Turnbull is persevering with a same sex marriage plebiscite without persevering for free speech first. But without free speech, no plebiscite can be valid. A Tasmanian sex discrimination advocate, Robin Banks, has demonstrated that after denouncing a Catholic Cleric for stating a simple defence for the 'no' case for same sex marriage, in line with his faith.
=== from 2015 ===
Australian Football League (AFL, Aussie Rules) had her grand final today. Hawthorn squared off against West Coast Eagles. The contest was very one sided. Had the Sydney Swans played better in the post season, not a lot better, but just with more focus and discipline, fewer imaginary spears thrown at the audience, they would have been humbled by Hawthorn. Last year, Swans only achieved Hawthorn's half time score by full time. West Coast bettered that this year. But not by enough to threaten the victors, 107-61. A terrible killing in Parramatta, outside the police headquarters there, mirrors multiple slaying in the US earlier in the day. In the US, a young man from the UK, who identified as Muslim, who had failed basic training for the US army in '08, killed people at a community college, asking them if they were Christian and shooting them in the head if they said yes. In Australia, a fifteen year old boy who had migrated as a refugee, found a person leaving police headquarters for home, following the end of work. The boy had visited mosque on the way to walking up behind the civilian and shooting him in the head. Then the boy called out to Allah several times, faced the open door of the police headquarters and shot at people emerging from it. Police special officers, at great risk to themselves, shot the 15 year old dead. The victim of the execution, whom had been leaving work, was a seventeen year civilian accountant, married, father of two.
Clearly the intention of jihadis is to cause fear. They do so with precision, claiming as reason, excuses which inflame situations. But the excuses are not real. Not like the lives of the victims. But one would not know that, were they to hear Obama or Turnbull speak on the issue. According to Obama, prayer has failed and now alternatives must be sought. According to Turnbull, the Islamic community needs to be consulted. Except the Islamic community claims not to be the problem and prayer is not the issue. There is a disconnect with bad leaders pointing to simple answers that don't address the issues. The truth is the civilian tax accountant working for the police was killed randomly so as to threaten every sensible person. His death brings Islam into disrepute and is a powerful curse on all who approve it. But Obama and Turnbull are moving to exploit the tragedy, but giving credit to terrorists in doing so, by claiming their cause had more merit than the lives they took. They should try prayer.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
From 2014
Particular issue
Australia has declared war on ISIL after the PM convened a meeting of Australia's security council and obtained authority to use aircraft, bombs and special forces in Iraq. It is said the first casualty of war is truth, and immediately the ALP claimed to support the effort, and Greens opposed it. There is nothing wrong with either sentiment, except neither ALP nor Greens are honest about their representation of what war means. Greens are claiming there is no assurance that civilians won't be casualties and ALP are littered with members who are Green. ALP have created a machinery by which words are restricted in Australia.
Words are the medium by which ideas are spread. They are restricted only by those who threaten free democracy. ALP have provided 18c which has operated to limit criticism, but not outrageous racist attacks. So that Jews have been targeted for vitriol and abuse and none have been prosecuted, but Andrew Bolt has been convicted of a technicality. Liberal Dean Smith is right to promote free speech by suggesting the alteration or repeal of the act. No ALP member of parliament has. Mr Abbott had shelved the change because ALP and Greens oppose change.
The guardians of 18c is the Human Rights Council of Australia which have transgressed a number of times on substantial issues. Sarah Hanson-Young has spread lies claiming sexual exploitation of boat children. She has not apologised for it or retracted it. Neither has the head of the HRC Gillian Triggs for her lies regarding boat people. Why is the sex discrimination commissioner silent on the Burqa? A Burqa can be worn in parliament, but not Speedos. Unless they are worn inside the Burqa.
The left keep promoting items that dream of killing and terrorism in support of their ideals. It is dangerous as their followers are often very weak mentally. Waleed Aly is not an apologist for Islam, but terror. Burqa or Niqab are not at issue in Australia, but cross dressing terrorists killing people who don't know basic Islamic details is a serious issue. Clothing is not religious, but cultural. FGM is not religious either. Neither is misogyny religious. Waleed does not speak for others, but excuses activity without connecting to explain why it exists. Yet he is protected by 18c in ways in which a Jewish man speaking openly about issues that affect them is not. Such an ethnocentric view is clearly something which 18c is supposed to address, and yet it exacerbates it.
Australia is at war, and the UN details terror activity of ISIL. But the battle being fought in Australia is cultural and the specific terrorist activity in the middle east is not the same as that being fought here. An article of clothing is not important. Australia has freedoms. Australia also has customs, like school uniforms and civic duty which means that a policeman or security official could reasonably ask for a person's identity. Risibly, one Islamo Fascist family member refused to identify themselves and took a policeman to court, gloating they had behaved badly. People toss around words like segregation and apartheid when they don't apply. Security arrangements particular to some places, like a parliament, are reasonable in a time of heightened terror alert or war. Whereas peace time apartheid is abhorrent, as South Africa showed before fragmenting.
Mixed issues
Have Palmer's senators dropped him in it? He pushed for an attack on Campbell Newman. But the inquiry looks like being redirected to investigate Palmer. McGowan looks to have criminally negotiated supporters to steal votes and should face jail time if it is proven. Tourism danger, the killing of a couple in Thailand. David and Hannah were enjoying a holiday before they were apparently killed by a Myanmar couple of friends who were strangers to David and Hannah but who frequented the same bar that evening. Aggravating the investigation was the insensitive (stupid) comments by the illegitimate Thai PM who criticised Hannah's bikini. CFMEU Secretary caught lying to Royal Commission, attempting to shield mates. Gillard had been given a mandate in '07 to roll back Work Choices, but not to approve workplace corruption.
Australia has declared war on ISIL after the PM convened a meeting of Australia's security council and obtained authority to use aircraft, bombs and special forces in Iraq. It is said the first casualty of war is truth, and immediately the ALP claimed to support the effort, and Greens opposed it. There is nothing wrong with either sentiment, except neither ALP nor Greens are honest about their representation of what war means. Greens are claiming there is no assurance that civilians won't be casualties and ALP are littered with members who are Green. ALP have created a machinery by which words are restricted in Australia.
Words are the medium by which ideas are spread. They are restricted only by those who threaten free democracy. ALP have provided 18c which has operated to limit criticism, but not outrageous racist attacks. So that Jews have been targeted for vitriol and abuse and none have been prosecuted, but Andrew Bolt has been convicted of a technicality. Liberal Dean Smith is right to promote free speech by suggesting the alteration or repeal of the act. No ALP member of parliament has. Mr Abbott had shelved the change because ALP and Greens oppose change.
The guardians of 18c is the Human Rights Council of Australia which have transgressed a number of times on substantial issues. Sarah Hanson-Young has spread lies claiming sexual exploitation of boat children. She has not apologised for it or retracted it. Neither has the head of the HRC Gillian Triggs for her lies regarding boat people. Why is the sex discrimination commissioner silent on the Burqa? A Burqa can be worn in parliament, but not Speedos. Unless they are worn inside the Burqa.
The left keep promoting items that dream of killing and terrorism in support of their ideals. It is dangerous as their followers are often very weak mentally. Waleed Aly is not an apologist for Islam, but terror. Burqa or Niqab are not at issue in Australia, but cross dressing terrorists killing people who don't know basic Islamic details is a serious issue. Clothing is not religious, but cultural. FGM is not religious either. Neither is misogyny religious. Waleed does not speak for others, but excuses activity without connecting to explain why it exists. Yet he is protected by 18c in ways in which a Jewish man speaking openly about issues that affect them is not. Such an ethnocentric view is clearly something which 18c is supposed to address, and yet it exacerbates it.
Australia is at war, and the UN details terror activity of ISIL. But the battle being fought in Australia is cultural and the specific terrorist activity in the middle east is not the same as that being fought here. An article of clothing is not important. Australia has freedoms. Australia also has customs, like school uniforms and civic duty which means that a policeman or security official could reasonably ask for a person's identity. Risibly, one Islamo Fascist family member refused to identify themselves and took a policeman to court, gloating they had behaved badly. People toss around words like segregation and apartheid when they don't apply. Security arrangements particular to some places, like a parliament, are reasonable in a time of heightened terror alert or war. Whereas peace time apartheid is abhorrent, as South Africa showed before fragmenting.
Mixed issues
Have Palmer's senators dropped him in it? He pushed for an attack on Campbell Newman. But the inquiry looks like being redirected to investigate Palmer. McGowan looks to have criminally negotiated supporters to steal votes and should face jail time if it is proven. Tourism danger, the killing of a couple in Thailand. David and Hannah were enjoying a holiday before they were apparently killed by a Myanmar couple of friends who were strangers to David and Hannah but who frequented the same bar that evening. Aggravating the investigation was the insensitive (stupid) comments by the illegitimate Thai PM who criticised Hannah's bikini. CFMEU Secretary caught lying to Royal Commission, attempting to shield mates. Gillard had been given a mandate in '07 to roll back Work Choices, but not to approve workplace corruption.
From 2013
Obama knew of the shutdown in advance .. he knew what he would, and would not accept. So his closing of a veteran pilgrimage brings to mind the Canterbury tales. Or, more precisely, Thomas Becket who had been made a saint. Thomas began his career as a friend of a man who would be king Henry II. Thomas was religious, and as Archbishop of Canterbury ruled against things King Henry wanted. Some of Henry's followers suggested Thomas wanted power, or was getting rich by being a stumbling block to the king. An exasperated King Henry said aloud "Won't someone rid me of this meddlesome priest" but made no order of it. Some knights took it upon themselves to rid Henry of Thomas, and breaking into the cathedral, they found Thomas praying, and cut him down, and rode away. The slaying of Thomas may have gone down as just a political power struggle, but for the fact that Thomas' body was found to be wearing a hair shirt. There is only one reason to wear a hair shirt, mortification of the flesh. A sign of submission to God. Thomas had not prospered in power or money from being an honest broker before God, and he didn't brag about his faith. Thomas was faithful, and his friend had misunderstood the decisions being made. Later, Thomas was made a saint and people would journey far to see Canterbury Cathedral on faith journeys.
This relates to Obama, who does not seem to understand why it is that Congress isn't allowing him to spend beyond the US debt limit of $17 trillion without a plan to cut back. Obama has shamefully manipulated so as to make the WW2 vets appear in opposition to sensible government. A rare example of money issues being placed in a moral category.
This relates to Obama, who does not seem to understand why it is that Congress isn't allowing him to spend beyond the US debt limit of $17 trillion without a plan to cut back. Obama has shamefully manipulated so as to make the WW2 vets appear in opposition to sensible government. A rare example of money issues being placed in a moral category.
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 Teena Ngan, Cynthia Lee and Ron Stitzinger. Born on the same day, across the years, along with 1610 – Gabriel Lalemant, French-Canadian missionary (d. 1649)
October 3: Yom Kippur begins at sunset (Judaism, 2014); National Day in Iraq (1932); National Foundation Day in South Korea
Today is a day to atone. Boris is third in charge. De Bono has invaded Abyssinia. A shot has been heard around the world. Morales was low after Oswaldo. Compassion has murdered many. But who cares when there is a party to go to?
Deaths
|
Tim Blair
Andrew Bolt
A CO-OPERATIVE AND INCLUSIVE KILLING
Tim Blair – Saturday, October 03, 2015 (12:04pm)
Malcolm Turnbull will seek to recast the government’s relationship with Muslims through more co-operative and inclusive policies …The move, which represents a departure from the policies of the Abbott government, will be embraced by the country’s Muslims, according to community leader and GP Jamal Rifi …He said the Muslim community was “elated” at Mr Turnbull becoming Prime Minister … “Unfortunately, under the previous government we felt powerless,” Dr Rifi said.
The gunman who shot dead a police staffer was a 15-year-old who had visited Parramatta Mosqueon his way to commit murder.The teenager, a naturalised Australian who arrived with his family from Iran, had walked to the police headquarters in Charles Street from his home in North Parramatta before opening fire on a civilian police employee.The victim was identified as Curtis Cheng, a 17-year veteran of the police finance department, Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said today …Mr Scipione said the attack by a 15-year-old boy of Iranian background was “politically motivated”.“If it is politically motivated violence then it is deemed an act of terrorism,” Mr Scipione said …Witnesses have told The Saturday Telegraph that after shooting dead the civilian employee, the teenager ran up and down in front of police headquarters waving his handgun in the air and shouting: “Allah. Allah.”
Of course, Fairfax plays down the details:
The teenager shouted religious slogans before firing one shot in the back of the head of a police finance worker as the employee was heading home on Friday afternoon.
And let’s hear from the Prime Minister:
Turnbull said the Muslim community would be “shocked and appalled” by the killing and issued a warning against vilifying or shaming the community for the actions of “a very, very small percentage”.
That’s some great inclusiveness there, Malcolm.
