When the ALP were struggling after 16 years of incompetent government, there was no certainty they would not be reelected. The press, including the Daily Telegraph were still willing to run appalling puff pieces supporting the ALP. The public service were clearly partisan in supporting the ALP. It wasn't enough for Barry O'Farrell to be different to the ALP and aim for responsible government, he had to assure vested interests that there would be continuity of administration. Tellingly, the inept CEO of the NSW Dept of Ed was co-opted to head the public service under O'Farrell. This does not mean Coutts-Trotter is corrupt or O'Farrell. But, it does mean that those reliant on the stability of the corrupt hand of the previous administration to remain partly on the till, got their wish. The current police chief had acted in the role of the former Police Minister by actively proselytising ALP policy.
Following the 2011 election win for the conservatives in NSW O'Farrell had a cabinet in the west meeting I attended with many others. I did not get to publicly express my question to the Education Minister, but I privately raised it. I have done nothing wrong, and so there is nothing to investigate. And so my career remains lost. And after many years of neglect, I have lost my home.
It wasn't much of home, but it embodied what was important to me. I want a safe, healthy space to raise a family. If my friends wish to help me, they can help me with that agenda. No friend opposes it. It would not have taken much to have gotten me work. I did not want patronage. Merely fairness. They took my home.
Today is the wonderful anniversary of the 1903 birth of the first person to bake, the inventor of, the chocolate chip cookie. Also M. C. Escher (1898). Rodney King in '12 succumbed in wealth to what he withstood in justice. In 1971 Nixon began the war on drugs on this day. In 1972, the Watergate scandal took place .. coincidence?
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For twenty two years I have been responsibly addressing an issue, and I cannot carry on. I am petitioning the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to remedy my distress. I leave it up to him if he chooses to address the issue. Regardless of your opinion of conservative government, the issue is pressing. Please sign my petition at https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/tony-abbott-remedy-the-persecution-of-dd-ball
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Matches
Continue reading 'NSW politics no longer stuck in neutral'
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Continue reading 'We’ll be riding the wave to prosperity'
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UPDATE. With 7080 votes in, Summers, Kingston, Deveny and Badham are separated by just 241. This is even closer than Florida 2000.
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Larry Pickering
INSIDERS OFFSIDE AGAIN
The ABC is a rats’ nest of taxpayer-funded, dishonest socialists who fail to hold this disgraceful Prime Minister to account. It starts asking hard questions of this Government only once an outcome is imminent, in fear of Abbott reforming it or justifiably auctioning off its licence.
Watching “The Insiders” today was yet another display of unabashed ABC bias:
Convener and ALP hack, Barrie Cassidy, was joined by two other Gillard supporters, Malcolm Farr and Lenore Taylor along with a token conservative, the politically astute Piers Akerman.
Akerman, in the course of conversation had outed Cassidy as an ex-employee of the ALP
Cassidy did not respond until the subject arose of 6PR’s Howard Sattler’s inappropriate question to the PM: “Is Tim Mathieson gay?”.
Of course the whole thing was roundly condemned by all, including Akerman, who noted that a rumour of Mathieson’s sexuality was “all over” the Press Gallery in Canberra (not to mention the internet).
“Surely you have noticed this rumour?” asked Akerman. “No I haven’t”, was the answer in unison from all three. “Mmmm, ok then”, muttered Akerman. All three were lying of course, unless they live in a concrete cocoon.
Cassidy replied in anger, “You have just done what Howard Sattler did and passed on the rumour and that’s just as pathetic, actually. You’ll have a hard time defending your position!”
Akerman denied the accusation and a blue erupted.
Off camera, during a break, Cassidy demanded Akerman apologise (damned if I know what for) but Akerman did apologise... at the end of the program.
Cassidy is the protector of all things ALP. He even dumped my friend Paul Zanetti from his Insiders program. Why? Well, the odd anti-Gillard cartoon of his was displayed on my web page.
I have never approached the subject of Mathieson's sexuality as I consider it out of bounds. But, courtesy of Cassidy, the rumour lives on.
It lives on because most know that Cassidy is a close friend and companion of Tim Mathieson and he (Cassidy) could have nipped the rumour in the bud simply by saying it was not true, (as Julia Gillard did).
If Cassidy had confirmed the rumour then not only would he have been contradicting Gillard but Cassidy’s own sexuality would have been the new rumour.
He may regret that his idol Julia started this all-in gender war.
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"Israel has the means to achieve energy independence and pave the way for the free world to neutralize the economic power of the Islamic world. Unlike the situation with Better Place, economic laws of supply and demand work in favor of Israel's energy solution. The only force standing in the way is a coalition of radical environmentalists who oppose all oil consumption because they believe that the greatest threat to the world is global warming. They don't want cheap oil." - Caroline Glick
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While procedural knowledge and conceptual understanding are twined, I get the point. Sometimes, looking at measurement material one mistakes that everything is procedural. Teachers work very hard to get kids to follow the procedure and face questions like "Why?" "Aren't there shortcuts" and "Will this be tested?" Good teachers aim for the concept. But, even my shorthand of 'good teachers' obfuscates .. Good teachers require a system that works, students prepared to learn and experience to know how to present and what to present. Of course conceptual teaching is possible and happens today. However, there are impediments to it too. Some schools are dysfunctional as are some communities. It gets really bad when authorities involve themselves in petty games of power play and limit good teachers.
One observation: Good teachers didn't begin that way. They are trained and inducted and acquire resources.
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5 Herbs That Repel Flies...
====> http://naturehacks.com/
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Blacktea Candles Australia is now available in our store.
Vintage Rose Boutique Bankstown Centro
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WHY HISTORY WILL RECORD GILLARD AS OUR WORST EVER PRIME MINISTER
“She misjudged the electorate. Thinking the people are stupid, prejudiced and exploitable, she made a blatant effort to manipulate voters by dividing them”
Peter Hartcher, Sydney Morning Herald, 17/6/2013
http://www.smh.com.au/
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Come along on Wednesday June 19 at 11.30am to a special curator led tour of Remember Me: the lost diggers of Vignacourt. Your chance to discover why this Australian soldier is wearing such a fetching sheepskin vest.
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Reflecting on the meaning of the ApCab 1 at the beach... — at Baker Beach.
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Rodeo Beach, Saturday Night
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“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” -John Bunyan
The UN are a corrupt, broken body. They are paid to do the work they often do badly. But the work is essential. Many of the employees are good people. It is a tragedy and many victims don't recognise their abusers. - ed
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There are actually eyewitnesses to the moment Putin trousered the ring (circled) that I would trust above the president:
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Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.'
- 1462 – Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II (The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat from Wallachia.
- 1565 – Matsunaga Hisahide assassinates the 13th Ashikaga shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru.
- 1579 – Sir Francis Drake claims a land he calls Nova Albion (modern California) for England.
- 1631 – Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, will spend the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.
- 1673 – French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet reach the Mississippi River and become the first Europeans to make a detailed account of its course.
- 1839 – In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha III issues the edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics the freedom to worship in theHawaiian Islands. The Hawaii Catholic Church and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace are established as a result.
- 1843 – The Wairau Affray, the first serious clash of arms between Māori and British settlers in the New Zealand Wars, takes place.
- 1876 – American Indian Wars: Battle of the Rosebud – 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne led by Crazy Horse beat back General George Crook's forces at Rosebud Creek inMontana Territory.
- 1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.
- 1898 – The United States Navy Hospital Corps is established.
- 1900 – Boxer Rebellion: Allied Western and Japanese forces capture the Taku Forts in Tianjin, China.
- 1901 – The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT
- 1930 – U.S. President Herbert Hoover signs the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act into law.
- 1932 – Bonus Army: around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the U.S. Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits.
- 1933 – Union Station Massacre: in Kansas City, Missouri, four FBI agents and captured fugitive Frank Nash are gunned down by gangsters attempting to free Nash.
- 1939 – Last public guillotining in France: Eugen Weidmann, a convicted murderer, is guillotined in Versailles outside the Saint-Pierre prison
- 1940 – World War II: sinking of the RMS Lancastria by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire, France. At least 3,000 are killed; Britain's worst maritime disaster.
- 1940 – World War II: the British Army's 11th Hussars assault and take Fort Capuzzo in Libya, Africa from Italian forces.
- 1963 – The United States Supreme Court rules 8 to 1 in Abington School District v. Schempp against requiring the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord's Prayer in public schools.
- 1971 – President Richard Nixon declares the U.S. War on Drugs.
- 1972 – Watergate scandal: five White House operatives are arrested for burgling the offices of the Democratic National Committee, in an attempt by some members of theRepublican party to illegally wiretap the opposition.
