Some things should not happen, but they do. Online shopping is available in Australia, but regulators have limited the ability of competitors to compete. Local councils won't let shops trade profitably. Victoria's government is pushing out established small business from Melbourne with excessive taxes. Amazon is coming to Australia and the press writes as if that is a bad thing. Shopping is about to get more convenient. Legislators are working hard to prevent it. Some are being openly nostalgic for times when people could not shop on weekends, or at night, and could not get things shoppers overseas take for granted. Welcome Amazon, I hope you profit handsomely.
I am very good and don't deserve the abuse given me. I created a video raising awareness of anti police feeling among western communities. I chose the senseless killing of Nicola Cotton, a Louisiana policewoman who joined post Katrina, to highlight the issue. I did this in order to get an income after having been illegally blacklisted from work in NSW for being a whistleblower. I have not done anything wrong. Local council appointees refused to endorse my work, so I did it for free. Youtube's Adsence refused to allow me to profit from their marketing it. Meanwhile, I am hostage to abysmal political leadership and hopeless journalists. My shopfront has opened on Facebook.
Here is a video I made Letter to the Front
"Ginger Mick was a likeable rogue who, before he answered the call to arms to defend democracy, sold fresh rabbits in the streets of Melbourne. This book by CJ Dennis tells of his tender love for Rose and his experiences at war in North Africa. The verse is full of humour and pathos and truly captures the spirit of the era.
Contents:
INTRODUCTION
I. DUCK AN' FOWL
II. WAR
III. THE CALL OF STOUSH
IV. THE PUSH
V. SARI BAIR
VI. GINGER'S COBBER
VII. THE SINGING SOLDIERS
VIII. IN SPADGER'S LANE
IX. THE STRAIGHT GRIFFIN
X. A LETTER TO THE FRONT
XI. RABBITS
XII. TO THE BOYS WHO TOOK THE COUNT
XIII. THE GAME
XIV. "A GALLANT GENTLEMAN"
I suppose you sometimes dream, Bill, in between the scraps out there, Of the land you left behind you when you sailed to do your share: Of Collins-street, or Rundle-street, or Pitt, or George, or Hay, Of the land beyond the Murray, or "along the Castlereagh." And I guess you dream of old days and the things you used to do, And you wonder how 'twill strike you when you've seen this business through, And you try to count your chances when you've finished with the Turk, And swap the gaudy war game for a spell of plain, drab work. Well, Bill, you know just how it is these early days of Spring, When the gilding of the wattle throws a glow on everything. The olden days, the golden days that you remember well, In spite o' war and worry, Bill, are with us for a spell. For the green is on the paddocks, and the sap is in the trees. And the bush birds in the gullies sing the ole, sweet melodies; And we're hoping, as we hearken, that when next the Springtime comes You'll be with us here to listen to that bird-talk in the gums. It's much the same old Springtime, Bill, you recollect of yore; Boronia and daffodils and wattle blooms once more Sling sweetness over city streets, and seem to put to shame The cult of greed and butchery that got you on this game. The same old,sweet September days, and much the same old place; Yet, there's a subtle something, Bill, upon each passing face: A thing that cannot be defined; a look that you put there The day you lobbed upon the beach and charged at Sari Bair. It isn't that we're boasting, lad; we've done with most of that - The froth, the cheers, the flapping flags, the wildy waving hat. Such things are childish memories; we blush to have them told; For we have seen our wounded, Bill, and it has made us old. Nor with a weary child's regret, not with a braggard's pride, But with a grown youth's calm resolve we've laid our toys aside. And it wus you that taught us, Bill, upon that fateful day, That we at last had grown too old for everlasting play. And, as a grown man dreams at times of boyhood days gone by, So shall we, when the mood is here, for carefree childhood sigh. But, as a clean youth looks out on life, clear-visioned and serene, So may we gaze, and ever strive to make our mandood clean. When all the strife is over, Bill, there yet is work to do; And in the bloodless fights to come we shall be needing you. We will be needing you the more for what you've seen and done, For you were born a Builder, lad, and we have just begun. There's been a deal of talk, old mate, of what we owe to you, of what you've braved and done for us, and what we mean to do. We've hailed you as a heroe, Bill, and talked Of just reward, When you have done the job you're at, and laid aside the sword. I guess it makes you think a bit, and weigh this gaudy praise; For even heroes have to eat, and - there are other days: The days to come when we no more need stalwart sons to fight, When the wild excitement's over, and the Leeuwin looms in sight. Then there's another fight to fight, and you will find it tough To doff the khaki for a suit of plain civilian stuff. When all the cheering dies away and hero-worship wanes, You'll have to face the old drab life and fight for other gains; For still your land will need you, as she needs each sturdy son. To fight the fight that never knows the firing of a gun - The quiet fight, the steady fight, when you shall prove your worth, And milk a cow on Yarra Flats or drive a quill in Perth. The gold is on the wattle, Bill; the sap is on the trees, And the bush-birds in the gullies sing the old, sweet melodies; There's a good, green land awaiting you when you come home again To swing a pick at Broken Hill or ride Yarrowie Plain. The streets are gay with daffodils, but, haggard in the sun. A wounded soldier passes; and we know old days are done. For down, deep down inside our hearts, is something you put there The day you landed on the beach and charged at Sari Bair.
"Den"
Bulletin 23 September 1915, p6
Bulletin 23 September 1915, p6
This poem was later published in The Moods of Ginger Mick with the same title but a different emphasis - basically this version shows the letter as being written by Ginger Mick, whereas the book version has it written to Ginger Mick by Bill (the Sentimental Bloke). In addition an entirely new first verse has been added in the book version.
This poem was also published in:
Favourite Poems of C.J. Dennis
Favourite Poems of C.J. Dennis
=== from 2016 ===
I have moved to a good home. I leave behind the ice house. Dan Andrews would rather I lived with an ice addict, and that you should too.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
=== from 2015 ===
Milne resigned from Greens leadership in Australia's Federal Parliament. Her 'achievements' include preventing the Franklyn Dam in '83, campaign against a pulp mill in '88, implementing a carbon tax, establishing Australia's highest ever debt, failing to prevent the abolition of the carbon tax. Her achievements mean that Australia must cut spending now or risk being unable to support her children in Welfare, Education or Health. As inept as Milne was, she still managed to freeze out aspirant Adam Bandt. Band is not competent either. But the party is full of bigots who hate Israel and whose commitment to actual environmentalism is questionable. So that they are more likely to support BDS sanctions than they are to work for a healthy Australian environment or even affordable healthcare. It isn't about the personality, it is all about policy. But there is little difference at the moment between ALP and Greens.
On this day in 1527, Rome was sacked by soldiers of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Charles had inherited very large estates, and had trouble managing it all. Some Italian states and France squared off against Charles V in an attempt to free the papacy from Charles V's control. But after Charles V won an engagement against French troops, he had not sufficient funds to pay his men their promised wages. So his victorious troops marched on Rome and sacked it. Twenty thousand faced barely six thousand defenders. The killing included the 147 strong Swiss Guard who defended the Pope, allowing him to flee, as well as 45000 civilians dead, wounded or exiled. It has been called the end of the Renaissance. In 1536, Incan forces attempted to retake Cuzco from Spain. It wasn't solely defended by Spain but by locals as well. Over a hundred thousand Incan warriors besieged it for over ten months against some thirty thousand defenders. The siege was unsuccessful. On the same day the siege began, Henry VIII ordered English language bibles into churches. In 1542, Francis Xavier made it into Goa, India, where he would do his most successful missionary work. In 1659, a faction of the British Army removed Richard Cromwellas Lord Protector of the Commonwealth and reinstalled the Rump Parliament. That was a crucial step for the restoration of Charles II.
In 1757, poet Christopher Smart was entered into an insane asylum. It is doubtful he was insane, but rather owed money. He became 'devoutly' religious and his excessive prayers were found to be obnoxious. He wrote what are now recognised as his greatest works in the six years he was in asylum. Few people today would have heard of him, he died in debt. Few things are more irritating than left wing leaders making promises they never intend to keep. Irish republicans murdered Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish on this day, in Phoenix Park, Dublin. Cavendish was the nephew of Gladstone, then PM of England. Cavendish had just been appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland. The guilty were found and hanged. In 1933, the Deutsche Studentenschaft attacked Magnus Hirschfeld's Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, later burning many of its books. In 1937, the German zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people were killed.
On this day in 1527, Rome was sacked by soldiers of the Holy Roman Emperor, Charles V. Charles had inherited very large estates, and had trouble managing it all. Some Italian states and France squared off against Charles V in an attempt to free the papacy from Charles V's control. But after Charles V won an engagement against French troops, he had not sufficient funds to pay his men their promised wages. So his victorious troops marched on Rome and sacked it. Twenty thousand faced barely six thousand defenders. The killing included the 147 strong Swiss Guard who defended the Pope, allowing him to flee, as well as 45000 civilians dead, wounded or exiled. It has been called the end of the Renaissance. In 1536, Incan forces attempted to retake Cuzco from Spain. It wasn't solely defended by Spain but by locals as well. Over a hundred thousand Incan warriors besieged it for over ten months against some thirty thousand defenders. The siege was unsuccessful. On the same day the siege began, Henry VIII ordered English language bibles into churches. In 1542, Francis Xavier made it into Goa, India, where he would do his most successful missionary work. In 1659, a faction of the British Army removed Richard Cromwellas Lord Protector of the Commonwealth and reinstalled the Rump Parliament. That was a crucial step for the restoration of Charles II.
In 1757, poet Christopher Smart was entered into an insane asylum. It is doubtful he was insane, but rather owed money. He became 'devoutly' religious and his excessive prayers were found to be obnoxious. He wrote what are now recognised as his greatest works in the six years he was in asylum. Few people today would have heard of him, he died in debt. Few things are more irritating than left wing leaders making promises they never intend to keep. Irish republicans murdered Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish on this day, in Phoenix Park, Dublin. Cavendish was the nephew of Gladstone, then PM of England. Cavendish had just been appointed Chief Secretary for Ireland. The guilty were found and hanged. In 1933, the Deutsche Studentenschaft attacked Magnus Hirschfeld's Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, later burning many of its books. In 1937, the German zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people were killed.
From 2014
ICAC is campaigning very hard to have its work curtailed by political intervention. It has claimed a police minister and two premiers of NSW without ever presenting a case against any of them. It now threatens to produce a report and time it for three months prior to the next election without providing details to the accused of what they are accused of. Coincidentally, today is the birthday of Maximilien de Robespierre who was incorruptibly stupid. His contribution to modern society was to model behaviour that gives teflon to the left .. he had his convictions of left wing idealism. He silenced his enemies by killing them. And he was executed by many that had been used by him to kill others. It seems that the ICAC are daring conservatives to shut it down before it executes its duty to weed out corruption .. corruption that flowered for sixteen years of ALP government under an ICAC watch.
Today is also an anniversary of a success of Thomas Cochrane. Cochrane was the protofigure of Hornblower. He was radical and persecuted by Tory conservatives. On this day in 1801, Cochrane, on board HMS Speedy (14 guns, 54 men) captured El Gamo (32 guns, 319 men) from Spain. Cochrane flew an American flag and approached so closely to El Gamo that its guns could not depress to fire on the Speedy's hull. The Spanish tried to board and take over the ship. Whenever the Spanish were about to board, Cochrane pulled away briefly and fired on the concentrated boarding parties with his ship's guns. Eventually, Cochrane boarded the Gamo, despite being outnumbered about five to one, and captured her. Thirteen years later, Cochrane was accused of profiteering from a fake report of Napoleon's death. He had profited, but legitimately, but was convicted by a conservative court and government willing to turn a blind eye to facts. He was later pardoned, after twenty years, and reinstated into the navy where he rose to Admiral of the Red.
Historical perspective on this day
In 1527, Spanish and German troops sacked Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. 147 Swiss Guards, including their commander, die fighting the forces of Charles V in order to allow Pope Clement VII to escape into Castel Sant'Angelo. 1536, the Siege of Cuzco commenced, in which Incan forces attempted to retake the city of Cuzco from the Spanish. Also 1536, King Henry VIII ordered English-language Bibles be placed in every church. 1542, Francis Xavierreached Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese India at the time. 1659, English Restoration: A faction of the British Armyremoved Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth and reinstalled the Rump Parliament. 1682, Louis XIV moved his court to the Palace of Versailles. 1757, Battle of Prague: A Prussian army fought an Austrian army in Prague during the Seven Years' War. Also 1757, the end of Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War, and the end of Burmese Civil War (1740–1757). Also 1757, English poet Christopher Smart was admitted into St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics in London, beginning his six-year confinement to mental asylums. 1782, construction began on the Grand Palace, the royal residence of the King of Siam in Bangkok, at the command of King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
In 1801, Captain Thomas Cochrane in the 14-gun HMS Speedycaptured the 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo. 1835, James Gordon Bennett, Sr. published the first issue of the New York Herald. 1840, the Penny Black postage stamp became valid for use in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1844, the Glaciarium, the world's first mechanically frozen ice rink, opened. 1857, the British East India Company disbanded the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantrywhose sepoy Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British and was considered to be the First Martyr in the War of Indian Independence. 1861, American Civil War: Arkansas seceded from the Union. Also 1861, American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia was declared the new capital of the Confederate States of America. 1863, American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville ended with the defeat of the Army of the Potomac by Confederate troops. 1877, Chief Crazy Horseof the Oglala Sioux surrendered to United States troops in Nebraska. 1882, Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish were stabbed and killed during the Phoenix Park Murders in Dublin. Also 1882, the United States Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. 1889, the Eiffel Tower was officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.
