I support Donald Trump. I want Trump to be President of the United States of America. I understand he once said something unsavoury to someone else. Probably to many people over time. He is rich, and probably feels entitled. But I trust Trump to try to make America great again. I trust Trump to make deals which will benefit the US, and also the world. I expect Trump to reinvigorate business and renew the culture of American exceptionalism. I don't care about his tax returns. Not even if it turns out Trump has somehow over claimed on tax. Trump has not crossed the lines Hillary Rodham Clinton has crossed. I have heard people dismiss and seek to discredit Trump. I have listened to them and they have not given me substance. For me, the worst thing Trump has done is join with Obama in criticising President George W Bush for invading Iraq. That is something that the critics seem to view as a good thing.
I will not support Hillary Clinton. Hillary has supported policy which kills migrants, by subjecting them to people smuggling. Hillary has supported policy which kills people through starving them by redirecting money from the poorest in the planet to wealthy Green organisations over Global Warming Theory. Currently, lost investment worldwide is about $1 to $2 trillion a year. This during a time when wealth and prosperity has been at odds with that policy. I will not support a doormat to be President of the US. Hillary holds good people in contempt. Her supporters make baseless claims about Trump. I want Hillary to face charges for her corruption. I want Hillary to go to jail.
I suggest Red Gum ward vote for David Daniel Ball. And, after asking your local councillor about their views on Trump, Same Sex Marriage and Greyhounds, try and find out what it is they will do to make garbage collection cheaper and more efficient. Ask how they will make business more profitable. Ask what they will do to help address crime. Ask what they will do to improve public transport issues locally.
=== from 2015 ===
Turnbull has stopped his opposition to industrial relations reform and so Abbott era legislation has passed. However, Turnbull is still opposed to free speech and so the proposed reform to 18c of the racial vilification act may not be tabled this year. For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
From 2014
Shirt front explained.
AFL (Victorian) it is a kind of tackle. Rugby Union (Abbott's chosen sport) it means to face a person and get them to talk about tough issues. Guess which one Mr Abbott meant in reference to Putin? Guess which one the press chose to run with over Abbott speaking to Putin? Channel 9 news via Today Show were making a joke of it this morning, claiming Mr Abbott was stupid. ABC is hoping they can inflate it too. They are very keen to upset the G20.
Gillard invents another misogynist insult. Apparently she feels she is no longer PM because mining executives would not serve her rum and coke.
The need to divide Australia by race? Socialism hurts Aboriginals too. Aboriginal peoples do not need to be segregated. But that is how the left intend to address the imbalance of poverty involving Aboriginal peoples. People need the dignity of work, and to be able to prosper. But that would be denied them by people who would rather help people who are high and on drugs to feel better.
Pope is wrong to wish more dead from people smuggling. But he has when he wrings his hands in anger at life saving attempts to prevent people smuggling. Over 1200 people died recently from the ALP's poor policies regarding people smuggling. Blood is not something politicians should profit from. The Italian left are showing the same bad ALP policy can be as murderous in the Mediterranean.
Abbott praises coal. Burning coal produces carbon dioxide which is an excellent plant food. The world is not heating from Carbon Dioxide at the moment. But the left are so hysterically concerned by it they are lying about it. Some claim China is cutting back on coal power, but in fact China is merely bringing on more power stations, as well as using old ones.
The fall of the Anglican Church continues with their clammy embrace of left wing idealism which eschews Christ. Melbourne Anglican (a magazine) asks for a re-imposition of a tax on air, freeing women by not following the bible but encouraging the wearing of a Burqa, drowning people desperate to come to Australia, opposing Israel, asking the question of how to respond to effective asylum policy and using Christian Climate Science (what is that?).
Gillard invents another misogynist insult. Apparently she feels she is no longer PM because mining executives would not serve her rum and coke.
The need to divide Australia by race? Socialism hurts Aboriginals too. Aboriginal peoples do not need to be segregated. But that is how the left intend to address the imbalance of poverty involving Aboriginal peoples. People need the dignity of work, and to be able to prosper. But that would be denied them by people who would rather help people who are high and on drugs to feel better.
Pope is wrong to wish more dead from people smuggling. But he has when he wrings his hands in anger at life saving attempts to prevent people smuggling. Over 1200 people died recently from the ALP's poor policies regarding people smuggling. Blood is not something politicians should profit from. The Italian left are showing the same bad ALP policy can be as murderous in the Mediterranean.
Abbott praises coal. Burning coal produces carbon dioxide which is an excellent plant food. The world is not heating from Carbon Dioxide at the moment. But the left are so hysterically concerned by it they are lying about it. Some claim China is cutting back on coal power, but in fact China is merely bringing on more power stations, as well as using old ones.
The fall of the Anglican Church continues with their clammy embrace of left wing idealism which eschews Christ. Melbourne Anglican (a magazine) asks for a re-imposition of a tax on air, freeing women by not following the bible but encouraging the wearing of a Burqa, drowning people desperate to come to Australia, opposing Israel, asking the question of how to respond to effective asylum policy and using Christian Climate Science (what is that?).
He said to the crowd: “When you see a cloud rising in the west, immediately you say, ‘It’s going to rain,’ and it does. And when the south wind blows, you say, ‘It’s going to be hot,’ and it is. Hypocrites! You know how to interpret the appearance of the earth and the sky. How is it that you don’t know how to interpret this present time?
“Why don’t you judge for yourselves what is right? As you are going with your adversary to the magistrate, try hard to be reconciled on the way, or your adversary may drag you off to the judge, and the judge turn you over to the officer, and the officer throw you into prison. I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.”
Time to drag them to the judge.
From 2013
ALP leadership is sorted .. nobody is happy? Continued failed policy and negativity. Money is gone. Victorian ALP claim they would never have a surplus.
Costco is in Australia and welcomed .. what about Shoneys?
AGW means open spaces in Sydney. Luckily, the warming pause may not be permanent.
Left wing press fight to censor press. Apparently it is Fairfax media which is polluted. Somehow, the left became thugs.
Are Coral Reefs the cockroaches of an AGW era?
Barrycades tumble, but Obama's need, to spurn the US public, never rests.
Gambling is a problem, but does Tim Costello have an answer? Costello's facts are misleading in order to inflate the issue. I get it that it affects families for generations. I can point to my own family as an example. Costello is highlighting a problem without highlighting a workable solution. In fact, the high rollers account for much of gambling, and they aren't many and aren't the problem. Also, those betting on Melbourne Cup or once a year skew the issue. There is an issue with obsessive compulsive gambling by poor people. It is related to mental illness and should, imho, be covered in that category. But Costello seems to want to whip Abbott over it, after having failed to get Gillard to implement a bad system. Maybe proof of age is no longer a good measure for such activity? A license? Proof of sanity?
I'm begging the press to help me .. maybe I'm not sane ..
Costco is in Australia and welcomed .. what about Shoneys?
AGW means open spaces in Sydney. Luckily, the warming pause may not be permanent.
Left wing press fight to censor press. Apparently it is Fairfax media which is polluted. Somehow, the left became thugs.
Are Coral Reefs the cockroaches of an AGW era?
Barrycades tumble, but Obama's need, to spurn the US public, never rests.
Gambling is a problem, but does Tim Costello have an answer? Costello's facts are misleading in order to inflate the issue. I get it that it affects families for generations. I can point to my own family as an example. Costello is highlighting a problem without highlighting a workable solution. In fact, the high rollers account for much of gambling, and they aren't many and aren't the problem. Also, those betting on Melbourne Cup or once a year skew the issue. There is an issue with obsessive compulsive gambling by poor people. It is related to mental illness and should, imho, be covered in that category. But Costello seems to want to whip Abbott over it, after having failed to get Gillard to implement a bad system. Maybe proof of age is no longer a good measure for such activity? A license? Proof of sanity?
I'm begging the press to help me .. maybe I'm not sane ..
Historical perspective on this day
Not done
=== 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.
===
Thanks to Warren for this advice on watching Bolt
Warren Catton Get this for your PC or MAC https://www.foxtel.com.au/foxtelplay/how-it-works/pc-mac.html Once you have installed it start it up and press Live TV you don't need a login to watch Sky News!
===
I am publishing a book called Bread of Life: January.
Bread of Life is a daily bible quote with a layman's understanding of the meaning. I give one quote for each day, and also a series of personal stories illustrating key concepts eg Who is God? What is a miracle? Why is there tragedy?
January is the first of the anticipated year-long work of thirteen books. One for each month and the whole year. It costs to publish. It (Kindle version) should retail at about $2US online, but the paperback version would cost more, according to production cost.If you have a heart for giving, I fundraise at gofund.me/27tkwuc
Bread of Life is a daily bible quote with a layman's understanding of the meaning. I give one quote for each day, and also a series of personal stories illustrating key concepts eg Who is God? What is a miracle? Why is there tragedy?
January is the first of the anticipated year-long work of thirteen books. One for each month and the whole year. It costs to publish. It (Kindle version) should retail at about $2US online, but the paperback version would cost more, according to production cost.If you have a heart for giving, I fundraise at gofund.me/27tkwuc
===
Editorials will appear in the "History in a Year by the Conservative Voice" series, starting with August, September, October, 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 a free kindle version.
List of available items at Create Space
The Amazon Author Page for David Ball
UK .. http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B01683ZOWGFrench .. http://www.amazon.fr/-/e/B01683ZOWG
Japan .. http://www.amazon.co.jp/-/e/B01683ZOWG
German .. http://www.amazon.de/-/e/B01683ZOWG
| Happy birthday and many happy returns Rafael CoCo and Anh Tran. Born on the same day, across the years, along with 1257 – Przemysł II of Poland (d. 1296) 1644 – William Penn, English businessman, founder of Pennsylvania (d. 1718) 1687 – Robert Simson, Scottish mathematician (d. 1768) 1790 – Thursday October Christian I, English son of Fletcher Christian (d. 1831) 1882 – Éamon de Valera, Irish politician, 3rd President of Ireland (d. 1975) 1890 – Dwight D. Eisenhower, American general and politician, 34th President of the United States (d. 1969) 1893 – Lillian Gish, American actress (d. 1993) 1894 – E. E. Cummings, American poet (d. 1962) 1927 – Roger Moore, English actor 1939 – Ralph Lauren, American fashion designer, founded the Ralph Lauren Corporation 1940 – Cliff Richard, English singer and actor 1956 – Jennell Jaquays, American game designer and artist of table-top role-playing games (RPGs) and video games 1958 – Thomas Dolby, English singer-songwriter and producer 1964 – Joe Girardi, American baseball player and manager 2001 – Rowan Blanchard, American actress
October 14: Hoshana Rabbah begins at sunset (Judaism, 2014)
Deaths
|
Tim Blair
Andrew Bolt
Sanctimonious Mal-splaining is contagious
Miranda Devine – Tuesday, October 13, 2015 (11:46pm)
Sometimes, all it takes is a really dumb comment to blow open a carefully constructed edifice of politically correct hooey.
Continue reading 'Sanctimonious Mal-splaining is contagious'Who’s the p---y now?
Miranda Devine – Tuesday, October 13, 2015 (11:45pm)
In the annals of great pioneers, the first all-female Bathurst 1000 racing team in 17 years ranks up with the best.
Continue reading 'Who’s the p---y now?'ONLY A VERY SMALL PERCENTAGE
Tim Blair – Wednesday, October 14, 2015 (4:50pm)
If Media Watch covered a domestic murder in the same way it covered a fatal Islamic extremist attack:
Having told reporters it was a shocking crime and a cold blooded killing, the Prime Minister said Australian men would be especially shocked and warned:“We must not vilify or blame the entire male community with the actions of what is, in truth, a very, very small percentage of violent individuals.”So how should the media cover attacks like these?Well, there are no easy answers but one of the world’s experts on domestic violence coverage told Media Watch we should get less excited … because all the screaming headlines and attention just encourages them.“The more coverage you give to domestic violence, the more domestic violence you see. The way these guys operate is that they stage some kind of attack and then they get the press for free. Normally if you wanted to get that kind of attention, you’d have to buy advertising space.”But it’s not just the avalanche of coverage that may be unhelpful, it’s also the tone.So what is responsible? Well, perhaps one answer is to suggest what’s not. And one might perhaps include headlines like these:THE ONLY EFFECTIVE WAY TO REJECT MEN
WHY WE NEED TO HOLD YOUNG MEN TO ACCOUNT
MEN ARE STILL USING THIS DEFENCE TO JUSTIFY VIOLENCEAccording to one of Australia’s leading domestic violence experts:“The problem has been less the straight reportage and more the columnists ... There’s also the usual stuff where people say, ‘can’t you see the problem is men?’ That doesn’t help anyone.”Unlike the difficult debate about how to report acts of domestic violence in Australian in a way that won’t encourage more of the same.There’s no doubt it’s a challenge to find a balance between telling the truth and not fanning the flames of fear.
The above is re-written from Monday’s Media Watch.
LEADER OF UNDEMOCRATIC PERSONALITY CULT MEETS GRAND MUFTI
Tim Blair – Wednesday, October 14, 2015 (3:33am)
Despite their shared inability to speak in clear English, two men establish a means of communication based on hand signals and teeth flashing:
UNDERWORLD
Tim Blair – Wednesday, October 14, 2015 (3:16am)
Someone’s obviously never spent a weekend in Adelaide:
THE OPPOSITE OF EVIL
Tim Blair – Wednesday, October 14, 2015 (3:02am)
Former Labor MP Maxine McKew is swept up by the unstoppable force of Malmentum:
Turnbull’s talents are evident – he comes across as intelligent, competent and modern. What a relief that in just a few short weeks we have gone from former prime minister Tony Abbott’s bleak world of evil incarnate to a successor who seems to represent the opposite …
The opposite of evil incarnate is saintly perfection. Godly Malcolm has been delivered unto us to correct our earthly errors.
LABOR OCCUPIED
Tim Blair – Wednesday, October 14, 2015 (2:31am)
Bill Shorten’s new shadow ministry almost replicates the Occupy movement’s bureaucratic obsessiveness.
SCOTT GOT
Tim Blair – Wednesday, October 14, 2015 (2:01am)
Miranda Devine deals with Lindsay’s loser Liberal:
Take a bow, Fiona Scott.The Penrith MP was concentrating so hard, on Sky News, to parrot her Liberal Party talking pointson the terrorist attack on Parramatta’s police HQ, that she inadvertently belled the cat for Islamist apologists.“We’ve had a hundred years, more than a century of relationships with our Islamic communities where it’s lived quite peacefully, and one little incident over a hundred years has been what we have had,” she said.Needless to say, the member for Lindsay has been roundly chastised for her insensitivity to the memory of Curtis Cheng, the police accountant murdered in that “one little incident” ...Stung by the savage backlash on social media to her “one little incident” quip, Scott came up with a novel excuse:“I was referring to an event in Broken Hill a century ago.”Which made no sense, considering the interview to that point had been about the Parramatta attack.
