Monday, October 21, 2013

Mon Oct 21st Todays News

The Abbott government is going to have to work hard to reform the economy. Workplace reform is a challenge. Bloated bureaucracy. Hockey is undertaking an audit. Media have patted themselves on the back recently, saying the economy is not that bad despite the abysmal ALP government. The audit will allow Hockey to best direct resources. But vastly increased debt is not a solution. 
Williamson is sorry he was caught embezzling from the poorest workers. But won't pay it back. 
Shorten's leadership foreshadowed as being challenged. He isn't very smart and he is being protected by the press gallery .. for now. But then so were his predecessors. His AGW policy is crippling the party. 
Flannery's conflict of interest not revealed by the ABC because, it was his conflict, not theirs? 
Gore's lie is exposed. Will he return his Nobel Prize? 
Disaster means cash splash? 
Abbott abusers highly lauded by Walkleys. Meanwhile, Abbott volunteers to serve. 
Adam Bandt and ALP's Andrew Leigh the vultures. 
ALP claim the drop in boat numbers is because of ALP policy. 
SMH and LA Times ban warming skeptics .. how is that for debate? 
Corruption at high levels of government is serious. Because I had not thought it had extended so far, I made a private complaint to the NSW Dept of Ed in '94 about a teacher at Campbelltown PAHS who was in the habit of walking into the girls change room of the year 7's and 8's, touched students inappropriately in activity (publicly groping a blond haired girl to illustrate an activity to other year 8 students in front of staff) denying medication to students (asthma inhalers to students who forgot them prior to activity, talking inappropriately to girls on the playground (telling a year 11 girl who was smoking a cigarette she might prefer his dick). I expected nothing to happen. I expected to be pushed aside. I hadn't expected the cover up to include the highest levels of bureaucracy and the then Premier's office. 
The complaint was 'dealt with' after some aggrieved students were interviewed by protection officers after they left school. They apparently told investigators that they did not feel like pursuing the matter. Investigators told me privately that as a result they would have to conclude nothing happened. I pointed out it had smoked my career and pushed me to a few schools and I would have to think twice before reporting again. 
The issue became important because I was working as a boarder tutor at Hurlstone AHS. A control freak who didn't like me because I was fat, who was my immediate supervisor, was having difficulties getting rid of me because I didn't mind doing more than other staff. I was placed on probation for being fat, but after a few terms that was 'forgotten.' I was asked to transfer to the school and offered a President position of LMTA (Liverpool Math Teacher Association) by the incumbent President who was HT Math at Hurlstone. But there was a meeting of Head Teachers Mathematics of Hurlstone AHS and Campbelltown PAHS and the Hurlstone Head changed his mind about wanting me to transfer, or offering me the Presidency. That gave the Welfare HT leverage. Firstly, I was moved from one accommodation place to another. Then my new place was declared unfit for habitation. I was housed in the staff common room which was used by the Olympic Road Traffic Authority as a headquarters. Then I was told my place was repaired, but a guy who was retiring would stay there, I found accommodation off site after a year of being moved around, after three years on site. 
I worked a few casual nights at Hurlstone during the 4th year (having started in '98, I was itinerant in '01). It was as the most senior person on duty that I met Hamidur Rahman over dinner and found out about his peanut allergy. I reported it to the HT Welfare, whom I thought would ignore me, and his boss, the Deputy Principal. Both warned me not to speak publicly about Hamidur's health issue. Both promised staff would be warned about the issue. I stopped working at Hurlstone soon after that, and appealed to the department over the unfair dismissal. 
In 2002, Hamidur died when a PE teacher who had not known of Hamidur's allergy ordered him to lick peanut butter from a spoon as a reward for an activity. The instruction to use peanut butter as a reward had come from the Head Teacher Welfare at a staff meeting when I worked there. Later that year, the Department took action against me, saying I was too fat to teach Mathematics. I was offered early retirement but declined when I was promised a new deal by a new Principal at my day school of Canley Vale HS. 
But harassment did not end there. In '03, I began blogging. In '04, I took long service leave, wrote my autobiography in the hopes of changing career and was treated for Sleep Apnea. In '05 I was contacted by an old school friend who was a legal adviser to the then Premier of NSW and whom I'd asked for advice in '95 about Campbelltown. I shared my autobiography with them. In '06, I was ordered by the Department of Education to stop writing online, and ordered to delete everything. This instruction was given under the auspices of the 2004 Teacher's Code of Conduct my school friend had claimed to have written. 
In '07, I waited until after the state election hoping for a new government, but ALP was reelected. I contacted the new Education Minister, Della Bosca through Tripodi and asked him to consider my issue. I threatened to resign and speak out if my issue was not addressed. The Coroner investigating Hamidur's death had meantime reported the parents had failed to inform the school of his allergy. 
Had the department not bungled the Campbelltown PAHS investigation, Hamidur might well be alive today. 
===

Hatches
Happy birthday and many happy returns Theresa Thutrang Nguyen and Duyz Khalifa. Born on the same day, across the years, along with
1328 – Zhu Yuanzhang (d. 1398)
1687 – Nicolaus I Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (d. 1759)
1772 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet and philosopher (d. 1834)
1833 – Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer, invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize (d. 1896)
1917 – Dizzy Gillespie, American trumpet player, bandleader, and composer (d. 1993)
1922 – Liliane Bettencourt, French businesswoman and philanthropist
1924 – Celia Cruz, Cuban-American singer (d. 2003)
1929 – Ursula K. Le Guin, American author
1940 – Geoff Boycott, English cricketer
1942 – Judith Sheindlin, American judge and television host
1949 – Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli politician, 9th Prime Minister of Israel
1956 – Carrie Fisher, American actress, screenwriter, and author
1962 – David Campese, Australian rugby player
1995 – Shannon Magrane, American singer
Matches
1096 – People's Crusade: The Turkish army annihilates the People's Army of the West.
1097 – First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch.
1512 – Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg.
1520 – Ferdinand Magellan discovers a strait now known as Strait of Magellan.
1600 – Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the leaders of rival Japanese clans in the Battle of Sekigahara, which marks the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate that in effect rules Japan until the mid-nineteenth century.
1774 – First display of the word "Liberty" on a flag, raised by colonists in Taunton, Massachusetts in defiance of British rule in Colonial America.
1805 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Trafalgar: A British fleet led by Vice Admiral Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet off the coast of Spain under Admiral Villeneuve. It signals almost the end of French maritime power and leaves Britain's navy unchallenged until the 20th century.
1816 – The Penang Free School is founded in George Town, Penang, Malaysia, by the Rev Hutchings. It is the oldest English-language school in Southeast Asia.
1854 – Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses are sent to the Crimean War.
1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Ball's Bluff – Union forces under Colonel Edward Baker are defeated by Confederate troops in the second major battle of the war. Baker, a close friend of Abraham Lincoln, is killed in the fighting.
1892 – Opening ceremonies for the World's Columbian Exposition are held in Chicago, though because construction was behind schedule, the exposition did not open until May 1, 1893.
1902 – In the United States, a five-month strike by United Mine Workers ends.
1921 – President Warren G. Harding delivers the first speech by a sitting President against lynching in the deep south.
1921 – George Melford's silent film, The Sheik, starring Rudolph Valentino, premiers.
1931 – The Sakurakai, a secret society in the Imperial Japanese Army, launches an abortive coup d'état attempt.
1941 – World War II: In Kragujevac (Serbia), Wehrmacht killed about 7000 citizens, including schoolchildren and professors (by Germans' data, they killed 2300 people).
1943 – The Provisional Government of Free India is formally declared by Subhas Chandra Bose.
1945 – Women's suffrage: Women are allowed to vote in France for the first time.
1959 – In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens to the public.
1959 – President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order transferring Wernher von Braun and other German scientists from the United States Army to NASA.
1967 – Vietnam War: More than 100,000 war protesters gather in Washington, D.C.. A peaceful rally at the Lincoln Memorial is followed by a march to The Pentagon and clashes with soldiers and United States Marshals protecting the facility. Similar demonstrations occurred simultaneously in Japan and Western Europe.
1973 – John Paul Getty III's ear is cut off by his kidnappers and sent to a newspaper in Rome; it doesn't arrive until November 8.
Despatches
1125 – Cosmas of Prague, Bohemian priest and historian (b. 1045)
1505 – Paul Scriptoris, German mathematician (b. 1460)
1805 – Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, English navy officer (b. 1758)
1969 – Jack Kerouac, American author (b. 1922)
1969 – Waclaw Sierpinski, Polish mathematician (b. 1882)
===

WARMING ARRESTED

Tim Blair – Monday, October 21, 2013 (1:14pm)

Global warming might turn out to be an 11-year-old boy.

