Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Tue Dec 23rd Todays News

NSW ALP leader Robertson has resigned following the observation of his having signed a letter for a terrorist who had been in trouble for sending letters to war widows in 2010. Robertson should have been tagged then never to be ALP leader. But, the ALP were short of incompetents they could fit in a suit. Robertson was vouched for by Eddie Obeid. He leaves the ALP's leadership unreformed and incapable of forming a government with effective policy. They still look corrupt. They rely on support from media and public servants. The lesson for the voter is not that the ALP will always back a constituent. The lesson is that the ALP will do anything to appease a minority, even if it is corrupt. 

Two female jihadis have left Sydney hoping to die in Syria. They'll probably have to kill Muslims too. One hopes they don't hurt any others. 

ADL in trouble for fighting. A guy calling himself the leader of the ADL has been arrested after going to Lakemba to race bait and start a riot. Apparently the leader can't be trusted to accurately talk about his own service in the Australian Defence Force. 

FitzSimons gets a lot wrong about current history, how can he be trusted to report on Australian history regarding riots? His highly celebrated presenter wife slimes conservative leaders and lauds ALP failure with equal gusto. Both are partisan. SBS are broadcasting a series compered and researched by FitzSimons on riots in history in Australia. 


Joe Cocker has died, having led an extraordinarily blessed life. Given his lifestyle, it is remarkable he lived as long as he did. Probably had a little help from his friends. 
2013
Two very different things struck me today. One was sparked by a reply from Canada's largest church to a comment I emailed them regarding their support for terrorism in the middle east. They hadn't understood what I had asked them, so they sent me a link to their page detailing support for middle eastern terrorism. I will post it in the body of this report. Along with my thoughts on the issue. 

The other thing emerged after an end of term meeting over yum cha with colleagues from schools I've taught Mathematics at. We have been meeting since 1995, and some have retired, and some have children. We don't always talk shop, but I was struck with the comment of one who remarked their school did well at Math education, but wasn't placing better as parents tended to over do the work of their children with tutors. Asian dominant community, and the kids excel at the material, but are not au fait with the enrichment material which is the aim of the education department to show students at the top end of achievement. The kids are flooded with moderate level material and understand the basic mechanics, but high level maths is about comprehension with modelling and tool use required of students to answer the questions. So it isn't enough to be able to apply a trigonometric rule, a good student would be able to construct a diagram from given detail, pick the right tool and apply it correctly. It isn't the school's fault students don't do that. Neither is it the student's fault. It is a cultural problem involving the parents and their expectation of schools .. they feel a school is merely an accreditation service which will grade their child. Instead, a school in Australia tries to give students opportunities to excel. Students don't have to all be good at the same things. This isn't the whole issue, however. Because in many ways there are problems directly related to that school. Anti intellectualism dominates left wing thinking, and this limits the students drive to excel. AGW believing Science faculty, an English faculty that prizes mediocrity. The students do well at Math, but are limited by bad teaching in other faculties.
Historical perspectives on this day
In 484, Huneric died and was succeeded by his nephew Gunthamund, who became king of the Vandals. During his reign the Catholics were free from persecutions. 558, Chlothar I was crowned King of the Franks. 562, Hagia Sophia in Constantinople reopened with a rebuilt dome after a series of earthquakes caused the original to collapse. 583, Maya queen Yohl Ik'nal was crowned ruler of Palenque. 679, King Dagobert II was murdered while hunting. 962, Arab–Byzantine wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops stormed the city of Aleppo. 1572, theologian Johann Sylvan was executed in Heidelberg for his heretical Antitrinitarian beliefs. 1688, as part of the Glorious Revolution, King James II of England fled from England to Paris, France after being deposed in favor of his nephew, William of Orange and his daughter Mary. 1783, George Washington resigned as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland. 1793, the Battle of Savenay: a decisive defeat of the royalist counter-revolutionaries in War in the Vendée during the French Revolution. 1823, A Visit from St. Nicholas, also known as The Night Before Christmas, was published anonymously. 1876, first day of the Constantinople Conference which resulted in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans. 1893, the opera Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck was first performed.

In 1913, the Federal Reserve Act was signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve System. 1914, World War I: Australian and New Zealand troops arrived in Cairo, Egypt. 1916, World War I: Battle of Magdhaba – Allied forces defeat Turkish forces in Egypt's Sinai Peninsula. 1919, Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 became law in the United Kingdom. 1921, Visva-Bharati University was inaugurated. 1936, Colombia became a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty. 1938, Discovery of the first modern coelacanth in South Africa. 1940, World War II: Greek submarine Papanikolis (Y-2) sank the Italian motor ship Antonietta. 1941, World War II: After 15 days of fighting, the Imperial Japanese Army occupied Wake Island. 1947, the transistor was first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories. 1948, seven Japanese convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East were executed at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan.

