I would like to take this time to thank my supporters and friends who have stood by me in these tough times. I am in a concrete shell thanks to a raw sewage blockage a month ago. I am insured, but sadly, insured with GIO, who have done nothing to decontaminate the kitchen and bathroom area the insurance I have with them covers. Luckily, my home contents is with Allianz and they were here in the first few hours with specialist cleaners and removal experts. I have lost everything I once owned, including irreplaceable keepsakes of a lifetime, but important things will be replaced. For unrelated reasons, I am in danger of losing my unit, but this may be a blessing, improving any sale value and possibly delaying it.
I note Tripodi faces ICAC today, and that brings my heart joy as corruption involving him is why I've been unemployed since '07. People who don't know me may not understand why my issue is so challenging. Partly Tripodi and stable mates have made it that way. I recently thought I had cleared my matters with the tax office. It turns out I hadn't. But this new issue may be a blessing too. ATO want to know why I accessed my superannuation early. They seem to feel I may have lived large on it. It is true I have visited Max Brenners more than is good for me. But that has nothing to do with it. What had happened was I had been granted early access through hardship to it, and my bank had signed off on the deal. But my bank reneged, and suggested a path I took which I don't advise anyone else do. I turned $220k into $99k and put it in my mortgage. It is still there. But I have been denied work in my trade (math teacher) for over six years. Soon, my bank will force me to sell my unit. And now ATO have decided to claim I was paid income of $153k (note that figure, super bodies already have $67k from my early access) a quarter went to mafia types who organised it. The blessing is the ATO might call in a federal investigation into the issue which should blow Tripodi and others sky high. The danger is the ATO might try to limit the issue to me and fine me and slap me with secrecy deals to protect the ALP. The ATO is a cat's paw .. do they like being a cat's paw? All I can do is to man up and take what is dished out. Accessing super early is wrong. No one can help me until I know the scope of what the ATO plan.
===
Happy birthday and many happy returns all those born today, across the years, along with
- 846 – Louis the Stammerer, French king (d. 879)
- 1871 – Stephen Crane, American journalist, author, and poet (d. 1900)
- 1887 – L. S. Lowry, English painter (d. 1976)
- 1923 – Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian author (d. 2001)
- 1939 – Barbara Bosson, American actress
- 1957 – Lyle Lovett, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1967 – Tina Arena, Australian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1997 – Alex Wolff, American actor and singer (Nat & Alex Wolff)
- 365 – The Alamanni cross the Rhine and invade Gaul. Emperor Valentinian I moves to Paris to command the army and defend the Gallic cities.
- 996 – Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk, Bishop of Freising, which is the oldest known document using the name Ostarrîchi (Austria in Old High German).
- 1512 – The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, is exhibited to the public for the first time.
- 1520 – The Strait of Magellan, the passage immediately south of mainland South America connecting thePacific and the Atlantic Oceans, is first discovered and navigated by European explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the first recorded circumnavigation voyage.
- 1604 – William Shakespeare's tragedy Othello is presented for the first time, at Whitehall Palace in London.
- 1611 – William Shakespeare's romantic comedy The Tempest is presented for the first time, at Whitehall Palace in London.
- 1755 – Lisbon earthquake: In Portugal, Lisbon is destroyed by a massive earthquake and tsunami, killing between sixty thousand and ninety thousand people.
- 1800 – US President John Adams becomes the first President of the United States to live in the Executive Mansion (later renamed theWhite House).
- 1870 – In the United States, the Weather Bureau (later renamed the National Weather Service) makes its first official meteorologicalforecast.
- 1894 – Thomas Edison films American sharpshooter Annie Oakley, which is instrumental in her hiring by Buffalo Bill for his Wild West Show.
- 1896 – A picture showing the unclad (bare) breasts of a woman appears in National Geographic magazine for the first time.
- 1937 – Stalinists execute Pastor Paul Hamberg and seven members of Azerbaijan's Lutheran community.
- 1938 – Seabiscuit defeats War Admiral in an upset victory during a match race deemed "the match of the century" in horse racing.
- 1939 – The first rabbit born after artificial insemination is exhibited to the world.
- 1941 – American photographer Ansel Adams takes a picture of a moonrise over the town of Hernandez, New Mexico that would become one of the most famous images in the history of photography.
- 1959 – In Rwanda, Hutu politician Dominique Mbonyumutwa is beaten up by Tutsi forces, leading to a period of violence known as thewind of destruction.
- 1960 – While campaigning for President of the United States, John F. Kennedy announces his idea of the Peace Corps.
- 955 – Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (b. 921)
- 1947 – Man o' War, American racehorse (b. 1917)
The measured approach of a quiet achiever silences critics
Piers Akerman – Thursday, October 31, 2013 (8:55pm)
TONY Abbott is rapidly acquiring a reputation as the Quiet Achiever.
The Bolt Report on Sunday
Andrew Bolt November 01 2013 (12:53pm)
On The Bolt Report on Sunday:
I’ve called Clive Palmer a buffoon. I was wrong. It’s more serious than that.
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon on the Palmer menace and more.
The panel: Peter Reith and Kimberley Kitching.
And a sign that adults are back in charge. In fact, I might even include Bill Shorten among them. Let me think about that.
The twitter feed.
The place the videos appear.
===I’ve called Clive Palmer a buffoon. I was wrong. It’s more serious than that.
Independent Senator Nick Xenophon on the Palmer menace and more.
The panel: Peter Reith and Kimberley Kitching.
And a sign that adults are back in charge. In fact, I might even include Bill Shorten among them. Let me think about that.
The twitter feed.
The place the videos appear.
Boats being stopped
Andrew Bolt November 01 2013 (12:51pm)
Early this year under
Labor, more than 3000 boat people arrived each month. Under the Abbott
Government, arrivals in October were down to 339. No arrivals at all
this week.
===Why on earth did we let in this danger?
Andrew Bolt November 01 2013 (11:58am)
A more restrictive immigration program would not have exposed us to the utterly avoidable danger spelled out in ASIO’s latest report:
Not exactly the “tiny minority” that apologists claim. Who the hell let them in?
(Via Michael Smith.)
===This year ASIO:”Several hundred” advocates of “a violent Islamist ideology”? Most of them in Australia?
investigated several hundred mostly Australia-based individuals who are advocates of a violent Islamist ideology;Throughout 2012–13, Australia’s security environment continued to evolve, with the terrorism threat posed by traditional extremist networks and groups being compounded by the threat from self-radicalising lone actors..
managed the security threat posed by individuals working with al-Qa‘ida affiliated groups…
In Australia, there are individuals and small groups who believe an attack here is justified. Issues such as Australia’s military deployments over the last decade, the Syrian conflict, or a belief that the ideals
of Australia are in direct conflict with their extreme interpretation of Islam, fuel the radical views of this cohort....
The Syrian conflict has resonated strongly in Australia and is likely to have a lasting impact on Australia’s security environment for the foreseeable future.
Not exactly the “tiny minority” that apologists claim. Who the hell let them in?
(Via Michael Smith.)
Mates, mates, mates
Andrew Bolt November 01 2013 (11:56am)
It’s all a bit clubby:
===NSW Labor will nominate retired Supreme Court judge Greg James, QC, to become chairman of a new internal dispute resolution regime designed to help clean up the troubled branch. But the appointment will not be without some controversy because Mr James is also representing disgraced former Labor MP Craig Thomson
He is married to Barbara Ramjan, who controversially accused Prime Minister Tony Abbott of punching the wall next to her head when they were students.
Worse when a Liberal does it
Andrew Bolt November 01 2013 (11:54am)
The ABC is appalled by Queensland Premier Campbell Newman’s attack on the judiciary, yet somehow forgets Julia Gillard’s.
===This fracking ban insults our reason, injures our economy
Andrew Bolt November 01 2013 (11:45am)
Peter Reith, Innes Willox and Paul Howes challenge the latest irrational ban on cheap energy:
===IT IS not every day you will see a former Minister in the Howard Government, a union leader and the head of a nonpartisan employers association making common cause. However the gas crisis in Victoria and New South Wales and the serious threat it presents to jobs demands we put aside any differences…Alan Moran objects to one of Reith’s proposals - to buy off farmer opposition:
Big changes to the gas market are lifting prices and reducing security of supply. That puts jobs in jeopardy and pushes up the cost of living....
We are very concerned that politicians from both sides of state politics are yet to take the necessary action to protect jobs and cushion families and pensioners from rising gas prices…
There is plenty of gas in the ground in Victoria and New South Wales, but it can’t help with supply or price spikes if it stays there. Yet governments and oppositions are so worried about a community backlash they are blocking most development…
[C]oal seam gas and ... hydraulic fracturing ... are the main opportunities to maintain Victorian gas production as conventional reserves decline. Blocking Victorian gas would deal a body blow to our manufacturing sector and worsen the price and supply problems that loom in other states…
There is no good reason why we can’t maintain high standards for safety and sustainability while also ensuring a secure and affordable gas supply. Indeed, gas is a much cleaner fuel than coal and many businesses could cut greenhouse emissions by switching to it - if they could get a secure, affordable supply.
The Reith report favours early termination of the ban but also wants to lubricate the political process by granting some of the royalty revenues to landowners and to regions where the gas is found. Miners are normally very generous in recompensing landowners and often buy-out land of potential value at a premium to avoid cumbersome access requests. Formalising such measures would set unfortunate precedents and would transfer rights to farmers at the expense of the wider community or of the explorer developer. Although it wold not kill off new exploration (landowners’ mineral rights in the US have co-existed with rapid development of unconventional gas), it would create a new form of reward in return for the outlay of no effort or skill.
Shock finding. ABC host and academic discover I’m a menace
Andrew Bolt November 01 2013 (11:16am)
An ABC presenter and journalism academic Wendy Bacon, a warmist, groan that I’m around to fact-check warming alarmists.
Listen here.
What a bad person I am to contradict those warmists:
Note that in deploring my scepticism, not one example is given of what I’ve actually said that is wrong.
(Thanks to reader Keith with a dot, mem and Robin of the Hood.)
===Listen here.
What a bad person I am to contradict those warmists:
He says it in a factual way that they are lying.Would it be better if I did it in a fictional way?
Note that in deploring my scepticism, not one example is given of what I’ve actually said that is wrong.
(Thanks to reader Keith with a dot, mem and Robin of the Hood.)
Puzzling silence
Andrew Bolt November 01 2013 (11:04am)
Hot October in NSW: global warming:
===TRACY BOWDEN, REPORTER: Fire storms in October. Scorchingly hot, dry, windy days and warnings of more to come. Is this climate change in action?Cold October in Victoria? Funny, that, says reader Jeff:
It’s official. For only the second time on record, Melbourne’s October average maximum and minimum temperature were both lower than September’s. The only other time this occurred was 1928.
I was sure this would have been big news on the weather segments of the evening news but neither 9 nor 10 gave it a mention.
Why would that be?
Fighting the global warming religion
Andrew Bolt November 01 2013 (8:41am)
The Global Warming Policy Foundation announces what should be a fascinating lecture by former prime minister John Howard:
It is disappointing that News Corp, of all media outlets, yesterday published this article on warming, revealing more faith than facts.
Here’s just some of the most egregious errors or misleading claims.
Look, there’s more I should tackle - about “more acidic” oceans and the like. But you get the picture.
And remember: this is just a standard piece of alarmism of the kind the media pumps out almost every day.
===Mr Howard will deliver the 2013 Annual GWPF Lecture on 5 November at 7pm at the Institution of Mechanical Engineers, One Birdcage Walk, Westminster, London SW1H 9JJ.UPDATE
Title: “One Religion Is Enough: How Alarmists Have Hijacked The Climate Debate.”
It is disappointing that News Corp, of all media outlets, yesterday published this article on warming, revealing more faith than facts.
Here’s just some of the most egregious errors or misleading claims.
Climate change is global warming. The two are the same thing. It is the world getting hotter.False. Climate change is, er, exactly that - a change in the climate. Hotter, colder, wetter, drier. Indeed, warmists now prefer the term “climate change” to “global warming” precisely so they can claim that unusual cold or unusual snow is evidence of man-made “climate change” as well. If by “climate change” we meant only “global warming”, then why not use the phrase “global warming”?
