Reporting on world events from a Bairnsdale Conservative perspective.
Wednesday, September 06, 2017
Wed Sep 6th Todays News
Some things should not happen, but they do. The Victorian ALP have been asked to explain allegations that they have used public funds for branch stacking. They have already spent some $180 million of public funds stalling an inquiry into the red shirt brigade. The slimy, corrupt grasp of Dan Andrews on Victoria grows weak. The creatures that have so far supported Dan Andrews are just as likely to consume him. In defence of their activity, ALP have said they know nothing, and have begged for information from witnesses. But they have not offered witness protection.
Ted O'Brien, MP, makes many excellent points regarding Bill Shorten, but alas they also reflect badly on Turnbull. HRC gets upset with Sanders for endorsing her after he hadn't. Dan Andrews is telling the public there is no energy crisis, but is installing back up generators. It is a bit like charging a Tesla with a diesel generator. Or a pilot assuring passengers there is nothing to fear from turbulence, while strapping on the sole parachute on the plane.
Reach Tel are using robot call polling on same sex marriage to test new software they have for predicting poll outcomes. They have a hundred data points on every voter in Australia and they can, theoretically, accurately predict any election. They could do that before their latest software purchase, but they were often very wrong. What might be more salient is to apply their new data sets to old proven samples. US Democrats probably used similar polling techniques and were almost successful with Clinton. All Democrats need done was appeal to voters outside of the highly urbanised crime zones where they are most established. The software can highlight minimal transactions needed to achieve popular advantage. That may be why conservatives are not doing mail outs as much anymore.
I'm all for evangelical Christians and the message of salvation. I don't feel that Creationism encapsulates it. Instead of faith in God, Creationism seems to be a reaction to secular humanists seizing evolution and claiming evolution means what it doesn't, that God is irrelevant and does not exist. Evolution sheds light on the majesty of creation. Creationism is merely reflexive dogmatic insecurity.
I am a decent man and don't care for 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 The Stand 4 Her
Because I loved her. The song is devotional for God.
===
The Hillsong United band is an Australian band that originated as a part of Hillsong Church. The band tours the world, performing at the various Hillsong church locations as well as general concert venues. They compose the songs for their own performances and for the other Hillsong Church worship teams that perform at weekly services. Subsidiary bands perform monthly in London and at summer camps sponsored by Hillsong.
===
I was raised as an Atheist. I learned, after reading the Bible, that God loves me, and you. This is his song for you too. He loves you, and wants to be with you.
All the elements are me and mine. ARIA ISRC number AUAWN1304222
=== from 2016 ===
Who endorses terrorism? Bell Shakespeare Company great John Bell has attributed to terrorism that people have been spat on and abused. Pass it off as creative license. Spitting and abuse is part of the culture embraced by Jihadis. As is bestiality, xenophobia, polygamy, homophobia and many other terrible things. On this day in 1972, the free pass given terrorists from Palestine exploded with the murder of Israeli Athletes in the athlete's village. A follow up had been planned for Rio, but cleaning contractors were arrested before the meet. The UN has endorsed the terrorism by extending unique rights to the Mythical Palestine and simultaneously denying them to Israel. This has not made the world safer. There are reasons why terrorists do their thing. But they are wrong in fact and law. And those who excuse the barbarity are deserving of contempt, and should be treated with suspicion of aiding terror.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
=== from 2015 ===
Father's Day and the anniversary of the Massacre at Munich in 1972. The West, through the UN, fund the terrorists and give them government status. Obama may offer a final solution by giving Iran a nuclear warhead. The Australian Greens Leader went on the Bolt Report and said if he had government he would drown refugees. He felt it was the only possible response to the Middle East refugee crisis. A disturbingly large sample of people on the Bolt Report Supporter's group agree with the Australian Green's leader. Meanwhile, on Insiders, Nick Xenophon, whose voting record places him left of the ALP and nearly the same as Australian Greens, is promoted as taking out conservative seats in South Australia. Insiders are convinced that #AbbottPhobia will result in the Canning bye-election being convincingly squandered by the ALP and threatening the leadership of Abbott, or Hockey, or someone.
From 2014
Ukraine bungled it a few days ago, but the media were willing to run with it. First, Ukraine claims an unconditional cease fire with Russia. This cheered Washington who were seeking to blame Russia for hostilities. Russia pointed out she wasn't involved and couldn't speak for the rebels fighting the illegitimate Ukraine government, who (the rebels) were mainly ethnically Russian, but also include French. It took a few days, but Ukraine finally had a cease fire with the rebels, allowing the possibility of a resumption for body searches for MH17. It has become clear that Russia has been set up and nothing can be taken for granted in Ukraine. It was apparent that Russia had fired a Buk missile at MH17. The possibility is now that Ukraine orchestrated a war crime, failing to warn Malaysian airlines of the war zone or that Ukrainian aircraft had been downed previously, but also the outlandish possibility is that Ukraine actually shot the aircraft down to blame Russia. And Washington is not exercising due diligence in blaming Russia. Disturbing allegations that European nations are bankrolling Al-Qaeda by paying for hostages. And then there is a small time criminal Islamic convert who allegedly told friends he was hiding from police before allegedly beheading cats and a local elderly lady in London. Meanwhile some radical converts holidaying in Iraq and Syria are asking for permission to go home. The glory days of beheadings being over, as a young man is crucified by IS to make a point when villagers ask IS to leave them alone. A mystery in Rozelle, a university student area in Sydney, very upmarket, where a recent migrant's shop has mysteriously blown up killing a young man, and a young mother and baby. It is still not known what caused the explosion. Joan Rivers was, in her own way, a conservative. There is no single conservative opinion, unlike the left wing which argue indistinguishably from multiple points for a single end. ABC showed an advert for a program of theirs showing an apologist for people smuggling arguing with a radical who dislikes migrants. A conservative view might be that migration needs to be well managed, but the ABC sidestepped that and presented an unapposed view that people smuggling was fair and reasonable. A mother has betrayed her young daughters by making them pose for pornography she shared with their dance instructor, she had discovered was a fan. Her husband just wants her home. Hopefully the law is equipped to keep her in jail for many years to come. Meanwhile a 'man' is pleading not guilty to throwing a girl to her death off a balcony after meeting her on a social network and recording their tryst. He'll be able to work out in prison. One idiot who might not go to prison is a racist cop in Louisiana who disparaged black people. He has been sacked, but it is to be hoped he can be sued in civil court too. A dog dressed up as a spider is entertaining millions on video. Another bizarre thing is an attempt to change the Australian Constitution to make it racist. The video does well, the attempt at constitutional change won't. And then there are rumours Clive Palmer is bankrupt, and misappropriated Chinese money to obscure that fact. All comments made in this editorial are sourced from posts which follow.
From 2013
A 5pm phone call came in. There were multiple languages used. In English, after what may have been Arabic or Turkish, the caller instructed me to vote or face various penalties for voting. It then announced it was a paid announcement from the ALP (02 80054396). I live in one of the safest ALP seats in the country. It used to be Keating's seat. It currently belongs to Jason Clare. Jason is not a good candidate. He is up against an honorary Bangladeshi consul with impressive local family business credentials. Jason would not help me, a constituent, when I begged. Anyway, it doesn't matter. I voted on Wednesday when I was in Bankstown. I voted for the Liberal, Khoury, and in the senate I put a '1' above the line, at 'y,' for Liberals. Rudd and the ALP are increasingly desperate. Rudd has released a youtube video thanking a polar bear and some muppets. Meanwhile Abbott is calmly working through various electorates. A mistake in a Liberal policy document was corrected (it had claimed the Libs were planning an internet filter). Abbott took responsibility. Meanwhile, Rudd is trying to threaten the voters with claims of cuts the Libs never announced. ALP have many outstanding un-costed policies. Liberal policies are all accounted for. The Age is alone in spruiking for ALP in paper editorials. Even their Fairfax Sister paper, the Sydney Morning Herald, acknowledges the Liberals deserve government. An Islamic boy jailed for gang rape 13 years ago was paroled recently. The parole was revoked after he broke the conditions of his parole. He had been instructed not to meet with his brothers, or other gang members (a brotherhood). He had claimed when 16 he wasn't very bright and was easily led by others. He was apparently planning to live with them, and had met up with them while on day release. It isn't a political issue. But I note conservatives seem to govern well. Obama is now claiming his minor attack on Syria will take out their army, airforce and navy. He keeps dithering .. will he attack? Why? What is he waiting for? What would he achieve? A symbolic hit?
