and art collector (b. 1923)

June 13

* Charles Haughey, Prime Minister of Ireland (b. 1925)

* Hiroyuki Iwaki, Japanese conductor and percussionist (b. 1932)

June 14 – Jean Roba, Belgian comics author (b. 1930)

June 15 – Raymond Devos, French humorist (b. 1922)

June 18 – Gica Petrescu, Romanian musician (b. 1915)

June 23 – Aaron Spelling, American television producer (b. 1923)

June 25

* Arif Mardin, Turkish-born music producer (b. 1932)

* Jaap Penraat, Dutch architect and resistance fighter (b. 1918)

June 30

* Mohamed Haneef, Maldivian Politician and former Vice-President of Islamic Democratic Party of Maldives (b. 1946)

* Robert Gernhardt, German satirist (b. 1937)

July

July 1

* Ryutaro Hashimoto, 53rd Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1937)

* Fred Trueman, English cricketer (b. 1931)

July 3 – Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist (b. 1941)

July 5

* Gert Fredriksson, Swedish kayaker (b. 1919)

* Kenneth Lay, American businessman (b. 1942)

July 6 – Kasey Rogers, American actress, author, and biker (b. 1925)

July 7

* Tom Weir, Scottish climber, author, and broadcaster (b. 1914)

* Rudi Carrell, Dutch entertainer (b. 1934)

* Syd Barrett, English singer, songwriter, and guitarist (b. 1946)

* John Money, Sexologist (b. 1921)

* Elias Hrawi, former President of Lebanon (b. 1925)

July 8

* June Allyson, American actress (b. 1917)

* Catherine Leroy, French photographer (b. 1945)

July 10 – Shamil Basayev, Chechen rebel (b. 1965)

July 11

* Ross M. Lence, American political scientist (b. 1943)

* John Spencer, British snooker player (b. 1935)

July 13 – Red Buttons, American actor and comedian (b. 1919)

July 16 – Bob Orton, American wrestler (b. 1929)

July 17 – Mickey Spillane, American writer (b. 1918)

July 18 – Raul Cortez, Brazilian actor (b. 1931)

July 19 – Jack Warden, American actor (b. 1920)

July 20

* Lim Kim San, Singapore politician (b. 1916)

* Ted Grant, British politician (b. 1913)

July 21

* Ta Mok, Cambodian military leader (b. 1926)

* Mako Iwamatsu, Japanese-born actor (b. 1933)

July 22

* José Antonio Delgado, Venezuelan mountain climber (b. 1965)

* Gianfrancesco Guarnieri, Italian-born Brazilian actor and playwright (b.1934)

July 25

* Ezra Fleischer, Romanian dissident, later Israeli writer (b. 1928)

* Hani Mohsin, Malaysian actor (b. 1965)

July 28 – David Gemmell, British author (b. 1948)

July 30 – Murray Bookchin, American libertarian socialist (b. 1921)

August

August 3

* Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, German-born soprano (b. 1915)

* Arthur Lee, American musician (b. 1945)

August 6 – Hirotaka Suzuoki, Japanese Seiyu (b. 1950)

August 9 – James van Allen, American physicist (b. 1914)

August 11 – Mike Douglas, American entertainer (b. 1925)

August 13

* Tony Jay, English-born actor (b. 1933)

* Jon Nödtveidt, Swedish musician (b. 1975)

August 15

* Te Atairangi Kaahu, Maori queen (b. 1931)

* Faas Wilkes, former Dutch football player(b. 1923)

August 16 – Alfredo Stroessner, President of Paraguay (b. 1912)

August 19 – Oscar Miguez, Uruguayan football player (b. 1927)

August 20 – Joe Rosenthal, American photographer (b. 1911)

August 21

* Bismillah Khan, Indian musician (b. 1916)

* S. Yizhar, Israeli writer (b. 1916)

August 23

* Maynard Ferguson, Canadian musician and bandleader (b. 1928)

* Wolfgang Priklopil, Austrian kidnapper of Natascha Kampusch (b. 1962)

August 26

* Rainer Barzel, German politician (b. 1924)

* Clyde Walcott, Barbadian cricketer (b. 1926)

August 27

* Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Indian filmmaker (b. 1922)

* Maria Capovilla, Ecuadorian supercentenarian and last remaining person born during the 1880s (b. 1889)

August 30

* Glenn Ford, Canadian actor (b. 1916)

* Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)

* Robin Cooke, Baron Cooke of Thorndon, New Zealand jurist and member of the British House of Lords (b. 1926)

September

September 1 – György Faludy, Hungarian poet (b. 1910)

September 2

* Charlie Williams, British comedian (b. 1927)

* Bob Mathias, American athlete (b. 1930)

* Willi Ninja, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1961)

September 4

* Steve Irwin, Australian environmentalist and television personality (b. 1962)

* Giacinto Facchetti, Italian footballer (b. 1942)

