In 1987, I was busy and desperate, working several jobs to get through university, living in the Liverpool Motel and failing much. I visited a friend in Chatswood. We were hanging at the top of the station steps waiting for my train home. It was getting close to 11pm. A few police come by and order everyone onto the platform. I say my friend lived in Chatswood. They said "Go home." I say my friend lived in Chatswood, but I was catching a train home." One police officer smirked and said "Why, just so you can hold hands?" and I told the two police men to fuck off. I was about twenty years old and did not know what to expect. I was arrogant. My friend was scared, and bolted, as the senior constable unbuttoned his sidearm and rested his hand on the undrawn weapon, and approached me, eyeballing me. He ordered me to produce ID. I had my university library card and a train ticket. They escorted me onto the platform and wanted to know where I was living. I lived in the Liverpool Motel, but felt a friend's place in Lindfield was closer. The two policemen explained they could take me to the station and charge me with obstruction, or take me to a back alley and beat me up if I continued to act smart. It was a humbling introduction to ALP Premier Unsworth's Sydney. I'd never interacted with police before. It illustrates how quickly standards get corroded by pop culture, where a mere twelve years later an arrest able offence became hip and cool and edgy.
Another brand began on this day in 1937. Nylon. Made up of two cities NY and LONdon, according to pop culture. Although it wasn't named that way. It was named after cotton and Rayon, so it ended with ON. NYL was accidental, it was going to be called NURON as in 'no run' but sounded too much like a nerve tonic. But I was born in NYC and my Nanna was born in London. I don't think I will be able to patent that name for any children I might have. But I'm really good on the right pair of legs.
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Happy birthday and many happy returns Andrew Taco Nguyen, Kevin LuctoretEmergo Tran and Favour Erumse. Born on the same day, across the years, along with
- 1032 – Emperor Yingzong of Song (d. 1067)
- 1222 – Nichiren, Japanese monk (d. 1282)
- 1774 – Pierre Rode, French violinist and composer. (d. 1830)
- 1802 – Phineas Quimby, American philosopher (d. 1866)
- 1838 – Henry Adams, American journalist, historian, and author (d. 1918)
- 1896 – Eugénie Blanchard, French super-centenarian (d. 2010)
- 1906 – Vera Menchik, Russian-English chess player (d. 1944)
- 1909 – Richard McDonald, American businessman, co-founded McDonald's (d. 1998)
- 1918 – Patty Andrews, American singer (The Andrews Sisters) (d. 2013)
- 1921 – John Galbraith Graham, English priest and crossword compiler
- 1935 – Sonny Bono, American actor, singer, and politician (Sonny & Cher) (d. 1998)
- 1954 – Iain Banks, Scottish author (d. 2013)
- 1954 – Michael Holding, Jamaican cricketer
- 1956 – Desmond Haynes, Barbadian cricket coach and former player
- 1959 – John McEnroe, American tennis player
- 1995 – Carina Witthöft, German tennis player
Matches
- 116 – Emperor Trajan sends laureatae to the Roman Senate at Rome on account of his victories and being conqueror of Parthia.
- 1852 – Studebaker Brothers wagon company, precursor of the automobile manufacturer, is established.
- 1874 – Silver Dollar becomes legal US tender.
- 1923 – Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
- 1937 – Wallace H. Carothers receives a United States patent for nylon.
- 1940 – World War II: Altmark Incident: The German tanker Altmark is boarded by sailors from the British destroyer HMS Cossack. 299 British prisoners are freed.
- 1960 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Triton begins Operation Sandblast, setting sail from New London, Connecticut, to begin the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe.
- 2006 – The last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army.
Despatches
- 549 – Zhu Yi, Chinese official of the Liang Dynasty (b. 483)
- 1924 – Wilhelm Schmidt, German pioneer of superheated steam for use in locomotives (b. 1858)
Apology foundation perpetuate fable
Piers Akerman – Saturday, February 15, 2014 (11:48pm)
FORMER Prime Minister Kevin Rudd could never be described as self-effacing.
Continue reading 'Apology foundation perpetuate fable'Looking for the truth in beauty
Miranda Devine – Saturday, February 15, 2014 (11:48pm)
IN this selfie era, the tyranny of beauty is inescapable, especially for young women. On social media, girls are defining their self-worth by how many likes or followers their images attract. They pose like pop stars, seeking affirmation of their “hotness”.
Continue reading 'Looking for the truth in beauty'THE LATEST SCIENCE
Tim Blair – Saturday, February 15, 2014 (10:11pm)
I am currently in Los Angeles investigating important climate science. This evening my research led me here, in the company of leading climate authority Iowahawk:
Previously, we inspected the recent scientific work undertaken by Coop at his LA laboratory:
This is the scene at Musso and Frank’s heat investigation unit:
Among that night’s climate study group was none other than turbo genius Gale Banks, creator of several eco-awaremicro-vehicles. Investigations continue.
Previously, we inspected the recent scientific work undertaken by Coop at his LA laboratory:
This is the scene at Musso and Frank’s heat investigation unit:
Among that night’s climate study group was none other than turbo genius Gale Banks, creator of several eco-awaremicro-vehicles. Investigations continue.
The Left’s myths are destroying Aboriginal children
Andrew Bolt February 16 2014 (7:54am)
The media Left’s addiction to the stereotypes of white racists and black victims puts Aboriginal children in grave danger.
Example one, from the Sydney Morning Morning Herald:
The children are detained generally because they broke the law or posed a danger to themselves or others. They are not detained because they are Aboriginal.
But to bolster her argument of racial double-standards, Hall decouples this link between crime and punishment. Indeed, not once in her article does Hall use the word “crime”, talking only of the high rate of “incarceration”. It is as if we arrest Aboriginal children on a whim.
