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 "I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself"
"I Just Don't Know What to Do with Myself" is a song written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David.
=== from 2016 ===
The campaign is nearly over. I thank My friends Hao, Jason, Mandy and Tammy for their patience as I went through obnoxious phases. I had to stop Hao from trying to help with things. Local government is a different muscle to teaching or whistleblowing or writing. I am an independent conservative. I would have liked to have joined with the Liberal Party, but it is against their constitution to accept me. I'm new to Dandenong and because I am Libertarian Conservative in a broadly left wing area I did not expect to be embraced. But Dandenong is a mixture of diverse peoples and I think that is wonderful. I have walked some 280 KM on campaign. Some say I was merely playing Pokemon Go and it is true that I have knowledge of those Poke Stops from the Mosque in Cleeland St, through to the Gym in the Table Tennis centre and pool, down toward the court area, Dandenong Markets and Plaza, the Library, Keysborough, South Dandenong and Springvale. I hunted Pokemon as I walked down Abbott st in Hallam to work. It was how I discovered that the council had licensed a saturday school in an area without public transport access or pedestrian walkways.
I would like council to listen to constituents more about salient issues. They have strong opinions on the environment, on social justice, and on lots of things they really have no control over and aren't there to do. Such indulgence means they miss out on important things, like ineffective recycling (do we profit from it?), a rising crime rate (30% increase in the term of the last council), red tape preventing trade (blocking a development in an area zoned for it), youth unemployment related to business red tape, bus routes that are badly directed, and even housing estates that require satellite access to get internet. It is true council are not responsible directly for all that, but their decisions, or indecision, affect it.
I am an evangelical Christian and I thank God for an opportunity to serve. I thank New Life for existing and having a spiritual home to me. I would like to help them too, if I could. They are looking for a home where they can meet on Sunday, and have an office during the week. They are international, with branches around the world, centred on Dandenong. They can't afford a commercial space because they are too big, and too big for a traditional church space. But the council has not got a facility available for people willing to pay their way? That is a failure of planning if true. One councillor can't do much. But by putting an idea out for public to examine, if council agrees, then a positive change can be made. And that is what I want to do. My campaign is secular, because I think if everyone benefits, then, everyone benefits.
I suggest Red Gum ward vote for David Daniel Ball. And, after asking your local councillor about their views on Trump, Same Sex Marriage and Greyhounds, try and find out what it is they will do to make garbage collection cheaper and more efficient. Ask how they will make business more profitable. Ask what they will do to help address crime. Ask what they will do to improve public transport issues locally.
=== from 2015 ===
Author Suzanne Falkiner was doing research on the origins of St Vincents Hospital in Sydney when she came across the curious case of Eugenia Falleni, a cross dressing killer in the 1920s. Only the story Dr Falkiner tells in Eugenia, A Man is far deeper than those words (cross dressing killer) suggest. Eugenia's life intersected with another killer, Dorothy Mort, who did not need to cross dress to kill the man she loved, but feared she was losing. The dead man, Claude Tozer an honoured soldier and GP who had treated her. Tozer was also an opening bat who might have played for Australia in the summer WW Armstrong won the Ashes 5 -0. Tozer was not Mort's husband. Eugenia got lessons in reading and writing from Mrs Mort in jail. It is worth checking out the books.
Cross dressers in history are known. The bible has some soldiers cross dressing in Joshua while scouting a city they hoped to invade. During the Roman persecutions of Christians, a Eugenia dressed as a man, but was discovered and sainted. James Barry dressed as a man and became a surgeon in the nineteenth century. James performed the first known c-section where both mother and child survived. It was circa 1816 in South Africa and did not involve anaesthesia. Later, James worked in the Crimea where Florence Nightingale met and despised her. James' gender was only discovered after her death.
Women dressing as men makes sense because of the possibility of mobility and power. Men dressing as women makes sense when they are trying to hide. But it is an over reach to say cross dressing just makes sense.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
Cross dressers in history are known. The bible has some soldiers cross dressing in Joshua while scouting a city they hoped to invade. During the Roman persecutions of Christians, a Eugenia dressed as a man, but was discovered and sainted. James Barry dressed as a man and became a surgeon in the nineteenth century. James performed the first known c-section where both mother and child survived. It was circa 1816 in South Africa and did not involve anaesthesia. Later, James worked in the Crimea where Florence Nightingale met and despised her. James' gender was only discovered after her death.
Women dressing as men makes sense because of the possibility of mobility and power. Men dressing as women makes sense when they are trying to hide. But it is an over reach to say cross dressing just makes sense.
There is no evidence that Turnbull cross dresses, but he isn't supporting freedom of speech.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
From 2014
A great man passed on this day. Or, as some noted, died. His name is plastered around Australia in lots of locations, some unlikely. He was a little bit shallow in some ways, but he towered for his achievements for which the world should applaud. Some despise him, but that is probably mere partisan politics. He was above that. The great man was Horatio Nelson and he died in 1805 at Trafalgar off the Spanish Coast, near Cadiz. An old chardonnay socialist also died this morning, Gough Whitlam, more about him later.
To set the scene in 1805, England's greatest sailor was facing near certain death and humiliation off the Spanish coast on the morning. He had a desperate plan that had never worked successfully before. He was faced with a larger force of a combined fleet of Spanish and French fleet, under the command of Pierre-Charles Villeneuve for France and Federico Gravina for Spain. Nelson had 27 ships of the line to 33. Classically, the ships would form in two lines and shoot at each other with broadsides until the fleet with less guns and ships was annihilated or surrendered. But Napoleon had had plans to march his grand army into Britain and if Napoleon's fleet was free, her massive army would easily take London. So Nelson was faced with a battle he couldn't surrender or lose, but couldn't win through conventional means. So Nelson's plan addressed it by promoting the superiority of British ships on one to one combat. Britain had had better ships thanks to her guns having triggers instead of lit wicks for firing, better trained men and copper lined bottoms to her ships. Nelson's desperate plan was to sail his ships directly towards the enemy line in two lines at a right angle. He knew the front two British ships would have to weather about thirty minutes of direct fire from the enemy line, but when the closed, he would be able to fight ship to ship with the centre and vanguard of enemy ships, while the enemy ships in the top of the line would have to turn around an re engage. Nelson had two lines because when the tact had been applied in the past, the concentrated fire on one ship had sunk it and every subsequent one. Two lines, he calculated, would diminish the damage taken to either. Nelson led one line, Cuthbert Collingwood another. Nelson wanted to tell his men he was confiding in them, and he knew they would do their best. But the flag signal man told him he could transmit the message more easily if he substituted a few words. The message, approved by Nelson, is recorded in history and stirring. Instead of Admiral Nelson, the word used was England. Instead of confides, the word used was expects. The message had become "England expects every man will do their duty."
In battle, the forecastle of Victory (Nelson's ship) had lines of marines. Some six were picked off before he gave instructions that they could break ranks and seek cover. Nelson's secretary was adjacent to him when a cannonball knocked his head in, splashing his brains onto Nelson, who remarked he didn't like the taste and regretted that the secretary would not experience victory. Nelson stood with full assignations on his uniform, including a stunning diamond. Smoke obscured the scene as Victory closed with Redoubtable and a sniper shot from Redoubtable's Mast Nest mortally wounded Nelson. Captain Hardy was on hand, and carried Nelson below deck to see the surgeon. Hardy could have been charged with negligence for deserting his post later. Nelson took some five hours to die. Near death, Hardy returned to report success. Nelson thanked God he had done his duty. Britain had not lost a ship, but captured 21 ships and destroyed another. Napoleon would march his Grand Armee on Moscow later. As a result, England would rule the waves around the world until WW2.
I dispute that Gough was the worst PM at the time of his death. His abysmal foreign policy is still felt around the world, his debt crisis is still unbalancing the Australian economy and his bad 'reform' of ALP has kept it in the nineteenth century and prevented good people from achieving anything, but Rudd, then Gillard were worse. It is worth listing Gough's achievements. Gough distrusted the US who were allies, and embraced Communist China before Nixon went to negotiate freedoms. He ended conscription and pulled Australia out of Vietnam sooner than high command had planned. That meant when US pulled out in '75 that lots of weapons were left behind that were dangerous for the communist world to have. The threat that Communist Vietnam would sell those weapons to Timor's communist rebels meant Gough gave the nod to Indonesia to invade to prevent those communist Timor rebels from buying and using those weapons. The Timor invasion by Indonesia resulted in the apparently planned deaths of Australian journalists at Balibo by Indonesian special forces, some of whom vie for Indonesian politics today. Gough distrusted Southern Vietnamese who had been supported by the US and spurned their pleas for help. Because of his disastrous spending, Gough needed lots of money and sought to embroil Australia with Iraq. Gough had become leader of a disunited infighting ALP and he took steps to reform it by aligning it more closely with unions and producing the model that cannot be reformed now without disentangling from corrupt union leadership. In Australia, Gough spent unsustainably, and made reckless promises. He promised free education and made it harder for better students to study at university, ultimately making it more expensive for everyone. He promised fair access to health care but delivered a faulty product that needed to be reformed. He politicised the High Court and Governor General's position and created the family court which even today is highly criticised for poor decision making. Gough cared little for those he was responsible for and complained when his holidays were interrupted for disasters, like Cyclone Tracy and the Melbourne floods. Gough was the champion of empty symbolism and claimed to do things he hadn't done, like ending the White Australia Policy. He divided Australia on racial lines by creating a body which has failed to address needs of Aboriginals adequately. Gough felt betrayed by the governor general he appointed and he ruined the man who served faithfully, John Kerr. Gough was patron to notable ALP failures in Keating, Gillard and Clare. He was a charming man who could joke about his megalomania in a pasta advert. On the plus side, he got rid of McMahon as Liberal chief. But he ruined that with Fraser.
World Series Baseball.
Pixar vs Disney vis San Francisco Giants vs Kansas City Royals. The rivalry is friendly and serious. US politics is dominated by the Presidential elections which have primaries which result in two opposed candidates. The process is pretty good in galvanising support behind each candidate. And so too the World series is an example where the main season is about demonstrating the superiority of each team that has their division. By the end of it, the best team of the season will have won four WSB games against the next best. May the best team win.
Terrorists
Turkey allows Kurdish reinforcements after obstructing help from going to desperate Kurdish fighters. A 17 year old Australian ran away from home and now preaches hate in favour of ISIL against Mr Abbott. As he is now a terrorist, maybe his school report cards could be released for the public to know what a terrorist spokesperson was like at school.
AGW Alarmism
Warmists should apologise to Bob Carter who was slammed by AGW alarmist scientists rather than debated. A basic tenet of academia is that anyone can have a good idea, and that ideas can be robustly debated. Instead Carter was smeared and his ideas not debated, but denied. That is anti intellectual which is a character of most AGW alarmism. People suffer from green alarmism. A lot of poor people who get denied what others get because they can't afford it because of Green policy. Greens might have good intentions.
Freedom of Speech
Barry Humphries defends Barry Spurr, the Sydney University poet whose privacy was invaded by a left wing magazine who denied him natural justice for saying things the magazine did not agree with. Luckily the NSA does not often behave like that. Celebrating on the ABC what diminishes women as a guest wears a hijab to obscure her face and says she likes it. ABC spreads Peter Carey conspiracy theory that US government dismissed Whitlam, and not the Australian people. Universities embracing freedom? A few universities have stopped terrorists from advancing their noxious claims. Oscar Pistorius got five years maximum for killing his girlfriend on Valentines Day. Oscar's success is not a great moment in freedom of speech, but the judge had determined it wasn't murder, so it must have been personal expression of a person who struggled to say what he meant.
Local politics
ABC is too big, dwarfing commercial media. Labor leads in polls which means little at the moment but is a big threat unless addressed. $433000 for each unemployed Aborigine placed in a job by a $1.5 billion ALP policy. I could have done a better job for half that.
