917 – Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars: Bulgarians led by Tsar Simeon I drove the Byzantines out of Thrace with a decisive victory in the Battle of Achelous.
1707 – The first Siege of Pensacola came to an end with the British abandoning their attempt to capture Pensacola in Spanish Florida.
1910 – Hurricane-force winds combined hundreds of small fires in the U.S. states of Washington and Idaho into the Devil's Broom fire, which burned about three million acres (12,140 km²), the largest fire in recorded U.S. history.
1940 – In the midst of the Battle of Britain, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill delivered a speech thanking the Royal Air Force, declaring, "Never was so much owed by so many to so few."
1988 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Army bombed a bus carrying British Army soldiers in Northern Ireland, killing eight of them and wounding another 28. Try not to get upset with busses. Remember your debt to the RAF and honour it. Remember that wood burns (I learned that watching the fifth element). Leave the dregs to Spain. After a battle, everything that lives, aches.
===
Get ugly and abusive parents off the footy field
Miranda Devine – Tuesday, August 20, 2013 (7:06pm)
ON the sidelines of junior sport last weekend, talk turned to the ugly brawl between spectators and players at a an Under-19s rugby league game between the Penrith Waratahs and Western City Tigers the previous week.
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HEAT MAP
Tim Blair – Tuesday, August 20, 2013 (4:59pm)
Labor’s Mike Kelly predicts nationwide disaster:
The suffering we will have inflicted on ourselves through not dealing with climate change will turn the Bega Valley into the Death Valley, the Sapphire Coast into the Saline Coast and the Snowy Mountains into the Sandy Mountains.
Readers are invited to re-name their own cities, suburbs and surrounding areas to better reflect Australia’s deadly future temperatures. I live in Curry Hills, Sydney.
===
UH-OH
Tim Blair – Tuesday, August 20, 2013 (1:20pm)
===
HE BELIEVES IN THE POWER
Tim Blair – Tuesday, August 20, 2013 (12:33pm)
The Prime Minister cracks up in Queensland:
“I believe in the power of the Australian people!” he cried. “I believe in the power of the Queensland people!“Way above the media ruck, way above the avalanche of Liberal Party advertising across the television screens, way above what you will see with day after day, people telling you what the polls say here and the polls say there, I believe in the power of the Australian people …”He said that his team was in town to make sure “that this school, which has been here for 16 years, is here for 60 years!” Oblivious to supporters in the crowd shouting that the school actually turned 60 next year, he carried on.“Can I just say this? When I look across Queensland, I look across Australia, what I believe we need to be doing is building the schools of the future!”‘’People look in the eyes of their kids and say, ‘there’s my future. There’s what I want for this young person’,’’ Mr Rudd said.Turning to point first at a young girl in the crowd, Mr Rudd said: ‘’Listen, I want her to be a doctor.’’Then he pointed at a girl beside her saying he wanted her to be a nurse.‘’I want this young boy over here to be a first-class sports star. I want this person to be a researcher in molecular science. I want this person over here to be a vet.’’As each child was anointed with their prime ministerial-chosen future profession, they visibly swelled.Even the boy – ‘’that’s you mate’’ – who Mr Rudd wanted to become ‘’the best PE instructor the country’s ever seen’’.
Do any of them want to be speechwriters? Because there’s a vacancy.
===
INTELLECT EXEMPLIFIED
Tim Blair – Tuesday, August 20, 2013 (6:00am)
Political expert and throat singer Dean Frenkel, who previously hailed Julia Gillard’s melodic verbal abilities, now celebrates the genius of Kevin Rudd:
Rudd’s intellect is exemplified by the fact that he learnt Mandarin as an early adult. His capacity for detail is signified by his memory of more than 100,000 words.
He uses 96,000 of them to blame his staff or shout at Labor underlings. The remaining 4000 are just different words for “pie”.
British linguist David Crystal estimates the average person should know about 35,000 words and the average university-educated person should know 70,000 words.
Anyone got a synonym for “zip”?
A presidential contest would suit Rudd. While Abbott would emphatically win a boxing contest, Rudd would win a boxing match of minds by a knockout.
Rudd couldn’t win a debate ...
... even when he was armed with a sackload of notes against an unarmed opponent.
... even when he was armed with a sackload of notes against an unarmed opponent.
Gillard had the ascendancy in her long-running battle with Abbott until Abbott turned back the tide three years ago.
So Gillard was winning until she lost every single contest for three straight years while she was Prime Minister. Some tide.
It took a formidable politician to beat Howard in 2007. Look at the list of politicians who have left politics since Rudd became PM: Howard, Costello, Downer, Ruddock, Gillard, Swan, Combet, Crean, Garrett, Ferguson, Emerson … this is no coincidence.
Philip Ruddock and Wayne Swan haven’t left politics.
There is something about this man.
There is something about Fairfax editors. How was this fact-free fan letter cleared for publication?
The big question is whether Rudd really is a genius or is just a very clever man who is one or two levels short of genius.
Oh, he’s a genius all right. Only a genius could be in Brisbane and Perth at the same time.
Rudd might just pull off an amazing victory but things are delicate. It will happen if everything works like clockwork, but if there is just one spanner in the works it will all come tumbling down.
Or, as a superior thinker once put it: “If we can hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes will fall like a house of cards. Checkmate.”
UPDATE. Sometimes he gets those 100,000 words mixed up:
Kevin Rudd has made a gaffe-filled appearance at a Brisbane rally today, confusing fellow candidates and even the government.
===
THE CASE OF THE MISSING BUDDHISTS
Tim Blair – Tuesday, August 20, 2013 (5:53am)
Exaggerators exaggerate. Take former Canberra Times environmental reporter Rosslyn Beeby, for example, who in 2011 and 2012 pushed a story about Australian climate change scientists “being targeted by a vicious, unrelenting email campaign that has resulted in police investigations of death threats.” According to Beeby, terrified warmies were relocated to safety rooms:
The Australian National University has confirmed it moved several high-profle climate scientists, economists and policy researchers into more secure buildings, following explicit threats to their personal safety.
It was a climate of fear! Beeby subsequently claimed that ANU Climate Change Institute director Professor Will Steffen had received a threat so chilling that the Canberra Times could “not divulge it.” That alleged threat turned out to be a paranoid misunderstanding over kangaroo culling.
Since departed from the Times, Beeby continues her tradition of exaggeration on Twitter, where she recently asserted that 25 per cent of the ACT’s population is Buddhist. Challenged on this calculation, Beeby responded:
Yes, that’s the figure.
Challenged again, Beeby still insisted that one quarter of ACT residents are Buddhists:
No, it’s 25%
No, it’s only 2.6 per cent, according to the latest census. Nevertheless, Beeby vows to “find figures & post” just as soon as she can locate Buddha’s missing 79,820* worshippers in the ACT.
* UPDATE. My own dodgy numbers fixed, thanks to alert readers.
UPDATE II. Beeby explains:
The 25% is based on crowds at Dalai Lama event in ACT
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SEA RISE LEAKED
Tim Blair – Tuesday, August 20, 2013 (5:39am)
Run for your lives! Or perhaps just scootch inland a little:
The world is on track to become up to five degrees hotter, and sea levels could rise more than 80 centimetres this century, according to a leaked draft of a landmark climate change report prepared for the UN.
Sounds scary, in a minor sock-dampening way. Is this latest report anything like the UN’s 2005 report that predicted50 million climate refugees by 2010? Because those guys were just everywhere.
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SENIOR MOMENT
Tim Blair – Tuesday, August 20, 2013 (5:28am)
The SMH’s Mike Carlton seems never to have heard of me, yet he earlier mentioned me in this column, and once or twice before that. Poor chap is getting on in years.
===
DANBY’S STAND
Tim Blair – Tuesday, August 20, 2013 (3:34am)
A lone Labor MP stands against the Greens:
Federal Labor MP Michael Danby has declared a personal war against the Greens and will give preferences to the Liberals in his seat of Melbourne Ports.While most Labor MPs and candidates in Victoria will preference the Greens ahead of the Liberal Party, Mr Danby said his decision was ideological and kept a promise from two years ago.
Danby being Jewish, it’s quite likely that the Greens are pleased to be rid of his tainted vote. Recall that during the last NSW state election, Greens opposition to Israel resulted in this Marrickville masterpiece. As for the Greens themselves, they’ve now found common ground with a millionaire miner.
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FULL MONTY
Tim Blair – Monday, August 19, 2013 (8:17pm)
Recently fined for being drunk and disorderly, English cricketer Monty Panesar has since reportedly been divorced and is now dropped by his county team:
England spinner Panesar, 31, was fined by police last week for urinating on club bouncers after he was thrown out of the club.Sussex announced they would investigate the matter, and have now confirmed that the left-arm spinner has played his last match for them.
He’s also out of the Test squad, replaced by Simon Kerrigan. It’s shame. Panesar is an entertaining cricketer.
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Labor says 10 years to pay back what it spent in six
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (5:40pm)
Put it in your diary. Labor claims it will have us repay Labor’s debt in a decade:
JOE HOCKEY: But hang on, you started - but you started with no net debt. You started with no net debt. Now, according to Tony Jones, it is $184 billion… They don’t know how to pay down debt because they never have…
CHRIS BOWEN: More rhetoric. More rhetoric from Joe. More bluster. More bluff. No date. He talks about the importance of paying…
JOE HOCKEY: What’s your date? What’s your date?
CHRIS BOWEN: 2023/24. There’s my date. What’s yours?
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Both sides choose Brisbane for launches
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (5:28pm)
Queensland is nominated by both sides as the main battleground:
LABOR will launch its election campaign in Brisbane on September 1. The coalition launch is scheduled for this Sunday, also in the Queensland capital.
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Q&A with me at noon. UPDATE: And 2GB tonight for those who didn’t get answered
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (4:35pm)
I’ll be answering questions put to me on Twitter here and on Facebook.
To watch the action, go here.
