Friday, July 31, 2015

Fri Jul 31st Todays News

When I began writing for my books in 2013, I noticed that August began, from the way July ended, with an unusual take on how people treated victory at different points in time. In England in 1588 and in Alexandria in 30 BC. The responses of Elizabeth I and Mark Antony are an interesting study. She triumphed at her triumph. He suicided. To be fair, Antony did not suicide because he won, but because he won badly. Cleopatra had helped him win, but in doing so they were stuck on land and their troops were running away from Octavian. Antony suicided, partly to protect his underlings from revenge attacks by Octavian. It wasn't perfect, as plans went, because although Antony suicided, Octavian took bloody revenge. 

Bill Shorten is hoping for success. He hasn't had one recently. He has lied about turning back boats. He has lied about protecting the environment with a business ruining tax. He is losing popularity and relevance. However, he is leading another campaign to disrupt PM Tony Abbott. Earlier, Shorten tried to have Peta Credlin booted from Abbott's office. Now he is trying to have the Speaker of the Parliament, Bronwyn Bishop booted. Bishop has done what politicians do. She was entitled to have expenses compensated. The arbitrary public concern over expenses has been successful in the UK with getting conservatives into trouble. It is happening here too. The issues for which Bishop is being attacked are historic. The only answer for Mr Abbott is how to engineer a win. Bishop's political suicide is not the answer, although many are baying for it. And Shorten feels he has earned it. 

One powerful issue which Shorten has fed, but which is not directly related to Shorten, but Rudd, is that of booing former Australian of the Year Adam Goodes. It doesn't mean much in the wider political sense, but is smoke to obscure issues of corruption surrounding the ALP and industrial relations. But, more directly people are booing Goodes and being called racist. Goodes' race was known before he was booed, when he was being lauded. And the people booing may well be doing so based on their beliefs on race. And people supporting Goodes may well be doing so for no other reason than race. But it isn't racism that is booing Goodes but his support of racism to define the world. Racism is a truth that should never be employed by government in its' activity. Goodes is not a product of racism, but of love. It is worth comparing Goodes Australian of the year speech with Elizabeth I's victory speech. 

In 30 BC, Battle of AlexandriaMark Antony achieved a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserted, leading to his suicide. 781, the oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: July 6, 781). 1009, Pope Sergius IV became the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII. 1201, attempted usurpation of John Komnenos the Fat. 1423, Hundred Years' WarBattle of Cravant: The French army was defeated by the English at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne. 1451, Jacques Cœur was arrested by order of Charles VII of France. 1492, the Jews were expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree took effect. 1498, on his third voyage to the Western HemisphereChristopher Columbus became the first European to discover the island of Trinidad. 1588, the Spanish Armada was spotted off the coast of England. 1655, Russo-Polish War (1654–67): The Russian army entered the capital of the Grand Duchy of LithuaniaVilnius, which it held for six years. 1658, Aurangzeb was proclaimed Moghul emperor of India. 1667, Second Anglo-Dutch WarTreaty of Breda ended the conflict.

In 1703, Daniel Defoe was placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but was pelted with flowers. 1712, Action of 31 July 1712 (Great Northern War): Danish and Swedish ships clashed in the Baltic Sea; the result was inconclusive. 1715, seven days after a Spanish treasure fleet of 12 ships left HavanaCuba for Spain, 11 of them sank in a storm off the coast of Florida. A few centuries later, treasure was salvaged from these wrecks. 1741, Charles Albert of Bavaria invaded Upper Austria and Bohemia. 1763, Odawa Chief Pontiac's forces defeated British troops at the Battle of Bloody Run during Pontiac's War. 1777, the U.S. Second Continental Congress passed a resolution that the services of Gilbert du Motier "be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States." 1790, the first U.S. patent was issued, to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process. 1856, Christchurch, New Zealand was chartered as a city. 1865, the first narrow gauge mainline railway in the world opened at Grandchester, Queensland, Australia.

In 1904, Russo-Japanese WarBattle of Hsimucheng: Units of the Imperial Japanese Army defeated units of the Imperial Russian Army in a strategic confrontation. 1913, the Balkan States signed an armistice in Bucharest. 1919, German national assembly adopted the Weimar Constitution, which came into force on August 14. 1930, the radio mystery program The Shadow aired for the first time. 1932, the NSDAP (Nazi Party) won more than 38% of the vote in German elections. 1938, Bulgaria signed a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (TurkeyRomaniaYugoslavia). Also 1938, Archaeologists discovered engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis.

In 1941, The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf HitlerNazi official Hermann Göring, ordered SS General Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question." 1945, Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrendered to Allied soldiers in Austria. 1948, at Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) was dedicated. Also 1948, USS Nevada was sunk by an aerial torpedo after surviving hits from two atomic bombs (as part of post-war tests) and being used for target practice by three other ships.

In 1954, first ascent of K2, by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio. 1961, at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the first All-Star Game tie in Major League Baseball history occurred when the game was stopped in the 9th inning because of rain. 1964, Ranger programRanger 7 sent back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes. 1970, Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy. 1971, Apollo programApollo 15 astronauts became the first to ride in a lunar rover 1972, the Troubles: In Operation Motorman, the British Army re-took the urban no-go areas of Northern Ireland. It was the biggest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956, and the biggest in Ireland since the Irish War of Independence. Later that day, nine civilians were killed by car bombs in the village of Claudy. 1988, thirty-two people were killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapsed in Butterworth, PenangMalaysia.