To set the scene in 1805, England's greatest sailor was facing near certain death and humiliation off the Spanish coast on the morning. He had a desperate plan that had never worked successfully before. He was faced with a larger force of a combined fleet of Spanish and French fleet, under the command of Pierre-Charles Villeneuve for France and Federico Gravina for Spain. Nelson had 27 ships of the line to 33. Classically, the ships would form in two lines and shoot at each other with broadsides until the fleet with less guns and ships was annihilated or surrendered. But Napoleon had had plans to march his grand army into Britain and if Napoleon's fleet was free, her massive army would easily take London. So Nelson was faced with a battle he couldn't surrender or lose, but couldn't win through conventional means. So Nelson's plan addressed it by promoting the superiority of British ships on one to one combat. Britain had had better ships thanks to her guns having triggers instead of lit wicks for firing, better trained men and copper lined bottoms to her ships. Nelson's desperate plan was to sail his ships directly towards the enemy line in two lines at a right angle. He knew the front two British ships would have to weather about thirty minutes of direct fire from the enemy line, but when the closed, he would be able to fight ship to ship with the centre and vanguard of enemy ships, while the enemy ships in the top of the line would have to turn around an re engage. Nelson had two lines because when the tact had been applied in the past, the concentrated fire on one ship had sunk it and every subsequent one. Two lines, he calculated, would diminish the damage taken to either. Nelson led one line, Cuthbert Collingwood another. Nelson wanted to tell his men he was confiding in them, and he knew they would do their best. But the flag signal man told him he could transmit the message more easily if he substituted a few words. The message, approved by Nelson, is recorded in history and stirring. Instead of Admiral Nelson, the word used was England. Instead of confides, the word used was expects. The message had become "England expects every man will do their duty."
In battle, the forecastle of Victory (Nelson's ship) had lines of marines. Some six were picked off before he gave instructions that they could break ranks and seek cover. Nelson's secretary was adjacent to him when a cannonball knocked his head in, splashing his brains onto Nelson, who remarked he didn't like the taste and regretted that the secretary would not experience victory. Nelson stood with full assignations on his uniform, including a stunning diamond. Smoke obscured the scene as Victory closed with Redoubtable and a sniper shot from Redoubtable's Mast Nest mortally wounded Nelson. Captain Hardy was on hand, and carried Nelson below deck to see the surgeon. Hardy could have been charged with negligence for deserting his post later. Nelson took some five hours to die. Near death, Hardy returned to report success. Nelson thanked God he had done his duty. Britain had not lost a ship, but captured 21 ships and destroyed another. Napoleon would march his Grand Armee on Moscow later. As a result, England would rule the waves around the world until WW2.
I dispute that Gough was the worst PM at the time of his death. His abysmal foreign policy is still felt around the world, his debt crisis is still unbalancing the Australian economy and his bad 'reform' of ALP has kept it in the nineteenth century and prevented good people from achieving anything, but Rudd, then Gillard were worse. It is worth listing Gough's achievements. Gough distrusted the US who were allies, and embraced Communist China before Nixon went to negotiate freedoms. He ended conscription and pulled Australia out of Vietnam sooner than high command had planned. That meant when US pulled out in '75 that lots of weapons were left behind that were dangerous for the communist world to have. The threat that Communist Vietnam would sell those weapons to Timor's communist rebels meant Gough gave the nod to Indonesia to invade to prevent those communist Timor rebels from buying and using those weapons. The Timor invasion by Indonesia resulted in the apparently planned deaths of Australian journalists at Balibo by Indonesian special forces, some of whom vie for Indonesian politics today. Gough distrusted Southern Vietnamese who had been supported by the US and spurned their pleas for help. Because of his disastrous spending, Gough needed lots of money and sought to embroil Australia with Iraq. Gough had become leader of a disunited infighting ALP and he took steps to reform it by aligning it more closely with unions and producing the model that cannot be reformed now without disentangling from corrupt union leadership. In Australia, Gough spent unsustainably, and made reckless promises. He promised free education and made it harder for better students to study at university, ultimately making it more expensive for everyone. He promised fair access to health care but delivered a faulty product that needed to be reformed. He politicised the High Court and Governor General's position and created the family court which even today is highly criticised for poor decision making. Gough cared little for those he was responsible for and complained when his holidays were interrupted for disasters, like Cyclone Tracy and the Melbourne floods. Gough was the champion of empty symbolism and claimed to do things he hadn't done, like ending the White Australia Policy. He divided Australia on racial lines by creating a body which has failed to address needs of Aboriginals adequately. Gough felt betrayed by the governor general he appointed and he ruined the man who served faithfully, John Kerr. Gough was patron to notable ALP failures in Keating, Gillard and Clare. He was a charming man who could joke about his megalomania in a pasta advert. On the plus side, he got rid of McMahon as Liberal chief. But he ruined that with Fraser.
World Series Baseball.
Pixar vs Disney vis San Francisco Giants vs Kansas City Royals. The rivalry is friendly and serious. US politics is dominated by the Presidential elections which have primaries which result in two opposed candidates. The process is pretty good in galvanising support behind each candidate. And so too the World series is an example where the main season is about demonstrating the superiority of each team that has their division. By the end of it, the best team of the season will have won four WSB games against the next best. May the best team win.
Terrorists
Turkey allows Kurdish reinforcements after obstructing help from going to desperate Kurdish fighters. A 17 year old Australian ran away from home and now preaches hate in favour of ISIL against Mr Abbott. As he is now a terrorist, maybe his school report cards could be released for the public to know what a terrorist spokesperson was like at school.
AGW Alarmism
Warmists should apologise to Bob Carter who was slammed by AGW alarmist scientists rather than debated. A basic tenet of academia is that anyone can have a good idea, and that ideas can be robustly debated. Instead Carter was smeared and his ideas not debated, but denied. That is anti intellectual which is a character of most AGW alarmism. People suffer from green alarmism. A lot of poor people who get denied what others get because they can't afford it because of Green policy. Greens might have good intentions.
Freedom of Speech
Barry Humphries defends Barry Spurr, the Sydney University poet whose privacy was invaded by a left wing magazine who denied him natural justice for saying things the magazine did not agree with. Luckily the NSA does not often behave like that. Celebrating on the ABC what diminishes women as a guest wears a hijab to obscure her face and says she likes it. ABC spreads Peter Carey conspiracy theory that US government dismissed Whitlam, and not the Australian people. Universities embracing freedom? A few universities have stopped terrorists from advancing their noxious claims. Oscar Pistorius got five years maximum for killing his girlfriend on Valentines Day. Oscar's success is not a great moment in freedom of speech, but the judge had determined it wasn't murder, so it must have been personal expression of a person who struggled to say what he meant.
Local politics
ABC is too big, dwarfing commercial media. Labor leads in polls which means little at the moment but is a big threat unless addressed. $433000 for each unemployed Aborigine placed in a job by a $1.5 billion ALP policy. I could have done a better job for half that.
From 2013
The Abbott government is going to have to work hard to reform the economy. Workplace reform is a challenge. Bloated bureaucracy. Hockey is undertaking an audit. Media have patted themselves on the back recently, saying the economy is not that bad despite the abysmal ALP government. The audit will allow Hockey to best direct resources. But vastly increased debt is not a solution.
Williamson is sorry he was caught embezzling from the poorest workers. But won't pay it back. Shorten's leadership foreshadowed as being challenged. He isn't very smart and he is being protected by the press gallery .. for now. But then so were his predecessors. His AGW policy is crippling the party.
Flannery's conflict of interest not revealed by the ABC because, it was his conflict, not theirs?
Gore's lie is exposed. Will he return his Nobel Prize?
Disaster means cash splash?
Abbott abusers highly lauded by Walkleys. Meanwhile, Abbott volunteers to serve.
Adam Bandt and ALP's Andrew Leigh the vultures.
ALP claim the drop in boat numbers is because of ALP policy.
SMH and LA Times ban warming skeptics .. how is that for debate?
Corruption at high levels of government is serious. Because I had not thought it had extended so far, I made a private complaint to the NSW Dept of Ed in '94 about a teacher at Campbelltown PAHS who was in the habit of walking into the girls change room of the year 7's and 8's, touched students inappropriately in activity (publicly groping a blond haired girl to illustrate an activity to other year 8 students in front of staff) denying medication to students (asthma inhalers to students who forgot them prior to activity, talking inappropriately to girls on the playground (telling a year 11 girl who was smoking a cigarette she might prefer his dick). I expected nothing to happen. I expected to be pushed aside. I hadn't expected the cover up to include the highest levels of bureaucracy and the then Premier's office.
The complaint was 'dealt with' after some aggrieved students were interviewed by protection officers after they left school. They apparently told investigators that they did not feel like pursuing the matter. Investigators told me privately that as a result they would have to conclude nothing happened. I pointed out it had smoked my career and pushed me to a few schools and I would have to think twice before reporting again.
The issue became important because I was working as a boarder tutor at Hurlstone AHS. A control freak who didn't like me because I was fat, who was my immediate supervisor, was having difficulties getting rid of me because I didn't mind doing more than other staff. I was placed on probation for being fat, but after a few terms that was 'forgotten.' I was asked to transfer to the school and offered a President position of LMTA (Liverpool Math Teacher Association) by the incumbent President who was HT Math at Hurlstone. But there was a meeting of Head Teachers Mathematics of Hurlstone AHS and Campbelltown PAHS and the Hurlstone Head changed his mind about wanting me to transfer, or offering me the Presidency. That gave the Welfare HT leverage. Firstly, I was moved from one accommodation place to another. Then my new place was declared unfit for habitation. I was housed in the staff common room which was used by the Olympic Road Traffic Authority as a headquarters. Then I was told my place was repaired, but a guy who was retiring would stay there, I found accommodation off site after a year of being moved around, after three years on site.
I worked a few casual nights at Hurlstone during the 4th year (having started in '98, I was itinerant in '01). It was as the most senior person on duty that I met Hamidur Rahman over dinner and found out about his peanut allergy. I reported it to the HT Welfare, whom I thought would ignore me, and his boss, the Deputy Principal. Both warned me not to speak publicly about Hamidur's health issue. Both promised staff would be warned about the issue. I stopped working at Hurlstone soon after that, and appealed to the department over the unfair dismissal.
In 2002, Hamidur died when a PE teacher who had not known of Hamidur's allergy ordered him to lick peanut butter from a spoon as a reward for an activity. The instruction to use peanut butter as a reward had come from the Head Teacher Welfare at a staff meeting when I worked there. Later that year, the Department took action against me, saying I was too fat to teach Mathematics. I was offered early retirement but declined when I was promised a new deal by a new Principal at my day school of Canley Vale HS.
But harassment did not end there. In '03, I began blogging. In '04, I took long service leave, wrote my autobiography in the hopes of changing career and was treated for Sleep Apnea. In '05 I was contacted by an old school friend who was a legal adviser to the then Premier of NSW and whom I'd asked for advice in '95 about Campbelltown. I shared my autobiography with them. In '06, I was ordered by the Department of Education to stop writing online, and ordered to delete everything. This instruction was given under the auspices of the 2004 Teacher's Code of Conduct my school friend had claimed to have written.
In '07, I waited until after the state election hoping for a new government, but ALP was reelected. I contacted the new Education Minister, Della Bosca through Tripodi and asked him to consider my issue. I threatened to resign and speak out if my issue was not addressed. The Coroner investigating Hamidur's death had meantime reported the parents had failed to inform the school of his allergy.
Had the department not bungled the Campbelltown PAHS investigation, Hamidur might well be alive today.
Historical perspective on this day
1096 – People's Crusade: A Seljuk Turkish army successfully fight off the People's Army of the West.
1097 – First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch.
1209 – Otto IV is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Innocent III.
1392 – Nanboku-chō, Japan: Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu.