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.
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.
Happy birthday and many happy returns Graham Diggins, born on the same day as Emanuel van Meteren (1535), Moses Mendelssohn (1729), Gilbert du Motier, marquis de Lafayette (1757) (cf Patrick Poulou), John Dalton (1766), Joseph P. Kennedy, Sr. (1888), Pippa Middleton (1983) and Prince Hisahito of Akishino (2006). On your day, 1901 – U.S. President William McKinley was fatally wounded by anarchist Leon Czolgosz at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo, New York. 1943 – A group of businessmen in Monterrey, Mexico, founded the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, now one of the largest universities in Latin America. 1955 – A Turkish mob attacked ethnic Greeks in Istanbul, killing at least 13 people and damaging more than 5,000 Greek-owned homes and businesses. 1963 – Victor Krulak was sent on a mission by the Kennedy administration to assess the progress of the Vietnam War, and the viability of South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem against the backdrop of the Buddhist crisis and Xa Loi Pagoda raids. 2000 – The Millennium Summit, a meeting of world leaders to discuss the role of the United Nations at the turn of the 21st century, opened in New York City. Anarchists are not your friends. In baseball, use the mitt to catch the ball .. otherwise the game become hit and MITHE. Greeks are not Armenians. Victor's advice may not be the best. The Millenium Summit was a once in a thousand year thing .. which is good. Enjoy your day.
IT IS a little too late for Labor’s Linda Burney — the first Aboriginal woman elected to the House of Reps — to say she doesn’t want to be stereotyped, writes Piers Akerman.
IT’S a safe bet that Opposition Leader Bill Shorten’s claim to be “on the side of the angels” in the matter of the China free trade agreement won’t be tested by the ABC’s Fact Check Unit.
Miranda Devine – Sunday,September 06,2015 (12:45am)
WHEN Robert Goot, President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, started receiving media calls on Thursday about the bogus story “Prime Minister Tony Abbott describes Islamic state as being ‘worse than the Nazis’”, the lie had been running all morning.
Why does the death of a boy in Turkey suggest to Greens leader Richard di Natale that Tony Abbott may not have a “shred of decency”? What is decent about such a nasty personal attack of a many who plainly is decent himself, given his long record of volunteerism?
On Channel 10 at 10am and 3pm
My guest: Greens leader Richard di Natale, the first Greens MP to accept an invitation in the nearly five years of my show. Plus former Treasurer Peter Costello, former NSW Treasurer Michael Costa and Miranda Devine, Daily Telegraph columnist and 2GB host.
On the invasion of Europe, Bill Shorten mouthing mad union slogans, Joe Hockey’s woes, the Fairfax jihad and the truth behind that terrible picture of that drowned Syrian boy. The videos of the shows appear here.
I don’t know how you felt when you saw the image of 3 year old Aylan Kurdi lying lifeless, face down in the sands of a Turkish beach. I felt sick with overwhelming sorrow. And despair. And anger. I turned away, but that image will never leave me. That photo isn’t just a story of one tragedy. It is the story of thousands of real people in a fight for life itself. On one hand, none of this was new information. The crisis unfolding in Syria has been apparent for a while. The plight of the persecuted and the poor, seeking a better life in a different land, and the migration challenges that it brings to Europe and beyond… well, this has been well documented. But that photo. That little boy. I found that as the feeling of anger dulled, my next response was…. surely we can do more. But what is “more” and what does it look like?… I am deeply encouraged by the Federal Coalition Government’s commitment to increase our humanitarian intake over the coming years. But I believe we should do even more. And we should do it now.
But the boy’s aunt has a story that jars with Baird’s assumptions:
This does not mean we shouldn’t help. (But help how many of the 4 million Syrian refugees?) But it does require us to ask what help is best, who to whom it is best given.
More on this on The Bolt Report on Channel 10 at 10am and 3pm, and in my column tomorrow.
UPDATE
Given the aunt’s testimony - and the fact the Kurdi family had lived in safety in Turkey for three years - the sneering of Fairfax cartoonist David Pope and ABC guest commentator Paul Bongiorno seems not merely ill-informed and grossly unfair but plain nasty:
For a trained priest, Bongiorno seems to have a lot of hate. The fact is that this terrible death actually confirms the moral rightness of Abbott’s position.
The Left’s refusal to acknowledge the full evil of the Islamic State is astonishing. This is the Left’s chronic tribalism gone insane - the enemy-of-my-enemy-is-my-friend to a suicidal degree - or perhaps it’s where moral relativism ultimately pitches us, where we kiss the sword of those about to behead us.
Today’s example: barrister Charles Waterstreet:
“These people” are inevitably spoken of by Orator Abbott as “death cults” and never as ISIS or ISIL or Islamic State or Daesh for that matter. He will have to spell out exactly who he means when he decides to accept Mr Petraeus’ unauthorised invitation to join the bombing. One man’s death cult might be another man’s saviour.
Could Waterstreet please explain who here could consider the Islamic State “another man’s savior”, and why he would regard that view credible?
Bizarrely, Waterstreet - having mocked Abbott’s comparison of the Islamic State with Nazi Germany - offers a comparison he considers more apposite:
In that regard, we are one grade below death cults, but technically on par with Abbott’s view of Nazi Germany.
Mr Waterstreet is regarded as a great mind and wit by some. Which to me suggests the Dark Ages are again upon us.
WHEN Robert Goot, President of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, started receiving media calls on Thursday about the bogus story “Prime Minister Tony Abbott describes Islamic state as being ‘worse than the Nazis’”, the lie had been running all morning… Forget that the Prime Minister never uttered the words attributed to him in the quotes “worse than Nazis"… Goot ... decided to respond to inquiries from news.com.au and the Sydney Morning Herald, “after reading a direct quote of the PM’s comments from reputable sources online [ho ho], checking the accuracy of the quote with other people in our community who heard the interview in which those comments were made, and taking into account the overall context of the interview.” So, Goot issued a bombshell statement condemning comments the PM never made without ever hearing the interview from which the line was invented… Of course, his condemnation breathed new life into the beat-up, giving rise to headlines like this in The Daily Mail: “Jewish leaders hit out at Tony Abbott after the Prime Minister says ISIS terrorists are ‘more evil than the Nazis’."… The problem for Goot and that section of the media which takes direction from the truth void of Twitter, is that the PM never ranked the relative evils of Nazism and Islamic State. In fact, when asked at a press conference on Thursday, he said explicitly he was “not in the business of ranking evil”.... A distinguishing characteristic of IS is its boasting, its publication of videos of people being burned alive, drowned in cages, thrown off buildings, beheaded, crucified and stoned to death. A distinguishing characteristic of Nazism was its secrecy; it deliberately hid its atrocities because it knew a decent world would retaliate. Abbott drew attention to that distinction to make the point that, this time, there is no excuse for the world to plead ignorance, because the atrocities are in our face every day… Why Goot added his own umbrage to the wilful misrepresentation of the PM is a mystery, particularly on the very day the government announced legislation urged by Jewish organisations to ban extremist groups such as Hizb-ut-Tahrir from advocating genocide. Goot, on Friday, said he had no intention of apologising. “We respectfully differed with the PM on this point and gave our reasons. That’s free speech and democracy — for which none of us need apologise.”
Yes, free speech should include the right to be unfair. But free speech, which the hypocritical Executive Council of Australian Jewry does not actually support, is not the issue here, Mr Goot. The issue is your damaging misrepresentation of Tony Abbott.
And a warning: helping journalists to tear down Abbott is the worst thing Australia’s Jewish leaders could do. Have they seen the alternatives?
I’d suggest the Jewish community tell Goot to offer Abbott a public apology.
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
To ask someone here on a work visa for evidence they are entitled to drive is now a sign we’re like the Nazis?
On her morning drive to work through the inner-west Sydney suburb of Stanmore on Wednesday morning, Sarah* was surprised when police stopped her for a random breath test. But when the officer saw her UK driver’s licence, his actions left her dumbfounded. “He asked to see her visa – but we don’t have a paper visa, its electronic,” said her boyfriend, Mark*, who, together with Sarah, is in Australia on a skilled work visa. “Regardless, this isn’t 1940s Nazi Germany and if one did exist, we still wouldn’t be carrying our visa papers around with us.”