In 1991, the United States and Soviet Union both signed the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries' stockpiles. 1992, Georgia joined the United Nations. 1999, Discovery ProgramLunar ProspectorNASA intentionally crashed the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the moon's surface. 2006, Fidel Castro handed over power to brother Raúl Castro. 2007, Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, came to an end. 2009, three members of the popular South Korean group TVXQ, (Kim JaejoongKim Junsu, and Park Yoochun), filed lawsuit against their Korean management S.M. Entertainment. 2012, Michael Phelps broke the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics.
2014
It is said to have happened on this day, but it may not have happened at all, but it is certainly the case that Daniel Defoe was certainly not harmed by his stay in the stocks in 1703. It was said after that he had been pelted with flowers, not the more traditional rotten fruit after he had announced a poem to the Stocks. He had been placed in the stocks because King William had died and Queen Anne had different policies, and Defoe wrote satire. A particular pamphlet in this case had been written by Defoe anonymously, but he had been identified. He had suggested that non conformists be killed. John Robert Moorelater said that "no man in England but Defoe ever stood in the pillory and later rose to eminence among his fellow men". 

Also on this day the Spanish Armada was sighted off the English coast. But, it was never a real threat of invasion as the large number of troops that had been assembled would never have been able to board the ships as they were never able to get past the smaller Dutch ships which would have prevented it in shallower waters. Even so, it was a remarkable success and allowed Queen Elizabeth to later give her stirring speech at Tillbury. 

"My loving people, we have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes for fear of treachery; but, I do assure you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself, that under God I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and goodwill of my subjects; and, therefore, I am come amongst you as you see at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the midst and heat of battle, to live or die amongst you all – to lay down for my God, and for my kingdoms, and for my people, my honour and my blood even in the dust. I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king – and of a King of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm; to which, rather than any dishonour should grow by me, I myself will take up arms – I myself will be your general, judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know already, for your forwardness, you have deserved rewards and crowns, and, we do assure you, on the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God, of my kingdom, and of my people"
Mark Antony had had success at the Battle of Alexandria, 30 BC, against Octavion, but instead of a stirring speech to his men, he committed suicide. One can learn a lot by studying Elizabeth Rex. Antony's example is less glorious.

Today is another of infamy for anti semitism. In 1492 the Alhambra Decree took effect, kicking all Jews out of Spain, five years after the Spanish King had instigated the Spanish Inquisition. In 1932 the NAZI Party won 38% of the vote. One can only guess what the 38% wanted of them, their activity was evident from the beginning. Brutal and ugly. In 1941, 
Hitler instructed Hermann Göring to give orders to SS General Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question."

In 1201, John Komnenos the Fat failed to usurp the Byzantine empire. In 1498 on his third voyage, Christopher Columbus discovered Trinidad. In 1658 Aurangzeb took control of India, ending secular administration and putting in place Islamic rule, his administration was to mark the downfall of Islamic leaders in India. In 1715, 12 Spanish treasure galleons set sail from Havana, eleven sank in a storm, allowing their treasure to be claimed centuries later. In 1763, Chief Pontiac defeated British in the Battle of Bloody Run. In 1777, the US Second continental Congress gave Lafayette an honorary rank of Major General of US forces. In 1790, US granted a patent for Potash. In 1856, Christchurch became a city. In 1913, the Balkan states signed an armistice. In 1919, Germany adopted the Weimar constitution. In 1930, radio program The Shadow first aired. In 1931 the future TV WCBS first broadcasted. In 1938, archaeologists discovered gold and silver plates from Darius the Great at Persepolis. In 1945, Pierre Laval, former socialist turned fascist leader of Vichy France, surrendered to allies in Austria. 
Historical perspectives on this day
In 30 BC, Battle of Alexandria: Mark Antony achieved a minor victory over Octavian's forces, but most of his army subsequently deserted, leading to his suicide. 781, the oldest recorded eruption of Mount Fuji (Traditional Japanese date: July 6, 781). 1009, Pope Sergius IV became the 142nd pope, succeeding Pope John XVIII. 1201, attempted usurpation of John Komnenos the Fat. 1423, Hundred Years' War: Battle of Cravant: The French army was defeated by the English at Cravant on the banks of the river Yonne. 1451, Jacques Cœur was arrested by order of Charles VII of France. 1492, the Jews were expelled from Spain when the Alhambra Decree took effect. 1498, on his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus became the first European to discover the island of Trinidad. 1588, the Spanish Armada was spotted off the coast of England. 1655, Russo-Polish War (1654–67): The Russian army entered the capital of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, Vilnius, which it held for six years. 1658, Aurangzeb was proclaimed Moghul emperor of India. 1667, Second Anglo-Dutch War: Treaty of Breda ended the conflict.

In 1703, Daniel Defoe was placed in a pillory for the crime of seditious libel after publishing a politically satirical pamphlet, but was pelted with flowers. 1712, Action of 31 July 1712 (Great Northern War): Danish and Swedish ships clashed in the Baltic Sea; the result was inconclusive. 1715, seven days after a Spanish treasure fleet of 12 ships left Havana, Cuba for Spain, 11 of them sank in a storm off the coast of Florida. A few centuries later, treasure was salvaged from these wrecks. 1741, Charles Albert of Bavaria invaded Upper Austria and Bohemia. 1763, Odawa Chief Pontiac's forces defeated British troops at the Battle of Bloody Run during Pontiac's War. 1777, the U.S. Second Continental Congress passed a resolution that the services of Gilbert du Motier "be accepted, and that, in consideration of his zeal, illustrious family and connexions, he have the rank and commission of major-general of the United States." 1790, the first U.S. patent was issued, to inventor Samuel Hopkins for a potash process. 1856, Christchurch, New Zealand was chartered as a city. 1865, the first narrow gauge mainline railway in the world opened at Grandchester, Queensland, Australia.

In 1904, Russo-Japanese War: Battle of Hsimucheng: Units of the Imperial Japanese Army defeated units of the Imperial Russian Army in a strategic confrontation. 1913, the Balkan States signed an armistice in Bucharest. 1919, German national assembly adopted the Weimar Constitution, which came into force on August 14. 1930, the radio mystery program The Shadow aired for the first time. 1932, the NSDAP (Nazi Party) won more than 38% of the vote in German elections. 1938, Bulgaria signed a non-aggression pact with Greece and other states of Balkan Antanti (Turkey, Romania, Yugoslavia). Also 1938, Archaeologists discovered engraved gold and silver plates from King Darius the Great in Persepolis.

