Bob Lawson Your a blogger David Daniel Ball. Your facts don't even tally with the statement the other day from the federal weather people saying that an enormous chunk of the Antarctic ice sheet has recently broken off and is slowly heading north. Please mate before you put this nonsense in print at least try to refute the weather science first. While some of modelling I think is the worst possible scenario there is no doubt that the earth's climate is warming and greenhouse gases not just CO2 that are man made are the major cause.
Bob Lawson Before you challenge me on academic grounds David Daniel Ball. I have three degrees. One in biology, another in industrial chemisty and third a masters degree in medicine. So I know what I am talking about where as you obviously don't.
Bob Lawson Your understanding of physics is as flawed as your climate change sceptic blog mate. Here are the facts mate; the strengh of frozen H2O is reliant on temperature and temperature only. The warmer it gets the less ordered and therefore the less cohesive the water molecules become. The ice event I quoted has been completely stable for all of recorded history mate. Now all of a sudden it isn't. This is nothing to do weight Daniel just temperature. There you go you have eve learned some first year Uni physics.
Bob proceeded to claim injury when asked to make a verifiable fact. He claimed I had abused him when I had not. He claimed I had said I was an authority on global warming when I have not. He admitted that the world was not heating in line with the theory, but made the extraordinary claim that that was because the effect was logarithmic and so the more carbon dioxide released the less the world would respond with heat. His voluminous but irrelevant arguments can be followed in context at http://conservativeweasel.blogspot.com.au/2014/10/a-simple-blog-sparked-this-on-agw.html
Thing is Bob is highly educated. His spelling is poor, for example not knowing the difference between 'know' and 'no.' He is highly educated in making assertions, but poor in putting forward verifiable ideas .. a cornerstone of science being that theory be testable. When asked to show where he found the so called outrages, he became abusive, or ignored the question, and later conceded that there was no such instance. This is not critical thinking, but reflexive thinking and a condemnation of education which has rewarded him richly with three degrees. Tonight the news media have castigated Mr Abbott for saying he would shirt front Mr Putin over the MH17 tragedy. A reasonable person might have thought that that meant Mr Abbott would meet Mr Putin face to face and raise the issue. But the media ran with the idea from AFL (which is historically Victorian, while Mr Abbot is from NSW) that shirt fronting meant that Mr Abbott would grab Mr Putin's shirt and tackle him. Pravda responded for Mr Putin expressing outrage on Mr Putin's behalf at the rhetoric, but Pravda is the Russian equivalent of the Age and often reports on issues without understanding them. One can only wonder how far the legs of this inflation will take the outrage. No doubt the Greens will draft a warning to Mr Abbott that he must set his phaser to stun.
A tax on breeding is being called for by AGW alarmists and must meet with Lawson's approval. One interesting sidelight of Lawson's ridiculous writings is that Carbon Dioxide is not the main driver of his fantasy of Global Warming, but it should still be taxed, according to his mind. NOAA admits AGW is not resulting in increased extreme weather events. Disabled people can work. Lawson is proof.
Jihadism shirt fronted
ABC Encounter program imagines a 'nice' caliphate without interviewing concerned parties that might be affected by a nice caliphate. Like Jews, Islamic victims of terror, Yazidi, Kurd. What is a 'nice' Caliphate? Does it abhor female genital mutilation? Does it educate girls? Does it have a justice system which is not harsh on the oppressed? Does it practice secular administration? If not, why would it be called 'nice'? The West is paying Hamas to further terrorism. Hockey is correct that the ALP must have a policy on budget for paying for any war they support. The standby ALP policy of stealing from children won't work. Australia is at war with the IS, but not yet effectively facing the IS in battle.
Australiana
Howard explores the Menzies era and comes back with the truth that a good Prime Minister will gather around them a good ministry which they respect, good party support and a healthy relationship with the public. Three big ticks for Mr Abbott, and three big minuses for Shorten. Polls show ALP are in front of Libs, but good analysis suggests that that is illusory. Two young men foully abused a security officer on a train in Brisbane. The word "Racist" is thrown around, but no one is discussing applying the law article 18c. The regulation is a failure, and a limit on free speech.
from 2013
Bill Shorten is the new ALP leader, and it is time to examine the process the ALP employed. It has meant a conflict of interest with the Governor General (his Mother in Law) in which she has offered to resign, when she should have resigned. She has never had a problem working with clear conflicts of interest before. It may well be the case that she is eventually charged over the Heiner affair with obstruction of justice. But that is a side issue to the show that was the campaign. It was handled badly by an ALP wanting to heal from the personality divisions and failed policy of the recent past. It did not feature discussion on policy. Apparently, the dismal failed policies regarding AGW, Broadband, Immigration, Border Security, Health, Infrastructure, defence, IR and financing are all retained. Shorten promised multiple quotas which should dilute the power of a single gender quota, but be patently unfair on those who merit promotion.
The US Primaries are excellent at building support for the President. But US elections are not compulsory for voters. So those primaries work to gain support from party supporters. In Australia, it is compulsory to vote, so parties try to appeal to the centre, swing voters. The difference means a GOP advert might have a prospective member shooting a target. Whereas a (conservative Australian) Liberal Party advert would be for families, struggling workers and those aspirational peoples wanting a better deal. Maybe in the future such a process will be adopted by the Liberal Party, but at the moment it is redundant .. Mr Abbott is leader and Prime Minister for the foreseeable future.
Meanwhile, there is a big challenge regarding IR laws. Under Fair Work I was employed under a federal grant on less than minimum wage without conditions. When I pointed this out, the bastard boss sacked me. I had no cause of action for complaint. Under Work Choices, I had had protections against such abuse. But, such abuse, possible under Fair Work, requires special circumstances beyond the average employer or multinational unless they are endowed with political corruption. In fact Fair Work means it is hard to employ people and expensive and so business skip the opportunity cost. There is a need for reform. However, business has not made the case for it and unions are cashed up from the previous ALP government. There are slush funds available for much campaigning. If business want improvements in IR laws, they have to make the case .. and dismiss the ALP/Union partisan Fair Work leaders for reliable ones who are independent.
===
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
Or the US President at
https://www.change.org/p/barack-obama-change-this-injustice#
or
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/change-injustice-faced-david-daniel-ball-after-he-reported-bungled-pedophile-investigation-and/b8mxPWtJ or http://wh.gov/ilXYR
Mr Ball, I will not sign your petition as it will do no good, but I will share your message and ask as many of friends who read it, to share it also. Let us see if we cannot use the power of the internet to spread the word of these infamous killings. As a father and a former soldier, I cannot, could not, justify ignoring this appalling action by the perpetrators, whoever they may; I thank you Douglas. You are wrong about the petition. Signing it is as worthless and meaningless an act as voting. A stand up guy would know that. - ed
Lorraine Allen Hider I signed the petition ages ago David, with pleasure, nobody knows what it's like until they've been there. Keep heart David take care.
===
1162 – Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile (d. 1214)
1756 – James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, English admiral (d. 1833)
1825 – Charles Frederick Worth, English fashion designer, founded House of Worth (d. 1895)
1853 – Lillie Langtry, English actress and singer (d. 1929)
1925 – Margaret Thatcher, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2013)
1934 – Nana Mouskouri, Greek singer and politician
1941 – Paul Simon, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Simon & Garfunkel)
1959 – Marie Osmond, American singer and actress
1969 – Nancy Kerrigan, American figure skater
1982 – Ian Thorpe, Australian swimmer
1993 – D-Pryde, Canadian rapper
- 54 – Claudius (bust pictured), the first Roman emperor to be born outside Italy, died mysteriously, most likely by poison administered by his wife Agrippina.
- 1710 – Queen Anne's War: The French surrender ending the Siege of Port Royal gave the British permanent possession of Nova Scotia.
- 1843 – B'nai B'rith, the oldest continually operating Jewish service organization in the world, was founded in New York City.
- 1917 – At least 30,000 people in the Cova da Iria fields near Fátima, Portugal, witnessed the "Miracle of the Sun".
- 1943 – World War II: With a new government led by General Pietro Badoglio, parts of Italy switched sides to the Allies and declared war on the Axis powers.
Matches
- 54 – Roman Emperor Claudius is poisoned to death under mysterious circumstances. His 17-year-old stepson Nero succeeds him to the Roman throne.
- 409 – Vandals and Alans cross the Pyrenees and appear in Hispania.
- 1307 – Hundreds of Knights Templar in France are simultaneously arrested by agents of Phillip the Fair, to be later tortured into a "confession" of heresy.
- 1332 – Rinchinbal Khan, Emperor Ningzong of Yuan becomes the Khagan of the Mongols and Emperor of the Yuan Dynasty, reigning for only 53 days.
- 1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
- 1644 – A Swedish–Dutch fleet defeats the Danish fleet at Fehmarn and captures about 1,000 prisoners.
- 1710 – Port Royal, the capital of French Acadia, falls in a siege by British forces.
- 1773 – The Whirlpool Galaxy is discovered by Charles Messier.
- 1775 – The United States Continental Congress orders the establishment of the Continental Navy (later renamed the United States Navy).
- 1792 – In Washington, D.C., the cornerstone of the United States Executive Mansion (known as the White House since 1818) is laid.
- 1812 – War of 1812: Battle of Queenston Heights – As part of the Niagara campaign in Ontario, Canada, United States forces under General Stephen Van Rensselaer are repulsed from invading Canada by British and native troops led by Sir Isaac Brock.
- 1843 – In New York City, Henry Jones and 11 others found B'nai B'rith (the oldest Jewish service organization in the world).