No one doubts it is happening. The last decade, 2000 to 2010, was the hottest on record. The big controversy is about what is causing it.False. In fact, the biggest controversy right now is the one even the latest IPCC report had to address: why the world hasn’t warmed as the climate models predicted. Atmospheric temperatures have remained flat for at least 15 years. After that there are many other controversies: what, yes, did cause any warming we saw; why haven’t we seen the predicted disasters that warming was meant to trigger; is any warming actually good; is any warming likely to be swamped by natural factors; and is it worth the pain to try to stop any warming.
Warming up the planet is like knocking over the first domino. It has massive knock-on consequences which can affect all of us. The big one is food security. A rapidly warming climate will make some places wetter and others drier. This could affect the quality and quantity of available food on the table of every single person on the planet.Sheer alarmism. Fact is that extra carbon dioxide means more plant food, and moderate warming means more rain overall. That, plus advances in gene technology and agricultural practices, have lead to record global harvests of food crops.
And sceptics have plenty of questions: What if the solar flares make the world hot? Doesn’t the climate always change? Isn’t it a good thing?Actually, these are not the most pressing questions from sceptics at all. The main questions are the ones I’ve already listed and the IPCC struggles to explain: why there’s been far less warming than predicted and fewer climate disasters than predicted; and does it make any sense to spend trillions of dollars for such little effect on the temperature?
But you do need to know one small statistic: 95 per cent. That’s how certain the United Nations climate science panel is that climate change is manmade.Here’s a more important statistic: 73. That’s the number of climate models which unanimously predicted more warming than we actually got. Seems this UN panel is more certain the more wrong its models prove to be.
By 2070, Australia is expected to warm between 1.0 to 5 degrees Celsius, according to the CSIRO.In fact, even the IPCC, an alarmist group, estimates lower rises in global temperature - between 0.3 and 4.8 degrees by 2100. And that’s after almost zero rise in temperatures after 15 years.
But heatwaves and predicted drier conditions in southern Australia can help create the conditions where bushfires are more likely to happen, heatwave expert Sarah Perkins told news.com.au.In fact, rainfall in southern Australia has, if anything, increased over the past century and even the Climate Commission denied there was anything unusual in rainfall patterns in southern or eastern Australia.
On average the nation will experience a 300-fold increase in “flooding events” by the year 2100, according to a report released by Australia’s Antarctic Climate and Ecosystems Cooperative Research Centre. That means one-in-a-hundred year floods will become considerably more common. That figure is what would happen if the country experiences an average sea level rise of half a metre.In fact, if we get many one-in-a-hundred year floods this century, they aren’t one-in-a-hundred year floods at all. Nor are such floods likely to be severe. Even the alarmist IPCC now predicts median sea level rises by the end of this century of between just 26cms and 30cms.
We are actually lucky compared to the poor folk of the small nation of Tuvalu, found halfway between Australia and Hawaii. It’s easily one of the countries that will suffer the most. Much of the country could be flooded.In fact, the main island of Tuvalu is growing, not drowning, and coral atolls tend to rise with rising seas.
The global average sea level could rise by a metre by the end of the century if emissions remain high. If they are lower, levels could rise between 28cm and 60cm.An exaggeration. The latest IPCC report concedes the median sea level rises tipped under its four scenarios for 2100 are between just 26cms and 30cms, with a very upper limit of 82cms under the most alarming scenario.
Look, there’s more I should tackle - about “more acidic” oceans and the like. But you get the picture.
And remember: this is just a standard piece of alarmism of the kind the media pumps out almost every day.
More evidence of that earlier warming the IPCC ironed out
Andrew Bolt November 01 2013 (7:32am)
For years this now-discredited graphic was everywhere, including in an Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, allegedly proving the world hadn’t been this hot for thousands of years:
At some time or another, most people will have seen the hockey stick - the iconic graph which purports to show that after centuries of stable temperatures, the second half of the twentieth century saw a sudden and unprecedented warming of the globe. This was caused, we were told, by mankind burning fossil fuels and releasing carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. For a while, the hockey stick was everywhere - unimpeachable evidence that mankind was damaging the planet - an impact that would require drastic measures to reverse. The stick’s most famous outing however was just a couple of years ago when it made a headlining appearance in Al Gore’s drama-documentary, An Inconvenient Truth. The revelation of the long, thin graph with its dramatic temperature rise in the last few decades, and the audience gasps that accompanied it, is something of a key moment for many environmentalists.But a new paper confirms the medieval period was actually warmer than today, and not just in Europe and not just on land:
We show that water masses linked to North Pacific and Antarctic intermediate waters were warmer by 2.1 ± 0.4°C and 1.5 ± 0.4°C, respectively, during the middle Holocene Thermal Maximum than over the past century. Both water masses were ~0.9°C warmer during the Medieval Warm period than during the Little Ice Age and ~0.65° warmer than in recent decades.
Do you trust Clive Palmer?
Andrew Bolt November 01 2013 (7:25am)
What’s Clive Palmer’s word worth?
Palmer in June:
I consider Palmer a bully who should never be trusted with political power. Hedley Thomas reports:
===Palmer in June:
TONY JONES: Hedley Thomas, ‘The Australian’s reporter, has ... raised questions over the financial viability of two of your key companies, the nickel refinery in Townsville is one of them and of course your resort hotel in Coolum. Are they both making big losses as is claimed?Palmer yesterday:
CLIVE PALMER: No, they’re on track at the moment with the investment we’ve got, that I’m putting in of my money and the results are better than projected. If you take the resort at Coolum, when we took it over it had a total of $509 million of losses since it opened and the owner was going to close it down and cut it up for real estate. We stepped in, restructured it, we had to change some jobs and let some people go and put some other people on, and now it’s operating ...
LEIGH SALES: Let me also ask you: does your Coolum resort in Queensland operate at a profit?UPDATE
CLIVE PALMER:: No, it’s where I live and where I enjoy myself and that’s - I keep people employed at a great subsidy ‘cause I love the Sunshine Coast and I love spending my money to keep people employed in the greatest state in Australia.
LEIGH SALES: And how long are you prepared to sustain that loss?
CLIVE PALMER: Well probably until I die.
LEIGH SALES: And what is the magnitude of that loss?
CLIVE PALMER: Who knows? Who cares?
I consider Palmer a bully who should never be trusted with political power. Hedley Thomas reports:
CLIVE Palmer ... once listed litigation as a hobby in his biography for Who’s Who. His lawyers take legal steps, presumably on his instructions, that prolong litigation and rack up costs for the other side.
These strategies can break his opponents financially. If they are like most people with limited resources, they are forced to raise the white flag, lick their wounds and move on…
Dean Andary is 79… The famed layout beneath Mount Coolum was expertly carved from land once owned by Andary… When he sold his property to a major developer, their shared vision of a world-class golf resort came to fruition with the creation of the Hyatt Regency. Andary’s lease guaranteed him a golf locker and the playing rights on the course, which would host the Australian PGA event..
[Palmer then] bought the resort and the course from Lend Lease...[and] went about getting rid of the Hyatt brand and the PGA championship, naming the place after himself, sacking most staff, preventing owners from using their properties, populating it with dinosaurs and erecting signs promoting his bid to be prime minister…
Without warning, in January last year Palmer, the founding head of the Palmer United Party, which may control the balance of power in the Senate from next July, instructed his staff to cease honouring Andary’s lease agreement with Palmer’s company, Coeur de Lion Investments…
Andary ... filed a formal statement of claim against Palmer’s company, seeking judgment for damages… The legal record shows Palmer counter-sued Andary for more than $7 million in damages for “breach of contract, unjust enrichment, interest on damages, and costs”.
The aggressive legal skirmishing has caused hundreds of documents about Andary’s private financial affairs to be brought into the public arena. Everything from his Australian Taxation Office annual returns and statements for a decade, to his family trust deed, private share portfolio, personal borrowings, pension plans, properties and mortgages are now on public display.
Palmer also has signalled his intention to run the battle as far as it can go - the High Court of Australia - at vast financial cost. His lawyers warned Andary in May last year that the cost of a 20-day trial, including High Court appeals, would be $1,587,000, adding: “We repeat our request for security of costs of $1m along with a guarantee"…
Palmer’s lawyers have recently dispatched about 80 detailed legal documents to golfers, accommodation managers, former staff and others, demanding they turn over “all notes, memoranda, receipts, correspondence, documents and other written records” relating to Andary’s lease agreement…
Andary is ... refusing to blink. Although he was not required to do so, he has provided a guarantee of security for legal costs of $150,000. He refused to comment ... but one person close to him says: “It’s a matter of principle. He’s not going to be bullied into giving away his rights.”
AEC should consider suing Clive Palmer for his smears
Andrew Bolt November 01 2013 (7:08am)
Conspiracist Clive
Palmer is the first to fling dirt at the Australian Electoral Commission
for losing 1375 ballots in the recount of the Senate result in Western
Australia:
Not that I believe any such corruption occurred. But Palmer is the last who should make such a toxic claim - and without any evidence.
Meanwhile the AEC should consider suing Palmer for defamation for this as well as earlier defamatory claims he has made against AEC returning officers, especially in Fairfax. The integrity of this institution must be upheld.
===CLIVE PALMER, PALMER UNITED PARTY: Oh, I think they’re down the toilet, shredded somewhere or being sold on the black market in Thailand - who knows? An AEC officer may have his pension.Let’s assume this is indeed a conspiracy. So who would benefit most from such corruption? Let’s see: Palmer’s candidate won the seat and if the recount must be abandoned, it is more likely that the first vote will stand than it is that a fresh election will be held, given that a new election will not represent the state of the mind of the voters back at the September 7 election and will be an unfair imposition on independent candidates.
Not that I believe any such corruption occurred. But Palmer is the last who should make such a toxic claim - and without any evidence.
Meanwhile the AEC should consider suing Palmer for defamation for this as well as earlier defamatory claims he has made against AEC returning officers, especially in Fairfax. The integrity of this institution must be upheld.
How did such a person with such an excuse emerge among us?
Andrew Bolt November 01 2013 (6:45am)
He was one of the Muslims who rioted in Sydney against an American YouTube film Innocence of Muslims:
Omar Halaby, 18, pleaded guilty in the same court to smashing the windscreen of a police vehicle with a milk crate.For some bizarre reason, we’d been paying this man a disability pension since he was just 16:
HE has no trouble smashing police car windscreens with milk crates but it seems Muslim rioter Omar Halaby is not fit to work, receiving a $200-a-fortnight disability support pension.How disabled was he really?
The 19-year-old from Padstow last week escaped with a good-behaviour bond for his role in September’s violent Muslim protest in the CBD - partly because of remorse, his previous clean record and health issues he suffers that include sporting injuries and literacy problems…
In documents tendered to the Downing Centre Local Court, Legal Aid lawyer Sophie Edin said Halaby suffered from “certain disabilities” which had seen him claim the pension for the past three years...
While the taxpayer supports accused rioter Omar Halaby, he spruiks about terrorism and illegal drugs on his Facebook page – and even does the odd day’s work on a construction site, despite receiving a disability pension.How surprising. He’s in court again:
Halaby, 19, of Padstow, pleaded guilty to using offensive language and resisting arrest over an incident on the corner of Bryant St and Gibson Ave in Padstow on September 21.A familiar story of a thug using Islam to excuse himself:
During the car stop last month he was a passenger in a BMW and shouted out of the car window “f . . . off dog c . . . .” to police officers involved in another incident, police alleged. When the car was stopped Halaby continued his tirade, refusing to get out of the car. “Make me. I’m f . . . . . . not getting out of the car. Youse don’t have any intell to pull this car over,” he is alleged to have said.What family, what culture, produced such a person?
He refused to give officers his name or any details 10 times and one officer knocked away a Coca-Cola can Halaby was crushing in his hand, with his chest puffed out in an “aggressive stance”, fearing it could be used as a weapon.
