1521 – After an extended siege, forces led by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés captured Tlatoani Cuauhtémoc and conquered the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan.
1704 – War of the Spanish Succession: The Duke of Marlborough led Allied forces to a crucial victory in the Battle of Blenheim.
1898 – Spanish–American War: After a mock battle for Manila, the Spanish commander surrendered to the U.S. in order to keep the city out of Filipino rebel hands.
1954 – The complete version of "Qaumī Tarāna", the national anthem of Pakistan, was broadcast for the first time on Radio Pakistan.
2010 – After having been boarded by Canadian authorities, the MV Sun Sea docked and the 492 Sri Lankan Tamil refugee claimants on board were placed into detention. Your extended siege is over. It is all yours (indicates the curtains). No need for mock battles. The anthem plays, the ship has landed. The days is yours.
===
Tough justice would wipe out this war zone
Miranda Devine – Tuesday, August 13, 2013 (8:47pm)
For 23 years, Dr Jamal Rifi has been a GP in Belmore, Ground Zero of Sydney’s drive-by shooting epidemic.
===
REFLEX TEST
Tim Blair – Tuesday, August 13, 2013 (3:48pm)
The SMH’s front page at 6am, long after Australia had lost the Fourth Test:
The Telegraph was up to speed:
The Australian knew the score:
But the poor old Age remained an entire innings behind:
The Telegraph was up to speed:
The Australian knew the score:
But the poor old Age remained an entire innings behind:
===
DESIGN OF OUR TIMES
Tim Blair – Tuesday, August 13, 2013 (3:46pm)
“I am a 58 year old environmentalist and citizen journalist who has worked in web design and web content administration for the last 17 years,” declares John Englart, one of Margo Kingston’s unpaid election-coverage activists. “I have extensive experience in citizen journalism spanning the last 15 years. With my skills as a web designer and fueled by the political conspiracy to eliminate the power of the Maritime Union of Australia in 1997, I established a campaigning website …”
Yes. Yes, he did. Mr Englart’s web skills are also evident at his current site.
===
BOUND FOR GREATNESS
Tim Blair – Tuesday, August 13, 2013 (2:47pm)
===
POWERFUL VOICES
Tim Blair – Tuesday, August 13, 2013 (2:10pm)
New York mayoral candidate and sexting enthusiast Anthony Weiner sounds just like a certain paranoid Australian Prime Minister:
Powerful voices have made it clear from the very beginning that they didn’t want me to win. But this isn’t about what they want. They’ve gotten their way for far too long. If you give me the chance, I will fight for your and your family every single day.
Gotta zip.
===
FOOTWATCH
Tim Blair – Tuesday, August 13, 2013 (1:21pm)
A crucial election update from Fairfax’s Stephanie “Tiptoes” Peatling.
===
SELLING AIN’T OWNING
Tim Blair – Tuesday, August 13, 2013 (5:03am)
News Corp owns 33 per cent of Australian print media titles. This is a simple fact, yet it eludes even more simple leftists, who struggle to understand the basic concept of ownership. For example, here’s the Guardian‘s Lenore Taylor:
Rudd repeatedly referred to the fact that Murdoch ”owned 70% of Australia’s newspapers”, but when asked whether he had any plans to change media ownership laws if re-elected, he said he did not.News Corporation has said it has 63% of Australian newspaper circulation, rather than 70%.
Poor Lenore is deeply confused. Within those two paragraphs, she’s decided that newspaper ownership and newspaper circulation are the same thing. Imagine this fanciful scenario: Fairfax titles suddenly increase their circulation by one million copies per day nationwide. According to Lenore, this would mean that News Corp immediately owns fewer papers.
Lenore Taylor might be an idiot. Perhaps Australia’s $1,000,000,000-per-year tax-funded ABC is more alert to ownership basics, what with its shiny new fact-checking unit and all. Then again, perhaps not. Last night, the billion-dollar broadcaster’s Media Watch ran this comment from Kevin Rudd, during the program’s usual tsunami of government-hugging leftist puke:
Mr Murdoch owns 70 per cent of newspapers in this country, 70 per cent of the print media.
More than a minute after airing that screaming lie, Media Watch host Paul Barry finally added an incorrect correction:
And we should add that Mr Rudd’s claim that News Corp owns 70 per cent of the newspapers in this country is false. According to News Corp it’s responsible for 63 per cent of Australian newspaper sales.
Sales are one thing. Ownership is quite another. Paul Barry surely understands the difference. To believe otherwise is unthinkable. Who among us would even think that the likes of Barry and Taylor are deliberately attempting to mislead their audiences?
No journalists of conscience would dare.
===
Another boat
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (8:06pm)
Yet more boat people?
PAN PANReader Jeff:
FM RCC AUSTRALIA 130829Z AUG 2013 AUSSAR 2013/5423
AUS4071 INDIAN OCEAN NORTHERN PARTINDONESIAN TYPE FISHING VESSEL WITH UNKNOWN NUMBER OF PEOPLE ON BOARD DISABLED AND ADRIFT 08-43S 105-15.0E AT 130753UTC. VESSELS WITHIN 6 HOURS REQUEST TO KEEP A SHARP LOOKOUT AND REPORT INTENTIONS TO THIS STATION OR RCC AUSTRALIA VIA TELEPHONE +61262306811
Vessel approximately 195 km (105nm) NNW of Christmas Island.
===
Charge Demetriou, not Hird
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (7:40pm)
This is a farce - the kind of charge you bring because you can’t find any specific infringement of any rule and are embarrassed:
AFL LEGEND Leigh Matthews says the league could be making a scapegoat of Essendon if it charges the Bombers with bringing the game into disrepute.If Essendon broke a rule, punish it.
The AFL is expected to soon sanction the club over last year’s supplement program, having spent more than a week reviewing the Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority’s interim report into the saga.
There has been speculation that no specific anti-doping charges will be brought against players under the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) code, but the AFL could still heavily punish the Bombers under its own rules.
But “bringing the game into disrepute” is just a “vibe” charge. Can’t prove anything, just don’t like the vibe. This is saying something’s wrong just because the likes of Andrew Demetriou and The Age feel it is. This is a kind of witchhunt justice - a bone to thrown to the mob simply because it expects one.
I don’t hold the game in any less regard because of what Essendon or coach James Hird did. The club was slack, yes, but has suffered for it and sacked people. But I still can’t see any real proof of a knowing infringement of any rules or a desire to cheat.
How would the AFL even prove the game was now held in lesser repute thanks to Hird and Essendon?
If anyone has brought the game into disrepute it is Demetriou. Let’s have a survey of football followers and ask them - Hird or Demetriou? I’d bet $1000 on the result.
Charge Demetriou instead.
Why?
Demetriou stood next to Gillard Government Ministers in February to lend credibility to their wild claims that Australian sport, including the AFL, was riddled with match-fixing (false), links to organised crime (false) and “widespread” taking of banned performance-enhancing drugs (unproven).
It is Demetriou who has let the charges hang there for six months as investigators slowing tried to back their premature claims with evidence.
It is Demetriou who in those six months let Essendon twist in the breeze, subjected to extraordinary vilification in the media at an enormous cost to the players, coach and club.
It is Demetriou who in the last few weeks jetted off on the junket in the US rather than stay home and fix this fast.
Demetriou, not Hird, should be charged with bringing the game into disrepute. To now try to hit Essendon with this farcical charge is the last straw.
UPDATE
The law of the “vibe” was cute when it was fiction, and invoked in defence of the little guy:
It’s not cute but sinister when invoked in real life by a powerful institution using its own tribunals to defend its privileges.
UPDATE
The AFL can find no infraction of doping rules, but charges anyway:
Essendon senior coach James Hird, assistant coach Mark Thompson, club doctor Bruce Reid and football manager Danny Corcoran have been charged with engaging in conduct unbecoming or likely to prejudice interests or reputation of AFL or to bring game into disrepute.
AFL general counsel Andrew Dillon said at this stage, no players will be issued with infraction notices under the League’s anti-doping policy. The investigation remains open.
===
Journalists upset: how dare Abbott say this woman has sex appeal
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (4:29pm)
Commentators on Sky News are in deep disapproval and note “raised eyebrows”. A Fairfax journalist is reminded of Tony Abbott’s ”woman problem”:
At an event in Penrith, Mr Abbott was asked to compare Fiona Scott to Jackie Kelly who won the seat of Lindsay for the Liberal Party in 1996.A classic divide between the commentariat and the professional offence-taking crowd. Most punters would say Abbott spoke no more than the plain truth, and did it with a laugh. If journalists really think he’s out of order, then explain why newspapers publish photos of Scott like the one above.
“They are young, they are feisty,” Mr Abbott said.
“I think I could probably say they both have a bit of sex appeal and are just very, very connected to the local community.”
Punters hate hypocrites and the sanctimonious. And they know sex appeal when they see it.
UPDATE
Watch the ghastly moment when Tony Abbott committed what some Channel 7 journalist insists was a “gaffe”:
UPDATE
Here are some of the politicians and journalists who are banned under the no-hypocrites rule from attacking Tony Abbott.
Crikey and the Sydney Morning Herald:
December 28, 2005 - 3:45PMAny Labor MPs at Bob Hawke’s 80th birthday party:
Former Labor Senate leader John Faulkner and Labor health spokeswoman Julia Gillard have been declared Australia’s sexiest politicians.