- 1987 – With the death of the last individual of the species, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow becomes extinct.
- 1991 – Apartheid: the South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.
- 1992 – A "joint understanding" agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified inSTART II).
- 1994 – Following a televised low-speed highway chase, O.J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Hatches
- 1239 – Edward I of England (d. 1307)
- 1603 – Joseph of Cupertino, Italian mystic and saint (d. 1663)
- 1691 – Giovanni Paolo Panini, Italian painter and architect (d. 1765)
- 1704 – John Kay, English inventor, invented the Flying shuttle (d. 1780)
- 1714 – César-François Cassini de Thury, French astronomer and cartographer (d. 1784)
- 1832 – William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (d. 1919)
- 1867 – Flora Finch, English-American actress (d. 1940)
- 1867 – John Robert Gregg, Irish-American educator, publisher, and humanitarian (d. 1948)
- 1867 – Henry Lawson, Australian poet (d. 1922)
- 1882 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1971)
- 1898 – M. C. Escher, Dutch illustrator (d. 1972)
- 1898 – Carl Hermann, German physicist (d. 1961)
- 1903 – Ruth Graves Wakefield, American chef, created the chocolate chip cookie (d. 1977)
- 1927 – Martin Böttcher, German composer and conductor
- 1943 – Newt Gingrich, American politician, 58th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- 1943 – Barry Manilow, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1945 – Tommy Franks, American general
- 1947 – Paul Young, English singer-songwriter (Sad Café and Mike + The Mechanics) (d. 2000)
- 1949 – Snakefinger, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Residents and Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers) (d. 1987)
- 1957 – Phil Chevron, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Pogues and The Radiators From Space) (d. 2013)
- 1963 – Greg Kinnear, American actor and producer
- 1981 – Shane Watson, Australian cricketer
- 1987 – Nozomi Tsuji, Japanese singer (Morning Musume Minimoni, and Morning Musume Otomegumi)
- 1993 – Jean Marie Froget, Mauritian swimmer
Despatches
- 676 – Pope Adeodatus II
- 850 – Tachibana no Kachiko, Japanese wife of Emperor Saga (b. 786)
- 900 – Fulk, French archbishop
- 1025 – Bolesław I Chrobry, Polish king (b. 967)
- 1775 – John Pitcairn, Scottish-English soldier (b. 1722)
- 1956 – Percival Perry, English motor vehicle manufacturer, and chairman of Ford of Britain (b. 1878)
- 1996 – Thomas Kuhn, American historian and philosopher (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Rodney King, American victim of police brutality (b. 1965)
NSW politics no longer stuck in neutral
Piers Akerman – Tuesday, June 17, 2014 (7:40pm)
ANDREW Constance’s first Budget as NSW Treasurer delivers a down payment on the future of the state and next year’s election.
Continue reading 'NSW politics no longer stuck in neutral'We’ll be riding the wave to prosperity
Miranda Devine – Tuesday, June 17, 2014 (7:55pm)
TREASURER Andrew Constance has only been in the job for six weeks, and the bags under his eyes are testament to the sleep deprivation of what he privately describes as the “brutal” process of putting together a budget in record time.
Continue reading 'We’ll be riding the wave to prosperity'LOSING MILLIONS NOW A SACKABLE OFFENCE
Tim Blair – Tuesday, June 17, 2014 (5:31am)
Businesses lose millions every year due to the antics of Greenpeace and other environmental protest groups. But look what happens when Greenpeace itself falls victim to Greenpeace stupidity:
Greenpeace has fired an employee who lost the environmental charity $5.47 million in a failed gamble on international currency markets.
Interesting that Greenpeace is so unforgiving when their own cash is at stake. Everyone’s a right-winger on their home turf.
CROWN OUR CRAZY QUEEN
Tim Blair – Tuesday, June 17, 2014 (5:16am)
They shriek, they rage, they cheer, they despair, they exult, they scream, they laugh, they cry! There’s never a non-emotional moment in the lives of Australia’s left-wing ladies’ auxiliary, whose psychosocial behavioural disorders are becoming ever more dramatic following Tony Abbott’s election.
Only one of them, however, can reign as our solitary monarch of madness. Only one can stand above all others, wailing and howling, while the rest look on and ask: “Where’s the Ritalin?” In the search for this nation’s most unhinged hysteric, let the BlairPoll decide!
Thank you for voting!
Total Votes: 14,303
UPDATE II. Trailing far behind the leaders, Clementine Ford pleads with the electorate: “I only need 500 votes to beat Catherine Deveny! MAKE IT HAPPEN, PEOPLE.”
UPDATE III. A desperate pitch to voters from last-placed Clem Bastow. She is the 2.24 per cent.
UPDATE IV. Ford storms to the lead!
===OLD RICH WHITE GUY COMPLAINS
Tim Blair – Tuesday, June 17, 2014 (5:08am)
Sadly, the ABC’s Jonathan Green didn’t enjoy yesterday’s column:
Well, it obviously matters to you, Jonathan. There’s no need for embarrassment. You should be proud of living it up while your wages are paid by people earning far less than you.
Well, it obviously matters to you, Jonathan. There’s no need for embarrassment. You should be proud of living it up while your wages are paid by people earning far less than you.
SCHUMACHER WAKES
Tim Blair – Monday, June 16, 2014 (11:59pm)
Ex-F1 world champion Michael Schumacher is awake for the first time in 2014:
In a surprise announcement, the retired racing star’s spokeswoman Sabine Kehm said he had left hospital in the French Alpine city of Grenoble, where he had been treated since December when he slammed his head on a rock while skiing with his son and friends …“Michael has left the CHU Grenoble to continue his long phase of rehabilitation. He is not in a coma anymore,” Kehm said in a statement.
Nothing further has been revealed about Schumacher’s condition. Still, this is great news.
UPDATE. Ex-F1 doctor Gary Hartstein isn’t so sure the news is good.
UPDATE II. In other automotive news, Jalopnik is furious – and reasonably so – because a maniac civilian drove his street car on to a British race track while a race was underway.
A stupidly dangerous stunt, but not unprecedented. Australians were doing that sort of thing in Sydney way back in1971.
End the RET. End this climate of unreason
Andrew Bolt June 17 2014 (3:40pm)
Excellent. All this expense to make no difference to the climate makes no sense at all:
===Senator Dean Smith, chair of the Coalition’s backbench committee on energy issues, has told The Australian newspaper that the “great majority” of Liberals were in favour of significant change to the Renewable Energy Target scheme.(Thanks to reader Keith.)
The newspaper has also cited backbenchers, Craig Laundy and Angus Taylor, as supporting reductions in the level of the target. Taylor told the newspaper that: “Fixing the RET is just another step towards ending the age of entitlement - wind industry entitlement.”
Know your enemy. Know he won’t stay in Iraq
Andrew Bolt June 17 2014 (11:57am)
If you hear anyone sympathising with ISIS, now taking over parts of Iraq, know exactly what they are endorsing.
This propaganda video from ISIS will for almost anyone be too ghastly to watch. DO NOT WATCH IF YOU ARE LIKELY TO BE DISTRESSED BY EXTREME SAVAGERY. It contains footage of unarmed men being shot, beheaded, blown-up and executed. It shows prisoners being taunted as they dig their own graves:
What I can show you are these stills from the video, to show that these foul crimes are committed by men citing Islam as their inspiration, hundreds of times. It also shows them pledging to take their war against the infidel to Spain and to “Rome” - or the West - as well as to Jews:
What the hell is it with Islam?
An antidote to what you’ve just read - and maybe watched: a story of sacrifice and love, in pictures.
(Thanks to readers John and Doug.)
===This propaganda video from ISIS will for almost anyone be too ghastly to watch. DO NOT WATCH IF YOU ARE LIKELY TO BE DISTRESSED BY EXTREME SAVAGERY. It contains footage of unarmed men being shot, beheaded, blown-up and executed. It shows prisoners being taunted as they dig their own graves:
And remember, this is what ISIS wants you to see. This is what ISIS is proud of.
What I can show you are these stills from the video, to show that these foul crimes are committed by men citing Islam as their inspiration, hundreds of times. It also shows them pledging to take their war against the infidel to Spain and to “Rome” - or the West - as well as to Jews:
UPDATE
What the hell is it with Islam?
Somali militants who murdered 48 people in a Kenyan village as they watched the World Cup went door to door asking residents if they were Muslim or spoke Somali - and shot them dead if either answer was ‘no’, witnesses revealed today.UPDATE
The attack on the coastal village of Mpeketoni, about 30-miles southwest of the tourist centre of Lamu, came at the end of a weekend of bloodshed that has exposed the world to the shocking depravity of terrorists, apparently emboldened by each other’s acts.