Scott hasn’t said much since that pathetic clarification. Further from 2GB’s Ray Hadley and Ben Fordham.
SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE ISIS
Tim Blair – Wednesday, October 14, 2015 (1:05am)
They’ve already mastered karaoke, and now Islamic State’s multi-talented political prancers are stepping out:
The British terrorist Mohammed Emwazi forced his captives to dance the tango with him when they were being held by Islamic State, a former Danish hostage said.Daniel Rye Ottosen, 26, a photographer released from Syria last year on payment of a ransom, described how Emwazi, a University of Westminster graduate who has featured in four beheading videos, played sadistic games that usually ended in a beating.“Do you want to dance?” Mr Rye Ottosen recalled Emwazi saying when he entered the room. “Then he took me up, and we were supposed to dance the tango together, John and I.”
Not that there’s anything wrong with that, but gay much? Emwazi might choose a different ballroom technique if his victims were able to defend themselves. Dance to this, tango boy.
HAND ME A HAMMER
Tim Blair – Wednesday, October 14, 2015 (12:25am)
Outside of opera, this may be the most Italian song ever recorded:
Click below for the astonishing English translation. Some may regard performer Rita Pavone as a kind of pipistrello di spavento, but she’s really just a nice Turinese girl who wants to “smack some people in the head”. The arrangement is similar to that later used by Elvis Costello’s dad, except he went with Pete Seeger’s wussier words.
Click below for the astonishing English translation. Some may regard performer Rita Pavone as a kind of pipistrello di spavento, but she’s really just a nice Turinese girl who wants to “smack some people in the head”. The arrangement is similar to that later used by Elvis Costello’s dad, except he went with Pete Seeger’s wussier words.
Continue reading 'HAND ME A HAMMER'Turnbull buries any free speech reform
Andrew Bolt October 14 2015 (5:13pm)
Libertarians gave up on Tony Abbott for backing off his promise to repeal parts of the Racial Discrimination Act that prevented debate on the new racism.
They would not buy the excuse - good enough for me - that too many of his party didn’t have the guts or wit to stand up for an important principle, and would destabilise the government with the media’s active help.
Malcolm Turnbull had it known that he actually backed a partial repeat of the RDA’s section 18C, but now that he’s in office it’s another story:
Again I ask: what, in a month in the job, has Turnbull actually offered conservatives and libertarians?
===They would not buy the excuse - good enough for me - that too many of his party didn’t have the guts or wit to stand up for an important principle, and would destabilise the government with the media’s active help.
Malcolm Turnbull had it known that he actually backed a partial repeat of the RDA’s section 18C, but now that he’s in office it’s another story:
The government is staring down a renewed push to water down controversial 18c race hate laws, with several sources telling Fairfax Media that Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has asked for a delay in the compromise bill he once backed, and another source insisting that there was no way the government would revisit the issue.Ironically, Turnbull’s reasons would echo those officially offered by Abbott - that he needs the Muslim community on board, and allowing more free speech would get in the way. And indeed:
The compromise bill proposed by Senator Bob Day was due to be debated in the Senate as soon as Thursday, but Coalition senators told Fairfax Media that Mr Turnbull had asked Senator Day to delay bringing on a vote, possibly until next year, despite the Labor opposition signalling it would be willing to co-operate and help bring the amendment to a head.
But a top level government source told Fairfax Media there was no way the Coalition would be revisiting the issue because it would upset the Muslim community that the government is currently at pains to appease because of the heightened national security environment.I find it almost impossible to believe that Turnbull will ever touch 18c. It seems to me he’s trying to shove the issue off until after the election, and then bury it.
Again I ask: what, in a month in the job, has Turnbull actually offered conservatives and libertarians?
Boat people repay our generosity
Andrew Bolt October 14 2015 (5:06pm)
They are refugees? What chance they were going to assimilate?
===TWO Iranians refugees have been charged with trying to import more than $1 million worth of opium hidden in machine parts.(No comments.)
Behruz Miri Kalanik, 30, and Eslam Askari, 34 appeared at the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court this afternoon charged with importing 19 kilograms of opium.
The pair ... arrived in Australia by boat… Both men required an interpreter… Defence lawyer Luke Excell said Askari was withdrawing from opium and suffered from kidney stones.
Labor plays envy politics against Turnbull
Andrew Bolt October 14 2015 (1:50pm)
Labor is going after Malcolm Turnbull very personally:
Turnbull said if there was an error he would be “delighted” if Dreyfus could point it out so it could be corrected.
Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen then asks Turnbull if the Cayman Islands are a tax haven. Turnbull gives the answer above.
Labor wants to play the deadening politics of envy.
===Labor has accused Malcolm Turnbull of using investments in Caribbean tax havens to avoid having to “play by the same rules” as ordinary workers, taunting the Prime Minister over his private wealth.And in Question Time shadow attorney general Mark Dreyfus asked Turnbull an ominous question: was his register of pecuniary interests accurate?
Labor Senator Sam Dastyari used parliamentary privilege on Wednesday to blast the Liberal Party and its leader for being soft on tax evasion, saying there were questions over Mr Turnbull’s investments.
Senator Dastyari cited Mr Turnbull’s register of financial interests, disclosed to parliament as with all MPs, to note that some of the Prime Minister’s investments were held in funds that registered in the Cayman Islands…
“This isn’t fair and it’s not right.”
Mr Turnbull countered the Labor attack by noting that all of his investments had been approved under the Ministerial Code of Conduct by the Secretary of the Department of Prime Minister and Cabinet ever since he had become a minister…
“Thousands of managed funds with investors outside of the USA are registered in the Cayman Islands with the result that the income of the fund is taxed in the hands of the investors in their own home jurisdictions.
“So all of my income from my investments including funds registered in the Cayman Islands is taxed in Australia.”
Turnbull said if there was an error he would be “delighted” if Dreyfus could point it out so it could be corrected.
Shadow Treasurer Chris Bowen then asks Turnbull if the Cayman Islands are a tax haven. Turnbull gives the answer above.
Labor wants to play the deadening politics of envy.
Pell vs Pope
Andrew Bolt October 14 2015 (1:46pm)
Cardinal George Pell sent the Pope a public warning in July about his lurch to the Left:
===Cardinal George Pell has publicly criticised Pope Francis’ decision to place climate change at the top of the Catholic Church’s agenda.It is now close to all-out war:
Cardinal Pell, a well-known climate change skeptic, told the Financial Times the church had “no particular expertise in science”.
“The church has got no mandate from the Lord to pronounce on scientific matters,” he said,
“We believe in the autonomy of science.”
Civil war has erupted at the top of the Catholic Church, with 13 cardinals, including Australia’s George Pell, warning the Pope in a letter that the church is in danger of collapsing like liberal Protestant churches in the modern era.
The cardinals say the threat of collapse has been accelerated by the “abandonment of key elements of Christian belief and practice in the name of pastoral adaptation’’.
As well as Cardinal Pell, the Vatican’s Secretary for the Economy, cardinals from Bologna, Toronto, New York, Galveston, Nairobi, Mexico, Utrecht, Durban and Caracas signed the letter, as well as other senior Vatican officials. These included Guinean Cardinal Robert Sarah, the church’s Prefect for Divine Worship, and German Cardinal Gerhard Mueller, the Prefect for Doctrine.
The row centres on the three-week Synod on the Family under way in Rome and being attended by about 300 delegates, mainly bishops, from around the world…
The letter complained the process seemed “designed to facilitate predetermined results on important disputed questions’’. Several of the signatories, including Cardinal Pell, have also raised concerns inside the synod…
One point of contention is whether long-established rules should be changed to allow divorced and civilly remarried Catholics to receive communion… In a statement released after the leaking of the letter, a spokesman for Cardinal Pell said: “There is strong agreement in the synod on most points but obviously there is some disagreement because minority elements want to change the church’s teachings on the proper dispositions necessary for the reception of communion. Obviously there is no possibility of change on this doctrine.”
Jihadists attack in Israel
Andrew Bolt October 14 2015 (8:22am)
Israel under attack:
UPDATE
Whipped up by an imam brandishing a knife:
UPDATE
Strange how this wave of brutal attacks has been largely overlooked by the media. CAUTION - THE VIDEO IS VERY CONFRONTING:
Astonishing. Check the Sydney Morning Herald’s spin - turning this into a story aboutIsrael’s allegedly disproportionate violence against youths robbed of hope for justice:
UPDATE
Meanwhile in France:
===Four attacks by Palestinians in Jerusalem and a city 40 miles away killed three Israeli Jews and wounded at least a dozen others in two hours on Tuesday morning, the police said, the most intense eruption so far in two weeks of escalating violence that has alarmed Israel and flummoxed its security forces.It just happens to the Jews first.
The Israeli authorities said two assailants boarded a public bus in Jerusalem and shot and stabbed riders, killing two men. The third Israeli fatality occurred in an ultra-Orthodox neighborhood of Jerusalem, when a Palestinian worker for the Israeli telephone company rammed the company’s car into pedestrians, then got out and attacked them with a meat cleaver. There were also two stabbings in Ra’anana, a city of 80,000 that is home to many American immigrant families. Police officers killed one of the bus attackers and wounded the other, while a security guard fatally shot the phone company worker.
UPDATE
Whipped up by an imam brandishing a knife:
In an October 9 Friday sermon delivered at the Al-Abrar Mosque in Rafah, the Gaza Strip, Sheikh Muhammad Sallah “Abu Rajab” brandished a knife, calling upon his brothers in the West Bank: “Stab!” “Oh young men of the West Bank: Attack in threes and fours,” he said, and “cut them into body parts.”Note how Muhammad is cited as licensing murder.
Following are excerpts:
Muhammad Salah “Abu Rajab”: Brothers, we must constantly remind the world, and everyone who has forgotten… The world must hear, via these cameras and via the Internet: This is Gaza! This is the place of trenches and guns! This is the West Bank! This is the place of bombs and daggers! This is Jerusalem… Jerusalem is the code word… This is Jerusalem… Much can be told about Jerusalem. This is where the soldiers of the Prophet Muhammad are. This is the grace of Allah. The soldiers of the Prophet Muhammad are here. Brothers, this is why we recall today what Allah did to the Jews. We recall what He did to them in Khaybar....
My brother in the West Bank: Stab! My brother is the West Bank: Stab the myths of the Talmud in their minds! My brother in the West Bank: Stab the myths about the temple in their hearts!… Allah has brought the Jews, His enemies and the enemies of humanity, who have destroyed our homes in Syria, Iraq, Egypt, and everywhere…
Oh people of Al-Abrar Mosque and the people of Rafah – from this mosque of yours, you have the honor of delivering these messages to the men of the West Bank: Form stabbing quads. We don’t want just a single stabber. Oh young men of the West Bank: Attack in threes and fours. Some should restrain the victim, while others attack him with axes and butcher knives.
UPDATE
Strange how this wave of brutal attacks has been largely overlooked by the media. CAUTION - THE VIDEO IS VERY CONFRONTING:
UPDATE
On Malkhei Yisrael Street in Geula, a terrorist drove a car into a bus stop, hitting three pedestrians - one of whom, 60-year-old Rabbi Yeshayahu Krishevsky, was killed. The terrorist then left the vehicle and started repeatedly stabbing his victims.
A security guard who was nearby arrived at the scene of the attack and shot the terrorist. The terrorist fell down, but got back up again, leading the security guard to fire at him again. The terrorist then lunged at the security guard, and was shot a third time..
Magen David Adom said it provided treatment to eight people: One in moderate-to-serious condition with injuries to his upper body and limbs, one in moderate condition, one lightly wounded with bruises to his face, and five suffering from shock.
Astonishing. Check the Sydney Morning Herald’s spin - turning this into a story aboutIsrael’s allegedly disproportionate violence against youths robbed of hope for justice:
Now unleashed, the wave of “lone-wolf” stabbing attacks by young Palestinians against Israelis shows no signs of ending.It’s that old, sick meme of the alienated Leftist journalist: what horrors have we done that such nice people attack us?
Devoid of any hope of a political solution and angry at both the Palestinian leadership and Israel, theattackers have terrified Israelis and prompted what human rights groups have described as a disturbing trend towards the use of “excessive force” from the Israeli security forces.... “There is a worrying pattern of use of force, and the mounting casualties appear to reflect it,” Sari Bashi, the Israel-Palestine director at Human Rights Watch, says.
UPDATE
Meanwhile in France:
A 15-year-old high school student has been arrested after shooting his teacher with a BB gun and shouting “Allahu Akbar” in Châlons-en-Champagne, France.(Thanks to readers Tim and Rami.)
The young boy had entered his high school carrying the gun, an airsoft grenade and a knife, with the intention of killing his literature teacher, with whom he had had an argument. The student was taken into custody.
Mal brings Maxine to the light
Andrew Bolt October 14 2015 (7:52am)
People are crazy. Take former Labor MP Maxine McKew, who joins the Mal-mania:
===Turnbull’s talents are evident – he comes across as intelligent, competent and modern. What a relief that in just a few short weeks we have gone from former prime minister Tony Abbott’s bleak world of evil incarnate to a successor who seems to represent the opposite …
Putin: Obama has “mush for brains”
Andrew Bolt October 14 2015 (7:47am)
Russian president Vladimir Putin has no respect for Obama, whose limitations have been so cruelly exposed by the war in Syria, now joined by Russia:
===“Now, we often hear that our pilots are striking the wrong targets, not IS,” Putin said at an investment forum in Moscow explaining that Russia had asked Washington to provide a list of targets.
But Washington declined.
“‘No, we are not ready for this’ was the answer,” Putin quoted them as saying. “Then we thought again and asked another question: then tell us where we should not strike. No answer too,” he said, adding: “That is not a joke. I did not make this up.” “How is it possible to work together?” he asked. ”I think some of our partners simply have mush for brains, they do not have a clear understanding of what really happens in the country and what goals they are seeking to achieve.”
Jabar’s ISIS connection
Andrew Bolt October 14 2015 (7:22am)
Another reason to humiliate the Islamic State by crushing it militarily:
===Teen killer Farhad Jabar communicated openly with Australia’s top Islamic State recruiter Neil Prakash, who is linked to multiple domestic terror plots, several months before he shot dead police accountant Curtis Cheng.
The 15-year-old is also known to have been in contact this year with Prakash’s offsider in Syria, British fighter Raphael Hostey, as well as a former Sydney man now fighting with Islamic State.
Prakash, also known as Abu Khalid al-Cambodi, has been placed on a US terrorist hit list because of his encouragement and involvement in plans to attack the West, including Australia.
Communications between Prakash and Jabar from May, seen by The Australian, focus on their shared complaints about Australia’s security laws… Jabar’s contacts with Hostey, who fights under the nom de guerre Abu Qaqa, took place via Twitter. Hostey is seen as a prominent British recruiter for the group, and works in tandem with Prakash and others in the Islamic State “capital” of Raqqa, in Syria’s north.