===

AN EVENING OF ELEGANCE

Tim Blair – Monday, October 21, 2013 (6:28am)

A few weeks ago I was at the Louvre in Paris. On Saturday night I was at Monster Jam, the supercharged mega-sized truck battle at ANZ Stadium. Basically, the only difference was that Monster Jam had no signs warning you to beware of pickpockets.

===

FISHCAKES

Tim Blair – Monday, October 21, 2013 (6:14am)

Apparently the ocean is broken and there are no fish left anywhere. Even worse, cupcakes are exploiting young women, according to the Guardian: 
Butter-iced snares of self-loathing that sell precisely because they exploit young women’s insecurity about their looks and identity, and offer a completely false and self-defeating solace of temporary gratification, almost certainly followed by remorse and disgust. 
The Guardian might be on to something. Only last year, Victorian Greens experienced a cupcake-induced feeling oftemporary gratification, followed within hours by remorse and disgust.

===

LEADER OF THE PACK

Tim Blair – Monday, October 21, 2013 (6:00am)

Just as the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand led to World War I, so too does today’s global warming hysteria have a curious starting point. It could be that all of the current panic may be due to an American university student’s immature wish to feel hard done by.

===

JUST THE FACTS

Tim Blair – Monday, October 21, 2013 (5:41am)

Sydney Morning Herald letters editors Julie Lewis and Marc McEvoy explain their paper’s denial policy: 
Herald editor-in-chief Darren Goodsir recently reiterated the paper’s stance on global warming. “The Herald believes unequivocally in human-induced climate change,” he told an audience at DavidSuzuki’s City Talk. “It is an established fact. What we are much more interested in is not the sideshow over whether this phenomenon exists or not, but on how it should be tackled.”
We do not ban writers whose views suggest they are climate change deniers or sceptics. We consider their letters and arguments. But we believe the argument over whether climate change is happening and whether it is man-made has been thrashed out extensively by leading scientists and on our pages and that the main debate now is about its effects, severity, and what society does about it.
Climate change deniers or sceptics are free to express opinions and political views on our page but not to misrepresent facts. This applies to all our contributors on any subject. On that basis, a letter that says, “there is no sign humans have caused climate change” would not make the grade for our page. 
This is from the same fact-based paper that blamed the Tea Party for April’s Boston bombing. And here are the letters on climate change that the SMH does publish, because they don’t misrepresent any facts at all: 
Thank you, Tony Abbott and Barry O’Farrell, for saving us from the ‘’crap’’ about global warming …
Mr Abbott and Mr O’Farrell, I hope you can sleep soundly at night. 
Apparently Abbott and O’Farrell caused NSW’s current bushfires. It’s a fact! Next: 
Repealing the emissions trading scheme is like tearing up our fire insurance policy. 
Another SMH-approved fact! Next: 
The carbon tax [is] the one and only way of getting off fossil fuels … 
Must be a fact! Otherwise it wouldn’t be in the SMH letters pages. Next: 
We must ask if we love our children and grandchildren, because the type of fires we saw this week will soon become the norm. 
This isn’t crazy speculation or demented alarmism. It’s a fact! Julie and Marc have checked.
(Via Ben C)

===

ANOTHER McTERNAN TRIUMPH

Tim Blair – Monday, October 21, 2013 (2:42am)

Back in February, Sydney university student Rachel Bailes met a stranger and made a bet: 
So. Here’s the story. I was announcing loudly that Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech was rubbish because it was written by someone else and took the heat off Peter Slipper. A man and a woman on the neighbouring table started bristling in an annoyed fashion and I assumed they must be Labor supporters. I decided to continue with my confident denunciation until the man stood up and told me he couldn’t let me go on.
He masterfully rebutted all my spurious claims before announcing that he was John McTernan, Julia Gillard’s chief strategist! Boy did I get served. We have a twenty dollar bet about Julia Gillard being the next PM, but I concede he has a little more control over the situation than I do! 
Not really, as things turned out. I wonder if John has paid up. 

===

THE SNORKEL WAS MAYBE A BIT EXCESSIVE

Tim Blair – Monday, October 21, 2013 (2:33am)

A routine police patrol in Western Australia turns French: 
Broome police were travelling to Gantheaume Point, Cable Beach about 7.20am when they sighted a white Ford Falcon wagon travelling in the opposite direction.??
Police allege the vehicle was travelling at approximately 60km/h with an adult male lying on the bonnet, facing the driver.
Officers stopped the vehicle and located the man still lying on the bonnet, smoking a cigarette, dressed in a dinosaur onesie and wearing a snorkel ...
The pair are French nationals, believed to be backpackers living in the vehicle. 
The French are a charming people whose ways are sometimes a mystery to others.
(Via CL)

===

YOUR TAXES AT REST

Tim Blair – Monday, October 21, 2013 (2:13am)

Now at Sky News and the Australian, way back in the 80s Chris Kenny worked at the ABC: 
We had entitlements. Heading off on a bush assignment north of Adelaide, we stopped in at RM Williams and I spent some of my pre-paid Travel Allowance on an Akubra — mandatory for dorky outback pieces to camera. We filmed a drought-stricken farmer branching into adventure tourism in the Gawler Ranges. The tour, tents, food and drink were laid on, so we pocketed our TA. But one night I suggested we get some shots chatting around the campfire. The camera crew baulked. They’d knocked off for the day. If the gear came out again, they warned, four hours would go on the time sheet. And they’d be on time and a half the next day because of ‘insufficient break’. 
Do read on. 

===

Is Williamson just as sorry he can’t repay what he stole?

Andrew Bolt October 21 2013 (10:04am)

Last week former Labor president Michael Williamson apologised to union members for ripping off nearly $1 million.
This week it turns out he just can’t find the cash to repay them:

THE bankruptcy trustee investigating union crook Michael Williamson’s finances is “staggered” the former Labor Party president has declared he only has about $40,000 in assets after being responsible for rorts worth $5 million.
Michael Jones, a veteran in the bankruptcy field, with more than 30 years experience, said he may consider seeking Commonwealth funding to ensure “a full and thorough” investigation is conducted into the former Health Services Union boss…
“I am staggered that a person of his prominence can have so little,’’ Mr Jones said. “It is important for the union and its members that a full and thorough investigation is conducted.’’
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.) 

===

The gallery is saving Shorten from himself

Andrew Bolt October 21 2013 (9:49am)

More fine reading in this week’s Spectator, not least Neil Brown’s magisterial dismissal of new Labor leader Bill Shorten, a leader whose manifest inadequacies are kept hidden by the press gallery:

For instance, as Shorten was leaving with his leadership team, Stephen Conroy gave a friendly pat on the back to one of the Labor party’s sycophants from the Sydney Morning Herald as if to say: ‘I know we are batting on the same side, mate, and thanks a lot for going easy on us.’ Shorten’s modus operandi is pretty clear already: there is no need to answer the question you are asked; just answer a different one; better still, just mouth some inane cliché, because the press gallery do not have the spunk or the intellect to challenge or correct you. Shorten’s gem was, ‘Northern Australia is a very important part of Australia.’ I was waiting to hear him say, ‘The children of today are the citizens of tomorrow.’
Worse than letting him get away with this rubbish, the gallery did not even seem to appreciate or react to the enormity of some of the things he was saying. For instance, when asked about the absurd policy that he was promoting during the leadership contest that the ALP should have quotas in its parliamentary ranks for minority groups like women, Aboriginals and even down to the micro-detail of the intersex community, he replied that it was disgraceful that such minority groups ‘are not represented in the parliament’. Really? I thought MPs represented everyone in their electorates. It is an insult to minorities to say they are not represented in their own parliament and it is an insult to MPs to say they are not representing minority groups already. But of course, no one in the press gallery was astute enough or courageous enough to question him about the false premise in this bizarre policy.
Brown sums up:

He is not bright enough and not secure enough. My prediction is that he will survive for 18 months or so.

