Saturday, January 21, 2017

Sat Jan 21st Todays News

More is revealed about the Muslim convert who killed at least four people by driving into a crowd in Bourke St Melbourne. Among the dead is a 10 yo Jewish girl. Her family are among the wounded. Police are saying it is not terrorist related, but depending on the clothing of the dead girl's family, if it was obvious they were Jewish, then it seems impossible the killer is not guilty of a hate crime as well as murder. According to the killer's mother, he had earlier stabbed his younger gay brother in the face. Then he forced his girlfriend into the car, and she left. It was after she left, while he was looking for her, that he ran into the crowd. He had also done burnouts and donuts. Apparently he wanted it to look like a terrorist hit because, as witnesses claim, he was shouting out terrorist slogans. Police are saying it was not a terrorist hit, which means it is unlikely that an organisation tasked him to kill. It becomes what fake news sites call a "Lone Wolf attack." Only it looks more like the dumb activity of an utterly self absorbed druggy. Which doesn't excuse the Islamic community from embracing terrorist theology. Malcolm Turnbull took to dinner many apologists for such drug addled scum. And Dan Andrews is culpable for tying police hands and keeping the killer on the streets. 

 Melbourne will be subdued for awhile. But tomorrow is a new day. Because even in tragedy, God is here. Not causing it. Not testing faith. Not making people endure tragedy to better themselves. Some do not see Him. But He has a face and if you look for it, it is obvious. This terrorist type tragedy is wrong. This is not what God wants for you or me. And one day everything, not some things, but everything, will be made right. You might wonder how can that be, when clearly this is messed up and pretty far from being right. But I say look to the Face of God. He is there. And everything will be made right. And He holds the broken, and mends and heals. His works are mighty. He will overcome this evil.

There are lots of excuses for what the killer did. His religion, his drugs, his emotional trauma for knowing his brother was gay. None of the excuses are acceptable. Most people don't behave that way, never will. Most people will feel very provoked in their lives, and none of them will commit an atrocity. This killer should not be in our community. He doesn't fit in. It isn't prudent to put him there. 
=== from 2016 ===
Ridiculous posturing by the ALP opposition has seen hysterical news readers announce that a baby was fed by a woman that wasn't the mother. It was an accident. Human error. No side effects. Unless reminded, it is doubtful the child will ever know. Such accidents predate NSW electing a Liberal Government in 2011, but the ALP forget that. It illustrates the outrageous bias of the press. It should be easy, but it is a challenge to find the statistics which show how many surplus budgets the ALP have produced in 40 years in State or Federal governments. The conservatives have done it many times. Possibly Keating as treasurer before he gave us the recession we had to have. But the prize for bias goes to 72 UK doctors calling for the boycott of Israel medical services. Breathtaking in its' audacity, Israel is the first nation to provide medical services anywhere in the world in emergencies. Maybe the refusal of Israeli medicos to be stabbed by terrorists is upsetting the 72 UK doctors (are they virgins?)? 

For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility 
=== from 2015 ===
Many congratulations to Timothy Ly on the upcoming ABC comedy drama series Maximum Choppage. He was eighteen years old when, over a decade ago, he made a short film locally, and then a motion picture length film on no budget engaging the local community. Australia has culturally diverse talent, but a monocultural ABC focused entirely on some minorities have prevented such drama reaching our screens. So that the absurd situation has arisen whereby girls from any of many diverse ethnicities don't see role models in potential mates of their own ethnicity, only white. That goes against the ABC charter. There were many hurdles that Tim needed to complete before he could get the ABC to back this. And he has done so. It is now paid, but a team effort where creative control has been surrendered .. but hopefully the lead has been followed. An interesting backstory to Tim, who has devoted his adult life to movies and production, his family are Chinese Cambodian who fled the killing fields. Before then, his dad had used to spend his spare time going to the local movie theatres. The apple does not fall far from the tree. 

On this day in 1931, the first Australian Governor General who was Australian born was sworn in. Sir Isaac Isaacs was also Jewish. Much is made of Isaac's anti Zionist position. He did not favour Israel. However, it is telling as to why he didn't favour Israel. Because he didn't consider Israel would become the great modern state she now is. He didn't see her democracy. He didn't know how great and trustworthy his people are, although he clearly loved them. Isaacs was under the misapprehension the Balfour agreement meant that Jews would be as Palestinians are now .. monocultural, xenophobic, driven to survive through lowest common denominator politics like terrorism. Isaacs trusted Great Britain to be an umbrella she had failed to be. It wasn't his fault, or a character flaw, The King had treated Jews badly in a way that could not be anticipated. But as Governor General, and as a Jewish man, Isaacs was a leader. A good leader. Australians should be proud. 