* Colin Thiele, Australian author and educator (b. 1920)

September 8 – Hilda Bernstein, English-born author, artist, and activist (b. 1915)

September 9

* Richard Burmer, American composer and musician (b. 1955)

* William B. Ziff, Jr., American publishing executive (b. 1930)

September 10 – Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, King of Tonga (b. 1918)

September 11

* Joachim Fest, German historian and journalist (b. 1926)

* Johannes Bob van Benthem, Dutch lawyer (b. 1921)

September 14

* Elizabeth Choy, Singaporean World War II hero (b. 1910)

* Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian-born actor and bodybuilder (b. 1926)

September 15

* Oriana Fallaci, Italian journalist (b. 1929)

* Abe Saffron, Australian nightclub owner and property developer (b. 1920)

September 16 – Rob Levin, American computer programmer (b. 1955)

September 17

* Patricia Kennedy Lawford, American socialite, sister of John F. Kennedy (b. 1924)

* Dorothy C. Stratton, Director of the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve (b. 1899)

September 19

* Roy Schuiten, Dutch cyclist (b. 1950)

* Hugh Kawharu, New Zealand academic and Māori chief (b. 1927)

September 20

* Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor (b. 1932)

* John W. Peterson, American composer (b. 1921)

September 23

* Malcolm Arnold, English composer (b. 1921)

* Aladár Pege, Hungarian musician (b. 1939)

September 24 – Tetsuro Tamba, Japanese actor (b. 1922)

September 26

* Byron Nelson, American golfer (b. 1912)

* Iva Toguri D'Aquino, American propagandist for Japan in World War II (b. 1916)

September 29 – Walter Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1915)

October

October 6

* Buck O'Neil, American baseball player (b. 1911)

* Wilson Tucker, American writer (b. 1914)

October 7 – Anna Politkovskaya, American-born Russian journalist (b. 1958)

October 8 – Mark Porter, New Zealand race car driver (b. 1975)

October 9 – Paul Hunter, British snooker player (b. 1978)

October 10 – Michael John Rogers, English ornithologist (b. 1932)

October 11 – Cory Lidle, American baseball player (b. 1972)

October 13 – Mason Andrews, delivered America's first test tube baby; former mayor of Norfolk, Virginia (b. 1919)

October 14 – Freddy Fender, American singer (b. 1937)

October 16

* Lister Sinclair, Canadian broadcaster and playwright (b. 1921)

* Valentín Paniagua, President of Peru (b. 1936)

October 18 – Anna Russell, British-born comedian and music satirist (b. 1911)

October 20 – Jane Wyatt, American actress (b. 1910)

October 24 – Enolia McMillan, American first female president of the NAACP (b. 1904)

October 25 – Danny Rolling, American serial killer (b. 1954) (executed by lethal injection)

October 28

* Red Auerbach, American basketball coach and official (b. 1917)

* Trevor Berbick, Jamaican boxer (b. 1955)

October 30 – Clifford Geertz, American anthropologist (b. 1926)

October 31 – Pieter Willem Botha, former State President of South Africa (b. 1916)

November

November 1

* Adrienne Shelly, American actress & director (b. 1966)

* William Styron, American writer (b. 1925)

November 2

* Adrien Douady, French mathematician (b. 1935)

* Wally Foreman, Australian sports commentator (b. 1948)

November 3

* Paul Mauriat, French musician (b. 1925)

* Alberto Spencer, Ecuadorian footballer (b. 1937)

November 4

* Frank Arthur Calder, Canadian politician (b. 1915)

* Sergi López Segú, Spanish footballer (b. 1967)

November 5

* Mustafa Bülent Ecevit, Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist (b. 1925)

* Samuel Bowers, American Ku Klux Klansman and convicted killer (b. 1924)

November 8 – Basil Poledouris, American composer (b. 1945)

November 9 – Ed Bradley, American journalist (b. 1941)

November 10

* Gerald Levert, American singer (b. 1966)

* Jack Palance, American actor (b. 1919)

November 15 – Ana Carolina Reston, Brazilian fashion model (b. 1985)

November 16 – Milton Friedman, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)

November 17

* Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer (b. 1927)

* Bo Schembechler, American football coach (b. 1929)

* Ruth Brown, American singer (b. 1928)

November 20

* Robert Altman, American film director (b. 1925)

* Andre Waters, American football player (b. 1962)

November 21

* Pierre Amine Gemayel, Lebanese politician (b. 1972)

* Hassan Gouled Aptidon, former President of Djibouti (b. 1916)

November 22 – John Allan Cameron, Canadian musician (b. 1938)

November 23

* Alexander Litvinenko, Russian-born spy (b. 1962)

* Philippe Noiret, French actor (b. 1930)

* Anita O'Day, American singer (b. 1919)

* Willie Pep, American boxer (b. 1922)

November 24

* Walter Booker, American jazz bassist (b. 1933)