An antidote to what you’ve just read - and maybe watched: a story of sacrifice and love, in pictures.
(Thanks to readers John and Doug.)
Just because he’s Muslim
Andrew Bolt June 17 2014 (10:41am)
Appealing for victimhood status, even in court:
===THE Hyde Park rioter who wounded a police officer during the violent protests should not be sentenced harshly just because some in the community may “disapprove of his faith”, a court heard yesterday.If there’s a victim here of faith, I’d suggest it’s the police officer who was injured.
Ahmed Elomar is the only person charged over the September 2012 riots, sparked by anger toward an anti-Islamic You Tube clip titled The Innocence Of Muslims, still before the courts.
His barrister Greg James QC yesterday told the Sydney District Court his client, a former champion boxer, was suffering an “impaired intellectual state” and became “overcome with the occasion” of the protests.
Senior-Constable Jason Blanchard was struck with a pole and left bleeding from the head, with the court told 30 year-old Elomar “disappeared” into the 300-strong crowd after hitting the officer, his face covered with a balaclava.
During the protest, Elomar carried a sign: “Our dead are in paradise, your dead are in hell."…
Mr James said ... the offence was toward the “lower end” of seriousness and Elomar couldn’t be punished to satisfy those “whose political views differ from his or those who disapprove of his faith.”
“I hope you are not suggesting I would be,” Judge Woodburne said.
More smoke than fire to Media Watch attack
Andrew Bolt June 17 2014 (10:32am)
Professor Sinclair Davidson watches Media Watch - and finds it guilty of selective quotation to attack another News Corp newspaper.
===Sue the boat people and their crew instead
Andrew Bolt June 17 2014 (9:15am)
A great way for
activist lawyers to trash whatever sympathy there is for boat people
trying to smuggle themselves into the country:
===IMMIGRATION Minister Scott Morrison has condemned as “shameful and offensive” the lawsuit brought by survivors and families of the dead from Christmas Island’s SIEV 221 asylum boat disaster…What the coroner found in 2012 - including evidence that the boat people should sue themselves and their crew:
Shine Lawyers yesterday served a 34-page statement of claim on the Australian Government Solicitor, alleging the government is liable for unspecified damages over the deaths of 35 adults and 15 children in the December 2010 disaster, Australia’s worst civil maritime tragedy in more than a century.
The NSW Supreme Court action blames the government for its failure to have any or adequate search and rescue capabilities on the island on the morning of December 15, 2010, when SIEV 221 hit the cliffs at Rocky Point and broke up.
Navy and Customs rescuers rushed to the scene from the far side of the island, pulling asylum-seekers from the water.
West Australian Coroner Alastair Hope ... urges authorities to buy better boats and equipment for the island’s federal police and volunteer rescue team and ensure police officers stationed there have high-level rescue training…
Mr Hope said the people smugglers who organised passage for the 89 passengers on the SIEV 221 vessel must take a large part of the blame for the 50 deaths.
He said they provided a vessel that was not suitable for the journey in the monsoon season and not equipped with enough lifejackets or other safety equipment. The vessel was overloaded and the captain had transferred to another vessel before the SIEV 221 reached Christmas Island.
Mr Hope said the three Indonesian crew also contributed to the deaths and had made a fatal decision to turn the vessel into the weather before it hit Rocky Point…
Mr Hope said naval and customs officers who risked their lives in inflatable boats “showed great bravery in dangerous seas” to pull 41 people to safety from the water…
The coroner rejected claims from Christmas Island detention centre detainees that they had alerted centre staff that the SIEV 221 was about to arrive.
“The accounts were fabricated and inconsistent with the objective evidence.”
Mr Hope said he was satisfied the commanders of the navy patrol boat HMAS Pirie and the customs vessel Triton “acted as promptly and efficiently as they could in the circumstances”.
Now Obama sends some troops back into Iraq
Andrew Bolt June 17 2014 (8:56am)
Thursday, Barack Obama says maybe:
Flashback from 2011, the year Obama pulled out US troops from Iraq:
===President Barack Obama said he would consider doing “anything” to respond gains militant extremists have made in Iraq over the past few days. Obama also specifically said military options are on the table.Friday, Barack Obama says no:
“There will be some short-term immediate things that need to be done militarily,” Obama told reporters in the Oval Office Thursday afternoon after a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
Barack Obama said Friday that his national security team will soon provide him with a list of ‘selective actions by our military’ to help push back a terrorist horde marching through Iraq, but insisted that ‘we will not be sending U.S. troops back into combat’ there.Today Obama says troops - but just to guard:
President Barack Obama is notifying Congress that about 275 U.S. military personnel could deploy to Iraq.UPDATE
Obama says the forces are going to provide support and security for U.S. personnel and the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad. He says the forces are equipped for combat and will remain in Iraq until the security situation becomes such that they are no longer needed.
Flashback from 2011, the year Obama pulled out US troops from Iraq:
The Obama administration has decided to drop the number of U.S. troops in Iraq at the end of the year down to 3,000, marking a major downgrade in force strength, multiple sources familiar with the inner workings and decisions on U.S. troop movements in Iraq told Fox News.And when Iraq was told the figure was just 3000, it figured it was too small to drop its demand that US troops be made subject to Iraqi law.
Senior commanders are said to be livid at the decision, which has already been signed off by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
Panetta, touring sites Tuesday in advance of the Sept. 11 10th commemoration, insisted “no decision has been made” on the number of troops to stay in Iraq.
“That obviously will be the subject of negotiations with the Iraqis and as a result of those negotiations....”
Currently, about 45,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq. The generals on the ground had requested a reduced number of troops remaining in Iraq at the end of the year, but there was major pushback about “the cost and the political optics” of keeping that many in Iraq. The military’s troop-level request was then reduced to 10,000.
Commanders said they could possibly make that work “in extremis,” in other words, meaning they would be pushing it to make that number work security-wise and manpower-wise.
Now, sources confirm that the administration has pushed the Pentagon to cut the number even lower… This shift is seen by various people as a cost-saving measure and a political measure....
The only administration official fighting for at least 10,000 forces to stay in Iraq at the end of the year was Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, sources said. But she has lost the battle…
On Tuesday, the head of the three-province Kurdish autonomous region in the north of Iraq, warned that if American troops leave sectarian violence might resurface.
We should not appease the unappeasable
Andrew Bolt June 17 2014 (8:18am)
New immigrants and traders with Islamic countries are demanding we tailor our foreign affairs to the wishes of extremists:
If the truth hurts in this debate, it’s just one more proof that one side is not after a peace deal at all.
===The Australia-Arab Chamber of Commerce and Industry said the Government had put itself at odds with world opinion while risking trade links.Moss-Wright should explain what resolution is possible when one side in the dispute actually wants none:
It comes after recent comments by Attorney-General George Brandis that the Government would no longer use the word “occupied” in reference to East Jerusalem and would instead use the term “disputed"…
[C]hamber of commerce chief executive Suzannah Moss-Wright said both Senator Brandis and Ms Bishop had made inflammatory and regrettable statements over the issue.
She said it was difficult to see how Australia could make any meaningful contribution to international efforts to resolve the debate over East Jerusalem and land claims across Palestine.
“Hamas will not recognize Israel,” Mousa Abu Marzouk, deputy chairman of Hamas’ political bureau, told Al-Monitor in an exclusive interview.I am not interested in appeasing the likes of Hamas. East Jerusalem is indeed disputed territory, not “occupied”, as if Jews have no right to be there.
“This is a red line that cannot be crossed,” said the 63-year-old Hamas leader who played a pivotal role in achieving the reconciliation deal with Fatah on April 23.
If the truth hurts in this debate, it’s just one more proof that one side is not after a peace deal at all.
Newspoll: Labor leads 53 to 47
Andrew Bolt June 17 2014 (8:10am)
Bad, but not yet fatal:
===...the government continues to suffer from the poor response to its first budget. Despite a tiny improvement, it significantly trails Labor in two-party terms by 47 per cent to 53 per cent — almost the reverse of the election result nine months ago.
The Coalition’s primary vote remains lower than it was before the May 13 budget, but nudged up one point to 37 per cent in the past fortnight. Labor dipped one point to 36 per cent and the Greens lost two points to a four-month low of 10 per cent.
Voters appear to have parked their support, with independents and other parties recording a record 17 per cent. About 10 per cent support independents with just under 3 per cent national support for the Palmer United Party, although it is higher in Queensland.
Chinese search Palmer’s bank for their money
Andrew Bolt June 17 2014 (7:38am)
Clive Palmer has questions to answer:
Looks like Palmer will make the pensioners miss out, after all.
