Obama has failed to negotiate or conciliate with the conservatives on any issue. His community organising seems rusty. Obama leans towards socialism. Abbott leans towards capitalism.
One gets it the press doesn't like Abbott, but even so, it is wrong of the press to lie about Abbott's relationship with Putin. Why should left wing authors get paid government grants denied conservatives?If one believes in balance, the Melbourne Writer's festival is pretty bad. Kuwait is watching you. Egypt is watching her navel. Journalists struggle to explain why Abbott is excelling.
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1201 – Robert de Sorbon, French theologian, founder of the Collège de Sorbonne (d. 1274)
1581 – Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, French mathematician, poet, and scholar (d. 1638)
1704 – Johann Andreas Segner, German mathematician, physicist, and physician (d. 1777)
1796 – Joseph Bonomi the Younger, English egyptologist and sculptor (d. 1878)
1873 – Karl Schwarzschild, German physicist and astronomer (d. 1916)
1893 – Mário de Andrade, Brazilian author, poet, and photographer (d. 1945)
1900 – Joseph Friedman, American inventor, invented the bendy straw (d. 1982)
1940 – John Lennon, English singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (The Beatles, The Quarrymen, Plastic Ono Band, and The Dirty Mac) (d. 1980)
1966 – David Cameron, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1975 – Sean Lennon, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, Plastic Ono Band, and Cibo Matto)
1994 – Jodelle Ferland, Canadian actress
Matches
768 – Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks.
1446 – The hangul alphabet is published in Korea.
1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland,Portugal and Spain.
1604 – Supernova 1604, the most recent supernova to be observed in the Milky Way.
1635 – Founder of Rhode Island Roger Williams is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a religious dissident after he speaks out against punishments for religious offenses and giving away Native American land.
1760 – Seven Years' War: Russian forces occupy Berlin.
1831 – Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first head of state of independent Greece is assassinated.
1845 – The eminent and controversial Anglican, John Henry Newman, is received into the Roman Catholic Church.
1854 – Crimean War: The siege of Sebastopol begins.
1911 – An accidental bomb explosion in Hankou, Wuhan, China leads to the ultimate fall of the Qing Empire
1919 – Black Sox scandal: The Cincinnati Reds win the World Series.
1936 – Generators at Boulder Dam (later renamed to Hoover Dam) begin to generate electricity from the Colorado River and transmit it 266 miles to Los Angeles, California.
1940 – World War II: Battle of Britain – During a night-time air raid by the German Luftwaffe, St. Paul's Cathedral in the City of London, England is hit by a bomb.
1942 – Statute of Westminster 1931 formalises Australian autonomy.
1967 – A day after being captured, Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara is executed for attempting to incite a revolution in Bolivia.
1983 – Rangoon bombing: attempted assassination of South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan during an official visit to Rangoon, Burma. Chun survives but the blast kills 17 of his entourage, including four cabinet ministers, and injures 17 others. Four Burmese officials also die in the blast
2012 – Members of the Pakistani Taliban made a Failed attempt to assassinate Malala Yousafzai on her way home from school.
Despatches
1047 – Pope Clement II (b. 1005)
1974 – Oskar Schindler, Austro-Hungarian businessman (b. 1908)
1978 – Jacques Brel, Belgian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1929)
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Expenses “scandal”: you can watch but not run
Andrew Bolt October 09 2013 (11:25am)
It
seems claiming expenses to watch sport is fine, but claiming expenses
to do sport is not, even though both have a political purpose:
You can only claim expenses if you watch, don’t do:
Among the hysteria, a note of common sense:
UPDATE
In 2009 Abbott made clear he was in the Port Macquarie Ironman both for political reasons and for charity:
(Thanks to reader Common sense.)
A Fairfax Media analysis shows Mr Abbott claimed more than $23,000 on trips associated with the 2012 Coffs Coast Cycle Challenge, the 2011 Bathurst V8 Supercar Race, the 2010 Melbourne Cup, the 2010 Boxing Day Test match at the MCG and the 2011 Birdsville Races.Labor should know better than to liken Tony Abbott expenses claims to Peter Slipper’s:
Asked about these claims, Mr Abbott’s office responded with a list of Labor politicians using Commonwealth cars and planes to attend sporting events.
These included Julia Gillard and Simon Crean attending the AFL grand final in 2011; Stephen Conroy going to the Australian Open tennis in 2012; and Wayne Swan travelling by VIP aircraft to the NRL and AFL finals while acting prime minister in 2010.
Labor leadership contender Anthony Albanese said Mr Slipper has been treated harshly over travel expense claims when compared to senior members of the Abbott government.Richard Ackland spells out the obvious:
“People must have noticed the way in which the coalition went after Peter Slipper, who’s now before the courts over a claim that’s much less than the money that has had to be paid back (by Coalition MPs).”
Slipper has been charged with three counts under the ‘’general dishonesty’’ provisions of the Criminal Code Act....UPDATE
The AFP’s statement of facts, which went to the Commonwealth Director of Public Prosecutions, spells out the allegations against the former speaker in detail.
The first vineyard excursion was ... from Parliament House to wineries in Murrumbateman. First stop was Doonkuna Winery for about 17 minutes, then to Clonakilla (12 minutes), Yass Valley Wines (19 minutes), Shaw Estate (16 minutes), then to Poachers Pantry (a felicitous choice) before arriving at Gallagher Wines for 27 minutes.
The trip had taken four and a half hours by the time the party arrived back in Canberra. At $75 an hour for the hire car, the total bill came to a little more than $337.
The federal police claim that Slipper then asked the driver: ‘’Could we process this manually and break up the payment, putting it down as suburb to suburb, so it’s processed easier?’’…
Even though the car had eftpos facilities, four Cabcharge vouchers were manually processed.... They were broken up as $87 from Parliament House to suburbs; $80 from suburbs to Parliament House; $75 from suburbs to suburbs; and $95 from suburbs to suburbs.
The Commonwealth says that breaking up the total travel cost in that way, using the manual system of payment processing and describing the trips as to and from suburban destinations, shows Slipper was trying to hide his misuse of his cabcharge.
He must therefore, it says, have had the requisite knowledge or belief of his alleged wrongdoing.
You can only claim expenses if you watch, don’t do:
WAYNE Swan charged taxpayers more than $12,000 to fly him and his daughter to the AFL Grand final by VIP jet when he was acting prime minister in 2010.UPDATE
The following day the then treasurer and his advisers took a taxpayer-funded RAAF flight from Brisbane to Sydney to watch the NRL Grand Final.
Among the hysteria, a note of common sense:
Labor leadership candidate Anthony Albanese on Wednesday defended Mr Abbott over his use of entitlements, telling ABC radio it was ‘’probably fair enough’’ for him to claim taxpayer-funded travel and travelling allowance to compete in an Ironman event at Port Macquarie because he had reportedly been invited by the breast cancer charity the McGrath Foundation and had also visited a hospital while he was in the area.A caller to 2GB told us last night Abbott had the night before the Ironman event gone to the annual dinner of the local hospital, as he has since he was Health Minister.
‘’If that’s the case, commonsense should apply and as leader of the opposition (at the time), it’s probably fair enough,’’ Mr Albanese said on Wednesday.
UPDATE
In 2009 Abbott made clear he was in the Port Macquarie Ironman both for political reasons and for charity:
Sporting McGrath Foundation kit for the race, the 52-year-old says it took stamina, grit and willpower to finish the race…The next year, the same deal:
At around 9:00pm last night, a very relieved and suitably proud Tony Abbott was greeted by a throng of reporters and cameramen.
“John Howard was described as a man of steel by George Bush, why shouldn’t I be an ironman in my own way,” he said…
“There are few things more exhilarating than the kind of crowd support you get at an event like this. If an election was held tomorrow in Port Macquarie, I think I’d win,” he said.
Mr Abbott, a super-fit 52, will compete in an ironman triathlon at Port Macquarie on Saturday… Mr Abbott was in Port Macquarie yesterday to visit a hospital but still slipped in a spot of surfing.
(Thanks to reader Common sense.)
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Should we pay Dreyfus’s family to go skiing?
Andrew Bolt October 09 2013 (10:11am)
Former Attorney-General
Mark Dreyfus says he will repay $466 he claimed for a skiing trip - but
what about the rest he charged to bring along his family?