At Bankstown Police Station he refused to be fingerprinted by a female officer. “Don’t f . . . . . . touch me, my religion says women aren’t allowed to touch me, don’t touch me you f . . . . . . bitches,” he is alleged to have said.
(Thanks to reader Peter.)
A disposition to splash your cash
Andrew Bolt November 01 2013 (12:16am)
How I would have written the lead:
Bye bye:
===Prime Minister Tony Abbott has refused to rule out more handouts for automotive companies despite his Industry Minister admitting there was a chance car manufacturing might not survive in Australia anyway.How The Age wrote it:
Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane was reported as saying that there was a “possibility that the [car] industry is not able to be saved in terms of the level of support it might require”.
Prime Minister Tony Abbott has refused to pledge extra money for automotive companies despite his Industry Minister admitting there was a chance car manufacturing might not survive in Australia.UPDATE
Industry Minister Ian Macfarlane was reported as saying that there was a “possibility that the [car] industry is not able to be saved in terms of the level of support it might require”.
Bye bye:
Holden will stop manufacturing in Australia in three or four years no matter what Canberra does to prop it up, senior ministers in the federal government now believe.
The bleak conclusion, which has not been stated publicly, is fuelling strong resistance inside the government to further taxpayer subsidies to the automotive industry.
Also fuelling ministerial anger is the assistance sought by Holden in current crisis talks, which according to one is “in excess of $200 million” per year from 2015, when the current car plan expires.
Shorten’s first big decison has probably finished him
Andrew Bolt November 01 2013 (4:33pm)
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten makes his first big decision, and it’s hard to think how much worse it could be:
Abbott will not for a second agree to an emissions trading scheme. He’s already promised not to impose it.
So Shorten will in the blink of an eye will be joining the Greens and blocking the repeal of a carbon tax until the new Senate sits. That gives Abbott around a year to paint Shorten as “Elecrticity Bill” - the man who is keeping your power bills higher than they should be.
And it doesn’t stop there.
After that, Shorten will go to the election promising an emissions trading scheme that its last Budget said would rise to $38 in just five years. That’s much higher than the current price of $25.15.
Who ever won an election from Opposition promising a new tax? Worse still, it is a tax that will not achieve its aim of cutting the world’s temperature and will just hurt Labor’s own voters by driving up power prices.
Shorten’s first big decision has probably guaranteed he will never be Prime Minister.
I know he would have outraged die-hard warmists on Labor’s Left had he dropped any promise of a price on carbon dioxide emissions. But here is where he could have used Labor’s preposterous new leadership rules to his advantage. He knows those rules essentially mean he cannot be sacked before the election, and if he miraculously wins that election he cannot be sacked as Prime Minister.
So he could have made the call on the carbon tax that would have outraged his Left but pleased voters of the centre. Instead, he went for the easy option, and looks doomed even before he starts.
===Labor would propose amendments to the government’s carbon tax repeal legislation, aimed at moving to an emissions trading scheme…Let’s walk through this.
“However, if our amendments are not successful we will oppose the government’s repeal legislation, in line with our long-held principle position to act on climate change.”
Abbott will not for a second agree to an emissions trading scheme. He’s already promised not to impose it.
So Shorten will in the blink of an eye will be joining the Greens and blocking the repeal of a carbon tax until the new Senate sits. That gives Abbott around a year to paint Shorten as “Elecrticity Bill” - the man who is keeping your power bills higher than they should be.
And it doesn’t stop there.
After that, Shorten will go to the election promising an emissions trading scheme that its last Budget said would rise to $38 in just five years. That’s much higher than the current price of $25.15.
Who ever won an election from Opposition promising a new tax? Worse still, it is a tax that will not achieve its aim of cutting the world’s temperature and will just hurt Labor’s own voters by driving up power prices.
Shorten’s first big decision has probably guaranteed he will never be Prime Minister.
I know he would have outraged die-hard warmists on Labor’s Left had he dropped any promise of a price on carbon dioxide emissions. But here is where he could have used Labor’s preposterous new leadership rules to his advantage. He knows those rules essentially mean he cannot be sacked before the election, and if he miraculously wins that election he cannot be sacked as Prime Minister.
So he could have made the call on the carbon tax that would have outraged his Left but pleased voters of the centre. Instead, he went for the easy option, and looks doomed even before he starts.
Some haven't thought through this issue. Banned in decent places .. female circumcision is barbaric and unrelated to male circumcision. The posters of this meme are not ones I trust. But the issue is serious. It isn't legal in NSW, but happens here. - ed===
Where is the drive to excel? To do work better. More. Faster. Less effort. These people don't think like town planners. And yet they do. - ed
===
ALP offers to suicide on carbon tax/ETS - ed
===
Yep. Doogie Howser MP does have a bit of a point.
===
The young adults may go looking for it. Sex with strangers is dark and dangerous. Maybe that seems appealing to some? But it doesn't lead to nesting, or building a life. It is no different to a curse. - ed
===
A jewel .. please treat her well Andreas Herrmann.
It’s a long way from Mildura:
Siobhan is from Mildura, Victoria and attended Mildura Senior College.
Living the dream:
After completing her formal training in June 2013, Siobhan joined the Salzburg Festival’s Young Singers Project… For 2013/14 Siobhan joins the Deutsche Oper Berlin…
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James Calore
Be careful out there...
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Overcast, but still colorful day in the Lakes — inMedford Lakes, NJ, United States.
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JOHN WAYNE
Happy Halloween!===
Pastor Rick Warren
This scares adults!
Pumpkin carving winner at Saddleback's annual#BlocktoberParty for 30,000 kids tonight. 120 acre party for the community. Join us!
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On this day in 1926, Harry Houdini died of peritonitis in a Detroit hospital after a burst appendix poisoned his system. Find out how by going here: http://histv.co/1bFPiCE SHARE with your friends if you’re looking forward to HOUDINI starring Adrien Brody, coming in 2014.
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Sarah Palin
President Obama flew in to Boston today to deliver another “ShamWow”-style infomercial for Obamacare, and it went about as well as his entourage’s snarled traffic debacle in Beantown.
As millions of Americans are being kicked off their desired insurance plans and seeing their premiums skyrocket, the President had a lot of 'splaining to do today. For starters we anticipated a Presidential apology for lying to Americans repeatedly when he promised things like, “If you like your current health care plan, you can keep it.” Make no mistake, he knew he was lying when he said that. And make no further mistake, after five years of false Obama claims, no one should actually expect contrition on this administration’s part.
Bloomberg reports that in June of 2010, the administration knew millions would be kicked off existing healthcare plans due to Obamacare; but President Obama continued to knowingly deceive the American people with repeated claims that if we liked our current plan we could keep it.
So, finally busted, did the President apologize? Was remorse and sympathy shown for Americans who now can’t afford health insurance thanks to Obamacare? Nope. He instead informed us that Americans who receive cancellation notices have been on “substandard” plans supplied by “bad apple” insurers. That’s right. Obama didn’t lie to you when he said, “if you like your plan, you can keep it.” Why? Because, you sillies, you DIDN’T REALLY like the plan you chose for yourselves! No arguing. Barack Obama knows best and he’ll tell you whether you actually liked your insurance plan or not. If you’re an elderly bachelor, your old plan was clearly “substandard” because it didn’t offer maternity care. What’s that you say? You don’t need maternity care? Well, according to the President today, he says you do, and any insurance plan that doesn’t offer it is a “junk” plan provided by a “bad apple” insurer.
But don’t worry, the President also promised that only “rich” people making $250,000 or more will see their premium costs rise. This lie is so appalling and so easily debunked that the brazenness with which he made it is simply breathtaking. But who will hold him accountable for it? Media, you know I love you... so let me help you save your hide with the American public by suggesting you fact-check that.
Despite the Obamacare rollout disaster and the broken government website (which HHS Secretary Sebelius admitted is a “debacle” in her testimony before Congress today), the President gleefully highlighted the few people signing up for Obamacare as indicative of his socialized medicine’s “success.” He neglected to mention that the government is forcing Americans to sign up for his program or pay fines that will increase each year we fail to do so.
For sheer chutzpah, the President closed his speech by praising America’s “rugged individualism.” Because nothing says “rugged individualism” like heavy-handed big government forcing individuals to buy a product they don’t want and arrogantly telling them they didn’t really like the product they wisely chose for themselves and could afford.
Thanks for the infomercial, Mr. President. I don’t know anyone who wants your “ShamWow” product, but the IRS will make sure we call that toll free number or go online to order it right now…. well, just as soon as your impossibly broken $600 million website is fixed and your phones lines aren’t busy.
Happy with this, America? Make your voices heard. 2014 is just around the corner.
- Sarah Palin
P.S. Take a look at this article by Fox’s Eric Bolling:
http://nation.foxnews.com/2013/10/30/eric-bolling-why-healthcaregov-website-failure-mattersbig-time
As Eric asks, “If they can’t get a basic website up and running in three years… How on God’s green Earth are they going to administer health care to 300 million Americans? So, with billions upon billions of health related communications clearing through the government medicine portal annually, our very health will be hanging in the balance…Therefore, you must conclude: The Obama administration has our lives in their hands…Ask yourself… Do you trust President Obama, Valerie Jarrett, Kathleen Sebelius and Jay Carney with your life? I certainly do not!”
===As millions of Americans are being kicked off their desired insurance plans and seeing their premiums skyrocket, the President had a lot of 'splaining to do today. For starters we anticipated a Presidential apology for lying to Americans repeatedly when he promised things like, “If you like your current health care plan, you can keep it.” Make no mistake, he knew he was lying when he said that. And make no further mistake, after five years of false Obama claims, no one should actually expect contrition on this administration’s part.
Bloomberg reports that in June of 2010, the administration knew millions would be kicked off existing healthcare plans due to Obamacare; but President Obama continued to knowingly deceive the American people with repeated claims that if we liked our current plan we could keep it.
So, finally busted, did the President apologize? Was remorse and sympathy shown for Americans who now can’t afford health insurance thanks to Obamacare? Nope. He instead informed us that Americans who receive cancellation notices have been on “substandard” plans supplied by “bad apple” insurers. That’s right. Obama didn’t lie to you when he said, “if you like your plan, you can keep it.” Why? Because, you sillies, you DIDN’T REALLY like the plan you chose for yourselves! No arguing. Barack Obama knows best and he’ll tell you whether you actually liked your insurance plan or not. If you’re an elderly bachelor, your old plan was clearly “substandard” because it didn’t offer maternity care. What’s that you say? You don’t need maternity care? Well, according to the President today, he says you do, and any insurance plan that doesn’t offer it is a “junk” plan provided by a “bad apple” insurer.
But don’t worry, the President also promised that only “rich” people making $250,000 or more will see their premium costs rise. This lie is so appalling and so easily debunked that the brazenness with which he made it is simply breathtaking. But who will hold him accountable for it? Media, you know I love you... so let me help you save your hide with the American public by suggesting you fact-check that.
Despite the Obamacare rollout disaster and the broken government website (which HHS Secretary Sebelius admitted is a “debacle” in her testimony before Congress today), the President gleefully highlighted the few people signing up for Obamacare as indicative of his socialized medicine’s “success.” He neglected to mention that the government is forcing Americans to sign up for his program or pay fines that will increase each year we fail to do so.
For sheer chutzpah, the President closed his speech by praising America’s “rugged individualism.” Because nothing says “rugged individualism” like heavy-handed big government forcing individuals to buy a product they don’t want and arrogantly telling them they didn’t really like the product they wisely chose for themselves and could afford.
Thanks for the infomercial, Mr. President. I don’t know anyone who wants your “ShamWow” product, but the IRS will make sure we call that toll free number or go online to order it right now…. well, just as soon as your impossibly broken $600 million website is fixed and your phones lines aren’t busy.
Happy with this, America? Make your voices heard. 2014 is just around the corner.
