People feel threatened and they are, daily, by mainstream press partisanly pursuing conservatives while promoting left wing values. Media lies and their cover stories are discordant with reality. Desperate to engineer a policy back flip, Pyne's words are dissected, misrepresented and re-packaged. The truth is the ALP promoted bad policy, called Gonski, which would take money from tax payers and school kids and give it to ALP mates. This is called reform by the mass media who speak for the ALP while they are incapable. The truth is the federal government have no need to give money to public schools, because the states do. The federal government responsibly gives some money to private schools, because it would cost Australia too much if private schools were not viable. Private schools in Australia are either systemic or independent. Systemic school parents are generally not wealthy and their contributions are important to the wellbeing of education in Australia. Private students do not get more than public students from the public purse, and never have. What has happened is that the ALP took money away from their Gonski reform, but are demanding the conservatives return it to the budget. Parents are confused. One hairdresser I met recently is the breadwinner for her family. Her husband lost his job to ALP policy and she has one school age son and one pre school daughter. The hair dresser is highly educated, with a degree in computer science from a Vietnamese university and work experience in the computer industry. She is told by her son's public high school principal that the changes mean the school will have to cut classes and won't be able to buy computers. Also, she has been told private schools will not lose funding. The lies apparently spread by Chester Hill HS' Principal are not isolated. Parents are meant to be angry. But the cuts, were Pyne to cut Gonski entirely, would not cut a single program at any school. The only change will be that teachers will do what they are paid to do. If one truly believed the talk about teacher standards, that would mean everything was good. But the press would have you believe that Australian Teachers cannot function if some left wing extremists aren't paid a lot more.
===
Happy birthday and many happy returns Simon Robert Lane and Jean Omari. Born on the same day across the years, along with
- 539 – Gregory of Tours, French bishop and historian (d. 594)
- 1508 – Andrea Palladio, Italian architect, designed the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore and Teatro Olimpico (d. 1580)
- 1554 – Philip Sidney, English soldier and poet (d. 1586)
- 1645 – Andreas Werckmeister, German organist, composer, and theorist (d. 1706)
- 1667 – Jonathan Swift, Irish author (d. 1745)
- 1810 – Oliver Winchester, American businessman, founded the Winchester Repeating Arms Company (d. 1880)
- 1835 – Mark Twain, American author (d. 1910)
- 1874 – Winston Churchill, English politician and author, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
- 1918 – Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., American actor
- 1929 – Joan Ganz Cooney, American television producer, co-founded Sesame Workshop
- 1930 – G. Gordon Liddy, American conspirator, lawyer, talk show host, and actor
- 1937 – Ridley Scott, English director and producer
- 1952 – Mandy Patinkin, American actor and singer
- 1990 – Magnus Carlsen, Norwegian chess player, World Chess Champion
- 1994 – Nyjah Huston, American skateboarder
Matches
- 3340 BC Earliest believed record of an eclipse.
- 1782 – American Revolutionary War: Treaty of Paris – In Paris, representatives from the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain sign preliminary peace articles (later formalized as the 1783 Treaty of Paris).
- 1786 – The Grand Duchy of Tuscany, under Pietro Leopoldo I, becomes the first modern state to abolish the death penalty (later commemorated as Cities for Life Day).
- 1803 – In New Orleans, Louisiana, Spanish representatives officially transfer the Louisiana Territory to aFrench representative. Just 20 days later, France transfers the same land to the United States as theLouisiana Purchase.
- 1804 – The Democratic-Republican-controlled United States Senate begins an impeachment trial ofFederalist Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Franklin – The Confederate Army of Tennessee led by General John Bell Hood mounts a dramatically unsuccessful frontal assault on Union positions commanded by John McAllister Schofield around Franklin, Tennessee, with Hood losing six generals and almost a third of his troops.
- 1940 – Lucille Ball marries Desi Arnaz in Greenwich, Connecticut.
- 1942 – World War II: Battle of Tassafaronga; A smaller squadron of Japanese destroyers led by Raizō Tanaka defeats a U.S. cruiser force under Carleton H. Wright.
- 1947 – 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine begins on this day, leading up to the creation of the state of Israel.
- 1954 – In Sylacauga, Alabama, United States, the Hodges Meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap in the only documented case of a human being hit by a rock from space.
- 1995 – U.S. President Bill Clinton visits Northern Ireland and speaks in favour of the "Northern Ireland peace process" to a huge rally atBelfast City Hall. He calls terrorists "yesterday's men".
Despatches
- 1016 – Edmund Ironside, English king (b. 993)
- 1900 – Oscar Wilde, Irish author and poet (b. 1854)
FABRIC MAN SWITCHES TEAMS
Tim Blair – Saturday, November 30, 2013 (12:22pm)
Bandana-wearing history mangler Peter FitzSimons is against violence in today’s SMH:
The Clarke sledging thing? So shoot me, but I don’t like it. Sledging that is banter is fine, butthreatening bodily violence to an opponent is well over the other side of the line.
Bandana-wearing history mangler Peter FitzSimons is for violence last June:
Just how much can Julia Gillard take? If put in her position last week, how many of us could keep our equanimity in the face of the shockingly hurtful contents of that menu being made public, and then have a radio announcer, to our face, airing false sludge about our partners? I, for one, could not, and in the latter case would find it very difficult not to invite the announcer for a chat in the car park.
(Via reader Martin)
IT HAPPENS EVERY TIME
Tim Blair – Saturday, November 30, 2013 (12:03pm)
Following Sydney’s chilly anti-carbon rally, warmies protest in Canada:
Dozens of anti-pipeline and oilsands activists gathered Saturday in downtown Calgary as part of a nation-wide protest focusing on climate change …Originally about 300 people were slated to participate in the Calgary protest, but due to a snow storm only about 50 showed up.
Bigger numbers appear in this survey:
Not all scientists agree that global warming is man-made. Nearly half of meteorologists and atmospheric science experts don’t believe that human activities are the driving force behind global warming, according to a survey by the American Meteorological Society.The survey of AMS members found that while 52 percent of American Meteorological Society members believe climate change is occurring and mostly human-induced, 48 percent of members do not believe in man-made global warming.Furthermore, the survey found that scientists who professed “liberal political views” were much more likely to believe in the theory of man-made global warming than those who without liberal views.
(Via Robert E.)
WINNERS AND LOSERS
Tim Blair – Saturday, November 30, 2013 (11:59am)
Former Australian fast bowler Brett Lee notes a power shift:
Elsewhere, the Taliban is against Sachin Tendulkar:
Elsewhere, the Taliban is against Sachin Tendulkar:
“There is an Indian player called Tendulkar. He is being showered with praises by Pakistani media and people,” said Shahidullah Shahid, the main spokesman of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, during a video appearance flanked by two gun-wielding, balaclava-wearing jihadis.“Somebody should tell the media that Tendulkar may be a good cricketer but his qualities should not be highlighted because it is against the Pakistani nation and our motherland.”
Tendulkar’s Test record: nearly 16,000 runs at 53.78. The Taliban prefers another player:
Although Shahid conceded there were problems with the [Pakistan] captain, Misbah-ul-Haq, he demanded the media get behind the national team.“No matter how bad a player Misbah-ul-Haq is, he must be praised,” Shahid said.
Misbah-ul-Haq is barely a year younger than the just-retired Indian right-hander. His record: 2854 runs at 46.03. Praise him!
CHAR SIU ATTACKED
Tim Blair – Saturday, November 30, 2013 (5:46am)
Former tax recipient Tim Flannery loves to tell us how China is so great at addressing environmental issues. This must be what the Great Flanster is talking about:
Beijing is waging a war against air pollution, one barbecue at a time. Officials have destroyed more than 500 open-air barbecues to cut particulate matter.
I wonder if Flannery has a barbecue at his waterside pad.
THE HOTTEST DAY IN HISTORY
Tim Blair – Saturday, November 30, 2013 (5:08am)
For warmies, this 1961 Twilight Zone episode is a documentary.
GALAH DIPLOMACY
Tim Blair – Saturday, November 30, 2013 (5:03am)
Greg Sheridan smashes tax-soaking security smashers:
The ABC emerges from the Indonesian spy scandal a diminished organisation, morally compromised and journalistically discredited. The problem is not that the ABC published stories which contained confidential national security information. Every decent media organisation does that from time to time.The problem is actually the reverse. The ABC did not behave as a credible media organisation. Credible media organisations do not act as the handmaidens of competitor news organisations to amplify and dramatise their competitors’ scoops. They may well report on those scoops, but the ABC did something altogether different. It emerges as an organisation lacking effective accountability and with a leadership that is hopelessly confused and amateurish about how to behave when dealing with serious national security issues. It also emerges as an organisation effectively driven by a specific, narrow ideological worldview, and by the obsessions which emanate from that ideology.
Do read on. In other diplomatic developments:
Indonesian military officials caught trying to smuggle galahs and parrots on a plane Australia had gifted the island nation were allegedly let off because customs staff deemed it “government-related” …The parrots were surrendered amid questioning of two Indonesian officials, believed to be air force pilots, but the plane was allowed to continue on to Indonesia, with only a warning given.Penalties for wildlife trade offences can go up to 10 years jail and or a fine of $170,000 …Prime Minister Tony Abbott earlier confirmed he had been briefed on the bird issue but, when asked about the involvement of Indonesian officials, would only say he wanted to build a positive relationship with the nation.“From time to time Australians do things in Indonesia and it shouldn’t be a complete surprise that occasionally it’s a two-way street,” Mr Abbott said.
Apparently we’re now so spooked by Indonesian disapproval that we let law-breakers go free. Hmmm.
SACK THE COACH
Tim Blair – Friday, November 29, 2013 (5:17pm)
The official Ashes Cricket 2013 video game has been withdrawn from sale:
PlanetCricket.net editor Matt Whitehorn, who was among those initial voices criticising the game and calling it “not fit for sale”, has posted videos showing fielders moving in an apparent state of confusion, diving on the ground randomly and either throwing the ball in the wrong direction or just standing and looking at it as if the idea of picking it up never occurs to them.
