Friday, September 20, 2013

Fri Sep 20th Todays News

Four people are dead from three house fires. We will have many reminders of the abysmal ALP government for years to come. But the media are spinning now, hoping people will forget. Saying there is no need to further punish the ALP who have learned their electoral lesson. But there is no evidence the ALP have learned why it is they are not in government. On election night, Rudd claimed pride in his efforts which resulted in the lowest primary vote for the ALP in over a hundred years. Gillard took pride she hadn't campaigned against the incompetent government. The two campaigning for leadership have no plan to change policy on any issue, claiming the party needs healing. Trumpeting a campaign of ideas, neither Shorten nor Albanese differ. Each claim the other is all right should they lose their bid. Some are concerned in the press that Shorten does not pronounce Albanese' name very well. Neither does the Albanese supporter whom Shorten would make deputy. 
One clear divergence from ALP policy which the public wants and voted for is an end to the climate change shenanigans the ALP carried. Flannery was sacked from his $180k a year part time job. It is likely that had that not happened on Abbott's first day as PM, Flannery would have been diligently exercising his duty by claiming the fires were related to Global Warming. It is apparently the scientific method to claim anything that happens as supportive of personal belief. In many ways, twelfth century monks had much to teach scientists of today. Flannery is a throwback to such mastery. It is doubtful he will become poor, despite the loss of his part time job. It is also doubtful he will be silenced, often offering opinion for free. 
On the world front, a broad focus is coming to Iran and US relations. Some say Iran has a moderate in charge. The moderate has asked for more time to develop nuclear weapons without prying eyes. Obama is dithering. 
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Hatches
Happy birthday and many happy returns Hendra Tan, Linita Sourn, Jenny Dang , Mathew Owens , Michael Krogh, born on the same day, across the years, as Kan B'alam I (524), Arthur, Prince of Wales (1486), Giuseppe Matteo Alberti (1685), Benjamin Franklin White (1800), James Dewar (1842), Kenneth More (1914),  Sophia Loren (1934), George R. R. Martin (1948), Gary Cole (1956), Maggie Cheung (1964), Todd Blackadder and Henrik Larsson (1971) and Sammi Hanratty (1995)
Matches
480 BC – Greeks defeat Persians in the Battle of Salamis
1066 – Battle of Fulford, Viking Harold Hardrada defeats earls Morcar and Edwin (both died in the battle)
1378 – Cardinal Robert of Geneva, called by some the Butcher of Cesena, is elected as Avignon Pope Clement VII, beginning the Papal schism.
1697 – The Treaty of Rijswijk is signed by France, England, Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the Dutch Republic ending the Nine Years' War (1688–97).
1737 – The finish of the Walking Purchase which forces the cession of 1.2 million acres (4,860 km²) of Lenape-Delaware tribal land to thePennsylvania Colony.
1835 – Ragamuffin rebels capture Porto Alegre, then capital of the Brazilian imperial province of Rio Grande do Sul, triggering the start of ten-year-long Farroupilha Revolution.
1848 – The American Association for the Advancement of Science is created.
1857 – The Indian Rebellion of 1857 ends with the recapture of Delhi by troops loyal to the East India Company.
1871 – Bishop John Coleridge Patteson is martyred on the island of Nukapu, a Polynesian outlier island now in the Temotu Province of the Solomon Islands. He is the first bishop of Melanesia.
1881 – Chester A. Arthur is inaugurated as the 21st President of the United States following the assassination of James Garfield.
Charles Duryea and his brother road-test the first American-made gasoline-powered automobile.
1942 – Holocaust in Letychiv, Ukraine. In the course of two days the German SS murders at least 3,000 Jews.
1946 - The first Cannes Film Festival is held, having been delayed seven years due to World War II.
1962 – James Meredith, an African-American, is temporarily barred from entering the University of Mississippi.
1970 – Syrian tanks roll into Jordan in response to continued fighting between Jordan and the fedayeen.
1973 – Billie Jean King beats Bobby Riggs in The Battle of the Sexes tennis match at the Houston Astrodome in Houston, Texas.
1977 – The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is admitted to the United Nations.
1984 – A suicide bomber in a car attacks the U.S. embassy in Beirut, Lebanon, killing twenty-two people.
2000 – The British MI6 Secret Intelligence Service building is attacked by unapprehended forces using a Russian-built RPG-22 anti-tank missile.
2001 – In an address to a joint session of Congress and the American people, U.S. President George W. Bush declares a "war on terror".
2007 – Between 15,000 and 20,000 protesters marched on Jena, Louisiana, in support of six black youths who had been convicted of assaulting a white classmate.
2008 – A dump truck full of explosives detonates in front of the Marriott hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing 54 people and injuring 266 others.
2011 – The United States ends its "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, allowing gay men and women to serve openly for the first time.
Despatches
911 – Louis the Child of the East Franks (b. 893)
1586 – John Ballard, English priest, conspirator in the Babington Plot
1586 – Chidiock Tichborne, English poet, conspirator in the Babington Plot (b. 1558)
1793 – Fletcher Christian, English navy officer (b. 1764)
1839 – Sir Thomas Hardy, 1st Baronet, English navy officer (b. 1769)
1863 – Jacob Grimm, German philologist, jurist, and author (b. 1785)
1933 – Annie Besant, English activist (b. 1847)
2005 – Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian holocaust survivor and nazi hunter (b. 1908)
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When mandarins turn into lemons

Piers Akerman – Thursday, September 19, 2013 (6:31pm)

DESPITE the predictable bleating from the ABC collective and the Fairfax cooperative, no one inside the Canberra beltway is surprised that the Abbott administration is showing Labor-aligned federal bureaucrats the door.

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FLANNERY DAY

Tim Blair – Friday, September 20, 2013 (10:27am)

A couple of years ago, one of those stupid global warming sceptics predicted: 
Sooner or later, somewhere in the world a mainstream political party – possibly from the left – is going to say: “Hey, we went along with all of that global warming stuff for a few years. We were scared we’d lose votes if we didn’t. But now we realise that no policies we devise can make any significant impact. From now on, our environmental spending will be limited to the environment that people live in. Here are all your taxes back. Sorry.”
On current trends, such a policy would probably do rather well. 
Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s government has now demolished Australia’s ridiculous Climate Commission and sacked Gaia cultist and Panasonic professor Tim Flannery, leader of this absurd governmental arm. It isn’t a total rejection of global warming madness, but it’s one hell of a start. Of course, Fairfax’s Tom Arup isn’t happy: 
In removing the commission – which cost just $5 million over four years – the onus is now on the Abbott government to ensure its role is replicated elsewhere. 
In fact, the onus is now on the Abbott government to raze every building to the ground that ever contained elements of Australia’s global warming bureaucracy and to salt the earth on which those structures stood. Maybe this’ll have to wait until his second term. Meanwhile, Flannery is departing as he arrived – speaking absolute rubbish: 
Professor Flannery says, despite the difficulties he experienced as commissioner, he would gladly do it all again. 
Well, of course he would. Part-time jobs that pay $180,000 per year don’t come around with just every government. 
“We’ve just seen one of the earliest ever starts to the bushfire season in Sydney following the hottest twelve months on record.” 
The current bushfire season began thanks to arson, hazard reduction and downed power lines rather than global warming. As for the “hottest twelve months on record”, people are now alert to exactly how little that means. A final word on Flannery’s dismissal from our first lady of planetary destruction: 
Greens Leader Christine Milne called it “a black day in the struggle against global warming.”
“Future generations will look back on this day and remember it as the day Tony Abbott condemned them and their peers to climate chaos,” she claimed. 
So all that stands between humanity and oblivion is Tim Flannery’s salary. Let’s see how Paris reacted to this awful news: 

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Not much action there. But I did find a man putting a decorative ferret on the roof of his VW, for reasons that may have had nothing to do with climate policy changes in Australia: 

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In the absence of any other global response, consider this the definitive international protest against Tony Abbott’s government. Fight on, warmies.

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PRIVATISE IT

Tim Blair – Friday, September 20, 2013 (9:55am)

Ten per cent of English court cases now involve the prosecution of citizens who decline to pay for the BBC. That’s some 700 cases per day. We’d probably see a similar number in Australia if funding for our state broadcaster wasn’t drawn directly and immorally from our taxes.

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The Bolt Report on Sunday

Andrew Bolt September 20 2013 (12:25pm)

Note - a time change because of our sports coverage. The Bolt Report will be on Channel 10 on Sunday at 11.30am and 4pm.
Tony Abbott declares a culture war.
Tim Flannery gets the send off he deserves from a mystery scientist.
The panel: Profesor Judith Sloan and Labor’s Kimberley Kitching.
And advice for ABC managing director Mark Scott.
The twitter feed.
The place the videos appear. 

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Sshhh. Don’t tell them the world isn’t warming

Andrew Bolt September 20 2013 (9:49am)

Global warming - propaganda
Tamara Cohen in the desperate attempts to cover up the collapse of the great global warming scare:

Scientists working on the most authoritative study on climate change were urged to cover up the fact that the world’s temperature hasn’t risen for the last 15 years, it is claimed…
Published next week, [the United Nations IPCC report] is expected to address the fact that 1998 was the hottest year on record and world temperatures have not yet exceeded it, which scientists have so far struggled to explain…
But leaked documents seen by the Associated Press, yesterday revealed ... Germany called for the references to the slowdown in warming to be deleted, saying looking at a time span of just 10 or 15 years was ‘misleading’ and they should focus on decades or centuries.

Hungary worried the report would provide ammunition for deniers of man-made climate change.
Belgium objected to using 1998 as a starting year for statistics, as it was exceptionally warm and makes the graph look flat - and suggested using 1999 or 2000 instead to give a more upward-pointing curve.
The United States delegation even weighed in, urging the authors of the report to explain away the lack of warming using the ‘leading hypothesis’ among scientists that the lower warming is down to more heat being absorbed by the ocean – which has got hotter.   

