Mike Colalillo, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient,died he was 86.

Michael "Mike" Colalillo was a United States Army soldier and a recipient of the United States military's highest decoration—the Medal of Honor—for his actions in World War II died he was 86..^[1]

^{(December 2, 1925 – December 30, 2011)}

Biography

Colalillo joined the Army from Duluth, Minnesota in February 1944,^[2] and by April 7, 1945 was serving as a private first class in Company C, 398th Infantry Regiment, 100th Infantry Division. On that day, near Untergriesheim, Germany, he encouraged his comrades to follow him into enemy fire, manned an exposed machine gun, and helped a wounded soldier back to friendly lines. For his actions during the battle, he was awarded the Medal of Honor on January 9, 1946.^[3]

Medal of Honor citation

Private Colalillo's official Medal of Honor citation reads:

Private First Class Mike Colalillo, 2d Squad, 2d Platoon, Co. C, 1st Battalion, 398th Infantry, 100th Infantry Division was pinned down with other members of his company during an attack against strong enemy positions on 7 April 1945 in the vicinity of Untergriesheim, Germany. Heavy artillery, mortar, and machine gun fire made any move hazardous when he stood up, shouted to his company to follow, and ran forward in the wake of a supporting tank, firing his machine pistol. Inspired by his example, his comrades advanced in the face of savage enemy fire. When his weapon was struck by shrapnel and rendered useless, he climbed to the deck of a friendly tank, manned an exposed machine gun on the turret of the vehicle, and, while bullets rattled around him, fired at an enemy emplacement with such devastating accuracy that he killed or wounded at least 10 hostile soldiers and destroyed their machine gun. Maintaining his extremely dangerous post as the tank forged ahead, he blasted three more positions, destroyed another machine gun emplacement and silenced all resistance in this area, killing at least three and wounding an undetermined number of riflemen as they fled. His machine gun eventually jammed; so he secured a submachine gun from the tank crew to continue his attack on foot. When our armored forces exhausted their ammunition and the order to withdraw was given, he remained behind to help a seriously wounded comrade over several hundred yards of open terrain rocked by an intense enemy artillery and mortar barrage. By his intrepidity and inspiring courage Private First Class Colalillo gave tremendous impetus to his company's attack, killed or wounded 25 of the enemy in bitter fighting, and assisted a wounded soldier in reaching the American lines at great risk to his own life.^[3]

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Bob Wasserman, American police chief and politician, Mayor of Fremont, California (2004–2011), died from respiratory complications he was 77.

Robert "Bob" Wasserman was an American politician and retired police chief, who served as the Mayor of Fremont, California, from 2004 to 2011 died from respiratory complications he was 77.. He has been credited with integrating Fremont's economy and workforce with into the larger Silicon Valley during his tenures as mayor and a city councilman.^[1]

^{(January 12, 1934 – December 29, 2011)}

Early life

Wasserman was born in Gary, Indiana,^[1] on January 12, 1934, to Morris and Alice Wasserman.^[2] He moved with his family to Los Angeles when he was three years old, and attended schools in the city.^[1][3] Wasserman served in the U.S. Army National Guard in 1949 when he was just 16 years old.^[3] He falsely told the army recruiter that he was 18 years old at the time of his enlistment.^[3] He was honorably discharged in 1952 after serving in the Korean War.^[3] Following his discharge, Wasserman joined the California National Guard, where he served as a military police inspector and rose to the rank of sergeant first class.^[3]
Wasserman continued his education during the early 1950s.^[3] He obtained a bachelor's degree in political science and administration from California State University, Los Angeles.^[1] Wasserman also received a master's degree in public administration from the University of Southern California.^[1]
Wasserman met his future wife, Linda, while working for the Montebello, California, police department. (She was also a Montebello municipal employee at the time).^[3] They married at a ceremony at the Montebello city hall in 1958 and had two children: Daniel, born in 1963, and Jill, born in 1966.^[3]

