Sun Oct 12th Todays News

A few years ago I made Picking Cotton ( http://youtu.be/4udS8SsnH_s ) as an attempt to raise awareness of youth dissociation from police. The left wing narrative that prizes anti social behaviour gets people killed. The subject I would focus on was a young police woman, Nicola Cotton from Louisiana, who had joined the force after Cyclone Katrina. She was a successful young constable, engaged and pregnant when she was tasked to arrest a suspected offender on her own. He overpowered her and took her gun and killed her with her sidearm and waited to be arrested by another policeman. I attempted to access seed funding for the project and was refused by a left wing local council which claimed the issue was not a youth problem in their locale. I made the video anyway, although it was not as good as what I might have achieved with backing. The video was appreciated by one US Police department. But the issue is not well addressed in international, Western world circles. Recently a drunk kid bullied a black officer on a train in Brisbane and the officer handled the racist abuse very well, but the giggling foul mouthed kid had a friend who filmed the abuse and posted it. The upshot is the kid says he could not remember what he had done, but he apologised for doing it and regretted it. No one has died from it. But it is ugly and unbecoming and not something to be prized. 

Anti social behaviour is not always without pain. People are dying from drug and drunken fuelled single punch attacks. The issue of racial abuse was considered so serious that in Australia a provision was made in law, 18c, which can have people charged with racial vilification. Only it doesn't work that way. Journalist Andrew Bolt made a simple observation and was charged under 18c, and convicted of writing an article which had errors. The law had been misapplied to secure the conviction, Bolt could have appealed but did not have the money or the time to devote to it. But then nobody died from it. All that has happened is that people desperately in need have been denied funds by sponges who feel entitled. It really is the Labor way. 

Reality TV gets it wrong over The Bachelor. A decent guy gave a girl he didn't love a $58k ring. He didn't sleep with her. He told her in person he wouldn't pursue a relationship with her. He seems a stand up guy. But the vagaries of reality tv means he will be fielding hate mail for a long time to come. On the other hand, Respect those who serve. Maybe they need you to help them hang up their coat full of medals on your aircraft. Smile, do your job, and thank them for their service. In a recent case, a stewardess got snippy with a soldier who made that request. Nobody has died, but the idea of respect for people seems .. lost. 
The ALP created 18c in its current form and will not allow change to it. Neither will greens or PUP, so the legislation, although flawed, remains. Some have claimed that the legislation is needed to curb the activity of Rupert Murdoch, whom the legislation has never been employed against. So clearly the legislation is effective in preventing whatever it is that Murdoch does. One supporter of the legislation is Albanese. Albanese has come out in opposition to beefed up terror laws. Albanese feels that it is not necessary to curb terrorist recruiters from their activity the same way he feels it is important to prevent news journalists commenting on current issues. And then there is Hizb Ut-Tahrir, which promotes dangerous ideas like the morality behind killing women for honour code, and also promotes practice like female genital mutilation, preventing women from attending to school, or being seen in public. Hizb Ut-Tahrir opposes Australian military action in the Middle East supporting Islamic peoples fighting ISIS which has killed many Muslims, as well as others. They are terrorist supporters but, as has been noted, although the terrorists they support have killed, tortured and raped many, including non combatants, Hizb Ut-Tahrir has not been seen to have killed anyone. Satisfying Albanese that they need protections that they would be denied were Australia to adopt anti terror legislation. 

from 2013
Child soldiers? Does the UN really believe that they have cool judgement with a rifle and ammo? Does the media really applaud their issue? An article I have linked below gives an example from Syria. It isn't the religion, (I'm told) but the culture that is sick. I guess it isn't good to have a dictator overlord backed by religious authorities. It doesn't build a community.

Nobel peace prize given to those who accepted the chemical attacks in Syria, having first denied they really existed. A young girl who has become the international spokesperson or female education misses out as the shot that wounded her didn't kill her and some feel she needs to do more. But she wasn't very old when Saddam's chemical weapons passed to Syria ..

Weather conditions confound AGW scientists. Terror around the world at unseasonal cooling. Sydney temperatures collapsed 12 degrees centigrade in a day. I asked an old lady who said she thought the cold would never leave. Nobody knows why. Modelling doesn't explain it. I asked a model who looked forward to skiing in the Alps. When I asked 'why,' she said she just liked people and felt the world should simply get along. I smiled and she said "Ew, not you!"

Obama seems to have less ability and charm than that model. He believes in global warming, money growing on trees, but nothing of a strongly religious nature. So why is he hitting Jews? Gillard blamed Jews for not having a strong lobby. Maybe Obama feels the same? Abbott has policies that are working. But the press are focused on who will be the next opposition leader. Neither contender has a policy different to what failed at election. But they are beginning to say they want the Libs to ditch an election promise and bring back Work Choices. It would be a responsible, adult thing to do. ===
This column welcomes feedback and criticism. The column is not made up but based on the days events and articles which are then placed in the feed. So they may not have an apparent cohesion they would have had were they made up.
===
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

Douglas Sutherland-Bruce via David Daniel Ball

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.

I have begun a bulletin board (http://theconservativevoice.freeforums.net) which will allow greater latitude for members to post and interact. It is not subject to FB policy and so greater range is allowed in posts. Also there are private members rooms in which nothing is censored, except abuse. All welcome, registration is free.
===

Happy birthday and many happy returns Sam Marji. Born on the same day, across the years, as
1006 – Emperor Go-Ichijō of Japan (d. 1036)
1490 – Bernardo Pisano, Italian composer (d. 1548)
1537 – Edward VI of England (d. 1553)
1855 – Arthur Nikisch, Hungarian conductor (d. 1922)
1860 – Elmer Ambrose Sperry, American inventor, co-invented the gyrocompass (d. 1930)
1891 – Edith Stein, German nun, philosopher, and saint (d. 1942)
1910 – Robert Fitzgerald, American poet and critic (d. 1985)
1935 – Luciano Pavarotti, Italian tenor (d. 2007)
1949 – Carlos the Jackal, Venezuelan murderer
1955 – Jane Siberry, Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and poet
1968 – Hugh Jackman, Australian actor and producer
1975 – Marion Jones, American basketball player and runner
1996 – Riechedly Bazoer, Dutch footballer

October 12: Our Lady Aparecida's Day and Children's Day in Brazil; Independence Day in Equatorial Guinea(1968); National Day in Spain (1492)

• 1799 – Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse(pictured) became the first woman to make a parachute descent, falling 900 m (3,000 ft) in a hot-air balloon gondola.
• 1892 – The Pledge of Allegiance of the United States was first used in public schools to coincide with the opening of the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, Illinois.
• 1917 – First World War: New Zealand troops suffered 2,735 casualties, including 845 deaths, in the First Battle of Passchendaele, making it the nation's largest loss of life in one day.
• 1984 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army detonated a bomb at the Grand Hotel in Brighton, England, in a failed attempt to assassinate British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and most of her cabinet.
• 1999 – Pakistani General Pervez Musharraf led a military coup against the government of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif.

You have the prettiest parachutes. You have pledged. You remember NZ. You saved Maggie. You finished the coup. Now we can party. 
Matches