* Juice Leskinen, Finnish singer and songwriter (b. 1950)

November 25

* Leo Chiosso, Italian poet (b. 1920)

* Valentin Elizalde, Mexican singer (b. 1979)

* Phyllis Fraser Cerf Wagner, American actress, journalist and publisher (b. 1916)

November 26 – Dave Cockrum, American comic book artist (b. 1943)

November 27 – Alan Freeman, Australian-born broadcaster and disc jockey (b. 1927)

November 28 – Bernard Orchard, British biblical scholar (b. 1912)

December

December 3 – Craig Hinton, British novelist (b. 1964)

December 4 – Ross A. McGinnis, American soldier, posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor (b. 1987)

December 5 – David Bronstein, Soviet Union chess grandmaster (b. 1924)

December 6 – John Feeney, New Zealand documentary film-director (b. 1922)

December 7

* Jeane Kirkpatrick, American political theorist and U.N. ambassador (b. 1926)

* J. B. Hunt, American trucking magnate (b. 1927)

December 8 – Jose Uribe, Dominican Major League Baseball player (b. 1959)

December 10 – Augusto Pinochet, Chilean dictator (b. 1915)

December 12

* Paul Arizin, American basketball player (b. 1928)

* Peter Boyle, American actor (b. 1935)

* Raymond P. Shafer, American politician (b. 1917)

December 13

* Lamar Hunt, American sports executive (b. 1932)

* "Homesick" James Williamson, American blues musician (b. 1910)

* Federico Crescentini, Sanmarinese football player (b. 1982)

December 14

* Ahmet Ertegün, Turkish record executive (b. 1923)

* Mike Evans, American actor (b. 1949)

December 15 – Clay Regazzoni, Swiss race car driver (b. 1939)

December 16 – Don Jardine, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1940)

December 18 – Joseph Barbera, American animator (b. 1911)

December 20

* Yukio Aoshima, Japanese politician, novelist and TV-actor (b. 1932)

* Ma Ji, Chinese actor (b. 1934)

December 21 – Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan (b. 1940)

December 22 – Elena Mukhina, Russian gymnast (b. 1960)

December 23

* Robert Stafford, American politician (b. 1913)

* Dutch Mason, Canadian blues musician (b. 1938)

* Marilyn Waltz, American actress, model, and Playboy Playmate (b. 1931)

December 24

* Braguinha, Brazilian songwriter (b. 1907)

* Charlie Drake, English comedian (b. 1925)

* Frank Stanton, American television executive (b. 1908)

* Kenneth Sivertsen, Norwegian musician, composer, poet and comedian (b. 1961)

December 25 – James Brown, American singer (b. 1933)

December 26 – Gerald R. Ford, 38th President of the United States (b. 1913)

December 29 – Charles Addo Odametey, Ghanaian football player (b. 1937)

December 30

* Saddam Hussein, 5th President of Iraq, executed by hanging (b. 1937)

* Antony Lambton, Viscount Lambton, British politician (b. 1922)

Nobel Prizes

Chemistry – Roger D. Kornberg.

Economics – Edmund Phelps.

Literature – Orhan Pamuk.

Peace – Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank.

Physics – John C. Mather, and George F. Smoot.

Physiology or Medicine – Andrew Z. Fire, and Craig C. Mello.

Major holidays

January 1 – New Year's Day

January 6 – Feast of Epiphany or Día de los Reyes Magos (Day of the Magi Kings) or La Fête des Rois (Feast of the Kings).

January 7 – Christmas in the Russian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic and other Eastern Christian church calendars.

January 10 – Islamic festival of Eid ul-Adha begins (ends on January 12).

January 11 – Vaikunta Ekadashi is observed by Hindus.

January 14 – Mahayana Buddhist New Year.

January 29 – Lunar New Year

January 31 – Muslim New Year.

February 1 – Imbolc Cross-quarter day (Celebrated on February 2 in some places).

February 9 – Day of Ashurah.

February 13 – Tu Bishvat.

February 28 – Mardi Gras.

March 13 – Jewish holiday of Purim begins at sunset.

March 14 – Sikh New Year.

March 21 – Iranian New Year's Day (Norouz).

March 30 – Hindu New Year.

April 5 – Qingming Festival.

April 11 – Birth anniversary of Muhammad.

April 12 – Pesach or Passover begins at sunset, continues for a week.

April 13

* Theravada Buddhist New Year.

* Punjabi New Year.

April 14

* Good Friday in the Western Church Calendar.

* Sikh Holiday of Vaisakhi.

* Puththaandu Tamil New Year in the Tamil Calendar, observed by people in Tamil Nadu.

April 16 – Easter in the Western Church Calendar.

April 21 – Good Friday in the Eastern Church Calendar!

April 23 – Easter in the Eastern Church Calendar!

May 1 – Beltane Cross-quarter day.

June 1 – Jewish holiday of Shavuot begins at sunset!