Justice for the tribe should not trump justice for the individual
Andrew Bolt October 14 2015 (7:10am)
Here is a perfect example of a collectivist treating individuals unjustly in the name of justice for their tribe:
Smith-Gander’s lecture would be even more bracing were she to nominate which of the excessive males on the Transfield board should be sacked for not being a woman.
(Thanks to reader Nick.)
===Men will have to be sacked from high-profile roles in business and government to make way for women to move in, according to the chairman of Transfield, Diane Smith-Gander.But what of equality for the individual? What of the injustice of sacking men from their “hard won roles” solely on the grounds that they do not belong to the approved gender, “race” or religious group?
A bill proposed by a group of Senate crossbenchers would make it compulsory for federal government boards to be at least 40 per cent female.
Ms Smith-Gander, who is also president of the Chief Executive Women group, said to reach that target, and an eventual bigger target of 50-50 representation of women on business boards and in senior roles, capable men would have to make way for capable women… “...This is the problem we’re actually dealing with. Some men are going to have to give up their hard won roles to allow equality.”
Smith-Gander’s lecture would be even more bracing were she to nominate which of the excessive males on the Transfield board should be sacked for not being a woman.
(Thanks to reader Nick.)
Essential poll - Government just ahead
Andrew Bolt October 14 2015 (7:02am)
The Essential poll has the Coalition retaining a narrow lead: 51 to 49.
===How long before Christians dare not speak at all?
Andrew Bolt October 14 2015 (6:29am)
Rather intimidating. Muslims confront a Christian preacher in London’s Speakers’ corner:
===(Thanks to reader Phillip.)
Turnbull cannot dodge the truth about Islam-motivated violence
Andrew Bolt October 14 2015 (6:26am)
Malcolm Turnbull is right in saying he needs Muslim leaders on side to fight Islamist terrorism and ideology driving it.
But he must at the same time tell the truth about the challenge we face, both to assure non-Muslim voters that he’s honest about the problem and to push Muslim leaders to do what’s truly necessary.
Turnbull has been excellent in the first of those objectives but not in the second.
Paul Kelly:
UPDATE
Graham Young, executive director of the Australian Institute for Progress, also urges an honest debate:
===But he must at the same time tell the truth about the challenge we face, both to assure non-Muslim voters that he’s honest about the problem and to push Muslim leaders to do what’s truly necessary.
Turnbull has been excellent in the first of those objectives but not in the second.
Paul Kelly:
[T]he advice from the security agencies is that the Muslim community is the essential partner in the counter-terrorism project… [Turnbull] advances “mutual respect” not just as a social or multicultural goal but as a security necessity..It should be added that Turnbull initially described the murder of Curtis Cheng by an Islamist shouting “Allah” as ”politically motivated”, before widespread criticism made him later add “and religiously motivated”.
For a leader, however, there can be no escape from putting the problem, honesty and clearly, on the table… Alert to this imperative, Turnbull has been forthright. Addressing parliament on the murder of Curtis Cheng, the Prime Minister referred to “this phenomenon of terrorism, of violent extremism, of politically and religiously motivated violence” as a challenge for all societies.
The great task for Turnbull is to speak truth to the problem yet retain the co-operation of Muslim Australia. This tension over this interface is ever-present… It is extraordinary to listen to endless media discussions on this issue that are utterly incapable of mentioning the core nature of the challenge.
In the words of British Prime Minister David Cameron: “It begins — it must begin — by understanding the threat we face and why we face it. What we are fighting, in Islamic extremism, is an ideology. It is an extreme doctrine. And like any extreme doctrine it is subversive. At its furthest end it seeks to destroy nation-states to invent its own barbaric realm."…
It is a timely reminder since this truth is hardly mentioned these days in Australia despite people being murdered in the street.
We canvass the problem of Muslim grievance, of economic deprivation, the impact of social media and the susceptibility of youth to radicalisation. Yet these are the catalysts that intensify the ideological struggle now being waged across much of the Middle East in strategic terms and within Western democracies over our values… There is a profound ambiguity in the response of Islamic leaders to this crisis within their faith… The perverted ideology [extremists] espouse is religiously based. That is its power. To deny this is absurd since it denies the solution…
UPDATE
Graham Young, executive director of the Australian Institute for Progress, also urges an honest debate:
What I also know, based on a qualitative survey of 1349 Australians we conducted and the study we have just released, is that if parties are based around concern about Muslim immigration, then a significant segment of the community is likely to welcome them.UPDATE Reader youngfarmer:
I also know that while this concern is strongest on the Right, with 75 per cent of our Liberal and 69 per cent of our non-Greens minor-party respondents saying Muslim immigration is bad for Australia, on the Left 22 per cent of ALP and 18 per cent of Greens respondents thought the same. Even more startling, only 8 per cent of all respondents thought Muslim immigration has been for the good…
It is highly unlikely that resistance to Muslim immigration arises from some broadbased racism in society, as the majority of our respondents (69 per cent) favoured immigration at, or above, current levels....
A number of issues characterise resistance to Muslim immigration and they almost universally stem from a fear that Islamic culture is incompatible with Western culture as practised in Australia… At its strongest this manifested in a concern that Australia is being colonised by Islam.. Another issue was the perceived lack of economic skills of immigrants, so that they became a burden on society rather than adding to its wealth. There was also a human rights concern and this was present across all groups and arose from the perception that Muslim migrants were not just misogynistic but homophobic. So the hijab is seen as symbolising the violation of human rights rather than just a cultural garment. Female genital mutilation was also frequently raised. The idea Islam discriminates against other religions also gives rise to human rights concerns, such how nonbelievers may be treated…
These are perceptions… To successfully settle these new immigrants we need to work out whether these issues are real, and deal with them. Above all that means acknowledging that these concerns are genuine to those who hold them. The lesson from our recent past is that ignoring them, denigrating them or trying to marginalise them will lead to a political explosion rather than harmony.
G’day Andrew, I found your commentary on Mr Turnbull’s statement of the “Golden Rule”, supposed recognised by all religions but in reality a specifically Christian teaching, quite interesting.
Another Christian teaching that has created Western culture as we know it today is the separation of Church and State which is opposite from the teachings of Islam where the state and religion are one as in ISIS and Iran and many other Muslim countries to varying degrees.
The Christian understanding of this separation comes from John 18 36:
Jesus replied, ‘Mine is not a kingdom of this world; if my kingdom were of this world, my men would have fought to prevent my being surrendered to the Jews. As it is, my kingdom does not belong here.’And in Matthew 22 17-21.
Give us your opinion, then. Is it permissible to pay taxes to Caesar or not?’
But Jesus was aware of their malice and replied, ‘You hypocrites! Why are you putting me to the test? Show me the money you pay the tax with.’ They handed him a denarius, and he said, ‘Whose portrait is this? Whose title?’
They replied, ‘Caesar’s.’ Then he said to them, ‘Very well, pay Caesar what belongs to Caesar—and God what belongs to God.’
If Shorten’s deal was above board, why the dodgy invoices?
Andrew Bolt October 14 2015 (5:59am)
If the deal was so kosher, why the secrecy and the false invoices? And how could Bill Shorten not have known?
===A former Thiess John Holland senior executive has admitted the construction joint venture paid tens of thousands of dollars’ worth of sham invoices to make secret payments to the Australian Workers Union to complete a “side deal” instigated by Bill Shorten…I find it impossible to believe Shorten’s I-know-nothing defence:
Julian Rzesniowiecki, the HR and safety manager for Melbourne’s $2.5 billion EastLink tollway project, yesterday told the royal commission into unions that payments to the union had been hidden by Thiess John Holland and the AWU.
Mr Rzesniowiecki said he and then Victoria AWU general secretary Mr Melhem — currently a Victorian MP — had “sorted out an arrangement” whereby payments to the union would be disguised as for health and safety “research” or advertising in the union magazine…
“We wanted it to remain a private matter between us and the AWU.”
Mr Rzesniowiecki said the construction group, as part of negotiating an enterprise bargaining agreement, had agreed to pay for an AWU “organiser” on the EastLink project at a cost of $100,000 a year over the three year life of the project.
It is alleged that side deal saved Thiess John Holland as much as $100 million over the three-year construction of the tollway.
Mr Shorten’s office and his lawyers before the commission are claiming that he was not involved in the final stages of the negotiations for the EastLink EBA and the “side deal"…
Former general manager of operations of the EastLink project Donald Johnson told the commission he had been involved in negotiations with the AWU and Mr Shorten regarding the EastLink’s EBA…
“Once the major points of the agreement were sorted, it was left to Mr Melhem to tidy things up,” Mr Johnston said… Mr Rzesniowiecki yesterday told the inquiry… Mr Shorten had initially pushed for as many as four “organisers” on the site… He said he had “haggled” with the AWU and finally agreed with Mr Melhem on appointing one “organiser” at a cost of $100,000 a year.
A senior construction executive has admitted his company paid bogus invoices issued by Bill Shorten’s old union after a workplace deal that “sold out” the 36-hour week for building workers…That said, it should be added that the deal was good for workers, even if it sold out hypothetical conditions.
Despite Mr Shorten’s denials on Tuesday, a signed witness statement by Mr Rzesniowiecki said he had a diary note of December 14, 2004, which refers to discussions about the appointment of four union organisers, and that this was suggested by Mr Shorten…
Asked by counsel assisting the commission, Jeremy Stoljar, what arrangement was made, Mr Rzesniowiecki said invoices were made out for advertising, sponsorship of events and other things as he did not want the invoices described as providing for a union organiser…
Mr Rzesniowiecki said the company had not commissioned any work on research into back strain for which a $33,000 invoice was paid, a $9000 payment for 20 tickets to a population forum was actually an instalment on the $100,000 and a $33,000 payment for advertising in the Australian Workers Magazine was “inflated” from the normal cost of $5000 per edition.
Mr Shorten said he had not heard Mr Rzesniowiecki’s testimony on Tuesday but that Mr Sasse’s evidence had “made it really clear, black-and-white clear ... that there was no arrangement of the nature that you’re just putting to me now”, referring to the deal between the construction company and the union. “As I’ve said since I appeared at the royal commission, I did not strike any agreement of the nature which you are raising, full stop,” he said.
Hillary hits hurdle
Andrew Bolt October 14 2015 (5:42am)
The 21 scandals that have dogged Hillary Clinton.
No wonder Clinton’s campaign has hit a wall after once seeming unstoppable:
===No wonder Clinton’s campaign has hit a wall after once seeming unstoppable:
As Democrats prepare for their first debate Tuesday evening, the latest Fox News national poll finds little movement in the primary. Clinton remains the front-runner among Democratic primary voters (45 percent), with Bernie Sanders (25 percent) and Biden (19 percent) behind her by about 20 percentage points. That’s almost identical to where things stood three weeks ago…
Biden, who has yet to announce his candidacy, was invited to participate in the debate if he were to make it official; Lessig was not invited.
In hypothetical 2016 matchups with top-tier Republicans, Clinton trails all the Republicans tested. She trails Ben Carson by 11 points and Donald Trump by 5 points. Jeb Bush has a 4-point edge over Clinton, while Carly Fiorina is up by 3 points. Biden fares better. He leads Trump by 13 points and tops Bush by 5 points. Biden is preferred over both Fiorina and Carson by 4 points. And Biden narrowly bests Marco Rubio by 1 point.
Socialism hurts Aborigines as it hurts every one else who’s tried it
Andrew Bolt October 14 2014 (11:18am)
Adam Giles is one of the few political leaders in Australia who has not only vision but the courage to take on the ideological establishment - especially the collectivists and their allies in the race industry:
The new politics of race - and faith - promoted by SBS:
===State and federal leaders agreed at last week’s Council of Australian Governments meeting [to] urgently review indigenous land administration following a push by NT Chief Minister Adam Giles to “stop talking about land rights and start talking about economic rights”.But the great institutionalised culture sludges in to smother Giles. Note the former Liberal ministers involved. Note the protests that Giles threatens the referendum to recognise Aborigines in the constitution. Consider how such a constitutional change would almost certainly make Giles’ sensible proposal unconstitutional:
Mr Giles went further yesterday… “What I’m going to do is stand up for indigenous Territorians who are being held back by socialist, rights-based enthusiasts from down south, who hold the indigenous imagery so peacefully in their minds...” Mr Giles said he would “absolutely” be happy to see land rights legislation changed before the next territory and federal polls, due in 2016. “It’s not about a mandate, it’s about allowing people to use their own land,” he said.
Ian Viner, who introduced key Aboriginal land rights legislation while serving as minister for Aboriginal affairs during the Fraser government, accused Mr Giles of “misguided political rhetoric"…UPDATE
Fred Chaney, another Liberal former minister for Aboriginal affairs and current Senior Australian of the Year, said ... “If Aboriginal people feel they’ve got to go to war on this issue, it’s not likely to put them in a frame of mind that will lead to seeing the constitutional amendments as positive.”
The new politics of race - and faith - promoted by SBS:
Sarah tells Abboud: “I’m a proud Aboriginal Australian Muslim. It’s a profound quietness when I pray and when I connect with God. I’ve never had that up until I embraced Islam...”(Thanks to reader Andy.)
Spinning Shorten’s bad report
Andrew Bolt October 14 2014 (11:03am)
The Sydney Morning Herald puts this headline on Peter Reith’s column savaging Bill Shorten’s leadership:
===Shorten falls at first hurdle, but is Abbott any better?Strange headline, given that Reith’s column made the answer clear:
While Abbott’s go-slow on reform is a big cost to the economy, Shorten’s position is worse and much harder to justify.
Brandis: the case for banning reports of secret ASIO operations
Andrew Bolt October 14 2014 (10:35am)
I was sceptical on 2GB yesterday about the Government’s plans to extend laws banning the disclosure of certain intelligence operations. But Attorney-General George Brandis puts a good case:
===Section 35P [of the draft bill] makes it an offence for a person to disclose information relating to a special intelligence operation. The maximum penalty is imprisonment for 5 years. There is also an aggravated offence, in a case where the offender “intends to endanger the health or safety of any person or prejudice the effective conduct of” the operation, for which the maximum penalty is 10 years…
A “special intelligence operation” is narrowly defined by the act and, unusually, requires the authorisation of the Attorney-General as well as the director-general of ASIO. It is intended only to be used in the relatively rare circumstances in which the ordinary intelligence-gathering powers of ASIO are insufficient.
The first point to be made about Section 35P is that its only effect is to make it unlawful to disclose that which should not be disclosed… Think, for instance, of the covert penetration of a terrorist cell. To make it unlawful to disclose that which, by its very nature, must remain secret, does not seem unreasonable. To suggest otherwise fails the commonsense test.