In a straw poll of readers conducted by the political website crikey.com.au, Senator Faulkner was selected hands down as sexiest male politician of 2005.
Kevin Rudd and Warren Snowdon:
What Rudd said then:Some news.com.au journalists:
What Guzman’s admittedly hyperbolic writ now claims:
Not withstanding the fact that I had had too much to drink, I have no recollection (nor does Mr Snowdon) of any incident occurring at the nightclub—or of being asked to leave. It is our recollection that we left within about an hour…
Defendant Allan took two Australian political leaders to the strip club Scores in Manhattan, where they watched strippers perform, reportedly had too much to drink, and were ejected from the club by its bouncers.
HAVE you ever thought, ‘our politicians are so drab’?… But below sit ten Australian pollies who are as sizzling off camera as they are on… Larissa Waters is one of the few exceptions to the rule: this gal is smokin’ hot!
Seventy federal politicians:
KATE Ellis, the vivacious federal Minister for Youth and Sport, has been chosen as Australia’s sexiest MP in a poll of her political peers…Kevin Rudd and perhaps even the ABC’s Latika Bourke:
In an Australian first, nearly 70 federal MPs and senators have offered an unprecedented insight into what drove them to get into politics and what they read, listen to and watch.
Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has angered feminists after making ‘sexist’ remarks to a female reporter who turned up at a press conference wearing a fedora hat, a white shirt and a long grey tie.No man on Labor’s front bench:
Instead of answering journalist Latika Bourke’s serious question about why his flagging leadership is ‘in crisis’, the Labour leader gazed up and down at her clothing before giving a bizarre response.
He said: ‘Well, that’s a point of language which you have used which is dramatically consistent with the dress which you have chosen today.’
Miss Bourke refused to comment on Mr Rudd’s remarks today...
(Thanks to many readers.)
===
Bookies lengthen Labor’s odds after debate
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (2:50pm)
A fortnight ago both Sportsbet and Centrebet had the ALP at $4 for a win, and the Coalition at $1.24 or $1.25.
Last Saturday, before the debate:
You can tell Labor has lost when angry Fairfax columnists are already throwing childish tantrums.
(Thanks to readers Stephen and Ben.)
Last Saturday, before the debate:
Centrebet: ALP $5.75, Coalition at $1.14Today, after the debate:
Sportsbet: ALP $4.80, Coalition $1.19
Centrebet: ALP $6, Coalition $1.13UPDATE
Sportsbet: ALP $5.50, Coalition $1.14
You can tell Labor has lost when angry Fairfax columnists are already throwing childish tantrums.
(Thanks to readers Stephen and Ben.)
===
Hope Treasury takes off its rose-colored glasses for today’s PEFO
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (2:00pm)
Adam Creighton:
BOTH parties’ election costings are set to hinge on the forecasts in today’s pre-election economic and fiscal outlook, but analysis shows forecasts in the 2010 document were wildly off the mark.Judith Sloan notes weaknesses that need to be addressed in today’s PEFO:
The July 2010 PEFO made massively optimistic projections about revenue and economic growth, which encouraged politicians to make spending promises that were ultimately unaffordable.
The two key things to watch in today’s PEFO are, first, the corrections for the internal inconsistencies of the major economic parameters and, second, the assumptions about future key revenues.UPDATE
Unemployment simply cannot fall by 1 1/4 percentage points during the course of one year when the economy is growing only at trend and employment growth is assumed to be 1 1/2 per cent. PEFO needs to fix this up.
Will Treasury persist with its ludicrous assumption on future carbon prices, culminating in a figure of $38 a tonne in 2019-20? And persist with the assumptions on MRRT revenue, including $2bn in 2016-17?
That said, the time is nigh for the Coalition to release costings of its policies:
The release of the Pre-Election Fiscal Outlook (PEFO) on Tuesday will escalate pressure on Opposition Leader Tony Abbott to detail his spending and saving plans as Labor seeks to claw its way back into contention…The irony of PEFO, though, is that a Treasury document which shows a $33 billion hole in Labor and Treasury costings from just three months ago is being used by Labor to demand costings from the Opposition. What are any of these costings worth? All the more reason to judge harder on performance. In this case Labor’s.
It is understood Mr Abbott will release as soon as Wednesday the details of his controversial paid parental leave scheme. It was costed at the last election at about $4.5 billion a year and would be mostly funded by a 1.5 percentage point increase in company tax for companies with a taxable income of $5 million or more. As the Financial Review revealed earlier this year, the policy cost will be trimmed this time by excluding local, state and federal government employees already eligible for taxpayer-funded paid parental leave.
(Thanks to reader Peter. UPDATE: Misattribution fixed. Link added.)
UPDATE
Treasury refuses to budge - but does confirm the disaster that was Labor’s May Budget:
THE final budget update before the election has confirmed a budget deficit of $30.1 billion this year but tipped a slight increase in the surplus in 2016-17, heightening the political debate over fiscal policy.UPDATE
Treasury and Finance officials have stood by all the forecasts in the government’s economic statement from 10 days ago, including a controversial prediction that the unemployment rate would rise to 6.25 per cent this year and next but then drop to 5 per cent one year later.
The pre-election economic and fiscal outlook, or PEFO, forecasts a surplus in 2016-17 of $4.2bn, slightly up on the $4bn projection in Labor’s economic statement released on August 2.
Today’s PEFO confirms Labor’s Budget this year alone has blown out to $30 billion, Labor’s claim to have “terminated” the carbon tax is a con, Labor’s wild spending has outstripped revenues by $97 billion over the 2010 PEFO’s forward estimates, and Labor’s long-promised surplus, now delayed to 2016-17, is based on inexplicably optimistic growth forecasts.
Yet The Age economics writer sums up:
Every journalist now frantically demanding costings from the Coalition should at least show concern when costings prove terribly wrong. Doesn’t performance count for more than promises?
===
Rudd"s “terminated” tax will actually soar
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (1:43pm)
Kevin Rudd, July 16:
PEFO adds:
That would wipe out two thirds of the expected $4.2 billion surplus that year - Labor’s first.
Today we’ve taken the decision to terminate the carbon tax.Today’s Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook:
UPDATE
PEFO adds:
...a simple rule of thumb for a $1 change in the carbon price in any given year would be a change in the underlying cash balance of around $160 million in 2014-15 or around $220 million in either 2015-16 or 2016-17.Do the maths. Rudd claims he’s cutting the carbon price to $6. His own Budget update - and today’s PEFO - confirm his Budget actually relies on the carbon price rising to nearly $19 three years from now (and $38 in six years). If the carbon price, set by Europe’s market, does stay at $6 by 2016, the last year of a re-elected Rudd Government, rather than rise to $19, PEFO estimates the revenue shortfall to be $2.86 billion.
That would wipe out two thirds of the expected $4.2 billion surplus that year - Labor’s first.
===
Champion boast exposed
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (1:37pm)
I forgot to put this up
last week. It is excruciating and revealing of the party that also
claimed to have delivered a surplus this year:
TRANSCRIPT
Interview with David Bevon
891 Adelaide
Thursday, 8 August 2013
Subjects: Labor MP Nick Champion Mislead Electorate
DAVID BEVON: Yesterday our program got hold of a letter, a letter that was sent to us, and it was a letter that was sent out by Nick Champion the sitting South Australian Member for the Labor seat of Wakefield. Well he is the Labor member for the seat of Wakefield and of course that covers Holden, and jobs in his electorate is a big issue, the Holden plant is a big issue. In the letter he makes quite a direct statement. He says that he has saved Holden jobs until 2022, he has secured jobs of Holden until 2022. We put that up on twitter last night, it’s got legs I think it’s fair to say.
Nick Champion, Federal Labor Member for Wakefield joins us right now, good morning Mr Champion.
NICK CHAMPION: Good Morning
BEVON: Well have you, as you say in your letter, secured guaranteed support for GM Holden, securing production until 2022?
CHAMPION: well, yes you guys would be aware that we put in place $275 million dollars in support for Holden and for the two new models, that is to leverage a billion dollars worth of investment that takes a production from 2017 to 2022. We have passed the first investment gateway to do that. We now are looking down the track to the second investment gateway which is after the election and the only uncertainty in this area is produced by the policies of the Liberal Party who may well win the election. And there policy is to cut $500 million dollars.
BEVON: So Holden have told you Nick Champion that because of all the things that you personally have put in place, they will producing a car until 2022?
CHAMPION: Well look.
BEVON: Have they told you that?
CHAMPION: Well, Matt
BEVON: Its David here.
CHAMPION: Well David, they haven’t told me that personally, obviously. What we have done, what I am guaranteeing is that I have secured support.
BEVON: Your letter goes on to say ensuring production until 2022. I will just read that sentence out again so we get it accurate, and you want us to do that. I have secured guaranteed support for GM Holden Elizabeth ensuring production until 2022. Is that misleading?
CHAMPION: No, its not.
BEVON: Why is Holden saying it will make a decision on the Elizabeth plant, after the election?
CHAMPION: Because there might be a Liberal Government who cuts $500 billion dollars from there auto assistance.
BEVON: Holden have told you then, that if Labor is elected they will produce cars until 2022 in Elizabeth?
CHAMPION: Well I think it is obvious
BEVON: No, no have they told you that, Nick Champion?
CHAMPION: Holden haven’t told me that.
BEVON: Well who has told you that?