UPDATE. The murderer’s name: Farad Jabar Khalil Mohammad.
THE FORBIDDEN ROBES OF PARRAMATTA
Tim Blair – Saturday, October 03, 2015 (3:05am)
A sensational example of non-journalism from the Guardian‘s Calla Wahlquist in her rolling coverage of yesterday’s murder of a police IT officer in Sydney:
I won’t go into reports about what the man identified by eyewitnesses as carrying a gun was wearingor what he looked like.
Holding back on speculation about the killer’s name is understandable, given that police have to this point not supplied details. Understandable, too – perhaps, if you’re excessively sensitive – is not reporting the killer’s alleged “Middle Eastern appearance”. But why not report what he was wearing?
Witnesses said he was wearing a black robe. Is there a robe ban at the Guardian? Apparently not. The ban evidently only applies in live reports of Sydney shootings. Would the Guardian have described the killer’s attire if he’d been wearing a Pope hat?
Wahlquist was eventually forced to report the forbidden garment when NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione mentioned it in a briefing ("a flowing top") but the Guardian‘s subsequent news report maintained robe silence:
Earlier in the day, real estate agent Edwin Almeida told reporters said he saw a man with a gun screaming and pacing up and down outside the police headquarters, before seeing the man lying on the ground with a police officer pointing a gun at him.
In fact, Almeida offered further information:
“I saw the man wielding a handgun, dressed in black robes,” he said.
Which does not, of course, indicate any Islamic affiliation. We could just be dealing here with someone who simply liked wearing stupid clothes. By deleting that information the Guardian is engaging in a form of ethnic profiling.
UPDATE. An act of terrorism:
The gunman who shot dead a police staffer was a 15-year-old who had visited Parramatta Mosque on his way to commit murder.
Surprise, surprise.
BENNY HILL BODY COUNT RISES
Tim Blair – Saturday, October 03, 2015 (1:47am)
Amateur criminologist Clementine Ford makes a connection:
This is about recognising the causal links between sexist jokes and attitudes and the fact that approximately 60 women have been murdered by men in Australia this year alone.
Ford’s claim vastly diminishes the horror of those deaths. Just as well, for her sake, she’s too stupid to know that. By the way, are Clementine’s jokes about her abortions linked to further murders of the unborn?
UPDATE. Caleb Bond, a gifted and thoughtful young writer, yesterday endured online hatred following this excellent piece in the Daily Telegraph. One of the less vicious responses came from A Current Affair‘s Stephanie Jeanes, who isn’t much older than Caleb himself:
So “life experience” is now a good thing. Interesting. Tell it to the aborted kids, Stephanie.
So “life experience” is now a good thing. Interesting. Tell it to the aborted kids, Stephanie.
FEAR OF RUSSIA? THAT’S SO 1962
Tim Blair – Saturday, October 03, 2015 (1:42am)
On The Bolt Report tomorrow, October 4 - rejigged version
Andrew Bolt October 03 2015 (7:46am)
Friday morning:
Editorial: The latest Islamist attack. Is Turnbull right to soften Abbott’s language?
My guest: Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.
The panel: Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger and former Labor national president Warren Mundine.
NewsWatch: Sharri Markson, media editor of The Australian. Will this new government confront the ABC over its latest sliming?
And why on earth is this government banning an anti-abortionist from speaking here? What ban Chris Brown? Has power gone to some heads? And this farcical bid to join the UN Human Rights Council.
The videos of the shows appear here.
===Friday afternoon:
On Channel 10 tomorrow at 10am and 3pm.
Editorial: The latest Islamist attack. Is Turnbull right to soften Abbott’s language?
My guest: Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.
The panel: Victorian Liberal president Michael Kroger and former Labor national president Warren Mundine.
NewsWatch: Sharri Markson, media editor of The Australian. Will this new government confront the ABC over its latest sliming?
And why on earth is this government banning an anti-abortionist from speaking here? What ban Chris Brown? Has power gone to some heads? And this farcical bid to join the UN Human Rights Council.
The videos of the shows appear here.
They won’t tell you. UPDATE: Yes, Muslim extremist
Andrew Bolt October 03 2015 (7:11am)
ABC AM withholds two details when describing the gunman who killed a police employee in Parramatta yesterday:
What else does the media Left suppress in case you jump to conclusions of which it does not approve?
UPDATE
Police confirm:
Who let the in the boy and his family? Who put us at risk?
UPDATE
The shooting occurred just a few hours after Malcolm Turnbull signalled a softening, suggesting Tony Abbott was an extremist on terrorism:
===The gunman dressed in black clothing....The Guardian‘s Calla Wahlquist is even explicit in omitting these same two details:
I won’t go into reports about what the man identified by eyewitnesses as carrying a gun was wearing or what he looked like.Tim Blair is astonished by this deliberate non-reporting:
Holding back on speculation about the killer’s name is understandable, given that police have to this point not supplied details. Understandable, too – perhaps, if you’re excessively sensitive – is not reporting the killer’s alleged “Middle Eastern appearance”. But why not report what he was wearing? Witnesses said he was wearing a black robe. Is there a robe ban at the Guardian?Police confirmed the gunman had a “flowing top”, described as “robes” by an eyewitness.
What else does the media Left suppress in case you jump to conclusions of which it does not approve?
UPDATE
Police confirm:
Police sources say the gunman who shot dead a New South Wales police civilian employee was a 15-year-old radicalised youth of Middle Eastern background.And:
The Daily Telegraph reports the boy had visited the Parramatta Mosque before the deadly shooting and shouted religious slogans before opening fire.And:
The teenager shouted religious slogans before firing one shot in the back of the head of a police IT worker as the employee was heading home on Friday afternoon.The killer was an Iraqi Kurd, born in Iran, and NSW police commissioner Andrew Scipione said the crime was “politically motivated” and was therefore terrorism.
Who let the in the boy and his family? Who put us at risk?
UPDATE
The shooting occurred just a few hours after Malcolm Turnbull signalled a softening, suggesting Tony Abbott was an extremist on terrorism:
Malcolm Turnbull will seek to recast the government’s relationship with Muslims through more co-operative and inclusive policies after warnings from security agencies that relations with the Islamic community have sunk to their lowest ebb.As I said at the time, just before the shooting:
The move will see the new Prime Minister avoid the blunt and often divisive language used by his predecessor Tony Abbott… He is expected in coming weeks to emphasise the need to work co-operatively with the Muslim community in order to rout extremists and extremist ideology from communities.... The move ... will be embraced by the country’s Muslims, according to community leader and GP Jamal Rifi… Dr Rifi said Mr Abbott had alienated many in the Muslim community through poor choice of words. These included his comment in February that he wished more Muslim leaders would describe Islam as a religion of peace and mean it, and his use of terms such as “Team Australia” and “death cult”.
If a retreat from speaking the truth is seen as an advance, we are in trouble…
Turnbull ... won’t even describe the Islamic State as the “death cult” it is for fear of seeming “divisive”?
Uh oh. This is all based on the notion that so many leaders around the world have toyed with, only to be defeated by experience. They feel that if they come with ingratiating smiles and weasel words and cringing submission that the radicals will be mollified. They feel that the key to this is a nicer “us”. Oh, and to ensure a nicer us there must be laws, of course, to punish harshly those who aren’t yet submissive enough.
The Left wants Turnbull to stop the culture war. He can’t
Andrew Bolt October 03 2015 (3:17am)
Fairfax writer Judith Ireland has the Left’s typically outsized faith in the power of politicians - specifically, here, in the power of Malcolm Turnbull to call off the “culture war” that so disconcerts the Left:
===Could Turnbull’s prime ministership be the circuit breaker we’ve been looking for, then? As someone who has danced between camps, he has a unique opportunity to ditch the culture war. Sure, these conflicts are kept alive by non-politicians in radio studios, column inches and 140 character pot shots, but they get their munitions from the top.We do? I remember in 2009 how both Labor and the Liberals were led by politicians preaching global warming alarmism and a kind of carbon tax. Yet both leaders were destroyed over the next year in the culture war they did not want on that issue.
Obama and his media cheerleaders humiliated by Russia
Andrew Bolt October 03 2015 (2:57am)
James Morrow has a question: Does the New York Times still stand by its 2012 comments on Russia?
===More serious, though, is that President Barack Obama himself thought the very idea of a Russian strategic threat was ludicrous:
But this week Russian President Vladimir Putin made Obama seem a fool and his media cheerleaders merely partisan hacks. Worse, he made America seem weak. Greg Sheridan:
Obama: When you were asked what’s the biggest geopolitical threat facing America, you said ‘Russia,’ not Al Qaeda, you said ‘Russia.’ The nineteen eighties are now calling to ask for their foreign-policy back, because the cold war has been over for twenty years.
This week Vladimir Putin comprehensively humiliated Barack Obama at the UN.
The contrast could not be starker. The US President spoke overtime, for more than 45 minutes, but did nothing. The Russian President spoke for 20 minutes and transformed the strategic environment in the Middle East.
Obama lectured Putin in public and in private, telling him not to intervene militarily in Syria.
Putin listened politely enough, then speedily launched bombing raids in Syria.
Putin said any Russian intervention in Syria would be directed against Islamic State forces. In fact,… it seems the strikes were mostly in locations where Islamic State is not a significant presence. They allegedly hit some rebel forces trained and approved by the Americans…
Putin’s military move was accompanied by diplomatic gains. Russia, Iran, the Syrian regime of Bashar al-Assad and the government of Iraq, notionally allied to the US, have joined in an intelligence-sharing arrangement against Islamic State. The Baghdad government approved the use of Iraqi airspace by Russian planes and Russian personnel will be stationed at an intelligence facility in Baghdad.
The Russian moves transform strategic calculations in Syria and have left Washington completely flat-footed and almost irrelevant. The Russians now control the Syrian narrative. Nikolas Gvosdev in The National Interest draws an even more alarming contrast between the strategic credibility of Russia and the US in Syria: “While Russia is prepared to use deadly force to defend its interests and its clients, those who have accepted Western patronage will not enjoy such support”.
Obama has become that most grotesque of strategic players — an impotent enemy and a dangerous friend.
Turnbull’s summit excluded taxpayers. No wonder it loved tax rises
Andrew Bolt October 03 2015 (2:46am)
Terry McCrann on Malcolm Turnbull’s successful mini-summit - successful because no opposition was invited:
===Malcolm Turnbull’s mini-summit on Thursday .... was an exact representation of corporatism: government sitting down with the major interest groups to “decide things” in their shared best interests; oh, and in the best interests of the broader community and country, of course.
To use the softer designation, which seems to have fallen into disuse, the “peak bodies” of the unions, business both big and diverse, welfare recipients, the old and the young all took part. The only arguable departure from the pure corporatist model were Nick Cater from the Right’s Menzies Institute and the Left’s John Daley of the Grattan Institute.
But in Turnbull corporatist motivation the clear intent was to specifically exclude any troubling opposition: obviously, the formal (political) opposition, but also any opposition more generally.
Representatives from think tanks — left and right — who might have taken a more “unco-operative” line were excluded…
From all reports, it proved a resounding success. We reported yesterday that there was wide agreement on a “go-for-growth strategy”, and in a policy sense everything was “on the table”.
This included putting “back on the table” those things previously taken off by the former PM Tony Abbott and the former treasurer Joe Hockey and, indeed, even current Treasurer Scott Morrison, before he “got the memo” on “co-operation/corporatism”.
Those “returning to the table” things were all varieties of tax increases — principally, the superannuation tax concessions, capital gains tax and negative gearing concessions.
Consensus on this was hardly surprising. Representatives of those interests were not at the table on Thursday. And the interests that were are in the main “takers” from the taxpayer purse; so they are more than happy to vote for a fatter purse. This brings us to the bigger issue of who wasn’t there: the opposition and the general voter and taxpayer. Neither was reality.... Reality will also intrude on two intersecting levels: the ever-looming budget deficit and the global economic and financial backdrop.
What warming? Mind the cooling instead
Andrew Bolt October 03 2015 (12:18am)
I am not a scientist, so I merely note that David Evans is publishing work which he says explains the failure of the world to heat as the climate models predicted. And he says cooling is coming.
The first of his posts is here. And a precise from David;
===The first of his posts is here. And a precise from David;
Climate Scientists Misapplied Basic Physics
The basic climate model, the application of “basic physics” to climate, is why establishment climate scientists believe in the carbon dioxide theory, despite considerable contrary empirical evidence. Dating back to 1896, the model has two major architectural flaws. Fixing the model finds a much lower sensitivity to carbon dioxide—the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) overestimated future warming by a factor of five to ten. Less than 20% of the global warming of the last few decades was due to carbon dioxide.