In 1954, first successful kidney transplant was performed by J. Hartwell Harrison and Joseph Murray. 1958, dedication of Tokyo Tower, the world's highest self-supporting iron tower. 1968, the 82 sailors from the USS Pueblo were released after eleven months of internment in North Korea. 1970, the North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, New York was topped out at 1,368 feet (417 m), making it the tallest building in the world. Also 1970, the Democratic Republic of the Congo officially became a single-party state. 1972, a 6.5 magnitude earthquake struck the Nicaraguan capital of Managua killing more than 10,000. Also 1972, the 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster were rescued after 73 days, having survived by cannibalism. 1979, Soviet war in Afghanistan: Soviet Union forces occupied Kabul, the Afghan capital.

1982, the United States Environmental Protection Agency announced it had identified dangerous levels of dioxin in the soil of Times Beach, Missouri. 1986, Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, landed at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refuelling. 1990, History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88.5% of Slovenia's overall electorate voted for independence from Yugoslavia. 2002, an MQ-1 Predator was shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25. 2003, PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field explosion, Guoqiao, Kai County, Chongqing, China, killed at least 234. 2007, an agreement was made for the Kingdom of Nepal to be abolished and the country to become a federal republic with the Prime Minister becoming head of state. 2010, a monsoonal trough crossed the northeastern coast of Australia from the Coral Sea, bringing mass flooding across Queensland.
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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.
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Editorials will appear in the "History in a Year by the Conservative Voice" series, starting with August https://www.createspace.com/4124406
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For twenty two years I have been responsibly addressing an issue, and I cannot carry on. I am petitioning the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to remedy my distress. I leave it up to him if he chooses to address the issue. Regardless of your opinion of conservative government, the issue is pressing. Please sign my petition at https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/tony-abbott-remedy-the-persecution-of-dd-ball

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.
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Happy birthday and many happy returns to those born on this day, along with
Tokyo Tower at night
You have been visited. We solved the Balkan unity problem. We have had a strategic victory. We are tall. We will survive the floods. Let's party. 
Matches
Hatches
Despatches
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ROBERTSON RESIGNS

Tim Blair – Tuesday, December 23, 2014 (5:04pm)

That was quick: 
NSW Opposition Leader John Robertson has resigned.
He announced the decision, just three months before the state election, at NSW Labor’s Sussex Street headquarters on Tuesday afternoon.
It comes after revelations that Mr Robertson signed a letter for Lindt cafe gunman Man Haron Monis in 2011 – two years after the extremist was charged with sending offensive letters to the families of slain diggers. 
Tipped as possible replacements: Michael Daley and Luke Foley.
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HAVING A BLAST

Tim Blair – Tuesday, December 23, 2014 (12:28pm)

Two carefree Sydney women head off – so to speak – on the holiday of a (potentially very brief) lifetime: 
A Sydney woman who left her family to join the Islamic State as a jihadi bride in Syria has boasted about her love for the death cult and her desire to become a martyr “for the sake of Allah”.
Hafsa Mohamed, 20, and her friend Hodan Abby, 18, left Sydney earlier this month – the first Australian women to travel independently to the conflict zone. 
I hope they had someone to #ridewiththem. 
In the months before they left for Syria, Hafsa, a former childcare worker from Lakemba, posted an IS propaganda video, saying jihad was a “fundamental part of Islam.” 
These chicks do know that they’ll be killing other Muslims, right? 
In a series of online posts, the young woman who was raised in Perth and moved to Sydney last year, also said she wanted to “marry a Mujahid (jihad fighter) and die along with him as a martyr”. 
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Hot Hafsa gets her burqa bod in shape for the holidays.
“If any mature guy wanting to go to Syria or Palestine would propose I would accept without a thought though he should be on his dean and must have a beard,” Hafsa wrote this year. 
Try eHarmony. It’s cheaper, and doesn’t involve quite so much death and mutilation. 
“Pray that my dream of going to Syria is fulfilled. I want to bring it up with my mum but I’m afraid to do so.” 
That big talk about killing yourself in a holy war is always awkward. 
“Australia is nice but I would rather be in Syria.” 
Snob.
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JOE COCKER

Tim Blair – Tuesday, December 23, 2014 (11:30am)

British singer Joe Cocker, a frequent and  occasionally controversial visitor to Australia, has died at 70:

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GALLONS PER MILE

Tim Blair – Tuesday, December 23, 2014 (11:20am)