1097 – First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch.
1209 – Otto IV is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Innocent III.
1392 – Nanboku-chō, Japan: Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu.
1512 – Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg.
1520 – Ferdinand Magellan discovers a strait now known as Strait of Magellan.
1520 – João Álvares Fagundes discovers the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, bestowing them their original name of "Islands of the 11,000 Virgins".
1600 – Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the leaders of rival Japanese clans in the Battle of Sekigahara, which marks the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate.
1774 – First display of the word "Liberty" on a flag, raised by colonists in Taunton, Massachusetts in defiance of British rule in Colonial America.
1797 – In Boston Harbor, the 44-gun United States Navy frigate USS Constitution is launched.
1805 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Trafalgar: A British fleet led by Vice Admiral Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet under Admiral Villeneuve.
1824 – Joseph Aspdin patents Portland cement.
1854 – Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses are sent to the Crimean War.
1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Ball's Bluff: Union forces under Colonel Edward Baker are defeated by Confederate troops in the second major battle of the war.
1867 – The Medicine Lodge Treaty is signed by southern Great Plains Indian leaders. The treaty requires Native American Plains tribes to relocate to a reservation in western Oklahoma.
1879 – Thomas Edison applies for a patent for his design for an incandescent light bulb.
1888 – Foundation of the Swiss Social Democratic Party.
1892 – Opening ceremonies for the World's Columbian Exposition are held in Chicago, though because construction was behind schedule, the exposition did not open until May 1, 1893.
1895 – The Republic of Formosa collapses as Japanese forces invade.
1910 – HMS Niobe arrives in Halifax Harbour to become the first ship of the Royal Canadian Navy.
1912 – First Balkan War: Kardzhali is liberated by Bulgarian forces.
1921 – President Warren G. Harding delivers the first speech by a sitting U.S. President against lynching in the deep South.
1931 – The Sakurakai, a secret society in the Imperial Japanese Army, launches an abortive coup d'état attempt.
1940 – The first edition of the Ernest Hemingway novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is published.
1943 – The Provisional Government of Free India is formally declared by Subhas Chandra Bose.
1944 – World War II: The first kamikaze attack. A Japanese fighter plane carrying a 200-kilogram (440 lb) bomb attacks HMAS Australia off Leyte Island, as the Battle of Leyte Gulf began.
1944 – World War II: Nemmersdorf massacre against the German civilians takes place.
1944 – World War II: Battle of Aachen: The city of Aachen falls to American forces after three weeks of fighting, making it the first German city to fall to the Allies.
1945 – Women's suffrage: Women are allowed to vote in France for the first time.
1950 – Korean War: Heavy fighting begins between British and Australian forces from the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade and the North Korean 239th Regiment during the Battle of Yongju.
1956 – Mau Mau Uprising: Kenyan rebel leader Dedan Kimathi is captured by the British Army, signalling the ultimate defeat of the rebellion, and essentially ending the British military campaign.
1959 – In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens to the public.
1959 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order transferring Wernher von Braun and other German scientists from the United States Army to NASA.
1965 – Comet Ikeya–Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 kilometers (279,617 miles) from the sun.
1966 – Aberfan disaster: A colliery spoil tip collapses on the village of Aberfan in Wales, killing 144 people, mostly schoolchildren.
1967 – Vietnam War: More than 100,000 war protesters gather in Washington, D.C.. Similar demonstrations occur simultaneously in Japan and Western Europe.
1969 – A coup d'état in Somalia brings Siad Barre to power and establishes a socialist republic in Somalia.
1971 – A gas explosion kills 22 people at a shopping center in Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, near Glasgow, Scotland.
1973 – Fred Dryer of the Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game.
1978 – Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes in a Cessna 182 over the Bass Straitsouth of Melbourne, after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft.
1979 – Moshe Dayan resigns from the Israeli government because of strong disagreements with Prime Minister Menachem Begin over policy towards the Arabs.
1981 – Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece, ending an almost 50-year-long system of power dominated by conservative forces.
1983 – The metre is defined at the seventeenth General Conference on Weights and Measures as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
1986 – In Lebanon, pro-Iran kidnappers claim to have abducted American writer Edward Tracy (he is released in August 1991).
1987 – Jaffna hospital massacre is carried out by Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka killing 70 ethnic Tamil patients, doctors and nurses.
1994 – North Korea nuclear weapons program: North Korea and the United States sign an Agreed Framework that requires North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons program and agree to inspections.
1994 – In Seoul, 32 people are killed when the Seongsu Bridge collapses.
2005 – Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in documenting its discovery by the team of Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz.
=== 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
1328 – Zhu Yuanzhang (d. 1398)
1687 – Nicolaus I Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (d. 1759)
1772 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet and philosopher (d. 1834)
1833 – Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer, invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize (d. 1896)
1917 – Dizzy Gillespie, American trumpet player, bandleader, and composer (d. 1993)
1922 – Liliane Bettencourt, French businesswoman and philanthropist
1924 – Celia Cruz, Cuban-American singer (d. 2003)
1929 – Ursula K. Le Guin, American author
1940 – Geoff Boycott, English cricketer
1942 – Judith Sheindlin, American judge and television host
1949 – Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli politician, 9th Prime Minister of Israel
1956 – Carrie Fisher, American actress, screenwriter, and author
1962 – David Campese, Australian rugby player
1995 – Shannon Magrane, American singer
- 1805 – Napoleonic Wars: Lord Nelson signalled "England expects that every man will do his duty" to the rest of his Royal Navy forces before they defeated Pierre-Charles Villeneuve and his combined French–Spanish navy at the Battle of Trafalgar off the coast of Spain's Cape Trafalgar.
- 1854 – Florence Nightingale (pictured) and a staff of 38 nurses were sent to Turkey to help treat wounded British soldiers fighting in the Crimean War.
- 1910 – HMS Niobe arrived in Halifax Harbour to become the first large ship of the Royal Canadian Navy.
- 1944 – World War II: German forces surrendered to American troops, ending the three-week-long Battle of Aachen.
- 1978 – After reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft, Frederick Valentich disappeared in unexplained circumstances while piloting a Cessna 182L light aircraft over the Bass Strait to King Island, Australia.
- 1328 – Hongwu Emperor of China (d. 1398)
- 1449 – George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, Irish-English son of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York (d. 1478)
- 1527 – Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (d. 1578)
- 1581 – Domenichino, Italian painter (d. 1641)
- 1650 – Jean Bart, French admiral (d. 1702)
- 1675 – Emperor Higashiyama of Japan (d. 1710)
- 1687 – Nicolaus I Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician (d. 1759)
- 1712 – James Steuart, Scottish economist (d. 1780)
- 1725 – Franz Moritz von Lacy, Austrian field marshal (d. 1801)
- 1757 – Pierre Augereau, French general (d. 1816)
- 1762 – Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch general, lawyer, and politician, 36th Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1818)
- 1772 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet and philosopher (d. 1834)
- 1775 – Giuseppe Baini, Italian priest, composer, and critic (d. 1844)
- 1790 – Alphonse de Lamartine, French poet and politician, French Head of State (d. 1869)
- 1811 – Filippo Colini, Italian opera singer (d. 1863)
- 1821 – Sims Reeves, English tenor (d. 1900)
- 1833 – Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer, invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize (d. 1896)
- 1917 – Dizzy Gillespie, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 1993)
- 1924 – Celia Cruz, Cuban-American singer (Sonora Matancera) (d. 2003)
- 1929 – Ursula K. Le Guin, American author
- 1935 – Derek Bell, Irish harp player, pianist, and songwriter (The Chieftains) (d. 2002)
- 1940 – Geoffrey Boycott, English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1940 – Manfred Mann, South African-English keyboard player (Manfred Mann, Manfred Mann's Earth Band, and Manfred Mann Chapter Three)
- 1941 – Steve Cropper, American guitarist, songwriter, producer, and actor (Booker T. & the M.G.'s, The Mar-Keys, and The Blues Brothers)
- 1946 – Lux Interior, American singer-songwriter (The Cramps) (d. 2009)
- 1946 – Lee Loughnane, American singer-songwriter and trumpet player (Chicago)
- 1947 – Ai, American poet and educator (d. 2010)
- 1949 – Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli captain and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Israel
- 1952 – Trevor Chappell, Australian cricketer and coach
- 1952 – Allen Hoey, American poet and author
- 1952 – Brent Mydland, German-American keyboard player (Grateful Dead, Bobby and the Midnites, and Silver) (d. 1990)
- 1953 – Charlotte Caffey, American guitarist and songwriter (The Go-Go's and The Graces)
- 1953 – Eric Faulkner, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Bay City Rollers)
- 1955 – Fred Hersch, American pianist and composer
- 1955 – Rich Mullins, American singer-songwriter (A Ragamuffin Band) (d. 1997)
- 1956 – Carrie Fisher, American actress and screenwriter
- 1957 – Julian Cope, English singer-songwriter (The Teardrop Explodes, Crucial Three, Black Sheep, Brain Donor, and Queen Elizabeth)
- 1959 – Rose McDowall, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Strawberry Switchblade, Spell, and Current 93)
- 1962 – David Campese, Australian rugby player and coach
- 1964 – Jon Carin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Pink Floyd, The Who, and Industry)
- 1965 – Hisashi Imai, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist (Buck-Tick, Schaft, and Schwein)
- 1971 – Nick Oliveri, American singer-songwriter and bass player (Mondo Generator, Kyuss, and Queens of the Stone Age)
- 1972 – Matthew Friedberger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Fiery Furnaces)
- 1973 – Sasha Roiz, Israeli-Canadian actor
- 1973 – Charlie Lowell, American pianist and songwriter (Jars of Clay)
- 1976 – Josh Ritter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1978 – Henrik Klingenberg, Finnish singer and keyboard player (Sonata Arctica)
- 1979 – Karl Harris, English motorcycle racer (d. 2014)
- 1980 – Kim Kardashian, American model and actress
- 1980 – Brian Pittman, American bass player (Relient K and Inhale Exhale)
- 1983 – Ninet Tayeb, Israeli singer and actress
- 1986 – Christopher Uckermann, Mexican singer-songwriter and actor (RBD)
- 1989 – May'n, Japanese singer
- 1992 – Bernard Tomic, Australian tennis player
- 1995 – Shannon Magrane, American singer
Deaths
- 1125 – Cosmas of Prague, Bohemian priest and historian (b. 1045)
- 1204 – Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester, English politician
- 1221 – Alix, Duchess of Brittany (b. 1201)
- 1266 – Birger Jarl, Swedish politician (b. 1210)
- 1422 – Charles VI of France (b. 1368)
- 1500 – Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (b. 1442)
- 1505 – Paul Scriptoris, German mathematician and educator (b. 1460)
- 1558 – Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian physician and scholar (b. 1484)
- 1600 – Toda Katsushige, Japanese daimyo (b. 1557)
- 1623 – William Wade, English politician and diplomat, Lieutenant of the Tower of London (b. 1546)
- 1662 – Henry Lawes, English pianist and composer (b. 1595)
- 1687 – Edmund Waller, English poet and politician (b. 1606)
- 1765 – Giovanni Paolo Panini, Italian painter and architect (b. 1691)
- 1775 – Peyton Randolph, American lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Continental Congress (b. 1721)
- 1777 – Samuel Foote, English actor and playwright (b. 1720)
- 1805 – John Cooke, English captain (b. 1763)
- 1805 – George Duff, Scottish captain (b. 1764)
- 1805 – Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, English admiral (b. 1758)
- 1821 – Dorothea Ackermann, German actress (b. 1752)
- 1835 – Muthuswami Dikshitar, South Indian poet (b. 1775)
- 1872 – Jacques Babinet, French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1794)
- 1907 – Jules Chevalier, French priest, founded the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (b. 1824)
- 1965 – Bill Black, American bass player (The Blue Moon Boys) (b. 1926)
- 1969 – Jack Kerouac, American author and poet (b. 1922)
- 1969 – Wacław Sierpiński, Polish mathematician (b. 1882)
- 1980 – Hans Asperger, Austrian physician and psychologist (b. 1906)
- 1984 – François Truffaut, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1932)
- 1986 – Lionel Murphy, Australian jurist and politician, 22nd Attorney-General of Australia (b. 1922)
- 1995 – Maxene Andrews, American singer (The Andrews Sisters) (b. 1916)
- 1995 – Jesús Blasco, Spanish author and illustrator (b. 1919)
- 1995 – Shannon Hoon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Blind Melon) (b. 1967)
- 2003 – Elliott Smith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Heatmiser) (b. 1969)
- 2006 – Sandy West, American singer-songwriter and drummer (The Runaways) (b. 1959)
- 2007 – Paul Fox, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Ruts) (b. 1951)
- 2010 – A. Ayyappan, Indian poet (b. 1949)
- 2011 – Hikmet Bilâ, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1954)
- 2012 – George McGovern, American historian, lieutenant, and politician (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Rune T. Kidde, Danish author, poet, and illustrator (b. 1957)
- 2013 – Colonel Robert Morris, American singer-songwriter and drummer (b. 1954)
Tim Blair 2017
BARNABY OR NOT TO BE
Already under a dual-citizenship parliamentary eligibility cloud, deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce now faces further difficulties.
