Bairnsdale Conservative: Mon Apr 29th Todays News

IMAGINE ALL THE VOTERS

Tim Blair – Monday, April 29, 2013 (4:49pm)

Prime Minister Julia Gillard gets imaginative:

Imagine a wage earner, John, employed in the same job throughout the last 20 years.

For a period in 2003 to 2007 every year his employer gave him a sizeable bonus.

He was grateful but in his bones knew it wouldn’t last.

Of course it wouldn’t. In 2007, Labor was elected.

The bonuses did stop and John was told that his income would rise by around five per cent each year over the years to come.

That’s the basis for his financial plans.

Now, very late, John has been told he won’t get those promised increases for the next few years – but his income will get back up after that to where he was promised it would be.

What is John’s rational reaction?

To vote Liberal on September 14.

(Incidentally, Gillard believes John’s “rational reaction” should be to borrow more money. Seriously.)

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2013 MODEL REALITY LAUNCHED

Tim Blair – Monday, April 29, 2013 (2:49pm)

Old fantasy:

“The Budget will be back in surplus in 2013 if I’m re-elected.” – Prime Minister Julia Gillard, 2010.

“We now expect a surplus in three years, three years ahead of schedule.” – Treasurer Wayne Swan, 2010.

“It’s happening. Failure is not an option here and we won’t fail.” – Prime Minister Julia Gillard, 2010.

“We’re getting back into surplus in three years. Come hell or high water.” - Treasurer Wayne Swan, 2010.

“The Budget is coming back to surplus, no ifs, no buts. It will happen.” – Prime Minister Julia Gillard, 2010.

“We see the surplus in 12-13 as being absolutely fundamental.” – Treasurer Wayne Swan, 2011.

“My commitment to a surplus in 2012-13 was a promise made and it will be honoured.” – Prime Minister Julia Gillard, 2011.

“We’ll be back in the black by 2012/13, as promised.” – Treasurer Wayne Swan, 2011.

“We’ll bring the budget to surplus in 2012-13, exactly as promised.” – Prime Minister Julia Gillard, 2011.

“The government remains absolutely committed to delivering our return to surplus as we planned.” – Treasurer Wayne Swan, 2011.

“We stand by the predictions, the entries in the Mid-Year Economic and Fiscal Outlook. We stand by the figures and we’re on track to deliver a budget surplus.” – Prime Minister Julia Gillard, 2012.

“I am determined to produce a surplus in 2012-2013. We have got our colours nailed to the mast.” – Treasurer Wayne Swan, 2012.

New reality:

“There’s certainly a new reality, a new economic reality that the nation has to face and the Government has to face … this government will actually be very clear with Australians.” - Finance Minister Penny Wong announces the “new economic reality” of a $12 billion budget deficit.

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It’s now 14 days since the Boston Marathon was bombed by Islamic extremists, 406 days since anIslamic extremist shot Jewish children in France, 1171 days since Islamic extremists bombed Pune in India, 1270 days since an Islamic extremist murdered 13 people in Fort Hood, Texas, 1615 days since Islamic extremists launched an assault on Mumbai that killed 164 citizens, 2853 days since Islamic suicide bombers slaughtered 52 commuters in London, 3336 days since 191 were blown apart by Islamic extremists in Madrid, Spain, 3852 days since Islamic extremistskilled 202 people including 88 Australians in Bali and 4248 days since nearly 3000 died in theIslamic extremist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.

In between times, it’s also been 2131 days since failed attempts by Islamic extremists to bomb London and Glasgow, 1546 days since Islamic extremists were jailed in NSW and Victoria for planning to bomb the 2005 AFL Grand Final, 226 days since a young Islamic woman was photographed during Sydney riots taking a snap of her four-year-old child holding a sign reading “Behead all those who insult the prophet” and just four days since three Islamic extremists were sent to prison in the UK over terrorism conspiracies.

There may have been one or two other recent Islamic extremist incidents besides. It’s difficult tokeep count. In any case, a pattern seems to be emerging that involves extremists of a particular type. It’s obvious to all except our friends on the Left, who have developed three distinct coping mechanisms over the past decade or so in order to dodge any confrontation with Islam.

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Gillard’s latest mega-debt: out of money, out of excuses

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (6:07pm)

The promise:

August 2010, election campaign:

JULIA GILLARD: Well the better economic plan for the future is about bringing the budget to surplus in 2013. We’ll do that.... I’m going to get the budget to surplus.... I’ll get the budget back to surplus in 2013.
August 2010:

JOURNALIST: If you don’t make a, get the Budget back in to surplus in 2012-2013, this is a question to both of you, the cameras are on – will you resign?
PM: (laughs) The Budget is coming back to surplus, no ifs no buts it will happen.

The failure:

Confirming a $12 billion write-down of tax revenue forecasts this financial year, the Prime Minister said the May 14 budget would not be a typical pre-election budget night…
Less than six months after abandoning her vow to post a surplus this year, Ms Gillard said the government needed maximum flexibility when dealing with such budget circumstances.
“Therefore, I have expressly determined we need to have every reasonable option on the table to meet the needs of the times, even options previously taken off the table,” she said.

The excuses:

... serious, persistent weakness in global growth ... volatility in the global economy… the dollar’s strength… competition from imports is so fierce.

Gillard’s bottom line:

The “bottom line for the Budget bottom line” is this: the amount of tax revenue the Government has collected so far this financial year is already $7.5 billion less than was forecast last October.
Treasury now estimates that this reduction will increase to around $12 billion by the end of the financial year.

The real bottom line:

Total tax revenue last financial year: $317 billion.
Total tax revenue fondly predicted for this financial year in the last Budget: $355 billion
Total tax renue now expected: $340 billion.
Percentage increase in tax revenue over past year: 7 per cent.

A 7 per cent increase in total tax revenue in one year causes Labor’s budget to blow up? Good heavens. How dumb was Gillard to count on more in a world in which Europe was stumbling, the US struggling and China slowing?
UPDATE
Sounds like someone fell for the spin. Reader Rocky:

Paul Bongiorno on channel 10 news just claimed that Costello had $23B extra revenue in the 2007 budget than the current budget. Blatantly false at best, hugely misleading at worst.

In fact, Wayne Swan has nearly $100 billion a year more to play with than did Costello in his final Budget.

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As “independent” as Labor

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (5:56pm)

The ABC will never see its own Leftist bias while it’s unable to detect that same bias in others:

In a speech to the independent think tank Per Capita at Canberra’s National Portrait Gallery, the Prime Minister has confirmed that by the end of this financial year, revenue will be down $12 billion since the October budget update.”