Forget SUVs, hybrids and other modern trinkets. This is a proper conveyance for a civilised gentleman.
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GET THIS HOUSE IN ORDER

Tim Blair – Tuesday, December 23, 2014 (11:05am)

Roger Franklin calls for a clean-up: 
It can be a daunting chore to clean a mess that has grown with blind neglect, to recognise how far standards have been allowed to slump and resolve to set them right. Just at the moment, with memories of Martin Place still vivid, the need to clean house has never been more obvious or more pressing. 
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MIKE MURPHY

Tim Blair – Monday, December 22, 2014 (11:51pm)

At this year’s Truth reunion, everyone took time to speak with one particular man. Former sports editor Mike Murphy, weakened by an advancing cancer, spent hours talking with friends and colleagues. His recollection of decades-old events remained astonishingly precise – as precise as it was when I worked under him as a cadet, and relied hugely on Mike for, well, virtually everything.
In appearance and demeanour, Mike seemed almost the perfect tabloid rogue. He cared little for his looks. He smoked, drank and swore. His jokes were brilliant and sometimes brutal. This disguised an unusual sensitivity. Rather than rebuke a stupid cadet for getting a story wrong, for example, Mike preferred to simply rewrite any wayward copy – then quietly straighten you out later over a beer. Many of my early bylines ran above Mike Murphy’s words. He taught by example.
Mike seemed deeply cynical, but wasn’t. The world amused him. He took a Mencken-like delight in observing and describing human behaviour. This extended even to stories about his own cancer diagnosis and treatment. He noticed things. Mike loved details.
A couple of hours ago, the Herald Sun‘s Daryl Timms sent a note to Mike’s journalistic friends: “Mike ‘Doc’ Murphy passed away early today.”
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Post by Australian Politics memes.

Shorten? Stand up, and um, wave ..
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Post by Grammarly.

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=== Posts from last year ===

PREPARE THE HOOPS

Tim Blair – Monday, December 23, 2013 (5:14pm)

An interesting view on the Disability Support Pension: 
Labor’s parliamentary secretary Ed Husic defended the scheme, saying people often had to jump through hoops to qualify for the benefit …
“It is unclear whether or not they will basically be forcing all new people to go through regular tests, or the people who have jumped through hoops to get DSP to be able to retain it.” 
Via reader Hanrahan, who notes: “Sort of rules themselves out.”
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CAPITAL CITY BAIL-OUT

Tim Blair – Monday, December 23, 2013 (5:03am)

Canberra is broke. And it wants your money.

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'CAPITAL CITY BAIL-OUT'
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EMPATHY USED

Tim Blair – Monday, December 23, 2013 (3:57am)

Caring leftist Victoria Rollison feels for her assembly line brothers: 
I myself felt the loss of Holden acutely because I am South Australian. I know how important the car manufacturing industry is to my State’s community and economy, and I understand that it is now gone forever thanks to Abbott and his team’s incompetence …
Using my empathy, I can guess that Holden workers are scared, anxious, disappointed and angry about their company leaving Australia. 
This followed Victoria’s anguished open letter to Holden boss Mike Devereux: 
I implore you Mike. Don’t let Australia’s village idiot of a Prime Minister ruin this great country through sheer ideological fundamentalism and intellectual inadequacy. And please let me know if there’s anything I can do to help keep Holden here. 
Buying a new Holden would help. Readers are invited to speculate in comments about the car Victoria currently owns. If she provides proof that it’s a non-secondhand, locally-made Holden, I’ll walk into my nearest Holden dealer and hand over a $250 donation.
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ABC WAX CHECKER

Tim Blair – Monday, December 23, 2013 (3:10am)

Official ABC wax checker Red Symons is on the case: 
A Melbourne waxing salon owner is demanding an apology from ABC breakfast radio host Red Symons after she said he humiliated and mocked her staff and clients.
The owner of Brazilica in Smith Street, Collingwood, said the former Skyhooks lead guitarist stopped as he was walking down the bustling street just after 6.30pm on Wednesday and began firing inappropriate questions at the women working and waiting at the salon …
[Brazilica owner Georgia] said she enjoyed working on the colourful shopping and entertainment strip but felt Symons behaviour had gone too far. “Why does a 50-year-plus man in a respected media job think he can come and pick on young girls and make sexist comments?” she asked.
“Why does he feel it’s OK to humiliate and embarrass young girls in their workplace and heckle female clients about their choice of grooming?” 
Good questions. Symons’s apology doesn’t amount to much:

image

Remarkably, the radio host’s antics didn’t provoke the usual tsunami of online rage. Perhaps Symons has ABC immunity.
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ISSUE FACED