Last month:
===CLIVE Palmer’s bank and the Perth landlord of his Palmer United Party are being ordered to disclose financial details and key documents as part of a secret legal action over the allegedly wrongful siphoning of more than $12 million from a global company that is owned and run by the Chinese government.UPDATE
The legal action in Queensland orders co-operation from the National Australia Bank, which had held the Chinese funds in an account controlled by Mr Palmer’s company Mineralogy and one of his PUP candidates, Vimal Sharma.
The action forms part of an escalating dispute between Mineralogy and China’s Citic Pacific, which has accused Mr Palmer’s company of siphoning $12m from an account that was created to fund the operation of the Cape Preston port in Western Australia’s Pilbara region.
The Australian revealed last month how major withdrawals of $10m and $2.167m during Mr Palmer’s costly federal election campaign resulted in the account being almost completely drained without a proper explanation for the expenditure. Mr Palmer denies any wrongdoing.
Looks like Palmer will make the pensioners miss out, after all.
Last month:
Billionaire MP Clive Palmer has been chauffeured to Parliament House in an elegant grey Rolls Royce - before declaring he’s here to represent the unrepresented 98 per cent of Australians…Yesterday:
‘Members of parliament really don’t need comm (Commonwealth) cars that cost the taxpayer a lot of money. That money could be better spent giving it to pensioners,’ he told reporters. If they didn’t own a Rolls, they could catch a taxi, he added.
CLIVE Palmer has remained consistent in his inconsistency, arriving at Parliament House yesterday in a commonwealth car only three weeks after pledging to “pay my own way a little bit” and using vehicles from his own collection…
“We’ve got to keep people employed in the commonwealth,” he replied.
Media Watch damns ABC silence on AWU scandal
Andrew Bolt June 17 2014 (7:29am)
Astonishingly, this is Paul Barry of the ABC’s Media Watch:
===And now to a story that did not make the front page—at least not in the Age and Sydney Morning Herald and was missing from many ABC TV primetime bulletins… We’re talking of course about the union royal commission, which last week was one the biggest shows in town…
The story has allegations of Fraud. Corruption. Political slush funds. And lying to a Royal Commission.
And tangled up in the middle of it is former Prime Minister, Julia Gillard, who in the 1990s was lover and lawyer to this man, Bruce Wilson…
On Friday, Wilson’s evidence to the commission was front page news in The Australian and the Telegraph.
But ... amazingly it was missing entirely from the previous evening’s 7pm bulletins on ABC TV in Brisbane, Adelaide, Hobart and Darwin.
The day before, when evidence was given about wads of cash being handed to Ms Gillard to fund her home renovations ... ABC TV’s 7pm bulletins in three of those capitals also failed to report the news....
And it was under attack again last week.
“ANDREW BOLT: The ABC has run absolutely dead on the Julia Gillard slush fund scandal, absolutely dead… The rare time say, in Melbourne, the 774 presenter Jon Faine, has ever talked to reporters covering it , it has been to yell at them and heckle them ...”So how on earth did ABC news directors in four capital cities think this was not a story?
Shorten accused
Andrew Bolt June 16 2014 (7:40pm)
Claimed:
===BILL Shorten became directly involved in elections of the troubled Health Services Union when he was a senior member of the Rudd government in 2009 by donating $5000 to a candidate’s campaign, it was alleged at the royal commission into union corruption today.
Marco Bolano, a key ally of HSU corruption whistleblower Kathy Jackson, said he was “stunned” when he was told Mr Shorten was contributing to his campaign because the now federal Labor leader had been a supporter of his opponent.
When Mr Bolano asked “why on earth” Mr Shorten would pay the money, he said his campaign manager Stephen Donnelly told him: “He’s having a bet both ways”.
The Labor leader today denied the allegation…
Mr Bolano said he wouldn’t know if the alleged $5000 from Mr Shorten came from “some fund” or Mr Shorten personally…
Mr Bolano said Mr Feeney arranged for Mr Donnelly, his chief of staff, to be Mr Bolano’s campaign manager for the 2009 HSU election.
He had learned afterwards that the tobacco company Philip Morris had contributed to his HSU election campaign and he was “perplexed” why a cigarette maker would want to contribute to the campaign of a health union election.
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=== Posts from last year ===
4 her, so she sees how I see her===
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Larry Pickering
INSIDERS OFFSIDE AGAIN
The ABC is a rats’ nest of taxpayer-funded, dishonest socialists who fail to hold this disgraceful Prime Minister to account. It starts asking hard questions of this Government only once an outcome is imminent, in fear of Abbott reforming it or justifiably auctioning off its licence.
Watching “The Insiders” today was yet another display of unabashed ABC bias:
Convener and ALP hack, Barrie Cassidy, was joined by two other Gillard supporters, Malcolm Farr and Lenore Taylor along with a token conservative, the politically astute Piers Akerman.
Akerman, in the course of conversation had outed Cassidy as an ex-employee of the ALP
Cassidy did not respond until the subject arose of 6PR’s Howard Sattler’s inappropriate question to the PM: “Is Tim Mathieson gay?”.
Of course the whole thing was roundly condemned by all, including Akerman, who noted that a rumour of Mathieson’s sexuality was “all over” the Press Gallery in Canberra (not to mention the internet).
“Surely you have noticed this rumour?” asked Akerman. “No I haven’t”, was the answer in unison from all three. “Mmmm, ok then”, muttered Akerman. All three were lying of course, unless they live in a concrete cocoon.
Cassidy replied in anger, “You have just done what Howard Sattler did and passed on the rumour and that’s just as pathetic, actually. You’ll have a hard time defending your position!”
Akerman denied the accusation and a blue erupted.
Off camera, during a break, Cassidy demanded Akerman apologise (damned if I know what for) but Akerman did apologise... at the end of the program.
Cassidy is the protector of all things ALP. He even dumped my friend Paul Zanetti from his Insiders program. Why? Well, the odd anti-Gillard cartoon of his was displayed on my web page.
I have never approached the subject of Mathieson's sexuality as I consider it out of bounds. But, courtesy of Cassidy, the rumour lives on.
It lives on because most know that Cassidy is a close friend and companion of Tim Mathieson and he (Cassidy) could have nipped the rumour in the bud simply by saying it was not true, (as Julia Gillard did).
If Cassidy had confirmed the rumour then not only would he have been contradicting Gillard but Cassidy’s own sexuality would have been the new rumour.
He may regret that his idol Julia started this all-in gender war.
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Roma Downey
"Peace begins with a smile."--Mother Teresa
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Pastor Rick Warren
“Our heavenly Father loves us so much us he allows us to be called his children, and we really are!” 1 Jn.3:1 HappyFather's Day
==="Israel has the means to achieve energy independence and pave the way for the free world to neutralize the economic power of the Islamic world. Unlike the situation with Better Place, economic laws of supply and demand work in favor of Israel's energy solution. The only force standing in the way is a coalition of radical environmentalists who oppose all oil consumption because they believe that the greatest threat to the world is global warming. They don't want cheap oil." - Caroline Glick
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While procedural knowledge and conceptual understanding are twined, I get the point. Sometimes, looking at measurement material one mistakes that everything is procedural. Teachers work very hard to get kids to follow the procedure and face questions like "Why?" "Aren't there shortcuts" and "Will this be tested?" Good teachers aim for the concept. But, even my shorthand of 'good teachers' obfuscates .. Good teachers require a system that works, students prepared to learn and experience to know how to present and what to present. Of course conceptual teaching is possible and happens today. However, there are impediments to it too. Some schools are dysfunctional as are some communities. It gets really bad when authorities involve themselves in petty games of power play and limit good teachers.
One observation: Good teachers didn't begin that way. They are trained and inducted and acquire resources.
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5 Herbs That Repel Flies...
====> http://naturehacks.com/
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Blacktea Candles Australia is now available in our store.
Vintage Rose Boutique Bankstown Centro
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WHY HISTORY WILL RECORD GILLARD AS OUR WORST EVER PRIME MINISTER
“She misjudged the electorate. Thinking the people are stupid, prejudiced and exploitable, she made a blatant effort to manipulate voters by dividing them”
Peter Hartcher, Sydney Morning Herald, 17/6/2013
http://www.smh.com.au/
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Come along on Wednesday June 19 at 11.30am to a special curator led tour of Remember Me: the lost diggers of Vignacourt. Your chance to discover why this Australian soldier is wearing such a fetching sheepskin vest.
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Reflecting on the meaning of the ApCab 1 at the beach... — at Baker Beach.