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Syria: it’s the baddies vs our enemies

Andrew Bolt September 20 2013 (9:40am)

Another reminder - this time from Anthony Loyd - that Barack Obama’s plan to strike the foul Syrian regime could only help the jihadists it fights:

A TEENAGE foreign fighter stepped out into the dusty road before us… Catalysed with anger, long hair falling over his shoulders, he spoke with a voice that was a tumble of loathing.
“ISIS,” murmured our interpreter, alias “Hamza”, confirming we had just driven into a checkpoint controlled by al-Qa’ida’s affiliate in Syria…
Infamous for abduction and torture of its enemies, hatred of Westerners and a radical interpretation of sharia, it is believed to be holding two dozen forlorn foreign hostages inside Syria…
With ISIS grabbing at the ideological wheel of Syria’s careering and chaotic revolution, its growing strength and numbers are beginning to shape the direction of the war…
Thousands of its fighters are spread across Iraq and northern Syria to within striking distance of the Mediterranean coast. Espousing the most radical takfiri brand of Islamic ideology, ISIS wants to create a caliphate under sharia, uniting Sunni territories in Iraq and Syria. Westerners are its natural enemy, but so too is any Syrian who opposes it…
Estimated to number between 5000 and 8000, [ISIS fighters] come from as far apart as The Philippines, South America, the Caucasus, North Africa, Sudan, Pakistan and Europe. “I’ve even met a blond-haired blue-eyed Australian Muslim convert among them, as well as Belgians, French and Africans,” a Syrian community leader said. 

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Sacked Tim Flannery should give us a refund

Andrew Bolt September 20 2013 (9:09am)

Global warming - dud predictions
NEW Environment Minster Greg Hunt made only one mistake today when sacking Tim Flannery and junking his Climate Commission.
Hunt actually thanked the alarmist for his work.
Thank Flannery? Hunt should instead have asked Flannery how much of his $180,000 a year salary he’d refund after getting so many predictions wrong.
(Read full article here.)
UPDATE

Or put Tim Flannery’s dud record this way...
UPDATE
On the ABC’s Lateline, global warming spruiker Tony Jones never actually mentions the dud predictions that made Tim Flannery ridiculous. Now why would that be?
TONY JONES: Finally, Tim Flannery, you’ve suffered public abuse and ridicule from some quarters for taking on this role and I’ve got to ask you this: was it worth?
TIM FLANNERY: Blood oath it was worth it, mate. You know, it’s like a game of rugby, you know. You know you’ve got to cross that try line with the ball no matter what’s thrown at you, and for us that’s staying below two degrees. It is making sure that my children and your children and even the sceptics’ children have a decent quality of life into the future and that’s important.
TONY JONES: Do you worry at all that the role, being so public in such a politicised debate, has damaged your own reputation?
TIM FLANNERY: There’s always a cost to anything you do. In trying make a difference, sure, you’re gonna make a lot of enemies. So, Tony, that’s just part of it and you live with that. But I’m convinced I’m right and I wouldn’t be doing this if I wasn’t.

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Don’t go to Adelaide, Mr Macfarlane

Andrew Bolt September 20 2013 (7:50am)

I understand why the Abbott Government doesn’t want one of its first decisions to be the ending of Holden production in Australia. Still, the faffing around of Ian Macfarlane is worrying, because he sounds a lot like a man about to waste more of our money:

THE Productivity Commission will be asked to provide a draft report on the car industry to the federal government by Christmas, as Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane formulates a rescue plan to keep General Motors Holden’s Australian manufacturing operations open…
The move comes as Holden faces a decision on whether to continue its manufacturing operations in Australia and seeks commitments from the new Coalition government on financial subsidies.
Some industry observers believe reports that Holden has set a Christmas deadline are being fanned by politics, ahead of a state election in South Australia in March…
Mr Macfarlane will fly to Adelaide for talks with Holden, unions and both sides of South Australian politics in two weeks… Mr Macfarlane signalled a pragmatic approach, saying the Coalition did not accept all of the Productivity Commission’s recommendations when it formulated the Howard government’s previous car plan…
“If we take a cold economic rational position on the car industry, there is no point in me going to Adelaide.”
Reader Peter is right:
Then don’t go to Adelaide, Minister.
UPDATE
Ken Phillips, executive director of Independent Contractors Australia, thinks the $2 billion we’ve given Holden already should be enough:

Holden has a special case to answer. For years it, like Ford, has been signing up to self-destructive union industrial relations agreements…
Typical car manufacturing agreements have prevented the use of robotics or outsourcing without union approval. Casuals are not allowed. Any contractors have to come from a union-approved list. Changes to production require union approval.
Changes to shift arrangements involve bureaucratic union processes. Union delegates are allowed 12 months’ leave for union training…
Holden’s agreements usually have been the worst of the three car manufacturers. They have “consultative” committees that are required to create processes to maintain established labour levels, assess requests for part-time employment, manage supplementary labour for weekend work and much more…
For too long the car sector has done these bad union deals, then used the union connections to lobby governments for subsidies. It has entrenched bad management practices, then expected taxpayers to pay for the bad practices.  

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It’s easy. Albanese. So why don’t his colleagues say it right?

Andrew Bolt September 20 2013 (7:40am)

I find it astonishing that Bill Shorten still does not know how to pronounce the name of his colleague and leadership rival Anthony Albanese. Why has he never troubled himself to find out? Don’t Italians deserve that basic courtesy?
Same with Tania Plibersek. Check from 4:36:

TANYA PLIBERSEK: ...: Well I’ve said from the beginning that of course I’ll be supporting my friend, Anthony Albanese, but I’m very grateful that we’ve got two such fine candidates to choose from.
(Thanks to reader Peter.)
UPDATE
Reader Paul:

In fact nobody pronounces his name correctly. It’s an Italian name and should be pronounced AHL BAH NEH SEH.
It means “From Albania”.  Both “E"s are pronounced the same way and should sound like “E” in Echo.

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Abbott won’t destroy himself just to bail out Barnett

Andrew Bolt September 20 2013 (7:13am)

You can understand why Colin Barnett would want a federal government to wear the blame for raising the taxes he needs to fix up the finances he’s buggered:
West Australian Liberal Premier Colin Barnett, still reeling in the wake of his state’s AAA credit rating loss, says the new federal coalition government must look at increasing GST revenue.
“I don’t expect a white knight to come from Canberra and fill up our treasury with money but I do believe that Tony Abbott as prime minister ... does have to show some leadership on fixing some of the fiscal imbalance of the Australian federation,” Mr Barnett told ABC TV.
Which part of this promise did Barnett think Abbott would not fight to the death to keep?

The GST won’t change, full stop, end of story.
No, don’t raise federal taxes. Cut Barnett’s spending:

In 2008 [the Barnett Government] inherited low debt levels. They’ve gone from $3.6 billion to a projected $28.4 billion over the next four years. Debt is forecast to reach $47.3 billion by 2022-23…
The simple plan was to make hay while the sun shined; to invest the proceeds of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity [the mining boom] into transforming Perth, while also splashing cash in the regions.
And there’s every reason to believe that when all of this infrastructure is in place – new hospitals, a world class football stadium, a revitalised foreshore, buried train lines and possibly light rail - West Australians will have a city to be even more proud of…
Today the Premier acknowledged: “You can say perhaps we tried to do too much too quickly. Maybe we need to slow down. And we will.”
UPDATE
Just in case Barnett wasn’t listening before the election:

But a spokesman for the Prime Minister said today ”the GST won’t change, full stop, end of story”.

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Immigration shouldn’t have us in this danger

Andrew Bolt September 20 2013 (7:07am)

Our immigration program let us down badly, particularly when standards were dropped to let in more harder-to-assimilate Muslim Lebanese. Now we have a security problem that goes beyond shootings in Sydney’s West:
COUNTER-TERRORISM authorities believe an Australian who became the country’s first suicide bomber after he blew himself up in a truck in Syria last week was a 27-year-old Brisbane man already under investigation by the Australian Federal Police…
The suicide bombing was carried out by al-Nusra Front, an al-Qa’ida-affiliated brigade of the Syrian opposition movement…
Authorities believe there are about 80 Australians participating in the conflict, in either combat or support roles. Of those, about 20 per cent are thought to be fighting with al-Nusra Front, which was listed as a terrorist organisation by the Gillard government this year.
Hundreds more are believed to be assisting in other capacities, such as humanitarian relief. Most are Lebanese dual nationals who enter Syria through Turkey’s porous southern border.

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Albanese contrasts his record of loyalty to Shorten’s

Andrew Bolt September 20 2013 (7:01am)

Still absolutely nothing that could qualify as the “contest of ideas” that both candidates for Labor’s leadership promised. Anthony Albanese and Bill Shorten have made it just a contest of numbers - and of personalities:

Mr Albanese told a Brisbane audience on Wednesday that he had been ‘’loyal to both’’ Julia Gillard and Kevin Rudd, raising the question of whether Mr Shorten could make the same claim.
‘’I woke up each and every day and did my best for the cause of Labor - I didn’t engage in internal shenanigans,’’ Mr Albanese said.
Bill Shorten with Nicola Roxon.
When asked about the remark on Thursday, Mr Shorten defended his decision to switch loyalty to Mr Rudd after strongly supporting Ms Gillard, saying: ‘’I, like all the members of the caucus, have had to make hard decisions based on what we think is the national interest and the party interest.’’

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Abbott moves against the Liberals’ faceless men

Andrew Bolt September 20 2013 (6:27am)

The kind of NSW Liberal powerbrokers who recruit numbers rather than talent - remember Jaymes Diaz? - are getting some of the payback from Tony Abbott they deserve:
CONTROVERSIAL powerbroker and lobbyist Michael Photios has resigned from the Liberal Party State Executive after Prime Minister Tony Abbott confirmed he was pursuing a policy of banning party officials from the national lobbyist register.
The resignation follows revelations in The Daily Telegraph of Mr Photios’s influence within the O’Farrell government, including regular meetings his firm was having with sacked former minister Greg Pearce.
Photios himself did not back Diaz, and something must be done specifically about those who did - people like David Clarke, who seem to me to cause the Liberals far more harm than good:

The Diaz family fiefdom of Greenway (Diaz’s father is a Blacktown City councillor) is closely interlocked with NSW powerbroker and right-wing Catholic activist David Clarke, with a Filipino network providing the foot-soldiers.
Splits among the Vietnamese in Fowler (15 per cent of the population is Vietnam-born), where right wing powerbrokers had done their best to block the aspirations of popular Vietnamese Australian Liberal activist Dai Le, produced the Andrew Nguyen candidacy.
Nguyen, a long-time local council member and real estate agent, was trounced in Fowler, generating a 9 per cent swing to the ALP’s Chris Hayes.
But Abbott has moved a bit on that front, too:
The only woman named a parliamentary secretary was the out-of-favour Concetta Fierravanti-Wells. The NSW right-wing senator was demoted after her role in sponsoring the failed Greenway candidate Jaymes Diaz, against Mr Abbott’s express wishes.