Tim Blair – Monday, December 23, 2013 (2:33am)

“If you have 200 Twitter followers, Joke X gets you targeted for annihilation,” observes Iowahawk. “If your name is Sarah Silverman, it gets you an HBO series.”
Excellent call. Take a look.
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CLOCK TOASTIE

Tim Blair – Monday, December 23, 2013 (2:01am)

It’s a well-known fact that loss makes you throw things:



Here’s another scene of British domestic distress, presumably caused by six weeks of unemployment in 1991.
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THE ONE REPLACED BY THE ONESIE

Tim Blair – Monday, December 23, 2013 (1:42am)

Barack Obama’s onesie boy takes control:

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As for the Commander in Plaid’s desire to “talk about getting health insurance”, let’s have him sit down with Doug and Ginger Chapman: 
The cheapest insurance plan they can find through the new federal marketplace in New Hampshire will cost their family of four about $1,000 a month, 12 percent of their annual income of around $100,000 and more than they have ever paid before.
Even more striking, for the Chapmans, is this fact: If they made just a few thousand dollars less a year — below $94,200 — their costs would be cut in half, because a family like theirs could qualify for federal subsidies …
Because their plan is being canceled, [Ms. Chapman] is looking for new coverage for her family, which includes Mr. Chapman, 55, a retired fireman who works on a friend’s farm, and her two sons. “That’s an insane amount of money,” she said of their new premium. “How are you supposed to pay that?” 
Onesie boy shows the way. Sell your adult clothes and never leave the house.
(Via Habib)
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SWANN DIVE FOR PAK CHOI XI

Tim Blair – Monday, December 23, 2013 (1:16am)

Planning is overrated. As an example, I give you the English cricket team, currently getting whipped like common idiots at venues across Australia.

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'SWANN DIVE FOR PAK CHOI XI'
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SHAVING CUT

Tim Blair – Monday, December 23, 2013 (12:35am)

Probably because of sexism, shaving is too expensive. This looks like a good deal:

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By all means be nice to boat people. But let’s also respect the facts

Andrew Bolt December 23 2013 (7:58am)

Writer Susan Metcalfe in  The Age:
Refugees have arrived in Australia by boat for years. Most are now contributing citizens, grateful just to be here, in spite of how we have treated them.  
A Department of Immigration survey of refugees:
Around 85% of Humanitarian entrants’ households are in receipt of Centrelink payments, while around 28% of Skilled migrants’ households make use of Centrelink payments…
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Happy to have a debate on whether we should be more welcoming of boat people. But I have no tolerance for articles in which fine feelings are substituted for facts. 
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HRC source: Tim Wilson is a sceptic so shouldn’t be a freedom commissioner

Andrew Bolt December 23 2013 (7:25am)

One Human Rights Commissioner - or senior staffer - wishes to deny employment to someone who does not hold a fashionable religious belief. This anonymous member of our morality police is speaking about Tim Wilson, the new freedom commissioner: 
He has got no relevant qualifications at all.  He has been a climate change denier, has done no law, little policy, he has an arts degree and a masters in something but he had no technical qualifications in this field at all. I would say most of the staff are better qualified than Tim is. 
How is Wilson’s climate scepticism relevant to his ability to protect freedom, and especially free speech? Whoever made that gutlessly anonymous sledge is unfit to be a member of the Human Rights Commission, which seems to be treated by its denizens as a private club for the Left.
What next? A sign over the HRC door: “No Catholics or sceptics need apply”?
By the way, are Jews comfortable with a member of the HRC using the 6 million victims of the Holocaust as a prop to demonise those who simply doubt the world is warming as fast and dangerously as the likes of Al Gore claimed? I mean, “Denier”? Get some sense of proportion.

UPDATE
The Human Rights Commission colludes with the Sydney Morning Herald to smear and ostracise Wilson in a way the commission would surely deplore if done to any new employee in private business:
Tim Wilson’s appointment as human rights commissioner could lead to cuts to a program on school bullying as the Australian Human Rights Commission accommodates his six-figure salary without any extra funding from the government…
(HRC president) Professor Triggs said she and the other commissioners would meet in January to decide where cuts would come from to make room for Mr Wilson’s salary but suggested an anti-bullying program and a program on education for older Australians might be in the firing line.
I have a suggestion for Triggs. She’s very well off. Why didn’t she donate her own salary to keep those programs going? Or does she put her own comfort above the safety of poor, abused children?
Better still, of course, she could resign.
Does the Left realise how disgusting it appears in this whole episode? Censorious, vindictive, intolerant, abusive and so very threatened by someone whose agenda is simply to bring more freedom.
Marx once promised workers they could lose their chains. Now his intellectual heirs demand more of them. 
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Berry good