• 539 BC – The army of Cyrus the Great of Persia takes Babylon.
• 633 – Battle of Hatfield Chase: King Edwin of Northumbria is defeated and killed by the British under Penda of Mercia and Cadwallon of Gwynedd.
• 1113 – The city of Oradea is first mentioned under the Latin name Varadinum ("vár" means fortress in Hungarian).
• 1216 – John, King of England loses his crown jewels in The Wash, probably near Fosdyke, perhaps near Sutton Bridge.
• 1279 – Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk founder of Nichiren Buddhism, inscribes the Dai-Gohonzon.
• 1398 – The Treaty of Salynas is signed between Grand Duke of Lithuania Vytautas the Great and the Teutonic Knights, who received Samogitia.
• 1492 – Christopher Columbus's expedition makes landfall in the Caribbean, specifically in The Bahamas. The explorer believes he has reached the Indies.
• 1582 – Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
• 1654 – The Delft Explosion devastates the city in the Netherlands, killing more than 100 people.
• 1692 – The Salem witch trials are ended by a letter from Massachusetts Governor William Phips.
• 1748 – British and Spanish naval forces engage at the Battle of Havana during the War of Jenkins' Ear.
• 1773 – America's first insane asylum opens for 'Persons of Insane and Disordered Minds' in Virginia.
• 1792 – First celebration of Columbus Day in the USA held in New York City.
• 1793 – The cornerstone of Old East, the oldest state university building in the United States, is laid on the campus of the University of North Carolina.
• 1799 – Jeanne Geneviève Labrosse was the first woman to jump from a balloon with a parachute, from an altitude of 900 meters.
• 1810 – First Oktoberfest: The Bavarian royalty invites the citizens of Munich to join the celebration of the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig of Bavaria to Princess Therese von Sachsen-Hildburghausen.
• 1822 – Pedro I of Brazil is proclaimed the emperor of the Empire of Brazil.
• 1823 – Charles Macintosh of Scotland sells the first raincoat.
• 1871 – Criminal Tribes Act (CTA) enacted by British rule in India, which named over 160 local communities 'Criminal Tribes', i.e. hereditary criminals. Repealed in 1949, after Independence of India.
• 1892 – The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited by students in many US public schools, as part of a celebration marking the 400th anniversary of Columbus's voyage.
• 1901 – President Theodore Roosevelt officially renames the "Executive Mansion" to the White House.
• 1915 – World War I: British nurse Edith Cavell is executed by a German firing squad for helping Allied soldiers escape from Belgium
• 1917 – World War I: The First Battle of Passchendaele takes place resulting in the largest single day loss of life in New Zealand history.
• 1918 – A massive forest fire kills 453 people in Minnesota.
• 1928 – An iron lung respirator is used for the first time at Children's Hospital, Boston
• 1933 – The United States Army Disciplinary Barracks on Alcatraz Island, is acquired by the United States Department of Justice
• 1942 – World War II: Japanese ships retreat after their defeat in the Battle of Cape Esperance with the Japanese commander, Aritomo Gotō dying from wounds suffered in the battle and two Japanese destroyers sunk by Allied air attack.
• 1944 – World War II: The Liberation of Athens from the German invaders.
• 1945 – World War II: Desmond Doss is the first conscientious objector to receive the U.S. Medal of Honor.
• 1953 – The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial opens at Plymouth Theatre, New York City
• 1959 – At the national congress of APRA in Peru a group of leftist radicals are expelled from the party. They will later form APRA Rebelde.
• 1960 – Cold War: Nikita Khrushchev pounds his shoe on a desk at United Nations General Assembly meeting to protest a Philippineassertion of Soviet Union colonial policy being conducted in Eastern Europe
• 1960 – Television viewers in Japan unexpectedly witness the assassination of Inejiro Asanuma, leader of the Japan Socialist Party, when he is stabbed and killed during a live broadcast.
• 1962 – Infamous Columbus Day Storm strikes the U.S. Pacific Northwest with record wind velocities; 46 dead and at least U.S. $230 million in damages
• 1964 – The Soviet Union launches the Voskhod 1 into Earth orbit as the first spacecraft with a multi-person crew and the first flight without space suits
• 1967 – Vietnam War: US Secretary of State Dean Rusk states during a news conference that proposals by the U.S. Congress for peace initiatives are futile because of North Vietnam's opposition
• 1968 – Equatorial Guinea becomes independent from Spain
• 1970 – Vietnam War: US President Richard Nixon announces that the United States will withdraw 40,000 more troops before Christmas
• 1979 – The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, the first of five books in the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy comedy science fiction series by Douglas Adams is published.
• 1979 – The lowest recorded non-tornadic atmospheric pressure, 87.0 kPa (870 mbar or 25.69 inHg), occurred in the Western Pacific during Typhoon Tip.
• 1983 – Japan's former Prime Minister Tanaka Kakuei is found guilty of taking a $2 million bribe from Lockheed and is sentenced to 4 years in jail.
• 1984 – Brighton hotel bombing: The Provisional Irish Republican Army attempt to assassinate Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and her cabinet. Thatcher escapes but the bomb kills five people and wounds 31.
• 1986 – Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit the People's Republic of China
• 1988 – Jaffna University Helidrop: Commandos of Indian Peace Keeping Force raided the Jaffna University campus to capture the LTTEchief and walked into a trap.
• 1988 – Two officers of the Victoria Police are gunned down execution-style in the Walsh Street police shootings, Australia.
• 1988 – Birchandra Manu massacre in Tripura, India
• 1991 – Askar Akayev, previously chosen President of Kyrgyzstan by republic's Supreme Soviet, is confirmed president in an uncontested poll.
• 1992 – 5.8 earthquake occurred in Cairo, Egypt. At least 510 died.
• 1994 – NASA loses radio contact with the Magellan spacecraft as the probe descends into the thick atmosphere of Venus (the spacecraft presumably burned up in the atmosphere).
• 1997 – Sidi Daoud massacre in Algeria; 43 killed at a fake roadblock.
• 1999 – Pervez Musharraf takes power in Pakistan from Nawaz Sharif through a bloodless coup.
• 1999 – The former Autonomous Soviet Republic of Abkhazia declares its independence from Georgia
• 2000 – The USS Cole is badly damaged in Aden, Yemen, by two suicide bombers, killing 17 crew members and wounding at least 39.
• 2002 – Terrorists detonate bombs in the Sari Club in Kuta, Bali, killing 202 and wounding over 300.
• 2003 – Michael Schumacher wins his 6th Formula One Drivers' championship at the 2003 Japanese Grand Prix to beat the 48 year old record held by Juan Manuel Fangio
• 2005 – The second Chinese human spaceflight Shenzhou 6 launched carrying Fèi Jùnlóng and Niè Hǎishèng for five days in orbit.
• 2013 – 51 people are killed after a truck veers off a cliff in La Convención Province in Peru.