Hall is right, of course, to suggest this high rate of incarceration (or, actually, crime) is related to the terrible dysfunction and family breakdown in so many Aboriginal communities, but she is profoundly wrong to suggest we do not talk about that or try with social policies to fix it. (In fact, Hall herself won’t talk of the role of Aboriginal culture in producing the terrible outcomes she deplores, which is the real silence we must end.)
But Hall again tries to decouple actions from consequences when she insists:
Example two, from the ABC’s PM program and the irresponsible Greens:
Yes, PM did also quote NSW Minister Pru Goward rightly insisting that child welfare officials had no choice but to remove Aboriginal children at high rates, given the high levels of danger they faced:
Fact: AM misleads in blandly describing the “stolen generations” as comprising “tens of thousands of Indigenous children ... forcibly removed from their families”. The definition is actually more precise and more damning:
Fact: not one of the many court cases since involving “stolen generations” claimants has found there was a policy to remove children just for being Aboriginal. Those findings apply particularly to Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. An Aboriginal-led Stolen Generations Taskforce concluded that in Victoria, too: ”there was no formal policy for removing children”.
Think of the Aboriginal children who have since paid with their lives for this “stolen generations” myth of the Left:
(Via Piers Akerman.)
===Example one, from the Sydney Morning Morning Herald:
Imagine if more than half the young people detained in Australia today were from Sydney. Imagine if they were white. Newspaper letter writers would whip themselves into a frenzy, GetUp! would run a national campaign and tens of thousands would take to the streets to march for the freedom of Australia’s children.Reporter Bianca Hall’s demand for “freedom” for such children and her suggestion that they are victims of racist double-standards is irresponsible and deceptive.
Instead, 53 per cent of young people in detention are indigenous. And instead of a national outcry, Australia is gripped by a national silence.
According to the latest national figures, indigenous young people - who comprise just 5 per cent of the population - were detained at a staggering 31 times the rate of non-indigenous young people on an average night in June 2012… So how, we should be asking, can we pretend the national shame of mass Aboriginal incarceration isn’t symptomatic of other problems?
The children are detained generally because they broke the law or posed a danger to themselves or others. They are not detained because they are Aboriginal.
But to bolster her argument of racial double-standards, Hall decouples this link between crime and punishment. Indeed, not once in her article does Hall use the word “crime”, talking only of the high rate of “incarceration”. It is as if we arrest Aboriginal children on a whim.
Hall is right, of course, to suggest this high rate of incarceration (or, actually, crime) is related to the terrible dysfunction and family breakdown in so many Aboriginal communities, but she is profoundly wrong to suggest we do not talk about that or try with social policies to fix it. (In fact, Hall herself won’t talk of the role of Aboriginal culture in producing the terrible outcomes she deplores, which is the real silence we must end.)
But Hall again tries to decouple actions from consequences when she insists:
.... cutting the incarceration rate of indigenous people should be at the forefront of attempts to close the gap.That is exactly the wrong way around. In fact, closing the gap - in education and employment - should be at the forefront of attempts to cut the incarceration rates. Reverse the order, as Hall suggests, and we’d have to refuse to jail Aborigines for crimes for which non-Aborigines would be jailed. We would be entrenching racism in our judicial system, and also entrenching the terrible victim mentality which incarcerates so many Aboriginal children.
Example two, from the ABC’s PM program and the irresponsible Greens:
BRENDAN TREMBATH: For nearly a century, tens of thousands of Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families by state and federal governments and church missions.Here is the link I’ve often warned of - between preaching the “stolen generations” myth and attacking attempts today to save Aboriginal children from dangers from which we’d rescue them if they were white. How many Aboriginal children have died already, thanks to the poison of this myth?
Aunty Hazel from the Gunnedah area in north-eastern New South Wales argues little has changed.
AUNTY HAZEL: There’s never been a gap, there’s never been a stop in stolen generation and that’s evident today…
BRENDAN TREMBATH: Grandmothers and their families have attended a rally outside the New South Wales Parliament to condemn the forced removal of Indigenous children by the State’s Department of Community Services… Greens MP David Shoebridge says there’re no doubt cases where the organisation is doing the right thing, but its first reflex is to remove children.
DAVID SHOEBRIDGE: Between 1997 and 2012 we saw a five-fold increase in the number of Aboriginal children being removed across Australia. And New South Wales tragically is a real hot spot, it’s the highest rate of Aboriginal child removal and more than one in 10 Aboriginal children across New South Wales are in care. It’s the new stolen generation.
Yes, PM did also quote NSW Minister Pru Goward rightly insisting that child welfare officials had no choice but to remove Aboriginal children at high rates, given the high levels of danger they faced:
PRU GOWARD: But we also need to see rates of domestic violence, alcohol abuse and child sexual abuse in Aboriginal communities come down too, so we can be sure that Aboriginal children are safe, it’s very much a two way street.But PM - and the ABC generally - has never made the obvious link. If we are removing many Aboriginal children for their own safety, how can we say previous generations of welfare officials were racist and wrong to do the same? What exactly are we apologising for when we talk of the “stolen generations”?
Fact: AM misleads in blandly describing the “stolen generations” as comprising “tens of thousands of Indigenous children ... forcibly removed from their families”. The definition is actually more precise and more damning:
Tonight we debate the stolen generations - the claim that between 1910 and 1970 as many as 100,000 aboriginal children were stolen from caring parents for racist reasons.Fact: not one “stolen generations” activist has ever been able to produce even 10 examples of these children stolen from their parents by officials just because they were Aboriginal, and not because they needed care.
Robert [Manne] says the figure is actually lower. He suggests one in 10 Aboriginal children were stolen from 1910, and estimates the total number at up to 25,000.
But what do we mean by “stolen”. Let me tell how Robert has defined it.