- Sarah Palin
P.S. Take a look at this article by Fox’s Eric Bolling:
http://nation.foxnews.com/2013/10/30/eric-bolling-why-healthcaregov-website-failure-mattersbig-time
As Eric asks, “If they can’t get a basic website up and running in three years… How on God’s green Earth are they going to administer health care to 300 million Americans? So, with billions upon billions of health related communications clearing through the government medicine portal annually, our very health will be hanging in the balance…Therefore, you must conclude: The Obama administration has our lives in their hands…Ask yourself… Do you trust President Obama, Valerie Jarrett, Kathleen Sebelius and Jay Carney with your life? I certainly do not!”
http://davidbowles.us/creature-feature/
===
Who's going to be carving a #DoctorWho themed pumpkin for Halloween (or as we like to call it,#Wholloween)? Send your photos to us via doctorwho@bbc.com! Here's one created by Whovians Dmitri and Joey last year.
And if you need some top tips on how to make your pumpkin stand out from the crowd, here'sBBC Good Food's guide to creating the spookiest pumpkins: http://bit.ly/
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Matt Granz. .. bass player
https://bandpa.bandcamp.com/track/right-between-your-lips-1995
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Matt Granz
Gooooood Morning San Francisco!
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Aprille Love
#regram with @bamitsjoanne from last night's#boohoosocialdiary #bestpartyever
Cuz we run the night! #boohoosocialdiary photo thanks to Tim W. #bestnightever #bestdressed#hallowen
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http://m.imdb.com/title/tt0068713/
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068713/
Peter Cushing and Christopher Lee... Classic. Tele Savalas as a kossack.===
Looking forward to hearing from irate lefties no doubt being forced at gunpoint to read his papers because he "controls 70% of newspapers in Australia".
*Smirk*>
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How Lou Reed helped the fight against lefties.
http://reason.com/blog/2013/10/27/how-lou-reed-inspired-anti-communist-rev
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Sometimes, Sydney shines - ed
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http://www.ramint.gov.au/.../downloads/mintissue99.pdf
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This is what happens when he expects a death penalty .. and there isn't one. - ed
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Aprille Love
@thebachelorau @guysebastian @tiffsocialdiary#boohoosocialdiary
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0MXdWSNSawg
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http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Abbas--Terrorist-murderers-are--heroic-brothers-.html?soid=110192
http://myemail.constantcontact.c...
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Today’s decision by the Labor Opposition not to support the unconditional removal of the Carbon Tax confirms that nothing has changed with Labor.
Bill Shorten has failed his first test of leadership.
Instead of supporting the repeal of the Carbon Tax, Mr Shorten and Labor now want to “amend it” and, importantly, keep in place the laws that underpin the Carbon Tax.
Labor wants to keep the Carbon Tax, so that they can easily re-start it, if they are elected again.
A strong leader would have stood up to Labor’s left and opposed the Carbon Tax – but Bill Shorten was too weak to do so.
Bill Shorten’ s refusal to unconditionally support the removal of the Carbon Tax threatens local jobs and will mean higher electricity prices.
Only the Coalition opposes the Carbon Tax and will remove it - no "ifs" or "buts".
Regards,
Brian Loughnane
Federal Director
Liberal Party of Australia
Authorised by Brian Loughnane, Cnr Blackall and Macquarie Streets, Barton ACT 2604.
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November 1: All Saints' Day (Western Christianity);National Day in Algeria (1954); Rajyotsava (Formation Day) in Karnataka, India (1956)
- 1141 – The Anarchy: Matilda's brief reign as the first female ruler of England came to an end when her cousin Stephen of Blois regained the throne.
- 1876 – The Colony of New Zealand dissolved its nine provinces and replaced them with 63 counties.
- 1928 – Turkish President Mustafa Kemal Atatürkintroduced the current 29-letter Turkish alphabet to replace the Ottoman Turkish alphabet as the officialwriting system of the Turkish language.
- 1954 – The Front de Libération Nationale began theAlgerian War of Independence against French rule.
- 1963 – The Arecibo Observatory (pictured), with the world's largest single-dish radio telescope, officially opened in Arecibo, Puerto Rico.
Events[edit]
- 365 – The Alamanni cross the Rhine and invade Gaul. Emperor Valentinian I moves to Paris to command the army and defend the Gallic cities.
- 996 – Emperor Otto III issues a deed to Gottschalk, Bishop of Freising, which is the oldest known document using the name Ostarrîchi (Austria in Old High German).
- 1141 – Empress Matilda's reign as 'Lady of the English' ends with Stephen of Blois regaining the title of King of England.
- 1179 – Philip II is crowned King of France.
- 1214 – The port city of Sinope surrenders to the Seljuq Turks.
- 1348 – The anti-royalist Union of Valencia attacks the Jews of Murviedro on the pretext that they areserfs of the King of Valencia and thus "royalists".
- 1512 – The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, painted by Michelangelo, is exhibited to the public for the first time.
- 1520 – The Strait of Magellan, the passage immediately south of mainland South America connecting thePacific and the Atlantic Oceans, is first discovered and navigated by European explorer Ferdinand Magellan during the first recorded circumnavigation voyage.
- 1555 – French Huguenots establish the France Antarctique colony in present-day Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
- 1570 – The All Saints' Flood devastates the Dutch coast.
- 1604 – William Shakespeare's tragedy Othello is presented for the first time, at Whitehall Palace in London.
- 1611 – William Shakespeare's romantic comedy The Tempest is presented for the first time, at Whitehall Palace in London.
- 1612 – (22 October O.S.) Time of Troubles in Russia: Moscow, Kitai-gorod, is captured by Russian troops under command of Dmitry Pozharsky
- 1683 – The British crown colony of New York is subdivided into 12 counties.
- 1688 – William III of Orange sets out a second time from Hellevoetsluis in the Netherlands to seize the crowns of England, Scotland and Ireland from King James II of England during the Glorious Revolution.
- 1755 – Lisbon earthquake: In Portugal, Lisbon is destroyed by a massive earthquake and tsunami, killing between sixty thousand and ninety thousand people.
- 1765 – The British Parliament enacts the Stamp Act on the 13 colonies in order to help pay for British military operations in North America.
- 1790 – Edmund Burke publishes Reflections on the Revolution in France, in which he predicts that the French Revolution will end in a disaster.
- 1800 – US President John Adams becomes the first President of the United States to live in the Executive Mansion (later renamed theWhite House).
- 1805 – Napoleon Bonaparte invades Austria during the War of the Third Coalition.
- 1814 – Congress of Vienna opens to re-draw the European political map after the defeat of France, in the Napoleonic Wars.
- 1848 – In Boston, Massachusetts, the first medical school for women, The Boston Female Medical School (which later merged with theBoston University School of Medicine), opens.
- 1859 – The current Cape Lookout, North Carolina, lighthouse is lit for the first time. Its first-order Fresnel lens can be seen for about 19 miles (30 kilometers), in good conditions.
- 1861 – American Civil War: US President Abraham Lincoln appoints George B. McClellan as the commander of the Union Army, replacing General Winfield Scott.
- 1870 – In the United States, the Weather Bureau (later renamed the National Weather Service) makes its first official meteorologicalforecast.
- 1876 – New Zealand's provincial government system is dissolved.
- 1884 – The Gaelic Athletic Association is set up in Hayes's Hotel in Thurles, County Tipperary.
- 1886 – Ananda College, a leading Buddhist school in Sri Lanka is established with 37 students.
- 1894 – Nicholas II becomes the new Tsar of Russia after his father, Alexander III, dies.
- 1894 – Thomas Edison films American sharpshooter Annie Oakley, which is instrumental in her hiring by Buffalo Bill for his Wild West Show.
- 1896 – A picture showing the unclad (bare) breasts of a woman appears in National Geographic magazine for the first time.
- 1897 – The first Library of Congress building opened its doors to the public. The Library had been housed in the Congressional Reading Room in the U.S. Capitol.
- 1901 – Sigma Phi Epsilon, the largest national male collegiate fraternity is established at Richmond College, in Richmond, VA.
- 1911 – The first dropping of a bomb from an airplane in combat, during the Italo-Turkish War.
- 1914 – World War I: the first British Royal Navy defeat of the war with Germany, the Battle of Coronel, is fought off of the western coast of Chile, in the Pacific, with the loss of HMS Good Hope and HMS Monmouth.
- 1915 – Parris Island is officially designated a US Marine Corps Recruit Depot.
- 1916 – Paul Miliukov delivers in the State Duma the famous "stupidity or treason" speech, precipitating the downfall of the Boris Stürmergovernment.
- 1918 – Malbone Street Wreck: the worst rapid transit accident in US history occurs under the intersection of Malbone Street and Flatbush Avenue, Brooklyn, New York City, with at least 102 deaths.
- 1918 – Western Ukraine gains its independence from the Austro-Hungarian Empire.
- 1918 – Banat Republic is founded.
- 1920 – American Fishing Schooner Esperanto defeats the Canadian Fishing Schooner Delawana in the First International Fishing Schooner Championship Races in Halifax.
- 1922 – The last sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mehmed VI, abdicates.
- 1928 – The Law on the Adoption and Implementation of the Turkish Alphabet, replacing the version of the Arabic alphabet previously used, comes into force in Turkey.
- 1937 – Stalinists execute Pastor Paul Hamberg and seven members of Azerbaijan's Lutheran community.
- 1938 – Seabiscuit defeats War Admiral in an upset victory during a match race deemed "the match of the century" in horse racing.
- 1939 – The first rabbit born after artificial insemination is exhibited to the world.
- 1941 – American photographer Ansel Adams takes a picture of a moonrise over the town of Hernandez, New Mexico that would become one of the most famous images in the history of photography.
- 1942 – Matanikau Offensive begins during the Guadalcanal Campaign and ends on November 4 with an American victory.
- 1943 – World War II: Battle of Empress Augusta Bay, United States Marines, the 3rd Marine Division, land on Bougainville in theSolomon Islands.
- 1943 – World War II: In support of the landings on Bougainville, U.S. aircraft carrier forces attack the huge Japanese base at Rabaul.
- 1944 – World War II: Units of the British Army land at Walcheren in the Netherlands.
- 1945 – The official North Korean newspaper, Rodong Sinmun, is first published under the name Chongro.
- 1945 – Australia joins the United Nations.
- 1946 – Karol Wojtyla-the future Pope John Paul II-is ordained to the priesthood by Adam Sapieha.
- 1948 – Off southern Manchuria, 6,000 people are killed as a Chinese merchant ship explodes and sinks.
- 1948 – Athenagoras I, Ecumenical Patriarch of Constantinople is enthroned.
- 1950 – Puerto Rican nationalists Griselio Torresola and Oscar Collazo attempt to assassinate US President Harry S. Truman at Blair House.
- 1950 – Pope Pius XII claims papal infallibility when he formally defines the dogma of the Assumption of Mary.
- 1951 – Operation Buster-Jangle: 6,500 American soldiers are exposed to 'Desert Rock' atomic explosions for training purposes inNevada. Participation is not voluntary.
- 1952 – Operation Ivy – The United States successfully detonates the first large hydrogen bomb, codenamed "Mike" ["M" for megaton], in the Eniwetok atoll, located in the Marshall Islands in the central Pacific Ocean. The explosion had a yield of 10 megatons.
- 1953 – Andhra Pradesh attained statehood on 1 November 1953, with Kurnool as its capital.
- 1954 – The Front de Libération Nationale fires the first shots of the Algerian War of Independence.
- 1955 – The bombing of United Airlines Flight 629 occurs near Longmont, Colorado, killing all 39 passengers and five crew members aboard the Douglas DC-6B airliner.
- 1956 – The Indian states Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, and Mysore state are formally created under the States Reorganisation Act.
- 1956 – In India, Kanyakumari district was joined to Tamilnadu state from Kerala.
- 1956 – Springhill Mining Disaster, Springhill, Nova Scotia, Nova Scotia kills 39 miners; 88 are rescued.
- 1957 – The Mackinac Bridge, the world's longest suspension bridge between anchorages at the time, opens to traffic connecting Michigan's upper and lower peninsulas.
- 1959 – Montreal Canadiens goaltender Jacques Plante wears a protective mask for the first time in an NHL game.
- 1959 – In Rwanda, Hutu politician Dominique Mbonyumutwa is beaten up by Tutsi forces, leading to a period of violence known as thewind of destruction.
- 1960 – While campaigning for President of the United States, John F. Kennedy announces his idea of the Peace Corps.