Seriously? And this is in the newspaper that raged against Tony Abbott comparing the Islamic State with the Nazis, and not because the jihadists checked the legal right of foreigners to drive on their roads:
An [sic] NSW Police spokesman confirmed Sarah was detained for a visa check. He said temporary foreign drivers are obliged to prove their visitor status if requested by police, to ensure they are lawfully entitled to drive in NSW.
Having wildly beaten up a normal roadside check, meant to ensure visiting motorists have the insurance and abilities we require, the reporter goes on to grossly exaggerate and misrepresent an Australian Border Force operation that merely involved investigating, say, foreign taxi drivers that police suspected were working in breach of their visas:
Last week’s cancelled visa-check operation in Melbourne, after a press release suggested immigration officials would question “any individual we cross paths with” was not just a PR disaster for the new Australian Border Force. It reminded Australians that they are actually quite attached to their civil liberties, including the right to wander the streets unimpeded by people in uniforms. And many could not shake the feeling that a scenario in which average Joes were asked to produce their papers was not just one dreamed up by an errant press officer, but the logical conclusion of the current hard-boiled political climate surrounding border protection.
And, again, in the same story is the evidence that this is all smoke and no fire:
NSW Taxi Council chief executive Roy Wakelin-King said such checks were “relatively routine” and ensure only those authorised to live and work in Australia are driving cabs… In the year to June 2014, 3310 “unlawful non-citizens” were nabbed through field operations or referrals by police, figures from the Department of Immigration and Border Protection show.
The Age has lost the plot. If this is our future, children, hysterics and lunatics will rule.
TONY Abbott’s claim that “not a single person’’ had ever raised with him the idea of removing Joe Hockey as Treasurer has been torpedoed by confirmation that Foreign Minister Julie Bishop discussed the option with him before Christmas… During those talks, the Foreign Minister canvassed the government’s problems told the Prime Minister that some colleagues were suggesting Mr Hockey was struggling in the job.
According to multiple sources, the ambassador [to France], 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.
Elements within the parliamentary Liberal Party are trying to claim Bishop leaked the story about her disagreements with Abbott over the Indonesian education cuts of $500m to pay for the Coalition’s alternative to the flood levy. Some are suggesting she also leaked her defence in shadow cabinet of existing African aid.
Julie Bishop has denied being the source of a damaging leak about the federal government’s new citizenship rules after Tony Abbott sought to assert his authority by warning ministers of the “personal consequences” from breaching cabinet rules.
Today’s political news agenda has been dominated by the revelation that Mr Abbott had reportedly demanded from Ms Bishop a guarantee she would not challenge him for the leadership. But the REAL question gripping Australian politics - not just Canberra insiders - is this: Who leaked the story?
The Financial Review ran a story about a confrontation between Tony Abbott and Foreign Affairs Minister Julie Bishop. The paper claimed the minister had “gone bananas” at a meeting with Abbott over reports she was to be “chaperoned” at a climate change conference in Peru by Trade Minister Andrew Robb. Bishop was offended, according to the paper, because it was said the Prime Minister’s Office wanted the more sceptical Robb keeping an eye on her to ensure she did not overcommit Australia on climate change policy.
Ms Bishop, who was absent from Monday night’s Cabinet meeting where Tony Abbott told ministers the leak had been bad and warned there would be “personal consequences” for the leaker, said she had not discussed it with the Prime Minister. “The Prime Minister hasn’t spoken to me about the Cabinet meeting. He knows I didn’t leak the original story so we haven’t had a discussion about what he meant by that,” she said.
I refuse to believe Abbott did not try to ring Bishop and speak to her about such a damaging and false leak from her department. Which raises the question: did she fail to return his calls and messages?
Bishop has strongly denied past suggestions on this blog that she is a leaker. So maybe someone fiendish is setting her up?
UPDATE Background on Julie Bishop vs Joe Hockey:
Julie Bishop has rolled her eyes at the mention of Cabinet’s budget razor gang in a speech by Treasurer Joe Hockey as Parliament paused to mark the death of Malcolm Fraser… Earlier this morning, Ms Bishop said she would be seeking clarity from the Treasurer about a newspaper report that the nation’s foreign aid budget — which she oversees — would face another “small” cut in the May budget. Foreign aid has taken the biggest hit since the Coalition came to office, having about $11 billion slashed from its budget. When asked on Radio National this morning whether she would be aware if her budget was going to be cut again, Ms Bishop said, “well you’d hope I would be, wouldn’t you?”
Some Ministers should realise they are drilling holes in their own boat.
It has taken no time at all for a Socialist Left Government to turn Victorian into the playground of radical unions, with huge pay deals for public sector unions and now public transport strikes by the me-too brigade. One of Bill Shorten’s Senators cheers on the chaos:
A LABOR Senator charged taxpayers to fly from Sydney to Melbourne where he attended a rail union protest. Sam Dastyari turned heads by joining the protest despite the Victorian Labor Premier Daniel Andrews speaking out against the strike.The Senator was photographed wearing a red Rail, Tram and Bus Union T-shirt at Friday’s protest in Melbourne… Senator Dastyari flew economy class to Melbourne from Sydney on Thursday morning for the credit card inquiry hearings, then stayed overnight to do a radio interview with Fran Kelly on the ABC the next morning. He also visited a forum about shipping on Friday with other MPs before attending the rally. His appearance was at odds with Mr Andrews’ stance on the four-hour strike that cost city traders at least $10 million in lost revenue..."They are a great union, with a great leadership and Australia is a better place because of unions like them,” [Dastyari] said.The union stopped trains for four hours on Friday, with threats of more industrial action during the AFL finals.
MILITANT unionist John Setka has made AFL footy finals a target for industrial action, saying it is “a wonderful time” to halt trains and trams. Melbourne had its first train strike in 18 years on Friday… (A)ddressing a rally of Metro staff outside Trades Hall, Setka, the Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union boss, delivered a longwinded rant threatening to derail one of the biggest days on Melbourne’s calendar. Rail, Tram and Bus Union secretary Luba Grigorovitch went further, saying she would have no hesitation in calling a strike during the football finals, Spring Racing Carnival, and the Melbourne Show.
Unbelievably, this is one of the Rail, Tram and Bus Union’s demands:
The most egregious condition the union is seeking to protect, and in doing so is disingenuously presenting as a health and safety issue, is the inordinate amount of time the company, under the expired workplace agreement, had to give over to training. Essentially, the union holds that every single one of the 1000 or so drivers must be trained to know every single aspect of every single line on the network. This appears ridiculous – and it takes close to 18 months of training.
If the union gets its way of an 18 per cent rise over three years, a tram driver would reap $107,380 and a ticket checker stands to make $105,020. Train drivers can now earn up to $120,000 — compared with Melbourne’s deputy Lord Mayor, who makes $90,081, some firefighters earning $95,000 or top cops who are paid up to $104,500.
Why does Dastyari support this lunacy?
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
Dozens of British jihadists have become so disillusioned with fighting in Syria that they have contacted the UK begging to come home.
One jihadist, claiming to represent 30 Britons, approached an intermediary to complain of growing despondency among the men in his group. They had gone to fight against President Assad’s regime but were instead engaged primarily in fierce combat with rival rebel groups, he said.
If you join a Twenty20 league, then you play Twenty20. These guys didn’t do much research.
The man, who cannot be named, contacted researchers from the International Centre for Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence at King’s College London via social media in the past two weeks. He effectively sought amnesty, saying that the group feared long prison terms but would be willing to enrol on a deradicalisation programme and submit to surveillance.
In modern Britain, that’s probably the worst they can expect.
The British man told researchers: “We came to fight the regime and instead we are involved in gang warfare. It’s not what we came for but if we go back [to Britain] we will go to jail.
“Right now we are being forced to fight — what option do we have?”
When you went to Syria, you didn’t fear martyrdom. Now you’re scared of a mere jail sentence. These jihadists are jisoftists.
Putin can’t be invading Ukraine for the lebensraum:
Why are Russians dying in numbers, and at ages, and of causes never seen in any other country that is not, by any standard definition, at war? In the seventeen years between 1992 and 2009, the Russian population declined by almost seven million people, or nearly 5 percent—a rate of loss unheard of in Europe since World War II. Moreover, much of this appears to be caused by rising mortality. By the mid-1990s, the average St. Petersburg man lived for seven fewer years than he did at the end of the Communist period; in Moscow, the dip was even greater, with death coming nearly eight years sooner.” There was the decline of 1917–1923—the years of the revolution and the Russian Civil War when, Eberstadt writes, “depopulation was attributable to the collapse of birth rates, the upsurge in death rates, and the exodus of émigrés that resulted from these upheavals.” There was 1933–1934, when the Soviet population fell by nearly two million as a result of murderous forced collectivization and a man-made famine that decimated rural Ukraine and, to a lesser extent, Russia. Then, from 1941 to 1946, the Soviet Union lost an estimated 27 million people in the war and suffered a two-thirds drop in birth rate. But the two-and-a-half decades since the collapse of the Soviet Union are the longest period of depopulation, and also the first to occur, on such a scale, in peacetime, anywhere in the world. ”
On Channel 10 on Sunday at 10am and 4pm…
Editorial: Abbott’s first year.