Andrew Bolt December 22 2013 (5:23pm)

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Finest in Tasmania, according to the Tasmanian Agricultural Society this year. Can’t imagine a raspberry jam on the mainland to beat it. Sue told us it’s not just the quality of the berries but the way she cooks it. Not too long.
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Best Italian restaurant in Hobart, we were told. We had no reason to doubt it.
UPDATE
Reader Clownfish:
The best Italian I’ve found in Hobart is Cafe Coltura.
Reader Robert:
Da Angelo’s is good but you missed the bakery just up Hampden Rd. 50m., Jackman and Mc.Ross, and there is the Ball& Chain at the bottom of Kelly’s steps for a good steak.I think the point is there are a lot of good, well run small businesses in Tasmania but it is suffering from vastly too much over-governance, as well as Bass Strait. For example, Hobart has a population of roughly 200,000 souls and there are four councils, Hobart, Glenorchy, Clarence and Kingborough. As well there has been loss of a lot of industry due to closure and re-location. e.g. Stanley toolworks, Silk & Textiles, Sanitarium, Paper mills, Repco, the Woollen Mill in Launceston.
UPDATE
Lost in the argument about whether MONA has great art works or merely pretentious is this: a rich man has used his wealth to create something that will delight many and provoke the rest.
So the first response to MONA - even from its critics - must surely be to say thank you to creator David Walsh.
True, I found few exhibits to give me what I’m always after - an insight and sense of urgent communication. But that’s not to say none were there. For instance, I was very struck with a room full of televisions, each showing some Turkish man or woman talking about their life. Each anonymous, each individual. From a mass, many singular voices.
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And the two Buddhas - the steel mold contemplating the crumbling cast:
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Unsettling Goods: Choose Peace in Palestine and Israel | The United Church of Canada
WWW.UNITED-CHURCH.CA

The United Church of Canada campaign for peace and justice in Palestine and Israel.
http://www.united-church.ca/getinvolved/unsettling-goods
Evil at work in the church .. how support for terrorists can be attributed to peace. .. they are opposed to the only modern democracy in the region. They are opposed to the only place where there is no apartheid and there is religious freedom. They support terrorists. They support a lie that excuses terrorism. And they call it balance and peace - ed
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What Christmas Would Be Like If Men And Women Switch Their Roles
vitaminl.tv
Click to watch the video and write a comment
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Michelle Malkin

Cracker Barrel does a 180: ‘Today, we are putting all our Duck Dynasty products back in our stores.’ ==> http://twitchy.com/2013/12/22/cracker-barrel-does-a-180-today-we-are-putting-all-our-duck-dynasty-products-back-in-our-stores/
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Andreas Herrmann
Organisten sind die perfekten Lehrer: Sie haben jahrelang studiert, wie man mit Pfeifen umgeht.
Organisten sind die perfekten Klempner: sie seit Jahren, wie man mit Rohren befassen studiert haben. - ed
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Iceland's elves blamed for road project delays
www.theage.com.au
Reykjavik, Iceland: In this land of fire and ice, where the fog-shrouded lava fields offer a spooky landscape in which anything might lurk, stories abound of the "hidden folk" — thousands of elves, making their homes in Iceland's wilderness.
I kinda expect Trolls from the Age - ed
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Backpackers on tap sustain towns
www.theaustralian.com.au
WHEN a pair of Swedish backpackers turned up in Boulia to work at its pub, the tiny town in the remote red dust of western Queensland already knew their names.
"Hello Miss, I'm just standing outside your window at 2am in the morning to see whether you need any help settling in". *Stares creepily*
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Zaya Toma
Proud to be one of the first to drive on Reconciliation Road, which was opened by Andrew Rohan MP today. The road connects Fairfield to Blacktown through Greystanes.
Andrew Rohan keeps his promises - ed
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GraphicStock - Discount Coupon
go.referralcandy.com
http://graphicstock.refr.cc/Q85L4JW
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The Spiderman Invention from Israel that will Save Lives!
www.israelvideonetwork.com