===

Green means Flannery is too pure to have to declare a conflict

Andrew Bolt October 21 2013 (9:40am)

The Australian:

AN arrangement that gave high-profile environmentalist Tim Flannery unlimited free use of a Toyota Prius was not disclosed in an ABC show he co-hosted, even though the show featured extensive exposure of another Prius during the series.
The first episode of last year’s series Two on the Great Divide - featuring Flannery and co-star John Doyle - featured 30 separate shots in which a Prius could be clearly identified, with a total of close to 100 seconds of exposure. Four of these shots were about 10 seconds long…
But an ABC spokeswoman said that while it was aware of Flannery’s personal deal, it did not disclose it to viewers in the show’s credits because the environmentalist had “a separate personal arrangement”.
We did cover this conflict of interest last year, and found the ABC quite unapologetic.
(Thanks to reader JulianTol.) 

===

Can we strip Gore of that Nobel?

Andrew Bolt October 21 2013 (9:27am)

Global warming - dud predictions
Al Gore, winner of the Nobel Peace Prize for his global warming alarmism, in 2009:

They’re seeing the complete disappearance of the polar ice caps right before their eyes in just a few years.
Reality in 2013:
This summer, Arctic sea ice loss was held in check by relatively cool and stormy conditions. As a result, 2013 saw substantially more ice at summer’s end, compared to last year’s record low extent. The Greenland Ice Sheet also showed less extensive surface melt than in 2012. Meanwhile, in the Antarctic, sea ice reached the highest extent recorded in the satellite record.
This might now be useful:

There’s a push from within the W-A Liberal Party to pressure the federal government to hold a Royal Commission into the science of climate change.
The proposal will be put forward by the party’s Rural Policy Committee at the Liberal state conference in Perth next month.
(Thanks to readers Viperous and Tom.) 

===

Fires aren’t an excuse for a compo free-for-all

Andrew Bolt October 21 2013 (9:12am)

If we pay compensation for everyone who loses power or can’t get home, who in this country won’t have a hand out? Labor should stop whingeing that the purse strings are prudently tightened a little after its wild largesse:
The federal government has tightened the eligibility requirements for bushfire victims to receive recovery funds in a move Labor has described as ‘’heartless’’ and ‘’an absolute nonsense’’.
People who have been cut off from their homes or who have no electricity have not been deemed eligible in the first round of disaster payments determined by Justice Minister Michael Keenan…
The scheme, which has existed in its current form since 2007, provides eligible adults with $1000 each and eligible children with $400.
So far, for the NSW bushfires, the money will go to people who have lost or had their homes significantly damaged, to those who have been seriously injured, or who have had an immediate family member killed.
But shadow attorney-general Mark Dreyfus has questioned why the Coalition has not included those who are cut off from their homes, despite there being a history of Labor including the group in the disaster payments.
Widening the payments as Labor did compensates people who may have suffered no financial loss at all, raises the risk of fraud and costs a fortune to administer. 

===

Hand the groupthinkers a Walkley for Abbott abuse

Andrew Bolt October 21 2013 (8:56am)

image
THE Walkley Awards are meant to be the most prestigious prize in Australian journalism.
I say “meant to be” because I detest and distrust journalists handing prizes to journalists.
It encourages group think, and gives the collective the power over the individual. The Left over the conservatives - and their audience.
But I didn’t quite realise until this week the Walkleys also licensed the Left’s barbarians.
Last week the organisers of the awards, overseen by the journalists’ union, had presenters in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane announce this year’s finalists.
Spot a pattern.
(Read full article here.)  

===

Why Adam Bandt is a vulture

Andrew Bolt October 21 2013 (8:49am)

Global warming - propaganda
image
FLAP, flap, flap. See the global warming vultures over the NSW fires, searching for a feed.
The biggest is deputy Greens leader Adam Bandt, who at the height of the fires urged us to read his latest green sermon.
Showing a picture of smoke over Sydney and linking to his article in the far-Left Guardian, he tweeted: “Why Tony Abbott’s plan means more bushfires for Australia and more pics like this of Sydney.”

Click his link and you find Bandt claiming that “by repealing the carbon tax, Tony Abbott is failing to protect his people”.
Worse, even. Bandt claims Abbott, the volunteer firefighter, is actually starting the fires: “Donning a volunteer firefighter uniform for the media is a con if you’re also helping start fires that put people’s lives in danger.” Says Bandt, who never fought a fire in his life.
Sure, Bandt is not the only vulture.
(Read the rest here.) 

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Labor is crippled unless it admits its carbon tax will not cut the temperature

Andrew Bolt October 21 2013 (8:25am)

The Liberals got away with being half-pregnant - claiming we should “so something” about global warming, but promising to spend a lot less on schemes that will actually make no difference.
But half-pregnant won’t work for Labor. It will be murdered at the next election if it is still claiming the carbon tax should not have been scrapped but won’t be reintroduced under a government Bill Shorten leads:

BILL Shorten faces emerging divisions in Labor ranks on carbon pricing with competing demands from MPs over whether to allow the Coalition to repeal the carbon tax or block the legislation and hold out for a market-based scheme that can be traded internationally…
Others… are calling for the party to campaign on reintroducing a carbon price at the 2016 election if the Coalition is successful with the repeal…
West Australian senator Mark Bishop yesterday called on Mr Shorten to abandon support for carbon pricing and take heed of Labor’s convincing election defeat…
“The debate is lost for the next decade at least. It is not possible to persuade the Australian people that their views were incorrect and they should endorse a continuation of carbon pricing.”
Labor MP Nick Champion will also argue in caucus for Labor to allow the repeal to pass parliament rather than join with the Greens to block the measure in the Senate. 

===

Another boat

Andrew Bolt October 21 2013 (8:07am)

The Abbott Government has a way to go before boat people realise it’s not worth the effort. A Michael Smith reader notes the latest boat to arrive at Christmas Island:

She saw about 130 people on board.
Boat arrivals are down to about one a week over the past three weeks.  But every one that arrives risks encouraging others.
Meanwhile, a list of the Refugee Review Tribunal cases, all paid for by you, to demonstrate the astonishing costs involved in the boat people industry.
UPDATE
Reader watty:

Labor claims success for drop in boat arrivals.Therefore Labor must accept blame for the disasters they created from 2007 until 2013?

===

Andrew Leigh is another warmist vulture

Andrew Bolt October 21 2013 (7:46am)

Labor MP Andrew Leigh is the latest to play politics with the NSW fires:

We are bracing ourselves for a shocking summer. It has been too hot in NSW to even continue property-saving hazard reduction. Climate change is a clear and present danger to the nation.
This is no time to be playing political games on climate change. But, alas, Environment Minister Greg Hunt seems to be doing just that...
In fact:

Sydney itself will see temperatures climb from 24 and 28 on Saturday and Sunday, and reach 31 and 30 on Monday and Tuesday. If accurate, the latter two days will make it six days of 30-plus degree days for October, matching the record tally of 1926 and 1968…
Mean temperatures for October alone are more than 2 degrees above the average for that period. While very warm, the temperatures still have a way to go before they beat the record spring anomaly of 2.42 degrees set in 1914, [Blair Trewin, a senior climatologist at the Bureau of Meteorology] said.
In fact:

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) ...  conceded that world temperatures have barely risen in the past 15 years, despite growing amounts of greenhouse gases being pumped into the atmosphere.
In fact:

For New South Wales and southern Queensland, the peak risk [of bushfires] usually occurs in spring and early summer… The statutory bush fire danger period runs from 1 October-31 March.
In fact: 

Grassland fires frequently occur after good periods of rainfall which results in abundant growth that dries out in hot weather.
In fact:

The Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council recently repeated the warning: “Above-average rainfall for much of the preceding three years is likely to continue the trend of heavy grass fuel loads throughout the grassland areas of NSW.”
In fact:

1957: Bushfires in the Blue Mountains area driven by gale force winds destroyed 25 homes, shops, schools, churches and a hospital.