In 1941, The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Nazi official Hermann Göring, ordered SS General Reinhard Heydrich to "submit to me as soon as possible a general plan of the administrative material and financial measures necessary for carrying out the desired Final Solution of the Jewish question." 1945, Pierre Laval, the fugitive former leader of Vichy France, surrendered to Allied soldiers in Austria. 1948, at Idlewild Field in New York, New York International Airport (later renamed John F. Kennedy International Airport) was dedicated. Also 1948, USS Nevada was sunk by an aerial torpedo after surviving hits from two atomic bombs (as part of post-war tests) and being used for target practice by three other ships.

In 1954, first ascent of K2, by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio. 1961, at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts, the first All-Star Game tie in Major League Baseball history occurred when the game was stopped in the 9th inning because of rain. 1964, Ranger program: Ranger 7 sent back the first close-up photographs of the moon, with images 1,000 times clearer than anything ever seen from earth-bound telescopes. 1970, Black Tot Day: The last day of the officially sanctioned rum ration in the Royal Navy. 1971, Apollo program: Apollo 15 astronauts became the first to ride in a lunar rover 1972, the Troubles: In Operation Motorman, the British Army re-took the urban no-go areas of Northern Ireland. It was the biggest British military operation since the Suez Crisis of 1956, and the biggest in Ireland since the Irish War of Independence. Later that day, nine civilians were killed by car bombs in the village of Claudy. 1988, thirty-two people were killed and 1,674 injured when a bridge at the Sultan Abdul Halim ferry terminal collapsed in Butterworth, Penang, Malaysia.

In 1991, the United States and Soviet Union both signed the START I Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, the first to reduce (with verification) both countries' stockpiles. 1992, Georgia joined the United Nations. 1999, Discovery Program: Lunar Prospector: NASA intentionally crashed the spacecraft into the Moon, thus ending its mission to detect frozen water on the moon's surface. 2006, Fidel Castro handed over power to brother Raúl Castro. 2007, Operation Banner, the presence of the British Army in Northern Ireland, and the longest-running British Army operation ever, came to an end. 2009, three members of the popular South Korean group TVXQ, (Kim Jaejoong, Kim Junsu, and Park Yoochun), filed lawsuit against their Korean management S.M. Entertainment. 2012, Michael Phelps broke the record set in 1964 by Larisa Latynina for the most medals won at the Olympics.
=== Publishing News ===
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.
===
Editorials will appear in the "History in a Year by the Conservative Voice" series, starting with August https://www.createspace.com/4124406September https://www.createspace.com/5106914October https://www.createspace.com/5106951, or at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/1482020262/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_dVHPub0MQKDZ4  The kindle version is cheaper, but the soft back version allows the purchase of a kindle version for just $3.99 more. 
===
For twenty two years I have been responsibly addressing an issue, and I cannot carry on. I am petitioning the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to remedy my distress. I leave it up to him if he chooses to address the issue. Regardless of your opinion of conservative government, the issue is pressing. Please sign my petition at https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/tony-abbott-remedy-the-persecution-of-dd-ball

Or the US President at
https://www.change.org/p/barack-obama-change-this-injustice#
or
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/change-injustice-faced-david-daniel-ball-after-he-reported-bungled-pedophile-investigation-and/b8mxPWtJ or http://wh.gov/ilXYR

Mr Ball, I will not sign your petition as it will do no good, but I will share your message and ask as many of friends who read it, to share it also. Let us see if we cannot use the power of the internet to spread the word of these infamous killings. As a father and a former soldier, I cannot, could not, justify ignoring this appalling action by the perpetrators, whoever they may; I thank you Douglas. You are wrong about the petition. Signing it is as worthless and meaningless an act as voting. A stand up guy would know that. - ed

Lorraine Allen Hider I signed the petition ages ago David, with pleasure, nobody knows what it's like until they've been there. Keep heart David take care.


I have begun a bulletin board (http://theconservativevoice.freeforums.netwhich 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 Michael HuynhGeoggery TirJeremy Dery and Anthony Hunter. Born on the same day, across the years. Along with John Canton (1718), John Ericsson (1803), George Liberace (1911), Milton Friedman (1912), Ted Baillieu (1953), Wesley Snipes (1962), J. K. Rowling (1965) and Emilia Fox (1974). On your day, Ka Hae Hawai'i Day (Flag Day) in Hawaii; Feast day of Saint Ignatius of Loyola. 1703 – English writer Daniel Defoe was placed in a pillory for seditious libel after publishing a pamphlet politically satirising the High Church Tories.
1917 – First World War: The Battle of Passchendaele began near Ypres in West Flanders, Belgium, with the Allied Powers aiming to force German troops to withdraw from the Channel Ports.
1941 – The Holocaust: Under instructions from Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring ordered SS General Reinhard Heydrich to handle "the final solution of the Jewish question".
1975 – The Troubles: In a botched paramilitary attack, three members of the popular Miami Showband and two Ulster Volunteer Force gunmen were killed in County Down, Northern Ireland.
1991 – Soviet Special Purpose Police Unit troops killed seven Lithuanian customs officials in Medininkai in the most serious attack of their campaign against Lithuanian border posts. Avoid seditious libel that will get you pilloried. Also, avoid big battles. Try and solve problems without hurting people. Or you may become a joke. Sometimes, it might be best to turn a blind eye .. and just have fun.