August 1 – Lammas Cross-quarter day.

August 2 – Jewish fast of Tisha B'Av begins at sundown; it extends until the night of August 3.

September 22 – Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown. Continues until nightfall of the 24th.

September 23 – First day of Ramadan.

October 1 – Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur begins at sundown. Ends at nightfall of the 2nd.

October 21 – Hindu festival of Diwali.

October 23 – Islamic festival of Eid ul-Fitr.

October 31 – Samhain Cross-quarter day.

December 15 – Hannukah.

December 21 – Wiccans celebrate the festival of Yule.

December 25 – Christmas in the Western Church Calendar.

December 31 – Islamic festival of Eid ul-Adha begins (ends on January 2, 2007).

In fiction

References

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Coordinates	39°44′21″N104°59′5″N
Name	Matt Harding
Birth name	Matthew Harding
Birth date	September 27, 1976
Website	http://www.wherethehellismatt.com/
Web alias	Matt
Web host service	YouTube
Meme	''Where the Hell is Matt?''
Signature phrase	}}

}} Matthew "Matt" Harding (born September 27, 1976), is an American traveler, video game designer, and Internet celebrity known as Dancing Matt for his viral videos that show him dancing in front of landmarks and street scenes in various international locations. Harding has since received widespread coverage of his travel exploits in major print and broadcast media outlets, and was hired by Visa to star in their ''Travel Happy'' campaign.

He is originally from Westport, Connecticut. He began his game industry career working for a video game specialty store called Cutting Edge Entertainment. Harding later worked as an editor for ''GameWeek Magazine'' in Wilton, Connecticut, and then as a software developer for Activision in Santa Monica, California and then Brisbane, Australia.

Harding claims that a sarcastic joke about the popularity of shoot 'em up games led Pandemic Studios to develop the game ''Destroy All Humans!'', on which he received a conceptual credit. Saying he "didn't want to spend two years of my life writing a game about killing everyone", he quit his job and began traveling, leading to the production of his first video.

On 11 December 2008, Matt Harding sarcastically revealed at the Entertainment Gathering that the videos were a hoax and that he is an actor, not a game designer, and the videos were made using animatronic puppets and extensive video editing. A month later, during the MacWorld convention, Matt revealed the "hoax about the hoax" and joked about the fact many people took it seriously and the outrage it caused. He also made it very clear that the videos he made were indeed 100% real.

Where the Hell is Matt?

Harding was known by his friends for a particular dance, and while video recording each other in Vietnam, his travel companion suggested he add the dance. The videos were uploaded to his website for friends and family to enjoy. Later, Harding edited together 15 dance scenes, all with him center frame, with the background music "Sweet Lullaby" by "Deep Forest". The original Song uses samples from a dying Solomon Islands language which was recorded in 1971 by a French ethnomusicologist at the Solomon Islands near Papua New Guinea. The song, "Rorogwela" was sung by a young woman named Afunakwa. According to the video "Where the Hell is Afunakwa" by Matt Harding, Afunakwa died in 1998.

The video was passed around by e-mail and eventually became viral, with his server getting 20,000 or more hits a day as it was discovered, generally country by country due to language barriers, before the launch of major video upload sites.

Harding created a second version of the video in 2006, with additional dancing scenes from subsequent travels, called "Dancing 2006". At the request of Stride, a gum brand, he accepted sponsorship of this video, since he usually travels on a limited budget.

Harding released his third dancing video on June 20, 2008. The video is the product of 14 months of traveling in 42 countries. The background music/song of this video is known as "Praan" composed by Garry Schyman and sung by Palbasha Siddique, with lyrics adapted from the poem "Stream of Life," a part of the Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore.

As of August 2008, Harding is represented by Creative Artists Agency. His videos are viewable on YouTube, Google Video, Vimeo and his own site wherethehellismatt.com. His "Where the Hell is Matt? (2008)" video has been watched over 33,555,501 times on YouTube and Harding's YouTube channel is ranked "#83 - Most Subscribed (All Time) - Directors" as of December 22, 2010.

Major media coverage

Harding's video clips have appeared on television shows including:

''The Screen Savers'' (March 17, 2005)

MSNBC's ''Countdown with Keith Olbermann'' (August 18, 2005)

''Inside Edition'' (August 19, 2005)

''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (October 10, 2005)

''Rude Tube'' (February 15, 2008)

''40 Greatest Internet Celebrities on VH1

''Jimmy Kimmel Live'' (August 6, 2008)

''Enough Rope'' (August 18, 2008)

''The Daily Show'' (November 6, 2008)

Harding was bumped from ''Good Morning America'' on September 8, 2005, due to coverage of Hurricane Katrina, but appeared on May 31, 2006, dancing outside the GMA studio in Times Square with footage from his videos displayed on the Panasonic Astro Vision screen on One Times Square.

In November 2006, Harding was invited to lecture at Champlain College in Burlington, Vermont, about the experience of making the video and subsequent fame. He also was filmed dancing with students from the college.