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Rowan Dean book launch

Andrew Bolt September 20 2013 (12:19am)

image
Order Rowan’s book here.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a meeting with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius at the Prime Minister's Residence in Jerusalem, August 25, 2013 (photo credit: Marc Israel Sellem/Pool/Flash90)
The world must not be deceived by the moderate statements made by Iranian President Hasan Rouhani, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday night, in response to anNBC interview with Rouhani broadcast Wednesday. 
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J.John
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” Matthew 6:33
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When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people. Abraham Heschel
=“@CJMilo: @Canonjjohn where can we get your Halloween booklet?”http://t.co/kvymE7gwWe
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I am interviewing Lord Michael Hastings a unique man. Join us and hear his story on 9th October in Chorleywood
http://t.co/LSKqva856e
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Pastor Rick Warren'
Sweet wine comes from crushed grapes. If you want God's anointing on your life, expect to be crushed
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We've held hands through everything for 38 years. I'm so in love with my wife. During the CNN interview, our pulses beat together while a nation watched.
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YES! Our services repeat EVERY HOUR ONLINE 168 times a week!http://www.saddleback.com/onlinecampus. 
Is there a way to watch you teach online? @timothyc

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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.](John 16:33)

No matter what you are facing today, remember, faith pleases God and opens the door for His supernatural favor, strength and wisdom. Don’t settle for defeat because you are preprogrammed for victory. Choose to thank Him for what He is doing in your life and for the victory that is on the way. Be strong, be bold and take courage today because God has overcome the world.
When trials and tribulations come, as children of the Most High God, we can take courage; we can be confident, and we can have perfect peace. Why? Because perfect peace doesn’t come from the world. Courage doesn’t come from the world and neither does confidence. These things come from a relationship with Almighty God. We can have hope in challenging times because God has promised us victory. As long as we stay in faith, as long as we put our trust and hope in God, we will stay in victory.Amen.

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TWO HIV-positive porn actors have called on the industry to require condoms on all adult films, and say new rules requiring HIV tests every two weeks is not enough.
Porn actor Cameron Bay tested positive for HIV in August, sending fears through the industry and prompting a moratorium on porn filming in Los Angeles.
Now it has emerged that four porn actors have HIV, as filming is set to resume on Friday despite the outbreak. The actors have criticised the new tests every 14-days and are urging the industry to require condoms to protect workers.
Now, more actors have come forward to say they have HIV, including Bay’s boyfriend Rod Daily.
The pair learned just days apart that they were HIV-positive.
Porn Films HIV Cameron Bay Rod Daily

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/porn-actor-cameron-bay-boyfriend-rod-daily-and-two-more-porn-actors-have-hiv-call-for-more-tests/story-e6frfmq9-1226723188242#ixzz2fPLmM2hI
There was a lot more that they were missing from their lives .. and it isn't the end for them. It could be a blessing. But they are unlikely to continue to profit from more sexual performances. - ed
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Above: “I knew I shouldn’t have pressed the snooze button”—Tony Abbott on his way to his first Cabinet meeting
.by Joe Hildebrand
As some people might have noticed by the spike in depression rates in Newtown and Northcote, Tony Abbott is now Prime Minister of Australia.
But what will he really be like? As usual, it is left to me to reveal the truth. In yet another extraordinary exclusive, the Joe Hildebrand column has obtained the top secret daily itinerary of Tony Abbott, Prime Minister, as written by the man himself.
Its contents, as always, will shock and amaze…
3.45am: Wake up. Figured given it’s my first day as PM I’d allow myself a bit of a sleep in. Must not make a habit of this.
3.46am: Hit the gym. Lucky I always sleep in my lycra – hate to think of the time other people waste getting out of their Maggie Thatcher jimjams and into the old fruit basket. Bludgers.
3.48am: Done 90 push-ups, 300 sit ups and 180 preacher curls. Time to hit the rowing machine. Think I’ll set it to “Murray-Darling”.
4:01am: Go for a quick bike ride.
4:27am: Coffee in Newcastle.
4:51am: Back home for breakfast.
5:06am: Ready to start the day. Wonder if it’s too early to scrap the carbon tax? Oh that reminds me.
5:07am: Sack Tim Flannery.
5:15am: Call the Deputy PM. What’s his name again? Warwick something?
5:42am: Walter maybe? Waldo?
6:07am: Wayne? No that’s that other bloke. Bloody hell.
6:08am: Call Barnaby.
6:30am: Just went for a surf and got dumped by a monster. Fisherman in a tinnie motored up to see if I was okay and I told him to turn his boat back. Made me laugh anyway.
7:06am: Girls are up. The three of them ran up to me and gave me a big kiss but I told them there were no cameras outside so they went back to bed. Good to see the kids have learnt something.
7:10am: Cycle into the office.
7:11am: Arrive at office.
7:15am: Phone call from some guy called Warren wanting to talk about emergency powers or something. Don’t know why reception lets these cranks through.
7:27am: Day’s dragging on a bit. Wouldn’t mind a workout.
8:44am: Back from my marathon. Bit sluggish.
8.45am: Need to get started on my economic policy. I wonder if Joe’s up yet? Oh who am I kidding.
9:00am: Time for my first proper Cabinet meeting. Should be fine as long as Julie sits next to me. The rest I can just call “mate”.
10:00am: Cabinet went okay. I had this idea of shortening all the names of the departments but in the end I had to compromise. Now we’re calling the Department of Industry, Innovation, Climate Change, Science, Research and Tertiary Education just “Department of Industry” instead of my original idea, which was “The Department of How Does Get @#$%ed Sound”. Still, some progress.
10:14am: Had to share a lift down with Malcolm. Still got that smug look about him. Bet he doesn’t bench press 90 kilos when he’s sunbathing at Icebergs.
11:00am: First press conference. Must remember not to say anything.
12:00pm: Presser went okay. Love it when the ABC journos have to call me Prime Minister. One of the online chicks nearly choked on her soy latte.
12:27pm: Is it okay for a Prime Minister to have 12 Weet-Bix for breakfast and lunch? Only one way to find out.
1:00pm: I wonder if Hockey’s up yet. Maybe just send him a text.
1:37pm: Treasury just brought in the costings for the Paid Parental Leave scheme. They had to use a wheelbarrow. This one might be tricky.
2:05pm: The Indonesians just called. “Something, something, something, you can’t do this, something, something, something, we’ll go to war, something, something.” Yeah, whatever.
2:18pm: Finally got a hold of Joe. Apparently there’s no Budget black hole – bastards declared all the crap before the election. Looks like I’ll have to do PPL after all. @#$% me.
3:06pm: This Labor leadership stuff is fun to watch. Got one bloke pretending to be in charge while two other blokes keep saying how much they agree with each other. It’s like watching an episode of The Circle but without any hot chicks.
3:32pm: Actually I hope Albo gets it. We can smash each other up and then have a beer afterwards. Good times.
4:07pm: Now I’ve got some lunatic on the phone pretending he’s the Deputy PM. Calls himself “Warnie” or something? Must speak to reception about this.
5:00pm: Home time! Not bad for a first day. Still, wouldn’t mind something to do. Might have time to squeeze in a run. 
.
If you want to do a quick 20 reps with Tony follow me on Twitter here: @Joe_Hildebrand
If you want to hang out with Barnaby instead join my new Facebook page here

All those depressed people. Those people upset by Abbott's win, and the axing of the Climate Change department. Call me. Let me hear you. Those tears are like healing balm for my wounds. - ed
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Spect_Lib_Dem