LLOYD BRAUN IS IN CAHOOTS WITH THE RUSSIANS!
We now return to Sarah Ferguson’s Hillary Clinton interview, still in progress.
SHOCK: COST AND RELIABILITY MORE IMPORTANT THAN STUFF THAT DOESN’T MATTER
According to the media-political complex, Tony Abbott’s excellent London speech on climate change madness was “from the fringe”, “bonkers” and “against the science”.
PURSUING PROPER NOUN PERFECTION
We already have the perfect Adelaide name and the perfect Tasmanian name.
Andrew Bolt 2017
NOW IT'S HILLARY'S TURN: EXPLAIN THIS 'COLLUSION' AND YOUR CASH, MADAM
There was Russian bribery and corruption in the US political process, after all, but Hillary Clinton is the one that needs to do the explaining. So does former FBI director Robert Mueller, before he goes any further as special investigator into the wild allegations that it was Donald Trump who colluded with Russia. This uranium deal stinks.
RAPES SOAR IN AUSTRIA: HALF BY FOREIGNERS
Mass immigration is changing Europe in ways that explain the rise of anti-immigration parties: "The Austrian government has released new crime statistics that show sex attacks have risen by more than 25 per cent since last year and that migrants make up close to half of all known suspects in sex crime cases."
WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION HONOURS MUGABE. AND WE DONATE
Another United Nations agency proves the UN is a moral swamp: "The World Health Organization (WHO) has appointed President Robert Mugabe of Zimbabwe as a 'goodwill ambassador". A dictator accused of genocide and the murder of opponents has been honored by WHO for promoting health. You'd laugh if it wasn't sick, and we didn't donate.
DONALD TRUMP'S PHONE CALL: KELLY BLASTS THE DEMOCRAT WHO CHEAPENED IT
I saw gloating TV commentators tear into Donald Trump over his latest "scandal" - making allegedly disrespectful comments to the mother of a fallen soldier, as claimed by an eavesdropping Democrat politician. I instantly suspected I was hearing yet more fake news. Now a stunning speech by White House chief of staff John Kelly confirms it.
McCRANN: TURNBULL'S ELECTRICITY PLAN WILL FRY THE LIBERALS
Terry McCrann: "Malcolm Turnbull and Josh Frydenberg have made a deliberate decision to lose the next election and to lose it badly." Turnbull needed his new electricity policy to do one thing above all - cut soaring prices. Instead he opted first to cut emissions and stop blackouts. Now his party will pay.
BUT I WOULD BEG MY WIFE TO LIVE, NOT DIE
This may actually be an argument against euthanasia: "Bruce and Jenny’s decision to end their prosperous, successful lives came shortly after Bruce, who was 79, had been diagnosed with a terminal condition ... and a week before the Victorian parliament began to debate the voluntary assisted dying bill that yesterday passed the lower house."
TRUMP RIGHT, WHICH DRIVES FAIRFAX CRAZY
The media's hatred of Donald Trump - as of Abbott - is so extreme that he's mocked most when he says something too true. Here's the Sydney Morning Herald today: "Trump ridiculed for comments on UK crime rise." And: "Donald Trump has controversially linked an increase in recorded crime in the UK with the "spread of radical Islamic terror".
PACKER IS BACK
Fascinating profile today: "James Douglas Packer will always resent the public interest in his life. But after another period of despair, introspection and reclusion, the billionaire is getting closer to facing the world once more." I wish him the best. For a man with so much going for him, he makes heavy weather of it.
LIBERALS JEER ABBOTT AS THEY MARCH OVER THE ELECTRICITY CLIFF
It was the moment Malcolm Turnbull wrecked his last hope with a dud electricity plan. Yet his backers see it as his big win ... over Abbott: "Towards the end of the three-hour meeting, Tony Abbott got to his feet. What happened next is viewed by many within the government as a hopeful turning point for Malcolm Turnbull. He put Abbott in his place."
TONY WINDSOR SPREADS FOUL RUMOURS ABOUT BARNABY JOYCE
If true, Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce is finished. If false, rival Tony Windsor should be: "Joyce ... has for months struggled with issues that have affected his marriage of 24 years... Windsor has published... provocative social media posts [with] vicious innuendo. The private turmoil has spilled over into his office with staff leaving."
THE WORLD'S MOST BEAUTIFUL HANDWRITING
The most beautiful handwriting in the world is by a year 8 student from Nepal:
TIPS FOR SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21
Tell us the news here.
IS CRIKEY BOSS ERIC BEECHER AUSTRALIA'S BIGGEST HYPOCRITE?
Eric Beecher, boss of Crikey, complaining about The Australian: "The permanent spectacle of one of [The Australian] abusing its power to conduct personalised vindictive editorial warfare dressed up as objective reporting." Pages of story summaries attacking me on the Crikey site: 168. UPDATE: 1680 Crikey stories on me and 2110 on Alan Jones.
Tim Blair
JULIAN BURNSIDE’S ALTERNATIVE REALITY
TRY DRAWING A CARTOON, TRIGGSY
HE’S DEAD BUT AT LEAST HE WASN’T MUTILATED
WARNING: STORY CONTAINS NUT
GREAT DYLAN HUNT ABANDONED
LIVE BY THE TROLL, DIE BY THE TROLL
Andrew
Memo to the NSW Bar: leave politics to politicians
Miranda Devine – Tuesday, October 20, 2015 (11:16pm)
Valiant crown prosecutor Margaret Cunneen, SC, has pulled on her armour again, in a battle to rescue the NSW Bar Association from the forces of political correctness.
Continue reading 'Memo to the NSW Bar: leave politics to politicians'
Isn’t choosing not to have an abortion pro-choice?
Miranda Devine – Tuesday, October 20, 2015 (11:17pm)
It is obscene for an unborn life to be used as a political football. If this is happening it is a new depth of cynicism
Continue reading 'Isn’t choosing not to have an abortion pro-choice?'
SONS OF PIERRE, EH
Tim Blair – Wednesday, October 21, 2015 (1:32am)
To celebrate the election in Canada of Justin Trudeau, please enjoy this peak moment in Canadian culture, recorded when Trudeau’s father ruled the great white north.
Comedians Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas devised the semi-retarded McKenzie brothers in order to meet local content rules for Canadian television. Subsequent McKenzies have elected a new Trudeau. Further from Mark Steyn on an appalling defeat for Canadian Tories.
Comedians Rick Moranis and Dave Thomas devised the semi-retarded McKenzie brothers in order to meet local content rules for Canadian television. Subsequent McKenzies have elected a new Trudeau. Further from Mark Steyn on an appalling defeat for Canadian Tories.
INACTION JACKSON
Tim Blair – Wednesday, October 21, 2015 (1:20am)
At one point during Monday night’s remarkable Four Corners a tearful Kathy Jackson lamented: “I just can’t believe it has just ended up like this.”
Really, Kathy? In fact, considering the nature of the people involved, it would have been a miracle if matters ended in any other way than a complete and shameful debacle.
(Continue reading Inaction Jackson.)
THIRTY YEARS IN LONG-SLEEVED SHIRTS
Tim Blair – Wednesday, October 21, 2015 (1:00am)
More than two decades ago, I heard that Melbourne comedian Greg Fleet had a significant heroin hobby. I was working at the now-closed tabloid Truth at the time, so called Fleet to ask about these narcotic stories. Yes, he said, he’d used heroin. For a small fee he’d tell all. So we swung him a few hundred bucks and Fleet ‘fessed up. Although no longer an addict, he told me, he’d previously been in heroin’s grip.
And then he took the money and bought more heroin.
It was a big story back then, because Fleet had recently appeared in Neighbours. Over following years Fleet incorporated that Truth outing into his stand-up routine, always including the claim he’d since abandoned heroin. But he hadn’t. Last October a mutual friend, Wendy Squires, became a victim of Fleet’s addiction:
Fleet told the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court he had been living with Fairfax contributing journalist Wendy Squires when he sank to a new low.Ironically, just months before he stole from the reporter, Fleet told Squires in a published Fairfax interview that he had always had the money to pay for his drugs.“I’ve never had to resort to crime,” he said. “Although I have done things I wish I hadn’t - but it stopped me falling short of becoming a complete monster” …The court heard Fleet had been living with the reporter last October when she went on a working holiday to Turkey.While away, the drug addict stole a diamond ring and gold bracelet worth $2800 from a jewellery box in the spare room.He sold the items for just $200, which he used to buy heroin.
I’ve run across Greg a couple of times since that Truth story, and he was charming and funny. I hope this unusually gifted man maintains his current non-injecting lifestyle.
Geert Wilders in Perth
Andrew Bolt October 21 2015 (3:30pm)
Turnbull reaches out to the Left again
Andrew Bolt October 21 2015 (12:56pm)
Yet another concession to the Left from the Turnbull Government - and a concession to the militantly intolerant:
===The federal government has dropped its offer to spend $4 million on a research centre to be headed by climate change “contrarian” Bjorn Lomborg.So the Government killed the idea before Flinders University did. How very sad.
Education Minister Simon Birmingham said his predecessor Christopher Pyne made the decision in the last week of his tenure. “A specific incentive for the government for such an institute is no longer available,” he told a Senate estimates hearing on Wednesday.
Mr Pyne had decided the plan was unlikely to succeed and the funds could be better used elsewhere.
Flinders University had expressed interest in hosting the centre after the University of Western Australia reneged on its plans after opposition from staff and students.
The South Australian university was only informed on Wednesday morning of the withdrawn offer.
Turnbull to tackle union-influenced super funds
Andrew Bolt October 21 2015 (9:30am)
An important reform:
===Workers will be promised more power to choose their superannuation funds as the federal government shatters the industrial relations rules that control at least $10 billion in annual contributions, as part of a bold move to shake up financial services…The industry funds, typically dominated by unions and bosses, have increasingly been used to push the policies of the Left.
The Australian understands the government’s objective will be to remove the choice of funds from the Fair Work Commission, setting up a system outside the industrial relations regime to list the best funds.
The Productivity Commission, which will be asked to suggest the new model, estimates that about $10bn a year is paid into super funds that are chosen by the industrial umpire as the “default” option for workers who do not bother to select a fund.
The commission has also found that 70 per cent of workers are in the “default” funds, highlighting the power of deals at the Fair Work Commission to decide who gets to manage a huge slice of an Australian super system that now holds $2 trillion in assets.