Deaths
Bush and Gorbachev sign the START I treaty.
Bush and Gorbachevsign the START Itreaty.
Nick, he is your fame. Defoe had written something popular. Let him be called a Major General. Troubles shared are disturbing. It is a start. Let's party. 
Matches
Hatches
Despatches
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2015
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NON-DENTIST OBLITERATES ANONYMOUS ANIMALS

Tim Blair – Friday, July 31, 2015 (3:39pm)

Just as well Robert Mugabe isn’t a Minnesota dentist, otherwise he might have been in big trouble back in March: 
Robert Mugabe isn’t known for his subdued taste, and his million-dollar birthday was just as extravagant as people have come to expect …
His guests were fed a young elephant, and two buffaloestwo sables and five impalas were also donated to the president by a local landowner. He also threw in a lion and a crocodile to be stuffed as an extra gift for Mugabe. On top of this, 40 cows were offered to the president by two members of his government. A second elephant is going to be shot and given to the Victoria Falls community. 
For the sake of Twitter’s Cecil-concerned community, let’s hope that none of these creatures had names.
(Via Habib.)
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BEST SEATS IN THE HOUSE

Tim Blair – Friday, July 31, 2015 (2:56pm)

This week’s podcast discusses, among other topics, the appropriate way to deal with unruly football fans.
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BIG AL BRINGS THE FREEZE

Tim Blair – Friday, July 31, 2015 (3:59am)

Are you all cold down in Melbourne? Colder even than us in Sydney? Here’s why.
(Via Roger B.) 
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EVEN WORSE THAN A DEAD CAT

Tim Blair – Friday, July 31, 2015 (3:17am)

Fairfax reports:

image

Really? Do you really think so? And what might that outrage be, exactly?

image

And that’s the worst damn thing happening in Africa at the moment. Everything else is just fantastic.
UPDATE. Even worserer than five dead elephants
Two research chimpanzees at a state university on Long Island shouldn’t be considered legal persons and given the rights bestowed by so-called personhood, a New York State Supreme Court judge ruled Wednesday. 
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BELLA LELLA

Tim Blair – Friday, July 31, 2015 (1:00am)

My first RendezView column celebrates a fearless feminist and identifies Europe’s solitary superiority.
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On The Bolt Report on Sunday, July 31

Andrew Bolt July 31 2015 (11:48am)

image
On Channel 10 on Sunday at 10am and 3pm:
Editorial:  On booing Goodes.
My guest: gifted Aboriginal blogger Dallas Scott.
The panel: Australian columnist Niki Savva and John Roskam, head of the IPA.

NewsWatch: Rowan Dean, editor of Spectator Australia and columnist for the Courier Mail and Financial Review. Why are sports journalists on one side of the debate on Goodes and many sports fans the other?

So much to talk about: can Bronwyn Bishop be saved? Fighting Labor’s xenophonic campaign against free trade. Want to see a real expenses scandal?
The videos of the shows appear here.
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Financing Mel

Andrew Bolt July 31 2015 (7:59am)

Mel Gibson is lured back to Australia by a handout of taxpayers’ money:
Hacksaw Ridge will be the true story of Second World War army medic Desmond Doss, who served in the Battle of Okinawa and was America’s first conscientious objector to win a Congressional Medal of Honour.
Gibson and Deputy Premier Troy Grant on Thursday announced the film would be shot in Sydney and parts of “regional NSW"… The NSW Government has promised to invest an undisclosed figure into the production that Mr Grant said would bring 720 jobs and $26 million in investment to the state.
Paul Murray asks: exactly when did we forgive Mel Gibson?
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If not all then none: the sloppy arguments of David Penberthy

Andrew Bolt July 31 2015 (6:35am)

Many collectivists fall for a logical error that fits their weakness for generalising and dividing people into races, classes, victimhoods or economic units. The first is to believe: if not all then none.  The second: if some, then all.
Confused? David Penberthy demonstrates the first:
There’s been a couple of columns published this week by people such as Rita Panahi and Andrew Bolt which were framed around the assertion that the silent majority is appalled by the preachy Goodes, and that the media has read this all wrong.
On numerical grounds their argument doesn’t stack up. If the Goodes-haters were the silent majority, they wouldn’t be silent, they’d be booing him too.
What an astonishing claim. Overlook the hyperbolic “Goodes-haters” and “appalled” - taken from Penberthy’s vast stockroom of straw men. Essentially, Penberthy is suggesting that because the whole stadium is not so rude and mean as to boo Goodes then the silent majority must agree to the opposite proposition: he’s actually the victim of racism.
Seriously?
Jonathan Pearlman now demonstrates the second and related logical error: if one then all:
Australian rules football players and officials have appealed for crowds to stop the relentless, racially-motivated booing and taunting of Adam Goodes… The heckling included a call to “get back to the zoo” by a crowd member who was ejected by security
One foul heckler now defines tends of thousands of other fans? Is that because that one heckler helps the writer to frame the rest on his trumped up charge? Or fitted a stereotype that conformed to Pearlman’s prejudices?
But back to Penberthy. I won’t deal with all the exaggerations and distortions in his article - I haven’t got all day - but a couple did stand out.
First, there’s the personal abuse and non-sequiturs that so common among the lesser intellects of the Left:
I am not sure who dresses Rita [Panahi] but her argument, like Bolt’s and that of Alan Jones, has at its centre a massive logical flaw. They insist that the booing of Goodes has nothing to do with race, and in the same breath argue that people are sick of Goodes lecturing them on race issues.
The sneering at Rita is cheap. And it is perfectly consistent to argue (as I in fact do) that Goodes is not primarily booed because he is Aboriginal but because his playing of the race card is rejected and resented. I have never denied this is an argument about racial politics.
Penberthy then makes a claim that only the blind and deaf could seriously advance:
The extent to which Goodes has ever lectured Australia is also a moot point.
It is? From just one of Goodes’ public statements:
That process starts with understanding our very dark past, a brutal history of dispossession, theft and slaughter…
Put yourself in Aboriginal shoes for a minute. Imagine watching a film that tells the truth about the terrible injustices committed over 225 years against your people, a film that reveals how Europeans, and the governments that have run our country, have raped, killed and stolen from your people for their own benefit.
From another:

The history of our country is built on so much lies and racial policies, and things that have suppressed my people and lots of minorities in this country, so you can’t blame people for having the views that they have.
But all praise to Penberthy. It’s a credit to this man that he managed to edit a newspaper despite being unable to read.
UPDATE
Even after the eventual removal of four defamations and one startling error (for which I guess I should be grateful), this hostile Age report still misrepresents my comments from the very first paragraph:

Andrew Bolt says it’s up to Adam Goodes to say ‘it was wrong’ to stand up to a 13-year-old girl who racially vilified him to end the booing controversy.
No, I did not at all say it was “up to Adam Goodes” to end the booing. I repeatedly said it should stop:
I wish the booing had never started. I wish it would stop. I think it’s a sort of cruel bullying of its own.
As anyone listening to what I said on the ABC last night would now, what I in fact suggested was a way for Adam Goodes to emerge from this even more admired than he was before the controversy began:
Look, how it would be best stopped, but it won’t be, is for Adam Goodes to say, “Look, I did overreact [by publicly shaming a 13-year-old girl]. We mustn’t forget we’re all human beings, we’re all together in this.  And singling out a girl for public humiliation like that I thought was wrong and if Adam Goodes said it was wrong, I think he’d be a superstar. People of all sides would rush to embrace him on this.
And so they would. He’d be hailed for his courage and magnanimity. He’d become an oracle, a healer, much as I might still object to his message. Who could deny it?
But who preferred instead to misrepresent it? 
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Clinton falling

Andrew Bolt July 31 2015 (6:25am)

Hillary Clinton’s poll numbers keep falling, albeit from a height, according to the latest Quinnipiac University poll:
If the election were held today, Clinton would be tied with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in the poll—down from significant leads in a May 28 survey—but would top the current GOP frontrunner Donald Trump.
The poll, which was conducted amid new reporting on the existence of classified information on Clinton’s private email server, found further declines in Clinton’s perceived trustworthiness, with 57% of Americans now viewing her as neither honest nor trustworthy. 
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I don’t think this option has worked

Andrew Bolt July 31 2015 (6:20am)

Dennis Shanahan on Tony Abbott’s three options in dealing with Bronwyn Bishop’s expenses scandal:

Abbott’s choices of bold action are: to tell Bishop to go; to stand by her in the face of intense public criticism and share her political damage; or to vow to the change the system.
So far Abbott has chosen the worst option. 
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Feeling reconciled yet?

Andrew Bolt July 31 2015 (6:12am)

This is all going brilliantly to plan - the AFL’s “reconciliation” plan:
SYDNEY supporters have vowed to take justice into their own hands if opposition fans boo Brownlow medallist Adam Goodes again.
Swans fans say they will sneak eggs into the next game Goodes plays and pelt any opposition supporter who dares boo the dual medallist.
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A lecture from Clive Palmer on spending other people’s money

Andrew Bolt July 31 2015 (5:56am)

The sanctimony over Bronwyn Bishop is enough to make even a strong man gag:
Conscience of the nation. Clive Palmer, media release, yesterday: 


Clive Palmer is urging the public to join the fight in removing Bronwyn Bishop from the position of Speaker ... “They are tired of the abuse of parliamentary entitlements.”
Palmer’s record. Hedley Thomas, The Australian, October 31, 2014:

Clive Palmer went on a spending spree after siphoning $10 million of Chinese funds into a bank account he controlled, according to fresh documents lodged in the Queensland Supreme Court yesterday. The documents … include evidence that he drew a $6m cheque ... three days before the federal election.
Thomas again, November 8, 2014:

New evidence in a fraud and dishonesty case against Clive Palmer shows he used Chinese cash to funnel $6 million to the coffers of his Palmer United Party and $97,000 to pay a credit card bill, using funds that were meant to pay for the operations of a remote port … China’s state-owned international investment company, which accuses Mr Palmer of dishonesty and fraud, filed documents in the Supreme Court in Brisbane yesterday that reveal all of the details of a series of cheques drawn by the resources tycoon for his personal and political benefit after he took $10m from a bank account, called “Port Palmer Operations”. The funds in the ... Port Palmer Operations account were meant to pay for operating costs at the West Australian port of Cape Preston, which Mr Palmer’s company Mineralogy was neither in possession of nor operating at the time the money was taken.
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Adam Goodes is an incredibly talented footballer. He is a passionate advocate for his people and his country. He has received the highest honours in the game. He has been recognised by the nation as Australian of the Year. And right now, he is hurting.
Regardless of the conscious or subconscious motivations of the hecklers, we can all see that Goodsey is hurting to the point of not wanting to lace up his boots. And, whichever team we support, surely we can all agree that risking the premature ending of the career of one of AFL’s great players is totally unacceptable.
There is a place for good-natured heckling in Australian sport. I’ve booed a few Queensland league players in my time (Wally Lewis comes to mind). And some may argue that the line between good-natured and malicious heckling can be fuzzy. But there is nothing fuzzy about this. The line has been crossed.
There are many things we pride ourselves on as Australians… and good sportsmanship is right at the top of that list. The relentless booing of Adam Goodes breaks this spirit of good sportsmanship. It must stop. 
Goodsey… I hope you feel the waves of support from the many thousands of supporters that have got your back. I can’t wait for you to get back on the field. When you do, I’ll be cheering loudly for you. And I won’t be alone.
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Okkaaayyy then(H/t Dan Nolan)
Posted by Tim Andrews on Thursday, 30 July 2015

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The opening sentence to a book is crucial! Here's a collection of some of the most legendary openers: http://bit.ly/1I13ibX
Posted by Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing on Wednesday, 29 July 2015

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=== Posts from last year ===

All we are saying, is give war a chance

Piers Akerman – Thursday, July 31, 2014 (6:57pm)

THE real message coming from the Gazan conflict is give war a chance. That’s right. All peace-loving people should be demonstrating in the streets and singing, “All we are saying, is give war a chance”.