Anyone of good sense, or with a political sensibility placing them to the right of Lenin, couldn’t help but celebrate on Saturday 7 September. Electoral defeat of a disintegrating and duplicitous Labor government was a glorious event. But for Australians whose souls burn with the flame of liberty, that day delivered an additional and more important victory: the election of David Leyonhjelm to the senate.
The real significance of the Liberal Democrat’s senate seat win was lost in the media furore. Stories and interviews hammered home a few points: the novelty of new independent parties achieving representation; the preference deals that got them there; the ‘donkey vote’ position of the Liberal Democratic party on the ballot; the confusion of some voters who may have mistaken the Liberal Democrats for the Liberals.
The only Liberal Democrat policy repeatedly referenced by the media — always out of context — was the party’s support of the right of citizens to own firearms for self-defence. This has long been dismissed by most Australian pundits as some loopy idea imported from the US by home-grown ‘gun nuts’. But when America’s Founding Fathers drafted the second amendment to the US constitution — unlike most of today’s commentariat — they were not operating in an historical nor an intellectual vacuum. The Founders were aware that the right to keep and bear arms was an ancient one, long established in British common law, and finally codified in England’s 1689 Bill of Rights. They had read Aristotle, Locke, Machiavelli and scores of other western thinkers who all understood that this right was indivisible from the absolute right of the individual to self-defence. Moreover, America had just won a war of independence, a conflict sparked by the British Empire’s attempt to disarm American colonists at Concord and Lexington. The Founders knew first hand that abdicating force to an overreaching government would spell the death of liberty.
What struck me when I spoke to senator-elect Leyonhjelm this week was that like America’s Founders, he too was not living in a vacuum. His political philosophy had taken decades of thought — and decades of real world experience — to form. In youth, his nascent distaste for authority was further informed by the Vietnam era draft. Imbued with the bright-eyed socialistic leanings shared by many young men and women, he’d travelled behind the Iron Curtain and to communist countries in Africa. Witnessing the hideous realities of collectivism soon cured him of leftist delusions. Later in life, the works of free-market economist Milton Friedman helped cement his philosophical move to classical liberalism.
While the Liberal Democrats’ firearms policy is unique in this country, so is their entire platform. They are the only party upholding the ideals of classical liberalism. They support your right to smoke what you want, marry who you want, gamble when you want, own what you want, trade with whom you want, run your business the way you want, defend yourself when threatened and pay as little tax as possible (so don’t worry Libs, Leyonhjelm won’t oppose the scrapping of carbon, mining, or any other taxes). The party’s website outlines an extensive platform, informed by a powerful philosophy: folks should be free to live unhindered by senseless and despotic government regulations.
If you believe in liberty, you can’t pick and choose rights. You can’t just support those individual rights that complement your temperament and taste, but spit on those that don’t. Denying the freedom of others makes you a tyrant. This applies even in a democracy. Even if you are in the majority, if you disagree with a certain right and your vote helps outlaw it, that doesn’t make you justified, it just means you belong to the tyranny of the majority. Shame on you if you do. More so if you pay lip-service to the ideals of liberalism.
Being a true liberal — today the term libertarian better reflects this position — means that you are often embattled by both the Right and Left establishment (intrusive government is a blight long nurtured by both sides of mainstream politics). It also means yours is a voice of reason in a world where ‘bipartisanship’ has become code for a two-party duopoly introducing overreaching policies that only benefit power-broking special interests and a control-hungry bureaucratic machine. In a recent internet panel discussion, Julian Assange recognised this trend in America: ‘The only hope as far as electoral politics is concerned in the United States presently is the libertarian section of the Republican party… It will be the driver that shifts the United States around. It’s not going to come from the Democrats. It’s not going to come from Ralph Nader. It’s not going to come from the co-opted parts of the Republican party.’
This resurgence of libertarianism among Republicans owes much to Ron Paul. The retired Texas congressman’s steadfast philosophy was marginalised for decades, but paved the way not just for his son Rand Paul (Republican Senator from Kentucky, and 2016 presidential hope for liberty-minded Americans), but a growing cadre of other libertarians.
Leyonhjelm acknowledges the influence or Ron Paul on Liberal Democratic policy. Indeed, when the senator-elect speaks — ‘There are two guiding principles that determine our approach to legislation: We would never vote for an increase in taxes and we would never vote for a reduction in liberty’ — you can hear the spirit of freedom channelled not just from Paul, but from centuries of liberal thought. All too often Australia’s Liberal party loses sight of this original mandate. ‘The political middle ground is now left of where it once was’, Leyonhjelm tells me. ‘We have to shame the Liberal party into moving in our direction.’ And while aware he is now just ‘one voice’ in the senate, the Liberal Democrat’s ‘aspiration’ is that his will be ‘the first of many’.
Just as the once solitary figure of Ron Paul paved the way for what is now the only alternative in American politics, David Leyonhjelm may well spark a libertarian renaissance here. This is the real significance of his election to the senate. As George Washington once recognised, ‘Liberty, when it begins to take root, is a plant of rapid growth.’
This article first appeared in the print edition of The Spectator magazine, dated 

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Sep. 18, 2013 — Her name was Amica, and her name and footprint are embedded in a terra cotta tile belonging to an ancient Roman temple. The signed tile is a rare find because Amica was a Roman slave, and her footprint survives. For the most part, the slaves of the well-preserved city of Pompeii still remain largely "invisible" in history, according to the University of Delaware's Lauren Hackworth Petersen.
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The timing for the scandal just couldn’t be worse for Germany’s third largest political party, the Greens. Only three days before Germany’s national elections, and it is now exploding out of control.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/10312930/Germanys-Green-Party-leader-regrets-campaign-to-legalise-paedophilia.html
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Slide 1 - Full Time vs Part Time
When it comes to whether the economy has recovered from the Great Recession, many Americans are optimistic. After all, consumers are spending more, there are fewer home foreclosures, and an average of 180,000 jobs were added each month in 2013; all of these are good signs. But what about the other aspects of the economy, like the length of unemployment or the national debt? Are they back to where they were in 2008, before the recession? Here are 16 stats that show that our economy still has a long way to go before it can truly be considered healthy again.
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World’s "top climate scientists" told to ‘cover up’ the fact that the Earth’s temperature hasn’t risen for the last 15 years

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2425775/Climate-scientists-told-cover-fact-Earths-temperature-risen-15-years.html#ixzz2fN17tbF8
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Scientists at a British university say they are confident they found evidence of life that originated in space.
Researchers at the University of Sheffield sent a scientific balloon into the stratosphere — often described as the edge of space — during a Perseid meteor shower, which collected small organisms they believe are not from Earth.
“Most people will assume that these biological particles must have just drifted up to the stratosphere from Earth, but it is generally accepted that a particle of the size found cannot be lifted from Earth to heights of, for example, 27km. The only known exception is by a violent volcanic eruption, none of which occurred within three years of the sampling trip,” professor Milton Wainwright said in a statement.

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Post by Anime.


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Wheel of Fortune puzzle

Did the massively popular game show “Wheel of Fortune” cheat a contestant out of a chance to win a million dollars? That’s what some are wondering after what happened recently on the show.
It appears that a curious pronunciation of the phrase “Corner Curio Cabinet” is at the center of the controversy.

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And abysmal overtaxing government out of office. - ed
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John Boehner absolutely crushes Obama with this message, and it is awesome.

Check it out here: http://bit.ly/1dsD1n2
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With no significant warming for 17 years, the Arctic ice cover increasing and certainly not disappearing as was predicted for this year, and a leaked admission by the IPCC that its computer models have exaggerated predicted increases in warming, surely it is time to wonder why public policy killing off jobs, imposing some of the highest electricity prices in the world and burdening the taxpayers is still in place.
It is of course time to kill the carbon dioxide tax. But isn't it time to review the Renewable Energy Targets? As to the Renewable Energy Target, we cannot put it better than Viv Forbes of Queensland does in the following letter sent to CANdo under the heading Abolish the Unreliable Energy Targets":

"Killing the carbon tax is not enough to restore sanity to Australia’s energy policies - the Renewable Energy Targets must also be abolished.
No matter what laws are passed in Parliament, wind/solar power can never supply reliable economical grid power - their fundamental flaws are too numerous.
Their low energy density means that large areas of land must be blighted to collect a significant quantity of power.
Moreover, their intermittent supply pattern means that they cannot maintain a predictable electricity supply.
And even if some magic cheap storage system is invented, the expensive wind/solar generating facilities will remain under-utilised for more than 60% of the time, and up to 30% of any energy stored will be lost in transfers.
Finally, without storage, green power needs full backup from reliable generation plants (which must also operate intermittently).
Germany is proving that an advanced society cannot survive on wind/solar energy, even with support from French nuclear power, Swedish hydro-power, Russian gas and Polish coal.
For too long, green dreamers have forced their daft ideas on Australia’s power supply network. We need to employ real power engineers and grown-up energy technology.
The Renewable Energy Targets should be renamed “Unreliable Energy Targets” and abolished immediately."

@profdavidflint
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"If you hunger for righteousness, you will be filled through me." -Jesus
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Larry Pickering
“SORRY TONY, I STUFFED UP!”

WA Premier, Colin Barnett, made the same mistake as the Rudd/Gillard/Rudd Government; he believed the mining bubble would never burst and spent accordingly. 

A savage S&P credit write-down was due to a ballooning $18 billion in debt (heading for $26 billion) and Mr Barnett believes Abbott will now have to revisit the GST. 

Sorry Colin, there is more chance of me turning poofter and marrying a bloke in Canberra this weekend, with my golfing mates as bridesmaids.

Abbott will not do a Gillard and reverse a solemn pre-election commitment for the sake of a Barnett mess of his own making.

Not that Tony could do that, even if he wanted to, because the GST is a States’ tax and all States would have to agree. Not likely with elections looming.

Abbott is preoccupied with Federal cuts and there is still $40 billion of fat still on the bone. But that won’t help Barnett, not without a substantial State’s grant and even that won’t decrease the Premier’s debt.

The perennial headache with Howard’s GST is the carve-up... there is only one cake (with unequal slices) and Barnett wants one of the bigger slices. That can only happen at the expense of other hungry Premiers.

If Abbott either increases or broadens the base of the GST without first taking that proposal to an election, he will become the same subject of ridicule as Gillard and her, “There will be no carbon tax...”.

No, Mr Barnett, you will have to stew in your own mess for a while yet.

The modern economic climate is far too fluid to base infrastructure spending on four-year forward estimates.

Better pray that God looks kindly on China.
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This image is from my first time of catching fog on the deck of the Golden Gate Bridge, around three years ago. It was a magical experience that I hope to repeat again someday. It's mesmerizing to watch the fog flow in from out in the Pacific, over this beautiful red landmark that stands at the northwestern edge of San Francisco.
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Glenn Beck and Mark Levin are two of the most-listened to radio hosts in the country, yet they have never actually had a conversation — that is, until Levin appeared on Beck’s radio program on Thursday.
The two couldn’t speak highly enough of one another’s work at combating out-of-control government, focusing primarily on the solutions proposed in Levin’s most recent #1 bestseller: “The Liberty Amendments: Restoring the American Republic.”
“We live what I call a post-constitutional period,” Levin began.  “You’re well familiar with Woodrow Wilson and the Progressive movement — we have to accept the fact that they won…and this utopian statism and constitutional Republicanism cannot coexist.  And they don’t coexist. And the circle of liberty around every individual is shrinking and shrinking and shrinking.”