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Rodeo Beach, Saturday Night
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“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you.” -John Bunyan
The UN are a corrupt, broken body. They are paid to do the work they often do badly. But the work is essential. Many of the employees are good people. It is a tragedy and many victims don't recognise their abusers. - ed
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What else might Putin steal?
Andrew Bolt June 17 2013 (7:36am)
There are actually eyewitnesses to the moment Putin trousered the ring (circled) that I would trust above the president:
Russian President Vladimir Putin ... has denied he stole a Super Bowl ring from New England Patriots gridiron team owner Robert Kraft.
“I took out the ring and showed it to (Putin), and he put it on and he goes, ‘I can kill someone with this ring,’” Kraft said. “I put my hand out and he put it in his pocket, and three KGB guys got around him and walked out.” He says he tried to get it back, but the White House told him to just “think of it as a gift” and let it go. Mr Putin’s spokesman denied the claim, saying it was ‘weird’ and the ring’s staying in the Kremlin, where it belongs.
No warming, but now signs of cooling instead
Andrew Bolt June 17 2013 (9:18am)
Professor Judith Curry, chair of the School of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at the Georgia Institute of Technology, says the question now is not whether global warming has paused, but whether global cooling has started:
Christopher Monckton declares the climate models of warmists are now conclusively broken:
Reader egbert makes the point I failed to:
===Attention in the public debate seems to be moving away from the 15-17 yr ‘pause’ to the cooling since 2002 (note: I am receiving inquiries about this from journalists). This period since 2002 is scientifically interesting, since it coincides with the ‘climate shift’ circa 2001/2002 posited by Tsonis and others. This shift and the subsequent slight cooling trend provides a rationale for inferring a slight cooling trend over the next decade or so, rather than a flat trend from the 15 yr ‘pause’.To those warmists shouting “I accept the science” we can only respond: “I wish you would.”
Christopher Monckton declares the climate models of warmists are now conclusively broken:
Superimposing the temperature curve and its least-squares linear-regression trend on the statistical insignificance region bounded by the means of the trends on these published uncertainties since January 1996 demonstrates that there has been no statistically-significant warming in 17 years 4 months...
Monckton, too, sees a cooling trend - albeit over a period too short to mean much at all:
It is better to focus on the ever-widening discrepancy between predicted and observed warming rates. The IPCC’s forthcoming Fifth Assessment Report backcasts the interval of 34 models’ global warming projections to 2005, since when the world should have been warming at a rate equivalent to 2.33 Cº/century. Instead, it has been cooling at a rate equivalent to a statistically-insignificant 0.87 Cº/century:UPDATE
Reader egbert makes the point I failed to:
AB has quoted Lord Monckton, who confirms that the cooling, in and of itself, is statistically insignificant. The real issue is the discrepancy between the “science is settled, the debate is over” climate models and the “inconvenient truth” revealed by the data. The graph above asserts that the difference between models and reality is now statistically significant.
- 1843 – New Zealand Wars: An armed posse of Europeans set out from Nelson to arrest Ngāti Toa chief Te Rauparahaand clashed with Māori, resulting in 26 deaths.
- 1876 – Great Sioux War: A band of Lakota Sioux andCheyenne attacked a United States Army expedition and its Crow and Shoshone allies in the Battle of the Rosebud.
- 1900 – Boxer Rebellion: Allied naval forces captured the Taku Fortsafter a brief but bloody battle.
- 1963 – Around 2,000 people rioted in South Vietnam, despite the signing of the Joint Communique to resolve the ongoing Buddhist crisis one day earlier.
- 1994 – Following a police chase along Los Angeles freeways and a failed suicide attempt, actor and former American football player O. J.Simpson (pictured) was arrested for the murders of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Events[edit]
- 1462 – Vlad III the Impaler attempts to assassinate Mehmed II (The Night Attack) forcing him to retreat from Wallachia.
- 1497 – Battle of Deptford Bridge – forces under King Henry VII defeat troops led by Michael An Gof.
- 1565 – Matsunaga Hisahide assassinates the 13th Ashikaga shogun, Ashikaga Yoshiteru.
- 1579 – Sir Francis Drake claims a land he calls Nova Albion (modern California) for England.
- 1596 – The Dutch explorer Willem Barentsz discovers the Arctic archipelago of Spitsbergen.
- 1631 – Mumtaz Mahal dies during childbirth. Her husband, Mughal emperor Shah Jahan I, will spend the next 17 years building her mausoleum, the Taj Mahal.
- 1673 – French explorers Jacques Marquette and Louis Jolliet reach the Mississippi River and become the first Europeans to make a detailed account of its course.
- 1773 – Cúcuta, Colombia, is discovered by Juana Rangel de Cuéllar.
- 1775 – American Revolutionary War: Colonists inflict heavy casualties on British forces while losing the Battle of Bunker Hill.
- 1789 – In France, the Third Estate declares itself the National Assembly.
- 1839 – In the Kingdom of Hawaii, Kamehameha III issues the edict of toleration which gives Roman Catholics the freedom to worship in theHawaiian Islands. The Hawaii Catholic Church and the Cathedral of Our Lady of Peace are established as a result.
- 1843 – The Wairau Affray, the first serious clash of arms between Māori and British settlers in the New Zealand Wars, takes place.
- 1861 – Battle of Vienna, Virginia in the American Civil War.
- 1863 – Battle of Aldie in the Gettysburg Campaign of the American Civil War.
- 1876 – American Indian Wars: Battle of the Rosebud – 1,500 Sioux and Cheyenne led by Crazy Horse beat back General George Crook's forces at Rosebud Creek inMontana Territory.
- 1877 – American Indian Wars: Battle of White Bird Canyon – the Nez Perce defeat the U.S. Cavalry at White Bird Canyon in the Idaho Territory.
- 1885 – The Statue of Liberty arrives in New York Harbor.
- 1898 – The United States Navy Hospital Corps is established.
- 1900 – Boxer Rebellion: Allied Western and Japanese forces capture the Taku Forts in Tianjin, China.
- 1901 – The College Board introduces its first standardized test, the forerunner to the SAT.
- 1910 – Aurel Vlaicu pilots an A. Vlaicu nr. 1 on its first flight.
- 1930 – U.S. President Herbert Hoover signs the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act into law.
- 1932 – Bonus Army: around a thousand World War I veterans amass at the United States Capitol as the U.S. Senate considers a bill that would give them certain benefits.
- 1933 – Union Station Massacre: in Kansas City, Missouri, four FBI agents and captured fugitive Frank Nash are gunned down by gangsters attempting to free Nash.
- 1939 – Last public guillotining in France: Eugen Weidmann, a convicted murderer, is guillotined in Versailles outside the Saint-Pierre prison
- 1940 – World War II: sinking of the RMS Lancastria by the Luftwaffe near Saint-Nazaire, France. At least 3,000 are killed; Britain's worst maritime disaster.
- 1940 – World War II: the British Army's 11th Hussars assault and take Fort Capuzzo in Libya, Africa from Italian forces.
- 1940 – The three Baltic states of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania fall under the occupation of the Soviet Union.
- 1944 – Iceland declares independence from Denmark and becomes a republic.
- 1953 – East Germany Workers Uprising: in East Germany, the Soviet Union orders a division of troops into East Berlin to quell a rebellion.
- 1958 – The Ironworkers Memorial Second Narrows Crossing, in the process of being built to connect Vancouver and North Vancouver (Canada), collapses into the Burrard Inlet killing many of the ironworkers and injuring others.
- 1960 – The Nez Perce tribe is awarded $4 million for 7 million acres (28,000 km2) of land undervalued at 4 cents/acre in the 1863 treaty.
- 1963 – The United States Supreme Court rules 8 to 1 in Abington School District v. Schempp against requiring the reciting of Bible verses and the Lord's Prayer in public schools.
- 1963 – A day after South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem announced the Joint Communique to end the Buddhist crisis, a riot involving around 2,000 people breaks out. One person is killed.
- 1967 – The People's Republic of China announces a successful test of its first thermonuclear weapon.
- 1971 – President Richard Nixon declares the U.S. War on Drugs.
- 1972 – Watergate scandal: five White House operatives are arrested for burgling the offices of the Democratic National Committee, in an attempt by some members of theRepublican party to illegally wiretap the opposition.
- 1985 – STS-51-G Space Shuttle Discovery launches carrying Sultan bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the first Arab and first Muslim in space, as a Payload Specialist.
- 1987 – With the death of the last individual of the species, the Dusky Seaside Sparrow becomes extinct.
- 1991 – Apartheid: the South African Parliament repeals the Population Registration Act which required racial classification of all South Africans at birth.