In 1902, Macario Sakay established the Tagalog Republic with himself as President. 1910, George V became King of the United Kingdom upon the death of his father, Edward VII. 1916, Twenty-one Lebanese nationalists executed in the Martyrs' Square, Beirut by Jamal Pasha, the Ottoman wāli. 1933, the Deutsche Studentenschaft attacked Magnus Hirschfeld's Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, later burning many of its books. 1935, New Deal: Executive Order 7034 createed the Works Progress Administration. Also 1935, the first flight of the Curtiss P-36 Hawk. 1937, Hindenburg disaster: The German zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people were killed.
In 1940, John Steinbeck was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath. 1941, at California's March Field, Bob Hopeperformed his first USO show. Also 1941, the first flight of the RepublicP-47 Thunderbolt. 1942, World War II: On Corregidor, the last American forces in the Philippines surrendered to the Japanese. 1945, World War II: Axis Sally delivered her last propaganda broadcast to Allied troops. Also 1945, World War II: The Prague Offensive, the last major battle of the Eastern Front, began. 1949, EDSAC, the first practical electronic digital stored-program computer, ran its first operation. 1954, Roger Bannister became the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.
In 1960, More than 20 million viewers watch the first televised royal wedding when Princess Margaret married Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey. 1962, St. Martín de Porres was canonized by Pope John XXIII. 1966, Myra Hindley and Ian Brady were sentenced to life imprisonment for the Moors murders in England. 1972, Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin İnan were executed in Ankara for attempting to overthrow the Constitutional order. 1975, during a lull in fighting, 100,000 Armenians gathered in Beirut to commemorate 60th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. 1976, an earthquake struck the Friuli region of northeastern Italy, causing 989 deaths and the destruction of entire villages. 1981, a jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selected Maya Ying Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 other entries. 1983, the Hitler Diaries were revealed as a hoax after examination by experts. 1984, one hundred three Korean Martyrs were canonized by Pope John Paul II in Seoul. 1989, Cedar Point opened Magnum XL-200, the first roller coaster to break the 200 ft height barrier, therefore spawning what was known as the "coaster wars"
In 1994, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and French President François Mitterrand officiated at the opening of the Channel Tunnel. Also 1994, Former Arkansas state worker Paula Jones filed a lawsuit against United States President Bill Clinton, alleging that he had sexually harassed her in 1991. 1996, the body of former CIA director William Colby was found washed up on a riverbank in southern Maryland, eight days after he disappeared. 1997, the Bank of England was given independence from political control, the most significant change in the bank's 300-year history. 1998, Kerry Woodstruck out 20 Houston Astros to tie the major league record held by Roger Clemens. He threw a one-hitter and did not walk a batter in his fifth career start. 1999, the first elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly were held. 2001, during a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II became the first pope to enter a mosque. 2004, the series finale of the television sitcom Friends was aired on NBC. The finale attracted 52.46 million viewers, making it the fourth most watched television series finale in U.S. history. 2013, Three women missing for more than a decade were found alive in the U.S. city of Cleveland, Ohio. Ariel Castro, was taken into custody. 2014, six people were injured in a knife attack at a Chinese train station in Guangzhou.
In 1801, Captain Thomas Cochrane in the 14-gun HMS Speedycaptured the 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo. 1835, James Gordon Bennett, Sr. published the first issue of the New York Herald. 1840, the Penny Black postage stamp became valid for use in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1844, the Glaciarium, the world's first mechanically frozen ice rink, opened. 1857, the British East India Company disbanded the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantrywhose sepoy Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British and was considered to be the First Martyr in the War of Indian Independence. 1861, American Civil War: Arkansas seceded from the Union. Also 1861, American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia was declared the new capital of the Confederate States of America. 1863, American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville ended with the defeat of the Army of the Potomac by Confederate troops. 1877, Chief Crazy Horseof the Oglala Sioux surrendered to United States troops in Nebraska. 1882, Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish were stabbed and killed during the Phoenix Park Murders in Dublin. Also 1882, the United States Congress passed the Chinese Exclusion Act. 1889, the Eiffel Tower was officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.
In 1902, Macario Sakay established the Tagalog Republic with himself as President. 1910, George V became King of the United Kingdom upon the death of his father, Edward VII. 1916, Twenty-one Lebanese nationalists executed in the Martyrs' Square, Beirut by Jamal Pasha, the Ottoman wāli. 1933, the Deutsche Studentenschaft attacked Magnus Hirschfeld's Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, later burning many of its books. 1935, New Deal: Executive Order 7034 createed the Works Progress Administration. Also 1935, the first flight of the Curtiss P-36 Hawk. 1937, Hindenburg disaster: The German zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people were killed.
In 1940, John Steinbeck was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath. 1941, at California's March Field, Bob Hopeperformed his first USO show. Also 1941, the first flight of the RepublicP-47 Thunderbolt. 1942, World War II: On Corregidor, the last American forces in the Philippines surrendered to the Japanese. 1945, World War II: Axis Sally delivered her last propaganda broadcast to Allied troops. Also 1945, World War II: The Prague Offensive, the last major battle of the Eastern Front, began. 1949, EDSAC, the first practical electronic digital stored-program computer, ran its first operation. 1954, Roger Bannister became the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.
In 1960, More than 20 million viewers watch the first televised royal wedding when Princess Margaret married Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey. 1962, St. Martín de Porres was canonized by Pope John XXIII. 1966, Myra Hindley and Ian Brady were sentenced to life imprisonment for the Moors murders in England. 1972, Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin İnan were executed in Ankara for attempting to overthrow the Constitutional order. 1975, during a lull in fighting, 100,000 Armenians gathered in Beirut to commemorate 60th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide. 1976, an earthquake struck the Friuli region of northeastern Italy, causing 989 deaths and the destruction of entire villages. 1981, a jury of architects and sculptors unanimously selected Maya Ying Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial from 1,421 other entries. 1983, the Hitler Diaries were revealed as a hoax after examination by experts. 1984, one hundred three Korean Martyrs were canonized by Pope John Paul II in Seoul. 1989, Cedar Point opened Magnum XL-200, the first roller coaster to break the 200 ft height barrier, therefore spawning what was known as the "coaster wars"
In 1994, Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and French President François Mitterrand officiated at the opening of the Channel Tunnel. Also 1994, Former Arkansas state worker Paula Jones filed a lawsuit against United States President Bill Clinton, alleging that he had sexually harassed her in 1991. 1996, the body of former CIA director William Colby was found washed up on a riverbank in southern Maryland, eight days after he disappeared. 1997, the Bank of England was given independence from political control, the most significant change in the bank's 300-year history. 1998, Kerry Woodstruck out 20 Houston Astros to tie the major league record held by Roger Clemens. He threw a one-hitter and did not walk a batter in his fifth career start. 1999, the first elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly were held. 2001, during a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II became the first pope to enter a mosque. 2004, the series finale of the television sitcom Friends was aired on NBC. The finale attracted 52.46 million viewers, making it the fourth most watched television series finale in U.S. history. 2013, Three women missing for more than a decade were found alive in the U.S. city of Cleveland, Ohio. Ariel Castro, was taken into custody. 2014, six people were injured in a knife attack at a Chinese train station in Guangzhou.
=== 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.
===
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 Patrick Poulou and Peter Lambert. Born on the same day across the years. Born on the same date the Hindenburg dream came to an end. You are like phoenix.
- 1405 – Skanderbeg, Albanian lord (d. 1468)
- 1680 – Jean-Baptiste Stuck, Italian-French cellist and composer (d. 1755)
- 1758 – Maximilien de Robespierre, French lawyer and politician (d. 1794)
- 1769 – Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician (d. 1834)
- 1856 – Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist (d. 1939)
- 1895 – Júlio César de Mello e Souza, Brazilian mathematician and author (d. 1974)
- 1895 – Rudolph Valentino, Italian-American actor (d. 1926)
- 1915 – Orson Welles, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1985)
- 1931 – Willie Mays, American baseball player
- 1936 – Bernard Lemaire, Canadian businessman
- 1937 – Rubin Carter, American boxer (d. 2014)
- 1945 – Bob Seger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1960 – Roma Downey, Irish-American actress, singer, and producer
- 1960 – Anne Parillaud, French actress
- 1993 – Naomi Scott, English actress and singer
- 2002 – Emily Alyn Lind, American actress
Deaths
- 1471 – Edmund Beaufort, 4th Duke of Somerset, English commander (b. 1438)
- 1502 – James Tyrrell, English knight (b. 1450)
- 1631 – Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington, English politician, founded the Cotton library (b. 1570)
- 1862 – Henry David Thoreau, American author and philosopher (b. 1817)
- 1919 – L. Frank Baum, American author (b. 1856)
- 1952 – Maria Montessori, Italian-Dutch physician and educator (b. 1870)
May 6: St George's Day in Bulgaria
- 1757 – English poet Christopher Smart(pictured) was admitted into St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics in London, beginning his six-year confinementto mental asylums.
- 1882 – U.S. President Chester A. Arthur signed the Chinese Exclusion Act into law, implementing a ban on Chinese immigration to the United States that remained until the Magnuson Actwas enacted in 1943.
- 1937 – The German zeppelin Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed during an attempt to dock at Lakehurst Naval Air Station in New Jersey, killing 36 people.
- 1991 – Time magazine published "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", an article highly critical of the Scientology organization, leading to years of legal conflict that ended when the Church of Scientology's petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States in the case was denied in 2001.
- 2013 – Amanda Berry escaped from the Cleveland, Ohio, US, home of her captor Ariel Castro after having been held there with two other women for ten years.
That was smart. A Democrat prevented migration of a race. Oh the humanity! They resisted change implicit to the criticism. Castro was evil. Let's party.
Tim Blair
A GERMAN ASYLUM SEEKER IN GERMANY
Miranda Devine
Don’t have a cow. Just use the right word
Picture-perfect looks defy behind-the scenes mayhem
Miranda Devine – Wednesday, May 06, 2015 (12:44am)
IT was the sentimental favourite but Diana was never going to be the right name for the new royal baby. Even 17½ years after her death, the memories of William’s tragic mother are too raw.
Continue reading 'Picture-perfect looks defy behind-the scenes mayhem'ALP plans to make us all equally miserable
Miranda Devine – Wednesday, May 06, 2015 (12:43am)
ALL this talk about “fairness” before next week’s budget is just code for socialist redistribution, an economy killer if ever there was one.
Continue reading 'ALP plans to make us all equally miserable'
Do-gooders happier if AFP gave crims a cuddle
Miranda Devine – Wednesday, May 06, 2015 (12:41am)
FOR 10 years, Scott Rush’s father Lee and his friend, lawyer Bob Myers, have railed against the Australian Federal Police for tipping off the Indonesians to the heroin smuggling syndicate that came to be known as the Bali Nine.
Continue reading 'Do-gooders happier if AFP gave crims a cuddle'NEW LEADER FOR CRAZY PEOPLE
Tim Blair – Wednesday, May 06, 2015 (12:49pm)
Christine Milne quits as leader of the Greens and is replaced by Richard Di Natale. Defence Minister Kevin Andrews comments:
“Does it really matter who will lead the freedom hating Greens? Their anti-family & community destroying policies remain.”
Good call.
UPDATE. Milne’s farewell, and further responses:
“It is with a mix of optimism, pride, excitement and sadness that I am resigning the leadership and leaving the Senate. I have achieved what I set out to achieve when I took over the leadership. The Greens have gone from strength to strength with solid election results and a growing, engaged party membership.” – Christine Milne resigns after three years as leader of the Greens.
“Christine Milne has a distinguished record as a senior member of the Australian parliament and as the leader of a political party which has considerable influence on the parliament. Obviously, we come from very different political traditions, but I respect Christine Milne as I respect all senior members of the parliament.” – Prime Minister Tony Abbott.
“I haven’t always agreed with every policy she’s had or every position she’s taken, but I can certainly respect the conviction and the passion with which she has advanced her issues.” – Labor leader Bill Shorten.
“She’s going to go down in the history books for much more than being the first leader of a parliamentary party in the Tasmanian parliament but also the first female leader of the Greens and a very strong figure.” – Former Greens leader Bob Brown.
“In spite of seldom agreeing with Senator Milne on many policy matters, I acknowledge that she has been a steadying influence on radical elements in the Greens, especially on social issues.” – Government Senate leader Eric Abetz.
“Often in this country well-intentioned efforts to meddle with the environment have had unintended consequences – cane toads have headed south, and now the Greens are heading north.” – The Australian‘s Chris Kenny.
“I’m in this business to get outcomes. I want to get stuff done.” – New Greens leader Richard di Natale.
“Congrats Richard & new team! V happy to hand over Deputy to focus on new baby (due in few wks!) & winning further Reps seats in Vic & NSW.” – Greens MP Adam Bandt, now replaced as deputy leader by co-deputies Larissa Waters and Scott Ludlam.
The Left lose a taxpayer-funded news outlet. Alas, not the ABC
Andrew Bolt May 06 2015 (7:12pm)
Good. A Labor-funded soap-box for the Left must now find its own money or die:
Education minister Christopher Pyne has flagged government funding for academia-meets-journalism website The Conversation will be pulled in next week’s budget.There is almost nothing The Conversation does that couldn’t be done by the ABC’s The Drum. Surely that taxpayer-funded megaphone for the Left is enough.