Some people just toss words around. A few years ago people were saying the financial world was ending due to the GFC. Because it wasn't true, they have less credibility now. The fact is, things are difficult because the President is bad and the Democrats are not a good party. The problem is not the structure of the US, but the structure of the Democrat party, artificially supported by a compliant media. - ed
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During a radio segment that aired on The Tom Joyner Radio Show, CNN host Don Lemon delivered a thought-provoking monologue about gun violence — but he took the opposite viewpoint than some might expect from a mainstream journalist.
Rather than flatly speaking out against firearms, Lemon noted that a recent study has actually changed his views on guns. Citing the Center for Disease Control’s research that was released this summer, he implored listeners to consider that the results might also challenge their own perspective.
“It just might make you rethink your stance, your view, on the issue,” said Lemon. “It did for me. It’s making me rethink it.”
So, what, exactly did this apparently transformational study claim? Here are just a few of the bullet points, as assembled from Guns & Ammo Magazine:
1. Armed citizens are less likely to be injured by an attacker:
2. Defensive uses of guns are common:
3. Mass shootings and accidental firearm deaths account for a small fraction of gun-related deaths, and both are declining
And those are only a few of the findings — data that Lemon found more than compelling.
In the past, Lemon has taken a staunch view on firearms and gun violence, as evidenced here. In a fascinating dialogue with TheBlaze’s Will Cain following the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting last year, Lemon went after AR-15s.
“Who needs an armor-piercing bullet to go hunting?  Who needs an assault rifle to go hunting?  You can’t even use the prey that you kill with an assault rifle if you indeed do it,” he said at the time. “No one needs an assault rifle to go out and shoot a deer. No one needs an assault rifle that’s capable of shooting 10, 20, 30 rounds off at the same time to shoot a duck, or to shoot quail.  It does not make sense.”

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Fox News

Breaking News: House passes bill to slash $40 billion from food stamp programs.
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"The church sometimes has locked itself up in small things, in small-minded rules," Francis said. "The most important thing is the first proclamation: Jesus Christ has saved you. And the ministers of the church must be ministers of mercy above all." 
This is not a change .. except for the bigots who dislike the church
David Daniel Ball IMHO This is not a change .. except for the bigots who dislike the church .. it is a reordering of how the church defends itself from criticism. Interesting to see how it effects change in Ireland and Poland which have strong laws related to these issues.
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“She’d only met one person on the Internet, and that person ended her life.” – Kristine, whose 15-year-old daughter was allegedly abducted and killed by a man she was communicating with on Facebook. Will her story make an impact on Missy? http://bit.ly/DRP091913 
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Another spring morning in Sydney Harbour, in front of my work place Unfortunately I work in the basement cleaning people's mess and act as a free friggin counselling service.. well enjoy the view another couple of minutes until I crawl into that basement..hahaha
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Aprille Love
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The U.S.-led drive to force Syria's beleaguered regime to surrender its chemical weapons has raised questions about the arsenal of chemical and biological arms Israel has reportedly stockpiled and the activities of the secretive Israel Institute for Biological Research near Tel Aviv.
Israel signed the Chemical Weapons Convention on Jan. 1, 1993, when the treaty took effect. But it has never ratified it, which would have committed the Jewish state to international inspections and refraining from violating the treaty.
Syria, which reputedly has one of the world's most extensive chemical weapons arsenals, never signed the convention, but under international pressure now says it's prepared to do so.
Amid the international controversy over Syria's alleged use of deadly nerve agents the United Nations says killed more than 1,000 civilians Aug. 21, The Jerusalem Post reports the government of Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is preparing in case Israel is asked to submit to inspection.
The Israelis have never admitted or denied having chemical weapons, and have maintained that ambiguity amid the furor over Syria's chemical arms.
Haaretz quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Vigal Palmor as saying Israel would not ratify the convention as long as other states in the region that have chemical weapons arsenals threaten it.

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Iran's Rouhani says wants peace, blames Israel for region's 'instability'http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/19/us-iran-nuclear-rouhani-idUSBRE98I0G620130919
Everybody wants something. Ego shouldn't be bigger than brain in a public administrator - ed
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Allen West
Today I am proud to give my endorsement of The American Health Care Reform Act (AHCRA) developed by my former colleagues in the Republican Study Committee. Unlike the onerous, convoluted, and oxymoronic Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), the ACHRA is a commonsense free market solution to improve an American healthcare system by ensuring individual liberty and sovereignty are promoted. Healthcare is a very personal choice for individuals, but the PPACA violates that basic premise. President Obama can attempt to accuse Republicans of extortion, but the proof of his theft of the American dream for future generations is obvious by way of his socialist concept of wealth redistribution. As well, Obama is guilty of bribery as he grows the welfare nanny-state by promising more largesse from the public treasury in order to expand the dependency society for his own liberal progressive political designs.

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A beautiful spring day outside the Sydney Opera House yesterday in the world's best city.
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The Lone Fisherman with Fort Denison on Pinchgut Island in the background and a Sydney Harbour ferry heading towards the suburb of Manly. I love my city of Sydney, Australia.
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4 her
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"The arrest of Gehad el-Haddad for inciting violence is a sobering reminder not just of how close Hillary Clinton’s network is to the brutal Muslim Brotherhood, the Left’s favorite Islamofascist cell, but also of the extent to which Islamist enemies of the United States have infiltrated the American political establishment."
-Matthew Vadum

http://frontpagemag.com/2013/matthew-vadum/clinton-muslim-brotherhood-operative-arrested-in-egypt/
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The Islamist group of Hamas has announced plans this week to produce a film about the kidnapping and swap of Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, a Hamas official told the Chinese newsagency Xinhau. 
According to a reportfrom Mohammed Al-Ar'ir of the ministry of culture, the Hamas movement has allocated $100, 000 to produce the film, set to take place in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The film will be produced by Al-Wataniya, a local media company.
The movie will not focus on or reveal any new details about how Hamas held Shalit for more than five years in Gaza since his capture in 2006. Rather, it will focus on "violent resistance," which Hamas says is "the best option and only hope to free Palestinian lands and over 8,000 Palestinianprisoners still captive in the Israeli occupier's prisons."

Shalit was freed in October 2011 in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinian Authority prisoners, one of which was recently killed in theKalandiya riots in August when some 300 Arabs violently attacked IDF troops with firebombs. Of the three casualties, two were identified as known terrorists. 
"The film's production stems from the ministry's desire to take part in social and cultural activity, and to spread and implement the resistance culture and the spirit of sacrifice in order to strengthen national Palestinian identity in the cultural sense," the culture ministry expressed in an announcement.
According to Al-Ar'ir of the ministry of culture, "Capturing Shalit is an important event in the history of the Palestinian people and their resistance. That's why we fete it in movies."
The filming will begin in the coming days in Gaza to "boost Palestinian cinema production and because Gaza was the original time and place of the real scene," Al-Ar'ir said. 
Iran, Hamas' main financial backer until 2012, was supposed to cover the budget of the movie, but the Iranian government refused to pay the money due to Hamas refusal to support Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in repressing the ongoing rebellion in his country, Al-Ar 'ir said.
Hamas celebrates terrorism - ed

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Post by Adrian Armstrong.



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Hi everyone! Here's the MichelleMalkin.com newsletter for September 19th. Enjoy!

From the Blog

Uncovered docs: IRS flagged groups in 2011 based on ‘anti-Obama rhetoric’

Under Lois Lerner (who taxpayers are still sending paychecks to by the way), things at the “apolitical” IRS got incredibly partisan, as evidenced in this update to a “phony scandal”...

Obama asked if majority of Americans wrong to oppose Obamacare: ‘Yes they are’

The short version of this story: Obama says “are you going to believe me or your lying eyes?”

Perfect: Obama’s pick for State Department security chief reportedly once shot himself in the foot

Metaphor alert on this report about President Obama’s pick for the State Department’s security chief...

More From the Right Side of the Web

Featured Video

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This morning on "FOX & Friends," Michelle talked about Bashar al-Assad and the battle over Obamacare.

Michelle's Top Tweets

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And ... Our Hate Tweet of the Day

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A nightmare, you guys! Colin must have interesting dreams.

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RMS Mauretania

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Events[edit source | editbeta]

Births[edit source | editbeta]

Deaths[edit source | editbeta]

Holidays and observances[edit source | editbeta]

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“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”Ephesians 4:29 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

"The liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free."
Galatians 5:1
This "liberty" makes us free to heaven's charter--the Bible. Here is a choice passage, believer, "When thou passest through the rivers, I will be with thee." You are free to that. Here is another: "The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee"; you are free to that. You are a welcome guest at the table of the promises. Scripture is a never-failing treasury filled with boundless stores of grace. It is the bank of heaven; you may draw from it as much as you please, without let or hindrance. Come in faith and you are welcome to all covenant blessings. There is not a promise in the Word which shall be withheld. In the depths of tribulations let this freedom comfort you; amidst waves of distress let it cheer you; when sorrows surround thee let it be thy solace. This is thy Father's love-token; thou art free to it at all times. Thou art also free to the throne of grace. It is the believer's privilege to have access at all times to his heavenly Father. Whatever our desires, our difficulties, our wants, we are at liberty to spread all before him. It matters not how much we may have sinned, we may ask and expect pardon. It signifies nothing how poor we are, we may plead his promise that he will provide all things needful. We have permission to approach his throne at all times--in midnight's darkest hour, or in noontide's most burning heat. Exercise thy right, O believer, and live up to thy privilege. Thou art free to all that is treasured up in Christ--wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. It matters not what thy need is, for there is fulness of supply in Christ, and it is there for thee. O what a "freedom" is thine! freedom from condemnation, freedom to the promises, freedom to the throne of grace, and at last freedom to enter heaven!

Evening

"For this child I prayed."
1 Samuel 1:27
Devout souls delight to look upon those mercies which they have obtained in answer to supplication, for they can see God's especial love in them. When we can name our blessings Samuel, that is, "asked of God," they will be as dear to us as her child was to Hannah. Peninnah had many children, but they came as common blessings unsought in prayer: Hannah's one heaven-given child was dearer far, because he was the fruit of earnest pleadings. How sweet was that water to Samson which he found at "the well of him that prayed!" Quassia cups turn all waters bitter, but the cup of prayer puts a sweetness into the draughts it brings. Did we pray for the conversion of our children? How doubly sweet, when they are saved, to see in them our own petitions fulfilled! Better to rejoice over them as the fruit of our pleadings than as the fruit of our bodies. Have we sought of the Lord some choice spiritual gift? When it comes to us it will be wrapped up in the gold cloth of God's faithfulness and truth, and so be doubly precious. Have we petitioned for success in the Lord's work? How joyful is the prosperity which comes flying upon the wings of prayer! It is always best to get blessings into our house in the legitimate way, by the door of prayer; then they are blessings indeed, and not temptations. Even when prayer speeds not, the blessings grow all the richer for the delay; the child Jesus was all the more lovely in the eyes of Mary when she found him after having sought him sorrowing. That which we win by prayer we should dedicate to God, as Hannah dedicated Samuel. The gift came from heaven, let it go to heaven. Prayer brought it, gratitude sang over it, let devotion consecrate it. Here will be a special occasion for saying, "Of thine own have I given unto thee." Reader, is prayer your element or your weariness? Which?
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Today's reading: Ecclesiastes 1-3, 2 Corinthians 11:16-33 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Ecclesiastes 1-3

Everything Is Meaningless
1 The words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem:
2 “Meaningless! Meaningless!”
says the Teacher.
“Utterly meaningless!
Everything is meaningless.”
3 What do people gain from all their labors
at which they toil under the sun?
4 Generations come and generations go,
but the earth remains forever.
5 The sun rises and the sun sets,
and hurries back to where it rises.
6 The wind blows to the south
and turns to the north;
round and round it goes,
ever returning on its course.
7 All streams flow into the sea,
yet the sea is never full....