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When Cops Don’t Work Hard – Israellycool
www.israellycool.com
Only when a little girl is hurt is the effort expended to find her would be killers.
http://www.israellycool.com/2013/12/04/when-cops-dont-work-hard/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Israellycool+%28Israellycool%29
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From the Archive: Elie Wiesel’s presidential appeals
www.jta.org
The Nobel laureate has a long history of beseeching Oval Office occupants on issues of Jewish concern and human rights.
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Report: Hillary Clinton Says Israel's Strong Stance on Iran Has Helped the U.S. | Jewish &...
www.algemeiner.com
Israel’s vocal criticism of the international community’s dealing with the Iranian nuclear issue is actually beneficial to the United States, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said recently, according to Israeli daily Ma’ariv. This surprising announcement was made during a private meeting in...
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Watch your Language: West Bank No More
www.jewishpress.com
Debate: Should
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Released prisoner: "We'd chat, talk, eat, drink, joke and play" - PMW Bulletins
palwatch.org
Released prisoner interviewed on PA TV describes good conditions in for Palestinians in Israeli prisons. , Palestinian Media Watch is an Israeli research institute that studies Palestinian society from a broad range of perspectives by monitoring and analyzing the Palestinian Authority through its me...
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Candidly Speaking from Jerusalem
wordfromjerusalem.com
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu enjoys enormous public support. Most Israelis, including many of those who generally oppose his policies, supported his single-handed global campaign against a nuclear Iran and the delicate diplomacy he employed in resisting unreasonable demands from President Obama...
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This Ongoing War: A Blog: 21-Dec-13: Twenty-five years later, what have we actually learned...
thisongoingwar.blogspot.com
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Peace for Peace!
newsblaze.com
Obama Israel has had enough of your hypocrisy!
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Why I want to live in Israel
blogs.timesofisrael.com
People are constantly asking me why I want to live here. It’s not an easy question to answer. Because it’s......
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Council of Europe to Support of Ritual Circumcision
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/council-of-europe-to-support-of-ritual-circumcision/2013/12/22/
Encouraged by Israeli diplomats, parliamentarians from the Council of Europe have submitted a motion opposing an earlier resolution condemning ritual circumcision of boys. The motion was submitted last week by 101 members of the Parliamentary Assembly of the council, according to Micaela Catalano, a...
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Poor planning leaves US Jewish cemeteries abandoned
www.timesofisrael.com
When synagogues close and Jewish communities shift, the lack of structured endowments means foresaken graveyards are neglected
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Jewish communal leader Edgar Bronfman dies at 84
www.timesofisrael.com
Philanthropist fought for Holocaust survivors, promoted Jewish identity among young Jews
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After 25 Years Pollard Defenders Vindicated
calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.com
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7 Reasons the TSA Sucks (A Security Expert's Perspective)
http://www.cracked.com/blog/7-reasons-tsa-sucks-a-security-experts-perspective_p2/
My name is Rafi Sela, and I was the head of security for the world's safest airport. Here's what your country does wrong.
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Utter and offensive audacity….to presume sovereignty over a sovereign nation; what an affront.

"Based on the work that a team of some 160 US officials…..drew up defining what it thought would be necessary for Israel's security….."

"On two visits earlier this month Kerry presented to PA President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu….. 

….security “ideas” based on the work that a team of some 160 US officials, headed by retired US Marine Corps Gen. John Allen, drew up defining what it thought would be necessary for Israel’s security if a Palestinian state were created." -Jpost
Kerry to present 'framework agreement' to Israel, Palestinians later this month
www.jpost.com
Agreement to include security measures meant to assuage both sides, Arab League source tells 'Asharq Al-Awsat.'
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Liberman on Bat Yam bus attack: Terror never rests - Jpost 

"The 'quiet periods' which we enjoy are thanks to the important preventive work done all the time by the security services, and not because the terrorists have taken a time out because of the diplomatic negotiations or any other reason."

Continue to the link, reading this and more articles at ...….http://paper.li/allysonchristy/1338794440
Allyson’s Geo-Political Inspections
paper.li
Allyson’s Geo-Political Inspections, by Allyson Christy: Israel, The West and Political Islam
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http://algemeiner.com/2013/12/22/hamas-repping-certified-self-loathing-jewish-lawyer-indicted-over-3
www.algemeiner.com
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RubinReports: When the Immovable Force Meets Jello: The Syrian Civil War
rubinreports.blogspot.com
“There have been many hundreds of books for and against Israel but no volume presenting the essential information about its domestic politics, its society, as well as its cultural life and its economy. This gap has now been filled.”—Walter Laqueur, author of A History of Zionism
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Rogue Obama Is Illegally Suspending Parts Of The Obamacare Law - Now The End Begins
www.nowtheendbegins.com
How it is possible that Mr. Obama is able to simply wave his hand and decree certain aspects of that law to suddenly be suspended or not enforced? The president has no power to do that. Dictators can do that, tyrants can do that, but in a democratic republic this is not only not supposed to happen,…
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Disaster averted as bomb explodes on bus after passengers evacuated
www.timesofisrael.com
Device in apparent Bat Yam terror attack blew up as sapper was defusing it; public told to be on alert for further bombings
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When Hezbollah needs to hide behind the LAF
calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.se
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The War Among the Jews
pjmedia.com
In the spring of 2000, I was friendly with a nice man, the father of my son’s friend. He was apolitical really, but his father had been a very high official of the Zionist-Marxist party (MAPAM). He
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Report: US Furious at Israel Equipment Transfer to China
www.israelnationalnews.com
Top Israeli defense official allegedly resigns over transfer approval for military equipment move to China US fears Chinese sale to Iran.
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“And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord.” Luke 2:8-11 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