I am astonished at the frenzy this has caused among the Left. Weird. It’s like they never thought to ask me stuff on the blog.
UPDATE
Great stuff. Very good figures, I’m told - and the Twitterati and Fairfax are disconcerted that we played in their back yard. I might have to do it again. A word to Fairfax: would a single News Ltd newspaper find it remotely of news interest if a Fairfax writer took questions on Twitter? Your attention is an affirmation, but - alas - not of your own journalists.
One thing miffs me: Fairfax failed to report my best answer to the song-lyric questions.
But here’s one of the exchanges it did report:
On 2GB from 8pm. Listen live here. Talkback: 131 873.
Listen to all past shows here.
UPDATE
It’s freaky, how I obsess the Left. The story: some Leftists on Twitter hate me. Stop the presses!
To watch the action, go here.
I am astonished at the frenzy this has caused among the Left. Weird. It’s like they never thought to ask me stuff on the blog.
UPDATE
Great stuff. Very good figures, I’m told - and the Twitterati and Fairfax are disconcerted that we played in their back yard. I might have to do it again. A word to Fairfax: would a single News Ltd newspaper find it remotely of news interest if a Fairfax writer took questions on Twitter? Your attention is an affirmation, but - alas - not of your own journalists.
One thing miffs me: Fairfax failed to report my best answer to the song-lyric questions.
But here’s one of the exchanges it did report:
Fiona Henderson and James Scullin ask via Twitter: What would you do if I sang out if tune?UPDATE
Andrew: It’s bizarre that the Left has spent 24 hours hyperventilating on Twitter and thinking up questions to hurl at the great Satan of conservatism, and this is one of the best they could come up with.
Understand now why you are losing the intellectual debate, guys? And the election with it? You’ll sure be singing out of tune on September 7.
On 2GB from 8pm. Listen live here. Talkback: 131 873.
Listen to all past shows here.
UPDATE
It’s freaky, how I obsess the Left. The story: some Leftists on Twitter hate me. Stop the presses!
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The campaign story of today
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (3:54pm)
Xenophon wins this one.
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Mad Mike Kelly: vote Labor or you’ll turn “Snowy Mountains into the Sandy Mountains”
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (3:22pm)
The global warming frenzy is so yesterday, yet some Labor MPs still don’t get how ridiculous all that warming alarmism now sounds and are making fools of themselves..
Take Mike Kelly – tipped by Rudd to be the next Defence Minister. Here he is at the candidates’ forum held by the Narooma Chamber of Commerce on Friday:
A man that irrational has no place in politics.
Take Mike Kelly – tipped by Rudd to be the next Defence Minister. Here he is at the candidates’ forum held by the Narooma Chamber of Commerce on Friday:
This election is about the people who aren’t here who can’t vote because they are too young to. The election is about their future. If we don’t provide them with the full rollout of the NBN, the better schools program, and clean energy future they won’t have a future.Is Kelly seriously claiming that if we don’t vote for Labor and its global warming policies that the Snowy Mountains will turn to sand and the Bega Valley into Death Valley?
We won’t be competing in the region and the suffering we will have inflicted on ourselves through not dealing with climate change will turn the Bega Valley into the Death Valley, the Sapphire Coast into the Saline Coast and the Snowy Mountains into the Sandy Mountains. We can’t afford catastrophic climate change so I want you to work with me on that as well.
A man that irrational has no place in politics.
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The Greens sell out to Big Coal to save Hanson-Young
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (2:16pm)
What a farce. What hypocrites:
(Thanks to reader Waxing Gibberish.)
UPDATE
The Greens sell out to a party so crazy and unaccountable that it wants politicians to decide tricky questions without telling anyone which way they voted. From an email from the PUP’s candidate for Stirling:
THE Greens risk a backlash from many of their supporters after forging a controversial preference deal with mining magnate Clive Palmer.Here’s one of Palmer’s projects:
Despite calling for a ban on new coal mines, the Greens have quietly announced they will put the Palmer United Party ahead of Labor and the Coalition in a raft of lower house seats.
The Senate balance of power party has also ironed out a Senate preference deal with Mr Palmer - a move designed to help South Australian Greens’ Senator Sarah Hanson-Young win her seat.
The Galilee Coal Project is located in the Galilee Basin near Alpha in Central Queensland, Australia. The project is an integrated coal project including a coal mine, railway and port facility to export quality thermal coal to international markets.Here’s what the Greens were saying about the project less than a fortnight ago:
Green groups say they are horrified Clive Palmer’s $6.4 billion coal mine and rail project has been approved in western Queensland.The project still needs federal government approval. And the Greens are preferencing Palmer, who wants to form that government.
The state’s coordinator-general approved the Waratah Coal-China First Galilee Coal project on Friday, subject to strict conditions…
The enterprise involves clearing thousands of hectares of vegetation on the Bimblebox nature refuge that is the habitat of the endangered black-throated finch and at least 220 species of plant…
Greens senator Larissa Waters said it would be the third massive coal mine the Newman government had approved in the Galilee Basin since coming to power last year.
“The three mega coal mines would significantly increase Australia’s contribution to global climate change, producing 100 megatonnes of coal every year,” she said in a statement.
“That’s seven times more than the amount produced by Australia’s current largest coal mine and more than one and a half times Queensland’s total annual emissions.”
Senator Waters added that coal would be exported through the Great Barrier Reef and turn the World Heritage Area into a shipping super highway.
(Thanks to reader Waxing Gibberish.)
UPDATE
The Greens sell out to a party so crazy and unaccountable that it wants politicians to decide tricky questions without telling anyone which way they voted. From an email from the PUP’s candidate for Stirling:
The Palmer United Party (PUP) has a policy of the following on all matters of moral and social issues:
A full true conscience vote, that means we will as a Party not try to influence in any way how our members will vote on these topics.
Providing the legislation is in order and correct within the law we as individuals will vote in secret ballot as we believe we should with no external influences.
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Murdoch blasts Rudd
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (1:28pm)
He must have read my columns:
Too soon to feel pity?
Or should I feel pity only after the votes are counted and the result is sure? The pressure sure is telling.
UPDATE
Too soon to feel pity?
UPDATE
Or should I feel pity only after the votes are counted and the result is sure? The pressure sure is telling.
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Rudd’s PNG success: “just” 2764 boat people in a month
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (10:51am)
Greg Sheridan says Rudd’s bluffing on boat people isn’t working:
After a four-day pause, the fourth boat in three days - again calling for a taxi in Indonesia’s search and rescue territory:
That message is now a Mayday:
(T)he PNG Solution has not worked, the boats have certainly not stopped, nor even much slowed.UPDATE
With the boats that arrived in the past week, the total number of boatpeople arrivals in Australia in the month after Rudd announced the PNG solution is 2764. The Rudd government has sent a few hundred to Manus Island.
Only in the context of the chaos Labor has created on our borders, could nearly 3000 people arriving in one month be considered a sign of success…
The capacity at Manus, and the planes going to Manus, are not remotely keeping pace with the boat arrivals to Australia. It is clear that the PNG Solution is a bluff and there is no prospect of capacity equalling demand… It seems pretty clear PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill envisages a maximum capacity for Manus of 3000, which has almost been reached by the boat arrivals in Australia since Rudd announced the deal.
After a four-day pause, the fourth boat in three days - again calling for a taxi in Indonesia’s search and rescue territory:
PAN PANUPDATE
FM RCC AUSTRALIA 192110Z AUG 2013 AUSSAR 2013/5584
INDIAN OCEAN CHART AUS 4071
INDONESIAN TYPE FISHING BOAT WITH APPROXIMATELY 105 PERSONS ONBOARD REQUESTING ASSISTANCE FOR INJURED PERSONS ON BOARD IN POSITION 08-25.91S 105-28.96E AT 192027 UTC AUG 13.
That message is now a Mayday:
MAYDAY RELAY(Thanks to readers Peter and Jeff of FNQ.)
FM RCC AUSTRALIA 192239Z AUG 2013 AUSSAR 2013/5584
INDIAN OCEAN CHART AUS 4701
INDONESIAN TYPE FISHING VESSEL WITH 105 PERSONS ON BOARD IN POSITION 08-27.719S 105-30.954E AT 192209Z ADVISED THAT THE VESSEL IS TAKING WATER AND 4 TO 5 PERSONS ARE IN THE OCEAN.
===
Is Terry really the kind of supporter Labor should boast about?
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (9:28am)
Labor’s website features a testimonial from good old Terry:
But privately Terry tweets a rather less supportive message:
Note good old Terry’s claim on the Labor website that he isn’t rusted-on Labor and would just like people to less mean:
UPDATE
Labor endorses an unapologetic man who writes such bile. The Liberals now find themselves caught with an apologetic candidate who published stuff by others that was no bettter:
UPDATE
He’s gone:
”We’re standing with Labor,” Terry and his wife declare on Labor’s website.
But privately Terry tweets a rather less supportive message:
But that’s far from the only contradiction between good old Terry’s “standing with Labor” testimonial and his tweeting.
Note good old Terry’s claim on the Labor website that he isn’t rusted-on Labor and would just like people to less mean:
Now check his tweets. Terry’s not rusted on Labor? He wants less meanness?
If Terry represents the kind of people supporting Labor - and the kind of people Labor has writing its material - then God save Australia.
UPDATE
Labor endorses an unapologetic man who writes such bile. The Liberals now find themselves caught with an apologetic candidate who published stuff by others that was no bettter:
THE FUTURE of Liberal Kevin Baker hangs in the balance with Tony Abbott receiving a briefing today on claims the candidate for Charlton owned and operated a website containing hundreds of sexist jokes about women.Trouble is, nominations have now closed. The Liberals need to check their candidate vetting for next time.
The Opposition leader today said Mr Baker had acted inappropriately and would seek a further briefing on the matter before taking any action. However, he refused to guarantee that the candidate would not be replaced.