- 1845 – A majority of voters in the Republic of Texas approve a proposed constitution that, if accepted by the U.S. Congress, will make Texas a U.S. state.
- 1881 – First known conversation in modern Hebrew by Eliezer Ben-Yehuda and friends.
- 1884 – Greenwich, in London, England, is established as Universal Time meridian of longitude.
- 1885 – The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) is founded in Atlanta, United States.
- 1892 – Edward Emerson Barnard discovers D/1892 T1, the first comet discovered by photographic means, on the night of October 13–14.
- 1911 – Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, becomes the first Governor-General of Canada of royal descent.
- 1914 – In Major League Baseball's World Series, the Boston Braves defeat the Philadelphia Athletics, 4 games to 0, at Fenway Park in Boston, completing the first World Series sweep in history.
- 1915 – The Battle of the Hohenzollern Redoubt marks the end of the Battle of Loos in northern France, World War I.
- 1917 – The "Miracle of the Sun" is witnessed by an estimated 70,000 people in the Cova da Iria in Fátima, Portugal.
- 1918 – Mehmed Talat Pasha and the Young Turk (C.U.P.) ministry resign and sign an armistice, ending Ottoman participation in World War I.
- 1921 – The Soviet republics of Russia, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia sign the Treaty of Kars with the Grand National Assembly of Turkey to establish the contemporary borders between Turkey and the South Caucasus states.
- 1923 – Ankara replaces Istanbul as the capital of Turkey.
- 1943 – World War II: The new government of Italy sides with the Allies and declares war on Germany.
- 1944 – World War II: Riga, the capital of Latvia is occupied by the Red Army.
- 1946 – France adopts the constitution of the Fourth Republic.
- 1958 – Paddington Bear, a classic character from English children's literature, makes his debut.
- 1962 – The Pacific Northwest experiences a cyclone the equal of a Cat 3 hurricane. Winds measured above 150 mph at several locations; 46 people died.
- 1967 – The first game in the history of the American Basketball Association is played as the Anaheim Amigos lose to the Oakland Oaks134-129 in Oakland, California.
- 1970 – Fiji joins the United Nations.
- 1972 – An Aeroflot Ilyushin Il-62 crashes outside Moscow killing 174.
- 1972 – Uruguayan Air Force Flight 571 crashes in the Andes mountains, near the border between Argentina and Chile. By December 23, 1972, only 16 out of 45 people lived long enough to be rescued.
- 1976 – A Bolivian Boeing 707 cargo jet crashes in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, killing 100 (97, mostly children, killed on the ground).
- 1976 – The first electron micrograph of an Ebola viral particle is obtained by Dr. F.A. Murphy, now at U.C. Davis, who was then working at the C.D.C.
- 1977 – Four Palestinians hijack Lufthansa Flight 181 to Somalia and demand release of 11 members of the Red Army Faction.
- 1983 – Ameritech Mobile Communications (now AT&T Inc.) launched the first US cellular network in Chicago.
- 1990 – End of the Lebanese Civil War. Syrian forces launch an attack on the free areas of Lebanon removing General Michel Aoun from the presidential palace.
- 1992 – An Antonov An-124 operated by Antonov Airlines registered CCCP-82002, crashes near Kiev, Ukraine killing 8.
- 2010 – The 2010 Copiapó mining accident in Copiapó, Chile comes to an end as all 33 miners arrive at the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground awaiting rescue.
Hatches
- 1162 – Eleanor of England, Queen of Castile (d. 1214)
- 1381 – Thomas FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel, English politician, Lord High Treasurer of England (d. 1415)
- 1453 – Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales (d. 1471)
- 1474 – Mariotto Albertinelli, Italian painter (d. 1515)
- 1499 – Claude of France (d. 1524)
- 1566 – Richard Boyle, 1st Earl of Cork, Irish politician, Lord High Treasurer of Ireland (d. 1643)
- 1613 – Luisa de Guzmán, Spanish wife of John IV of Portugal (d. 1666)
- 1696 – John Hervey, 2nd Baron Hervey, English courtier and politician, Lord Privy Seal (d. 1743)
- 1713 – Allan Ramsay, Scottish-English painter (d. 1784)
- 1756 – James Gambier, 1st Baron Gambier, English admiral and politician, 36th Commodore Governor of Newfoundland (d. 1833)
- 1768 – Jacques Félix Emmanuel Hamelin, French admiral and explorer (d. 1839)
- 1820 – John William Dawson, Canadian geologist and academic (d. 1899)
- 1821 – Rudolf Virchow, German physician, biologist, and politician (d. 1902)
- 1825 – Charles Frederick Worth, English fashion designer, founded House of Worth (d. 1895)
- 1844 – Ernest Myers, English poet and author (d. 1921)
- 1853 – Lillie Langtry, English actress and singer (d. 1929)
- 1862 – Mary Kingsley, English explorer and author (d. 1900)
- 1870 – Albert Jay Nock, American theorist, author, and critic (d. 1945)
- 1874 – József Klekl, Slovene-Hungarian priest and politician (d. 1948)
- 1876 – Rube Waddell, American baseball player (d. 1914)
- 1878 – Patrick Joseph Hartigan, Australian priest and author (d. 1952)
- 1879 – Edward Hennig, American gymnast (d. 1960)
- 1880 – Sasha Chorny, Russian poet and author (d. 1932)
- 1883 – William Dickey, American diver (d. 1950)
- 1887 – Jozef Tiso, Slovak priest and politician, President of Slovakia (d. 1947)
- 1890 – Conrad Richter, American author (d. 1968)
- 1891 – Irene Rich, American actress (d. 1988)
- 1895 – Mike Gazella, American baseball player and manager (d. 1978)
- 1896 – E. Beatrice Riley, Australian super-centenarian (d. 2009)
- 1900 – Gerald Marks, American composer (d. 1997)
- 1902 – Arna Bontemps, American librarian, author, and poet (d. 1973)
- 1902 – Karl Leichter, Estonian musicologist (d. 1987)
- 1904 – Wilfred Pickles, English actor and radio host (d. 1978)
- 1905 – Yves Allégret, French director and screenwriter (d. 1987)
- 1905 – Coloman Braun-Bogdan, Romanian footballer and manager (d. 1983)
- 1909 – Herblock, American author and illustrator (d. 2001)
- 1909 – Art Tatum, American pianist (d. 1956)
- 1911 – Ashok Kumar, Indian actor, singer, and producer (d. 2001)
- 1913 – Igor Torkar, Slovenian poet and playwright (d. 2004)
- 1915 – Terry Frost, English painter (d. 2003)
- 1915 – Cornel Wilde, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
- 1917 – George Osmond, American talent manager (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Burr Tillstrom, American puppeteer (d. 1985)
- 1918 – Robert Walker, American actor and singer (d. 1951)
- 1919 – R. Kanagasuntheram, Sri Lankan zoologist and academic (d. 2010)
- 1920 – Laraine Day, American actress (d. 2007)
- 1921 – Yves Montand, Italian-French actor and singer (d. 1991)
- 1923 – Cyril Shaps, English actor (d. 2003)
- 1923 – Faas Wilkes, Dutch footballer (d. 2006)
- 1923 – John C. Champion, American producer and screenwriter (d. 1994)
- 1924 – Terry Gibbs, American vibraphone player and bandleader
- 1924 – Moturu Udayam, Indian activist and politician (d. 2002)
- 1924 – Roberto Eduardo Viola, Argentinian general and politician, 44th President of Argentina (d. 1994)
- 1925 – Lenny Bruce, American comedian and actor (d. 1966)
- 1925 – Margaret Thatcher, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Gustav Winckler, Danish singer-songwriter (d. 1979)
- 1926 – Ray Brown, American bassist and cellist (d. 2002)
- 1926 – Killer Kowalski, Canadian-American wrestler (d. 2008)
- 1926 – Tommy Whittle, Scottish-English saxophonist (d. 2013)
- 1926 – Eddie Yost, American baseball player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1927 – Lee Konitz, American saxophonist and composer
- 1929 – Richard Howard, American poet, critic, and educator
- 1929 – Walasse Ting, Chinese-American painter and poet(d. 2010)
- 1930 – Bruce Geller, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1978)
- 1931 – Raymond Kopa, French footballer
- 1931 – Eddie Mathews, American baseball player and manager (d. 2001)
- 1932 – Johnny Lytle, American vibraphone player and drummer (d. 1995)
- 1933 – Thomas Bingham, Baron Bingham of Cornhill, English judge, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (d. 2012)
- 1933 – Raynald Fréchette, Canadian lawyer, judge, and politician (d. 2007)
- 1934 – Jack Colvin, American actor and director (d. 2005)
- 1934 – Nana Mouskouri, Greek singer and politician
- 1935 – Etterlene DeBarge, American singer-songwriter
- 1935 – Bruce Morrow, American radio host
- 1936 – Chitti Babu, Indian veena player and composer
- 1937 – Sami Frey, French actor
- 1938 – Hugo Young, English journalist (d. 2003)
- 1939 – Larry Bowie, American football player (d. 2012)
- 1939 – T. J. Cloutier, American poker player
- 1939 – Melinda Dillon, American actress
- 1940 – Chris Farlowe, English singer (Colosseum)
- 1940 – Pharoah Sanders, American saxophonist
- 1941 – Paul Simon, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Simon & Garfunkel)
- 1942 – Rutanya Alda, Latvian-American actress
- 1942 – Bob Bailey, American baseball player and manager
- 1942 – Jerry Jones, American businessman
- 1942 – Walter McGowan, Scottish boxer
- 1942 – Pamela Tiffin, American actress
- 1943 – Mike Barnicle, American journalist
- 1943 – Beverley Goodway, English photographer (d. 2012)
- 1943 – Peter Sauber, Swiss businessman, founded the Sauber F1 Team
- 1944 – Robert Lamm, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (Chicago)
- 1945 – Christophe, French singer-songwriter
- 1945 – Dési Bouterse, Surinamese army officer and politician, 9th President of Suriname