Sometimes people ask for more government. NYC aldermen gave more government to the city of New York by banning women from smoking in public places on this day in 1908. The Mayor, who clearly wanted to be reelected, blocked the measure. 
From 2014
It is close to Martin Luther King Day in the US, celebrated Jan 20th in 2014. He was born Jan 15th, 1929. He lived by his words and died because of them. So to celebrate, I will highlight my opposition to racist bigots collecting under the banner of the Australian Defence League and the Australian Tea Party. I have been schooled by some to note not every member of ADL is a racist bigot. I do not know who individual members are, and so do not know who the exceptions are. But I will outline what I know.

The ADL is not unique. It is right wing reactionary and not conservative, but tends to social conservatism on some issues. It is named after counterpart organisations in UK (EDL) and US (ADL) and North Ireland (UDL) and maintains loose friendships with them, including hosting senior members. The ADL in Australia is often connected with sympathetic members of the armed forces and people who would like to be. There is nothing wrong with military types being involved in civil organisations, that is a healthy thing. However, it is preferable if those organisations are cultural assets, like RSL, Lions, Apex, Masons, electoral commission .. but a survey of EDL publications shows that there is more invested in race relations, equivalent to KKK. 

EDL is well known for drunken gatherings that turn violent. It was founded by members of the British far right nationalists calling themselves neo Nazis. Far more benign is the US Tea Party, which is not affiliated with the Australian Tea Party. ADL leader (Australian) began the Australian Tea Party in the hopes of tapping into the US political donation cycle. 

There is something politically naive and stupid in the stance taken by the ADL on public issues. They are for protectionism economically. They connect themselves with loopy left wingers who suspect government administration. They try to unite Islamo Fascist terrorists with Islamic peoples who are preyed on by the terrorists. They support failed political movements at the expense of conservatives like the LNP. They hate the ALP and Greens when they would be wiser to oppose their policy. 

ADL may take exception to what I have written about them, but it is criticism they might learn from and benefit from. Feel free to find exceptions to what I have written and treasure them. 
Historical perspective on this day
In 763, the Battle of Bakhamra between Alids and Abbasids near Kufa ended in a decisive Abbasid victory. 1525, the Swiss Anabaptist Movement was founded when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptised each other in the home of Manz's mother in Zürich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union. 1535, following the Affair of the Placards, French Protestants were burned at the stake in front of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris

In 1720, Sweden and Prussia signed the Treaty of Stockholm. 1749, the Teatro Filarmonico in Verona was destroyed by fire. It was rebuilt in 1754. 1774, Abdul Hamid I became Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and Caliph of Islam. 1789, the first American novel, The Power of Sympathy or the Triumph of Nature Founded in Truth, was printed in Boston, Massachusetts. 1793, after being found guilty of treason by the French Convention, Louis XVI of France was executed by guillotine. 1840, Jules Dumont d'Urville discovered Adélie Land, Antarctica. 1861, American Civil War: Jefferson Davis resigned from the United States Senate. 1864, the Tauranga Campaign began during the Maori Wars. 1887, 465 millimetres (18.3 in) of rain fell in Brisbane, a record for any Australian capital city. 1893, the Tati Concessions Land, formerly part of Matabeleland, was formally annexed to the Bechuanaland Protectorate, now Botswana. 1899, Opel manufactures its first automobile.

In 1908, New York City passed the Sullivan Ordinance, making it illegal for women to smoke in public, only to have the measure vetoed by the mayor. 1911, the first Monte Carlo Rally took place. 1915, Kiwanis International was founded in Detroit, Michigan. 1919, Meeting of the First Dáil Éireann in the Mansion House Dublin. Sinn Féin adopted Ireland's first constitution. The first engagement of Irish War of Independence, Sologhead Beg, County Tipperary. 1925, Albania declared itself a republic. 1931, Sir Isaac Isaacs was sworn in as the first Australian-born Governor-General of Australia. 1941, Sparked by the murder of a German officer in Bucharest, Romania, the day before, members of the Iron Guard engaged in a rebellion and pogrom killing 125 Jews. 1948, the Flag of Quebec was adopted and flown for the first time over the National Assembly of Quebec. The day is marked annually as Quebec Flag Day.