“He’s done the wrong thing,” Mr Abbott said. “No doubt about that. He absolutely has done the wrong thing.
“I’ll be further briefed on this. But he has closed the site down and he has abjectly apologised.”
Labor is pressuring Mr Abbott to act swiftly to scrap Mr Baker as the candidate in the seat formerly occupied by Labor’s Greg Combet after revelations he ran a forum dedicated to Mini drivers which made light of domestic violence, racism and child abuse.
UPDATE
He’s gone:
KEVIN Baker, the Coalition candidate for the seat of Charlton, has resigned from the Liberal Party after publicity linking him to sexist jokes on a personal website aimed at car enthusiasts.
In a short statement on Tuesday afternoon he said his name would remain on the ballot paper but ‘‘my campaign is over’’.
===
Even The Age was against it not so long ago
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (8:54am)
===
Labor now fighting to save Queensland seats
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (8:36am)
Labor could even lose seats in Queensland, the one state it expected - and needed - to win them:
But John McTernan, Julia Gillard’s former communications director, says Labor could still win by playing very hard ball:
(Thanks to reader Stephen.)
Insiders from both sides of the political divide yesterday conceded their campaign strategies were being revamped in the face of published and private polling showing Labor is in danger of losing seats in the battleground state.But both sides can’t believe the poll last week claiming Beattie was on just 40 per cent of the 2PP vote in Forde:
The Liberal National Party will this week poll Labor-held seats for the first time in the campaign, as it moves from defending the 20 seats (of the 30 Queensland electorates) it already holds to an attacking strategy with the target of snatching at least four Labor-held seats: Moreton (held by 1.2 per cent), Petrie (2.6 per cent), Capricornia (3.7 per cent) and Wayne Swan’s Lilley (3.2 per cent).
Labor strategists conceded the “sugar hit” of Mr Rudd’s return to the prime ministership in June had worn off, and that the recruitment of former premier Peter Beattie had failed to gift the LNP-held seat of Forde to the government and had, in fact, damaged its prospects in some seats.
Both camps dismiss a recent published poll showing Mr Beattie would be comprehensively defeated in Forde by LNP incumbent Bert van Manen, saying internal polling still put the contest as hanging in the balance.UPDATE
But John McTernan, Julia Gillard’s former communications director, says Labor could still win by playing very hard ball:
Most importantly, Kevin Rudd has to project a clear picture of Australia’s future with Labor… The best policy has edge, crunch and lift…McTernan should run to the betting agencies and make his fortune. Centrebet will now pay $7.00 for an ALP win. And Sportsbet offers $7.25.
That happened last week with Rudd’s promise on gay marriage… More should be made of Better Schools. The ... Coalition is literally tax and spend on this issue…
Then, Labor needs to be relentless in its pursuit of the Coalition on costings… Take paid parental leave, a policy costing $6 billion. Do the numbers add up? Certainly not…
A sustained attack on costings would hurt the Coalition because it goes to credibility. Abbott’s trademark since he became Opposition Leader has been discipline - both personally and in his caucus and the Liberal Party. He has been disciplined everywhere except in spending; here he remains true to his true Big Government self. Attacking here wedges him with his party…
In politics attack is the best form of attack. James Carville, who got Bill Clinton elected, said it best: ‘’If your fist is down your opponent’s throat he can’t say bad things about you.’’…
So, Labor is right to campaign on GST. Eight out of 10 voters believe that if there were wall-to-wall Liberal governments then the GST would be increased…
As for Abbott, his gaffes have to be seen, and portrayed, for what they are - revelations of character.
(Thanks to reader Stephen.)
===
How can the Liberals openly promise a rortable cash giveaway?
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (8:24am)
Is there a madder
Liberal promise than the one to pay working mothers six months pay - of
up to $75,000 - for their maternity leave?
This will be rorted sideways, with no obligation on women to actually return to work. It discriminates against women who stay at home to raise their children. It hands the wealthy up to $75,000 of taxpayers’ money. It makes taxpayers’ even more liable for the costs of the private choices made by others. It commits the government to a bill of at least $5.5 billion a year when the Budget is in deep deficit. And half the price of it is not yet covered by tax rises or spending cuts.
No wonder some of the fiercest opposition to this extravagance comes from Liberals:
UPDATE
The Australian lists its own objections:
This will be rorted sideways, with no obligation on women to actually return to work. It discriminates against women who stay at home to raise their children. It hands the wealthy up to $75,000 of taxpayers’ money. It makes taxpayers’ even more liable for the costs of the private choices made by others. It commits the government to a bill of at least $5.5 billion a year when the Budget is in deep deficit. And half the price of it is not yet covered by tax rises or spending cuts.
No wonder some of the fiercest opposition to this extravagance comes from Liberals:
JEFF Kennett has declared that Tony Abbott’s paid parental leave scheme is an “extraordinary extravagance” and must be means tested, predicting it will be manipulated by families who have a baby for the benefit of full pay without working rather than because they want one.This is a bad mistake, and the Liberals will pay for making it.
Opposition Treasury spokesman Joe Hockey also came under fire over the scheme, admitting there was no obligation on women to return to work after they received the full replacement wage scheme for six months, denting the opposition’s argument the system would lead to a productivity boost…
When asked if a return to work was required, he said: “No, you get the money regardless so that’s absolutely right.”
UPDATE
The Australian lists its own objections:
To be sure, it will offer an incentive for women to find a place in the workforce for the 10 months before the birth of their child in order to qualify for the substantial top-up, but payment is not contingent on returning to work… The sheer generosity of the windfall, which even the spendthrift Greens consider excessive, may even materially undermine some women’s desire to return to work in the longer term.
The opposition’s sales pitch is beset with contradictions. First and foremost, it is fundamentally regressive, privileging the privileged and leaving the battlers to battle. It ... will serve as another form of middle-class welfare. If PPL is a workplace entitlement as Tony Abbott maintains, why then should taxpayers foot the bill? If it is a productivity-enhancing reform, why must company tax, one of the most economically damaging, rise? ... Other employers may fear the disruption of holding a job open for six months and may be wary of hiring women of child-bearing age. And the likely need for more bureaucrats to administer a scheme ripe for rorting jars against the Coalition’s promise to trim the swollen Canberra bureaucracy.
===
Hockey makes campaign gaffe
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (8:14am)
Shadow Treasurer Joe Hockey on Q&A made a mistake under pressure:
Add this to the other things the Coalition has blurted it won’t do - won’t radically reform workplace law, won’t make deep spending cuts, won’t change the GST, won’t scrap all useless global warming programs, won’t change the renewable energy target pending an inquiry… That’s probably good politics, but sounds like a program for quietism. I’d like to hear a bit less about what the Liberals won’t do and a lot more about what it will.
The ABC is not for sale.Damn.
Add this to the other things the Coalition has blurted it won’t do - won’t radically reform workplace law, won’t make deep spending cuts, won’t change the GST, won’t scrap all useless global warming programs, won’t change the renewable energy target pending an inquiry… That’s probably good politics, but sounds like a program for quietism. I’d like to hear a bit less about what the Liberals won’t do and a lot more about what it will.
===
Parole Board culture too kind to killers. Pity about the killed
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (8:02am)
How did this culture on the Parole Board develop - and how many women have lost their lives as a result?
THE Adult Parole Board has been releasing serious violent and sexual offenders far too easily and is infected with a culture which is tilted in favour of very serious criminals, a damning Government report has found.No kidding. Count some of the dead.
Under sweeping changes proposed to Victoria’s parole system by former High Court judge Ian Callinan, only those violent criminals, serious sex offenders and burglars who have a ``negligible’ chance of reoffending will be given parole.
The Callinan Report, which was commissioned in the wake Jill Meagher’s murder last year by parolee rapist Adrian Bayley, ... found that under the current Adult Parole Board ``it has proved to be too easy for serious violent and sexual offenders to obtain and to remain on parole‘’ and that ``the balance in relation to the grant of parole, its cancellation and the revocation of cancellations may have been tilted too far in favour of offenders, and sometimes, even very serious offenders.’’
He also found that ``in practice the paramountcy of the safety of the public has not been given the prominence it deserves’’...
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Rudd trucks in rent-a-bowler to cheer him
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (7:48am)
Kevin Rudd was given back the leadership because he convinced Labor he
was very, very popular. Yet now he doesn’t even dare visit a NSW bowls
club without bringing a rent-a-crowd of more friendly bowlers:
UPDATE
It is a symptom of a wider problem with Rudd’s campaign. He was more popular as a victim than he is as a leader; more popular in theory than reality. And now Gillard supporters within Labor are having trouble keeping the lid on I-told-you-so.
Peter Van Onselen:
The Condong Bowls Club became a battleground as rival bowlers were brought in for a photoshoot as PM-friendly faces, rather than local bowlers.(Thanks to reader On The Beach.)
Ex-Condong Bowling Club chairman Tom Kennedy said the bowlers had been prearranged by the party.
``I’m a Labor voter but I was a little bit disgusted by what happened today,’’ he said.
``They had a photo shoot and used a bowler from Cudgen and two from Kingscliff.
``I felt this was an insult to our bowlers.’’
Mr Kennedy made his grievances known to Cudgen bowler John Neal who had been part of the demonstration.
The pair exchanged words before Mr Neal pulled out his ALP membership, saying he had been invited to bowl by the party.
``I’m a member of Labor Party and they asked me to come,’’ he said…
Kingscliff bowler Roma Newton, 82, said she was not a party member but was a big supporter of Mr Rudd and had been invited by ALP Member for Richmond Justine Elliot.
``This is the first time I met him, but I’ve been pro-Kevin from years ago,’’ she said.
UPDATE
It is a symptom of a wider problem with Rudd’s campaign. He was more popular as a victim than he is as a leader; more popular in theory than reality. And now Gillard supporters within Labor are having trouble keeping the lid on I-told-you-so.