In 2007, Jawed Karim, one of the founders of YouTube, stated that Harding's video is his favorite video posted to Youtube.

On July 22, 2008 and again on July 25, 2010, NASA featured Harding's third video on their APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) website, titled "Happy People Dancing on Planet Earth", making claim of humans worldwide sharing a common love of dance. The website states that "few people are able to watch the above video without smiling". Harding himself has joked that he is impressed with this, especially since the video has nothing to do with astronomy, nor is a picture.

On November 2008, Matt and the vocalist Palbasha were interviewed by KFAI radio in Minnesota. It is a behind-the-scene story about finding the musician.

Videos

First video

# Beijing, China. # Hanoi, Vietnam. # Delhi, Bengal Jungle, Agra;India. # Moscow, Siberia;Russia. # Bangkok, Thailand. # Prague, Czech Republic. # Angkor Wat, Cambodia # Los Angeles, New York, Seattle, Westport;USA # Suhbaatar, Mongolia. # Kilimanjaro Summit, Tanzania. # Monte Alban, Mexico. # Tsavo, Kenya. # Impenetrable Forest, Uganda. # Yangon, Myanmar.

Second video

# Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia. # Petra, Jordan. # Machu Picchu, Peru. # Venice, Italy. # Tokyo, Japan. # Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. # Brisbane, Australia. # Luang Prabang, Laos. # Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei. # Area 51, Nevada. # Tikal, Guatemala. # Half Moon Caye, Belize. # Sossusvlei, Namibia. # Routeburn Valley, New Zealand. # Monument Valley, Arizona. # South Shetland Islands. # Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia. # London, England. # Very Large Array, New Mexico. # Abu Simbel, Egypt. # Easter Island, Chile. # Haute-Picardie, France. # Mutianyu, China. # New York, New York. # Ephesus, Turkey. # Guam. # Mokolodi, Botswana. # Berlin, Germany. # Sydney, Australia. # Dubai, United Arab Emirates. # Rock Islands, Palau. # Mulindi, Rwanda. # Neko Harbour, Antarctica. # Kjeragbolten, Norway. # San Francisco, California. # Seattle, Washington.

Third video

# Mumbai, India # Paro, Bhutan # Giant's Causeway, Northern Ireland # Stone Town, Zanzibar # Lancelin, Australia # Lisse, Netherlands # Christmas Island, Australia # Kuwait City, Kuwait # Teotihuacán, Mexico # Seljalandsfoss, Iceland ##(Quick scenes of transition from dancing alone to with others) Dublin, Ireland ## Boston, Massachusetts, United States ## Toronto, Ontario, Canada ## Atomium, Brussels, Belgium ## Praça do Comércio, Lisbon, Portugal ## Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada ## San Francisco, California, United States ## Paris, France ## Melbourne, Victoria, Australia ## Washington DC, United States ## Chicago, Illinois # Madrid, Spain # Antseranana, Madagascar # Brisbane, Australia # Dublin, Ireland # Buenos Aires, Argentina # Chakachino, Zambia # Istanbul, Turkey # Wainivilase, Fiji # London, England # Stockholm, Sweden # Auki, Solomon Islands # Sana'a, Yemen # Ala Archa Gorge, Kyrgyzstan # Tagaytay, Philippines # Demilitarized Zone, Korea # Timbuktu, Mali # Warsaw, Poland # Austin, Texas # Tokyo, Japan # Poria, Papua New Guinea # Miami, Florida # Munich, Germany # Tongatapu, Tonga # Chicago, Illinois # Thimphu, Bhutan # Gurgaon, India # Sydney, Australia # Lisbon, Portugal # Seoul, South Korea # Soweto, South Africa # New York, New York. # Tokyo, Japan # Vava'u, Tonga # Cape of Good Hope, South Africa # Panama Canal, Panama # Wadi Rum, Jordan # Lemur Island, Madagascar # Auckland, New Zealand # Batik, Morocco # Amsterdam, Netherlands # Atlanta, Georgia # Mexico City, Mexico # Brussels, Belgium # San Francisco, California # Taipei, Taiwan # Vancouver, British Columbia # Washington DC, United States. # Rio de Janeiro, Brazil # Cologne, Germany # Singapore # Alhambra, California # Tel Aviv, Israel # East Jerusalem, Israel # Paris, France # Montreal, Quebec # Nellis Airspace, Nevada # Los Angeles, California # Sao Paulo, Brazil # Seattle, Washington

Fourth Video - South Africa

In preparation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup, Matt Harding created a special video to celebrate the occasion in which he performed the Diski Dance in locations across South Africa. He uploaded the video to YouTube on March 5, 2010. The following locations were shown in the video in the order listed. Some locations were visited several times.

# Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, Johannesburg # The Pinnacle, Mossel Bay # Hout Bay, Cape Town # Table Mountain, Cape Town # Cape Town Stadium, Cape Town # Mbombela Stadium, Nelspruit # South African Airways # Boulders Beach, near Cape Town # Soweto Cooling Towers, Soweto. Johannesburg # Robben Island # Soccer City, Soweto, Johannesburg # Table Mountain, Cape Town # Cape of Good Hope # Camp Jabulani, Hoedspruit # Blyde River Canyon, Mpumalanga # Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, Johannesburg # Bourke's Luck Potholes, Blyde River Canyon, Mpumalanga # Soweto Cooling Towers, Soweto. Johannesburg # Hout Bay, Cape Town # Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, Johannesburg # Mac Mac Pools, near Mac-Mac Falls, Mpumalanga # Lesedi Cultural Village, near Johannesburg # Camp Jabulani, Hoedspruit # Bourke's Luck Potholes, Blyde River Canyon, Mpumalanga # Lesedi Cultural Village, near Johannesburg # Soccer City, Soweto, Johannesburg # Table Mountain, Cape Town # Johannesburg # Boulders Beach, near Cape Town # The Pinnacle, Mossel Bay # Nelson Mandela Square, Sandton, Johannesburg # Soccer City, Soweto, Johannesburg # South African Airways

Videogame development credits

Harding's development credits include:

''Destroy All Humans!''

''Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events''

''Army Men RTS''

''Dark Reign 2''

''Battlezone II: Combat Commander''

''Battlezone''

''Zork: Grand Inquisitor''

Parodies

On the FX sitcom ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' Matt Harding is parodied on episode "Frank Sets Sweet Dee on Fire" by "The Dancing Guy" (a bald local celebrity on a Public-access television cable TV that dances to rave music in front of different shots of nature while wearing nothing but his underwear or a diaper).

CollegeHumor created a video ''Where the Hell is Matt's Girlfriend'' which depicts Matt's girlfriend cheating on him as he dances around the world.

BlameSocietyFilms also made a parody titled "Where the Hell is Shut-In Matt" and it has a shut-in named Matt dancing around his apartment.

RandumbProd made a parody as well titled "Where The Hell Is Dane?" with creator Dane Kevin Cook dancing around his town in a variety of humorous places.

References

External links

Official homepage and blog

Matt Visits Yahoo! Headquarters

Category:1976 births Category:American video game designers Category:American Internet personalities Category:Living people Category:People from Brisbane Category:People from Westport, Connecticut Category:People from Los Angeles, California Category:People from Seattle, Washington Category:Viral videos

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Coordinates	39°44′21″N104°59′5″N
name	Smosh
author	Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla
years	2005-present
website	smosh.com }}

Smosh is a web-based comedy duo consisting of Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla. Anthony Padilla first began posting flash movies on Newgrounds in early 2003, under the name Smosh. He was later joined by his friend Ian Hecox. Soon afterward they began to post videos on YouTube in the autumn of 2005 and became one of the most popular channels on that site, with more than 3 million subscribers as of August 2011. Until 2008, Smosh was the most-subscribed-to-YouTube account.

Four Smosh-related channels exist on YouTube. The base "Smosh" channel, where both Ian and Anthony post their skits and other videos, has new videos every Friday. From "IanH" (used at first for vlogs and other non-scripted videos), the pair upload their side series "Ian is Bored" on Mondays and "Lunchtime with Smosh" on Thursdays, while their associate performer Mari does "Smosh Pit Weekly" videos on Saturday. A third channel, called "AskCharlie", is based on the popular Smosh character Charlie the Drunk Guinea Pig. It uploads videos every Wednesday. Their final channel, "AnthonyPadilla", has been inactive since February 2011; it was formerly where Anthony made vlog-like videos on his own.

History

Formation and ''Pokémon Theme Music Video'': 2005–2009

Smosh began when Ian Hecox and Anthony Padilla made several videos together, lip syncing to theme songs such as Mortal Kombat, Power Rangers, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. At first, these videos were not intended to be posted online, but after they sent them to their friends, they started a YouTube channel.

One of Smosh's earliest videos, "Pokémon Theme Music Video," was released in November 2005. It followed the same style as their other earlier videos, featuring the duo lip-synching the original English theme song for the Pokémon anime. However, the video instantly became much more popular than any of their other videos; over the course of its lifetime, it gained 24.7 million views, becoming the most-viewed video on all of YouTube at that time. It held that title for about six months, but was removed by YouTube after the website received a notice from Shogakukan Productions Co., Ltd., claiming copyright infringement.

The success of their ''Pokémon'' video and other videos led Smosh to be featured in the "Person of the Year: You" issue of ''Time Magazine'', published December 13, 2006. It also inspired them to expand their style beyond basic lip-synching videos, and eventually to start creating videos of various genres, such as mini-skits and sketch comedies.