Notch-Delay Solar Theory Predicts Cooling from 2017
Global temperatures will come off the current plateau into a sustained and significant cooling, beginning 2017 or maybe as late as 2021. The cooling will be about 0.3 °C in the 2020s, taking the planet back to the global temperature that prevailed in the 1980s. This was signaled (though not caused) by a fall in underlying solar radiation starting in 2004, one of the three largest falls since 1610 when records started. There is a delay of one sunspot cycle, currently 13 years (2004+13 = 2017).
Dr David Evans
Instrumental in building the carbon accounting system that Australia uses to estimate the carbon changes in its biosphere for the Kyoto Protocol, for the Australian Greenhouse Office. He earned six degrees related to modeling and applied mathematics over ten years, including a PhD from Stanford University. His wife’s blog at joannenova.com.au is the third biggest skeptic website in the world.
Netanyahu’s silence
Andrew Bolt October 02 2015 (10:02pm)
Said it all by saying nothing:
===Multilinguist needed
Andrew Bolt October 03 2014 (3:42pm)
Does any reader know what alphabet this signature is written in? Tried all the usual suspects:
Apologist Aly does it again
Andrew Bolt October 03 2014 (9:31am)
Waleed Aly, the ABC presenter and Age columnist, is arguably Australia’s most prominent apologist for Islamism. This requires certain techniques that we see displayed again in his column today:
Aly has once again constructed a narrative popular among extremists, too - of a wicked Australian Government at war with Muslims and persecuting them for no reason other than their prejudices.
These are dangerous and tense times, and Aly’s rhetoric is unforgivably reckless.
Note also: as so often before there is absolutely no mention whatsoever by Aly of the factor that makes Australians wary of Muslim Australia in a way they are not of the equally numerous Buddhist Australia. You know, the terrorism, the threats, the jihadists marching in Sydney streets, the stabbing of police?
Plus the sowing of resentments by the likes of Aly, of course.
===Even before the embarrassing backdown there were problems. For starters, it’s not a burqa. A burqa is that particularly Afghan garment, usually blue, with the mesh covering the eyes. The one you’ve seen on the news (or perhaps on Jacqui Lambie’s Facebook page), but almost certainly never in Australia.False reassurance. In fact, I’ve seen burqas worn near the Flemington housing commission flats and in a Bunnings hardware store in Hawthorn.
We’re talking about the niqab, common in the Gulf and worn by – my guess – a couple of hundred Australians. I have to guess, because we don’t even bother with such basic research...False reassurance. Just “a couple of hundred”? Really?:
Strip it all back and they’ve done nothing to invite this. They aren’t the ones charged with plotting “demonstration killings”. They aren’t the ones being busted carrying weapons or attacking police officers.True, but some have their sons join jihadists abroad, or are extremists who harass police:
They are, however, the ones most often assaulted or abused on the street or on public transport. They’re the ones whose freedom we try most to restrict.Pandering to victimology. What freedom have women in burqas and in niqabs actually had restricted here, other than by the costume itself?
In short, they become the symbolic target for our rage; the avatar we choose to represent a generalised enemy, and the threat it poses. In this, we obey what seems a diabolically universal principle: that whatever the outrage, whatever the fear, and whatever the cause, it is women that must suffer first and most.More victimology. In fact, of the 21 Muslims we have jailed for terrorism-related offences, not one is a woman. Of the Muslim Australians most often mentioned in the current debate on terrorism, not one is a woman. Try Mohammed Elomar and Khaled Sharrouf.
So perhaps you’ll forgive these women if they don’t come out in droves to thank Cory Bernardi for rescuing them from what he regards a “shroud of oppression” that “represents the repressive domination of men over women”.Reverse the scrutiny. Can Aly seriously deny the burqa and the niqab are oppressive, designed to limit the freedom of women?
Before the change of heart it was a burqa ban (see, even I’m doing it now) in Parliament House. The argument was about security, but it’s a thin pretext. If you need to identify someone entering the building, it’s dead easy to do: you take them aside to a private space and ask them to reveal their face for identification purposes. Then you subject them to the same screening as everyone else.Alarmism. And that is now exactly what will happen.
In fact, we already do this sort of thing in airports and secure buildings with no fuss at all. The only reason there’s a fuss now is that we’ve dreamt one up, as Abbott’s “mountain over a molehill” response suggests.False target. The proposed new rules in Parliament were not Abbott’s idea, were not run by Abbott and have been overruled by Abbott.
I can find only one isolated example of an Australian using the anonymity of a niqab to commit a crime. By a man.Evasion. The anonymity of the niqab has been used to protect a woman who falsely accused a police officer or racism and trying to remove her covering. In Britain a male terror suspect disguised himself in a burqa to evade police. In the US a (non-Muslim) man in a burqa allegedly tried to rob a bank. In Afghanistan, five terrorists disguised in burqasattacked an election centre. In Pakistan, suicide bombers disguised in burqas killed 41 people.
No, the security discourse is mere rhetorical camouflage. Peta Credlin advised her party’s anti-burqa brigade to mount their case in security terms – not because it is their primary concern, but because it was most likely to succeed.False accusation to demonise the Government. Credlin advised one Liberal not to make his case against the burqa on anything other than security grounds because that would inflame tensions. She has no wider ambition.
Now is when we find out what Team Australia really means. Now is when we discover if it’s designed to unify a diverse nation or to demonise the socially unpopular.Trivialisation and another appeal to victimology. Team Australia was never meant to merely “demonise the socially unpopular” but to marginalise jihadists seeking to physically harm us or other Muslims abroad.
Which team does he have in mind when he decided to share that he wishes the niqab “weren’t worn”? Given, on his own testimony, no niqabi has ever entered Parliament House, he knew that any ban would be symbolic. Before the backdown, it was merely a matter of which message he wanted to send. The one that upholds “our own best traditions”? Or the one that tells a minority they aren’t welcome in their own Parliament?Straw man and appeal to victimology. Abbott has made clear this week (again) he does not support any ban. He never had supported a ban. He did not back down since he never proposed what he’s overruled. Nor does Abbott want a minority to feel unwelcome in their own Parliament.
Aly has once again constructed a narrative popular among extremists, too - of a wicked Australian Government at war with Muslims and persecuting them for no reason other than their prejudices.
These are dangerous and tense times, and Aly’s rhetoric is unforgivably reckless.
Note also: as so often before there is absolutely no mention whatsoever by Aly of the factor that makes Australians wary of Muslim Australia in a way they are not of the equally numerous Buddhist Australia. You know, the terrorism, the threats, the jihadists marching in Sydney streets, the stabbing of police?
Plus the sowing of resentments by the likes of Aly, of course.
Dean Smith channels Julia Gillard - but in defence of freedom, not failure
Andrew Bolt October 03 2014 (9:25am)
Nicely put:
===LIBERAL senator Dean Smith, who has broken government ranks to support a renewed push to remove the shackles on free speech, says he refuses to be lectured by Bill Shorten on racism and xenophobia.
Adopting the language used by former prime minister Julia Gillard in her misogyny speech, Senator Smith said the Opposition Leader had accused him of wanting to “give the green light to racist hate speech’’.
”I will not be lectured on racism and xenophobia by this man, I will not,’’ he said. “I will not be lectured to about racism and xenophobia by a man who less than one month ago stood before a crowd of unionists on a flatbed truck in Adelaide and gave the most disgraceful, racist, xenophobic speech any Australian political leader has given in decades.’’
Outrage! You can wear a burqa in Parliament but not speedos
Andrew Bolt October 03 2014 (9:02am)
Many on the Left have made the same sneering point in defending the burqa and niqab:
Plibersek ignores one other way in which the two costumes are not alike. You can wear the burqa inside our Parliament but you cannot show up in just speedos.
Should we now have mass outrage about Parliament discriminating against one embattled culture? Protests about “cultural apartheid”?
Question: if it is fine to ban speedos from Parliament, why not the burqa?
===Deputy Labor leader Tanya Plibersek added: ”I’d prefer it if Tony Abbott didn’t get about in his speedos. But it’s a free country.”One of the most trivial of our Senators makes the same brainless point:
”If people want to start banning items of apparel, perhaps we could start with budgie-smugglers?” Senator Hanson-Young told AAP."I personally find them quite offensive.”Put to one side this stupid attempt to make a false moral equivalence between speedos (designed to make it easier to swim to someone’s rescue) and a burqa (design to make women invisible in public life).
Plibersek ignores one other way in which the two costumes are not alike. You can wear the burqa inside our Parliament but you cannot show up in just speedos.
Should we now have mass outrage about Parliament discriminating against one embattled culture? Protests about “cultural apartheid”?
Question: if it is fine to ban speedos from Parliament, why not the burqa?
Claims of abuse of boat children allegedly fabricated
Andrew Bolt October 03 2014 (8:39am)
Hands up anyone who’s surprised:
Save the Children denies the allegations.
UPDATE
I’ve posted many times - including today - about the dangerous propensity of the Left to feel entitled to do evil to fight what it loftily considers evil.
By the way, has the head of the Human Rights Commission, Gillian Triggs, yet apologised for her own false claims?
(Thanks to readers Correllio and Peter.)
===THE service provider paid to look after refugee children on the island of Nauru is alleged to have fabricated stories of abuse and using children as a human shield in protest activity.And who was fooled?
An intelligence report provided to the federal government has revealed that staff from the Save The Children organisation based at Nauru had also been involved in “encouraging and coaching” self-harm to “achieve evacuations to Australia”.
The Daily Telegraph understands that up to 10 employees of one of the country’s largest government-funded aid organisations have been removed from Nauru by the Department of Immigration following an intelligence report alleging some staff had been involved in a propaganda campaign to “manufacture” conditions to embarrass the Abbott government.
The Federal Police have also been called in to investigate the alleged misuse by staff of Save The Children of privileged information under section 70 of the Crimes Act. The alleged fabrications include manufactured cases of sexual abuse against children by security staff… The report also cites examples of staff deliberately fabricating abuse, posting it on social media and even providing detainees with cameras to “document protest activity”.
The intelligence report follows claims by Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young that children had been sexually abused by guards at the centre.UPDATE
Save the Children denies the allegations.
UPDATE
I’ve posted many times - including today - about the dangerous propensity of the Left to feel entitled to do evil to fight what it loftily considers evil.
By the way, has the head of the Human Rights Commission, Gillian Triggs, yet apologised for her own false claims?
Last month, for instance, she claimed “we’ve had reports that have been confirmed during the day that 10 women have attempted suicide” on Christmas Island.How can Triggs not have apologised? How can we believe a thing activists say about boat people?
False. There has been only one case of self-harm by a woman that could with any credibility be described as “attempted suicide”. And, no, Madam President, sipping some shampoo does not qualify.
Triggs also claimed last month she’d visited the detained children on Christmas Island and “almost all of them, including the adults, were coughing, were sick, were depressed, unable to communicate (and) weak”, which made her want to ask: “What’s going on? Why is this child not being treated?”
False again. Sick children are indeed being treated and the Government hotly disputes Triggs’ claim that almost every detained child on Christmas Island is sick…
Triggs insisted “the people on Christmas Island are being detained in a prison effectively” because on her three visits she had noticed “you cannot get into any of the sections without going through armed guards”.
That infuriated the Immigration Department secretary Martin Bowles, who protested at Triggs’ “emotive statements”.
“It is not fair to characterise the detention system as a jail,” he said, and Triggs should correct a falsehood.
“We do not have armed guards, President. I would like you to acknowledge that.” Triggs would not, despite being repeatedly challenged on her “facts”.
(Thanks to readers Correllio and Peter.)
Palmer’s Senators were warned his inquiry would be turned against him. Did they care?
Andrew Bolt October 03 2014 (8:33am)
I still believe the inquiry is a disgrace and illegitimate. But how wonderful if it really is turned against the buffoon who inspired it:
===THE only Coalition senator on the Palmer-initiated inquiry into the Queensland government wants to invite award-winning journalist Hedley Thomas to give evidence on Clive Palmer’s business and political dealings.Did some of Palmer’s Senators not care if he got skewered?:
Liberal National Party senator Ian Macdonald said he wanted to invite Thomas ... because “he might relish the opportunity of being a bit more expansive under parliamentary privilege’’ about Mr Palmer.
Greens Senator Larissa Waters, one of the five senators on the select committee to be led by Palmer United Party Senator Glenn Lazarus, said that when the inquiry was being established she let PUP Senators know Mr Palmer’s business interests were in the crosshairs…(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
Asked if Mr Palmer would feel doublecrossed, she said: “You’ll have to ask Mr Palmer that"…
Senior members of the Coalition have already sought advice from Clerk of the Senate Rosemary Laing and have been warned Mr Palmer would need to agree to be interrogated by the inquiry that he help set up. If Palmer refuses to be grilled by the committee, it gives ammunition to [Campbell] Newman, who will start ramping up his election campaign in a matter of months.
McGowan’s little helpers face some questions
Andrew Bolt October 03 2014 (8:26am)
The Left seems more prone to whatever-it-takes. I assume it’s because its members tend to think they are battling evil:
Did McGowan know of any of this?