Peter Van Onselen:
One Gillard supporter reminds The Australian that at the start of this year, before undermining by Rudd’s supporters again brought a collapse in support for Labor and Gillard personally, the government entered the election year with a primary vote of 38 per cent (it is now 34 per cent) and a two-party vote of 49 per cent (it is now 46 per cent). He points out that inside Team Rudd, supporters who switched sides have started wondering whether they would have been better off sticking with Gillard and avoiding the destabilisation campaign that contributed to her downfall, and the way they will now “own the result"…
The temptation for Gillard supporters to do to Rudd what they believe he and his supporters did to them in 2010 must be huge. At a small gathering of the key Gillard lieutenants at the Lodge on the night that Gillard was ousted from the prime ministership, all agreed to stay quiet until polling day for the sake of unity.
Amid much drinking and reminiscing, the pledge they made to each other was that if anyone was tempted and started undermining Rudd the others would intervene collectively to shut them down. So far, this group has stayed largely true to its word, but there is nearly three weeks to go until polling day.
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Abbott was beaten until years ago he wasn’t
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (7:16am)
Another way of putting it is that Tony Abbott had ascendancy over Julia Gillard all through her term as Prime Minister:
Gillard had the ascendancy in her long-running battle with Abbott until Abbott turned back the tide three years ago.But Tim Blair goes on to thoroughly fisk this odd Sydney Morning Herald piece by throat singer Den Frenkel.
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Car sales slump after FBT changes
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (6:58am)
The price of another Kevin Rudd idea - one whose effects Treasury worked out only after it was announced:
ONE of Australia’s biggest car companies has accused the Rudd Government of lobbing a “hand grenade” with changes to the Fringe Benefits Tax, amid revelations fleet orders have slumped by 37 per cent in the past fortnight.(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
Hyundai - the second-highest seller of passenger cars in Australia - has slammed the decision and the government’s lack of consultation....
The Australian Fleet Lessors Association - which represents companies that manage 550,000 fleet cars on Australian roads - revealed to News Corp Australia that forward orders dropped by 20 per cent in the fortnight immediately after the July 16 announcement by the Rudd Government.
But there was a greater decline in new orders in the first two weeks of August - now down by 37 per cent, AFLA says."In the first half of July, before the FBT changes were announced, our members held orders for almost 5000 vehicles,” said the executive officer for AFLA, John Bills.
“In the first half of August the same fleet companies held orders for just 3000 vehicles, a drop of 37 per cent.”
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AGS advice suggests Rudd’s NT tax promise is unconstitutional
Andrew Bolt August 20 2013 (12:35am)
Kevin Rudd admits he hasn’t costed his plan to cut company tax in the Northern Territory by a third. He didn’t run it past senior ministers. His Finance Minister yesterday refused to endorse the one-third cut.
Now even worse: it seems his plan is actually unconstitutional.
In announcing his plan, Rudd conceded the Constitution banned the Commonwealth from levying different taxes or tax scales on each state. But he claimed that did not apply to territories:
Now even worse: it seems his plan is actually unconstitutional.
In announcing his plan, Rudd conceded the Constitution banned the Commonwealth from levying different taxes or tax scales on each state. But he claimed that did not apply to territories:
...we intend to establish a Northern Special Economic Zone focused on the Territory. This will include introducing tax incentives with the object of reducing the Corporate Tax for Northern Territory-based companies within five years....But a senior academic with particular expertise in how government works says legal advice prepared by the Australian Government Solicitor on Labor’s planned Resources Super Profits Tax - and still up on the Treasury website - suggests Rudd is wrong. The Constitution should be interpreted as preventing different tax rates for territories, too:
There are constitutional reasons why we begin this Northern Special Economic Zone here in the Northern Territory, and that is, under our constitution is a dispute about whether you can have different tax rates between the States. Not so for the Territory, and that’s why we intend to begin here…
We’re also seeking to work explicitly within the constitutional boundaries which exist I think under section 99, concerning the differential tax rates between the states and territories, sorry between the states, no reference to the territories.
Did Rudd get legal advice before proposing his one-third cut in company tax for NT-based companies? Is what he’s proposing even lawful?
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Wong refuses to back Rudd’s tax thought bubble
Andrew Bolt August 19 2013 (7:31pm)
Excruciating. Finance
Minister Penny Wong refuses to back Kevin Rudd’s latest thought bubble -
a suggested one-third cut to company tax in the Northern Territory:
Sky News interview with Penny Wong
SPEERS
What is the plan in relation to cutting the company tax rate for the NT and how would you pay for that?
WONG
Well there are a number of aspects as you might recall to the Northern Australia plan, and you mentioned one of them. In relation to the company tax benefit - shall we call it - what we made clear - and the Prime Minister made clear in his press conference as well as the policy document is that we do have to go through a process of working through how you would deliver that tax benefit, and that would include how you would offset the effective spend. And we laid out a process of discussion and consultation with the territory and of course, that wouldn’t cut in till well after the end of the forward estimates. But not withstanding that, you would obviously have to go through an appropriate process.
SPEERS
Ok, but what would you like to see the company tax rate cut to in the Northern Territory?
WONG
Oh, look, I’m not going to pre-empt those discussions. I think, ah, there is, there is obviously a policy benefit in trying to ensure we gain some greater investment in the northern part of Australia, for reasons the Prime Minister outlined.
SPEERS
It’s not a gotcha question though, Minister. I’m just asking if you share the Prime Minister’s policy vision on this particular issue?
WONG
Oh look I think there is benefit in making sure we, we, we get the right investment environment for all of Australia, but in particular, Northern Australia and I’ll certainly support the policy position that was put out.
SPEERS
By doing what? By cutting the company tax rate by how much?
WONG
Well, that is one of the - giving a tax benefit is one of the things in the policy that is discussed and the Prime Minister has laid out a process for that.
SPEERS
But ok, but just to be clear, what would you like to see the company tax rate be?
WONG
It is not the only issue, I mean, there was a discussion about, it was a discussion…
SPEERS
But what do you want the company tax rate to be?
WONG
Well I’m not going to be drawn on that. The Prime Minister has indicated what his preference is. We’ll go through the process that has been outlined.
SPEERS
But do you share, do you agree with him or not?
WONG
And I’ll tell you the difference between us and the - oh come on David! He’s indicated what his preference is, which is a reduction of about a third, and I’ve said to you we’ll go through a process of working through what is the best way to deliver a tax benefit for companies in the Northern Territory. it’s not the only aspect of the policy. I know you want to focus on that.
SPEERS
I’m just wondering whether you agree with him or not. Do you share his preference?
WONG
...there are a number of other aspects...one of them is looking at how you might encourage greater foreign investment for the northern part of Australia. I think that is a very sensible public policy position. But you know - there were a number of aspects to that policy which were announced”
SPEERS
I just don’t know why you can’t say you share the Prime Minister’s view that the company tax rate should be 20 per cent.
WONG
We’ve said we want a tax benefit for, for companies which invest in the Northern Territory. The Prime Minister has indicated - you know - his preference and I’ve said there is a five-year process which the Prime Minister has also spoken about to take - to work out how that is to be delivered and how you’d offset that.
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Jailed for sleeping with a 12 yo .. - ed
Gay cheerleader thrown in jail: Was it because of her relationship -- or underage sex?http://bit.ly/14Xmsj5
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But their policy would achieve the objectives .. while the ALP policy won't. But it shows that the objectives of reducing Carbon Dioxide (vis plant food) isn't the issue .. wealth redistribution is. - ed
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Early voting begins today! For information on how to vote Liberal in your electorate visit:http://liberal.org.au/
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That stark view of a crisis that has killed hundreds in the past week shows why the world's top oil exporter will continue to back Egypt's crackdown on the Brotherhood even while its Western allies try to convince the generals to back down.
When the "Arab Spring" revolts blew across the Middle East in 2011 - toppling one authoritarian president after another - the kings and emirs of the rich Gulf monarchies held on to power but were shaken as never before.
One of King Abdullah's nephews, Mecca Governor Prince Khaled al-Faisal, decried the uprisings in a poem as a "dust storm sweeping Arab lands" in which traditional rulers had been defamed as "backward, reactionary and barbaric".
Two years later, those same rulers now see a chance to restore the stable order that had held for generations in the region, and are determined to spend their oil billions to bring back trusted friends.
Nowhere is that more true than Egypt, long Saudi Arabia's most powerful regional ally and whose army chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi has close connections to the ruling family after serving as defense attaché in Riyadh.
The gulf rulers' are alarmed by popular Islamist movements, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, which benefited most from the downfall of entrenched dictators after 2011 and which the princes see as threatening the principle of hereditary monarchy.
"Saudi strategists might see groups influenced by the Brotherhood as the only ones that could emerge to challenge their rule," said a Saudi journalist speaking on condition he not be identified.
The Saudi stance is shared with the United Arab Emirates, which this year put on trial Islamists it suspects of plotting to overthrow the state, and on Friday praised Egypt's army for responding to protests with "maximum self restraint".
Only days after Egypt's army ousted the Brotherhood's Mohamed Mursi from the presidency on July 3, Riyadh and Abu Dhabi pledged aid of $8 billion. A third Gulf monarchy, Kuwait, added another $4 billion, which should cover Egypt's deficit for months.
Unflinching support
Saudi princes regard the Brotherhood as an ideological competitor with an aggressively activist political doctrine that disdains Riyadh's ties with the West and aims to introduce democracy. Riyadh accuses the Brotherhood of betraying its trust after it gave members shelter from persecution in Egypt in the 1960s, only to see them agitate for change in Saudi Arabia.
"There's a lot of concern throughout the Gulf that the Brotherhood is attempting to infiltrate and to destabilize governments," said Robert Jordan, former U.S. ambassador to Riyadh and now based in Dubai.
Last month Saudi security forces summoned for questioning two prominent clerics who had signed a letter condemning the Egyptian army's seizure of power, Saudi media reported.