===
No, Paula, the carbon tax isn’t terminated and Abbott did not lie
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (1:19pm)
Paula Matthewson, writing in the ABC’s The Drum:
Second, from today’s Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Outlook, issued by Treasury:
(Thanks to reader Peter.)
Both men told their fair share of porkies (for example, Rudd again raised the now discredited $70 billion Coalition budget black hole, while Abbott claimed the carbon tax would be $38 a tonne in 2030)...First, Abbott said 2020.
Second, from today’s Pre-Election Economic and Fiscal Outlook, issued by Treasury:
Carbon prices in the projection years of 2015-16 and 2016-17 are estimated using a linear transition from market prices to the longer-term modelled price of $38 in 2019-20...Just because Kevin Rudd said he’s “terminated” the tax doesn’t mean he has.
(Thanks to reader Peter.)
===
Rudd rejects people’s forum
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (11:03am)
Kevin Rudd doesn’t want to argue with the public:
KEVIN Rudd has rebuffed Tony Abbott’s offer for a Sky News “people’s forum” debate, saying he wants to face the Opposition Leader on the free-to-air networks.Actually, the Sky feed would be offered free to all networks, just as the ABC’s was on Sunday.
The Prime Minister said he wanted four more debates - one each on Seven, Nine, Ten and the ABC.
But Mr Abbott wants Mr Rudd to attend an August 21 event at the Brisbane Broncos Leagues Club, where the audience would get to ask questions.
Mr Rudd has so far failed to agree, and today drew a distinction between Sky-hosted events, and those on the free-to-air networks.
He said Sky News was “pay television not free to air television - there’s a big difference”.
===
Rudd says his PNG fix cut arrivals by 30 per cent. Facts says it’s 20 - and too little
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (8:41am)
That’s not much of a drop, and it will prove temporary if Rudd’s fix is overwhelmed by numbers in the next few weeks:
Kevin Rudd has for the first time claimed demonstrable success for his Papua New Guinea solution…
‘’In the month or so since we’ve had this policy implemented, I am advised that boat arrivals are down by 30 per cent,’’ Mr Rudd said.
While there has been a drop in this period, it is less than 20 per cent, Fairfax Media’s analysis shows… In the 24 days before the announcement, 2833 people arrived on 32 boats, meaning the actual drop in the number of arrivals is at best 19.7 per cent.
===
Sinking Labor resolves to get even more negative
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (8:04am)
“Positive" Labor is hoping a negative ad blitz will stop its slide:
===Labor enters the second week of the election campaign lagging the Coalition in the polls and with concern starting to spread internally about Kevin Rudd’s ability to engineer a reversal.
Senior sources have told The Australian Financial Review that Labor’s negative ads will begin soon and it was hoped these would help with a revival.
Also, the Prime Minister has been advised to stop attacking Rupert Murdoch, whose News Corp Australia newspapers have declared war on the government. Mr Rudd’s advisers feel the fight has become a damaging distraction.
Is Albanese sitting on a report on another NBN disaster?
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (7:45am)
Malcolm Turnbull, the Opposition’s communications spokesman, was very impressive in his debate
with Deputy Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, despite persistent
attempts by host Emma Alberici to cut him off at critical points.
Excerpts from the highlight:
Financial Review:
Excerpts from the highlight:
During a debate on the NBN on ABC’s Lateline last night, Liberal communications spokesman Malcolm Turnbull asked Mr Albanese to produce the latest business plan to back his claims on the strength of Labor’s policy.UPDATE
“It is sitting on your desk,” Mr Turnbull said.
“The company gave it to you only a month or so ago.”
Mr Albanese responded: “That is not right. They have not produced the final business plan.”
Mr Turnbull said: “Oh, I see. Labor keeps the draft stamped on it so you don’t have to give it out before the election. You have got a confession from the company ... and you don’t want to let the public know.”
Mr Albanese said if the government had received it would have to go through cabinet and that could not occur in an caretaker election period.
Mr Turnbull said: “They have undoubtedly received it.”
Mr Albanese said: “No. We have not received the final business plan.”
Financial Review:
Communications Minister Anthony Albanese has admitted the government may not release NBN Co’s updated business plan until after the federal election on September 7, 2013.(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
The decision to delay the release of the key document would come after The Australian Financial Review exclusively revealed NBN Co was set to miss its June 2014 deadlines by more than 273,000 homes and businesses…
Mr Albanese ... said Australians needed the 1 gigabit per second [Gbps] internet download speeds Labor’s plan would deliver using fibre optic cabling to homes and businesses. But when asked what the cost of a 1Gbps would be to households and consumers, Mr Albanese said he did not know and that it was up to market players, which would include Telstra and SingTel-Optus, to decide what the price is.
“The market will determine these things, Emma, this is not a government-owned monopoly,” he said.
This was contradicted by the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission as well as internet service provider SingTel-Optus who have long stated that the NBN will be a government-owned monopoly. NBN Co sets wholesale prices and has set a $150 per month wholesale rate for 1Gbps services, on top of which retailers will have to pay access charges before adding a margin.
===
More note taken had Abbott cheated
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (7:35am)
I suspect Samuel J at Catallaxy is correct:
What if Tony Abbott had cheated by reading notes at [the leaders’] debate? I suspect he would now be vilified, shed of all credibility and plastered over the ABC and Fairfax as exhibit 1 of an untrustworthy and unworthy candidate for the prime ministership.
The fact that Rudd suffers none of this opprobrium shows how Abbott is held to considerably higher standards than Rudd.
===
Pyne gives the never, ever promise on the GST
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (7:31am)
Until now, the
Coalition guaranteed only no change in the GST in its first term in
office. Last night frontbencher Chris Pyne went further - either because
he fumbled under pressure on Q&A or because the Coalition decided the Labor scare was biting:
Former Treasurer Peter Costello has heard Kevin Rudd run the GST scare before:
There will be no change to the GST under an Abbott Government.UPDATE
Former Treasurer Peter Costello has heard Kevin Rudd run the GST scare before:
When the GST legislation passed the House of Representatives, Mr Rudd told the Australian people:
“When the history of this Parliament, this nation and this century is written, 30 June 1999 will be recorded as a day of fundamental injustice - an injustice which is real, an injustice which is not simply conjured up by the fleeting rhetoric of politicians.
“It will be recorded as the day when the social compact that has governed this nation for the last 100 years was torn up.”
Wow, that was scary: a day of fundamental injustice. That was so scary, I thought he might do something about it when he got into government.
And do you know what changes he made to GST over the past six years? To use his own words, not a jot or a tittle, zip, zilch, nothing.
===
Jihad in Nigeria, too
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (7:27am)
Another massacre by Islamist radicals in Africa’s most populous nation:
Suspected Islamic militants wearing army fatigues gunned down 44 people praying at a mosque in northeast Nigeria, while another 12 civilians died in an apparently simultaneous attack, security agents said Monday.
Sunday’s attacks were the latest in a slew of violence blamed on religious extremists in this West African oil producer, where the radical Boko Haram group, which wants to oust the government and impose Islamic law, poses the greatest security threat in years.
===
Action Abbott
Andrew Bolt August 13 2013 (7:05am)
Just another Sunday for Tony Abbott, starting at dawn with a media briefing before guiding a blind man in Sydney’s City2Surf:
He ran the 14-kilometre course in 81 minutes. Then he made a policy announcement on Bondi Beach, pledging $8 million to Australia’s surf life saving clubs. Then he announced a $500,000 grant for North Bondi Surf Club. Then he travelled to Canberra. Then he prepared for an election debate. Then he debated the Prime Minister live on national television, without notes (unlike the Prime Minister).
===
===
TOUGH BEAUTY - A new play about female violence. Combining a mix of young talents and directed by the ever creative Claudia Chidiac, I hope you get the chance to check it out at the Casula Powerhouse, showing this Thursday, Friday and Saturday!
Book your tickets to see the live show here:
http://
For more info go here!
https://www.facebook.com/
The Tough Beauty project also consisted of a music component, with some killer songs written and performed by 2 gifted young ladies - Ink Flowz and Karen Otero! ("Journey" is one of my faves) though it's worth checking them all out, especially you're into Hip Hop / Rap!
Download and listen to the music for free right here!
http://toughbeauty.com.au/
===
Australia, 'The Bible' continues tonight @ 9:30PM on Channel 9!
===
Hezbollah, a profile
===
===
Team 9Lives'
PERFORMANCE UPDATES!The following are the performance times for anyone coming along to watch us in action this coming week! Most of the Team will be there ready to flip over your brave bodies, so come along and don't be too shy to say hello or volunteer for us!
THURSDAY 15th AUG - Westfields Pitt St, Sydney
Performing right next to the Superdry store - LEVEL 1
6pm, 7pm, 8pm shows.
SUNDAY 18th AUG - Fairfield Showground
Performing on the main stage at 12pm and near the rides at 1pm.
MONDAY 19th AUG - Blacktown Arts Centre
Performing at 12pm for the Western Sydney Arts Forum event.
We look forward to seeing most of you very soon!
===
The clearer our minds can be, the more we can focus on the things that are most important and the easier it is to remove any negative thoughts within. All of which help us to live more positive and more fulfilling lives every single day!#team9lives #9livesparkour #warriortraining#mentaltraining #mindbodysoul
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Lovers of Big Government and apologists for debt like Paul Krugman have tried to paint Milton Friedman as a contradiction. They say that Friedman’s insight that more Fed intervention might have mitigated the Great Depression is inconsistent with his view that the Depression would have been less severe without the Fed.