Sounds like one or two teams I’ve played with. Check the ultra-realistic cricket action:
Pyne needs the discipline to go with his talent
Andrew Bolt November 30 2013 (9:40am)
Education Minister
Christopher Pyne has the talent and confidence to be one of the
Government’s best ministers. Right now he lacks the discipline as he backtracks on education funding promises:
Reader Jillor says Laurie Oakes has gone too far in accusing Pyne:
===When [Adelaide radio’s Leon] Byner repeated that Abbott promised no school would be worse off, Pyne again denied it - so the interviewer played a tape.UPDATE
Listeners heard Abbott’s voice saying: “We will make sure no school is worse off.”
At a news conference on Tuesday, asked about the kind of new model he had in mind, Pyne said: “I believe that the school funding model that was implemented by the Howard government, which was based on the socio-economic status and qualifications of parents and went to the schools that were most in need, is a good starting point for a school funding model.”
A DAY later he was claiming: “I’ve never said that we’d be reverting to the Howard model, so I don’t know where you’ve got that idea from.”
Reader Jillor says Laurie Oakes has gone too far in accusing Pyne:
I can understand his frustration in the last quoted sentence. Perhaps he could have been more precise, but he did say that the Howard model was “a good starting point”, not that he was reverting to it.There is obviously a huge difference between using a past plan as a starting point and copying or reverting to the whole plan.
Bolt Report tomorrow
Andrew Bolt November 30 2013 (9:36am)
Prime Minister Tony Abbott will be our guest on tomorrow’s Bolt Report. Also on this show: Peter Costello and Michael Costa.
And, using very short words, I will explain something to Paul Barry - and match his dare.
On Channel 10 at 10am and 4pm on Sunday.
The twitter feed.
The place the videos appear.
===And, using very short words, I will explain something to Paul Barry - and match his dare.
On Channel 10 at 10am and 4pm on Sunday.
The twitter feed.
The place the videos appear.
Abbott’s studies at Oxford get Fairfax mockery. Rhiannon’s in Moscow of no interest
Andrew Bolt November 30 2013 (9:21am)
Another tremendous Media Watch Dog:
===What a truly fascinating piece by Mark Kenny on the Fairfax Media website last Monday. Mr Kenny revealed Tony Abbott’s results in his Philosophy Politics and Economics (PPE) course at Oxford University some three decades ago…(Thanks to reader Peter.)
In fact, Mr Abbot received a respectable Second Class degree – quite good in view of his non-academic interests in politics and sport.
Your man Kenny wrote that “Mr Abbott struggled to gain the highest marks for his efforts” in the PPE program but provided no evidence of any such “struggle”.
Meanwhile, neither Mark Kenny nor any of his fellow members of the Canberra Press Gallery have bothered to follow-up on, or even report, MWD’s “scoop” about Lee Rhiannon’s (nee Brown) apparent post-graduate study at the International Lenin School in Moscow in the mid-1970s.
The Greens Senator has refused to confirm or deny that she did a course in Moscow during the time of Leonid Brezhnev’s communist dictatorship. As Professor Helena Sheehan of Dublin City University has documented, the International Lenin School was established by the Soviet Union “to train leaders of the communist movement” and “to facilitate” the progress of Bolshevik revolution around the world. Graduates of the International Lenin School include Stanlinist hacks like Erich Honecker and Wladyslaw Gomulka.
ABC refused pleas to censor damaging secrets
Andrew Bolt November 30 2013 (9:14am)
Greg Sheridan on the ABC’s decision to hurt Australia’s national interest by publishing stolen intelligence secrets:
Grace Collier:
===THE ABC emerges from the Indonesian spy scandal a diminished organisation, morally compromised and journalistically discredited…UPDATE
(T)he ABC has decided to turn itself into the Australian broadcast arm of the Snowden/Guardian axis, to use every relevant part of its vast government-funded resources to promote The Guardian’s scoop. This is not an act of journalism. This is an act of ideological commitment. It is an act of propaganda.
People could very easily die as a direct result of the ABC’s decision.... (I)f the Indonesians seriously cut back on their efforts to disrupt people-smuggling, it is almost inevitable that a lot more boats will leave Indonesia for Australia. We know a proportion of those boats will sink…
The way the ABC has behaved on this story has shocked many non-partisan national security officials in Australia. The ABC refused to redact the majority of the material which the intelligence agencies asked it to in the interests of national security…
The ABC is a public broadcaster, financed by taxes paid by all Australians. Half those Australians, more or less, vote centre Right, and half, more or less, vote centre Left. But the ABC’s worldview runs entirely from centre Left to far Left.
Grace Collier:
The type of relationship between the ABC board and the government has the potential to have a serious impact on us all. The disaster we are now seeing unfold may have its origins in defiant political ideology within the national broadcaster. If this is all about a war declared on the elected representatives of mainstream Australia by a media entity unhappy with the election outcome, then I shudder to think what additional damage could be done.(Thanks to readers Peter of Bellevue Hill and Correllio.)
If any good can come out of recent events it will be this: the new government loses any naivety it may have held about who its friends are…
Labor has long stacked our institutions with its friends. Conservatives hate having nights of the long knives and are terrified of being seen as nepotistic. Yet as inconvenient as it may be, the new administration must, to govern properly and carry out the agenda it was elected to implement, neutralise the enemies in its midst and place people it trusts into key positions of influence.
24 more hours of Fairfax Abbott-hate
Andrew Bolt November 30 2013 (7:29am)
Fairfax writers agree - the Abbott Government is hopeless and has stuffed up everything.
Laura Tingle:
===Laura Tingle:
Geoff Kitney:Even some on the other side of politics are perplexed at how the Coalition seems to have “completely squandered” any surge of confidence that comes with a change of government.Her complaints? They include that the Coalition is briskly doing what the Coalition promised:
Examples are given of the short time frames for interested groups to lodge submissions on everything from the Commission of Audit, to the carbon repeal legislation and the mining tax repeal bills…I get the impression that Tingle believes a Coalition Government is acceptable only if it implements Labor’s policies and ditches it own.
The last-ditch efforts this week of Clean Energy Finance Corporation chairman Jillian Broadbent and her senior executives to point out ... it would actually cost taxpayers more to close it down than keep it going… The end result was what looked like another example of dogged determination not to proceed – purely on ideological grounds – with an initiative that was working, and on the basis that if Labor had done it, then it had to be undone.
And there has been the flat-footed handling of the dumping of the Gonski education reforms… But the wisdom of arguing the Coalition is only doing what it always said it would and we are just all too dumb to have understood this is not really a great idea.
Peter Hartcher:The alarm bells about the Abbott government are becoming deafening. And they are ringing around the world. What started as a rumble in Jakarta is now echoing through the capitals of every nation which has any dealings with Australia.Really? They are? And the evidence?
And it’s not hard to imagine that the first question being asked about Abbott’s Australia is: “What on earth is going on?”Ah, it’s Kitney’s imagination we should trust.
And the Government’s failings?
Hockey’s shamefaced appearance to announce that he had decided to reject the US bid for GrainCorp and saying that one of the reasons was that it was “not popular” was a jaw-dropping political moment, comparable with Christopher Pyne’s po-faced appearance to announce the ditching of the Gonski education reforms and declaring that this was not a broken promise.In fact, there is zero evidence Hockey was “shame-faced”. It was his decision, for good or bad. Pyne actually said before the election he was dumping a lot of the Gonski reforms - the central controls it proposed, and the funding beyond the fourth year. To do so is actually to keep a promise, not break it. That said, Pyne does seem about to break a promise on maintaining the funding levels for each school under the Gonski plan for the next four years. This would indeed be a broken promise if that turns out not to be the case.
As for Kitney’s other criticisms:
Australia’s most important regional relationships – Indonesia and China – have entered dangerous territory since the Abbott government came to power.What Kitney fails to mention is that Abbott has repeatedly stressed this very point. Here’s Abbott in a speech in Jakarta during his visit to Indonesia, during which he was accompanied by his Trade Minister, not his Immigration Minister:
In both cases, this has not been because of actions initiated by the government but by its responses to external events which have revealed its basic instincts.
And what this has revealed has been a worryingly narrow vision which seems to take too little heed of the economic dimensions of Australia’s foreign and strategic interests… Australia’s economic future is as important in the relationship with Indonesia as its security… The idea of Indonesia as an economic friend rather than a strategic threat is completely missing from the Australian domestic debate.
For the Australian government, the challenge is to appreciate Indonesia more as an economic partner than as a source of people smuggling; and as an emerging Asian giant rather than as a poor cousin of the economic powerhouses further north.Kitney continues:
If Abbott could have nominated the two foreign policy issues which he least wanted to blow up in his first few months in office, they would have been relations with Indonesia and China.Abbott blew them up?
He’s got both. The Jakarta crisis is now in emergency management. China is an emergency still unfolding.
In fact, neither is actually “blown up”, although there are tensions. And in neither case did Abbott doing the blowing up. Indonesia is upset by Labor-authorised spying revealed by Left-wing media outlets, and Abbott seems to be steadily making good the damage. China is upset that Australia joined Japan and the US in quite properly resisting its crass and provocative extension of its air defense identification zone to islands claimed by Japan, but Abbott can hardly be faulted for not giving in to Chinese aggression. Indeed, China now seems to be backing down.
Kitney seems to be of the Fairfax school that suggests “when in doubt, blame Abbott”.
Anne Summers is simply an hysteric, not worth the trouble of rebuttal. Just read and laugh:What is the point of the Abbott government? ... The polls suggest that the electorate is asking the question; the government’s public behaviour suggests it doesn’t yet have an answer.Which polls? The Newspoll which has the Government 52 to 48 ahead of Labor? Or the Essential Media poll which has it ahead by even more - 53 to 47?
Appearing pointless and aimless, the Abbott government is in a weaker position in the polls than any new government in the 40 years of the Fairfax Nielsen poll.Oh, let’s base this analysis on the one clear outlier with suspicious results particularly in Queensland - the only poll which has Labor ahead.