Hatches

• 1006 – Emperor Go-Ichijō of Japan (d. 1036)
• 1350 – Dmitry Donskoy, Russian prince (d. 1389)
• 1490 – Bernardo Pisano, Italian singer-songwriter and priest (d. 1548)
• 1537 – Edward VI of England (d. 1553)
• 1558 – Maximilian III, Archduke of Austria (d. 1618)
• 1576 – Thomas Dudley, English-American politician, 3rd Governor of the Massachusetts Bay Colony (d. 1653)
• 1602 – William Chillingworth, English scholar and theologian (d. 1644)
• 1687 – Sylvius Leopold Weiss, German lute player and composer (d. 1750)
• 1710 – Jonathan Trumbull, American politician, 16th Governor of Connecticut (d. 1785)
• 1725 – Étienne Louis Geoffroy, French pharmacist and entomologist (d. 1810)
• 1792 – Christian Gmelin, German chemist and pharmacist (d. 1860)
• 1798 – Pedro I of Brazil (d. 1834)
• 1801 – Friedrich Frey-Herosé, Swiss politician, 5th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 1873)
• 1815 – William J. Hardee, American general (d. 1873)
• 1826 – Jules Charles Victurnien de Noailles, French son of Paul, 6th duc de Noailles (d. 1895)
• 1840 – Helena Modjeska, Polish-American actress (d. 1909)
• 1855 – Arthur Nikisch, Hungarian conductor (d. 1922)
• 1860 – Elmer Ambrose Sperry, American inventor, co-invented the gyrocompass (d. 1930)
• 1865 – Arthur Harden, English biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1940)
• 1866 – Ramsay MacDonald, Scottish journalist and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1937)
• 1868 – August Horch, German engineer and businessman, founded Audi (d. 1951)
• 1868 – Mariano Trías, Filipino politician, 1st Vice President of the Philippines (d. 1914)
• 1872 – Ralph Vaughan Williams, English composer (d. 1958)
• 1874 – Jimmy Burke, American baseball player and manager (d. 1942)
• 1875 – Aleister Crowley, English magician and author (d. 1947)
• 1878 – Truxtun Hare, American football player and hammer thrower (d. 1956)
• 1880 – Louis Hémon, French author (d. 1913)
• 1887 – Paula von Preradović, Croatian-Austrian author and poet (d. 1951)
• 1891 – Edith Stein, Polish nun, philosopher, and saint (d. 1942)
• 1892 – Gilda dalla Rizza, Italian soprano (d. 1975)
• 1893 – Velvalee Dickinson, American spy (d. 1980)
• 1894 – Elisabeth of Romania (d. 1956)
• 1896 – Eugenio Montale, Italian author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
• 1903 – Josephine Hutchinson, American actress (d. 1998)
• 1904 – Lester Dent, American author (d. 1959)
• 1904 – Ding Ling, Chinese author (d. 1986)
• 1906 – Joe Cronin, American baseball player and manager (d. 1984)
• 1906 – John Murray, American playwright and producer (d. 1984)
• 1908 – Paul Engle, American author, poet, playwright, and critic (d. 1991)
• 1908 – Ann Petry, American author (d. 1997)
• 1910 – Robert Fitzgerald, American poet and critic (d. 1985)
• 1910 – Malcolm Renfrew, American chemist and educator (d. 2013)
• 1913 – T. Ahambaram, Ceylonese politician (d. 1962)
• 1913 – Alice Chetwynd Ley, English author and educator (d. 2004)
• 1916 – Alice Childress, American actress and playwright (d. 1994)
• 1917 – Roque Máspoli, Uruguayan footballer and manager (d. 2004)
• 1919 – Gilles Beaudoin, Canadian politician, 34th Mayor of Trois-Rivières (d. 2007)
• 1919 – Doris Miller, American chef and soldier (d. 1943)
• 1920 – Christy Ring, Irish hurler (d. 1979)
• 1920 – Christopher Soames, Baron Soames, English politician, Governor of Southern Rhodesia (d. 1987)
• 1921 – Art Clokey, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and voice actor, created Gumby (d. 2010)
• 1921 – Jaroslav Drobný, Czech-English tennis player and ice hockey player (d. 2001)
• 1921 – Logie Bruce Lockhart, Scottish rugby player and journalist
• 1922 – William H. Sullivan, American diplomat, United States Ambassador to the Philippines (d. 2013)
• 1923 – Goody Petronelli, American boxer, trainer, and manager (d. 2012)
• 1924 – Doris Grau, American actress (d. 1995)
• 1924 – Leonidas Kyrkos, Greek politician (d. 2011)
• 1924 – Mimis Plessas, Greek composer
• 1925 – Denis Lazure, Canadian politician (d. 2008)
• 1925 – Essie Mae Washington-Williams, American educator (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Domna Samiou, Greek researcher and singer (d. 2012)
• 1928 – Rangel Valchanov, Bulgarian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Nappy Brown, American singer-songwriter (d. 2008)
• 1929 – Brian Cobby, English actor (d. 2012)
• 1929 – Robert Coles, American psychologist and author
• 1929 – Magnus Magnusson, Icelandic-Scottish journalist (d. 2007)
• 1930 – Denis Brodeur, Canadian ice hockey player and photographer (d. 2013)
• 1930 – Milica Kacin Wohinz, Slovenian historian
• 1931 – Ole-Johan Dahl, Norwegian computer scientist, co-developed Simula (d. 2002)
• 1932 – Dick Gregory, American comedian, actor, and author
• 1932 – Ned Jarrett, American race car driver and sportscaster
• 1933 – Guido Molinari, Canadian painter (d. 2004)
• 1934 – James "Sugar Boy" Crawford, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2012)
• 1934 – Richard Meier, American architect, designed the Getty Center and City Tower
• 1934 – Albert Shiryaev, Russian mathematician
• 1935 – Don Howe, English footballer and manager
• 1935 – Tony Kubek, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1935 – Samuel David Moore, American singer-songwriter (Sam & Dave)
• 1935 – Shivraj Patil, Indian politician, Indian Minister of Defence
• 1935 – Luciano Pavarotti, Italian tenor and actor (d. 2007)
• 1937 – Paul Hawkins, Australian race car driver (d. 1969)
• 1937 – Robert Mangold, American painter
• 1938 – Bob Miller, American sportscaster
• 1938 – Larry Scott, American bodybuilder (d. 2014)
• 1941 – Frank Alamo, French singer (d. 2012)
• 1941 – Michael Mansfield, English lawyer
• 1942 – Melvin Franklin, American singer (The Temptations) (d. 1995)
• 1942 – Daliah Lavi, Israeli actress and singer
• 1944 – Angela Rippon, English journalist and author
• 1945 – Aurore Clément, French actress
• 1945 – Dusty Rhodes, American wrestler and trainer
• 1946 – Susan Saegert, American environmental psychologist
• 1947 – George Lam, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor
• 1947 – Chris Wallace, American journalist
• 1948 – Rick Parfitt, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Status Quo)
• 1948 – Hans Sprenger, German footballer
• 1949 – Stan Hansen, American wrestler
• 1949 – Dave Lloyd, English cyclist
• 1949 – Carlos the Jackal, Venezuelan murderer
• 1949 – Paul Went, English footballer
• 1950 – Susan Anton, American actress and singer
• 1950 – Robin Askwith, English actor
• 1950 – Caroline Ellis, English actress
• 1950 – Dave Freudenthal, American economist and politician, 31st Governor of Wyoming
• 1950 – Kaga Takeshi, Japanese actor
• 1951 – Sally Little, South African-American golfer
• 1951 – Ed Royce, American politician
• 1952 – Béla Csécsei, Hungarian educator and politician (d. 2012)
• 1952 – Danielle Proulx, Canadian actress
• 1953 – Les Dennis, English comedian and actor
• 1953 – Serge Lepeltier, French politician
• 1953 – David Threlfall, English actor and director
• 1954 – Linval Thompson, Jamaican singer and producer
• 1954 – Massimo Ghini, Italian actor
• 1955 – Einar Jan Aas, Norwegian footballer
• 1955 – Ante Gotovina, Croatian general
• 1955 – Brigitte Lahaie, French porn actress and radio host
• 1955 – Aggie MacKenzie, Scottish television host
• 1955 – Joe Raiola, American comedian, comedy writer and producer
• 1955 – Jane Siberry, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1956 – Emilio Charles, Jr., Mexican wrestler (d. 2012)
• 1956 – David Vanian, English singer-songwriter (The Damned and Dave Vanian and the Phantom Chords)
• 1957 – Kristen Bjorn, English porn actor, director, and producer
• 1958 – Steve Austria, American politician
• 1958 – Maria de Fátima Silva de Sequeira Dias, Portuguese historian, author, and academic (d. 2013)
• 1958 – Bryn Merrick, Welsh bass player (The Damned)
• 1959 – Anna Escobedo Cabral, American lawyer and politician, 42nd Treasurer of the United States
• 1960 – Carlo Perrone, Italian footballer and manager
• 1960 – Hiroyuki Sanada, Japanese actor
• 1961 – Chendo, Spanish footballer
• 1962 – Carlos Bernard, American actor
• 1962 – Chris Botti, American trumpet player and composer
• 1962 – Amanda Castro, Honduran poet (d. 2010)
• 1962 – John Coleman, English footballer and manager
• 1962 – Branko Crvenkovski, Macedonian politician, 3rd President of the Republic of Macedonia
• 1962 – Deborah Foreman, American actress
• 1963 – Raimond Aumann, German footballer
• 1963 – Lane Frost, American bull rider (d. 1989)
• 1963 – Satoshi Kon, Japanese animator and screenwriter (d. 2010)
• 1963 – Dave Legeno, English actor (d. 2014)
• 1963 – Alan McDonald, Irish footballer and manager (d. 2012)
• 1963 – Luis Polonia, Dominican baseball player
• 1965 – J. J. Daigneault, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1965 – Scott O'Grady, American captain and pilot
• 1966 – Brenda Brathwaite, American game designer
• 1966 – Jonathan Crombie, Canadian actor
• 1966 – Wim Jonk, Dutch footballer
• 1966 – Brian Kennedy, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1968 – Bill Auberlen, American race car driver
• 1968 – Mark Donovan, Welsh actor
• 1968 – Paul Harragon, Australian rugby player
• 1968 – Hugh Jackman, Australian actor, singer, and producer
• 1968 – Adam Rich, American actor
• 1969 – Martie Maguire, American singer-songwriter, violinist, and producer (Dixie Chicks and Court Yard Hounds)
• 1969 – Judit Mascó, Spanish model and actress
• 1969 – Željko Milinovič, Slovenian footballer
• 1969 – Olaf Renn, German footballer
• 1969 – Dwayne Roloson, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1969 – José Valentín, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1970 – Julian, Chilean-American porn actor
• 1970 – Kirk Cameron, American actor, screenwriter, and evangelist
• 1970 – Patrick Musimu, Belgian diver and physiotherapist (d. 2011)
• 1970 – Tanyon Sturtze, American baseball player
• 1970 – Charlie Ward, American basketball player and coach
• 1971 – Tony Fiore, American baseball player
• 1971 – Steve Johnston, Australian motorcycle racer
• 1971 – Bronzell Miller, American football player and actor (d. 2013)
• 1972 – Neriah Davis, American model and actress
• 1972 – Juan Manuel Silva, Argentinian race car driver
• 1972 – Tom Van Mol, Belgian footballer
• 1973 – Lesli Brea, Dominican baseball player
• 1973 – Martin Corry, English rugby player
• 1974 – Kate Beahan, Australian actress
• 1974 – Stephen Lee, English snooker player
• 1974 – Marie Wilson, Greek-Canadian actress
• 1975 – Ahmad, American rapper (4th Avenue Jones)
• 1975 – Susana Félix, Portuguese singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1975 – Marion Jones, American basketball player and runner
• 1977 – Jessica Barker, Canadian actress
• 1977 – Bode Miller, American skier
• 1977 – Javier Toyo, Venezuelan footballer
• 1978 – Stefan Binder, German footballer
• 1978 – Baden Cooke, Australian cyclist
• 1979 – Steven Agnew, Irish politician
• 1979 – Jordan Pundik, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (New Found Glory and International Superheroes of Hardcore)
• 1980 – Ledley King, English footballer
• 1981 – Sneha, Indian actress
• 1981 – Shola Ameobi, English footballer
• 1981 – Tom Guiry, American actor
• 1981 – Brian Kerr, Scottish footballer
• 1981 – Janar Kiivramees, Estonian poker player
• 1981 – Giuseppe Lanzone, American rower
• 1981 – Brian J. Smith, American actor
• 1981 – Conrad Smith, New Zealand rugby player
• 1981 – Sun Tiantian, Chinese tennis player
• 1983 – Alex Brosque, Australian footballer
• 1983 – Carlton Cole, English footballer
• 1983 – Katie Piper, English model and television host
• 1985 – Mike Green, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1985 – Anna Iljuštšenko, Estonian high jumper
• 1986 – Tyler Blackburn, American actor and singer
• 1986 – Ioannis Maniatis, Greek footballer
• 1986 – Emmanuel Nwachi, Nigerian footballer
• 1986 – Sergio Peter, German footballer
• 1987 – Marvin Ogunjimi, Belgian footballer
• 1988 – Aggro Santos, Brazilian-English rapper
• 1988 – Sam Whitelock, New Zealand rugby player
• 1990 – Melody, Spanish singer-songwriter and dancer
• 1990 – Henri Lansbury, English footballer
• 1991 – Nicolao Dumitru, Italian footballer
• 1992 – Kyron Duke, Welsh weightlifter
• 1992 – Taylor Horn, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1992 – Josh Hutcherson, American actor
• 1992 – Cüneyt Köz, German footballer
• 1994 – Sean Monahan, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1995 – Claudio Encarnacion Montero, English actor
• 1995 – Jordan Howe, Welsh sprinter
• 1996 – Riechedly Bazoer, Dutch footballer