A brief description of the board members of this “independent” think tank:

Joshua Funder, Chair
Joshua Funder is an investor at GBS Ventures, a fund focused on Australasian biotechnology…
Tom Bentley
Tom Bentley is Deputy Chief of Staff to the Prime Minister of Australia, Julia Gillard… Prior to that he was special adviser to [British Labor’s] David Blunkett MP, then Secretary of State for Education and Employment ...
Josh Bornstein
Josh Bornstein is a Principal with Maurice Blackburn managing the Employment and Industrial Law Section. He advises a wide range of employees, contractors and trade unions throughout Australia… Josh sits on the Boards of Maurice Blackburn Cashman, A Just Australia, the Centre for Employment and Labour Relations Law at the University of Melbourne…
Lorraine Elsass
Lorraine Elsass is a Clinical Psychologist ...
Anthony Kitchener
Tony Kitchener is a successful inventor and engineer…

Maxine McKew
Maxine McKew is a Vice-Chancellor’s Fellow at the University of Melbourne.... She was the Parliamentary Secretary for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government in the Rudd Ministry and the first Gillard Ministry…
Evan Thornley, Founding Chair
Evan Thornley was the Founding Chair of Per Capita and is CEO of Better Place Australia, a company committed to building the world’s first electric car network. Prior to this, Evan was a Parliamentary Secretary to the [Labor] Premier of Victoria. He is also National Secretary of the Australian Fabian Society and was previously a member of the Council of The University of Melbourne, and a founding director of http://www.getup.org.au.

Don’t you detest news organisations which peddle such brazen spin?
(Thanks to reader Christian.)

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Morrison does good job. ABC loses interest

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (5:41pm)

Here’s how the game works.

First, the ABC interviews you for 35 minutes on a subject on which it thinks you are wrong and mean.
If you stumble, gotcha!
If you don’t, well, where’s the interest in that?

Now read on…
A staff member of Opposition immigration spokesman Scott Morrison writes of a call he received from the ABC’s Four Corners:

Debbie Whitmont, the journalist who conducted the interview, called me this morning and said they would not be airing any portion of the 35 minute interview with Scott conducted on Thursday 11 April. Ms Whitmont told me it was a decision taken by the program’s Executive Producer on the grounds of balance as they could not secure an interview with Immigration Minister Brendan O’Connor.
A previous interview with 4 Corners back in 2011 was also never aired.

Is it acceptable that a Minister’s refusal to answer questions prevents the ABC from reporting the Opposition’s position? Hmm.
Among the questions put to Morrison, just to give you the flavour of the interview:

Scott you went to Manus… Do you think it is a suitable place to send families and children?
Would you remove all families and children straight away if you were in power?
Is it realistic though to ask the Australian defence force to turn back boats, with what happened last time?

Have you asked them?

Isn’t this looking a little like a schoolyard quarrel?
What will happen if you are elected and sometime after that election some boat comes through, some people arrive?

Will you have to resign your position though?

And to the transcript of the interview the ABC now won’t broadcast on ABC 1:

TRANSCRIPT
INTERVIEW WITH DEBBIE WHITMONT, 4 CORNERS
THURSDAY 11 APRIL 2013

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Gillard gives John advice on how to go bankrupt

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (5:36pm)

To explain why she won’t cut spending even though she admits the good times are gone, Julia Gillard offers an analogy which makes exactly the opposite point to the one she’s attempting:

Imagine a wage earner, John, employed in the same job throughout the last 20 years.
For a period in 2003 to 2007 every year his employer gave him a sizeable bonus. He was grateful but in his bones knew it wouldn’t last.
The bonuses did stop and John was told that his income would rise by around five per cent each year over the years to come.
That’s the basis for his financial plans.
Now, very late, John has been told he won’t get those promised increases for the next few years – but his income will get back up after that to where he was promised it would be.
What is John’s rational reaction?

My bet is that 99 voters out of 100 would say the rational response is for John to cut his spending. Who’d believe a promise that his income will one day soar again? Who believe such a promise - when the person making it promised the bonuses would go on forever?
But this is what Gillard thinks is a rational response from John:

What is John’s rational reaction?
To respond to this temporary loss of income by selling his home and car, dropping his private health insurance, replacing every second evening meal with two-minute noodles.
Of course not.
A rational response would be to make some responsible savings, to engage in some moderate borrowing, to get through to the time of higher income with his family and lifestyle intact and then to use the higher income to pay off the extra borrowing undertaken in the lean years.

Hands up anyone who thinks their own response to a cut in their salary is not to cut their expenses but to borrow more on someone’s say-so that some years from now their income will go up?
My God, but this woman has a tin ear.
And lousy budgeting skills.
PS
To make Gillard’s analogy even crazier, note how uncertain Gillard actually is about revenue ever returning to what she fondly hoped:

We can’t assume this will change soon… Australia will not go back to the extraordinary revenue peaks of “mining boom mark I” from 2002-03 to 2007-08.

UPDATE
Professor Sinclair Davidson is just as gobsmacked by Gilalrd’s advice to John:

Well, she argues that the bonuses will return in future – with interest. In fact, the future will compensate for the current loss of revenue. That is a huge call and she cannot know that to be true. That’s short-hand for believing the mining boom will last forever. I don’t know anybody who seriously makes that claim.

UPDATE
Tim Blair reaches another rational conclusion:

What is John’s rational reaction?
To vote Liberal on September 14.

UPDATE
Reader FOEHN passes on sage advice from Mr Micawber:

UPDATE
Reader Peter:

Gillard’s ‘John’ is a family man. He is the breadwinner.
John makes all the decisions about the family budget.
Why is Janet the wife not part of the decision making?
Perhaps she’s in the kitchen, cooking and cleaning.

UPDATE
Reader Jono:

What would be the response of the bank manager when John says he has no savings, is living above his means and wants to borrow money to keep his ‘lifestyle intact’?

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Gillard’s new speechwriter should get real

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (3:38pm)

Julia Gillard seems to have a new speechwriter - someone who makes her sound like a circus Shakespeare:

Our opponents and their friends crudely flaunt the bitter language of the cut throat and the brandished axe...

Seriously?
I suspect the same dead hand penned Julia Gillard’s maudlin Anzac Day address, which this time read like Dickens at his Little Nell worst:

On docks and at railway stations around our land, mothers, wives, little brothers and sisters bravely suppressed tears.
Fathers extended grim handshakes…
The families of 102 000 Australians who died for us never forget war’s horror too.
The dreadful sight of a clergyman or telegram boy coming up the driveway. Or the phone ringing unexpectedly in the cool of night…
A nation which expresses its most eloquent patriotic spirit in the silences we share on this day.
Moments later, joyful laughter, rum and milk, two-up and the telling of stories that get taller by the hour – softening perhaps, but never denying, the truths of this day.

UPDATE
Gillard’s new speechwriter strikes again:

The Pharaoh might have kept one fifth part of the grain from the field but the Tax Commissioner collects in dollars and cents.

Gillard now makes Biblical references?

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A worthwhile aim

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (2:52pm)

Programs to teach Aboriginal children to swim should be encouraged.
(Thanks to reader Steve.)