- 1992 – A "joint understanding" agreement on arms reduction is signed by U.S. President George Bush and Russian President Boris Yeltsin (this would be later codified inSTART II).
- 1994 – Following a televised low-speed highway chase, O.J. Simpson is arrested for the murders of his wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman.
Births[edit]
- 1239 – Edward I of England (d. 1307)
- 1603 – Joseph of Cupertino, Italian mystic and saint (d. 1663)
- 1658 – Diogo de Mendonça Corte-Real, Portuguese politician (d. 1736)
- 1682 – Charles XII of Sweden (d. 1718)
- 1691 – Giovanni Paolo Panini, Italian painter and architect (d. 1765)
- 1693 – Johann Georg Walch, German theologian (d. 1775)
- 1704 – John Kay, English inventor, invented the Flying shuttle (d. 1780)
- 1714 – César-François Cassini de Thury, French astronomer and cartographer (d. 1784)
- 1718 – George Howard, English field marshal (d. 1796)
- 1808 – Henrik Wergeland, Norwegian poet, playwright, and linguist (d. 1845)
- 1810 – Ferdinand Freiligrath, German poet (d. 1876)
- 1811 – Jón Sigurðsson, Icelandic politician (d. 1879)
- 1818 – Charles Gounod, French composer (d. 1893)
- 1818 – Sophie of Württemberg (d. 1877)
- 1832 – William Crookes, English chemist and physicist (d. 1919)
- 1839 – Arthur Tooth, English priest (d. 1931)
- 1858 – Eben Sumner Draper, American politician, 44th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1914)
- 1861 – Pete Browning, American baseball player (d. 1905)
- 1861 – Omar Bundy, American general (d. 1940)
- 1863 – Charles Michael, Duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1934)
- 1867 – Flora Finch, English-American actress (d. 1940)
- 1867 – John Robert Gregg, Irish-American educator, publisher, and humanitarian (d. 1948)
- 1867 – Henry Lawson, Australian poet (d. 1922)
- 1870 – Kitaro Nishida, Japanese philosopher (d. 1945)
- 1871 – James Weldon Johnson, American author, journalist, and activist (d. 1938)
- 1876 – William Carr, American rower (d. 1942)
- 1880 – Carl Van Vechten, American author and photographer (d. 1964)
- 1881 – Tommy Burns, Canadian boxer (d. 1955)
- 1882 – Adolphus Frederick VI, Grand Duke of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1918)
- 1882 – Igor Stravinsky, Russian pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1971)
- 1888 – Heinz Guderian, German general (d. 1954)
- 1898 – M. C. Escher, Dutch illustrator (d. 1972)
- 1898 – Carl Hermann, German physicist (d. 1961)
- 1898 – Harry Patch, English super-centenarian (d. 2009)
- 1900 – Martin Bormann, German politician (d. 1945)
- 1902 – Sammy Fain, American composer (d. 1989)
- 1902 – Alec Hurwood, Australian cricketer (d. 1982)
- 1903 – Ruth Graves Wakefield, American chef, created the chocolate chip cookie (d. 1977)
- 1904 – Ralph Bellamy, American actor and singer (d. 1991)
- 1904 – Patrice Tardif, Canadian politician (d. 1989)
- 1907 – Maurice Cloche, French director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1990)
- 1907 – Charles Eames, American designer and architect (d. 1978)
- 1909 – Elmer L. Andersen, American businessman and politician, 30th Governor of Minnesota (d. 2004)
- 1909 – Ralph E. Winters, Canadian-American film editor (d. 2004)
- 1910 – Red Foley, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 1968)
- 1910 – George Hees, Canadian football player and politician (d. 1996)
- 1914 – John Hersey, American journalist (d. 1993)
- 1915 – David "Stringbean" Akeman, American singer and banjo player (d. 1973)
- 1915 – Marcel Cadieux, Canadian civil servant and diplomat, Canadian Ambassador to the United States (d. 1981)
- 1915 – Karl Targownik, Hungarian psychiatrist (d. 1996)
- 1916 – Terry Gilkyson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Easy Riders) (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Dufferin Roblin, Canadian politician, 14th Premier of Manitoba (d. 2010)
- 1918 – Ajahn Chah, Thai educator (d. 1992)
- 1919 – John Moffat, Scottish commander and pilot
- 1919 – Beryl Reid, English actress (d. 1996)
- 1920 – Jacob H. Gilbert, American politician (d. 1981)
- 1920 – Setsuko Hara, Japanese actress
- 1920 – François Jacob, French biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Peter Le Cheminant, British Royal Air Force Air Marshal
- 1922 – John Amis, English journalist and critic (d. 2013)
- 1923 – Elroy Hirsch, American football player (d. 2004)
- 1923 – Dale C. Thomson, Canadian historian and educator (d. 1999)
- 1925 – Alexander Shulgin, American pharmacologist and chemist (d. 2014)
- 1927 – Martin Böttcher, German composer and conductor
- 1927 – Wally Wood, American author, illustrator, and publisher (d. 1981)
- 1929 – Tigran Petrosian, Armenian chess player (d. 1984)
- 1930 – Brian Statham, English cricketer (d. 2000)
- 1931 – John Baldessari, American painter
- 1932 – Simon Bowes-Lyon, British Lord Lieutenant of Hertfordshire
- 1932 – Derek Ibbotson, English athlete
- 1932 – Peter Lupus, American bodybuilder and actor
- 1932 – John Murtha, American colonel and politician (d. 2010)
- 1933 – Harry Browne, American politician (d. 2006)
- 1933 – Christian Ferras, French violinist (d. 1982)
- 1936 – Patrick Fairweather, British diplomat
- 1936 – Vern Harper, Canadian tribal leader and activist
- 1936 – Ken Loach, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1937 – Peter Fitzgerald, Irish footballer (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Ted Nelson, American sociologist and philosopher
- 1939 – Donald Anderson, British politician
- 1940 – George Akerlof, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1941 – Nicholas C. Handy, English chemist (d. 2012)
- 1942 – Mohamed ElBaradei, Egyptian politician, Vice President of Egypt, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1942 – Roger Steffens, American actor and producer
- 1943 – Newt Gingrich, American politician, 58th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- 1943 – Barry Manilow, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1943 – Burt Rutan, American engineer
- 1944 – Randy Johnson, American football player (d. 2009)
- 1944 – Bill Rafferty, American comedian and game show host (d. 2012)
- 1944 – Chris Spedding, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Nucleus and Sharks)
- 1945 – Frank Ashmore, American actor
- 1945 – Art Bell, American radio host and author
- 1945 – Tommy Franks, American general
- 1945 – Ken Livingstone, English politician, 1st Mayor of London
- 1945 – Eddy Merckx, Belgian cyclist
- 1946 – David Crausby, English politician
- 1946 – Peter Rosei, Austrian author
- 1947 – Christopher Allport, American actor (d. 2008)
- 1947 – Linda Chavez, American author
- 1947 – George S. Clinton, American songwriter
- 1947 – Gregg Rolie, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player (Santana, Journey, and The Storm)
- 1947 – Paul Young, English singer-songwriter (Sad Café and Mike + The Mechanics) (d. 2000)
- 1948 – Dave Concepción, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1948 – Felicity Huntingford, British aqua-ecologist
- 1948 – Aurelio López, Mexican baseball player (d. 1992)
- 1948 – Karol Sikora, British oncologist
- 1949 – John Craven, British economist
- 1949 – Snakefinger, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Residents and Chilli Willi and the Red Hot Peppers) (d. 1987)
- 1950 – Lee Tamahori, New Zealand director
- 1951 – John Garrett, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1951 – Paul McGuinness, German-Irish talent manager
- 1951 – Joe Piscopo, American actor
- 1951 – Robert Scott, British Lord Lieutenant of County Tyrone
- 1951 – Starhawk, American author and activist
- 1952 – Mike Milbury, American ice hockey player, coach, and manager
- 1952 – Judith Macgregor, British diplomat
- 1952 – Estelle Morris, British politician
- 1953 – Vernon Coaker, English politician
- 1954 – Mark Linn-Baker, American actor
- 1955 – Gail Jones, Australian author
- 1955 – Mati Laur, Estonian historian
- 1955 – Bob Sauvé, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1956 – Iain Milne, Scottish rugby player
- 1957 – Phil Chevron, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Pogues and The Radiators From Space) (d. 2013)
- 1957 – Martin Dillon, American tenor and educator (d. 2005)
- 1957 – Lawrence Goldman, English historian
- 1957 – Jon Gries, American actor and producer
- 1957 – Phyllida Lloyd, English theatre and film director
- 1957 – Jack Wouterse, Dutch actor
- 1958 – Jello Biafra, American singer-songwriter and producer (Dead Kennedys, The No WTO Combo, and Lard)
- 1958 – Nicky Clarke, English hair stylist
- 1958 – Bobby Farrelly, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1958 – Sam Hamad, Syrian-Canadian politician
- 1958 – Jon Leibowitz, American politician
- 1958 – Daniel McVicar, American actor
- 1958 – Timothy Potts, Australian art historian and museum director.