Secondly, the provision is not new to our law. When the Intelligence Committee recommended it, it did so in order to extend to ASIO a similar protection to that available to the Australian Federal Police and other law enforcement agencies engaged in “controlled operations” by Section 15HK of the Crimes Act… It should also be noted that there have been no prosecutions to date under Section 15HK.
Thirdly, this is not a law about journalists. It is a law of general application… Some critics, who accept that special intelligence operations need protection, have argued that the provision goes too far, by applying to past as well as current operations… Disclosure of past operations might well reveal the identity of officers, sources or intelligence-gathering techniques. ASIO’s most celebrated intelligence operation was, no doubt, the Petrov defection in 1954. To protect their safety, the identity of the Petrovs was protected for almost half a century, until the death of Mrs Petrov in 1991.
Who knew that Jesus was a Greens voter? Hear it from the Anglican Church’s propaganda arm
Andrew Bolt October 14 2014 (10:06am)
Reader Paul on the takeover of the Anglican Church’s media arm:
UPDATE
Oops. Thanks to readers who pointed out the ass-like literal.
===Bumper issue of The Melbourne Anglican this month.Astonishing. How dare church assets be used to preach politics, anti-Israel propaganda and bastard science, all from the green-left perspective?
p. 1. Repeal of Carbon tax ‘reprehensible’ according to (wait for it) the Australian Religious Response to Climate Change. And if p. 1 isn’t enough, the report continues on page 10.
p. 4 ‘We must no longer use Bible to subjugate women,’ says Dr Susan Thomas from the Church of South India. (Indeed not: the burka--the wearing of which seems to be supported by Western feminists--seems to be doing the subjugation job very well...)
p.17 The Asylum seeker policy of the federal govt is ‘eating’ at Australia according to a synod motion moved by Bp Philip Huggins and the Dean of Brisbane, Dr Peter Catt. Needless to say, the motion was successful.
p. 19 The main letter to the editor - headlined across the page with a colour photo of a rocket being launched - was ISRAEL’S OCCUPATION of PALESTINE MUST END.
p. 20 is entirely taken up with a report: HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND TO BRUTAL ASYLUM POLICY written by Wes Campbell, a retired minister of the Uniting Church, formerly of St John’s Essendon. (As if the Anglican Church couldn’t find enough Green-Left neo-Marxist propagandists in its own clerical ranks!) p. 25 Book review under the headline LET US HEED CHRISTIAN CLIMATE CHANGE SCIENTIST. Is there the slightest danger that the average reader of this sheet will not? A better chance, this, than the likelihood that the Christian climate change scientist will take any notice of NASA and IPPC reports that there has been no global warming for the past decade and a half; that the ocean depths are not absorbing temperature rises; and that ‘climate change’ (however defined) has not caused abnormal weather patterns such as floods and cyclones.
UPDATE
Oops. Thanks to readers who pointed out the ass-like literal.
“Shirtfront” explained for Putin’s translators - and half the Australian voters
Andrew Bolt October 14 2014 (9:45am)
Victorian voters heard Tony Abbott say much more than he meant:
Meanwhile, Jacqui Lambie suddenly pretends to politeness:
Greg Sheridan:
(Thanks to reader Turtle of WA.)
===”I’m going to shirt-front Mr Putin,” the Prime Minister said during a media conference in Central Queensland.Victorians - and voters from states west and south - would have thought Abbott meant this:
“You bet you are, you bet I am. I am going to be saying to Mr Putin Australians were murdered (in the Malaysian Airlines tragedy in Ukraine).”
In fact, Abbott is actually a rugby union man from NSW:
In rugby territory – league and union, Mr Abbott’s game – to shirtfront means to grab by the coat lapels, or indeed the front of a shirt, and vigorously challenge.UPDATE
Meanwhile, Jacqui Lambie suddenly pretends to politeness:
THE tough talking Jacqui Lambie has urged Tony Abbott and Bill Shorten to tone down their anger against Vladimir Putin… The Tasmanian Palmer United Party Senator wants the pair to “stop acting like hormone-affected school boys trying to out macho each other on the footie field — and start acting like mature leaders of a great country”.Yes, it’s the same Lambie, so mature:
Senator Jacqui Lambie tells Hobart radio station Heart 107.3 she’s looking for a man with ‘a package between his legs’.So statesmanlike:
“If anybody thinks that we should have a national security and defence policy, which ignores the threat of a Chinese Communist invasion – you’re delusional and got rocks in your head,’’ her statement said.So temperate in her own language:
New senator Jacqui Lambie says the Prime Minister put his political career ahead of his daughters’ safety by “parading” them for the media..., adding that she believed the Coalition leader was a “political psychopath”.UPDATE
Greg Sheridan:
The Abbott government should make it so clear to Russia’s Vladimir Putin that he is not welcome here that he is shamed into staying home…But let’s hear again from Lambie, getting a generous run this morning on the ABC radio news for attacking Abbott:
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 with all the Australians on board was shot down by pro-Russian Ukrainian rebels using weapons the Russians gave them. These weapons were always intended to be used to kill innocent people.
The plan was to kill innocent Ukrainians. Instead they killed Australians among others. There is no circumstance in which this irresponsible and deadly Russian policy was justified.
The Russians committed a crime, and Australians were the victims… Putin is the author of those policies.
Yeah, I do like Vladimir Putin… I think he has very strong leadership. He has great values. He’s certainly doing his bit to stamp out terrorism and I guess you’ve got to pay the man for that.The problem with some fools is that they actually don’t know what fools they are. And the problem for us is that some of them have political power.
(Thanks to reader Turtle of WA.)
Julia Gillard invents another misogynist insult
Andrew Bolt October 14 2014 (9:23am)
The former Prime Minister is so addicted to seeing herself as a victim that she is now inventing examples of the misogyny she swears helped to bring her down.
Joe Aston gives an astonishing example from Gillard’s memoirs in which she falsely claims wicked mining executives wouldn’t even serve her a rum and coke because she was a woman. Unfortunately, the story is paywall protected.
===Joe Aston gives an astonishing example from Gillard’s memoirs in which she falsely claims wicked mining executives wouldn’t even serve her a rum and coke because she was a woman. Unfortunately, the story is paywall protected.
Resist this racism
Andrew Bolt October 14 2014 (8:36am)
The Left’s attempts to divide Australians on racial grounds is finally becoming an issue, despite activists using the law to stifle criticism.
The Australian today notes some hypocrisy:
===The Australian today notes some hypocrisy:
What is Welcome to Australia? From their website:Derek Parker in the Spectator Australia on Noel Pearson’s argument for changing the constitution:
WELCOME to Australia exists to engage everyday Australians in the task of cultivating a culture of welcome in our nation. The Australia we love is known for its diversity, compassion, generosity and commitment to giving all people a fair go.Welcome to being a second-class citizen? Also on Welcome to Australia website:
WE acknowledge and respect the traditional custodians whose ancestral lands we are now part of. We acknowledge that a “welcome to Australia” comes, by its nature, either from the indigenous peoples of Australia or on behalf of them. We acknowledge and remember the horrific atrocities inflicted upon them. This is and will forever be their land. welcometoaustralia.org.auAlso advertised on the Welcome to Australia website:
RACISM. It stops with me.
The power of the Commonwealth government to make laws based on race are particularly grating to indigenous people, [Pearson] says, and their removal would be a major step in reconciling with the past.
This makes good sense, but unfortunately the next step runs into trouble. He also wants a new section to require that indigenous people have a special voice in government decision-making. He does not go into detail, and it is not clear whether he means an advisory body or one with some sort of veto power over policies affecting indigenous people.
So what is he saying here? Laws made on the basis of race are bad, but a constitutionally entrenched body defined by race is good? Would there be some sort of skin-colour test for membership? If so, it seems contradictory at best, and its own sort of racism at worst.
Pearson ... also does not examine the issue that the Australian electorate seems to dislike special treatment, at least at the constitutional level.
Abbott’s boat policies are more moral than the Pope’s
Andrew Bolt October 14 2014 (7:52am)
Labor’s greatest shame - and that of the press packed which cheered it - is highlighted in an International Organisation for Migration report:
Also missing in the report is any willingness to hold Labor to account.
The same cowardice has been in play in contributing now to the horrific death toll in the Mediterranean.
Remember how the Pope wrung his hands and suggested the people-smuggling be aided, not stopped?
The IOM report notes the deadly consequences (without, of course, ascribing blame):
===THE number of asylum-seekers who have died seeking refuge in Australia has dramatically decreased…The count missed deaths before 2011, deaths in transit to Indonesia and deaths unrecorded by authorities. The true figure of the dead under Labor is almost certainly over 1200.
The 212-page report — Fatal Journeys, Tracking Lives Lost during Migration — counts one asylum-seeker death in 2014: that of 23-year-old Iranian Reza Berati who was murdered in the Manus Island riots in February. The one recorded death compares with 212 fatalities in 2013 and 356 in 2012 during the flood of asylum-seeker boats under Labor…
Also missing in the report is any willingness to hold Labor to account.
Despite the stark fall in deaths in Australia, the researchers refuse to acknowledge the change in so-called “pull factors’’ such as a toughening of government policies including the introduction of boat turnbacks, offshore processing and offshore resettlement arrangements.It is exactly this kind of moral cowardice that had Labor luring so many people to their deaths, and so many journalists for so long refusing to notice and then refusing to blame.
“The degree to which this variability is explained by global trends in refugee-producing situations or by changes in Australian border protection policies is a matter of ongoing dispute,’’ the report says.
The same cowardice has been in play in contributing now to the horrific death toll in the Mediterranean.
Remember how the Pope wrung his hands and suggested the people-smuggling be aided, not stopped?
Last Thursday some 300 Africans died while trying to smuggle themselves into Italy, and the Pope, hands seeming to shake with anger, railed: “The word disgrace comes to me.”The Italian Government then mounted an operation much like Labor’s own HMAS Taxi - to pick up boat people at sea to make the journey “safer” and the destination surer.
He added: ‘’Let us unite our efforts so that similar tragedies do not happen again. Only a decided collaboration among all can help to stop them.’’
The drownings were a great tragedy, yes. But a “disgrace” to Italians or the West?
In fact, the boat had tipped over because the 500 passengers, mainly from Eritrea and Somalia, reportedly lit a small fire on board while just off the Italian coast to get the attention of the coast guard, and then all fled to one side when it spread.
And what “decided collaboration” is needed to end such drownings? The Pope did not explain, but the European Council for Refugees and Exiles did. It was as the Greens demand here: to give such migrants “an alternative to resorting to illegal means of entry through dangerous routes”.
The IOM report notes the deadly consequences (without, of course, ascribing blame):
The IOM reports that this year up to 3072 migrants are believed to have died in the Mediterranean — accounting for about 75 per cent of all migration-related deaths — and “making it the deadliest sea in the world for migrants’’. This compared with an estimated 700 deaths in 2013…
“Why this is occurring is not entirely clear, but likely reflects a dramatic increase in the number of migrants trying to reach Europe.’’ The report says more than 112,000 irregular migrants were detected by Italian authorities in the first eight months of this year, almost three times as many as in all of fiscal year 2013.
Abbott praises coal. Next: to point out the warming facts
Andrew Bolt October 14 2014 (7:45am)
Tony Abbott is absolutely right:
But cue the usual protests on the ABC, with commentator Paul Bongiorno on Radio National Breakfast going on about “consensus”, “transition” to a “clean energy future” and everything else except that fact that the warming has stopped and we couldn’t do much about it anyway.
UPDATE
ABC 774’s Jon Faine in full warmist torrent, claiming “coal is threatening the future of humanity”. He even claims China is weaning itself off coal, as witnessed by its decision to impose a new tax on coal imports.
But Terry McCrann sets out the facts about that new tariff - and China’s coal consumption:
Again, where is the balance on the ABC? Where are the presenters editorialising for coal to match those ranting against it?
===Coal is vital for the future energy needs of the world. Energy is critical if the world is to continue to grow and prosper. so let’s have no demonisation of coal. Coal is good for humanity. Coal is good for prosperity. Coal is an essential part of our economic future here in Australia.The Prime Minister’s argument would be even more compelling if he pointed out the world’s atmosphere hasn’t heated in 16 years and the deep ocean in nine.
But cue the usual protests on the ABC, with commentator Paul Bongiorno on Radio National Breakfast going on about “consensus”, “transition” to a “clean energy future” and everything else except that fact that the warming has stopped and we couldn’t do much about it anyway.
UPDATE
ABC 774’s Jon Faine in full warmist torrent, claiming “coal is threatening the future of humanity”. He even claims China is weaning itself off coal, as witnessed by its decision to impose a new tax on coal imports.
But Terry McCrann sets out the facts about that new tariff - and China’s coal consumption:
China wants to keep its own massive — inefficient and (really) dirty — coal industry operating…The International Energy Agency actually expects China’s coal use to rise for another decade before stabilising - not shrinking:
The climate hysterics, led by The Age and our own Business Spectator, keep shouting that China is: “taking action on climate change”.
It’s supposed to be taking this action by making massive commitments to wind and solar and aggressively closing down “dirty” coal-fired stations and coal mines — such that our climate change policy will be left embarrassingly and antisocially behind and our coal mines stranded with no customers.
Never mind the facts. That even the most “massive” investment by China in wind and solar will still leave coal-fired power not only overwhelmingly the main source of energy, but a source that will keep increasing over time and all-but literally forever.
That yes, it has been closing down coal-fired stations — but small, inefficient and really dirty ones, the sort that really do spew grits into the air over Beijing and Shanghai and everywhere else, along with the pure life-enhancing CO2. Closing those ones down, and replacing them with modern, efficient and much bigger, but still coal-fired, stations which don’t spew the grit, but still pump out — indeed, even more — CO2.
[Coal] demand expands by one-third in non-OECD countries – predominantly in India, China and the ASEAN region – despite China reaching a plateau after 2025.UPDATE
Again, where is the balance on the ABC? Where are the presenters editorialising for coal to match those ranting against it?
Meet Patrick Moore
Andrew Bolt October 14 2014 (12:46am)
Dr Patrick Moore, a co-founder of Greenpeace and now campaigner against eco-fascism and warming alarmism, is touring Australia. Catch up with his speaking events here.
===It’s racist. It’s wicked. But in the end it’s just calling names
Andrew Bolt October 14 2014 (12:22am)
The racism was disgusting. No question. But this restriction seems to me an overreaction to a man with a foul mouth, especially when other hate preachers - ones actually inciting violence - travel freely:
An interview with the abused guard. Admirable man.
===A TEENAGER hounded by social-media users after allegedly racially abusing a Brisbane train guard has been forbidden to leave home without a parent unless he is on his way to court or work.UPDATE
Three days after he turned 17, apprentice mechanic Abdel-Kader Russell-Boumzar was allegedly filmed by a laughing friend hurling racist slurs at Queensland Rail worker Josphat Mkhwananzi on October 2.
An interview with the abused guard. Admirable man.
Post by Matt Granz.
===
Post by Matt Granz.