Jim Webb quits
Andrew Bolt October 21 2015 (9:08am)
Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb, a highly decorated war hero, pulls out of the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, saying the Democrats don’t want his sort:
===“I fully accept that my views on many issues are not compatible with the power structure and the nominating base of the Democratic Party,” Webb told reporters at the National Press Club in Washington. The current Democratic hierarchy, he said, “is not comfortable with many of the policies laid forth, and frankly I am not that comfortable with many of theirs.”
On whether he would continue to call himself a Democrat, Webb responded, “We’ll think about that.” “The Democratic Party is heavily invested in interest-group politics,” he said, and that could exclude groups it means to include, responding to a question about his reluctance to embrace the Black Lives Matter movement and to call on the removal of the Confederate flag from federal grounds.
Shorten caves
Andrew Bolt October 21 2015 (8:29am)
Labor has agreed to back the China free trade deal it so disgracefully opposed.
The Canning byelection killed off any hope Labor had that a racist campaign backed by union money would work. It just showed how bankrupt Labor was.
But there are just enough compromises for Bill Shorten to hide behind:
===The Canning byelection killed off any hope Labor had that a racist campaign backed by union money would work. It just showed how bankrupt Labor was.
But there are just enough compromises for Bill Shorten to hide behind:
The China-Australia Free Trade Agreement will come in to force on time after Labor and the government agreed to changes, which both sides say will safeguard Australian jobs while not alter the agreement in any fundamental way....
Labor was forced to slightly amend the terms it had put to [Trade Minister Andrew] Robb last week as a condition of supporting the ChAFTA legislation but the amendments do not change the substance of what Labor originally demanded.
For example, the first demand was to change the Migration Act to mandate local labour market testing before low-skilled workers could be imported for large projects under 457 visas. There would be no specific mention of China so as not to offend Beijing.
Instead, the change will be enacted by regulation, rather than legislation… The regulation will also apply to all work agreements, not just the large projects in the ChAFTA known as Investment Facilitation Agreements which apply to projects worth $150 million or more.
Labor’s second demand was that the base rate of pay for 457 visa workers, which the Abbott government froze, be increased from about $54,000 a year to $57,000 and indexed thereafter.
Instead, the government has agreed that all 457 workers must be paid the market salary for the job they are doing, or, if it is higher, that the salary reflected in relevant enterprise agreement.
Labor’s third demand was that skilled workers such as nurses, engineers, electricians, plumbers, welders and carpenters would have 60 days to meet the necessary licence requirements in Australia or have their 457 visa revoked. This deadline has been extended to 90 days under the deal with the government.
Labor was unable to enforce labour market testing before skilled workers were brought in because that would require a change to the actual agreement which the government would not do, claiming the Chinese would walk away from the deal.
Canada’s lurch to the Left. But Europe, though…
Andrew Bolt October 21 2015 (8:13am)
Greg Sheridan on victory of Justin Trudeau, leader of Canada’s Left-wing Liberal Party:
The decline of the West continues.
UPDATE
There’s been a lot of opining about the decline of conservativism. That said, centre-Right governments still rule in Australia, Britain and New Zealand, even if the Prime Ministers of each are compromisers.
But in Europe the swing is more clearly to the Right, driven by invasion of Europe that has been a consequence in part of the politics of the Left:
No wonder Europeans are scared:
===The defeat of conservative Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper is a telling blow against conservative politics in all Western societies and has substantial policy implications for Australia…Debt, welfarism, pandering to Islamism. Strange how this mixture so appeals now.
Harper was Tony Abbott’s role model and closest analogue among international leaders, just as Harper earlier had greatly admired John Howard…
Trudeau promised to end Harper’s social conservatism, muscular foreign policy and to moderate his free market economics. The Liberal leader will raise taxes on high-income Canadians but cut them for the middle class. He had a penchant for symbolic issues which played well with Canada’s liberal elites ...
He plans to legalise marijuana… He plans to take the budget into deficit in order to double spending on infrastructure as a way of stimulating the sluggish economy. He will reverse some social spending cuts and expand the role of the federal government. Perhaps most significant for Australia, Trudeau plans to find a way to price carbon…
Abbott’s closest advisers in office saw the Abbott-Harper axis as representing a crucial policy alliance in Western politics. Nowhere was this clearer than in their common opposition to emissions trading schemes… Harper was also, like Abbott, a muscular advocate of Western values and decisive foreign policy, including through the deployment of Canadian armed forces in support of the US-led coalition in Iraq and Syria. Harper and Abbott were the two Western leaders who shared by far the strongest political commitment to Israel. Canada a few years ago famously failed to secure a seat on the UN Security Council substantially because Ottawa would not compromise its support for Israel. This element of Canadian policy will diminish, or perhaps disappear, under Trudeau.
The decline of the West continues.
UPDATE
There’s been a lot of opining about the decline of conservativism. That said, centre-Right governments still rule in Australia, Britain and New Zealand, even if the Prime Ministers of each are compromisers.
But in Europe the swing is more clearly to the Right, driven by invasion of Europe that has been a consequence in part of the politics of the Left:
In Austria, the far-right Freedom Party achieved its highest-ever vote share in municipal elections this month, while in Switzerland on Sunday, the ultraconservative Swiss People’s Party won a clear victory after campaigning against “asylum chaos.” In Poland, a nationalist party whose leader has warned that refugees will bring “parasites” and “cholera” to Europe is expected to triumph over the ruling centrists in a vote coming up on Sunday. Merkel’s approval ratings have dropped as Germany has accepted a historic number of refugees. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has only been strengthened as his government has rolled out mile after mile of barbed wire to keep them out.UPDATE
No wonder Europeans are scared:
Hundreds of protesters in the Swedish city of Malmo were filmed Monday chanting in Arabic aboutslaughtering Jews and stabbing soldiers.(Thanks to readers Peter of Bellevue Hill and brett t r.)
Pro-Palestinian groups organized a rally in the city center against what they called Israeli violence and to show solidarity with Palestinians amid deadly measures taken by Israeli authorities to stop the recent spate of attacks on Jews in Israel and the West Bank.
Isaac Bachman, Israel’s ambassador to Sweden, posted on his Facebook account a video taken at the rally showing hundreds chanting “‘slaughter the Jews, stab soldiers.” In other slogans, the chanters encouraged “heroes to carry out attack after attack” and to “start a third intifada.”
No right to be Christian
Andrew Bolt October 21 2015 (6:26am)
Dennis Hart, Catholic Archbishop of Melbourne, on a new war against Christians - and especially those who offer their help:
===Currently before [Victoria’s] Parliament is an amendment to the Adoption Act that effectively would remove the freedom of religion from the adoption process.And this warning:
Currently, adoption agencies are not required to place infants with adoptive parents if they believe in their conscience that it would not be in the best interests of the child. That protects adoption agencies like the much-respected CatholicCare from being forced to breach its fundamental religious beliefs concerning family life in making adoptions.
The Bill before Parliament would remove that protection. Approved adoption agencies would not be able to exercise such a choice…
The second reading speech of responsible minister Martin Foley was deeply troubling. Speaking to a Bill about the adoption of children, he did not begin with children. He began with today’s all-purpose super right: equality.
Indeed, Mr Foley did seem to appreciate that this was not exactly a sophisticated balancing of vital rights, particularly in a state that has a Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which purports to protect both freedom of religion and equality. So he sought to reinforce his position with a truly remarkable proposition.
The Charter, he said, protected only individuals, not organisations. As adoption agencies are organisations, they are not in a position to claim freedom of religion.
Regrettably, that type of reasoning shows the depths to which those who do not value freedom of religion are prepared to plumb in order to defeat it. Organisations, by definition, are made up of people. People have rights.
Victoria’s adoption laws are something of a preliminary final to the big match around same-sex marriage. On all sides, we are assured that freedom of conscience and religion will be protected in that context.Answer: none.
Given what is happening with adoption, what possible confidence can be had by people of faith?
Trashed by the Twitterati
Andrew Bolt October 21 2015 (6:17am)
Clive James on the death of reasoned prose:
===I hate to say it, but of all the countries in the Anglosphere, it seems to me that Australia is the most likely to be the first victim of a web-world and social media coalition that annihilates the hard-won virtues of English prose. If you dread a culture in which every twit’s tweet counts, here it comes.
All this might sound like the carping of an old man on his way out, but I did find it remarkable, as I came back to Australia more and more often in the middle of my life, that the books of expository prose tailed off in quality from year to year. Not every woman writer will ever be able to write like Helen Garner, just as not every male politician will be able to write like Diamond Jim McClelland. But you would have expected the supply of stylists to go up, not down. Born and brought up at a time when such a poet-journalist as Elizabeth Riddell was still active in the Australian media, I never imagined that the female journalists of Australia could have listened to Julia Gillard’s misogyny speech and not laughed her from the stage.
Turnbull gives up on billions of dollars of Abbott’s savings
Andrew Bolt October 21 2015 (6:07am)
Malcolm Turnbull isn’t going to risk his popularity to fight for cuts to the entitlement culture resisted by the Senate:
===The Turnbull government is preparing to walk away from Tony Abbott’s family payment plans, in a major rejection of the stalled 2014 budget package that was blocked by the Senate.The Government is smart not to pick fights with the Senate it cannot win. But it is a pity that Turnbull doesn’t at least mount the case first. The Budget is in trouble, you know.
The Coalition is expected to unveil a softer approach to family tax benefits as early as Wednesday…
[T]he original policy ... includes cutting Family Tax Benefit Part B when the youngest child in a family turns six to raise $1.9 billion over five years… Under the current system, payments cut out when the youngest child turns 16 or 19, depending on whether they are still at school.
Among other 2014 family payment measures stuck with no Labor or crossbench support is a freeze in family tax benefit rates and income eligibility thresholds (to qualify for certain payment rates) and a cut to end-of-year supplements, which are worth more than $3.8 billion in savings over four years.
It is understood the government is now planning not to go ahead with the rates and eligibility freeze, will stop family tax benefit part B for couple families when the youngest child reaches 13 and phase out end-of-year supplements but increase the base rate of family tax benefit part A by $10 a fortnight… The Coalition is also suggesting a $1000 boost to family tax benefit B families who have a child under one, but would reduce payments to single parent families with children between 13 and 16. The phasing out of supplements would ensure the government was still left with significant savings, providing more than $4 billion over four years.
Je suis Charlie? Non
Andrew Bolt October 21 2015 (5:33am)
A case both ludicrous and sinister:
UPDATE
France has an alarming weakness for laws against free speech. From 2012:
===Far-right National Front party leader Marine Le Pen has accused the French government of persecution after going on trial for comparing Muslim street prayers to the Nazi Occupation of France.Remember the thousands of hypocrites marching in France and claiming: “Je suis Charlie”? They lied.
The charges date back to 2010, when Ms Le Pen – whose party has been feeding off concerns over immigration and radical Islam – criticised Muslims for praying in the streets when mosques are full.
She told a rally in 2010: “I’m sorry, but for those who really like to talk about World War Two, if we’re talking about occupation, we could talk about that (street prayers), because that is clearly an occupation of the territory.”
“It is an occupation of sections of the territory, of neighbourhoods in which religious law applies, it is an occupation. There are no tanks, there are no soldiers, but it is an occupation anyhow, and it weighs on people.”
Ms Le Pen, who is charged with “incitement to discrimination over people’s religious beliefs,” said street prayers were illegal and “sought to impose religious law” in France, but she did not repeat the comparison with the Nazi Occupation.
She used the opening of her tribunal hearing on Tuesday to criticise the government, saying her prosecution was politically motivated. “We are just a month ahead of the regional elections and this case is five years old. Couldn’t it wait another month?” she said to reporters as she arrived at the court.