"I will strengthen thee."
Isaiah 41:10
God has a strong reserve with which to discharge this engagement; for he is able to do all things. Believer, till thou canst drain dry the ocean of omnipotence, till thou canst break into pieces the towering mountains of almighty strength, thou never needest to fear. Think not that the strength of man shall ever be able to overcome the power of God. Whilst the earth's huge pillars stand, thou hast enough reason to abide firm in thy faith. The same God who directs the earth in its orbit, who feeds the burning furnace of the sun, and trims the lamps of heaven, has promised to supply thee with daily strength. While he is able to uphold the universe, dream not that he will prove unable to fulfil his own promises. Remember what he did in the days of old, in the former generations. Remember how he spake and it was done; how he commanded, and it stood fast. Shall he that created the world grow weary? He hangeth the world upon nothing; shall he who doth this be unable to support his children? Shall he be unfaithful to his word for want of power? Who is it that restrains the tempest? Doth not he ride upon the wings of the wind, and make the clouds his chariots, and hold the ocean in the hollow of his hand? How can he fail thee? When he has put such a faithful promise as this on record, wilt thou for a moment indulge the thought that he has outpromised himself, and gone beyond his power to fulfil? Ah, no! Thou canst doubt no longer.
O thou who art my God and my strength, I can believe that this promise shall be fulfilled, for the boundless reservoir of thy grace can never be exhausted, and the overflowing storehouse of thy strength can never be emptied by thy friends or rifled by thine enemies.
"Now let the feeble all be strong,
And make Jehovah's arm their song."

Evening

"The spot of his children."
Deuteronomy 32:5
What is the secret spot which infallibly betokens the child of God? It were vain presumption to decide this upon our own judgment; but God's word reveals it to us, and we may tread surely where we have revelation to be our guide. Now, we are told concerning our Lord, "to as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to as many as believed on his name." Then, if I have received Christ Jesus into my heart, I am a child of God. That reception is described in the same verse as believing on the name of Jesus Christ. If, then, I believe on Jesus Christ's name--that is, simply from my heart trust myself with the crucified, but now exalted, Redeemer, I am a member of the family of the Most High. Whatever else I may not have, if I have this, I have the privilege to become a child of God. Our Lord Jesus puts it in another shape. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." Here is the matter in a nutshell. Christ appears as a shepherd to his own sheep, not to others. As soon as he appears, his own sheep perceive him--they trust him, they are prepared to follow him; he knows them, and they know him--there is a mutual knowledge--there is a constant connection between them. Thus the one mark, the sure mark, the infallible mark of regeneration and adoption is a hearty faith in the appointed Redeemer. Reader, are you in doubt, are you uncertain whether you bear the secret mark of God's children? Then let not an hour pass over your head till you have said, "Search me, O God, and know my heart." Trifle not here, I adjure you! If you must trifle anywhere, let it be about some secondary matter: your health, if you will, or the title deeds of your estate; but about your soul, your never-dying soul and its eternal destinies, I beseech you to be in earnest. Make sure work for eternity.
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Today's reading: Micah 6-7, Revelation 13 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Micah 6-7

The LORD’s Case Against Israel
1 Listen to what the LORD says:
“Stand up, plead my case before the mountains;
let the hills hear what you have to say.
2 “Hear, you mountains, the LORD’s accusation;
listen, you everlasting foundations of the earth.
For the LORD has a case against his people;
he is lodging a charge against Israel.
3 “My people, what have I done to you?
How have I burdened you? Answer me.
4 I brought you up out of Egypt
and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you,
also Aaron and Miriam.
5 My people, remember
what Balak king of Moab plotted
and what Balaam son of Beor answered.
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the righteous acts of the LORD....”