Speaking on Sky News on Tuesday Pyne said while The Conversation had done a “great job …the contract they signed with the Commonwealth was to be self-sustaining in 3 years”.
“They were given $3.5m, in that time they have expanded to Africa, the United States and the UK and I expect that they are in a position where they will be self-sustaining otherwise they wouldn’t be able to expand overseas in the way that they have,” Pyne said.
Christine Milne quits
Andrew Bolt May 06 2015 (10:37am)
Christine Milne has resigned as the leader of the Greens and won’t recontest the next election.
I must say she has not been a great leader, even for the Greens. The question now is whether the red faction will now seize control:
Milne issues a statement:
Bob Brown, the Greens founder, says he didn’t see this coming.
UPDATE
Richard di Natale is the new leader, elected unopposed. The hot tip and most prominent Greens MP, Adam Bandt, is no longer even deputy leader. The vitriolic and abusive Scott Ludlam has been given not just one of two deputy leader positions but the chairmanship of the party room as well. Instability right there. The other deputy is Larissa Waters, no doubt to avoid the embarrassment of having an all-male leadership of a largely female party room.
Sarah Hanson-Young gets nowhere again. Lee Rhiannon just broods about what might be if the radical masses were given a vote:
UPDATE
How funny. Milne refused to comment on claims by angry Bandt supporters that she’d given Di Natale and Ludlam advanced warning of her resignation so they had time to stitch up a leadership deal that froze out Bandt.
Di Natale also wouldn’t comment, yet gave the game away when a journalist asked if he’d discussed standing for leader with his family:
===I must say she has not been a great leader, even for the Greens. The question now is whether the red faction will now seize control:
UPDATE
Milne issues a statement:
“I have achieved what I set out to achieve when I took over the leadership. The Greens have gone from strength to strength with solid election results and a growing, engaged party membership.No explanation for this sudden and surprise resignation.
“I promised a more cabinet-style, collaborative approach to leadership. I am so proud of the way my colleagues have responded. We are a strong, capable, visionary Greens team.
“We have stood strongly for a safe climate and an end to wealth inequality. We have stood with the community against the cruelty of the Abbott Government, with their first budget resoundingly rejected by the people, and the Senate.
“My decision to resign today is one I made with my family. After 25 years in politics, I am looking forward to spending more time in my beautiful home state of Tasmania, with friends and family, and especially as I am soon to be a grandmother.
“Life after parliament is not however, life after politics. The fight for action on global warming will continue and I will take my passion, and all that I’ve learnt, to that fight standing shoulder to shoulder with the community here, and all over the world, for climate justice...”
Bob Brown, the Greens founder, says he didn’t see this coming.
UPDATE
Richard di Natale is the new leader, elected unopposed. The hot tip and most prominent Greens MP, Adam Bandt, is no longer even deputy leader. The vitriolic and abusive Scott Ludlam has been given not just one of two deputy leader positions but the chairmanship of the party room as well. Instability right there. The other deputy is Larissa Waters, no doubt to avoid the embarrassment of having an all-male leadership of a largely female party room.
Sarah Hanson-Young gets nowhere again. Lee Rhiannon just broods about what might be if the radical masses were given a vote:
Good luck to di Natale with this bunch.
UPDATE
How funny. Milne refused to comment on claims by angry Bandt supporters that she’d given Di Natale and Ludlam advanced warning of her resignation so they had time to stitch up a leadership deal that froze out Bandt.
Di Natale also wouldn’t comment, yet gave the game away when a journalist asked if he’d discussed standing for leader with his family:
I had a long chat with my partner, Lucy, and the impact it is going to have on my life.Er, but didn’t this proved he’d been tipped off?
I was talking to Lucy six months ago.So it wasn’t all Kumbayah and unanimous?
Someone may have been disappointed by the outcome.Milne immediately ended the press conference before it became really ugly.
Nepal is not utterly devastated - and needs different help
Andrew Bolt May 06 2015 (8:39am)
Mat Carney is in Nepal to help the relief effort, but worries about the misleading media coverage - a kind of disaster porn:
===Upon approach into Nepalese airspace the captain announces we will be circling for an unknown period of time due to over capacity at Nepal’s only international airport, the single runway, Tribhuvan Airport…
Cargo and military aircraft are in abundance, including the Indian, Chinese, Algerian, Nigerian, Singaporean, Malaysian, and Pakistani Airforces’, and large Russian made UN registered aircraft… The decrepit airport is a hive of activity, clearly demonstrating something large scale is occurring....
In fact there is so much aid sitting in crates on the tarmac that it would take days to clear and deliver to those in need. Makes one think of the problematic nature of large International Organisations handing over an enormous amount of foreign aid to an ill-equipped country like Nepal, and the unfortunate custom restraints the government is placing on aid. Aid organisations around the world continue to donate food and materials, when it is readily available in Nepal, clogging up the airport and potentially wasting generous donations. Aid organisations need to rethink how they are dealing with the situation, and start to think longterm. There is so much need in Nepal but the country does not need the likes of tinned fish, mayonnaise, Coke, and gum (the list goes on) - all sitting on the tarmac, donated by organisations and governments.
The view from the window of the taxi is both disturbing and confusing. Confusing in the sense that Kathmandu is by no means a complete disaster zone. The vast majority of buildings and houses, although poorly built, are still visibly ok. I think of the ABC news headline ‘Kathmandu - complete devastation’ and the CNN headline, ‘Kathmandu, utter destruction’ and wonder if the journalists were linking ‘pre-quake Kathmandu’, a city of mess, chaos, and underdevelopment, to Kathmandu now. Had they travelled to Kathmandu pre-earthquake, would they have chosen a similar headline? Or are they just using exaggeration to prove a point? ...
One CNN reporter commented on how there is now rubbish clogging the city streets, however to anyone who knows Kathmandu, this is a normality. One has to know Kathmandu before the earthquake to understand the extent of the damage. It has not been physically all consuming and Kathmandu does not lie in complete devastation. The devastation is with the loss of life, the hinderance to the economy and within the hearts and minds of the people. The earthquake has drawn attention to the state of poverty Nepal is in and to what extent Nepal needs assistance.
Let’s not play down the effect of the earthquake though… Tents fill up city parks, donated from numerous charities and countries, and people walk around with a sense of sadness and fear… In Thamel, the old tourist area of Kathmandu, where roads are narrow and buildings are poorly constructed, the streets are littered with rubble, with many buildings cracked or now leaning to one side....
To state Kathmandu is ‘completely devastated and destroyed’ is dangerous as it sends mixed messages to aid organisations and foreign governments… Basic supplies are not really needed, as the country is now overflowing with basic medical supplies, food and tents. Actual financial assistance would be of much more use, so people can purchase the actual supplies they need, including paying for repairs and engineering fees. Today I purchased numerous tents for a friend’s village, easily finding them for sale here in Kathmandu. What is needed is long term support. Support in rebuilding, strengthening and redesigning infrastructure. Assistance in strengthening and supporting the tourism industry (which is all but devastated). Providing practical assistance to remote areas and villages. Assisting the government to actually become that of a government. And again financial support to locals who will find it incredibly hard to sustain an income during the rebuilding process. Nepal needs help, but in a very different way to what is being suggested in the foreign press and by international organisations. It is a chaotic mess that will now need long term assistance, not emergency relief aid.
Peter Hartcher’s vile smear
Andrew Bolt May 06 2015 (8:37am)
(UPDATE: Post bumped from last night with update below.)
The author of this piece, the Sydney Morning Herald’s Peter Hartcher, also suggested - falsely and disgracefully - on 2GB a few minutes ago that this was on Tony Abbott’s instructions and it was open to “speculation” that this was driven by Abbott’s homophobia:
Hartcher’s suggestion of homophobia is based on zero evidence, and is on the face of it is preposterous. Hartcher seriously believes the Prime Ministers gets someone to ring ahead to make sure no gays greet him at the airport? Really?
This rubbish smear is in fact at odd with these details provided to Hartcher by the Prime Minister’s office:
Here are the facts:
UPDATE
Success for Hartcher! The Twitter Left revels in the false smear. Quality journalism, to be found in any sewer near you.
Among the eagerly credulous, the Sydney Morning Herald’s Peter Fitzsimons, Wendy Harmer and Van Badham. Rate their intelligence and malevolence accordingly.
UPDATE
How did this get spun so disgracefully?
Some Liberals are telling the SMH their own theories:
UPDATE
The Sydney Morning Herald this morning puts a falsehood in a headline:
UPDATE
Jase D offers Hartcher an alternative headline:
It’s about time Liberals started to call out the smearers in the media:
===The author of this piece, the Sydney Morning Herald’s Peter Hartcher, also suggested - falsely and disgracefully - on 2GB a few minutes ago that this was on Tony Abbott’s instructions and it was open to “speculation” that this was driven by Abbott’s homophobia:
Australia’s ambassador to France offered his resignation after an incident while greeting Tony Abbott as he arrived in Paris on Anzac Day.In his interview on 2GB Hartcher alleged that Abbott himself “did not want the Ambassador’s partner to be part of the greeting party” at the airport. “I don’t know and can’t say that it was a homophobic moment,” he winked.
According to multiple sources, the ambassador, Stephen Brady, was on the airport tarmac with his partner of 32 years, Peter Stephens, waiting to meet the incoming plane around 7pm Paris time.
The prime minister’s traveling party sent an instruction that Mr Stephens should not take part in the greeting but should wait in the car. The ambassador, a career diplomat and formerly the official secretary to two governors-general, refused the instruction.
Hartcher’s suggestion of homophobia is based on zero evidence, and is on the face of it is preposterous. Hartcher seriously believes the Prime Ministers gets someone to ring ahead to make sure no gays greet him at the airport? Really?
This rubbish smear is in fact at odd with these details provided to Hartcher by the Prime Minister’s office:
Mr Abbott hosted a farewell dinner for Mr Brady and Mr Stephens when the couple left Canberra to take up the Paris job. The prime minister also invited them to a staff dinner in Paris on April 26.In fact, that “staff dinner” occurred the very night after Abbott allegedly ordered Brady’s partner not to greet him - an alleged decision Hartcher suggested on 2GB could be driven by Abbott’s “homophobia”. Strange that Abbott invited both men to dinner with around seven others.
Mr Brady was given an Order of Australia on Australia Day this year for his “distinguished service to successive Australian governments”.
Here are the facts:
- Abbott did not, as Hartcher claimed on 2GB tonight, object to Stephens meeting him.What a disgraceful smear.
- Abbott is not homophobic, and has had very close relationships with gays including his sister, transgender friend Cate McGregor and his then speechwriter and friend, the late Christopher Pearson.
- the order was given by a junior staffer.
- the order was not driven by homophobia but - I am informed - a fussy insistence of the usual protocol, that the prime minister travelling alone is met by the Ambassador without partner. Only when the Prime Minister is accompanied by his wife is he greeted by the Ambassador with his partner, too.
UPDATE
Success for Hartcher! The Twitter Left revels in the false smear. Quality journalism, to be found in any sewer near you.
Among the eagerly credulous, the Sydney Morning Herald’s Peter Fitzsimons, Wendy Harmer and Van Badham. Rate their intelligence and malevolence accordingly.
UPDATE
How did this get spun so disgracefully?
Some Liberals are telling the SMH their own theories:
Peter Stephens.... [the] partner of ... Australia’s ambassador to France Stephen Brady ... came under the political microscope during a fiery Senate estimates hearing.But the Sydney Morning Herald now grudgingly reports the far more likely explanation for what it first hinted was a homophobic decision:
Liberal frontbencher Michael Ronaldson claimed Mr Stephens was serving as the “chief operating officer for [Kevin] Rudd and [wife Therese] Rein Inc” during a hearing.
He suggested Mr Stephens was “effectively being paid by the taxpayers of this country to be Ms Rein’s personal adviser”.... It’s that link back to the former Labor prime minister that some in government ranks highlighted as the reason why Mr Stephens was not welcome on the tarmac in Paris.
One theory doing the rounds on Tuesday night was that it was simply a matter of protocol.And, indeed, Brady’s beef was with the protocol officer, not Abbott:
Mr Abbott was not accompanied by his wife Margie and therefore it was not protocol for Mr Brady’s partner to be present.
He was, according to sources in Paris, “literally screaming” at the protocol person.Will Hartcher now withdraw and apologise for his vile smear?
UPDATE
The Sydney Morning Herald this morning puts a falsehood in a headline:
It was not an Abbott request. Does the Sydney Morning Herald have no respect for the truth?
UPDATE
Jase D offers Hartcher an alternative headline:
“Abbott overrules protocol, chooses to meet gay ambassador and his partner at airport then takes them to dinner”UPDATE
It’s about time Liberals started to call out the smearers in the media:
Liberal frontbencher Alan Tudge ... said the request had been a matter of protocol and he demanded the article be withdrawn.
“I think it is an absolutely disgraceful article because it has the implication that the Prime Minister wanted a gay person not to greet him on the tarmac when he arrived in Paris,” he told Sky News. “I think that’s a disgraceful allegation, I think that that should be withdrawn, no such thing occurred, there are protocols in place which were asked to be adhered to.”
Billions of dollars for no difference to warming
Andrew Bolt May 06 2015 (7:43am)
Julia Gillard dismissed the question as the ”Andrew Bolt game” - and refused to say what difference to temperature her massively expensive global warming schemes would actually make:
But climate scientist Judith Curry knows the question is not a game and gives an answer for the US:
(Thanks to reader Margaret.)