FORMER attorney-general Mark Dreyfus says he will repay $466 he charged taxpayers for a two-night skiing trip, amid growing pressure on Tony Abbott over his entitlements claims.But reader Mark has checked Dreyfus’s expenses and thinks he owes us a lot more:
The Labor MP, who earlier today called for an investigation into Coalition expenses, confirmed to The Australian he claimed travel allowance for staying two nights in Canberra in August 2011, when he was in fact at Perisher Valley.
”I am sorry for the mistake and I will be repaying $466,” he said.
Dreyfus says that he should not have claimed for the Friday and Saturday, as he went to Perisher for the weekend to ski.
Friday was 19/8/11 and Saturday was 20/8/11.
He says that he should not have claimed for the travel allowance. The allowance was $233pn. Therefore, $466.
However, he’s said nothing yet about the hire car from 18/8/11 (Thursday) to 21/8/11 (Sunday), at a cost of $408.89.
Likewise, his wife travelling from Melbourne to Canberra on 18/8/11, only to then return to Melbourne on 21/8/11, at a cost of $635.11.
There was also a 2nd traveller for that same period of 18/8/11 to 21/8/11, also for $635.11.
Likewise, a 3rd traveller, for the same time period, also at $635.11.
Then there were family car costs in Melbourne on 18/8/11 ($92) and again, in Melbourne on 21/8/11 ($102.70).
Given that he’s now clearly stated that he should not have claimed the travel allowance as he had gone skiing that weekend, it also calls into question each of the other expenditures, therefore suggesting that the following may need to be repaid:
- Travel allowance ($466);
- Hire car ($408)
- Travel for 3x family members ($1905)
- Family car costs ($195)
That’s about $2,974 and comes on top of what he seems to have similarly done back in February 2011.
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Fairfax’s joke headline about Putin’s “cold shoulder” of Abbott
Andrew Bolt October 09 2013 (9:31am)
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Handing $259,000 to the Melbourne (Left wing) Writers Festival
Andrew Bolt October 09 2013 (9:19am)
Professor Bunyip on state funding for a celebration of the Left - and the Left alone:
Well here is just one more entry in the list of aid and comforts bestowed upon the enemy:
And here is the MWF’s 2013 guest list:
Melbourne Writers Festival, MELBOURNE $259,000
Melbourne Writers Festival is Melbourne’s annual two-week event for writers, readers and thinkers. The Festival engages over 350 international, national and local writers at over 300 events each year.
Gay Alcorn, Cathy Alexander, Dennis Altman, Wendy Bacon, The Bedroom Philosopher, Eric Beecher, Larissa Behrendt, Sophie Black, Julian Burnside, Jennifer Byrne, Fiona Capp, Jane Caro, Michael Cathcart, Alison Croggon, Mary Crooks, Sushi Das, Catherine Deveny, Anne Deveson, Charles Firth, Morag Fraser, Anna Goldsworthy, Jonathan Green, Libbi Gorr, Wendy Harmer, Joan Kirner, Ramona Koval, Mark Latham, Benjamin Law, Antony Loewenstein, Amanda Lohrey, Miriam Lyons, Father Bob Maguire, Anne Manne, David McKnight, Peter McPhee, George Megalogenis, Tony Moore, Terry Moran, Denis Muller, Ben Pobje, Henry Reynolds, Peter Rose, Julianne Schultz, Margaret Simons, Peter Singer, Tim Soutphommasane, Jeff Sparrow, Fiona Stanley, Anne Summers, Magda Szubanski, Arnold Zable.Go through the list. Every single one of those names is a lefty, most moving from one publicly funded trough to the next and calling that a career.
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Beware Kuwait’s gaydar
Andrew Bolt October 09 2013 (8:58am)
Large parts of the worlds are ruled by people with strange ideas. For instance:
Kuwait will conduct medical screening tests to “detect” homosexuals who attempt to get into the Gulf kingdom, according to a senior official.(Thanks to reader supererkid.)
Yousouf Mindkar, director of public health at the Kuwaiti health ministry, said that the routine clinical screening of expatriates coming into the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) will include tests to identify LGBT people who will then be banned from entering the country.
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Is Egypt descending to a civil war?
Andrew Bolt October 09 2013 (8:52am)
This sounds like trouble that can only get worse:
Six Egyptian soldiers were killed by suspected militants near the Suez canal and a rocket-propelled grenade was fired at a state satellite station in Cairo on Monday, suggesting the Islamist insurgency is picking up pace.
Three months after the ousting of Mohamed Morsi as president, thousands of his supporters defied a military crackdown to stage protests across the country on Sunday.
Dozens of Muslim Brotherhood supporters were killed in clashes with Morsi’s opponents, both civilian and military. The death toll from the violence was 53, state media said, with 271 wounded…
Sinai-based militants have also stepped up their attacks on the security forces. Medical sources said three people were killed and 48 injured in a blast near a state security building in south Sinai on Monday morning, in what witnesses claim was a car bombing.
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Journalists struggling to explain the diplomat Tony Abbott
Andrew Bolt October 09 2013 (8:16am)
Journalists of the
Left, particularly from Fairfax and the ABC, have a new narrative -
that Tony Abbott as Prime Minister is backing off the positions taken by
Toby Abbott as Opposition Leader.
The meme is perhaps best captured by a headline last week in the far-Left Guardian:
Now to the facts.
From the SMH article today, the case against Abbott:
Yes, Abbott diplomatically soothed Malaysia’s hurt feelings. But did he actually repent the Coalition’s arguments? Are those arguments actually invalid? Did not the High Court share some of those concerns in ruling against the Malaysian people swap? It seems to me Abbott has not said sorry at all for the position he took, but is keen to be on good terms with Malaysia. This is called diplomacy.
To make this seem part of a patten, the SMH suggests Abbott had also apologised to Indonesia for not having “said less and done more”, trying, as the Guardian claimed, to “fix bridges he helped crack”:
In fact, his comments - read in context - are clearly more an apology for Labor’s blundering on people smuggling and live-cattle exports than for his:
The meme is perhaps best captured by a headline last week in the far-Left Guardian:
Tony Abbott makes the switch from wrecker at home to builder abroadToday a similar one from the Sydney Morning Herald:
Architect of Australia’s hardline strategy on asylum seekers apologises to Indonesia in a bid to fix bridges he helped crack
Contrite Abbott backtracks on boatsThe intention is clearly to represent Abbott as a snake who’d do anything to grab power, even if it wrecks our relationships with our neighbors. And if he now turns out to be a moderate and a diplomat, rather than the blundering idiot you were told to expect, well, that’s not because journalists misrepresented him but because he’s sneakily changed.
Now to the facts.
From the SMH article today, the case against Abbott:
Tony Abbott has apologised to an Asian leader for the second time in a week over his robust political campaigning before he was elected, offering an ‘’act of contrition’’ for Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak…And from an earlier SMH article:
When in opposition, the Coalition heavily criticised the Gillard government’s proposed ‘’Malaysia Solution’’ for asylum seekers, immigration spokesman Scott Morrison arguing in 2011 that Malaysia could not guarantee the human rights of people sent to that country under the program…
On Monday, Mr Abbott said: ‘’Our criticism was never of Malaysia, it was of the former government. I guess you might say that, in my own way, I offered an apology because I appreciate this was a difficult situation for Malaysia and it was only in that difficult situation because, in its own way, it had tried to help out a friend,’’ Mr Abbott said.
In fact Mr Abbott had criticised Malaysia’s treatment of refugees and been intensely critical of the people transfer which would have seen 4000 bona fide refugees taken from camps in Malaysia and settled in Australia in exchange for up to 800 non-processed boat arrivals…
Mr Abbott also apologised to Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono last week for the fact that Australian politicians should have ‘’said less and done more’’ about asylum seekers passing through Indonesia to Australia.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has conspicuously softened his tone towards Indonesia after talks with the nation’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, possibly paving the way to ditch his controversial boats turn-back policy.But did Abbott really “backtrack on boats” yesterday”
Yes, Abbott diplomatically soothed Malaysia’s hurt feelings. But did he actually repent the Coalition’s arguments? Are those arguments actually invalid? Did not the High Court share some of those concerns in ruling against the Malaysian people swap? It seems to me Abbott has not said sorry at all for the position he took, but is keen to be on good terms with Malaysia. This is called diplomacy.