- 1945 – Susan Stafford, American game show host
- 1946 – Levon Ananyan, Armenian journalist (d. 2013)
- 1946 – Edwina Currie, English politician
- 1946 – Demond Wilson, American actor and pastor
- 1947 – Sammy Hagar, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Van Halen, Chickenfoot, Montrose, and Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve)
- 1947 – Jerry Trupiano, American sportscaster
- 1947 – Alan Wakeman, English saxophonist (Soft Machine)
- 1947 – Susan Blommaert, American actress
- 1948 – Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Pakistani singer (d. 1997)
- 1948 – John Ford Coley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (England Dan & John Ford Coley)
- 1948 – Lacy J. Dalton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1949 – Marisol Malaret, Puerto Rican model, Miss Universe 1970
- 1949 – Tom Mees, American sportscaster (d. 1996)
- 1949 – Leona Mitchell, American soprano
- 1949 – Raimundo Fagner, Brazilian singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor and producer
- 1949 – Patrick Nève, Belgian race car driver
- 1949 – Rick Vito, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Fleetwood Mac)
- 1949 – Mark Winzenried, American middle-distance runner
- 1950 – Mollie Katzen, American chef and author
- 1950 – Simon Nicol, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Fairport Convention)
- 1951 – Johann Kniewasser, Austrian skier (d. 2012)
- 1952 – Mundo Earwood, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2014)
- 1952 – Beverly Johnson, American model and actress
- 1952 – John Lone, Hong Kong-American actor
- 1953 – Pat Day, American jockey
- 1954 – George Frazier, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1954 – Claude Ribbe, French historian and academic
- 1955 – John Ferenzik, American keyboard player, guitarist and composer
- 1956 – Chris Carter, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1956 – Donald Paige, American middle-distance runner
- 1956 – Joseph Toal, Scottish bishop
- 1957 – Reggie Theus, American basketball player and coach
- 1958 – Maria Cantwell, American politician
- 1958 – Derri Daugherty, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Choir and Lost Dogs)
- 1958 – Jair-Rôhm Parker Wells, American bassist and composer
- 1959 – Marie Osmond, American singer, producer, and actress
- 1960 – Joey Belladonna, American singer-songwriter (Anthrax)
- 1960 – Tim Brewster, American football player and coach
- 1960 – Ari Fleischer, American journalist, 24th White House Press Secretary
- 1960 – Peter Keisler, American lawyer and politician, United States Attorney General
- 1961 – Doc Rivers, American basketball player and coach
- 1962 – T'Keyah Crystal Keymáh, American actress and author
- 1962 – Kelly Preston, American actress
- 1962 – Jerry Rice, American football player
- 1963 – Colin Channer, Jamaican author
- 1963 – Chip Foose, American automotive designer
- 1963 – Scott Andrew Mink, American murderer (d. 2004)
- 1964 – Allen Covert, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1964 – Nie Haisheng, Chinese general, pilot, and astronaut
- 1964 – Christopher Judge, American actor and producer
- 1964 – Marco Travaglio, Italian journalist
- 1964 – Masaya Onosaka, Japanese voice actor
- 1965 – Johan Museeuw, Belgian cyclist
- 1966 – Larry Collmus, American sportscaster
- 1967 – Scott Cooper, American baseball player
- 1967 – Trevor Hoffman, American baseball player
- 1967 – Javier Sotomayor, Cuban high jumper
- 1967 – Steve Vickers, English footballer
- 1967 – Kate Walsh, American actress
- 1968 – Tisha Campbell-Martin, American actress and singer
- 1968 – Carlos Marín, Spanish singer and actor (Il Divo)
- 1969 – Rhett Akins, American singer-songwriter (The Peach Pickers)
- 1969 – Nancy Kerrigan, American figure skater
- 1969 – Cady McClain, American actress
- 1970 – Serena Altschul, American journalist
- 1970 – Mel Jackson, American actor, singer, and producer
- 1970 – Rob Howley, Welsh rugby player
- 1970 – Paul Potts, English tenor
- 1971 – Sacha Baron Cohen, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Billy Bush, American television and radio host
- 1971 – Pyrros Dimas, Greek weightlifter
- 1971 – Hitesh Modi, Kenyan cricketer
- 1971 – Kira Reed, American actress and producer, and screenwriter
- 1971 – Luis Tosar, Spanish actor
- 1972 – Summer Sanders, American swimmer and sportscaster
- 1973 – Brian Dawkins, American football player and coach
- 1973 – Peter Dumbreck, Scottish race car driver
- 1973 – Matt Hughes, American mixed martial artist
- 1973 – Nanako Matsushima, Japanese actress
- 1974 – Hawick Lau, Chinese actor and singer
- 1977 – Gareth Batty, English cricketer
- 1977 – Benjamin Clapp, American drummer (Baptized By Fire, Skeleton Key, and Amfibian)
- 1977 – Antonio Di Natale, Italian footballer
- 1977 – Justin Peroff, Canadian drummer and actor (Broken Social Scene and Junior Blue)
- 1977 – Paul Pierce, American basketball player
- 1977 – Kiele Sanchez, American actress
- 1978 – Jermaine O'Neal, American basketball player
- 1979 – Wes Brown, English footballer
- 1979 – Mamadou Niang, Senegalese footballer
- 1980 – Ashanti, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1980 – David Haye, English boxer
- 1980 – Magne Hoseth, Norwegian footballer
- 1980 – Scott Parker, English footballer
- 1981 – Ryan Ashford, English footballer
- 1981 – Taylor Buchholz, American baseball player
- 1981 – Dimitrios Mougios, Greek rower
- 1981 – Kele Okereke, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Bloc Party)
- 1982 – Antonio Pavanello, Italian rugby player
- 1982 – Ian Thorpe, Australian swimmer
- 1984 – Coldmirror, German video blogger
- 1984 – Misono, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist (Day After Tomorrow)
- 1984 – Frank Simek, American soccer player
- 1986 – Gabriel Agbonlahor, English footballer
- 1986 – Sergio Pérez Moya, Mexican footballer
- 1988 – Scott Jamieson, Australian soccer player
- 1988 – Enrique Pérez, Mexican footballer
- 1989 – Breno Borges, Brazilian footballer
- 1990 – Emma Flood, Norwegian tennis player
- 1992 – Aaron Dismuke, American voice actor
- 1993 – D-Pryde, Canadian rapper
- 1993 – Kaito Ishikawa, Japanese voice actor
Despatches
- 54 – Claudius, Roman emperor (b. 10 BC)
- 1093 – Robert I, Count of Flanders (b. 1035)
- 1282 – Nichiren Japanese monk (b. 1222)
- 1415 – Thomas FitzAlan, 12th Earl of Arundel, English politician, Lord High Treasurer of England (b. 1381)
- 1605 – Theodore Beza, French theologian and scholar (b. 1519)
- 1673 – Christoffer Gabel, German-Danish politician (b. 1617)
- 1687 – Geminiano Montanari, Italian astronomer (b. 1633)
- 1694 – Samuel von Pufendorf, German historian, economist, and jurist (b. 1632)
- 1706 – Iyasu I of Ethiopia (b. 1682)
- 1715 – Nicolas Malebranche, French priest and philosopher (b. 1638)
- 1759 – John Henley, English clergyman (b. 1692)
- 1788 – Robert Nugent, 1st Earl Nugent, Irish poet and politician (b. 1702)
- 1812 – Isaac Brock, English general and politician, Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada (b. 1769)
- 1815 – Joachim Murat, French general (b. 1767)
- 1822 – Antonio Canova, Italian sculptor (b. 1757)
- 1825 – Maximilian I Joseph of Bavaria (b. 1756)
- 1841 – Patrick Campbell, Scottish admiral (b. 1773)
- 1869 – Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, French poet, author, and critic (b. 1804)
- 1882 – Arthur de Gobineau, French philosopher and author (b. 1816)
- 1890 – Samuel Freeman Miller, American lawyer and jurist (b. 1816)
- 1904 – Pavlos Melas, Greek captain (b. 1870)
- 1905 – Henry Irving, English actor and manager (b. 1838)
- 1909 – Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, Spanish philosopher (b. 1849)
- 1911 – Sister Nivedita, Irish-Indian social worker, author, and educator (b. 1867)
- 1917 – Florence La Badie, American actress (b. 1888)
- 1919 – Karl Adolph Gjellerup, Danish author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1857)
- 1926 – Hans E. Kinck, Norwegian philologist and author (b. 1865)
- 1931 – Ernst Didring, Swedish author (b. 1868)
- 1938 – E. C. Segar, American cartoonist, created Popeye (b. 1894)
- 1945 – Milton S. Hershey, American businessman, founded The Hershey Company (b. 1857)
- 1946 – Ole Sæther, Norwegian target shooter (b. 1870)
- 1950 – Ernest Haycox, American author (b. 1899)
- 1955 – Manuel Ávila Camacho, Mexican general and politician, 45th President of Mexico (b. 1897)
- 1961 – Prince Louis Rwagasore, Burundi politician, Prime Minister of Burundi (b. 1932)
- 1966 – Clifton Webb, American actor, singer, and dancer (b. 1889)
- 1968 – Bea Benaderet, American actress and singer (b. 1906)
- 1971 – Stafford Smythe, Canadian businessman (b. 1921)
- 1973 – Albert Mandler, Austrian-Israeli general (b. 1929)
- 1974 – Otto Binder, American author (b. 1911)
- 1974 – Ed Sullivan, American television host (b. 1901)
- 1979 – Antonio Berni, Argentine painter, illustrator and engraver (b. 1905)
- 1981 – Rebecca Clarke, English viola player and composer (b. 1886)
- 1987 – Walter Houser Brattain, American physicist and engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1902)
- 1987 – Kishore Kumar, Indian singer-songwriter, producer, actor, and director (b. 1929)
- 1988 – Mike Venezia, American jockey (b. 1945)
- 1990 – Lê Đức Thọ, Vietnamese general and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
- 1992 – Dantrell Davis, American murder victim (b. 1985)
- 1992 – James Marshall, American author and illustrator (b. 1942)
- 1993 – Wade Flemons, American singer-songwriter (Earth, Wind & Fire) (b. 1940)