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The Coalition's plan for tax cuts will encourage investment in business and create jobs. Find out more about the plan here http://bit.ly/19fwfmh
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“When you come slam bang up against trouble, it never looks half as bad if you face up to it.” JOHN WAYNE
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We will cut $1 billion of red tape every year to give local businesses a chance to grow, prosper and employ more people. Discussing practical ways to reduce red tape at Packer Leather with the chair of the Coalition’s de-Regulation task force Arthur Sinodinos http://bit.ly/121eTE5 — at Narangba Qld.
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Four hundred American surface-to-air missiles were 'taken from Libya' during the terror attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, a former U.S. Attorney who represents whistleblowers claimed on Monday.
He added that the U.S. intelligence community is terrified they might be used to shoot down airliners.
===
The party that has lost $13 billion in ten weeks, with a finance minister that has lost $107 billion are to be believed on? - ed
You have to salute the courage of Treasury secretary Martin Parkinson and Finance Department secretary David Tune. Under serious pressure from their next political masters to produce a set of numbers favourable to the Coalition, they have stood their ground.
The bottom line of their Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook (PEFO) is effectively identical to the one published 11 days ago in the government's economic statement. Where it differs, the forecast budget outcomes over the next four years is actually $209 million better than the previous estimate.
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"What Ben Chavis and the American Indian Model Schools are really guilty of is creating academic excellence that shows up the public school system, both by this school's achievements and by the methods used to create those achievements, which go against the educational dogmas prevailing in the failing public schools."
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Earlier today, I launched the Coalition’s policy to invest $100 million to improve mobile phone coverage across Australia.
For more information visit: http://lbr.al/eyho
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Walt Disney explains why America will continue to die until YOU learn to use the SHARE button:
http://
“Our heritage and ideals, our code and standards – the things we live by and teach our children – are preserved or diminished by how freely we exchange ideas and feelings.” Walt Disney
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Support my campaign against the Greenshttp://ow.ly/nCMYg
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BEAT THE LEFT AT THEIR OWN GAME ON CIVIL LIBERTIES! They don't want us to be free to keep the fruits of our own labour! Courtesy of Gina Rinehart's father Lang Hancock in 1979:
"The strange fact is that while Australians are constitutionally free today to do almost everything that our cultural tradition has previously held to be immoral and obscene, the police powers of the State are being invoked against almost every aspect of the economic productive process, so no one is free to pursue those activities which will give them a rising standard of living or ensure the well-being of the nation."
[Source: http://economics.org.au/2013/
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Last night, soldiers from the IDF's Iron Dome air defense system intercepted a rocket fired at the Israeli city of Eilat. The men and women of the IDF are on guard every hour of every day to protect the homes of the people of Israel.
Read more: http://www.idfblog.com/
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They are very desperate .. confusing recurrent spending with asset sales .. ed
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<Genuine intellectuals who are devoted to the pursuit of ideas and who understand the transformative potential of debate should reject the politics of insult. Instead of sneeringly declaring ‘they don’t get it’, a real intellectual should develop ideas in a way that would allow ‘them’ to get it. Indeed, it is the conviction that most human beings have the potential to grasp the issues facing their communities that underpins the ideals of democratic politics and popular sovereignty. The real problem today is not stupid conservatives, but people with multiple university degrees who ‘don’t get’ what it truly means to be an intellectual.>
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The premise of the original was Hornblower in space .. very enjoyable and groundbreaking. The chief problem with later incarnations, before Abrams, was failing to develop story in favor of character. The prime directive is a millstone worse than any Organian peace treaty. - ed===
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HISTORY LISTS: Despite the best efforts of museums and art collectors, many of the world’s most important paintings and sculptures no longer exist. From a Russian national treasure looted by the Nazis to a da Vinci painting that no one has ever seen, find out more about eight of art history’s missing masterworks.http://histv.co/17jwiru
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Finding Nemo wasn't so difficult after all :
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We have been inundated with requests from followers since the show went live to air asking if Matt can share some of his pain from the events and training sessions with the general public.
So we have an idea, what if we ran a Search4hurt live event, where Matt and some of his trainer buddies put you through the best of the sessions you have seen on TV mixed in with some running, obstacles and other physical challenges??
All challenges will be scaled so if you are straight off the couch or a personal trainer, you will get an insight into what Matt did throughout the series and take yourself home your own piece of hurt and a massive sense of achievement.
If it is something you would be interested doing like and share this post and maybe comment what state you are from and we will explore it further.
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The United Nations’ refugee arm has launched an investigation into one of its top Jordanian officials after he posted on his Facebook page a “motivational” poster featuring Nazi leader Adolf Hitler.
Dr. Fares Haider, reportedly the dean of education at the U.N.’s Relief Works Agency’s (UNRWA) educational facilities in Jordan, posted on his “official” Facebook page a picture of Hitler saluting, along with a quote from the Nazi leader.
UNRWA, which is primarily funded by the United States, is responsible for the education of some 485,000 Palestinian children throughout the Middle East.
“Military rules for success … Assad Allah good morning all,” Haider wrote along with the picture, according to the Israel-based Center for Near East Policy Research.
The text accompanying Hitler’s image reads: “The two most important rules in order to be successful—the first: never give up. The second: remember the first rule,” according to a report and translation performed by pro-Israel blogger Elder of Ziyon.
The quote is attributed directly to “Adolf Hitler.”
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Attorney General Eric Holder announced today that he is changing Justice Department policy so that "low-level, nonviolent" drug offenders will no longer face mandatory minimum prison sentences.
Aggressive enforcement of federal criminal laws is necessary, but "we cannot simply prosecute or incarcerate our way to becoming a safer nation," Holder said. http://tinyurl.com/l5rmtr5
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In Australia we call it public housing - ed
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AUSSIES CHOKE: Australia’s Ashes campaign has been left in tatters after a humiliating batting collapse at Chester-le-Street.
At one stage, the Aussies were 1-147 chasing 299 for victory, but the team then went on to lose its last eight wickets for just 77 runs. England now has a 3-nil lead in the series.
We’ll have more on this story in our afternoon bulletins and in 9 News at 6pm on Channel 9.
#Ashes #cricket #9News
I think they have been as competitive and dignified as they can be. They have been outplayed by a better team. - ed
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Legendary filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock was born on August 13, 1899. That’s makes today his birthday and though the director passed away 33 years ago, his legacy can still be felt today!
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BREAKING: 10 Rock Vault designers are confirmed to showcase their SS14 collections at the Designer Showrooms at London Fashion Week this September.
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Národný park Redwood v Kalifornii
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He is not paid enough - ed
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Here one for the guys! A diamond set yellow gold dome wedding ring — atDiamond Imports.
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Kenyan lawyer Dola Indidis argues that the trial was unlawful and is demanding that Israel and Italy be held responsible, The Christian Post reports.
Mr Indidis, a Roman Catholic, and former spokesperson for the Kenyan Judiciary, filed the lawsuit regarding Jesus' death with the International Court of Justice, the primary judicial branch of the United Nations based at The Hague in the Netherlands.
He filed the lawsuit against Pontius Pilate, several Jewish elders, King Herod, Tiberius (Emperor of Rome 42 BC-37AD), the Republic of Italy and the State of Israel.
Italy is under new management. Herod and Tiberius are dead. But I understand the UN are debating the issue of Israel's involvement. - ed===
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IT3UqOMEN5I&feature=c4-overview&list=UUzzwILIcMrcarpzNwQo6E3g
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Is American blood important to the American government?
Number 5 on the list of killers set to be freed by the gov't of Israel are the killers who murdered Freddie Rosenfeld, an American citizen
Steven Frederick Rosenfeld was born to Eugene and Ethel Rosenfeld in New York on 29 August 1941.
He immigrated to Israel in 1968 and volunteered at Kibbutz Masada, where he was injured when a truck he was driving hit a landmine. Followingrehabilitation, Frederick began working onarchaeological digs in the Ein Bokek area, where he met his wife, Rachel.
On Saturday, 7 June 1989, Frederick went on a hike in the hills near Ariel.
He encountered a group of shepherds who stole a knife that he had in his possession, stabbed him to death, and hid his body on the side of the path. A different shepherd who was passing through the area found the body the next day.
Frederick was 48 at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife and brother.
He encountered a group of shepherds who stole a knife that he had in his possession, stabbed him to death, and hid his body on the side of the path. A different shepherd who was passing through the area found the body the next day.
Frederick was 48 at the time of his death. He was survived by his wife and brother.
The killers were caught because Freddie took their picture as they attacked him and, in his dying moments, put the camera in his pocket...
At the time, our agency provided full news coverage of Freddie's murder for the foreign press based in Israel.
Since Israel's justice system has now failed Freddie Rosenfeld, perhaps the US justice system will come through.
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As CAMERA has documented in the past, fact-checking for his column is not Thomas L. Friedman's strong suit. But to make matters worse,The New York Times seems unperturbed by such blatant errors.===
The Israel Davis Cup team will be fined 10,000 euros for refusing to compete on Yom Kippur, it was reported Sunday.
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While the government claims that the murderers being freed as a “gesture” to the Palestinian Authority (PA) committed their acts before the Oslo accords were signed by then-Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin and PA head Yasser Arafat,Arutz Sheva has revealed that this is in fact not true.
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IDF Civil Administration inspectors uprooted a Jewish-owned orchardMonday at Givat Haroe, near Eli, in the Binyamin region.