- 1958 – Derek Lee Ragin, American tenor
- 1959 – Nikos Stavropoulos, Greek basketball player and coach
- 1960 – Adrián Campos, Spanish race car driver
- 1960 – Thomas Haden Church, American actor
- 1961 – Kōichi Yamadera, Japanese actor
- 1962 – Michael Monroe, Finnish singer-songwriter and saxophonist (Hanoi Rocks and Demolition 23)
- 1963 – Greg Kinnear, American actor and producer
- 1964 – Rinaldo Capello, Italian race car driver
- 1964 – Michael Groß, German swimmer
- 1964 – Erin Murphy, American actress
- 1964 – Steve Rhodes, English cricketer
- 1965 – Kami Cotler, American actress and educator
- 1965 – Dermontti Dawson, American football player
- 1965 – Dan Jansen, American speed skater
- 1965 – Dara O'Kearney, Irish runner and poker player
- 1966 – Tory Burch, American fashion designer
- 1966 – Christy Canyon, American porn actress
- 1966 – Ken Clark, American football player (d. 2013)
- 1966 – Mohammed Ghazy Al-Akhras, Iraqi journalist
- 1966 – Diane Modahl, English athlete
- 1966 – Jason Patric, American actor
- 1967 – Eric Stefani, American keyboardist, songwriter, and animator (No Doubt)
- 1967 – Dorothea Röschmann, German soprano
- 1968 – Minoru Suzuki, Japanese wrestler and mixed martial artist
- 1969 – Paul Tergat, Kenyan runner
- 1969 – Ilya Tsymbalar, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
- 1970 – Stéphane Fiset, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1970 – Will Forte, American actor and screenwriter
- 1970 – Jason Hanson, American football player
- 1970 – Popeye Jones, American basketball player
- 1970 – Michael Showalter, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1970 – Sasha Sokol, Mexican singer-songwriter and actress
- 1971 – Mildred Fox, Irish politician
- 1971 – Paulina Rubio, Mexican singer and actress
- 1973 – Krayzie Bone, American rapper and producer (Bone Thugs-N-Harmony)
- 1973 – Christian Claudio, Puerto Rican martial artist and author
- 1973 – Louis Leterrier, French director and producer
- 1973 – Leander Paes, Indian tennis player
- 1974 – Evangelia Psarra, Greek archer
- 1975 – Jennifer Irwin, Canadian actress
- 1975 – Chloe Jones, American porn actress (d. 2005)
- 1975 – Joshua Leonard, American actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1976 – Scott Adkins, English actor and stuntman
- 1976 – Sven Nys, Belgian cyclist
- 1976 – Keisuke Ogihara, Japanese rapper (Rip Slyme)
- 1977 – Tjaša Jezernik, Slovenian tennis player
- 1977 – Mark Tauscher, American football player
- 1977 – Branko Tomović, Serbian-German actor
- 1978 – Kumiko Aso, Japanese actress
- 1978 – Isabelle Delobel, French ice dancer
- 1979 – Young Maylay, American rapper, producer, and voice actor
- 1979 – Nick Rimando, American soccer player
- 1980 – Kimeru, Japanese singer and actor
- 1980 – Jeph Jacques, American illustrator
- 1980 – Venus Williams, American tennis player
- 1981 – Kyle Boller, American football player
- 1981 – Shane Watson, Australian cricketer
- 1982 – Arthur Darvill, English actor
- 1982 – Stanislava Hrozenská, Slovak tennis player
- 1982 – Alex Rodrigo Dias da Costa, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Marek Svatoš, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1983 – Connie Fisher, Irish-Welsh actress and singer
- 1983 – Vlasis Kazakis, Greek footballer
- 1983 – Jamal Mixon, American actor
- 1983 – Kazunari Ninomiya, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor (Arashi)
- 1983 – Lee Ryan, English singer-songwriter and actor (Blue)
- 1984 – John Gallagher, Jr., American actor and singer
- 1984 – Chris Weidman, American Mixed Martial Artist & Current UFC Middleweight Champion
- 1985 – Marcos Baghdatis, Cypriot tennis player
- 1985 – Rafael Sóbis, Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Apoula Edel, Armenian footballer
- 1986 – Helen Glover, British rower
- 1987 – Kendrick Lamar, American rapper and songwriter (Black Hippy)
- 1987 – Nozomi Tsuji, Japanese singer (Morning Musume Minimoni, and Morning Musume Otomegumi)
- 1988 – Andrew Ogilvy, Australian basketball player
- 1988 – Stephanie Rice, Australian swimmer
- 1989 – Giorgos Tofas, Cypriot footballer
- 1989 – Ben Coker, English footballer
- 1990 – Jordan Henderson, English footballer
- 1990 – Laura Wright, English singer (All Angels)
- 1991 – Jang Min Chul, South Korean gamer
- 1991 – Kayane, French gamer
- 1993 – Jean Marie Froget, Mauritian swimmer
Deaths[edit]
- 676 – Pope Adeodatus II
- 850 – Tachibana no Kachiko, Japanese wife of Emperor Saga (b. 786)
- 900 – Fulk, French archbishop
- 1025 – Bolesław I Chrobry, Polish king (b. 967)
- 1091 – Dirk V, Count of Holland (b. 1052)
- 1463 – Infanta Catherine of Portugal (b. 1436)
- 1565 – Ashikaga Yoshiteru, Japanese shogun (b. 1536)
- 1694 – Philip Howard, English cardinal (b. 1629)
- 1696 – John III Sobieski, Polish king (b. 1629)
- 1719 – Joseph Addison, English poet and playwright (b. 1672)
- 1734 – Claude Louis Hector de Villars, French general (b. 1653)
- 1740 – Sir William Wyndham, 3rd Baronet, English politician (b. 1687)
- 1762 – Prosper Jolyot de Crébillon, French poet (b. 1674)
- 1771 – Daskalogiannis, Ottoman rebel leader
- 1775 – John Pitcairn, Scottish-English soldier (b. 1722)
- 1797 – Mohammad Khan Qajar of Persia (b. 1742)
- 1813 – Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, Scottish-English admiral and politician (b. 1726)
- 1821 – Martín Miguel de Güemes, Argentinian general and politician (b. 1785)
- 1839 – Lord William Bentinck, English general and politician, 14th Governor-General of India (b. 1774)
- 1858 – Rani Lakshmibai, Queen of Jhansi, India, one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857 (b. 1828)
- 1866 – Joseph Méry French poet (b. 1798)
- 1898 – Edward Burne-Jones, English painter (b. 1833)
- 1904 – Nikolay Bobrikov, Russian soldier and politician (b. 1839)
- 1936 – Julius Seljamaa, Estonian politician, diplomat and journalist (b. 1883)
- 1939 – Allen Sothoron, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1893)
- 1940 – Arthur Harden, English chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1865)
- 1941 – Johan Wagenaar, Dutch organist and composer (b. 1862)
- 1942 – Charles Fitzpatrick, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Chief Justice of Canada (b. 1853)
- 1952 – John Whiteside Parsons, American scientist (b. 1914)
- 1954 – Danny Cedrone, American guitarist and bandleader (b. 1920)
- 1956 – Paul Rostock, German surgeon (b. 1892)
- 1956 – Bob Sweikert, American race car driver (b. 1926)
- 1956 – Percival Perry, English motor vehicle manufacturer, and chairman of Ford of Britain (b. 1878)
- 1957 – Dorothy Richardson, English journalist and author (b. 1873)
- 1961 – Jeff Chandler, American actor and singer (b. 1918)
- 1963 – Aleksander Kesküla, Estonian politician (b. 1882)
- 1968 – José Nasazzi, Uruguayan footballer and manager (b. 1901)
- 1969 – Rita Abatzi, Turkish-Greek singer (b. 1914)
- 1974 – Pamela Britton, American actress (b. 1923)
- 1975 – James Phinney Baxter III, American historian and academic (b. 1893)
- 1979 – Duffy Lewis, American baseball player (b. 1888)
- 1981 – Richard O'Connor, Indian-English general (b. 1889)
- 1981 – Zerna Sharp, American author and educator (b. 1889)
- 1982 – Roberto Calvi, Italian banker (b. 1920)
- 1983 – Peter Mennin, American composer and educator (b. 1923)
- 1984 – Milbourne Christopher, American magician (b. 1914)
- 1984 – John Murray, American playwright (b. 1906)
- 1985 – John Boulting, English director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1913)
- 1986 – Kate Smith, American singer (b. 1907)
- 1987 – Dick Howser, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1936)
- 1996 – Thomas Kuhn, American historian and philosopher (b. 1922)
- 1996 – Curt Swan, American illustrator (b. 1920)
- 1999 – Basil Hume, English cardinal (b. 1923)
- 2000 – Ismail Mahomed, South African lawyer and jurist, 17th Chief Justice of South Africa (b. 1931)
- 2001 – Donald J. Cram, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1919)
- 2001 – Thomas Winning, Scottish cardinal (b. 1925)
- 2002 – Willie Davenport, American hurdler (b. 1943)
- 2002 – Fritz Walter, German footballer (b. 1920)
- 2004 – Gerry McNeil, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1926)
- 2005 – Karl Mueller, American bass player (Soul Asylum) (b. 1962)
- 2006 – Bussunda, Brazilian comedian and actor (b. 1962)
- 2006 – Arthur Franz, American actor (b. 1920)
- 2007 – Gianfranco Ferré, Italian fashion designer (b. 1944)
- 2007 – Serena Wilson, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1933)
- 2008 – Cyd Charisse, American actress and dancer (b. 1922)
- 2008 – Tsutomu Miyazaki, Japanese serial killer (b. 1962)
- 2009 – Ralf Dahrendorf, German-English sociologist and politician (b. 1929)
- 2009 – Darrell Powers, American sergeant (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Stéphane Brosse, French mountaineer (b. 1971)