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
===TWO lawyers who strongly backed independent Cathy McGowan to win the federal seat of Indi are among those in a confidential dossier of 27 alleged enrolment fraud cases referred to the Australian Federal Police yesterday.No doubt there’s an innocent explanation. Can’t wait to hear it.
One of the lawyers with close ties to Ms McGowan switched to Indi shortly before the electoral roll closed on August 12 last year after being enrolled in the federal seat of Melbourne since 2010…
Her social media output, deleted since the weekend, described plans for “Indi expats” to celebrate Ms McGowan’s narrow win at a bar in Melbourne in September last year, with the preferred venue in a city suburb “right below my place"…
A third voter under scrutiny is a person close to political contender Jennifer Podesta, who ran in the seat of Indi and directed preferences to Ms McGowan.
The person close to Ms Podesta, now Labor’s candidate for the seat of Benambra in the upcoming Victorian election, switched to Indi from a seat in Melbourne in June last year… AEC acting head Tom Rogers said police had been asked to investigate 27 voters in the Indi electorate, following reports in The Australian that revealed suspicious switches of enrolment by strong backers of Ms McGowan. The number may rise.
Did McGowan know of any of this?
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
The Left’s (subsidised) dreams of killing
Andrew Bolt October 03 2014 (8:08am)
The Left is the natural home of the closet totalitarian - and the barbarian.
Starring in Sydney’s ratepayer-funded Fringe Festival:
(Thanks to reader FreedomFeller.)
===Starring in Sydney’s ratepayer-funded Fringe Festival:
Kill The PMComing to Canberra, thanks to a $19,000 grant from the ACT Labor Government:
By Fregmonto Stokes…One evening four friends reunite in a dilapidated building on Elizabeth St. Within the hour a car containing the Prime Minister will drive past and, perhaps, one of these four will pull a trigger. Is it a revolutionary opportunity too good to miss or an egregious act with terrible consequences?
Kill Climate DeniersInvited to the taxpayer-funded Festival of Dangerous Ideas (but later cancelled after public outrage):
The scenario of the work sees an Australian environment minister confront an armed siege of the Australian Parliament by a group of eco-terrorists…
While we make no apologies for being urgently interested in the politics of climate change in Australia, the title of the piece points to the hyperbolic nature of the fictional scenario.
Is there a pattern here?
(Thanks to reader FreedomFeller.)
Why is the Sex Discrimination Commissioner silent on the burqa?
Andrew Bolt October 03 2014 (8:00am)
Somali-born Ayaan Hirsi Ali puts the feminist case against the burqa:
But the bigger question is why the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick, has nothing at all to say against the burqa or the niqab. Is there any item of clothing, other than a collar and leash, that more symbolises the subjugation of women?
Why this silence?
And, once again, I ask why we are funding a Human Rights Commission - escpecially one that has so often sided against freedom, that most precious of all our rights.
UPDATE
Reader The Evil Right is puzzled:
===We have a religion (Islam) that dictates exactly what the position of the woman is; it is at home, it’s with the children. She needs to cover her body to stop men from getting excited and aroused. That’s what we need to discuss as feminists. Are they fair? Or are they outdated and unjust? I want to argue they are outdated and they are unjust.Yet in Australia we have a Race Discrimination Commissioner who fights and fights for a costume designed to blot women out of public life:
Why this is an issue of “race” is unclear. Why the Race Discrimination Commissioner defends sexism is even more obscure.
But the bigger question is why the Sex Discrimination Commissioner, Elizabeth Broderick, has nothing at all to say against the burqa or the niqab. Is there any item of clothing, other than a collar and leash, that more symbolises the subjugation of women?
Why this silence?
And, once again, I ask why we are funding a Human Rights Commission - escpecially one that has so often sided against freedom, that most precious of all our rights.
UPDATE
Reader The Evil Right is puzzled:
Just so I get this right: The Left are up in arms about Australia “segregating” fundamentalist Muslim women who insist on being able to practice the tenets of their religion, which demands the “segregation” of women?
===
===
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WHICH ONE IS YOU? Look at the tree and choose the one that is immediately most appealing to you.
Don’t think about it too long, just choose, and find out
what your choice says about your personality. write down your choice in the comments.
The results!
1. You are a generous and moral (not to confuse with moralizing) person. You always work on self-improvement. You are very ambitious and have very high standards. People might think that communicating with you is difficult, but for you, it isn't easy to be who you are. You work very hard but you are not in the least selfish. You work because you want to improve the world. You have a great capacity to love people until they hurt you. But even after they do, you keep loving. Very few people can appreciate everything you do as well as you deserve.
2. You are a fun, honest person. You are very responsible and like taking care of others. You believe in putting in an honest day's work and accept many work-related responsibilities. You have a very good personality and people come to trust you easily. You are bright, witty and fast-thinking. You always have an interesting story to tell.
3.You are a smart and thoughtful person. You are a great thinker. Your thoughts and ideas are the most important. You like to think about your theories and views alone. You are an introvert. You get along with those who likes to think and learn. You spend a lot of time, thinking about morality. You are trying to do what is right, even if the majority of society does not agree with you.
4. You are perceptive and philosophical person. You are unique, one soul of your kind. Next to you there's no one even slightly similar to you. You are intuitive and a bit quirky. You are often misunderstood, and it hurts you. You need personal space. Your creativity needs to be developed, it requires respect of others. You are a person who clearly sees the light and dark sides of life. You are very emotional.
5. You are self-assured and in charge. You are very independent. Your guiding principle in life is "I'll do it my way". You are very self-reliant and know how to stay strong for yourself and the people you love. You know exactly what you want and are not afraid of pursuing your dreams. The only thing you demand from people is honesty. You are strong enough to accept the truth.
6. You are kind and sensitive. People relate to you very well. You have many friends and you love helping them. You have this warm and bright aura that makes people feel good when they are around you. Every day, you think about what you can do to improve yourself. You want to be interesting, insightful and unique. More than anybody else in the world, you need to love. You are even ready to love those who don't love you back.
7. You are happy and unflappable. You are a very sensitive and understanding person. You are a great listener who know how to be non-judgmental. You believe that everybody has their own journey in life. You are open to new people and events. You are highly resistant to stress and rarely worry. Normally, you are very relaxed. You always manage to have a good time and never lose your way.
8. You are charming and energetic. You are a fun person who knows how to make people laugh. You live in a state of harmony with the universe. You are spontaneous and enthusiastic. You never say no to an adventure. Often, you end up surprising and even shocking people. But that's just how you are, you always remain true to yourself. You have many interests and if something proves of interest to you, you will not rest until you acquire a profound knowledge of this area.
9. You are optimistic and lucky. You believe that life is a gift and you try to achieve as much as possible and put this gift to the best use possible. You are very proud of your achievements. You are ready to stick by the people you care about through thick and thin. You have a very healthy approach to life. The glass is always at least half full for you. You use any opportunity to forgive, learn, and grow because you believe that life is too short to do otherwise.
===
On Sept. 28, the Ibn Taymiyyah Media Center, a jihadist media unit tied to the Mujahideen Shura Council in the Environs of Jerusalem, released posters for five Palestinians and an Israeli Arab killed fighting in Syria between July 28, 2012 and Sept. 17, 2013.
Nidal Khalid al 'AshiAl 'Ashi, a former fighter in Jaish al Islam (Army of Islam), was killed fighting in Aleppo in late July 2012. A statement announcing his death from Jaish al Islam said that 'Ashi became a Salafist and "rose as a mujahid against the Jews and Christians after he had been friendly with them before." He then was imprisoned by Hamas "after he had destroyed the tenets of Christian missionary work, including societies, churches, universities, and schools." He fled to Syria "when his methods were restricted," and supported "his monotheist brothers in their war against the tyrants."
Read more: http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2013/10/jihadist_media_unit_releases_p.php#ixzz2gdnJBJg3===
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/abbotts-battle-with-the-twittersphere/story-fn59niix-1226731039159
===
AS Schapelle Corby awaits final approval for parole and members of the Bali 9 face the death penalty, Australia's new Foreign Minister has taken a hard line approach to Australians breaking the law overseas.
Speaking about consular affairs for the first time since taking over the portfolio, Julie Bishop urged Australians travelling overseas they need to take responsibility for their own actions.
"There are circumstances where Australians must take responsibility for their own conduct overseas,'' she said.
Ms Bishop said the government has a responsibility to help Aussies when they're caught up in disasters or political turmoil abroad. But she warned Australians cannot count on the Federal Government to bail them out if they get into trouble.
"There are circumstances where Australians must take responsibility for their own conduct overseas,'' she said.
===
JOURNALISTS are stunned. Tony Abbott went to Jakarta and didn't actually start a war with Indonesia.
The man Kevin Rudd claimed had no "temperament" for diplomacy and would cause a "konfrontasi" wasn't even slapped around by President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono. There was no sign of the "rocky" and "tense" relationship countless reports had claimed to detect between Indonesia and the new Abbott Government over Abbott's boat people policy. In fact, the very opposite. Prime Minister Abbott got a deal on boat people that Yudhoyono refused to Prime Minister Rudd in July - a deal that could be a breakthrough.
When Rudd went begging to Yudhoyono for his help to stop the boats he himself had lured by, as Yudhoyono put it, putting "sugar on the table" he was fobbed off with yet another round of talks with countries from Iran to New Zealand.
Those talks predictably went nowhere. Some countries didn't even bother turning up.
But when Abbott came calling Yudhoyono immediately promised him the one-on-one deal - Indonesia and Australia - critical to stopping the boats.
"Indonesia has striven to overcome this issue, but it would be much better if the co-operation was at the bilateral level," Yudhoyono announced. Even Fairfax newspapers had to admit this was a "significant concession".
Just what that deal will involve is yet to be worked out and unlikely to be shouted out. But get the hint that most commentators still won't take: two boatloads of asylum seekers were last week returned to Indonesia - something Labor managed just twice over the past couple of years.
This co-operation is likely to deepen, at least in the year Yudhoyono has left to serve, with Australian naval ships handing over boat people picked up in Indonesian waters to Indonesian vessels, rather than ferrying them to Christmas Island.
===
(Reprinted from our April 15, 2004 issue)
JewishWorldReview.com | It happened, as far as I can reconstruct it from memory, in January 1994. At the time, I was the correspondent in Israel of the New York weekly Forward and had an assistant, Abby Wisse.
One day Abby called me with an odd story. She had gotten a telephone call from an American Jew who refused to give his name. He would only say that he lived in a settlement in the territories and had an astounding document to show her. It had been given to him by a friend who worked in the Foreign Ministry and it contained the secret plan for the implementation of the Oslo Agreement, which had been signed several months previously — a plan that revealed the Rabin government's true intentions. These were, contrary to everything that was being said publicly, to establish a Palestinian state, withdraw to the 1967 borders, evacuate all the settlements, and return all of east Jerusalem to Arab rule. It was all in the document, which the anonymous caller wanted us to publish in order to bare the shocking truth.
Quite sensibly, Abby asked him why he was coming to the Forward with it. Why not The New York Times or some other big-time newspaper?
"I've tried The Times," the caller told her. He had gone to other prominent dailies too. None of them would touch the story, because, since he could not divulge his Foreign Ministry source, there was no way for them to corroborate it. The Forward was a last resort.
That much honesty appealed to me. I told Abby to arrange for the two of us to meet the man in a hotel in Jerusalem. The rules we agreed on were simple. He would bring us a copy of the document and we would read it in his presence and ask him anything about it that we wanted, except for his name or his friend's. After that we could do what we wished, but we were not to contact him again.
===
The original essay Muslims in America was published in 2001 on the site of Victorious America and received so much acclaim at the time I thought with the anniversary of the attack on the World Trade center this was a good to repost it. Johnhouk put it on his blog on 2011 to showcase my words in support of Cong. Peter King. Below is the full text of this communication.
I received an interesting email from Israpundit relating to the Rep. Peter King hearings on radical Islam in America. The email was sent by Ted Belman but was authored by Stanley Zir. Zir writes that there should be an immense amount of support for the hearings investigating radical Islam in America.
If a majority of Muslim-Americans are indeed in the camp of moderate decrying the cruel parts of Sharia Law, Muslim-Americans should be getting in line behind Rep. Peter King to shine the light on the Muslims who are radical thereby validating that most of Islam in America is not a revolutionary group of people hell-bent on terminating America's Constitutional Rights. If a significant amount of Muslims support radical Islam which is intolerant and hateful toward non-Muslims and Jews in particular, then Americans of all political and religious persuasions need to know where the hotbeds of hatred from Muslims are located.