Despatches

• 632 – Edwin of Northumbria (b. 586)
• 638 – Pope Honorius I
• 642 – Pope John IV
• 1095 – Leopold II, Margrave of Austria (b. 1050)
• 1176 – William d'Aubigny, 1st Earl of Arundel, English politician (b. 1109)
• 1320 – Michael IX Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1277)
• 1491 – Fritz Herlen, German painter (b. 1449)
• 1492 – Piero della Francesca, Italian painter (b. 1415)
• 1565 – Jean Ribault, French-American lieutenant and navigator (b. 1520)
• 1576 – Maximilian II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1527)
• 1590 – Kanō Eitoku, Japanese painter (b. 1543)
• 1600 – Luis de Molina, Spanish priest and philosopher (b. 1535)
• 1632 – Kutsuki Mototsuna, Japanese commander (b. 1549)
• 1646 – François de Bassompierre, French courtier (b. 1579)
• 1678 – Edmund Berry Godfrey, English judge (b. 1621)
• 1679 – William Gurnall, English clergyman and author (b. 1617)
• 1685 – Christoph Ignaz Abele, Austrian jurist (b. 1628)
• 1730 – Frederick IV of Denmark (b. 1671)
• 1758 – Richard Molesworth, 3rd Viscount Molesworth, Irish field marshal and politician (b. 1680)
• 1812 – Juan José Castelli, Argentinian lawyer and politician (b. 1764)
• 1845 – Elizabeth Fry, English social reformer and philanthropist (b. 1780)
• 1870 – Robert E. Lee, American general (b. 1807)
• 1875 – Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, French sculptor and painter (b. 1827)
• 1896 – Christian Emil Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs, Danish politician, 9th Council President of Denmark (b. 1817)
• 1898 – Calvin Fairbank, American minister and activist (b. 1816)
• 1915 – Edith Cavell, English nurse (b. 1865)
• 1920 – Yu Gwan-sun, South Korean activist (b. 1904)
• 1924 – Anatole France, French journalist, author, and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1844)
• 1926 – Edwin Abbott Abbott, English theologian and author (b. 1838)
• 1932 – Ioannis Chrysafis, Greek gymnast (b. 1873)
• 1933 – John Lister, English philanthropist and politician (b. 1847)
• 1940 – Tom Mix, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1880)
• 1946 – Joseph Stilwell, American general (b. 1883)
• 1948 – Susan Sutherland Isaacs, English psychologist and psychoanalyst (b. 1885)
• 1954 – George Welch, American pilot (b. 1918)
• 1956 – Lorenzo Perosi, Italian composer (b. 1872)
• 1957 – Arie de Jong, Dutch linguist (b. 1865)
• 1958 – Gordon Griffith, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1907)
• 1960 – Inejiro Asanuma, Japanese politician (b. 1898)
• 1965 – Paul Hermann Müller, Swiss chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1899)
• 1967 – Ram Manohar Lohia, Indian activist and politician (b. 1910)
• 1969 – Sonja Henie, Norwegian figure skater (b. 1912)
• 1969 – Julius Saaristo, Finnish javelin thrower (b. 1891)
• 1970 – Feodor Stepanovich Rojankovsky, Russian illustrator (b. 1891)
• 1970 – Mustafa Zaidi, Pakistani poet (b. 1930)
• 1971 – Dean Acheson, American lawyer and politician, 51st United States Secretary of State (b. 1893)
• 1971 – Gene Vincent, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1935)
• 1972 – Robert Le Vigan, French actor (b. 1900)
• 1973 – Peter Aufschnaiter, Austrian mountaineer, geographer, and cartographer (b. 1899)
• 1978 – Nancy Spungen, American murder victim, girlfriend of Sid Vicious (b. 1958)
• 1983 – Ernie Roth, American wrestling manager (b. 1929)
• 1984 – Anthony Berry, English politician (b. 1925)
• 1985 – Johnny Olson, American game show announcer (b. 1910)
• 1985 – Ricky Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The B-52's) (b. 1953)
• 1987 – Alf Landon, American lieutenant and politician, 26th Governor of Kansas (b. 1887)
• 1988 – Ruth Manning-Sanders, Welsh poet and author (b. 1886)
• 1988 – Coby Whitmore, American painter and illustrator (b. 1913)
• 1989 – Carmen Cavallaro, American pianist (b. 1913)
• 1989 – Jay Ward, American animator, producer, and screenwriter, founded Jay Ward Productions (b. 1920)
• 1990 – Rifaat el-Mahgoub, Egyptian politician (b. 1926)
• 1990 – Peter Wessel Zapffe, Norwegian metaphysician, mountaineer, and author (b. 1899)
• 1991 – Sheila Florance, Australian actress (b. 1916)
• 1991 – Arkady Strugatsky, Russian author (b. 1925)
• 1991 – Regis Toomey, American actor (b. 1898)
• 1993 – Leon Ames, American actor and singer (b. 1902)
• 1994 – Gérald Godin, Canadian journalist and politician (b. 1938)
• 1996 – René Lacoste, French tennis player (b. 1904)
• 1996 – Roger Lapébie, French cyclist (b. 1911)
• 1997 – John Denver, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (Chad Mitchell Trio and The John Denver Band) (b. 1943)
• 1998 – Mario Beaulieu, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1930)
• 1998 – Matthew Shepard, American murder victim (b. 1976)
• 1999 – Wilt Chamberlain, American basketball player and coach (b. 1936)
• 1999 – Robert Marsden Hope, Australian lawyer and judge (b. 1919)
• 2001 – Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone, English politician, Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain (b. 1907)
• 2002 – Ray Conniff, American bandleader and composer (b. 1916)
• 2002 – Audrey Mestre, French biologist and diver (b. 1974)
• 2003 – Jim Cairns, Australian politician (b. 1914)
• 2003 – Joan Kroc, American philanthropist (b. 1928)
• 2003 – Bill Shoemaker, American jockey (b. 1931)
• 2005 – C. Delores Tucker, American politician and activist (b. 1927)
• 2006 – Gillo Pontecorvo, Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1919)
• 2007 – Noel Coleman, English actor (b. 1919)
• 2007 – Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect, designed the Nakagin Capsule Tower (b. 1934)
• 2008 – Karl Chircop, Maltese physician and politician (b. 1965)
• 2009 – Dickie Peterson American singer-songwriter and bass player (Blue Cheer) (b. 1948)
• 2009 – Frank Vandenbroucke, Belgian cyclist (b. 1974)
• 2010 – Woody Peoples, American football player (b. 1943)
• 2010 – Belva Plain, American author (b. 1919)
• 2011 – Heinz Bennent, German-Swiss actor (b. 1921)
• 2011 – Patricia Breslin, American actress (b. 1931)
• 2011 – Dennis Ritchie, American computer scientist, created the C programming language (b. 1941)
• 2012 – James Coyne, Canadian banker, 2nd Governor of the Bank of Canada (b. 1910)
• 2012 – William C. Friday, American academic (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Norm Grabowski, American hot rod builder and actor (b. 1933)
• 2012 – Jean-Pierre Hautier, Belgian television host (b. 1955)
• 2012 – Sukhdev Singh Kang, Indian judge and politician, 14th Governor of Kerala (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Ervin Kassai, Hungarian basketball player and referee (b. 1925)
• 2012 – Torkom Manoogian, Iraqi-Armenian archbishop (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Erik Moseholm, Danish bassist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Tony Pawson, English cricketer (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Břetislav Pojar, Czech animator, director, and screenwriter (b. 1923)
• 2013 – Glen Dell, South African pilot (b. 1962)
• 2013 – George Herbig, American astronomer and academic (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Oscar Hijuelos, American author (b. 1951)
• 2013 – Hans Wilhelm Longva, Norwegian diplomat (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Michelle Madoff, Canadian-American politician (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Malcolm Renfrew, American chemist and educator (b. 1910)
• 2013 – Mann Rubin, American screenwriter (b. 1927)

===
2014

• Christian feast day:
  • Heribert of Cologne (private feast day)
  • Wilfrid of Ripon
  • Edith Cavell, Elizabeth Fry (Church of England)
  • October 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Children's Day or Feast of Our Lady of Aparecida (Brazil)
• Discovery of America by Columbus-related observances:
  • Columbus Day (United States)
  • Piomingo Day (Chickasaw Nation)
  • Descubrimiento de América (Mexico)
  • Día de la Hispanidad or Fiesta Nacional de España (Spain)
  • Día de la Raza, "Day of the Race" (Latin America)
  • Día del Respeto a la Diversidad Cultural, "Day of respect for cultural diversity" (Argentina)
  • Día de la Resistencia Indígena, "Day of Indigenous Resistance" (Venezuela)
  • Día de las Américas, "Day of the Americas" (Uruguay)
  • Día de las Culturas, "Day of the Cultures" (Costa Rica)
  • Discovery Day (the Bahamas)
• Freethought Day (United States)
• Independence Day, celebrates the independence of Equatorial Guinea from Spain in 1968.
• Mother's Day (Malawi)
• UN Spanish Language Day (United Nations)

===

Stop your bitching about poor Bachelor Blake Garvey

Miranda Devine – Saturday, October 11, 2014 (11:32pm)

ALL week we have watched a gentle, harmless man endure a mass attack from foul-mouthed schoolyard bullies who have never met him but hate his guts.
Everyone with a social media account or a column or a microphone took a pot shot.
He was “Australia’s number one tosser”, “a freakin douchebag” a “knob”, a “jackass”, the nation’s “most hated man”.