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'All we are saying, is give war a chance'
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SARAH CAUSE-EFFECT

Tim Blair – Thursday, July 31, 2014 (5:08am)

As Labor has learned, Greens bring trouble
An internal report provided to the Immigration Department has warned that, when Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young turns up at a detention centre, there is a corresponding spike in “incidents” involving asylum seekers.
The operational brief provided by the security company Serco to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection claimed “high profile” visits to detention centres sparked an increase in reportable “incidents” and “adverse behaviour” among detainees. 
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ISLAM IMITATES COMEDY

Tim Blair – Thursday, July 31, 2014 (4:58am)

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc
Women should not laugh out loud in public, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc has said while complaining about “moral corruption” in Turkey …
“[The woman] will know what is haram and not haram. She will not laugh in public. She will not be inviting in her attitudes and will protect her chasteness,” Arinc said. 
Excellent US sitcom Parks and Recreation:



(Via Miss Piggy)
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CRATE OF ORIGIN

Tim Blair – Thursday, July 31, 2014 (2:43am)

An interstate crate dispute has broken out over Lord Mayor Clover Moore’s plans to install $9.3 million worth of public art throughout inner Sydney.
Just one day after Moore’s plans were announced to widespread ridicule, Melbourne artist Jarrad Kennedy claimed that he was the first to design and build a giant milk crate.

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Victoria vs NSW: state against state, crate against crate

A similar giant crate, named Pavilion and designed by Sydney artist Hany Armanious, is a key feature of Moore’s proposed art project. 

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'CRATE OF ORIGIN'
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Hamas to the children: shoot Jews. UPDATE: Sydney protest:  “jihad is the answer”

Andrew Bolt July 31 2014 (6:10pm)

 What does Hamas care that Palestinian children die in the war it started and will not stop? After all, it’s been recruiting them for years for jihad.
What kind of culture broadcasts this filth?
UPDATE
Filmed on the streets of Lakemba, this protest, with young men chanting:
Philistine philistine (Arabic for Palestine),
Allah hedik Israel (God destroy you Israel)
Palestine is Muslim land
With the Umma we will stand
Palestine is Muslim land
The solution is Jihad
Palestine is Muslim land
Your oppression will not stand
You can never stop Islam
From Australia to al Sham (Syria)
One umma hand in hand
From Lakemba to Gaza 
(Thanks to readers Philip and Robyn, with help from Mariane.) 
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Gaza debate tells us to scrap laws against free speech

Andrew Bolt July 31 2014 (1:00pm)

Reader Graham Hyde, a solicitor and barrister, says the Gaza debate shows why our hate speech laws must be repealed:
The debate over Israel’s military action in Gaza shows why section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act should be fully repealed and replaced with a Federal Freedom of Expression Act or a guarantee of free expression in the Federal Constitution. 
Presently, Jewish activists could complain to numerous Human Rights Commissions that former Ambassador Ross Burns (‘Israel may not have a way back‘, 31/7/14) has breached s.18C or other censorship laws as in the Kazak case. They may argue that he accuses Israel of cruelty, apartheid, ethnic discrimination and cleansing, and encaging, blockading, and sending tanks through Gaza’s population like the ‘Sudetenland’ (comparing Israelis to Hitler?) thus committing war crimes.
Jews may find this offensive, insulting, humiliating, vilifying, or bigoted, or think it incites racial hatred. Given the Holocaust, and recent attacks on Jews in Europe and elsewhere, some may even think it is intimidating, or incites violence or even genocide.
I strongly disagree with Mr Burns, but support his right to free expression, as I believe the vast majority of Australians do. ’
Graham adds:
Note: In the case of Kazak v John Fairfax Publications Limited [2000] NSWADT 77 on very similar facts a complaint against journalist Tom Switzer was upheld. He said among other things: ‘...the Palestinians cannot be trusted in the peace process..the Palestinians are the true culprits in derailing efforts to reach an agreement over Gaza and the West Bank…the Palestinians remain vicious thugs who show no serious willingness to comply with agreements….’.  Note also the use of the term ‘Israelis’ (joint reference to the people of Israel?) in Mr Burns’s opening paragraph and his repeated use of the term Israel and see paras 78 to 83 of the Kazak judgement). [That judgment was later overturned on appeal.] 
The recent case of Clarke v Nationwide News Pty Ltd trading as The Sunday Times [2012] FCA 307, demonstrates that the publisher of offensive material (eg The Australian newspaper in respect of Mr Burns’s article) could be held liable for the simple act of publication.
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Embedded with Islamists. So be wary of their reports

Andrew Bolt July 31 2014 (11:32am)

How free are the reporters embedded with Hamas terrorists in Gaza free to see and to report?
HAMAS is not just targeting Israel­i civilians, threatening Gaz­ans and using them as humans shields. 
It has another terror tactic: intim­idating foreign journalists…
Reporter Peter Stefanovic, of the Nine Network’s news, stationed in Gaza, received a surge of abuse and threats when he tweeted that he had seen rockets fired into Israel from near his hotel, in a civilian area…
John Reed, a reporter for Britain’s Financial Times, tweeted about seeing “two rockets fired toward Israel from near al-Shifa hospital (the largest in Gaza), even as more bombing victims were brought in”. He was also subject to threats and abuse.
The Wall Street Journal’s reporter Nick Casey fell foul of Hamas by reporting that Shifa hospital was Hamas’s control centre. On July 21, Casey posted a photo on Twitter of a chief Hamas spokesman being interviewed from a room in Shifa hospital in front of a makeshift backdrop of a photo of a destroyed house… Almost immediately, Casey received a flood of online threats. Two days later, the tweet was deleted…
French-Palestinian journalist Radjaa Abu Dagga wrote that he was forcibly blocked from leaving Gaza and detained and interrogated by members of Hamas’s al-Qassam Brigade at a room in Shifa hospital next to the emergency room. His account of his treatment, in the French newspaper Liberation, also has since been taken down from the paper’s website at Dagga’s request…
Italian reporter Gabriele Barbati tweeted on Tuesday: “Out of #Gaza far from #Hamas retaliation: misfired rocket killed children today in Shati. Witness: militants rushed and cleared ­debris.”
He was referring to a strike on Monday at al-Shati refugee camp which, together with a near-simultaneous hit on Shifa hospital, killed 10 people, including a number of children.
Israel vehemently denied responsibility and said it had proof via photos and radar that misfired Islamic Jihad rockets had caused the deaths.
In his tweet, Barbati backed up the Israeli version (the fast clean-up suggests a cover-up) — and implied that he would not have been free to say this had he been in Gaza. 
Then there’s the double-counting of Palestinian victims, many of whom aren’t as innocent as usually portrayed:
According to the Meir Amit Intelligence and Terrorism Information Centre, out of 775 fatalities analysed (as of July 23), 229 were militants or terrorists, 267 were civil­ians, and 279 could not yet be classified. 
The Meir Amit centre examines each reported casualty’s background on Palestinian websites and looks for details about their funerals to determine their occupation and to confirm or rule out any affiliation with terror groups, giving much greater accuracy about whether the person was a civilian. 
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Back off, Big Brother