- 1961 – 50,000 women in 60 cities participate in the inaugural Women Strike for Peace (WSP) against nuclear proliferation.
- 1963 – The Arecibo Observatory in Arecibo, Puerto Rico, with the largest radio telescope ever constructed, officially opens.
- 1963 – The 1963 South Vietnamese coup begins
- 1968 – The Motion Picture Association of America's film rating system is officially introduced, originating with the ratings G, M, R, and X.
- 1970 – Club Cinq-Sept fire in Saint-Laurent-du-Pont, France kills 146 young people.
- 1973 – Watergate Scandal: Leon Jaworski is appointed as the new Watergate Special Prosecutor.
- 1973 – The Indian state of Mysore is renamed as Karnataka to represent all the regions within Karunadu.
- 1981 – Antigua and Barbuda gain independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1982 – Honda becomes the first Asian automobile company to produce cars in the United States with the opening of their factory inMarysville, Ohio. The Honda Accord is the first car produced there.
- 1993 – The Maastricht Treaty takes effect, formally establishing the European Union.
- 2000 – Serbia joins the United Nations.
Births[edit]
- 846 – Louis the Stammerer, French king (d. 879)
- 1339 – Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria (d. 1365)
- 1351 – Leopold III, Duke of Austria (d. 1386)
- 1526 – Catherine Jagellon, Polish wife of John III of Sweden (d. 1583)
- 1530 – Étienne de La Boétie, French judge and philosopher (d. 1563)
- 1539 – Pierre Pithou, French lawyer and scholar (d. 1596)
- 1549 – Anna of Austria, Queen of Spain (d. 1580)
- 1567 – Diego Sarmiento de Acuña, 1st Count of Gondomar, Spanish diplomat (d. 1626)
- 1585 – Jan Brożek, Polish mathematician, physician, and astronomer (d. 1652)
- 1607 – Georg Philipp Harsdorffer, German poet (d. 1658)
- 1611 – François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-French military commander (d. 1656)
- 1625 – Oliver Plunkett, Irish archbishop (d. 1681)
- 1636 – Nicolas Boileau-Despréaux, French poet and critic (d. 1711)
- 1643 – John Strype, English historian and author (d. 1737)
- 1661 – Florent Carton Dancourt, French actor and playwright (d. 1725)
- 1666 – James Sherard, English botanist (d. 1738)
- 1704 – Paul Daniel Longolius, German editor (d. 1779)
- 1720 – Toussaint-Guillaume Picquet de la Motte, French admiral (d. 1791)
- 1727 – Ivan Shuvalov, Russian educator (d. 1797)
- 1757 – Antonio Canova, Italian sculptor (d. 1822)
- 1762 – Spencer Perceval, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1812)
- 1769 – Garlieb Merkel, Baltic German writer and activist (d. 1850)
- 1778 – Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden (d. 1837)
- 1782 – F. J. Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1859)
- 1808 – John Taylor, English-American religious leader, 3rd President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1887)
- 1831 – Harry Atkinson, New Zealand politician, 13th Prime Minister of New Zealand (d. 1892)
- 1838 – 11th Dalai Lama (d. 1856)
- 1839 – Pál Luthár Slovene writer in Hungary (d. 1919)
- 1847 – Emma Albani, Canadian soprano (d. 1930)
- 1847 – Hiep Hoa, Vietnamese emperor (d. 1883)
- 1852 – Honinbo Shuei, Japanese Go player (d. 1907)
- 1859 – Charles Brantley Aycock, American politician, 50th Governor of North Carolina (d. 1912)
- 1860 – Boies Penrose, American lawyer and politician (d. 1921)
- 1862 – Johan Wagenaar, Dutch organist and composer (d. 1941)
- 1864 – Princess Elisabeth of Hesse and by Rhine (d. 1918)
- 1871 – Stephen Crane, American journalist, author, and poet (d. 1900)
- 1872 – Louis Dewis, Belgian-French painter (d. 1946)
- 1877 – Roger Quilter, English composer (d. 1953)
- 1878 – Konrad Mägi, Estonian painter (d. 1925)
- 1878 – Carlos Saavedra Lamas, Argentine politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
- 1880 – Sholem Asch, Polish-American author (d. 1957)
- 1880 – Grantland Rice, American journalist (d. 1954)
- 1880 – Alfred Wegener, German meteorologist and geophysicist (d. 1930)
- 1881 – Perikles Ioannidis, Greek admiral (d. 1965)
- 1881 – Edward Van Sloan, American actor (d. 1964)
- 1886 – Hermann Broch, Austrian author (d. 1951)
- 1886 – Sakutarō Hagiwara, Japanese poet (d. 1942)
- 1887 – L. S. Lowry, English painter (d. 1976)
- 1888 – George Kenner, German painter (d. 1971)
- 1889 – Hannah Höch, German painter and photographer (d. 1978)
- 1889 – Philip Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker, English politician and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1982)
- 1896 – Edmund Blunden, English poet, author, and critic (d. 1974)
- 1898 – Arthur Legat, Belgian race car driver (d. 1960)
- 1902 – Nordahl Grieg, Norwegian poet (d. 1943)
- 1902 – Eugen Jochum, German conductor (d. 1987)
- 1903 – Max Adrian, Irish actor (d. 1973)
- 1903 – Edward Greeves, Australian footballer (d. 1963)
- 1905 – Paul-Émile Borduas, Canadian painter (d. 1960)
- 1906 – Johnny Indrisano, American boxer and actor (d. 1968)
- 1907 – Maxie Rosenbloom, American boxer and actor (d. 1976)
- 1911 – Henri Troyat, French author and historian (d. 2007)
- 1912 – Gunther Plaut, German-Canadian rabbi and author (d. 2012)
- 1914 – Moshe Teitelbaum, Hungarian rabbi (d. 2006)
- 1917 – Siegfried Jamrowski, German pilot (d. 2012)
- 1917 – R.W.B. Lewis, American literary scholar and critic (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Clarence E. Miller, American politician (d. 2011)
- 1917 – Margaret Taylor-Burroughs, American painter, co-founded the DuSable Museum of African American History (d. 2010)
- 1918 – Hermann Braun, American-German actor (d. 1945)
- 1919 – Hermann Bondi, English-Austrian mathematician and cosmologist (d. 2005)
- 1920 – James Kilpatrick, American journalist (d. 2010)
- 1920 – Ted Lowe, English sportscaster (d. 2011)
- 1921 – John W. Peterson, American songwriter (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Harald Quandt, German businessman (d. 1967)
- 1922 – George S. Irving, American actor
- 1923 – Victoria de los Ángeles, Spanish soprano (d. 2005)
- 1923 – Gordon R. Dickson, Canadian author (d. 2001)
- 1923 – Menachem Elon, Israeli jurist and educator (d. 2013)
- 1924 – Süleyman Demirel, Turkish politician, 9th President of Turkey
- 1924 – Jean-Luc Pépin, Canadian politician (d. 1995)
- 1924 – Colette Renard, French actress and singer (d. 2010)
- 1926 – Lou Donaldson, American saxophonist and composer
- 1926 – Olaf Kopvillem, Estonian-Canadian humorist and songwriter (d. 1997)
- 1926 – Betsy Palmer, American actress
- 1927 – Victor Pellot, Puerto Rican baseball player (d. 2005)
- 1928 – Emmaline Henry, American actress (d. 1979)
- 1929 – Nicholas Mavroules, American politician (d. 2003)
- 1930 – A. R. Gurney, American playwright and author
- 1931 – Yossef Gutfreund, Israeli wrestling judge (d. 1972)
- 1931 – Chosuke Ikariya, Japanese comedian and actor (d. 2004)
- 1931 – Shunsuke Kikuchi, Japanese composer
- 1932 – Al Arbour, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1932 – Francis Arinze, Nigerian cardinal
- 1932 – John Clark, English actor, director, and producer
- 1933 – Antoine Kohn, Luxembourgian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
- 1934 – Umberto Agnelli, Swiss-Italian businessman and politician (d. 2004)
- 1934 – Gillian Knight, English soprano and actress
- 1934 – William Mathias, Welsh composer (d. 1992)
- 1935 – Gary Player, South African golfer
- 1935 – Edward Said, Palestinian-American theoretician (d. 2003)
- 1936 – Eddie Colman, English footballer (d. 1958)
- 1936 – Katsuhisa Hattori, Japanese composer
- 1936 – Shizuka Kamei, Japanese politician
- 1937 – Bill Anderson, American singer-songwriter
- 1939 – Barbara Bosson, American actress
- 1940 – Ramesh Chandra Lahoti, Indian jurist, 35th Chief Justice of India
- 1940 – Barry Sadler, American soldier, author, and singer (d. 1989)
- 1941 – Alfio Basile, Argentine footballer and coach
- 1941 – Robert Foxworth, American actor
- 1942 – Larry Flynt, American publisher, founded Larry Flynt Publications
- 1942 – Ralph Klein, Canadian politician, 12th Premier of Alberta (d. 2013)
- 1942 – Marcia Wallace, American actress (d. 2013)
- 1943 – Salvatore Adamo, Italian-Belgian singer-songwriter
- 1943 – Jacques Attali, French economist and civil servant
- 1943 – John McEnery, English actor
- 1944 – Kinky Friedman, American singer-songwriter and author
- 1944 – Bobby Heenan, American wrestling manager and commentator
- 1944 – Oscar Temaru, French-Polynesian politician, President of French Polynesia
- 1946 – Ric Grech, French-English bass player (Family, Ginger Baker's Air Force, Blind Faith, and Traffic) (d. 1990)
- 1946 – Dennis Muren, American special effects artist
- 1946 – Lynne Russell, American journalist
- 1947 – Jim Steinman, American songwriter and producer
- 1948 – Phil Myre, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1948 – Amani Abeid Karume, President of Zanzibar
- 1949 – David Foster, Canadian singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer (Skylark, Attitudes, and Airplay)
- 1949 – Michael D. Griffin, American physicist and engineer
- 1950 – Mitch Kapor, American computer programmer and businessman, founded Lotus Software and Electronic Frontier Foundation
- 1950 – Robert B. Laughlin, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1950 – Dan Peek, American guitarist (America) (d. 2011)
- 1951 – Ronald Bell, American singer-songwriter, saxophonist, and producer (Kool & the Gang)
- 1951 – Fabrice Luchini, French actor
- 1951 – Belita Moreno, American actress
- 1953 – Jan Davis, American astronaut
- 1955 – Beth Leavel, American actress and singer
- 1955 – Mike Mendoza, English radio host and politician
- 1957 – Lyle Lovett, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1957 – Peter Ostrum, American actor
- 1957 – Carlos Paião, Portuguese singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
- 1958 – Joe DeRenzo, American drummer, composer, and producer
- 1958 – Charlie Kaufman, American screenwriter, director, and producer
- 1958 – Jim Steinmeyer, American magician and author
- 1958 – Rachel Ticotin, American actress
- 1958 – Robert Hart; English rock vocalist and songwriter (Bad Company and Manfred Mann's Earth Band)
- 1959 – Susanna Clarke, British author
- 1959 – Eriko Hara, Japanese voice actress
- 1960 – Tim Cook, American businessman
- 1960 – Fernando Valenzuela, Mexican baseball player
- 1961 – Louise Boije af Gennäs, Swedish author and screenwriter
- 1961 – Nicky Grist, Welsh race car driver
- 1961 – Calvin Johnson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Beat Happening, The Halo Benders, Dub Narcotic Sound System, The Microphones, Cool Rays, and The Go Team)
- 1961 – Kim Krizan, American screenwriter
- 1962 – Sharron Davies, English swimmer
- 1962 – Magne Furuholmen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist (A-ha and Apparatjik)
- 1962 – Anthony Kiedis, American singer-songwriter and actor (Red Hot Chili Peppers)
- 1963 – Rick Allen, English drummer (Def Leppard)
- 1963 – Mark Hughes, Welsh footballer
- 1963 – Big Kenny, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Big & Rich)
- 1963 – Katja Riemann, German actress
- 1964 – Karen Marie Moning, American author
- 1964 – Daran Norris, American actor
- 1965 – Inka Friedrich, German actress
- 1965 – Patrik Ringborg, Swedish conductor
- 1966 – Barbara Becker, German actress and model
- 1966 – Willie D, American rapper and producer (The Geto Boys)
- 1966 – Mary Hansen, Australian singer and guitarist (Stereolab) (d. 2002)
- 1967 – Tina Arena, Australian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1967 – Sophie B. Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Carla van de Puttelaar, Dutch photographer
- 1968 – Park Shin-yang, South Korean actor