To make this seem part of a patten, the SMH suggests Abbott had also apologised to Indonesia for not having “said less and done more”, trying, as the Guardian claimed, to “fix bridges he helped crack”:
In fact, his comments - read in context - are clearly more an apology for Labor’s blundering on people smuggling and live-cattle exports than for his:
There have been times, I’m sorry to say, when Australia must have tried your patience: when we ‘put the sugar on the table’ for people smugglers; or cancelled the live cattle trade in panic at a TV programme.As as for backing off his “turn back the boats” pledge, forget it:
“There have been times when all sides of Australian politics should have said less and done more. I am confident that these will soon seem like out-of-character aberrations and that the relationship will once more be one of no surprises, based on mutual trust, dependability and absolute respect for each other’s sovereignty under the Lombok treaty.”
“Surprisingly, the newly elected Abbott was not just sure footed, but flexible,” gasped a Fairfax correspondent. Surprisingly? Now such journalists are covering their backsides by claiming, no, they weren’t wrong to sell you the lie of Abbott being some clumping jock who couldn’t tell a fork from a dumbbell. It’s just that he’s grown up or “backed down”. He’s “softened his rhetoric” or crawled to Yudhoyono. The Sydney Morning Herald even wondered if Abbott was “paving the way to ditch his controversial boats turn-back policy”.
What rubbish. Abbott hasn’t backed off at all, as he told journalists demanding to know what he gave up to have Indonesians acting so nice.
“My object here is to stop the boats. And in order to ensure that the boats are stopped I want to have the best possible relationship with Indonesia.
“In the end that’s all that really counts: have we stopped the boats?”
Here is the real explanation for Abbott’s “surprising” success. Pssst: he was never the blunderbuss so many journalists falsely suggested, and has in fact shown diplomatic finesse.
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A potent way to take away your appetite
Andrew Bolt October 09 2013 (7:53am)
From the most unusual restaurant review I’ve ever read:
Both donkey and horse penis were presented in bacon-like strips, but the neutrally flavoured donkey was dark, while the intense, meaty horse was easily the most distinctive ingredient of the meal.
In contrast, the testicles had lighter textures, varying from flaky to somewhere between tofu and pate, and often delicate tastes.
The deer penis is slightly frayed and another rubbery offering, while the wild Russian dog has a spicy, almost zesty flavour, despite looking like slices of undercooked pig-skin.
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Trying too hard to see Abbott the bungler
Andrew Bolt October 08 2013 (8:07pm)
Three of these stories cannot be right:
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Mark, about your ABC
Andrew Bolt October 08 2013 (5:08pm)
ABC managing director Mark Scott is in denial about the Leftist group think of the ABC.
Mark, read this about ABC 24 this morning. Shameless.
Mark, read this about ABC 24 this morning. Shameless.
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Bad news for Mark Dreyfus: he gets the investigation into expenses he wanted
Andrew Bolt October 08 2013 (4:02pm)
Labor frontbencher Mark Dreyfus demands an investigation into how politicians claim expenses:
Labor frontbencher Mark Dreyfus was more critical of the Coalition’s link to expense claims.Mark Dreyfus gets that investigation into expenses he demanded:
‘’Clearly there is a definite scope for some serious investigation,’’ he told ABC Radio.
FORMER attorney-general Mark Dreyfus says he will repay $466 he charged taxpayers for a two-night skiing trip, amid growing pressure on Tony Abbott over his entitlements claims.How we laughed.
The Labor MP confirmed to The Australian he claimed travel allowance for staying two nights in Canberra in August 2011, when he was in fact at Perisher Valley.
“I am sorry for the mistake and I will be repaying $466,” he said.
Mr Dreyfus said he had only learned of the error when it was brought to his attention by The Australian today.
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4 her
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CHOPPER IS DEAD
Mark Brandon "Chopper" Read (born 17 November 1954 - 9 October 2013)
http://www.chopperread.com/
Did he only kill bad guys? - ed
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The development comes in the wake of outrage over the fact that several groups of World War II veterans had to resort to breaking down barriers to gain access to the monument built in their honor.
A pro immigration reform rally was underway Tuesday on the National Mall despite the fact that national memorials have been closed during the government shutdown.
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Barrycades, #SpiteHouse cones are no match for patriots at Great Smoky Mountains National Park [pics]==> http://twitchy.com/2013/10/08/
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San Francisco
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Speaking to reporters Tuesday at the White House, President Obama revealed he called House Speaker John Boehner and said he is willing to negotiate as soon as Republicans end the government shutdown and raise the debt ceiling.
"If Congress refuses to raise what is called the debt ceiling, America would not be able to meet its financial obligations for the first time in 225 years," Obama said. "Raising our debt ceiling does not add to debt."
Obama took the opportunity in front of the press to berate Republicans and implied Tea Party Republicans want to default on debt. Obama also compared tax reform and compromise on a debt ceiling hike to Xboxes.
"They have decided to run out the clock resulting in a government shutdown," Obama said. "That is not how our government is supposed to run."
House Republicans have passed more than a dozen bills funding different aspects of the government, and all of them have been rejected by the Democrat-controlled Senate.
"Let's end this shutdown right now, let's put people back to work," Obama said. "A vote could take place today and then serious negotiations can proceed around every item in the budget."
When is it routine? Obama has never negotiated with Conservatives. - ed
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"Gratitude is a portal for which love and life can enter. Be grateful for the day!" #gratitude #love - Paula White
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Why does the Vatican pull its funding from Palestinian Authority textbooks? Find out in this important expose on Palestinian incitement against Jewish civilians.
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François Englert, 80, a Belgian Holocaust survivor, wins prestigious prize with Peter Higgs
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This is a "Pomsky" - A cross between a Pomeranian and a Husky. They stay about this size their entire life.
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4 her
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It is hard to keep the scorecard straight.
On the one hand, we are witness to what appears to be an unprecedented Egyptian operation against smuggling activity between Egyptian Sinai and the Gaza Strip as well as terror groups inside Sinai. On the other hand we face an ever more complicated challenge to find a way to ensure that the situation doesn't ultimately result in an effective end to the crucial Israel-Egypt peace treaty Sinai force limits.
On the one hand, Israel has made significant progress in efforts to improve practical Israeli-Palestinian relations, with huge increases in the numbers of Palestinians able to work inside Israel, renewal of cooperation in various agricultural programs as well as an ongoing series of renewed inter-ministerial meetings. On the other hand Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian leadership and media in general continue with their inciting anti-Israel propaganda and hardline positions – while the remarks of some key Israeli players (Livni and others) provides worrisome evidence that ideology and politics can take precedence over reality .
Today the gulf states share Israel's concerns over a nuclear Iran but what appears to be a potentially poisonous combination of ideological orientation and domestic economics and politics seems to drive the Obama Administration to seek any and every way to a path that avoids a showdown with Teheran.
And what of Syria? If – and it is a big if – the Assad regime provides chemical weapons figures that are similar to the estimates the US and Russia share (assuming Mr. Kerry didn't agree to slash the figures) this may set a meaningful benchmark for the operation (are biological weapons in the arrangement?). Compliance, unfortunately, is hardly a foregone conclusion with a very real possibility that Russia "compensates" Syria for foregoing its chemical weapons (at least in theory) with S-300 systems shielding both Syria and Hezbullah.
Link: http://www.imra.org.il/story.php3?id=61918
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Steve Ganot and Ruthie Blum go head to head on Oslo. Steve maintains that the goal of Zionism has not changed: a Jewish, democratic state at peace with its neighbors •Ruthie says the goal should not be peace, but victory.
Ruthie is so right.
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So as it turns out, growing and smoking cannabis is completely legal in North Korea.Encouraged, even. Here's the story of how I found out... and then ended up indulging in the 'special plant' with an officer from North Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The discovery came during my recent tour of Rason in North Korea, at the time of the 2013 Korean Crisis. The DPRK was - potentially - poised on the brink of nuclear war with the South, with Japan, the US, et al., and I was hanging out in a small port town somewhere near the Russian border.
As is generally the case with tours to North Korea, I had visited as a part of a group. However, this was no ordinary group. Some of my contacts in the tourism industry - regular visitors to the DPRK - were putting on a 'staff outing' of sorts... and I'd been invited along for the ride.
In true Korean style, their counterpoints in the DPRK felt obliged to match this show of seniority (as they perceived it) by sending one of their own high-ranking officials to lead our group: a 'Mr Kim,' from North Korea's own Ministry of Foreign Affairs [1].