In 1950, American lawyer and government official Alger Hiss was convicted of perjury. 1954, the first nuclear-powered submarine, the USS Nautilus, was launched in Groton, Connecticutby Mamie Eisenhower, the First Lady of the United States. 1958, the last Fokker C.X in military service, the Finnish Air Force FK-111 target tower, crashed, killing the pilot and winch-operator. 1960, Little Joe 1B, a Mercury spacecraft, lifted off from Wallops Island, Virginia with Miss Sam, a female rhesus monkey on board. Also 1960, Avianca Flight 671 crashed and burned upon landing at Montego Bay, Jamaica, killing 37. It was the worst air disaster in Jamaica's history and the first for Avianca. 1961, 435 workers were buried alive when a mine in Coalbrook, Free State collapsed. 1968, Vietnam War: Battle of Khe Sanh – One of the most publicised and controversial battles of the war began. Also 1968, a B-52 bomber crashed near Thule Air Base, contaminating the area after its nuclear payload ruptured. One of the four bombs remains unaccounted for after the cleanup operation was complete. 1971, the current Emley Moor transmitting station, the tallest free-standing structure in the United Kingdom, began transmitting UHF broadcasts. 1976, Commercial service of Concorde began with the London-Bahrain and Paris-Rio routes. 1977, President of the United States Jimmy Carterpardoned nearly all American Vietnam War draft evaders, some of whom had emigrated to Canada.

In 1981, production of the iconic DeLorean DMC-12 sports car began in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. 1997, the U.S. House of Representatives votes 395–28 to reprimand Newt Gingrichfor ethics violations, making him the first Speaker of the House to be so disciplined. 1999, War on Drugs: In one of the largest drug busts in American history, the United States Coast Guardintercepted a ship with over 4,300 kilograms (9,500 lb) of cocaine on board. 2000, Ecuador: After the Ecuadorian Congress was seized by indigenous organisations, Col. Lucio Gutierrez, Carlos Solorzano and Antonio Vargas deposed President Jamil Mahuad. Gutierrez was later replaced by Gen. Carlos Mendoza, who resigned and allowed Vice-President Gustavo Noboato succeed Mahuad. 2003, a 7.6 magnitude earthquake struck the Mexican state of Colima, killing 29 and leaving approximately 10,000 people homeless. 2004, NASA's MER-A (the Mars Rover Spirit) ceased communication with mission control. The problem lay in the management of its flash memory and was fixed remotely from Earth on February 6. 2005, in Belmopan, Belize, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupted into riots.
=== 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.
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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
===
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
Happy birthday and many happy returns Chris Heins, Charmaine Lawton and Justin Ly. Born on the same day, across the years, along with
January 21: Feast Day of Saint Agnes (Christianity); Flag Day in Quebec
Sir Isaac Isaacs
You have my sympathy. Things have gone south. Our names repeat. We bomb. But our guard is sufficient. Let's party. 
Deaths
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Tim Blair


PRESIDENT TRUMP

President Donald Trump’s inauguration speech hit many fine notes.
21 Jan  33 comments
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AUSTRALIA’S LEADING THUCYDIOT

Tim Blair – Thursday, January 21, 2016 (3:09pm)

“If avoiding the Thucydides trap is a core objective of China’s strategy – as President Xi insists it is – then we would hope that China’s actions would be carefully calculated to make conflict less likely.” – Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull cites Ancient Greek general Thucydides during a speech this week in the US.
“If the test is how do we avoid the Thucydides trap, then any action which is likely to promote conflict or tension or run the risk of doing so, is one that should be avoided.” – More Thucydides from the PM, also in the US.
“Two and a half thousand years ago or thereabouts, the Athenian general Thucydides wrote what is probably the earliest work of real history – his history of the Peloponnesian War, the war between the Athenians and Spartans.” – Turnbull again gives it up for ol’ Thucydides, this time at a UN reception last year.


Lucy and Thucy Turnbull share a peaceful Peloponnesian moment.

“I can quote to you from Thucydides’ work.” – You sure can, Prime Minister, you sure can.
“It is a great shame that we do not offer more students Latin and Greek in our schools not because the joys of Thucydides and Tacitus can only be enjoyed in the original, but rather because Latin and Greek are two of the most important building blocks of our own language.” – Is there nothing Thucydides can’t do?
“Dinner with Thucydides – imagine the stories he could tell.” – Turnbull dreams of his perfect dining companion on Twitter in 2012.
“The Peloponnesian war lives on in our imagination, inspiring (and misleading) generations of statesmen and generals simply because of the quality of Thucydides’ history.” – Australia’s leading Thucydiot during a 2012 speech to the Classical Association of NSW.
“White reminds us that Thucydides, considering the several incidents that led to the Peloponnesian War, concluded that the real reason was Sparta’s growing anxiety about the rise of Athenian wealth and power.” – Everything reminds Malcolm of Thucydides.
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SOME GLOBAL WARMING MIGHT HELP