 Continue reading 'Stop your bitching about poor Bachelor Blake Garvey'

===

The Bolt Report today, October 12

Andrew Bolt October 12 2014 (5:48am)

On The Bolt Report on Channel 10 at 10am and 4pm.
Editorial:  The true danger of Hizb ut-Tahrir. 
My guest: Foreign Minister Julie Bishop.
The panel: Cassandra Wilkinson and Michael Kroger.

NewsWatch:  The Daily Telegraph’s Miranda Devine.

The videos of the shows appear here.

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Post by Linda Harris.

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Post by M.J. Rose.

look at it closely .. most kitchens have one of those ..
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Post by Architecture & Design.

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Post by Fortafy.

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A SENIOR Labor frontbencher has broken ranks saying new anti-terror laws that allow journalists t... http://t.co/ItK6dMmS9C via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 12, 2014

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TWO men are being questioned by police over a racist attack on a Brisbane train. http://t.co/yLjXxS5UuW via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 12, 2014

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MORE than 2.5 million Australians are now living below the poverty line, according to a major new... http://t.co/MA9wp5Cw0K via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 12, 2014

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There is another way .. please .. a heart-rending letter to the child she will abort next week. http://t.co/TuQ5aJsWtS via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 12, 2014

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90% of parenting is being there .. HERE goes then. This is my big, shocking parenting confession. http://t.co/FKskHMaQOx via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 12, 2014

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Shaq, shrunk by Yao Ming pic.twitter.com/IiKQg8Lwe7
— Ben Greenman (@bengreenman) October 11, 2014

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SEARGENT Albert Marle asked a flight attendant if she would hang up his coat on a four-hour fligh... http://t.co/2TUMz56yuK via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 12, 2014

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Animals are better http://t.co/MBaUCMm4F6
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 12, 2014

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Tasmanian leukaemia sufferer and former refugee Surjen Magar thanks PM Tony Abbott for a chance at life http://t.co/CqtRkGyCpK
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 12, 2014

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But, abstinence works .. Hey Swaziland: $18 Won’t Buy You a Solution to Your AIDS Crisis http://t.co/lq1XFlTxEG
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 12, 2014

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Tony Abbott blasts Bill Shorten on carbon http://t.co/Q5W35orH0E
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 12, 2014

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Smash mum smashed A MUM who died in a horrifying car crash that also claimed three of her children http://t.co/mfbFnvGUHu via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 11, 2014

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or Depraved indifferent? .. helicopter parents, but have you heard of “lawnmower parents”? http://t.co/7UwO4J2d2i via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 11, 2014

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Buffy? PARANORMAL groups claim to have found a “doorway to hell” in suburban America —... http://t.co/XD0VypOSYA via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 11, 2014

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AN ALASKIN couple devastated after officials told them their son had been killed in a car crash g... http://t.co/lBlk0VaL8m via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 11, 2014

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SA MP Bob Such dies from brain tumour http://t.co/PxxCY2cbpR via @ABCNews
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 11, 2014

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WITH so much violence and hatred in the news, sometimes we need to hear something positive. http://t.co/yStdco33tp via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 11, 2014

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Teenage Austrian 'poster girls for ISIS' now want to come home http://t.co/ISNwjDiksv via @MailOnline
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 11, 2014

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"Ich mag dich gerade. Also halt den Mund und stör mich nicht dabei!" - Andreas Herrmann   http://t.co/7UZ91PBCwD
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 11, 2014

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"The tragedy of the Kurds: not strong enough to beat the Islamic State on their own, but too strong to..." http://t.co/BvgbVTtj4h
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) October 11, 2014

=== Posts from last year ===

4 her, so she can see how I see her

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The Vanderbilt Diamond Necklace
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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin

GOD IS WITH YOU AND FOR YOU.
Let me encourage you. I may not know all the specific challenges you’re facing, but these two things will make all the difference.He is with you and He is for you.If you believe,fear and worry won’t be able to steal your joy. The circumstances of life will not dictate your future. Sickness and financial lack will not have its way in your life. When God is with you and for you, no person, no situation, no circumstance can keep you from the blessings of God. 

The same God who created the heavens and the earth, who spoke the universe into existence, who knows everything that will ever happen in your life...is WITH YOU and FOR YOU. 

When God is for you, nothing can win against you. Not the pain of your past, not the mistakes you’ve made, not a bad economy or ANYTHING else on earth.Think and meditate on it.God bless you.
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KNOW THAT GOD IS WITH YOU AND FOR YOU.
No matter how alone you feel, no matter how discouraged you might be...God will always be with you and for you. He’s promised it, and God doesn’t break His promises. 
I pray that you will keep this incredible promise front and center in your life every day.
God bless you.
=
YOUR PROBLEMS ARE NOT BIGGER THAN WHAT YOU CAN BEAR.
The Apostle Paul knew hardships and he said in the book of (2 Cor. 11:24-27)
"Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned,three times I was shipwrecked.I spent a night and a day in the open sea.I have been in danger from rivers,in danger from bandits, 
in danger from my own countrymen,in danger from Gentiles,in danger in the city, in danger in the country,in danger at sea and in danger from false brothers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep.I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food.I have been cold and naked."

But in all of these things Paul did not quit.He did not give up.He remained faithful.Compare his suffering with yours? I want you to say,I’m going to live in the faith.I’m going to live in the strength which comes from the help of God.

No matter how many times you get knocked down, keep getting back up. God sees your determination. God sees your faithfulness. And when you do everything you can do,that’s when God will step in and do what you can’t do.God bless you.
=
MAKE A YOU-TURN.
Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead.
Philippians 3:13(NKJV)
A “U-turn” in driving means to perform a 180 degree turn to reverse the direction of travel.In life,you need a U-Turn to be who God want you to be.To turn around your personal life so that you have hope, love,joy and peace that God created for you to have through salvation and personal relationship with Christ.

So, How to make a YOU-turn?
I. Be Friendly.“I was a stranger and you welcomed me.” Matthew 25:35.One of the most important things you can do for your spiritual life is to surround yourself with positive,friendly Christian people.Romans 15:7 says Welcome one another, therefore, just as Christ has welcomed you for the glory of God.
II. Be Fruitful
"That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love," Ephesians 3:17.When you feel shut out,broken and alone,just remember that you can never be lost to God’s love.When Christ dwells in your heart by faith,then you are rooted and grounded in fruitfulness.You are in the place God wants you to be. You are in the soil that has the potential to grow anything.It can grow the best you,that you can possibly become.Make a U-Turn.God bless you.
===
Pastor Rick Warren

"As pressure and stress bear down on me, I find my joy in your commands!" Psalm 119:143 (NLT)
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If you send me an Invitation on LinkedIn, I'll be happy to follow YOU on LinkedIn. http://www.LinkedIn.com/
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Self-righteousness, based on works, condemns us. True righteousness, paid for by Jesus on the cross, frees us.
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Jesus is seen in the faces of those around you who are hurting. See Matt.25:45
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CAPITALISM says "What's mine is mine, and I will keep it!" COMMUNISM says "What's yours is mine, and I will take it." Christian Love says "What's mine is yours, and I'm eager to share it!" #Generosity
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THE first problem with this guy's marriage proposal is that it takes 25 minutes.

As far as this writer is concerned, that's about 23 minutes too long. It makes those last 12 scenes of the Lord of the Rings film trilogy seem positively succinct, and it crosses the line between devoting noticeable time and effort to something and wasting half of your soon-to-be fiancee's evening.

Never mind that though. There are bigger problems here.

First, some background. Actor and director Justin Baldoni told his girlfriend, Emily Foxler, to go to the Blu Jam Cafe in Los Angeles, where he planned to unleash a romantic evening of longwinded surprises.

Why the Blu Jam Cafe, you ask? Because that's where the couple shared their first date. Awww.

When Emily arrived at the cafe, Justin was nowhere to be found, but he did organise some tasteful candles to offset the room's dim lighting.

I love her. All of her. But I won't be telling her "I love the shit out of you" - ed
===

A GERMAN couple's marriage got off to a rocky start when the groom forgot his bride at a highway petrol station on the way home from their honeymoon, only noticing she was missing after hours had passed.

The couple was heading home to Berlin from their holiday in France, when the man pulled over near the central town of Bad Hersfeld late Thursday to fill up their van, police said.

The woman had been sleeping in the back of the van but got up - unbeknownst to the man - to use the toilets, and her new husband drove off before she returned.

Only after two-and-a-half hours on the road did he notice she was gone and called police, who said she was patiently waiting for him to return.

Honey, let me explain .. ed
===

A TEENAGER has committed suicide after he faced being put on a sex offenders list for streaking at a high school gridiron game.

Christian Adamek, 15, from Hunstville, Alabama, hanged himself on October 2 and died two days later, AL.com reports.

Just one week earlier, he had been arrested by cops after running naked across the field during a high school gridiron game on September 27. Under Alabama law, Christian faced being placed on the sex offenders register if found guilty of indecent exposure.