Career

Wasserman began his career in law enforcement when he joined the Montebello, California, Police Department as a police officer in 1953.^[3] He held positions in police departments throughout Southern California during the 1950s, 60s and 70s.^[3]
Wasserman moved to San Carlos, California in 1969 to became the chief of the San Carlos Police Department.^[3][2] He and his family returned to Southern California in 1972 to become police chief of the Brea Police Department, which encompassed Brea and Yorba Linda.^[2]
Wasserman was hired as the police chief of Fremont, California, in 1976.^[1][3] He remained in the position until his retirement in 1992.^[1] Former Fremont Police Captain Mike Lanam noted in 2012 that Wasserman, "took a fledgling department and brought it to state and national prominence."^[4] Wasserman was named Law Enforcement Executive of the Year and served as president of the California Peace Officers’ Association.^[4] In the 1980s, Wasserman was appointed to a national law enforcement task force by U.S. President Ronald Reagan.^[3]
Wasserman launched a political career after his retirement from police work. He was first elected to the Fremont city council in 1992.^[1] During the 1990s and 2000s, Wasserman watched Fremont transition to an integral part of the Silicon Valley from a quiet, small East Bay city.^[1] By 1999, 750 high tech companies were headquartered in Fremont, including Lam Research, Cirrus Logic and Premisys Communications.^[1] Fifteen of top one hundred fastest growing companies in the San Francisco Bay Area were also located in Fremont by the same year.^[1] Wasserman and other members of the city government were credited with attracting them to Fremont.^[1]

Mayor of Fremont

In 2004, incumbent Mayor Gus Morrison was term limited from seeking re-election. Wasserman, a member of the city council, announced his candidacy for mayor. Wasserman won the mayoral election on November 2, 2004, with 26,763 votes, or 52.6 percent of the popular vote, defeating fellow city councilman, Bill Pease.^[5] He was inaugurated in December 2004.^[1]
He was re-elected to a second, four-year term on November 4, 2008. Wasserman won the 2008 election with 42% of the vote, defeating city councilman Steve Cho, who took 32%, and former Mayor Gus Morrison, who garnered just 21%.^[6]
Wasserman has been credited with developing a new general plan for the city.^[4] He recruited technology corporations from Silicon Valley, as well as companies from other industries, to move into Fremont.^[1] He also spearheaded efforts to build a Bay Area Rapid Transit station in the Warm Springs District of Fremont, which under construction, as of 2012.^[4] Other major projects attributed to Wasserman included the completion of the Pacific Commons shopping center, the Niles Town Plaza, the Aqua Adventure Water Park and the Washington Grade Separation.^[3] A new skatepark, which Wasserman supported is also under construction near Fremont Central Park.^[3]
In 2005, Wasserman, a Democrat, appointed Republican Dirk Lorenz to the Fremont Planning Commission, despite Lorenz's past opposition to Wasserman's mayoral candidacy.^[4]
Wasserman was a strong proponent of moving the Oakland A's Major League Baseball team from Oakland to Fremont.^[1] In 2006, Wasserman and Alameda County Supervisor Scott Haggerty sent a joint letter to Oakland A's co-owner Lew Wolff asking him to move the team to a proposed stadium in Fremont, to be called Cisco Field.^[7] However, the proposal fell through in 2009 through a combination of opposition from Fremont residents and business groups, as well as the unfolding economic crisis.^[1] The proposed stadium's proximity to the Don Edwards San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge and San Francisco Bay also drew criticism from critics.^[6] Under pressure, Wolff withdrew from the plans, which would have included the construction of a new $1.8 billion dollar, 32,000 seat baseball stadium, on February 24, 2009.^[4]
Wasserman lobbied to keep the New United Motor Manufacturing, Inc (NUMMI) from closing in 2010.^[4] However, the NUMMI factory, a joint venture between General Motors and Toyota, closed on April 1, 2010, leading to job losses.^[4] Wasserman facilitated efforts to find new owners for the plant. The city successfully recruited Tesla Motors to open a production facility, called the Tesla Factory, at the plant later in 2010. Tesla now uses a portion of the land at the Tesla Factory to manufacture the Tesla Model S, an electric vehicle sedan.^[4]
The mayor helped pass a city council resolution in opposition to California Proposition 8, a state ballot initiative which banned same sex marriage, in 2008.^[1]

Final years

Wasserman had been hospitalized for pneumonia in 2005 and 2008.^[1] After the 2008 hospitalization, he brought an oxygen tank with him to city council meetings.^[1]
Wasserman died of respiratory complications at the age of 77 on December 29, 2011, at Kaiser Hospital in Fremont.^[1] He had been in the hospital for the treatment of respiratory problems.^[1] He was survived by his wife of 53 years, Linda, and their two children, Jill and Dan.^[1] A funeral for the mayor, attended by 1,200 people, was held at the Harbor Light Church in Fremont on January 6, 2012.^[3][4] Dignitaries included state Sen. Ellen Corbett, law enforcement officers from throughout the region, mayors, business and political leaders, and the Alameda County Board of Supervisors.^[3]
Fremont Vice Mayor Anu Natarajan became interim Mayor until the city council could name a permanent replacement.^[8] Natarajan says she will run for a full term in the 2012 mayoral election.^[8]


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James Earl Baumgartner, American mathematician, died he was 68.