According to eyewitnesses, dozens of Border Police secured the location, which was declared a Closed Military Zone for the duration of the action. The operation was carried out following a High Court order, issued after judges determined that the orchard was planted on land that belongs to Arabs.
Will they stop the terrorism now? - ed
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Police allege 36-year-old Fadi Abdul-Rahman, who featured in Kevin Rudd's 2020 Summit in 2008 and has been a fighter for justice in western Sydney, was part of a commercial cocaine syndicate that was caught with 5kg of the drug hidden in a chess set.
Abdul-Rahman appeared in the Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday, facing two commercial drugs charges after he was arrested during a police sting at Punchbowl in March. Abdul-Rahman's lawyer Brett Galloway told The Sunday Telegraph he would defend the charges.
"There are no facts which establish any of the offences. . . they are consistent with his innocence or that he was in the wrong place at a bad time," Mr Galloway said.
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Australia is building Mosques in Afghanistan? Have we expertise with this? -ed
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The European Union has denounced the proposal for construction in Judea and Samaria and parts of Jerusalem beyond the 1949 Armistice Line.
The EU insisted on Monday that Israel and the Palestinian Authority should "avoid any actions which would halt negotiations," according to AFP.
Michael Mann, spokesman for EU foreign affairs head Catherine Ashton, responded to the announcement for new housing tenders at a news briefing:
"Israeli settlements in the West Bank [Judea and Samaria] are illegal under international law and threaten to make a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict impossible."
Ironic given that individual EU governments are calling for Islamic migrants to conform. - ed
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“I find it very ironic. Every week in my hospital we get several seriously wounded patients from Syria. This is besides the ones that go to Ziv, Poria, and Rambam. These patients are taken care of for free and brought to us by the U.N. since no one else will take care of them. So the U.N. knows Jews are the only ones who will help anyone no matter what background, yet they continue to bash us as Arab hating oppressors.”
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RAMAT GAN WELCOMES BABY ELEPHANT
LaBelle gave birth to a 200 pound elephant calf at the Ramat Gan Safari in Tel Aviv. The successful birth was uneventful for first time mom, who is part of Ramat Gan’s extensive animal conservation program. The female baby, yet to be named, is an Asian elephant and will likely join her mother and grandmother in the elephant breeding program when she is grown.
View more adorable images:http://www.jspace.com/
Read Jewish news at Jspace.com.
#BabyElephants #RamatGan #IsraeliZoo#BabyAnimals
LaBelle gave birth to a 200 pound elephant calf at the Ramat Gan Safari in Tel Aviv. The successful birth was uneventful for first time mom, who is part of Ramat Gan’s extensive animal conservation program. The female baby, yet to be named, is an Asian elephant and will likely join her mother and grandmother in the elephant breeding program when she is grown.
View more adorable images:http://www.jspace.com/
Read Jewish news at Jspace.com.
#BabyElephants #RamatGan #IsraeliZoo#BabyAnimals
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Maxi- mum whats the weather like today? Me- (looks out window) cold and windy. Maxi- how do you know, you didnt even ask siri?! Me- I did it the old fashioned way, I looked out the window! Kids these days.
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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
Father, today I surrender all to You.I know that through faith and patience I will receive Your promises. Help me to be ready and show me what to do so that I am in position to receive everything You have prepared for me. Search my heart and mind and show me if there is any area where I am trying to lean on my own strength. I choose today to trust and rely on You knowing that Your strength is perfect in my weakness in Jesus’ name. Amen
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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
But He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.(2 Corinthians 12:9)
We all have areas where we need to come up higher. Perhaps you’ve struggled with a certain area year after year. Instead of getting down on yourself or trying to find solutions on the internet, maybe it’s time to pray and say, “God, I need Your help. I’m asking for Your strength.”
When you humble yourself and admit that you cannot do it on your own, that’s when God can enter the scene. That’s when He can turn it around. A lot of times we think of dependency in a negative light, but dependency on God is not a weakness; it’s a strength. It enables you to tap into His power. When we yield our weakness, that’s when God shows up the strongest. But when we don’t turn to God, really, that’s a sign of pride. We’re saying, “God, I don’t really need You to help me run my life. I’m doing okay. I’ve got it all figured out.” God will step back and let us do it on our own.
Today, what is holding you back? Surrender it to God. Let Him do His perfect work. Find strength in your dependency on Him.God bless you.
When you humble yourself and admit that you cannot do it on your own, that’s when God can enter the scene. That’s when He can turn it around. A lot of times we think of dependency in a negative light, but dependency on God is not a weakness; it’s a strength. It enables you to tap into His power. When we yield our weakness, that’s when God shows up the strongest. But when we don’t turn to God, really, that’s a sign of pride. We’re saying, “God, I don’t really need You to help me run my life. I’m doing okay. I’ve got it all figured out.” God will step back and let us do it on our own.
Today, what is holding you back? Surrender it to God. Let Him do His perfect work. Find strength in your dependency on Him.God bless you.
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Pastor Rick Warren
Buying a more expensive watch won't give you more time, but paying for it will certainly cost you time that could be used in better ways. Your time is your life. Killing time is suicide. (The watch in this photo costs $1 million)
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Pastor Rick Warren
Feeling Discouraged? All this week you can watch my message "Getting Through Life's Losses" It will encourage you of you if you are going through a tough time AND equip you with skills you'll new for inevitable losses in your future http://bit.ly/12LvQF3 An outline is included.
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Pastor Rick Warren
14 studies reveal patients with #mental illness get worse medical care from doctors than “normal” patients
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- 1521 – After an extended siege, forces led by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés capturedTlatoani Cuauhtémoc and conquered the Azteccapital of Tenochtitlan.
- 1704 – War of the Spanish Succession: The Duke of Marlborough (pictured) led Allied forces to a crucial victory in the Battle of Blenheim.
- 1898 – Spanish–American War: After a mock battle for Manila, the Spanish commander surrendered to the U.S. in order to keep the city out of Filipino rebel hands.
- 1954 – The complete version of "Qaumī Tarāna", the national anthem of Pakistan, was broadcast for the first time on Radio Pakistan.
- 2010 – After having been boarded by Canadian authorities, theMV Sun Sea docked and the 492 Sri Lankan Tamil refugee claimants on board were placed into detention.
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Events
- 29 BC – Octavian holds the first of three consecutive triumphs in Rome to celebrate the victory over the Dalmatian tribes.
- 523 – John I becomes the new Pope after the death of Pope Hormisdas.
- 582 – Maurice becomes Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.
- 900 – Count Reginar I of Hainault rises against Zwentibold of Lotharingia and slews him near present-day Susteren.
- 1099 – Pope Paschal II succeeds Pope Urban II as the 160th pope.
- 1516 – The Treaty of Noyon between France and Spain is signed. Francis I of France recognizes Charles's claim to Naples, and Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, recognizes Francis's claim to Milan.
- 1521 – Tenochtitlan (present day Mexico City) falls to conquistador Hernán Cortés.
- 1536 – Buddhist monks from Kyoto, Japan's Enryaku-ji temple set fire to 21 Nichiren temples throughout in what will be known as the Tenbun Hokke Disturbance. (Traditional Japanese date: July 27, 1536).
- 1553 – Michael Servetus is arrested by John Calvin in Geneva, Switzerland as a heretic.
- 1704 – War of the Spanish Succession: Battle of Blenheim – English and Imperial forces are victorious over French andBavarian troops.
- 1792 – King Louis XVI of France is formally arrested by the National Tribunal, and declared an enemy of the people.
- 1806 – Battle of Mišar during the Serbian Revolution begins. The battle will end two days later, with a decisive Serbian victory over the Ottomans.
- 1814 – The Convention of London, a treaty between the United Kingdom and the United Provinces, is signed in London, England.
- 1831 – Nat Turner sees a solar eclipse, which he believes is a sign from God. Eight days later he and 70 other slaves kill approximately 55 whites inSouthampton County, Virginia.
- 1868 – A massive earthquake near Arica, Peru, causes an estimated 25,000 casualties, and the subsequent tsunami causes considerable damage as far away as Hawaii and New Zealand.
- 1898 – Spanish–American War: Spanish and American forces engaged in a mock battle for Manila, after which the Spanish commander surrendered in order to keep the city out of Filipino rebel hands.
- 1898 – Carl Gustav Witt discovers 433 Eros, the first near-Earth asteroid to be found.
- 1906 – The all black infantrymen of the U.S. Army's 25th Infantry Regiment are accused of killing a white bartender and wounding a white police officer inBrownsville, Texas, despite exculpatory evidence; all are later dishonorably discharged.
- 1913 – Otto Witte, an acrobat, is purportedly crowned King of Albania.
- 1913 – First production in the UK of stainless steel by Harry Brearley.
- 1918 – Women enlist in the United States Marine Corps for the first time. Opha Mae Johnson is the first woman to enlist.
- 1918 – Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (BMW) established as a public company in Germany.
- 1920 – Polish–Soviet War: the Battle of Warsaw begins and will last till August 25. The Red Army is defeated.
- 1937 – The Battle of Shanghai begins.
- 1942 – Major General Eugene Reybold of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers authorizes the construction of facilities that would house the "Development of Substitute Materials" project, better known as the Manhattan Project.
- 1954 – Radio Pakistan broadcasts the "Qaumī Tarāna", the national anthem of Pakistan for the first time.
- 1960 – The Central African Republic declares independence from France.