===
The clear-eyed Palestinian journalistKhaled abu Toameh points out that, if the Palestinian Authority wants the world to take it seriously as a ‘partner for peace’ with Israel, it is going a mighty strange way about showing it.In separate incidents in the past few days two Israeli soldiers were murdered in the West Bank – one of them having beenlured there from Tel Aviv to his death – with the Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade claiming responsibility.
The Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade is the armed wing of Fatah. Fatah is the party of Mahmoud Abbas, head of the Palestinian Authority, who does not distance himself from such atrocities committed by his own armed wing.
The PA has also been involved in ‘a massive campaign of incitement’ against Israel, with some officials calling for an escalation of ‘popular resistance’ and with others disseminating inflammatory lies about Israeli behaviour – creating the kind of toxic atmosphere which fuels attacks such as the killing of the two Israeli soldiers.
The Palestinian Authority is deemed by Britain, the US and the EU to be a ‘moderate’ body with which Israel must negotiate an agreement for a Palestinian state.
How can the PA possibly be moderate when it openly and routinely supports murder and promotes incitement to hatred and violence against Israel?===
The ACT government has decided free choice is too expensive for a liberal democracy and is going to use their powers to regulate and legislate it away in the name of tackling obesity. According to a report the ACT will be pushing a new anti-obesity strategy which was celebrated by ACT Chief Minister, Katy Gallagher:
She said the government’s plan had elements that would be controversial, including a proposal to have at least one checkout at every supermarket that was free of unhealthy food.The government also plans to develop a food and drink policy for territory schools and will have health-risk assessments for ACT government workers – a proposal it wants extended to the private sector.Other measures include improving transport and parking options that encourage Canberrans to walk, and regulation of the sale of sugary drinks.
Based on these reports the solution to obesity is to try and regulate people’s lives rather than encourage a culture of responsibility. These are the same basic strategies that have been proposed and introduced for years, and all the while obesity rates have increased while the arguments for a culture of responsibility have fallen onto deafer ears.
- See more at: http://freedomwatch.ipa.org.au/act-declares-free-choice-is-too-expensive-so-it-is-time-to-ban-it/#sthash.lkIqnnNP.dpuf===
UK police have released two photofits of the one man they wish to speak to over the 2007 disappearance of British girl Madeleine McCann.
Specialist police who have collected 40,000 pieces of evidence on the case have produced two e-fit images of a man seen in and around the Portuguese town of Praia da Luz when Madeleine was believed snatched from her hotel room on May 3 2007.
The two e-fit images of the same man were drawn up based on statements and descriptions from two different witnesses of having seen the man on the night she disappeared.
The man in the e-fit is being described as being white, aged between 20-40 years old, with short brown hair, of medium build, medium height and clean shaven.
Detective Chief Inspector Andy Redwood, the senior investigating officer, said that while this is far from being the only line of inquiry, it is of "vital importance".
"Whilst this man may or may not be the key to unlocking this investigation, tracing and speaking to him is of vital importance to us," he said.
===<... One would think with the increasing blood sport of Muslims murdering Christians around the world that there is madness in their Methodists rather than attack Israel the only country in the Middle East where Christians can practise their pseudo monotheism safely.>
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Cleared for publication: #IDF forces uncovered a tunnel laden with explosives in the #Gaza vicinity area on Thursday.
It is estimated it was meant to serve #terrorists in a high-profile attack on an #Israeli #kindergarten.
The tunnel, 2.5 kilometers long, has several exit points connects the #Absan village situated between Khan Younis and the Gaza border fence, and Israel's Kibbutz Ein Hashlosha.
The majority of #terror tunnels connecting Gaza and #Israel have yet to be exposed. In 2006, seven Gaza terrorists used a tunnel to infiltrate Israel and abduct Gilad Shalit .
#SharingIsCaring
#Truth|#IDF|#IsraelTruth|#UN|#Terror|#occupation|#إسرائيل| #احتلال| #حماس| #فلسطين | #Equality#rights |#مكافحة_التمرد|#apartheid|#Anonymous|
#Peace #Jerusalem|#Syria
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seeks peace talks, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas seeks ways to destroy them>
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The Palestinian Authority squandered nearly €2 billion ($2.7 billion) in European aid through corruption and mismanagement, a British newspaper claimed Sunday, leaking the contents of a not-yet-published European document.
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J.John'
The good news is that Jesus Christ wants to be known and we can know Him today. #just10live
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The turning point in our lives is when we stop seeking the God we want and start seeking the God who is. #just10live
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The title for this week's talk is 'Know God', the second commandment.#just10live
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We could never shape, paint, or chisel anything that would be an adequate representation of who God is. #just10live
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Watch what you worship, don’t worship what you watch. #just10live
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Roma Downey'
7 Rules to a better life
1) never hate
2) don’t worry
3) live simply
4) expect a little
5) give a lot
6) always smile
7) live with love
1) never hate
2) don’t worry
3) live simply
4) expect a little
5) give a lot
6) always smile
7) live with love
=
The Lord is near to all who call him, to all who call him in the truth - Psalm 145:18
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On Wednesday morning of last week, just hours before the start of Succot, hundreds of young men in drab green uniforms mulled about at the foot of the Nahal Brigade memorial in Pardes Hanna.
A mixture of exhaustion and enthusiasm was evident on their boyish faces as they prepared for the start of the Tekes Kumta, or "beret ceremony," signifying the end of their basic combat training. To mark this important milestone, each soldier would be receiving a new bit of headgear, with its unique color signifying the unit in which he serves.
Just a day beforehand, these weary warriors had all completed the traditional torturous trek, marching more than 50 km. in the desert throughout the night until they reached Masada, which their tired bodies then had to find the energy to climb (no cable cars allowed, of course).
As I observed the scene, I could not help but marvel at the miracle the Israel Defense Forces embodies.
Young black soldiers, immigrants from Ethiopia, mingled easily with blonde-haired, blue-eyed arrivals from the former Soviet Union, while the children and grandchildren of refugees from places as far afield as Munich and Morocco shared a joke or two under the blazing sun.
The exiles are indeed being gathered in, I thought to myself, even if we do not always appreciate just how wondrous this process is.
And of course, as a father of a soldier in an elite unit, I had a "Tevye moment," when the lyrics from the Fiddler On the Roof song "Sunrise, Sunset" suddenly surface from somewhere deep within the auditory cortex of the brain, at full volume: "Is this the little girl I carried? Is this the little boy at play? I don't remember growing older. When did they?" It was with all this theology, pride and emotion swirling through my mind that I sat down for the start of the ceremony, which promised to be brief but inspiring. Thirty minutes later, at its conclusion, that promise was only half-fulfilled.
As expected, there were the usual speeches by commanders, droning on in motionless monotones, interspersed with the soldiers standing at attention, then at ease, and then back at attention. I listened carefully to the messages which, for all the clichés, sought to underline the importance of service to one's country, defense of the homeland and standing up for what is right.
But there is one thing that I did not hear, one word so central to our collective and individual lives that I practically gasped with disbelief once the event was over.
There was not a single reference to God.
Much was made of the might and power of the IDF, of Israel's vaunted technological skill and unmatched military prowess. But there was not even a hint of humility nor a word of thanks to the One on high Who watches over His people Israel.
I couldn't believe it. After all, when a young Midwesterner enters the US army and utters the oath of enlistment, he declares that he will support and defend the Constitution, bear true faith and allegiance and obey orders, "So help me God." And when a Londoner or a Mancunian enlists in the British armed forces, he swears "by Almighty God" to be faithful to the Crown.
===David Daniel Ball ACT?
Yup the nanny state. Its not going to make a difference. A bit like the alcopop tax. Parents should just learn to parent better. My kids when they are good, get $1 to spend on sugar treats & only when they have completed their assigned tasks. Any other time, they may look or do a wishlist but no means no. You start chucking a tanty & that totally removes the right to anything & everything. Im also not cruel enough to drag them shopping when they are tired or over stimulated, forcing them to do something they would rather not be. Nothing is so urgent it requires dragging a screaming child through a shopping centre. It all comes down to bribery, you start bribing them, they are going to be expected to be rewarded for being good. Dont make sweets tempting, they wont want it if you dont make a song & dance about it & place such importance on it.
===
Yori Yanover of the Jewish Press has a point in his article What if Abbas Condemns the Murders and No One in the PA Hears It?
In any event, even that miserly, self righteous, immoral statement has gotten no mention in Palestinian reports today. WAFA, the official Palestinian news agency, only mentioned the two murders with a quote from Foreign Minister Riyad Malki:Various international "leaders" and wannabes have perfected the art of "saying the right thing" to protect themselves from our suspicions that maybe they're not quite the "good" people or allies they hope to be perceived as. United States President Barack Hussein Obama always claims that he is a great friend of Israel while he promotes policies that weaken and endanger us. Should we go for the words or the actions.
“Malki expressed concern that Israel may use the killing of an Israeli soldier in Hebron on Sunday and another off duty soldier in Qalqilya two days earlier in order to discredit the Palestinian Authority.”
We don't have to look at the non-Jews for more examples. J Street, the extreme Leftist anti-Israel lobbying group claims to be pro-Israel, even though it cares more about Arab rights than Jewish Rights and Jewish History.
Don't forget all of those "rabbinic" lobbying groups that support Arabs over Jews here in Israel. Just because someone calls himself (or herself) a rabbi, doesn't mean the person is an expert in Jewish Law, Jewish History, Bible etc. It also doesn't mean that the person lives by Torah Law, Shabbat, Kashrut etc. So I really don't consider the opinion of some person who drives, cooks, sells, shops etc. on Shabbat or eats traif is an expert in Jewish morality. So when they come to the nearby Arab villages to encourage the Arabs to destroy our agriculture and attack Jewish villages I see only enemies. They are Jewish enemies of the Jewish People.
===
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com | With this weekend's massacre by Muslim terrorists at a mall in Nairobi, Kenya, and Muslim terrorists killing about 80 Christians at a Christian church in Pakistan, most people wonder what, if anything in addition to a continuing war on terror, can be done to minimize the scourge of Islamic terror.
The answer lies with Muslims themselves. Specifically, it means that Muslim religious leaders around the world must announce that any Muslim who deliberately targets non-combatants for death goes to hell.
I arrive at this answer based on something that I have long believed about Pope Pius XII and the Holocaust.
I readily acknowledge that the situations are not the same. The Jews of Europe were not annihilated by Catholics in the name of Catholicism; whereas the Christians, Muslims and Jews who are massacred by Islamic terrorists are murdered by Muslims in the name of Islam.
I also readily acknowledge that many of the attacks on Pope Pius XII for his alleged inaction and even collaboration with the Nazis during the Holocaust are animated by individuals who hate Western religion generally or hate the Catholic Church specifically. Pius XII was not "Hitler's Pope," as one best-selling book on Pius XII is titled.
Moreover, Pius XII lived in Italy during World War II, in a fascist dictatorship that began as Hitler's ally and ended up being the target of Nazi atrocities. This was not the case with President Franklin D. Roosevelt, for example, who lived in the safety of a free country six-thousand miles away from Germany, did nothing to save the Jews of Europe, and even sent a boatload of Jewish refugees from Hitler back to Europe. Yet the critics of Pius are silent about Roosevelt.
The Islamic world are embracing these terrorists too. There is no culture of greatness among Islamics providing an example of how a good person behaves. Among Jews, Rabbi set an excellent example. Christians and Catholics have people famed of their goodness. As do Hindu and Buddhists. - ed
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Join me online http://bit.ly/HnE6ib as we continue verse-by-verse through Philippians. Learn "THE HABITS OF HAPPINESS." A new service begins EVERY HOUR!
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http://twitchy.com/2013/10/13/wow-just-wow-wounded-patriot-is-poignant-reminder-at-million-vets-march-pics/
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WASHINGTON – Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu “is not bluffing” on his intentions to strike Iran, should the Islamic Republic continue its nuclear program for much longer, a former senior Israeli military official told The Jerusalem Poston Sunday.
“Bibi’s not bluffing,” said the retired senior official, who requested anonymity to speak freely. “He thinks it’s the 1930s. The Iranians are the Germans, and history has a sense of humor with six million Jews now in Israel.”
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Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) appeared Sunday morning on CNN’s “State of the Union” with Candy Crowley to discuss the GOP’s poor polling numbers, the partial government shutdown, and the approaching debt ceiling deadline.
While discussing Republicans’ terrible approval ratings, Crowley had an odd question for Sen. Paul.
“Do you see yourself at any point in the future being anything other than politically a member of the Republican Party?” she asked.
“You mean — you’re implying a third party or some other party?” he said.
“Or if you wanted to become a Democrat — there are lots of parties out there,” she said. “Just wonder if you see yourself being anything other than a Republican?”
Sen. Paul simply laughed.
“No. I’ve always been a Republican, and I’m one of those people who actually is a real lover of the history of the Republican Party from the days of abolition to the days of civil rights. The Republican Party has a really rich history,” he said.
“In our state, I’m really proud of the fact that the ones who overturned Jim Crow in Kentucky were Republicans fighting against an entirely unified Democratic Party, so I am proud to be Republican. I can’t imagine being anything else,” he added.
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Pretoria – South African security agencies have been monitoring al-Qaeda-linked training camps in South Africa for years, according to a year-long investigation by the Daily Maverick.
According to a report by the Daily Maverick, the State Security Agency and the specialised police unit, Crimes Against the State, have for years been aware of the of the military training camps, but have taken no action against those allegedly involved.
It has emerged that state intelligence has stopped observation on those involved after nearly a decade of secret surveillance and intelligence gathering.
The police’s investigation into the camps was labelled Operation Kanu.
The report claimed a camp was initially setup at a farm near Vlakplaas, the former base of Apartheid hit squads, also at a farm called Greylock in the Klein Karoo, and finally at a golf estate along the Garden Route in Tsitsikamma.
British and US intelligence agencies have reportedly urged the South African government to act on any possible Muslim terrorist threats after becoming frustrated by South Africa’s inaction against perceived international terror threats.
Additionally, the South African Revenue Service (SARS) traced an amount of over R31 million which was smuggled overseas by a Pakistani group back in October 2008.
SARS also stated that over R9 million had been smuggled to terrorist organisations in the last two years.
Photo: Courtesy Wikimedia
===
Roma Downey
"You were born for a reason. Now, that reason may not be very clear to you today. It may not be very clear to you tomorrow but your Creator, the God who put you here, He knows why." - Andrew, Til Death Do Us Part, Touched by an Angel.
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The 2013 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to the Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
And the Taliban in Pakistan cheered.
However, they were not cheering for OPCW, but celebrating that the prize did not go to Malala Yousafzai, one of the popular favorites.
Malala Yousafzai is a name you should recognize. She’s the 16-year-old Pakistani girl who made news after being shot in the face by a member of the Taliban.