- 1996 – Beryl Reid, English actress (b. 1919)
- 1998 – Dmitry Nikolayevich Filippov, Russian politician (b. 1944)
- 2000 – Jean Peters, American actress (b. 1926)
- 2001 – Peter Doyle, Australian singer-songwriter (The New Seekers) (b. 1949)
- 2002 – Stephen Ambrose, American historian and author (b. 1936)
- 2003 – Bertram Brockhouse, Canadian physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
- 2004 – Enrique Fernando, Filipino jurist, 13th Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the Philippines (b. 1915)
- 2004 – Bernice Rubens, Welsh author (b. 1928)
- 2005 – Vivian Malone Jones, American activist (b. 1942)
- 2006 – Wang Guangmei, Chinese wife of Liu Shaoqi (b. 1921)
- 2007 – Bob Denard, French soldier (b. 1929)
- 2008 – Alexei Cherepanov, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1989)
- 2008 – Guillaume Depardieu, French actor (b. 1971)
- 2009 – Stephen Barnett, American scholar (b. 1935)
- 2009 – Grietje Jansen-Anker, Dutch super-centenarian (b. 1897)
- 2009 – Al Martino, American singer and actor (b. 1927)
- 2010 – Vernon Biever, American photographer (b. 1923)
- 2011 – Barbara Kent, Canadian-American actress (b. 1907)
- 2012 – Dileepan, Indian actor (b. 1980)
- 2012 – Stuart Bell, English politician (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Gary Collins, American actor (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Tomonobu Imamichi, Japanese philosopher (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Saiichi Maruya, Japanese author and critic (b. 1925)
- 2012 – Frank Sando, English runner (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Harihar Swain, Indian politician (b. 1939)
- 2012 – Manuel Torres Félix, Mexican drug trafficker (b. 1954)
- 2013 – Olga Aroseva, Russian actress (b. 1925)
- 2013 – Martin Drewes, German pilot (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Rosalie Gower, Canadian nurse and politician (b. 1931)
- 2013 – Joe Meriweather, American basketball player and coach (b. 1953)
- 2013 – Tommy Whittle, Scottish-English saxophonist (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Takashi Yanase, Japanese poet and illustrator, created Anpanman (b. 1919)
- 2013 – Philippos Syrigos, Greek sports journalist (b. 1948)
2014
- Christian feast day:
- Fontanalia, in honor of Fontus. (Roman Empire)
- National Police Day (Thailand)
- International Day for Natural Disaster Reduction
Let’s all promote the caliphate with our taxes
Andrew Bolt October 13 2014 (12:39pm)
Sure, the ABC does not support the alleged caliphate established by the Islamic State’s terrorists. They’re not that crazy.
But how about a nice caliphate, the ABC’s Encounter program asks:
Hey, another platform for Hizb ut-Tahrir, which refuses to condemn the Islamic State, preaches Jew hatred, calls for the destruction of Israel and tells the West is at war with Islam. None of that stuff is mentioned, of course. Still, it’s nice to hear Hizb ut-Tahrir ensure us that establishing a world-wide caliphate “does not necessarily mean war”. We could just surrender peacefully, I guess.
Other certain negatives of living under a caliphate are not mentioned either. A Jewish or Yazidi guest might have helped there.
(Thanks to reader David.)
===But how about a nice caliphate, the ABC’s Encounter program asks:
Does Islam need a Caliphate? The extravagant brutality of the IS group in Syria and Iraq has Muslims worldwide saying that if this is the restored Caliphate, we want no part of it. But what about the idea of a “proper” pan-Islamic polity, established and run according to Koranic principles? How might it work – and how likely is it to happen? This week we look at the past, present and possible future of the Caliphate.A whole range of people are interviewed, or not:
Paul Heck Associate Professor of Islamic Studies, Georgetown University, Washington D.C.
Shakira Hussein Research Fellow at the National Centre of Excellence for Islamic Studies, University of Melbourne
Mirja Ramzan Sharif National External Affairs Secretary, the Ahmadiyya Muslim Association of Australia
Uthman Badar Media representative, Hizb ut-Tahrir in Australia
Salman Sayyid Reader in Sociology and Social Policy, The University of Leeds
Hey, another platform for Hizb ut-Tahrir, which refuses to condemn the Islamic State, preaches Jew hatred, calls for the destruction of Israel and tells the West is at war with Islam. None of that stuff is mentioned, of course. Still, it’s nice to hear Hizb ut-Tahrir ensure us that establishing a world-wide caliphate “does not necessarily mean war”. We could just surrender peacefully, I guess.
Other certain negatives of living under a caliphate are not mentioned either. A Jewish or Yazidi guest might have helped there.
(Thanks to reader David.)
How universities teach tomorrow’s journalists to be good Leftist haters
Andrew Bolt October 13 2014 (10:02am)
After seeing how some journalism lecturers have preached wild diatribes against me and Murdoch papers, this doesn’t come as any surprise, unfortunately:
Slowly, slowly the Left’s stranglehold on state education is being relaxed - but only very slightly:
===FIRST-year media students at some of the nation’s most prestigious universities are being taught ... repeatedly that one of the world’s biggest employers of journalists, News Corp, uses “naked political pressure” to the detriment of democracy…UPDATE
The University of Sydney course in particular is leading students to form a critical view of News Corp.
Lecturer Dr Penny O’Donnell teaches students that News Corp newspapers’ 2013 election coverage was driven by a corporate fear of the NBN — a claim that has no factual basis and is incorrect…
“It’s all about Rupert Murdoch today,” Dr O’Donnell said.
“What is good for the commercial fortune of the media proprietor is not necessarily good for the democratic role. You need to go no further than the case study of Rupert Murdoch to get evidence that supports that statement,’’ she said.
O’Donnell encouraged students to read well known News Corp critic Rod Tiffin and said she “highly recommends” Nick Davies’ anti-Murdoch book Hack Attack, How the Truth Caught up with Rupert Murdoch…
“The Murdoch way is political pressure. Naked political pressure. Nothing subtle. Get them Out. Australia Needs Tony. This is the way Rupert exercises power.”
O’Donnell asked the class why Murdoch would want Abbott as Prime Minister instead of former PM Kevin Rudd.
With no reference to the fact Rudd was leading a dysfunctional government, she agreed with students that some of the reasons Murdoch supported Abbott were because: “All the elites stick together”; “We know Murdoch hates unions” but, she claims, it was primarily because of the NBN…
In the introductory lecture at the University of Sydney, Dr Bunty Avieson told students she hoped they were all subscribers to Crikey “if not, be so by next week.” She also recommended websites New Matilda, The Conversation, No Fibs and Media Watch, along with two newspapers a day.
In another lecture, students were advised not to present both sides of the argument on climate change because, similar to the old tobacco debate of the past, there only was one side. The argument was that balanced reporting allowed sceptics to be given airtime. The Australian newspaper was labelled a “repeat offender” of this crime.
Slowly, slowly the Left’s stranglehold on state education is being relaxed - but only very slightly:
PRIMARY schools should focus on teaching literacy and numeracy, Australia’s Judaeo-Christian heritage should be given greater emphasis, and a “tokenistic” approach to key classroom themes must be dumped, according to a proposed shake-up of the national curriculum hailed yesterday by Tony Abbott as a “back to basics” approach to education.(Thanks to reader Baden and Lucinda.)
The federal government’s review of the national curriculum, conducted by Queensland University professor Ken Wiltshire and education consultant and senior research fellow at the Australian Catholic University Kevin Donnelly, calls for “immediate and substantial action” to reduce the overcrowding of the curriculum in primary schools.
The report, released yesterday, recommends subjects be removed or “slimmed down” and students in their first three years concentrate on learning the three Rs, underpinned by a focus on teaching phonics, the letter-sound relationships in English, in a systematic way.
The report criticises the lack of emphasis on “morals, values and spirituality”, and calls for a “rebalancing” in the history curriculum to “better recognise the contribution of Western civilisation, our Judaeo-Christian heritage, the role of economic development and industry, and the democratic underpinning of the British system of government”.
Stop global warming! Charge families a carbon tax for breeding
Andrew Bolt October 13 2014 (9:41am)
Global warming is just the latest vehicle for Malthusians, authoritarians and assorted anti-capitalists.
Too harsh? Then explain this proposal to tackle global warming by making people pay for carbon credits for the privilege of having children.
Here are Associate Professor David Hodgkinson, from the University of Western Australia’s law school, and Adjunct Lecturer Rebecca Johnston, of the University of Notre Dame’s law school, writing in the taxpayer-funder Conversation:
It seems to me this is a wish in search of an excuse.
(Thanks to reader handjive.)
===Too harsh? Then explain this proposal to tackle global warming by making people pay for carbon credits for the privilege of having children.