Says he: “It was not from harm that the mixed-descent children were rescued but from their Aboriginality.” (1)
And, he said in one essay, this was overseen by authorities who “wished, in part through the child removal policy, to help keep White Australia pure”.
So, he adds: The “stolen generations is for Aboriginal Australians what the term Holocaust was for the Jews’’. (2)
Fact: not one of the many court cases since involving “stolen generations” claimants has found there was a policy to remove children just for being Aboriginal. Those findings apply particularly to Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. An Aboriginal-led Stolen Generations Taskforce concluded that in Victoria, too: ”there was no formal policy for removing children”.
Think of the Aboriginal children who have since paid with their lives for this “stolen generations” myth of the Left:
Just ask the New South Wales Child Death Review Team, which investigated why Aboriginal children of drug addicts were 10 times more likely to die under the noses of welfare officers than were children of white addicts.Or this one:
It blamed a fear of the “stolen generations”, pleading: “A history of inappropriate intervention with Aboriginal families should not lead now to an equally inappropriate lack of intervention for Aboriginal children at serious risk.’’
I quote from yesterday’s Australian:Or more.
A senior departmental official (said) the child involved was sexually abused at age seven and, as a safety measure, was put with various foster families, eventually ending up in 2005 with a non-indigenous family . . .And so this girl was sent back to Aurukun, to be pack-raped again.
“These non-indigenous people were fantastic—ensuring she went to school, and the father actually took a year off his work to personally supervise this girl,” he said.
“But two new social workers were appointed to the north and they expressed the view, which was repeated many times to the investigating committee, that putting an indigenous child with white foster parents was another stolen generation . . .”
(Via Piers Akerman.)
Stuff George Bush didn’t do
Andrew Bolt February 16 2014 (7:13am)
Doug Ross reminds the Left of stuff it would never have forgiven the hated George W. Bush:
===(Via American Thinker.)
A school for five-year-old Marxists
Andrew Bolt February 16 2014 (12:22am)
Australia’s Marxists will gather at their yearly conference at Melbourne University at Easter. Some will drop their children off at the ”School for Rebellion”, run by the conference organisers to indoctrinate even five-year-olds:
That’s Marxism, kids. It’s amazing that after so many disastrous failures exactly like this in so many countries that your parents still believe this stuff. And, worse, that so many of their preachers work in universities, teaching the next generation how to destroy what works best.
(Thanks to reader Terje.)
===But the way the Green Left Weekly described it, last year’s school actually taught the children one of the fundamental weaknesses of the Marxist way:
The first School of Rebellion, held in association with Marxism 2013 over the Easter weekend in Melbourne, drew about 30 kids…Hmm. Marxist children demand everything be given to them free, and then they go out to play. Only force by their masters will make some work to provide what the others take.
The school started with philosophy sessions for the younger group aged four to seven…
Next up was a graffiti workshop for the older group… This involved the kids making their demands and ideas known with spray paint… Their demands included, “Free internet”, “Free Food”, “Free everything!"…
The older kids rebelled in a slam poetry session, electing a 10-year-old girl as their spokesperson and demanding to go outside and play soccer. Which they did.
That’s Marxism, kids. It’s amazing that after so many disastrous failures exactly like this in so many countries that your parents still believe this stuff. And, worse, that so many of their preachers work in universities, teaching the next generation how to destroy what works best.
(Thanks to reader Terje.)
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Hmm, AGW believers? - ed
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- 1270 – Livonian Crusade: In the Battle of Karuse, theGrand Duchy of Lithuania achieved a decisive victory over the Livonian Order on the frozen surface of the Baltic Sea.
- 1804 – United States Navy Lieutenant Stephen Decaturled a raid to destroy the captured USS Philadelphia(pictured) in Tripoli, denying her use to the Barbary Statesin the First Barbary War.
- 1943 – Second World War: Norwegian commandos trained by the BritishSpecial Operations Executive destroyed a factory to prevent theGerman nuclear energy project from acquiring heavy water.
- 1977 – Archbishop Janani Luwum of the Church of Uganda, a leading voice against the regime of Idi Amin, was arrested for treason and murdered the next day.
- 2005 – The Kyoto Protocol, an amendment to the international treaty onclimate change, entered into force.
Events[edit]
- 116 – Emperor Trajan sends laureatae to the Roman Senate at Rome on account of his victories and being conqueror of Parthia.
- 1249 – Andrew of Longjumeau is dispatched by Louis IX of France as his ambassador to meet with the Khagan of the Mongol Empire.
- 1270 – Grand Duchy of Lithuania defeats the Livonian Order in the Battle of Karuse.
- 1646 – Battle of Torrington, Devon – the last major battle of the first English Civil War.
- 1699 – First Leopoldine Diploma is issued by the Holy Roman Emperor, recognizing the Greek Catholic clergy enjoyed the same privileges asRoman Catholic priests in the Principality of Transylvania.
- 1742 – Spencer Compton, Earl of Wilmington, becomes British Prime Minister.
- 1804 – First Barbary War: Stephen Decatur leads a raid to burn the pirate-held frigate USS Philadelphia.
- 1852 – Studebaker Brothers wagon company, precursor of the automobile manufacturer, is established.
- 1862 – American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant captures Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
- 1866 – Spencer Compton Cavendish, Marquess of Hartington becomes British Secretary of State for War.
- 1874 – Silver Dollar becomes legal US tender.
- 1881 – The Canadian Pacific Railway is incorporated by Act of Parliament at Ottawa (44th Vic., c.1).
- 1899 – Iceland's first football club, Knattspyrnufélag Reykjavíkur, is founded.
- 1918 – The Council of Lithuania unanimously adopts the Act of Independence, declaring Lithuania an independent state.
- 1923 – Howard Carter unseals the burial chamber of Pharaoh Tutankhamun.
- 1930 – The Romanian Football Federation joins FIFA.