16-year-old Malala Yousafzai is proof that you are never too young to try and change the world.===No money for the death benefits for the families of our fallen heroes and Barrycades around our memorials, but plenty of money for Shotgun Joe Biden & Family to hang out at Camp David. You stay classy, Mr. and Mrs. Biden http://bit.ly/1ciIIDH
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Did you know that Australia contributes 20 per cent to the world's gambling and we're .25 per cent of world's population????!!!
Costello's facts are misleading in order to inflate the issue. I get it that it affects families for generations. I can point to my own family as an example. Costello is highlighting a problem without highlighting a workable solution. In fact, the high rollers account for much of gambling, and they aren't many and aren't the problem. Also, those betting on Melbourne Cup or once a year skew the issue. There is an issue with obsessive compulsive gambling by poor people. It is related to mental illness and should, imho, be covered in that category. But Costello seems to want to whip Abbott over it, after having failed to get Gillard to implement a bad system. Maybe proof of age is no longer a good measure for such activity? - ed
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I'M DONE with living women. They're so fleshy and warm-blooded and urgh.
So I'm switching to the obvious alternative. Dead women.
For so long, the deceased babes of this world have been inaccessible, locked behind some great, fantastical void of grey nothingness. But thanks to the magic of the interwebs, ghosts are quickly becoming an integral part of the online dating community.
Introducing GhostSingles.com, a dating website where ghosts can meet attractive ghost-lovers like me who are posing as ghosts.
The cornerstone of the site is a state-of-the-art search engine, which not only sorts single ghosts by their gender and age (18 years old to 1000+ years), but lets you choose between people who died horrible, mysterious, tragic or sudden deaths.
Just build a profile, complete with information like your build (wispy, ethereal, cloudy) and how you found the site (seance, fate), and you're released to frolic with the prettiest poltergeists in the universe.
After haunting the site for exactly 13 minutes, I managed to narrow my field of potential partners to four candidates. But I'm having trouble picking just one sexy spectre.
Perhaps you could help? I'll list my top four phantoms, and you can tell me which to float away with in the comments section below.
I bet they don't put out .. Their mates are stuck in limbo .. ed
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VICTORIA'S higher than expected $316 million surplus will make major projects more affordable and borrowing money easier, the state government says.
The surplus was significantly more than the predicted $177 million for 2012/13, but the opposition says it is because Victorians are being taxed more than ever.
Unions say the surplus has come at the expense of jobs while Victoria's peak business group says it demonstrates the strength of Victoria's economy.
Two large windfalls for the state government - one from the State Electricity Commission of Victoria and one from land it received free of charge from VicRoads and Public Transport Victoria - helped boost the bottom line.
Treasurer Michael O'Brien said the result would allow Victoria to moderate its debt and borrow money at cheaper rates.
"That means that our infrastructure program is something which is more affordable and it means that you can bring forward projects more quickly than you might have otherwise done," he told reporters on Monday.
Acting Opposition Leader James Merlino said the surplus came from cash grabs and one-off revenue windfalls.
ALP claim they would never have a surplus .. ed
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BREAKING up has always been hard to do - but these days, it's easier than ever to just slink away.
Rather than having the tired "It's not you, it's me" conversation, singles are ending relationships simply by not replying to their partner's texts.
After a few days of silence, even the most persistent prospects usually get the message.
But those people you're not texting back? They're not happy about it.
But those people you're not texting back? They're not happy about it.
I think the church elders might give you a clue "Has she ever expressed an interest in you?" "What do you know about her, really" "What do you share?" "If God wanted it, it would happen." - ed
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Zaya Toma
Fairfield Council has just received an application for the use and fitout of a premises at Greenway Plaza for the purpose of a MEXICAN RESTAURANT!! I'm supposed to remain impartial and open minded about development applications, but this one 'more than likely' has my support.
===The difficulty with the discussion "what best assists dialogue between secular society and the church" is that there is no clear distinction where secular society begins and where the church ends. Am I secular or Catholic if I only go to church at Christmas and Easter, weddings and funerals? Am I church if I live a life of selfless love offering service to the poor and needy but have never heard of Jesus Christ? Secular is not bad if is spreading the kingdom values. But the battlelines are internal. We all live elements of loving God and neighbour at times but are constantly drawn to selfish love and vices.
Back to the discussion: Firstly, the church (both visible and invisible), must engage in order for dialogue to occur. Battening down the hatches and isolating until the post-modern storm blows over is a clear path to extinction and not following the Gospel message to spread the Good news. The world is not such a bad place. People are not inherently bad. There is a Good News story to tell. We live in a consumerist society: Let people pick and choose. They will do it anyway. But ensure that there is something to choose. We live in a Global society: The church must function both locally and globally (The Roman Catholic church is well-placed to do this really). We see a rise in social media. The church must function in that space. Be authentic on-line. People, in a post-modern world are educated and have access to a wealth of information and resources. Offer the truth and reasons. Meet people where they are at. The anti-authoritarian nature of the post-modern society means that the laity must be channelled into spreading the Good news. Pope Francis and Cardinal Pell cannot be a witness to Christ's message of love and peace in your workplace or your street.
Meh, I refuse to be defined by my implants. Implant them .. I'll still be me. I don't like the implant argument anyways .. how is carrying a smartphone different? I broadly agree with the summation of theology. I note we are parts of a body. I aim to serve my God well by being me and sharing his praise. No one else is me, but there are others who work similarly. And many that don't. I praise god for the diversity too. If anyone is thinking they can do it alone, and not be part of church or fellowship .. I point out that we are part of the body, not the whole body .. many thanks Ged for the post - ed
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Lily Grasso’s parents are fighting back after the athletic 11 year old was sent home from school with a letter suggesting that she was fat. The so-called ‘fat letter’ was the result of a BMI (body mass index) screening given by officials at Grasso’s school.
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- 1066 – Norman Conquest: Battle of Hastings: In England on Senlac Hill, seven miles from Hastings, the Norman forces of William the Conqueror defeat the English army and kill King Harold II of England.
- 1322 – Robert the Bruce of Scotland defeats King Edward II of England at Byland, forcing Edward to accept Scotland's independence.
- 1582 – Because of the adoption of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
- 1586 – Mary, Queen of Scots, goes on trial for conspiracy against Elizabeth I of England.
- 1656 – Massachusetts enacts the first punitive legislation against the Religious Society of Friends(Quakers). The marriage of church-and-state in Puritanism makes them regard the Quakers as spiritually apostate and politically subversive.
- 1758 – Seven Years' War: Austria defeats Prussia at the Battle of Hochkirch.
- 1773 – The first recorded Ministry of Education, the Commission of National Education, is formed in the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
- 1773 – Just before the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, several of the British East India Company's tea ships are set ablaze at the old seaport of Annapolis, Maryland.
- 1805 – Battle of Elchingen, France defeats Austria.
- 1806 – Battle of Jena–Auerstedt France defeats Prussia.
- 1808 – The Republic of Ragusa is annexed by France.
- 1812 – Work on London's Regent's Canal starts.
- 1840 – The Maronite leader Bashir II surrenders to the British Army and then is sent into exile on the islands of Malta.
- 1843 – The British arrest the Irish nationalist Daniel O'Connell for conspiracy to commit crimes.
- 1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Bristoe Station: Confederate troops under the command of General Robert E. Lee fail to drive the Union Army completely out of Virginia.
- 1880 – Mexican soldiers kill Victorio, one of the greatest Apache military strategists.
- 1882 – University of the Punjab is founded in a part of India that later became West Pakistan.
- 1884 – The American inventor, George Eastman, receives a U.S. Government patent on his new paper-strip photographic film.
- 1888 – Louis Le Prince films first motion picture: Roundhay Garden Scene.
- 1898 – The steamer ship SS Mohegan sinks after impacting the Manacles near Cornwall, United Kingdom, killing 106.
- 1908 – The Chicago Cubs defeat the Detroit Tigers, 2–0, clinching the World Series. It would be their last one to date.
- 1910 – The English aviator Claude Grahame-White lands his Farman Aircraft biplane on Executive Avenue near the White House in Washington, D.C..
- 1912 – While campaigning in Milwaukee, the former President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, is shot and mildly wounded by John Schrank, a mentally-disturbed saloon keeper. With the fresh wound in his chest, and the bullet still within it, Mr. Roosevelt still carries out his scheduled public speech.
- 1913 – Senghenydd Colliery Disaster, the United Kingdom's worst coal mining accident claims the lives of 439 miners.
- 1915 – World War I: The Kingdom of Bulgaria joins the Central Powers.
- 1920 – Part of Petsamo Province is ceded by the Soviet Union to Finland.
- 1926 – The children's book Winnie-the-Pooh, by A. A. Milne, is first published.
- 1933 – Nazi Germany withdraws from the League of Nations and World Disarmament Conference.
- 1938 – The first flight of the Curtiss Aircraft Company's P-40 Warhawk fighter plane.
- 1939 – The German submarine U-47 sinks the British battleship HMS Royal Oak within her harbour at Scapa Flow, Scotland.
- 1940 – Balham underground station disaster in London, England, sixty-six people in the station were killed during the Nazi Luftwaffe air raids on Great Britain.
- 1943 – Prisoners at the Nazi German Sobibór extermination camp in Poland revolt against the Germans, killing eleven SS guards, and wounding many more. About 300 of the Sobibor Camp's 600 prisoners escape, and about 50 of these survive the end of the war.
- 1943 – World War II: The American Eighth Air Force loses 60 of 291 B-17 Flying Fortress heavy bombers in aerial combat during the second mass-daylight air raid on the Schweinfurt ball bearing factories in western Nazi Germany.
- 1943 – José P. Laurel takes the oath of office as President of the Philippines (Second Philippine Republic).
- 1944 – World War II: Athens, Greece, is liberated by British Army troops entering the city as the Wehrmacht pulls out. This clears the way for the Greek government-in-exile to return to its historic capital city, with George Papandreou, Sr., as the head of government.
- 1944 – Linked to a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler, Field Marshal Erwin Rommel is forced to commit suicide.
- 1947 – Captain Chuck Yeager of the United States Air Force flies a Bell X-1 rocket-powered experimental aircraft, the Glamorous Glennis, faster than the speed of sound at Mach 1.06 (700 miles per hour (1,100 km/h; 610 kn) over the high desert of Southern California and becomes the first pilot and the first airplane to do so in level flight.
- 1949 – Eleven leaders of the American Communist Party are convicted, after a nine-month trial in a Federal District Court, of conspiring to advocate the violent overthrow of the U.S. Federal Government.
- 1949 – Chinese Civil War: Chinese Communist forces occupy the city of Guangzhou (Canton), in Guangdong, China.
- 1952 – Korean War: United Nations and South Korean forces launch Operation Showdown against Chinese strongholds at the Iron Triangle. The resulting Battle of Triangle Hill is the biggest and bloodiest battle of 1952.
- 1956 – Dr. B. R. Ambedkar, the Indian Untouchable caste leader, converts to Buddhism along with 385,000 of his followers (see Neo-Buddhism).
- 1957 – Queen Elizabeth II becomes the first Canadian monarch to open up an annual session of the Canadian Parliament, presenting her Speech from the throne in Ottawa, Canada.
- 1957 – At least 81 people are killed in the most devastating flood in the Spanish city of Valencia's history.
- 1958 – The District of Columbia's Bar Association votes to accept African-Americans as member attorneys.
- 1962 – The Cuban Missile Crisis begins: A U.S. Air Force U-2 reconnaissance plane and its pilot flies over the island of Cubaand takes photographs of Soviet SS-4 Sandal missiles being installed and erected in Cuba.
- 1964 – Martin Luther King, Jr. received the Nobel Peace Prize for combating racial inequality through nonviolence.
- 1964 – Leonid Brezhnev becomes the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, and thereby, along with his allies, such as Alexei Kosygin, the leader of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), ousting the former monolithic leader Nikita Khrushchev, and sending him into retirement as a nonperson in the USSR.
- 1966 – The city of Montreal begins the operation of its underground Montreal Metro rapid-transit system.
- 1967 – Vietnam War: The folk singer Joan Baez is arrested concerning a physical blockade of the U.S. Army's induction center in Oakland, California.
- 1968 – Vietnam War: Twenty-seven soldiers are arrested at the Presidio of San Francisco in California for their peaceful protest of stockade conditions and the Vietnam War.
- 1968 – Vietnam War: The United States Department of Defense announces that the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps will send about 24,000 soldiers and Marines back to Vietnam for involuntary second tours of duty in the combat zone there.
- 1968 – Apollo program: The first live TV broadcast by American astronauts in orbit performed by the Apollo 7 crew.
- 1968 – An earthquake rated at 6.8 on the Richter magnitude scale destroys the Australian town of Meckering, Western Australia. and it also ruptures all nearby main highways and railroads.
- 1968 – Jim Hines of the United States of America becomes the first man ever to break the so-called "ten-second barrier" in the 100-meter sprint in the Summer Olympic Games held in Mexico City with a time of 9.95 seconds.
- 1969 – The United Kingdom introduces the British fifty-pence coin, which replaces, over the following years, the British ten-shilling note, in anticipation of the decimalization of the British currency in 1971, and the abolition of the shilling as a unit of currency anywhere in the world.
- 1973 – In the Thammasat student uprising over 100,000 people protest in Thailand against the Thanom military government, 77 are killed and 857 are injured by soldiers.
- 1979 – The first Gay Rights March on Washington, D.C., the National March on Washington for Lesbian and Gay Rights, demands "an end to all social, economic, judicial, and legal oppression of lesbian and gay people", and draws approximately 100,000 people.
- 1981 – Citing official misconduct in the investigation and trial, Amnesty International charges the U.S. Federal Government with holding Richard Marshall of the American Indian Movement as a political prisoner.
- 1981 – Vice President Hosni Mubarak is elected as the President of Egypt one week after the assassination of the President of Egypt, Anwar Sadat.
- 1982 – U.S. President Ronald Reagan proclaims a War on Drugs.
- 1983 – Maurice Bishop, Prime Minister of Grenada, is overthrown and later executed in a military coup d'état led by Bernard Coard.
- 1984 – "Baby Fae" receives a heart transplant from a baboon.
- 1994 – The Palestinian leader, Yasser Arafat, The Prime Minister of Israel, Yitzhak Rabin, and the Foreign Minister of Israel, Shimon Peres, receive the Nobel Peace Prize for their role in the establishment of the Oslo Accords and the framing of the future Palestinian Self Government.
- 1998 – Eric Rudolph is charged with six bombings including the 1996 Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta, Georgia.
- 2003 – Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman becomes infamously known as the scapegoat for the Cubs losing Game 6 of the 2003 National League Championship Series to the Florida Marlins.
- 2006 – The college football brawl between University of Miami and Florida International University leads to suspensions of 31 players of both teams.
- 2014 – A snowstorm and avalanche in the Nepalese Himalayas triggered by the remnants of Cyclone Hudhud kills 43 people.