The details of the tour - as well as my own reflections on visiting the country at a time of seemingly imminent war - are the subject of my post on the 2013 Korean Crisis. What follows here, are the parts I left out.
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There, I said it. And so did Elder.
His latest piece, on the dichotomy between Israel and Syria vis-à-vis the Golan, is riddled with errors, that any 8 year old with Wikipedia can find.
…the strategic high ground Israel twice has taken from Syria — first, in the lightning-quick Six-Day War of 1967, then again, at great cost, after Syria’s surprise offensive in the October War six years later.
As I have shown before, the battle for the Golan 40 years ago is often shrouded in the “Israel lost” narrative. Truth is, that the Syrian offensive was stopped dead after 36 hours, and by the 4th day, Israeli armour was advancing inside Syria. That Vick says that Syria has somehow recaptured the entire Golan before Israel “took” it, is out of touch with reality. While Syria did capture key points, it didn’t come near as capturing the entire area.
He goes on to explain about the Golan demography, and fails.
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Dr. Mordechai Kedar on the important topic of the true nature of the Middle East. What is it that Westerners do not understand about this volatile region? Why does it seem like there is perpetual conflict with no end in sight? Kedar, a Professor of Arabic Literature at Israelapos;s Bar-Ilan University, focuses on three areas of explanation: Tribalism, Ethnicities, and Religions. The event was held at Congregation Shearith Israel in New York City.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wBlp8mcosY
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Prof. Robert Wistrich, Head of the Vidal Sassoon Center, Hebrew University
An Evening in Honour of Mr. Mike Whine, MBE,
Held at the Kantor Center for the Study of Contemporary European Jewry:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ItiF2MzvGwU
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What’s the likely outcome of the US-Russia accord on Syria’s chemical arsenal? Look no further than what happened to UN Resolution 1701 of seven years ago. That resolution, which ended the Second Lebanon War and which purportedly eliminated Hezbollah’s missile armories, is a mirror image of the non-disarmament-to-come.
It is also Tzipi Livni’s self-proclaimed crowning achievement during her stint as then-PM Ehud Olmert’s foreign minister. To any visitor from Mars who may be uninformed, self-same Livni is currently in charge of negotiations with the Palestinian Authority.
Resolution 1701 is a sad object lesson about the immoral malfunction of high-minded international agreements to destroy dangerous weapons stockpiles. The Syrian counterpart may not evolve in identical patterns but its inevitable bottom line will be no different than that of the dismal gag that Resolution 1701 turned out to be.
Worst of all, no one seems to dwell on that out-of-mind resolution, no one remembers. The widespread affectation is that everything is peaches and cream, as if the international intervention worked wonders. It’s as if wholesale deception has never been perpetrated. It’s as if no one recognizes that nothing whatsoever went to plan.
The pretense is just too sweet and alluring an option to pass up. Truth is too painful, persistent and unpleasant a bother with which to cope.
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I'm GOP/Tea Party Conservative .. ed
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Sundaysunset.images recently spent time on the beautiful Southern Coast of Western Australia, photographing the white sandy beaches, crystal clear waters and rocky cliff tops. Here are some of the highlights...
'The stunning crystal clear blue waters of Lucky Bay'
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The rumors have been circulating inside and outside Gaza for a long time. Khaled Meshaal, the head of Hamas’ political bureau, is supposedly in hot water in his new abode in Qatar and is looking for another place to live. Al-Monitor correspondent Adnan Abu Amer talked with the spokesman of the movement’s political bureau, Izzat al-Rishq, who denied the rumor and claimed that this is only propaganda aimed to harm Hamas.
Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2013/10/meshaal-qatar-hamas-crisis-exile-beirut.html#ixzz2hDCw8HSP
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They ignore the words of the Ayatollah Khamenei, who defined statesmanship as fraud and deceit hidden in smiles, and then sent Rouhani off to negotiate with the West. There are people who actually think that the Iranians, who spent so much on their nuclear bomb project, will actually give it up and abandon their dream of controlling the Arab oil fields, the Arabian Peninsula, the Persian Gulf, then on from there.
The Middle Eastern Bazaar
Russia's Putin calculates his every move, and only goes to war to win. Considering the might of the West balanced against his own weakness, he apparently saw that the smart thing, should the U.S. decide to attack Syria, would be to stand on the sidelines and let Assad, his ally, tough it out alone. Concerned, even momentarily, that the U.S. might actually carry out its threat and attack the Syrian regime as it promised when the use of chemical weapons was called a "red line," Putin was quick to save the U.S. from itself. While Obama yelled "hold me back," however, in reality he did nothing and was planning to do nothing: the U.S. looked afraid.
Despite Syria having begun to reveal the locations of its chemical weapons storehouses, Putin is still squirming. He has no way of being certain that all the locations will be revealed – nor does anyone else. He refuses to let the chemicals enter Russia for destruction. No one knows where they will be destroyed or who will accept responsibility.
Now, while Putin is demanding that Israel also destroy the weapons of mass destruction he pretends it possesses, he also fancifully claims that Syria has chemical weapons "only" as a strategic balance to the "Israeli threat." Putin has said that, given Israel's technological superiority, it has nothing to fear from Syria -- another manipulative lie, this time for the ears of the Arab and Muslim world, which, as usual, hears only what it wants to. Putin knows full well that if Israel so desired, it could attack and defeat Syria or any other Arab country without once taking recourse to non-conventional weapons, especially now that these countries have been weakened by the Arab Spring.
Putin, having negotiated with the U.S. and discovered how easily it could be swayed -- is now, like a rug merchant in an Arab bazaar, trying to renegotiate the original arrangement to extort more. Having identified America's weaknesses, Putin is now doing his best to exploit it to the maximum, making the U.S. the biggest loser: Given its current situation in the UN and Congress, even if the U.S. wanted to attack Syria, it could not carry out its threat: The U.S now cannot attack without support from the UN Security Council, and, possibly to its relief, it is not going to get it.
The Arab and Muslim world is hard, implacable and unrelenting: here, in the Middle East, might is measured in terms of results on the ground, not in rhetoric. Since the Kerry-Lavrov agreement was reached, the status of the United States has plummeted and burned, despite the American campaign to market Obama as the super-strategist who achieved a diplomatic success while carrying a big stick. The truth is that the U.S. made empty threats that were never carried out. Worse, everyone knows he could not have carried them out: both domestically and abroad, he looks weak.
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“According to a new Pew Research Center survey of the American Jewish community, more and more American Jews have reached the conclusion that there is no reason to be Jewish.” Our World: Why bother being Jewish?
By CAROLINE B. GLICK 10/07/2013http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Our-World-Why-bother-being-Jewish-328098
I have Jewish ancestry through my father. Many years ago, ignorant of my ancestry, I embraced Christianity and remain there. But I welcome my family who are Jewish as Jewish. And I welcome those who are not directly related recently, but who are Jewish as they are.
It is not lost on me that God trained his people and that mark remains today. I have read an amazing account describing why in Japan, Shintoism seems directly related/descended from Hebrew migrants from the Silk road. It is true there is resilience in Judaic peoples from their struggles. There is also great art and technical expertise throughout the ages, with many flowerings. But one observation I make as a school teacher. Students who do best are not those who become reclusive and focused to one thing at the expense of all else. The best students tend to be good at everything, giving, working, helping, creating. They are prized in their community because of it. Which is why I suggest those who do not know the Jewish faith of their ancestors, explore it. - ed
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On January 4, 2013, Mahmoud Abbas, spoke via video link on a wide screen to the masses in Gaza, who gathered to celebrate the founding of Fatah (Arabic word for “conquest”), otherwise known as the Palestine Liberation Organization.
In his New Year’s speech, Abbas spoke glowingly of the legacy of the Godfather of the PLO, the Mufti of Jerusalem, Hajj Muhammad Amin Al-Husseini, who during the 1920′s and 1930’s instigated pogroms against the Jews of Palestine and who during his residence in Nazi Germany actively plotted a Final Solution to be carried out once his German allies would win the war.
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Abbas vs Hamas ... Brigade 9 and special operation units conducted operations in villages, in Jenin refugee camp, and in some of the city of Jenin’s neighborhoods in the search for fugitives
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cuff links
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The elected officials of our United States government are acting like children. They need to grow up. They need to look beyond their own selfish little worlds.