James Earl Baumgartner  was an American mathematician who worked in set theory, mathematical logic and foundations, and topology died he was 68..^[1]

^{(March 23, 1943 – December 28, 2011)}

Baumgartner was born in Wichita, Kansas, began his undergraduate study at the California Institute of Technology in 1960, then transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, from which he received his PhD in 1970 from for a dissertation entitled Results and Independence Proofs in Combinatorial Set Theory. His advisor was Robert Vaught.^[2] He became a professor at Dartmouth College in 1969, and there spent his entire career.
One of Baumgartner's results is the consistency of the statement that any two -dense sets of reals are order isomorphic (a set of reals is -dense if it has exactly points in every open interval). With András Hajnal he proved the result (Baumgartner–Hajnal theorem) that the partition relation holds for . He died of a heart attack in 2011.^[3]

Selected publications

• Baumgartner, James E., A new class of order types, Annals of Mathematical Logic, 9:187–222, 1976
• Baumgartner, James E., Ineffability properties of cardinals I, Infinite and Finite Sets, Keszthely (Hungary) 1973, volume 10 of Colloquia Mathematica Societatis János Bolyai, pages 109–130. North-Holland, 1975
• Baumgartner, James E.; Harrington, Leo; Kleinberg, Eugene, Adding a closed unbounded set, Journal of Symbolic Logic, 41(2):481–482, 1976
• Baumgartner, James E., Ineffability properties of cardinals II, Robert E. Butts and Jaakko Hintikka, editors, Logic, Foundations of Mathematics and Computability Theory, pages 87–106. Reidel, 1977
• Baumgartner, James E.; Galvin, Fred, Generalized Erdős cardinals and 0^#, Annals of Mathematical Logic 15, 289–313, 1978
• Baumgartner, James E.; Erdős, Paul; Galvin, Fred; Larson, J., Colorful partitions of cardinal numbers, Can. J. Math. 31, 524–541, 1979
• Baumgartner, James E.; Erdős, Paul; Higgs, D., Cross-cuts in the power set of an infinite set, Order 1, 139–145, 1984
• Baumgartner, James E. (Editor), Axiomatic Set Theory (Contemporary Mathematics, Volume 31), 1990

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Amichand Rajbansi, South African politician, Minister without portfolio (1984–1988), Leader of the Minority Front (since 1994), died he was 69.

Amichand Rajbansi  was a South African politician died he was 69.. He was a former Chief Minister of the House of Delegates Tricameral parliamentary chamber for Indian people, and leader of the Minority Front.

(14 January 1942 – 29 December 2011)

