On this day
Revisit the news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 2004, the world population was approximately 6,503,377,772 people[â ]
2004Souhardya De, Indian author and columnist[â ]
Souhardya De is an Indian writer, columnist, and podcaster from Midnapore, West Bengal. He is a recipient of the Pradhan Mantri Rashtriya Bal Puraskar, a civilian award for Indian citizens under the age of 18, in 2021. He is a Think Big scholar at the University of Bristol and a Don Lavoie Fellow in political economy at the Mercatus Center.
2004Norberto Bobbio, Italian philosopher and academic (born 1909)[â ]
Norberto Bobbio was an Italian philosopher of law and political sciences and a historian of political thought. He also wrote regularly for the Turin-based daily La Stampa. Bobbio was a social liberal in the tradition of Piero Gobetti, Carlo Rosselli, Guido Calogero, and Aldo Capitini. He was also strongly influenced by Hans Kelsen and Vilfredo Pareto. He was considered one of the greatest Italian intellectuals of the 20th century.
2004An inflatable boat carrying illegal Albanian emigrants stalls near the Karaburun Peninsula en route to Brindisi, Italy; exposure to the elements kills 28. This is the second deadliest marine disaster in Albanian history.[â ]
An inflatable boat is a lightweight boat constructed with its sides and bow made of flexible tubes containing pressurised gas. For smaller boats, the floor and hull are often flexible, while for boats longer than 3 metres (9.8Â ft), the floor typically consists of three to five rigid plywood or aluminium sheets fixed between the tubes, but not joined rigidly together. Often the transom is rigid, providing a location and structure for mounting an outboard motor.
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Analysis: German business ar
Article on annual conference of Assn of Performing Arts Presenters in Manhattan; thousands of association members participate each winter in weeklong conference whose principal draw is showcase of performances by performing arts companies and individuals; photos (L)
Former Cincinnati Reds manager Pete Rose says he is embarrassed about confessing that he bet on baseball after years of denying that he did; photos (M)
Mayor Michael R Bloomberg proposes $400 property tax rebate to homeowners in New York City, State of City Address; some fiscal experts question whether city can afford rebates, noting that faces $2 billion budget deficit for fiscal 2004; say rebate may weaken city's bargaining hand with Albany and municipal unions; photo (M)
Lego posts record pretax loss of 1.4 billion kroner ($239 million) for 2003 and fires its deputy chief executive Poul Plougmann; will cut its management team to nine people from 14 and is seeking to eliminate more jobs; photo (S)
Gen Wesley K Clark seeks to shed his military persona to attract more women voters; advisers say women significantly trail men in support for Clark in national and New Hampshire polls; Clark says many women view armed forces, where he spent much of his career, as male-dominated, hierarchical, authoritarian institution; says he wants women to get to know him; his overall poll numbers have been rising; CNN/USA Today poll finds him in statistical tie with Howard Dean nationally; Clark's aides are addressing gender gap by recruiting network of women who speak in weekly conference call, exchanging ideas about how to win over women with endorsements, advertisements and events; photos (M)
Though its title suggests the flat-footed literalism of "Poetic Justice," there actually is a Liberty being chased in this romantic comedy. That's the code name of Anna Foster (Mandy Moore), a freedom-hungry First Daughter and a pouty, selfish 18-year-old trapped in a security bubble. But the movie stumbles trying to stay in the footfalls left before it by "Roman Holiday" and "It Happened One Night." Liberty eventually runs off through most of Europe with Ben Calder (Matthew Goode), who rescues her from her plexiglass prison. Resemblances to screwball comedies aside, it should also be noted that "Chasing Liberty" is the sacrificial first studio release of 2004; this means that the movie is like a Secret Service agent taking a bullet for the President. â Elvis Mitchell
Ranks of New York City police officers assigned to high-crime schools will expand by 150 in February; officers are considered problem solvers and role models as well as law officers; school assignment, once akin to professional banishment, is now something officers seek out; experts say sudden influx of officers presents opportunities for lasting changes, but there is risk that sutdents could perceive themselves as targets and become alienated; photo (M)
South Korea's troubled credit card company LG Card is forced to halt cash advance services at most banks in country as liquidity shortage worsens; LG says liquidity crunch might worsen unless creditors offer more emergency loans (S)y
Germany's Federal Labor Agency reports number of jobless people fell seasonally adjusted 21,000 from November to 4.34 million; unemployment rate declined to 10.4 percent from 10.5 percent (S)
New Jersey Legislature passes bill that recognizes domestic partnerships for same-sex couples as well as for heterosexual couples over age 62; bill permits domestic partners to make critical medical decisions for each other, requires insurance companies to offer health care coverage to domestic partners equivalent to that of spouses and extends health coverage and pension benefits to domestic partners of state employees; does not require private employers to extend such benefits to their employees' domestic partners and does not confer most of entitlements of marriage, like right to share property acquired during marriage, to seek financial support when relationship ends and to be recognized as family member for many public benefit programs; Gov James E McGreevey says he is eager to sign bill (M)
Sotheby's in New York will auction nine Imperial Faberge Easter eggs from Czarist Russia that were acquired over lifetime by late publishing magnate Malcolm Forbes; collection is second in size only to 10 in Kremlin; it will be offered in April along with 180 other Faberge objects from Forbes holdings; together they are expected to sell for at least $90 million; growing number of newly rich Russian collectors have added to strength of this market; another potential buyer is Kremlin, which might want to add to its trove of Imperial eggs; extraordinary materials and workmanship that went into eggs, coupled with their size (six inches of less) make them perhaps most luxurious, over-the-top baubles ever produced; Malcolm Forbes' son Christopher says he and his siblings have been receiving offers from collectors all over world willing to pay handsomely for their eggs; photo (M)