1964/65: Major fires occurred in the Snowy Mountains, Southern Tablelands and outer metropolitan area. The Chatsbury/Bungonia fire covered 250,000ha and destroyed the village of Wingello. Three lives were lost. In March the Tumut Valley fire burnt 80,000ha.

1968/69: Widespread damage occurred over much of the eastern part of the State. Major fires at Wollongong burnt rainforest, destroyed 33 homes and five other buildings. Fires in the lower Blue Mountains were fanned by 100km/h westerly winds and destroyed 123 buildings. Three lives were lost.

1969/70: The Roto fire burnt some 280,000ha in a three week period.

1972/73: The south-eastern corner of the State suffered the worst fires since 1968 with over 200,000ha burnt. The Burrinjuck fire burnt 16,000ha and was reported to have travelled 19km in three hours, denuding a hillside in its path.

1974/75: The severest season for perhaps 30 years in the far west with 3,755,000ha burnt, 50,000 stock lost and 10,170km of fencing destroyed. 1.5 million ha were burnt in the Cobar Shire in mid-December and 340,000ha in the Balranald fire. The Moolah-Corinya fire burnt 1,117,000ha and was the largest fire put out by bush firefighters. Its perimeter was over 1,000km.

1976/77: In early December, 9,000ha were burnt and three homes destroyed in Hornsby Shire, and 65,000ha were burnt in the Blue Mountains.

1977/78: In the Blue Mountains area 49 buildings were destroyed and 54,000ha burnt. Sydney suburbs up to 60km away were showered with fallout of blackened leaves.

1978/79: Serious fires occurred in the Southern Highlands and South West Slopes regions. Over 50,000ha were burnt, five houses were destroyed and heavy stock losses were inflicted.

1979/80: Following severe drought conditions over most of the State, major fires were widespread. In Mudgee Shire, 55,400ha were burnt and one life was lost. 9,000ha were burnt in Warringah Shire and 14 houses lost. Fires occurred in the majority of council areas within the State burning a total of over 1 million ha.

1982/83: $12 million worth of pine plantation was destroyed in southern NSW in a fire, which burnt 25,000ha in only two and a half hours. The Grose Valley fire burnt 35,000ha.

1984/85: This was the worst fire season for ten years in the grassed western areas of the State. On Christmas Day more than 100 fires were started by lightning strikes and 500,000ha burnt as a result. The largest fire was at Cobar in mid-January with 516,000ha burnt. During the season there were 6,000 fires State-wide, 3.5 million ha burnt, four lives lost, 40,000 stock lost and $40 million damage.

1987/88: Over 115,000ha were burnt in the Bethungra and Warurillah/Yanco fires with three lives lost at the Bethungra fire. Major fires also occurred in the south eastern part of Kosciusko National Park where 65,000ha were burnt in the Park and surrounding areas.
In fact:

Fossil evidence suggests that fire was a part of the Australian landscape long before the existence of human beings… It appears that, with the arrival of humans over 50,000 years ago the frequency of fire may have increased. Aboriginal people used fire skilfully ...  to encourage grassland development in some areas and also to increase the abundance of plant foods and animals. With the arrival of Europeans the fire regimes changed. Fires are now less frequent, but when they do occur they are more intense and often cause a lot of damage.
Andrew Leigh and the Greens are a disgrace. Behold the rise of the irrational and the opportunist.
(Thanks to readers Peter and Steve.) 

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Hockey’s audit better be good if we’re to dig our way out

Andrew Bolt October 21 2013 (7:34am)

The only government to have a Budget surplus is Victoria’s, thanks largely to former Premier Ted Baillieu, who lost his job in part for saying no to more spending.
The day of reckoning is coming for every government, state and federal, with China slowing, Europe stalled, the US in deep debt, mineral prices down and massive spending promises to come once the Gonski and disability plans really start to bite. And, of course, there is Tony Abbott’s wildly expensive parental leave scheme to pay for.
So we can only hope Joe Hockey, at least, realises that the sooner tough decisions are made, the sooner the Liberals might reap the rewards of prudence - rather than pay for their profligacy.
But I write more in hope than expectation:

JOE Hockey is preparing to take the final shape of the Abbott government’s commission of audit to federal cabinet this week amid new warnings from leading economists that the government faces “a herculean task” in achieving a sustainable budget surplus.
Deloitte Access Economics has warned that expensive new policies in disability care, schools and paid parental leave have been committed to at a time when the costs of Medicare, hospitals and aged pensions are also tipped to escalate. Restoring a surplus in such circumstances would be “a herculean task”, Deloitte said.

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Abbott volunteers

Andrew Bolt October 21 2013 (7:29am)

This was one Prime Minister’s way of helping in a disaster, with cameras to record it:
Here is another Prime Minister’s way:

image
FOR 14 long hours over the weekend, Tony Abbott was just one of 1392 anonymous, sooty-faced firefighters battling to keep the relentless NSW bushfires at bay.
His favoured white-shirt-blue-tie combo was swapped for yellow overalls as Australia’s 28th prime minister joined his Davidson RFS brigade on a back-burning operation in Bilpin, near the Blue Mountains, for a night shift that began at 6pm Saturday and finished at 8am yesterday.
If not for a couple of photos circulating on Twitter, it’s a fair chance that Mr Abbott’s weekend exploits would have gone unnoticed.
His office did not issue a statement until the blurry image of the PM giving the thumbs-up from behind the wheel of a fire truck appeared on the social media site.
Still can’t win:

While many Twitter followers praised his volunteering spirit, others questioned the wisdom of the nation’s leader putting himself in the line of fire.
But in the crazier parts of academia, where the far Left rule, Abbott is actually accused of making fires worse in just the month he’s been in power:

image
I wonder, incidentally, if this academic’s students are allowed to be climate sceptics.
(Thanks to reader Mister Hepzn.) 

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Sydney Morning Herald announces ban on sceptics

Andrew Bolt October 21 2013 (7:04am)

The Sydney Morning Herald says there’s one kind of blasphemy it will never publish:

Herald editor-in-chief Darren Goodsir recently reiterated the paper’s stance on global warming. “The Herald believes unequivocally in human-induced climate change,” he told an audience at David Suzuki’s City Talk. “It is an established fact. What we are much more interested in is not the sideshow over whether this phenomenon exists or not, but on how it should be tackled.”
We do not ban writers whose views suggest they are climate change deniers or sceptics. We consider their letters and arguments. But we believe the argument over whether climate change is happening and whether it is man-made has been thrashed out extensively by leading scientists and on our pages and that the main debate now is about its effects, severity, and what society does about it.
Climate change deniers or sceptics are free to express opinions and political views on our page but not to misrepresent facts. This applies to all our contributors on any subject. On that basis, a letter that says, “there is no sign humans have caused climate change” would not make the grade for our page.
Pn the other hand, there are some things the Herald will indeed publish, no matter how bat crazy.
Nor has the Herald ever apologised for scaring readers witless with baseless warmist alarms like this, several floods ago:

image

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Why biblical parenting has nothing to do with your kids
http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/10/20/why-biblical-parenting-has-nothing-to-do-with-your-kids/?intcmp=HPBucket
Everybody dreams of a perfect family.  Even though we know it doesn’t exist, we still feel guilty when we fall so far short.

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On the menu: Kraken tentacles, severed hands and maggot cupcakes
http://www.foxnews.com/leisure/2013/10/18/cake-maker-creates-edible-autopsy-mythical-sea-creature/?intcmp=features
Miss Cakehead creates gruesome delights.

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Conzelman Road

Fog falls over the hills of the Marin Headlands as evening approaches during the final phase of twilight. A car wends its way down the snake like winding road in and out of the vapors of mists. — at Hawk Hill.
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http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/sons-of-anarchy-shirt-confuses-queensland-cops-20131021-2vw9h.html
===

Holly Sarah Nguyen
If your life become unbearable that's because God is about to make it unbelievable. Hang in there!!

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LA Times bans letters from climate skeptics
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/10/18/la-times-bans-letters-from-climate-skeptics/
The Los Angeles Times’ letters editor recently wrote a letter of his own, stating flatly that he won't publish some letters from those skeptical of man’s role in our planet’s warming climate.