- 1934 – The Austrian Civil War ends with the defeat of the Social Democrats and the Republican Schutzbund.
- 1936 – Elections bring the Popular Front to power in Spain.
- 1937 – Wallace H. Carothers receives a United States patent for nylon.
- 1940 – World War II: Altmark Incident: The German tanker Altmark is boarded by sailors from the British destroyer HMS Cossack. 299 British prisoners are freed.
- 1943 – World War II: Red Army troops re-enter Kharkov.
- 1943 – World War II: Insertion of Operation Gunnerside, Norway.
- 1945 – World War II: American forces land on Corregidor Island in the Philippines.
- 1957 – The "Toddlers' Truce", a controversial television close down between 6.00 pm and 7.00 pm is abolished in the United Kingdom.
- 1959 – Fidel Castro becomes Premier of Cuba after dictator Fulgencio Batista was overthrown on January 1.
- 1960 – The U.S. Navy submarine USS Triton begins Operation Sandblast, setting sail from New London, Connecticut, to begin the first submerged circumnavigation of the globe.
- 1961 – Explorer program: Explorer 9 (S-56a) is launched.
- 1961 – The DuSable Museum of African American History is chartered.
- 1962 – Flooding in the coastal areas of West Germany kills 315 and destroys the homes of about 60,000 people.
- 1968 – In Haleyville, Alabama, the first 9-1-1 emergency telephone system goes into service.
- 1978 – The first computer bulletin board system is created (CBBS in Chicago, Illinois).
- 1983 – The Ash Wednesday bushfires in Victoria and South Australia kill 75.
- 1985 – Hezbollah is founded.
- 1986 – The Soviet liner MS Mikhail Lermontov runs aground in the Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand.
- 1987 – The trial of John Demjanjuk, accused of being a Nazi guard dubbed "Ivan the Terrible" in Treblinka extermination camp, starts in Jerusalem.
- 1991 – Nicaraguan Contras leader Enrique Bermúdez is assassinated in Managua.
- 1998 – China Airlines Flight 676 crashes into a road and residential area near Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taiwan, killing all 196 aboard and seven more on the ground.
- 1999 – In Uzbekistan, a bomb explodes and gunfire is heard at the government headquarters in an apparent assassination attempt against President Islam Karimov.
- 1999 – Across Europe, Kurdish rebels take over embassies and hold hostages after Turkey arrests one of their rebel leaders, Abdullah Öcalan.
- 2005 – The Kyoto Protocol comes into force, following its ratification by Russia.
- 2005 – The National Hockey League cancels the entire 2004-2005 regular season and playoffs.
- 2006 – The last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army.
- 2013 – A bomb blast at a market in Hazara Town in Quetta, Pakistan, kills more than 80 people and injures 190 others.
Births[edit]
- 1032 – Emperor Yingzong of Song (d. 1067)
- 1222 – Nichiren, Japanese monk (d. 1282)
- 1304 – Jayaatu Khan, Emperor Wenzong of Yuan (d. 1332)
- 1497 – Philipp Melanchthon, German theologian and reformer (d. 1560)
- 1519 – Gaspard II de Coligny, French admiral (d. 1572)
- 1543 – Kano Eitoku, Japanese painter (d. 1590)
- 1620 – Frederick William, Elector of Brandenburg (d. 1688)
- 1643 – John Sharp, English archbishop (d. 1714)
- 1698 – Pierre Bouguer, French mathematician, geophysicist, and astronomer (d. 1758)
- 1727 – Nikolaus Joseph von Jacquin, Austrian scientist (d. 1817)
- 1740 – Giambattista Bodoni, Italian publisher and engraver (d. 1813)
- 1761 – Jean-Charles Pichegru, French general (d. 1804)
- 1774 – Pierre Rode, French violinist and composer. (d. 1830)
- 1786 – Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of Russia (d. 1859)
- 1802 – Phineas Quimby, American philosopher (d. 1866)
- 1804 – Karl Theodor Ernst von Siebold, German physiologist (d. 1885)
- 1812 – Henry Wilson, American politician, 18th Vice President of the United States (d. 1875)
- 1821 – Heinrich Barth, German explorer and scholar (d. 1865)
- 1822 – Francis Galton, English biologist and statistician (d. 1911)
- 1824 – Peter Kozler, Slovenian cartographer and geographer (d. 1879)
- 1826 – Joseph Victor von Scheffel, German poet (d. 1886)
- 1831 – Nikolai Leskov, Russian author, playwright, and journalist (d. 1895)
- 1834 – Ernst Haeckel, German biologist and philosopher (d. 1919)
- 1838 – Henry Adams, American journalist, historian, and author (d. 1918)
- 1845 – George Kennan, American explorer (d. 1924)
- 1847 – Philipp Scharwenka, Polish-German composer (d. 1917)
- 1848 – Hugo de Vries, Dutch botanist (d. 1935)
- 1848 – Octave Mirbeau, French journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1917)
- 1856 – Willem Kes, Dutch conductor and violinist (d. 1934)
- 1856 – Ossian Everett Mills, American academic, founded Phi Mu Alpha Sinfonia (d. 1920)
- 1866 – Billy Hamilton, American baseball player (d. 1940)
- 1874 – Marie Gutheil-Schoder, German soprano (d. 1935)
- 1875 – John Duha, American gymnast (d. 1940)
- 1876 – G. M. Trevelyan, English historian (d. 1962)
- 1878 – Pamela Colman Smith, English illustrator (d. 1951)
- 1878 – "Big Jim" Colosimo, Italian-American Mafia crime boss (d. 1920)
- 1880 – Frank Burke, American baseball player (d. 1946)
- 1883 – Elizabeth Craig, Scottish journalist and author (d. 1980)
- 1884 – Robert J. Flaherty, American director and producer (d. 1951)
- 1886 – Van Wyck Brooks, American historian and critic (d. 1963)
- 1887 – Kathleen Clifford, American actress (d. 1962)
- 1891 – Hans F. K. Günther, German eugenicist (d. 1967)
- 1896 – Eugénie Blanchard, French super-centenarian (d. 2010)