My guest: Finance Minister Mathias Cormann.
The panel: Michael Kroger and Bruce Hawker.
NewsWatch: The Spectator Australia editor, Rowan Dean. Abbott vs the media.
Lots more, including a handy guide for the Greens to help them to tell the difference between a terrorist and an Australian soldier. The videos of the shows appear here.
CLIVE Palmer’s companies were on the brink of insolvency and facing an unpaid bill of $US15 million just weeks before he won political office and the balance of power in the Senate, according to court documents lodged by his accountant and friend for almost 30 years. Bill Schoch, who audited the resources tycoon’s companies and handled his tax affairs until 2006 before being hired by Mr Palmer as a salaried executive in 2011, cites financial documents, corporate records and his personal knowledge in making the claims… In an affidavit examined by The Weekend Australian in the Supreme Court yesterday, Mr Schoch alleges Mr Palmer avoided corporate financial collapse by accepting a $45m settlement from the tax office on September 9, two days after last year’s federal election. The settlement came after Mr Palmer, who has repeatedly claimed to be a multi-billionaire, allegedly wrongfully siphoned more than $12m in Chinese funds from a bank account to bankroll his party in the election. Mr Palmer has rejected Supreme Court allegations by the Chinese government-owned company Citic Pacific in a “breach of trust” case that his withdrawals — $10m in August and $2.167m in early September — were dishonest and fraudulent. Mr Palmer, who in May last year said Mr Schoch was “an outstanding individual” of “impeccable character”, received the $45m from the tax office to settle a Federal Court case he launched in which he claimed he had paid too much capital gains tax on a $415m windfall from China for his iron-ore tenements.
She wouldn’t let a friend pay a bill, ever. She tipped like a woman who used to live on tips. She was hilarious that day on the subject of Barack and Michelle Obama, whom she did not like. (I almost didn’t write that but decided if Joan were here she’d say, “Say I didn’t like Obama!") She was a Republican, always a surprising thing in show business, and in a New Yorker, but she was one because, as she would tell you, she worked hard, made her money with great effort, and didn’t feel her profits should be unduly taxed. She once said in an interview that if you have 19 children she will pay for the first four but no more. Mostly she just couldn’t tolerate cant and didn’t respond well to political manipulation. She believed in a strong defense because she was a grown-up and understood the world to be a tough house. She loved Margaret Thatcher, who said what Joan believed: The facts of life are conservative. She didn’t do a lot of politics in her shows—politics divides an audience—but she thought a lot about it and talked about it. She was socially liberal in the sense she wanted everyone to find as many available paths to happiness as possible.
Most media predictions made about what sort of PM Abbott would make have turned out to be nonsense. Consider the record. Abbott has savagely attacked corporate welfare; left the car industry to its fate; backed a tough, reforming budget but misjudged its politics; abandoned his free speech iconic policy; proved resolute, innovative and obsessed at foreign policy-national security issues; travelled overseas more than Kevin Rudd; yet often struggled to communicate a simple message to the electorate…Meanwhile, Labor accumulates a tale of woe. It is systematically rejecting spending reform — in education, health and warfare — while lining up to reimpose a carbon tax and a mining tax at the next election. Abbott is happy with the latter scenario.
Abbott’s recent success can be measured by the increasing scrutiny Canberra commentators are suddenly giving Shorten, who lazily chose to simply obstruct all Abbott tried - only to have Clive Palmer play ball. Fairfax’s Jacqueline Maley:
Bill Shorten has a narrow lead over Abbott as preferred Prime Minister, but has he actually done anything substantive to deserve his lead?… The Labor party’s former pollster Rod Cameron this week gave an interview to The Australian in which he said Labor was still a “rabble” in a “terrible quagmire”. He said Shorten was yet to make his mark and that Labor was unlikely to win an election while led by him… Shorten is “still finding his voice” as one of his colleagues put it kindly this week… Others, with no interest in his success, find his oratory hits an insincere note. When he is trying to express outrage, Shorten can sound stagey, like he is reading the scary villain section of a children’s story. Abbott calls it “confected indignation”.... But perhaps his priority is more prosaic - to convince voters that Labor is not a total rabble, and that its agenda is aligned with voters’ concerns. He has made tentative progress on both counts.
He’s the globetrotting Australian leader who is flexing his diplomatic muscles by branding Russia a “bully” over its actions in Ukraine and comparing Islamic State extremists to a “death cult”. Tony Abbott says Canberra will now send military trainers and advisers to Ukraine, while its aircraft have begun transporting weapons to Kurdish fighters in northern Iraq. Australia’s warplanes are also standing ready to join US airstrikes on Sunni militants…
The former trainee priest and Rhodes scholar has seen his global reputation as a straight-talker soar since the shooting down of flight MH17, and the savage advance of Islamist militants in Iraq and Syria.
Whereas Rudd governed in fear of losing even a percentage point of his popularity, Abbott has cast the quest aside. Where Rudd was constrained by his unprecedented popularity, Abbott has given up on the prospect. Instead, he seeks the country’s respect, no matter how grudging. Second, he remains determined. He is as determined to deliver his newfound ideological agenda as he was to win power.
This is not the Abbott we were told to expect. We were long warned that he would bring Catholic conservatism to bear in social affairs, by changing abortion law, for instance. But there is no hint of that. Instead, he applies a neo-liberal conservatism in economic policy that has no basis in Catholicism.
UPDATE
But Fairfax papers and their readers, seeing the world in cartoonish polarities, cannot see the slightest good in the Prime Minister. Gerard Henderson:
According to the most recent Newspoll, Labor leads the Coalition after preferences by 51 per cent to 49 per cent.... But you would never know this by reading the anti-Coalition/anti-Abbott rave in Friday morning’s SMH. Rather you would get the impression that the support for the Green/Left position is 100 per cent with that of the Coalition stuck on zero. The lead Letters section in [Friday’s] Herald is titled “Abbott has learnt nothing from history”. Enough said. The SMH Letters Editor ran 11 contributions from readers – everyone of which bags the Coalition and/or the Prime Minister on foreign policy issues....
Gavin Gatenby (Turella) refers to Tony Abbott’s “bellicose enthusiasm” to march on Russia. Really. Jan Carroll (Potts Point) describes the PM as an “aggressive combative man”. She asserts that Abbott is planning to invade the Middle East. Really. Alan Carruthers (Artarmon) asserts that Tony Abbott is “leading the charge out of the trenches into no man’s land”. Sonia Lee (Dudley) opines that it’s “too important” for the PM “to act first and think later”. Dallas Fraser (Mudgeeraba, Qld) suggests that “surely there must be enough Australians out there who can see through Tony Abbott’s new found interest in becoming a globe-trotting statesman”. Garth Clarke (North Sydney) accuses the PM of posturing “belligerently on the world stage”. Jon Sloan (North Narooma) sneers at “Captain Abbott” on foreign policy. Walter Ivantsoff (Marsfield) mocks the PM’s “sagacity”. Get it? Elaine Diffey (Glebe) dismisses Tony Abbott’s comment that the Middle East is “a witches’ brew”. Apparently this is a sexist comment, in inner-city Glebe at least. James Moore (Kingsgrove) extends the anti-Coalition rant by bagging not only Tony Abbott but also his Liberal Party predecessors Robert Menzies and John Howard…
However, Media Watch Dog’s favourite SMH letter today is this one from John Walsh in Watsonia:
Margie Abbott, is there any chance that you could convince your bellicose husband to stop his bear baiting. It’s dangerous for all of us.
So, there you have it. The SMH’s Letters Page is not only a total rant against Tony Abbott. Moreover, the powers-that-be at the Herald thought it appropriate to bag Mrs Abbott as well.