Amichand Rajbansi, nicknamed the Bengal Tiger, was born in Clairwood, Durban on 14 January 1942. He attended Clairwood Secondary School and the Indian University College to study History and Psychology as major subjects.
After a long service as a sports administrator, professional soccer referee, civic leader, and serving in local government structures dealing with local affairs, Rajbansi was elected to the South African Indian Council in 1974. This council was rejected by most Indians.^[1] In 1976 Rajbansi resigned from the Indian Council protesting the inter Cabinet council^{[clarification needed]} between the Indian Council and government cabinet of Prime Minister John Vorster^{[citation needed]}. In 1981 he formed the National People's Party (NPP) and was elected leader of this new party. The NPP successfully competed for the election to the South African Indian Council and took control of SAIC, although only 6% of the Indian electorate participated in the 1981 elections for the Council.^[1]
In 1984, following Prime Minister PW Botha's constitutional reforms, the NPP stood for the newly constituted House of Delegates, the Indian only parliamentary chamber, and won the majority of seats in the House. As a result, Rajbansi became member of the South African Cabinet and chairman for the Ministers' Council for Indian Affairs.
Rajbansi's leadership of the House of Delegates was often controversial, and in May 1987, his NPP lost its majority^{[clarification needed]} to an opposition coalition. However, Rajbansi did not resign his chairmanship^{[clarification needed]}, and he survived the leadership challenge with the help of P.W. Botha. A Parliamentary select committee later in 1987 found that Rajbansi accepted R10 000 for his party in order to "facilitate the obtaining of land and contracts", and he was suspended from the House of Delegates. He was suspended from P.W. Botha's cabinet, and Botha appointed a commission of enquiry under Justice Neville James to investigate allegations of corruption in the House of Delegates Administration. He was later found guily by another parliamentary committee of "glaring" maladministration in forcing the purchase of a culutural centre for an inflated price. Botha fired Rajbansi from his cabinet and his Minister's Council in December 1988, following the preliminary report from the James Commission. The final report of the commission described Rajbansi as "arrogant", "unscrupulous", "ruthless" and a "mean-minded bully". The commission found that Rajbansi had lied to Parliament, committed statutory perjury, had given false evidence to the Commission, and misused his position. It also recommended that he never again be employed as a minister in the House of Delegates or in any official or semi-official post which called for integrity. He later resigned as leader of the NPP, and was suspended from the House of Delegates, only to be reinstated a few months later. In June 1990, he was convicted on 2 counts of fraud, and was fined R10 000 for using "fronts"^{[clarification needed]} to obtain premises for his businesses when he was a member of the SA Indian Council.^[2]
After South Africa's transition to multi-racial democracy in 1994, the NPP became the Minority Front and continued to draw support from parts of the Indian community.
After the 2004 elections, Rajbansi made an alliance with the African National Congress and he became MEC for Sports and Recreation for KwaZulu-Natal Province. In January 2009, Mr Rajbansi received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the India International Friendship Society in New Delhi, in recognition of his selfless service to humanity. He was the only African to receive this award.
On 29 December 2011, Rajbansi died from natural causes.^[3]

Personal life

Rajbansi was formerly married to Asha Devi, a journalist and popular figure in local government. Devi spoke to Jani Allan in an interview published by the Sunday Times in the 1980s about her affection for her husband. She referred to her husband as "her hero". "Even if it means sleeping on a bed of nails or walking on coals for him, I will do it ... I will always stand by him."^[4] They also had four daughters and a son together.^[5] Their relationship soured when Devi joined the IFP. The couple separated in 1998, with political and alleged paranoramal activity in their marital home being cited as reasons attributed to their separation.^[6] The couple divorced in 2000.^[7] A year later Rajbansi married Shameen Thakur.^[8]
In 2003 Rajbansi's ex-daughter-in-law, Karnagie Tandree was strangled to death^[9] Police have deliberated over both murder and suicide as a cause of the death.[1

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Tyron Perez, Filipino actor (StarStruck), died from a gun shot he was 26.

Jojo Malonzo Perez (September 14, 1985 – December 29, 2011), better known as Tyron Perez, was a Filipino model, actor and television host and an alumnus of the reality-based talent search StarStruck died from a gun shot he was 26..

Early life

Perez was born in Brgy. Alfonso, Concepcion, Tarlac, Philippines. He grew up a farmer's son in his hometown, with the rice fields as his playground. He was the youngest among six children.
"He and his father would rise with the sun", said Tyron who quit his Fine Arts studies (freshman at the Bulacan State University) when he joined the GMA star-search StarStruck (first batch, with Mark Herras and Jennylyn Mercado). "There, on top of the carabao, he dreams to be in showbiz. He imagined himself acting with Kris Aquino, his crush and idol. Until he was in high school (at the Benigno Aquino National High School), he and his dad would milk their carabaos early mornings and sell the milk. Sometimes, they would sleep in the middle of the rice fields when we had to water the seedlings (nagpapatubig ng palay)." Before joining StarStruck, Perez first became a member of a late-night variety show of Kuya Germs' Master Showman Presents Walang Tulugan. As part of the said late-night show, he was a member of a teen group performing weekly called MSP Teenstars.

Starstruck Batch 1

Perez joined StarStruck in 2003 but was eliminated in week 6 of the competition.

Personal life

After his manager's death (Douglas Quijano), Perez admitted that his career dwindled and he did not have work for 6 months. On June 2010, Jerry Sineneng led his entry into ABS-CBN and after talks with Malou Santos and Johnny Manahan, Perez had formally signed with the network's talent management arm, Star Magic. This officially made him a Kapamilya.^[1][2] He considered his role Being Gary as one of the biggest he had handled so far, and Momay as his biggest break in television.^{[citation needed]} He also played a role in Bakekang on GMA Network. He married his long-time girlfriend.