2010 era

In January 2010, Smosh launched the "Smosh Pit" feature, a blog that consists of various pieces of pop-culture trivia. In addition, 2010 saw the channel launch 3 different Smosh-based web series: "Ian is Bored," which is a collection of comedic videos by Ian Hecox; "Ask Charlie" (which is an interactive series where people ask Charlie, from their January 2010 "Charlie the Drunk Guinea Pig" video, random questions); and "Lunchtime with Smosh," a Comedy series featuring Smosh getting and eating food from various places.

Also in early 2010, Smosh created the "iShut Up App" for Android phones as part of a Google sponsorship; it eventually made its way to the iTunes app store.

In November 2010, Anthony and Ian guest-appeared in the 35 minute film Agents of Secret Stuff, by Nigahiga.

As of August 2011, Smosh is the third most-subscribed channel on YouTube.

Anthony and Ian made a cameo in episode 3 of the popular machinima series Red vs Blue season 9.

References

External links

Category:Living people Category:American comedians Category:Comedy duos

es:Smosh (dúo) fr:Smosh it:Smosh ja:スモッシュ no:Smosh pl:Smosh fi:Smosh sv:Smosh tr:Smosh zh:Smosh

Coordinates	39°44′21″N104°59′5″N
Name	Joseph Kony
Birth name	Joseph Kony
Birth date	Unknown (possibly 1961)
Birth place	Odek, Uganda
Nationality	Ugandan
Known for	Leader of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA)
Title	Leader of the Lord's Resistance Army
Height	71 inches (5ft. 11in.)
Religion	Christianity
Spouse	Thought to have over 60 wives
Children	Thought to have 42 children }}

Joseph Kony (born 1961) is the head of the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a guerrilla group that is engaged in a violent campaign to establish theocratic government in Uganda, which he claims is based on the Ten Commandments.

The LRA has earned a reputation for its actions against the people of several countries, including northern Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Sudan. The LRA has abducted and forced an estimated 66,000 children to fight for them, and has also forced the internal displacement of over 2,000,000 people since its rebellion began in 1986.

Biography

Joseph Kony was born in 1961 in Odek, a village east of Gulu in northern Uganda Kony was the son of farmers. He was friendly to his siblings, but if they crossed him he came down hard on them. During his teenage years, Joseph Kony apprenticed as the village witch doctor under his older brother, Jamie Brow, and when his older brother died, he took over full responsibility. When confronted he often resorted to his fists rather than parrying verbally. He was teased in school about his size and the teachers gave him a hard time because he didn't seem too bright. His father was a lay apostle of the Catholic Church and his mother was an Anglican, Kony was an altar boy for several years. He stopped attending church at about the age of 15. A high-school dropout, Kony first came to prominence in January 1986, in his mid 20s. His group was one of many premillennialist groups that sprang up in Acholiland in the wake of the wildly popular Holy Spirit Movement of Alice Auma (aka Lakwena). However, the conflict in the north began in the resentment among the Acholi at their relative loss of influence after the overthrow of Acholi President Tito Okello by Yoweri Museveni and his National Resistance Army (NRA) during the Ugandan Bush War, ending in 1986.

Originally Kony's group was named the United Holy Salvation Army (UHSA) and was not perceived as a threat by the NRA. By 1988, with the accord between NRA and the Uganda People's Democratic Army and addition of its remnant troops as well as forced recruitment of children the United Holy Salvation Army was becoming a formidable resistance army. The bulk of his foot soldiers were children. He is estimated to have taken 104,000 or more boys and girls since the LRA started fighting in 1986. He often killed their family and neighbors when abducting these children, forcing them to fight for him. With these remnants of UPDA was commander Odong Latek, who convinced Kony to use standard military tactics as opposed to its previous attempts which involved attacking in cross-shaped formations and the use of holy water. The new tactics proved successful and the UHSA delivered several small but stinging defeats against the NRA. After these victories the NRA responded by significantly weakening the Kony's group with political actions and a military campaign named Operation North.

By 1992, Kony had renamed the group United Democratic Christian Army and it was at this time that they kidnapped 44 girls from the Sacred Heart Secondary and St. Mary's girls schools. Operation North was devastating to what would become the Lord's Resistance Army and with their number reduced from thousands to hundreds still engaged in retaliatory attacks on civilians and NRA collaborators.

The Bigombe talks in 1993 led to more insight into Joseph Kony. Betty Bigombe remembered that the first time she met Kony, his followers used oil to ward-off bullets and evil spirits. Also in a letter regarding future talks, Kony stated that he must consult the Holy Spirit. When the talks did occur they insisted on participation of religious leaders and opened the proceedings with prayers led by LRA's Director of Religious Affairs Jenaro Bongomi. Finally in the 1994 peace talks Kony appeared preceded by men in robes sprinkling holy water.

Many international attempts at peace and an end to the abduction of children by Kony and his Lord's Resistance Army occurred between 1996 and 2001. All of them failed to end the abductions, rape, child soldiers, and civilian casualties including attacks on refugee camps. After the September 11th attacks the United States declared the Lord's Resistance Army a terrorist group and Joseph Kony a terrorist.