- 2014 – A UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying match between the national association football teams of Serbia and Albania had to be abandoned due to serious crowd disburbances.
- 2015 – A suicide bomb attack in Pakistan, kills at least seven people and injures 13 others.
- 1257 – Przemysł II of Poland (d. 1296)
- 1404 – Marie of Anjou (d. 1463)
- 1493 – Shimazu Tadayoshi, Japanese daimyo (d. 1568)
- 1542 – Akbar, Mughal emperor (d. 1605)
- 1563 – Jodocus Hondius, Flemish engraver and cartographer (d. 1611)
- 1609 – Ernest Günther, Duke of Schleswig-Holstein-Sonderburg-Augustenburg (d. 1689)
- 1630 – Sophia of Hanover (d. 1714)
- 1633 – James II of England (d. 1701)
- 1639 – Simon van der Stel, Dutch commander and politician, 1st Governor of the Dutch Cape Colony (d. 1712)
- 1641 – Joachim Tielke German instrument maker (d. 1719)
- 1643 – Bahadur Shah I, Mughal emperor (d. 1712)
- 1644 – William Penn, English businessman, founded the Province of Pennsylvania (d. 1718)
- 1687 – Robert Simson, Scottish mathematician and academic (d. 1768)
- 1712 – George Grenville, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1770)
- 1726 – Charles Middleton, 1st Baron Barham, Scottish-English admiral and politician (d. 1813)
- 1733 – François Sébastien Charles Joseph de Croix, Count of Clerfayt, Austrian field marshal (d. 1798)
- 1784 – Ferdinand VII of Spain (d. 1833)
- 1801 – Joseph Plateau, Belgian physicist and academic, created the Phenakistoscope (d. 1883)
- 1806 – Preston King, American lawyer and politician (d. 1865)
- 1824 – Adolphe Monticelli, French painter (d. 1886)
- 1840 – Dmitry Pisarev, Russian author and critic (d. 1868)
- 1842 – Joe Start, American baseball player and manager (d. 1927)
- 1848 – Byron Edmund Walker, Canadian banker and philanthropist (d. 1924)
- 1853 – John William Kendrick, American engineer and businessman (d. 1924)
- 1853 – Ciprian Porumbescu, Romanian composer and educator (d. 1883)
- 1861 – Artur Gavazzi, Croatian geographer and academic (d. 1944)
- 1867 – Masaoka Shiki, Japanese poet, author, and critic (d. 1902)
- 1869 – Joseph Duveen, 1st Baron Duveen, English art dealer (d. 1939)
- 1872 – Reginald Doherty, English tennis player (d. 1910)
- 1873 – Ray Ewry, American jumper (d. 1937)
- 1873 – Jules Rimet, French businessman (d. 1954)
- 1882 – Éamon de Valera, American-Irish academic and politician, 3rd President of Ireland (d. 1975)
- 1882 – Charlie Parker, English cricketer, coach, and umpire (d. 1959)
- 1884 – Jimmy Conlin, American actor and singer (d. 1962)
- 1888 – Minnie Evans, Potawatomi leader (d. 1971)
- 1888 – Katherine Mansfield, New Zealand-English author (d. 1923)
- 1888 – Yukio Sakurauchi, Japanese businessman and politician, 27th Japanese Minister of Finance (d. 1947)
- 1890 – Dwight D. Eisenhower, American general and politician, 34th President of the United States (d. 1969)
- 1892 – Sumner Welles, American politician and diplomat, 11th Under Secretary of State (d. 1961)
- 1893 – Lillian Gish, American actress (d. 1993)
- 1893 – Lois Lenski, American author and illustrator (d. 1974)
- 1894 – E. E. Cummings, American poet and playwright (d. 1962)
- 1898 – Thomas William Holmes, Canadian sergeant and pilot, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1950)
- 1900 – W. Edwards Deming, American statistician, author, and academic (d. 1993)
- 1902 – Learco Guerra, Italian cyclist and manager (d. 1963)
- 1904 – Christian Pineau, French politician, French Minister of Foreign Affairs (d. 1995)
- 1906 – Hassan al-Banna, Egyptian religious leader, founded the Muslim Brotherhood (d. 1949)
- 1906 – Hannah Arendt, German-American philosopher and theorist (d. 1975)
- 1907 – Allan Jones, American actor and singer (d. 1992)
- 1908 – Ruth Hale, American actress and playwright (d. 2003)
- 1909 – Mochitsura Hashimoto, Japanese commander (d. 2000)
- 1909 – Dorothy Kingsley, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1996)
- 1909 – Bernd Rosemeyer, German race car driver (d. 1938)
- 1910 – John Wooden, American basketball player and coach (d. 2010)
- 1911 – Lê Đức Thọ, Vietnamese general and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1990)
- 1914 – Harry Brecheen, American baseball player and coach (d. 2004)
- 1914 – Raymond Davis, Jr., American chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2006)
- 1914 – Alexis Rannit, Estonian poet and critic (d. 1985)
- 1915 – Loris Francesco Capovilla, Italian cardinal
- 1916 – C. Everett Koop, American admiral and surgeon, 13th United States Surgeon General (d. 2013)
- 1918 – Marcel Chaput, Canadian biochemist, journalist, and politician (d. 1991)
- 1918 – Thelma Coyne Long, Australian tennis player and captain (d. 2015)
- 1918 – Frances E. Nealy, American actress (d. 1997)
- 1918 – Doug Ring, Australian cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2003)
- 1921 – José Arraño Acevedo, Chilean journalist and historian (d. 2009)
- 1923 – Joel Barnett, Baron Barnett, English accountant and politician, Chief Secretary to the Treasury (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Robert Webber, American actor (d. 1989)
- 1925 – Clancy Lyall, American sergeant (d. 2012)
- 1926 – Willy Alberti, Dutch singer and actor (d. 1985)
- 1926 – Bill Justis, American saxophonist, composer, and producer (d. 1982)
- 1927 – Roger Moore, English actor and producer
- 1928 – Frank E. Resnik, American chemist and businessman (d. 1995)
- 1929 – Yvon Durelle, Canadian boxer and wrestler (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Robert Parker, American singer and saxophonist
- 1930 – Mobutu Sese Seko, Congolese soldier and politician, President of Zaire (d. 1997)
- 1930 – Alan Williams, Welsh journalist and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Wales (d. 2014)
- 1931 – Nikhil Banerjee, Indian sitar player and composer (d. 1986)
- 1932 – Enrico Di Giuseppe, American tenor and actor (d. 2005)
- 1932 – Anatoly Larkin, Russian-American physicist and academic (d. 2005)
- 1935 – La Monte Young, American composer
- 1936 – Hans Kraay, Dutch footballer and manager
- 1936 – Jürg Schubiger, Swiss psychotherapist and author (d. 2014)
- 1938 – John Dean, American lawyer and author, 13th White House Counsel
- 1938 – Elizabeth Esteve-Coll, English curator and academic
- 1938 – Ron Lancaster, American-Canadian football player and coach (d. 2008)
- 1938 – Shula Marks, South African historian and academic
- 1939 – Ralph Lauren, American fashion designer, founded the Ralph Lauren Corporation
- 1939 – Rocky Thompson, American golfer and politician
- 1940 – Perrie Mans, South African snooker player
- 1940 – Cliff Richard, Indian-English singer-songwriter and actor
- 1940 – J.C. Snead, American golfer
- 1940 – Christopher Timothy, Welsh actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1941 – Jerry Glanville, American football player and coach
- 1941 – Laurie Lawrence, Australian rugby player and coach
- 1941 – Art Shamsky, American baseball player and manager
- 1941 – Roger Taylor, English tennis player
- 1942 – Bob Hiller, English rugby player
- 1942 – Evelio Javier, Filipino lawyer and politician (d. 1986)
- 1942 – Péter Nádas, Hungarian author and playwright
- 1942 – Suzzanna, Indonesian actress (d. 2008)
- 1944 – Udo Kier, German-American actor and director
- 1945 – Colin Hodgkinson, English bass player
- 1945 – Daan Jippes, Dutch author and illustrator
- 1945 – Lesley Joseph, English actress
- 1946 – François Bozizé, Gabonese general and politician, President of the Central African Republic
- 1946 – Joey de Leon, Filipino comedian, actor and television host
- 1946 – Justin Hayward, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1946 – Dan McCafferty, Scottish singer-songwriter
- 1946 – Al Oliver, American baseball player
- 1946 – Craig Venter, American biologist, geneticist, and academic
- 1947 – Norman Harris, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 1987)
- 1947 – Charlie Joiner, American football player
- 1947 – Nikolai Volkoff, Croatian-American wrestler
- 1948 – Marcia Barrett, Jamaican-English singer
- 1948 – Norman Ornstein, American political scientist and scholar
- 1948 – David Ruprecht, American game show host and actor
- 1949 – Damian Lau, Hong Kong actor, director, and producer
- 1949 – Katy Manning, English-Australian actress and production manager
- 1949 – Katha Pollitt, American poet and author
- 1949 – Dave Schultz, Canadian ice hockey player and referee
- 1950 – Joey Travolta, American actor, director, and producer
- 1951 – Aad van den Hoek, Dutch cyclist
- 1952 – Harry Anderson, American actor and screenwriter
- 1952 – Nikolai Andrianov, Russian gymnast and coach (d. 2011)
- 1952 – Rick Aviles, American comedian and actor (d. 1995)
- 1953 – Kazumi Watanabe, Japanese guitarist and composer
- 1954 – Carole Malone, English journalist
- 1954 – Mordechai Vanunu, Moroccan-Israeli technician and academic
- 1955 – Iwona Blazwick, English curator and critic
- 1956 – Ümit Besen, Turkish singer-songwriter
- 1956 – Beth Daniel, American golfer and sportscaster
- 1956 – Jennell Jaquays, American game designer
- 1956 – Arleen Sorkin, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1957 – Michel Després, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1957 – Gen Nakatani, Japanese lawyer and politician, 13th Japanese Minister of Defense
- 1957 – Kenny Neal, American actor, singer, and guitarist
- 1958 – Thomas Dolby, English singer-songwriter and producer
- 1959 – A. J. Pero, American drummer (d. 2015)
- 1960 – Steve Cram, English runner and coach
- 1960 – Zbigniew Kruszyński, Polish footballer and coach
- 1961 – Isaac Mizrahi, American fashion designer
- 1962 – Jaan Ehlvest, Estonian chess player
- 1962 – Trevor Goddard, English-American actor (d. 2003)
- 1962 – Chris Thomas King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
- 1963 – Lori Petty, American actress
- 1963 – Alessandro Safina, Italian tenor
- 1964 – Neşe Erberk, Turkish model and businesswoman, Miss Europe 1984
- 1964 – Joe Girardi, American baseball player and manager
- 1964 – Olu Oguibe, Nigerian-American painter, author, and critic
- 1965 – Steve Coogan, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1965 – Jüri Jaanson, Estonian rower and politician
- 1965 – Constantine Koukias, Greek-Australian flute player and composer
- 1965 – Karyn White, American singer-songwriter
- 1967 – Pat Kelly, American baseball player, coach, and manager
- 1967 – Sylvain Lefebvre, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1967 – Jason Plato, English race car driver and television host
- 1968 – Jay Ferguson, Canadian guitarist and songwriter
- 1968 – Johnny Goudie, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
- 1968 – Matthew Le Tissier, English footballer and journalist
- 1968 – Timothy Lincoln Beckwith, American lawyer
- 1968 – Dwayne Schintzius, American basketball player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1969 – P. J. Brown, American basketball player
- 1969 – David Strickland, American actor (d. 1999)
- 1970 – Martin Barbarič, Czech footballer and coach (d. 2013)
- 1970 – Jim Jackson, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1970 – Takako Katou, Japanese actress and singer
- 1970 – Meelis Lindmaa, Estonian footballer
- 1970 – Hiromi Nagasaku, Japanese actress and singer
- 1970 – Pär Zetterberg, Swedish footballer
- 1971 – Jorge Costa, Portuguese footballer and manager
- 1971 – Robert Jaworski, Jr., Filipino basketball player and politician
- 1972 – Erika de Lone, American tennis player
- 1972 – Julian O'Neill, Australian rugby league player
- 1973 – Thom Brooks, American-British political philosopher and legal scholar
- 1973 – Lasha Zhvania, Georgian businessman and politician
- 1974 – Jessica Drake, American porn actress and director
- 1974 – Samuel José da Silva Vieira, Brazilian footballer
- 1974 – Natalie Maines, American singer-songwriter
- 1974 – Viktor Röthlin, Swiss runner
- 1974 – Shaggy 2 Dope, American rapper and producer
- 1974 – Tümer Metin, Turkish footballer
- 1975 – Michael Duberry, English footballer
- 1975 – Floyd Landis, American cyclist
- 1975 – Shaznay Lewis, English singer-songwriter
- 1975 – Carlos Spencer, New Zealand rugby player
- 1976 – Tillakaratne Dilshan, Sri Lankan cricketer
- 1976 – Nataša Kejžar, Slovenian swimmer
- 1976 – Henry Mateo, Dominican baseball player
- 1977 – Saeed Ajmal, Pakistani cricketer
- 1977 – Tina Dico, Danish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1977 – Joey Didulica, Australian-Croatian footballer and manager
- 1977 – Barry Ditewig, Dutch footballer
- 1977 – Jeffrey Garcia, American voice actor
- 1977 – Carl Johan Grimmark, Swedish guitarist
- 1977 – Kelly Schumacher, American-Canadian basketball and volleyball player
- 1978 – Justin Lee Brannan, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1978 – Ryan Church, American baseball player
- 1978 – Paul Hunter, English snooker player (d. 2006)
- 1978 – Jana Macurová, Czech tennis player
- 1978 – Steven Thompson, Scottish footballer
- 1978 – Usher, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actor
- 1978 – Javon Walker, American football player
- 1979 – Stacy Keibler, American wrestler and actress
- 1979 – Liina-Grete Lilender, Estonian figure skater and coach
- 1980 – Paúl Ambrosi, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1980 – Amjad Khan, Danish-English cricketer
- 1980 – Scott Kooistra, American football player
- 1980 – Niels Lodberg, Danish footballer
- 1980 – Terrence McGee, American football player
- 1981 – Boof Bonser, American baseball player
- 1981 – Gautam Gambhir, Indian cricketer
- 1982 – Ryan Hall, American runner
- 1982 – Matt Roth, American football player
- 1983 – Lin Dan, Chinese badminton player
- 1983 – Betty Heidler, German hammer thrower
- 1983 – Abdelaziz Khourdifi, Moroccan short story writer
- 1984 – LaRon Landry, American football player
- 1984 – Alex Scott, English footballer
- 1985 – Alexandre Sarnes Negrão, Brazilian race car driver
- 1986 – Tom Craddock, English footballer
- 1986 – Skyler Shaye, American actress
- 1988 – Will Atkinson, English footballer
- 1988 – Glenn Maxwell, Australian cricketer
- 1988 – Mario Titone, Italian footballer
- 1989 – Mia Wasikowska, Australian actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1990 – Jordan Clark, English cricketer
- 1992 – Ahmed Musa, Nigerian footballer
- 1992 – Savannah Outen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1993 – Ashton Agar, Australian cricketer
- 1994 – Joe Burgess, English rugby league player
- 1994 – Jaelen Feeney, Australian rugby league player
- 1999 – Laura Zeng, American rhythmic gymnast
Births[edit]
- 1066 – Harold Godwinson, English king (b. 1022)
- 1066 – Leofwine Godwinson, English son of Godwin, Earl of Wessex (b. 1035)
- 1092 – Nizam al-Mulk, Persian scholar and politician (b. 1018)
- 1256 – Kujō Yoritsugu, Japanese shogun (b. 1239)
- 1318 – Edward Bruce, Irish king (b. 1280)
- 1552 – Oswald Myconius, Swiss theologian and reformer (b. 1488)
- 1565 – Thomas Chaloner, English poet and politician (b. 1521)
- 1568 – Jacques Arcadelt, Dutch singer and composer (b. 1507)
- 1610 – Amago Yoshihisa, Japanese daimyo (b. 1540)
- 1619 – Samuel Daniel, English poet and historian (b. 1562)
- 1637 – Gabriello Chiabrera, Italian poet (b. 1552)