===Environment Minister Greg Hunt won’t now answer that question either, and also dismisses it as a “game”.
But climate scientist Judith Curry knows the question is not a game and gives an answer for the US:
If you believe the climate models, then President Obama’s INDC commitment (total of 80% emissions reduction by 2015), then warming would be reduced by 0.011 degrees Centigrade, a number that was provided to me by Chip Knappenberger of CATO using the MAGICC model with an equilibrium climate sensitivity of 3.0oC. If the climate models are indeed running too hot, then the warming would be reduced by an even smaller number…In Australia, it’s the same story - we’d spend billions to make no noticeable difference, even if you assumed a very strong causation between emissions and temperature:
Eliminating all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 would reduce the warming by 0.014oC (as per the EPA MAGICC model). This is an amount of warming that is much smaller than the uncertainty in even measuring the global average temperature.
THE policy of both major parties is to reduce Australia’s carbon dioxide emissions by 5 per cent by 2020 ... Victoria University climate scientist Professor Roger Jones [of the IPCC] has calculated that if the rest of the world did not act and Australia reduced emissions until 2020, then did nothing else, 0.0038 degrees off the global temperature rise by 2100.In fact, the failure of the atmosphere to warm over the past 17 years as the climate models predicted suggests that our emissions don’t have quite the warming effect assumed, and thus even these estimations of the (tiny) difference made by our emissions cuts are greatly exaggerated.
(Thanks to reader Margaret.)
Labour’s blasphemy: divide, silence and rule
Andrew Bolt May 06 2015 (7:34am)
Labour has a new vision for Britain, where men are segregated from women and those who criticise the faith which demands this face prosecution.
Here is the segregated audience at a Birmingham rally for Labour, attended by Labor MPs Tom Watson, Liam Byrne and Jack Dromey.
(Thanks to reader Nick.)
===Here is the segregated audience at a Birmingham rally for Labour, attended by Labor MPs Tom Watson, Liam Byrne and Jack Dromey.
But be very careful before complaining:
[Labor leader] Ed Miliband ... told Muslim News last week that a future Labour government would outlaw Islamophobia, making it an aggravated crime.Astonishing. And deeply worrying.
“We are going to make sure it is marked on people’s records, with the police to make sure they root out Islamophobia as a hate crime,” said Miliband. “We are going to change the law so we make it absolutely clear of [sic] our abhorrence of hate crime and Islamophobia. It will be the first time that the police will record Islamophobic attacks right across the country.”
(Thanks to reader Nick.)
Left meets Right: jihadist supporter claims to have worked for Amnesty
Andrew Bolt May 06 2015 (7:08am)
Another member of a tiny unrepresentative minority who we’ve oppressed by giving sanctuary to his family and feeding him to the gills with Leftist activism:
UPDATE
It is frightening that an elected Dutch political leader needs this kind of security to speak about Islam in the United States:
===An Australian Twittter user and Islamic State supporter who appeared to encourage the terrorist attack on an anti-Islamic cartoon event in the US says ... he supported what “our mujahideen [holy warriors] in Texas did” but denied that he specifically told them to launch the attacks, in which both assailants died and one security guard was wounded…The links between the Left and the Islamist Right are once again striking.
He reportedly posted before Sunday that “Kuffar [unbelievers] are holding a large ‘Draw Muhammed (PBUH) event in Garland, Texas on May 3rd. Please spread to US brothers."…
He also shared a map of the building where the cartoon event was held and tweets by others encouraging an attack similar to the massacre at the office of Paris-based Charlie Hebdo magazine, including calls for “brothers in Texas” to go to the event “with your weapons, bombs or with knifes”, News Corp Australia also reported.
Fairfax Media conducted an interview with him through Twitter. While his identity cannot be verified, Fairfax Media has no reason to doubt he is the same person… He refused to give details about himself, but said he was aged in his 20s, lived in Perth and regularly attended a mosque. He said he previously worked at Amnesty International Australia.
UPDATE
It is frightening that an elected Dutch political leader needs this kind of security to speak about Islam in the United States:
That is Geert Wilders at the event in Texas that was attacked by jihadists.
Moses Miliband
Andrew Bolt May 06 2015 (7:03am)
And behold, Ed Miliband descended from the mountain with a great tablet of stone on which was inscribed his six commitments, each as vague as the other. Behold politics as farce:
===Labor punished Murdoch papers for their “politicised editorial culture”. But it funded the ABC’s
Andrew Bolt May 06 2015 (6:52am)
It was a sinister attempt by Labor simply to punish Murdoch newspapers for not being more supportive and now a Labor insider admits it, too:
===Politics at play? Perish the thought. Stephen Conroy announces the Gillard government’s media laws, March 12, 2013:
The government passionately believes in freedom of the press as the cornerstone of democracy.Nothing political at all. Julia Gillard, Hansard, the following day:
This is about a system of better self-regulation which would mean, of course, that we see a functioning press council, or press councils, self-regulating the media. I think that is appropriate and certainly in line with the best of freedom of speech.No, no, no. Conroy, also from Hansard, March 13:
All the package that we have put forward is about, is promoting principles of privacy, fairness.No threats. Conroy continues:
At no time have this government threatened the media or intimidated the media.Just policymaking as usual. More Conroy from Hansard, March 13:
This is just a hate-media attack according to those opposite. This is what you claim: vengeance is what you claim. This has been policy that I have already demonstrated: seven discussion papers throughout 2011; 340 detailed submissions; and over 28,000 comments, and that is just in the convergence review before we get to the Finkelstein inquiry. Many people have many views.Except ... Gillard speechwriter Michael Cooney on Conroy in his just-released book, The Gillard Project:
The bloke is a lion ... No other person would have risked introducing a package of media reforms designed to break the irresponsible, politicised editorial culture of News Limited.
Another wonderful opportunity for the Greens to show how much they care
Andrew Bolt May 06 2015 (6:31am)
Greens leader Christine Milne two weeks ago praised Italy for showing boat people more compassion than did Tony Abbott, even though the boat people wind up dead:
===“The reporting talks about the tragedy as people drown ... they don’t talk about ‘illegals’ ... and they don’t talk about punishing refugees,” Milne told reporters in Hobart as crews continued recovering the bodies of dead people-smuggling victims. The 800 people, mostly from Africa and the Middle East, drowned when their boat capsized off the Italian coast on Sunday…Italy yesterday showed even more compassion to boat people who, alas, are actually dead:
“The response by Sicilian authorities shows that Europeans respect the dignity of boat people,” Senator Milne said. “They talk about offering help and assistance.”
Migrants arriving on the Italian island of Sicily on Tuesday said about 40 others travelling with them had died on the journey, a Save the Children spokeswoman said....More than 1750 people are estimated to have died in the waters between Libya and Italy since the start of this year.The key to Greens morality is to simply show you care. Cry as they drown, but do not stop the boats.
Vote Labor and see the public service bill soar
Andrew Bolt May 05 2015 (4:05pm)
James Campbell on the first Budget of the Socialist Left Victorian Government of Dan Andrews:
===All up the state’s wages bill will jump by 7.1 per cent this year but this is a Labor Government and that’s what happens when you elect one of those.
Interest rates cut again
Andrew Bolt May 05 2015 (3:57pm)
Not a good sign:
===In a move that could usher in mortgage rates below 4 per cent for the first time in generations, the Reserve Bank has cut its official interest rate to a new low of 2 per cent to bolster economic growth and weaken a resurgent Australian dollar.
A week before the government is expected to reveal a blowout in borrowing and spending, the RBA has signalled it believes the economy is weakening and requires further stimulus…
The bank said falling commodity prices, weak business investment and subdued government spending were dragging on the economy. “The economy is therefore likely to be operating with a degree of spare capacity for some time yet,” governor Stevens said.
Semicolons don't need to inspire fear. They basically can replace periods between sentences that are closely related....
Posted by Grammarly on Sunday, 3 May 2015
If only it were this easy...
Posted by Itzhak Perlman on Saturday, 2 May 2015
A man tearfully holds his dog after she passed away from smoke inhalation. The photo was taken shortly after firefighters brought her out of the house. Dogs aren't just pets. They're family. <3 br="">Posted by Passitdown.co on Saturday, 21 February 2015
Senator Richard Di Natale has some big shoes to fill.
Posted by Institute of Public Affairs on Tuesday, 5 May 2015
===
Mayweather is gonna be so mad when someone finally reads this to him
Posted by Just Vines on Tuesday, 5 May 2015
It's National Teacher Appreciation Day! Thanks to all of the teachers out there who work so hard to make a difference in all of our lives.
Posted by John Tesh on Tuesday, 5 May 2015
Posted by Quantum Activist on Saturday, 15 November 2014
Nice morning light in Yosemite. No crowds. The place is all ours. Fantastic workshop!
Posted by Matt Granz on Tuesday, 5 May 2015
===
Few questions and no answers in Q & A’s radical Left ambush agenda
Miranda Devine – Tuesday, May 06, 2014 (8:20pm)
The ABC’s Q & A program was out-gamed by a bunch of undergraduate socialists on Monday night.
Continue reading 'Few questions and no answers in Q & A’s radical Left ambush agenda'A clumsy clashing of the titans
Miranda Devine – Tuesday, May 06, 2014 (8:19pm)
COULD there possibly be a more delicious Sydney story than two media moguls brawling in the glorious sunshine on the edge of Bondi Beach?
Continue reading 'A clumsy clashing of the titans'NRL bosses are totally gay
Miranda Devine – Tuesday, May 06, 2014 (8:18pm)
WHY doesn’t the NRL just burn Mitchell Moses at the stake? The 19-year-old Wests Tigers player has been hit with a two-week match ban for making a “homophobic slur” against Queensland opponent Luke Bateman.
Continue reading 'NRL bosses are totally gay'Joe Hockey should sue the pants off Malcolm Fraser
Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (4:06pm)
Joe Hockey is not corrupt and not “for sale”. Fraser is so bitter he has become downright vindictive.
UPDATE
Fraser backtracks:
(Thanks to reader Mike.)
Q&A gives Leftists in its audience a good ride
Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (3:54pm)
Q&A is hostile territory for conservatives. They are invariably outnumbered on the panel, the host is of the Left and the audience is generally hostile, despite the ABC’s claims that it is balanced.
But then you get last night’s farce. Or you get a Pat Scott in the audience for two weeks running and for two weeks running getting a chance to attack the Abbott Government.
Last week, he complained about the Liberals’ spending on defence:
===But then you get last night’s farce. Or you get a Pat Scott in the audience for two weeks running and for two weeks running getting a chance to attack the Abbott Government.
Last week, he complained about the Liberals’ spending on defence:
This week, complaining about the Liberals’ funding of science:
(Thanks to reader Lynne.)
Expensive brawl. UPDATE: Police investigate
Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (2:52pm)
The last straw:
Last night I said police couldn’t investigate without a complaint.
False:
===AN angry text fired off by billionaire James Packer demanding Channel 9 boss David Gyngell remove a news truck from outside his Bondi Beach pad ignited the sensational street brawl between two of Sydney’s highest-profile businessmen.I didn’t realise the fist-fight could be so expensive, or is this another beat-up?:
The text, sent moments after the casino mogul jetted into Sydney from Jerusalem, left Mr Gyngell seething with rage after months of escalating tensions between the friends of 35 years.
“I didn’t even know you were in f ... ing Australia,’’ Mr Gyngell is heard yelling in a video of the bare-knuckled fist fight on Sunday afternoon. It is understood Mr Packer seriously considered suing his once-close friend for assault on the basis three witnesses could testify on his behalf.
For Mr Packer and his casino operation, Crown Resorts, the fallout could still be very costly as he vies for business potentially worth billions of dollars in Asia.Terry McCrann:
His proposed $US400 million casino resort in Sri Lanka was already in serious doubt due to local concerns about its corrupting effect on Buddhist values and association with vices such as prostitution… The public relations black eye may also prove costly in Japan, which is shaping up to become the world’s most lucrative casino market outside of Macau. The Japanese government is expected to be especially sensitive about the reputations of the parties involved with its proposed casinos as it overcomes long-held opposition to casinos in the country.
What happened yesterday was obviously completely inexcusable for the CEO of a major public company.UPDATE
But precisely because it was entirely personal, it’s arguably not a sacking offence, although both should — will — have to engage in some public demonstration of penance.
Last night I said police couldn’t investigate without a complaint.
False:
(Thanks to reader Matt.)
“Shut up” is the new argument
Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (2:51pm)
I ask again, what is it with the Left and abuse?
Reader J says this video has been heavily edited to favor the complainers, yet it is damning enough:
===Reader J says this video has been heavily edited to favor the complainers, yet it is damning enough:
I attended a civic trust meeting in my area of epping, NSW, tonight, imagining I’d be informed about developments with the new rail link.When I arrived home I watched Q&A and saw the crowd. The new argument seems to be just disrespect, drowning out the voices speaking. Nights like tonight reduce the enormous faith I have in Australians and it is extremely saddening.
It was hijacked by political radicals who came to hurl abuse at former Attorney General and member for Epping Greg Smith.
When he first walked up a woman next to me said “apparently his son will run in the seat next, hope not he looks like a sniveling pig in a trough”.
It then got quite heated and this woman soon yelled out “you f**king Catholic”. I asked her to “shhh"” and she said “what are you one of his son’s friends? Went to a f**king private school did you?” (I would imagine majority of the people in that area send their children to private schools.)
The night got so heated that a woman grabbed Greg Smith hanging off his arm trying to grab the microphone.