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When the money’s gone, spend even more. UPDATE: Gillard warns more promises could be broken

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (2:39pm)

Julia Gillard has an unusual approach to budgeting. If the money isn’t there, just spend more:

JULIA Gillard will today reveal a further deterioration in the government’s tax revenue forecasts, with Treasury warning that the federal tax take this financial year will be $12 billion less than predicted last October.
The Prime Minister will say that despite the lower revenue forecasts her key programs of increased school funding and the DisabilityCare scheme “must not be jeopardised”.
“These necessary investments are affordable if we make smart decisions,” Ms Gillard will say, declaring that Labor governs “for all Australians”.

How is $14 billion in disability payments - however well-meaning - an “investment”?
The Government should also come clean on its own incompetence being largely to blame as revenue, while rising, fails to rise as fast as it giddily assumed:

New economic modelling forecasts that Labor’s carbon and mining taxes will together punch a $10bn revenue hole in the budget in the 2015-16 financial year, largely due to the decision to link Australia’s carbon-pricing scheme to Europe’s and the subsequent collapse of the European carbon price.
The modelling, in Macroeconomics’ 2013-14 Budget Bulletin to be released today, predicts the minerals resource rent tax will generate $1.1bn in 2015, less than half of the $2.6bn estimated by Treasury in its mid-year economic update. Revenue from the carbon package is expected to hover at just more than $1bn in 2015-16, well short of the $9.4bn Treasury estimated would flow into the coffers from a $29-a-tonne carbon price.

UPDATE
Inherited surplus blown, massive debts racked up, and now left defenceless:

Bank of America Merrill Lynch chief economist Saul Eslake warned that Australia “could face significant economic downturn, possibly even a recession” in two to three years, when the construction of several large gas projects across Australia was completed.

UPDATE
The national interest demands an election before September 14:

ACCI chief economist Greg Evans said the uncertainty about the federal election outcome has the small business community worried with firms still doing it tough…
“...there is no doubt the political uncertainty ahead of the Federal election and concerns about the budget deficit, carbon tax and unfunded spending plans such as the Gonski education reforms and NDIS are only adding to the problem.”
Mr Evans said the evidence from the business sector shows that confidence remains “shaky” and ACCI members are in a period of hibernation where they are deferring investment and not taking out new loans.

UPDATE
How bad is the govenrment’s budget bungling? So bad that Gillard has announced she could break more promises for savings - “even options previously taken off the table”.
The two promises she won’t break are two she doesn’t have the cash for - the Gonski changes and the disability package that together add around $20 billion a year to the Budget when they are fully implemented.
What an utter disaster. Labor must now wish it had gone to the election early and copped its medicine before it turned to poison. The next months threaten to utterly trash its reputation.
Joe Hockey makes the point I mentioned in yesterday’s show:

Shadow treasurer Joe Hockey said the federal government should have been more conservative in its previous budget estimates. “Who in their right mind would be estimating a 12 per cent increase in revenue year on year and then cry crocodile tears when it pulls to 7.6 per cent?” Mr Hockey told reporters in Sydney on Monday.
“They’ve committed to spending against money that we’re never going to get,” he said.

(Sorry, I’m in a training session at the moment and don’t have access to Internet links.)
UPDATE
Bottom line, from AAP:

Tax revenue is now expected to reach AU$340 billion in the current fiscal year. Economists expect a deficit of between AU$10 billion and AU$20 billion.

Last year’s total tax revenue: $317 billion. So the Government is this financial year getting $23 billion more than last year, instead of the $38 billion more it was fancifully expecting.
And it’s already spent the lot.
It’s got more money, but spent even more.
Bunglers. Complete bunglers.

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Q&A tweets Labor’s lines against Abbott

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (8:04am)

The ABC’s Q&A promotes tonight’s show with this tweet, straight out of Labor’s playbook to make Abbott seem a religious bigot:

But click the link and you find it’s to a very old story - from 2005:

PM - Tuesday, 15 November , 2005 18:34:00
Reporter: Catherine McGrath
DAVID BANNERMAN: The Federal Health Minister Tony Abbott says he will not approve the use of the abortion pill RU-486 in Australia.
Mr Abbott has told PM he’s received advice from the Chief Medical Officer that RU-486 has a higher rate of “later adverse events” that could require urgent intervention, than surgical termination.

Abbott’s position today is very different from the one Q&A tweeted:

Tony Abbott said he would not intervene as prime minister to try and prevent RU486 being provided on the PBS, despite his past opposition to the abortion drug.
The Opposition Leader said he would not oppose expert advice from the Pharmaceutical Benefits Advisory Committee.
“When I was the health minister we invariably took the advice of our professional advisers when it came to the safety and efficacy of drugs,” he said…
“I certainly have always said the whole issue here was to try and ensure that we empowered women to try to ensure that we gave women in a very difficult position all the support the needed to make what was for them the best possible choice.”

(Thanks to reader Garth.)
UPDATE
The editors of The Age seem stuck in adolescence, still editing a student newspaper where all bosses are cruel plutocrats, all Liberals are lackeys and only the poor (and students) are noble:

From the same edition, more peurile AbbottAbbottAbbott:

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A class act counts for more than money

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (7:57am)

British results confirm it is how you teach that counts most, not what you spend:

As you’d expect, pupils in schools marked ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted did better than those in failing schools. Poverty mattered, but not as much as you think. What really stood out was subject choice: kids who were entered for more rigorous subjects tended to do better. But what didn’t matter was money. No matter which way you looked at it, ‘the level of funding, per se, is almost irrelevant as a predictor or performance.’

(Thanks to reader Colin.)

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Abbott may be too honest for our good

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (7:54am)

TONY Abbott faces two terrible challenges to his honesty after September 14 if he becomes prime minister.
And here’s what it’s likely to mean: a second election, soon after the first, and the country weaker than it should be.

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A dangerous new edge to the critics of Anzac

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (7:50am)

PROFESSOR Marilyn Lake won’t be pleased. There were record crowds again at Anzac Day.
Lake, a Melbourne University academic, marked Anzac Day herself by declaring the celebrations “over the top”.

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Even Victoria now turns on Gillard

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (7:45am)

Now even Victoria - Labor’s stronghold and Julia Gillard’s home state - is crumbling:

The Australian understands that Labor has surrendered its seats below 6 per cent on a two-party-preferred basis, which means that four seats will fall in Victoria…
The four Labor seats expected to fall in Victoria are Corangamite (0.3 per cent), Deakin (0.6 per cent), La Trobe (1.7 per cent) and Chisholm (5.8 per cent).
Deakin, Chisholm and La Trobe all fall in the eastern and southeastern belt. While both sides of politics expect these seats to fall, Labor will next month debate how to retain a string of other seats that are in danger of falling as well. Bruce (7.7 per cent) is in the southeastern belt, while Isaacs (10.4 per cent), held by Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus, is under threat due to the size of the swings measured by the ALP.

Victorian Labor leader is blaming the Gillard Government for poisoning Labor’s brand:

At the weekend, Labor suffered a primary vote swing of almost 15 per cent in the state by-election for the seat of Lyndhurst, a Labor heartland southeast of the city.
At 27 per cent, Lyndhurst has the highest percentage of workers in Victoria in the manufacturing sector. It also has one of the highest numbers of overseas-born residents as well as being a strong mortgage belt region…
State leader Daniel Andrews..., when asked about federal implications for the Lyndhurst by-election, said: “From a federal point of view, well, need I add my voice? We all know that there are significant challenges that the Prime Minister and federal Labor are facing.”