Here are Associate Professor David Hodgkinson, from the University of Western Australia’s law school, and Adjunct Lecturer Rebecca Johnston, of the University of Notre Dame’s law school, writing in the taxpayer-funder Conversation:
Note that the world’s atmosphere hasn’t actually warmed for some 16 years, and the deep ocean for nine. Yet academics still can’t let go of schemes to reduce the number of humans or remove their freedoms.
Overpopulation is often argued to be the driver behind many of the problems the world faces — from climate change to food insecurity — driven by choices at the level of individuals and families.
One way to reduce the impact of population could be to include family planning in carbon markets....
Recent research in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences also shows that slowing population growth could provide between 16 and 29% of emissions reductions necessary by 2050 to avoid the effects of dangerous climate change…
One approach would be the provision of carbon credits for having fewer children. Market-based mechanisms — emissions trading schemes (essentially cap-and-trade schemes) — are in vogue as a means to address the climate change problem. Why not use such mechanisms to address the population problem?
For example, a financial incentive could be provided in the form of carbon credits for individuals who chose to limit their family size.
In broad outline, the scheme could work as follows: families (or a female individual) would be offered carbon credits if they (or she) elected to have one child (which is less than the replacement fertility rate of roughly 2.1 births per woman for developed countries).
For each additional child, credits must be purchased from the relevant carbon market that may be a local, national or international one depending on the scope of implementation of the scheme.
It seems to me this is a wish in search of an excuse.
(Thanks to reader handjive.)
NOAA rejects link between warming and many extreme weather events
Andrew Bolt October 13 2014 (9:23am)
We have been seeing
more science bodies starting to speak out against the warming alarmists,
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration now joins them:
===According to NOAA’s new publication, Explaining Extremes of 2013 from a Climate Perspective, there is no discernible connection between global warming and 2013 extreme weather events such as the California drought, Colorado floods, the UK’s exceptionally cold spring, a South Dakota blizzard, Central Europe floods, a northwestern Europe cyclone, and exceptional snowfall in Europe’s Pyrenees Mountains....(Thanks to reader Old Fellah.)
The liberal Center for American Progress and its media allies such as the Washington Post, San Jose Mercury News, Associated Press, and others have all published stories claiming global warming caused or worsened the ongoing California drought. Scientists, however, say just the opposite. “[F]or the California drought, which was investigated by three teams from the United States, human factors were found not to have influenced the lack of rainfall,” NOAA reported in an accompanying press release…
Similarly, global warming alarmists frequently claim global warming causes extreme cold temperatures and extreme snowstorms.... To the contrary, NOAA reported “Analysis of UK cold spring showed the probability of occurrence may have fallen 30-fold due to global warming.” ...Nevertheless, shameless alarmists such as National Geographic News claimed global warming was responsible for the extremely cold spring…
Global warming activists and their media allies wasted absolutely no time exploiting the victims of the deadly [Colorado floods of September 2013] to make irresponsible claims that global warming was to blame. NOAA scientists, however, report global warming played no role and may be making such tragic events less likely. Modeling of past and present Colorado rainfall events “found that the probability of another extreme 5-day rainfall, like the one that caused widespread flooding in Boulder, is estimated to have decreased because of human-caused climate change,” NOAA reported.
Blaming white Anglos doesn’t explain the new racism
Andrew Bolt October 13 2014 (8:19am)
A disgusting racist attack:
And just in case they are still in doubt.
I’ve noticed this same blindness - or obfuscation - before when Victorian police, politicians and journalists repeatedly refused to explain that a terrible spate of assaults on Indians was not really the work of the fabled white racists of Australia at all.
(Thanks to reader Greg.)
===Two youths will face Brisbane Magistrates Court [after] a racist outburst – allegedly delivered by one and filmed by the other – surfaced and sparked a social media campaign to find and out them.Foul:
The men, aged 17 and 18, were charged on Sunday night over the incident at Indooroopilly train station on October 2.
It’s alleged the younger of the two swore and racially abused a Queensland Rail-contracted security guard while the elder recorded it.
Police will also allege the 17-year-old spat on a security guard.
In the video - which attracted three million hits in under 24 hours - a 17-year-old man allegedly refers to a train guard as ‘n*****’ and a ‘black c***’ repeatedly before he continues to explode into a racist rant during the five-minute video.Guardian readers leap to their stereotypical conclusions and claim this is “typical” Australian racism, with the evil Abbott Government whipping up “white” and Christian” Australians with its wars in Muslims lands and so on:
‘Do you want to come to Australia to learn some proper English?’ the teenager said in the video…
An attendant is heard telling the young man to ‘get off’ at the next stop…
‘I’m trying to get to the next station - l’ll sit on this f*****g train for hours if I have to,’ the teenager said.
‘I’ll hold all you f*****s up. I really don’t care. Especially this black c***.
‘Do you even have an Australian citizenship, you f*****g n****r?’
Mountwilliam…There is a rather big fact that the Guardian readers seem to utterly blind to, no matter how often they stare at the youth doing the abusing:
“I think it’s un-Australian to abuse people in a public place just because you don’t like the way they look, or you don’t like the way they dress, or you make assumptions about what they believe,” says Tony Abbott. What a hypocrite. Tony has been fanning the flames for weeks…ReadyReader ...
His Liberal-urging shills on talkback radio fan the flames as part of their job description…Peter ...
UnAustralian?? Bulldust. I am Gay & I get abused in public regularly. Fuc$ing Faggot, stinking Poofter, etc etc. Abusing and assaulting people in public is 100% Australian. We are a warring nation of bashers and thugs, Iraq Afganistan, etc etc, and we reap and we will reap what we sow. aka CRIMINAL VIOLENCE.jama251…
Australia has had its own problem with racism for many years now and it has never been seriously addressed. What has to be remembered is the existence of an all but in name apartheid state as a result of the White Australia Policy which governed immigration for a lot of the 20th century.Jamessss…
The treatment of the indigenous people was and still remains a disgrace. let no-one say that racism in Australia is not a real and serious issue…
It’s as simple as the racist: Prosecute him for assault; Condemn him as publicly as possible; and perhaps investigate the link between the present govt’s racist policies / nationalism and the frequency of these outbursts which are on the increase. Australia you have a problem you need to overturn these stones and stamp on the creepy crawlies like this skinny white racist…KriegersClones…
I see Australia as a bit like 1970s Britain. The macho culture, the pride in ignorance, etc…Cfrees ...
I see Australia has many similarities with the UK in 2014. Islamaphobia for one, the pride in ignorance (UKIP), macho culture (culture of masculinity in the UK) etc etc. ...AsDusty…
The ugly face of Abbotts Australia.Bluetwo…
This is exactly the type of behaviour the captain of team Australia is promoting. He laps this stuff up. Winding up the populous with hate towards all non whites/Christians hoping for an incident to crack down further on our rights.Vanessa Campbell…
They’re always the same, these people. White trash.
And just in case they are still in doubt.
I’ve noticed this same blindness - or obfuscation - before when Victorian police, politicians and journalists repeatedly refused to explain that a terrible spate of assaults on Indians was not really the work of the fabled white racists of Australia at all.
(Thanks to reader Greg.)
Howard - and Menzies - on the art of governing
Andrew Bolt October 13 2014 (8:09am)
Henry Ergas reviews John Howard’s new book on the era of Robert Menzies:
===... however illuminating Howard’s book is of the history, it is even more revealing of Howard’s own approach to government.
A striking example is the discussion of the Gorton prime ministership, with its eerie parallels to the saga of Kevin Rudd and Julia Gillard. John Gorton could have been an outstanding leader; but he put what he saw as his direct appeal to the Australian public uppermost. He therefore “operated at arm’s length from many of his senior colleagues”, “indifferent to the central role of cabinet” and “insensitive to power centres within his party, the states and the bureaucracy”.
Compounding the problems by “needless belligerence” and “unpredictability”, Gorton forgot that “the most precious commodity any political leader has is respect”, which must be gained through “competence in government” and for which “popularity and likability can never be substitutes”. To make matters worse, Gorton’s cavalier treatment of his colleagues fed increasingly bitter divisions; and (as Howard says of Whitlam) “no amount of soaring rhetoric can make up for disunity in a government, a faltering economy or a feeling that a government is incompetent”.
The lesson, which should make this book required reading for Tony Abbott, is that “the leader of a political party has three important relations: with the public, with his broad party membership, and with those he immediately leads, especially his ministers”. Only by nurturing each of those relationships can effective government be sustained; and the guiding principle must be that “in politics, whenever there is a conflict, common sense should trump all other considerations”.
It is that common sense, and an understanding of the overriding importance of party unity, which Howard sees as Menzies’ greatest asset. “A strong, confident leader”, Menzies knew how to “allow his more senior ministers plenty of leeway to pursue their policy instincts”. And he also knew, as his biographer Allan Martin put it, that success in Australian politics rests neither on “the radicalism of Labor” nor on “social privilege” but on the “firm bourgeois reality” of middle-class aspiration.
That aspiration fed a “reformist tradition” which left a large place to public action. But it was also responsive to Menzies’ warning that “to forward the idea of the special supremacy of government” is to “set aside normal liberty of choice”, and so “is the antithesis of democracy”.
Hockey is right and Labor must help pay
Andrew Bolt October 13 2014 (7:19am)
SOMETHING is seriously wrong with a country that’s not just growing
poorer, but thinks Joe Hockey is an idiot for minding the till.
The Treasurer is now being kicked by the media, whacked by Labor, distanced from his Prime Minister and even sneered at by his own colleagues for insisting politicians must pay for what they promise.