- 1898 – Katharine Cornell, American actress and producer (d. 1974)
- 1901 – Vincent Coleman, American actor (d. 1971)
- 1901 – Wayne King, American singer-songwriter and orchestra leader (d. 1985)
- 1901 – Chester Morris, American actor (d. 1970)
- 1903 – Edgar Bergen, American ventriloquist and actor (d. 1978)
- 1903 – André Berthomieu, French director and screenwriter (d. 1960)
- 1903 – Georges-Henri Lévesque, Canadian priest and sociologist (d. 2000)
- 1904 – Karl-Heinz Bürger, German SS officer (d. 1988)
- 1904 – George F. Kennan, American historian and diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Soviet Union (d. 2005)
- 1906 – Vera Menchik, Russian-English chess player (d. 1944)
- 1907 – Angelos Terzakis, Greek author (d. 1979)
- 1909 – Hugh Beaumont, American actor and director (d. 1982)
- 1909 – Jeffrey Lynn, American actor (d. 1995)
- 1909 – Richard McDonald, American businessman, co-founded McDonald's (d. 1998)
- 1910 – Robert Fletcher Shaw, Canadian businessman, academic, and civil servant (d. 2001)
- 1915 – Elisabeth Eybers, South African poet (d. 2007)
- 1915 – Jim O'Hora, American football coach (d. 2005)
- 1915 – Michael Relph, English director and producer (d. 2004)
- 1916 – Bill Doggett, American pianist (d. 1996)
- 1918 – Patty Andrews, American singer (The Andrews Sisters) (d. 2013)
- 1919 – Torkom Manoogian, Iraqi-Armenian archbishop (d. 2012)
- 1919 – Georges Ulmer, Danish-French actor and composer (d. 1989)
- 1920 – Anna Mae Hays, American general
- 1921 – Jean Behra, French race car driver (d. 1959)
- 1921 – Vera-Ellen, American actress and dancer (d. 1981)
- 1921 – John Galbraith Graham, English priest and crossword compiler
- 1922 – Lilli Promet, Estonian author (d. 2007)
- 1922 – Heinz-Wolfgang Schnaufer, German night fighter pilot (d. 1950)
- 1925 – Carlos Paredes, Portuguese guitarist and composer (d. 2004)
- 1926 – Margot Frank, German-Dutch holocaust victim (d. 1945)
- 1926 – John Schlesinger, English actor and director (d. 2003)
- 1927 – June Brown, English actress
- 1927 – David Brion Davis, American historian
- 1929 – Gerhard Hanappi, Austrian footballer (d. 1980)
- 1929 – Peter Porter, Australian poet (d. 2010)
- 1930 – Fred Cuming, English artist
- 1931 – Otis Blackwell, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2002)
- 1931 – Toni Kinshofer, German mountaineer (d. 1964)
- 1931 – George E. Sangmeister, American politician (d. 2007)
- 1931 – Ken Takakura, Japanese actor
- 1932 – Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, Sierra Leonean, 3rd President of Sierra Leone
- 1932 – Gretchen Wyler, American actress and dancer (d. 2007)
- 1934 – August Coppola, American academic and author (d. 2009)
- 1934 – Marlene Hagge, American golfer
- 1934 – Harold 'Hal' Kalin, American singer (Kalin Twins) (d. 2005)
- 1934 – Herbert 'Herbie' Kalin, American singer (Kalin Twins) (d. 2006)
- 1935 – Sonny Bono, American actor, singer, and politician (Sonny & Cher) (d. 1998)
- 1936 – Jill Kinmont Boothe, American skier (d. 2012)
- 1936 – Eliahu Inbal, Israeli conductor
- 1937 – Paul Bailey, British writer and critic
- 1937 – Peter Hobday, British radio and television presenter
- 1937 – Yuri I. Manin, Russian-German mathematician
- 1938 – John Corigliano, American composer
- 1938 – Barry Primus, American actor
- 1939 – Adolfo Azcuna, Filipino jurist
- 1939 – David Griffiths, Welsh portrait painter
- 1939 – Czesław Niemen, Polish singer-songwriter (Niebiesko-Czarni) (d. 2004)
- 1939 – David Simpson, Northern Irish-born British politician
- 1940 – Hannelore Schmatz, German mountaineer (d. 1979)
- 1941 – Anne Lonsdale, English sinologist
- 1941 – Kim Jong-il, North Korean politician, 2nd Supreme Leader of North Korea (d. 2011)
- 1942 – Richard Williams, American tennis coach
- 1943 – Anthony Dowell, English former ballet dancer
- 1943 – Brig Owens, American football player
- 1943 – Howard Riley, English jazz pianist and composer
- 1944 – Glyn Davies, British politician
- 1944 – Richard Ford, American author
- 1944 – António Mascarenhas Monteiro, Cape Verdean politician, 2nd President of Cape Verde
- 1945 – Jeremy Bulloch, English actor
- 1946 – Ian Lavender, English actor
- 1948 – Andy Van Hellemond, Canadian ice hockey referee
- 1949 – Bob Didier, American baseball player
- 1949 – Lyn Paul, English singer and actress (The New Seekers)
- 1950 – Peter Hain, Kenyan-Welsh politician, Secretary of State for Wales
- 1950 – Roman Tam, Hong Kong singer (Roman and the Four Steps) (d. 2002)
- 1950 – Kazuki Tomokawa, Japanese singer
- 1951 – William Katt, American actor
- 1952 – Barry Foote, American baseball player
- 1952 – Terence Kealey, British clinical biochemist
- 1952 – James Ingram, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1953 – George Martin, English footballer
- 1953 – Lanny McDonald, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1953 – Roberta Williams, American video game designer, co-founded Sierra Entertainment
- 1954 – Iain Banks, Scottish author (d. 2013)
- 1954 – Viggo Hagstrøm, Norwegian scholar (d. 2013)
- 1954 – Margaux Hemingway, American actress and model (d. 1996)
- 1954 – John McAslan, Scottish architect
- 1954 – Michael Holding, Jamaican cricketer
- 1955 – Hunt Block, American actor
- 1956 – Sara Nathan, British broadcaster and public administrator
- 1956 – Vincent Ward, New Zealand director and screenwriter
- 1957 – LeVar Burton, American actor, director, and producer
- 1958 – Ice-T, American rapper and actor (Body Count)
- 1958 – Natalie Angier, American journalist and author