Video of his streaking was put on YouTube, attracting enthusiastic comments calling him a “legend” from his fellow students at Sparkman High, but has since been removed.

School officials, who were furious over the incident, threatened the teen with expulsion and legal action for indecent exposure - which under Alabama law would put him on the sex offender’s register.

“There’s the legal complications,” principal Michael Campbell told WHNT the day before Christian hanged himself. The streaking was not just a harmless prank, Mr Campbell said.

“Public lewdness and court consequences outside of school with the legal system, as well as the school consequences that the school system has set up,” he said.

While administration were worrying about how things looked, did anyone think to talk to the boy? - ed
===

Forty years ago Israel blundered disastrously on the eve of the Yom Kippur War because its military leaders had a concept about the circumstances in which it might be attacked, and the concept was wrong.

Twenty years ago, Israel blundered disastrously by signing the Oslo Accord, because its political leaders had a concept about what it would take to get peace, and the concept was wrong.

Beware of policy makers bearing concepts.

That’s worth pondering as the Obama administration peddles another concept— that a deal with Russia will lead to disarmament by Syria—as a reason to call off military strikes. But agreements are not achievements, wishes are not facts, and theory is not reality.

In 1973, what Israeli military planners called *Ha’Conceptzia*—the
Concept—was that Egypt would not attack without Syria, Syria would not
attack without Egypt, and Egypt lacked the long-range bombers and ballistic
missiles it would need to retake the Sinai Peninsula. It was a comforting
syllogism that allowed Israel to dismiss accumulating evidence of an
impending attack, including a personal warning from Jordan’s King Hussein,
as nothing more than psychological warfare.

The flaw with the Concept was the Concept: Theory provides vision at the
expense of clarity. It also obstructs thought. Had the Egyptian goal been
to retake the entirety of the Sinai, Anwar Sadat would never have ordered
an attack.

===
THE ART OF THE JEWISH PAPERCUT

In his forward to this special collection, Professor Bezalel Narkiss, of Hebrew University in Jerusalem, explains that Jewish papercuts represent a unique art form, created by mostly anonymous folk artists. At first impression they resemble naive painting or a child's art. But one quickly realizes the complexity of the designs, and the knowledge involved in their composition. Narkiss hopes that Giza Frankel's celebration of this rare and disappearing art form will not only introduce it to the uninitiated and help researchers, but also inspire contemporary artists to revive and continue this rich tradition.

The Jews became familiar with papercuts in Germany of the 17th century, where they were known as "Scherenschnitt" (scissor-runs). Austrian monks and nuns went on to create "Spitzenbilder", splendid "lace-pictures" of cut paper and the art was also known in Holland by the 18th century. But Jewish merchants probably met this form much earlier, in the 14th century, from travels to the Far East. Papercuts became most popular in the 19th century and into the early 20th. They were made exclusively by men: pupils in heder, yeshiva students, teachers (melamedim) and their assistants. Sometimes old men made papercuts in their spare time. Below are samples of some of the beautiful, full-color reproductions that appear in the hardcover book

===

Meet Israel’s Cutest Attack Animal
October 11, 2013 By Daniel Greenfield Arab Palestinian farmers have alleged that Israeli colonists have released a large numbers of rock hyrax http://frontpagemag.com/2013/dgreenfield/meet-israels-cutest-attack-animal/
===

Allen West

On my usual morning run I like to stop and chat with the brave men and women of the US Capitol Hill Police who safeguard the symbols of American liberty and our Members of the legislative branch. However, this morning our normally cheerful chat was disturbing. It seems these men and women who were standing their posts in the rain, as they always do, have been deemed non-essential and will not be getting paid, but they will continue to man their posts. How can the Members of Congress look these men and women in the eye? The Officer this morning asked me one simple thing, "Please Sir, speak up for us." I can imagine the families of our fallen Warriors who have been denied death gratuity payments from this administration are asking the same. Who are we as a Nation? Where is our sense of character? I implore us all to speak up for the men and women of the US Capitol Hill Police, and all who serve. Call the office of your Members of Congress and ask "where is your sense of character?"

===

Daniel Katz
===

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 Mavi Marmara was sent by the IHH, a Turkish- government supported, al-Qaida-aligned group, to try to break Israel's lawful maritime blockade of the Gaza coast. When the lightly armed naval commandos boarded the ship they were attacked by terrorists wielding knives and iron pipes. They were stabbed and bludgeoned. In the violence, nine Turkish terrorists were killed.

By forcing Israel to apologize to Turkey, Obama took the side of the aggressor against the victim.

Netanyahu apologized to Turkey's pro-Hamas Prime Minister Recep Erdogan in a phone call that Obama participated in. Obama promised that Turkey would accept Israel's apology and restore full diplomatic relations.

But nothing of the sort occurred. Last week, Turkish President Abdullah Gul told Yediot Aharonot that the apology came too late. And this week, Erdogan hosted Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal for the third time in the past year. Commentators have raised the prospect that Hamas may be hoping to transfer its headquarters from Qatar to Turkey.

The Egyptian military is now fighting Hamas in Sinai. The military-backed government blames the Palestinian Muslim Brotherhood branch for fomenting the Islamist insurgency there. Egyptian forces have destroyed much of the tunnel network linking Gaza with Sinai that had enabled the cross-traffic of terrorists and munitions between the areas. This week, Egypt announced plans to demarcate Egypt's territorial waters along Gaza to prevent the transfer by sea of weapons and terror operatives between them.

Under these circumstances, Erdogan's embrace of Mashaal was a sign not only of support for Hamas and ill will toward Israel. It was a sign of animosity toward Egypt.

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In a tragic turn of events, it has been revealed that Colonel (Res.) Shraya (Yaya) Opher, murdered last night in his JordanValley home of Brosh, was killed on the same day as his brother, who died 40 years ago duringthe Yom Kippur War.  

Major Yitzchak Opher, a pilot, was killed on October 11 1973, when his plane was shot down over the Golan Heights.

Israel's Yedioth Ahronoth quoted a senior officer who served with Shraya (Yaya) Opher saying that his fighter pilot brother's death had been a strong influence on his own military career.

Opher enjoyed a distinguished career in the IDF, serving as a Commander in the Givati Brigades, a commander of the Gaza Strip, and a founder of the elite Shaldag air force commando unit.

In the early hours of Friday morning, Opher was brutally murdered by two Palestinian Authority Arabs, who attacked him with axes and iron bars. His wife, Monique Omer, escaped with minor injuries as she fled the scene to call for help.

Five arrested

Security forces have arrested five Palestinian Authority Arab men on suspicion of carrying out the brutal attack. The five were all taken for interrogation by Israel's internal security forces (Shin Bet).

Wife speaks from hospital bed

Opher's wife Monique Omer spoke about her husband from her hospital bed in Afula Friday morning.

"Is there anyone who didn’t know Yaya Opher?" she said in tears, "A soldier for many years, Commander of the Gaza Strip, Givati and Shaldag (air force commandos)." 

"How were they able to do that to Yaya?" she asked.

"A wonderful man, a wonderful father, wonderful grandfather, there are no words," she added. "There was no one who didn't love him who didn't connect to him," Monique wept.

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US President Barack Obama has met with 16-year-old Malala Yousafzai, an advocate for girls' education and the target of a Taliban assassination attempt who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Obama met with Malala on Friday, the same day the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The Pakistani teen had been considered a front-runner for the prize and was in Washington to speak at two events.

The teen said in a statement after the meeting that she was honoured to meet with the president, who is a Nobel Peace Prize recipient.

"I thanked President Obama for the United States' work in supporting education in Pakistan and Afghanistan and for Syrian refugees. I also expressed my concerns that drone attacks are fueling terrorism. Innocent victims are killed in these acts, and they lead to resentment among the Pakistani people. If we refocus efforts on education it will make a big impact," she said.

She called for greater cooperation between the governments of the United States and Pakistan.

A few years ago Obama hosted a dinner for jailers of a Nobel Peace Prize winner. Now he meets with a girl unfairly denied one after those who covered up  Saddam Hussein's WMD got it instead. - ed
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Although Friday's fatal attack in the Jordan Valley community of Brosh is unrelated to previous recent acts of terrorism, together they form a disturbing picture, according to Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon.

Danon told interviewers on Israeli radio network Reshet Bet that there was room to weigh up whether or not to continue negotiations withthe Palestinian Authority following the attacks, and the incitement he said lay behind them.

According to the Deputy Defense Minister, "forces trying to undermine" Mahmoud Abbas' leadership could also have been behind the attack.

"Israel expects the Palestinian Authority to react and take actions, but at the moment we are not seeing this," Danon lamented.

Many political figures have rejected claims that the recent spate of terror attacks is not the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority (PA) and its Chaiman, Mahmoud Abbas.

Following the attack in Psagot last week, which saw a nine-year old Israeli girl shot in the neck at close range, Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel said: “the same 'Abu' is not denouncing and the same 'Mazen' is not taking action to arrest terrorists but only making gestures.” Abu Mazen is another name for the PA Chairman. 