- 2012 – Patricia Brown, American baseball player (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Chen Din Hwa, Chinese businessman and philanthropist (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Nathan Divinsky, Canadian mathematician and chess player (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Raivo Järvi, Estonian politician (b. 1954)
- 2012 – Brian Hibbard, Welsh actor and singer (The Flying Pickets) (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Rodney King, American victim of police brutality (b. 1965)
- 2012 – R. C. Owens, American football player (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Fauzia Wahab, Pakistani politician (b. 1956)
- 2013 – Michael Baigent, New Zealand author (b. 1948)
- 2013 – Atiqul Haque Chowdhury, Bangladeshi playwright and producer (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Pierre F. Côté, Canadian lawyer and civil servant (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Bulbs Ehlers, American basketball player (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Jim Goddard, English director and production designer (b. 1936)
- 2013 – James Holshouser, American politician, 68th Governor of North Carolina (b. 1934)
- 2013 – Fuller Kimbrell, American politician (b. 1909)
- 2013 – Jalil Shahnaz, Iranian tar player (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Geoff Strong, English footballer (b. 1937)
Holidays and observances[edit]
- Bunker Hill Day (Suffolk County, Massachusetts)
- Christian Feast Day:
- National Day, celebrates the independence of Iceland from Kingdom of Denmark in 1944.
- Soviet Occupation Day (Latvia)
- West Germany, from 1954 to 1990, the Day of German Unity
- World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought (International)
- Zemla Intifada Day (Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic)
“As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;”Psalm 103:13NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
"And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish."
John 10:28
John 10:28
The Christian should never think or speak lightly of unbelief. For a child of God to mistrust his love, his truth, his faithfulness, must be greatly displeasing to him. How can we ever grieve him by doubting his upholding grace? Christian! it is contrary to every promise of God's precious Word that thou shouldst ever be forgotten or left to perish. If it could be so, how could he be true who has said, "Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I never forget thee." What were the value of that promise--"The mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee." Where were the truth of Christ's words--"I give unto my sheep eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand." Where were the doctrines of grace? They would be all disproved if one child of God should perish. Where were the veracity of God, his honour, his power, his grace, his covenant, his oath, if any of those for whom Christ has died, and who have put their trust in him, should nevertheless be cast away? Banish those unbelieving fears which so dishonour God. Arise, shake thyself from the dust, and put on thy beautiful garments. Remember it is sinful to doubt his Word wherein he has promised thee that thou shalt never perish. Let the eternal life within thee express itself in confident rejoicing.
"The gospel bears my spirit up:
A faithful and unchanging God
Lays the foundation for my hope,
In oaths, and promises, and blood."
Evening
"The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?"
Psalm 27:1
Psalm 27:1
"The Lord is my light and my salvation." Here is personal interest, "my light," "my salvation;" the soul is assured of it, and therefore declares it boldly. Into the soul at the new birth divine light is poured as the precursor of salvation; where there is not enough light to reveal our own darkness and to make us long for the Lord Jesus, there is no evidence of salvation. After conversion our God is our joy, comfort, guide, teacher, and in every sense our light: he is light within, light around, light reflected from us, and light to be revealed to us. Note, it is not said merely that the Lord gives light, but that he is light; nor that he gives salvation, but that he is salvation; he, then, who by faith has laid hold upon God, has all covenant blessings in his possession. This being made sure as a fact, the argument drawn from it is put in the form of a question, "Whom shall I fear?" A question which is its own answer. The powers of darkness are not to be feared, for the Lord, our light, destroys them; and the damnation of hell is not to be dreaded by us, for the Lord is our salvation. This is a very different challenge from that of boastful Goliath, for it rests, not upon the conceited vigour of an arm of flesh, but upon the real power of the omnipotent I AM. "The Lord is the strength of my life." Here is a third glowing epithet, to show that the writer's hope was fastened with a threefold cord which could not be broken. We may well accumulate terms of praise where the Lord lavishes deeds of grace. Our life derives all its strength from God; and if he deigns to make us strong, we cannot be weakened by all the machinations of the adversary. "Of whom shall I be afraid?" The bold question looks into the future as well as the present. "If God be for us," who can be against us, either now or in time to come?
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John
[Jŏhn] - jehovah hath been gracious.
[Jŏhn] - jehovah hath been gracious.
John, the son of Zebedee and Salome, the fisherman who became the beloved disciple, The Apostle of Love.
The Man Whom Jesus Loved
This younger brother of James has the rare distinction of being known as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." The original of his name means, "whom Jehovah loves" and John's experience corresponded to his name. From the many references to this honored disciple we can gather these facts:
He was a native of Bethsaida in Galilee.
His godly parents were probably cousins of Christ, and John was their youngest son.
His mother followed Christ, ministered unto Him, was at the Cross and among those who went to anoint the body of Christ with sweet spices.
His father was a fisherman owning his own vessel and prosperous enough to hire servants.
John himself was also a successful fisherman.
He was called to discipleship while plying his nets.
He was the youngest of the disciples, the Benjamin among the Twelve.
He was one of the select triumvirate, Christ's inner cabinet of three, Peter and James being the other two.
He was surnamed by Christ as a son of "Boanerges" because of his prophetic zeal and resolution to witness for Christ.
He was treated by Christ with greater familiarity than the others enjoyed.
He sat next to Christ at the Last Supper.
He was intrusted with the care of the mother of Jesus.
He died when he was almost one hundred years of age.
He wrote the gospel and three epistles bearing his name, and also the Book of Revelation. How true are Wesley's words of John the Beloved:
A Caesar's title less my envy moves
Than to be styled the man whom Jesus loves;
What charms, what beauties in his face did shine
Reflected ever from the face divine.
From manifold references in the four gospels, the Acts and Revelation, the preacher can develop these traits in John's character: his natural energy (Mark 3:17); his intolerance (Mark 9:38); his vindictiveness (Luke 9:54); his ambition (Mark 10:35-37); his eagerness to learn (John 13:23; I John 2:9); his sympathy ( John 19:26); his love (1 John 4:7-21).
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Today's reading: Nehemiah 4-7, Acts 2:22-47 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Nehemiah 4-7
Opposition to the Rebuilding
1 When Sanballat heard that we were rebuilding the wall, he became angry and was greatly incensed. He ridiculed the Jews,2 and in the presence of his associates and the army of Samaria, he said, "What are those feeble Jews doing? Will they restore their wall? Will they offer sacrifices? Will they finish in a day? Can they bring the stones back to life from those heaps of rubble-burned as they are?"
3 Tobiah the Ammonite, who was at his side, said, "What they are building-even a fox climbing up on it would break down their wall of stones!"
Today's New Testament reading: Acts 2:22-47
22 "Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God's deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him. 25David said about him:
"'I saw the Lord always before me.Because he is at my right hand,
I will not be shaken.
26 Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
my body also will rest in hope,
27 because you will not abandon me to the realm of the dead,
you will not let your holy one see decay.
28 You have made known to me the paths of life;
you will fill me with joy in your presence.'
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