Tim Blair – Thursday, January 21, 2016 (3:01pm)

Wind turbines are expensive, ugly and inefficient. Also, they don’t work at all in icy conditions – unless operators resort to fossil fuel: 
Glaciated rotor blades are the scourge of wind turbines in cold climates, as the ice can bring the blades to a stop.
A helicopter company in Constance has developed a solution – featuring a helicopter, of course. They use a helicopter to spray hot water, which quickly melts ice from the blades ...
The water is heated overnight using a truck equipped with a 260 kW oil burner.  Come morning, the helicopter can start shuttling the water to the icy wind turbine.
The operation requires three people: A helicopter pilot, an operator to control the sprayer, and a person at the truck to rapidly refill the empty tank. 
Which all adds up to one monstrous carbon footprint. Way to save the planet, freezy turbiners.
(Via the Indomitable Snowman, PhD.)
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STUDENTS WANT THEIR MONEY BACK

Tim Blair – Thursday, January 21, 2016 (2:33pm)

So that promising career in ethnomusicology never worked out, despite spending tens of thousands on a fancy education. What to do next? Well, it’s obvious: 
Americans are flooding the government with appeals to have their student loans forgiven on the grounds that schools deceived them with false promises of a well-paying career – part of a growing protest against years of surging college costs.
In the past six months, more than 7,500 borrowers owing $164 million have applied to have their student debt expunged under an obscure federal law that had been applied only in three instances before last year. The law forgives debt for borrowers who prove their schools used illegal tactics to recruit them, such as by lying about their graduates’ earnings.
The U.S. Education Department has already agreed to cancel nearly $28 million of that debt. 
Bad move. The government should add more interest instead and redefine university loan repayments as a stupidity tax.
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WHEN THREATS ARE REAL

Tim Blair – Thursday, January 21, 2016 (12:43pm)

The next time paranoid Australian climate activists and their dull-witted supporters start crying about alleged death threats, remember Professor Syed Hamid Hussain:



Hussain was among 20 people killed by Islamic extremists at Pakistan’s Bacha Khan University. The chemistry professor attempted to save his students by shooting at the extremists, but ultimately was overpowered.
Compare his actions with the physical and philosophical cowardice of most Australian climate academics. Quite a contrast, isn’t it?
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Still on holidays, learning plenty

Andrew Bolt January 21 2016 (2:02pm)

Apologies to readers demanding to know when I am finally going to go back to work.
I was instructed to use up most of my accumulated holidays forthwith, and still have a week and a half to go. But rather than loaf, I have spent nearly three weeks of the time off filming a documentary on constituional recognition of Aborigines for the ABC, along with Labor MP Linda Burney.
What I have seen and learned has been extraordinary. Some of it is hugely important, I believe. The frustration, though, is that I have agreed beforehand not to write about it until the documentary is shown, and at this stage the ABC is unlikely to show it until late this year.  Then, of course, the director may well decide that what I believe is important is actually not - or not very. And she may be right. In any event, I hope eventually to write something at some length to describe what I have seen. We are going to be asked to vote on a proposal to change our nation, for good or bad, and there is much we need to discuss that until now has been barely even acknowledged. Some of those issues are ones that I now realise I did not properly turn my own mind to, and only through these extensive travels and discussions could more fully understand. I have been very lucky to have been granted this insight, thanks in large part to Aboriginal activists we have met.
We are about to fly to New Zealand. We have been told that Australia could learn much from its example. I have some reason to believe that is in some ways true.
Sorry to sound so vague. But my word is my word. And this trip is one of the most intellectually and morally challenging things I have done - and one of the most interesting.
Beats sitting in an office or a TV studio, for sure.  
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Bob Carter

Andrew Bolt January 20 2016 (10:41pm)

Professor Bob Carter had guts. He followed the evidence and not the crowd. He identified the pause in the warming and was abused for it by many in the media, and only years later did the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concede there had indeed been a hiatus.
Carter was a seeker of truth, so it is a great blow that this fine man has died of a heart attack.
His widow Anne writes:
Dear Andrew,
We are very sad to inform you that Bob passed away peacefully last night in the company of his family.
Heartland has put together a great bio on Bob’s career and Jo Nova has also written an amazing tribute:
.
https://www.heartland.org/robert-m-carter
http://joannenova.com.au/2016/01/bob-carter-a-great-man-gone-far-too-soon/
One thing is for sure, Bob made the most of every minute he had and was a fighter to the very end.
He would want to thank you for your support over the years
Funeral arrangements have been made through Morleys Funerals at the lakes next Monday at 1pm in Townsville.
Thank you for your amazing blog and in helping to spread the word about the true science of climate Change.  Keep up the great work!!!
Anne Carter 
There are many people who call themselves scientists who follow the grants, the political drum and the media plaudits. Then there are those with the right stuff.
Here is the video of one of Bob’s appearances on The Bolt Report:  http://youtu.be/s9voS5MJSuM
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The horror of the boutique baby scandal