Andrew Bolt July 31 2014 (9:52am)

Too much Big Brother? What’s it to you if I decide to eat only baked beans so I can spend some of my dole on a nice bottle of champagne for Christmas, just to feel rich for a day?
ABOUT 2.5 million welfare ­recipients on “working-age ­payments”, including disability support pensioners and carers, would be forced into a cashless world where 100 per cent of their payments were income managed and they were banned from purchasing “prohibited” goods. 

The radical proposal is ­contained in mining magnate Andrew Forrest’s blueprint for indigenous welfare and employment, which he has delivered to the Abbott government…

Mr Forrest also wants all families receiving family tax benefits to have access to the money directly linked to school attendance of their children.
But, yes, I agree that pension payments for children should come with strings attached. Even payments to the unemployed.
But to the disabled, too? And the sick? Their carers? 
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Scrap this useless tax and the spending it was meant to pay for

Andrew Bolt July 31 2014 (9:21am)

Judith Sloan is right. The mining tax must go - along with the mad welfare spending it was stupidly meant to fund:
It has been a fiasco from the start. The first version was a form of institutionalised theft which would have meant every global mining company leaving Australia in due course. The second version, which was designed by the big mining companies themselves, is much less harmful in terms of discouraging investment, but it doesn’t really raise any revenue… 
The net effect ... has been to produce a mere $600,000 in net revenue to the federal government in the June quarter…
Recall that the Gillard government, under the stewardship of treasurer Wayne Swan, expected to raise $300 million this financial year and a total of $26.5 billion over the period 2013-14 to 2016-17.
If the dribble of revenue is not bad enough, the Labor government’s decision to link a whole lot of poor quality spending to the revenue from the mining tax has been calamitous… 
But here’s the thing: the mining tax is unlikely to raise serious revenue and the spending commitments amount to some $17bn over this year and the next three years. Something has to give — the expenditure has to be abandoned along with the tax. 
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Once again. The Jew-haters return

Andrew Bolt July 31 2014 (8:32am)

Culture warsIslamism

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A PUTRID Jew-hatred has returned to the West, fed by mass immigration and stoked by the Left. 

Do not mistake this anti-Semitism for mere anger at Israel over the war in Gaza. That war is just the calculated pretext for a month of menace that has terrified many Jews — as well as those of us who prize civilisation over barbaric tribalism.
France now has more than six million Muslims and two weeks ago Arab protesters — some chanting “death to Jews” — attacked synagogues, torched cars and burned Jewish shops in Sarcelles, a suburb of Paris dubbed “Little Jerusalem”.
Germany now has four million Muslims.  Arab and Turkish protesters were this month filmed shouting “Gas the Jews” and other Jew-hating slogans and a Berlin imam, Sheik Abu Bilal Ismail, was filmed at his mosque preaching: “Oh Allah, destroy the Zionist Jews ... Count them and kill them to the very last one. Don’t spare a single one of them.” Two Jews wearing yarmulkes were attacked in Berlin.
(Read full article here.) 
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There is no “root cause” to discuss with such animals

Andrew Bolt July 31 2014 (8:15am)

I hear ABC presenters forever talking about negotiating with various Islamist extremists - this time Hamas - about addressing “root causes” of their anger.
And then the Islamic State releases a video showing how gleefully it slaughters unarmed civilians (CAUTION -GRAPHIC) and demonstrating that there is no root cause that can be addressed that doesn’t involve Jews and other unbelievers dying. There is nothing to talk about with such people, and the only rational response is to shoot them before they shoot you:
You think I talk too brutally? I sound too harsh? Then tell me how exactly what settlement you’d expect to reach with animals that do this - and CAUTION - GROSS SCENES OF BEHEADED SYRIANS:
There is an evil. Israel is on the front line in fighting it.  
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Abbott must lead us back home

Andrew Bolt July 31 2014 (7:42am)

TONY Abbott has led well, but his crusade for justice for the victims of MH17 looks increasingly likely to fail.
Even more reason, then, for his switch back to domestic politics this week — and for managing some expectations.
The 230 police and soldiers sent by the Prime Minister to search the Ukrainian fields where MH17 was shot down have been blocked for days from even visiting the site, let along conducting a methodical search. Remains will inevitably be lost and evidence destroyed.
The problem is that there is something even stronger than Abbott’s will: Russian power and Ukraine’s self-interest.
(Read full article here.) 
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The warming pause is 13 years and four months

Andrew Bolt July 31 2014 (7:30am)

Global warming - general

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Christopher Monckton checks all five of the main measures of global warming and works out the mean. Conclusion:

... the Great Pause has endured for 160 months – i.e., 13 years 4 months.
And the rise in temperatures we’re seen since 1950 has been at the non-catastrophic rate of no more than 1.55 degrees per century:
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Who wouldn’t feel bad after a visit from Hanson-Young?