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Aprille Love
Off to lunch #bodhi #vegan sporting my fave#frends #wearefrends headphones @chrisnormans @frends #love
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China Slows the Spread of Islam by Shooting Muslims
http://shariaunveiled.wordpress.com/2013/10/19/china-slows-the-spread-of-islam-by-shooting-muslims/
by, Radio Free Asia | h/t UNPO Chinese security forces shot dead five ethnic minority Muslim Uyghurs in the third consecutive week of fatal shootings in a restive county in the northwestern ...

.. I am uncomfortable defending Chinese government .. but .. technically .. the religion is not the issue, but the activity .. they are targeting terrorists .. ed
Jason J-Fo There isn't any particular religious discrimination against Muslims. If you threaten society, it tends to be shoot first then ask questions later - same policy applies to everyone regardless of race or religion. Ask the Chinese guy who held Australians hostage once on the bus a few years ago. He didn't live to tell the tale.
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US Navy's controversial Zumwalt destroyer to hit the water for first time
http://www.news.com.au/technology/us-navys-controversial-zumwalt-destroyer-hits-the-water-for-first-time/story-e6frfro0-1226743549744
THE biggest, meanest, most advanced - and controversial - destroyer ever operated by the US Navy is about to hit the water for the first time.
Jason J-Fo But does it have an Ipod dock and Bose speakers to play Creedence Clearwater Revival's "Fortunate Son"?

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Celibacy syndrome hits Japan with more young people avoiding sex
http://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/relationships/celibacy-syndrome-hits-japan-with-more-young-people-avoiding-sex/story-fnet0gt3-1226743585472
ITS people are young, hip and know how to have a good time.

It is hard on the young if they can't nest .. the left don't see that .. ed
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Post by Interesting Things.



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Meet Cory Booker: Six reasons why he is the coolest politician ever
http://www.news.com.au/technology/meet-cory-booker-six-reasons-why-he-is-the-coolest-politician-ever/story-e6frfro0-1226743495973
MEET Cory Booker. You probably haven't heard of him, but you need to know his name.

I'm from NJ .. see if he responds to my request .. ed
===


Post by The best of Youtube.



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Joel Arthur Rosenthal - wild roses set with diamonds, yellow, pink and violet sapphires and yellow and pink tourmalines
Photo: © JAR, Paris
4 her
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History's mysteries: Who's really buried in King Herod's tomb?
http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/10/16/histories-mysteries-who-really-buried-in-king-herod-tomb/
Herod the Great, the king of Judea who ruled not long before the time of Jesus, seems to have eluded historians once again.

A very self absorbed man doesn't lie there .. - ed
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J.John
To some people Jesus is nothing. To others He is something Then there are those to whom Jesus is everything. #just10live

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The Scary Canary
For all those students currently stressing over the HSC

Over 5,000 people with PhD's work as janitors in the US.

Relax, You'll be fine

===

Obama Considers Giving Iran Access to Billions in Frozen Assets
http://www.conservativeinfidel.com/uncategorized/obama-considers-giving-iran-access-billions-frozen-assets/
via NewsMax The Obama administration is weighing whether to offer Iran the chance to recoup billions of dollars in frozen overseas assets if it takes steps to scale back its nuclear program, U.S. officials and congressional aides said Friday. The proposal would face a skeptical Congress determined t...

.. but when Israel hits the assets, they will be lost assets .. so Iran will owe the US for what Israel takes away .. ed
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Picture a Day: The Walls & Gates of Jerusalem, Jaffa Gate -- More Pictures from the Emory...
http://www.israeldailypicture.com/2013/10/the-walls-gates-of-jerusalem-jaffa-gate.html

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http://climatechange.gov.au/clean-energy-future-0

===
Holly Sarah Nguyen
I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality…I wanted to quit my life.

I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.

“God”, I asked,

“Can you give me one good reason not to quit?”.

His answer surprised me…

“Look around”, He said. “Do you see the fern and the bamboo?”

“Yes”, I replied.

“When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them.

I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth.

It's brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.

And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. He said.

“In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit.

In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit.” He said.

“Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant…But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.

It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.”

He asked me. “Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots”.

“I would not quit on the bamboo. And I will never quit on you.”

“Don’t compare yourself to others.” He said. ”The bamboo had a different Purpose than the fern.

Yet they both make the forest beautiful.” "Your time will come”, God said to me.

“You will rise high”.

“How high should I rise?” I asked.

“How high will the bamboo rise?” He asked in return.

“As high as it can?” I questioned. ”Yes!” He said, “Give Me glory by rising as high as you can.”

I left the forest and brought back this story. I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you. Never, never, never give up in life.

Don’t tell The LORD how big the problem is, tell the problem how Great The LORD is!

===

The Medieval Anti-Semitic Views Of 150 Million Europeans: An Interview With Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld
http://www.israpundit.com/archives/63590969
THE INQUISITR Recently, a new book, Demonizing Israel and the Jews by Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld, sent shock waves across Europe by revealing the frightening levels of anti-Semitism and vicious condemnation of Israel taking place in the European Union. Not

<“ Europe wiped out six million productive Jews and took in 25 million non assimilating Muslims who burden the continent. In other words, Europe finally has the Semites that it deserves.”>
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Ignorance, Stupidity, Hatred; an Underlying Sequence of Idiocy
By Allyson Christy
Hatred of Israel is always and immediately noted, and as much, thoroughly disgusts me, as does equally, the individual who brandishes such sentiment.The usual and vitriolic drivel of such views is not only loaded with certain origins of ignorance, but is driven with elements of hypocrisy and double-standards.The state of ignorance lies within the sphere of certain opportunity.  Yet when stupidity's influence reigns or even wrestles and overpowers reason, logic and factual foundation, it results...

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Palestinians are "noble" because "we only kill the Jews" - Refugee on PA TV
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5iF6TMwvQg
http://www.palwatch.org/main.aspx?fi=450&fld_id=450&doc_id=9700 Transcript: Palestinian refugee in Lebanon: "May Allah humiliate Israel just as it humiliated...

.. it is unacceptable .. I don't mind the witch having an opinion, I object to it being lauded as representative of those people. - ed===
anti_semitic

Anti-Semitism in Copenhagen | FrontPage Magazine
http://frontpagemag.com/2013/bruce-bawer/anti-semitism-in-copenhagen/#.UmSFVbcxfEk.facebook
One victim's story.

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Sultan Knish: The American Tribe
http://sultanknish.blogspot.com.au/2013/10/the-american-tribe.html


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Again: Arabs Fly Nazi Flag Near Road
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/172988
The flag was hung high above the highway between Halhoul and the Etzion Bloc.
Nazi flag
May his followers greet him in warmth, as they meet in hell. - ed

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'I Decided to Survive'
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/173000
Jerusalem candidate talks about the terror attack that changed his life, and warns that a ‘Third Intifada’ is beginning.
Kalmanovich with Neftali Bennet

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Family of Egyptian Doctor Rejects Holocaust Prize
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/173007
Family of Dr. Mohamed Helmy reject prize from Israeli institution: "If any other country offered we would have been happy with it."