- 1669 – Antonio Cesti, Italian organist and composer (b. 1623)
- 1703 – Thomas Kingo, Danish bishop and poet (b. 1634)
- 1711 – Tewoflos, Ethiopian emperor (b. 1708)
- 1758 – James Francis Edward Keith, Scottish-Prussian field marshal (b. 1696)
- 1792 – Sophie Charlotte Ackermann, German actress (b. 1714)
- 1831 – Jean-Louis Pons, French astronomer and educator (b. 1761)
- 1880 – Victorio, Mexican tribal chief (b. 1825)
- 1911 – John Marshall Harlan, American lawyer and politician (b. 1833)
- 1923 – Marcellus Emants, Dutch-Swiss author, poet, and playwright (b. 1848)
- 1929 – Henri Berger, German composer and bandleader (b. 1844)
- 1930 – Samuel van Houten, Dutch lawyer and politician, Dutch Minister of the Interior (b. 1837)
- 1942 – Noboru Yamaguchi, Japanese mob boss (b. 1902)
- 1943 – Sobibór uprising:
- Rudolf Beckmann, German SS officer (b. 1910)
- Siegfried Graetschus, German sergeant (b. 1916)
- Johann Niemann, German lieutenant (b. 1913)
- 1944 – Erwin Rommel, German field marshal (b. 1891)
- 1953 – Émile Sarrade, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (b. 1877)
- 1953 – Kyuichi Tokuda, Japanese lawyer and politician (b. 1894)
- 1958 – Douglas Mawson, Australian geologist, academic, and explorer (b. 1882)
- 1959 – Jack Davey, New Zealand-Australian singer and radio host (b. 1907)
- 1959 – Errol Flynn, Australian-American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1909)
- 1959 – Genzo Kurita, Japanese serial killer (b. 1926)
- 1960 – Abram Ioffe, Russian physicist and academic (b. 1880)
- 1961 – Paul Ramadier, French politician, 129th Prime Minister of France (b. 1888)
- 1961 – Harriet Shaw Weaver, English journalist and activist (b. 1876)
- 1965 – William Hogenson, American sprinter (b. 1884)
- 1965 – Randall Jarrell, American poet and author (b. 1914)
- 1967 – Marcel Aymé, French author and playwright (b. 1902)
- 1969 – Haguroyama Masaji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 36th Yokozuna (b. 1914)
- 1969 – August Sang, Estonian poet and translator (b. 1914)
- 1973 – Edmund A. Chester, American journalist and broadcaster (b. 1897)
- 1973 – Ahmed Hamdi, Egyptian general and engineer (b. 1929)
- 1976 – Edith Evans, English actress (b. 1888)
- 1977 – Bing Crosby, American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1903)
- 1982 – Louis Rougier, French philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1889)
- 1983 – Johannes O., Indonesian-Dutch physician and murderer (b. 1916)
- 1983 – Willard Price, Canadian-American historian and author (b. 1887)
- 1984 – Martin Ryle, English astronomer and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
- 1985 – Emil Gilels, Ukrainian-Russian pianist (b. 1916)
- 1986 – Keenan Wynn, American actor (b. 1916)
- 1986 – Takahiko Yamanouchi, Japanese physicist (b. 1902)
- 1990 – Leonard Bernstein, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1918)
- 1997 – Harold Robbins, American author (b. 1915)
- 1998 – Cleveland Amory, American author and activist (b. 1917)
- 1998 – Frankie Yankovic, American accordion player (b. 1916)
- 1999 – Julius Nyerere, Tanzanian educator and politician, 1st President of Tanzania (b. 1922)
- 2000 – Art Coulter, Canadian-American ice hockey player (b. 1909)
- 2000 – Tony Roper, American race car driver (b. 1964)
- 2002 – Norbert Schultze, German composer and conductor (b. 1911)
- 2003 – Patrick Dalzel-Job, English linguist, commander, and navigator (b. 1913)
- 2004 – Vlassis Bonatsos, Greek actor and singer (b. 1949)
- 2006 – Jared Anderson, American singer and bass player (b. 1975)
- 2006 – Chun Wei Cheung, Dutch rower (b. 1972)
- 2006 – Freddy Fender, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1937)
- 2006 – Maurice Grosse, English paranormal investigator (b. 1919)
- 2006 – Nancy Lynn, American pilot (b. 1956)
- 2006 – Klaas Runia, Dutch theologian and journalist (b. 1926)
- 2006 – Gerry Studds, American educator and politician (b. 1937)
- 2007 – Big Moe, American rapper (b. 1974)
- 2008 – Robert Furman, American engineer and intelligence officer (b. 1915)
- 2008 – Kazys Petkevičius, Lithuanian basketball player and coach (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Lou Albano, Italian-American wrestler, manager, and actor (b. 1933)
- 2009 – Martyn Sanderson, New Zealand actor and screenwriter (b. 1938)
- 2009 – Collin Wilcox, American actress (b. 1935)
- 2010 – Simon MacCorkindale, English actor, director, and producer (b. 1952)
- 2010 – Benoit Mandelbrot, Polish-American mathematician and economist (b. 1924)
- 2011 – Reg Alcock, Canadian businessman and politician (b. 1948)
- 2011 – Ashawna Hailey, American computer scientist and philanthropist (b. 1949)
- 2012 – Kyle Bennett, American BMX racer (b. 1979)
- 2012 – John Clive, English actor and author (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Max Fatchen, Australian journalist and author (b. 1920)
- 2012 – James R. Grover, Jr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Larry Sloan, American publisher, co-founded Price Stern Sloan (b. 1922)
- 2012 – Arlen Specter, American lieutenant and politician (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Dody Weston Thompson, American photographer (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Gart Westerhout, Dutch-American astronomer and academic (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Wally Bell, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1965)
- 2013 – Max Cahner, German-Catalan historian and politician (b. 1936)
- 2013 – Kōichi Iijima, Japanese author and poet (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Jan Kubíček, Czech constructivist painter and sculptor (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Bruno Metsu, French footballer and manager (b. 1954)
- 2013 – Frank Moore, American painter and poet (b. 1946)
- 2013 – Käty van der Mije-Nicolau, Romanian-Dutch chess player (b. 1940)
- 2014 – A. H. Halsey, English sociologist and academic (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Leonard Liggio, American author and academic (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Isaiah "Ikey" Owens, American keyboard player and producer (b. 1975)
- 2014 – Elizabeth Peña, American actress (b. 1959)
- 2015 – Nurlan Balgimbayev, Kazakh politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Kazakhstan (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Mathieu Kérékou, Beninese soldier and politician, President of Benin (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Margaret Keyes, American historian and academic (b. 1918)
- 2015 – Radhakrishna Hariram Tahiliani, Indian admiral (b. 1930)
- 2016 – Helen Kelly, New Zealand trade union leader (b. 1964)
Deaths[edit]
- Christian feast day:
- Day of the Cathedral of Living Pillar (Georgian Orthodox Church)
- Mother's Day (Belarus)
- National Education Day (Poland), formerly Teachers' Day
- Nyerere Day (Tanzania)
- Second Revolution Day (Yemen)
- World Standards Day (International)
- Defender of Ukraine Day (Ukraine)
Holidays and observances[edit]
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
===
Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
Genuine, spiritual mourning for sin is the work of the Spirit of God. Repentance is too choice a flower to grow in nature's garden. Pearls grow naturally in oysters, but penitence never shows itself in sinners except divine grace works it in them. If thou hast one particle of real hatred for sin, God must have given it thee, for human nature's thorns never produced a single fig. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh."
True repentance has a distinct reference to the Saviour. When we repent of sin, we must have one eye upon sin and another upon the cross, or it will be better still if we fix both our eyes upon Christ and see our transgressions only, in the light of his love.
True sorrow for sin is eminently practical. No man may say he hates sin, if he lives in it. Repentance makes us see the evil of sin, not merely as a theory, but experimentally--as a burnt child dreads fire. We shall be as much afraid of it, as a man who has lately been stopped and robbed is afraid of the thief upon the highway; and we shall shun it--shun it in everything--not in great things only, but in little things, as men shun little vipers as well as great snakes. True mourning for sin will make us very jealous over our tongue, lest it should say a wrong word; we shall be very watchful over our daily actions, lest in anything we offend, and each night we shall close the day with painful confessions of shortcoming, and each morning awaken with anxious prayers, that this day God would hold us up that we may not sin against him.
Sincere repentance is continual. Believers repent until their dying day. This dropping well is not intermittent. Every other sorrow yields to time, but this dear sorrow grows with our growth, and it is so sweet a bitter, that we thank God we are permitted to enjoy and to suffer it until we enter our eternal rest.
Evening
"Love is strong as death."
Song of Solomon 8:6
Song of Solomon 8:6
Whose love can this be which is as mighty as the conqueror of monarchs, the destroyer of the human race? Would it not sound like satire if it were applied to my poor, weak, and scarcely living love to Jesus my Lord? I do love him, and perhaps by his grace, I could even die for him, but as for my love in itself, it can scarcely endure a scoffing jest, much less a cruel death. Surely it is my Beloved's love which is here spoken of--the love of Jesus, the matchless lover of souls. His love was indeed stronger than the most terrible death, for it endured the trial of the cross triumphantly. It was a lingering death, but love survived the torment; a shameful death, but love despised the shame; a penal death, but love bore our iniquities; a forsaken, lonely death, from which the eternal Father hid his face, but love endured the curse, and gloried over all. Never such love, never such death. It was a desperate duel, but love bore the palm. What then, my heart? Hast thou no emotions excited within thee at the contemplation of such heavenly affection? Yes, my Lord, I long, I pant to feel thy love flaming like a furnace within me. Come thou thyself and excite the ardour of my spirit.
"For every drop of crimson blood
Thus shed to make me live,
O wherefore, wherefore have not I
A thousand lives to give?"
Why should I despair of loving Jesus with a love as strong as death? He deserves it: I desire it. The martyrs felt such love, and they were but flesh and blood, then why not I? They mourned their weakness, and yet out of weakness were made strong. Grace gave them all their unflinching constancy--there is the same grace for me. Jesus, lover of my soul, shed abroad such love, even thy love in my heart, this evening.
===
Today's reading: Isaiah 41-42, 1 Thessalonians 1 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Isaiah 41-42
The Helper of Israel
1 “Be silent before me, you islands!
Let the nations renew their strength!
Let them come forward and speak;
let us meet together at the place of judgment.
Let the nations renew their strength!
Let them come forward and speak;
let us meet together at the place of judgment.
2 “Who has stirred up one from the east,
calling him in righteousness to his service?
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust with his sword,
to windblown chaff with his bow.
3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,
by a path his feet have not traveled before.
4 Who has done this and carried it through,
calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the LORD—with the first of them
and with the last—I am he.”
calling him in righteousness to his service?
He hands nations over to him
and subdues kings before him.
He turns them to dust with his sword,
to windblown chaff with his bow.
3 He pursues them and moves on unscathed,
by a path his feet have not traveled before.
4 Who has done this and carried it through,
calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the LORD—with the first of them
and with the last—I am he.”
5 The islands have seen it and fear;
the ends of the earth tremble.
They approach and come forward;
6 they help each other
and say to their companions, “Be strong!”
7 The metalworker encourages the goldsmith,
and the one who smooths with the hammer
spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.
One says of the welding, “It is good.”
The other nails down the idol so it will not topple....
the ends of the earth tremble.
They approach and come forward;
6 they help each other
and say to their companions, “Be strong!”
7 The metalworker encourages the goldsmith,
and the one who smooths with the hammer
spurs on the one who strikes the anvil.
One says of the welding, “It is good.”
The other nails down the idol so it will not topple....
Today's New Testament reading: 1 Thessalonians 1
1 Paul, Silas and Timothy,
To the church of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ:
Grace and peace to you.
Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians’ Faith
2 We always thank God for all of you and continually mention you in our prayers. 3 We remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.
4 For we know, brothers and sisters loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6You became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in Macedonia and Achaia. 8 The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia—your faith in God has become known everywhere. Therefore we do not need to say anything about it, 9 for they themselves report what kind of reception you gave us. They tell how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, 10 and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead—Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.
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Balak, Balac
[Bā'lăk,Bā'lăc] - waster, emptying ordestroys. The King of Moab, and son of Zipper who hired Balaam to curse Israel when, toward the end of their wilderness journeyings they were in Balak's territory (Num. 22; 23; 24; Judg. 11:25; Micah 6:5). Like Balaam, Balak also lives to the end of the Bible. Balac is the Greek form of Balak (Rev. 2:14 ). Revealing the superstition of the human mind, Balak had recourse to supernatural help and sought out Balaam, the soothsayer of Pethor - a man of divination with power to bless and curse, the Simon Magus of his day. How deceived Balak was when he thought he could sow the air with curses which would work where his sword could not reach!
[Bā'lăk,Bā'lăc] - waster, emptying ordestroys. The King of Moab, and son of Zipper who hired Balaam to curse Israel when, toward the end of their wilderness journeyings they were in Balak's territory (Num. 22; 23; 24; Judg. 11:25; Micah 6:5). Like Balaam, Balak also lives to the end of the Bible. Balac is the Greek form of Balak (Rev. 2:14 ). Revealing the superstition of the human mind, Balak had recourse to supernatural help and sought out Balaam, the soothsayer of Pethor - a man of divination with power to bless and curse, the Simon Magus of his day. How deceived Balak was when he thought he could sow the air with curses which would work where his sword could not reach!
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