- 1958 – Michael W. Burns, American politician
- 1958 – Lisa Loring, American actress
- 1958 – Oscar Schmidt, Brazilian basketball player
- 1958 – Herb Williams, American basketball player and coach
- 1959 – John McEnroe, American tennis player
- 1959 – Kelly Tripucka, American basketball player
- 1960 – Cherie Chung, Hong Kong actress
- 1960 – Bill Pecota, American baseball player
- 1960 – Pete Willis, English guitarist (Def Leppard, Atomic Mass, Gogmagog, and Roadhouse)
- 1961 – LaGaylia Frazier, American-Swedish singer
- 1961 – Liu Kang, Chinese footballer and manager (d. 2013)
- 1961 – Eric Red, American screenwriter and director
- 1961 – Andy Taylor, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Duran Duran, The Power Station)
- 1962 – John Balance, English singer-songwriter (Coil) (d. 2004)
- 1963 – Dano Halsall, Swiss swimmer
- 1964 – Bebeto, Brazilian footballer
- 1964 – Christopher Eccleston, English actor
- 1965 – Dave Lombardo, Cuban-American drummer (Slayer, Grip Inc., Fantômas, Voodoocult, and Testament)
- 1966 – Martin Perscheid, German cartoonist
- 1967 – Keith Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968 – Warren Ellis, English author
- 1969 – David Heath, American wrestler
- 1970 – Serdar Ortaç, Turkish singer-songwriter
- 1970 – Angelo Peruzzi, Italian footballer
- 1971 – Amanda Holden, English actress
- 1972 – Jerome Bettis, American football player
- 1972 – Grit Breuer, German sprinter
- 1972 – Sarah Clarke, American actress
- 1973 – Christian Bassedas, Argentinian footballer
- 1973 – Cathy Freeman, Australian sprinter
- 1973 – Maureen Johnson, American author
- 1973 – Nikos Kostakis, Greek footballer
- 1973 – Rebecca Lord, French pornographic actress
- 1974 – Mahershalalhashbaz Ali, American actor
- 1974 – Luis Figueroa, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1974 – Fanis Katergiannakis, Greek footballer
- 1975 – Nanase Aikawa, Japanese singer
- 1975 – Vanina Ickx, Belgian race car driver
- 1975 – Don Jeffcoat, American actor
- 1976 – Kyo, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (Dir en grey)
- 1976 – Eric Byrnes, American baseball player
- 1976 – Joe Odagiri, Japanese actor and singer
- 1977 – Paul Brittain, American actor
- 1977 – Ian Clarke, Irish-American computer scientist, founded Freenet
- 1977 – Ahman Green, American football player
- 1977 – Brad Walst, American bass player (Three Days Grace)
- 1978 – Alexandre Beaudoin, Canadian forensic scientist
- 1978 – Tia Hellebaut, Belgian high jumper
- 1978 – Wasim Jaffer, Indian cricketer
- 1978 – John Tartaglia, American actor, singer, and puppeteer
- 1979 – Eric Mun, American-South Korean singer and actor (Shinhwa)
- 1979 – Valentino Rossi, Italian motorcycle racer
- 1980 – Agim Kaba, American actor and producer
- 1980 – Ashley Lelie, American football player
- 1980 – Longineu W. Parsons III, French-American drummer (Yellowcard)
- 1981 – Jay Howard, English race car driver
- 1981 – Jerry Owens, American baseball player
- 1981 – Qyntel Woods, American basketball player
- 1982 – Aleksandr Dmitrijev, Estonian footballer
- 1982 – Lupe Fiasco, American rapper and producer (Child Rebel Soldier and Japanese Cartoon)
- 1982 – Paulo Jorge Sousa Vieira, Portuguese footballer
- 1983 – Agyness Deyn, English model, actress, and singer
- 1984 – Sofia Arvidsson, Swedish tennis player
- 1984 – Ous Mellouli, Tunisian swimmer
- 1985 – Ron Vlaar, Dutch footballer
- 1985 – Simon Francis, English footballer
- 1986 – Zoi Dimoschaki, Greek swimmer
- 1986 – Josje Huisman, Dutch singer, actress, dancer (K3)
- 1987 – Luc Bourdon, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2008)
- 1987 – Theresa Goh, Singaporean swimmer
- 1987 – Mauricio Hénao, Colombian-American actor
- 1987 – Hasheem Thabeet, American basketball player
- 1988 – Diego Capel, Spanish footballer
- 1988 – Zhang Jike, Chinese table tennis player
- 1988 – Denílson Pereira Neves, Brazilian footballer
- 1988 – Kim Soo-hyun, South Korean actor and singer
- 1988 – Andrea Ranocchia, Italian footballer
- 1989 – Elizabeth Olsen, American actress
- 1990 – The Weeknd, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
- 1991 – Princess Alexandra of Luxembourg
- 1991 – Sergio Canales, Spanish footballer
- 1992 – Nicolai Boilesen, Danish footballer
- 1992 – Zsófia Susányi, Hungarian tennis player
- 1994 – Annika Beck, German tennis player
- 1994 – Matthew Knight, Canadian actor
- 1995 – Carina Witthöft, German tennis player
Deaths[edit]
- 549 – Zhu Yi, Chinese official of the Liang Dynasty (b. 483)
- 1247 – Henry Raspe, Landgrave of Thuringia (b. 1204)
- 1270 – Otto von Lutterberg, Master of the Livonian Order (b. unknown)
- 1279 – Afonso III of Portugal (b. 1210)
- 1391 – John V Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1332)
- 1531 – Johannes Stöffler, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1452)
- 1560 – Jean du Bellay, French cardinal and diplomat (b. 1493)
- 1645 – Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Spanish military leader and politician, 24th Governor of the Duchy of Milan (b. 1585)
- 1710 – Esprit Fléchier, French bishop and author (b. 1632)
- 1721 – James Craggs the Younger, English politician (b. 1686)
- 1754 – Richard Mead, English physician (b. 1673)
- 1820 – Georg Carl von Döbeln, Swedish general (b. 1758)
- 1826 – Lindley Murray, American-English lawyer (b. 1745)
- 1844 – Joseph Crosfield, English businessman (b. 1792)
- 1898 – Thomas Bracken, New Zealand poet (b. 1843)
- 1899 – Félix Faure, French politician, 7th President of France (b. 1841)