Today's New Testament reading: 2 Corinthians 11:16-33

Paul Boasts About His Sufferings
16 I repeat: Let no one take me for a fool. But if you do, then tolerate me just as you would a fool, so that I may do a little boasting. 17 In this self-confident boasting I am not talking as the Lord would, but as a fool. 18 Since many are boasting in the way the world does, I too will boast. 19 You gladly put up with fools since you are so wise! 20 In fact, you even put up with anyone who enslaves you or exploits you or takes advantage of you or puts on airs or slaps you in the face. 21 To my shame I admit that we were too weak for that!
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Ephraim

[Ē'phrăĭm] - doubly fruitful. The second son of Joseph by Asenath and founder of a tribal family (Gen. 41:52; Num. 1:10). Also the name of a town (2 Sam. 13:23), a city (John 11:54), a gate of Jerusalem (2 Kings 14:13), and a wood (2 Sam. 18:6).

The Man Who Represented Fruitful Pruning

In Jacob's prophetic blessing of his sons the prominent feature of Joseph's portion was that of fruitfulness, a prophecy receiving its fulfilment in the double tribe springing from Joseph, namely, Ephraim and Manasseh, like two branches out of the parent stem. Joseph himself was "a fruitful bough" because he had been so well pruned. The sharp knife of adversity led to the sweet fruit, and the fruitful bough ran over the wall. Ephraim and Manasseh were the heads of most fruitful tribes. The Book of Hosea, however, reveals how the blessings showered upon these tribes were ill requited.
Joseph named his second son Ephraim because as he said "God hath caused me to be fruitful in the land of my affliction." Here Joseph, although a Hebrew, speaks as a Gentile. Ephraim was the fruitfulness of his father in the land of Egypt as a Gentile prince, and Jacob rightly calls his seed "the fulness of the Gentiles," when he adopts him on his dying bed.
The representative man of the tribe of Ephraim is Joshua. No other like him arose afterwards in this tribe. Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, founder of the kingdom of Ephraim, was the exact opposite to Joshua in faith and conduct.
The significance of Ephraim's name must not be lost upon us. What Joseph said of him indicated that God had brought good out of evil, privilege out of pain, triumph out of tragedy. In spite of any affliction that may be ours, do we remain fruitful in every good work? To Joseph the birth of Ephraim came as luscious fruit after the severe pruning of ill-treatment, slavery and prison. See John 15:1-8.
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Priscilla