- 1969 – Tie Domi, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1971 – Vikram Chatwal, Ethiopian-American businessman
- 1972 – Toni Collette, Australian actress
- 1972 – Paul Dickov, Scottish footballer
- 1972 – Jenny McCarthy, American model, actress, and author
- 1972 – Sean Roberge, Canadian actor (d. 1996)
- 1973 – Assia, Algerian-French singer-songwriter
- 1973 – Geoff Horsfield, English footballer
- 1973 – Aishwarya Rai, Indian model and actress, Miss World 1994
- 1974 – V. V. S. Laxman, Indian cricketer
- 1975 – Bo Bice, American singer-songwriter
- 1975 – Megan Wing, Canadian figure skater
- 1976 – Sergei Artyukhin, Russian-Belarusian wrestler (d. 2012)
- 1976 – Matt Chapman, American voice actor
- 1976 – Logan Marshall-Green, American actor
- 1978 – Tyler Reks, American wrestler
- 1978 – Mary Kate Schellhardt, American actress
- 1978 – Jessica Valenti, American blogger
- 1978 – Manju Warrier, Indian actress
- 1979 – Coco Crisp, American baseball player
- 1979 – Luís Delgado, Angolan footballer
- 1979 – Milan Dudić, Serbian footballer
- 1981 – LaTavia Roberson, American singer-songwriter (Destiny's Child)
- 1982 – Bradley Orr, English footballer
- 1982 – Warren Spragg, English-Italian rugby player
- 1982 – Tanel Toom, Estonian director
- 1983 – Matt Moulson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1983 – Yuko Ogura, Japanese model and singer
- 1983 – Josh Wicks, American soccer player
- 1983 – Jon Wilkin, English rugby player
- 1984 – Miloš Krasić, Serbian footballer
- 1984 – Natalia Tena, English actress and singer
- 1986 – Penn Badgley, American actor
- 1987 – Ileana D'Cruz, Indian actress
- 1988 – Aditya Dev, Indian bodybuilder (d. 2012)
- 1988 – Ai Fukuhara, Japanese table tennis player
- 1988 – Masahiro Tanaka, Japanese baseball player
- 1991 – Eyþór Arnarson, Icelandic skiier
- 1991 – Reece Brown, English footballer
- 1993 – Dillon Lane, American actor
- 1997 – Alex Wolff, American actor and singer (Nat & Alex Wolff)
Deaths[edit]
- 955 – Henry I, Duke of Bavaria (b. 921)
- 1296 – Guillaume Durand, French bishop (b. 1230)
- 1391 – Amadeus VII, Count of Savoy (b. 1360)
- 1399 – John V, Duke of Brittany (b. 1339)
- 1546 – Giulio Romano, Italian painter (b. 1499)
- 1588 – Jean Daurat, French poet (b. 1508)
- 1596 – Pierre Pithou, French lawyer and scholar (b. 1539)
- 1642 – Jean Nicolet, French explorer (b. 1598)
- 1676 – Gisbertus Voetius, Dutch theologian (b. 1589)
- 1678 – William Coddington, American politician, 1st Governor of Rhode Island (b. 1601)
- 1700 – Charles II of Spain (b. 1661)
- 1814 – Alexander Samoylov, Russian general and politician (b. 1744)
- 1888 – Nikolay Przhevalsky, Russian geographer (b. 1838)
- 1894 – Alexander III of Russia (b. 1845)
- 1903 – Theodor Mommsen, German politician, scholar, and historian, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1817)
- 1907 – Alfred Jarry, French author and playwright (b. 1873)
- 1924 – Bill Tilghman, American police officer (b. 1854)
- 1938 – Charles Weeghman, American businessman (b. 1874)
- 1942 – Hugo Distler, German composer (b. 1908)
- 1947 – Man o' War, American racehorse (b. 1917)
- 1952 – Dixie Lee. American actress, singer, and dancer (b. 1911)
- 1955 – Dale Carnegie, American author (b. 1888)
- 1962 – Ricardo Rodríguez, Mexican race car driver (b. 1942)
- 1968 – Georgios Papandreou, Greek politician, Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1888)
- 1970 – Robert Staughton Lynd, American sociologist (b. 1892)
- 1972 – Robert MacArthur, American ecologist (b. 1930)
- 1972 – Ezra Pound, American poet (b. 1885)
- 1979 – Mamie Eisenhower, American wife of Dwight D. Eisenhower, 36th First Lady of the United States (b. 1896)
- 1982 – James Broderick, American actor (b. 1927)
- 1982 – King Vidor, American director (b. 1894)
- 1983 – Anthony van Hoboken, Dutch musicologist (b. 1887)
- 1984 – Norman Krasna, American screenwriter and director (b. 1909)
- 1985 – Arnold Pihlak, Estonian footballer (b. 1902)
- 1985 – Phil Silvers, American actor and comedian (b. 1911)
- 1986 – Serge Garant, Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1929)
- 1987 – René Lévesque, Canadian journalist and politician, 23rd Premier of Quebec (b. 1922)
- 1993 – Severo Ochoa, Spanish biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1905)
- 1993 – A. N. Sherwin-White, English historian (b. 1911)
- 1994 – Noah Beery, Jr., American actor (b. 1913)
- 1996 – Junius Richard Jayewardene, Sri Lankan politician, 2nd President of Sri Lanka (b. 1906)
- 1999 – Jean Coutu, Canadian actor (b. 1925)
- 1999 – Theodore Hall, American physicist and spy (b. 1925)
- 1999 – Walter Payton, American football player (b. 1954)
- 2000 – Bernard Erhard, American voice actor (b. 1934)
- 2001 – John S. Romanides, Greek priest, author, and educator (b. 1928)
- 2004 – Mac Dre, American rapper and producer (b. 1970)
- 2004 – Terry Knight, American singer-songwriter and producer (Terry Knight and the Pack) (b. 1943)
- 2005 – Skitch Henderson, English pianist, conductor, and composer (b. 1918)
- 2005 – Michael Piller, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1948)
- 2006 – Adrienne Shelly, American actress (b. 1966)
- 2006 – William Styron, American author (b. 1925)
- 2007 – S. Ali Raza, Indian director and screenwriter (b. 1922)
- 2007 – Paul Tibbets, American general (b. 1915)
- 2008 – Nathaniel Mayer, American singer (b. 1944)
- 2008 – Jacques Piccard, Swiss oceanographer and engineer (b. 1922)
- 2008 – Shakir Stewart, American music producer (b. 1974)
- 2008 – Yma Sumac, Peruvian soprano (b. 1922)
- 2009 – Esther Hautzig, Polish-born American writer (b. 1930)
- 2009 – Robert Rines, American violinist and composer (b. 1922)
- 2010 – Charlie O'Donnell, American game show announcer (b. 1932)
- 2010 – Ernesto Presas, Filipino martial artist (b. 1945)
- 2010 – Shannon Tavarez, American actress (b. 1999)
- 2011 – Dorothy Howell Rodham, American mother of Hillary Rodham Clinton (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Brad Armstrong, American wrestler (b. 1961)
- 2012 – Chong Chee Kin, Singaporean journalist (b. 1973)
- 2012 – Agustín García Calvo, Spanish philosopher and poet (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Geoffrey Lofthouse, Baron Lofthouse of Pontefract, English politician (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Jan Louwers, Dutch footballer (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Pascual Pérez, Dominican baseball player (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Omry Ronen, American academic (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Jonathan Street, English author (b. 1943)
- 2012 – Edwin Q. White, American journalist (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Chen Zude, Chinese Go player (b. 1944)
- 2012 - Mitch Lucker, lead vocalist of American heavy metal band, Suicide Silence (b. 1984)
Holidays and observances[edit]
- All Saints Day, a Holy Day of Obligation (Roman Catholic Church. A holiday in Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Chile, Croatia,Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Guatemala, Hungary, Italy, Lebanon, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta (for schools only), Mauritius,Mexico, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and parts of Switzerland.)
- Andhra Pradesh Formation Day (Andhra Pradesh)
- Christian Feast Day:
- Coronation of the fifth Druk Gyalpo (Bhutan)
- Day of the Innocents, The first day of Day of the Dead or El Dia de los Muertos celebration. (Mexico) & (Haiti)
- Day of the leaders of the Bulgarian National Revival (Bulgaria)
- Haryana Foundation Day (Haryana)
- Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Antigua and Barbuda from the United Kingdom in 1981.
- Karnataka Foundation Day (Karnataka)
- Kerala Foundation Day (Kerala)
- National day (Algeria)
- Samhain in the Northern Hemisphere and Beltaine in the Southern hemisphere, celebrations start at sunset of October 31 (NeopaganWheel of the Year)
- World Vegan Day (International)
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.” 1 Peter 5:8-9NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
"Renew a right spirit within me."
Psalm 51:10
Psalm 51:10
A backslider, if there be a spark of life left in him will groan after restoration. In this renewal the same exercise of grace is required as at our conversion. We needed repentance then; we certainly need it now. We wanted faith that we might come to Christ at first; only the like grace can bring us to Jesus now. We wanted a word from the Most High, a word from the lip of the loving One, to end our fears then; we shall soon discover, when under a sense of present sin, that we need it now. No man can be renewed without as real and true a manifestation of the Holy Spirit's energy as he felt at first, because the work is as great, and flesh and blood are as much in the way now as ever they were. Let thy personal weakness, O Christian, be an argument to make thee pray earnestly to thy God for help. Remember, David when he felt himself to be powerless, did not fold his arms or close his lips, but he hastened to the mercy-seat with "renew a right spirit within me." Let not the doctrine that you, unaided, can do nothing, make you sleep; but let it be a goad in your side to drive you with an awful earnestness to Israel's strong Helper. O that you may have grace to plead with God, as though you pleaded for your very life--"Lord, renew a right spirit within me." He who sincerely prays to God to do this, will prove his honesty by using the means through which God works. Be much in prayer; live much upon the Word of God; kill the lusts which have driven your Lord from you; be careful to watch over the future uprisings of sin. The Lord has his own appointed ways; sit by the wayside and you will be ready when he passes by. Continue in all those blessed ordinances which will foster and nourish your dying graces; and, knowing that all the power must proceed from him, cease not to cry, "Renew a right spirit within me."
Evening
"I did know thee in the wilderness, in the land of great drought."
Hosea 13:5
Hosea 13:5
Yes, Lord, thou didst indeed know me in my fallen state, and thou didst even then choose me for thyself. When I was loathsome and self-abhorred, thou didst receive me as thy child, and thou didst satisfy my craving wants. Blessed forever be thy name for this free, rich, abounding mercy. Since then, my inward experience has often been a wilderness; but thou hast owned me still as thy beloved, and poured streams of love and grace into me to gladden me, and make me fruitful. Yea, when my outward circumstances have been at the worst, and I have wandered in a land of drought, thy sweet presence has solaced me. Men have not known me when scorn has awaited me, but thou hast known my soul in adversities, for no affliction dims the lustre of thy love. Most gracious Lord, I magnify thee for all thy faithfulness to me in trying circumstances, and I deplore that I should at any time have forgotten thee and been exalted in heart, when I have owed all to thy gentleness and love. Have mercy upon thy servant in this thing!
My soul, if Jesus thus acknowledged thee in thy low estate, be sure that thou own both himself and his cause now that thou art in thy prosperity. Be not lifted up by thy worldly successes so as to be ashamed of the truth or of the poor church with which thou hast been associated. Follow Jesus into the wilderness: bear the cross with him when the heat of persecution grows hot. He owned thee, O my soul, in thy poverty and shame--never be so treacherous as to be ashamed of him. O for more shame at the thought of being ashamed of my best Beloved! Jesus, my soul cleaveth to thee.