And that includes a war in Iraq estimated to cost us $500 million a year.
Last week, Hockey pointed out that Labor, having backed the war, could not wash its hands of the moral responsibility of funding it.
“Everything comes at a cost,” said Hockey, “and if Bill Shorten truly is honest about his commitment to deliver bipartisan support in relation to our defence efforts in the Middle East, he’ll provide bipartisan support to pay for it.”
Sure, Hockey then got a bit political by suggesting exactly how Shorten should help pay.
“It’s another good reason for Mr Shorten to immediately pass the remaining measures in the Budget.”
(Read full article here.)
===The Treasurer is now being kicked by the media, whacked by Labor, distanced from his Prime Minister and even sneered at by his own colleagues for insisting politicians must pay for what they promise.
And that includes a war in Iraq estimated to cost us $500 million a year.
Last week, Hockey pointed out that Labor, having backed the war, could not wash its hands of the moral responsibility of funding it.
“Everything comes at a cost,” said Hockey, “and if Bill Shorten truly is honest about his commitment to deliver bipartisan support in relation to our defence efforts in the Middle East, he’ll provide bipartisan support to pay for it.”
Sure, Hockey then got a bit political by suggesting exactly how Shorten should help pay.
“It’s another good reason for Mr Shorten to immediately pass the remaining measures in the Budget.”
(Read full article here.)
The war isn’t stopping the Islamic State
Andrew Bolt October 13 2014 (7:17am)
LAST week, Australia’s
jets dropped just two bombs on the Islamic State. That is a lousy return
for a war costing us $10 million a week.
But, worse, it suggests this war is not going to plan.
We didn’t drop more bombs because the Islamic State isn’t offering clear targets, proving this war cannot be won from the air.
In fact, progress is slower, the allies weaker and the strategy less clear by the day.
(Read full article here.)
===But, worse, it suggests this war is not going to plan.
We didn’t drop more bombs because the Islamic State isn’t offering clear targets, proving this war cannot be won from the air.
In fact, progress is slower, the allies weaker and the strategy less clear by the day.
(Read full article here.)
Polls say Labor ahead under Shorten. Liberals sure he’s way behind
Andrew Bolt October 13 2014 (7:04am)
Phillip Hudson explains why the Liberals think Labor is a sitting duck under Bill Shorten, even though he’s still ahead in the polls after a year in the job:
===Shorten’s achievement has been to hold Labor together to fight the Coalition instead of each other. Newspoll shows the Opposition has been ahead in two-party terms for 16 of the 19 surveys taken since the election, including all 10 since the budget…And there’s this fundamental question: where’s the money, Bill?
But the poll lead is built on the back of an anti-Abbott, anti-budget sentiment rather than being pro-Shorten.
Labor’s primary vote, after a surge, has dropped back to 34 per cent, which is virtually the same as its election-losing level.
Liberal Party research, according to a senior Liberal, shows Shorten hasn’t cut through with voters yet, and was judged to be negative and not seen as having a big impact, in contrast to Clive Palmer, whom the research found to be more relevant as a political player.
The senior Liberal says the research shows voters also think the Opposition has not reformed itself and is still “the same old Labor”, which is the exact line being used by Abbott.
The West pays to save Hamas from the consequences of its damage
Andrew Bolt October 13 2014 (7:03am)
Rewarding terror. The Hamas terrorist group attacks Israel, but then gets the rest of the world to pay for the damage when Israel hits back:
===A donor conference in Cairo to raise money to rebuild the Gaza Strip after this year’s war between Hamas and Israel ended with pledges of $5.4 billion for reconstruction there, Norway’s foreign minister said Sunday…And so Hamas not only escapes the consequences of its terrorism but gets a massive pool of money to play sugar daddy to the people it controls.
That’s far beyond the $4 billion initially sought by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
Qatar pledged $1 billion toward the reconstruction, once again using its vast wealth to reinforce its role as a regional player as Gulf Arab rival the United Arab Emirates promised $200 million…
The Emirates, like regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia, alleges that Qatar uses its massive wealth to undermine regional stability, primarily through meddling in other nations’ affairs and aiding militant Islamic groups like Gaza’s Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood…
At the beginning of the conference, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry pledged $212 million… France said it would contribute $50.5 million to the Palestinians, Germany announced it would contribute $63 million, and the British ambassador to Egypt, John Casson, told Reuters London would provide $32 million for reconstruction.
Frank talk helps many of the “disabled” feel abled
Andrew Bolt October 13 2014 (7:00am)
Jesus also told the crippled to walk, making them feel a whole lot better:
===MORE than 1500 Disability Support Pension recipients a month are being told to get a job as part of a sweeping clean-out of the welfare system that could save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars a year.
A government review panel has identified more than 5000 people on the DSP who are capable of working at least eight hours a week.
Out of the more than 2000 people a week who are attempting to claim the DSP, fewer than half are now being approved, after social services minister Kevin Andrews ordered the overhaul on July 1… There are more than 800,000 people on the DSP, claiming a maximum $776 a fortnight…
“These welfare programs keep people sick,’’ Rachael Sharman, head of psychology at the Sunshine Coast University, said. “If you behave like you are sick all the time you actually start to believe it — ‘my hip, my knees’ — you start to believe your own BS.
“If you are offered some sort of inducement or reward a whole heap of people will jump on the bandwagon...”
===
===
Post by Key & Peele.
===
Price of ALP having been in government .. AS a nation we're working harder and earning less
http://t.co/zG29ycITTG via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 13, 2014
===
30 students in dramatic Sydney bus crash http://t.co/aljCsEZUnF via @SkyNewsAust
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 13, 2014
===
Sadly there will be anti match fixing investigation .. it is Pakistan .. http://t.co/d6za9RX4fj via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 13, 2014
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A TEENAGE boy who yelled threats at a nun outside a western Sydney school had his family home sea... http://t.co/HYMVAnpLmX via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 13, 2014
===
THE horrific slaying of an elderly couple inside their own home was a thrill-killing, a court has... http://t.co/DQOph0Lp8m via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 13, 2014
===
Blame plant food. IT’S the deadliest Ebola outbreak the world has seen — claiming more than 4033 ... http://t.co/GkFv7wTF2M via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 13, 2014
===
IT was named one of the most obese towns in the country, and its population proved to be perfect ... http://t.co/ch3TPkvrPs via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 13, 2014
===
.. Australia, according to ALP does not have elite universities.. http://t.co/X8kp0uiVnu via @smh
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 13, 2014
===
Photo: G’day, Not much needed to be said about this one. As usual the push for democracy against the... http://t.co/HlTMg8dXIn
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 13, 2014
===
Uni degrees in indoctrination http://t.co/ahZiU0uCcI
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 13, 2014
===
.. I still feel the Ukraine has much to answer for .. http://t.co/uH9jb9v8im
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 13, 2014
===
Abbott government to overhaul crowded curriculum http://t.co/nJdBU4z0B2 via @canberratimes
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 13, 2014
===
I got The Dreamer. What type of friend are you really? on @bitecharge http://t.co/o5f4AuHeRu
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 12, 2014
===
Rich versus poor is the wrong debate http://t.co/CW0Ymbb7TK via @theage
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 12, 2014
===
Meh, I was born in upper east side Manhattan All the Places <em>The New York Times</em> Has Compared to Brooklyn http://t.co/sabeejILxG
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 12, 2014
=== Posts from last year ===
===
<I did want a juice from Topjuice in Rhodes until I saw the girl drop watermelon on the floor, pick it up and juice it then hand it to a customer.>
===
BRITISH detectives investigating the 2007 disappearance of Madeleine McCann in Portugal have reportedly arrested a man and raided his home.
The Sunday Mail last week featured claims from a lawyer who insisted a man he met at a party had seen the missing child on an island in the Mediterranean, now say an arrest has been made.
Following those reports, the paper said a man has been arrested by Greater Metropolitan Police and computers from a private home were seized.
"The arrest only happened as a result of a claim that Madeleine may still be alive," a source said to be close to the missing girl's family told the paper.
http://www.news.com.au/world-news/british-police-8216arrest-man-over-the-2007-disappearance-of-madeleine-mccann8217/story-fndir2ev-1226739118731
===
Aprille Love
#yay #summer #sunday #ootd
===
===
SIGN THE NEW DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE FACE BOOK GROUP , sounds good .. read the fine print . A link on their website to this , New Declaration Of Independence
See item 1 “13. The People hereby order instruction in all high schools on “The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion”, a plan written by the Rothschild family to enslave all of the inhabitants of Earth.”
The protocols of the elders if Zion," which is vehemently rabid anti semetic propaganda used by the nazis.
Please report this page. Thank you.
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Sign-the-New-Declaration-of-Independence/378536608931338
It is outrageous those bigots still spread the filthy lies ed
===
Nah, he is interim. A policy less wonder like Beazley who might make decisions based on consensus .. Jason Clare will be the next leader, although he too is hopeless .. ed
===
Matt Granz
Our National Parks are more and more resembling police states, where gates are closed and the threat of fines, towing and arrests are common fare. My friends Darvin Atkeson, and Miguel De La Cruz are visiting the east side of the Sierras to find and take pictures of Fall colors, and because the whole area is a National forest everything is off limits. Darvin says "According to some of the locals and other photographers they hsve been making arrests ticketing towing and sometimes all 3. Trespassing on federal lands." All the restrooms everywhere are closed and the police are busy being fascist in lands that should belong to the people. This is ridiculous.
===
LEADING Australian doctors do not think the tiniest premature babies - born below 24 weeks and weighing less than 500g - should be given life-saving resuscitation at birth.