Mind you, new Victorian Premier Dennis Napthine deserves a lot of credit. He’s re-energised the Coalition Government with a more folksy sell and a lot more decision-making - even if that’s involved a too-generous settlement with the teachers’ union:

The latest Newspoll shows that the gamble of replacing Ted Baillieu with Dr Napthine has paid off, with the Coalition clawing back to a 50-50 contest with Labor on a two party-preferred basis.
Dr Napthine has clearly outstripped Labor’s Daniel Andrews as better premier by 43 per cent to 24 per cent, in a clear endorsement of his style and progress…
The 50-50 result compares with the two 55-45 results—Labor’s way—in the lead-up to Christmas, which led to Liberal MPs agitating against Mr Baillieu.

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Boat people arrivals now hit 3000 a month

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (7:16am)

Boat people policy

One of the reasons the Gillard Government has blown its Budget - again - is that it’s lost control of our borders.
Last Budget it pretended it could save money by limiting boat people arrivals to “just” 450 a month, which already looked hopelessly optimistic at the time:

[ABC host Fran] Kelly: I mean, in Senate Estimates yesterday the Acting Secretary of the Immigration Department, Martin Bowles, said the department’s budget is based on estimates of around 450 asylum seekers arriving each month.
[Immigration Minister Chris] Bowen: Arrivals is part of the equation, Fran, it’s part of the many things which get put into the computer in terms of -
Kelly: But clearly, it’s going to blow out on arrivals, that’s my point.
Bowen: Well, Fran, a number of factors go to determining the irregular maritime arrivals budget, a number of factors. Arrivals is one; the 450 figure is based on historical averages.

Forget 450 a month. Reader Gab counts the numbers so far for April:

Suspected Illegal Entry Vessels for the month of April so far: 41 boats and 3023 ”asylum" seekers

More than 3000 in a single month. This Government is utterly reckless with our borders, our money and our security. It has also meanwhile managed to lure some 1000 boat people to their deaths.
Just three years ago, Gillard was pooh-poohing warnings she had opened the door to illegal immigrants who would storm in in ever-increasing numbers:

... in the context of our migration program, the number of asylum seekers arriving by boat to Australia is very, very minor. It is less than 1.5 per cent of permanent migrants each year; and indeed it would take about 20 years to fill the MCG with asylum seekers at present rates of arrival. This is a point well made.

At April’s rate, it would take not 20 years to fill the MCG but three.

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Just another school spat. With guns, they say

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (7:08am)

School for scandal:

Rissalah College in Lakemba, in Sydney’s southwest, is the latest Muslim school to be embroiled in controversy, with the school’s chairman and treasurer alleging, in affidavits tendered and read in the NSW Supreme Court, misappropriation of funds of more than $500,000 by the principal Ali Roude…
In court documents tendered in court and obtained by The Australian, [school chairman Bassam] Kamaledine claims he was the subject of a death threat and shown a cocked rifle by a relative of Mr Roude…
In the affidavit, Mr Kamaledine claims Mr Roude’s relative met him at a house to discuss complaints he had made about alleged financial mismanagement by Mr Roude at the school…
In Mr Kamaledine’s affidavit, he says Mr Roude’s relative told him: “I want you to back off . . . Ali . . . stop stressing them out, I don’t want you to get involved in what they do at the school and you leave them alone to do whatever they want. It’s their school…
“I have 200 to 250 guys behind me and we have more guns than the army. You should have been gone 2 1/2 weeks ago but I stepped in and if you don’t do as I’m telling you I’m gonna take matters into my own hands...”
Mr Roude’s lawyers issued a short statement yesterday saying their client had done nothing wrong…
Mr Roude is a former chairman of the NSW Islamic Council and in 1988 was a recipient of the Order of Australia for his services to the Muslim community.
In 1996 he was appointed by the state government to the Police Ethnic Advisory Committee....

(No comments.)

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“Silvertails” is what the Left calls workers who disagree

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (6:26am)

Lots of juicy fact-checking in Cut & Paste today. For instance:

Silvertails! Mike Seccombe, The Global Mail, on ABC1’s Insiders yesterday:

I’D hate to be accused of being a class warrior here but isn’t it funny that a bunch of silvertails in the Adelaide Hills can say: “Oh, we don’t want them (asylum-seekers) here, put them in western Sydney or somewhere where the plebs live.” Gerard Henderson: Well, having spent a bit of time in the Adelaide Hills, I don’t think they’re all silvertails there, Mike. So I think you might be a bit of a class warrior. A lot of them are people on pretty average incomes. Maybe a bit lower than yours.
Silvertails? SA Centre for Economic Studies, March 2012:

Woodside weekly individual income as a per cent of total:
Negative and nil income—4.7%
0-$249—18.6 %
$250-$599—30.7 %
$600-$999—25.8 %
$1000-$1599 --10.0 %
$1600 or more—2.3 %
Economic activity in the Woodside area of Adelaide Hills:
Agriculture (14.2 per cent), food product manufacturing (10.1 per cent) and defence (9.5 per cent) are the three largest employers . . . other notable occupation groups include factory process workers (10 per cent) and protective service workers (4.8 per cent).

Exchanges like that are what led Anne Summers to tweet in despair that the Labor side wasn’t represented by a single one of the three Leftists on Insiders. Not when they had Gerard Henderson to contend with.

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How about leaving the election as an election?

Andrew Bolt April 29 2013 (6:08am)

A desperate bid by men desperately trying to change the topic:

Australians would vote in a referendum on gay marriage as soon as September under a radical proposal by independent MP Tony Windsor, supported by the Greens and other crossbenchers.

A bid to redefine the most critical social unit of our community is not something that should be rushed through in the dying days of a discredited government.
And why this attempt to bind future generations of Australia to the will of people today?

Fairfax Media has learnt the government is set to announce that a referendum on recognising local government in the constitution will be held on election day, at a cost of $80 million.

If people want local government now, great. If Australians 100 years from now think local government has outlived its purpose, why force them to change the constitution to get their way? It’s sheer arrogance. We’re not talking here about one of the fundamental rules by which our democracy runs. In Victoria, for instance, local government councillors were replaced for a while by state government-appointed commissioners while councils were cut from 210 to 78 (late 79) to save ratepayers a fortune.
In the end, the state government was still accountable to the voters for what it had done and how we were governered. I often wonder how accountable local government is, given not 95 in 100 ratepayers could even name their mayor.

