On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
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There are eerie echoes of 1988 in 2004 presidential campaign; Republicans in 1988 used meticulously planned campaign aimed at turning Democratic nominee Michael S Dukakis into unacceptable choice for president; they are using another disciplined campaign against John Kerry, painting him as flip-flopping Massachusetts liberal who is soft on defense; Dukakis and Kerry photo (M)
Frank Rich article compares media coverage of Vietnamese and Iraqi wars; says news travels faster now and reaches greater audience, but even more significant is effect of immediate airing of pictures and films revealing 'bad' news, such as abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and pull-back of US forces from Falluja; says Bush administration has been 'coddled' by news coverage, allowing public to be 'conned' into believing Iraq had weapons of mass destruction and that Saddam Hussein was in league with al Qaeda; photo (L)
Interviews with soldiers, their relatives, and military commanders and Army reports reveal soldiers called up from National Guard and Army Reserve for military police battalion involved in prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib, Iraq, prison had little or no training in guarding enemy prisoners and running prison; soldiers found selves in charge of prison at time when increasing rage of anti-American insurgency and desperation of American commanders to glean intelligence magnified pressures on them; chronology of events; photos (L)
Article describes test run for game of Pac-Manhattan, real-world version of 1980's video game played on streets of New York by New York University students, some wearing brightly colored sheets and carrying cellphones and some directing play on computers at NYU's Kimmel Center; game is latest example of so-called 'big game,' contest that uses wireless devices like cellphones and global positioning beacons to track players as they move through urban grids; photos (M)
Bush administration, in abrupt change, has decided for first time to consider counting fish raised in hatcheries when determining if some species are going extinct; National Marine Fisheries Service legal adviser Mark C Rutzick advocated strategy when he was timber industry's top lawyer to help industry by getting salmon off endangered species list; officials at fisheries service say Rutzick was part of working group that shaped plan; shift has touched off fresh battle over endangered species law; ignores findings of administration's own panel of outside scientific experts, as well as long-held views within fisheries service; photos (M)
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of May 5, 2004, covering May 9, 2004.
Usher
Mario Winans
Prince
Various Artists
Hoobastank
2004Akhmad Kadyrov, Chechen cleric and politician, 1st President of the Chechen Republic (born 1951)[†]
Akhmat-Khadzhi Abdulkhamidovich Kadyrov was a Chechen politician and revolutionary who served as Chief Mufti of the Chechen Republic of Ichkeria in the 1990s during and after the First Chechen War. At the outbreak of the Second Chechen War he switched sides, offering his service to the Russian government, and later became the President of the Chechen Republic from 5 October 2003, having acted as head of administration since July 2000.
2004Alan King, American actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1927)[†]
Alan King was an American comedian, actor and satirist known for his biting wit and often angry humorous rants. He was also a serious actor who appeared in a number of films and television shows. King wrote several books, produced films, and appeared in plays. In his later years, he helped many philanthropic causes.
2004Brenda Fassie, South African singer (born 1964)[†]
Brenda Nokuzola Fassie was a South African singer, songwriter, dancer and activist. Affectionately called MaBrrr by her fans, she is also known as the "Queen of African Pop" or the "Madonna of The Townships." Fassie was a legendary figure in South African music, celebrated for her powerful voice, captivating stage presence, and commitment to social justice, often called one of the most influential and greatest musicians in the African Continent. Despite her outrageous and controversial stage presence, her name, Nokuzola, means "quiet", "calm", or "peace".
In 2004, the world population was approximately 6,503,377,772 people[†]