On Saturday, billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, another nephew of the Saudi king, sacked a Kuwaiti preacher from his top job at a religious television station he owns because of the cleric's brotherhood ties.
The tough Saudi line is shared with the Emirates, which has no quarter for the Brotherhood.
"I don't think the UAE will step back from giving help to Egypt according to how many are dying. They are convinced that the government is doing the right thing and defending the country from a terrorist group," said Ibtisam al-Qitbi, a political analyst in Dubai.
Kuwait, the other Gulf kingdom to promise billions, is also wary of the Brotherhood and expelled nine Egyptian members of the group on Sunday for protesting, but its position is somewhat more nuanced than that of either Riyadh or Abu Dhabi.
Brotherhood politicians serve as opposition members of Kuwait's parliament and have long been part of the establishment. A Foreign Ministry statement on Friday regretted the "large number of Egyptian fatalities".
"There is a dilemma in Kuwait. The Muslim Brothers are well entrenched in the political scene and also in the government apparatus," said Ghanem al-Najjar, professor of political science at Kuwait University.
The one rich Gulf country that did not share the Saudi-led consensus was Qatar, which backed Egypt with $7 billion during Mursi's year in power.
Qatar condemned both Mursi's removal and last week's violence, calling on the generals to "refrain from the security option" in tackling protests.
Nevertheless, Qatar has a new ruler after its emir stepped down this year in favor of his son, and many in the Gulf believe it is stepping back from an ambitious foreign policy that saw it lavish funds on Arab Spring revolutionaries.
"The king doesn't like blood"
In addition to cash, which Cairo urgently needs to buy food and fuel, Gulf friends provide it with diplomatic cover. Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal, another nephew of the king, used a visit to France on Sunday to warn Western countries not to pile pressure on Cairo, saying "we will not achieve anything through threats".
The West also viewed the Brotherhood's rise with alarm. But Western countries were clearly hoping that democracy would force the Islamists either to adapt to popular demands for better government or be voted out of office. The absolute monarchies of the Gulf never shared that faith in popular rule.
"The Saudis are not wildly enthusiastic about the argument that the best way of getting the Egypt we all want is by having the Muslim Brotherhood lose an election," said a diplomat in the Gulf, arguing that Riyadh supported the crackdown.
Nevertheless, the violence of the past week could bring precisely the sort of instability Riyadh was seeking to avert: "The king," the diplomat added, "doesn't like blood being spilled."
The Gulf princes may have written a blank cheque for Sisi, but in return for their cash, they will be expecting the Egyptian military commander to deliver the promised stability.
"Restoring order and making sure to avoid any complications, getting security back, is the most important thing now. Then any political discussion can take place," said Abdulaziz al-Sager, head of the private Gulf Research Centre thinktank in Jeddah.
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Following the Egyptian example, a group of activists has launched a Palestinian version of the Tamarod (“Rebellion”) campaign to remove Hamas from power in the Gaza Strip.
Tamarod is a grassroots movement in Egypt that led the campaign to oust president Mohamed Morsi.
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Roger Waters writes in support of those ethnic cleansers who hate Israel. - ed
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A true friend compliments you publicly and corrects you privately.Who can count on you to do this?
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Pastor Rick Warren
"When you pray, you must believe and not doubt at all. Whoever doubts is like a wave in the sea that is driven and blown about by the wind." James 1:6
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ALP watch
Correcting Labor’s False and Misleading Claims
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Edu-Kingdom Bankstown
Term 4 Test Reports are ready to be sent home or collected from the office this week.
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Larry Pickering
ARAB SPRING HAS BEEN SPRUNG
Democracy is as foreign to the Arab world as strong-man autocracy is to us. White-hot tribal hatred, bubbling just below the surface for thousands of years, needs tyrannical dictators to contain it. The West’s solution was to kill the tyrannical dictators.
Social media has laid bare deep, poisonous divisions and our naive interference has helped force the toothpaste from the tube... it will be hard to put back.
Afghanistan, Libya, Iraq, Syria and now Egypt are all the worse for the West’s interference.
All tyrants need a military but militaries grow quickly, and soon become a law unto themselves. They outlive the tyrant and often get to choose, or even become, the government as was the case in Pakistan.
Obama is now toying with supporting the Syrian opposition in a savage civil war, taking stupidity to a new height and taking on Putin who militarily supports the incumbent Assad Government.
Crumbs! Obama wants to assist the same blood-thirsty mobs that brought down New York’s Twin Towers and at the same time start a new cold war with Russia!
Obama “liberated” Libyan rebels from the Gaddafi dictator. The rebels then promptly sodomised and murdered the US ambassador and three others!
Now that’s the sort of judgment we attribute to Gillard and Rudd!
Since 1945, on each occasion it has involved itself in a foreign war, the US has walked away with a blood nose and the warring nation has simply found another strongman to contain a new lot of tribal enemies.
Hatred of the West intensifies each time we interfere. Al Queda and oddball terrorist groups are attracted to Arab altercations and they recruit well for the future.
Egypt sucks up billions in US aid while feigning friendship but it too has reverted to type with its own civil war subsequent to the demise of Mubarak and a “democratic” election.
The democratically elected, and once banned, Muslim Brotherhood was booted out by the military after trying to impose Sharia law.
Democratic elections are great, but only when the right side wins, eh!
Now an all out war has erupted between sacked Morsi government supporters and the military with 12 million Coptic Christians caught in between.
The perfect excuse has been found for radical Muslims to burn down every Christian church in sight.
Democratisation of the disjointed Arab world is a naive dream. The West should be careful what it wishes for.
These crazy war-mongering bastards now have Iphones and they don’t use social media to make friends like we do.
ALP supporters like Pickering blame Democracy .. - ed
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MORE LABOR LIES
Craig Kelly.
Over the last few days, Labor has been caught distributing brochures in Western Sydney falsely claiming credit for a life-saving cancer medication that Tony Abbott listed on the PBS during his time as Health Minister in the Howard Government.The brochure goes as far saying these Labor MPs have saved the lives of cancer survivors.
How low can they go ?
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/election-2013/chris-bowen-delivered-a-drug-listed-by-tony-abbott/story-fn9qr68y-1226697382818
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Fine Red Spinels from Burma, one to two carats each.
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Great War 100
Belgian soldiers preparing to defend the city of Louvain from behind a makeshift barricade. Image was taken 99 years ago today, 20 August 1914.
From the collection of the Imperial War Museum (Q 53206).
Australia is blessed .. not having to do that .. ed
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As we get older, modern medicine will help more of us live with cancer rather than die from it. That’s the assumption behind a vaccine to treat cancer, being developed by a pharmaceutical company in Israel.
Vaxil BioTherapeutics’ main product, ImMucin, is now in advanced clinical trials at Hadassah University Medical Center in Jerusalem.
CEO Julian Levy tells ISRAEL21c that this therapeutic vaccine doesn’t prevent cancer from invading, but activates and enhances the body’s natural immune system to seek and destroy cancer cells already present in the body, such as those lingering after cancer surgery.
Malignant cells normally get out of control by tricking the immune system not to notice them, a strategy that works especially well in older people because immune systems get less efficient with age.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhEwj6Ue13s
The vaccine is currently being tested against a blood cancer called multiple myeloma. However, Vaxil’s scientific breakthrough is based on a drug platform, VaxHit, which can be tailored to treat not only 90 percent of cancers, he says, but also diseases such as tuberculosis.
This disease is cropping up in developing nations as existing vaccines are proving less and less effective.
“Two billion are affected by the pathogen,” says Levy. “Ten percent will develop the active disease. And while TB can be treated by drugs, it takes several months and it can be brutal.”
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The first sand has arrived at the Wet'n'Wild site in Sydney's west, as the park is on track for a December opening.
All new photos here: http://2day.fm/
Like if you're going this summer!
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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
You Will Have A Flourishing Finish.
Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.(Philippians 1:6, NIV)
Pray Along.
Abba Father,I thank You for Your goodness and faithfulness in my life. I choose to cast my cares on You. I choose to trust even when I don’t understand.Today, I choose to bloom where I’m planted. I choose to trust You and honor You knowing that You are working behind the scenes for my good. I choose to believe that You have a good plan and will bring me to a flourishing finish in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Treasurer Chris Bowen's posters being placed over the posters of Liberal candidate for McMahon, Ray King
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Chris Van Loan
Looking for instructors for our Gourmet Backpacker courses. Kitchen or catering experience preferred. Contact me here or chris@bayareaexpeditions.com
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4 her
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The War of Independence was a coordinated attack by several Arab countries and various Arab non-state actors against the fledgling State of Israel, with the states intent of genocide. Tens of thousands of Arabs fled their homes after being encouraged to do so by Arab leaders at the time, who promised them that they could return once a comprehensive massacre of the Jewish community had been conducted.
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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
Ephesians 1:11 - In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will.
God wants to exceed your highest expectations! He wants to bless you and increase you. He wants to make you more effective in your job, relationships and everything you set your hand to. The key is to expect to see His goodness. So many people today have misplaced expectations because they look to the news, the economy or other people to set the tone for their day. One thing I've learned in life is that if you expect the worst, you won't be disappointed. But if you expect to see God's goodness, you won't be disappointed, either.
Today set your expectations on God. Focus your heart and mind on Him. Meditate on His Word and sing a song of praise. As you do, you'll see His goodness, and He will do awesome deeds beyond your highest expectations.Amen.
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- 917 – Byzantine–Bulgarian Wars: Bulgarians led by Tsar Simeon I drove the Byzantines out of Thrace with a decisive victory in the Battle of Achelous(pictured).
- 1707 – The first Siege of Pensacola came to an end with the British abandoning their attempt to capture Pensacola in Spanish Florida.
- 1910 – Hurricane-force winds combined hundreds of small fires in the U.S. states of Washington and Idaho into the Devil's Broom fire, which burned about three million acres (12,140 km²), the largest fire in recorded U.S. history.