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<I jokingly asked: "What's the best way to get a girlfriend?" 7-year-old's response: "Tell her to be my girlfriend or she'll never see her parents again.">
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It isn't consumated. It isn't sanctioned by government. We don't know the pooch's intentions regarding monogamy. It reminds me of some 5 yo girls getting married with a Coke ring pull. Is it news worthy? Does it have more pull than the issue of the death of Hamidur Rahman?
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Regardless of why it happened .. why was she isolated?
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"You do realise I said it was $7.5bn last week".
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Miss Angela Lansbury
The Harvey Girls (1946)
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Reflection Of The Nature, Norway
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Experiments with plain old corn syrup have revealed that giant jets of magma rising up from near the Earth's core might explain supervolcanic activity seen at Yellowstone.http://oak.ctx.ly/r/4frr
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Star Trek Into Darkness - Moscow Premiere

"MOSCOW, RUSSIA - APRIL 25: Alice Eve and Chris Pine?arrive at the 'Star Trek Into Darkness' Moscow premiere at Okyabr cinema hall on April 25, 2013 in Moscow, Russia. (Photo by Kristina Nikishina/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures International))***Local caption***Chris Pine;Alice Eve 2013 Getty Images
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Hey everypeeps!
I snuck in another Hulk submission just before the deadline ended. Hope ya'll like this one, and if you do, please vote/share, lemme know what you think:)
http://www.threadless.com/Hulk/hulk-riiip-2/
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3,318 LOW TEMPERATURE RECORDS BROKEN IN THE USA

Remember a few short weeks ago, when Labor’s Climate Commissioner Tim Flannery excited claimed that breaking of 123 high temperature records over January “really takes us into a new climatic territory”.

I wonder what Mr Flannery will say given that in the past week no less than 3,318 daily records have been set or matched across the United States for either the coldest night or the coldest day.
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4 her
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הלילה תקף צה"ל מטרות ברצועת עזה. אנו לא נאפשר מדיניות של טפטוף. טפטוף טילים או טפטוף רקטות יתקל בתגובה מאוד תקיפה ואנחנו נעשה את כל הפעולות הנדרשות כדי להגן על בטחון אזרחינו. גם בתגובה וגם בנסיבות שאינן קשורות בתגובה.

אנו נעשה כל מה שצריך כדי להגן על מדינת ישראל ואזרחיה, בצפון בדרום ובכל מקום.

Last night, the IDF attacked targets in the Gaza Strip. I would like to make it clear that we will notallow a policy of sporadic firing.

The sporadic firing of missiles and rockets will meet with a very aggressive response and we will do everything necessary to defend the security of Israeli citizens, both in response and in circumstances that are unrelated to a response

We will do what is necessary to defend the State of Israel and its citizens, in the north, in the south and in every district
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In response to a rocket fired from Gaza and aimed at Israeli civilians in southern Israel, the IDF targeted two terror sites in in the Strip this morning. The targets were a terrorist weapon storage facility and a Hamas training compound in southern Gaza. There are 3.5 million Israeli civilians in the range of rockets from Gaza.
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God is right there in your valley of trouble with you, holding you in His arms and carrying you through the valley! Check out more in today's devotional and be blessed! http://bit.ly/11psLY0
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Beloved, you can change your life for the better by changing what you believe! Begin to see your breakthroughs manifest as you experience the power of right believing!

Click below to watch a short clip of this must-hear message. Be sure to click 'Like' and share this with your friends! Amen!
http://bit.ly/15OlzIc
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When you personalize God's love for you, when you live each day knowing that God loves you, you will be blazing with a supernatural ability to overcome every challenge in life!
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...Those who are righteous...do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them. They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly.—Ps 112:6–8, NLT

Wake up every day expecting good. Keep your thoughtsand mind positive, full of joy, full of hope and full of anticipation of all the good things God has in store for you, His beloved!

Spring up from your bed, stand in front of your mirror and boldly declare, “I am the disciple whom Jesus loves. I am the apple of His eye. Everything I do and touch shall be blessed! The Lord’s wisdom, favor and provision flow mightily in and through me. Amen!”

When you do this, you are accessing the Lord’s abundant provision for you, and all the stress, worries, negative emotions and anxieties will fade away.

Perhaps today, you have to make an important presentation to your biggest client, or go for the final interview for a job you really want. Or maybe you are way behind the curve in completing an important project at work. Whatever the demands on you, start the day expecting good and see His provision flowing toward you!

This post is from today’s Meditate & Believe Right devotional. Click on the link to receive this complimentary series of inspiring devotionals in your mailbox each day!http://josephprince.com/meditate/
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April 29: Shōwa Day in Japan

1587 – Anglo-Spanish War: In the Bay of Cádiz,Francis Drake led the first of several naval raids on the Spanish Armada that destroyed so many ships that Philip II of Spain had to delay his plans to invade England for over a year.
1770 – British explorer James Cook and the crew of HMS Endeavour(replica pictured), the first European ship to land in eastern Australia, reached the coast of Botany Bay near present-day Sydney.
1903 – A 30 million cubic-metre landslide buried the town of Frank, Alberta and killed 70 of the town's 90 residents, making it the deadliest landslide in Canadian history.
1910 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the People's Budget, the first budget in British history with the expressed intent ofredistributing wealth among the British public.
1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East convened and indicted Hideki Tojo and 27 other Japanese leaders for war crimes.
1968 – The controversial musical Hair, a product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, opened at the Biltmore Theatre on Broadway, with its songs becoming anthems of the anti-Vietnam War movement.