(Thanks to readers Nathan and Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
Historian David Pryce-Jones says Western politicians fool themselves and us when they say Islam is a religion of peace:
A statement of the prophet often quoted with approval is that in religion there is no compulsion. Against that are Koranic verses, said to be 109 in number, that summon Muslims to war with non-believers, or jihad to use the term that has become current in most languages. A typical verse reads, “And kill them wherever you find them, and turn them out from where they have turned you out. And al-fitnah (disbelief) is worse than killing … but if they desist, then lo! Allah is forgiving and merciful. And fight them until there is no more fitnah and worship is for Allah alone.” Another verse with a similar Islamic State resonance is, “I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve. Therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them.” Or again, “Fighting is prescribed upon you, and you dislike it. But it may happen that you dislike a thing which is good for you, and it may happen that you love a thing which is bad for you. And Allah knows and you know not.” And finally a verse also much quoted, especially in the context of Boko Haram, the Nigerian Islamists: “Therefore, when ye meet the unbelievers (in fight), strike off their heads; at length; then when you have made wide slaughter among them, carefully tie up the remaining captives: thereafter (is the time for) either generosity or ransom. Until the war lays down its burden.” Bin Laden, no less, asked the crucial question: “Does Islam, or does it not, force people by the power of the sword to submit to its authority corporeally if not spiritually?” and he immediately went on to give the answer: Yes. Concurring, the Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia, another venerable warmonger, defends the divine right of Muslims to resort to violence. According to him, the spread of Islam went through several phases until “God then authorised the faithful to defend themselves and to fight against those fighting them, which amounts to a right legitimised by God”. [Influential Muslim Brotherhood Sheik Yusuf] Qaradawi is among the clerics who vigorously support the death sentence for apostasy. Any leniency in that respect, he warns, would mean the end of Islam. Salman Rushdie was to discover that the accusation of blasphemy was enough to get him a death sentence. At the latest count Iran this year has executed 174 people, some of them charged with being an “enemy of God”.
What does Islam license men to do? Let the deeds speak for themselves - in Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Lebanon, Kenya, Somalia, Libya, Nigeria, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Pakistan…
UPDATE
This appeal of such a message - the war against enemies of Islam - seems to be stronger than loyalty to any nation, which is why the huge armies of Middle Eastern nations seem powerless to defeat the small Islamic State forces. Former US Ambassador to Iraq James F Jeffrey:
Given its relatively small forces, the Islamic State could theoretically be defeated by the states of the region, whose armies number more than two million personnel, but there are a few factors that work against the idea. First, these nations are not united, have different political approaches and require leadership that can come only from the West, especially the US. This leadership, however, comes with baggage, often reducing its effectiveness. Second, with a few exceptions (Turkey, Israel, Iran, perhaps Egypt), none of the states in the region commands the loyalties of, and has established deep roots within, their own populations, in the same way nation-states elsewhere, in the Pacific and Europe for example, have evolved. National states in the Middle East are generally weak and insecure, and many among their populations are enticed by transcendental pan-regional movements. These once included nationalist Arabic movements, but today they are all Islamic, from the Iranian-propagated form of Shia political Islam, Vilayet-i-Fiqar, with its Lebanese Hezbollah allies, to the Muslim Brotherhood and subsidiary groups such as Hamas and finally al-Qa’ida and its offshoots such as the Islamic State. While the region’s Arab states see these groups as blood enemies, they understand their appeal to their own populations. This curbs their enthusiasm for bold public action against the Islamic State.
It is utter madness, especially given the nature of our security threats today, for our governments to encourage the formal division of Australians on the grounds of “race”.
This is not an argument our politicians and commentators like to have, but I think the public angst over any such division may actually help explain why the push to constitutional recognition of Aboriginal Australians is in trouble. Paul Kelly:
THE proposed referendum on indigenous constitutional recognition is in serious trouble, with fundamental differences over the core principle now threatening the prospect of bipartisanship. Tony Abbott’s statement to The Weekend Australian rejecting the push to turn the referendum into a constitutional guarantee of racial non-discrimination is belated but vital. Any such notion would doom the referendum. The risk is that Abbott’s referendum idea is being hijacked… Bill Shorten, in his speech at the Garma Festival last month, seemed to endorse “banning racism in our Constitution”, with an implied endorsement of a new section 116A in the Constitution as recommended by the 2012 expert panel. This provision is the kiss of death. There is no prospect this idea will be passed by the Abbott cabinet. It would turn a referendum supposed to be about indigenous constitutional recognition into a referendum on another subject: a constitutional guarantee of racial non-discrimination, a subject that runs far beyond indigenous issues… This runs far beyond indigenous issues. It would give judges immense new authority to make policy. It would invite litigation in a range of areas from a range of groups. It would divide the nation. It would create an absurdity — a constitutional guarantee of rights on a racial and ethnic basis but not on grounds of sex, age or disability.
UKIP leader Nigel Farage and News Corp Chief Rupert Murdoch met in private this week, following hotly on the heels of Douglas Carswell MP’s defection away from the Conservative Party and into Team Farage. The meeting took place at Murdoch’s private office in the NewsCorp building in Manhattan after Mr Farage had finishing taping segments for the Sean Hannity and Neil Cavuto shows.
If we are serious about advancing our economic future and about creating job growth here in America, then we must realize that it is suicidal to suggest closing our doors to the world’s entrepreneurs, or worse, to continue with large-scale deportations. That is not to suggest we don’t need to do a far better job securing our border.
Rupert Murdoch says Australia needs to embrace high immigration to add dynamism to the economy, enhance its human capital and create strong bonds with the rest of the world. The News Corp chairman ... pointed to opportunity for Australia in embracing diversity and opening the doors to all comers – provided cultural relativism was resisted and the newcomers were willing to “abide by our way of life"…
“A nation as small as ours will increasingly depend on trade. And the more people we have with ties to other parts of the world, the greater our advantage when we seek trade relationships with these nations.”
The fact that in scores of our cities and market towns, this country in a short space of time has frankly become unrecognisable. Whether it is the impact on local schools and hospitals, whether it is the fact in many parts of England you don’t hear English spoken any more. This is not the kind of community we want to leave to our children and grandchildren… It’s a genuine, legitimate, reasonable concern for people to say that imigration is acceptable but having whole areas taken over is difficult… it’s happened on a scale that nobody could ever have imagined…
I want us to have a sensible, open-minded immigration policy. But I think that what we’ve got, or what we’ve had, certainly, and what we continue to have when it comes to the EU is just wholly irresponsible. I think it’s done great damage to the cohesion of our society and the well-being of working people in this country.
AUSTRALIA will be a key member of an expanded US-led coalition of countries to engage in air strikes and other possible military activity in Iraq against the “significant’’ threat of the Islamic State. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop last night revealed that Australia would provide military assistance for the air strikes as soon as a formal request was made, but emphasised there would be no troops on the ground… “Of course the bigger risk could well be doing nothing and enabling ISIL to spread its poison, its ideology way beyond Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, and that’s the concern that Australia faces,” Ms Bishop said. “We are taking it very seriously.”
UPDATE
Note that we are fighting terrorists who have been supplied with cash by weaker Western countries:
British Prime Minister David Cameron ... used the NATO dinner to urge allies not to pay ransoms for captives held by terrorist groups, amid reports hostages from France and Italy had been released following large payments. He said such payments were “deeply regrettable” and “utterly self-defeating” and warned that the money was used for weapons and training.
Four French journalists were released in April after also being kidnapped in Syria, including Didier François and Nicolas Hénin, who at one point were held with [beheaded US hostage James] Foley. President François Hollande, who welcomed them home, has insisted France does not pay ransoms. But the New York Times suggested that France had in fact paid a total of €43m (£34m) in ransoms since 2008 through French companies and other firms. The German magazine Focus claimed the French government paid $18m (£10.8m) for the release of four journalists abducted in Syria. Focus cited Nato sources to report that the French defence minister had sent the money to Turkey, where it had been handed over to the kidnappers by Turkish secret service agents.
British aid worker ... David Haines [who the Islamic State says will be the next hostage it beheads] was regularly beaten by his captors, who may have singled him out for ill-treatment because of his nationality… He was working for the French aid organisation Acted (Agency for Technical Cooperation and Development) at the Atmeh refugee camp in northern Syria when he was abducted on March 12, 2013… Federico Motka, an Italian-Swiss aid worker who was kidnapped with him, was freed in May this year after the Italian government reportedly paid a ransom of almost £5 million.
Kidnapping Europeans for ransom has become a global business for Al Qaeda, bankrolling its operations across the globe. While European governments deny paying ransoms, an investigation by The New York Times found that Al Qaeda and its direct affiliates have taken in at least $125 million in revenue from kidnappings since 2008, of which $66 million was paid just last year.