Miranda Devine – Wednesday, January 21, 2015 (7:53am)

THE horrendous surrogacy story of Baby Gammy seems to have reached a happy-ish ending with the announcement yesterday the rejected Thai twin has been granted Australian citizenship. But, despite the alarming consequences of the commodification of children, the global baby industry just keeps churning out more product to satisfy a booming market, especially for gay couples.

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'The horror of the boutique baby scandal'
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Terribly tacky aftermath to terrifying situation

Miranda Devine – Wednesday, January 21, 2015 (7:58am)

IT’S sad that the Lindt siege victims have sold their stories to the media. Prices as high as $400,000 have been reported. We’ll all watch with interest but the idea that they would profit from a terrorism attack which left two of their fellow hostages dead is distasteful.

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'Terribly tacky aftermath to terrifying situation'
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Labor pays a debt

Miranda Devine – Wednesday, January 21, 2015 (7:59am)

THE Abbott government has emerged in 2015 with more than its fair share of self-inflicted problems. But before you declare a pox on all their houses, it’s worth remembering the sheer awfulness of the last mob. It was in a class of its own.

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'Labor pays a debt'
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RESIST FREEDOM! RESIST DEMOCRACY!

Tim Blair – Wednesday, January 21, 2015 (2:00pm)

“I want to look at the issue of the cartoons very quickly,” says Hizbie jabberer Wassim Doureihi. Several minutes and many blathering evasions later, Wassim finally gets around to it, leading to his interesting definition of the “struggle” between Islam and the west: 
“It is a struggle to resist the imposition of values like freedom and democracy.” 
Pro tip: it’s a lot easier to resist freedom and democracy if you don’t live in a free democracy. Wassim also offers this comparison: 
“In the modern world, Muslims are effectively the Jews prior to World War Two.” 
Readers with any historical awareness may dispute that point. Previously, immediately following the Paris murders, my friend Jason Morrison dealt with a panel of weasels on Al Jazeera English: 
I am not going to sit here and listen to people stupidly suggest that the French or the magazine or anyone brought this on themselves. Are you for real? We have a dozen people dead, killed in the name of a religious belief and you are seriously going to even slightly justify this? 
Do read on.
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JUST IN TIME FOR AUSTRALIA DAY 2015

Tim Blair – Wednesday, January 21, 2015 (1:20pm)

Look who’s back in Canberra: 
Julia Gillard’s former media adviser, the man who helped spark a violent Australia Day protest in 2012, has taken up a new job for ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr.
Tony Hodges resigned as the then prime minister’s adviser after it was revealed he had tipped off protesters from the Aboriginal Tent Embassy to the whereabouts of then opposition leader Tony Abbott.
On Australia Day in 2012, a group of Aboriginal protesters surrounded a restaurant in central Canberra, angered by reports that Mr Abbott had said it was time to pull the Aboriginal Tent Embassy down. 
Those reports, of course, were completely wrong. Further on Hodges’s return by Miranda Devine.
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EXPLAIN THIS, SCIENTISTS

Tim Blair – Wednesday, January 21, 2015 (11:46am)

It turns out that global warming causes private jets.
(Via A.R.M. Jones)
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LUVVIES AGAINST FOREIGNERS

Tim Blair – Wednesday, January 21, 2015 (11:20am)

Australia’s creative types are just fine with thousands of illegals arriving by boat, but it’s a different matter entirely when a few actors and film industry workers turn up: 
Actor Michael Caton has joined with the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance (MEAA) and the Labor opposition in warning that proposed changes to the Temporary Worker (entertainment) visa poses a threat to Australian film and television workers.
The so-called subclass 420 visa is used to bring in overseas actors and crew to Australia and the government quietly announced a review of it last week …
“It has been working really well for about 20 years, so why fiddle with it? And if you are going to bring in whole casts, what are we doing subsidising what are supposed to be Australian movies?” [Caton] said.
“And why would you bring in sound engineers and special effects people, when you have Australians up for Academy Awards in these categories?”
“It’s a fairly precarious industry as it is, all this will do is make it harder to get work for everybody, crews, actors, whatever. It will hurt our work prospects.” 
They took our jobs! 
Labor arts spokesman Mark Dreyfus said the Abbott government had “begun a process by stealth to undermine Australian actors, performers and the workers who support them” as the review had been launched with no notice from the arts or immigration ministers …
The director of the MEAA’s actors’ equity section, Zoe Angus, said the union would campaign to protect opportunities for local actors and crew. 
Utter hypocrites.
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I name you Odin ..
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David Bowles
It's tough to write about merfolk without falling into silliness, inconsistency or overused tropes. However, I've just broken the story for A Kingdom Beneath the Waves (Garza Twins Book Two), and it's going to be freaking cool.Mesoamerican mythology makes any fantasy cliché a thousand times better! ‪#‎aztecmerfolk‬‪#‎fourthsun‬
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AND THE AWARD FOR BEST GLOBAL WARMING COMEDY GOES TO …