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Events

711 – Islamic conquest of Hispania: Moorish troops led by Tariq ibn-Ziyad land at Gibraltar to begin their invasion of the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus).
1091 – Battle of Levounion: The Pechenegs are defeated by Byzantine Emperor Alexius I.
1429 – Joan of Arc arrives to relieve the Siege of Orleans.
1483 – Gran Canaria, the main island of the Canary Islands is conquered by the Kingdom of Castile.
1521 – Swedish War of Liberation: Swedish troops under Gustav Vasa defeat a Danish force under Didrik Slagheck in the Battle of Västerås and soon capture the city of Västerås. The Danish-held castle, however, does not surrender to the Swedes until 31 January the following year, after a nine-month siege.
1587 – Francis Drake leads a raid in the Bay of Cádiz, sinking at least 23 ships of the Spanish fleet.
1672 – Franco-Dutch War: Louis XIV of France invades the Netherlands.
1770 – James Cook arrives at and names Botany Bay, Australia.
1781 – American Revolutionary War: British and French ships clash in the Battle of Fort Royal off the coast of Martinique.
1832 – Évariste Galois is released from prison.
1861 – American Civil War: Maryland's House of Delegates votes not to secede from the Union.
1862 – American Civil War: New Orleans, Louisiana falls to Union forces under Admiral David Farragut.
1864 – Theta Xi fraternity is founded at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, the only fraternity to be founded during the American Civil War.
1882 – The "Elektromote" – forerunner of the trolleybus – is tested by Ernst Werner von Siemens in Berlin.
1903 – A 30 million cubic-metre landslide kills 70 in Frank, Alberta, Canada.
1910 – The Parliament of the United Kingdom passes the People's Budget, the first budget in British history with the expressed intent of redistributing wealth among the British public.
1916 – World War I: The British 6th Indian Division surrenders to Ottoman Forces at the Siege of Kut in one of the largest surrenders of British forces up to that point.
1916 – Easter Rising: Martial law in Ireland is lifted and the rebellion is officially over with the surrender of Irish nationalists to British authorities in Dublin.
1945 – World War II: The German army in Italy unconditionally surrenders to the Allies.
1945 – World War II: Start of Operation Manna.
1945 – World War II: The Captain class frigate HMS Goodall K479 is torpedoed by U-286 outside the Kola Inlet becoming the last ship of the Royal Navy sunk in the European theatre of World War II.
1945 – World War II – Fuehrerbunker: Adolf Hitler marries his longtime partner Eva Braun in a Berlin bunker and designates Admiral Karl Dönitz as his successor. Both Hitler and Braun commit suicide the following day.
1945 – The Dachau concentration camp is liberated by United States troops.
1945 – The Italian commune of Fornovo di Taro is liberated from German forces by Brazilian forces.
1946 – The International Military Tribunal for the Far East convenes and indicts former Prime Minister of Japan Hideki Tojo and 28 former Japanese leaders for war crimes.
1946 – Father Divine, a controversial religious leader who claims to be God, marries the much-younger Edna Rose Ritchings, a celebrated anniversary in the International Peace Mission movement.
1951 – Tibetan delegates to the Central People's Government arrive in Beijing and draft a Seventeen Point Agreement for Chinese sovereignty and Tibetan autonomy.
1953 – The first U.S. experimental 3D-TV broadcast showed an episode of Space Patrol on Los Angeles ABC affiliate KECA-TV.
1965 – Pakistan's Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) successfully launches its seventh rocket in its Rehber series.
1967 – After refusing induction into the United States Army the day before (citing religious reasons), Muhammad Ali is stripped of his boxing title.
1968 – The controversial musical Hair opens on Broadway.
1970 – Vietnam War: United States and South Vietnamese forces invade Cambodia to hunt Viet Cong.
1974 – Watergate Scandal: President Richard Nixon announces the release of edited transcripts of White House tape recordings relating to the scandal.
1975 – Vietnam War: Operation Frequent Wind: The U.S. begins to evacuate U.S. citizens from Saigon prior to an expected North Vietnamese takeover. U.S. involvement in the war comes to an end.
1986 – A fire at the Central library of the City of Los Angeles Public Library damages or destroys 400,000 books and other items.
1991 – A cyclone strikes the Chittagong district of southeastern Bangladesh with winds of around 155 miles per hour (249 km/h), killing at least 138,000 people and leaving as many as 10 million homeless.
1992 – Los Angeles riots: Riots in Los Angeles, California, following the acquittal of police officers charged with excessive force in the beating of Rodney King. Over the next three days 53 people are killed and hundreds of buildings are destroyed.
1997 – The Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993 enters into force, outlawing the production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons by its signatories.
1999 – The Avala TV Tower near Belgrade is destroyed in the NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.
2004 – Dick Cheney and George W. Bush testify before the 9/11 Commission in a closed, unrecorded hearing in the Oval Office.
2004 – Oldsmobile builds its final car ending 107 years of production.
2005 – Syria completes withdrawal from Lebanon, ending 29 years of occupation.
2011 – Wedding of Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Kate Middleton.

