World Welcomes 2008

Across The World, Fireworks Flash And People Celebrate A New Year

(CBS/AP)  More than a million revelers in Times Square cheered as the giant crystal ball made its 100th drop on Monday night and a ton of confetti rained down on the urban canyon, ushering in the new year.

University of North Carolina junior Reid Medlin, 21, attended the celebration with his friends Rachel Rand, 20, and Jeremy Crouthamel, 20. They were in the city for the first time and planned to stay up all night because they had no hotel.

"I think the best part is being here with friends," Medlin said as confetti floated down on him and people kissed around him. "This was beautiful. It makes you appreciate everything."

Rand said it didn't even matter that they didn't have a place to sleep.

"I'm too happy to go to bed," she exclaimed.

A century ago the Times Square tradition began with a 700-pound ball of wood and iron, lit with 100 25-watt incandescent bulbs. This year's event featured an energy-efficient sphere clad in Waterford crystals, with 9,576 light-emitting diodes that generated a kaleidoscope of colors.

Organizers said well over a million people attended the festivities.

They were treated to an entertainment lineup that included Dick Clark and Ryan Seacrest handling the countdown to 2008 and musical performances by Carrie Underwood, Miley Cyrus and other acts. Even New York Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez showed up, shaking hands and posing for photos as he waited for midnight.

The Times Square Alliance, the business group running the event, handed out thousands of balloons and mittens to the crowd, which waited for hours in chilly winter weather for the main event. The confetti included pieces of paper with the new year's wishes and resolutions of people who submitted them in advance.

A million revelers also cheered fireworks in Sydney, Australia. Beijing started the year with singing and dancing displays hosted by Summer Olympics organizers, and even in Baghdad, rare celebrations resounded.

Across the globe, people gathered for parties, shot off fireworks and held out hopes for a peaceful and prosperous 2008.

But reminders of violence were apparent as well, as security was tightened in many nations. Fireworks were canceled in downtown Brussels, Belgium, where police last week detained 14 people suspected of plotting to help an accused al Qaeda militant break out of jail. In Paris, where festivities centered on the famous Champs-Elysees avenue and the Eiffel Tower, about 4,500 police and 140 rescue officials patrolled the streets.

In Thailand, an army spokesman said he believed that five bombs set off by suspected Muslim insurgents in a Thai-Malaysian border tourist town likely targeted New Year's revelers.

The bombs, which wounded 27 people, exploded in the hotel and nightlife area of Sungai Kolok, including two inside a hotel dance club and one hidden in the basket of a motorcycle outside a hotel, spokesman Col. Akara Thiprote said.

Baghdad witnessed something Iraq had not seen since before the invasion of 2003 - people publicly partying to welcome in a new year.

The ballrooms of two landmark hotels - the Palestine and the Sheraton - were full of people for New Year's Eve celebrations. After years of car bombings, mortar fire and suicide attacks, Iraq's capital was sufficiently calm to warrant the two high-end parties in the once-posh hotels.

Several European countries rang in the new year with new habits.

Starting at midnight, the smoke-filled cafe was to become a memory in France. Following up on a ban last year on smoking in many indoor locations, cigarettes will now be off-limits in dance clubs, restaurants, hotels, casinos and cafes.

People can still smoke in their homes, hotel rooms and sealed smoking chambers at establishments that decide to provide them.

Two European Union newcomers, Cyprus and Malta, started using the euro at the stroke of midnight. The Mediterranean islands, both former British colonies, scrap the Cyprus pound and Maltese lira to bring the number of countries using the shared currency to 15. Politicians ceremonially withdrew euros from automatic teller machines after midnight, with fireworks and outdoor celebrations in the two capitals, Nicosia and Valletta.

Along with the innovations, old European traditions were maintained.

In Russia, Vladimir Putin, gave the final New Year's Eve address of his eight-year presidency, boasting of economic improvements and claiming to have restored a sense of unity among Russians, who are likely to see him stay in power as prime minister after he steps down in a few months.

In Moscow, thousands gathered on Red Square to ring in the New Year, watching a concert on a stage beneath the colorful onion domes of St. Basil's Cathedral, and fireworks above. A skating rink was set up on the cobblestone square, with tickets on New Year's Eve costing $82.

Russian border guards on Ratmanov Island, in the Bering Sea near the Interational Date Line, and others in Russia's easternmost reaches - nine time zones ahead of the capital - greeted 2008.

In London, hundreds of thousands gathered in Trafalgar Square and along the banks of the River Thames to watch a fireworks display and hear Big Ben - Parliament's iconic bell - welcome the New Year with 12 resounding bongs.

In a quirky tradition in Spain and other Spanish-speaking countries, Madrid residents dined on 12 grapes - one for each chime at midnight.

Berlin witnessed a massive fete: In a stretch leading from the city's famous Brandenburg Gate along Tiergarten park to the western part of town, officials set up three stages, 13 bands, a 40-yard tall Ferris wheel and over 100 beer stands and snack joints.

In Vatican City, Pope Benedict XVI took a somber note, lamenting what he called the "trivialization" of sexuality and lack of faith among young people during a vespers' service in St. Peter's Basilica.

[michellem99-2009]

I installed a external TV card on computer and can get both ant/digital over air stations. I was looking forward to the space needle fireworks..yer heard about that...I say Vista sure blew the show..I love fire works.