Hartcher does have valid criticisms:
In the upper levels of the government, there is anger and despair at the self-inflicted injury that Pyne has delivered so blithely…But the evidence of Abbott’s failures is scanty, and come down essentially to bad PR:
The Prime Minister deliberately rationed his public appearances in his first 10 weeks in office. This was partly because he was preoccupied with setting up government. Partly because he was reacting against Labor’s irrepressible urge to inject itself into every day’s news cycle.
He now realises he might have overdone it.
Emerging events have found the government flat-footed and surprisingly clumsy… The first big one was the emergence of politicians’ dodgy expenses claims. The second was the exposure of Australian spying on Indonesia’s President, his wife and his senior ministers.On the expenses, I agree Abbott reacted too late, although the “scandal” was largely confected or over-hyped by Fairfax, which would have kept going regardless of what Abbott did until it ran out of material. Which it did. As for Indonesia, its anger, too, had to play out over time. Its leaders had to assert national pride by going through a period of ritualistic anger, and nothing Abbott did could avert that. Indeed, a premature concession may well have led to demands for more.
In both cases, Abbott had the same reflex response: to tough it out… In both cases, the pressure mounted. In both cases, the Prime Minister was forced to capitulate.
This pattern produces the worst of both worlds; his toughness is exposed to be phoney, his judgment shown to be wrong, and the damage is not stemmed early but protracted.
Pyne aside, the real criticism is nothing more than Abbott not selling the Government properly to Fairfax - given the public seems to barely notice or care. But I wonder if Abbott could ever sell himself to a Fairfax crowd.
Tom Allard:It’s rare, maybe unheard of, for an elected political leader to set out to put his country into even worse shape than he found it…
Babies born this week will, on average, live to around 2101 we learnt from reports a few days ago. But what will their lives be like?
Just looking at two of the Abbott government’s policies – education and climate change – we can confidently predict the next generation of Australians will be denied the continuous betterment to their lives that their parents and grandparents have taken for granted.
Abbott’s brazen backflip on the Gonski schools funding agreements ... means today’s generation will serve life sentences in whatever socio-economic group they happened to be born into.
And Abbott’s bizarre notion that planting (even lots of) trees and paying polluters to be a little bit less dirty will arrest, let alone begin to reverse, the trajectory towards catastrophic climate change on which this planet is hurtling, borders on criminal negligence.
Behold the Fairfax press corp in full hate.Rather than questions about trust being levelled at Labor, they are now being asked loudly, and often, of the Coalition.Well, yes, by Fairfax and the ABC, who seem to believe a Coalition government has broken a promise if it refuses to honor a Labor one:
But, certainly, [Labor’s Gonski] agreements with states won’t be honoured, offers that Labor has made are not guaranteed and there are no assurances every individual school will not be worse off…The Coalition insisted from long before the election that it would not honor all the Gonski changes, and would junk their proposed central controls. It declared it would not commit to the huge increase in spending Labor promised in the final two years of the six-year plan - spending Labor would almost certainly not have been able to fund itself. All this was made clear before the election. The one promise at risk of being broken is that no school would be worse off under the Coalition than Labor promised for the next four years.
Another explanation is the budget pressures for the government. Some 70 per cent of the federal money earmarked for Gonski over six years come in the final two years and - along with NDIS - education spending looms as a budgetary time bomb.
A reform package backed by almost all stakeholders and negotiated over four painstaking years has been dumped, at a time when standards are slipping and disadvantaged students are neglected.Which, of course, should be proof that six years of Labor cash-splashes on education were a failure, and Labor’s Gonski cash-splash might be no better.
For many educators, the reversal is being driven by the Coalition’s desire to tilt federal funding back towards the private schools, which were the major beneficiaries of the Howard-era system…Federal funding under all governments is tilted to private schools (which under all governments fewer taxpayer dollars per student than state schools). State schools are a state responsibility, and were under Labor, too.
Pyne made clear again this week that he sees the states as being primarily responsible for public education
The “budget emergency” and warnings about rising debt and deficit of the Coalition in opposition has been met in government by increased spending and tax cuts, not to mention a bid to massively lift the debt ceiling.Excuse me? What tax cuts, other than the promised scrapping of the (dud) mining tax and carbon tax - neither of which has yet passed? What increased spending? Hasn’t the government announced cuts? And isn’t the rise in the debt ceiling, made necessary by Labor’s legacy of huge spending, actually evidence of the budget emergency?
Abbott’s constant criticism of Labor’s handing of the relationship with Indonesia was blown up by the rupture in relations between the two countries after revelations of spying on Indonesian leader Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono.How was Abbott’s valid criticism of Labor’s bungling of the Indonesian relationship - the cutting of live beef exports, the East Timor detention centre fiasco, the Oceanic Viking farce, the East Asia summit surprise - “blown up” by revelations that Labor also authorised the monitoring of the phones of Indonesia’s president and his wife? Indonesia’s response - from the Foreign Minister, for instance - suggests it sees the spying as just part of Labor’s troubled history and Abbott can “draw a line”.
The spying took place under a Labor government, but Abbott bears responsibility for further antagonising Indonesia with his ham-fisted diplomacy. Through some misfortune, but mostly mis-steps, it has been an inglorious debut from the new government.Ah, a concession, after all, but there is actually no credible evidence of Abbott’s “ham-fisted diplomacy”. Indonesia was bound to take offence at the spying and was bound to want more concessions than Abbott would be wise to give.
Bottom line: whatever happens to Abbott is Abbott’s fault, too. If Abbott scraps a Labor promise, he’s broken his own. AbbottAbbottAbbott.
Expensive union votes for Bill
Andrew Bolt November 30 2013 (7:01am)
Was $500,000 of trade unionists’ money really diverted into a campaign to get more votes for Bill Shorten’s faction?
===An investigation by Fairfax Media has unearthed a slew of cashed-up but little known [union] funds, and possible unlawful misuse of union and parliamentary staff and offices in factional fights across the country.
They include the involvement of the NSW Right’s powerful Transport Workers Union in a $500,000 takeover of its own Queensland branch with the backing of the disgraced former HSU leader Michael Williamson.
After Fairfax Media sent questions to the TWU on Thursday, the organisation referred itself to the Fair Work Commission, the national workplace watchdog body…
The Queensland push resulted in the transfer of the TWU’s factional support in the ALP from the left to Bill Shorten’s AWU-dominated Right faction.
Current Queensland TWU secretary Peter Biagini… said funding for his campaign came from delegate donations, fund-raisers, and redundancy payments. ‘’There was no money from anywhere else,’’ he said. The campaign was overseen in Brisbane by a team ... of interstate union and Labor operatives, including from the offices of Labor MPs including federal opposition frontbencher David Feeney and former senator and TWU official Steve Hutchins.
Fear is the key to the GrainCorp veto. But buying back Qantas should panic the rest of us
Andrew Bolt November 30 2013 (6:14am)
The Treasurer’s
decision to veto the sale of GrainCorp to Americans seems driven not
just by a practical analysis of how the sale of the grain-handler would
work out, but even more by a fear of how it would seem:
Judith Sloan is scathing. She says Joe Hockey has failed his first big test:
So this is good:
Terry McCrann says purists should back off. No government can afford to ignore public sentiment or the complexities of such decisions, and Hockey is right to be pragmatic:
===The Treasurer said the proposed deal was contrary to the national interest, citing concerns over the control of key infrastructure, such as ports, and the fact it was still taking time for increased competition to emerge since the 2008 scrapping of the single desk for wheat exports. The Foreign Investment Review Board was split and could not make a unanimous recommendation on the deal.So a fear campaign can overwhelm reason.
Mr Hockey said concern in the community about the bid had been a “further significant consideration” for him. Government sources said this went well beyond the feedback from his Nationals colleagues, with an unparalleled hostility towards the bid in rural communities.
Mr Hockey said he was worried that approving the takeover would undermine public support for the foreign investment regulatory regime, a view shared by at least some of the five members of the FIRB panel.
Judith Sloan is scathing. She says Joe Hockey has failed his first big test:
He mentions concerns about competition but fails to acknowledge that the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission gave the deal the go-ahead…Henry Ergas:
Scarily, he mentions “the high level of concern from stakeholders and the broader community”. This is simply code for the Treasurer’s inability to stand the heat and do what is in the national interest.
With Qantas too, in other words, we face a choice between adjusting to global change and its opportunities, or retreating into capital xenophobia and taxpayer-funded corporate life-support.That said, I note this Fairfax report doesn’t quote a single one of the Liberals said to be “incensed”:
Yet simply removing the restrictions on Qantas, as the government should, will be controversial. And that makes it especially unfortunate that one of Hockey’s reasons for vetoing the ADM acquisition was that it was unpopular with grain growers. For it is hardly desirable to suggest the national interest will be determined by means of popularity tests.
National Party joy at the torpedoed takeover by Archer Daniels Midland could not mask white-hot anger among sections of the Liberal Party at Mr Hockey’s decision on Friday…But, yes, if the Government does also partially re-nationalise Qantas – sold by Paul Keating - we can indeed onclude this government is not a happy free marketeer.
Liberal economic dries, who were ‘’incensed’’ by Mr Hockey’s decision on Friday, are fearful that the mooted partial-re-nationalisation of Qantas is now a genuine prospect.
So this is good:
SENIOR ministers are resisting pressure to inject taxpayer funds into Qantas to prop up the national carrier… Joe Hockey told The Weekend Australian last night that “of course, the government is very, very reluctant to own an airline”, and Transport Minister Warren Truss ruled out providing taxpayer relief ...But this is bad:
Opposition transport spokesman Anthony Albanese said ... the opposition was prepared to consider any constructive proposal. “I’ve said in the past that the government should consider measures such as taking a small equity position in the airline...”UPDATE
Terry McCrann says purists should back off. No government can afford to ignore public sentiment or the complexities of such decisions, and Hockey is right to be pragmatic:
Any government that stuck to some rigid pro-forma “consistency” would not only guarantee its demise, it would deliver very bad policy decisions in a world of complex volatility and impurity…
The critics by and large passed over an inconvenient disclosure in Hockey’s statement yesterday. That he asked FIRB for advice on the broader impact on the takeover, and “the members . . . could not agree on a consensus recommendation”.... [It] spoke to the complications of assessing this takeover. Something that Hockey is legally obliged to do…
The one concern I would have is if Hockey waved through precipitously the takeover of Warrnambool Cheese from Canada’s Saputo as a trade-off for the GrainCorp rejection.