Although doctors do not routinely resuscitate babies born this early, some do so at the request of parents.
But a new Australian study shows that in a six-year period at one hospital, no baby born this early, who was also very small, survived without disability.
Only one baby born before 24 weeks and weighing less than 500g survived, but was severely impaired, the research found.
The findings have prompted a team of Australian and American doctors to question whether parents should be given the option of resuscitation for babies this premature.
Dr Dominic Wilkinson, Associate Professor of Neonatal Medicine and Bioethics at the University of Adelaide, said there were two groups of babies.
"Babies born weighing less than pound of butter (500g) have a better chance of surviving if they are more mature, but small because of poor growth in the womb," he said.
But he said babies who were both extremely premature and extremely small had a very low chance of surviving without severe disability.
"In such cases it's hard to see that resuscitation is a wise choice," he said. "If they are told there is some chance of survival, many parents ask doctors to do what they could to save the baby".
But he said many doctors "would be reluctant to pursue intensive care treatment that may be very burdensome for the baby".
Outrageous .. killing healthy babies in the chance they might not be healthy? Even if they are crippled, they are still superior to those who would kill them - ed
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Jason J-Fo
Bill Shorten elected leader of the Labor party today. Gloomy skies and rain all day in the electorate of Maribyrnong. Gaia weeps too.
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Aprille Love
Eye spy with my little eye #galaxy #note3
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“The situation in Sinai is deteriorating and is becoming of grave concern, not just for Israel, but first and foremost for Egypt, because violence in Sinai is infiltrating into mainland Egypt,” one Israel official told FoxNews.com. “It seems that jihadis are getting bolder every time, and with every action they pose a real threat to national security in Egypt, not to mention to security on the border, and potentially to Israel.”
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Police closed in on Juarez and waited for him Friday outside a Manhattan restaurant where he worked as a dishwasher. He told them he killed the girl at the apartment of his sister -- Juarez-Ramirez. Then, the sister, who is now dead, helped dispose of the body. Kelly said they took a livery cab from Queens to Manhattan where they dumped the cooler.
The cooler, which contained the girl's remains and unopened cans of Coke, was later discovered by construction workers.
Kelly called the arrest a superb case of detective work, and he was proud of his officers. Juarez was being held on murder charges and was awaiting arraignment.
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The fundamental Zionist idea about anti-Semitism was that once a Jewish State was realized, the problem of anti-Semitism in Paris, Berlin and Rome would be solved. Since Jews would have their own homeland, they could no longer be persecuted as religious and national strangers. But this neat packet of reasoning has turned out to be incorrect.
The Belgian Ministry of Education funds an organization, the Committee for Remebrance Education, which provides teachers with materials for their history lessons. One of the materials used is the cartoon “Never Again, Over Again”, which equates the treatment of the Palestinian Arabs by the Israelis today with the treatment of the Jews by the Nazis in the 40s.
“Never Again” means that what happened under Hitler should never happen again. And “Over Again” means that what is happening today is the same as in the past with Hitler, the Belgian school teachers are told. “In the past, the concentration camps were fenced off with barbed wire. Today, the border between Israel and Palestine is marked with barbed wire and a wall”.
“Never Again” means that what happened under Hitler should never happen again. And “Over Again” means that what is happening today is the same as in the past with Hitler, the Belgian school teachers are told. “In the past, the concentration camps were fenced off with barbed wire. Today, the border between Israel and Palestine is marked with barbed wire and a wall”.
Daniel Goldhagen devoted his entire academic research to the analysis of the Nazi genocide. His international fame came with “Hitler’s Willing Executioners”, the book-indictment of one hundred thousand “ordinary Germans” who killed millions of Jews. Now it is the turn of Goldhagen’s new book titled “The Devil That Never Dies”, published by Little, Brown and Company.
The book is most important as an analysis of “global anti-Semitism” as Goldhagen calls it, but it is also the indictment of Europe’s public opinion which depicts the Jews as “monstrous predators” who crush the Palestinians. Goldhagen enunclates Europe’s new anti-Semitism as follows: “Israel has no right to exist, so it is right and necessary to destroy the Jewish state. Two hundred million Europeans see the Israeli Jews as Nazis”.
That’s why, according to the Jewish People Planning Institute, 40 to 50 percent of European Jews are considering alyah. Because they do not feel safe.
And France is the most explosive example.
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Words in the Xhosa tongue exposed the cover of anti-Zionists talking in mother tongues by the score. A riddle wrapped in a mystery – until the words are put into English.
‘Dubula iJuda:’ Kill the Jews, a boycott mob chanted at patrons of a campus jive in Johannesburg. The artists were Israeli and the promoter was a Zionist body – two combustible elements to ignite even a well-disposed mob. Dubula iJuda!
Boycott leaders had no choice but to recoil in horror. “We condemn any and all incitement to violence and racism -- including anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism” declared Farid Esack, Director of BDS South Africa. Not to be outdone by a Muslim, Jewish boycotters condemned the chant “in the strongest terms” and couldn’t fathom how Muhammed Desai, who runs BDS affairs, could defend the chanters.
Not even the Palestine Solidarity Forum offered an excuse. The chant had “unacceptable and explicit anti-Semitic elements” said different chapters of the Forum, demanding that comrades make a public apology.
Were these public statements from stricken figures or just plain embarrassed ones?
Half and half. It both horrified and embarrassed boycott leaders to see the true colours of the movement unfurled to all and sundry. Reports and commentaries on the event got it all wrong. If there was a schism between the hooligan mob and contrite leaders it was over the mob’s stupid display of the Jew-hatred that leadership had been at great pains to hide.
Now the lid had blown. ‘Kill the Jews’ had always expressed the aspiration of boycotters, high and low, Muslim and Jew, Christian and atheist, spokesman and placard wielding chanter. Will sophisticated racists ever forgive their Xhosa comrades!
The lid was off; the emperor was stripped of his clothes, his unlovely soul bared to public gaze. Hence the ungainly scramble to higher ground. Farid Esack and company had to distance themselves from Dubula iJuda as far and as fast as they could. Frankenstein, their work of years, their indoctrinated monster taught to execrate devil Jews, had cut loose and was out of control.
All lies! the cry will go forth. Be ready for it. Prepare to demonstrate that Esack and cohorts are not pro-Palestinian but anti-Jew. Read them their own charter; lay at their feet their own behaviour. Go to the boycotter, oh sluggard. Consider his ways and be wise.
Take some object -- a leaf -- under a magnifying glass. Unfocused, the glass filters weak sunlight around the leaf. Now position it so that the sun's power is concentrated in a point no bigger than a pinhead. Hold the pinhead steady over the leaf until it burns hot enough to set the leaf aflame.
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| Israeli man killed in suspected Jordan Valley terror attack |
Sariya Ofer, a retired IDF colonel in his fifties, fatally beaten by at least two men outside his home in Brosh Habika • Ofer's wife suffers minor injuries in the attack • Military and police forces conduct searches for the perpetrators.
Efrat Forsher, Israel Hayom Staff and Reuters
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| 'Don't say I didn't warn you,' Netanyahu tells EU on Iran |
Just days before the world powers renew talks with Iran, PM Netanyahu holds series of interviews with European media outlets with aim of pressuring EU countries not to lift economic sanctions on Tehran • "No deal is better than a bad deal," PM warns.
Shlomo Cesana, Yoni Hirsch, Dan Lavie, Zeev Klein and Israel Hayom Staff
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IDF Combat Intelligence Collection Battalion patrol. Photo: IDF Spokesman
During his visit to Israel in March, US President Barack Obama compelled Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to apologize to his Turkish counterpart for the actions of IDF Naval Commandos aboard the Mavi Marmara terror ship in May 2010.
The story is cloudier than that, imho, the Israeli leaders are making the best of a bad deal .. not because they feel that Israel cannot survive without the US but because of the reality that it would be hard to prosper without good US relations .. I don't blame Netanyahu for US voting in Obama. - ed
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At the UNHRC's "Hate Israel Day,"23 September '13, Syria, Egypt and Pakistan for the Islamic States accused Israel of violating the human rights of Syrians. Attacks by Islamic terrorists in Kenya and Pakistan were ignored. UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer asked why.
?! - ed
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Israel should respond with “extreme force” to the murder of Seraiah Ofer, a retired IDF colonel, who was killed in an apparent terrorist attack outside his home in the northern Jordan Valley overnight Thursday, Ofer’s widow said Saturday.
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Security forces arrested five Palestinians on Friday on suspicion of involvement in the murder of a former senior IDF officer in the Jordan Valley, and kept them in custody over the weekend.
Men carrying metal bars and axes set upon Col. (res.) Sraya “Yaya” Ofer when he stepped outside his home in Brosh Habika, according to his wife, Monique, who escaped.
The recent release of such killers becomes a strong argument for the death penalty - ed
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Israeli soldiers walk on the same streets as Arab girls,
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My other car - ed
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Daniel KatzJewellery & Gemstone Fashion DESIGN Gallery
Mary, Crown princess of Denmark, the Aussie Queen from Tasmania.
"Desiree Clary's Ruby Set"
Probably made by a Parisian jeweller, this ruby and diamond parure is undoubtedly one of the most impressive ones in the Danish royal collection.
It consists of a tiara, a pair of chandelier earrings, a brooch, a bracelet, a ring, and a necklace which has the particularity of being composed of several elements set with small rubies bonded to each other, in order to give the impression of a single large ruby.
Originally, the parure was a gift presented in 1804 by Emperor Napoleon to his ex-fiancee Desiree Clary (spouse of Marshal Jean-Baptiste Bernadotte, later King Carl XIV Johan of Sweden and Norway) on the occasion of the his coronation ceremony in Paris.