Read on...>
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4 her
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Super easy vegan recipe for fall - Maple Cinnamon Roasted Butternut Squash with a touch of spice. So healthy, seriously addicting!
Recipe here: http://theshiksa.com/2013/
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Anagog, an Israeli location-based technology company, unveiled on Monday an automatic algorithm that can analyze and identify where and when a parking space will be available.
Unlike other services, Anagog company says the technology's automatic nature will update the user instead of the user having to update the system.
The launch for the innovative system included an announcement of cooperation with PARX, the owner of Easy Park, which will allow Easy Park users in 130 countries to receive updates except for reminders to pay parking fees.
The company calls it “the first living parking map of an urban center,” and says that its data has just been built into the Easy Park app.
The technology can interface with navigation systems, cellular service and map providers, car makers, municipalities, transportation offices and more.
“We all saw what crowdsourcing did for traffic and navigation, and we are excited to see this concept brought to the world of parking,” said Parx’s CEO, Ofer Tziperman, referring to another Israeli startup, Waze, a navigation system which was recently bought by Google for about $1.3 billion.
Anagog has a variety of apps such as FindMyCar, 2Park, OTO, StopPark, and ParkDroid, which help people find their car again after parking. The data accumulated by those types of apps feeds into the open parking spot database, as does data from EasyPark and other partners. Altogether, Anagog says it has about 500,000 users, which enables it to do this:
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Multimillionaire one-percenter Barack Obama is a big fan of special rules for Washington insiders like himself, so it’s not really a surprise that one of his favorite golf courses at Andrew’s Air Force base remains open while public monuments like the National Memorial for World War II veterans are blocked off with “Barrycades” during the 13% government shutdown.
The Andrews Air Force base golf course is sustained by fees, like many of the national parksaround the country. The chief of public affairs at the 11th wing claimed that this was the reason that the golf course remains open for
golf pros political indignitaries like President Obama.
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Very illuminating.
The difference between the ancient Jewish and Greek minds...
"There can be no covenants between men and lions, wolves and lambs can never be of one mind, but hate each other out and out." - Homer (900 BC-800 BC)
"And the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them." - Isaiah 11:6
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http://www.news.com.au/world-news/japan-man-busted-for-arranging-senior-sex-under-guise-of-tea-drinking-companions/story-fndir2ev-1226735044764
I used to think there was a band named Geriatric and the Pacemakers - ed
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http://www.thesydneyinstitute.com.au/media-watch-dog/
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Alien Lane
Some accidental light painting was just what was needed as it turns out. Definitely a favorite of my night out north of Bodega with Mike Oria, who lit up this scene while fixing his gear. It was okay, I was only taking a test shot. Turns out the test shot was THE shot. I like these kinds of accidents.— at shell beach.
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- 1708 – Great Northern War: Russia defeated Sweden at the Battle of Lesnaya on the Russian–Polish border in present-day Belarus.
- 1888 – The Washington Monument (pictured)in Washington, D.C., at the time the world's tallest building, officially opened to the general public.
- 1913 – The ocean liner SS Volturno caught fire in the middle of a gale in the North Atlantic, burned, and sank, resulting in about 130 deaths.
- 1963 – A landslide displaced large amounts of water from the Vajont Dam in northern Italy, causing waves and floods that quickly swept away several villages and killed almost 2,000 people.
- 1983 – South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan survived anassassination attempt in Rangoon, Burma.
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Events[edit]
- 768 – Carloman I and Charlemagne are crowned Kings of The Franks.
- 1238 – James I of Aragon conquers Valencia and founds the Kingdom of Valencia.
- 1264 – The Kingdom of Castile conquers the city of Jerez that was under Muslim occupation since 711.
- 1446 – The hangul alphabet is published in Korea.
- 1514 – Marriage of Louis XII of France and Mary Tudor.
- 1558 – Mérida is founded in Venezuela.
- 1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland,Portugal and Spain.
- 1594 – The Portuguese Empire army is annihilated by the Kingdom of Kandy on Sri Lanka, bringing an end to theCampaign of Danture.
- 1595 – The Spanish army captures Cambrai.
- 1604 – Supernova 1604, the most recent supernova to be observed in the Milky Way.
- 1635 – Founder of Rhode Island Roger Williams is banished from the Massachusetts Bay Colony as a religious dissident after he speaks out against punishments for religious offenses and giving away Native American land.
- 1701 – The Collegiate School of Connecticut (later renamed Yale University) is chartered in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.
- 1708 – Peter the Great defeats the Swedes at the Battle of Lesnaya.
- 1740 – Dutch colonists and various slave groups begin massacring ethnic Chinese in Batavia, eventually killing 10,000 and leading to a two-year-long war throughout Java.
- 1760 – Seven Years' War: Russian forces occupy Berlin.
- 1771 – The Dutch merchant ship Vrouw Maria sinks near the coast of Finland.
- 1799 – Sinking of HMS Lutine, with the loss of 240 men and a cargo worth £1,200,000.
- 1804 – Hobart, capital of Tasmania, is founded.
- 1806 – Prussia declares war on France.
- 1812 – War of 1812: In a naval engagement on Lake Erie, American forces capture two British ships: HMS Detroit and HMS Caledonia.
- 1820 – Guayaquil declares independence from Spain.
- 1824 – Slavery is abolished in Costa Rica.
- 1831 – Ioannis Kapodistrias, the first head of state of independent Greece is assassinated.
- 1834 – Opening of the Dublin and Kingstown Railway, the first public railway on the island of Ireland.
- 1845 – The eminent and controversial Anglican, John Henry Newman, is received into the Roman Catholic Church.
- 1854 – Crimean War: The siege of Sebastopol begins.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Santa Rosa Island – Union troops repel a Confederate attempt to capture Fort Pickens.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Tom's Brook – Union cavalrymen in the Shenandoah Valley defeat Confederate forces at Tom's Brook, Virginia.
- 1873 – A meeting at the U.S. Naval Academy establishes the U.S. Naval Institute.
- 1874 – General Postal Union is created as a result of the Treaty of Berne.
- 1888 – The Washington Monument officially opens to the general public.
- 1907 – Las Cruces, New Mexico is incorporated.
- 1911 – An accidental bomb explosion in Hankou, Wuhan, China leads to the ultimate fall of the Qing Empire
- 1913 – Steamship SS Volturno catches fire in the mid-Atlantic.
- 1914 – World War I: Siege of Antwerp – Antwerp, Belgium falls to German troops.
- 1919 – Black Sox scandal: The Cincinnati Reds win the World Series.
- 1934 – Regicide at Marseille: The assassination of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Louis Barthou, Foreign Minister of France.
- 1936 – Generators at Boulder Dam (later renamed to Hoover Dam) begin to generate electricity from the Colorado River and transmit it 266 miles to Los Angeles, California.
- 1940 – World War II: Battle of Britain – During a night-time air raid by the German Luftwaffe, St. Paul's Cathedral in the City of London, England is hit by a bomb.
- 1941 – A coup in Panama declares Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia Arango the new president.
- 1942 – Statute of Westminster 1931 formalises Australian autonomy.
- 1942 – The last day of the October Matanikau action on Guadalcanal as United States Marine Corps forces withdraw back across the Matanikau River after destroying most of the Imperial Japanese Army's 4th Infantry Regiment.
- 1945 – Parade in NYC for Fleet Admiral Nimitz and 13 USN/USMC Medal of Honor recipients
- 1950 – Goyang Geumjeong Cave Massacre started.
- 1962 – Uganda becomes an independent Commonwealth realm.
- 1963 – In northeast Italy, over 2,000 people are killed when a large landslide behind the Vajont Dam causes a giant wave of water to overtop it.
- 1966 – Vietnam War: Binh Tai massacre
- 1966 – Vietnam War: Dien Nien-Phuoc Binh massacre
- 1967 – A day after being captured, Marxist revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara is executed for attempting to incite a revolution in Bolivia.
- 1969 – In Chicago, the United States National Guard is called in for crowd control as demonstrations continue in connection with the trial of the "Chicago Eight" that began on September 24.
- 1970 – The Khmer Republic is proclaimed in Cambodia.
- 1980 – Pope John Paul II shakes hands with the Dalai Lama during a private audience in Vatican City.