My objection is not to any approval of the Saputo bid, but its hurried timing while the hands of the major local competitor Murray Goulburn are tied by the competition approval process…
To demand that the government be totally consistent in some sort of theoretical, even theological rigidity, is at best, depressing… I would hope that the government would feel confident to contemplate a car industry decision within the full spectrum of ending all direct aid, to some form of permanent but very precisely structured—and demanding—underwriting.
Similarly with Qantas. It should reject the competing certainties of national—protected—icons and unfettered markets; and seek a pragmatic solution based on the operational reality of the global airline industry and the total overlay of government, both through ownership and through regulation.
Warmists keep unpersuasive evidence secret
Andrew Bolt November 30 2013 (6:00am)
What’s the big secret? Nigel Lawson:
===The long-discussed meeting between a group of climate scientists and Fellows of the Royal Society on the one side, and me and some colleagues from my think-tank, the Global Warming Policy Foundation on the other, has now at last taken place. It was held behind closed doors in a committee room at the House of Lords, the secrecy — no press present — at the insistence of the Royal Society Fellows, an insistence I find puzzling given the clear public interest in the issue of climate change in general and climate change policy in particular.Steve Kates at Catallaxy Files:
The origins go back almost a year, to a lecture by the president of the Royal Society, the biologist Sir Paul Nurse. In it he chose to launch a gratuitous personal attack on me, making a number of palpably false allegations. I wrote to him, pointing out his errors, and he replied — somewhat changing his tune — conceding that ‘it is quite legitimate for both of us to talk about climate change policy, but before doing so we need to have access to the highest quality climate science. I am not sure you are receiving the best advice, and I would be very happy to put you in contact with distinguished active climate research scientists if you think that would be useful.’
So now the highest quality climate science has been provided but we don’t know what it was or how Nigel Lawson replied. All I do know is that Lawson has not changed his mind. But again, why the secrecy?
The AWU scandal - one story the ABC didn’t rush to report
Andrew Bolt November 30 2013 (5:43am)
Michael Smith on the ABC, which happily published material damaging to the national interest:
For instance, here’s part of one ABC letter to a viewer:
===Read on. Smith goes on to detail other developments the ABC did not cover and how ABC executives explained that failure.“WHEN important and difficult stories break, you will hear about them on your ABC. We will not succumb to pressure to suppress or ignore legitimate stories to protect those in power.”THIS year, the ABC has studiously ignored every major development in the Victoria Police major fraud squad investigation into the Australian Workers Union scandal. Even the proceedings of Victoria’s courts on the matter - the bread and butter of local journalism - have eluded the national broadcaster’s local reporters.
- Kate Torney, ABC director of news, on the Indonesian phone-tapping story.
Jonathan Holmes spoke at length on the ABC’s Media Watch about legitimate reporting of the story back in August last year. The Australian’s Hedley Thomas had just broken the news that one of Julia Gillard’s former law firm partners claimed that Gillard had lost her job at Slater & Gordon as a direct result of legal advice she gave to help establish a slush fund for her then boyfriend and client, AWU state secretary Bruce Wilson. There were numerous revelations in leaked documents, including a transcript of her exit interview from the firm, and the subsequent disclosure by the firm’s then head partner, Peter Gordon, that it was a very serious matter involving an alleged fraud.
Jon Faine, of 774 ABC Melbourne, said: “The conspiracy theorists are having a ball, the blogosphere’s running amok, it’s all completely out of control ... why is it on the front page of the paper?”
To his great credit, Holmes said of the Faine view: “Well, I think that’s nonsense."…
There was a flurry of reporting in November last year from the ABC. It carried all of Gillard’s press conferences and a lengthy interview with Wilson and, separately, his union colleague Ralph Blewitt. Then nothing.
Since the parliament rose last year, it’s as if the AWU scandal had ceased to be for the ABC. Yet substantial developments have taken place…
In January, Thomas reported that Victoria police had travelled to Queensland and taken a lengthy statement from a former para-legal executive at Slater & Gordon, Olivia Palmer (nee Brosnahan). That interview marked a turning point in the police investigation, with a significant increase in the number of detectives assigned to the matter as a result of her evidence.
The ABC reported nothing.
For instance, here’s part of one ABC letter to a viewer:
Reporting that the prime minister of the nation is under police investigation is an enormously significant call to make. It cannot be made on supposition, on rumour, or on hearsay…Here’s another:
According to The Australian they’ve been collecting files but you would expect any police investigation to gather up this sort of primary documentation. That does not mean Ms Gillard is under investigation. For all we know, the investigation could be into Ralph Blewitt, or Bruce Wilson or Slater & Gordon or any number of other individuals and entities.
The ABC is aware of these statements but we do not at this stage believe it warrants the attention of our news coverage.
To the extent that it may touch tangentially on a former role of the Prime Minister, we know The Australian newspaper maintains an abiding interest in events 17 years ago at the law firm Slater & Gordon, but the ABC is unaware of any allegation in the public domain which goes to the Prime Minister’s integrity.
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"The “Knockout Game” is played by predominantly black teens who punch unsuspecting victims, rendering them unconscious, severely injured, or in some cases dead.">
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Aprille Love
That kind of saturday #lazy #sleepy #chilled
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Harry Potter
Happy birthday to handsome and heroic Bill Weasley! Fleur is one lucky girl!
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PANTHÈRE DE CARTIER HIGH JEWELLERY
A big cat, so she feels warm and safe .. ed
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4 her
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Very Angry Birds.
John Tran Go into the car wash place at the discount time for $10 per wash..just watch their faces.
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Idiots bring to mind the second side of Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells. "Here we have an 18th century masterpiece, and if we scrape a little bit of it off (scraping noises) a 15th century under piece. Made entirely of egg shell. This Lurid work (stumbles a lot) has caused controversy in the area of embroidery." - ed
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It's quite a coincidence that people who expose Obama wind up being audited by the IRS.
The latest victim is a cancer patient who had his insurance cancelled because of ObamaCare…
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Michele Bachmann
One year ago today, the community of Cold Spring, MN lost one of their own, when Cold Spring-Richmond Police Officer Tommy Decker was tragically killed in the line of duty. His memory lives on, and my heart goes out to his loved ones and the entire community.
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A cross swell at île de Ré, France, a sea state with two wave systems traveling at oblique angles created by a shift in the wind.
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I've saved three cars, so far - ed
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Scientists are holding their breath on whether the so-called "comet of the century" survived its brush with the sun. If it did, stargazers could soon be in store for a spectacular light show.
http://tinyurl.com/ke2tr2m
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http://www.ashbygate.com
ALP smears go to substantial depths. Ashby has done nothing wrong. LNP made adult decisions.- ed===
Emma Watson
"It’s so cheesy to say this, but it’s the journey, not the end goal, that’s important.”
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Samantha says when her husband, Adam, returned home from serving in Iraq, he was a changed man -- and one night during a fight, she says he shot her twice with an AK-47, nearly killing her and destroying her legs. And, Laurie says her now ex-husband shot and killed their two young sons. http://bit.ly/DRP112913
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Working with channel 10's indulgent "Art without Borders" in the background. One commenter says that "A lot of children like to take their parents with them .. " to an art play area. How many young children could go to a one off event without their parents? - ed
Sylvia Lee And how many children that want to go actually do go... with their parents? Funny thing is... When a stranger asks us for our time we quite readily oblige YET when our children ask for our time... why is it that this is something so easily negated?
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Pastor Rick Warren
My 5 year old grandson's heart-rending Thanksgiving prayer: "And thank you God for Matthew who's now in heaven and we'll see again someday."
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Michelle Malkin
Thanks, Obama! Here’s what happened when Obamacare came up at Thanksgiving dinners ==>http://twitchy.com/2013/
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bathroom vanity kickboard removed without a contractor scheduled to replace
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Daniel Katz
This unique Yowah Nut opal is divided so one side has the appearance of a black opal, while the other side appears lighter. Both sides feature beautiful play-of-color. Photo © Eric Welch, courtesy The Smithsonian Institution
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See that green dot of light? That's a tiny diamond levitated by a laser beam. This is the first experiment to successfully pick up diamonds with nothing but light.
Watch an interview with one of the researchers at the University of Rochester here:
http://www.youtube.com/
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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
He is thinking of YOU - A prophetic word.
Dear saints,
I do not know where I got this thinking from, but I really believed that if I wanted God to bless me, that I had to do everything right.
I had to sin less and pray more. If I was righteous enough and "jumped through all the hoops" that I felt God put before me, that I would eventually earn the right to His blessing.As I was in my quiet mood,An old habit started cropping up as I searched my heart. I started asking myself, "What have I invested into the Kingdom recently that I can count on God blessing us?" "Is my faith in order and strong enough right now?"
"Have I prayed enough? Have I done enough for Christ?" The answer is No.
The Lord interrupted my thoughts. He said, "My child, what makes you think that there is anything that you could do to earn my love? My blessing depends on MY righteousness... not yours. Instead of 'trying to make it happen' why not trust me to be your Dad and provider instead?" The Book of Matthew 6:25 says,do Not Worry, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?. He is thinking of you.God bless you.
Dear saints,
I do not know where I got this thinking from, but I really believed that if I wanted God to bless me, that I had to do everything right.
I had to sin less and pray more. If I was righteous enough and "jumped through all the hoops" that I felt God put before me, that I would eventually earn the right to His blessing.As I was in my quiet mood,An old habit started cropping up as I searched my heart. I started asking myself, "What have I invested into the Kingdom recently that I can count on God blessing us?" "Is my faith in order and strong enough right now?"