These huge amounts do not include the millions now paid to the Islamic State. The figures reveal that France is the biggest Western paymaster of al Qaeda.
The new hairstyle is followed by a change of wardrobe. Accessorise with a couple of international crises and the very polished Julie Bishop is looking like leadership material.
I’ve told Tony Abbott I always have this consolation when work seems grim: I may not be great, but the bastard who’d replace me would almost certainly be worse. So best keep going. For instance, if I didn’t fill this page the editor might give it to that idiot Latham. I won’t say whether the Prime Minister has had the same feeling about himself in his often surprising rise, and I don’t know whether what I said to gee him up struck him as altogether too grudging. But as Abbott marks his first difficult year in office I’ll say it again – with feeling. If you think Abbott as Prime Minister has fallen short of your hopes, imagine what someone else would have done in his place. Can you imagine a re-elected Kevin Rudd?
That said, and more besides. But also this:
But Abbott is changing. Abbott’s foreign affairs successes in particular have emboldened him. He is growing more assured and his recent speech to the South Australian Liberal conference was almost light-hearted. Abbott seemed to be having fun, and he’s taking pride in staying steady – a pride still this side of an arrogant refusal to adjust. I think he’s growing, not shrinking. He’s not just saying to himself he’s at least better than the bastard who’d replace him. He’s thinking privately, I suspect, he might not be quite so shabby, after all. And if at the next election he gets a Senate not so shabby, too, he could be the Prime Minister he dreamed of. And that conservatives might dream of as well.
===
===
===
===
===
===
===
===
===
===
===
===
===
===
===
===
===
===
On September the 5th ,1972. Eleven Israeli athletes and coaches, members of the Israeli team to the Munich Olympic Games, are taken hostage and killed by the Palestinian terrorists after the failure of the rescue attempt by the Germans.
For the next three days I gonna put their photos as a cover on my facebook page for their comemoration as the vicitms of the Palestinian terror, and I ask you my dear friends to do the same in order to show our support and solidarity with their families...
Rest In Peace the Heros of Israel...We will Never Forget You....!!!! === What do bats and dolphins have in common? The fact they both evolved a type of sonar means they resemble each other genetically, researchers now find. http://oak.ctx.ly/r/bf53
Scientists found hints that convergent evolution, the independent evolution of similar features in species of different lineages, caused species to resemble each other not just at the physical level, but also the genetic one. === WARNING: Disturbing Video -- These are the murderers Barack Obama wants to back. Executing helpless people while reciting a poem ... these are the murderers John Kerry wants to back. PLEASE--right now--call your congressional representative and tell them that, if they dare vote to get us into this mess, forcing our soldiers to fight with murderers like this, you will hold them accountable in 2014 ... call 202-224-3121 and ask for your rep.
One woman in Aurburn, Maine, was reportedly faced with these very questions. And she made a stunning and monumentally-inspiring decision. And now shes’ being called the “back to school angel” after generously paying off 16 layaway orders for struggling families at a local Kmart store.
“She was here about 15 minutes. She paid off 16 the layaways in cash, about $3,000,” store manager Joyce Beane told WCSH-TV. “Then she said, ‘I’m not feeling well. I need to leave.’”
The mystery woman apparently told Kmart staff members that she was extremely ill. She appaently paid off the accounts in an effort to do something good with her life before she died. Considering that the families who had layaway accounts were behind in their payments, her kind gesture was much appreciated.
=== Dear friends - You want the perfect example of how elitism rots the brain? John Kerry is actually excited by the notion that the Arab State will pay for the --quoting Kerry--- "Invasion" of Syria!? So, in his mind, our brave soldiers are now mercenaries for Arab states? The Arab states will pay with money while our soldiers pay with their lives? Are you prepared to vote against any politician--of either party--who pushes us into this war where there are no goody guys to back? === On Fox and Friends this morning, we heard a tragic story of a young Georgia woman who died after suffering an apparent asthma attack. Instead of helping 20-year-old Taylor Smith, cops say her friends left her unconscious on the side of the road in Jasper, Ga. Two people who were with Smith at the time have been arrested.
Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense , who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape. He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain; - Why the early bird gets the worm; - Life isn't always fair; - And maybe it was my fault.
Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge).
His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.
It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion. Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.
Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.
Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.
Common Sense was preceded in death, -by his parents, Truth and Trust, -by his wife, Discretion, -by his daughter, Responsibility, -and by his son, Reason.
He is survived by his 5 stepbrothers; - I Know My Rights - I Want It Now - Someone Else Is To Blame - I'm A Victim - Pay me for Doing Nothing
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.
If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing === New IBD analysis shows more than 250 employers have cut workers' hours and jobs to avoid ObamaCare costs!
"Russian President Vladimir Putin’s assertion that US Secretary of State John Kerry “lied” about the influence of al-Qaida in Syria is “preposterous” and a mischaracterization of what America’s top diplomat actually said, the US State Department said Thursday.
Kerry is “not losing sleep after such a preposterous comment that was based on an inaccurate quote and was completely mischaracterized,” State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki told a news briefing in Washington.
Putin on Wednesday accused Kerry of intentionally lying about al-Qaida’s level of involvement in the Syrian conflict." RIA Novosti
They should not be rewarded with life time pensions amounting to $180,000 per annum fully indexed plus benefits.
They deserve to be punished and made an example of.
Secondly pursue our education systems which have been infiltrated by left wing arse hole teachers brain washing the next generation with socialist garbage.
Thirdly make all unions held accountable for their members fees and how their money is being spent to stop the unfair cash injections that Labor exploits for their own selfish benefit.
Fourthly, investigate the Australian Electoral Commission, a government body, which displays a conflict of interest and permits unfair voting practices. === I always felt that Rudd was no worse than Keating .. this election seems to demonstrate my point. Rudd is foolish, throws away tax payer money, hurts people, abuses people, has a depraved indifference to those who risk death. But he is better than Keating was. ed === <Unlike its deluded southern pinko sibling by the Yarra and its cesspol of smug green-left readers , The Sydney Morning Herald, has now been dragged kicking and screaming into supporting an Abbott government. It seems the sickening stench of corruption in NSW Labor exposed by the ICAC is too much for even it to bear.> === He was 16 when he was jailed .. he wouldn't know how to be free. Certainly can't be trusted. - ed ===
BELIEVE it or not, not all men want sex on tap. Actually, some hardly want it at all. And apparently that's normal.
It's widely believed that men are always up for it. But a sex researcher reckons that men just can't say 'no'.
"One of the things I've learned is that most, or even all, guys don't know how to refuse sex," he said.
"When I've asked specifically about refusing sex, the guys tell me that part of why it's hard to say 'no' is that they're concerned about how she'll respond, including concerns that she'll think he's either some type of wimp or gay," he said.
"Those comments have always come from heterosexual men and almost always about a relationship in the early stages."
DESPERATE to lose weight and wondering why you just can't shed those kilos? It might not be your fault. And the thing holding you back might be a whole lot smaller than you think.
While the food you consume obviously plays a part, America's Associated Press reports that your level of obesity may all come down to bacteria living inside your gut.
Scientists at Washington University in the US state of Missouri took a bunch of fatties and a bunch of thinnies who happened to be twins. They used twins in order to rule out the old inheritance argument, otherwise known the "I'm just big-boned" excuse.
What they did next was transplant the gut bacteria of the fat and thin twins into young mice that had been raised germ-free.
Amazingly, the mice who received gut bacteria from the fat people got fatter even though they didn't eat more than the mice who received germs from the skinny twins.
So in other words, it was the little germs doing all the dirty work.
The study appeared in the journal Science. Its senior author Dr. Jeffrey Gordon, director of Washington University's Center of Genome Sciences and Systems Biology, was already well aware that obese people have less diverse gut bacteria, and this took the research to a whole new level.
So if you have the wrong bacteria, are you doomed to a lifetime of spare tyres?
Obviously not, because as mentioned, the right diet can still help. But this research may foreseeably lead to diet pills containing more of the right kind of bacteria, which would help people with the wrong type of bacteria lose weight.
Don't hold your breath, though. Dr Gordon said even the first attempt to make such a drug would take at least five more years of research.
1962 – Archaeologist Peter Marsden discovers the first of the Blackfriars Ships dating back to the 2nd century AD in the Blackfriars area of the banks of the River Thames in London.