- 1980 – Princess Caroline of Monaco divorces Philippe Junot
- 1981 – Abolition of capital punishment in France.
- 1983 – Rangoon bombing: attempted assassination of South Korean President Chun Doo-hwan during an official visit to Rangoon, Burma. Chun survives but the blast kills 17 of his entourage, including four cabinet ministers, and injures 17 others. Four Burmese officials also die in the blast.
- 1986 – The musical The Phantom of the Opera has its first performance at Her Majesty's Theatre in London.
- 1989 – An official news agency in the Soviet Union reports the landing of a UFO in Voronezh.
- 1991 – Ecuador becomes a member of the Berne Convention copyright treaty.
- 1992 – A 13 kilogram (est.) fragment of the Peekskill meteorite lands in the driveway of the Knapp residence in Peekskill, New York, destroying the family's 1980 Chevrolet Malibu
- 1995 – An Amtrak Sunset Limited train is derailed by saboteurs near Palo Verde, Arizona.
- 1999 – The last flight of the SR-71.
- 2001 – Second mailing of anthrax letters from Trenton, New Jersey in the 2001 anthrax attack.
- 2003 – Mission: SPACE opens to the public in the Epcot park at Walt Disney World. The opening ceremony included several astronauts from all eras of space exploration.
- 2006 – North Korea allegedly tests its first nuclear device.
- 2009 – First lunar impact of the Centaur and LCROSS spacecrafts as part of NASA's Lunar Precursor Robotic Program.
- 2012 – Members of the Pakistani Taliban made a Failed attempt to assassinate Malala Yousafzai on her way home from school.
Births[edit]
- 1201 – Robert de Sorbon, French theologian, founder of the Collège de Sorbonne (d. 1274)
- 1221 – Salimbene di Adam, Italian chronicler (d. 1290)
- 1261 – Denis of Portugal (d. 1325)
- 1328 – Peter I of Cyprus (d. 1369)
- 1581 – Claude Gaspard Bachet de Méziriac, French mathematician, poet, and scholar (d. 1638)
- 1586 – Leopold V, Archduke of Austria (d. 1632)
- 1704 – Johann Andreas Segner, German mathematician, physicist, and physician (d. 1777)
- 1757 – Charles X of France (d. 1836)
- 1796 – Joseph Bonomi the Younger, English egyptologist and sculptor (d. 1878)
- 1835 – Camille Saint-Saëns, French composer and conductor (d. 1921)
- 1837 – Francis Wayland Parker, American theorist (d. 1902)
- 1840 – Simeon Solomon, English painter (d. 1905)
- 1852 – Hermann Emil Fischer, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1919)
- 1855 – Paul Wiesner, German sailor (d. 1930)
- 1858 – Mihajlo Idvorski Pupin, Serbian-American physicist and chemist (d. 1935)
- 1859 – Alfred Dreyfus, French military officer (d. 1935)
- 1863 – Edward Bok, Dutch-born American editor and author (d. 1930)
- 1871 – Didak Buntić, Croatian monk and scholar (d. 1922)
- 1871 – Georges Gauthier, Canadian bishop (d. 1940)
- 1873 – Carl Flesch, Hungarian violinist (d. 1944)
- 1873 – Karl Schwarzschild, German physicist and astronomer (d. 1916)
- 1873 – Charles Rudolph Walgreen, American businessman, founded Walgreens (d. 1939)
- 1874 – Nicholas Roerich, Russian painter (d. 1947)
- 1877 – Gopabandhu Das,Indian Freedom Fighter(.1928)
- 1879 – Max von Laue, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1960)
- 1880 – Charles Victory Faust, Baseball mascot
- 1886 – Rube Marquard, American baseball player (d. 1980)
- 1888 – Nikolai Bukharin, Russian politician (d. 1938)
- 1888 – Irving Cummings, American actor and director (d. 1959)
- 1890 – Aimee Semple McPherson, Canadian-American evangelist, founded the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel (d. 1944)
- 1892 – Ivo Andrić, Yugoslav writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1975)
- 1892 – Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet (d. 1941)
- 1893 – Mário de Andrade, Brazilian author, poet, and photographer (d. 1945)
- 1897 – M. Bhaktavatsalam, Indian Freedom Fighter (d.1987)
- 1898 – Tawfiq al-Hakim, Egyptian writer (d. 1987)
- 1899 – Bruce Catton, American historian and author (d. 1978)
- 1900 – Joseph Friedman, American inventor, invented the bendy straw (d. 1982)
- 1900 – Alastair Sim, Scottish actor (d. 1976)
- 1902 – Freddie Young, English cinematographer (d. 1998)
- 1903 – Walter O'Malley, American lawyer and businessman (d. 1979)
- 1906 – Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegalese poet and politician, 1st President of Senegal (d. 2001)
- 1906 – J. R. Eyerman, American photographer and journalist (d. 1985)
- 1907 – Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone, English politician (d. 2001)
- 1907 – Jacques Tati, French director and producer (d. 1982)
- 1907 – Horst Wessel, German SS officer and composer (d. 1930)
- 1908 – Harry Hooton, Australian poet (d. 1961)
- 1908 – Werner von Haeften, German military officer (d. 1944)
- 1908 – Lee Wiley, American singer (d. 1975)
- 1909 – Donald Coggan, English archbishop (d. 2000)
- 1909 – V. Nalliah, Ceylon Tamil politician
- 1911 – Joe Rosenthal, American photographer (d. 2006)
- 1914 – Edward Andrews, American actor (d. 1985)
- 1915 – Clifford M. Hardin, American politician (d. 2010)
- 1915 – Belva Plain, American novelist (d. 2010)
- 1918 – E. Howard Hunt, American CIA officer and author (d. 2007)
- 1918 – Lila Kedrova, Russian actress (d. 2000)
- 1920 – Jens Bjørneboe, Norwegian author (d. 1976)
- 1920 – Yusef Lateef, American musician, composer, and educator
- 1921 – Michel Boisrond, French director (d. 2002)
- 1922 – Léon Dion, Canadian political scientist (d. 1997)
- 1922 – Fyvush Finkel, American actor
- 1923 – Donald Sinden, English actor
- 1926 – Danièle Delorme, French actress and producer
- 1928 – Einojuhani Rautavaara, Finnish composer
- 1931 – Antony Booth, English actor
- 1931 – Homer Smith, American football player and coach (d. 2011)
- 1932 – Dvora Omer, Israeli author (d. 2013)
- 1933 – Peter Mansfield, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1933 – Judy Tyler, American actress (d. 1957)
- 1934 – Jill Ker Conway, Australian-American author
- 1934 – Abdullah Ibrahim, South African pianist and composer
- 1935 – Prince Edward, Duke of Kent
- 1936 – Brian Blessed, English actor
- 1938 – Heinz Fischer, Austrian politician, 11th President of Austria
- 1939 – O. V. Wright, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 1980)
- 1940 – Gordon J. Humphrey, American politician
- 1940 – John Lennon, English singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (The Beatles, The Quarrymen, Plastic Ono Band, and The Dirty Mac) (d. 1980)
- 1940 – Joe Pepitone, American baseball player
- 1941 – Brian Lamb, American broadcaster, founded C-SPAN
- 1941 – Trent Lott, American politician
- 1941 – Jean-Jacques Schuhl, French author
- 1941 – Chucho Valdés, Cuban pianist and composer
- 1941 – Karam ud Din, Pakistani navy officer (d. 2008)
- 1942 – Michael Palmer, American novelist
- 1943 – Douglas Kirby, American psychologist
- 1943 – Jimmy Montgomery, English footballer
- 1943 – Mike Peters, American cartoonist
- 1944 – John Entwistle, English singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (The Who) (d. 2002)
- 1944 – Nona Hendryx, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (Labelle)
- 1945 – Taiguara, Brazilian singer-songwriter (d. 1996)
- 1945 – Amjad Ali Khan,Indian Classical Musician
- 1947 – France Gall, French singer
- 1947 – William E. McAnulty, Jr., American lawyer and judge (d. 2007)
- 1947 – Tony Zappone, American photographer and journalist
- 1948 – Jackson Browne, German-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Nitty Gritty Dirt Band)
- 1948 – Dave Samuels, American vibraphone player (Caribbean Jazz Project)
- 1950 – Brian Downing, American baseball player
- 1950 – Reichi Nakaido, Japanese guitarist (RC Succession)
- 1950 – Jody Williams, American activist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1952 – Sharon Osbourne, English television host and manager
- 1952 – Dennis Stratton, English guitarist, former member of the band Iron Maiden
- 1952 – Simon Drew, English illustrator and Cartoonist
- 1953 – Tony Shalhoub, American actor
- 1954 – Scott Bakula, American actor
- 1954 – James Fearnley, English musician and songwriter (The Pogues and The Nips)
- 1954 – John O'Hurley, American actor
- 1955 – Linwood Boomer, Canadian-American actor and producer