UPDATE
France has an alarming weakness for laws against free speech. From 2012:
The decision of the French Senate to give final approval to a bill that threatens deniers of the Armenian genocide with a fine of €45,000 or one year in jail, or both, is politically inept and ethically objectionable…One of the past century’s finest historians was actually prosecuted in France for giving his professional opinion:
No serious scholar can deny the appalling losses suffered by the Armenians during the 1915 genocide.... But it is not the place of a legislative body to prescribe what is a politically correct attitude toward the Armenian bloodbath, let alone impose a jail sentence and/or heavy fine for a dissenting opinion… No country as far as I am aware has passed as many laws aimed at regulating the nation’s collective memory, a trend beginning with the Gayssot law of July 1990, which makes the denial of the Holocaust a criminal offense. Since the passage of a 2001 law publicly recognizing the Armenian genocide, French legislators have ratcheted up pressure on Turkey, first with the 2006 law that stipulates a one-year prison term for anyone questioning the appropriateness of the term genocide to describe the Armenian slaughter, and now with even tougher sanctions.
In the eyes of some scholars, the question of genocide comes down not to how many Armenians died, but whether the Turkish government actually set out to annihilate them because of their ethnicity. Bernard Lewis, an emeritus professor of Near Eastern Studies at Princeton, says it may well be likely that a million Armenians died, but he asserts that there’s no evidence that the Turkish government made a “deliberate preconceived decision” to carry out massacres. In an interview with the French newspaper Le Monde, Lewis instead called the deaths a “brutal byproduct of war.”
A French court later found Lewis guilty of denying the Armenian genocide and fined him a symbolic one franc.
Turnbull hires former Labor staffer as adviser
Andrew Bolt October 20 2015 (9:59pm)
Malcolm Turnbull’s latest hiring:
===In another key diplomatic shift, Australia’s ambassador to Beijing, Frances Adamson, will return to Australia as early as next month to take up a position as Mr Turnbull’s foreign affairs adviser. Her appointment is a sign of the new Prime Minister’s determination to become deeply engaged in China, and to avail himself of the most up-to-date advice.Frances Adamson’s previous appointment:
Between January 2009 and December 2010 she was Chief of Staff to Stephen Smith, both as Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence.A former senior Labor staffer? Should fit right in, then.
GOUGH WHITLAM
Tim Blair – Tuesday, October 21, 2014 (11:13am)
Five-time Labor Prime Ministerial candidate Gough Whitlam – elected in 1972 and 1974, defeated in 1969, 1975 and 1977 – has died at 98. During WWII, Whitlam enlisted in the RAAF and served as a navigator on bomber aircraft.
UPDATE. Julia Gillard:
I honour Gough as a man of the highest political courage. A giant of his era. He was truly prepared to “commit and see what happens”. He transformed Australia and we are in his debt.
That’s one way of putting it. As the IPA points out:
Whitlam established universal healthcare, effectively nationalised higher education with free tuition, and massively increased public sector salaries. He more than doubled the size of cabinet from 12 ministers to 27 … Perhaps his most lasting legacy has been the increase in the size of government he bequeathed to Australia. When Whitlam took office in 1972, government spending as a percentage of GDP was just 19 per cent. When he left office it had soared to almost 24 per cent.
UPDATE II. A memo from the ABC:
Following the death of former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, ABC and ABC News 24 have altered their schedules in order to broadcast condolence motions live from the House of Representatives.ABC News 24 will continue with rolling coverage throughout the day including the condolence motions live from 12 noon AEDT. This could affect the previously scheduled broadcast of Capital Hill and Afternoons, depending on the duration of the condolence motions. ABC News with Ros Childs and Grandstand will not air today.ABC will simulcast ABC News 24’s rolling coverage until 11am AEDT on the east coast (NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS), and until 11.30am AEDT in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Western Australia will simulcast ABC News 24 until 1pm AEDT, including the condolence motions from Parliament.The condolence motions will air on ABC at 12-2pm local time in all states except WA (WA will broadcast them live from 9 – 11am AWST).At 5.30pm AEDT, ABC and ABC News 24 will simulcast The Drum, hosted by Steve Cannane and featuring a panel of insiders to discuss the legacy of Gough Whitlam.For all the latest news and commentary on the death of Gough Whitlam, go to ABC News’ live blog.ABC News will present special coverage during the 7pm News presented by Chris Uhlmann in Canberra.7.30 will feature a live interview with former Prime Minister Paul Keating and host Leigh Sales.
Should just about cover it.
UPDATE III. “To show us what was possible.” The funniest line ever from the Guardian‘s cartoonist.
UPDATE IV. Earlier ABC coverage:
Universities starting to shun their Islamist foes
Andrew Bolt October 21 2014 (3:57pm)
Universities are now taking a welcome standard against Islamist extremism, refusing to give a platform to an ideology which threatens not just lives but the freedoms on which universities depend:
But who are the people who keep inviting Hizb ut-Tahrir to come speak?
UPDATE
Another young idiot with a gun in his hand and Islamism in his brain:
===An ANU spokesman confirmed its academics had pulled out of last night’s forum because a Hizb ut-Tahrir representative was invited to speak without the university’s knowledge.Hizb ut-Tahrir can speak at its own conferences. It should not be privileged with a platform at a university.
The forum — Rationality and Terror — organised on the Canberra campus by the university’s student newspaper “Woroni”, was then cancelled…
Last month Mr Badar was banned from speaking at the University of Sydney, on the anniversary of the September 11 terror attacks.
His appearance was advertised as a highlight of Islamic Awareness Week, run by the Sydney University Muslim Students’ Association… In August the University of Western Australia (UWA) vice-chancellor ordered [Hizb ut-Tahrir spokesman Uthman] Badar to “give an explicit, written public assurance he is opposed to the cowardly and barbaric act of so-called honour killings” before he spoke at a forum. After hesitation by Mr Badar, the UWA Islamic association cancelled his presentation.
But who are the people who keep inviting Hizb ut-Tahrir to come speak?
UPDATE
Another young idiot with a gun in his hand and Islamism in his brain:
A TEENAGE boy from western Sydney has been used as a new public face of Islamic State, starring in a propaganda video “especially” targeted at Australia and claiming that Tony Abbott should know the terror group will never surrender.
Abdullah Elmir, a 17-year-old who told his family that he was going on a fishing trip with a friend before leaving Australia to join the conflict in Syria and Iraq, is fighting with Islamic State and is now front and centre in the fourth episode of the series entitled Message of the Mujahid.
The video, released by Islamic State just hours ago, sees Elmir — identified as “Abu Khaled from Australia” — clutching an assault rifle while delivering a 90-second diatribe with between 70 and 100 heavily armed fighters stand behind him.
“This message, I deliver to you, the people of America,” he says in the video. “I deliver this message to you, the people of Britain. And I deliver this message to you — especially — the people of Australia.
“And I say this about your coalition. You threaten us with this coalition of countries. Bring every nation that you wish to us. Bring every nation that you want to come and fight us. It means nothing to us…
“To the leaders — to Obama, to Tony Abbott — I say this: These weapons that we have, these soldiers, we will not stop fighting. We will not put down our weapons until we reach your lands, until we take the head of every tyrant, and until the black flag is flying high in every single land,” he says.
Labor demands our doctors be sent to where the Liberian president’s son won’t go
Andrew Bolt October 21 2014 (10:55am)
Labor is insisting the Abbott Government send health workers to Liberia to deal with the ebola outbreak, even though there is no guarantee of effective medical treatment if those workers get sick, given the distance from Australia.
The Liberian president’s son would understand:
===The Liberian president’s son would understand:
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Sunday said “the whole world has a stake” in preventing an unfolding catastrophe in Liberia, calling on nations to provide more medical experts and supplies to confront the exploding Ebola epidemic. But illustrating the difficulties of heeding that call, her own son, a physician, has stayed in the U.S., saying he can do more for his country there than at home.(Thanks to reader Jason.)
He is hardly alone. Officials and physicians here say far more Liberian doctors are in the U.S. and other countries than in the country of their birth…
Dr. Sirleaf runs the emergency room at a hospital in Albany, Ga. He heads an effort to ship protective gear to medical workers in Liberia, but hasn’t returned himself since a 10-day trip in August as the virus was spreading out of control.
“The symbolism of me going there and potentially getting Ebola when I have a nine- and a seven-year-old at home isn’t worth it just to appease people,” said Dr. Sirleaf. “I’ve made a commitment not to live in Liberia for many reasons, and I think my contribution means more.”
Gough Whitlam dies
Andrew Bolt October 21 2014 (8:13am)
Our 21st prime minister is dead at 98.
Whitlam explored the gulf between seeming and doing, and tumbled into the chasm.
His legacy endures. The Abbott Government is even today dealing with the costly consequences and culture of entitlement bequeathed by Whitlam’s decisions to give free universal medical care and university education.. We are also dealing with the terrible legacy of Whitlam’s decision to end the assimilation project - both for Aborigines and immigrants.
UPDATE
The ABC has thrown itself into an astonishing frenzy or grief and beatification of a Prime Minister who led for just three years, left the economy in ruins and left the public so scarified that he was rejected at the following two election by huge margins - 44-56 and 45-55.
Here is a taste of the coverage, from the ABC’s The World Today:
===Whitlam explored the gulf between seeming and doing, and tumbled into the chasm.
His legacy endures. The Abbott Government is even today dealing with the costly consequences and culture of entitlement bequeathed by Whitlam’s decisions to give free universal medical care and university education.. We are also dealing with the terrible legacy of Whitlam’s decision to end the assimilation project - both for Aborigines and immigrants.
UPDATE
The ABC has thrown itself into an astonishing frenzy or grief and beatification of a Prime Minister who led for just three years, left the economy in ruins and left the public so scarified that he was rejected at the following two election by huge margins - 44-56 and 45-55.
Here is a taste of the coverage, from the ABC’s The World Today:
Will John Howard, a conservative who ruled four times longer and left the economy in wonderful shape, be given this massive and worshipful coverage? The ABC announces its schedule:
Following the death of former Prime Minister Gough Whitlam, ABC and ABC News 24 have altered their schedules in order to broadcast condolence motions live from the House of Representatives.Whitlam achieved some fine things. But most the dreams his government realised came at the cost of the dreams many voters had for themselves.
ABC News 24 will continue with rolling coverage throughout the day…
ABC will simulcast ABC News 24’s rolling coverage until 11am AEDT on the east coast (NSW, ACT, VIC, TAS), and until 11.30am AEDT in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Western Australia will simulcast ABC News 24 until 1pm AEDT, including the condolence motions from Parliament.
The condolence motions will air on ABC at 12-2pm local time in all states except WA (WA will broadcast them live from 9 – 11am AWST).
At 5.30pm AEDT, ABC and ABC News 24 will simulcast The Drum, hosted by Steve Cannane and featuring a panel of insiders to discuss the legacy of Gough Whitlam.
For all the latest news and commentary on the death of Gough Whitlam, go to ABC News’ live blog.
ABC News will present special coverage during the 7pm News presented by Chris Uhlmann in Canberra. 7.30 will feature a live interview with former Prime Minister Paul Keating and host Leigh Sales.
Barry Humphries defends Barry Spurr and “some poor guy” from the cultural fascists
Andrew Bolt October 21 2014 (7:43am)
Barry Humphries is astonished at the cultural fascists who want to hang a professor, Barry Spurr, for wild word play in private emails:
I repeat that the abusive terms Spurr used in private are ones I found offensive. But so? They were said in private to a friend, and said in clear jest. I find the huffsters far more sinister.
(Thanks to readers Correllio and Dianne.)
===HAS Australia gone slightly mad? I read in the London press of some poor professor in Sydney who has been persecuted and suspended for sending emails to a friend in which he employs outrageous vernacular epithets for race which would be offensive if they were not so clearly jocular.If this bizarre and often confected outrage-taking over mere words - even words said in private - is not resisted, half of Humphries’ stage act will end up banned, starting with Sandy Stone. Fascists always were the enemy of wit. By their frowns you will know them.