1972 – Munich massacre: Nine Israeli athletes taken hostage at the Munich Olympic Games by the Palestinian "Black September" terrorist group die (as did a German policeman) at the hands of the kidnappers during a failed rescue attempt. Two other Israeli athletes were slain in the initial attack the previous day.
1983 – The Soviet Union admits to shooting down Korean Air Lines Flight 007, stating its operatives did not know it was a civilian aircraft when it reportedly violated Soviet airspace.
1997 – The Funeral of Diana, Princess of Wales takes place in London. Well over a million people lined the streets and 2.5 billion watched around the world on television.
“Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.””Matthew 28:18-20NIV
===
Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
"Woe is me, that I sojourn in Mesech, that I dwell in the tents of Kedar." Psalm 120:5
As a Christian you have to live in the midst of an ungodly world, and it is of little use for you to cry "Woe is me." Jesus did not pray that you should be taken out of the world, and what he did not pray for, you need not desire. Better far in the Lord's strength to meet the difficulty, and glorify him in it. The enemy is ever on the watch to detect inconsistency in your conduct; be therefore very holy. Remember that the eyes of all are upon you, and that more is expected from you than from other men. Strive to give no occasion for blame. Let your goodness be the only fault they can discover in you. Like Daniel, compel them to say of you, "We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of his God." Seek to be useful as well as consistent. Perhaps you think, "If I were in a more favourable position I might serve the Lord's cause, but I cannot do any good where I am"; but the worse the people are among whom you live, the more need have they of your exertions; if they be crooked, the more necessity that you should set them straight; and if they be perverse, the more need have you to turn their proud hearts to the truth. Where should the physician be but where there are many sick? Where is honour to be won by the soldier but in the hottest fire of the battle? And when weary of the strife and sin that meets you on every hand, consider that all the saints have endured the same trial. They were not carried on beds of down to heaven, and you must not expect to travel more easily than they. They had to hazard their lives unto the death in the high places of the field, and you will not be crowned till you also have endured hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. Therefore, "stand fast in the faith, quit you like men, be strong."
Evening
"Hast thou entered into the springs of the sea?" Job 38:16
Some things in nature must remain a mystery to the most intelligent and enterprising investigators. Human knowledge has bounds beyond which it cannot pass. Universal knowledge is for God alone. If this be so in the things which are seen and temporal, I may rest assured that it is even more so in matters spiritual and eternal. Why, then, have I been torturing my brain with speculations as to destiny and will, fixed fate, and human responsibility? These deep and dark truths I am no more able to comprehend than to find out the depth which coucheth beneath, from which old ocean draws her watery stores. Why am I so curious to know the reason of my Lord's providences, the motive of his actions, the design of his visitations? Shall I ever be able to clasp the sun in my fist, and hold the universe in my palm? yet these are as a drop of a bucket compared with the Lord my God. Let me not strive to understand the infinite, but spend my strength in love. What I cannot gain by intellect I can possess by affection, and let that suffice me. I cannot penetrate the heart of the sea, but I can enjoy the healthful breezes which sweep over its bosom, and I can sail over its blue waves with propitious winds. If I could enter the springs of the sea, the feat would serve no useful purpose either to myself or to others, it would not save the sinking bark, or give back the drowned mariner to his weeping wife and children; neither would my solving deep mysteries avail me a single whit, for the least love to God, and the simplest act of obedience to him, are better than the profoundest knowledge. My Lord, I leave the infinite to thee, and pray thee to put far from me such a love for the tree of knowledge as might keep me from the tree of life.
2 I will praise the LORD all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live. 3 Do not put your trust in princes, in human beings, who cannot save. 4 When their spirit departs, they return to the ground; on that very day their plans come to nothing. 5 Blessed are those whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD their God.
6 He is the Maker of heaven and earth, the sea, and everything in them- he remains faithful forever. 7 He upholds the cause of the oppressed and gives food to the hungry....
Today's New Testament reading: 1 Corinthians 15:1-28
The Resurrection of Christ
1 Now, brothers and sisters, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. 2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain.
3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles,8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born....
Name Meaning - Dorcas implies "the female of a roebuck," "a gazelle" - an emblem of beauty. Dorcas is the first Greek name of a female in the New Testament, its Hebrew equivalent being Tabitha which is the Syro-Chaldaic form of the Hebrew Zibiah, or Tsibiah , the name of a princess of Judah, the mother of King Joash. Wilkinson says that "the Greek equivalent for her Syriac name may be accounted for by her residence at Joppa, a seaport much frequented, and no doubt partially inhabited by foreigners speaking chiefly the Greek language."
Family Connections - The Bible is silent concerning the parentage and genealogy of Dorcas. In the seaport town of Joppa she became known for her acts of charity and is the namesake for a charitable group named the Dorcas Society. Here was a woman "who with her needle embroidered her name ineffaceably into the beneficence of the world." Where did she learn to sew, make garments for the poor and become notable for her charitable works? It could possibly have been in a godly home that she was taught how to use her fingers and her funds for the comfort and relief of the needy. Dorcas must have been a woman of means to serve humanity as freely as she did. We have five glimpses of her witness and work in the historical account Luke gives us.
She Was a Christian
She is called, "a certain disciple," and is thus included among the numerous disciples mentioned in the New Testament. Through the Spirit-empowered ministry of Philip the evangelist, a Christian Church was established at Joppa - now known as Jaffa - and from an early date the church was not only a center of fervent evangelism but also of a well-organized social service. Possibly Dorcas came to know Christ as her Saviour in this church, and there caught the vision of how she could serve Christ with her money and her needle. Dorcas knew what it was to have a regenerated heart and this was the source of her unselfish life and charitable acts. Behind her sewing of garments was a saved soul. Giving of alms, and the making of garments in themselves gain no merit with God who, first of all, claims our hearts before our talents. It was only when Mary Magdalene was recovered from her stained past, that Christ accepted her desire to minister to His wants.
In our churches and also in commendable societies there are many public-spirited women who, with humanitarian ideals, are engaged in various relief activities, and whose sole object is to do good. But they are not actuated by Christ. Trying to emulate Dorcas, they lack her Christian discipleship, forgetting that caring for widows and others in need springs from "pure religion" which also reveals itself in keeping oneself unspotted from the world (James 1:26, 27 ). When Luke says that Dorcas was full of good works, he meant the word "full" to refer primarily to her inward grace, which prompted the outward deeds. "Good works are only genuine and Christian when the soul of the performer is imbued with them." The cup of cold water to be acceptable must be given in His name. With Dorcas, then, being good meant doing good. Her manifold good works flowed from a heart grateful to God for His saving grace.
Lange the commentator says that "The gazelle is distinguished for its slender and beautiful form, its graceful movements and its soft but brilliant eyes; it is frequently introduced by the Hebrews and other Oriental nations as an image of female loveliness, and the name was often employed as a proper name, in the case of females." Whether Dorcas, whose name means "gazelle," was a beautiful woman or not we are not told. She certainly lived a lovely life, and had eyes reflecting the compassion of the Master whom she so faithfully served. All whom she influenced and helped saw in her the beauty of Jesus. As a disciple she certainly had faith in the One who had called her, but she came to see that faith without works is dead. She also knew that works without faith gained no merit with God, and so the hands that dispensed alms and made garments were inwardly inspired by Him whose hands were nailed to a tree.
She Was a Philanthropist
Dorcas the believer was likewise Dorcas the benefactress. "This woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did ." How significant are these last three words! Too many well-meaning people sit around and talk about charitable works they never do. Sometimes they propose these works and leave others to execute them. Dorcas not only thought up ways of relieving the needy, but she also carried out her plans. Which she did! She knew what she could do, and did it. Studying the female characters of Scripture it is interesting to discover how several of them are conspicuous for one grace or work of mercy, or for another.
Rizpah we remember because of her loving care of the dead.
The widow of Zarephath for giving bread to the hungry.
Anna the prophetess for her fastings and prayers day and night.
Martha, as the queen of gracious hospitality.
Mary for her box of fragrant ointment.
Joanna, and her ministering unto Jesus.
Dorcas, for her care of widows and clothing the poor.
Further, a few Bible characters have inspired profitable institutions for the welfare of human society -
Mary Magdalene - home for wayward and lost girls.
Lazarus - whose name has been given to hospitals caring for the sick and poor.
Dorcas - source and inspiration of Dorcas Societies all over the world.