"Have I prayed enough? Have I done enough for Christ?" The answer is No.
The Lord interrupted my thoughts. He said, "My child, what makes you think that there is anything that you could do to earn my love? My blessing depends on MY righteousness... not yours. Instead of 'trying to make it happen' why not trust me to be your Dad and provider instead?" The Book of Matthew 6:25 says,do Not Worry, “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?. He is thinking of you.God bless you.
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You have no chance resisting temptation without Christ. Not possible….
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PRAY ALONG.
Father in heaven, I choose to fix my mind on noble things.Help me to forgive and release the past. Heal my heart and restore my soul. Show me the good plan You have for my future as I keep my mind stayed on You. I choose thoughts of peace and victory. Fill my heart with Your goodness that I may glorify You in everything I do in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Father in heaven, I choose to fix my mind on noble things.Help me to forgive and release the past. Heal my heart and restore my soul. Show me the good plan You have for my future as I keep my mind stayed on You. I choose thoughts of peace and victory. Fill my heart with Your goodness that I may glorify You in everything I do in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Fix Your Mind On What is Good.
The Scripture says,“Whatever is true, whatever is honest, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is kind, if there is any virtue, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things.”(Philippians 4:8, NIV)
Choose today to fix your mind on good things. Do whatever you need to in order to keep those good thoughts before you. Write them on note cards and put them in a place where you can see them. Confess God’s promises over your life and declare His blessing on a daily basis. As you fix your mind on the goodness of God, you will rise higher in every area of your life. You will be filled with His peace and victory, and you’ll see every dream and desire in your heart come to pass.God bless you.
===The Scripture says,“Whatever is true, whatever is honest, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is kind, if there is any virtue, if there is anything worthy of praise, think on these things.”(Philippians 4:8, NIV)
Choose today to fix your mind on good things. Do whatever you need to in order to keep those good thoughts before you. Write them on note cards and put them in a place where you can see them. Confess God’s promises over your life and declare His blessing on a daily basis. As you fix your mind on the goodness of God, you will rise higher in every area of your life. You will be filled with His peace and victory, and you’ll see every dream and desire in your heart come to pass.God bless you.
Limited Time Holiday Offer - 90% Off
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Dai Le
I'm exhausted!!! Just recovering from last night's DAWN launch.
I want to sincerely thank all those who came to support this awesome network!! We look forward to create projects and collaborate with inspirational individuals and corporations. DAWN founders - Katrina LeSue Lee Lim Tiana TranSerena HuynhConnie Nguyen would like to acknowledge Melinda Boutkasaka Maggie Snail @jason salinas for their immense contribution in helping us pull last night's event together. Thank you to our amazing inspirational speakers Pauline Nguyen @Mia FeasayWendy McCarthy. And a very special thank you to our supporters Deric LyPhong VuSon BrownPeter TL Davy Nguyen@van Tran from Elders in CabramattaThao Le Glamourworldbeauty George Roumanous@kevin Wheatley of AAA Mortgages Tropical Soul Dance Studio Juan Ignacio RuizCesar MarinAdrian BartelsCarina Hoang@tay macnabb Pk Smith MckhamluNick Papas@sydney community foundation@zaya toma Nahrain Toma Ken Yeung @ted seng Joyce CheamAmy Lee Katherine LeYan Cheungand many more!!!!!! Thank you! Thank you in helping making our night a success!
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Palestinians burn Angola's flag in a protest amid reports that the country has banned Islam and destroyed mosques..... yep... Palestinians
www.theguardian.com
http://www.theguardian.com/===
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Why haven't we started impeachment proceedings for this miserable excuse for a president no less a human being.
He is worse than Clinton was. And Clinton was impeached. In ten years time, his successor of Democrat President .. will they be worse too? - ed===
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http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/14100#.Upj4oTKulzl.facebook
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http://www.therightperspective.org/2009/06/02/obama-iran-has-a-right-to-nuclear-power/#sthash.uxm3lJhO.dpbs
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Shabbat Shalom to JEWS worldwide. Tonight is Shabbat Chanukah, a time when two sets of lights are kindled in a Jewish home. The Menorah candles are lit to bring light to the darkness of the outer world. The Shabbat candles are lit, to illuminate the sanctity of the inner home.
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Into the fray: Will the West withstand the Obama presidency? - JPost
“Obama has no interest in weakening our adversaries while he does seem to have an interest in weakening our allies”, warned Dinesh D’Souza, adding: “If you were trying to find a consistent way to predict what Obama is doing in the ME it is very simple. He has been undermining our allies and allowed our adversaries to remain in power.” - Martin Sherman
Continue to the link, reading this and more articles at ...….http://paper.li/
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http://www.debka.com/article/23480/First-Sinai-based-Al-Qaeda-cell-to-infiltrate-the-West-Bank-eliminated-in-Hebron-hills
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http://www.algemeiner.com/2013/11/29/mexican-billionaire-carlos-slim-we-will-continue-to-invest-in-israel/
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http://www.idfblog.com/2013/11/27/idfwithoutborders-map-idf-aid-delegations-around-world/
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http://unitedwithisrael.org/a-modern-day-judith/
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http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/14171#.Upi3r5uA1Vc
===Rocks are just as lethal as knives and guns. It's time to treat them the same way we treat other criminals.
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November 30: Cities for Life Day; Independence Day inBarbados (1966); Saint Andrew's Day in Scotland
- 1853 – Russian warships led by Pavel Nakhimov destroyed an Ottoman fleet of frigates at the Battle of Sinop, precipitating the Crimean War.
- 1872 – The first-ever international football match took place at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, between Scotland and England.
- 1939 – The Winter War broke out as the Soviet Red Army invaded Finland (Finnish troops pictured) and quickly advanced to the Mannerheim Line, an action judged as illegal by the League of Nations.
- 1993 – U.S. President Bill Clinton signed the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act into law, requiring purchasers of handguns to pass a background check.
- 1999 – Protests by anti-globalization activists against theWorld Trade Organization Ministerial Conference inSeattle forced the cancellation of its opening ceremonies.
Events[edit]
- 3340 BC Earliest believed record of an eclipse.
- 1700 – Battle of Narva: A Swedish army of 8,500 men under Charles XII defeats a much larger Russian army at Narva.
- 1707 – The second Siege of Pensacola comes to end with the failure of the British to capture Pensacola, Florida.
- 1718 – Swedish king Charles XII dies during a siege of the fortress of Fredriksten in Norway.
- 1782 – American Revolutionary War: Treaty of Paris – In Paris, representatives from the United States and the Kingdom of Great Britain sign preliminary peace articles (later formalized as the 1783 Treaty of Paris).
- 1786 – The Grand Duchy of Tuscany, under Pietro Leopoldo I, becomes the first modern state to abolish the death penalty (later commemorated as Cities for Life Day).
- 1803 – In New Orleans, Louisiana, Spanish representatives officially transfer the Louisiana Territory to aFrench representative. Just 20 days later, France transfers the same land to the United States as theLouisiana Purchase.
- 1804 – The Democratic-Republican-controlled United States Senate begins an impeachment trial ofFederalist Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase.
- 1824 – Ground is broken at Allanburg, Ontario, for the building of the first Welland Canal.
- 1829 – First Welland Canal opens for a trial run, 5 years to the day from the ground breaking.
- 1853 – Crimean War: Battle of Sinop – The Imperial Russian Navy under Pavel Nakhimov destroys the Ottoman fleet under Osman Pasha at Sinop, a sea port in northern Turkey.
- 1864 – American Civil War: Battle of Franklin – The Confederate Army of Tennessee led by General John Bell Hood mounts a dramatically unsuccessful frontal assault on Union positions commanded by John McAllister Schofield around Franklin, Tennessee, with Hood losing six generals and almost a third of his troops.
- 1868 – A statue of King Charles XII of Sweden is inaugurated in Stockholm's Kungsträdgården.
- 1872 – The first-ever international football match takes place at Hamilton Crescent, Glasgow, between Scotland and England.
- 1886 – The Folies Bergère stages its first revue.
- 1902 – American Old West: Kid Curry Logan, second-in-command of Butch Cassidy's Wild Bunch gang, is sentenced to 20 years imprisonment with hard labor.
- 1908 – A mine explosion in Marianna, Pennsylvania, kills 154.
- 1916 – Costa Rica signs the Buenos Aires Convention, a copyright treaty.
- 1934 – The LNER Class A3 4472 Flying Scotsman becomes the first steam locomotive to be authenticated as reaching 100 mph.
- 1936 – In London, the Crystal Palace is destroyed by fire.
- 1939 – Winter War: Soviet forces cross the Finnish border in several places and bomb Helsinki and several other Finnish cities, starting the war.
- 1940 – Lucille Ball marries Desi Arnaz in Greenwich, Connecticut.
- 1942 – World War II: Battle of Tassafaronga; A smaller squadron of Japanese destroyers led by Raizō Tanaka defeats a U.S. cruiser force under Carleton H. Wright.
- 1947 – 1947–1948 Civil War in Mandatory Palestine begins on this day, leading up to the creation of the state of Israel.
- 1953 – Edward Mutesa II, the kabaka (king) of Buganda is deposed and exiled to London by Sir Andrew Cohen, Governor of Uganda.
- 1954 – In Sylacauga, Alabama, United States, the Hodges Meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap in the only documented case of a human being hit by a rock from space.
- 1966 – Barbados becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1967 – The People's Republic of South Yemen becomes independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1967 – The Pakistan Peoples Party is founded by Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, who becomes its first chairman.
- 1971 – Iran seizes the Greater and Lesser Tunbs from the United Arab Emirates.
- 1972 – Vietnam War: White House Press Secretary Ron Ziegler tells the press that there will be no more public announcements concerningAmerican troop withdrawals from Vietnam due to the fact that troop levels are now down to 27,000.