His reported response to the storm in a teacup which followed this revelation is, unsurprisingly, bewilderment. How could anyone take such deliberate touretting seriously? The answer, I fear, is that there are a lot of Australians these days who are totally bereft of a sense of humour. The new puritanism is alive, well and powerful.
Not long ago some poor guy was actually prosecuted for saying that the Aboriginal welfare services were sometimes exploited by faux Aborigines, even though we knew it was true… We really ought to be aware of this malignant brand of cultural fascism, and restore our reputation as a funny country before it’s too late.
I repeat that the abusive terms Spurr used in private are ones I found offensive. But so? They were said in private to a friend, and said in clear jest. I find the huffsters far more sinister.
(Thanks to readers Correllio and Dianne.)
Celebrating what blots women out of the public space
Andrew Bolt October 21 2014 (7:17am)
A grown woman puts her head in a sack and explains to the ABC it’s about expressing her freedom.
Something like that.
===Something like that.
Peter Carey tells an eager ABC about his conspiracy theory
Andrew Bolt October 21 2014 (7:00am)
ABC presenter Leigh Sales hears the maddest conspiracy theories from novelist Peter Carey without blinking or challenging. Is it because he’s of the Left?
But silly me, it was the wicked Americans who did it all! You know, the CIA and all that? And they did it all so cleverly that no one involved has said a word or left a trace.
Peter Carey should get a grip. And the ABC should learn to ask Leftists spouting such rolled-gold idiocy: “Are you nuts?”
(Thanks to reader Brian.)
===LEIGH SALES: Your new book, Amnesia, let’s talk about that. It starts with a down-on-his-luck journalist, Felix Moore, who winds up getting inside access to the biggest story in the world, which is that a young Melbourne woman has mounted a massive cyber hack and it’s opened prisons in the US and Australia. It has touches of Assange and Snowden and Manning. Why was this an area that you wanted to explore?Gee, there I was thinking Governor General Sir John Kerr, after asking advice from Chief Justice Sir Garfield Barwick, dismissed the Whitlam Government to end a damaging constitutional crisis, with Australian voters then confirming at the subsequent election that they did indeed want wrecker Whitlam gone.
PETER CAREY: Well, I mean, I’ve always been concerned about or angry about what happened to our country in 1975, where it is my belief and the belief of many serious journalists and writers that the US Government destabilised and helped overthrow our elected government. So, that’s something I don’t tend to forget terribly easily. Then Assange came along and he - I was talking to my American publisher, Sonny Mehta, about this - we had a long, long conversation about it in which I said, “Well, the whole thing about Assange, he’s Australian,” and the thing that makes me think, you know, the Americans - Americans overthrew our government, are they even thinking who he is? Might it matter that he’s Australian? And in the stead of they’re not saying he’s Australian, they’re saying he’s a traitor. How can he possibly be a traitor in America? He’s an Australian citizen. So, I always think - or once again, the United States has sort of got itself involved in something that it does not understand. I mean, the United States continually interfered in other countries’ internal affairs from the very beginning.
LEIGH SALES: Western governments have always had degrees of secrecy and surveillance. What level of that do you consider is acceptable in the interests of, say, diplomacy or national security? PETER CAREY: Well how would one possibly establish what the level is? We certainly - I think we certainly live in an age where we daily give away enormous amounts of information to corporations who are perhaps more dangerous than nation states seeing as they basically determine the courses of nation states. And we do that thinking that - not expecting that we will live in a state of tyranny tomorrow or the next year or 10 years after that.
But silly me, it was the wicked Americans who did it all! You know, the CIA and all that? And they did it all so cleverly that no one involved has said a word or left a trace.
Peter Carey should get a grip. And the ABC should learn to ask Leftists spouting such rolled-gold idiocy: “Are you nuts?”
(Thanks to reader Brian.)
The poor are collateral damage in the green war on coal
Andrew Bolt October 21 2014 (6:39am)
Former Labor Minister Gary Johns on the mad campaign against coal:
Peter Reith:
===CONVICTED killer, now Anglican priest, Evan Pederick is the perfect poster boy for the fossil fuel divestment campaign. The convicted and self-confessed terrorist has been taken into the bosom of the Anglican Church and joined forces with other churches to divest their institutions of investments in fossil fuels (and some minerals).Former Treasurer Peter Costello:
That other church of green ideology, the Australian National University, has done the same.
Pederick willingly and knowingly set out to destroy a life, that of the Indian prime minister, by planting a bomb in Sydney in 1978. He missed and killed three others instead. Divestment activists, perhaps unwittingly, also will harm innocent people.
Instead of Killers against Coal, why not Christians for Coal?
The moral calculation is simple. An effective divestment campaign would increase the cost of power and harm the poor. It would substitute the possible risk of some harm to life from climate change decades into the future with the certain harm to life from denial of access to cheap energy now. An ineffective campaign, which is more likely, would waste the opportunity to put funds to better use.
The Uniting Church has already decided, at least in two states, to divest shares in all companies that produce fossil fuels. The Anglican Church is following on behind as activists in its forums seek a blanket ban on holding such investments. Why waste time going company by company when they are all equally culpable?UPDATE
If Australia closes down coal mining or oil and gas production there will be a huge loss of national income. Families and businesses will be hit with rocketing energy costs. Miners will lose their jobs and towns will close. This would be a huge cost to the nation. That’s why the government has a legitimate interest in this issue. It would have to pick up the cost. Governments have to deal with consequences not just moral posturing.
Peter Reith:
The fossil fuel debate has long needed many more champions. Weak state governments, particularly in NSW and Victoria, are a good example of what happens when governments are frightened to govern…
In Victoria, bans on exploration for gas have been used with no good reason, at the expense of the revitalisation of eastern Victoria. In NSW, the failure to confront the greenies is on track to cost jobs and economic dislocation, especially in manufacturing…
It’s bizarre that greenies oppose using natural gas when natural gas reduces emissions by about half. It is also odd that the green movement oppose fracking for natural gas but support hot fracture rock geothermal technology, in other words: fracking!
Warmists should apologise to Bob Carter
Andrew Bolt October 21 2014 (6:26am)
Nick Cater notes that ABC warmists such as Dr Karl are getting snarky that the world’s atmosphere has not warmed these past 16 years.
A better response might be to apologise to the man who first warned years ago the climate wasn’t warming as the warmists predicted:
===A better response might be to apologise to the man who first warned years ago the climate wasn’t warming as the warmists predicted:
It was an Australian scientist, Bob Carter, who first drew attention to the flattening trend in an article in Britain’s The Telegraph in April 2006. Carter reviewed the official temperature records of the Climate Research Unit at the University of East Anglia for the years 1998 to 2005 and asked: “Does something not strike you as odd?”The vilifying of Bob Carter was simply unforgivable. Those who abused him demonstrated a fear of debate and of facts unbecoming to any discussion of science. That venom demonstrated the sad truth: global warming was instead a faith or ideology that could not be questioned.
Carter’s reward for identifying the lack of global warming was to have his professional reputation trashed. When Carter repeated his suggestion in the Australian press a year later, the CSIRO felt obliged to respond. Carter had presented “an unethical misrepresentation of the facts”, wrote Andrew Ash, acting director of the CSIRO’s Climate Adaptation Flagship. “All scientists welcome honest criticism since it helps to sharpen our analyses and improve our understanding, but scepticism based on half-truths and misrepresentation of facts is not helpful.”
ABC online’s The Drum refused to run his commentary. ABC Radio National’s science broadcaster Robyn Williams gave an open microphone to Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change communications director Bob Ward, who accused Carter of “desperately seeking bits of information to back up a theory”. Political scientist Robert Manne said the likes of Carter, award-winning geologist Ian Plimer and former head of the National Climate Centre at the Bureau of Meteorology William Kininmonth “have to be resisted and indeed denounced” along with the “anti-political correctness and anti-collectivist ideologues, the right-wing media and the fossil fuel corporations”.
Beecher is right. The ABC is crowding out other voices
Andrew Bolt October 21 2014 (6:13am)
Eric Beecher is absolutely right, even though his self-interest is obvious:
- Is it healthy for any media organisation to have such an overwhelming presence, in this case comprising four TV stations in each city plus five radio stations, an on-line newspaper, blogs, twitter feeds, bookshops and a book publishing arm?
- Is it healthy that such a massive media monolith is an arm of the state, funded by government if not directly controlled by it?
- Is it healthy that such a massive media monolith is effectively controlled by one side of the political and ideological divide, clearly advocating green and Leftist politics?
===INDEPENDENT media proprietor Eric Beecher has questioned the reasons for the ABC’s existence and whether it should compete against commercial media in areas that are already well-served.I would add these criticisms of the ABC, now far and away the country’s biggest media organisation.
In provocative comments published by his company’s Crikey website and newsletter, Beecher ... argues the reasons for establishing the ABC “82 years ago are now redundant because the media and societal environment is so radically different"…
The critic of the ABC’s push into the digital space asks whether the ABC should “use its formidable public resources to disrupt or compete with opportunities available to commercial media” or compete for ratings against commercial rivals. Beecher, a former editor of The Sydney Morning Herald, also questioned whether the ABC should have “carte blanche to create whatever digital content it likes”, even when the same content is being produced by commercial operators.
- Is it healthy for any media organisation to have such an overwhelming presence, in this case comprising four TV stations in each city plus five radio stations, an on-line newspaper, blogs, twitter feeds, bookshops and a book publishing arm?
- Is it healthy that such a massive media monolith is an arm of the state, funded by government if not directly controlled by it?
- Is it healthy that such a massive media monolith is effectively controlled by one side of the political and ideological divide, clearly advocating green and Leftist politics?
Labor increases lead to 53-47
Andrew Bolt October 21 2014 (5:40am)
The Abbott Government is struggling to find the switch to popular:
Time soon for a reshuffle, with good communicators given more say in key domestic portfolios. It is ludicrous, for instance, to have Scott Morrison spinning his wheels after such success in stopping the boats. The selling of Budget-related issues has clearly gone wrong, Victoria needs more prominent Liberal voices and the tone of belligerent defensiveness of some ministers has to change. Genial authority is the key. With an emphasis on the genial.
===Today’s Newspoll shows support for the Coalition has dropped three points to 38 per cent, the lowest since July… Labor’s primary vote was unchanged at 34 per cent, virtually the same as its election result of 33.3 per cent.I do believe the Greens vote is artificially high, but also suspected the Coalition is growing too complacent about Labor/s persistent lead. It is also kidding itself if it thinks popular stands on foreign affairs - on Putin, the Ukraine, Iraq - will ever make up for votes lost on domestic issues.
The Coalition vote appeared to transfer to the Greens who received a rise of three points to 14 per cent, significantly higher than their 8.7 per cent result at the election. The strong support for the Greens has underpinned Labor’s two-party-preferred lead which has increased to a three-month high of 53-47 per cent, up from 51-49 per cent in the previous survey.
Time soon for a reshuffle, with good communicators given more say in key domestic portfolios. It is ludicrous, for instance, to have Scott Morrison spinning his wheels after such success in stopping the boats. The selling of Budget-related issues has clearly gone wrong, Victoria needs more prominent Liberal voices and the tone of belligerent defensiveness of some ministers has to change. Genial authority is the key. With an emphasis on the genial.
$433,000 for each unemployed Aborigine placed in a job
Andrew Bolt October 21 2014 (5:35am)
The waste is astonishing, but the culture in many bush communities now does not produce enough young Aborigines prepared for work - or prepared to:
===ONLY 277 indigenous jobseekers have found employment that lasted more than six months in remote regions in the past year, prompting the Abbott government to devise an overhaul of Labor’s remote jobs scheme.Once again, here’s evidence that the problem isn’t a lack of money or goodwill.