Among her good works was that of fashioning coats and garments for widows and the needy of her church and community with her own loving hands. The practical, unselfish service of this Christian philanthropist has filled the world with fragrance, for there flowed out of that little city of Joppa a multitude of benevolent and charitable organizations in which women have been prominent. The question came to Dorcas as it did to Moses when he felt he was not the man to deliver Israel from Egyptian bondage, "What is that in thine hand?" And Moses answered, "A rod" (Exodus 4:2 ). And that rod became the symbol of delegated divine power. "What is that in thine hand?" the Lord asked Dorcas. She said, "A needle," and He took what she had and she stitched for Christ's sake. All praise, then, to the needle that represented practical benevolence among the needy. The garments Dorcas cut out and sewed represented Christian faith in action. "I was naked and ye clothed me," said Jesus of those who clothed His poor and destitute children.
She Was Mourned and Missed
It was a sad day for the church at Joppa when one of its most beloved and devoted members died in the midst of her works of charity. "Death loves a shining mark, a signal blow," and death certainly found such a mark in the bountiful Dorcas whose passing was a blow to the community. The vessel containing the costly ointment was broken, and the odor filled the house as never before. Kind hands washed the corpse and placed it in the upper chamber, with feelings expressed by the poet -
Sister, thou wast mild and lovely,
Gentle as the summer breeze,
Pleasant as the air of morning
When it floats among the trees.
While Dorcas doubtless owned her home, she seemed to have no relatives to mourn her going. The widows she had clothed and to whom she had been a friend laid her out; and great grief prevailed. Although so diligent on behalf of others, Dorcas died in the midst of a useful life. The writer had a preacher-friend who always said that he would like to die with his boots on - and he did, one Sunday morning, while preaching the Gospel. Is it possible that Dorcas had a sudden call with her needle in hand? What a grand way to go!
She Was Raised From the Dead
Her fellow disciples at the church where she had worshiped, learning that Peter was nearby, sent two members to beseech the apostle to visit the grief-stricken company. They knew that he had exercised supernatural power, and doubtless entertained the hope that their greatly-loved benefactress might live again. Like the faithful minister that he was, Peter did not delay in accompanying the two men to the death chamber at Joppa where the weeping widows were assembled. The apostle must have been moved as they reverently exhibited the coats and garments Dorcas had made for them. Then after Christ's example at the raising of Jairus' daughter, "Peter put them all forth, and kneeled down, and prayed" (see John 11:41, 42). When he felt his request had been received, Peter spake the word of power and authority, "Tabitha, arise," and life returned. Dorcas sat up, and Peter presented her alive to the saints and widows (compare Matthew 9:25; Mark 5:40, 41).
What a moving scene that must have been! What joy must have prevailed among her fellow-saints and the widows, now that their much-loved Dorcas was alive again, and in her resurrected life, with fuller dedication to the service of the Master, was willing to take up her needle again. Her return from death must have been a great gain to her church. Her only pang was that she would have to sicken again and for the second time enter the gates of death.
She Was the Cause of Revival
The resurrection of Dorcas had a twofold effect. First of all, the miracle comforted the mourners for she had returned to her life of good works and almsdeeds. This miracle was thus like our Lord's miracles - one of mercy. The second effect was to convince all of the truth of the Christian faith attested as it was by miraculous power. Throughout Joppa the message rang, "Dorcas is alive again," and "many believed in the Lord." The miracle in that upper chamber, then, was not a miracle for the sake of a miracle. Dorcas raised from physical death became the cause of the resurrection of many from their graves of sin and unbelief. How the church at Joppa must have increased its membership through the many who were saved as the result of the return of Dorcas from the realm of death. After the resurrection of Lazarus we read that many of the Jews believed on Jesus. Is not the same true in a spiritual resurrection? A transformed life attracts others to the Saviour. We read that after the miracle, Peter stayed in Joppa for many days, and we can assume that his ministry greatly helped the church there in the establishment of the new converts. Peter stayed with Simon the tanner, a saint who prepared skins for leather to the glory of God, just as Dorcas made up her garments with consecrated hands.
A lesson to bear in mind as we part with our saintly benefactress is that she was unconscious of the magnificent work she was doing and of its far-reaching consequences. Dorcas did not aspire to be a leader, but was content to stay in her own home and try to do all she could in all the ways she could. Thus, in spite of herself, she became a great leader in an almost universal philanthropic cause, just as "The Lady of the Lamp," Florence Nightingale, did when she went to Crimea to care for the wounded, dying soldiers on the field of battle. May grace be ours to do whatever our hands find to do, as unto the Lord!
===
Rehoboam, Roboam [Rēhōbō'am,Rōbō'am] - freer of the people or the people is enlarged. The son of Solomon by Naamah, an Ammonitess (1 Kings 11:43; 14:21).
At the revolt he was left with only two tribes.
The Man Who Scorned Good Advice
Although Rehoboam was the son of a wise father, he himself had a small mind. From the fifty references to this man, who scorned wise counsel, we can learn a great many facts. Although named as an ancestor of Christ (Matt. 1:7), he was unworthy of such an honor for three reasons.
I. He was dominated by a false principle. Rehoboam entertained an erroneous idea of the relation between a sovereign and his subjects. He was obsessed with the false premise that the subjects existed for the sovereign and not the sovereign for the subjects. Daily surrounded by unscrupulous flatterers who fed his self-importance, Rehoboam came to accept the nonsensical fiction of "the divine right of kings," that led him to treat his subjects as mere puppets to be manipulated for the benefit of his reigning house.
Whether this outlook was the result of a perverse disposition or wrong training may be hard to decide. Rehoboam had been brought up under the autocratic rule of his father, Solomon, to whom subjects were synonymous to slaves. When the people appealed, it was more against Solomon than Rehoboam, who had not had the opportunity of proving his quality as a king. So the first appeal to Rehoboam was, "Thy father made our yoke grievous," and the son sought to copy the defect of his father. Lamentable failure, however, overtook this feeble son of an illustrious father.
II. He followed the wrong advice. Alexander Whyte introduces his homily on Rehoboam with the sentence: "Just by one insolent and swaggering word, King Rehoboam lost for ever the ten tribes of Israel. And all Rehoboam's insane and suicidal history is written in our Bible for the admonition and instruction of all hot-blooded, ill-natured, and insolent-spoken men among ourselves."
What a different history of the Jews would have been written had Rehoboam not followed the advice of reckless counselors. When he went to Shechem, the rallying center of the northern tribes, to be formally crowned as king in succession to Solomon, the people were willing to accept Rehoboam on one condition, namely that he should lighten the burdens imposed upon them by Solomon. This reasonable request, which should have been acceded to without any hesitation, was met with the cautious reply: "Come again to me after three days." But Rehoboam lost a golden opportunity of healing the sores of fears and of preserving the unity of God's ancient people.
First of all, the king sought the advice of the old men who had been counselors of his father and whose ripe experience qualified them to guide Rehoboam. They urged the king to be kind and considerate. "Speak good words unto them, and they will be thy servants forever." But with his mind already made up, he rejected the counsel of the old men, and consulting the opinion of his young, rash companions who had always fed his vanity, he followed their advice and, assuming a haughty attitude, announced that he would add to the yoke of the people. "My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions."
The effect was instantaneous, and a long-suffering people, smarting for so long under a sense of wrong, refused to be cowed, like the brave Hungarian people, by empty boastings. Thus the slumbering embers of revolt burst into a flame, and the kingdom was rent in twain and Israel's greatness destroyed.
III. He failed to give God the first place. If Rehoboam had consulted the Supreme King of Nations before seeking the advice of old and young men, how beneficial the monarchy would have been. While at the first he posed as the defender of the faith of his fathers and maintained the Temple services with signal fidelity, he failed to render God an undivided homage. The last years of Solomon's brilliant reign were darkened by the recognition of heathen gods and their degrading cults which, along with the fact that Rehoboam was the son of a heathen woman, helped to explain his apostasy. So attempting the impossible, he sought to please God and worship idols at the same time. But said Rehoboam's perfect Descendant: "No man can serve two masters."
At first pious (2 Chron. 12:1) Rehoboam fell into such iniquity that an Egyptian scourge came upon the king and the two tribes he ruled. Brief penitence stayed vengeance, but the rot had set in (2 Chron. 12:5, 8). So we leave Rehoboam, who went astray in a threefold direction, ruining himself and the people he sought to govern. He lost the best part of his kingdom and reduced Israel as a whole to a subordinate rank among nations.
Continue reading 'Left makes hay with ‘straw man’ attacks'
===
No comments:
Post a Comment