[edit]Births

1636 – Esaias Reusner, German lutenist and composer (d. 1679)
1665 – James Butler, 2nd Duke of Ormonde, Irish statesman and soldier (d. 1745)
1667 – John Arbuthnot, English physician and satirist (d. 1735)
1686 – Peregrine Bertie, 2nd Duke of Ancaster and Kesteven, English statesman (d. 1742)
1727 – Jean-Georges Noverre, French dancer, founder of modern ballet (d. 1810)
1745 – Oliver Ellsworth, American lawyer and politician, 3rd Chief Justice of the United States (d. 1807)
1758 – Georg Carl von Döbeln, Swedish lieutenant general (d. 1820)
1762 – Jean-Baptiste Jourdan, French marshal (d. 1833)
1769 – Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington, Anglo-Irish statesman (d. 1852)
1780 – Charles Nodier, French writer (d. 1844)
1784 – Samuel Turell Armstrong, American politician, Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1850)
1810 – Thomas Adolphus Trollope, English author and journalist (d. 1892)
1818 – Alexander II of Russia (d. 1881)
1837 – Georges Boulanger, French general and politician (d. 1891)
1842 – Karl Millöcker, Dutch composer (d. 1899)
1848 – Raja Ravi Varma, Indian painter (d. 1906)
1854 – Henri Poincaré, French mathematician and physicist (d. 1912)
1863 – William Randolph Hearst, American publisher (d. 1951)
1863 – Constantine P. Cavafy, Greek poet (d. 1933)
1863 – Maria Theresa Ledochowska, Polish-Austrian Catholic nun (d. 1922)
1868 – Alice Keppel, English socialite and mistress of King Edward VII (d. 1947)
1872 – Harry Payne Whitney, American businessman, lawyer and horse-breeder (d. 1930)
1875 – Rafael Sabatini, Italian-English writer (d. 1950)
1876 – Zewditu I, Empress of Ethiopia (d. 1930)
1879 – Thomas Beecham, English conductor (d. 1961)
1882 – Hendrik Nicolaas Werkman, Dutch artist and printer (d. 1945)
1885 – Egon Erwin Kisch, Czech journalist and author (d. 1948)
1887 – Raymond Thorne, American freestyle swimmer (d. 1921)
1893 – Harold Urey, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
1895 – Malcolm Sargent, English conductor (d. 1967)
1899 – Douglas Abbott, Canadian politician (d. 1987)
1899 – Duke Ellington, American composer, pianist, and bandleader (d. 1974)
1899 – Mary Petty, American illustrator (d. 1976)
1901 – Hirohito, Japanese emperor (d. 1989)
1907 – Tino Rossi, French singer and actor (d. 1983)
1907 – Fred Zinnemann, Austrian-American director (d. 1997)
1908 – Jack Williamson, American writer (d. 2006)
1909 – Tom Ewell, American actor (d. 1994)
1912 – Richard Carlson, American actor (d. 1977)
1915 – Donald Mills, American singer (Mills Brothers) (d. 1999)
1917 – Maya Deren, Ukraine-American filmmaker, writer, and photographer (d. 1961)
1917 – Celeste Holm, American actress (d. 2012)
1917 – Marcel Trudel, Canadian historian (d. 2011)
1918 – George Allen, American football player and coach (d. 1990)
1919 – Jacques Genest, Canadian physician and scientist
1919 – Gérard Oury, French actor and director (d. 2006)
1919 – Alla Rakha, Indian tabla player,(d. 2000)
1920 – Harold Shapero, American composer
1920 – Edward Blishen, English author (d. 1996)
1922 – Helmut Krackowizer, Austrian motorcyclist (d. 2001)
1922 – Toots Thielemans, Belgian jazz musician
1924 – Al Balding, Canadian golfer (d. 2006)
1924 – Zizi Jeanmaire, French dancer and actress
1925 – Ned Austin, American actor (d. 2007)
1925 – John Compton, Saint Lucian politician, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia (d. 2007)
1925 – Iwao Takamoto, American animator, producer and director (d. 2007)
1926 – Elmer Kelton, American novelist (d. 2009)
1928 – Carl Gardner, American singer (The Coasters) (d. 2011)
1929 – Ray Barretto, American jazz musician (d. 2006)
1929 – Walter Kempowski, German author (d. 2007)
1929 – Mickey McDermott, American baseball player (d. 2003)
1929 – Peter Sculthorpe, Australian composer
1930 – Jean Rochefort, French actor
1931 – Frank Auerbach, German-English painter
1931 – Lonnie Donegan, English singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2002)
1932 – Joy Clements, American soprano (d. 2005)
1933 – Mark Eyskens, Belgian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Belgium
1933 – Rod McKuen, American poet and composer
1934 – Luis Aparicio, Venezuelan baseball player
1934 – Pedro Pires, Portuguese politician, 3rd President of Cape Verde
1934 – Otis Rush, American singer and guitarist
1934 – Bill Vander Zalm, Canadian politician
1936 – Zubin Mehta, Indian conductor
1936 – Adolfo Nicolás, Spanish priest
1936 – Lane Smith, American actor (d. 2005)
1936 – April Stevens, American singer (Nino Tempo & April Stevens)
1937 – Hasil Adkins, American singer-songwriter and musician (d. 2005)
1937 – Jill Paton Walsh, English writer
1938 – Fred Dibnah, English steeplejack (d. 2004)
1938 – Bernard Madoff, American businessman, stockbroker, investment advisor, and financier
1938 – Klaus Voormann, German artist, musician, and producer (Manfred Mann and Plastic Ono Band)
1942 – Galina Kulakova, Soviet cross country skier
1944 – Princess Benedikte of Denmark
1944 – Richard Kline, American actor and director
1944 – Francis Lee, English footballer
1945 – Catherine Lara, French singer, musician and composer
1945 – Tammi Terrell, American singer (d. 1970)
1947 – Serge Bernier, Canadian ice hockey player
1947 – Tommy James, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Tommy James and the Shondells)
1947 – Joey Levine, American singer and composer
1947 – Jim Ryun, American athlete and politician
1948 – Bruce Cutler, American attorney
1948 – Michael Karoli, German musician and composer (Can) (d. 2001)
1949 – Anita Dobson, English actress and singer
1950 – Paul Holmes, New Zealand broadcaster (d. 2013)
1950 – Phillip Noyce, Australian director
1950 – Debbie Stabenow, American politician
1951 – Dale Earnhardt, American race car driver (d. 2001)
1952 – Nora Dunn, American actress
1952 – David Icke, English writer
1952 – Bob McClure, American baseball player
1952 – Rob Nicholson, Canadian politician
1952 – Ron Washington, American baseball manager
1954 – Jake Burton Carpenter, American snowboarder
1954 – Jerry Seinfeld, American comedian
1955 – Richard Epcar, American voice actor
1955 – Wendee Lee, American voice actress
1955 – Kate Mulgrew, American actress
1955 – Leslie Jordan, American actor
1955 – Gino Quilico, Canadian baritone
1956 – Sofia Sakorafa, Greek javelin thrower and politician
1956 – Ketil Stokkan, Norwegian singer-songwriter (Zoo)
1957 – Daniel Day-Lewis, English-Irish actor
1957 – Mark Kendall, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Great White)
1957 – Timothy Treadwell, American ecologist (d. 2003)
1958 – Gary Cohen, American sportscaster
1958 – Michelle Pfeiffer, American actress
1958 – Eve Plumb, American actress
1958 – Mike Stenhouse, American baseball player
1958 – Martin Whitmarsh, English businessman
1960 – Phil King, English musician (Lush and The Jesus and Mary Chain)
1960 – Robert J. Sawyer, Canadian writer
1960 – Caveh Zahedi, American director and actor
1961 – Fumihiko Tachiki, Japanese voice actor
1962 – Bruce Driver, Canadian ice hockey player
1962 – Chloé Sainte-Marie, Canadian actress
1963 – Mike Babcock, Canadian ice hockey coach
1963 – Claude Loiselle, Canadian ice hockey player
1964 – Melody Barnes, American director of the White House Domestic Policy Council
1964 – Federico Castelluccio, Italian-American actor
1964 – Radek Jaroš, Czech mountaineer
1964 – Mohammad Qatanani, American Imam
1966 – Marie Plourde, Canadian journalist, television host, and columnist
1966 – Phil Tufnell, English cricketer
1967 – Curtis Joseph, Canadian ice hockey player
1967 – Master P, American rapper, producer, and actor (TRU and 504 Boyz)
1968 – Carnie Wilson, American singer (Wilson Phillips)
1969 – Paul Adelstein, American actor
1969 – İzel Çeliköz, Turkish singer
1970 – Andre Agassi, American tennis player
1970 – China Forbes, American singer-songwriter (Pink Martini)
1970 – Uma Thurman, American actress
1971 – Tamara Johnson-George, American singer (SWV)
1971 – Sam Michael, Australian sporting director and engineer
1971 – Siniša Vuco, Croatian musician
1972 – Dustin McDaniel, American politician
1973 – David Belle, French educator
1973 – Johan Hegg, Swedish singer (Amon Amarth)
1973 – Martin Kesici, German singer-songwriter and musician
1974 – Anggun, Indonesian singer-songwriter
1974 – Pascal Cygan, French footballer
1974 – Julian Knowle, Austrian tennis player
1974 – Jasper Wood, Canadian violinist
1975 – Rafael Betancourt, Venezuelan baseball player
1975 – Eric Koston, Thai-American skateboarder
1975 – Artem Yashkin, Ukrainian footballer
1975 – Béres Zoo, Hungarian disk jokey
1976 – Jay Orpin, Swedish composer and producer
1977 – Thaddeus Bullard, American wrestler and football player
1977 – Rocío Carrasco, Spanish television presenter and businesswoman
1977 – Zuzana Hejdová, Czech tennis player
1977 – Claus Jensen, Danish footballer
1977 – David Sullivan, American actor
1978 – Tony Armas, Jr., Venezuelan baseball player
1978 – Bob Bryan, American tennis player
1978 – Mike Bryan, American tennis player
1978 – Craig Gower, Australian rugby player
1979 – Jo O'Meara, English singer-songwriter and actress (S Club and 2-4 Family)
1979 – Nihan Anaz, Turkish basketball player
1979 – Lee Dong-Gook, Korean footballer
1979 – Ryan Sharp, English race car driver
1979 – Sam Jones III, American actor
1979 – Ashish Nehra, Indian cricketer
1979 – Matt Tong, English drummer (Bloc Party)
1980 – Mathieu Biron, Canadian ice hockey player
1980 – Kian Egan, Irish singer-songwriter and musician (Westlife)
1980 – Luciano Milo, Italian ice dancer
1980 – Kelly Shoppach, American baseball player
1980 – Magdalena Tul, Polish singer and composer
1981 – Lisa Allen, British chef
1981 – George McCartney, Irish footballer
1981 – Émilie Mondor, Canadian athlete (d. 2006)
1981 – Alex Vincent, American actor
1982 – Aksana, Lithuanian model, bodybuilder, and wrestler
1982 – Mersad Selimbegović, Bosnian footballer
1982 – Kate Nauta, American model and actress
1982 – Travis Smith, American drummer (Trivium)
1983 – Jay Cutler, American football player
1983 – Tommie Harris, American football player
1983 – David Lee, American basketball player
1983 – Semih Şentürk, Turkish footballer
1983 – Yuriko Shiratori, Japanese model, artist, and actress
1984 – Taylor Cole, American actress
1984 – Firass Dirani, Australian actor
1984 – Phạm Văn Quyến, Vietnamese footballer
1984 – Vasilis Xanthopoulos, Greek basketball player
1985 – Jean-François Jacques, Canadian ice hockey player
1986 – Renee Alway, American model
1987 – Knut Børsheim, Norwegian golfer
1987 – Sara Errani, Italian tennis player
1987 – Alicia Morton, American actress
1988 – Elías Hernández, Mexican footballer
1988 – Jovan Leacock, American footballer
1988 – Steve Mason, Canadian ice hockey player
1988 – Julian Reus, German sprinter
1988 – Jonathan Toews, Canadian ice hockey player
1989 – Charlotte Francis, English actress
1989 – Domagoj Vida, Croatian footballer
1991 – Oviya, Indian model and actress
1992 – Emilio Orozco, American soccer player
1994 – Madeleine Budd, French actress
1994 – Christina Shakovets, German tennis player