- 1940 – In the midst of the Battle of Britain, British Prime MinisterWinston Churchill delivered a speech thanking the Royal Air Force, declaring, "Never was so much owed by so many to so few."
- 1988 – The Troubles: The Provisional Irish Republican Armybombed a bus carrying British Army soldiers in Northern Ireland, killing eight of them and wounding another 28.
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Events
- 14 – Agrippa Postumus, adoptive-son of the late Roman Emperor Augustus, is executed by his guards while in exile under mysterious circumstances
- 636 – Battle of Yarmouk: Arab forces led by Khalid ibn al-Walid take control of Syria and Palestine away from the Byzantine Empire, marking the first great wave of Muslim conquests and the rapid advance of Islam outside Arabia.
- 917 – Battle of Acheloos: Tsar Simeon I of Bulgaria decisively defeats a Byzantine army.
- 1000 – The foundation of the Hungarian state by Saint Stephen. Today celebrated as a National Day in Hungary.
- 1083 – Canonization of the first King of Hungary, Saint Stephen and his son Saint Emeric.
- 1308 – Pope Clement V pardons Jacques de Molay, the last Grand Master of the Knights Templar, absolving him of charges ofheresy.
- 1391 – Konrad von Wallenrode becomes the 24th Hochmeister of the Teutonic Order.
- 1467 – The Second Battle of Olmedo takes places as part of a succession conflict between Henry IV of Castile and his half-brother Alfonso, Prince of Asturias.
- 1519 – Philosopher and general Wang Yangming defeats Zhu Chenhao, ending the Prince of Ning rebellion against the reign of the Ming Dynasty emperor Zhengde.
- 1672 – Former Grand Pensionary Johan de Witt and his brother Cornelis are brutally murdered by an angry mob in The Hague.
- 1707 – The first Siege of Pensacola comes to end with the failure of the British to capture Pensacola, Florida.
- 1710 – War of the Spanish Succession: a multinational army led by the Austrian commander Guido Starhemberg defeats the Spanish-Bourbon army commanded by Alexandre Maître, Marquis de Bay in the Battle of Saragossa.
- 1775 – The Spanish establish the Presidio San Augustin del Tucson in the town that became Tucson, Arizona.
- 1794 – Battle of Fallen Timbers – American troops force a confederacy of Shawnee, Mingo, Delaware, Wyandot, Miami, Ottawa, Chippewa, and Potawatomiwarriors into a disorganized retreat.
- 1858 – Charles Darwin first publishes his theory of evolution through natural selection in The Journal of the Proceedings of the Linnean Society of London, alongside Alfred Russel Wallace's same theory.
- 1866 – President Andrew Johnson formally declares the American Civil War over.
- 1882 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture debuts in Moscow, Russia.
- 1910 – The Great Fire of 1910 (also commonly referred to as the Big Blowup or the Big Burn) occurred in northeast Washington, northern Idaho (the panhandle), and western Montana, burning approximately 3 million acres (12,000 km2).
- 1914 – World War I: German forces occupy Brussels.
- 1920 – The first commercial radio station, 8MK (now WWJ), begins operations in Detroit, Michigan.
- 1926 – Japan's public broadcasting company, Nippon Hōsō Kyōkai (NHK) is established.
- 1938 – Lou Gehrig hits his 23rd career grand slam – a record that still stands.
- 1940 – In Mexico City, Mexico exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky is fatally wounded with an ice axe by Ramón Mercader. He dies the next day.
- 1940 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill makes the fourth of his famous wartime speeches, containing the line "Never was so much owed by so many to so few".
- 1944 – World War II: 168 captured allied airmen, including Phil Lamason, accused by the Gestapo of being "terror fliers", arrive at Buchenwald concentration camp.
- 1944 – World War II: the Battle of Romania begins with a major Soviet Union offensive.
- 1950 – Korean War: United Nations repel an offensive by North Korean divisions attempting to cross the Naktong River and assault the city of Taegu.
- 1955 – In Morocco, a force of Berbers from the Atlas Mountains region of Algeria raid two rural settlements and kill 77 French nationals.
- 1960 – Senegal breaks from the Mali Federation, declaring its independence.
- 1962 – The NS Savannah, the world's first nuclear-powered civilian ship, embarks on its maiden voyage.
- 1968 – Soviet Union-dominated Warsaw Pact troops invade Czechoslovakia, crushing the Prague Spring.
- 1975 – Viking Program: NASA launches the Viking 1 planetary probe toward Mars.
- 1977 – Voyager Program: NASA launches the Voyager 2 spacecraft.
- 1986 – In Edmond, Oklahoma, U.S. Postal employee Patrick Sherrill guns down 14 of his co-workers and then commits suicide.
- 1988 – "Black Saturday" of the Yellowstone fire in Yellowstone National Park
- 1988 – Peru becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
- 1988 – Iran–Iraq War: a ceasefire is agreed after almost eight years of war.
- 1988 – The Troubles: Eight British Army soldiers are killed and 28 wounded when their bus is hit by a Provisional Irish Republican Army roadside bomb inNorthern Ireland, United Kingdom (see Ballygawley bus bombing).
- 1989 – The pleasure boat Marchioness sinks on the River Thames following a collision, 51 people are killed.
- 1989 – The O-Bahn Busway in Adelaide, the world's longest guided busway, opens.
- 1991 – Dissolution of the Soviet Union, August Coup: more than 100,000 people rally outside the Soviet Union's parliament building protesting the coupaiming to depose President Mikhail Gorbachev.
- 1991 – Estonia, annexed by the Soviet Union in 1940, issues a decision on the re-establishment of independence on the basis of historical continuity of her pre-World War II statehood.
- 1993 – After rounds of secret negotiations in Norway, the Oslo Accords are signed, followed by a public ceremony in Washington, D.C. the following month.
- 1997 – Souhane massacre in Algeria; over 60 people are killed and 15 kidnapped.
- 1998 – The Supreme Court of Canada rules that Quebec cannot legally secede from Canada without the federal government's approval.
- 1998 – U.S. embassy bombings: the United States launches cruise missile attacks against alleged al-Qaeda camps in Afghanistan and a suspected chemical plant in Sudan in retaliation for the August 7 bombings of American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania.
- 2002 – A group of Iraqis opposed to the regime of Saddam Hussein take over the Iraqi Embassy in Berlin, Germany for five hours before releasing their hostages and surrendering.
- 2008 – Spanair Flight 5022, from Madrid, Spain to Gran Canaria, skids off the runway and crashes at Barajas Airport. 146 people are killed in the crash, and 8 more die later. Only 18 people survive.
- 2012 – A prison riot in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas kills at least 20 people.
Births
- 1517 – Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle, French cardinal (d. 1586)
- 1561 – Jacopo Peri, Italian composer (d. 1633)
- 1613 – Duchess Elisabeth Sophie of Mecklenburg, German poet and composer (d. 1676)
- 1625 – Thomas Corneille, French playwright (d. 1709)
- 1632 – Louis Bourdaloue, French preacher (d. 1704)
- 1710 – Thomas Simpson, British mathematician (d. 1761)
- 1719 – Christian Mayer, Czech astronomer (d. 1783)
- 1720 – Bernard de Bury, French composer (d. 1785)
- 1778 – Bernardo O'Higgins, Chilean independence leader, 2nd Supreme Director of Chile (d. 1842)
- 1779 – Jöns Jacob Berzelius, Swedish chemist (d. 1848)
- 1799 – James Prinsep, English scholar, orientalist and antiquary (d. 1840)
- 1833 – Benjamin Harrison, American politician, 23rd President of the United States (d. 1901)
- 1845 – Albert Chmielowski, Polish saint, founded the Albertine Brothers (d. 1916)
- 1847 – Andrew Greenwood, England cricketer (d. 1889)
- 1847 – Bolesław Prus, Polish writer (d. 1912)
- 1849 – Charles Hubbard, American archer (d. 1923)
- 1856 – Jakub Bart-Ćišinski, Sorbian writer (d. 1909)
- 1860 – Raymond Poincaré, French politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1934)
- 1862 – Jesse Carleton, American golfer (d. 1921)
- 1865 – Bernard Tancred, South African cricketer (d. 1911)
- 1865 – René Thomas, French target shooter
- 1868 – Ellen Roosevelt, American tennis player (d. 1954)
- 1873 – Eliel Saarinen, Finnish architect, co-designed the National Museum of Finland (d. 1950)
- 1879 – William Twaits, Canadian footballer (d. 1941)
- 1881 – Edgar Guest, English poet (d. 1959)
- 1885 – Dino Campana, Italian poet (d. 1932)
- 1886 – Paul Tillich, German-American theologian (d. 1965)
- 1887 – Phan Khoi, Vietnamese journalist and scholar (d. 1959)
- 1888 – Ton Duc Thang, the second and final president of North Vietnam (d. 1980)
- 1890 – H. P. Lovecraft, American writer (d. 1937)
- 1896 – Gostha Pal, Indian professional football player (d. 1976)
- 1897 – Tarjei Vesaas, Norwegian writer (d. 1970)
- 1898 – Vilhelm Moberg, Swedish author and historian (d. 1973)
- 1901 – Salvatore Quasimodo, Italian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1968)
- 1905 – Jean Gebser, German philosopher, linguist, and poet (d. 1973)
- 1905 – Jack Teagarden, American singer, trombonist, and composer (d. 1964)
- 1906 – Charles Arnt, American actor (d. 1990)
- 1907 – Alan Reed, American actor (d. 1977)
- 1908 – Al Lopez, American baseball player and manager (d. 2005)
- 1909 – Alby Roberts, New Zealand cricketer (d. 1978)
- 1910 – Eero Saarinen, Finnish-American architect, designed the Gateway Arch (d. 1961)
- 1913 – Roger Wolcott Sperry, American neurobiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
- 1916 – Paul Felix Schmidt, Estonian–German chess player (d. 1984)
- 1918 – Jacqueline Susann, American novelist (d. 1974)
- 1919 – Walter Bernstein, American screenwriter and producer
- 1921 – Jack Wilson, Australian cricketer (d. 1985)