All the while this was filmed by a staffer for Greens MLC Mehreen Faruqi and will no doubt go on Youtube after editing.
Is the ABC God?
Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (2:35pm)
I’m puzzled. Does the ABC run hospitals? Offer an afterlife to believers?
Can anyone explain?
(Thanks to reader Craig.)
Melbourne University appoints warming activist preaching Rudd slogans
Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (9:35am)
Melbourne University tries to keep the great global warming scare alive after 16 years of no warming. It puts a green activist on the public payroll, so we will pay to hear the kind of slogans once made famous by Kevin Rudd, friend of the Vice Chancellor:
(Thanks to reader mem.)
===Highly regarded environmentalist, Don Henry has been appointed as a Public Policy Fellow at the University of Melbourne.Heard that line before?:
In his role, Mr Henry will undertake research into climate change policy and the role of public activism…
Don Henry comes to the Melbourne Sustainable Society Institute from his role as CEO of the Australian Conservation Foundation… “Climate Change is the great challenge of our generation...,” Mr Henry explained.
I look forward to Melbourne University giving me a similar sinecure for balance when I get closer to retirement.
(Thanks to reader mem.)
Nigeria’s president is as weak as Boko Haram is evil
Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (9:12am)
Nigeria’s criminally inept Government has finally arrested people over the kidnapping and enslavement of more than 200 schoolgirls by Islamist extremists. Problem is, those arrested are reportedly protesters who angered the President’s wife by demanding the girls be saved:
===Nigeria’s Islamic extremist leader threatened in a videotaped statement seen on Monday to sell the more than 200 teenage schoolgirls abducted from a school in the remote northeast of the country three weeks ago…
“I abducted your girls,” said the leader of Boko Haram, which means “Western education is sinful…
“By Allah, I will sell them in the marketplace,” he said in the hour-long video that starts with fighters lofting automatic rifles and shooting in the air as they chant “Allahu akbar!” or “God is great.”
It was unclear if the video was made before or after reports emerged last week that some of the girls have been forced to marry their abductors… An intermediary who has said Boko Haram is ready to negotiate ransoms for the girls also said two of the girls have died of snakebite and about 20 are ill… He said Christians among the girls have been forced to convert to Islam…
The mass abduction and the military’s failure to rescue the girls and young women has roused national outrage with protests in major cities…
First lady Patience Jonathan fuelled anger on Monday when a leader of a protest march said she ordered the arrests of two protest leaders, expressed doubts there was any kidnapping and accused the protest leaders of belonging to Boko Haram… Saratu Angus Ndirpaya of Chibok town said State Security Service agents drove her and protest leader Naomi Mutah Nyadar to a police station on Monday after an all-night meeting at the presidential villa in Abuja, the capital.
She said police immediately released her but that Nyadar remains in detention.... Ndirpaya says Patience Jonathan accused them of fabricating the abductions to give Nigeria’s government and her husband “a bad name… Nigerian President Jonathan… proceeded to criticise parents for not being forthright with police. “… Because up to this time, they have not been able to come clearly, to give the police clear identity of the girls that have yet to return,” he said.
If Indians are now “asylum seekers” we’ve got a billion potential more to come
Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (8:24am)
The accusations may or may not be true. They may or may not be serious. But here’s what immediately strikes me: we now have Indians, Nepalese and Albanians claiming to “asylum seekers” or refugees?
Yes, the allegations from the former Salvation Army staffer at Manus are serious. But again I wonder: we are asked to admit rapists to our country?
===THE Australian Navy has been accused of adding extra passengers to an asylum seeker boat turned back to Indonesia.UPDATE
According to an account given to Indonesia’s navy, the crew said two Australian warships put three extra people on board their boat before they were escorted to Indonesian waters.... The Indonesian Navy on Monday night released a statement saying it had found a group of asylum seekers — 16 Indians, two Nepalese and two Albanians.
Yes, the allegations from the former Salvation Army staffer at Manus are serious. But again I wonder: we are asked to admit rapists to our country?
In the three months Ms Judge was on the island, she claims in the submission to the Senate inquiry there was sexual activity in the so-called “rape dungeon” in one of the compounds and was told by the guards to carry a “rape whistle” while inside the centre. When she told Salvation Army staff that a young Myanmar asylum seeker was walking away from a toilet block in pain, her Salvation Army team leader dismissed her concerns, saying that “because these transferees are Muslim and actively engaging in prayer that any sexual activity would have been consensual”.
Three-goal lead wasn’t enough?
Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (8:20am)
Moral: don’t get too greedy.
===Our race commissioner deaf to the free speech that damned Sterling
Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (7:43am)
Tim Soutphommasane seems determined to read the wrong lessons from the Donald Sterling case:
Here are the real lessons of the Sterling case, as delivered by Rowan Dean:
===Some people say! Race Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane writes in The Age, yesterday:“Only been an emphatic statement that bigotry shouldn’t be tolerated”? First, isn’t that actually tremendous? Second, isn’t that claim false, given the punishment meted to Sterling?
THE NBA race controversy involving LA Clippers owner Donald Sterling has some resonance for Australians ... a leaked recording revealed Sterling had told his girlfriend not to ... bring black people to his team’s games. The NBA ... banned Sterling ... for life. Here some people say the Sterling incident confirms that we should be combating racist speech with “good speech’’, and not with legal instruments.Not just some. Not just here. Barack Obama comments on the Sterling case, April 27:
WHEN ignorant folks want to advertise their ignorance, you don’t really have to do anything, you just let them talk and that’s what happened here.Not good enough for Tim. Soutphommasane, The Age, yesterday:
IT is true that fighting racism can never be as simple as legislating away bigotry … (but) our law … ensures we can hold people accountable for acts that offend, insult, humiliate or intimidate on racial grounds. If we are to draw lessons from the US, we must draw the correct ones. There has only been an emphatic statement that bigotry shouldn’t be tolerated. We can all learn from this demonstration of leadership.
Here are the real lessons of the Sterling case, as delivered by Rowan Dean:
Cuts aren’t as easy as some journalists think
Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (7:39am)
If journalists understood finance, more of us would be rich. Judith Sloan is peeved by suggestions by some journalists on how to fix the Budget:
===Take ABC1’s Insiders program on Sunday. Phil Coorey, from The Australian Financial Review, maintained that Treasury has been arguing for a paring back of the diesel fuel rebate for years…
In fact, all the evidence points to Treasury being a staunch defender of the rebate as a means of avoiding the imposition of a tax on a business input. ..
Another misunderstood policy is negative gearing and its consequences for the budget…
When mention is made of the billions of dollars that taxpayers who invest in property claim off their tax, there is always a failure to point out the tax paid on the interest received by the banks and other financial institutions. ..
Here’s another furphy put out by ignorant journalists: that negative gearing does not exist in other countries… There is also the erroneous interpretation of superannuation tax concessions which, according to David Marr on the same Insiders program, are costing the same as the age pension… In fact, according to Henry Ergas, the effective tax on super is close to 40 per cent, which is very high for a tax on saving.
Costello: axe the deficit tax
Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (2:34am)
Former Treasurer Peter Costello tells his former colleagues to axe the deficit tax before it’s too late:
Rumours that the Abbott Government may ditch the deficit tax.
UPDATE
Criticise Abbott for trying too hard to fix what Labor broke. But criticise Labor more for recklessly pretending there’s nothing broken.
Check out the astonishing spin of shadow treasurer Chris Bowen in this email to voters:
Is Labor lying or delusional?
(Thanks to readers Alan and PaulC.)
===Australia has a spending problem. Labor geared up spending to stimulate the economy and never stopped. The public understands that. They know that spending has to be cut.Tony Shepherd, head of the commission of audit, isn’t a fan either:
Last week the Government floated the idea of raising tax as a way of “sharing the pain” so everyone would shoulder the burden of fixing the Budget. It is important to note this is a political argument. The proposed “levy” has no economic benefit. To the degree it will affect the economy it will detract from growth by reducing consumption.
It will produce no interest rate reduction and, if it lasts four years and raises $10 billion, the most it could save would be $400 million in annual interest — hardly enough to touch the sides of the annual $12 billion Government financing requirement…
The argument for increasing income taxes through some kind of levy is all about the politics. That’s why it was floated: to gauge reaction. If the Government had irrevocably decided to do it, it would have just announced it in the Budget scheduled for next Tuesday night.
I think there has been enough reaction now for the Government to conclude that far from making it easier to sell repairs to the Budget, the proposed levy would make things a lot harder.... If the Government put such a levy in place, then long after this Budget has been forgotten, the press and the Opposition would still be attacking the Prime Minister over credibility.
And attacks over tax promises can be devastatingly effective.
Just ask Julia (There will be no Carbon tax under a Government I lead) Gillard, or Paul (L-A-W tax cuts) Keating…
If Labor and the Greens vote against it ... it will not go through the Senate unless the Palmer United Party (PUP) votes for it… The Liberal Party could be caught out campaigning for a tax rise that will never pass into law… If it is acceptable for an incoming government to spring increases on the higher marginal income tax rates, then don’t think this will be the last government to try it.
There’s two issues there. One is to get back to surplus more quickly is an advantage. We save the interest cost and it means we’re in a more secure position earlier. The other side of it though is what is the impact on confidence, consumer and business? I would certainly say - and it’s not something that we looked at in the commission, but I’d say that if they were to bring in something like that, they’d need to be very careful about implementing any of our recommendations which have an immediate impact on the individual. So, things like Family Tax Benefit B and that sort of thing, I think you wouldn’t want to run that in parallel with a debt tax or levy or whatever you want to call it.... Because that might just be too much of a shock for the system.Former Labor minister Gary Johns warns Tony Abbott he won’t get the thanks he expects for spreading the pain:
You will lose more votes from a loss of respect than from a reduction in benefits that every taxpayer knows are unwarranted, undeserved and unaffordable.UPDATE
If you levy the levy, headlines in the tabloids will scream “Axe the tax”; if you don’t, the headlines will scream “Soak the rich”. Forget the headlines.
Rumours that the Abbott Government may ditch the deficit tax.
UPDATE
Criticise Abbott for trying too hard to fix what Labor broke. But criticise Labor more for recklessly pretending there’s nothing broken.
Check out the astonishing spin of shadow treasurer Chris Bowen in this email to voters:
Labor has an economic record we can be truly proud of:So where did this record deficit come from? How did Labor not give us its long-promised “no ifs, no buts” surplus? Why are both the Reserve Bank Governor and Treasury Secretary warning us the spending Abbott inherited is not paid for and changes must be made?
- Labor left the budget with a triple-A credit rating and stable outlook from all three ratings agencies, a first for Australia
- Australia was one of only three advanced economies to avoid recession during the global financial crisis
- Labor left a Budget with net debt well below most advanced economies
- Labor understood the need for fiscal discipline and took over $130 billion in responsible savings to invest in hospitals, schools and the NDIS
Is Labor lying or delusional?
(Thanks to readers Alan and PaulC.)
Socialists disrupt Q&A: prove the worst of the ABC and the far Left
Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (12:57am)
Last night’s shambolic Q&A proves:
- just how easy it has been for the Left to infiltrate the Q&A audience, often claiming to be conservatives. At least two of the first three questions came from people who identified as Socialist Alternative speakers. Then the show was interrupted for several minutes by at least half a dozen sympathisers, chanting slogans and unfurling a banner. Other questioners sounded like fellow travellers. So much for the vetting. Q&A claimed the audience comprised Coalition voters 47 per cent, ALP 38, Greens 9. Utter rubbish.It is the totalitarian instinct made manifest.
- how foul a world would be led by socialists like these students. They were rude (one shouted “liar” at Christopher Pyne, misrepresenting Pyne’s opinion), they repeatedly heckled Pyne and shouted him down, they ended all discussion for several minutes by chanting and forcing Q&A to break transmission, they demanded others pay for their privileges, they lied in claiming our education system was only for the rich. Abusive, selfish thugs with no respect for the opinions of others. The kind of people who created the Gulag Archipelago.
Healthy reactions:
Australian Liberal Students’ Federation spokesperson Matthew Lesh condemned the disruption to the debate that had been taking place on the show.And:
“This demonstration displays the willingness of the extreme left to use disruptive and ferocious methods” Mr Lesh sid. “Tonight’s protests are an embarrassment to students, and do not in any sense represent the regular student body.”
UPDATE
Why is Anna Burke so rude to the conservatives on the panel?
Why is Mark Trevorrow so rude to the conservatives on the panel?
Why is the Left generally so abusive?
Why are Trevorrow and Burke sounding so sure of themselves when they sound largely ill-informed and irrational?
UPDATE
This stunt occurred in a very interesting time in the Budget considerations. Tony Abbott is considering breaking his promise not to cut funding for the ABC. I will now have even more trouble mustering outrage if he does, and I suspect I will have more company than ever.
UPDATE
A distinction without a difference:
Protester Brigitte Garozzo ... said the protest was organised by the Education Action Group from the University of Sydney, not the Socialist Alternative.Like the two have nothing in common. Garazzo is actually a Greens official (do the Greens support this protest?), but Sydney University SRC’s education officer explains how close the ties are between the Education Action Group and Socialist Alternative:
It was through my involvement with the Refugee Action Coalition (RAC) and the Sydney Uni Education Action Group that I met Socialist Alternative; their constant commitment to hard work and sensible proposals initially sparked my interest.