- 1957 – Don Garber, American businessman
- 1957 – Ini Kamoze, Jamaican singer-songwriter
- 1958 – Al Jourgensen, Cuban-American singer-songwriter and producer (Ministry, Revolting Cocks, Lard, Acid Horse, and PTP)
- 1958 – Michael Pare, American actor
- 1958 – Mike Singletary, American football player
- 1960 – Maddie Blaustein, American actress (d. 2008)
- 1960 – Kenny Garrett, American saxophonist (Five Peace Band)
- 1961 – Julian Bailey, English race car driver
- 1961 – Gyula Hajszán, Hungarian footballer
- 1961 – Ellen Wheeler, American actress, director and producer
- 1962 – Jorge Burruchaga, Argentinian footballer
- 1962 – Ōnokuni Yasushi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 62nd Yokozuna
- 1963 – Sheila Kelley, American actress,
- 1964 – Guillermo del Toro, Mexican director
- 1964 – John Ralston, Canadian actor
- 1965 – Jimbo Fisher, American football player and coach
- 1966 – David Cameron, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- 1966 – Christopher Östlund, Swedish publisher, founded Plaza Magazine
- 1967 – Carling Bassett-Seguso, Canadian tennis player
- 1967 – Audie England, American actress
- 1967 – Eddie Guerrero, American wrestler (d. 2005)
- 1968 – Troy Davis, American murderer (d. 2011)
- 1969 – PJ Harvey, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1969 – Christine Hough, Canadian figure skater
- 1969 – Giles Martin, English songwriter and producer
- 1970 – Savannah, American porn actress (d. 1994)
- 1970 – Kenny Anderson, American basketball player
- 1970 – Jason Butler Harner, American actor
- 1970 – Steve Jablonsky, American composer
- 1970 – Park Sang-min, South Korean actor
- 1970 – Annika Sörenstam, Swedish golfer
- 1971 – Jason Jones, American director, producer, and activist
- 1971 – Stevie Richards, American wrestler
- 1972 – Sarah Vandenbergh, Australian actress
- 1973 – Steven Burns, American actor and singer
- 1973 – Erin Daniels, American actress
- 1973 – Fabio Lione, Italian singer-songwriter and keyboard player (Rhapsody of Fire, Vision Divine, and Labyrinth)
- 1973 – Carlos Pavón, Honduran footballer
- 1974 – Shmuel Herzfeld, American rabbi and activist
- 1974 – Kieren Hutchison, New Zealand actor
- 1975 – Sean Lennon, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (The Ghost of a Saber Tooth Tiger, Plastic Ono Band, and Cibo Matto)
- 1975 – Rale Micic, Serbian guitarist and composer
- 1975 – Mark Viduka, Australian footballer
- 1976 – William Alexander, American writer
- 1976 – Lee Peacock, Scottish footballer
- 1976 – Sam Riegel, American voice actor, scriptwriter, and director
- 1976 – Nick Swardson, American actor, screenwriter, and producer
- 1977 – Emanuele Belardi, Italian footballer
- 1977 – Yaki Kadafi, American rapper (Outlawz) (d. 1996)
- 1977 – Brian Roberts, American baseball player
- 1978 – Rossa, Indonesian singer
- 1978 – Nicky Byrne, Irish singer-songwriter and footballer (Westlife)
- 1978 – Juan Dixon, American basketball player
- 1979 – Alex Greenwald, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (Phantom Planet and JJAMZ)
- 1979 – Todd Kelly, Australian race car driver
- 1979 – Chris O'Dowd, Irish comedy actor
- 1979 – Brandon Routh, American actor
- 1979 – Gonzalo Sorondo, Uruguayan footballer
- 1980 – Ibrahim Fazeel, Maldivian footballer
- 1980 – Henrik Zetterberg, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1981 – Zachery Ty Bryan, American actor and producer
- 1981 – Darius Miles, American basketball player
- 1981 – Urška Žolnir, Slovenian martial artist
- 1982 – Shi Jun, Chinese footballer
- 1982 – António Mendonça, Angolan footballer
- 1983 – Stephen Gionta, American ice hockey player
- 1983 – Spencer Grammer, American actress
- 1983 – Jang Mi-Ran, South Korean weightlifter
- 1983 – Andreas Zuber, Austrian race car driver
- 1984 – Ghetts, English rapper
- 1984 – Djamel Mesbah, Algerian footballer
- 1986 – Derek Holland, American baseball player
- 1986 – Laure Manaudou, French swimmer
- 1987 – Samantha Murray, British tennis player
- 1987 – Bill Walker, American basketball player
- 1989 – Ana Savić, Croatian tennis player
- 1992 – Tyler James Williams, American actor and singer
- 1993 – Lauren Davis, American tennis player
- 1993 – Sarah Lahbati, Swiss-Filipino actress and singer
- 1993 – Scotty McCreery, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1993 – Jhoana Marie Tan, Filipino actress
- 1993 – Robin Quaison, Swedish footballer
- 1994 – Jodelle Ferland, Canadian actress
Deaths[edit]
- 1047 – Pope Clement II (b. 1005)
- 1253 – Robert Grosseteste, English bishop (b. 1175)
- 1273 – Elisabeth of Bavaria, Queen of Germany (b. 1227)
- 1390 – John I of Castile (b. 1358)
- 1555 – Justus Jonas, German religious reformer (b. 1493)
- 1562 – Gabriele Falloppio, Italian anatomist and physician (b. 1523)
- 1569 – Vladimir of Staritsa (b. 1533)
- 1581 – Saint Louis Bertrand, Spanish missionary (b. 1526)
- 1597 – Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Japanese shogun (b. 1537)
- 1691 – William Sacheverell, English politician (b. 1638)
- 1709 – Barbara Palmer, 1st Duchess of Cleveland (b. 1640)
- 1729 – Richard Blackmore, English physician and poet (b. 1654)
- 1793 – Jean Joseph Marie Amiot, French missionary (b. 1718)
- 1797 – Vilna Gaon, Lithuanian rabbi (b. 1720)
- 1806 – Benjamin Banneker, American astronomer (b. 1731)
- 1808 – John Claiborne, American politician (b. 1777)
- 1831 – Ioannis Kapodistrias, Russian-Greek politician, Governor of Greece (b. 1776)
- 1873 – George Ormerod, English historian and antiquarian (b. 1785)
- 1897 – Jan Heemskerk, Dutch politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1818)
- 1900 – Heinrich von Herzogenberg, Austrian composer and conductor (b. 1843)
- 1924 – Valery Bryusov, Russian author, poet, and critic (b. 1873)
- 1934 – Alexander I of Yugoslavia (b. 1888)
- 1934 – Louis Barthou, French politician, 78th Prime Minister of France (b. 1862)
- 1937 – Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse (b. 1868)
- 1940 – Wilfred Grenfell, English missionary (b. 1865)
- 1941 – Helen Morgan, American singer and actress (b. 1900)
- 1943 – Pieter Zeeman, Dutch physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
- 1946 – Frank Castleman, American athlete and coach (b. 1877)
- 1950 – George Hainsworth, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1895)
- 1953 – Jimmy Finlayson, Scottish-American actor (b. 1887)
- 1955 – Theodor Innitzer, Austrian cardinal (b. 1875)
- 1956 – Marie Doro, American actress (b. 1882)
- 1958 – Pope Pius XII (b. 1876)
- 1959 – Shirō Ishii, Japanese general and biologist (b. 1892)
- 1962 – Milan Vidmar, Slovenian engineer and chess player (b. 1885)
- 1967 – Che Guevara, Argentine physician, author, guerrilla leader (b. 1928)
- 1967 – Cyril Norman Hinshelwood, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1897)
- 1967 – André Maurois, French author (b. 1885)
- 1967 – Joseph Pilates, German physical culturist and developer of Pilates (b. 1883)
- 1968 – Pierre Mulele, Congolese rebel and politician (b. 1929)
- 1972 – Miriam Hopkins, American actress (b. 1902)
- 1974 – Oskar Schindler, Austro-Hungarian businessman (b. 1908)
- 1976 – Walter Warlimont, German general (b. 1894)
- 1978 – Jacques Brel, Belgian singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1929)
- 1982 – Herbert Meinhard Mühlpfordt, German historian (b. 1893)
- 1985 – Emílio Garrastazu Médici, Brazilian military leader and politician, 28th President of Brazil (b. 1905)
- 1987 – Guru Gopinath, Indian dancer (b. 1908)
- 1987 – Clare Boothe Luce, American diplomat and author (b. 1903)
- 1987 – William P. Murphy, American physician, recipient of the Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1892)
- 1988 – Felix Wankel German engineer, invented the Wankel engine (b. 1902)
- 1989 – Penny Lernoux, American journalist and author (b. 1940)
- 1995 – Alec Douglas-Home, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1903)
- 1996 – Walter Kerr, American author, composer, and critic (b. 1913)
- 1999 – Milt Jackson, American vibraphone player and composer (Modern Jazz Quartet) (b. 1923)
- 1999 – Akhtar Hameed Khan, Pakistani social scientist and activist (b. 1914)
- 2000 – David Dukes, American actor (b. 1945)
- 2000 – Patrick Anthony Porteous, Scottish soldier, recipient of the Victoria Cross (b. 1918)