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The best way to fight anti-Israel propaganda is not to ban it but to forcefully restore the truth, and spread it as widely as possible. In Vancouver, Canada, a group of Palestinian organizations intend to post an advertisement on Vancouver buses. The same combination of maps in the ad appeared in an article posted in March 2010 by Prof. Juan Cole, a professor of history at the University of Michigan. Major Jewish organizations opposed the posting of this ad. I believe there is a better way to counter the falsehoods contained in this ad, and that is with solid factual evidence rather than oppose its posting - a move that would be criticized, as usual, as an effort to curtail "freedom of speech." - See more at: http://newsblaze.com/story/20130912195438nurg.nb/topstory.html#sthash.0vynaXny.1AxvVWf2.dpuf
===
...Abbas, of course, also ignored the fact that nearly 2,000 Palestinians have been killed and thousands injured in Syria in the past two years. He did not, however, forget to mention in his speech that 27 Palestinians were killed by the Israel Defense Forces since the beginning of the year.===
No. 597 September-October 2013
- Israel, a liberal democracy caught between tyrannies and sectarian violence, is increasingly perceived as uniquely evil.
- In the struggle for hearts and minds, feelings trump facts. Imagery and accusations that automatically trigger public compassion are incomparably more compelling than dry, defensive argumentation. We are “wired” by evolution to support those we perceive as innocent victims in distress, even when the facts do not mandate such support.
- The portrayal of Palestinians as innocent victims in distress has been the key to Palestinian propaganda’s popular success. Through the mass-production of heartrending imagery centered on children, staged “news,” manipulative rhetoric, and rigid censorship, Palestinian propaganda has successfully used the media to recast Palestinians as entirely blameless victims.
- Moreover, a number of prominent journalists for international news agencies have concurrently been salaried employees of Palestinian administrations. Both Agence France Presse and the Associated Press have employed journalists with close ties to the Palestinian Authority.
- Israelis have long tried to win minds with a multitude of defensive arguments and legal justifications, and have lost. Israel will have to define itself to the world in a way that is at least as emotionally appealing as the Palestinians’ saga of victimhood.
- Rather than fighting spurious accusations with impersonal facts, Israel must fight Palestinian propaganda’s exploitation of public compassion with a touching but morally correct narrative of its own.
Blaise Pascal once observed that “people…arrive at their beliefs not on the basis of proof, but on the basis of what they find attractive.”1 Today this is confirmed by science, and it explains why Palestinians have won the media war.
In 2011 – an age of abundant and verifiable information – opinion polls found that as many as 40-60 percent of Europeans believed that “Israel is conducting a war of extermination against the Palestinians.”2 That so many Westerners baselessly accuse Israel of genocide is all the more baffling when one considers that it is Israel that is regularly threatened with annihilation.3Those poll results are not peculiar to Europe: similar worrying trends have been noted among American youth, liberals, and minorities.4 Israel, a liberal democracy caught between tyrannies and sectarian violence, is increasingly perceived as uniquely evil.5 Tired refrains can no longer obfuscate the truth: the success of the Palestinians in generating such widespread hostility towards Israel has been earned, and in fact can be scientifically explained.
- See more at: http://jcpa.org/article/manufacturing-exploiting-compassion-abuse-media-palestinian-propaganda/#sthash.OcyGJ7uz.dpuf===
Bibi Netanyahu is the noise a balloon makes when passing air.
Iran still has a bomb and Israelis are still being attacked by Arabs with no fear of retribution.
I feel he is more substantial than that .. Replace him with someone who isn't aware of what they are doing and things get worse for Israel. He isn't like Moshe Dayan giving away Jerusalem because Moshe didn't feel it mattered. Bibi is engaged with hostile figures he can't dismiss. - ed
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Congressmen Demand US Investigate UNRWA
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Dear friends,
The US remains the largest single state donor to the United Nations Reliefs and Works Agency (UNRWA), the dangerous UN program that has cultivated, encouraged and radicalized the so-called Palestinian refugee problem. Created in 1948 to assist Arabs who alleged that they lost their homes and livelihoods in the 1948 Israeli Independence War, this short-term program was mandated to address the plight of a only few hundred thousand individuals. Instead of acting to resettle displaced persons, UNRWA has spent the ensuing 4 generations since 1948, nurturing and facilitating those Arabs who claim they want to destroy Israel and return to their former homes inside of Tel-Aviv and Haifa. Today UNRWA proudly boasts that it provides services to over 5 million Palestinian refugees!
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While the Arab League and the Islamic states annually ignore their pledges to fund UNRWA, the US and the EU continue to financially perpetuate UNRWA's $650 million budget. On June 18, 2013, the US announced a donation of $123 million to UNRWA.
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In addition to prolonging the Palestinian refugee issue, UNRWA has allowed the camps, facilities and schools it administers in the Palestinian Authority and neighboring Arab states to become hotbeds of Palestinian terrorist training and anti-Semitic incitement. Indeed, Hamas, the Islamic Jihad, the PLO and Hezbollah all continually utilize UNRWA facilities to advance their criminal operations.
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Recently, four US Congressmen sent a powerful letter to Secretary of State John Kerry demanding that the US investigate and monitor this rogue UN program. House members Gerlach, Dent, Meehan and Fitzpatrick warned Kerry that funding UNRWA was harming the US and promoting racist hatred as well as religious extremism in the Middle East: "We cannot continue to support the provision of US taxpayer dollars to organizations, which seek to undermind US foreign policy and our efforts to bring peace and stability abroad. There is simply no justification for US taxpayers to support organizations that encourage the dissemination of hatred, violence and anti-Semitism."
The Congressional letter, linked here:http://bit.ly/1dWqmJ9, needs to be read and widely circulated.
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Washington goes dark, ObamaCare sputters and Iran rattles the world. But even if Armageddon is just around the corner, we’ll always have the Clintons.
Like Zelig on steroids, Bill & Hill are photo-bombing America.
Her retirement as secretary of state lasted about 30 seconds before she started rolling out the rollout of her 2016 campaign.
The breathless teases about will she or won’t she can be ignored because of course she will. Fish gotta swim and a Clinton’s gotta run.
Besides, they can’t play their favorite sport — raising money from rich people — unless they have a cause. And the Clintons long ago decided there is no better cause than self-promotion.
To continue reading Michael Goodwin's column in the New York Post, click here
.
.
Michael Goodwin is a Fox News contributor and New York Post columnist.
Doormat goes everywhere - ed===
Mr. President and members of Congress, I respect you, care about you, and I pray for you.
The Bible instructs all of us to pray for our leaders. I sincerely pray that you are able to live as successful and wise public servants. “And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God. “ – Micah 6:8
The prophet Micah was urging Israel’s leaders to be mindful of their high calling of service. He made the urgent plea to address the fact that leaders were governing with injustice, unkindness and pride.
Certainly, the failure to reach an agreement to avert a partial government shutdown is not indicative of humble and servant leadership.
===
Over the last four decades, only two people were able to make wide swaths of the American public really care about the importance of guarding against our nation’s enemies. One was Ronald Reagan. The other was Tom Clancy. The Gipper died in 2004, aged 93. Clancy died Tuesday in Baltimore, just 66 years old.
Despite their age difference, Reagan and Clancy had a lot in common. They loved this country more than anything. They most admired those who put service to nation above service to self. And both were gifted story tellers. Best of all, the stories each man told revealed large and necessary truths.
They say write about what you know and love. Clancy did that from his first book, "The Hunt for Red October."
"
As FoxNews.com reports in its Clancy obituary, "By a stroke of luck, President Reagan got 'Red October' as a Christmas gift and quipped at a dinner that he was losing sleep because he couldn't put the book down, a statement Clancy later said helped put him on the New York Times best-seller list."
===C. H. Spurgeon
Light thoughts of sin breed light thoughts of the Saviour.
===
Britain is finalizing the details of military assistance that will see 30 high-ranking officers in the Burma Army receive specially tailored training, including instruction on how to operate within the rule of law, the head of a UK training center said.
During an official visit to London by President Thein Sein in July, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the country would begin engaging with the Burma Army. The aim of cooperation, Hague said at the time, was to try to foster accountability and respect for human rights in the Burmese military, which only handed power to a quasi-civilian government in 2011 but remains influential.
The 30 officers of the Burma Army, known as the Tatmadaw, are set to attend a course in January. The training is jointly run by Cranfield University and the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, and will take place in Burma.
Laura Cleary, the head of the Centre of International Security and Resilience at Cranfield University, is in charge of the course.
“The request came from Aung San Suu Kyi for education to be delivered for the security forces within Burma. The decision was taken within the UK government to deliver this particular course,” Cleary told the Irrawaddy.
The course, entitled “Managing Defence in the Wider Security Context,” has been running since the early 2000s, she said. Since then more than 4,200 military personnel from 147 countries have received the training, which is run 12 times a year abroad and once a year in the UK.
“The target audience has been and will remain states that are post-conflict or post-authoritarian,” Cleary said. “We are working with countries that are making that difficult transition to democracy and undergoing security sector reform.”
The course for the Tatmadaw will be made up of two-weeks of bespoke training for the officers, taught through Burmese-speaking translators.
===
Sean Hannity did not hold back when challenging Democratic Congressman Luis Gutierrez (IL) over ObamaCare tonight on his show. On Tuesday, the United States shut down as a consequence of the fight in Congress to delay the law.
===
Day 2 of the federal government down. Who is still going to get paid? The ones that caused this problem in the first place. That is not acceptable. They need to return to kindergarten to learn how to play well with others.
===
Buddhist rioters have killed four men and a 94-year-old woman and burnt down over 70 Muslim homes in Myanmar's northern state of Arakhan after a reported dispute between a Buddhist and Muslim, according to local police.
Police said clashes broke out in Thabyachaing village, about 12 miles north of the coastal town of Thandwe, on Tuesday afternoon. They said the 94-year-old woman, Aye Kyi, died of stab wounds and that between 70 and 80 houses were set on fire.
The recent trouble came after a Muslim shop owner told a Buddhist taxi driver that he could not park outside his shop. The Buddhist man then claimed that the Muslim shopkeeper had insulted Buddhism. News spread quickly and the Muslim man was arrested but released without charge. A mob gathered and attacked his home and a curfew was imposed after Rakhine Buddhist mobs burnt homes in villages near Thandwe.
However, according to an Anadolu Agency source in Sittwe, the capital of Arakan, the death toll is much higher but there is no way of further verifying the number as casualty reports from the region are very poor and difficult. In the past, the initial numbers of those killed in violence provided by authorities have been very conservative.
This is not the first time that minority Muslims have been targeted in Myanmar. Earlier this year, Buddhist mobs murdered over 40 people in the central Myanmar town of Meiktila and burnt down Muslims businesses and mosques. Muslims are still unable to return to Meiktila and are forced to live in camps.
In Arakan state the Rohingya Muslims have been the main target of Buddhist groups. Last year, hundreds were killed and over 120,000 displaced after Arakanese groups attacked the Rohingya Muslims.
According to Human Rights Watch, Burmese authorities “committed crimes against humanity in a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims.”
Responding to recent violence, Executive Director of Fortify Rights Matthew Smith told Anadolu Agency, “This is a continuation of what we have seen for over a year in Rakhine State. The attackers appear to be using the same brutal tactics amidst a familiar lack of security for the Muslim population.”
Fortify Rights works in Myanmar on human rights issues as well as documenting abuses.
Smith added, “The lack of security is indefensible at this point and raises serious questions about the state and national authorities' role and responsibility for what is happening. Fortify Rights is concerned about the citizens of Thandwe and more than 150,000 people who are displaced throughout the state, many of whom still lack adequate aid despite that it has been over one year since they were displaced.”
===Atlanta person wrote:
And that's the point unless you are subsidy eligible and want the subsidy there's both on the exchange and off the exchange. And off the exchange (and I assume insurance brokers too) your pre-existing conditions don't matter either anymore. Nobody said you have to go to a "government run exchange".>
===
Which would you choose for your healthcare, Obamacare or the coverage available through the Affordable Care Act? (We realize that most Blaze readers know that they are the same thing, but does the average person know that?)
===
Barry-cades confirmed: Park Service says Obama admin ordered closure of World War II Memorial ==> http://twitchy.com/2013/10/02/
===
Sarah Palin
My Call For Civil Disobedience Around The “Barrycades”
It’s beyond shameful to see Barack Obama disrespect and mistreat our World War II veterans so blatantly. Obama’s political stunt to “shut down” their memorial by barricade is to elicit an angry response to generate bad publicity for people the president uses in his continual blame game.
Don’t believe me? Look at the “barricade” at the World War I Memorial:
https://twitter.com/
The difference is obvious. There aren’t any World War I veterans alive today to mistreat in a shameful political stunt. He’s deployed more guards to bar our World War II heroes from their memorial than he sent to Benghazi when our consulate was under attack.
The President is treating our veterans the same way he treated school kids when he cancelled their White House tours. When times called for obvious government belt-tightening, he took it out on kids rather than look for anything that would affect him personally. And while our vets are barricaded from the memorial they built with their heroism, the government “slim down” won’t affect Obama’s golf game or his family’s White House chefs.
Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are attempting to fund the Veterans Administration and other essential functions, but Democrats are blocking them because they want to make any slim down look as awful as possible in order to deflect from what this whole slim down thing is about, which is their Obamacare train wreck.
It’s beyond shameful to see Barack Obama disrespect and mistreat our World War II veterans so blatantly. Obama’s political stunt to “shut down” their memorial by barricade is to elicit an angry response to generate bad publicity for people the president uses in his continual blame game.
Don’t believe me? Look at the “barricade” at the World War I Memorial:
https://twitter.com/
The difference is obvious. There aren’t any World War I veterans alive today to mistreat in a shameful political stunt. He’s deployed more guards to bar our World War II heroes from their memorial than he sent to Benghazi when our consulate was under attack.
The President is treating our veterans the same way he treated school kids when he cancelled their White House tours. When times called for obvious government belt-tightening, he took it out on kids rather than look for anything that would affect him personally. And while our vets are barricaded from the memorial they built with their heroism, the government “slim down” won’t affect Obama’s golf game or his family’s White House chefs.
Meanwhile, Republicans in Congress are attempting to fund the Veterans Administration and other essential functions, but Democrats are blocking them because they want to make any slim down look as awful as possible in order to deflect from what this whole slim down thing is about, which is their Obamacare train wreck.
Good Congressmen are fighting for average middle class Americans to get the same breaks that Obama gave Congress, his pals, union bosses, and crony corporations who financed his campaign and snookered the media into putting him in office.
It is a sad day when We the People have to go cap in hand to the president begging him to give us the same relief he gave his friends by fiat. Thank God we have bold leaders willing to fight for those who can’t afford to pay powerful lobbyists to make Obama and Harry Reid listen.
Want to know why this whole thing happened? Look at what Obamacare is already doing to our country with health care costs skyrocketing, workers laid off or kicked to part-time, employers shutting down projects, and debt still soaring. See the article linked below. This is what America is up against.
And Obama employees who know in your hearts and souls that punishing our veterans is wrong, know that we have your backs when you say “enough is enough” and then allow our vets to gaze upon our memorials that honor America’s finest. This simple act of civil disobedience will galvanize our nation against atrocious political games, and I promise you’ll sleep well tonight.
- Sarah Palin
Article on the consequences of Obamacare:
http://www.nationalreview.com/
Todd Starnes’ column today about our vets being barred from their memorial:
http://townhall.com/
It is a sad day when We the People have to go cap in hand to the president begging him to give us the same relief he gave his friends by fiat. Thank God we have bold leaders willing to fight for those who can’t afford to pay powerful lobbyists to make Obama and Harry Reid listen.
Want to know why this whole thing happened? Look at what Obamacare is already doing to our country with health care costs skyrocketing, workers laid off or kicked to part-time, employers shutting down projects, and debt still soaring. See the article linked below. This is what America is up against.
And Obama employees who know in your hearts and souls that punishing our veterans is wrong, know that we have your backs when you say “enough is enough” and then allow our vets to gaze upon our memorials that honor America’s finest. This simple act of civil disobedience will galvanize our nation against atrocious political games, and I promise you’ll sleep well tonight.
- Sarah Palin
Article on the consequences of Obamacare:
http://www.nationalreview.com/
Todd Starnes’ column today about our vets being barred from their memorial:
http://townhall.com/
Obama deployed more guards to block World War II vets from their memorial than he sent to save our people in Benghazi:
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/
http://pjmedia.com/tatler/
===
Pastor Rick Warren
God doesn't expect me to know it all, have it all, or do it all. He just wants me to trust him through it all.
===
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's forceful speech in the United Nations Tuesday has caused the influential New York Times to push back on it in a prominent front page editorial.
The editorial called the speech "aggressive," and noted that Netanyahu used "sarcasm" and "combative words" to portray Iran's president Hassan Rouhani as a "charlatan."
While conceding that Israel, the US and the other powers involved innegotiations with Iran have "legitimate reasons to be wary" and "skeptical" regarding Iranian overtures," the newspaper warned that "it could be disastrous if Mr. Netanyahu and his supporters in Congress were so blinded by distrust of Iran that they exaggerate the threat, block President Obama from taking advantage of new diplomatic openings and sabotage the best chance to establish a new relationship since the 1979 Iranian revolution sent American-Iranian relations into the deep freeze."
The Times editorial admitted that Iran hid its nuclear program from United Nations inspectors for nearly 20 years, is enriching uranium to a level that would make it possible to produce bomb-grade nuclear material more quickly, and has been developing high-voltage detonators and building missiles that experts believe could only have nuclear weapons-related uses.
And yet, it insisted, Netanyahu has hinted so often of taking military action that "he seems eager for a fight." It noted, in particular, Netanyahu's statement that if it deemed that Iran was close to producing nuclear weapons, "Israel will have no choice but to defend itself.”
The Times advised President Barack Obama that his correct path of action, in order not torpedo the newly-warmed relations with Iran, is "working closely with Israel and helping Mr. Netanyahu see that sabotaging diplomacy, especially before Iran is tested, only makes having to use force more likely."
The government shutdown crisis has largely eclipsed coverage of Netanyahu's speech in the US media. There was some positive reaction to it as well, however. Writing in the Washington Post, Jennifer Rubin opined: "What is so refreshing about Netanyahu is that he leaves no wiggle room, no equivocation. He will not, he is saying, be the prime minister on whose watch the Jewish state let down her guard."
===
Opposition leader MK Shelly Yachimovich was critical ofPrime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s speech at the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, saying that he presented the correct facts but chose the wrong way to do it.
“We must not let it be implied among the international community as though the Iranianproblem is exclusively an Israeli problem, and it is wrong to present a horrific vision of an existential threat to Israel,” said Yachimovich.
“The future of the Jewish people and the future of the State of Israel will not be determined by the Iranians. The way to deal with Iran is through a U.S.-led international campaign and not by emphasizing Israel’s isolation,” she added.
“The U.S. must lead the efforts with the Iranians, a diplomatic effort accompanied by sanctions with all options on the table including the military option. I prefer the tone taken by the Prime Minister at the White House during his meeting with President Obama, who was explicit about the U.S. commitment to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons and who explicitly mentioned the military option,” said Yachimovich.
In his speech, Netanyahu urged the world to maintain pressure on Iran over its nuclear program, saying that diplomacy can work, but only if the international community takes a firm stance.
If all else fails, he hinted, Israel may attack Iran without international support. "If Israel is forced to stand alone, Israel will stand alone," said Netanyahu.
Opposition leaders .. need also be constructive .. merely being oppositional is stupid. - ed
===
Jews living east of the 1949 armistice line may be denied access to land records.
In a move that has caused upset in Knesset, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein is seeking to bar Israelis living north of Jerusalem from finding out who owns neighboring land.
In a move that has caused upset in Knesset, Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein is seeking to bar Israelis living north of Jerusalem from finding out who owns neighboring land.
His campaign has angered MK Motti Yogev (Bayit Yehudi), head of a Foreign Affairs and Defense subcommittee, who on Tuesday slammed Weinstein’s intervention as “outrageous.”
The controversy began when a group of residents from the Israeli Jewish community of Psagot, in the Binyamin region, asked to see the landregistry (Tabu) in order to find out who owns the land nearby.
The community is interested in expanding, and would like to purchase nearby tracts of land. However, in light of past cases in which Jews purchased land in Judea and Samaria (Shomron) from Arabs, only to have other Arabs appear and claim to be the real owners, Psagot residents were cautious. They want to be sure that any land they buy will be purchased from the real owner – and that imposters will not later be able to claim ownership.
Their request for information was permitted by the Jerusalem District Court under the Freedom of Information law.
However, Weinstein then announced plans to appeal the court’s ruling at the Supreme Court. He argues that the Freedom of Information law should not apply due to the sensitive nature of land purchases in Judea and Samaria.
The growth of Israeli communities in the region is widely termed “settlement expansion” in the international community, and is frequently criticized by the United States and Europe as unhelpful to diplomatic talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
===community channel
my firstborn is gonna get pretty upset when they realise I've offered them up for things like ice creams or chairs to sit on when I'm tired
===
It is not the church's fault we live in a "new, secular, urban, industrialized, science-oriented, media-driven, multi-cultural world".
Not all progress is wrong. Christ has won the victory, as true today as it was then. But the path is perilous even for the faithful. My father's sister became a born again Christian at the age of 15. Her lapsed Jewish mother humoured her, and she encouraged my father and his brother to become Christian too. They were apparently youth group leaders and faithful, for a time. From age 15 to 21, my dad walked in grace. But, he married on his 21st birthday a woman who was hurt, and wasn't Christian, and he lost his faith. I was raised by him as an atheist, but discovered God on Sydney University campus at age 18. I wish I'd known what I do now, when my father was alive. Faith is a blessing, and although it is not the church's fault that faith and testimony cover two thousand years of struggle, it is her glory. - ed
===
The Obamacare exchanges are now open for business. And to open the radio show this morning, Glenn decided to give Healthcare.gov – your one stop shop for everything Obamacare related – a try. Sadly, the experience was not without its problems.
“This is exciting because you’re just about to take advantage of the incredible healthcare system,” Pat said excitedly.
But the excitement did not last long. When Glenn attempted to access the site, he was promptly greeted with the Internet equivalent of a “hold button.”
“I’m here, and I don’t know if you can get a shot of this… but I just went to Healthcare.gov and I’m on this exciting page right now: ‘Health insurance marketplace, please wait. We have a lot of visitors on our site right now and we’re working to make your experience here better. Please wait here until we send you to the login page. Thanks for your patience.’”
Below is a screenshot of the message:
===
===
- 52 BC – Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls, surrenders to the Romans under Julius Caesar, ending the siege and Battle of Alesia.
- 42 BC – First Battle of Philippi: Triumvirs Mark Antony and Octavian fight a decisive battle with Caesar's assassins Brutus and Cassius.
- 382 – Roman Emperor Theodosius I concludes a peace treaty with the Goths and settles them in the Balkans in exchange for military service.
- 1283 – Dafydd ap Gruffydd, prince of Gwynedd in Wales, is the first nobleman to be executed by hanging, drawing and quartering.
- 1392 – Muhammed VII becomes the twelfth sultan of the Emirate of Granada.
- 1574 – The Siege of Leiden is lifted by the Watergeuzen.
- 1683 – The Qing dynasty naval commander Shi Lang reaches Taiwan (under the Kingdom of Tungning) to receive the formal surrender of Zheng Keshuang and Liu Guoxuan after the Battle of Penghu.
- 1712 – The Duke of Montrose issues a warrant for the arrest of Rob Roy MacGregor.
- 1739 – The Treaty of Niš is signed by the Ottoman Empire and Russia at the end of the Russian–Turkish War, 1736–39.
- 1778 – Captain James Cook anchors in Alaska.
- 1789 – George Washington makes the first Thanksgiving Day designated by the national government of the US
- 1795 – Slave rebel leader Tula executed in Curaçao
- 1835 – The Staedtler company is founded in Nuremberg, Germany.
- 1849 – American author Edgar Allan Poe is found delirious in a gutter in Baltimore under mysterious circumstances; it is the last time he is seen in public before his death.
- 1863 – The last Thursday in November is declared as Thanksgiving Day by United States President Abraham Lincoln as are Thursdays, November 30, 1865 and November 29, 1866.
- 1872 – The Bloomingdale brothers open their first store at 938 Third Avenue, New York City.
- 1873 – Captain Jack and companions are hanged for their part in the Modoc War.
- 1912 – U.S. forces defeat Nicaraguan rebels under the command of Benjamín Zeledón at the Battle of Coyotepe Hill.
- 1918 – King Boris III of Bulgaria accedes to the throne.
- 1919 – Cincinnati Reds pitcher Adolfo Luque becomes the first Latin player to appear in a World Series.
- 1929 – The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes is renamed to Kingdom of Yugoslavia, "Land of the South Slavs".
- 1930 – The German Socialist Labour Party in Poland – Left is founded following a split in DSAP in Łódź.
- 1932 – Iraq gains independence from the United Kingdom.
- 1935 – Second Italo-Abyssinian War: Italy invades Ethiopia under General de Bono.
- 1942 – Spaceflight: The first successful launch of a V-2 /A4-rocket from Test Stand VII at Peenemünde, Germany. It is the first man-made object to reach space.
- 1949 – WERD, the first black-owned radio station in the United States, opens in Atlanta.
- 1950 – Korean War: The First Battle of Maryang San, primarily pitting Australian and British forces against communist China, begins.
- 1952 – The United Kingdom successfully tests a nuclear weapon to become the world's third nuclear power.
- 1957 – The California State Superior Court rules that Allen Ginsberg's Howl and Other Poems is not obscene.