In fact, here are the protesters celebrating outside the ABC studio. They include both the two questioners who’d identified as Socialist Alternative members. The picture was posted by Omar Hassan, a Socialist Alternative leader and another member of the Q&A audience. Seems the Education Action Group is just another Marxist front.
And again, how did so many socialist radicals get into the Q&A audience? What is the vetting like? How often does this happen, when we’re told the audience is balanced but discover from the hooting it’s just another love-in of the Left?
UPDATE
[Note: this post has been updated since I first put it up last night. Apology to Paul Barry: I published a tweet of his saying democracy was back on track. I mistakenly took it to be praising the protesters’ contribution as democracy when in fact he’d posted it to praise their eviction. I’ve removed my reference and have resolved to in future think better of Barry.]
Shouldn’t Media Watch concede the ABC triumph may not be?
Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (12:29am)
Peter of Bellevue Hill wonders why the ABC’s Media Watch didn’t correct the ABC’s record:
===AB, disappointing that Media Watch last night didn’t cover the ABC’s apparent attempt to pull a fast one on taxpayers with its China ‘deal’.
On last week’s show - broadcast the same day that The Oz broke the story that it appeared the deal wasn’t done - Paul Barry had this to say:
That so-called landmark deal with the Shanghai Media Group will supposedly allow ABC International to broadcast programs online to more than a billion Chinese viewers. And while some have raised doubts it’s been described by one veteran media player, Harold Mitchell as… “… one of the most important breakthroughs in communications between our countries ...”The Oz confirmed the deal wasn’t done last Wednesday ... but the scandal didn’t make the cut for last night’s show. It’s hard to see how they could have missed the story.
Newspoll: Labor/Greens ahead 53 to 47. Promise of worse to come
Andrew Bolt May 06 2014 (12:02am)
The Government’s sales job is not good and I think some of what it’s proposing had better be dropped before worse happens than this Newspoll:
===SUPPORT for the Coalition has plunged to its lowest level in almost four yearsand voter dis¬satisfaction with Tony Abbott has jumped to the highest point since he became Prime Minister…
Satisfaction with Mr Abbott’s performance is down five points to 35 per cent, with dissatisfaction leaping nine points to 56 per cent.
Newspoll ... shows support for the Coalition dropped five points to 38 per cent – the largest single fall for a government since Julia Gillard’s carbon tax announcement in February 2011…
There was no gain for Labor, with its primary vote flat at 34 per cent, as voters shifted to the Greens, minor parties and independents. However, ... the fall in the Coalition vote and the rise for the Greens would still lift the ALP and put it ahead in two-party terms by a commanding 53 per cent to 47 per cent...
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WAYNE SWAN... PLEASE EXPLAIN? Larry Pickering
New Zealand was on the brink of recession prior to the Conservative government of John Key taking the reins in 2008. This small economy of 4.4 million people is now preparing for a series of record surpluses... and without the help of a mining industry.
Helen Clarke’s Labour Government left the country facing severe recession with a bloated Public Service sector and disastrous losses due to her takeover of the NZ rail system.
Abbott could do worse than take a look across the Tasman when attempting to repair the damage left by the union government of Julia Gillard and the incompetency of Kevin Rudd.
Unions have assisted in bringing Euro Communist/Socialist governments to their knees. North America broke its corrupt union stranglehold years ago but when a union movement actually becomes the Government, as it has in Australia, prepare for a catastrophe we were totally unprepared for.
Unfortunately Wayne Swan’s and Julia Gillard’s response to our parlous economic state is to tell lies:
“We guided the nation through a global financial crisis”, says Gillard. Wrong! Australia was almost immune from the GFC. Our major client, China, averaged a 9 per cent growth, we were in the middle of a mining boom, we were not exposed to the US sub-prime rate, we had low unemployment, historically high terms of trade and our financial institutions were never at risk.
“Government revenue is down”, says Swan. Wrong again! Government revenue is up 7.5% this year alone, has risen each year of this government’s tenure and is up a massive $100 billion since 2008.
If Swan was to tell the truth he would say that his spending was predicated on unrealistic revenue expectations that, with the help of a compliant Treasury, were consistently and grossly overstated. That’s all.
We are now where NZ was four years ago... in a heap of Labor pain.
So, what’s different? NZ’s dollar has risen to exactly the same extent our dollar has. Helen Clarke’s socialist government went on the same spending spree and faced the same endless deficits. We had our floods, they had their earthquakes.
Fortunately, both countries possess the same resilience to bounce back from Labor disasters.
So, how did NZ tackle Labour’s, loss-making legacy? Luke Malpass, a research fellow at The New Zealand Initiative, a conservative think tank, explains it this way:
“First were tax cuts. The top tax rate for someone on about $45,000 a year went from 33 per cent to 17.5 per cent, the top income tax rate was slashed from 39 per cent to 33 per cent at $70,000, aligned with the trust tax rate. Company tax was reduced to 28 per cent, GST was increased to 15 per cent to encourage savings ahead of consumption.
“Second, employing people was made easier. A probationary working period was introduced, and the modest emissions trading scheme was drastically trimmed back. Compulsory employer co-contributions to Kiwisaver, New Zealand’s voluntary savings scheme, were reduced from 4 per cent to 2 per cent. (This has been increased to 3 per cent as conditions have improved.)
“Third, the government produced a series of so-called “zero budgets” allowing no new money for any area except health and education. New programs were funded from within existing budgets.
“Fourth, 49 per cent slices of several power companies are being privatised to improve market disciplines, deepen capital markets and encourage a share-owning democracy.”
Of 4.4 million people, 440,000 have enthusiastically pre-registered for the IPO. (Initial Public Offering)
Wow! And back to surplus, all within four years!
But we are five times the size of New Zealand with five times the damage wrought on our economy and social structure... and without one thing to show for it.
Still, Abbott could learn much from the NZ labour/union experience, but one critical mistake must never be repeated: The outdated Marx and Trotsky ideologies of unions are fine within their own arenas, but a blatant annexation of government by unions and the far Left, via unrepresentative Greens, must never be allowed to happen again.
The electorate doesn't want it.
The endless, feel-good “initiatives” of Labor in election mode must be put aside until surpluses re-emerge through sound management.
The awesome responsibility on Abbott’s shoulders will leave little time for bike rides as he will certainly face the full force of organised union militancy.
These corrupt, destructive little cretins must be banished back to the shop floor in a Thatcher style purge.
They, including the Prime Minister, must face a Royal Commission and eventually pay the penalties for their crimes against their own kind and the Australian people.
But there is one glaring difference in the NZ experience. Helen Clarke did not face the NZ electorate while under investigation by a Major Fraud Squad.
===
CCTV A VITAL POLICING TOOL
The Members for Hawkesbury, Riverstone and Londonderry said they would fight for the continued use of Closed Circuit TV to help fight crime.
Last week the NSW Administrative Decisions Tribunal ruled that cameras installed by Shoalhaven City Council breached privacy laws and had to be switched off, which has raised doubts about Councils ability to use the technology.
“CCTV is a proven weapon which helps police drive down crime – we want to ensure our local police, council and other law enforcement agencies have access to cameras to drive down crime in our area,” Mr Williams, Conolly and Bassett said.
“While there is a role for privacy laws, this decision flies in the face of the views of most law-abiding citizens who support CCTV and its role in the fight against crime.
“We have seen in a number of recent high profile cases the invaluable assistance CCTV provides police in tracking down offenders.
“I will be conveying these views to the Attorney General so the situation is resolved as soon as possible.”
Attorney General Greg Smith SC is seeking urgent legal advice about the implications of the tribunal’s decision and whether legislation is required to validate the continued use of CCTV.
“We are urgently seeking to resolve this situation in the interest of the people of NSW,” Mr Smith said.
===
- 1536 – The army of Inca Emperor Manco Inca Yupanquibegan a 10-month siege of Cuzco against a garrison of Spanish conquistadors and Indian auxiliaries led byHernando Pizarro.
- 1882 – Irish Under-Secretary Thomas Henry Burke andIrish Chief Secretary Lord Frederick Cavendish were stabbed to death by members of the radical group Irish National Invincibles as they walked through Phoenix Park in Dublin.
- 1954 – At Oxford's Iffley Road Track, English athlete Roger Bannisterbecame the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.
- 1991 – Time magazine published "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", an article highly critical of the Scientology organization, leading to years of legal conflict that ended when the Church of Scientology's petition for a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court of the United States in the case was denied in 2001.
- 2002 – Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn (pictured) was assassinated by animal rights and environmental activist Volkert van der Graaf inHilversum, marking the first political murder on Dutch soil since 1672.
- 1527 – Spanish and German troops sack Rome; some consider this the end of the Renaissance. 147 Swiss Guards, including their commander, die fighting the forces of Charles V in order to allow Pope Clement VII to escape into Castel Sant'Angelo.
- 1536 – The Siege of Cuzco commences, in which Incan forces attempt to retake the city of Cuzco from the Spanish.
- 1536 – King Henry VIII orders English-language Bibles be placed in every church. In 1539 the Great Bible would be provided for this purpose.
- 1542 – Francis Xavier reaches Old Goa, the capital of Portuguese Indiaat the time.
- 1659 – English Restoration: A faction of the British Army removes Richard Cromwell as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth and reinstalls the Rump Parliament.
- 1682 – Louis XIV of France moves his court to the Palace of Versailles.
- 1757 – Battle of Prague: A Prussian army fights an Austrian army in Prague during the Seven Years' War.
- 1757 – The end of Konbaung–Hanthawaddy War, and the end of Burmese Civil War (1740–1757).
- 1757 – English poet Christopher Smart is admitted into St Luke's Hospital for Lunatics in London, beginning his six-year confinement to mental asylums.
- 1782 – Construction begins on the Grand Palace, the royal residence of the King of Siam in Bangkok, at the command of King Buddha Yodfa Chulaloke.
- 1801 – Captain Thomas Cochrane in the 14-gun HMS Speedy captures the 32-gun Spanish frigate El Gamo.
- 1835 – James Gordon Bennett, Sr. publishes the first issue of the New York Herald.
- 1840 – The Penny Black postage stamp becomes valid for use in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
- 1857 – The British East India Company disbands the 34th Regiment of Bengal Native Infantrywhose sepoy Mangal Pandey had earlier revolted against the British and is considered to be the First Martyr in the War of Indian Independence.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Arkansas secedes from the Union.
- 1863 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chancellorsville ends with the defeat of the Army of the Potomac by Confederate troops.
- 1877 – Chief Crazy Horse of the Oglala Lakota surrenders to United States troops in Nebraska.
- 1882 – Thomas Henry Burke and Lord Frederick Cavendish are assassinated in Phoenix Park, Dublin.
- 1882 – The United States Congress passes the Chinese Exclusion Act.
- 1889 – The Eiffel Tower is officially opened to the public at the Universal Exposition in Paris.
- 1902 – Macario Sakay establishes the Tagalog Republic with himself as President.
- 1906 – The Russian Constitution of 1906 is adopted (on April 23rd by the Julian calendar).
- 1910 – George V becomes King of the United Kingdom upon the death of his father, Edward VII.
- 1915 – Babe Ruth, then a pitcher for the Boston Red Sox, hits his first major league home run.
- 1916 – Twenty-one Lebanese nationalists are executed in Martyrs' Square, Beirut by Djemal Pasha.
- 1933 – The Deutsche Studentenschaft attacked Magnus Hirschfeld's Institut für Sexualwissenschaft, later burning many of its books.
- 1935 – New Deal: Executive Order 7034 creates the Works Progress Administration.
- 1937 – Hindenburg disaster: The German zeppelin Hindenburg catches fire and is destroyed within a minute while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey. Thirty-six people are killed.
- 1940 – John Steinbeck is awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his novel The Grapes of Wrath.
- 1941 – At California's March Field, Bob Hope performs his first USO show.
- 1941 – The first flight of the Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.
- 1942 – World War II: On Corregidor, the last American forces in the Philippines surrender to the Japanese.
- 1945 – World War II: Axis Sally delivers her last propaganda broadcast to Allied troops.
- 1945 – World War II: The Prague Offensive, the last major battle of the Eastern Front, begins.
- 1949 – EDSAC, the first practical electronic digital stored-program computer, runs its first operation.
- 1954 – Roger Bannister becomes the first person to run the mile in under four minutes.
- 1960 – More than 20 million viewers watch the first televised royal wedding when Princess Margaret marries Anthony Armstrong-Jones at Westminster Abbey.
- 1962 – Martín de Porres is canonized by Pope John XXIII.
- 1966 – Myra Hindley and Ian Brady are sentenced to life imprisonment for the Moors murders in England.
- 1972 – Deniz Gezmiş, Yusuf Aslan and Hüseyin İnan are executed in Ankara for attempting to overthrow the Constitutional order.
- 1975 – During a lull in fighting, 100,000 Armenians gather in Beirut to commemorate 60th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide.
- 1976 – An earthquake strikes the Friuli region of northeastern Italy, causing 989 deaths and the destruction of entire villages.
- 1983 – The Hitler Diaries are revealed as a hoax after being examined by experts.
- 1984 – 103 Korean Martyrs are canonized by Pope John Paul II in Seoul.
- 1994 – Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and French President François Mitterrandofficiate at the opening of the Channel Tunnel.
- 1996 – The body of former CIA director William Colby is found washed up on a riverbank in southern Maryland, eight days after he disappeared.
- 1997 – The Bank of England is given independence from political control, the most significant change in the bank's 300-year history.
- 1998 – Kerry Wood strikes out 20 Houston Astros to tie the major league record held by Roger Clemens. He threw a one-hitter and did not walk a batter in his fifth career start.