"I'll turn to thee in days of light,
As well as nights of care,
Thou brightest amid all that's bright!
Thou fairest of the fair!"
===
Today's reading: Jeremiah 22-23, Titus 1 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Jeremiah 22-23
Judgment Against Wicked Kings
1 This is what the LORD says: “Go down to the palace of the king of Judah and proclaim this message there: 2‘Hear the word of the LORD to you, king of Judah, you who sit on David’s throne—you, your officials and your people who come through these gates. 3 This is what the LORD says: Do what is just and right. Rescue from the hand of the oppressor the one who has been robbed. Do no wrong or violence to the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow, and do not shed innocent blood in this place. 4 For if you are careful to carry out these commands, then kings who sit on David’s throne will come through the gates of this palace, riding in chariots and on horses, accompanied by their officials and their people. 5 But if you do not obey these commands, declares the LORD, I swear by myself that this palace will become a ruin.’”
6 For this is what the LORD says about the palace of the king of Judah:
“Though you are like Gilead to me,
like the summit of Lebanon,
I will surely make you like a wasteland,
like towns not inhabited.
7 I will send destroyers against you,
each man with his weapons,
and they will cut up your fine cedar beams
and throw them into the fire....
like the summit of Lebanon,
I will surely make you like a wasteland,
like towns not inhabited.
7 I will send destroyers against you,
each man with his weapons,
and they will cut up your fine cedar beams
and throw them into the fire....
Today's New Testament reading: Titus 1
1 Paul, a servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ to further the faith of God’s elect and their knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness— 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who does not lie, promised before the beginning of time, 3and which now at his appointed season he has brought to light through the preaching entrusted to me by the command of God our Savior,
4 To Titus, my true son in our common faith:
Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.
Appointing Elders Who Love What Is Good
5 The reason I left you in Crete was that you might put in order what was left unfinished and appoint elders in every town, as I directed you. 6 An elder must be blameless, faithful to his wife, a man whose children believe and are not open to the charge of being wild and disobedient. 7 Since an overseer manages God’s household, he must be blameless—not overbearing, not quick-tempered, not given to drunkenness, not violent, not pursuing dishonest gain. 8 Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. 9 He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it....
===
Ruth
The Woman Who Rose From Obscurity to Riches
Scripture References - The Book of Ruth, Matthew 1:5
Name Meaning - Since the Ruth of ancient Bible times, her name has ever been a most popular one for girls. Elsdon C. Smith, in his compilation of the first hundred female names in America, places Ruth seventh in the list, with an estimated number of almost one and a half million bearing the name. The author's only daughter bears this honored name. As to its significance, we cannot do better than the interpretation Wilkinson gives us in his Personal Names of the Bible, in the chapter on "Heathen Names" -
The most distinguished person of the Moabitish race is Ruth, who became the wife of Boaz, and ancestress of David. Her name is a contraction of reuth , which may either be the word for "the act of seeing," "sight" and hence, as in English, objectively "a sight," "something worth seeing" - or the word for "friendship" or "a female friend," like reu in Reuel, "friend of God." If the former etymology be adopted, we must ascribe the name to the early beauty of the child; if the latter, it may be due to the exhibition in infancy of that amiable and affectionate disposition which was so characteristic of the woman.
Both meanings of the name were true of Ruth, for as a beautiful girl from Moab she was certainly a sight worth seeing, and her character revealed her to be a woman capable of rare friendship.
It took the grace of God to befriend a bitter woman as Naomi became, but Ruth was bound to her mother-in-law by the cords of love, and literature has no exhibition of friendship comparable to that dramatic episode on the way to Bethlehem (Ruth 1:16, 17 ). Not wanting to go back to Moab, as Orpah did, Ruth, cleaving to Naomi said with passion in her voice -
Intreat me not to leave thee, or to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest, I will go; and where thou lodgest, I will lodge: thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God:
Where thou diest, will I die, and there will I be buried: the Lorddo so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me.
What an appealing and stirring demonstration of undying friendship that was, and Ruth meant it, and through it changed Naomi's sourness into sweetness! We have dear friends like Ruth who cling to us, and others like Orpah whose friendship is only veneer and who quickly leave us (see Naomi and Orpah). Scripture gives us a fivefold profile of this famous Moabitess -
A Young Widow
The first glimpse we have of Ruth is as a young wife robbed by death of her husband. In our previous cameos of Naomi and Orpah we have already seen how Elimelech and his wife, along with their two sons Mahlon and Chilion, in order to escape prevailing famine in Bethlehem, emigrated to the neighboring country of Moab, the inhabitants of which were idolaters. After a while Elimelech died, and the two fatherless sons married women of Moab. Mahlon took Ruth to wife, and Chilion, Orpah. After some ten years' sojourn in Moab, Mahlon and Chilion died leaving their wives childless. In marrying women of Moab those two Hebrew men sinned against the Mosaic Law which prohibted any association with the idolatrous Moabites (Deuteronomy 7:3; 23:3).
Mahlon means "the sickly one," or "invalid"; Chilion, "the pining one," or "wasting away" - names probably associated with their natal frailty. They may have been twins, and from their birth Naomi had to surround them with great care and attention. This is evident that life in Moab, with all its food and comfort, hastened their end. Like their father, Elimelech, they found graves in foreign soil, and the desolation of widowhood came upon both Ruth and Orpah, who became sharers of Naomi's desolation. Ten years of widowhood brought the two younger women to a mature age. How far they had been influenced Godward by their marriage into a Hebrew family, with its recognition of God, and not their idols, as the only true object of worship, we are not told. As Ruth's husband, Mahlon, was the first-born of Elimelech and Naomi, we can imagine how he would strive through their years together to draw her from her heathen ways. With all we know of Ruth's honest nature, it is quite possible that she warmly received all her husband told her of the mighty Jehovah.
Bereft of her husband, Ruth, as well as Orpah, would be left without material resources of support, and would face the hard and bitter lot of a biting poverty, as many widows do when the breadwinner is taken. But if Ruth shed any tears over her sorry plight as she faced a gloomy future without her husband, there is no record of them. She did not seek for self-pity neither did she manifest the bitterness that had gripped the heart of Naomi because of her sad lot. Amid the shadows, Ruth maintained a poise and a serenity which even her mother-in-law must have coveted. When happy homes are ravaged by death, it requires grace to say, "The Lord gave, the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." Naomi's self-confessed bitterness over the loss of husband and sons spoke of her lack of faith in God's good providence. But Ruth, heathen though she may have been, seems to have calmly acquiesced in the divine will.
A Faithful Daughter-in-Law
Bound together by a bond of common grief, the three widows found consolation in each other's company. "Fellow-feeling, makes us wondrous kind." The widowed Naomi, now bereft of her two sons who died childless, had no links with Moab. As famine had passed in Bethlehem, the decision was made to pull up stakes and return to her own country and people, perhaps with a faint hope that God would prove Himself to be the Guardian of widows. "Let thy widows trust in me." What about Ruth and Orpah? Deeply attached to their mother-in-law, who had become a second mother to them, and to whom they clung as their friend and counselor, they decided to accompany the pilgrim on her way. Naomi used no persuasion, but left the two young widows to make their own choice. Therefore all three left Moab together, but on the way they stopped and Naomi urged them to return to their own country, marry again and settle down. She did not want them to face uncertainty in a strange land. With poor Orpah, ties of kindred and her own idolatrous practices won out. Her heart failed, and kissing her mother-in-law she went back to her people and to her gods. It is possible that when among her heathen friends again, her conscience often whispered to her of the wrong course taken.
As for Ruth, the choice was different. She loved Naomi and was willing to leave her own land and share the unknown future with the aging woman in whom her life was bound up. In her happier days with Mahlon, and then in her desolation and bereavement, Ruth found in Naomi a home for her heart. Orpah manifested a show of passionate affection as she kissed her mother-in-law good-by! But Ruth, as always, revealed a quiet fidelity so characteristic of her association with the embittered woman now returning to Bethlehem. We agree with the sentiment of Alexander Whyte that there is not a love story comparable to the love of the Moabite daughter-in-law for her Hebrew mother-in-law.
Ruth's love for her dead husband's aged mother is as pure as gold and as strong as death. Many waters cannot quench Ruth's love. And her confession of her love, when she is constrained to confess it, is the most beautiful confession of love in all the world.
Ruth's declaration of love and loyalty for Naomi marks it out as being the purest and most unselfish form of devotion, especially when we remember that Naomi was more than twice the age of Ruth, and that, proverbially, it is not easy to live with a mother-in-law. Here we have a strong contradiction to modern flippancy - the passionate affection of a young widow for her widowed mother-in-law. History and literature cannot provide a more exquisite expression of love and loyalty as that to be found in the lovely idyll bearing the name of the lover herself. The matchless beauty of the character of Ruth appeared when she cried, "Intreat me not to leave thee." As A. S. Geden puts it, "The piety and fidelity of Ruth are early exhibited in the course of the narrative, in that she refused to abandon her mother-in-law, although thrice exhorted to do so by Naomi herself, on account of her own great age, and the better prospects for Ruth in her own country." In an age like ours with its ever growing number of strained relationships, broken homes and loveless lives it is most refreshing to go back to the charming picture of loyalty found in a short yet sublime book in which every prospect pleases.
A Determined Convert
In spite of her heathen background and association with the degenerated tribe of Moab, Ruth became a devout worshiper of the true God. Just when she cast off her idolatry with its folly of bowing down to gods of wood and stone, and turned to the beauty and blessedness of true religion we are not told. Perhaps in her somewhat short married life, her heart was stirred by what her husband told her of the greatness of Jehovah. Then she must have seen that Naomi's God was totally different from the lifeless deity she worshiped. This much is evident, that her outburst of song of life devotion on the road from Moab to Bethlehem was the birth-strain of a new life. From henceforth the Hebrews would be her people, and Naomi's God her God. Her new-found faith constrained her to say, "The Lord do so to me, and more also, if aught but death part thee and me."
Had Ruth accompanied Orpah to Moab and to obscurity, she would have returned to the altars of Baal. But now with God in her heart, she longed to live with those people "whose God is the Lord." Faith burst forth into the light of day, took the form of quiet, humble service, and remained untainted by any trace of pride or of spiritual haughtiness, as Kuyper expresses it. To which we can add the sentiment of Fausset that, "Ruth is an instance of natural affection made instrumental in leading to true religion. A blossom of heathendom stretching its flower cup desiringly towards the light of revelation in Israel."
The firm decision of Ruth to follow Jehovah, and to completely identify herself with His people, brought her a rich reward when she became the ancestress of the Saviour who came into the world to save idolaters and sinners of every race. With her surrender to the claims of God, Ruth's "beauty of heart, generosity of soul, firm sense of duty and meekness" were sanctified, and were used to place her winsome portrait among the immortals. There are thousands of Christian parents whose heavy load would be lifted if only their unsaved children would come home one day confessing. "Thy God shall be my God, thy people my people." The miracle happened in the heathen heart of Ruth, and God is still the same today as when He won the young widow of Moab for Himself.
A Humble Gleaner
Back in Bethlehem, Naomi was reminded of how her afflictions had changed her. Friends found it hard to believe that this was the beautiful woman who had left them ten years before. At that time she was clothed so well, but now she is clad in a poor and sorrowful dress. Her brow was wrinkled and her back bent, but by her side was the "foreigner," to share her sorrow, and to taste any joys that might come to her. At first it seemed as if they were to remain desolate and uncared for, but fortunately it was harvest time, and the golden sheaves were being gathered in. Naomi and Ruth must live, and Ruth, with her characteristic thoughtfulness, knew that her aged mother-in-law was not able to work. Thus she went out and was directed to join the poor gleaners in the fields of the rich, godly landowner, Boaz.
We find ourselves in disagreement with those who try to portray Ruth as a lonely girl overcome with homesickness for her old Moabite friends as she bent her back to glean in an unfamiliar field. In his Ode to a Nightingale, Keats sought to immortalize such a feeling in the arrestive lines -
Perhaps the self-same song that found a path Thro' the sad heart of Ruth, when, sick for home, She stood in tears amid the alien corn.