The Woman Who Was Foremost in Service
Scripture References - Acts 18:2, 18,26; Romans 16:3; 1 Corinthians 16:19; 2 Timothy 4:19
Name Meaning - Priscilla is the diminutive of Prisca, feminine of Prisca meaning "primitive," hence, "worthy, or venerable," as belonging to the good old time. This name is also found as a family name in the earliest Roman annals, and appears in the form "Prisca" in Paul's Second Epistle to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:19 ). Cruden says Priscilla means "ancient, old-fashioned simplicity." It is also interesting to note that Aquila, Priscilla's husband, had the family name of the commander of a legion, for it means "eagle" - emblem of the Roman army. Both names are Roman. From the prominence given in Roman inscriptions and legends to the name Prisca it is concluded that she belonged to a distinguished Roman family.
Family Connections - Of Priscilla's background and parentage Scripture is silent. Doubtless, like her husband, she was born in Pontus. Both were Jews of Asia-Minor, and as such were expelled by Claudius from Rome, and in Corinth, Priscilla and Aquila became the honored and much-loved friends of Paul. In fact, they were the most distinguished among his fellow-helpers in the cause of Christ.
As Priscilla is always paired with her husband, Aquila, it is difficult to separate her and place her on a pedestal of her own. Their two hearts beat as one. Harmoniously, they labored together in the service of the church. They walked as one for they had mutually agreed to put Christ first. In the six references where both are mentioned, the name of Priscilla comes first in three instances, and Aquila first in the other three. They are never mentioned apart. Is there any significance attached to the fact that Aquila is not named first every time, but equally shares mention with his wife? A number of conjectures have been put forth why Priscilla comes first at all in the references to them both. Some writers suggest that she was the more energetic of the two, and perhaps had the stronger character. Dinsdale Young thinks that Priscilla may have been a believer before her husband, and that she won him for the Lord by her "chaste conversation," or that perhaps hers was a primacy of character and service, or a more conspicuous intellectual ability, or that she may have been of nobler birth and social quality than Aquila.
Personally, we see no reason at all for Priscilla's name coming first in half of the Scripture references to her, even though she may recall the wonderful prominence of women in early Christianity, and in martyrdom and service for Christ. If, in any way, Priscilla outshone Aquila, he must have praised God for such a precious gifted wife. Charles Kingsley makes one of his characters in Westward Ho! say, "In her he had found a treasure and knew what he had found." This must have been Aquila's sentiment also. Let us now look at the many fascinating facets of the union existing between these two old-time saints.
They Were One in Marital Bliss
What romance, love and blending of personalities are associated with such an ordinary phrase as "Aquila ... with his wife Priscilla." How interesting it would be to know where and how they met, fell in love with each other and married! As nothing is said about any children that through the years came to grace their lovely home, we can take it that Priscilla was childless. From the record we have of Aquila and Priscilla their story is a beautiful idyll of home life. Together from the time of their marriage they are always named together, and were inseparable. What a pleasant picture of wedded love they present! To these two, wedlock was a divine ordinance and indissoluble union, and one which halved their sorrows and doubled their joys. They were not unequally yoked together but joined in the Lord.
In the truest sense, Aquila and Priscilla were "no more twain but one flesh," and all that they covenanted to accomplish together from the hour of their marriage vows was realized as the result of the perfect unity of the spiritual, nature of purpose, and of aim. As twin stars, Aquila and Priscilla were "bright with borrowed rays divine." They moved in one orbit and were united in all their labors as well as in their love. With Nabal and Abigail we have a sad illustration of husband and wife who had nothing in common, who were diametrically opposed to each other in character, and in whom sordidness and sublimity were associated. But with Aquila and Priscilla it was so different, for like Zacharias and Elisabeth they, too, were "both righteous" and like them, manifested a union, idyllic in its full-orbed loveliness and charm. Because the Bible is everybody's Book, it is the married people's Book revealing how the Aquilas and Priscillas can live happily together.
They Were One in the Lord
Further, this Christian couple were one in their experience of God's saving power, and so became one in their holy zeal for the Saviour, and in their service for His church. They were partners in faithful endeavors, not only to present Christ by lip, but also in the excellency of their walk and conversation. The supreme need of our critical time is not for more preachers, but for more lay workers like Aquila and Priscilla ready to exemplify Christ in the common round of life. Paul first discovered this godly pair when he came to Corinth from Athens where they had been driven by the edict of Claudius against the Jews. What an arrestive phrase that is, "Paul found a certain Jew named Aquila ... with his wife Priscilla" (Acts 18:2). What a find that was! Fewer, grander discoveries have ever been made. "Paul was a wonderful discoverer. He was always finding, now a truth, now a grace, now a personality. He was ever finding because he was ever seeking." How many have we found for the Lord?
Just when Aquila and Priscilla became the Lord's, Scripture does not say. Had they been unconverted when Paul found them it would have been impossible for them to remain so, with Paul living in their home for eighteen months, and their contact with the Apostle's constant teaching of the Word of God in the nearby synagogue. The inference is that when Paul met them they were firmly established in the Christian faith, and that in them he found two saintly souls after his own heart. Both Aquila and Priscilla as Hebrews were drenched in Old Testament Scriptures and had found in the promised Messiah, their Saviour and Lord, and were thus able to enter into Paul's remarkable ministry during his stay in Corinth. With honored Paul as their guest, what times the three of them must have had together in prayer and meditation upon the Word. What spiritual knowledge Aquila and Priscilla must have acquired from the Early Church's greatest Bible teacher. Theirs must have been a thorough theological course.
They Were One in Secular Occupation
Luke informs us that "by their occupation they were tentmakers" (Acts 18:3 ). This must have added to Paul's delight in living with Aquila and Priscilla for he was of the same craft, and at times supported himself in this way (Acts 20:34;1Thessalonians 2:9; 2 Thessalonians 3:8 ). When not preaching and teaching we can imagine Paul, Aquila and Priscilla sitting together in Aquila's shop as they plied their needles and fashioned or repaired tents. Aquila and Priscilla shared the duties of their workshop. They were not ashamed of manual toil. Proud of their craft, we can believe that the product of their joint labors was known for its excellent quality. The tents from their establishment made of honest goat's hair, sewn with honest thread, seamed and disposed of at an honest price, gave Aquila and Priscilla a wide reputation. They were in the tent business first of all, for the glory of God.
As Jews, Paul, Aquila and Priscilla were taught the tent trade when they were young, for the teaching of rabbis was that the father who failed to teach his son a trade educated him to be a thief. Jesus Himself was taught a trade and was thus known not only as "the carpenter's son" but also as, "the Carpenter." We are thus shown the dignity of labor. The craft of Aquila and Priscilla may have been a common one, but it was approached in an uncommon spirit. Their toil was honorable and they honored God in their toil, even as Jesus did when for long years He worked at the bench. Do we turn our particular craft to good account for the Lord? "A particular craft will throw one into association with a particular class of persons, and if one is alert and always about the Master's business, he may find in his particular calling a special opportunity for testimony from which others, not of the same craft, are circumstantially excluded."
They Were One in Their Friendship for Paul
As we read the references to Aquila and Priscilla we cannot fail to be impressed with the affection they had for Paul, and of the way he held them in high esteem. Of all the Apostle's co-workers none were to prove themselves as loyal and helpful as these two. As a lonely man, and in constant need of friendship and comfort, none cared for Paul as that home-making couple provided for him. Their oneness in spiritual things made Aquila and Priscilla so precious to the heart of Paul who designated them "my fellow-workers in Christ Jesus" (Romans 16:3, asv). They were workers not shirkers in the divine vineyard, and their labors with and for the Apostle were not in vain, seeing they wrought "in Christ Jesus." They shared Paul's itinerant ministry. They went to Ephesus and to Rome assisting their friend in every way. As missionaries they scattered the good seed of the Gospel wherever they went (Acts 18:18; Romans 16:3; 2Timothy 4:19).
This is why Paul was generous in his recognition and acknowledgment of indebtedness to these godly souls, who, for love of Christ labored with him so devotedly in the Gospel. When Paul left Corinth after a residence of a year and a half in the home of Priscilla and Aquila, they left with him for Ephesus. After some time he "left them there," and sailed to Jerusalem. Being "left there" was in the providence of God as we shall see when we come to their contact with Apollos there. In the furtherance of the Gospel Paul tells us that Priscilla and Aquila laid down their own necks for his sake, earning thereby not only his heartfelt gratitude, but also that of all the Gentile churches which Paul had founded. Moule translates this passage, "For my life's sake submitted their own throats to the knife" (Romans 16:3, 4) - referring to some stern crisis otherwise utterly unknown to us but well-known in heaven. In some way or another, possibly during the great Ephesian riots, they had saved the man whom the Lord consecrated to the service of the Gentile world.
The way Paul describes their readiness to sacrifice themselves on his behalf conveys the thought that they had been exposed to martyrdom for his sake. He never forgot the self-sacrifice of Priscilla and Aquila who, for the most part of their lives worked at their trade as tentmakers but who were capable of noble deeds equal to the occasion. In perilous circumstances they exhibited a martyr-like self-sacrifice, and thereby emulated the example of the Master whom they so faithfully served. Can we say that we are ready to lay down our necks for apostolic causes? Must we not confess with shame our effort to save our necks as much as possible.
While the last mention of Aquila and Priscilla is to be found in Paul's Second Epistle to Timothy where they were back at Ephesus about the year a.d. 66 (2 Timothy 4:19 ), there is a tradition to the effect that they ultimately laid down their lives for Christ's sake. The 8th of July is the day set apart for them in the martyrology of the Roman Church when it is said the faithful couple were led out beyond the walls and beheaded. If this is so it is not difficult to fill in the details of the pathetic picture. Aquila and Priscilla had loved each other through the years, and together had served the Lord so loyally. Now with eyes so full of unfading love, as if to say to each other "Farewell, fear not!" they were ready for the flash of the blade that sent them home to God, and to eternal fellowship with Paul, Apollos, and others they had so signally helped.
They Were One in Their Profound Knowledge of Scripture
One of the most impressive aspects of the spiritual influence of Priscilla and Aquila was the way in which these two simple souls with a deep knowledge of Christian truth were used to open the eyes of a great Alexandrian divine to the reality of the Gospel. The eloquent and fervent Apollos with all his brilliance and power suffered a sorry limitation as a preacher. He knew only "the baptism of John" (Acts 18:25, 26). He knew nothing of salvation through the cross and the accompaniments of salvation. The larger truths of the Gospel of Redemption were as yet unknown to him. Priscilla and Aquila followed the crowds who went to hear this most popular and persuasive preacher.
As they listened, Priscilla and her husband detected the negative defects of the preaching of Apollos. He taught no positive error, denied no essential of the faith. What he preached was true as far as it went. Apollos knew the truth, but not all the truth, and so in the quiet way, with all humility, Priscilla and Aquila set about correcting the apparent deficiency of Apollos. Inviting him to their home they passed no word of criticism on what they had heard him preach but with consummate tact instructed him Biblically in the truth of the crucified, risen and glorified Saviour. "They expounded unto him the way of God more carefully" ( asv)
What was the result of that Bible course which Apollos received from those two godly, Spirit-enlightened believers? Why, Apollos became so mighty in the Gospel that he was called an apostle. In fact, he became so effective as a true gospel preacher that some of the Corinthians put him before Peter and Paul. But all that Apollos became he owed, under God, to the quiet instruction of Priscilla and Aquila. In Apollos, Christ gained a preacher whose spiritual influence was second only to Paul himself. Says Alexander Whyte in his chapter dealing with Aquila, Priscilla and Apollos -
I admire all the three so much, that I really do not know which to admire the most; Aquila and Priscilla in their quite extraordinary wisdom and tact and courage, and especially love; or Apollos in his still more extraordinary humility, modesty, and mind of Christ.
If we cannot be great, by God's grace we may be the means of making others great. Quiet, unobtrusive Andrew little knew when he brought his brother Peter to Christ that he would become the mighty Apostle to the Jews. As husband and wife, and humble tentmakers, Aquila and Priscilla greatly enriched the ministries of Paul and Apollos whom God, in turn, used to establish churches.
They Were One in the Service of the Church
Paul gives us a still fuller insight into the passionate desire of Aquila and Priscilla to bind the saints together in fellowship. To the Corinthians he wrote, "Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church in their house." In Romans, the Apostle sent his greetings to them and to "the church that is in their house." At stated times they gathered the followers of Christ for worship, meditation and remembrance at the Family Altar, and thereby invested "the domestic circle with a peculiar sanctity as the germ of that great organism which we call the Church of God."
In those apostolic days, poverty and persecution made separate buildings for worship almost impracticable, and so private, sanctified homes became the house of God. Aquila and Priscilla consecrated their home to God, as a gathering place for the saints. Because of this they became doubly sanctified by the Word of God and prayer. If such a dedicated home is "the masterpiece of the applied Gospel," should we not be careful that nothing enters our home to "unchurch" it? Perhaps the church of God could become a mightier spiritual force in the world if she could return to upper chambers and churches in the home.
As we take farewell of Aquila and Priscilla we remind ourselves that in the history of Christianity the truly great characters have always been simple and humble men and women. The God who made the mountains also made the valleys, and both are needed. Paul, ever conscious of his indebtedness to inconspicuous persons, paid just tribute to Aquila and Priscilla. Whether we are prominent or otherwise, may we be found serving God to the limit of our ability. How much we owe to the quiet and useful lives of the world's Aquilas and Priscillas, as well as its more conspicuous saints we shall never know this side of heaven! The humble tentmakers we have thought of are, "a bracing and cheering study for Christians of every type and condition. They are especially a pertinent ensample for Christian husbands and wives. It will be a true loss if we neglect to contemplate this spiritually-minded pair who walked in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord, blameless."
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September 19, 2011
Do it now!
Today's Truth
To one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him, it is sin (James 4:17, NASB).
Friend to Friend
Procrastination is one of the greatest sources of stress in life. I once heard a preacher tell the old story of three demons who were arguing over the best way to destroy the Christian movement. The first demon had it all figured out. "Let's tell all the Christians that there is no heaven. If we take away the reward incentive, their movement will collapse." The second demon responded with, "No, I have a better idea. Let's tell all of the Christians that there really is no hell. If we take away their fear of punishment, their movement will collapse." The third demon offered, "Both of those are great ideas, but there is a better way. Let's tell all the Christians that there is no hurry." The other demons applauded in delight! "That's it!" they said. "Our best weapon of all is procrastination."
Procrastination is understandable and normal - humanly speaking - but procrastination is not part of God's best plan for our lives. We don't often view procrastination as sin, but it is. Sin is not merely doing wrong. It is failing to do what you know you should do - when you know you should do it. Knowledge equals responsibility. Procrastination and disobedience are just opposite sides of the same coin.
Sin usually brings pleasure for at least the moment. If you are on a diet and want to have just one bite of a chocolate candy bar - but end up eating three chocolate candy bars - it is because you wanted more of that chocolate pleasure and simply could not make yourself stop at one bite - right? Or maybe you go shopping with a set amount you can spend on a new pair of shoes and end up buying three pairs of shoes only to realize that you need a dress to go with them, and a new purse to go with the dress, and new jewelry to match the shoes, purse and dress and ... well, you get the idea. It is easy to understand how we get caught up in sins like gluttony, lust and greed because they all bring momentary pleasure.