- 1999 – The first elections to the devolved Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly are held.
- 2001 – During a trip to Syria, Pope John Paul II becomes the first pope to enter a mosque.
- 2002 – Dutch politician Pim Fortuyn is assassinated following a radio-interview at the Mediapark in Hilversum.
- 2013 – Three women missing for more than a decade are found alive in the U.S. city of Cleveland, Ohio.
- 1405 – George Kastrioti, better known as Skanderbeg, Albanian national hero (d. 1468) (probable date)
- 1464 – Sophia Jagiellon, Margravine of Brandenburg-Ansbach, Polish princess (d. 1512)
- 1493 – Girolamo Seripando, Catholic cardinal (d. 1563)
- 1501 – Pope Marcellus II (d. 1555)
- 1574 – Pope Innocent X (d. 1655)
- 1635 – Johann Joachim Becher, German physician and alchemist (d. 1682)
- 1668 – Alain-René Lesage, French author and playwright (d. 1747)
- 1680 – Jean-Baptiste Stuck, Italian-French cellist and composer (d. 1755)
- 1713 – Charles Batteux, French philosopher and academic (d. 1780)
- 1714 – Anton Raaff, German tenor (d. 1797)
- 1742 – Jean Senebier, Swiss pastor and physiologist (d. 1809)
- 1758 – André Masséna, French general (d. 1817)
- 1758 – Maximilien Robespierre, French lawyer and politician (d. 1794)
- 1769 – Ferdinand III, Grand Duke of Tuscany (d. 1824)
- 1769 – Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician and academic (d. 1834)
- 1781 – Karl Christian Friedrich Krause, German philosopher and author (d. 1832)
- 1797 – Joseph Brackett, American religious leader and composer (d. 1882)
- 1800 – Roman Sanguszko, Polish general (d. 1881)
- 1827 – Hermann Raster, German-American journalist and politician (d. 1891)
- 1836 – Max Eyth, German engineer and author (d. 1906)
- 1843 – Grove Karl Gilbert, American geologist and academic (d. 1918)
- 1848 – Henry Edward Armstrong, English chemist and academic (d. 1937)
- 1851 – Aristide Bruant, French singer and actor (d. 1925)
- 1856 – Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist and psychoanalyst (d. 1939)
- 1856 – Robert Peary, American admiral and explorer (d. 1920)
- 1861 – Motilal Nehru, Indian lawyer and politician, President of the Indian National Congress (d. 1931)
- 1868 – Gaston Leroux, French journalist and author (d. 1927)
- 1869 – Junnosuke Inoue, Japanese businessman and central banker, 8th and 11th Governor of the Bank of Japan (d. 1932)
- 1870 – Walter Rutherford, Scottish golfer (d. 1936)
- 1871 – Victor Grignard, French chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1935)
- 1871 – Christian Morgenstern, German author and poet (d. 1914)
- 1872 – Willem de Sitter, Dutch mathematician, physicist, and astronomer (d. 1934)
- 1872 – Djemal Pasha, Ottoman general (d. 1922)
- 1879 – Bedřich Hrozný, Czech orientalist and linguist (d. 1952)
- 1879 – Hendrik van Heuckelum, Dutch footballer (d. 1929)
- 1880 – Winifred Brunton, English-South African painter and illustrator (d. 1959)
- 1880 – Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, German-Swiss painter (d. 1938)
- 1883 – Alberto Collo, Italian actor (d. 1955)
- 1895 – Júlio César de Mello e Souza, Brazilian mathematician and author (d. 1974)
- 1895 – Fidél Pálffy, Hungarian soldier and politician, Hungarian Minister of Agriculture (d. 1946)
- 1895 – Rudolph Valentino, Italian actor (d. 1926)
- 1896 – Rolf Maximilian Sievert, Swedish physicist and academic (d. 1966)
- 1897 – Paul Alverdes, German author and poet (d. 1979)
- 1898 – Konrad Henlein, Czech soldier and politician (d. 1945)
- 1902 – Harry Golden, Ukrainian-American journalist and author (d. 1981)
- 1902 – Max Ophüls, German-American director and screenwriter (d. 1957)
- 1903 – Toots Shor, American businessman, founded Toots Shor's Restaurant (d. 1977)
- 1904 – Moshé Feldenkrais, Ukrainian-Israeli physicist and academic (d. 1984)
- 1904 – Catherine Lacey, English actress (d. 1979)
- 1904 – Harry Martinson, Swedish novelist, essayist, and poet Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1978)
- 1905 – Philip N. Krasne, American lawyer and producer (d. 1999)
- 1906 – André Weil, French mathematician and academic (d. 1998)
- 1907 – Weeb Ewbank, American football player and coach (d. 1998)
- 1911 – Guy des Cars, French journalist and author (d. 1993)
- 1913 – Carmen Cavallaro, American pianist (d. 1989)
- 1913 – Stewart Granger, English-American actor (d. 1993)
- 1915 – Orson Welles, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1985)
- 1915 – Theodore H. White, American historian, journalist, and author (d. 1986)
- 1916 – Robert H. Dicke, American physicist and astronomer (d. 1997)
- 1917 – Kal Mann, American songwriter (d. 2001)
- 1919 – André Guelfi, French race car driver
- 1920 – Ross Hunter, American actor and producer (d. 1996)
- 1920 – Kamisese Mara, Fijian politician, 1st Prime Minister of Fiji (d. 2004)
- 1920 – Marguerite Piazza, American soprano and actress (d. 2012)
- 1921 – Erich Fried, Austrian-German author, poet, and translator (d. 1988)
- 1922 – Camille Laurin, Canadian psychiatrist and politician, 7th Deputy Premier of Quebec (d. 1999)
- 1923 – Harry Watson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2002)
- 1924 – Nestor Basterretxea, Spanish painter and sculptor (d. 2014)
- 1924 – Patricia Kennedy Lawford, American socialite, activist, and author (d. 2006)
- 1924 – Denny Wright, English guitarist, composer, and producer (d. 1992)
- 1926 – Gilles Grégoire, Canadian politician, co-founded the Parti Québécois (d. 2006)
- 1929 – Rosemary Cramp, English archaeologist and academic
- 1929 – Paul Lauterbur, American chemist and biophysicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2007)
- 1929 – John Taylor, English bishop and theologian
- 1930 – Sonia Rykiel, French fashion designer (d. 2016)
- 1931 – Willie Mays, American baseball player and coach
- 1932 – Ahmet Haxhiu, Kosovan activist (d. 1994)
- 1932 – Alexander Thynn, 7th Marquess of Bath, English lieutenant and politician
- 1934 – Richard Shelby, American lawyer and politician
- 1937 – Rubin Carter, American-Canadian boxer (d. 2014)
- 1938 – Jean Garon, Canadian economist, lawyer, and politician (d. 2014)
- 1939 – Eddie C. Campbell, American singer and guitarist
- 1939 – Chet Allen, American child actor (d. 1984)
- 1940 – Alexandra Burslem, Chinese-English academic
- 1942 – Ariel Dorfman, Argentinian author, playwright, and academic
- 1942 – David Friesen, American bassist
- 1943 – Andreas Baader, German terrorist, co-founded the Red Army Faction (d. 1977)
- 1943 – Grange Calveley, English animator and screenwriter
- 1943 – Milton William Cooper, American theorist and author (d. 2001)
- 1943 – Wolfgang Reinhardt, German pole vaulter (d. 2011)
- 1943 – James Turrell, American sculptor and illustrator
- 1944 – Anton Furst, English-American production designer and art director (d. 1991)
- 1944 – Masanori Murakami, Japanese baseball player and coach
- 1945 – Jimmie Dale Gilmore, American country singer-songwriter, guitarist, actor, and producer
- 1945 – Bob Seger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1946 – Grier Jones, American golfer and coach
- 1947 – Alan Dale, New Zealand actor
- 1947 – Kit Martin, English architect and author
- 1947 – Martha Nussbaum, American philosopher and author
- 1947 – Ljubomir Vračarević, Serbian martial artist, founded Real Aikido (d. 2013)
- 1948 – Frankie Librán, Puerto Rican-American baseball player (d. 2013)
- 1948 – Mary MacGregor, American singer
- 1950 – Jeffery Deaver, American journalist and author
- 1950 – Robbie McIntosh, Scottish drummer (Average White Band) (d. 1974)
- 1951 – Samuel Doe, Liberian sergeant and politician, 21st President of Liberia (d. 1990)
- 1952 – Gerrit Zalm, Dutch economist and politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Netherlands
- 1953 – Alexander Akimov, Ukrainian Chernobyl worker (d. 1986)
- 1953 – Tony Blair, British politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- 1953 – Michelle Courchesne, Canadian urban planner and politician, Deputy Premier of Quebec
- 1953 – Ülle Rajasalu, Estonian politician
- 1953 – Graeme Souness, Scottish footballer and manager
- 1953 – Lynn Whitfield, American actress and producer
- 1954 – Tom Abernethy, American basketball player
- 1954 – Dora Bakoyannis, Greek politician, 120th Greek Minister for Foreign Affairs
- 1954 – Angela Hernández Nuñez, Dominican author and poet
- 1954 – Ain Lutsepp, Estonian actor and politician
- 1955 – Nicholas Alexander, 7th Earl of Caledon, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Armagh
- 1955 – Tom Bergeron, American television host
- 1955 – John Hutton, Baron Hutton of Furness, English academic and politician, Secretary of State for Defence
- 1956 – Lakis Lazopoulos, Greek actor and screenwriter
- 1956 – Roland Wieser, German race walker and coach
- 1958 – Randall Stout, American architect, designed the Taubman Museum of Art (d. 2014)
- 1959 – Andreas Busse, German runner
- 1959 – Charles Hendry, English politician
- 1960 – Lyudmila Andonova, Bulgarian high jumper
- 1960 – Keith Dowding, English political scientist, philosopher, and academic
- 1960 – Roma Downey, Irish-American actress and producer
- 1960 – John Flansburgh, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1960 – Aleksei Lotman, Estonian biologist and politician
- 1960 – Anne Parillaud, French actress
- 1961 – Oleksandr Apaychev, Ukrainian decathlete and coach
- 1961 – George Clooney, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1961 – Tom Hunter, Scottish businessman and philanthropist
- 1961 – Gina Riley, Australian actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1962 – Tom Brake, English politician
- 1962 – Brad Izzard, Australian rugby league player
- 1963 – Alessandra Ferri, Italian ballerina
- 1965 – Leslie Hope, Canadian actress, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1968 – Worku Bikila, Ethiopian runner
- 1968 – Lætitia Sadier, French singer and keyboard player
- 1969 – Jim Magilton, Northern Irish footballer and manager
- 1970 – Roland Kun, Nauruan politician
- 1971 – Chris Shiflett, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1972 – Martin Brodeur, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972 – Naoko Takahashi, Japanese runner
- 1974 – Bernard Barmasai, Kenyan runner
- 1974 – Daniela Bártová, Czech pole vaulter and gymnast
- 1975 – Alan Richardson, English cricketer and coach
- 1976 – Dean Chandler, English footballer
- 1977 – Christophe Brandt, Belgian cyclist
- 1977 – Marc Chouinard, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1977 – Mark Eaton, American ice hockey player and coach
- 1977 – Chantelle Newbery, Australian diver
- 1978 – John Abraham, American football player
- 1978 – Fredrick Federley, Swedish journalist and politician
- 1978 – Aleksandr Fyodorov, Russian bodybuilder
- 1979 – Mark Burrier, American illustrator
- 1979 – Gerd Kanter, Estonian discus thrower
- 1979 – Jan Erik Mikalsen, Norwegian composer
- 1980 – Brooke Bennett, American swimmer
- 1980 – Ricardo Oliveira, Brazilian footballer
- 1981 – Matt Drake, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1983 – Dani Alves, Brazilian footballer
- 1983 – Ingrid Jonach, Australian author
- 1983 – Gabourey Sidibe, American actress
- 1983 – Trinley Thaye Dorje, Tibetan religious leader, the 17th Karmapa Lama
- 1983 – Fredrik Sjöström, Swedish ice hockey player
- 1984 – Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki, American-Somali terrorist (d. 2013)
- 1984 – Anton Babchuk, Ukrainian ice hockey player
- 1984 – Juan Pablo Carrizo, Argentinian footballer
- 1985 – Tanerau Latimer, New Zealand rugby player
- 1987 – Dries Mertens, Belgian footballer
- 1987 – Aljona Malets, Estonian footballer
- 1989 – Bobby Bazini, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1989 – Dominika Cibulková, Slovakian tennis player
- 1990 – José Altuve, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1990 – Caitlin Yankowskas, American figure skater
- 1991 – Valerio Frasca, Italian footballer
- 1992 – Brendan Gallagher, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1992 – Takashi Usami, Japanese footballer
- 1993 – Andris Siksnis, Latvian ice hockey player
- 1994 – Mateo Kovačić, Austrian-Croatian footballer
Births[edit]
- 698 – Eadberht, bishop of Lindisfarne
- 850 – Ninmyō, Japanese emperor (b. 808)
- 1002 – Ealdwulf, Archbishop of York, Abbot of Peterborough and Bishop of Worcester
- 1187 – Ruben III, Prince of Armenia (b. 1145)
- 1236 – Roger of Wendover, Benedictine monk and chronicler
- 1471 – Edmund Beaufort, English commander (b. 1438)
- 1471 – Thomas Tresham, Speaker of the House of Commons
- 1475 – Dieric Bouts, Flemish painter (b. 1415)
- 1483 – Queen Jeonghui, Korean regent (b. 1418)
- 1502 – James Tyrrell, English knight (b. 1450)
- 1540 – Juan Luís Vives, Spanish scholar (b. 1492)
- 1596 – Giaches de Wert, Flemish-Italian composer (b. 1535)
- 1631 – Sir Robert Cotton, 1st Baronet, of Connington, English historian and politician, founded the Cotton library (b. 1570)
- 1638 – Cornelius Jansen, Dutch-French bishop and theologian (b. 1585)
- 1708 – François de Laval, French-Canadian bishop (b. 1623)
- 1757 – Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1683)
- 1757 – Kurt Christoph Graf von Schwerin, Prussian field marshal (b. 1684)
- 1782 – Christine Kirch, German astronomer and academic (b. 1696)
- 1840 – Francisco de Paula Santander, Colombian general and politician, 4th President of the Republic of the New Granada (b. 1792)
- 1859 – Alexander von Humboldt, German geographer and explorer (b. 1769)
- 1862 – Henry David Thoreau, American essayist, poet, and philosopher (b. 1817)
- 1877 – Johan Ludvig Runeberg, Swedish-Finnish poet and hymn-writer (b. 1804)
- 1882 – Thomas Henry Burke, Irish civil servant (b. 1829)