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<... In other words he is a typical egotistical arrogant loud mouth obnoxious bastard with no manners lacking all common courtesy full of bravado and chutzpah hiding his lack of expertise. He'd make a great taxi driver. Of course he would argue that he did not need to turn on his meter. This is why so many Israelis like him. He is like some of them. Sometimes Israelis can be their own worst enemies. It's time to grow up. As they say in the classics you can bullsh!t some people some of the time but not all the people all of the time. I could not imagine a worse qualified politician.>

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Into-the-fray-What-an-idiot-328445
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Israeli leaders in Samaria were horrified to learn this week that Israeli leftists with the Yesh Din organization took part in an Arabcelebration on the ruins of the Jewish community of Homesh.

During the celebration Jewish symbols at the site werereplaced with PLO flags, and a banner was waved that depicted a man in religious Jewish garb with a spear through his mouth.

Yesh Din was instrumental in causing the celebration as well. The group’slawyers filed the lawsuit that lead the government’s legal adviser to declare that the government would transfer Homesh to Arab hands.

Acting head of the Samaria Council Yossi Dagan - who himself was expelled from Sa-Nur, near Homesh - was appalled to hear that Yesh Din had been at the rally. “The extreme left has hit an unbelievable low,” he said.

There were people at the celebration rally who called to murder Jews, he noted.

“We’re used to incitement and even libel from extreme-left organizations. But even for an extremist group like them, this crosses a red line, and brings them to depths I wouldn’t have dreamed they would reach,” he continued.

<... Always forgive you enemies but never forget who they are.>
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<... Those terrible Israelis are at it again. What will it take to stop them terrorising Muslims worldwide ?>
Typical characteristics and patterns of cowardly acquiescence to forecasted fear, seems to guide certain US and even most Western foreign policy.  

Perhaps the roots of such mentality are firmly embedded within failed domestic contexts; ones quite hijacked by PC and fear-inducements, which ultimately serve only to embolden and empower criminally-based prospects. - Allyson

"Experts: Iran on verge of collapse in light of economic sanctions" - Ynet

"While Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said to US President Barack Obama and administration officials that the sanctions against Iran must be increased since only an economic collapse will lead it to withdraw its nuclear program, the White House is concerned that increasing economic pressure at this time may weaken Rohani and strengthen hard-liners in Tehran." - Yitzhak Benhorin - 

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-4435193,00.html
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<... When you have a Kenyan born anti imperialist Communist educated apostate Muslim Anti POTUS who changes his name from Barry to Barack at the helm were you expecting Mother Theresa ?>
Washington is still dreaming

Could it be that today, too, two years after waking up from the dream of the Arab Spring, the American administration is still struggling to see things clearly? Otherwise, how can one possibly explain Washington's decision to withhold aid from Egypt or the upcoming renewal of negotiations with Iran, during which the removal of sanctions will be discussed -- which is certainly a possibility in the Washington of today.

What else needs to happen for the Americans to finally understand what region we live in, and how there are places in the world where the values and rules that they hold so dearly -- they really are positive values by the way -- do not necessarily hold sway? Does some prime minister of some "democratic" country need to be kidnapped by his state security apparatus for the light bulb to go on? This too happened yesterday, in Libya, when an armed militia that supports terrorism, which is supposed to ensure the safety of the new democratic administration which is charged with building a strong and stable government, as well as help the U.S. combat terrorism, kidnaps the prime minister from his hotel room? Does it sound like the plot from a Monty Python movie? Well, the reality in our region is wilder than the imagination.

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"Bill Loves Steph"

...can you find the proclamation of adoration? — at Mount Lemmon.
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The United Nations nuclear watchdog on Friday narrowly voted down an Arab League resolution to single out Israel for criticism over its alleged nuclear arsenal.
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Frank Severino
Unwinding...sushi and Sapporo!
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The 2-year-old son of NFL star Adrian Peterson died Friday in a South Dakota hospital after he was allegedly beaten by a man dating the boy's mother, the Sioux Falls Argus Leader reported.

A release from the Sioux City police department said a toddler died "from injuries sustained during the aggravated assault Wednesday." It said it was witholding the child's name but the Associated Press said a person with knowledge of the situation also had confirmed it was Peterson's son.

The police also said Joseph Robert Patterson had made a court appearance in the case and was being held on $750,000 cash bond.

There might be a reason. But it isn't a good one. - ed
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The State Department has confirmed that U.S. troops have captured a senior Pakistani Taliban commander in Afghanistan.

Deputy spokesperson Marie Harf told reporters Friday that U.S. forces nabbed Taliban terrorist leader Latif Mehsud in a recent military operation. Harf said Mehsud served as a senior deputy and trusted confidant of Pakistan Taliban leader Hakimullah Mehsud.

 The Islamic extremist group claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing in New York’s Times Square in 2010 and has vowed to attack the U.S. again, according to Harf. She went on to say the group has also attacked U.S. diplomats and “countless” civilians in Pakistan.

Another failed Obama negotiation - ed
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A MORBIDLY obese dachshund who once tipped the scales at 35 kilograms has lost 23 kilograms after a year of dieting and exercise

Obie, who lives in Portland, Oregon is showing off his healthy makeover thanks to his new owner Nora Vanatta.

The five-year-old dog became an internet sensation last year when photos of him looking sad and lying on his back, with his massive belly chaffed from dragging on the ground went viral.

Still had plastic surgery - ed
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s first baby book, which was read repeatedly! Most of all, thanks to the great folks at C4P for all the wonderful work they do! >

http://conservatives4palin.com/2013/10/one-park-two-parks-yellow-park-blue-park.html
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A group of high school freshman in Illinois were reportedly required to determine who would live and who would die in a chilling class assignment that school officials say was nothing more than a lesson in social bias. However, critics argue it sounded more like a lesson in death panels.

The assignment, reportedly administered by the sociology unit at St. Joseph-Ogden High School, involved a fictional group of 10 individuals who are all in desperate need of kidney dialysis. If they don’t get the treatment, “they will die,” the lesson reads.

“But there’s a problem,” Fox News’ Todd Starnes reports. “The local hospital only has enough machines to support six patients.”

The next part of the assignment is down-right haunting.

“That means four people are not going to live. You must decide from the information below which six will survive,” it states.

Death panel training for school kids - ed
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Dog, fox, sloth, gecko, lion, tiger, fish, owl, pig, horse, cow, duck, moose, deer, squirrel, penguin, crow, chip munk, python, sheep, hedge hog, turtle, porcupine, chicken, dolphin, donkey, wolf, skunk, possum, crocodile, frog, gerbil, ostrich, tortoise, goose, hippo, rhino, monkey, oxen, mouse, oyster, lobster, Ringo, Me - ed
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Caroline Glick
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As a young man finding my way forward in the world of Torah study, I was completely bowled over by the genius of Rav Ovadia Yosef, who died this week. In all the contemporary rabbinic responsas I had read, nothing came near to the phenomenal breadth of his learning, his marshaling of sources, and above all his tolerant, often lenient conclusions.

The great Ashkenazi contemporary authorities I was studying almost invariably came to strict, restrictive conclusions. There was an almost undeclared agenda to constantly raise the bar rather than lower it. And they completely ignored the more recent great Sephardi authorities. It was almost as if they thought Sephardi scholarship ended with Maimonides. 

From the moment I picked up the early volumes of his magisterial response, “Yabia Omer”, in 1957 I was completely won over by Rav Yosef‘s different approach. He brought the widest range of sources. He weighed the body of opinion and allowed the pure law to speak for itself, and most importantly of all, where he could he would find a lenient resolution. It was as if a new, younger, brilliant Chief Justice was suddenly appointed to the Supreme Court, stood head and shoulders above the other justices, and promised to sweep away all the cobwebs and vested interests. Having such a wider vision, he knew the range of options that went well beyond the conventional wisdom.
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10/Oct/2013
Israel’s Blind Watchmen By CAROLINE B. GLICK
Israel’s military leadership failure to notice, let alone grasp the strategic implications of, regional and international developments is not new. It has been going on for at least 40 years.
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Column-one-Israels-blind-watchmen-328453

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Researchers from the University of Cambridge have developed a new technique for creating stem cells of the human liver and pancreas – a breakthrough that could significantly transform the future of transplant therapies.

The novel method involves altering the signal pathways of cells specific to the human foregut – the upper portion of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract.  Through this manipulation, researchers were able to stop the cells from developing fully and push them into a state of constant self-renewal.

As a result, these “foregut stem cells” can then be further amplified by physicians, who can then form them into liver or pancreatic cells.  These cells could potentially be used to treat damaged organs or tissue, in addition to conditions such as type 1 diabetes or metabolic liver disease.

According to the researchers, their technique improves upon existing methods for creating liver or pancreatic stem cells, which sometimes do not yield enough cells for transplantation.

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Perhaps we should have the winner of the Nobel Prize for Science determine what the heck in the water in Norway these days. 

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons has just been awarded the 2013 Nobel Peace Prize? 

Who? 

They won the...WHAT?

The group was awarded the prize, in the words of the Nobel Committee, "for its extensive efforts to eliminate chemical weapons." Well, if you ask me -- and the people of Syria- certainly not extensive enough to win a prize!
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On October 9, senior Israeli defense official Amos Gilad delivered The Washington Institute's 2013 Zeev Schiff Memorial Lecture, held annually in honor of the esteemed defense correspondent, strategic thinker, and longtime friend of the Institute. The following is a rapporteur's summary of the general's remarks.