Upon Queen Desiree's death in 1860, it was bequeathed to her daughter-in-law, Josephine of Sweden (who became a widow and a dowager Queen one year before), who herself presented it to her granddaughter princess Louise Sweden, when she married in 1869 prince Frederik of Denmark, later King Frederik VIII.
That's how the parure became part of the Danish monarchs' personal collection. Thereafter, its use was reserved for the wife of the heir to the throne, who can't wear the Crown jewels (kept in Rosenborg Castle and reserved for the Queen) : princess Alexandrine of Mecklenburg-Schwerin from 1898, princess Ingrid of Sweden from 1935, and finally Mary Donaldson since 2004.
Please note that the leaf tiara has undergone several contradictory alterations : if Queen Ingrid added two brooches to make it more substantial, princess Mary commissioned in 2010 the jeweller Marianne Dulong to remove three leaves and to transform them into hair pins.
Everyone loves a good Danish - ed
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“Jewelled Beetle” by Garth Knight – the beetle is composed of pieces by Lorenz Baumer, a keen collector of contemporary photographs
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So, yesterday I decided to finally get around to filling up a multi picture photo frame that Laura and I got as a gift a while back. I cut out and inserted a picture of my youngest daughter Claudia into the top spot. I was looking for more photos, when she came up to me and looked at the picture of her in the frame. That's when I became a little impish... and said "Claudia, I have some news for you..." and continued "you see this family in these pictures? They are your new family" to which Claudia replied "what?" with a quizzical look on her face. I said "these people are adopting you and you will be living with them from this point on". Claudia looked at the photos contemplatively and then turned to me and said very matter of factly "okay" and walked away into the family room. I have to admit, upon looking closer at the pictures, the people in them actually look a bit more fun than us... Daddy's trick backfired... yep, I got spanked!
Lol, she is probably organising a replacement daughter for you right now .. someone good. - ed
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Andy Trieu
Honoured to be the best man @steveleenguyen #wedding #great #life #moments#ninjabucksparty
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Aprille Love
Lol @antoinette_leviste and her chip eating ways.#hailubyu #missearthaustralia
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Pastor Rick Warren
This video advertisment announcing the start of#Saddleback #Berlin is airing in the subway trains that carry millions of Berliners! Pray that many will be intrigued and attend on Sunday. Thanks!
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#SaddlebackBERLIN launches this weekend with Pastor @DaveSchnitter. Please pray for our amazing launch team that has moved to Berlin. Thanks!
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#NatalieGrant leads in worship this weekend at Saddleback. God has used her in many great ways since she sang on the #PurposedDrivenLife album 10 years ago!
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Last Weekend #DannyGokey led worship at Saddleback. God used him in a great way. This weekend we have #NatalieGrant!
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A high school in Indiana decided recently to ban the classic country song “Rocky Top” from football games because its references to “moonshine” are supposedly “politically incorrect,” asWNDU.com puts it.
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Outback Steakhouse Australia
Sundays are for indulgence, what do you want today ?
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What's the first word you see ???
Love .. but shortly after .. defuk .. ed===
Ok, I want all my Facebook friends to comment on this status, sharing how you met me. But, I want you to LIE. That's right, just make it up. After you comment, copy and paste to your wall so I can do the same. I bet HALF won't read the instructions right....Now GO (I did it for someone else...you can do it to!) It was at the BDS rally at Max Brenner in Wynyard. I got past the dumb protestors and I told you not tell my personal trainer as I ordered a hot fudge sunday with whipped cream .. and you said I didn't have the correct change ..
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“Listen to advice and accept discipline, and at the end you will be counted among the wise. Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:20-21 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
"I will meditate in thy precepts."
Psalm 119:15
Psalm 119:15
There are times when solitude is better than society, and silence is wiser than speech. We should be better Christians if we were more alone, waiting upon God, and gathering through meditation on his Word spiritual strength for labour in his service. We ought to muse upon the things of God, because we thus get the real nutriment out of them. Truth is something like the cluster of the vine: if we would have wine from it, we must bruise it; we must press and squeeze it many times. The bruiser's feet must come down joyfully upon the bunches, or else the juice will not flow; and they must well tread the grapes, or else much of the precious liquid will be wasted. So we must, by meditation, tread the clusters of truth, if we would get the wine of consolation therefrom. Our bodies are not supported by merely taking food into the mouth, but the process which really supplies the muscle, and the nerve, and the sinew, and the bone, is the process of digestion. It is by digestion that the outward food becomes assimilated with the inner life. Our souls are not nourished merely by listening awhile to this, and then to that, and then to the other part of divine truth. Hearing, reading, marking, and learning, all require inwardly digesting to complete their usefulness, and the inward digesting of the truth lies for the most part in meditating upon it. Why is it that some Christians, although they hear many sermons, make but slow advances in the divine life? Because they neglect their closets, and do not thoughtfully meditate on God's Word. They love the wheat, but they do not grind it; they would have the corn, but they will not go forth into the fields to gather it; the fruit hangs upon the tree, but they will not pluck it; the water flows at their feet, but they will not stoop to drink it. From such folly deliver us, O Lord, and be this our resolve this morning, "I will meditate in thy precepts."
Evening
"The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost."
John 14:26
John 14:26
This age is peculiarly the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, in which Jesus cheers us, not by his personal presence, as he shall do by-and-by, but by the indwelling and constant abiding of the Holy Ghost, who is evermore the Comforter of the church. It is his office to console the hearts of God's people. He convinces of sin; he illuminates and instructs; but still the main part of his work lies in making glad the hearts of the renewed, in confirming the weak, and lifting up all those that be bowed down. He does this by revealing Jesus to them. The Holy Spirit consoles, but Christ is the consolation. If we may use the figure, the Holy Spirit is the Physician, but Jesus is the medicine. He heals the wound, but it is by applying the holy ointment of Christ's name and grace. He takes not of his own things, but of the things of Christ. So if we give to the Holy Spirit the Greek name of Paraclete, as we sometimes do, then our heart confers on our blessed Lord Jesus the title of Paraclesis. If the one be the Comforter, the other is the Comfort. Now, with such rich provision for his need, why should the Christian be sad and desponding? The Holy Spirit has graciously engaged to be thy Comforter: dost thou imagine, O thou weak and trembling believer, that he will be negligent of his sacred trust? Canst thou suppose that he has undertaken what he cannot or will not perform? If it be his especial work to strengthen thee, and to comfort thee, dost thou suppose he has forgotten his business, or that he will fail in the loving office which he sustains towards thee? Nay, think not so hardly of the tender and blessed Spirit whose name is "the Comforter." He delights to give the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Trust thou in him, and he will surely comfort thee till the house of mourning is closed forever, and the marriage feast has begun.
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Today's reading: Isaiah 39-40, Colossians 4 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Isaiah 39-40
Envoys From Babylon
1 At that time Marduk-Baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent Hezekiah letters and a gift, because he had heard of his illness and recovery. 2 Hezekiah received the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his storehouses—the silver, the gold, the spices, the fine olive oil—his entire armory and everything found among his treasures. There was nothing in his palace or in all his kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
3 Then Isaiah the prophet went to King Hezekiah and asked, “What did those men say, and where did they come from?”
“From a distant land,” Hezekiah replied. “They came to me from Babylon.”
4 The prophet asked, “What did they see in your palace?”
“They saw everything in my palace,” Hezekiah said. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”
5 Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD Almighty: 6 The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your predecessors have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD. 7 And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood who will be born to you, will be taken away, and they will become eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon....”
Today's New Testament reading: Colossians 4
1 Masters, provide your slaves with what is right and fair, because you know that you also have a Master in heaven.
Further Instructions
2 Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. 3And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. 4 Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. 5 Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Final Greetings
7 Tychicus will tell you all the news about me. He is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord. 8 I am sending him to you for the express purpose that you may know about our circumstances and that he may encourage your hearts. 9 He is coming with Onesimus, our faithful and dear brother, who is one of you. They will tell you everything that is happening here....
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Felix
[Fē'lĭx] - happy, prosperous. A cruel Roman governor of Judea, appointed by the Emperor Claudius, whose freedman he was (Acts 23:24, 26; 24:2-27; 25:14). Felix is described by Tacitus as a bad and cruel governor, even though the title of "most excellent" was given to him.
[Fē'lĭx] - happy, prosperous. A cruel Roman governor of Judea, appointed by the Emperor Claudius, whose freedman he was (Acts 23:24, 26; 24:2-27; 25:14). Felix is described by Tacitus as a bad and cruel governor, even though the title of "most excellent" was given to him.
The Man Who Procrastinated
As a true preacher, Paul pressed home the truth until it pricked the conscience of Felix so much so that he "trembled." He did not resent Paul's plain speaking but postponed the interview "till a more convenient season." Such a "convenient season," however, did not come, and Felix became a type of many whose consciences are stirred by the preached Word, but whose hopes of eternal security are ruined by a like procrastination. The two sworn enemies of the soul are "Yesterday" and "Tomorrow."
Yesterday slays its thousands. Past sins plunge many into darkness and despair. Priceless opportunities were trampled upon, and the harvest is past. But God says there is mercy still and free forgiveness through repentance.
Tomorrow slays its tens of thousands. Vows, promises, resolutions are never fulfilled. "Some other time," many say, when urged to repent and believe. They fail to realize that nowis the acceptable time. How pitiful it is that the convenient seasonnever dawns for them! The pathway to their hell is strewn with good resolutions, and as they cross "The Great Divide," the mocking voice cries out: "Too late! Too late!"
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