- 1981 – Cold War: In Geneva, representatives from the United States and the Soviet Union begin to negotiate intermediate-range nuclear weapon reductions in Europe. (The meetings end inconclusively on December 17.)
- 1982 – Michael Jackson's second solo album, Thriller is released worldwide. It will become the best-selling record album in history.
- 1989 – Deutsche Bank board member Alfred Herrhausen is killed by a Red Army Faction terrorist bomb.
- 1993 – U.S. President Bill Clinton signs the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (the Brady Bill) into law.
- 1994 – MS Achille Lauro catches fire off the coast of Somalia.
- 1995 – Official end of Operation Desert Storm.
- 1995 – U.S. President Bill Clinton visits Northern Ireland and speaks in favour of the "Northern Ireland peace process" to a huge rally atBelfast City Hall. He calls terrorists "yesterday's men".
- 1998 – Exxon and Mobil sign a USD$73.7 billion agreement to merge, thus creating Exxon-Mobil, the world's largest company.
- 1999 – In Seattle, Washington, United States, protests against a WTO meeting by anti-globalization protesters catch police unprepared and force the cancellation of opening ceremonies.
- 1999 – British Aerospace and Marconi Electronic Systems merge to form BAE Systems, Europe's largest defense contractor and the fourth largest aerospace firm in the world.
- 2001 – In Renton, Washington, United States, Gary Ridgway (aka The Green River Killer) is arrested.
- 2004 – Longtime Jeopardy! champion Ken Jennings of Salt Lake City, Utah, finally loses, leaving him with US$2,520,700, television's biggest game show winnings.
- 2004 – Lion Air Flight 538 crash lands in Surakarta, Central Java, Indonesia, killing 26.
- 2005 – John Sentamu becomes the first black archbishop in the Church of England with his enthronement as the 97th Archbishop of York.
Births[edit]
- 539 – Gregory of Tours, French bishop and historian (d. 594)
- 1340 – John, Duke of Berry (d. 1416)
- 1364 – John FitzAlan, 2nd Baron Arundel, English soldier (d. 1390)
- 1427 – Casimir IV Jagiellon, Polish king (d. 1492)
- 1466 – Andrea Doria, Italian admiral (d. 1560)
- 1498 – Andrés de Urdaneta, Spanish captain and explorer (d. 1568)
- 1508 – Andrea Palladio, Italian architect, designed the Church of San Giorgio Maggiore and Teatro Olimpico (d. 1580)
- 1554 – Philip Sidney, English soldier and poet (d. 1586)
- 1594 – John Cosin, English bishop (d. 1672)
- 1625 – Jean Domat, French jurist (d. 1696)
- 1637 – Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont, French historian (d. 1698)
- 1645 – Andreas Werckmeister, German organist, composer, and theorist (d. 1706)
- 1667 – Jonathan Swift, Irish author (d. 1745)
- 1670 – John Toland, Irish philosopher (d. 1722)
- 1683 – Ludwig Andreas von Khevenhüller, Austrian field marshal (d. 1744)
- 1719 – Princess Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, German wife of Frederick, Prince of Wales (d. 1772)
- 1722 – Theodore Gardelle, Swiss painter (d. 1761)
- 1723 – William Livingston, American politician, 1st post-independence Governor of New Jersey (d. 1790)
- 1748 – Joachim Albertini, Italian-Polish composer (d. 1838)
- 1754 – Ferdinand Ries, German composer (d. 1812)
- 1756 – Ernst Chladni, German physicist (d. 1827)
- 1764 – Franz Xaver Gerl, Austrian singer and composer (d. 1827)
- 1768 – Jędrzej Śniadecki, Polish physician, chemist, and biologist (d. 1838)
- 1781 – Alexander Berry, Scottish surgeon, merchant, and explorer (d. 1873)
- 1791 – Count Franz Philipp von Lamberg, Austrian soldier and politician (d. 1848)
- 1796 – Carl Loewe, German composer (d. 1869)
- 1810 – Oliver Winchester, American businessman, founded the Winchester Repeating Arms Company (d. 1880)
- 1813 – Louise-Victorine Ackermann, French poet (d. 1890)
- 1813 – Charles-Valentin Alkan, French composer (d. 1888)
- 1817 – Theodor Mommsen, German jurist, historian, and scholar, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1903)
- 1821 – Frederick Temple, English academic and churchman, Archbishop of Canterbury (d. 1902)
- 1825 – William-Adolphe Bouguereau, French painter (d. 1905)
- 1835 – Mark Twain, American author (d. 1910)
- 1836 – Lord Frederick Cavendish, English politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (d. 1882)
- 1840 – Henry Birks, Canadian businessman, founded Birks & Mayors (d. 1928)
- 1847 – Afonso Pena, Brazilian politician, 6th President of Brazil (d. 1909)
- 1857 – Bobby Abel, English cricketer (d. 1936)
- 1858 – Jagdish Chandra Bose, Indian physicist (d. 1937)
- 1863 – Andrés Bonifacio, Filipino revolutionary, co-founded Katipunan (d. 1897)
- 1869 – Gustaf Dalén, Swedish physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1937)
- 1870 – Princess Henriette of Belgium (d. 1948)
- 1872 – John McCrae, Canadian physician, soldier, and author (d. 1918)
- 1874 – Winston Churchill, English politician and author, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1965)
- 1874 – Lucy Maud Montgomery, Canadian author (d. 1942)
- 1875 – Otto Strandman, Estonian politician, State Elder of Estonia (d. 1941)
- 1879 – Albert Johnson, Canadian soccer player
- 1883 – Gustav Suits, Estonian poet (d. 1956)
- 1887 – Andrej Gosar, Slovenian-Yugoslav politician, economist, and theorist, Minister of Welfare of Yugoslavia (d. 1970)
- 1887 – Beatrice Kerr, Australian swimmer, diver, and aquatic performer (d. 1971)
- 1889 – Edgar Adrian, 1st Baron Adrian, English physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1977)
- 1889 – Reuvein Margolies, Ukrainian-Israeli author and scholar (d. 1971)
- 1898 – Firpo Marberry, American baseball player (d. 1976)
- 1904 – Clyfford Still, American painter (d. 1980)
- 1906 – John Dickson Carr, American author (d. 1977)
- 1906 – Andrés Henestrosa, Mexican politician and author, Senator for Oaxaca (d. 2008)
- 1907 – Jacques Barzun, French-American historian and author (d. 2012)
- 1909 – Robert Nighthawk, American singer and guitarist (d. 1967)
- 1911 – Jorge Negrete, Mexican singer and actor (d. 1953)
- 1912 – Jaan Hargel, Estonian conductor, music teacher, oboe and flute player (d. 1966)
- 1912 – Gordon Parks, American photographer and director (d. 2006)
- 1915 – Brownie McGhee, American singer and guitarist (d. 1996)
- 1915 – Henry Taube, Canadian-American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
- 1918 – Efrem Zimbalist, Jr., American actor
- 1920 – Virginia Mayo, American actress (d. 2005)
- 1922 – Graham Crowden, Scottish actor (d. 2010)
- 1924 – Elliott Blackstone, American police officer and activist (d. 2006)
- 1924 – Shirley Chisholm, American educator, politician, and author (d. 2005)
- 1924 – Allan Sherman, American comedian, singer, scriptwriter, and producer (d. 1973)
- 1926 – Richard Crenna, American actor (d. 2003)
- 1927 – Robert Guillaume, American actor
- 1928 – Joe B. Hall, American basketball coach
- 1929 – Dick Clark, American television host and producer, founded Dick Clark Productions (d. 2012)
- 1929 – Joan Ganz Cooney, American television producer, co-founded Sesame Workshop
- 1930 – G. Gordon Liddy, American conspirator, lawyer, talk show host, and actor
- 1931 – Jack Ging, American actor
- 1931 – Bill Walsh, American football player and coach (d. 2007)
- 1931 – Margot Zemach, American children's book illustrator (d. 1989)
- 1932 – Bob Moore, American bassist and orchestra leader (The Nashville A-Team)
- 1932 – Cho Namchul, South Korean Go player (d. 2006)
- 1933 – Norman Deeley, English footballer (d. 2007)
- 1933 – Jeanloup Sieff, French photographer (d. 2000)
- 1933 – Dennis Stevens, English footballer (d. 2012)
- 1936 – Dmitri Anosov, Russian mathematician
- 1936 – Abbie Hoffman, American activist and author, co-founded the Youth International Party (d. 1989)
- 1937 – Frank Ifield, English-Australian singer
- 1937 – Ridley Scott, English director and producer
- 1937 – Tom Simpson, English cyclist (d. 1967)
- 1937 – Adeline Yen Mah, Chinese-American physician and author
- 1938 – Jean Eustache, French director and producer (d. 1981)
- 1940 – Kevin Phillips, American author and political commentator
- 1940 – Dan Tieman, American basketball player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1943 – Terrence Malick, American director and screenwriter
- 1944 – George Graham, Scottish footballer
- 1944 – Dian Parkinson, American model
- 1945 – Roger Glover, Welsh bass player, songwriter, and producer (Deep Purple, Episode Six, and Rainbow)
- 1945 – Radu Lupu, Romanian pianist
- 1945 – John R. Powers, American author and playwright (d. 2013)
- 1945 – Mary Millington, English model and porn actress (d. 1979)
- 1947 – Stuart Baird, English director and producer
- 1947 – Sergio Badilla Castillo, Chilean poet
- 1947 – Jude Ciccolella, American actor
- 1947 – David Mamet, American director and writer
- 1949 – Vlassis Bonatsos, Greek actor (d. 2004)
- 1949 – Jimmy London, Jamaican singer-songwriter
- 1950 – Chris Claremont, English-American author
- 1950 – Tom Durkin, American horse racing announcer
- 1951 – June Chadwick, English actress
- 1952 – Keith Giffen, American writer and illustrator
- 1952 – Mandy Patinkin, American actor and singer
- 1953 – Shuggie Otis, American singer-songwriter
- 1953 – June Pointer, American singer (Pointer Sisters) (d. 2006)
- 1953 – Jessie St. James, American porn actress
- 1954 – Simonetta Stefanelli, Italian actress
- 1954 – Lawrence Summers, American economist and academic, 27th President of Harvard University
- 1955 – Michael Beschloss, American historian and author
- 1955 – Richard Burr, American politician, Senator from North Carolina
- 1955 – Kevin Conroy, American actor
- 1955 – Andy Gray, Scottish footballer
- 1955 – Billy Idol, English singer-songwriter and actor (Generation X and Chelsea)
- 1955 – Muricy Ramalho, Brazilian footballer and manager
- 1957 – John Ashton, English guitarist, songwriter, and producer (The Psychedelic Furs)
- 1957 – Richard Barbieri, English keyboardist and songwriter (Porcupine Tree and Japan)
- 1957 – Andrew Calhoun, American singer-songwriter
- 1957 – Joël Champetier, Canadian author
- 1957 – Colin Mochrie, Scottish-Canadian comedian and actor
- 1957 – Margaret Spellings, American politician, 8th United States Secretary of Education
- 1958 – Juliette Bergmann, Dutch bodybuilder
- 1958 – Stacey Q, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress (Q and SSQ)
- 1958 – IZ the Wiz, American painter (d. 2009)