- 1882 – Lord Frederick Cavendish, British politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (b. 1836)
- 1902 – Bret Harte, American author and poet (b. 1836)
- 1907 – Emanuele Luigi Galizia, Maltese architect and civil engineer (b. 1830)
- 1910 – Edward VII of the United Kingdom (b. 1841)
- 1919 – L. Frank Baum, American novelist (b. 1856)
- 1939 – Konstantin Somov, Russian-French painter and illustrator (b. 1869)
- 1949 – Maurice Maeterlinck, Belgian-French poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1862)
- 1951 – Élie Cartan, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1869)
- 1952 – Maria Montessori, Italian-Dutch physician and educator (b. 1870)
- 1959 – Maria Dulęba, Polish actress (b. 1881)
- 1959 – Ragnar Nurkse, Estonian-American economist and academic (b. 1907)
- 1961 – Lucian Blaga, Romanian poet, playwright, and philosopher (b. 1895)
- 1963 – Theodore von Kármán, Hungarian-American mathematician, physicist, and engineer (b. 1881)
- 1963 – Ted Weems, American violinist, trombonist, and bandleader (b. 1901)
- 1963 – Monty Woolley, American raconteur, actor, and director (b. 1888)
- 1967 – Zhou Zuoren, Chinese author and translator (b. 1885)
- 1970 – Alexander Rodzyanko, Russian general (b. 1879)
- 1973 – Ernest MacMillan, Canadian conductor and composer (b. 1893)
- 1975 – József Mindszenty, Hungarian cardinal (b. 1892)
- 1980 – María Luisa Bombal, Chilean writer (b. 1910)
- 1983 – Ezra Jack Keats, American author and illustrator (b. 1916)
- 1983 – Kai Winding, Danish-American trombonist and composer (b. 1922)
- 1984 – Mary Cain, American journalist and politician (b. 1904)
- 1984 – Bonner Pink, English politician (b. 1912)
- 1987 – William J. Casey, American politician, 13th Director of Central Intelligence (b. 1913)
- 1989 – Earl Blaik, American football player and coach (b. 1897)
- 1990 – Charles Farrell, American actor (b. 1901)
- 1991 – Wilfrid Hyde-White, English actor (b. 1903)
- 1992 – Marlene Dietrich, German-American actress and singer (b. 1901)
- 1995 – Noel Brotherston, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1956)
- 2000 – Gordon McClymont, Australian ecologist and academic (b. 1920)
- 2002 – Murray Adaskin, Canadian violinist, composer, conductor, and educator (b. 1906)
- 2002 – Otis Blackwell, American singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1932)
- 2002 – Pim Fortuyn, Dutch sociologist, academic, and politician (b. 1948)
- 2002 – Bjørn Johansen, Norwegian saxophonist (b. 1940)
- 2003 – Art Houtteman, American baseball player and journalist (b. 1927)
- 2004 – Virginia Capers, American actress and singer (b. 1925)
- 2004 – Philip Kapleau, American monk and educator (b. 1912)
- 2004 – Barney Kessel, American guitarist and composer (b. 1923)
- 2006 – Grant McLennan, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1958)
- 2006 – Lorne Saxberg, Canadian journalist (b. 1958)
- 2007 – Enéas Carneiro, Brazilian physician and politician (b. 1938)
- 2007 – Curtis Harrington, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Kevin Grubb, American race car driver (b. 1978)
- 2010 – Robin Roberts, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (b. 1926)
- 2012 – James R. Browning, American lieutenant, lawyer, and judge (b. 1918)
- 2012 – James Isaac, American director and producer (b. 1960)
- 2012 – Jean Laplanche, French psychoanalyst and author (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Giulio Andreotti, Italian journalist and politician, 41st Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1919)
- 2013 – Severo Aparicio Quispe, Peruvian bishop (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Michelangelo Spensieri, Italian-Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1949)
- 2014 – Wil Albeda, Dutch economist and politician, Dutch Minister of Social Affairs (b. 1925)
- 2014 – William H. Dana, American pilot, engineer, and astronaut (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Jimmy Ellis, American boxer (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Billy Harrell, American baseball player and scout (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Antony Hopkins, English pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Maria Lassnig, Austrian painter and academic (b. 1919)
- 2014 – Farley Mowat, Canadian environmentalist and author (b. 1921)
- 2015 – Novera Ahmed, Bangladeshi sculptor (b. 1930)
- 2015 – Denise McCluggage, American race car driver and journalist (b. 1927)
- 2015 – Jim Wright, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 56th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (b. 1922)
- 2016 – Patrick Ekeng, Cameroonian footballer (b. 1990)
- 2016 – Reg Grundy, Australian businessman (b. 1923)
Deaths[edit]
- Christian Feast Day:
- Dominic Savio
- Evodius of Antioch (Roman Catholic Church)
- François de Laval
- Gerard of Lunel
- Lucius of Cyrene
- Petronax of Monte Cassino
- St George's Day related observances (Eastern Orthodox Church):
- Day of Bravery, also known as Gergyovden (Bulgaria)
- Đurđevdan (Gorani, Roma)
- Police Day (Georgia)
- Yuri's Day in the Spring (Russian Orthodox Church)
- May 6 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Earliest day on which Military Spouse Day can fall, while May 12 is the latest; celebrated on Friday before Mother's Day (United States)
- International No Diet Day
- Martyrs' Day (Gabon)
- Martyrs' Day (Lebanon and Syria)
- Teachers' Day (Jamaica)
- The first day of Hıdırellez (Turkey)
Holidays and observances[edit]
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” - Philippians 4:6-7
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
What a sweet title: "My people!" What a cheering revelation: "Their God!" How much of meaning is couched in those two words, "My people!" Here is speciality. The whole world is God's; the heaven, even the heaven of heavens is the Lord's, and he reigneth among the children of men; but of those whom he hath chosen, whom he hath purchased to himself, he saith what he saith not of others--"My people." In this word there is the idea of proprietorship. In a special manner the "Lord's portion is his people; Jacob is the lot of his inheritance." All the nations upon earth are his; the whole world is in his power; yet are his people, his chosen, more especially his possession; for he has done more for them than others; he has bought them with his blood; he has brought them nigh to himself; he has set his great heart upon them; he has loved them with an everlasting love, a love which many waters cannot quench, and which the revolutions of time shall never suffice in the least degree to diminish. Dear friends, can you, by faith, see yourselves in that number? Can you look up to heaven and say, "My Lord and my God: mine by that sweet relationship which entitles me to call thee Father; mine by that hallowed fellowship which I delight to hold with thee when thou art pleased to manifest thyself unto me as thou dost not unto the world?" Canst thou read the Book of Inspiration, and find there the indentures of thy salvation? Canst thou read thy title writ in precious blood? Canst thou, by humble faith, lay hold of Jesus' garments, and say, "My Christ"? If thou canst, then God saith of thee, and of others like thee, "My people;" for, if God be your God, and Christ your Christ, the Lord has a special, peculiar favour to you; you are the object of his choice, accepted in his beloved Son.
Evening
"He that handleth a matter wisely shall find good: and whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he."
Proverbs 16:20
Proverbs 16:20
Wisdom is man's true strength; and, under its guidance, he best accomplishes the ends of his being. Wisely handling the matter of life gives to man the richest enjoyment, and presents the noblest occupation for his powers; hence by it he finds good in the fullest sense. Without wisdom, man is as the wild ass's colt, running hither and thither, wasting strength which might be profitably employed. Wisdom is the compass by which man is to steer across the trackless waste of life; without it he is a derelict vessel, the sport of winds and waves. A man must be prudent in such a world as this, or he will find no good, but be betrayed into unnumbered ills. The pilgrim will sorely wound his feet among the briers of the wood of life if he do not pick his steps with the utmost caution. He who is in a wilderness infested with robber bands must handle matters wisely if he would journey safely. If, trained by the Great Teacher, we follow where he leads, we shall find good, even while in this dark abode; there are celestial fruits to be gathered this side of Eden's bowers, and songs of paradise to be sung amid the groves of earth. But where shall this wisdom be found? Many have dreamed of it, but have not possessed it. Where shall we learn it? Let us listen to the voice of the Lord, for he hath declared the secret; he hath revealed to the sons of men wherein true wisdom lieth, and we have it in the text, "Whoso trusteth in the Lord, happy is he." The true way to handle a matter wisely is to trust in the Lord. This is the sure clue to the most intricate labyrinths of life; follow it and find eternal bliss. He who trusts in the Lord has a diploma for wisdom granted by inspiration: happy is he now, and happier shall he be above. Lord, in this sweet eventide walk with me in the garden, and teach me the wisdom of faith.
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Absalom
[Ăb'salŏm] - father of peace. The third son of David by his wife Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. He was born of a polygamous marriage (2 Sam. 3:2, 13, 14).
[Ăb'salŏm] - father of peace. The third son of David by his wife Maacah, daughter of Talmai, king of Geshur. He was born of a polygamous marriage (2 Sam. 3:2, 13, 14).
The Man Whose Lovely Hair Meant His Death
What a singular fascination there is in the story of Absalom who, lacking capacity, certainly made up for it in charm! As to the story of his rebellion against David his father, such a heartless deed carries with it one of the most solemn lessons in the whole of the Bible. Let us briefly touch on some aspects of Absalom's character and conduct.
I. He was of royal descent on both sides, for his mother was a king's daughter. Undoubtedly he was heir to the throne, and the favorite, the idol of his father.
II. He was gifted with remarkable physical beauty - "no blemish in him" (2 Sam. 14:25 ). A commanding presence, natural dignity, extraordinary graces of person made him a conspicuous figure.
III. He also possessed a charm of eloquence and persuasiveness which won him the hearts of all Israel, who felt that in him they had a God-sent champion.
IV. He had a traitorous nature. Absalom murdered his own brother (2 Sam. 13:29), was guilty of designing politeness (2 Sam. 15:2, 3), and conspired against his own father (2 Sam. 15:13, 14).
V. He came to an untimely end ( 2 Sam. 18:9). Having everything in his favor - a throne ready made for him, and fortune bowing at his feet to load him with favors, his life ended in tragedy. Brilliant in its beginnings, he was buried like a dog in a pit in a lonely wood, leaving a name that was execrated. What brought Absalom to his Paradise Lost?
A. His all-absorbing egotism. Self-aggrandizement was Absalom's sin. He had no thought, no feeling, no pity for anyone else but himself. Those around him were only of use to him as they helped him to secure his own desires and build up his own grandeur. Filial affection and generous sentiment were sacrificed on the altar of his inordinate ambition. But in trying to save his life, he lost it.
B. His was a practical godlessness. Those around Absalom recognized God, and had a religious faith giving some restraint and principle to their conduct. But the handsome, selfish, scheming Absalom had none of this feeling. He was his own master. His own will was his only law. He was destitute of principle and destitute of faith. Love, tenderness, pity, were not his traits because he had no reverence for God.
C. His glory brought about his final tragedy. Adding to the beauty of Absalom was his flowing hair forming a crown to his person which made him the delight of Israel's daughters. Being proud of his chief ornament he must have carefully attended to it. But as Absalom was pursued by Joab's men his beautiful hair was caught fast in the thick and tangled boughs of an oak tree and he could not free himself. Thus his graceful personal endowment left him a target for those who hated him and sought his death.
May such a lesson not be lost upon us! Our chief glory can become the cause of our greatest shame. Our choicest endowments and most cherished gifts can become our greatest temptations. Our gifts, like ourselves, need to be rewashed every day in the fountain of God's truth, and guarded and sanctified by prayer, if they are to be fit for the highest service.
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Today's reading: 1 Kings 19-20, Luke 23:1-25 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: 1 Kings 19-20
Elijah Flees to Horeb
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them."
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
Today's New Testament reading: Luke 23:1-25
1 Then the whole assembly rose and led him off to Pilate. 2And they began to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man subverting our nation. He opposes payment of taxes to Caesar and claims to be Messiah, a king."
3 So Pilate asked Jesus, "Are you the king of the Jews?"
"You have said so," Jesus replied.
4 Then Pilate announced to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no basis for a charge against this man...."
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