- 1962 – Project Mercury: Sigma 7 is launched from Cape Canaveral, with astronaut Wally Schirra aboard, for a six-orbit, nine-hour flight.
- 1963 – A violent coup in Honduras pre-empts the October 13 election, ends a period of reform, and begins two decades of military rule.
- 1981 – The hunger strike by Provisional Irish Republican Army and Irish National Liberation Army prisoners at the Maze Prison in Northern Ireland ends after seven months and ten deaths.
- 1985 – The Space Shuttle Atlantis makes its maiden flight. (Mission STS-51-J).
- 1986 – TASCC, a superconducting cyclotron at the Chalk River Laboratories, is officially opened.
- 1990 – German reunification: The German Democratic Republic ceases to exist and its territory becomes part of the Federal Republic of Germany. East German citizens became part of the European Community, which later became the European Union. Now celebrated as German Unity Day.
- 1993 – Battle of Mogadishu: A firefight occurs during a failed attempt to capture key officials of warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid's organisation in Mogadishu, Somalia, costing the lives of 18 American soldiers, and over 350 Somalis.
- 1995 – O. J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman.
- 2008 – The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 for the U.S. financial system is signed by President George W. Bush.
- 2009 – The presidents of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Turkey sign the Nakhchivan Agreement on the Establishment of Turkic Council.
- 2013 – At least 134 migrants are killed when their boat sinks near the Italian island of Lampedusa.
- 85 BC – Gaius Cassius Longinus, Roman politician (d. 42 BC)
- 1610 – Gabriel Lalemant, French-Canadian missionary and saint (d. 1649)
- 1631 – Sebastian Anton Scherer, German organist and composer (d. 1712)
- 1713 – Antoine Dauvergne, French violinist and composer (d. 1797)
- 1716 – Giovanni Battista Beccaria, Italian physicist and academic (d. 1781)
- 1720 – Johann Uz, German poet and judge (d. 1796)
- 1790 – John Ross, American tribal chief (d. 1866)
- 1797 – Leopold II, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1870)
- 1800 – George Bancroft, American historian and politician, 17th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 1891)
- 1804 – Townsend Harris, American merchant, politician, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Japan (d. 1878)
- 1804 – Allan Kardec, French author, translator, and educator (d. 1869)
- 1828 – Woldemar Bargiel, German composer and educator (d. 1897)
- 1837 – Nicolás Avellaneda, Argentinian journalist and politician, 8th President of Argentina (d. 1885)
- 1846 – James Jackson Putnam, American neurologist and academic (d. 1918)
- 1848 – Henry Lerolle, French painter and art collector (d. 1929)
- 1858 – Eleonora Duse, Italian-American actress (d. 1924)
- 1862 – Johnny Briggs, English cricketer and rugby player (d. 1902)
- 1863 – Pyotr Kozlov, Russian archaeologist and explorer (d. 1935)
- 1865 – Gustave Loiseau, French painter (d. 1935)
- 1867 – Pierre Bonnard, French painter (d. 1947)
- 1869 – Alfred Flatow, German gymnast (d. 1942)
- 1874 – Charles Middleton, American actor (d. 1949)
- 1879 – Warner Oland, Swedish-American actor and singer (d. 1938)
- 1880 – Karl Ruberl, Austrian-American swimmer (d. 1966)
- 1882 – A. Y. Jackson, Canadian painter and academic (d. 1974)
- 1885 – Sophie Treadwell, American playwright and journalist (d. 1970)
- 1886 – Alain-Fournier, French soldier, author, and critic (d. 1914)
- 1888 – Wade Boteler, American actor and screenwriter (d. 1943)
- 1889 – Carl von Ossietzky, German journalist and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1938)
- 1894 – Elmer Robinson, American lawyer and politician, 33rd Mayor of San Francisco (d. 1982)
- 1894 – Walter Warlimont, German general (d. 1976)
- 1895 – Giovanni Comisso, Italian author and poet (d. 1969)
- 1895 – Sergei Yesenin, Russian poet (d. 1925)
- 1896 – Gerardo Diego, Spanish poet and critic (d. 1987)
- 1897 – Louis Aragon, French author and poet (d. 1982)
- 1898 – Leo McCarey, American director and screenwriter (d. 1969)
- 1898 – Adolf Reichwein, German economist and educator (d. 1944)
- 1899 – Gertrude Berg, American actress, screenwriter and producer (d. 1966)
- 1900 – Thomas Wolfe, American author and academic (d. 1938)
- 1901 – Jean Grémillon, French director, composer, and screenwriter (d. 1959)
- 1904 – Ernst-Günther Schenck, German colonel and physician (d. 1998)
- 1905 – Tekin Arıburun, Turkish soldier and politician, President of Turkey (d. 1993)
- 1906 – Natalie Savage Carlson, American author (d. 1997)
- 1908 – Johnny Burke, American songwriter (d. 1964)
- 1911 – Michael Hordern, English actor (d. 1995)
- 1915 – Ray Stark, American film producer (d. 2004)
- 1916 – James Herriot, English veterinarian and author (d. 1995)
- 1919 – James M. Buchanan, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
- 1919 – Jean Lefebvre, French-Moroccan actor (d. 2004)
- 1921 – Ray Lindwall, Australian cricketer and soldier (d. 1996)
- 1923 – Edward Oliver LeBlanc, Dominican lawyer and politician, 1st Premier of Dominica (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Harvey Kurtzman, American cartoonist (d. 1993)
- 1924 – Arkady Vorobyov, Russian weightlifter and coach (d. 2012)
- 1925 – Gore Vidal, American author, screenwriter, and actor (d. 2012)
- 1925 – George Wein, American pianist and producer, co-founded the Newport Folk Festival
- 1928 – Erik Bruhn, Danish dancer and choreographer (d. 1986)
- 1928 – Edward L. Moyers, American businessman (d. 2006)
- 1928 – Shridath Ramphal, Guyanese academic and politician, 2nd Commonwealth Secretary-General
- 1931 – Glenn Hall, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1932 – Terence English, South African-English surgeon and academic
- 1933 – Neale Fraser, Australian tennis player
- 1934 – Benjamin Boretz, American composer and theorist
- 1934 – Miguel-Ángel Cárdenas, Colombian-Dutch painter and illustrator (d. 2015)
- 1934 – Harold Henning, South African golfer (d. 2004)
- 1934 – Simon Nicholson, English sculptor and painter (d. 1990)
- 1935 – Charles Duke, American general, pilot, and astronaut
- 1936 – Steve Reich, American composer
- 1938 – Eddie Cochran, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 1960)
- 1938 – David Hart Dyke, English captain
- 1938 – Jack Hodgins, Canadian author and academic
- 1938 – Dave Obey, American lawyer and politician
- 1939 – Bob Armstrong, American wrestler and trainer
- 1940 – Alan O'Day, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1940 – Jean Ratelle, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1940 – Mike Troy, American swimmer
- 1941 – Chubby Checker, American singer-songwriter
- 1941 – Andrea de Adamich, Italian race car driver and sportscaster
- 1941 – John Elliott, Australian businessman
- 1943 – Jeff Bingaman, American soldier and politician, 25th Attorney General of New Mexico
- 1943 – Baki İlkin, Turkish civil servant and diplomat
- 1944 – Pierre Deligne, Belgian mathematician and academic
- 1944 – Roy Horn, German-American magician and actor
- 1945 – Tony Brown, English footballer and sportscaster
- 1945 – Christopher Bruce, English dancer and choreographer
- 1945 – Jo Ritzen, Dutch economist and politician, Dutch Minister of Education
- 1947 – John Perry Barlow, American poet, songwriter, blogger, and activist
- 1947 – Ben Cauley, American trumpet player and songwriter (d. 2015)
- 1947 – Fred DeLuca, American businessman, co-founded Subway (d. 2015)
- 1947 – Anne Dorte of Rosenborg (d. 2014)
- 1947 – Takis Michalos, Greek water polo player and coach (d. 2010)
- 1949 – Lindsey Buckingham, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1949 – J. P. Dutta, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1949 – Aleksandr Rogozhkin, Russian director and screenwriter
- 1949 – Laurie Simmons, American photographer and director
- 1951 – Keb' Mo', American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1951 – Dave Winfield, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1952 – Bruce Arians, American football coach
- 1952 – Gary Troup, New Zealand cricketer
- 1954 – Eddie DeGarmo, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1954 – Dennis Eckersley, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1954 – Al Sharpton, American minister, talk show host, and political activist
- 1954 – Stevie Ray Vaughan, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1990)
- 1955 – John S. Lesmeister, American educator and politician, 30th North Dakota State Treasurer (d. 2006)
- 1955 – Allen Woody, American bass player and songwriter (d. 2000)
- 1955 – Buket Uzuner, Turkish author
- 1956 – Hart Bochner, Canadian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1957 – Roberto Azevêdo, Brazilian engineer and diplomat, 6th Director-General of the World Trade Organization
- 1957 – Tim Westwood, English radio and television host
- 1958 – Chen Yanyin, Chinese sculptor
- 1958 – Louise Lecavalier, Canadian dancer and choreographer
- 1959 – Fred Couples, American golfer
- 1959 – Greg Proops, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter
- 1959 – Jack Wagner, American actor and singer
- 1961 – Rebecca Stephens, English journalist and mountaineer
- 1961 – Ludger Stühlmeyer, German cantor, composer, and musicologist
- 1962 – Tommy Lee, Greek-American singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer
- 1962 – Simon Scarrow, Nigerian-English novelist
- 1963 – Benny Anders, American basketball player
- 1963 – Dan Goldie, American tennis player
- 1964 – Clive Owen, English actor
- 1965 – Annemarie Verstappen, Dutch swimmer
- 1965 – Jan-Ove Waldner, Swedish table tennis player
- 1966 – Darrin Fletcher, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1967 – Rob Liefeld, American author and illustrator
- 1967 – Chris Collingwood, English-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1968 – Paul Crichton, English footballer and manager
- 1968 – Greg Foster, American basketball player and coach
- 1968 – Marko Rajamäki, Finnish footballer and manager
- 1968 – Donald Sild, Estonian javelin thrower
- 1969 – Garry Herbert, English rower and sportscaster
- 1969 – Gwen Stefani, American singer-songwriter, actress, and fashion designer
- 1969 – Tetsuya, Japanese singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
- 1970 – Elmar Liitmaa, Estonian guitarist and songwriter
- 1970 – Jimmy Ray, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1970 – Sara Zarr, American author and academic
- 1971 – Wil Cordero, Puerto Rican-American baseball player and coach
- 1971 – Kevin Richardson, American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1971 – Black Thought, American rapper
- 1972 – Komla Dumor, Ghanaian-English journalist (d. 2014)
- 1972 – Guy Oseary, Israeli–American talent manager and businessman
- 1973 – Neve Campbell, Canadian actress and producer
- 1973 – Angélica Gavaldón, American-Mexican tennis player and coach
- 1973 – Lena Headey, British actress
- 1973 – Eirik Hegdal, Norwegian saxophonist and composer
- 1974 – Mike Johnson, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster
- 1974 – Marianne Timmer, Dutch speed skater
- 1975 – India Arie, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1975 – Phil Greening, English rugby player and coach
- 1975 – Satoko Ishimine, Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1975 – Talib Kweli, American rapper
- 1975 – Nakako Tsuzuki, Japanese figure skater
- 1976 – Herman Li, Hong Kong-English guitarist and producer
- 1976 – Seann William Scott, American actor and producer
- 1977 – Daniel Hollie, American wrestler
- 1977 – Shazia Mirza, English comedian, actress, and journalist
- 1977 – Eric Munson, American baseball player and coach
- 1977 – Luca Tognozzi, Italian footballer
- 1978 – Gerald Asamoah, Ghanaian-German footballer
- 1978 – Neil Clement, English footballer
- 1978 – Corey Hill, American mixed martial artist and wrestler (d. 2015)
- 1978 – Claudio Pizarro, Peruvian footballer
- 1978 – Jake Shears, American singer-songwriter
- 1978 – Vienna Teng, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1979 – Josh Klinghoffer, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1979 – John Morrison, American wrestler and actor
- 1979 – Danny O'Donoghue, Irish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1980 – Anquan Boldin, American football player
- 1980 – Sheldon Brookbank, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1980 – Lindsey Kelk, English journalist and author
- 1980 – Héctor Reynoso, Mexican footballer
- 1980 – Ivan Turina, Croatian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1981 – Danny Coid, English footballer
- 1981 – Zlatan Ibrahimović, Swedish footballer
- 1981 – Andreas Isaksson, Swedish footballer
- 1981 – Matt Sparrow, English footballer
- 1983 – Fred, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Thiago Alves, Brazilian mixed martial artist
- 1983 – Andreas Papathanasiou, Cypriot footballer
- 1983 – Hiroki Suzuki, Japanese actor and singer
- 1984 – Yoon Eun-hye, South Korean singer and actress
- 1984 – Bruno Gervais, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Jessica Parker Kennedy, Canadian actress
- 1984 – Anthony Le Tallec, French footballer
- 1984 – Ashlee Simpson, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1985 – Courtney Lee, American basketball player
- 1986 – Jackson Martínez, Colombian footballer
- 1987 – Robert Grabarz, English high jumper
- 1987 – Martin Plowman, English race car driver
- 1987 – Zuleyka Rivera, Puerto Rican-American model and actress, Miss Universe 2006
- 1988 – ASAP Rocky, American rapper and producer
- 1988 – Alicia Vikander, Swedish actress
- 1989 – Nate Montana, American football player