- 1961 – East Germany closes the border between the eastern and western sectors of Berlin to thwart its inhabitants' attempts to escape to the West.
- 1962 – Representatives from the Russian Orthodox Church and Vatican City meet in Metz, France, and come to an agreement wherein the Russian church would send observers to the Second Vatican Council and in exchange, the Roman Catholic Church would refuse to condemn Communism.
- 1964 – Peter Allen and Gwynne Evans are hanged for the Murder of John Alan West becoming the last people executed in the United Kingdom.
- 1968 – Alexandros Panagoulis attempts to assassinate the Greek dictator Colonel Georgios Papadopoulos in Varkiza, Athens.
- 1969 – The Apollo 11 astronauts are released from a three-week quarantine to enjoy a ticker tape parade in New York, New York. That evening, at a state dinner in Los Angeles, California, they are awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by U.S. President Richard Nixon.
- 1977 – Members of the British National Front (NF) clash with anti-NF demonstrators in Lewisham, London, resulting in 214 arrests and at least 111 injuries.
- 1978 – 150 Palestinians in Beirut are killed in a terrorist attack during the second phase of the Lebanese Civil War.
- 1979 – The roof of the uncompleted Rosemont Horizon in Rosemont, Illinois collapses, killing 5 workers and injuring 16.
- 2004 – Hurricane Charley, a Category 4 storm, strikes Punta Gorda, Florida and devastates the surrounding area.
- 2004 – 156 Congolese Tutsi refugees are massacred at the Gatumba refugee camp in Burundi.
- 2008 – South Ossetian War: Russian units occupy the Georgian city of Gori.
- 2010 – The MV Sun Sea docks in CFB Esquimalt, British Columbia, Canada, carrying 492 Sri Lankan Tamils.
Births
- 1311 – Alfonso XI of Castile (d. 1350)
- 1584 – Theophilus Howard, 2nd Earl of Suffolk, English politician (d. 1640)
- 1625 – Rasmus Bartholin, Danish physician, mathematician, and physicist (d. 1698)
- 1662 – Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset (d. 1748)
- 1666 – William Wotton, English scholar (d. 1727)
- 1700 – Heinrich von Brühl, German statesman (d. 1763)
- 1717 – Louis François, Prince of Conti (d. 1776)
- 1752 – Maria Carolina of Austria (d. 1814)
- 1764 – Louis Baraguey d'Hilliers, French general (d. 1816)
- 1790 – William Wentworth, Australian explorer and politician (d. 1872)
- 1792 – Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (d. 1849)
- 1803 – Vladimir Odoevsky, Russian philosopher and writer (d. 1869)
- 1814 – Anders Jonas Ångström, Swedish physicist (d. 1874)
- 1818 – Lucy Stone, American activist (d. 1893)
- 1819 – Sir George Stokes, 1st Baronet, Irish-English mathematician and physicist (d. 1903)
- 1820 – George Grove, English historian (d. 1900)
- 1823 – Goldwin Smith, English-Canadian historian and journalist (d. 1910)
- 1841 – Johnny Mullagh, Australian cricketer (d. 1891)
- 1851 – Felix Adler, German-American religious leader and social reformer(d. 1933)
- 1857 – Manuel de Escandón, Mexican polo player (d. 1940)
- 1860 – Annie Oakley, American target shooter (d. 1926)
- 1866 – Giovanni Agnelli, Italian businessman, founded Fiat S.p.A (d. 1945)
- 1872 – Richard Willstätter, German chemist, Nobel Prize Laureate (d. 1942)
- 1877 – William Brennaugh, Canadian lacrosse player (d. 1934)
- 1879 – John Ireland, English composer (d. 1962)
- 1884 – Harry Dean, English cricketer (d. 1957)
- 1888 – John Logie Baird, Scottish engineer and inventor (d. 1946)
- 1888 – Gleb W. Derujinsky, Russian-American sculptor (d. 1975)
- 1889 – Camillien Houde, Canadian politician, 34th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1958)
- 1890 – Ellen Osiier, Danish fencer (d. 1962)
- 1895 – István Barta, Hungarian water polo player (d. 1948)
- 1895 – Bert Lahr, American actor (d. 1967)
- 1898 – Regis Toomey, American actor (d. 1991)
- 1899 – Alfred Hitchcock, English director and producer (d. 1980)
- 1902 – Felix Wankel, German engineer and inventor (d. 1988)
- 1904 – Charles "Buddy" Rogers, American actor and trombonist (d. 1999)
- 1906 – Miklós Borsos, Hungarian sculptor (d. 1990)
- 1906 – Art Shires, American baseball player (d. 1967)
- 1906 – Chuck Carroll, American football player (d. 2003)
- 1907 – Basil Spence, Scottish architect, designed the Coventry Cathedral (d. 1976)
- 1908 – Gene Raymond, American actor (d. 1998)
- 1911 – William Bernbach, American advertiser, co-founder of DDB Worldwide (d. 1982)
- 1912 – Ben Hogan, American golfer (d. 1997)
- 1912 – Salvador Luria, Italian-American microbiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
- 1912 – Claire Cribbs, American basketball player and coach (d. 1985)
- 1913 – Makarios III, Greek archbishop and politician, 1st President of Cyprus (d. 1977)
- 1913 – Fred Davis, English snooker player (d. 1998)
- 1914 – Luis Mariano, Spanish tenor (d. 1970)
- 1917 – Sid Gordon, American baseball player (d. 1975)
- 1918 – Noor Hassanali, Trinidadian-Tobagonian politician, 2nd President of Trinidad and Tobago (d. 2006)
- 1918 – Frederick Sanger, British chemist, and twiceNobel Prize laureate
- 1919 – Rex Humbard, American preacher and television host (d. 2007)
- 1919 – George Shearing, English-American pianist (d. 2011)
- 1920 – Neville Brand, American actor (d. 1992)
- 1921 – Jimmy McCracklin, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2012)
- 1922 – Chuck Gilmur, American basketball player and teacher (d. 2011)
- 1925 – Benny Bailey, American trumpet player, songwriter, and producer (Kenny Clarke/Francy Boland Big Band) (d. 2005)
- 1926 – Fidel Castro, Cuban lawyer and politician, 15th President of Cuba
- 1929 – Pat Harrington, Jr., American actor
- 1930 – Wilfried Hilker, German football referee
- 1930 – Don Ho, American singer and pianist (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Bernard Manning, English comedian (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Wilmer Mizell, American baseball player (d. 1999)
- 1933 – Joycelyn Elders, American physician, 15th Surgeon General of the United States
- 1935 – Mudcat Grant, American baseball player
- 1935 – Rod Hull, English comedian and actor (d. 1999)
- 1938 – Dave "Baby" Cortez, American pianist
- 1939 – Ed Burton, American basketball player (d. 2012)
- 1940 – Bill Musselman, American basketball coach (d. 2000)
- 1941 – Erin Fleming, Canadian actress (d. 2003)
- 1943 – Michael Willetts, British soldier, George Cross recipient (d. 1971)
- 1943 – Fred Hill, American football player
- 1944 – Divina Galica, English skier and race car driver
- 1944 – Kevin Tighe, American actor
- 1945 – Lars Engqvist, Swedish politician
- 1945 – Robin Jackman, English cricketer
- 1945 – Gary Gregor, American basketball player
- 1947 – Fred Stanley, American baseball player
- 1947 – John Stocker, Canadian voice actor
- 1947 – Margareta Winberg, Swedish politician
- 1947 – Justus Thigpen, American basketball player
- 1947 – Fred Stanley, American baseball player
- 1948 – Kathleen Battle, American soprano
- 1948 – Scott Powell, American singer (Sha Na Na)
- 1949 – Bobby Clarke, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1949 – Philippe Petit, French tightrope walker
- 1949 – Jim Brunzell, American wrestler
- 1950 – Rusty Gerhardt, American baseball player
- 1951 – Dan Fogelberg, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and composer (d. 2007)
- 1952 – Dave Carter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Dave Carter and Tracy Grammer) (d. 2002)
- 1952 – Tom Davis, American writer, comedian and author, partner of Al Franken on Saturday Night Live (d. 2012)
- 1952 – Herb Ritts, American photographer (d. 2002)
- 1952 – Hughie Thomasson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Outlaws and Lynyrd Skynyrd) (d. 2007)
- 1952 – Gary Gibbs, American football player and coach
- 1954 – Nico Assumpção, Brazilian bass player (d. 2001)
- 1955 – Keith Ahlers, English race car driver
- 1955 – Hideo Fukuyama, Japanese race car driver
- 1955 – Paul Greengrass, English director
- 1955 – Mulgrew Miller, American pianist (d. 2013)
- 1958 – David Feherty, Irish golfer
- 1958 – Feargal Sharkey, Irish singer (The Undertones)
- 1958 – Randy Shughart, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1993)
- 1959 – Danny Bonaduce, American actor
- 1959 – Michael Bradley, Irish bass player and radio host (The Undertones)
- 1959 – Bruce French, English cricketer
- 1959 – Tom Niedenfuer, American baseball player
- 1960 – Koji Kondo, Japanese composer
- 1960 – Phil Taylor, English darts player
- 1961 – Sam Champion, American weatherman
- 1961 – Christos Christodoulou, Greek basketball player
- 1961 – Dawnn Lewis, American actress
- 1961 – Stuart Maconie, English journalist, author, and broadcaster
- 1961 – Neil Mallender, England cricketer
- 1961 – Tom Perrotta, American novelist
- 1961 – Sunil Shetty, Indian actor and producer
- 1961 – Cary Stayner, American serial killer
- 1962 – Thanos Kalliris, Greek singer-songwriter (Bang)
- 1962 – John Slattery, American actor
- 1963 – Valerie Plame, American C.I.A. agent and author
- 1963 – Sridevi, Indian actress
- 1964 – Jay Buhner, American baseball player
- 1964 – Tom Prince, American baseball player
- 1964 – Hank Cheyne, American actor
- 1964 – Debi Mazar, American actress
- 1965 – Mark Lemke, American baseball player
- 1965 – Hayato Matsuo, Japanese composer
- 1966 – Shayne Corson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966 – Sean Hood, American screenwriter
- 1966 – Scooter Barry, American basketball player
- 1967 – Quinn Cummings, American actress
- 1967 – Digna Ketelaar, Dutch tennis player