Tim Blair – Tuesday, January 21, 2014 (3:22pm)

Unintentional Antarctic resident Chris Turney, leader of the ship of fools, wins a prize: 
Professor Chris Turney has been awarded the 2014 Frederick White Prize for his research on understanding past and present climate change and on improving climate change models.
Professor Turney is an Australian Research Council Laureate Fellow in the UNSW Climate Change Research Centre.
The prize, awarded biennially, recognises the achievements of scientists in Australia who are engaged in research of intrinsic scientific merit that has contributed to community interests, rural or industrial progress, or the understanding of natural phenomena.
Professor Turney is expected to arrive back in Australia today, after leading the 2013-2014 Australasian Antarctic Expedition, a scientific program aimed at increasing our knowledge of the vital Antarctic region.
“I am absolutely delighted and incredibly humbled to receive such a prestigious award,” Professor Turney said. 
Turney will collect his prize in Canberra this May. I hope he can find a park.
(Via Dr P)
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Sportsmanship on thin ice

Andrew Bolt January 21 2014 (7:53am)


How not to come second. Speed skater Sjinkie Knegt then used a foot to send winner Viktor An a further message:

Others are poor winners. Take Richard Sherman, who yesterday tipped a last-gasp touchdown pass out of the hands of Michael Crabtree to send the Seahawks to the Super Bowl:
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One in five rely on government for an income handout

Andrew Bolt January 21 2014 (7:03am)


This $70 billion a year of welfarism cannot all be healthy:
THE nation’s welfare system is “unsustainable” and large, urgent changes must be made to the disability pension and the general unemployment benefit, Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews has warned. 
A 10-year report by the Department of Human Services shows that more than five million Australians received an income support payment in June 2012 - more than one in five Australians - with Disability Support Pension recipients hitting 827,000, while 550,000 people were on Newstart Allowance.
Figures for June last year, released recently but not included in the 10-year report, show… DSP recipients totalled 821,000. Mr Andrews ... said the government was reviewing all welfare rules to see what could be done to decrease the number of unemployed on the dole, including the possibility of eliminating the ability of those on welfare to refuse to take a job if it was more than 90 minutes from their home and keep their income support payments.
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Bolt Report back and bigger

Andrew Bolt January 20 2014 (6:23pm)

I am told The Bolt Report will be back on February 2 March 2, and will now go for an hour.
I’ve thought of a juicy new segment for it to balance something on the ABC.
Any further ideas welcome, including your wish-list for panelists, both Left and conservative/libertarian.
UPDATE
Oops. I have just been told that logistical issues, not least those involving the televising of the Sochi games, means the return of the show has had to be postponed for one month. Unfortunate, but there it is.
I’ve also noted a common request in comments below. It will be acted upon and the said person is on board. 
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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
HOW DO YOU BREAK THE ATTITUDE OF WORRY?
I will like to share to you this one thing that derails Christians from growing in faith. Worry is very deceiving and in most cases taken lightly. That's why it's powerful and destructive.You see, lots of people are worried about their bills, thinning hair, health, kids, wrinkles in their faces and all other things. It's an unconscious habit that people are doing that, taking the limelight from God and focusing it on their problems. 

Listen.In Matthew 6:25-27 Scripture says that we shouldn't be anxious about our life because "worrying" won't add a single hour in our life. In fact, it's a sin since we're seeing our problem as if it's bigger than our God. So how do break the habit of worrying? Really, there several ways to break it but I will show you a better and long-term solution.Think about this. Worrying is actually an act of meditation. It is focusing your mind on things that may go wrong. Oddly enough, we also worry about the things that have already happened. And we cannot change the past.