- 1990 – Johan Le Bon, French cyclist
- 1991 – Jenny McLoughlin, English sprinter
- 1991 – Aki Takajo, Japanese singer
- 1993 – Raffaele Di Gennaro, Italian footballer
- 1994 – Victoria Bosio, Argentinian tennis player
Births[edit]
- 42 BC – Gaius Cassius Longinus, Roman politician (b. 85 BC)
- 900 – Muhammad ibn Zayd, Tabaristan emir
- 1078 – Iziaslav I of Kiev (b. 1024)
- 1226 – Francis of Assisi, Italian friar and saint (b. 1181)
- 1283 – Dafydd ap Gruffydd, Welsh prince (b. 1238)
- 1369 – Margaret, Countess of Tyrol (b. 1318)
- 1568 – Elisabeth of Valois (b. 1545)
- 1596 – Florent Chrestien, French poet (b. 1541)
- 1611 – Charles, Duke of Mayenne (b. 1554)
- 1629 – Giorgi Saakadze, Georgian commander and politician (b. 1570)
- 1649 – Giovanni Diodati, Swiss-Italian clergyman and theologian (b. 1576)
- 1653 – Marcus Zuerius van Boxhorn, Dutch linguist and academic (b. 1612)
- 1656 – Myles Standish, English-American captain (b. 1584)
- 1690 – Robert Barclay, Scottish theologian and politician, 2nd Governor of East Jersey (b. 1648)
- 1701 – Joseph Williamson, English politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (b. 1633)
- 1750 – James MacLaine, Irish highwayman (d. 1724)
- 1801 – Philippe Henri, marquis de Ségur, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (b. 1724)
- 1833 – François, marquis de Chasseloup-Laubat, French general and engineer (b. 1754)
- 1838 – Black Hawk, American tribal leader (b. 1767)
- 1860 – Rembrandt Peale, American painter and curator (b. 1778)
- 1867 – Elias Howe, American engineer, invented the sewing machine (b. 1819)
- 1873 – Kintpuash, American tribal leader (b. 1837)
- 1877 – James Roosevelt Bayley, American archbishop (b. 1814)
- 1881 – Orson Pratt, American mathematician and religious leader (b. 1811)
- 1890 – Joseph Hergenröther, German historian and cardinal (b. 1824)
- 1891 – Édouard Lucas, French mathematician and theorist (b. 1842)
- 1896 – William Morris, English author and poet (b. 1834)
- 1907 – Jacob Nash Victor, American engineer (b. 1835)
- 1929 – Jeanne Eagels, American actress (b. 1894)
- 1929 – Gustav Stresemann, German politician, Chancellor of Germany, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1878)
- 1931 – Carl Nielsen, Danish violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1865)
- 1936 – John Heisman, American football player and coach (b. 1869)
- 1953 – Arnold Bax, English composer and poet (b. 1883)
- 1959 – Tochigiyama Moriya, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 27th Yokozuna (b. 1892)
- 1963 – Refet Bele, Turkish general (b. 1877)
- 1965 – Zachary Scott, American actor (b. 1914)
- 1966 – Rolf Maximilian Sievert, Swedish physicist and academic (b. 1896)
- 1967 – Woody Guthrie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1912)
- 1967 – Malcolm Sargent, English organist, composer, and conductor (b. 1895)
- 1969 – Skip James, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1902)
- 1979 – Nicos Poulantzas, Greek-French sociologist and philosopher (b. 1936)
- 1980 – Friedrich Karm, Estonian footballer (b. 1907)
- 1981 – Anna Hedvig Büll, Estonian-German missionary (b. 1887)
- 1986 – Vince DiMaggio, American baseball player and manager (b. 1912)
- 1987 – Jean Anouilh, French playwright and screenwriter (b. 1910)
- 1987 – Kalervo Palsa, Finnish painter (b. 1947)
- 1988 – Franz Josef Strauss, Bavarian lieutenant and politician, Minister President of Bavaria (b. 1915)
- 1990 – Stefano Casiraghi, Italian-Monegasque businessman (b. 1960)
- 1990 – Eleanor Steber, American soprano and educator (b. 1914)
- 1993 – Katerina Gogou, Greek actress, poet, and author (b. 1940)
- 1993 – Gary Gordon, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1960)
- 1993 – Randy Shughart, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1958)
- 1994 – John C. Champion, American producer and screenwriter (b. 1923)
- 1995 – Ma. Po. Si., Indian author and politician (b. 1906)
- 1997 – Michael Adekunle Ajasin, Nigerian politician, 3rd Governor of Ondo State (b. 1908)
- 1998 – Roddy McDowall, English-American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1928)
- 1999 – Akio Morita, Japanese businessman, co-founded Sony (b. 1921)
- 2000 – Benjamin Orr, American singer-songwriter and bass player (b. 1947)
- 2001 – Costas Hajihristos, Greek actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921)
- 2002 – Robert Krausz, Hungarian-American businessman (b. 1936)
- 2002 – Bruce Paltrow, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1943)
- 2003 – Florence Stanley, American actress and director (b. 1924)
- 2003 – William Steig, American sculptor, author, and illustrator (b. 1907)
- 2004 – John Cerutti, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1960)
- 2004 – Janet Leigh, American actress (b. 1927)
- 2005 – Ronnie Barker, English actor and screenwriter (b. 1929)
- 2005 – Nurettin Ersin, Turkish general (b. 1918)
- 2006 – Lucilla Andrews, Egyptian-Scottish nurse and author (b. 1919)
- 2006 – John Crank, English mathematician and physicist (b. 1916)
- 2006 – Peter Norman, Australian runner (b. 1942)
- 2006 – Alberto Ramento, Filipino bishop (b. 1937)
- 2007 – M. N. Vijayan, Indian journalist, author, and academic (b. 1930)
- 2009 – Vladimir Beekman, Estonian poet and translator (b. 1929)
- 2010 – Ben Mondor, Canadian-American businessman (b. 1925)
- 2010 – Abraham Sarmiento, Filipino lawyer and jurist (b. 1921)
- 2012 – Abdul Haq Ansari, Indian theologian and scholar (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Robert F. Christy, American physicist and astrophysicist (b. 1916)
- 2012 – Billy Hullin, Welsh rugby player (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Kathi McDonald, American singer (b. 1948)
- 2012 – Albie Roles, English footballer (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Sari Abacha, Nigerian footballer (b. 1978)
- 2013 – Sergei Belov, Russian basketball player and coach (b. 1944)
- 2013 – Bob Chance, American baseball player (b. 1940)
- 2013 – Frank D'Rone, American singer and guitarist (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Chuck Smith, American pastor, founded the Calvary Chapel movement (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Joan Thirsk, English cryptologist, historian, and academic (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Ewen Gilmour, New Zealand comedian and television host (b. 1963)
- 2014 – Benedict Groeschel, American priest, psychologist, and talk show host (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Jean-Jacques Marcel, French footballer (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Kevin Metheny, American businessman (b. 1954)
- 2014 – Ward Ruyslinck, Belgian author (b. 1929)
- 2015 – Denis Healey, English soldier and politician, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer (b. 1917)
- 2015 – Muhammad Nawaz Khan, Pakistani historian and author (b. 1943)
- 2015 – Javed Iqbal, Pakistani philosopher and judge (b. 1925)
- 2015 – Gerald Squires, Canadian painter and illustrator (b. 1937)
Deaths[edit]
- 3 October Festival (Leiden, Netherlands)
- Christian feast day:
- German Unity Day (Germany)
- National Day (Iraq), celebrates the independence of Iraq from the United Kingdom in 1932.
- National Foundation Day or Gaecheonjeol (South Korea)
- Morazán Day (Honduras)
Holidays and observances[edit]
“Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe.”Proverbs 29:25 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
Our hope in Christ for the future is the mainspring and the mainstay of our joy here. It will animate our hearts to think often of heaven, for all that we can desire is promised there. Here we are weary and toilworn, but yonder is the land of rest where the sweat of labour shall no more bedew the worker's brow, and fatigue shall be forever banished. To those who are weary and spent, the word "rest" is full of heaven. We are always in the field of battle; we are so tempted within, and so molested by foes without, that we have little or no peace; but in heaven we shall enjoy the victory, when the banner shall be waved aloft in triumph, and the sword shall be sheathed, and we shall hear our Captain say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." We have suffered bereavement after bereavement, but we are going to the land of the immortal where graves are unknown things. Here sin is a constant grief to us, but there we shall be perfectly holy, for there shall by no means enter into that kingdom anything which defileth. Hemlock springs not up in the furrows of celestial fields. Oh! is it not joy, that you are not to be in banishment forever, that you are not to dwell eternally in this wilderness, but shall soon inherit Canaan? Nevertheless let it never be said of us, that we are dreaming about the future and forgetting the present, let the future sanctify the present to highest uses. Through the Spirit of God the hope of heaven is the most potent force for the product of virtue; it is a fountain of joyous effort, it is the corner stone of cheerful holiness. The man who has this hope in him goes about his work with vigour, for the joy of the Lord is his strength. He fights against temptation with ardour, for the hope of the next world repels the fiery darts of the adversary. He can labour without present reward, for he looks for a reward in the world to come.
Evening
Child of God, do you hesitate to appropriate this title? Ah! has your unbelief made you forget that you are greatly beloved too? Must you not have been greatly beloved, to have been bought with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot? When God smote his only begotten Son for you, what was this but being greatly beloved? You lived in sin, and rioted in it, must you not have been greatly beloved for God to have borne so patiently with you? You were called by grace and led to a Saviour, and made a child of God and an heir of heaven. All this proves, does it not, a very great and superabounding love? Since that time, whether your path has been rough with troubles, or smooth with mercies, it has been full of proofs that you are a man greatly beloved. If the Lord has chastened you, yet not in anger; if he has made you poor, yet in grace you have been rich. The more unworthy you feel yourself to be, the more evidence have you that nothing but unspeakable love could have led the Lord Jesus to save such a soul as yours. The more demerit you feel, the clearer is the display of the abounding love of God in having chosen you, and called you, and made you an heir of bliss. Now, if there be such love between God and us let us live in the influence and sweetness of it, and use the privilege of our position. Do not let us approach our Lord as though we were strangers, or as though he were unwilling to hear us--for we are greatly beloved by our loving Father. "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" Come boldly, O believer, for despite the whisperings of Satan and the doubtings of thine own heart, thou art greatly beloved. Meditate on the exceeding greatness and faithfulness of divine love this evening, and so go to thy bed in peace.
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Today's reading: Isaiah 14-16, Ephesians 5:1-16 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Isaiah 14-16
1 The LORD will have compassion on Jacob;
once again he will choose Israel
and will settle them in their own land.
Foreigners will join them
and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
2 Nations will take them
and bring them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nations
and make them male and female servants in the LORD’s land.
They will make captives of their captors
and rule over their oppressors.
once again he will choose Israel
and will settle them in their own land.
Foreigners will join them
and unite with the descendants of Jacob.
2 Nations will take them
and bring them to their own place.
And Israel will take possession of the nations
and make them male and female servants in the LORD’s land.
They will make captives of their captors
and rule over their oppressors.
3 On the day the LORD gives you relief from your suffering and turmoil and from the harsh labor forced on you, 4 you will take up this taunt against the king of Babylon:
How the oppressor has come to an end!
How his fury has ended!
5 The LORD has broken the rod of the wicked,
the scepter of the rulers,
6 which in anger struck down peoples
with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued nations
with relentless aggression.
7 All the lands are at rest and at peace;
they break into singing.
8 Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon
gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
no one comes to cut us down.”
How his fury has ended!
5 The LORD has broken the rod of the wicked,
the scepter of the rulers,
6 which in anger struck down peoples
with unceasing blows,
and in fury subdued nations
with relentless aggression.
7 All the lands are at rest and at peace;
they break into singing.
8 Even the junipers and the cedars of Lebanon
gloat over you and say,
“Now that you have been laid low,
no one comes to cut us down.”
Today's New Testament reading: Ephesians 5:1-16
1 Follow God’s example, therefore, as dearly loved children 2and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
3 But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God’s holy people. 4 Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. 5 For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person—such a person is an idolater—has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. 6Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God’s wrath comes on those who are disobedient. 7Therefore do not be partners with them....
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