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"Hinei, lo yanum, v'lo yishan Shomer Yisrael" ~ Psalms/Tehillim (121:4) declares, "Behold, the Guardian of Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps" ~ Hashem is always with us, both in our soldiers of spirit, soldiers of body, in the fields, in the houses of worship and study!
"At first glance the poet is using his poetic license and repeating the same idea (i.e. sleep and slumber). However, upon further reflection, the Bnei Yisaaschar explains that there is a difference between slumber and sleep. The Talmud (Megillah 18b) defines "yanum" (slumber) as dozing - that if one calls his name, he responds. In contrast the one who is sleeping ("yishan") does not respond. Thus, when we were privileged to have prophets, they would call to Hashem, and He would respond, telling them what was the cause of the punishment and its remedy. Thus the Guardian of Israel does not slumber. However, sleep is that state wherein one calls upon the individual and he does not answer. Similarly, in a time of hester panim, when Hashem is more concealed, one could get the impression that He does not answer. Therefore Dovid promises that even at such a time, He does not sleep." (R. Benjamin Yudin;www.torahweb.org/torah/2002/parsha/ryud_bechukosai.html)
===

Caroline Glick

The video below was produced by Stand With Us to help pro-Israel students get prepared for the BDS storm coming their way.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1SRm0WfjGW0&feature=youtube_gdata_player
BDS Cookbook
www.stopbds.com
It isn’t enough to talk about peace, one must believe it. And it isn’t enough to to believe in it, one must work for it.
http://www.stopbds.com/

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Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook ( Rav Kook Za’’l), fût le premier grand rabbin aschkénaze d Israel.
Il est considéré comme l’un des pères du Sionisme religieux et a su féderer religieux et laics ….. — with Abraham Isaac HaCohen Kook Rav Kook Za"l First Aschekenazi Rebbe of Eretz Israel under the Bristish Mandate.
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Jew Bashing: The New Anti-Semitism #1 – Pakistan and the Middle East
http://www.israelvideonetwork.com/jew-bashing-the-new-anti-semitism-1-pakistan-and-the-middle-east?utm_source=MadMimi&utm_medium=email&utm_content=Israel+Straight+Talk%3A+Jew+Bashing%3A+The+New+Anti-Semitism+%231+_+Pakistan+and+the+Middle+East+and+More&utm_campaign=20131020_m117611641_10%2F20+Israel+Straight+Talk%3A+Jew+Bashing%3A+The+New+Anti-Semitism+%231+_+Pakistan+and+the+Middle+East+and+More&utm_term=Jew+Bashing_3A+The+New+Anti-Semitism+_231+_E2_80_93+Pakistan+and+the+Middle+East

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20 Oct 2013
Column One: Israel vs. Obama & EU 
“Tehran gives no indication that they will suspend all uranium enrichment and still the White House sees “level of seriousness and substance that we had not seen before.”
By CAROLINE B. GLICK
http://www.israelandstuff.com/column-one-israel-vs-obama-eu-appeasement-path

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From the album:100th anniversary of blood libel trial marked in Kiev
By Jeremy Jones

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100th anniversary of Europe’s last blood libel trial marked in Kiev
http://www.jpost.com/Jewish-World/Jewish-Features/100th-anniversary-of-Europes-last-blood-libel-trial-marked-in-Kiev-329176
Hundreds of people anxiously awaiting the verdict in the Beilis trial packed Saint Sophia Square in Kiev.

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IT'S TURKEY'S LEADER WHO IS THE REAL PRICK.

SO ALL THOSE " GOOD " GERMANS MUST HAVE FELT THE SAME WAY ABOUT HITLER... RIGHT ?

WHAT DID THEY DO ABOUT IT ? THEY EMBRACED HITLER

WHAT WILL THE TURKS DO ABOUT THE JEW HATER ERDOGAN ?>



Erdogan thinks he is new sultan of the Ottoman Empire – Assad | Armenia News - NEWS.am
http://news.am/eng/news/127966.html
Syrian leader sees no war on the horizon...


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Silent and Unseen: the Next Generation of IDF Submarines - TLVFaces
http://www.tlvfaces.com/silent-unseen-next-generation-idf-submarines/
The Israeli Navy is building up a fleet of sophisticated submarines just in time to welcome its newest and largest group of recruits. They move silently underwater, but don’t let the quiet fool you – these are sophisticated tools of war. This unseen world is the everyday landscape of the Israel Navy...
5

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The Silencing of Zahava Englard
http://blogs.timesofisrael.com/the-silencing-of-zahava-englard/
One would think there are bigger fish to fry. But, apparently, I succeeded in ruffling more than just a......
Zahava Englard

===
<WARNING WARNING WARNING.

The Israelis use these genetically modified flying spiders to now spy on the Arabs Killing Arabs.

Despite over 100,000 Syrians being slaughtered in the current Syrian civil war and the Iranians enriching uranium for " peaceful purposes " the United Nations are in uproar.

Developed in Australia by the CSIRO, the Australian Greens are furious that nature is being interfered with in this deceptive manner and hope with enough bush fires these new flying spiders will fall prey to their indignant flames of wrath despite potential exports valued in the billions.

Anyone seeing these flying spiders please avoid. They are ten times more poisonous than funnel web spiders and can explode without warning upon human contact.

Last week " innocent " true believers in Lakemba were unaware they had been spied upon in this manner. The project has proved so successful that the CSIRO is now trying to develop the same with pigs.

Pigs might fly after all.>===
Photo: And the search is on...! #WheresWally?
===
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This must be one of the best video presentations that clearly explains international law and the legal case for Israel and Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria. Definitely watch this to have a better understanding of international law so you can talk about Israel's situation intelligently with others.
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HonestReporting's Israel Daily News Stream: Everything You Need to Know About Media Coverage of Israel and the MidEast

Today's Top Stories

• Why did the Saudis really reject a coveted UN Security Council seat?
• US considers unfreezing billions in Iranian assets.
• What lessons do we learn from Turkey exposing Israeli spies to Iran?
Read the full roundup here...

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Events[edit]

Births[edit]

Deaths[edit]

Holidays and observances[edit]

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“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

"Grow up into him in all things."
Ephesians 4:15
Many Christians remain stunted and dwarfed in spiritual things, so as to present the same appearance year after year. No up-springing of advanced and refined feeling is manifest in them. They exist but do not "grow up into him in all things." But should we rest content with being in the "green blade," when we might advance to "the ear," and eventually ripen into the "full corn in the ear?" Should we be satisfied to believe in Christ, and to say, "I am safe," without wishing to know in our own experience more of the fulness which is to be found in him. It should not be so; we should, as good traders in heaven's market, covet to be enriched in the knowledge of Jesus. It is all very well to keep other men's vineyards, but we must not neglect our own spiritual growth and ripening. Why should it always be winter time in our hearts? We must have our seed time, it is true, but O for a spring time--yea, a summer season, which shall give promise of an early harvest. If we would ripen in grace, we must live near to Jesus--in his presence--ripened by the sunshine of his smiles. We must hold sweet communion with him. We must leave the distant view of his face and come near, as John did, and pillow our head on his breast; then shall we find ourselves advancing in holiness, in love, in faith, in hope--yea, in every precious gift. As the sun rises first on mountain-tops and gilds them with his light, and presents one of the most charming sights to the eye of the traveller; so is it one of the most delightful contemplations in the world to mark the glow of the Spirit's light on the head of some saint, who has risen up in spiritual stature, like Saul, above his fellows, till, like a mighty Alp, snow-capped, he reflects first among the chosen, the beams of the Sun of Righteousness, and bears the sheen of his effulgence high aloft for all to see, and seeing it, to glorify his Father which is in heaven.

Evening

"Keep not back."
Isaiah 43:6
Although this message was sent to the south, and referred to the seed of Israel, it may profitably be a summons to ourselves. Backward we are naturally to all good things, and it is a lesson of grace to learn to go forward in the ways of God. Reader, are you unconverted, but do you desire to trust in the Lord Jesus? Then keep not back. Love invites you, the promises secure you success, the precious blood prepares the way. Let not sins or fears hinder you, but come to Jesus just as you are. Do you long to pray? Would you pour out your heart before the Lord? Keep not back. The mercy-seat is prepared for such as need mercy; a sinner's cries will prevail with God. You are invited, nay, you are commanded to pray; come therefore with boldness to the throne of grace.
Dear friend, are you already saved? Then keep not back from union with the Lord's people. Neglect not the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. You may be of a timid disposition, but you must strive against it, lest it lead you into disobedience. There is a sweet promise made to those who confess Christ--by no means miss it, lest you come under the condemnation of those who deny him. If you have talents keep not back from using them. Hoard not your wealth, waste not your time; let not your abilities rust or your influence be unused. Jesus kept not back; imitate him by being foremost in self-denials and self-sacrifices. Keep not back from close communion with God, from boldly appropriating covenant blessings, from advancing in the divine life, from prying into the precious mysteries of the love of Christ. Neither, beloved friend, be guilty of keeping others back by your coldness, harshness, or suspicions. For Jesus' sake go forward yourself, and encourage others to do the like. Hell and the leaguered bands of superstition and infidelity are forward to the fight. O soldiers of the cross, keep not back.
===

Today's reading: Isaiah 59-61, 2 Thessalonians 3 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Isaiah 59-61

Sin, Confession and Redemption
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are stained with blood,
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.
They pursue evil schemes;
acts of violence mark their ways.
8 The way of peace they do not know;
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
no one who walks along them will know peace....