Andrew Bolt July 31 2014 (7:06am)

Sarah Hanson-Young makes me feel depressed and angry, too, so I fully understand:
AN internal report provided to the Immigration Department has warned that, when Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young turns up at a detention centre, there is a corresponding spike in “incidents” involving asylum seekers. 
The operational brief provided by the security company Serco to the Department of Immigration and Border Protection claimed “high profile” visits to detention centres sparked an increase in reportable “incidents” and “adverse behaviour” among detainees…
The Serco report, however, revealed that, during a visit by the Senator to Christmas Island between January 24 to 28 this year, the number of incidents more than doubled to 15 from an average of around six. 
An accompanying graph showed the number of incidents peaked at 15 on the second day of her visit. It did not specify the types of incidents but claimed the visits caused “anxiety” and “elevated levels of adverse behaviour”.
I’m sure Hanson-Young does not wish or intend harm, but there is no question that reports of trouble in detention centres is useful to the cause of “refugee” advocates. I suspect detainees know this, and are also made by supporters to feel like victims rather than queue-jumpers. 
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"That they have been able to live out their lives enjoying the freedoms of this country, after depriving others of freedom and life itself, is an affront to the memory of those who perished," said Paul Shapiro, director of the Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington.
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<So wrong on so many levels. Irony meter just exploded.>
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<"Progressive". Quite possibly the most misleading term ever employed in political discourse.>
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Wayne Matey Mattner.
familiar with this issue
, its about Kids sexually abused at schools in SA and the Premier and education ministers denying they received any warnings. The Current Premier who was education minister at the time had his email history wiped.>
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Sarah Palin was criticized for the telling the "biggest lie of the year" about ObamaCare in 2009. Now, the former head of the Democratic Party suggests she was right all along. 

How will this affect you? Plus, hear Palin's reaction on tonight's Hannity! Watch: http://tinyurl.com/lxyoury
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Andrew Danger Nguyen
If I started a workout business it would be called Pecasaurus Pty LTD, and all the workout programs would be dinosaur based puns like BICEPatops, TRAPasaurus Rex, and instead of reps you take on REPtors‪#‎reasonswhynooneasksmeforhelp‬ ‪#‎awesomebusinessideas‬ ‪#‎dinobots‬
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Well initially this might look to you like any normal girl being treated by a doctor,the girl in the photo is not any normal living girl but the mummy of a 15 year old child who has been dead for about 500 years. 

She was found in 1999 near Llullaillaco's 6739 meter summit. An Argentine-Peruvian expedition found the perfectly preserved body and she was nicknamed "La doncella" which means “The maidenAccording to the Inca she was chosen to go and live with the gods. But in reality she was a sacrifice to the Inca Gods and had been brutally killed in the name of religion. 

Scientists say that her organs are intact and its as if she had died just a few weeks ago. From testing the samples of her hair they could determine the type of diet she was on before her death. This lead to the discovery that the Incan fattened their children before killing them. Months or even years before the sacrifice pilgrimage these children were given diets which were those of the elite, consisting of maize and animal proteins.
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K2
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““You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.” Matthew 5:14,16 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

Font size"And when he thought thereon, he wept."
Mark 14:72
It has been thought by some that as long as Peter lived, the fountain of his tears began to flow whenever he remembered his denying his Lord. It is not unlikely that it was so, for his sin was very great, and grace in him had afterwards a perfect work. This same experience is common to all the redeemed family according to the degree in which the Spirit of God has removed the natural heart of stone. We, like Peter, remember our boastful promise: "Though all men shall forsake thee, yet will not I." We eat our own words with the bitter herbs of repentance. When we think of what we vowed we would be, and of what we have been, we may weep whole showers of grief. He thought on his denying his Lord. The place in which he did it, the little cause which led him into such heinous sin, the oaths and blasphemies with which he sought to confirm his falsehood, and the dreadful hardness of heart which drove him to do so again and yet again. Can we, when we are reminded of our sins, and their exceeding sinfulness, remain stolid and stubborn? Will we not make our house a Bochim, and cry unto the Lord for renewed assurances of pardoning love? May we never take a dry-eyed look at sin, lest ere long we have a tongue parched in the flames of hell. Peter also thought upon his Master's look of love. The Lord followed up the cock's warning voice with an admonitory look of sorrow, pity, and love. That glance was never out of Peter's mind so long as he lived. It was far more effectual than ten thousand sermons would have been without the Spirit. The penitent apostle would be sure to weep when he recollected the Saviour's full forgiveness, which restored him to his former place. To think that we have offended so kind and good a Lord is more than sufficient reason for being constant weepers. Lord, smite our rocky hearts, and make the waters flow.

Evening

"Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
John 6:37
No limit is set to the duration of this promise. It does not merely say, "I will not cast out a sinner at his first coming," but, "I will in no wise cast out." The original reads, "I will not, not cast out," or "I will never, never cast out." The text means, that Christ will not at first reject a believer; and that as he will not do it at first, so he will not to the last.
But suppose the believer sins after coming? "If any man sin we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous." But suppose that believers backslide? "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him." But believers may fall under temptation! "God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it." But the believer may fall into sin as David did! Yes, but he will "Purge them with hyssop, and they shall be clean; he will wash them and they shall be whiter than snow"; "From all their iniquities will I cleanse them."
"Once in Christ, in Christ forever,
Nothing from his love can sever."
"I give unto my sheep," saith he, "eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." What sayest thou to this, O trembling feeble mind? Is not this a precious mercy, that coming to Christ, thou dost not come to One who will treat thee well for a little while, and then send thee about thy business, but he will receive thee and make thee his bride, and thou shalt be his forever? Receive no longer the spirit of bondage again to fear, but the spirit of adoption whereby thou shalt cry, Abba, Father! Oh! the grace of these words: "I will in no wise cast out."
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Today's reading: Psalm 51-53, Romans 2 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Psalm 51-53

For the director of music. A psalm of David. When the prophet Nathan came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.
1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
4 Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight;
so you are right in your verdict
and justified when you judge.
5 Surely I was sinful at birth,
sinful from the time my mother conceived me.
6 Yet you desired faithfulness even in the womb;
you taught me wisdom in that secret place....

Today's New Testament reading: Romans 2

God's Righteous Judgment
You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God's judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God's judgment? 4Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, forbearance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness is intended to lead you to repentance?
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