Procrastination is different in that it helps us avoid doing the things we don't want to do - the tasks that require personal discipline and a commitment to godly goals. Wasting time often creates a restless feeling that produces a sense of failure. When the deadline we were supposed to meet has come and gone or the dreaded task we keep putting off spirals out ofcontrol - guilt sets in. We try to rationalize it away when the simple truth is that we have sinned.
The key to dealing with procrastination begins with a commitment to obey God and exercise His wisdom. Joyce Meyer once said, "Wisdom always chooses to do now what it will be satisfied with later on." We can choose to be led by wisdom rather than our momentary feelings. We can choose to make right choices. We can learn to be good stewards of the time God has given us.
I once attended a leadership conference that changed my life in many ways. The speakers did not talk about money or success. They focused on the fact that God created each one of us in response to His unique plan for our lives. One of the simplest but most powerful mottos I came away from that conference with was: "Do it now!" Do you realize that it takes as much energy to avoid a task as it does to do it? Procrastination drains energy while action producesenergy. God empowers us to do what He calls us to do.
Matthew 6:33 (NCV) "The thing you should want most is God's kingdom and doing what God wants. Then all these other things you need will be given to you."
Truth is for now. God is not impressed with good intentions. Obedience today is the greatest preparation for every tomorrow. So do what you know to do today! The Proverbs 31 woman did. In fact, Scripture tells us she could "laugh at the days to come" (Proverbs 31:25). In other words, this woman fully lived in the present but carefully planned and prepared for the future. Proverbs 31:19 indicates that she made thread with her hands and weaved her own cloth: "In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers." Notice she only made thread and cloth - not the finished product of clothes. That was a task for the future. She was simply getting ready today to meet the needs of tomorrow. The result was a life filled with hope and lived out in purpose.
Let's Pray
Father, please forgive me for putting off what I know You want me to do. Help me to be more disciplined with my time. Teach me how to find and live by Your priorities for my life. I want to do what You created me to do, Lord. Show me how to live a life of power and purpose.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
Now It's Your Turn
Procrastination is really about loving self and pleasing self above others. Romans 12:10 tells us that we should love each other deeply and honor others more than ourselves. The moments God give us really do matter now and eternally. We are responsible for how we spend them. Each moment in time represents an eternal opportunity. Evaluate your life in light of these truths. How well do you invest your time? What one change can you make this week to overcome procrastination? Ask a friend or family member to hold you accountable to make that change.
More from the Girlfriends
Looking for a Bible Study that is both practical and powerful? Check out Mary's E-Book Bible Studies. Each one includes a study guide that you can download for your personal use or for a small group study. Time: Friend or Foe will help you learn how to manage time and set goals.
Come As You Are is Mary's NEW Online Bible Study that begins September 26! The most common invitation offered by Jesus Christ is simply to "come." He doesn't ask us to fix what is wrong or expect us to clean up our lives. That is His responsibility. Jesus loves us just as we are and when we come to Him with a "yes" in our hearts, He lovingly transforms the broken places into beautiful scars of healing and new life. Enroll before October 1 and have access to all 2011 lessons. Need a friend? Connect with Mary on Facebook or throughemail.
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Micca Campbell
September 19, 2011
The First Desperate Housewife
Micca Monda Campbell
"And it came to pass after these things, that his master's wife cast her eyes upon Joseph; and she said, 'Lie with me.'" Genesis 39:7 (KJV)
I admit it. I used to be a soap opera fan when I was a teenager. Lured by the romance and drama, I assumed real life as an adult would play out in the same fashion. Boy was I wrong! While there's plenty of drama in my life, romance is something that has to be scheduled most of the time.
Real life isn't like what we see on TV or read about in romance novels. In fact, these images can be dangerous to both single and married people alike. When our ideas about life leave us dissatisfied, we can easily be tempted to look at other options. Soap operas, pornography and romance novels encourage risky behavior that can lead to sin.
Often married people convince themselves that just looking or dreaming about being with someone other than their spouse is okay as long as they don't actually do anything about it. Likewise, some single people feel that they can lust after another as long as they remain "physically pure." Jesus said, "'But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already committed adultery with her in his heart.'" (Matthew 5:28, NIV) That goes for us gals, too.
I imagine Potiphar's wife, referenced in today's key verse, could be described as the "first desperate housewife." She didn't have TV to watch or a romance novel to read. She had something in real life to fill her eyes and mind: Joseph. He was the head workman in charge who conveniently lived in her home and was pleasing to her sight. Unknown to Joseph, he was about to become the prey of a desperate housewife.
This Egyptian woman didn't happen to just notice Joseph one day and then on the spur of the moment, ask Joseph to lie down with her. No. Our key verse tells us she "cast her eyes upon Joseph." In other words, she watched him with her eyes which led to sinful thoughts which gave way to action. With the lust in her heart, she was daring and shameless in her sin.
How do we keep from falling into such sin? Perhaps we should follow Job's example. "'I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl [or boy]'" (Job 31:1, NIV 1984). We too have a great need and responsibility to make a covenant with our eyes to not look at others with lust. Remember that children's song often sang in Sunday school, "Be careful little eyes what you see? Oh, be careful little eyes what you see. For the Father up above is looking down in love. Oh, be careful little eyes what you see."
We can protect our eyes by choosing not to watch movies, pornography or TV shows that glamorize sexuality and lead us into temptation. If we're married, we can ask our husband to make a covenant with us and pray for each other asking God to protect us from looking at others. And it'd be good to remember, the grass is not always greener on the other side. I guarantee that guy doesn't clip his toe nails regularly either.
I realize we are human and make mistakes. No one is perfect this side of heaven. That's why it's so important to be watchful. Another way to safe guard ourselves is to commit to taking hold of any lustful thoughts and quickly cast them out of our minds. Temptation is not a sin. It's when we dwell on the temptation that we are led to sinful actions. Let's not be like Potiphar's wife. Instead, let's ask God to give us pure "eyes" set on Him and if we're married, set on the spouse we have.
Dear Lord, forgive me for where I have fallen short. I commit to You today to take every lustful thought captive so that it doesn't lead me into sin. May all my thoughts be pleasing to You. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:Learn more of God's truths in Micca's book, An Untroubled Heart
Micca would love to pray for you. Please visit Micca's blogto leave your prayer request. She's also giving away a copy of her message on CD, Cultivating a Heart of Contentment.
When you purchase resources through Proverbs 31 Ministries, you touch eternity because your purchase supports the many areas of hope-giving ministry we provide at no cost. We wish we could, but we simply can't compete with prices offered by huge online warehouses. Therefore, we are extremely grateful for each and every purchase you make with us. Thank you!
Application Steps:
If you are having trouble in this area, find a trustworthy accountability partner who you can share honestly with about your struggles. Agree to hold each other accountable to God's truths and to pray for one another. When these thoughts enter your mind, turn to God's Word, prayer and your accountability partner.
Reflections:
In what ways can I protect my eyes from lustful images?
Practice thinking on what is true, right and pure.
Am I addicted to soap operas or romance novels? If so, what steps will I take today to move away from this stronghold in my life?
Power Verses:2 Corinthians 10:5, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." (NIV)
Philippians 4:8, "Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable-if anything is excellent or praiseworthy-think about such things." (NIV 1984)
© 2011 by Micca Campbell. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
616-G Matthews-Mint Hill Road
Matthews, NC 28105
www.Proverbs31.org
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LeadershipBible-Header-550

Personal Development: Obedience to God

Along with the costs of leadership come many opportunities-some positive, some negative. Many leaders have access to information or financial resources that they could use to their personal advantage. Others travel widely and almost anonymously, and have ample opportunity to compromise their purity. Still others use their position to unethically crush the competition-whether internal or external. Whether the temptation is money, sex or power, many leaders sell themselves out. We read about the higher profile cases on the newspaper headlines every day.
Every leader should periodically ask, "Do I have a price?" A godly leader's commitment to God should be such that he or she will obey him no matter what he or she is of fered to compromise. Unfortunately, Saul-the leader who had everything a nation could want-lacked such commitment. When the pressure was on, instead of obeying God's command to completely destroy the Amalekites, Saul spared the king and the best of the livestock (v. 9). That was Saul's price-a defeated king to gloat over and expanded wealth through owning animals, one of the major contemporary wealth indicators. Later, when Samuel confronted the king, Saul feebly explained that he had saved the best for the Lord. Instead of owning his sin, he rationalized it.
How did God respond? He said, "To obey is better than sacrifice" (v. 22). God doesn't want ours, he wants us. Why? Because when God has us, he also has ours. King Saul rejected the Lord, and the Lord rejected him as king over Israel. So ask yourself, "What's my price? What would it take for me to disobey God?" Hopefully, your commitment is nonnegotiable. Such commitment is a crucial element in the character of a leader. Reread this tragic story of Saul's disobedience to God and think through the tragic consequences of his failure.
Obedience to God and Who God Is
A brief overview of Israel's history shows that the fundamental problem of God's covenant people was their repeated failure to obey God's commands. God always blessed their obedience, but their habitual disobedience was the cause of their misery and their eventual downfall. Clearly, there is a basic principle here that applies to our own lives as well. Turn toDeuteronomy 10:12-13 to see God's loving requirements for his people.
This Week's Verse to Memorize

Passage to memorize this week:Psalm 119:97-101 Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Your commands make me wiser than my enemies, for they are ever with me. I have more insight than all my teachers, for I meditate on your statutes. I have more understanding than the elders, for I obey your precepts. I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word.
Obedience to God and Who I Am
According to Scripture, a fundamental factor of the quality of this life and of the next is our response to God's initiatives and claims on the choices we make. Response is unavoidable; we may ignore, resist or reject God's initiatives and requirements, or we may respond in positive obedience. Turn to the note on 1 John 5:3 for a Biblical perspective on God's commands.
Obedience to God and How It Works
When obedience to God is costly, why be obedient? All of us had better have an answer to that question before we find ourselves in the vise of a tough decision. Three young men put their lives on the line rather than disobey God. We see why in Daniel 3:16-18 and its accompanying study note.
Obedience to God and What I Do
There will be times when obedience to God means saying no to our personal desires. Jesus modeled such obedience in the Garden of Gethsemane. Author Vernon Grounds helps us appreciate the mindset that enabled Jesus to obey his Father even when it meant going to the cross. Turn to the note on Matthew 26:39 for today's reading.
handbookleadership

Handbook to Leadership: Leadership in the Image of God

by Kenneth Boa
Buy the Handbook!
All the features of The Leadership Bible created by Kenneth Boa, Sid Buzzell, and Bill Perkins have been combined in this attractive and compact black leather volume. Handbook to Leadership has four parts: 52-Week Leadership Guide, Topical Leadership Guide, Leadership Character Studies, and Books of the Bible Leadership Guide.

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NIV Devotions for Moms

You Look Like God!

This week's reading: Genesis 1:26-31
A mother tends to define herself most easily in terms of externals. I am what I do. I am what others need me to be. I am what I accomplish.
While these descriptions are true, they are incomplete. They overlook the vital fact that we are made, inside and out, by God. We are shaped after his image.
When we gaze into the mirror of God's Word, we find that God has stamped on our being a reflection of his character, his essence, his being. That is not to say we are mini-gods in any sense. But just as children reflect the physical, mental and personality traits of their parents and even adopted children share the mannerisms and habits of their adopted families, so we who are fashioned by God manifest elements of his character in our beings.
Who are you, Mom? You are a unique being fashioned after the God of the universe--inside and out!
Additional recommended Scripture readings: Psalm 139:13-14; Colossians 3:10
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Today's reading is from the
Mom's Devotional Bible
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Mom, you don't have to go it alone! The Mom's Devotional Bible is a trusted source of wisdom to help you along the path of mothering.



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