- 1959 – Cherie Currie, American singer-songwriter and actress (The Runaways)
- 1959 – Lorraine Kelly, Scottish journalist and actress
- 1960 – Rich Fields, American television announcer and actor
- 1960 – Bill Halter, American politician, 14th Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas
- 1960 – Gary Lineker, English footballer
- 1960 – Bob Tewksbury, American baseball player
- 1962 – Bo Jackson, American football and baseball player
- 1962 – Daniel Keys Moran, American computer programmer and author
- 1964 – Michael Cudlitz, American actor
- 1964 – Jushin Liger, Japanese wrestler
- 1965 – Aldair, Brazilian footballer
- 1965 – Prince Akishino of Japan
- 1965 – Lee Klein, American writer
- 1965 – David Laws, English politician, Minister of State for Schools and the Cabinet Office
- 1965 – Ben Stiller, American actor, screenwriter, director, and producer
- 1966 – David Berkoff, American swimmer
- 1966 – John Bishop, English comedian and actor
- 1966 – Wil Mara, American author
- 1966 – David Nicholls, English author and screenwriter
- 1966 – Mika Salo, Finnish race car driver
- 1967 – Rajiv Dixit, Indian activist, national secretary of Bharat Swabhiman Andolan (d. 2010)
- 1968 – Des'ree, English singer-songwriter
- 1968 – Laurent Jalabert, French cyclist
- 1969 – Marc Forster, German-Swiss director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1969 – Marc Goossens, Belgian race car driver
- 1969 – Amy Ryan, American actress
- 1969 – Mike Stone, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Queensrÿche and The Stick People)
- 1970 – Walter Emanuel Jones, American actor and dancer
- 1970 – Perrey Reeves, American actress
- 1971 – Tonči Boban, Croatian footballer
- 1971 – Ray Durham, American baseball player
- 1971 – Iván Rodríguez, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1972 – Stanislav Kitto, Estobian footballer
- 1972 – Abel Xavier, Portuguese footballer
- 1973 – Christian, Canadian wrestler
- 1973 – Im Chang-jung, South Korean actor and singer
- 1973 – John Moyer, American bass player (Disturbed, The Union Underground, and Adrenaline Mob)
- 1974 – Sébastien Tellier, French singer-songwriter
- 1975 – Mindy McCready, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1975 – Ben Thatcher, Welsh footballer
- 1976 – Jane Afshar, Estonian entrepreneur and football manager
- 1976 – Marco Castro, American director
- 1976 – Josh Lewsey, English rugby player
- 1976 – Cypher Zero, American circus producer, founded the New York Circus Arts Academy
- 1977 – Richard Elias Anderson, Canadian basketball player
- 1977 – Steve Aoki, American DJ and producer, founded Dim Mak Records
- 1977 – Iván Guerrero, Honduran footballer
- 1977 – Olivier Schoenfelder, French ice dancer
- 1977 – Kazumi Saito, Japanese baseball player
- 1978 – Clay Aiken, American singer and actor
- 1978 – Gael García Bernal, Mexican actor and director
- 1978 – Benjamin Lense, German footballer
- 1978 – Emil Steiner, American author and journalist
- 1979 – Chris Atkinson, Australian race car driver
- 1979 – Andrés Nocioni, Argentine basketball player
- 1980 – Jamie Ashdown, English footballer
- 1980 – Shane Victorino, American baseball player
- 1981 – Zabiuddin Ansari, Indian-Pakistani alleged terrorist
- 1981 – Rich Harden, Canadian baseball player
- 1981 – Billy Lush, American actor
- 1982 – Medina, Danish singer-songwriter
- 1982 – Elisha Cuthbert, Canadian actress
- 1982 – Tony Giarratano, American baseball player
- 1982 – Jason Pominville, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Andy Akinwolere, Nigerian-English television host
- 1983 – Adrian Cristea, Romanian footballer
- 1983 – Vladislav Polyakov, Kazakh swimmer
- 1984 – Alan Hutton, Scottish footballer
- 1984 – Nigel de Jong, Dutch footballer
- 1984 – Francisco Sandaza, Spanish footballer
- 1984 – Gergana, Bulgarian singer
- 1985 – Kaley Cuoco, American actress
- 1986 – Jordan Farmar, American basketball player
- 1987 – Vasilisa Bardina, Russian tennis player
- 1987 – Christel Khalil, American actress
- 1987 – Naomi Knight, American wrestler, model, and dancer
- 1987 – Dougie Poynter, English singer-songwriter and bass player (McFly)
- 1987 – Ian Hecox, American comedian (Smosh)
- 1988 – Vitaliy Polyanskyi, Ukrainian footballer
- 1988 – Tomi Saarelma, Finnish footballer
- 1989 – Vladimír Weiss, Slovak footballer
- 1990 – Magnus Carlsen, Norwegian chess player, World Chess Champion
- 1990 – Antoine N'Gossan, Ivorian footballer
- 1993 – Yuri Chinen, Japanese actor and singer (NYC and Hey! Say! JUMP)
- 1994 – Sofia Araújo, Portuguese tennis player
- 1994 – William Melling, Scottish actor
- 1994 – Nyjah Huston, American skateboarder
Deaths[edit]
- 1016 – Edmund Ironside, English king (b. 993)
- 1526 – Giovanni dalle Bande Nere, Italian condottiero (β. 1498)
- 1580 – Richard Farrant, English composer and playwright (b. 1530)
- 1600 – Nanda Bayin, Burmese king (b. 1535)
- 1626 – Thomas Weelkes, English organist and composer (b. 1576)
- 1654 – John Selden, English jurist and scholar, MP for Oxford University (b. 1584)
- 1675 – Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, English politician, Proprietor of Maryland (b. 1605)
- 1703 – Nicolas de Grigny, French organist and composer (b. 1672)
- 1718 – Charles XII of Sweden (b. 1682)
- 1761 – John Dollond, English optician (b. 1706)
- 1765 – George Glas, Scottish merchant and explorer (b. 1725)
- 1864 – Patrick Cleburne, Irish-American general (b. 1828)
- 1873 – Alexander Berry, Scottish surgeon, merchant, and explorer (b. 1781)
- 1892 – Dimitrios Valvis, Greek politician, 69th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1814)
- 1900 – Oscar Wilde, Irish author and poet (b. 1854)
- 1901 – Edward John Eyre, English politician and explorer, Governor of Jamaica (b. 1815)
- 1908 – Nishinoumi Kajirō I, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 16th Yokozuna (b. 1855)
- 1916 – Dorrit Weixler, German actress (b. 1892)
- 1920 – Vladimir May-Mayevsky, Russian general (b. 1867)
- 1923 – John Maclean, Scottish educator (b. 1879)
- 1930 – Ponnambalam Ramanathan, Ceylonese Tamil statesman, Solicitor General of Ceylon (b. 1851)
- 1933 – Arthur Currie, Canadian general (b. 1875)
- 1934 – Hélène Boucher, French pilot (b. 1908)
- 1934 – Roy Turk, American songwriter (d. 1892)
- 1935 – Fernando Pessoa, Portuguese poet (b. 1888)
- 1943 – Etty Hillesum, Dutch author (b. 1914)
- 1944 – Paul Masson, French cyclist (b. 1876)
- 1953 – Francis Picabia, French painter and poet (b. 1879)
- 1954 – Wilhelm Furtwängler, German conductor (b. 1886)
- 1955 – Josip Štolcer-Slavenski, Croatian composer (b. 1896)
- 1956 – Viggo Wiehe, Danish actor (b. 1874)
- 1957 – Beniamino Gigli, Italian tenor (b. 1890)
- 1958 – Hubert Wilkins, Australian soldier, explorer, and photographer (b. 1888)
- 1966 – Salah Suheimat, Jordanian politician (b. 1914)
- 1967 – Patrick Kavanagh, Irish poet (b. 1904)
- 1972 – Compton Mackenzie, Scottish writer (b. 1883)
- 1977 – Terence Rattigan, English playwright (b. 1911)
- 1979 – Zeppo Marx, American actor and comedian (b. 1901)
- 1987 – Simon Carmiggelt, Dutch journalist and author (b. 1913)
- 1988 – Pannonica de Koenigswarter, English singer-songwriter (b. 1913)
- 1989 – Alfred Herrhausen, German banker (b. 1930)
- 1989 – Ahmadou Ahidjo, Cameroonian politician, 1st President of Cameroon (b. 1924)
- 1993 – David Houston, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
- 1994 – Guy Debord, French theorist and author (b. 1931)
- 1994 – Lionel Stander, American actor (b. 1908)
- 1995 – Stretch, American rapper, producer, and actor (b. 1968)
- 1996 – Tiny Tim, American singer and ukulele player (b. 1932)
- 1997 – Kathy Acker, American author (b. 1947)
- 1998 – Margaret Walker, American poet (b. 1915)
- 1998 – Ruth Clifford, American actress (b. 1900)
- 1999 – Charlie Byrd, American guitarist (b. 1925)
- 2000 – Eloise McGraw, American children's author (b. 1915)
- 2000 – Scott Smith, Canadian bass player (Loverboy) (b. 1955)
- 2002 – Tim Woods, American wrestler (b. 1934)
- 2003 – Gertrude Ederle, American swimmer (b. 1906)
- 2004 – Pierre Berton, Canadian author (b. 1920)
- 2004 – Seung Sahn, Korean spiritual leader, founded the Kwan Um School of Zen (b. 1927)
- 2005 – Jean Parker, American actress (b. 1915)
- 2005 – Nora Denney, American stage, television, and film actress (b. 1927)
- 2006 – Elhadi Adam, Sudanese poet and songwriter (b. 1927)
- 2006 – Rafael Buenaventura, Filipino banker (b. 1938)
- 2007 – Engin Arık, Turkish physicist (b. 1948)
- 2007 – Evel Knievel, American motorcycle rider and stuntman (b. 1938)
- 2008 – Munetaka Higuchi, Japanese drummer and producer (Loudness, Lazy, and Sly) (b. 1958)
- 2010 – Rajiv Dixit, Indian activist, national secretary of Bharat Swabhiman Andolan (b. 1967)
- 2010 – Garry Gross, American photographer (b. 1937)
- 2010 – Peter Hofmann, Czech-German tenor (b. 1944)
- 2010 – Daya Mata, American spiritual leader (b. 1914)
- 2011 – Leka, Crown Prince of Albania (b. 1939)
- 2012 – Rogelio Álvarez, Cuban-American baseball player (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Mario Ardizzon, Italian footballer (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Kélétigui Diabaté, Malian balafon player (b. 1931)
- 2012 – I. K. Gujral, Indian politician, 12th Prime Minister of India (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Munir Malik, Pakistani cricketer (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Susil Moonesinghe, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 4th Chief Minister of Western Province (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Homer R. Warner, American cardiologist (b. 1922)
Holidays and observances[edit]
- Bonifacio Day (Philippines)
- Christian Feast Day:
- Cities for Life Day (International)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Barbados from the United Kingdom in 1966
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of South Yemen from the United Kingdom in 1967
- National Day (Benin)
- Regina Mundi Day (South Africa)
- St. Andrew's Day (Scotland)
“Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good. His love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven. His love endures forever.”Psalm 136:1,26 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
"Thou shalt not go up and down as a talebearer among thy people ... Thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him."