- 1967 – Dave Jamerson, American basketball player
- 1968 – Todd Hendricks, American football player
- 1969 – Midori Ito, Japanese figure skater
- 1970 – Will Clarke, American novelist
- 1970 – Elvis Grbac, American football player
- 1970 – Matt Hyson, American wrestler
- 1970 – Alan Shearer, English footballer
- 1971 – Moritz Bleibtreu, German actor
- 1971 – Patrick Carpentier, Canadian race car driver
- 1971 – Adam Housley, American journalist
- 1971 – Heike Makatsch, German actress
- 1971 – Rolando Molina, Salvadoran-American actor
- 1971 – David Monahan, American actor
- 1972 – Hani Hanjour, Saudi Arabian terrorist, hijacker of American Airlines Flight 77 (d. 2001)
- 1972 – Kevin Plank, American businessman, founded Under Armour
- 1972 – John Safran, Australian documentary maker and broadcaster
- 1972 – Michael Sinterniklaas, French-American actor, screenwriter, and director
- 1973 – Brittany Andrews, American porn actress
- 1973 – Molly Henneberg, American journalist
- 1973 – Eric Medlen, American drag racer (d. 2007)
- 1974 – Sam Endicott, American singer-songwriter and director (The Bravery)
- 1974 – Jarrod Washburn, American baseball player
- 1974 – Scott MacRae, American baseball player
- 1975 – Shoaib Akhtar, Pakistani cricketer
- 1975 – James Carpinello, American actor
- 1975 – Joe Perry, English snooker player
- 1975 – Marty Turco, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1976 – Grégory Fitoussi, French actor
- 1976 – Jody Thompson, Canadian actress
- 1976 – Geno Carlisle, American basketball player
- 1977 – Michael Klim, Australian swimmer
- 1977 – Damian O'Hare, Irish actor
- 1977 – Kenyan Weaks, American basketball player
- 1978 – Dwight Smith, American football player
- 1979 – Román Colón, Dominican baseball player
- 1979 – Kathryn Fiore, American actress
- 1979 – Corey Patterson, American baseball player
- 1979 – Kasia Smutniak, Polish actress
- 1979 – Taizō Sugimura, Japanese politician
- 1979 – Jamie Travis, Canadian director, screenwriter, and producer
- 1980 – Álex González, Spanish actor
- 1980 – Murtz Jaffer, Canadian journalist
- 1980 – Panagiotis Markouizos, Greek figure skater
- 1981 – Jonathon Dutton, Australian actor and director
- 1981 – C. C. Swiney, American actor, writer, and director
- 1982 – Shani Davis, American speed skater
- 1982 – Kalenna Harper, American singer-songwriter (Diddy – Dirty Money)
- 1982 – Gil Ofarim, German singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1982 – Christopher Raeburn English fashion designer
- 1983 – Dallas Braden, American baseball player
- 1983 – Ales Hemsky, Czech ice hockey player
- 1983 – Stephen James King, Australian actor
- 1983 – Christian Müller, German footballer
- 1983 – Sebastian Stan, Romanian-American actor
- 1983 – Elisha Yaffe, American actor, writer, and producer
- 1984 – L'Aura, Italian singer-songwriter, pianist, and composer
- 1984 – Alona Bondarenko, Ukrainian tennis player
- 1984 – Niko Kranjčar, Croatian footballer
- 1984 – Lidi Lisboa, Brazilian actress
- 1984 – Boone Logan, American baseball player
- 1984 – James Morrison, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1985 – Grega Bole, Slovenian cyclist
- 1985 – Lacey Brown, American singer-songwriter
- 1985 – Gerrit van Look, German rugby player and coach
- 1986 – Demetrious Johnson, American MMA fighter and current UFC champion
- 1987 – Pepe Diokno, Filipino director, screenwriter, and producer
- 1988 – Keith Benson, American basketball player
- 1989 – Israel Jiménez, Mexican footballer
- 1989 – Justin Greene, American basketball player
- 1990 – Shila, Malaysian singer-songwriter
- 1990 – Sae Miyazawa, Japanese singer and actress (AKB48)
- 1990 – DeMarcus Cousins, American basketball player
- 1991 – Dave Days, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1991 – Alexander Kačaniklić, Swedish footballer
- 1992 – Lucas Rodrigues Moura da Silva, Brazilian footballer
- 1993 – Dominika Stará, Slovak singer
- 1996 – Antonia Lottner, German tennis player
- 1998 – Dalma Gálfi, Hungarian tennis player
- 2000 – Piper Reese, American video blogger
Deaths
- 586 – Radegund, Frankish princess and saint (b. 520)
- 604 – Wéndi, Chinese emperor of the Sui Dynasty (b. 541)
- 900 – Zwentibold, French son of Arnulf of Carinthia (b. 870)
- 1134 – Irene of Hungary (b. 1088)
- 1382 – Eleanor of Aragon, Queen of Castile (b. 1358)
- 1523 – Gerard David, Flemish painter (b. 1460)
- 1617 – Johann Jakob Grynaeus, Swiss clergyman (b. 1540)
- 1667 – Jeremy Taylor, Irish bishop and writer (b. 1613)
- 1686 – Louis Maimbourg, French historian (b. 1610)
- 1721 – Jacques Lelong, French bibliographer (b. 1665)
- 1744 – John Cruger, Dutch-American politician, 39th Mayor of New York City (b. 1678)
- 1749 – Johann Elias Schlegel, German critic and poet (b. 1719)
- 1755 – Francesco Durante, Italian composer (b. 1684)
- 1826 – René Laennec, French physician (b. 1781)
- 1863 – Eugène Delacroix, French painter (b. 1798)
- 1865 – Ignaz Semmelweis, Hungarian physician (b. 1818)
- 1910 – Florence Nightingale, English nurse and writer (b. 1820)
- 1912 – Jules Massenet, French composer (b. 1842)
- 1917 – Eduard Buchner, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1860)
- 1934 – Mary Hunter Austin, American writer (b. 1868)
- 1937 – Arthur Plunkett, Australian civil engineer
- 1946 – H. G. Wells, English writer (b. 1866)
- 1948 – Elaine Hammerstein, American actress (b. 1897)
- 1958 – Otto Witte, German acrobat (b. 1868)
- 1958 – Francis J. McCormick, American football and basketball player and coach (b. 1903)
- 1963 – Louis Bastien, French cyclist (b. 1881)
- 1965 – Hayato Ikeda, Japanese politician (b. 1899)
- 1977 – Henry Williamson, English naturalist and author (b. 1895)
- 1982 – Joe Tex, American singer-songwriter (b. 1933)
- 1984 – Tigran Petrosian, Soviet-Armenian chess player (b. 1929)
- 1986 – Way Bandy, American make-up artist (b. 1941)
- 1986 – Helen Mack, American actress (b. 1913)
- 1989 – Tim Richmond, American race car driver (b. 1955)
- 1989 – Larkin I. Smith, American politician (b. 1944)
- 1991 – James Roosevelt, American politician, soldier, son of Franklin Delano Roosevelt (b. 1907)
- 1991 – Jack Ryan, American designer (b. 1926)
- 1995 – Alison Hargreaves, English mountaineer (b. 1963)
- 1995 – Jan Křesadlo, Czech writer (b. 1926)
- 1995 – Mickey Mantle, American baseball player (b. 1931)
- 1995 – Rob Slater, American mountaineer (b. 1960)
- 1996 – António de Spínola, Portuguese general and politician (b. 1910)
- 1996 – David Tudor, American pianist and composer (b. 1926)
- 1998 – Nino Ferrer, Italian-French singer and composer (b. 1934)
- 1998 – Julien Green, American novelist (b. 1900)
- 1998 – Waneta Hoyt, American serial killer (b. 1946)
- 1998 – Edward Ginzton, Ukrainian-American physicist (b. 1915)
- 1998 – Rafael Robles, American baseball player (b. 1947)
- 1999 – Jaime Garzón, Colombian journalist and comedian (b. 1960)
- 1999 – John Geering, British cartoonist (b. 1941)
- 1999 – Gopal Shankar Misra, Indian musician and music teacher (b. 1957)
- 1999 – Ignatz Bubis, German Jewish leader (b. 1927)
- 2000 – Nazia Hassan, Pakistani singer (b. 1965)
- 2001 – Otto Stuppacher, Austrian race car driver (b. 1947)
- 2001 – Jim Hughes, American baseball player (b. 1923)
- 2003 – Ed Townsend, American singer-songwriter, and producer (b. 1929)
- 2004 – Julia Child, American chef (b. 1912)
- 2005 – David Lange, New Zealand politician, 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1942)
- 2006 – Tony Jay, English actor (b. 1933)
- 2006 – Jon Nödtveidt, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Dissection and Ophthalamia) (b. 1975)
- 2006 – Payao Poontarat, Thai boxer (b. 1957)
- 2007 – Brian Adams, American wrestler (b. 1964)
- 2007 – Brooke Astor, American philanthropist (b. 1902)
- 2007 – Yone Minagawa, Japanese super-centenarian (b. 1893)
- 2007 – Phil Rizzuto, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1917)
- 2008 – Bill Gwatney, American politician (b. 1959)
- 2008 – Dino Toso, Italian-Dutch engineer (b. 1969)
- 2008 – Jack Weil, American businessman (b. 1901)
- 2008 – Sandy Allen, American actress (b. 1955)
- 2008 – Henri Cartan, French mathematician (b. 1904)
- 2009 – Les Paul, American guitarist and songwriter. (b. 1915)
- 2009 – Lavelle Felton, American basketball player (b. 1980)
- 2010 – Panagiotis Bachramis, Greek footballer (b. 1976)
- 2010 – Lance Cade, American wrestler (b. 1981)
- 2010 – Edwin Newman, American journalist (b. 1919)
- 2011 – Topi Sorsakoski, Finnish singer (Agents) (b. 1952)
- 2012 – Hugo Adam Bedau, American philosopher (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Helen Gurley Brown, American author, publisher, and editor (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Salvador Escudero, Filipino politician (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Von Freeman, American saxophonist (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Nellie Gray, American activist (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Kathi Goertzen, American journalist (b. 1958)
- 2012 – Ray Jordon, Australian cricketer and football coach (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Johnny Munkhammar, Swedish politician and writer (b. 1974)
- 2012 – Johnny Pesky, American baseball player and coach (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Joan Roberts, American actress (b. 1918)
Holidays and observances
- Christian Feast Day:
- Festival of Aventine Diana (Roman Empire)
- Hercules Victori (Roman Empire)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Central African Republic from France in 1960.