[incog-nito]

2008 is here whether the world welcomes it or not. Just an arbitrary point in time.

[incog-nito]

2008 is here whether the world welcomes it or not. Just an arbitrary point in time.

[mcv57]

Same ol krap, or worst. Can''t expect a prosperous future with the government''s 9 trillion dollar debt threat ready to evaporate your financial retirement for the next millenium.

[sharncedar]

New year is March 1, dummies. We have a Roman calendar, and the Roman new year was March 1, which makes more sense. So you people just celebrated the wrong day. duhhhhhh duuuuuhhhh I''m dumb I''m a human being duuhhhhh

you are all just so dumb. It''s remarkable. Just so dumb. Celbrating January first as "new year". Why? Did the pope tell you to do it? It wasn''t Julius Caesar, you know, the guy who had the current calendar put in place .... oh yeah you don''t know.


Happy dumb day! duhhhh!

[ssm9451]

Another year in paradise. Happy New Year MichelleM and crazmeat.
Happy New Year everyone!

[zootallures2]

Will 2008 find a cure for s*adism?

Each year s*adism kills millions of people. But there is hope! Yes, here at the International S*adism Foundation (ISF) were are close to a break through to stop this killer that has mutated to not distinguish between old and young, rich or poor, or any race or religion. It can cause death and injury to even the most praised and honored, sacred and loved, and your precious small children. Even pets and animals are not immune. Once just a mass killer of bugs and insects, it has spread and evolved into our world%u2019s greatest threat. We need your help. Donate your tax-deductible gift to The International S*adism Foundation today and help fight the war on s*adism.

[aarroozz]

I was campaigning for Ron Paul last weekend and was surprised at all the thumbs up, victory signs and horn honking we received. Many people stopped wanting to know more. Fox news rejecting Ron Paul in their debate will stimulate more support of the only candidate that loves America more than power. The American people are beginning to see through this corrupt media complex manipulating American voters.

[abdoul_pasha]

Happy New Year, erasmus6! Are you pleased of the celebration?

[erasmus6]

Abdoul_Pasha

Happy New Year!

[erasmus6]

Happy New Year, everyone!

You too tucker.:)

And Barbara Ann, I have already wished you Happy New Year but I just want to say that I loved your verse!

[abdoul_pasha]

Happy New Year from tyhe Mid East!

[realpatriot1]

poopusbuttus,

I agree with your assessment of this brain-washed robot but I would extend the warning to the extremists of the right who not only are not in jail but in some instances control the reins of governement.

It''s a good thing that Moore was unsuccessful in killing President Ford. It''s not such a good thing that nuts like Eric Rudolph, Tim Mcveigh, and David Koresh had greater success.

It''s much worse that we have a President who ignores the counsel of all previous Presidents(including his own father), the warnings of the CIA, the strategic advice of our generals, international law,the Uniform Code of Military Justice, his oath of office, the will of Congress, the international inspection process for controlling nuclear proliferation, and the longstanding procedures for the protection of classified national security information.

Yes, this woman is dangerous but there are others who are far more dangerous.

[gkc99]

2008--the year that the Darth Bushit regime and the Neocon fascists end up on the manure heap of history!

[michellem99-2009]

Did watch the fire works on TV. They were pretty but they had problems with the computer that was to fire them here in Seattle. I love fire works..Have a Happy New Year...

[poopusbuttus]

Here are two quotes from the radical left%u2019s Sarah Jane Moore (The would-be Presidential assassinator of Gerald Ford) after spending some 30 odd years in prison:

"I am very glad I did not succeed. I know now that I was wrong to try," Moore said a year ago in an interview with KGO-TV. (The Radical Leftists Sarah Jane Moore - The would be Presidential Assassinator)

and, perhaps the best one:

"I was functioning, I think, purely on adrenaline and not thinking clearly. I have often said that I had put blinders on and I was only listening to what I wanted to hear," (The Radical Leftist Sara Jane Moore - The Would Be Presidential Assassinator)


This idiocy, not only describes what the left%u2019s Bush Derangement System is all about, but it also describes the seriousness and the potential danger of what the radical left disease presents to this country.

I urge all good Americans to read about this woman, and many others like her. Look at their stories, soak up the details, and then open your eyes to what%u2019s going on around you. Is this the country you want to live in? Are people like these who you want to follow?

Long live conservative traditionalists and God Bless America!

[jetranger7]

I Think we all better Skip 2008, and go straight to 2009, I just have a feeling 2008 is NOT going to be a good year for many. many people, 2007 was definetly not a very good year for a lot of people,, so hello 2009, party on, sorry 2008, I''m gonna be like a bear in hibernation and sleep right thru it, till 2009 !

[kaylag04]

Man, am I glad I grew up with a grandma who was born on an Idaho ranch in 1900, and lived ''til 2001! Even the CBS News public commentors'' bleak outlooks can''t overwhelm my grandma''s stories about what hard times really are. Truly, and without reservation, Happy New Year. We are blessed with possibility undreamed of by those who built the foundation we take for granted.

[poopusbuttus]

Goodbye 2007 Recession, hello 2008 Depression.



--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Posted by beecuster



HAHAHAHA. What a loser you are.

[airport1207]

Happy new year from Japan