- 1907 – Giosuè Carducci, Italian poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1835)
- 1912 – Nicholas of Japan, Russian-Japanese priest, monk, and saint (b. 1836)
- 1916 – Georg von Oettingen, Baltic German physician and ophthalmologist (b. 1824)
- 1917 – Octave Mirbeau, French journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1848)
- 1919 – Vera Kholodnaya, Russian actress (b. 1893)
- 1924 – John William Kendrick, American railroad executive (b. 1853)
- 1924 – Wilhelm Schmidt, German pioneer of superheated steam for use in locomotives (b. 1858)
- 1928 – Eddie Foy, Sr., American actor and dancer (b. 1856)
- 1932 – Ferdinand Buisson, French academic and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1841)
- 1932 – Edgar Speyer, American-English financier and philanthropist (b. 1862)
- 1944 – Henri Nathansen, Danish author, playwright, and director (b. 1868)
- 1944 – Dadasaheb Phalke, Indian director, screenwriter, and producer (b. 1870)
- 1957 – Josef Hofmann, Polish-American pianist and composer (b. 1876)
- 1961 – Dazzy Vance, American baseball player (b. 1891)
- 1967 – Smiley Burnette, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1911)
- 1974 – John Garand, Canadian-American engineer, designed the M1 Garand Rifle(b. 1888)
- 1975 – Morgan Taylor, American hurdler (b. 1903)
- 1975 – Norman Treigle, American opera singer (b. 1927)
- 1977 – Carlos Pellicer, Mexican poet (b. 1897)
- 1978 – E. Roland Harriman, American financier (b. 1895)
- 1979 – Nematollah Nassiri, Iranian general (b. 1911)
- 1980 – Erich Hückel, German physicist (b. 1895)
- 1984 – M. A. G. Osmani, Bangladeshi general (b. 1918)
- 1988 – Jean Carignan, Canadian fiddler (b. 1916)
- 1990 – Keith Haring, American painter (b. 1958)
- 1991 – Enrique Bermúdez, Nicaraguan engineer and lieutenant (b. 1932)
- 1992 – Angela Carter, English author and journalist (b. 1940)
- 1992 – Jânio Quadros, Brazilian politician, 22nd President of Brazil (b. 1917)
- 1992 – Herman Wold, Norwegian-Swedish statistician (b. 1908)
- 1996 – Roberto Aizenberg, Argentinian painter and sculptor (b. 1922)
- 1996 – Roger Bowen, American actor and author (b. 1932)
- 1996 – Pat Brown, American lawyer and politician, 32nd Governor of California (b. 1905)
- 1996 – Nicolae Carandino, Romanian journalist and politician (b. 1905)
- 1996 – Brownie McGhee, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1915)
- 1997 – Chien-Shiung Wu, Chinese-American physicist (b. 1912)
- 1999 – Michael Larson, American game show contestant on Press Your Luck (b. 1949)
- 2000 – Marceline Day, American actress (b. 1908)
- 2000 – Lila Kedrova, Russian-French actress (b. 1918)
- 2000 – Karsten Solheim, Norwegian-American businessman, founded PING (b. 1911)
- 2001 – Bob Buhl, American baseball player (b. 1928)
- 2001 – Howard W. Koch, American director and producer (b. 1916)
- 2001 – William Masters, American gynecologist and sexologist (b. 1915)
- 2002 – Walter Winterbottom, England football manager (b. 1913)
- 2003 – Eleanor "Sis" Daley, American wife of Richard J. Daley (b. 1907)
- 2003 – Rusty Magee, American actor and composer (b. 1955)
- 2004 – Doris Troy, American singer-songwriter (b. 1937)
- 2005 – Nicole DeHuff, American actress (b. 1975)
- 2005 – Narriman Sadek, Egyptian wife of Farouk I of Egypt
- 2006 – Johnny Grunge, American wrestler (b. 1966)
- 2006 – Ernie Stautner, German-American football player and coach (b. 1925)
- 2007 – Lilli Promet, Estonian author (b. 1922)
- 2009 – Stephen Kim Sou-hwan, South Korean cardinal (b. 1921)
- 2010 – Wan Chi Keung, Hong Kong footballer and actor (b. 1956)
- 2011 – Len Lesser, American actor (b. 1922)
- 2011 – Justinas Marcinkevičius, Lithuanian poet and playwright (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Gary Carter, American baseball player and coach (b. 1954)
- 2013 – Ken Clark, American football player (b. 1966)
- 2013 – Colin Edwards, Guyanese footballer (b. 1991)
- 2013 – Eric Ericson, Swedish conductor (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Ennio Girolami, Italian actor (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Grigory Pomerants, Russian philosopher and author (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Tony Sheridan, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
- 2013 – Ernie Vossler, American golfer (b. 1928)
Holidays and observances[edit]
- Christian Feast Day:
- Kim Jong-il's Birthday (North Korea)
- Restoration of Lithuania's Statehood Day, celebrate the independence of Lithuania from Russia and Germany in 1918 (Lithuania)
“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.” - 1 John 4:10
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
February 15: Morning
"To him be glory both now and forever." - 2 Peter 3:18