Death

Perez was found dead inside a car in Barangay Ugong, Valenzuela City on the night of December 29, 2011. Although initial reports identified suicide as the cause of death,^[3] Police Senior Superintendent Wilben Mayor told ABS-CBN News (Perez’s new home network) that "investigations are still ongoing."^[4] It was later confirmed that suicide was the cause of Perez's death.^[5][6][7][8]

Television

Year	Title	Role	Network	Notes
2011	Maalaala Mo Kaya: Baunan	Dino	ABS-CBN	Last TV appearance
2011	Mula Sa Puso[9]	Gilbert
2010	Imortal	Guest actor
2011	Your Song Presents: Andi	Francis		Guest actor
2010	Maalaala Mo Kaya: Marriage Contract	Guest actor
2010	Maalaala Mo Kaya: Larawan	Christian
2010	Elena M. Patron's Momay	Gary Alonzo		First project with ABS-CBN
2008	Midnight DJ: Bloody Christmas Tree	Mark	TV5	Only project with TV5
2007	Lupin (Philippine TV series)	Agent X-J	GMA Network	Last project with GMA
2007	Kung Mahawi Man Ang Ulap	Anastacio
2006	Carlo J. Caparas' Bakekang	Paolo
2005	Kung Mamahalin Mo Lang Ako	Dominic
2005	Baywalk	Himself
2003	StarStruck	Himself/contestant		Finished at 8th place
2001–2002	Walang Tulugan with the Master Showman	Member, MSP Teenstars		He was a member of Teen Dance Group. First TV appearance.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2009	Pipo	Felix Pipo	Last movie appearance
2006	Twilight Dancers	Dwight	Lead actor
2003	Malikmata	Edward	First movie appearance

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Aamir Hayat Khan Rokhri, Pakistani politician, died from a heart attack he was 55.

Aamir Hayat Khan Niazi of Rokhri was a Pakistani politician, and member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly died from a heart attack he was 55..^[1] He was a Pashtun from the Niazi tribe. Rokhri is his ancestral village. He is the son of the late Pakistani politician and political activist, Amir Abdullah Khan Rokhri, and came from the renowned Rokhri family which includes other of his distinguished relatives such as his cousins Gul Hameed Khan Rokhri and Gul Hameed's son Humair Hayat Khan Rokhri.

(12 August 1956 – 29 December 2011) 

Aamer Hayat Khan Rokhri was elected to the National Assembly in 1985. He was elected as an MPA in 1990, 2003 and in 2008 as an independent candidate. Apart from his stand in provincial politics, Aamir Hayat Khan Niazi also was controlling his thriving family business New Khan, a transport company. The company was founded by his late father, Amir Abdullah Khan Rokhri.
Aamer Hayat Khan Rokhri was also the President of Lahore City Cricket Association and had held that position since 1985. He was also the Secretary General of Pakistan Badminton Federation and President of Punjab Badminton Association. He was also a Member of the PCB Board of Governors. His effort to promote cricket and badminton in Pakistan will always be remembered, as he made financial contribution to run PCB for three decades from 1970 to 1990.^[2] He died on 29 December 2011 due to heart failure in Lahore, Pakistan. He leaves behind a wife, two sons and a daughter.^[3]
His son Shahrez Abdullah Rokhri has been elected the President of Punjab Badminton Association unopposed and his younger son Adil Abdullah Rokhri has been elected as MPA in by-elections.



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Leopold Hawelka, Austrian coffee house owner (Café Hawelka), died he was 100.

Leopold Hawelka was an Austrian coffee house owner, founder of Café Hawelka ("Künstlerkaffeehaus Hawelka")  died he was 100..

(April 11, 1911 – December 29, 2011^[1])

Hawelka was born in Mistelbach. His parents were of Bohemian ancestry. His father was a shoemaker. At age 14, the family settled in Vienna, and he began to work in the Deierl restaurant, where he met Josefine Danzberger. They married in 1936 and opened their first café, Kaffee Alt Wien, on the Bäckerstrasse. They later opened a new café, Café Hawelka, on Dorotheergasse. During World War II, the Hawelkas were not able to operate their business. After the war, in September 1945, the Hawelkas reopened their café, the building of which survived the war largely intact.^[2]
Josefine Hawelka died in March 2005. Their son, Günther Hawelka, continued baking the café's speciality, Buchteln pastries, using his mother's recipe.^[3] Leopold turned 100 on April 11, 2011.^[4]


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