[edit]Deaths

926 – Burchard II, Duke of Swabia
1380 – Catherine of Siena, Italian saint (b. 1347)
1594 – Thomas Cooper, English bishop, lexicographer, and writer
1630 – Agrippa d'Aubigné, French poet (b. 1552)
1658 – John Cleveland, English poet (b. 1613)
1676 – Michiel de Ruyter, Dutch admiral (b. 1607)
1688 – Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1620)
1698 – Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, First Lord of the British Admiralty (b. 1655)
1707 – George Farquhar, Irish dramatist (b. 1678)
1743 – Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French writer (b. 1658)
1768 – Georg Brandt, Swedish chemist and mineralogist (b. 1694)
1771 – Francesco Bartolomeo Rastrelli, Italian-Russian architect (b. 1700)
1776 – Edward Wortley Montagu, English traveler and writer (b. 1713)
1782 – Richard Kempenfelt, English admiral (b. 1718)
1793 – Yechezkel Landau, Polish rabbi (b. 1713)
1793 – John Michell, English scientist (b. 1724)
1798 – Nikolaus Poda von Neuhaus, German entomologist (b. 1723)
1854 – Henry Paget, 1st Marquess of Anglesey, British general (b. 1768)
1901 – Emil Bretschneider, Baltic German sinologist (b. 1833)
1903 – Paul du Chaillu, French explorer (b. 1835)
1905 – Ignacio Cervantes, Cuban pianist and composer (b. 1847)
1916 – Jørgen Pedersen Gram, Danish mathematician (b. 1850)
1916 – The O'Rahilly, Irish Nationalist and member of the Easter Rising (b. 1875)
1920 – William Henry Seward, Jr., American Union Brigadier General in the American Civil War (b. 1839)
1933 – Constantine P. Cavafy, Greek poet (b. 1863)
1935 – Leroy Carr, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1905)
1937 – William Gillette, American actor (b. 1853)
1941 – Léo-Pol Morin, Canadian pianist, music critic and composer (b. 1892)
1944 – Bernardino Machado, Portuguese Politician, President of Portugal (b. 1851)
1945 – Matthias Kleinheisterkamp, German SS officer (b. 1893)
1947 – Irving Fisher, American economist (b. 1867)
1951 – Ludwig Wittgenstein, Austrian philosopher (b. 1889)
1956 – Harold Bride, British junior wireless officer on RMS Titanic (b. 1890)
1956 – Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb, German field marshal (b. 1876)
1961 – Cisco Houston, American singer-songwriter and musician (b. 1918)
1966 – William Eccles, English physicist and radio pioneer (b. 1875)
1967 – J. B. Lenoir, American singer-songwriter and musician (b. 1929)
1967 – Anthony Mann, American actor and director (b. 1906)
1979 – Hardie Gramatky, American author and animator (b. 1907)
1980 – Alfred Hitchcock, English director (b. 1899)
1982 – Raymond Bussières, French actor (b. 1907)
1988 – James McCracken, American tenor (b. 1926)
1992 – Mae Clarke, American actress (b. 1910)
1993 – Michael Gordon, American director (b. 1909)
1993 – Mick Ronson, English musician, songwriter, and producer (The Spiders from Mars and Mott the Hoople) (b. 1946)
1997 – Mike Royko, American columnist (b. 1932)
1998 – Hal Laycoe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1922)
2000 – Pham Van Dong, Vietnamese politician (b. 1906)
2001 – Arthur B. C. Walker, Jr., American solar physicist (b. 1936)
2002 – Bob Akin, American industrialist and race car driver (b. 1936)
2002 – Lor Tok, Thai comedian and actor (b. 1914)
2004 – Sid Smith, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1925)
2005 – Louis Leithold, American mathematician (b. 1924)
2005 – William J. Bell, American writer and producer (b. 1927)
2005 – John D'Amico, Canadian supervisor of officials of the National Hockey League (b. 1937)
2005 – Sara Henderson, Australian pastoralist and author (b. 1936)
2005 – Mariana Levy, Mexican actress, singer, and television host (b. 1966)
2006 – John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian-American economist (b. 1908)
2007 – Milt Bocek, American baseball player (b. 1912)
2007 – Josh Hancock, American baseball player (b. 1978)
2007 – Dick Motz, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1940)
2007 – Arve Opsahl, Norwegian actor (b. 1921)
2007 – Ivica Račan, Croatian politician, 7th Prime Minister of Croatia (b. 1944)
2007 – Zhang Taofang, Chinese sniper (b. 1931)
2008 – Albert Hofmann, Swiss chemist, first to synthesize LSD (b. 1906)
2010 – A.S. Douglas, English computer scientist, creator of the first graphical computer game (b. 1921)
2011 – Siamak Pourzand, Iranian dissident journalist (b. 1931)
2012 – Éric Charden, French singer and songwriter (b. 1942)

[edit]Holidays and observances

Christian Feast Day:
International Dance Day (International)
Queen's Night (the Netherlands)
Shōwa Day, traditionally the start of the Golden Week holiday period. (Japan)
The beginning of Arita Ceramic Fair (Arita, Saga, Japan)
The ninth day of Ridván (Bahá'í Faith)

Monday, April 29, 2013

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