Here's a better solution. Instead of meditating on the negative, why not meditate on God's Words and promises to you? If bills and expenses are piling up, why not meditate this truth."But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:19.Simply close your eyes and recite this verse meaningfully three times to experience its power. It can be the best weapon to fight this unconscious habit.God bless you.
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PRAY.
Father, today I choose to hold on to peace. I won’t let the little things upset me and steal my joy and peace. I choose to trust You and praise You for what You are doing today and in the future of my life in Jesus’ name! Amen.
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Everyone has opportunities to get upset and be frustrated every single day. Sometimes it’s the little things — we can’t find the car keys, traffic is backed up,misplace your phone, somebody was rude, or what should have taken an hour ends up taking four hours. Something happened and now you are frustrated and all bent out of shape. There will always be something that can sour your day, but if you are going to live in victory, you have to maintain the right approach. You can’t let the little foxes spoil the vine. In other words, don’t let the little things in life spoil the harvest God has for your future.The Scripture says,“Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.”
(Song of Solomon 2:15, NIV) God bless you.
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MY TEN FAVORITE MARTIN LUTHER KING QUOTES

One of the greatest privileges of my life was being invited by Dr. King’s children and family to preach from the same pulpit that he preached from at the great Ebenezer Baptist Church , the congregation Dr. King pastored in Atlanta. The occasion was the 40th Anniversary of Dr. King’s death, and the family told me that I was the first white preacher to preach there.

People forget that, first and foremost, Martin Luther King was a PASTOR, He was not a politician. He was a Baptist minister of the Gospel, and a pastor of a local church. Everything he did to promote freedom, justice, and racial equality flowed out of his understanding of God’s Word. I have read hundreds of his sermons and they are rich biblical content.

Hanging on the wall of my study is hand typed and signed note from Dr. King. It hangs next to a handwritten note from Mother Teresa and a letter of encouragement from Billy Graham. Each of these 3 Christian leaders left their mark on me as I was a young man.

In honor of Pastor Martin Luther King on this MLK holiday, I give you my 10 FAVORITE QUOTES from a man who was model to many other pastors:

1. “The purpose of life is not to be happy, nor to achieve pleasure nor avoid pain, but to do the will of God, come what may.”

2. “I just want to do God’s will.”

3. “When I took up the cross I recognized it's meaning. The cross is something that you bear, and ultimately, that you die on.”

4. “The early Christians rejoiced when they were deemed worthy to suffer for what they believed. In those days the Church was not merely a thermometer that recorded the ideas and principles of popular opinion; it was a thermostat that transformed the mores of society.”

5. "I have decided to stick with love. Hate is too great a burden to bear."

6. "The hottest place in Hell is reserved for those who remain neutral in times of great moral conflict."

7. "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."

8. “Forgiveness is not an occasional act, it is a constant attitude.”

9. "The gospel at its best deals with the whole man, not only his soul but his body, not only his spiritual well-being, but his material well being as well.”

10. "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."
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“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” - James 1:2-3
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

January 20: Morning

"Abel was a keeper of sheep." - Genesis 4:2

As a shepherd Abel sanctified his work to the glory of God, and offered a sacrifice of blood upon his altar, and the Lord had respect unto Abel and his offering. This early type of our Lord is exceedingly clear and distinct. Like the first streak of light which tinges the east at sunrise, it does not reveal everything, but it clearly manifests the great fact that the sun is coming. As we see Abel, a shepherd and yet a priest, offering a sacrifice of sweet smell unto God, we discern our Lord, who brings before his Father a sacrifice to which Jehovah ever hath respect. Abel was hated by his brother--hated without a cause; and even so was the Saviour: the natural and carnal man hated the accepted man in whom the Spirit of grace was found, and rested not until his blood had been shed. Abel fell, and sprinkled his altar and sacrifice with his own blood, and therein sets forth the Lord Jesus slain by the enmity of man while serving as a priest before the Lord. "The good Shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep." Let us weep over him as we view him slain by the hatred of mankind, staining the horns of his altar with his own blood. Abel's blood speaketh. "The Lord said unto Cain, The voice of thy brother's blood crieth unto me from the ground.'" The blood of Jesus hath a mighty tongue, and the import of its prevailing cry is not vengeance but mercy. It is precious beyond all preciousness to stand at the altar of our good Shepherd! to see him bleeding there as the slaughtered priest, and then to hear his blood speaking peace to all his flock, peace in our conscience, peace between Jew and Gentile, peace between man and his offended Maker, peace all down the ages of eternity for blood-washed men. Abel is the first shepherd in order of time, but our hearts shall ever place Jesus first in order of excellence. Thou great Keeper of the sheep, we the people of thy pasture bless thee with our whole hearts when we see thee slain for us.