- 2001 – Dagmar, American actress and model (b. 1921)
- 2001 – Herbert Ross, American director and producer (b. 1927)
- 2002 – Sopubek Begaliev, Soviet economist and politician (b. 1931)
- 2002 – Charles Guggenheim, American director and producer (b. 1924)
- 2002 – Aileen Wuornos, American serial killer (b. 1956)
- 2003 – Carolyn Gold Heilbrun, American author (b. 1926)
- 2004 – Jacques Derrida, French philosopher (b. 1930)
- 2005 – Louis Nye, American comedian and actor (b. 1913)
- 2005 – Stella Stratigou, Greek actress (b. 1931)
- 2006 – Paul Hunter, English snooker player (b. 1978)
- 2006 – Kanshi Ram, Indian politician(b.1934)
- 2006 – Ray Noorda, American businessman, co-founder of Novell (b. 1924)
- 2007 – Enrico Banducci, American businessman, founded hungry i (b. 1922)
- 2007 – Carol Bruce, American band singer and actress (b. 1919)
- 2008 – Gidget Gein, American bass player (b. 1969)
- 2009 – Stuart Kaminsky, American author (b. 1934)
- 2011 – Pavel Karelin, Russian ski jumper (b. 1989)
- 2012 – Paddy Roy Bates, English broadcaster (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Mark Brovun, Ukrainian art director (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Sammi Kane Kraft, American actress (b. 1992)
- 2012 – Budd Lynch, American sportscaster (b. 1917)
- 2012 – George Paciullo, Australian politician (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Kenny Rollins, American basketball player (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Elo Romančík, Slovak actor (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Harris Savides, American cinematographer (b. 1957)
Holidays and observances[edit]
- Christian Feast Day:
- Robert Grosseteste, Scholar, Bishop of Lincoln, d. 1253 AD (commemoration, Anglicanism)
- Hangul Day (South Korea)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Uganda from United Kingdom in 1962.
- Independence of Guayaquil from Spain in 1820 (Guayaquil)
- Leif Erikson Day (United States, Iceland and Norway)
- National Day of Commemorating the Holocaust (Romania)
- Takayama Autumn Festival (Takayama)
- World Post Day (International)
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“I, even I, am the LORD, and apart from me there is no savior. I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “that I am God.” Isaiah 43:11-12 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
"Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught."
Luke 5:4
Luke 5:4
We learn from this narrative, the necessity of human agency. The draught of fishes was miraculous, yet neither the fisherman nor his boat, nor his fishing tackle were ignored; but all were used to take the fishes. So in the saving of souls, God worketh by means; and while the present economy of grace shall stand, God will be pleased by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. When God worketh without instruments, doubtless he is glorified; but he hath himself selected the plan of instrumentality as being that by which he is most magnified in the earth. Means of themselves are utterly unavailing. "Master, we have toiled all the night and have taken nothing." What was the reason of this? Were they not fishermen plying their special calling? Verily, they were no raw hands; they understood the work. Had they gone about the toil unskilfully? No. Had they lacked industry? No, they had toiled. Had they lacked perseverance? No, they had toiled all the night. Was there a deficiency of fish in the sea? Certainly not, for as soon as the Master came, they swam to the net in shoals. What, then, is the reason? Is it because there is no power in the means of themselves apart from the presence of Jesus? "Without him we can do nothing." But with Christ we can do all things. Christ's presence confers success. Jesus sat in Peter's boat, and his will, by a mysterious influence, drew the fish to the net. When Jesus is lifted up in his Church, his presence is the Church's power--the shout of a king is in the midst of her. "I, if I be lifted up, will draw all men unto me." Let us go out this morning on our work of soul fishing, looking up in faith, and around us in solemn anxiety. Let us toil till night comes, and we shall not labour in vain, for he who bids us let down the net, will fill it with fishes.
Evening
"Praying in the Holy Ghost."
Jude 20
Jude 20
Mark the grand characteristic of true prayer--"In the Holy Ghost." The seed of acceptable devotion must come from heaven's storehouse. Only the prayer which comes from God can go to God. We must shoot the Lord's arrows back to him. That desire which he writes upon our heart will move his heart and bring down a blessing, but the desires of the flesh have no power with him.
Praying in the Holy Ghost is praying in fervency. Cold prayers ask the Lord not to hear them. Those who do not plead with fervency, plead not at all. As well speak of lukewarm fire as of lukewarm prayer--it is essential that it be red hot. It is praying perseveringly. The true suppliant gathers force as he proceeds, and grows more fervent when God delays to answer. The longer the gate is closed, the more vehemently does he use the knocker, and the longer the angel lingers the more resolved is he that he will never let him go without the blessing. Beautiful in God's sight is tearful, agonizing, unconquerable importunity. It means praying humbly, for the Holy Spirit never puffs us up with pride. It is his office to convince of sin, and so to bow us down in contrition and brokenness of spirit. We shall never sing Gloria in excelsis except we pray to God De profundis: out of the depths must we cry, or we shall never behold glory in the highest. It is loving prayer. Prayer should be perfumed with love, saturated with love--love to our fellow saints, and love to Christ. Moreover, it must be a prayer full of faith. A man prevails only as he believes. The Holy Spirit is the author of faith, and strengthens it, so that we pray believing God's promise. O that this blessed combination of excellent graces, priceless and sweet as the spices of the merchant, might be fragrant within us because the Holy Ghost is in our hearts! Most blessed Comforter, exert thy mighty power within us, helping our infirmities in prayer.
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Today's reading: Isaiah 30-31, Philippians 4 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Isaiah 30-31
Woe to the Obstinate Nation
1 “Woe to the obstinate children,”
declares the LORD,
“to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit,
heaping sin upon sin;
2 who go down to Egypt
without consulting me;
who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection,
to Egypt’s shade for refuge.
3 But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame,
Egypt’s shade will bring you disgrace.
4 Though they have officials in Zoan
and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
5 everyone will be put to shame
because of a people useless to them,
who bring neither help nor advantage,
but only shame and disgrace.”
declares the LORD,
“to those who carry out plans that are not mine,
forming an alliance, but not by my Spirit,
heaping sin upon sin;
2 who go down to Egypt
without consulting me;
who look for help to Pharaoh’s protection,
to Egypt’s shade for refuge.
3 But Pharaoh’s protection will be to your shame,
Egypt’s shade will bring you disgrace.
4 Though they have officials in Zoan
and their envoys have arrived in Hanes,
5 everyone will be put to shame
because of a people useless to them,
who bring neither help nor advantage,
but only shame and disgrace.”
Today's New Testament reading: Philippians 4
Closing Appeal for Steadfastness and Unity
1 Therefore, my brothers and sisters, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, stand firm in the Lord in this way, dear friends!
2 I plead with Euodia and I plead with Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. 3 Yes, and I ask you, my true companion, help these women since they have contended at my side in the cause of the gospel, along with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.
Final Exhortations
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus....
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