- International Lefthanders Day (International)
- Lao Issara, Day of the Free Laos. (Laos)
- The first day of Gujo Odori (Gujō)
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“Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
"The Lord reigneth, let the earth rejoice."
Psalm 97:1
Psalm 97:1
Causes for disquietude there are none so long as this blessed sentence is true. On earth the Lord's power as readily controls the rage of the wicked as the rage of the sea; his love as easily refreshes the poor with mercy as the earth with showers. Majesty gleams in flashes of fire amid the tempest's horrors, and the glory of the Lord is seen in its grandeur in the fall of empires, and the crash of thrones. In all our conflicts and tribulations, we may behold the hand of the divine King.
"God is God; he sees and hears
All our troubles, all our tears.
Soul, forget not, 'mid thy pains,
God o'er all forever reigns."
In hell, evil spirits own, with misery, his undoubted supremacy. When permitted to roam abroad, it is with a chain at their heel; the bit is in the mouth of behemoth, and the hook in the jaws of leviathan. Death's darts are under the Lord's lock, and the grave's prisons have divine power as their warder. The terrible vengeance of the Judge of all the earth makes fiends cower down and tremble, even as dogs in the kennel fear the hunter's whip.
"Fear not death, nor Satan's thrusts,
God defends who in him trusts;
Soul, remember, in thy pains,
God o'er all forever reigns."
In heaven none doubt the sovereignty of the King Eternal, but all fall on their faces to do him homage. Angels are his courtiers, the redeemed his favourites, and all delight to serve him day and night. May we soon reach the city of the great King!
"For this life's long night of sadness
He will give us peace and gladness.
Soul, remember, in thy pains,
God o'er all forever reigns."
Evening
"The bow shall be seen in the cloud."
Genesis 9:14
Genesis 9:14
The rainbow, the symbol of the covenant with Noah, is typical of our Lord Jesus, who is the Lord's witness to the people. When may we expect to see the token of the covenant? The rainbow is only to be seen painted upon a cloud. When the sinner's conscience is dark with clouds, when he remembers his past sin, and mourneth and lamenteth before God, Jesus Christ is revealed to him as the covenant Rainbow, displaying all the glorious hues of the divine character and betokening peace. To the believer, when his trials and temptations surround him, it is sweet to behold the person of our Lord Jesus Christ--to see him bleeding, living, rising, and pleading for us. God's rainbow is hung over the cloud of our sins, our sorrows, and our woes, to prophesy deliverance. Nor does a cloud alone give a rainbow, there must be the crystal drops to reflect the light of the sun. So, our sorrows must not only threaten, but they must really fall upon us. There had been no Christ for us if the vengeance of God had been merely a threatening cloud: punishment must fall in terrible drops upon the Surety. Until there is a real anguish in the sinner's conscience, there is no Christ for him; until the chastisement which he feels becomes grievous, he cannot see Jesus. But there must also be a sun; for clouds and drops of rain make not rainbows unless the sun shineth. Beloved, our God, who is as the sun to us, always shines, but we do not always see him--clouds hide his face; but no matter what drops may be falling, or what clouds may be threatening, if he does but shine there will be a rainbow at once. It is said that when we see the rainbow the shower is over. Certain it is, that when Christ comes, our troubles remove; when we behold Jesus, our sins vanish, and our doubts and fears subside. When Jesus walks the waters of the sea, how profound the calm!
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Today's reading: Psalm 84-86, Romans 12 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Psalm 84-86
1 How lovely is your dwelling place,
LORD Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may have her young-
a place near your altar,
LORD Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you....
Today's New Testament reading: Romans 12
A Living Sacrifice
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God-this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is-his good, pleasing and perfect will....
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Mark, Marcus
[Märk,Mär'cus] - a large hammer orpolite. John Mark was a Jew and a son of Mary, who was a leading Christian at Jerusalem.
[Märk,Mär'cus] - a large hammer orpolite. John Mark was a Jew and a son of Mary, who was a leading Christian at Jerusalem.
The Man Who Recovered Himself
Mark was the Roman surname of this young associate of the apostle, while his first name, John, was his Hebrew name. Mark was an apostle but held no official position among the original Twelve. The first time we come across "John, whose surname was Mark," it is in connection with one of the most remarkable prayer meetings ever held. Herod, who had just beheaded James, had Peter under arrest. But the many friends of "The Big Fisherman" gathered in the home of "Mary the mother of John Mark" for prayer, which the Lord wonderfully answered (Acts 12:12).
Mark's mother was a godly, well-to-do widow in Jerusalem and her house was a favorite meeting place for the saints (Acts 12:12; Col. 4:10). Her brother, Barnabas, Mark's uncle, was a wealthy Levite from the island of Cyprus (Acts 13:1-5). In Barnabas, Mark had a staunch and gifted friend and counselor (Acts 11:24). While we are not told how or when Mark became a disciple of Christ, it is evident that he owed his conversion to Peter, since the apostle speaks of him as "Marcus, my son" ( 1 Pet. 5:13). Thereafter he became a close companion of Peter for about twelve years. Doubtless Mark had heard and seen Christ. Tradition identifies Mark as "the certain young man," who followed Christ when all His disciples forsook Him and fled (Mark 14:51).
Mark became an attendant of Paul and Barnabas when they set out on their great mission tour (Acts 13:5 ), and these two godly men must have had a formative influence upon the character of young Mark. However, our next glimpse of him is disappointing. In the early years of his service, Mark was guilty of vacillating (Acts 13:13; 15:38). The ploughman looked back. So full of promise, Mark failed Paul and Barnabas at a crisis and brought about a severance of friends. The fear of what lay ahead in arduous missionary enterprise moved Mark to retrace his steps (Acts 13:13; 15:38).
But Mark won his spurs again and recovered his place in apostolic esteem. The years the locusts had eaten were restored and he became a valued colleague of Paul (Col. 4:10, 11; Philem. 24). A further impressive testimony to Mark's reinstatement is found in Paul's tribute to Mark's usefulness (2 Tim. 4:11). The wound was thoroughly healed. In the eventide of his life, Peter could write affectionately of Mark (1 Pet. 5:13). Tradition says that Mark became a bishop and a martyr and that his body was removed to Venice and buried there. St. Mark's of Venice is dedicated to his fragrant memory. The Lion, the emblem of Mark's Roman Gospel, is emblazoned on the standard of the Venetian Republic.
As the ministry of Mark was peculiarly a Gentile one, he is recognized by his Gentile name. Writing specifically for Romans, who stood for power, Mark manifests Christ's power in service. Accustomed as Mark was to the might of Rome's legions, he exhibits the soldier's rapidity of movement and readiness to repel attack, and gives us in his shortest and simplest gospel, a progressive series of victorious conflicts. Vividness, compactness, direction, circumstantial evidence characterize his gospel.
The main lessons to be learned from the life of Mark are apparent:
I. The blessings of a godly home. The Christian Church owes much to "Mary, the mother of John Mark."
II. Much depends upon the choice of friends. Mark's life was lived in the company of godly men such as Peter, Paul and Barnabas.
III. The possibilities of life. A widow's son became an apostle and a great historian, and his name is upon the lips of men the world over.
IV. The reward for faithful service. We do not read of Mark preaching a single sermon or performing even one miracle. All that is said about him is that he was a helper of others. Such service never fails to receive its reward.
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