Today's New Testament reading: 2 Thessalonians 3

Request for Prayer
1 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith. 3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.
Warning Against Idleness
6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat....”
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Samuel

[Săm'uel] - heard, asked of god, offering of god or appointed by god.

The Man Who Had God's Ear

Samuel was the earliest of the Hebrew prophets after Moses and the last of the Judges. He was the son of Elkanah of Ephraim (1 Sam. 1:1), and of Hannah, Elkanah's other wife. Samuel was her first-born and possibly saw the light of day at Ramah (1 Sam. 2:11; 7:17). Hannah bore Elkanah five other children ( 1 Sam. 2:21). There are many points of resemblance between Hannah and Mary, the mother of our Lord (1 Sam. 2:1-11 with Luke 1:46-56).
Samuel was a Nazarite (1 Sam. 1:11), the character of the vow being:
Abstinence from intoxicating drinks; self-denial and separation from sensual indulgence.
Free growth of hair, indicating the complete dedication of all the power of the head to God.
Avoidance of contact with a dead body as a token of absolute purity of life (Num. 6).
Samuel's call to service came when weaned and dedicated to God by his mother (1 Sam. 1:24-28; 3:1-18). When Samuel was around twelve years of age he received his first revelation of the Lord, which was a clear message of doom against Eli's guilty house (1 Sam. 3:11-14).
Samuel's ministry was of a fourfold nature. We see him:
I. As a prophet. As a prophet of the Lord ( 1 Sam. 2:27-35; 3:19-21; 8:22), his faithfulness was a rebuke to the unfaithfulness of Eli. To the end of his days Samuel exercised the office of prophet and his ministry was not in vain. Under the impact of his courageous pronouncements Israel renounced her idolatry and shook off the yoke of the Philistines.
II. As an intercessor. Samuel was born in answer to prayer and his name constantly reminded him of the power of prayer and of the necessity of maintaining holy intimacy with God. Samuel deemed it a sin not to pray for others ( 1 Sam. 7:5-8; 8:6; 12:17, 19, 23; 15:11).
III. As a priest. Although Samuel was only a Levite and not a priest by descent, the words, "I will raise up," imply an extraordinary office (1 Sam. 2:35; 7:9, 10; 13:8-10; Judg. 2:16). The exercises of priestly functions are proved by the following:
By intercession (1 Sam. 7:9).
By offering sacrifices (1 Sam. 7:9, 10).
By benediction ( 1 Sam. 10:17, 25).
By anointing kings (1 Sam. 10:1; 16:13).
IV. As a judge. Of Samuel it is said that he "judged Israel all the days of his life." Even after the government of Israel had changed from that of a theocracy to a monarchy, Samuel still acted as a circuit judge, going from place to place giving divine judgment upon moral and spiritual questions, and maintaining in the hearts and lives of the people the law and authority of Jehovah (1 Sam. 7:15-17 ). The appointment of his own sons as Judges to succeed him (1 Sam. 8:1) was a parental mistake, for their wickedness gave the people reason for demanding a king (1 Sam. 8:5).
The universal reverence and love the nation had for Samuel is proven by the grief manifested at his death. "All Israel lamented him" (1 Sam. 25:1; 28:3). His passing as one of the great heroes of Hebrew history makes impressive reading. Faith was the animating principle of his honored life and labors ( Heb. 11:32).
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October 20, 2011
I Love it When a Plan Comes Together!
Today's Truth
Many, LORD my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare (Psalm 40:5, NIV).
Friend to Friend
Family vacations always begin with "the plan." Before packing one sock or booking one hotel room, the Southerland family is summoned to a family meeting with one item on the agenda - a discussion of the vacation plan. Everyone has the opportunity to make suggestions and share ideas. My husband Dan and I then pool those ideas and make a final decision. Once the destination is chosen, Dan goes to work, charting every stop, logging the number of miles between stops, booking hotel rooms when we can't take any more stops and locating favorite restaurants along the way. When our children were young and still living at home, we fell into a lovely rut as far as vacation spots go. Our favorite vacation spot tended to be nestled somewhere in the smoky mountains of North Carolina. Dan couldn't wait to pack up our faithful old van, plug in the country music and hit the road! He claimed that just this side of the North Carolina state line he could actually begin to smell those mountains.
Over the years, every family member discovered a different reason for loving North Carolina. I was drawn to the quaint little towns filled with antique stores and smiling people. Dan loved the winding mountain roads and slower pace of life while our two children clamored to stop and play in the icy mountain water of every stream or creek they saw. However, their all-time favorite spot was Sliding Rock, a gigantic boulder that has been transformed into a huge water slide by the powerful falls above it.
Our first experience at Sliding Rock - when our son, Jered, was five and our daughter, Danna, was two - proved to be quite an event. Wiggling out of my arms, Jered ran straight to the rock, hurriedly plopped down, squealing with delight as the chilly rushing water carried him over the frozen slab and into the icy pool at the bottom. Danna just watched; her big brown eyes wide with questioning fear as she witnessed her brother's disappearance down the mountain. When Jered's curly head popped out of the water, Danna's face flooded with relief as she clapped and cheered for "Bubba." Dan was next, whooping and hollering Texas style as he catapulted down the watery slide. Coming up for air he held out his arms and shouted, "Danna! Come with me!"
Now my daughter did not fully comprehend what was being asked of her but she undoubtedly did recognize who was asking - her daddy. To my amazement our usually tentative and fearful daughter rushed into the outstretched and familiar arms of her father, tightly clutching his neck as he positioned her in his frozen lap. Down they went! I waited and wondered at the outcome. When they popped up out of the frigid pool, Danna was laughing and sputtering and begging, "We do it again, Daddy! We do it again!" Danna did not understand the plan but she knew and trusted the "plan maker".
We can do the same.
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6, NLT).
God has a unique plan for each one of us that is beyond human understanding or expectation. It is called His will. God has been making His will known from the very beginning of time. In the Garden of Eden, God revealed to Adam and Eve His will or plan for their lives. It is important to note that with the revealed plan He also gave them the choice to obey because He is a loving Father and a gracious God. Knowing that His way was right, God still allowed Adam and Eve to choose the wrong way. They blew it by making the wrong choice - but He still loved them and forgave them. He will do the same for you.
The Bible promises that God's plan is the best plan; the one for which we were created. Psalm 32:8 "I will guide you along the best pathway for your life." God agrees to not only show us the plan, but He promises to provide all of the strength and resources needed to carry out that plan. His sufficient and constant power is unleashed by our choice to accept and follow His blueprint for victorious living.
We were created by the One who knows us best and loves us most. There are no accidents with God. He never has to say, "Oops!" Before we were ever conceived in the heart and mind of man we were conceived in the heart and mind of God - wanted, loved and planned since before the world began. He had a plan in mind and lovingly, purposefully created us in response to that plan.
I know that there are days when the will of God seems completely wrong and we simply do not understand. Every moment is pregnant with darkness and our hearts are numb, paralyzed by fear and doubt. We are treading water in the storm tossed sea of life, desperately longing to see Him walking on the treacherous waves toward us, rescue in His hand. It is in those shadowed moments that we must choose to trust the Plan Maker even though our faith is small and we cannot understand the plan. His ways are higher than our ways. His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. And one day, every one of our question marks will be yanked into exclamation points as we see that high plan as He sees it - perfect!
Girlfriend, set aside your meager agenda. Lay down your limited life arrangement and look for God to meet you at the point of surrender - power and victory in His hands. Now that is a great plan!
Let's Pray
Lord, I want everything you have for me in this life! I don't want to settle for anything less than Your best. Teach me how to seek and follow You with my whole heart and how to fully trust You to direct my steps. Thank You for Your love and grace that completes me and fills my life with hope.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
Now It's Your Turn
Read Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV) "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
These verses contain three steps we must take in order to experience one promise that God will make our paths straight. Grab your journal and in your own words, explain what each step requires and what you think God means when He says that He will make our paths straight.
Trust in the LORD with all your heart_________________________________________
Lean not on your own understanding_________________________________________
In all your ways submit to him_______________________________________________
He will make your paths straight_____________________________________________
More from the Girlfriends
Want to be successful in your work? Check out Mary's four-week study, Take This Job and Love It, to discover six principles from the life of the Proverbs 31 woman that will help you be successful in your work, no matter where you work or what your job may be. Study guide included.
Come as You Are, Mary's NEW Online Bible Study, has just begun. Enroll now and have access to all 2011 lessons. Need a friend? Connect with Mary on Facebook or through email.
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Lysa TerKeurst
October 20, 2011
"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe." Hebrews 12:28(NIV)
I don't have a lot of nice jewelry. Usually, you'll only find me wearing my wedding ring and another ring Art gave me for our 15th wedding anniversary.
Other than those two rings, I only have some other simple things that have been given to me over the years. Little treasures. Not that they are worth a lot of money but special because they hold a lot of memories.
A child's ring my stepdad gave me the day he asked my mom to marry him.
A bracelet my mom gave me for Christmas several years ago. And another bracelet Art gave me for Valentine's Day this year.
A legacy ring given to me the day my first daughter was born.
A baby's signet ring - with the faint initials of my Dad that left and never came back.
Simple, but special.
A week ago I noticed the bracelet Art gave me wasn't where I thought I left it. I spent several days searching and wondering where I'd put it. Convinced I'd simply misplaced it and would find it soon, I wasn't too worried.
On the third day, it dawned on me that maybe I'd put it in a drawer where I kept my other jewelry.
When I opened the drawer it took my brain a moment to catch up with the sinking feeling in my heart. Everything was gone. The rings. The bracelets. The one possession in this world I had of my biological father. Little things that held big memories.
My first reaction was to grab both of my ring fingers. Much to my relief I'd worn my wedding and anniversary rings that day. They were safe.
But everything else had vanished as if I'd never had them. But I did. And now I don't.
I stared at the open drawer, sat down on a little stool in my bathroom and willed my tired mind to start making a mental list of reasons to be...thankful.
Strange I know.
Trust me there were many other lists begging to take up the mental real estate in my brain. Lists of suspects. Lists of all that was missing. Lists of memories and how irreplaceable those pieces were. Lists of when this might have happened and how. Okay, let's be honest, I wanted to come completely unglued and kick into aggressive figure-it-out mode.
But sometimes refusing the pull to come unglued is the only way to prove to ourselves it is possible to have a different kind of reaction. So, I willed those other lists aside. After all, I'd already had enough taken from me in that moment. I didn't need to freely hand over my heart as well.
For in my heart I trust, "...we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken..." And because I know, I know, I know that to be true, I can choose to... "be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe." (Hebrews 12:28)
I am thankful for my children who are here and not taken.
I am thankful for my husband who will let me stick my cold feet underneath his legs tonight.
I am thankful for today's sun that shines and the moon whose light will dance with tonight's shadows.
I am thankful for the steady breaths I take thousands of a day and never have to think about.
I am thankful for memories that flicker and ignite on command.
I am thankful to still be able to retrieve those memories.
And on and on I went. Until I could close the drawer and ask God for just one thing. Okay two things.
"First, Lord, the person that took these things of mine, wrap Your hope about them right now and show them another way. They must be in a really bad spot right now. Lord, come near them. And secondly, if possible, might they just return that one thing. Lord, you know what that one thing is. If possible...and if not...thank You still a hundred times over."
For even in the midst of things stolen, I have been given the great gift of remembering all I still have.
Dear Lord, help me to remember who You are today. In the midst of life's hard spots, I will thank You and respond to Your goodness. For You always see, know and are in control of all things. In Jesus' Name, Amen.
Related Resources:
Lysa will be speaking in more than 40 cities this year.Click here to see her schedule. She would be honored to meet you.
If you enjoy Lysa's devotions, be sure to sign up for notes of encouragement she sends out from her blog byclicking here. They are free and great for passing along to friends.
Come see the downloadable Freebies on Lysa's website! Encouraging articles to help you process everyday situations according to Biblical principles that you can print and share with a friend! www.LysaTerKeurst.com
When you purchase resources through Proverbs 31 Ministries, your purchase supports the many areas of hope-giving ministry we provide at no cost. We are extremely grateful for each and every purchase you make with us. Thank you!
Application Steps:
Maybe you're going through something right now where things aren't what you wish they were. Try listing today 3 things that are right today.
Reflections:
Even in the midst of things stolen, I have been given the great gift of remembering all I still have.
Power Verses:
Psalm 107:1 "Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good; his love endures forever." (NIV)
1 Timothy 2:1, "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone." (NIV 1984)
© 2011 by Lysa TerKeurst. All rights reserved.
Proverbs 31 Ministries
616-G Matthews-Mint Hill Road
Matthews, NC 28105
www.Proverbs31.org
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Tactics for the Thirsty Soul