There is no trace whatever of such a doleful note in the record of Ruth. Having deliberately severed all association with Moab, she found joy among the strange people whom she had made her people, and when she went forth that bright morning to follow the reapers, it was with joy and confidence that the God under whose wings she had come to trust would undertake for her. Thus we much prefer the beautiful tribute Thomas Hood gives us in his poem on Ruth.
She stood breast-high amid the corn,
Clasped by the golden light of morn,
Like the sweetheart of the sun,
Who many a glowing kiss had won.
On her cheek an autumn flush,
Deeply ripened - such a blush
In the midst of Brown was born,
Like red poppies grown with corn.
Round her eyes her tresses fell,
Which were blackest none could tell,
But long lashes veiled a light,
That had else been all too bright.
And her hat, with shady brim,
Made her tressy forehead dim -
Thus she stood amid the stooks,
Praising God with sweetest looks.
"Sure," I said, "Heav'n did not mean,
Where I reap thou should'st but glean;
Lay thy sheaf adown and come,
Share my harvest and my home."
Ruth was not ashamed of the low order of her work as she took her place as a gleaner with the poor and outcast. The sacred historian tells us that as Ruth went out to secure food for Naomi and herself that it was "her hap to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech." But her entrance into the field of Boaz, and not into another man's field, did not just happen. Under Jewish law Ruth had the right to glean in any harvest field. It was no mere chance, then, that brought Boaz and Ruth together, for even the steps of God's children are directed by Him. In His plan for His own there is no such a thing as luck . Determined not to eat the bread of idleness, industrious Ruth walked right into the arms of divine providence. Little did she dream that she would become the much-loved wife of the master of the field in which the reapers had given her a friendly welcome (Ruth 2:12;Psalms 17:8; 36:7).
Being one who feared God, and one who cared for the poor, Boaz went among his reapers, spoke kindly to them, and earned their benediction. Coming upon Ruth he was arrested by her staid and modest look. Although poorly clad there was a dignity in her mien, a refinement giving her distinction, and Boaz is arrested by her beauty and personality. Making inquiries about her, Boaz learns of her sacrifice for Naomi, and of her conversion to the worship of Jehovah (Ruth 2:6, 7 ), and commands the reapers to purposely drop extra sheaves for Ruth's benefit. Boaz also bade Ruth to glean only in his field, and to stand fast by his female workers. He wanted to preserve her from coarse contact with men who might take advantage of such a poor woman, who was in his admiring eyes a superior one. She was not to eat with others but present herself at his feasts.
As for Ruth, her heart was full because kindness had been shown her by a stranger in the solitude of a strange land. How excited she must have been when she reached home and told Naomi all about her good fortune, and showed her all the parched corn she had gathered. Was there a lyric note in Ruth's story of that first day? Had she sensed that somehow Boaz had been strangely attracted to her, hence his generosity in spite of the alien blood in her veins? As for Naomi, when Ruth came to mention the name of her benefactor, Boaz, she recalls the name as that of a kinsman of her deceased husband, Elimelech. It may be that in the mind of Naomi there entered a feeling that perhaps a brighter future may be hers and Ruth's.
An Honored Mother
We all know how matters between Boaz and Ruth developed which caused Goethe to say of the Book of Ruth that "we have nothing so lovely in the whole range of epic and idyllic poetry." The name of Boaz became immortalized because of his loving-kindness toward Ruth, the poor Moabitess, while the kinsman who would not mar his own inheritance is unknown. It turned out that Boaz was one of Naomi's nearest relatives and one of the few remaining kinsmen of her husband's family. Therefore he was able to befriend the widow of Mahlon, Elimelech's son, according to the deep principle pervading the law of Israel regarding the preservation of families. This Levirate Law stated that where a husband died without issue, the nearest brother-in-law (levir) might be called upon by the widow to perform for her all the duties of a husband, and raise up seed for the deceased.
In the case of Ruth, however, no brother-in-law was available seeing the only sons Elimelech had were dead. Consequently, the nearest of kin could be called upon to act as "redeemer" (goel) for the unfortunate, relieving them thereby of their distress. The nearest relative to Ruth by marriage was unable to function as her goel, and being the next relative, Boaz did not shirk his responsibility toward the lovely woman who had won his heart. Before the council of ten men at the city gate he announced before witnesses his decision to buy Ruth's inheritance and marry her. Although bachelor Boaz was advanced in years, he was determined to play his part and as Naomi said, "The man will not rest, until he has finished the thing this day" - and finish it he did! So the idyllic conclusion was reached, with Ruth being lifted out of obscurity into a happy union with Boaz, the mighty man of wealth. This story provides us with one of the first records in world history of a rise from rags to riches, from poverty to plenty.
God smiled upon the marriage of honorable Boaz and virtuous Ruth, and blessed them with a son whom they named Obed which means "a servant who worships." As Ruth was the servant who came to worship Jehovah, we can imagine her son's name as being expressive of her own conversion from idolatry. Through the birth of Obed, who became the father of Jesse, who, in turn was the father of King David, Ruth found herself numbered among the elect, and God wove the thread of her life most intricately into the web of the history of His people, both before and after Christ. A Gentile by birth, Ruth yet became the chosen line through which later the Saviour of the world appeared. As He came to redeem both Jew and Gentile alike, it was fitting that the blood of both should mingle in His veins. "A good name," says Solomon, "is rather to be chosen than riches, and loving favour than silver and gold." Ruth found it so, and thus her good name found a place in the royal genealogy of Jesus (Matthew 1:5 ). As George Matheson so beautifully puts it, "In the soul of Jesus the wedding bells of Ruth and Boaz are rung once more. Here again Moab and Israel meet together. In the heart of the Son of Man the Gentile stands side by side with the Jew as the recipient of a common divine fatherhood."
Those of us who are Christians praise God for Ruth's inclusion in His portrait gallery, for she was the ancestress of Him who, by His death, brought us nigh to God. It was from Boaz, an Israelite without guile, and from Ruth, who became an "Israelite not in race, but in mind; not in blood but faith; not by tribe but by virtue and goodness," that Jesus came as the most perfect expression of all graces.
One could say much of the merits and message of the book to which Ruth gave her name, as well as of the many lessons to be gathered from it. Benjamin Franklin, who was ridiculed at one time in Paris for his defense of the Bible, was determined to find out how much of it his scoffers had read. He informed one of the learned societies that he had come across a story of pastoral life in ancient times that seemed to him very beautiful but he would like the opinion of the society. A night was arranged for Franklin to read to the assembly of scholars a lyric which impressed him. The Bible lover read the Book of Ruth, and when he had finished the scholars were in ecstasies and begged Franklin to print it. "It is already in print," said Franklin. "It is a part of the Bible you ridicule."
There is nothing in the entire range of biography sacred or profane, comparable to the idyllic simplicity, tenderness and beauty of the story of Ruth, the young widow of Moab. There are only two books out of the sixty-six forming the Bible that are named after women. Ruth is one, and the other is Esther - and both books have enchanted succeeding ages. The Jews have a peculiar regard for both books. At their Feast of Purim they read Esther, and at the Feast of Pentecost, the scroll of Ruth. Among the many typical features in the latter, the most outstanding is that of the composition of the true church of Jesus Christ. Ruth was a Gentile, Boaz a Hebrew. Boaz redeemed Ruth's possession and then became her husband. All have sinned, both Jews and Gentiles, but Jesus died for all, and His church is composed of regenerated Jews and Gentiles whom He calls His Bride. Thus "the marriage-bells of Ruth at Bethlehem were the same bells which sounded at the marriage-supper of the Lamb."
From Ruth's outstanding qualities of unselfishness and loyalty we learn that such virtues are the only foundation upon which true happiness can be built. Without them, abiding friendship is impossible, home ties are loose, and the social structure weak. Ruth also teaches us that attractive graciousness is worth cultivating; and that racial hatred and religious bigotry can be solved by a right relationship to Him who made of one blood all nations. Further, the rare literary gem of the Book of Ruth, which takes one some fifteen minutes to read, shows us how our industrial and labor problems can be solved. Boaz was a wealthy farmer, yet he maintained a delightful relation to those who worked for him in a dark, chaotic period of Israelitish history. As he walked through his fields, meeting his servants he would say, "The Lord be with thee," and such was the harmony that prevailed that they would reply, "The Lord bless thee." In our time, the strained relationship between masters and employees would be quickly solved by the application of the good will manifested in those ancient days. Combining as it does all the traits of human life and character, Ruth is a book all can read with both pleasure and profit.
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Job
[Jōb] - hated, one ever returning to god or he that weeps.
[Jōb] - hated, one ever returning to god or he that weeps.
- The third son of Issachar(Gen. 46:13). Called Jashub inNumbers 26:24 and 1 Chronicles 7:1.
- A descendant of Aram, son of Shem, dwelling in Uz, and possibly contemporary with Abraham, and who died at the age of 240 years. References to the patriarch apart from his book are to be found in Ezekiel 14:14 and James 5:11.
The Man of Patience
This renowned Old Testament saint dwelt in the land of Uz on the borders of Idumaea. Job's portrait is clearly defined for us in his dramatic book.
I. As to his character, he was perfect and upright, feared God and eschewed evil (Job 1:1). Here we have the manward, Godward and selfward aspects of his life.
II. As to his family, he had seven sons and three daughters (Job 1:2, 18, 19).
III. As to his possessions, he was a wealthy landowner, having seven thousand sheep, three thousand camels, five hundred yoke of oxen, five hundred she asses and a large household (Job 1:3, 13-19).
IV. As to reputation, Job, who lived long before Israel with its religious, social and political organizations existed, was reckoned as the greatest of all the men of the East (Job 1:3).
V. As to his friends, candid friends, there were Eliphaz, Bildad, Zophar and Elihu ( Job 2:11; 36:1).
VI. As to his foes, we have mention of the Sabeans and Chaldeans (Job 1:15, 17).
VII. As to his sufferings, he lost his property, sons and wealth. But his losses were doubly recompensed (Job 42:11-13).
VIII. As to his prayer-life, Job knew how to seek God. Thus we have restrained prayer (Job 15:4), purity of prayer (Job 16:17), empty prayer ( Job 21:15), profitable prayer (Job 22:27), blessedness of prayer (Job 33:26), interceding prayer (Job 42:8), emancipating prayer (Job 42:10; see 8:5).
IX. As to his patience, the Bible presents him as our model. Faith was strained but Job emerged victorious ( Job 19:1-27; Jas. 5:11).
As to the remarkable book bearing Job's name, the following summary might suffice:
Its purpose. It is not an apologetic vindication of the ways of God to man; not a philosophic proof of the doctrine of immortality; not an argumentative refutation of the so-called Hosaic doctrine of retribution; not a word of exhortation to man not to pry into the deep designs of providence, neither is it the testing and improvement of Job's piety. That is acknowledged by God and admitted by Satan to be perfect. It has been written to prove:
That God can be loved for His own sake; that goodness may be unselfish and disinterested; that the righteous can serve God for nought and trust in Him even when He seems to be an enemy.
That the painful riddle of human life is capable of a blessed solution; that the sufferings of the righteous are not necessarily due to their own sins; that the inequalities of this life are to be redressed in the life to come. Justice will be done somehow, sometime, somewhere.
But the Bible is the Book of Christ, and the great theme of Job is the mystery of the Cross: How can the sufferings of the righteous be reconciled with the justice of God? Job is a type of the righteous man, of the Nation, of the Church and of Christ Himself.
Hence we have in Job the picture of a righteous man suffering because it pleased the Lord, for a wise purpose, to bruise him. God reversed the verdict of the men who rejected him and numbered him among the transgressors.
Key Verse: Job 13:15 . "Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him." This is an Old Testament anticipation of the cry of dereliction that came from Christ upon the Cross: "Why didst Thou forsake me?"
Key Thought: Confidence in God (Job 23:10; 27:2-6). He knoweth. In the depth of his darkness and in the agony of his suffering, Job held on to God. My Redeemer liveth.
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