Today's New Testament reading: Revelation 13

The Beast out of the Sea
1 The dragon stood on the shore of the sea. And I saw a beast coming out of the sea. It had ten horns and seven heads, with ten crowns on its horns, and on each head a blasphemous name. 2 The beast I saw resembled a leopard, but had feet like those of a bear and a mouth like that of a lion. The dragon gave the beast his power and his throne and great authority. 3 One of the heads of the beast seemed to have had a fatal wound, but the fatal wound had been healed. The whole world was filled with wonder and followed the beast. 4 People worshiped the dragon because he had given authority to the beast, and they also worshiped the beast and asked, “Who is like the beast? Who can wage war against it?”
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Solomon [Sŏl'omon]—peace orpeaceable. The tenth son of David, and second by Bath-sheba, and the third king of Israel who reigned for forty years (2 Sam. 5:14; 12:24 ). Solomon was also known as Jedidiah meaning, “beloved of the Lord.”

The Man Who Was Full Yet Failed

We know little of the early life of Solomon. The name given him by Nathan, but not repeated because of its sacredness, implies David’s restoration to divine favor (2 Sam. 12:25). Loved of the Lord suggests the bestowal of unusual gifts ( 2 Sam. 12:24,25). It is also evident that young Solomon was greatly influenced both by his mother and Nathan (1 Kings 1:11, 12).
With reference to the character and reign of Solomon, we cannot but agree with Alexander Whyte that, “The shipwreck of Solomon is surely the most terrible tragedy in all the world. For if ever there was a shining type of Christ in the Old Testament church, it was Solomon ... but everyday sensuality made him in the end a castaway.” Taking him all in all, Solomon stands out as a disappointing figure of Hebrew history. Think of the advantages he began with! There were the almost undisputed possession of David’s throne, immense stores of wealth laid up by his father, exceptional divinely imparted mental abilities, the love and high hopes of the people. Solomon’s start like the cloudless dawn of a summer’s morning, might have been beautiful all his life through, but it ended in gloom because he wandered into God-forbidden paths. Thus a life beginning magnificently ended miserably. The man who penned and preached a thousand wise things failed to practice the wisdom he taught.
The work of Solomon was the development of his father’s ideas of a consolidated kingdom, and what marvelous success crowned his efforts. Exercising the power of an oriental despot, he gave Israel a glory, prestige and splendor unsurpassed in the world’s history. On the whole, however, Solomon seemed to rule for his own aggrandizement and not for the welfare of the people. Doubtless Solomon’s artistic and literary gifts provided the masses with beneficial instruction, but the glory of Solomon brought the common people tears and groans. The great wealth provided by David for the building of a Temple speedily disappeared under Solomon’s lavish spending, and the people had to pay heavily by taxation and poverty for his magnificent whims. Yet Jesus said that the lilies of the field had greater glory than all the gaudy pomp and pride of Solomon.
Solomon’s ambition in the morning of his life was most commendable. His dream was a natural expression of this ambition, and his God-imparted wisdom an evidence of it (1 Kings 3 ). Then his sacrifice at Gibeon indicates that Solomon desired religion to be associated with all external magnificence. Solomon’s remarkable prayer also breathes the atmosphere of true piety and of his delight in the full recognition of God. Alas, however, Solomon came to the end of his days minus popularity and piety!
This first great naturalist the world ever saw, who wrote one thousand and five songs, three thousand proverbs and who had sagacity beyond compare, took his first step downward when he went to Egypt for his queen. A daughter of Pharaoh, sitting on the throne of David, must have shocked and saddened the godly elect of Israel. With this strange wife came her strange gods.
Then came the harem of outlandish women who caused Solomon to sin (Neh. 13:26). His wives—seven hundred of them and three hundred concubines—whom Solomon clave unto in love, turned him into an idolater ( 1 Kings 11:1-8). Polygamy on such a vast scale and concession for his wives to worship their own heathen gods was bad enough, but to share in such sacrilegious worship in sight of the Temple Solomon himself had built, was nauseating to God.
Thus sensuality and pride of wealth brought about Solomon’s deterioration. In the Book of Ecclesiastes which the king wrote, he surely depicted his own dissatisfaction with even life itself. All rivers ran into Solomon’s sea: wisdom and knowledge, wine and women, wealth and fame, music and songs; he tried them all, but all was vanity and vexation of spirit simply because God had been left out.
Of Solomon’s actual end little is known. He is described as an “old man” at sixty years of age. Whether Solomon repented and returned to God was a question warmly debated by the Early Fathers. There is no record of his repentance. He never wrote a penitential psalm like his father before him (Ps. 51 ). We have his remorse, discontent, disgust, self-contempt, “bitterer to drink than blood,” but no sobs for his sin, no plea for pardon. Thus, with such a tragic failure before us, let us take to heart the fact that Solomon’s wisdom did not teach him self-control, and that the only legacy of his violated home life was a son “ample in foolishness and lacking in understanding,” as C. W. Emmet expresses it.
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