This week's reading: Psalm 42:1-11
Isn't it amazing how the Bible talks about the soul? Scripture not only portrays what the successful, victorious and satisfied life feels like, but God's Word also offers many examples of people who battle for their faith and grow weary.
In this psalm the songwriter longs deeply for God. Taunted by his enemies, his soul knows deep despair and turmoil. But rather than caving in to the flood of adversity, the desperate follower cries out to God. How does he wage this battle?
First, the songwriter honestly expresses his feelings to God. Rather than denying his pain, he pours out his soul (see Psalm 42:4) and brings his frustration and sense of abandonment to God (see verse 9). Second, he engages his own memory. The songwriter recalls blessed times of worship with the people of God (see verse 4), and-more significantly-he remembers God himself (see verse 6). Third, the songwriter talks to himself. Or, perhaps more accurately, he addresses his own soul. He repeats the refrain: "Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God" (Psalm 42:11). Although his adversaries taunt him and continually tell him lies, the psalmist aggressively counters their negative slurs with his own message of hope in God.
Finally, note that the songwriter wrote about his struggles. The fact that his words still exist today indicates that he battled for his soul by giving expression to his grief and hope.
If you're engaged in a battle to make your faith real and are growing tired of the conflict, don't give up the fight. Long for God. Thirst for him. If you feel comfortable doing so, record your struggles on paper or in a file on your computer. When you pursue God, Scripture promises that you'll find him. Pray for God to flood your soul with relief. And don't forget to challenge yourself in the same manner of the psalmist in Psalm 42:6and11.

To Take Away

  • Do you ever long for God so much that you feel yourself dying of thirst to experience his presence and refreshment?
  • Have you ever "preached" to your own soul? If you were to do so now, what would you say to yourself?
  • When have you sensed relief from your thirst for God? How can you repeat that experience?
Recommended Reading: Psalm 63:1-11; Luke 22:39-46
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Paul and Old Testament prophecy

Today's reading: Romans 15:1-13
In Romans 15:12, Paul refers to Isaiah 11:10 to reinforce his claim that Jesus is the Messiah. Isaiah's prophecy includes three major characteristics of the Messiah: his family line, his position of power over all the nations and the hope he would bring to the Gentiles.
First, the prophecy predicts that the Messiah would be a descendant of David's father, Jesse. Jesus was indeed born into the royal line of David, the son of Jesse (see Matthew 1:1-16). This fulfilled the covenant God made with David (see 2 Samuel 7:5-16) as well as the promise God made to Abraham (seeGenesis 12:2-3).
Second, the prophecy states that the "Root of Jesse" would rule over all nations. Although Jesus rejected earthly positions of authority while on Earth, he now reigns over a spiritual kingdom (see John 18:36) and will one day reign over all, for "the kingdom of the world [will] become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah" (Revelation 11:15; see also Romans 14:11;Philippians 2:9-11).
Third, the prophecy predicts that the Gentiles would hope in him. Jesus fulfilled this final part of the prophecy by welcoming Gentiles into his kingdom. Paul points out that "Christ has become a servant of the Jews on behalf of God's truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed and, moreoever, that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy" (Romans 15:8-9). Paul then quotes several Old Testament passages to illustrate this truth. Paul's calling to proclaim Jesus to the Gentiles (see Acts 9:15) confirms that Jesus offers hope not only to the Jews but also to the entire world.
Through Jesus' royal bloodline, his eternal reign and his inclusive kingdom, he fulfills each of the three prophecies highlighted in Isaiah 11:10.
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