- 1923 – Jim Reeves, American singer-songwriter (d. 1964)
- 1924 – George Zuverink, American baseball player
- 1926 – Nobby Wirkowski, American-Canadian football player and coach
- 1927 – Yootha Joyce, English actress (d. 1980)
- 1927 – Peter Oakley, English video blogger
- 1929 – Kevin Heffernan, Irish footballer and manager
- 1930 – Mario Bernardi, Canadian pianist and conductor (d. 2013)
- 1930 – Peter Randall, British soldier, George Medal recipient (d. 2007)
- 1931 – Don King, American boxing promoter
- 1932 – Anthony Ainley, British actor (d. 2004)
- 1932 – Vasily Aksyonov, Russian author (d. 2009)
- 1932 – Atholl McKinnon, South African cricketer (d. 1983)
- 1933 – George J. Mitchell, American politician
- 1934 – Armi Kuusela, Finnish model, Miss Universe 1952
- 1934 – Tom Mangold, British broadcaster, journalist and author
- 1935 – Ron Paul, American physician, author, and politician
- 1936 – Hideki Shirakawa, Japanese chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 – Jim Bowen, British television host and comedian
- 1937 – Stelvio Cipriani, Italian composer
- 1937 – El Fary, Spanish singer and actor (d. 2007)
- 1937 – Andrei Konchalovsky, Russian director
- 1938 – Alain Vivien, French politician
- 1939 – Fernando Poe, Jr., Filipino actor and politician (d. 2004)
- 1940 – Rubén Hinojosa, American politician
- 1940 – Rex Sellers, Australian cricketer
- 1941 – Dave Brock, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Hawkwind)
- 1941 – Rich Brooks, American football player and coach
- 1941 – William H. Gray, American politician (d. 2013)
- 1941 – Slobodan Milošević, Serbian politician, 3rd President of Serbia and Montenegro (d. 2006)
- 1941 – Robin Oakley, British journalist
- 1941 – Jo Ramírez, Mexican race car manager and author
- 1942 – Isaac Hayes, American singer-songwriter, pianist, producer, and actor (d. 2008)
- 1942 – Fred Norman, American baseball player
- 1943 – Sylvester McCoy, Scottish actor
- 1944 – Rajiv Gandhi, Indian politician, 6th Prime Minister of India (d. 1991)
- 1944 – Graig Nettles, American baseball player
- 1946 – Henryk Broder, Polish-born German journalist, author and TV personality
- 1946 – Connie Chung, American journalist
- 1946 – Ralf Hütter, German singer and keyboard player (Kraftwerk and Organisation)
- 1946 – N. R. Narayana Murthy, Indian businessman, co-founded Infosys
- 1947 – Alan Lee, English illustrator
- 1947 – James Pankow, American trombone player and songwriter (Chicago)
- 1948 – John Noble, Australian actor
- 1948 – Robert Plant, English singer-songwriter (Led Zeppelin, Band of Joy, The Honeydrippers, and Page and Plant)
- 1949 – Nikolas Asimos, Greek singer and composer (d. 1988)
- 1949 – Katiana Balanika, Greek actress and singer
- 1949 – Norman Featherstone, South African cricketer
- 1949 – Alan Hardwick, English journalist, actor, and producer
- 1949 – Patrick Kilpatrick, American actor
- 1949 – Phil Lynott, Irish singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (Thin Lizzy, Skid Row, and Grand Slam) (d. 1986)
- 1951 – Greg Bear, American author
- 1951 – Marcel Dadi, Tunisian-French guitarist (d. 1996)
- 1951 – Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian politician, 5th President of Egypt
- 1952 – John Emburey, English cricketer
- 1952 – Doug Fieger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Knack and Sky) (d. 2010)
- 1952 – John Hiatt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Gerry Bertier, American football player and wheelchair athlete (d. 1981)
- 1954 – Quinn Buckner, American basketball player and coach
- 1954 – Tawn Mastrey, American radio host and producer (d. 2007)
- 1954 – Al Roker, American weatherman, actor, and author
- 1954 – Don Stark, American actor
- 1955 – Agnes Chan, Hong Kong singer and author
- 1956 – Joan Allen, American actress
- 1956 – Alvin Greenidge, Barbadian cricketer
- 1957 – Finlay Calder, Scottish rugby player
- 1958 – David O. Russell, American director and screenwriter
- 1958 – Patricia Rozema, Canadian director and screenwriter
- 1958 – John Stehr, American journalist
- 1961 – Greg Egan, Australian author
- 1961 – Joe Pasquale, English comedian and game show host
- 1962 – Sophie Aldred, English actress
- 1962 – Song Dong-Wook, South Korean tennis player
- 1962 – James Marsters, American actor
- 1963 – Uwe Bialon, German footballer
- 1964 – Dino Dvornik, Croatian singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (d. 2008)
- 1964 – Azarias Ruberwa, Congolese politician
- 1965 – KRS-One, American rapper, producer, and actor
- 1966 – Dimebag Darrell, American guitarist and songwriter (Pantera and Damageplan) (d. 2004)
- 1966 – Enrico Letta, Italian politician, 55th Prime Minister of Italy
- 1966 – David Rees Snell, American actor
- 1967 – Andy Benes, American baseball player
- 1967 – Colin Cunningham, American actor
- 1967 – Terri Poch, American bodybuilder and wrestler
- 1968 – Klas Ingesson, Swedish footballer
- 1968 – Yuri Shiratori, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1969 – Billy Gardell, American actor and comedian
- 1970 – Els Callens, Belgian tennis player
- 1970 – John D. Carmack, American game programmer, co-founded Id Software
- 1970 – Fred Durst, American singer-songwriter and director (Limp Bizkit)
- 1971 – Jonathan Ke Quan, Vietnamese-American actor
- 1971 – Steve Stone, English footballer
- 1971 – David Walliams, British comedian, actor, and author
- 1972 – Chaney Kley, American actor (d. 2007)
- 1973 – Todd Helton, American baseball player
- 1974 – Amy Adams, American actress and singer
- 1974 – Misha Collins, American actor and producer
- 1974 – Big Moe, American rapper (d. 2007)
- 1974 – Szabolcs Sáfár, Hungarian footballer
- 1974 – Andy Strachan, Australian drummer and songwriter (The Living End and Pollyanna)
- 1974 – Maxim Vengerov, Russian violinist and conductor
- 1975 – Marcus Mastin, American author
- 1975 – Mac Tonnies, American author (d. 2009)
- 1976 – Chris Drury, American ice hockey player
- 1977 – Wayne Brown, English footballer
- 1977 – Felipe Contepomi, Argentine rugby player
- 1977 – Manuel Contepomi, Argentine rugby player
- 1977 – Ívar Ingimarsson, Icelandic footballer
- 1977 – James Ormond, English cricketer
- 1977 – Mayra Verónica, Cuban model and actress
- 1979 – Haha, South Korean singer and actor
- 1979 – Jamie Cullum, English singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1979 – Cory Sullivan, American baseball player
- 1980 – Corey Carrier, American actor
- 1980 – Samuel Dumoulin, French cyclist
- 1980 – Rochelle Gadd, British actress
- 1980 – Langhorne Slim, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1981 – Ben Barnes, English actor
- 1981 – Bernard Mendy, French footballer
- 1981 – Byron Saxton, American wrestler
- 1982 – Cléber Luis Alberti, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Youssouf Hersi, Ethiopian footballer
- 1982 – Joshua Kennedy, Australian footballer
- 1982 – Barney Rogers, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1982 – Meghan Ory, Canadian actress
- 1983 – Andrew Garfield, American-English actor
- 1983 – Brian Schaefering, American football player
- 1983 – Yuri Zhirkov, Russian footballer
- 1984 – Jamie Hoffmann, American baseball player
- 1984 – Rachelle Leah, American model and actress
- 1984 – Tsokye Tsomo Karchung, Bhutanese model and actress, Miss Bhutan 2008
- 1984 – Mirai Moriyama, Japanese actor
- 1984 – Tommy Speer, American mixed martial artist
- 1985 – Brant Daugherty, American actor
- 1985 – Josh Flagg, American real estate agent
- 1985 – Álvaro Negredo, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Letizia Ciampa, Italian voice actress
- 1986 – Robert Clark, Canadian actor
- 1986 – Daniele Donato, American reality contestant on Big Brother
- 1986 – Ryo Katsuji, Japanese actor
- 1987 – Kristina, Slovak singer and pianist
- 1987 – Cătălina Ponor, Romanian gymnast
- 1988 – Jerryd Bayless, American basketball player
- 1988 – Sarah R Lotfi, American director
- 1988 – Naathan Phan, Scottish magician and actor
- 1988 – Nikki SooHoo, American actress
- 1990 – Ranomi Kromowidjojo, Dutch swimmer
- 1990 – Leigh Griffiths, Scottish footballer
- 1991 – Marko Djokovic, Serbian tennis player
- 1992 – Matej Delač, Croatian footballer
- 1992 – Demi Lovato, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1995 – Anna Danilina, Kazakhstani tennis player
- 1995 – Liana Liberato, American actress
- 2000 – Fátima Ptacek, American actress
Deaths
- 14 – Agrippa Postumus, Roman son of Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa and Julia the Elder (b. 12 BC)
- 535 – Mochta, Irish disciple of Saint Patrick
- 651 – Oswine, king of Deira (England)
- 917 – Constantine Lips, Byzantine admiral
- 984 – Pope John XIV
- 1153 – Bernard of Clairvaux, French theologian (b. 1090)
- 1384 – Geert Groote, Dutch preacher, founder of the Brethren of the Common Life (b. 1340)
- 1572 – Miguel López de Legazpi, Spanish conquistador, 1st Governor-General of the Philippines (b. 1502)
- 1580 – Jerónimo Osório, Portuguese historian (b. 1506)
- 1611 – Tomás Luis de Victoria, Spanish composer (b. 1548)
- 1639 – Martin Opitz, German poet (b. 1597)
- 1643 – Anne Hutchinson, English spiritual adviser (b. 1591)
- 1648 – Edward Herbert, 1st Baron Herbert of Cherbury, English diplomat, poet, and philosopher (b. 1583)
- 1672 – Cornelis de Witt, Dutch politician (b. 1623)
- 1672 – Johan de Witt, Dutch politician (b. 1625)
- 1680 – William Bedloe, English fraudster and informer (b. 1650)
- 1701 – Sir Charles Sedley, 5th Baronet, English playwright (b. 1639)
- 1707 – Nicolas Gigault, French organist and composer (b. 1627)
- 1762 – Shah Waliullah, Indian Islamic scholar (b. 1703)
- 1773 – Enrique Flórez, Spanish historian (b. 1701)
- 1785 – Jean-Baptiste Pigalle, French sculptor (b. 1714)
- 1823 – Pope Pius VII (b. 1740)
- 1825 – William Waldegrave, 1st Baron Radstock, British admiral (b. 1753)