Heaven will be full of the ceaseless praises of Jesus. Eternity! thine unnumbered years shall speed their everlasting course, but forever and forever, "to him be glory." Is he not a "Priest forever after the order of Melchizedek?" "To him be glory." Is he not king forever?--King of kings and Lord of lords, the everlasting Father? "To him be glory forever." Never shall his praises cease. That which was bought with blood deserves to last while immortality endures. The glory of the cross must never be eclipsed; the lustre of the grave and of the resurrection must never be dimmed. O Jesus! thou shalt be praised forever. Long as immortal spirits live--long as the Father's throne endures--forever, forever, unto thee shall be glory. Believer, you are anticipating the time when you shall join the saints above in ascribing all glory to Jesus; but are you glorifying him now? The apostle's words are, "To him be glory both now and forever." Will you not this day make it your prayer? "Lord, help me to glorify thee; I am poor; help me to glorify thee by contentment; I am sick; help me to give thee honour by patience; I have talents; help me to extol thee by spending them for thee; I have time; Lord, help me to redeem it, that I may serve thee; I have a heart to feel; Lord, let that heart feel no love but thine, and glow with no flame but affection for thee; I have a head to think; Lord, help me to think of thee and for thee; thou hast put me in this world for something; Lord, show me what that is, and help me to work out my life-purpose: I cannot do much; but as the widow put in her two mites, which were all her living, so, Lord, I cast my time and eternity too into thy treasury; I am all thine; take me, and enable me to glorify thee now, in all that I say, in all that I do, and with all that I have."
Evening
"Whereby they have made thee glad." - Psalm 45:8
And who are thus privileged to make the Saviour glad? His church--his people. But is it possible? He makes us glad, but how can we make him glad? By our love. Ah! we think it so cold, so faint; and so, indeed, we must sorrowfully confess it to be, but it is very sweet to Christ. Hear his own eulogy of that love in the golden Canticle: "How fair is thy love, my sister, my spouse! how much better is thy love than wine!" See, loving heart, how he delights in you. When you lean your head on his bosom, you not only receive, but you give him joy; when you gaze with love upon his all-glorious face, you not only obtain comfort, but impart delight. Our praise, too, gives him joy--not the song of the lips alone, but the melody of the heart's deep gratitude. Our gifts, too, are very pleasant to him; he loves to see us lay our time, our talents, our substance upon the altar, not for the value of what we give, but for the sake of the motive from which the gift springs. To him the lowly offerings of his saints are more acceptable than the thousands of gold and silver. Holiness is like frankincense and myrrh to him. Forgive your enemy, and you make Christ glad; distribute of your substance to the poor, and he rejoices; be the means of saving souls, and you give him to see of the travail of his soul; proclaim his gospel, and you are a sweet savour unto him; go among the ignorant and lift up the cross, and you have given him honour. It is in your power even now to break the alabaster box, and pour the precious oil of joy upon his head, as did the woman of old, whose memorial is to this day set forth wherever the gospel is preached. Will you be backward then? Will you not perfume your beloved Lord with the myrrh and aloes, and cassia, of your heart's praise? Yes, ye ivory palaces, ye shall hear the songs of the saints!
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Quartus
[Quär'tus] - the fourth.
This name is associated with a quarternion of soldiers, that is, a file of four, the usual number for a night watch. Peter was placed under the guard of four quarternions of soldiers, or sixteen soldiers, in order that each might guard him three hours at a time (Acts 12:4).
It may be fitting at this point to discover the significance of the many friends Paul speaks of. Romans and Colossians are unique for their number of personal salutations. Paul himself was such a friendly person that friends gathered around him as moths do around a lighted lamp. In the majority of cases all we have is the mention of a name. Now and again Paul adds a brief, endearing term. But the fact that he mentions many by name, as in the case of Quartus, proves that he must have had some contact with them. Either he had met them on his journeys and they were blessed by his ministry, or they had ministered unto the apostle of their substance. By including their names in his letters, he gave them an imperishable memory.
There were multitudes of others who had labored with Paul in the Gospel, too numerous perhaps to be called by name. The apostle rejoiced, however, that their names, although not mentioned in his lists, were written in the Book of Life, and fully known of the Lord (Phil. 4:3). John also besought Demetrius to greet all his friends by name (3 John 14).
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Today's reading: Leviticus 17-18, Matthew 27:27-50 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Leviticus 17-18
Eating Blood Forbidden
1 The LORD said to Moses, 2 "Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: 'This is what the LORD has commanded: 3 Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox, a lamb or a goat in the camp or outside of it 4 instead of bringing it to the entrance to the tent of meeting to present it as an offering to the LORD in front of the tabernacle of the LORD--that person shall be considered guilty of bloodshed; they have shed blood and must be cut off from their people....Today's New Testament reading: Matthew 27:27-50
The Soldiers Mock Jesus
27 Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company of soldiers around him. 28 They stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They put a staff in his right hand. Then they knelt in front of him and mocked him. "Hail, king of the Jews!" they said. 30They spit on him, and took the staff and struck him on the head again and again. 31 After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him....
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