Evening

"Turn away mine eyes from beholding vanity; and quicken thou me in thy way." - Psalm 119:37

There are divers kinds of vanity. The cap and bells of the fool, the mirth of the world, the dance, the lyre, and the cup of the dissolute, all these men know to be vanities; they wear upon their forefront their proper name and title. Far more treacherous are those equally vain things, the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches. A man may follow vanity as truly in the counting-house as in the theatre. If he be spending his life in amassing wealth, he passes his days in a vain show. Unless we follow Christ, and make our God the great object of life, we only differ in appearance from the most frivolous. It is clear that there is much need of the first prayer of our text. "Quicken thou me in thy way." The Psalmist confesses that he is dull, heavy, lumpy, all but dead. Perhaps, dear reader, you feel the same. We are so sluggish that the best motives cannot quicken us, apart from the Lord himself. What! will not hell quicken me? Shall I think of sinners perishing, and yet not be awakened? Will not heaven quicken me? Can I think of the reward that awaiteth the righteous, and yet be cold? Will not death quicken me? Can I think of dying, and standing before my God, and yet be slothful in my Master's service? Will not Christ's love constrain me? Can I think of his dear wounds, can I sit at the foot of his cross, and not be stirred with fervency and zeal? It seems so! No mere consideration can quicken us to zeal, but God himself must do it, hence the cry, "Quicken thou me." The Psalmist breathes out his whole soul in vehement pleadings: his body and his soul unite in prayer. "Turn away mine eyes," says the body: "Quicken thou me," cries the soul. This is a fit prayer for every day. O Lord, hear it in my case this night.
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Herod 
[Hûr'od] - son of the hero or the glory of the skin. Space forbids a detailed account of the genealogical table of the family of Herod. From Antipater, Governor of Idumaea, there were many branches. Elaborating on the history of the Herods, Henry S. Nash in his Hastings Dictionary article says that they brought into history a considerable amount of vigor and ability, and that the main interest attaching to the Herods is not concerned with their characters as individual rulers.
"They acquire dignity when they are viewed as parts of a supremely dramatic situation in universal history. The fundamental elements in the situation are two.
"The course of world-power in antiquity, and the relation between it and the political principle in the constitution of the Chosen People.
"The religious genius of Judaism, and its relation to the political elements in the experience of the Jews."
Among the many of the Herodian house, mention can be made of three, prominent in New Testament history.
1. Herod the Great. This son of Antipater had shown himself before his father's death both masterful and merciless. Because of his rule he earned the tile "Herod the Great." He is remembered for his massacre of the innocents, the murder of several of his sons and for his own appalling death. Stewart Perowne in his recent monumental study, The Life and Times of Herod the Great, tells us that Herod's life was as "eventful as his buildings were magnificent... His charm made him a close personal friend, first of Mark Antony, later of Augustus and Agrippa . . . Herod's greatest achievement was the building of the Temple in Jerusalem" ( Matt. 2:1-22; Luke 1:5).
2. Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great by his Samaritan wife, Matthaec. He became tetrarch of Galilee and Pernea. A man of craft, his cunning served him well. "The corroding immorality of his race shows itself in his marriage with Herodias, his brother's wife." His lust proved his undoing and also cost John the Baptist his head. Ultimately he was banished (Matt. 14:1-6; Mark 6:14-22; 8:15; Luke 3:1, 19; Luke 8:3;Luke 9:7, 9; Luke 13:31; Luke 23:7-15; Acts 4:27; Acts 13:1).
3. The grandson of Herod the Great, and the son of Aristobulus and Bernice. He became Herod Agrippa I. Caligula gave him the governments of the tetrarchs Philip and Lysanias with other marks of royal favor. Parading as a little tin god, he was smitten with a foul disease and died in great agony (Acts 12; 23:35).
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Today's reading: Genesis 49-50, Matthew 13:31-58 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Genesis 49-50

Jacob Blesses His Sons
1 Then Jacob called for his sons and said: "Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2 "Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob;
listen to your father Israel.
3 "Reuben, you are my firstborn,
my might, the first sign of my strength,
excelling in honor, excelling in power.
4 Turbulent as the waters, you will no longer excel,
for you went up onto your father's bed,
onto my couch and defiled it.
5 "Simeon and Levi are brothers--
their swords are weapons of violence....

Today's New Testament reading: Matthew 13:31-58

The Parables of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast
31 He told them another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and planted in his field.32 Though it is the smallest of all seeds, yet when it grows, it is the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds come and perch in its branches."
33 He told them still another parable: "The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed into about sixty pounds of flour until it worked all through the dough."
34 Jesus spoke all these things to the crowd in parables; he did not say anything to them without using a parable. 35 So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:
"I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter things hidden since the creation of the world...."

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