- 1854 – Shiranui Dakuemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 8th Yokozuna (b. 1801)
- 1887 – Jules Laforgue, French poet (b. 1860)
- 1893 – Baron Alexander Wassilko von Serecki, Governor of the Duchy of Bucovina and member of the Herrenhaus (b. 1827)
- 1912 – William Booth, British preacher, co-founder of The Salvation Army (b. 1829)
- 1914 – Pope Pius X (b. 1835)
- 1915 – Paul Ehrlich, German scientist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1854)
- 1917 – Adolf von Baeyer, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1835)
- 1919 – Greg MacGregor, English cricketer (b. 1869)
- 1930 – Charles Bannerman, Australian cricketer (b. 1851)
- 1942 – István Horthy, Hungarian admiral (b. 1904)
- 1947 – Albert Henderson, Canadian soccer player (b. 1881)
- 1961 – Percy Williams Bridgman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1882)
- 1963 – Joan Voûte, Dutch astronomer (b. 1879)
- 1965 – Jonathan Daniels, American activist (b. 1939)
- 1965 – George Oliver, American golfer (b. 1883)
- 1971 – Rashid Minhas, Pakistani pilot (b. 1951)
- 1979 – Christian Dotremont, Belgian painter and writer (b. 1922)
- 1980 – Joe Dassin, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
- 1982 – Ulla Jacobsson, Swedish actress (b. 1929)
- 1986 – Milton Acorn, Canadian poet (b. 1923)
- 1993 – Bernard Delfgaauw, Dutch philosopher (b. 1912)
- 1996 – Rio Reiser, German singer-songwriter (Ton Steine Scherben) (b. 1950)
- 1997 – Norris Bradbury, American physicist (b. 1909)
- 1997 – Léon Dion, Canadian political scientist (b. 1922)
- 2001 – Fred Hoyle, British astronomer and author (b. 1915)
- 2001 – Kim Stanley, American actress (b. 1925)
- 2005 – Thomas Herrion, American football player (b. 1981)
- 2005 – Krzysztof Raczkowski, Polish drummer (Vader and Dies Irae) (b. 1970)
- 2006 – Claude Blanchard, Canadian singer and actor (b. 1932)
- 2006 – Bryan Budd, Irish soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross(b. 1977)
- 2006 – Joe Rosenthal, American photographer (b. 1911)
- 2006 – Sinnathamby Sivamaharajah, Sri Lankan Tamil politician
- 2007 – Larry Hartsell, American martial artist and author (b. 1942)
- 2007 – Leona Helmsley, American businesswoman (b. 1920)
- 2008 – Ed Freeman, American helicopter pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1927)
- 2008 – Hua Guofeng, Chinese politician (b. 1921)
- 2008 – Stephanie Tubbs Jones, American politician (b. 1949)
- 2008 – Gene Upshaw, American football player (b. 1945)
- 2009 – Larry Knechtel, American keyboard player and bassist (Bread) (b. 1940)
- 2009 – Karla Kuskin, American children's author (b. 1932)
- 2010 – Dang Phong, Vietnamese historian (b. 1937)
- 2011 – Ram Sharan Sharma,Indian Historian(b.1919)
- 2012 – Phyllis Diller, American actress (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Virginia Dwyer, American actress (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Daryl Hine, Canadian poet (b. 1936)
- 2012 – Dom Mintoff, Maltese journalist and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Malta (b. 1916)
- 2012 – Len Quested, English footballer (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Kapu Rajaiah, Indian painter (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Mika Yamamoto, Japanese journalist (b. 1967)
- 2012 – Meles Zenawi, Ethiopian politician, Prime Minister of Ethiopia (b. 1955)
Holidays and observances
- Christian Feast Day:
- Father's Day (Nepal)
- Feast of Asmá’ (Bahá'í Faith)
- Restoration of Independence Day, re-declaration of the independence of Estonia from the Soviet Union in 1991.
- Revolution of the King and People (Morocco)
- Saint Stephen's Day (Hungary)
- Indian Akshay Urja Day
- World Mosquito Day
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“Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”1 John 5:12 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
"He shall stand and feed in the strength of the Lord."
Micah 5:4
Micah 5:4
Christ's reign in his Church is that of a shepherd-king. He has supremacy, but it is the superiority of a wise and tender shepherd over his needy and loving flock; he commands and receives obedience, but it is the willing obedience of the well-cared-for sheep, rendered joyfully to their beloved Shepherd, whose voice they know so well. He rules by the force of love and the energy of goodness.
His reign is practical in its character. It is said, "He shall stand and feed." The great Head of the Church is actively engaged in providing for his people. He does not sit down upon the throne in empty state, or hold a sceptre without wielding it in government. No, he stands and feeds. The expression "feed," in the original, is like an analogous one in the Greek, which means to shepherdize, to do everything expected of a shepherd: to guide, to watch, to preserve, to restore, to tend, as well as to feed.
His reign is continual in its duration. It is said, "He shall stand and feed;" not "He shall feed now and then, and leave his position;" not, "He shall one day grant a revival, and then next day leave his Church to barrenness." His eyes never slumber, and his hands never rest; his heart never ceases to beat with love, and his shoulders are never weary of carrying his people's burdens.
His reign is effectually powerful in its action; "He shall feed in the strength of Jehovah." Wherever Christ is, there is God; and whatever Christ does is the act of the Most High. Oh! it is a joyful truth to consider that he who stands today representing the interests of his people is very God of very God, to whom every knee shall bow. Happy are we who belong to such a shepherd, whose humanity communes with us, and whose divinity protects us. Let us worship and bow down before him as the people of his pasture.
Evening
"Pull me out of the net that they have laid privily for me: for thou art my strength."
Psalm 31:4
Psalm 31:4
Our spiritual foes are of the serpent's brood, and seek to ensnare us by subtlety. The prayer before us supposes the possibility of the believer being caught like a bird. So deftly does the fowler do his work, that simple ones are soon surrounded by the net. The text asks that even out of Satan's meshes the captive one may be delivered; this is a proper petition, and one which can be granted: from between the jaws of the lion, and out of the belly of hell, can eternal love rescue the saint. It may need a sharp pull to save a soul from the net of temptations, and a mighty pull to extricate a man from the snares of malicious cunning, but the Lord is equal to every emergency, and the most skilfully placed nets of the hunter shall never be able to hold his chosen ones. Woe unto those who are so clever at net laying; they who tempt others shall be destroyed themselves.
"For thou art my strength." What an inexpressible sweetness is to be found in these few words! How joyfully may we encounter toils, and how cheerfully may we endure sufferings, when we can lay hold upon celestial strength. Divine power will rend asunder all the toils of our enemies, confound their politics, and frustrate their knavish tricks; he is a happy man who has such matchless might engaged upon his side. Our own strength would be of little service when embarrassed in the nets of base cunning, but the Lord's strength is ever available; we have but to invoke it, and we shall find it near at hand. If by faith we are depending alone upon the strength of the mighty God of Israel, we may use our holy reliance as a plea in supplication.
"Lord, evermore thy face we seek:
Tempted we are, and poor, and weak;
Keep us with lowly hearts, and meek.
Let us not fall. Let us not fall."
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Today's reading: Psalm 103-104, 1 Corinthians 2 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Psalm 103-104
1 Praise the LORD, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the LORD, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits-
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,and justice for all the oppressed.
his deeds to the people of Israel:
8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
slow to anger, abounding in love....
Today's New Testament reading: 1 Corinthians 2
1 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God's power.
God's Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God's wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory....
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Haman
[Hā'man] - well disposed. The son of Hammedatha, the chief minister of king Ahasuerus, who is called the Agagite because of his Amalekitish descent (Esther 3:1-5).
[Hā'man] - well disposed. The son of Hammedatha, the chief minister of king Ahasuerus, who is called the Agagite because of his Amalekitish descent (Esther 3:1-5).
The Man Who Hated Jews
Haman, an oriental despot's favorite, had an innate passion for elevation. He never considered principle when seeking the king's honor. But Mordecai pricked Haman's bubble and would not bow to him. How could he honor an Amalekite whom God had cursed ( Exod. 17:14-16)! All of Haman's tragedy is condensed in the arrestive designation - he was the Jews'enemy. As the first great anti-semite, he came to prove that they who curse the Jews are cursed of God.
Haman, the vain and fussy courtier, the vulgar and unwise upstart, the cruel enemy of the Jews, the villain of the plot, is a name still hated by the Jews. Long ago at The Feast of Purim , it was customary to hang an effigy of Haman; but as the gibbet was sometimes made in the form of a cross, riots between Jews and Christians were the result, and a warning against insults to the Christian faith was issued by the Emporer Theodosius II. The Jews, however, in The Feast of Purim still celebrate their victory from annihilation by Haman.
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