Leviticus 19:16-17
Leviticus 19:16-17
Tale-bearing emits a threefold poison; for it injures the teller, the hearer, and the person concerning whom the tale is told. Whether the report be true or false, we are by this precept of God's Word forbidden to spread it. The reputations of the Lord's people should be very precious in our sight, and we should count it shame to help the devil to dishonour the Church and the name of the Lord. Some tongues need a bridle rather than a spur. Many glory in pulling down their brethren, as if thereby they raised themselves. Noah's wise sons cast a mantle over their father, and he who exposed him earned a fearful curse. We may ourselves one of these dark days need forbearance and silence from our brethren, let us render it cheerfully to those who require it now. Be this our family rule, and our personal bond--Speak evil of no man.
The Holy Spirit, however, permits us to censure sin, and prescribes the way in which we are to do it. It must be done by rebuking our brother to his face, not by railing behind his back. This course is manly, brotherly, Christlike, and under God's blessing will be useful. Does the flesh shrink from it? Then we must lay the greater stress upon our conscience, and keep ourselves to the work, lest by suffering sin upon our friend we become ourselves partakers of it. Hundreds have been saved from gross sins by the timely, wise, affectionate warnings of faithful ministers and brethren. Our Lord Jesus has set us a gracious example of how to deal with erring friends in his warning given to Peter, the prayer with which he preceded it, and the gentle way in which he bore with Peter's boastful denial that he needed such a caution.
Evening
"Spices for anointing oil."
Exodus 35:8
Exodus 35:8
Much use was made of this anointing oil under the law, and that which it represents is of primary importance under the gospel. The Holy Spirit, who anoints us for all holy service, is indispensable to us if we would serve the Lord acceptably. Without his aid our religious services are but a vain oblation, and our inward experience is a dead thing. Whenever our ministry is without unction, what miserable stuff it becomes! nor are the prayers, praises, meditations, and efforts of private Christians one jot superior. A holy anointing is the soul and life of piety, its absence the most grievous of all calamities. To go before the Lord without anointing is as though some common Levite had thrust himself into the priest's office--his ministrations would rather have been sins than services. May we never venture upon hallowed exercises without sacred anointings. They drop upon us from our glorious Head; from his anointing we who are as the skirts of his garments partake of a plenteous unction. Choice spices were compounded with rarest art of the apothecary to form the anointing oil, to show forth to us how rich are all the influences of the Holy Spirit. All good things are found in the divine Comforter. Matchless consolation, infallible instruction, immortal quickening, spiritual energy, and divine sanctification all lie compounded with other excellencies in that sacred eye-salve, the heavenly anointing oil of the Holy Spirit. It imparts a delightful fragrance to the character and person of the man upon whom it is poured. Nothing like it can be found in all the treasuries of the rich, or the secrets of the wise. It is not to be imitated. It comes alone from God, and it is freely given, through Jesus Christ, to every waiting soul. Let us seek it, for we may have it, may have it this very evening. O Lord, anoint thy servants.
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Today's reading: Ezekiel 35-36, 2 Peter 1 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 35-36
A Prophecy Against Edom
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, set your face against Mount Seir; prophesy against it 3 and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am against you, Mount Seir, and I will stretch out my hand against you and make you a desolate waste. 4 I will turn your towns into ruins and you will be desolate. Then you will know that I am the LORD.
5 “‘Because you harbored an ancient hostility and delivered the Israelites over to the sword at the time of their calamity, the time their punishment reached its climax, 6 therefore as surely as I live, declares the Sovereign LORD, I will give you over to bloodshed and it will pursue you. Since you did not hate bloodshed, bloodshed will pursue you. 7 I will make Mount Seir a desolate waste and cut off from it all who come and go. 8 I will fill your mountains with the slain; those killed by the sword will fall on your hills and in your valleys and in all your ravines.9I will make you desolate forever; your towns will not be inhabited. Then you will know that I am the LORD....
Today's New Testament reading: 2 Peter 1
1 Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:
2 Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.
Confirming One’s Calling and Election
3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires....
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Micaiah, Michaiah [Mīcā'iah,Mī chā'iah]—who is like jehovah. Here is a name occurring many times in the Old Testament and used of women as well as men. It is spelled in different ways. See MICA andMICAH.
- A prophet, son of Imlah, who foretold the fall of Ahab at Ramoth-gilead ( 1 Kings 22:8,9; 2 Chron. 18:8). There are no truer hearts to God than his. Carefully compare the three great prophets of 1 Kings—Ahijah, Elijah and Micaiah.
- The father of Achbor, a chief officer of King Josiah ( 2 Kings 22:12, 14).
- A prince of Judah ordered by Jehoshaphat to teach the people (2 Chron. 17:7).
- A priest of the family of Asaph who blew a trumpet at the dedication of the wall ( Neh. 12:35, 41).
- The son of Gemariah, a prince of Judah in Jehoiakim’s time (Jer. 36:11, 13).
Also the name of the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. (See 1 Kings 15:2; 2 Chron. 11:20; 13:2).
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New, best-selling ebook by Proverbs 31 Ministries' authors!
Untangling Christmas:
Your Go-To Guide for a Hassle-Free Holiday | ||||
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GOD’S ATTRIBUTES- HE IS RIGHTEOUS
God is right in everything he is and does. His goodness, in other words, is the shape of the way he relates to others. There is nothing God has ever done that is not right and nothing he will ever do that is not right. Justice is God’s rightness-his righteousness-applied in matters of judgment. In the final judgment, God will do what is right; and in the everyday flow of decisions, deliberations, and minor judgments, God’s opinion is unfailingly right, and thus good. Probably none of us fully realize just how much we need the judgment of God. Life presents us with puzzles. The pieces lie before us-all the complex factors going into a major decision, or the confusing signals we get from the people in our lives. We need to make good judgments, ones that account for all the pieces, and that pull the pieces together.
I have talked to many people trying to figure out how God views a relative who is acting in spiritual rebellion, or to those who are in pain over the eternal destiny of a loved one who recently passed away. Time and again I go back to Genesis 18:25 where Abraham, contemplating the impending judgment of Sodom and Gomorrah said, “Will not the judge of all the earth do right?”
Abraham was saying, surely God makes moral distinctions between good and evil, or else what hope do we have? When a matter seems too expansive for us to make a judgment, we can trust that God will view it with righteousness, and that his response will be just.
Romans 3:21-26 speaks of the God who is righteous, and who makes us righteous–the God who is just, and who justifies:
“ But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement,[i] through the shedding of his blood-to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished- he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”
Starting December 1, "Christmas Joy." Check it out.
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CHRISTMAS JOY
Hello, friend!
I’m glad to partner with Bible Gateway in bringing devotionals like Everything New to you via email. I have written a 25 day Christmas devotional called Christmas Joy which will be sent out in 25 short readings, December 1 through 25, and there are two ways for you to get it.
The Christmas season should be a time for personal spiritual renewal. A time of joy and celebration, light and life. In Christmas Joy, a daily devotional for the month of December, you will receive insight and inspiration that keeps Christ in Christmas. Each daily reading unpacks the meaning of words like joy, peace, Immanuel, shepherd, Magi, Mary, star, virgin, counselor, prince, manger, and more.
You can get Christmas Joy delivered to your email inbox by subscribing at BibleGateway.com (see right side of page)
OR you can acquire the complete Christmas Joy devotional as a Kindle eBook (readable on your PC, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android, or Kindle). I hope you’ll choose to follow along.
God bless,
Mel Lawrenz
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