Israel's main security concern is Iran, its only potential existential threat at the moment. Yet despite that threat and the continuing turmoil in the Middle East, Israel is more secure than ever.

THE IRAN THREAT

When Binyamin Netanyahu was first elected prime minister in 1996, he was presented with an intelligence assessment that Iran would become Israel's main enemy because of its vision of developing both a nuclear weapon and a large missile force. At the time, most other countries rejected this assessment, including the United States. Since then, much has changed. All leading intelligence services now agree that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has long been determined to put his country in a position where it could develop nuclear weapons at will. Iran is now at that point -- if Khamenei asked Ali Akbar Salehi, the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, "Can we develop a nuclear weapon whenever we want?," the answer would be "yes."

Yet the past decade has provided another crucial lesson: namely, whenever the Iranian regime has faced an existential threat, it has delayed its nuclear project. In 2003, Iran's leaders believed that the United States would extend its war in Iraq to tackle the Islamic Republic as well, so they froze their nuclear activities. But they resumed the program after that pause and have since produced hundreds of missiles.

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This Chapter illuminates, how one person Ayatollah Khomeini changed the world. Revealed Ayatollah Khomeini carefully crafted peaceful deception to gain power, to a bloody purge of tens of thousands of innocent lives across the face of Iran. And how one man forced radical Islam upon a people. Khomeini’s  governmental structure of the Islamic Republic of Iran, the various governmental directorates, how officials are placed into power and removed, the matrix of Islamic Theocratic Totalitarian state of Tehran.Read Introduction to EBook.
limited time free PDF - ed
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By Jack Khoury

Published 21:37 09.10.13

The head of the political wing of Hamas, Khaled Meshal, implicitly called on the Palestinian Authority Wednesday to cease peace negotiations with Israel immediately, claiming that continuing the talks would endanger the status of Jerusalem. Meshal, who is living in Qatar with other Hamas leaders, was in Ankara this week, where spoke by video to a rally in Beirut. Meshal said only armed struggle against Israel could achieve the right of return and protect Jerusalem.

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A Salient Example of Hajj Amin el-Husseini’s Canonical Islamic Jew-Hatred — Introduction, Text, and Commentary

October 9th, 2013 by Andrew Bostom | 

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The Li Ka Shing Foundation has donated $130 million to the Technion Israel Institute of Technology. The funds will be used to strengthen its home campus in Haifa and enable it to meet its commitment to establish the Technion Guangdong Institute of Technology, a joint venture with Shantou University in Guangdong Province in southern China. This is the largest ever donation to the Technion and one of the biggest in the history of Israeli higher education.

Guangdong Province and Shantou Municipal Government will set aside an additional RMB 900 million ($147 million) to fund construction and initial operations of the Technion Guangdong Institute, and has allotted 330,000 square meters for the campus.

Technion President Prof. Peretz Lavie and Shantou University Provost Prof. Gu Peihua signed the memorandum of understanding between the universities in Tel Aviv today in the presence of Li Ka Shing Foundation and Hutchison Whampoa chairman Li Ka-shing. The agreement will soon be brought for the approval of the Technion’s and Chinese statutory authorities.

The Technion Guangdong Institute will begin offering undergraduate programs in civil and environmental engineering and computer sciences in the 2014 academic year. The establishment of an innovation center, connecting industries in Guangdong with Israel’s technological creativity, will bridge Israeli technology into China and promote joint research and innovation. The institute's language of instruction will be in English and its faculty will be recruited from international researchers and scientists in universities around the world.

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MOST of life's lessons aren't taught in textbooks or the classroom. Here's a master list of rules to fully love your life.

20 things you won't learn at school 
1. You cannot influence the world by trying to be like it.
2. Wisdom comes from life experience, not textbooks.
3. Imagination is more valuable than knowledge.

You can learn at school but if you learn everything there, you have missed out on other opportunities - ed
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“For the director of music. For Jeduthun. A psalm of David. Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him.” Psalm 62:1 NIV

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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

"Let us lift up our heart with our hands unto God in the heavens."
Lamentations 3:41

The act of prayer teaches us our unworthiness, which is a very salutary lesson for such proud beings as we are. If God gave us favours without constraining us to pray for them we should never know how poor we are, but a true prayer is an inventory of wants, a catalogue of necessities, a revelation of hidden poverty. While it is an application to divine wealth, it is a confession of human emptiness. The most healthy state of a Christian is to be always empty in self and constantly depending upon the Lord for supplies; to be always poor in self and rich in Jesus; weak as water personally, but mighty through God to do great exploits; and hence the use of prayer, because, while it adores God, it lays the creature where it should be, in the very dust. Prayer is in itself, apart from the answer which it brings, a great benefit to the Christian. As the runner gains strength for the race by daily exercise, so for the great race of life we acquire energy by the hallowed labour of prayer. Prayer plumes the wings of God's young eaglets, that they may learn to mount above the clouds. Prayer girds the loins of God's warriors, and sends them forth to combat with their sinews braced and their muscles firm. An earnest pleader cometh out of his closet, even as the sun ariseth from the chambers of the east, rejoicing like a strong man to run his race. Prayer is that uplifted hand of Moses which routs the Amalekites more than the sword of Joshua; it is the arrow shot from the chamber of the prophet foreboding defeat to the Syrians. Prayer girds human weakness with divine strength, turns human folly into heavenly wisdom, and gives to troubled mortals the peace of God. We know not what prayer cannot do! We thank thee, great God, for the mercy-seat, a choice proof of thy marvellous lovingkindness. Help us to use it aright throughout this day!

Evening

"Whom he did predestinate, them he also called."
Romans 8:30

In the second epistle to Timothy, first chapter, and ninth verse, are these words--"Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling." Now, here is a touchstone by which we may try our calling. It is "an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace." This calling forbids all trust in our own doings, and conducts us to Christ alone for salvation, but it afterwards purges us from dead works to serve the living and true God. As he that hath called you is holy, so must you be holy. If you are living in sin, you are not called, but if you are truly Christ's, you can say, "Nothing pains me so much as sin; I desire to be rid of it; Lord, help me to be holy." Is this the panting of thy heart? Is this the tenor of thy life towards God, and his divine will? Again, in Philippians, 3:13, 14, we are told of "The high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Is then your calling a high calling? Has it ennobled your heart, and set it upon heavenly things? Has it elevated your hopes, your tastes, your desires? Has it upraised the constant tenor of your life, so that you spend it with God and for God? Another test we find in Hebrews 3:1--"Partakers of the heavenly calling." Heavenly calling means a call from heaven. If man alone call thee, thou art uncalled. Is thy calling of God? Is it a call to heaven as well as from heaven? Unless thou art a stranger here, and heaven thy home, thou hast not been called with a heavenly calling; for those who have been so called, declare that they look for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, and they themselves are strangers and pilgrims upon the earth. Is thy calling thus holy, high, heavenly? Then, beloved, thou hast been called of God, for such is the calling wherewith God doth call his people.

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Today's reading: Isaiah 37-38, Colossians 3 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Isaiah 37-38

Jerusalem’s Deliverance Foretold

¹ When King Hezekiah heard this, he tore his clothes and put on sackcloth and went into the temple of the LORD. ² He sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the secretary, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz. ³ They told him, “This is what Hezekiah says: This day is a day of distress and rebuke and disgrace, as when children come to the moment of birth and there is no strength to deliver them. ⁴ It may be that the LORD your God will hear the words of the field commander, whom his master, the king of Assyria, has sent to ridicule the living God, and that he will rebuke him for the words the LORD your God has heard. Therefore pray for the remnant that still survives.”

⁵ When King Hezekiah’s officials came to Isaiah, ⁶ Isaiah said to them, “Tell your master, ‘This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid of what you have heard—those words with which the underlings of the king of Assyria have blasphemed me. ⁷ Listen! When he hears a certain report, I will make him want to return to his own country, and there I will have him cut down with the sword.’”

...read the rest on Bible Gateway

Today's New Testament reading: Colossians 3

Living as Those Made Alive in Christ

¹ Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. ² Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. ³ For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. ⁴ When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

⁵ Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. ⁶ Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. ⁷ You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. ⁸ But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. ⁹ Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices ¹⁰ and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. ¹¹ Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all....

...read the rest on Bible Gateway

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Pilate

[Pī'late] - one armed with a dart. The surname of the fifth Roman procurator of Judea, who was recalled by Tiberius and banished to Vienna, where tradition says he committed suicide in 41 a.d. (Matt. 27).

The Man Who Sinned Against Conscience

What a different story we would have had if Pilate had obeyed his own conscience and also had followed his wife's intuition and advice. Pilate held office for some twelve years, and by his covetous and cruel government caused himself to be hated both by the Jews and Samaritans. His first name, Pontius, means, "belonging to the sea."

What a man he was for shirking responsibilities! He turned Christ over to the Jewish authorities (John 18:31), and then to Herod (Luke 23:7). When Christ was returned to him, he proposed to inflict a minor penalty ( Luke 23:22). When he could not silence the cry of the mob for the blood of Christ, he directed attention to Barabbas (Matt. 27:17), and when the die was cast, engaged in a hypocritical ceremony (Matt. 27:24).

Some authorities affirm that the name Pilate is from "Pilus," a felt cap which was worn by a slave as an emblem of liberty.

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