Joseph Kony was thought to have been possessed by spirits; he has been portrayed as either the Messiah or the devil. He reportedly made annual trips to the Ato Hills in Uganda. He would allegedly ascend to the highest of the hills and lie down in the hot sun for days. He would be covered by a blanket of red termites that slashed deeply into his skin. Oil from a plant called Yao was spread over his body. Then he would enter a cave and stay in seclusion for weeks. Kony believes in the literal protection provided by a cross symbol and tells his child soldiers a cross on their chest drawn in oil would protect them from bullets. Kony insists that he and the Lord's Resistance Army are fighting for the Ten Commandments. "Yes, we are fighting for Ten Commandments," "Is it bad? It is not against human rights. And that commandment was not given by Joseph. It was not given by LRA. No, those commandments were given by God."

Indictment

On October 6, 2005, it was announced by the International Criminal Court (ICC) that arrest warrants had been issued for five members of the Lord's Resistance Army for crimes against humanity following a sealed indictment. On the next day Ugandan defense minister Amama Mbabazi revealed that the warrants include Joseph Kony, his deputy Vincent Otti, and LRA commanders Raska Lukwiya, Okot Odiambo and Dominic Ongwen. According to spokesmen for the military, the Ugandan army killed Lukwiya on August 12, 2006.

A week later, on October 13, ICC Chief Prosecutor Luis Moreno Ocampo released details on Kony's indictment. There are 33 charges, 12 counts are crimes against humanity, which include murder, enslavement, sexual enslavement and rape. There are another 21 counts of war crimes which include murder, cruel treatment of civilians, intentionally directing an attack against a civilian population, pillaging, inducing rape, and forced enlisting of children into the rebel ranks. Ocampo said that "Kony was abducting girls to offer them as rewards to his commanders."

On July 31, 2006, Kony met with several cultural, political, and religious leaders from northern Uganda at his hideout in the Congolese forests to discuss the war. The following day, August 1, he crossed the border into Sudan to speak with Southern Sudan Vice President Riek Machar. Kony later told reporters that he would not be willing to stand trial at the ICC because he had not done anything wrong.

On November 12, 2006, Kony met Jan Egeland, the United Nations Undersecretary-General for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief. Kony told Reuters: "We don't have any children. We only have combatants."

On August 28, 2008, the United States Treasury Department placed Kony on its list of "Specially Designated Global Terrorists," a designation that carries financial and other penalties. It is not known whether Kony has any assets that are affected by this designation.

The Ugandan military has attempted to kill Kony for most of the insurgency. Uganda's latest attempt towards tracking down Kony has been to enlist the help of former LRA combatants to search remote areas of the Central African Republic, the Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo where he was last seen.

Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act

In May 2010, U.S. President Obama signed into law the Lord's Resistance Army Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act, legislation aimed at stopping Joseph Kony and the LRA. The bill passed unanimously in the Senate on March 11, 2010 with 65 Senators as cosponsors, then passed unanimously in the House of Representatives on May 13, 2010 with 202 Representatives as cosponsors. On November 24, President Obama delivered the strategy to disarm Joseph Kony and the LRA.

See also

Children of War

The World's 10 Most Wanted

Invisible Children (2003 documentary film)

Bibliography

References

External links

"Wanted": Joseph Kony on website Interpol

The Rescue of Joseph Kony's Child Soldiers

Girl Soldiers - The cost of survival in Northern Uganda Women News Network - WNN

"I want peace talks to resume" Audio interview with Kony on Radio France Internationale English Service 22 June 2008

I want peace, but Museveni is the problem, says Kony, transcript of Joseph Kony's call in to a political talk show on the Mega FM radio station broadcasting from Gulu on 28 December 2002

Kony's eldest son killed, New Vision, 8 July 2005

Hague Justice Portal: Joseph Kony

J. Carter Johnson, Deliver Us from Kony, Christianity Today, January 2006

Sam Farmar, Uganda rebel leader breaks silence (interview with downloadable audio in MP3 format), BBC Newsnight, 28 June 2006, also on Google Video

Ruud Elmendorp's video interview with Joseph Kony on Rocketboom 16 August 2006

Ochola John, LRA victim: 'I cannot forget and forgive', BBC, 29 June 2006

Julia Spiegel of the Enough Project discusses efforts to kill Joseph Kony Bloggingheads TV diavlog Sunday, 11 January 2009

Most Wanted Slideshow

"Stop Joseph Kony," song meant to increase awareness of the conflict

Invisible Children: The international movement against the LRA

Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:People from Gulu District Category:Acholi people Category:Lord's Resistance Army rebels Category:Fugitives wanted by the International Criminal Court Category:Fugitives wanted on war crimes charges Category:Fugitives wanted on crimes against humanity charges

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