The Coalition has concluded that the $1.5 billion nationwide scheme has been failing to engage Aborigines in work, with $120 million already spent equating to about $433,000 per successful job placement of six months or more.
Turkey lets Kurdish reinforcements into Kobane
Andrew Bolt October 21 2014 (5:22am)
It is critically important for propaganda purposes that the Islamic State be stopped from capturing Kobane. Turkey has now made an important decision under US pressure (or after some nice offers):
===Turkey is to allow Iraqi Kurdish fighters to cross the Syrian border to fight Islamic State (IS) militants in Kobane, in what is being seen as a policy reversal…
On Sunday, Turkey’s President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, took his traditional tough line on the Kurdish militia in Syria, calling them “terrorists” and saying that they must not be armed by Turkey or the US.
Then Washington went ahead and did just that, dropping weapons to Kurdish fighters around Kobane, quite possibly with tacit Turkish approval during a phone call that took place between the two presidents. And a day later, Ankara admitted it was helping Peshmerga enter Syria. This is most likely realpolitik by the Turkish government, saying one thing for domestic consumption, to ward off criticism by Turks that it’s helping the Kurds, and another to the White House, agreeing to help Kurdish fighters in a way that is acceptable back home.
<WARNING WARNING WARNING.
The Israelis use these genetically modified flying spiders to now spy on the Arabs Killing Arabs.
Despite over 100,000 Syrians being slaughtered in the current Syrian civil war and the Iranians enriching uranium for " peaceful purposes " the United Nations are in uproar.
Developed in Australia by the CSIRO, the Australian Greens are furious that nature is being interfered with in this deceptive manner and hope with enough bush fires these new flying spiders will fall prey to their indignant flames of wrath despite potential exports valued in the billions.
Anyone seeing these flying spiders please avoid. They are ten times more poisonous than funnel web spiders and can explode without warning upon human contact.
Last week " innocent " true believers in Lakemba were unaware they had been spied upon in this manner. The project has proved so successful that the CSIRO is now trying to develop the same with pigs.
Pigs might fly after all.>
===
Holly Sarah Nguyen
I quit my job, my relationship, my spirituality…I wanted to quit my life.
I went to the woods to have one last talk with God.
“God”, I asked,
“Can you give me one good reason not to quit?”.
His answer surprised me…
“Look around”, He said. “Do you see the fern and the bamboo?”
“Yes”, I replied.
“When I planted the fern and the bamboo seeds, I took very good care of them.
I gave them light. I gave them water. The fern quickly grew from the earth.
It's brilliant green covered the floor. Yet nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. In the second year the Fern grew more vibrant and plentiful.
And again, nothing came from the bamboo seed. But I did not quit on the bamboo. He said.
“In year three there was still nothing from the bamboo seed. But I would not quit.
In year four, again, there was nothing from the bamboo seed. I would not quit.” He said.
“Then in the fifth year a tiny sprout emerged from the earth. Compared to the fern it was seemingly small and insignificant…But just 6 months later the bamboo rose to over 100 feet tall.
It had spent the five years growing roots. Those roots made it strong and gave it what it needed to survive. I would not give any of my creations a challenge it could not handle.”
He asked me. “Did you know, my child, that all this time you have been struggling, you have actually been growing roots”.
“I would not quit on the bamboo. And I will never quit on you.”
“Don’t compare yourself to others.” He said. ”The bamboo had a different Purpose than the fern.
Yet they both make the forest beautiful.” "Your time will come”, God said to me.
“You will rise high”.
“How high should I rise?” I asked.
“How high will the bamboo rise?” He asked in return.
“As high as it can?” I questioned. ”Yes!” He said, “Give Me glory by rising as high as you can.”
I left the forest and brought back this story. I hope these words can help you see that God will never give up on you. Never, never, never give up in life.
Don’t tell The LORD how big the problem is, tell the problem how Great The LORD is!
===
- 1096 – People's Crusade: A Seljuk Turkish army successfully fight off the People's Army of the West.
- 1097 – First Crusade: Crusaders led by Godfrey of Bouillon, Bohemund of Taranto, and Raymond IV, Count of Toulouse, begin the Siege of Antioch.
- 1209 – Otto IV is crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire by Pope Innocent III.
- 1392 – Nanboku-chō, Japan: Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu.
- 1512 – Martin Luther joins the theological faculty of the University of Wittenberg.
- 1520 – Ferdinand Magellan discovers a strait now known as Strait of Magellan.
- 1520 – João Álvares Fagundes discovers the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, bestowing them their original name of "Islands of the 11,000 Virgins".
- 1600 – Tokugawa Ieyasu defeats the leaders of rival Japanese clans in the Battle of Sekigahara, which marks the beginning of the Tokugawa shogunate.
- 1774 – First display of the word "Liberty" on a flag, raised by colonists in Taunton, Massachusetts in defiance of British rule in Colonial America.
- 1797 – In Boston Harbor, the 44-gun United States Navy frigate USS Constitution is launched.
- 1805 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Trafalgar: A British fleet led by Vice Admiral Lord Nelson defeats a combined French and Spanish fleet under Admiral Villeneuve.
- 1824 – Joseph Aspdin patents Portland cement.
- 1854 – Florence Nightingale and a staff of 38 nurses are sent to the Crimean War.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Battle of Ball's Bluff: Union forces under Colonel Edward Baker are defeated by Confederate troops in the second major battle of the war.
- 1867 – The Medicine Lodge Treaty is signed by southern Great Plains Indian leaders. The treaty requires Native American Plains tribes to relocate to a reservation in western Oklahoma.
- 1879 – Thomas Edison applies for a patent for his design for an incandescent light bulb.
- 1888 – Foundation of the Swiss Social Democratic Party.
- 1892 – Opening ceremonies for the World's Columbian Exposition are held in Chicago, though because construction was behind schedule, the exposition did not open until May 1, 1893.
- 1895 – The Republic of Formosa collapses as Japanese forces invade.
- 1910 – HMS Niobe arrives in Halifax Harbour to become the first ship of the Royal Canadian Navy.
- 1912 – First Balkan War: Kardzhali is liberated by Bulgarian forces.
- 1921 – President Warren G. Harding delivers the first speech by a sitting U.S. President against lynching in the deep South.
- 1931 – The Sakurakai, a secret society in the Imperial Japanese Army, launches an abortive coup d'état attempt.
- 1940 – The first edition of the Ernest Hemingway novel For Whom the Bell Tolls is published.
- 1943 – The Provisional Government of Free India is formally declared by Subhas Chandra Bose.
- 1944 – World War II: The first kamikaze attack. A Japanese fighter plane carrying a 200-kilogram (440 lb) bomb attacks HMAS Australia off Leyte Island, as the Battle of Leyte Gulf began.
- 1944 – World War II: Nemmersdorf massacre against the German civilians takes place.
- 1944 – World War II: Battle of Aachen: The city of Aachen falls to American forces after three weeks of fighting, making it the first German city to fall to the Allies.
- 1945 – Women's suffrage: Women are allowed to vote in France for the first time.
- 1950 – Korean War: Heavy fighting begins between British and Australian forces from the 27th British Commonwealth Brigade and the North Korean 239th Regiment during the Battle of Yongju.
- 1956 – Mau Mau Uprising: Kenyan rebel leader Dedan Kimathi is captured by the British Army, signalling the ultimate defeat of the rebellion, and essentially ending the British military campaign.
- 1959 – In New York City, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, opens to the public.
- 1959 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower signs an executive order transferring Wernher von Braun and other German scientists from the United States Army to NASA.
- 1965 – Comet Ikeya–Seki approaches perihelion, passing 450,000 kilometers (279,617 miles) from the sun.
- 1966 – Aberfan disaster: A colliery spoil tip collapses on the village of Aberfan in Wales, killing 144 people, mostly schoolchildren.
- 1967 – Vietnam War: More than 100,000 war protesters gather in Washington, D.C.. Similar demonstrations occur simultaneously in Japan and Western Europe.
- 1969 – A coup d'état in Somalia brings Siad Barre to power and establishes a socialist republic in Somalia.
- 1971 – A gas explosion kills 22 people at a shopping center in Clarkston, East Renfrewshire, near Glasgow, Scotland.
- 1973 – Fred Dryer of the Los Angeles Rams becomes the first player in NFL history to score two safeties in the same game.
- 1978 – Australian civilian pilot Frederick Valentich vanishes in a Cessna 182 over the Bass Straitsouth of Melbourne, after reporting contact with an unidentified aircraft.
- 1979 – Moshe Dayan resigns from the Israeli government because of strong disagreements with Prime Minister Menachem Begin over policy towards the Arabs.
- 1981 – Andreas Papandreou becomes Prime Minister of Greece, ending an almost 50-year-long system of power dominated by conservative forces.
- 1983 – The metre is defined at the seventeenth General Conference on Weights and Measures as the distance light travels in a vacuum in 1/299,792,458 of a second.
- 1986 – In Lebanon, pro-Iran kidnappers claim to have abducted American writer Edward Tracy (he is released in August 1991).
- 1987 – Jaffna hospital massacre is carried out by Indian Peace Keeping Force in Sri Lanka killing 70 ethnic Tamil patients, doctors and nurses.
- 1994 – North Korea nuclear weapons program: North Korea and the United States sign an Agreed Framework that requires North Korea to stop its nuclear weapons program and agree to inspections.
- 1994 – In Seoul, 32 people are killed when the Seongsu Bridge collapses.
- 2005 – Images of the dwarf planet Eris are taken and subsequently used in documenting its discovery by the team of Michael E. Brown, Chad Trujillo, and David L. Rabinowitz.
- 1328 – Hongwu Emperor of China (d. 1398)
- 1449 – George Plantagenet, 1st Duke of Clarence, Irish-English son of Cecily Neville, Duchess of York (d. 1478)
- 1527 – Louis I, Cardinal of Guise (d. 1578)
- 1536 – Joachim Ernest, Prince of Anhalt (d. 1586)
- 1581 – Domenichino, Italian painter (d. 1641)
- 1650 – Jean Bart, French admiral (d. 1702)
- 1658 – Henri de Boulainvilliers, French nobleman (d. 1722)
- 1675 – Emperor Higashiyama of Japan (d. 1710)
- 1687 – Nicolaus I Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and theorist (d. 1759)
- 1712 – James Steuart, Scottish economist and author (d. 1780)
- 1725 – Franz Moritz von Lacy, Austrian field marshal (d. 1801)
- 1757 – Pierre Augereau, French general (d. 1816)
- 1762 – Herman Willem Daendels, Dutch general, lawyer, and politician, 36th Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (d. 1818)
- 1772 – Samuel Taylor Coleridge, English poet, philosopher, and critic (d. 1834)
- 1775 – Giuseppe Baini, Italian priest, composer, and critic (d. 1844)
- 1790 – Alphonse de Lamartine, French poet and politician, French Head of State (d. 1869)
- 1811 – Filippo Colini, Italian operatic baritone (d. 1863)
- 1821 – Sims Reeves, English tenor and actor (d. 1900)
- 1833 – Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer, invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize(d. 1896)
- 1845 – Will Carleton, American poet and journalist (d. 1912)
- 1847 – Giuseppe Giacosa, Italian poet and playwright (d. 1906)
- 1851 – George Ulyett, English cricketer and footballer (d. 1898)
- 1877 – Oswald Avery, Canadian-American physician and microbiologist (d. 1955)
- 1884 – Claire Waldoff, German singer and actress (d. 1957)
- 1886 – Eugene Burton Ely, American soldier and pilot (d. 1911)
- 1887 – Krishna Singh, Indian lawyer and politician, 1st Chief Minister of Bihar (d. 1961)
- 1894 – Edogawa Ranpo, Japanese author and critic (d. 1965)
- 1895 – Paavo Johansson, Finnish javelin thrower and decathlete (d. 1983)
- 1895 – Edna Purviance, American actress (d. 1958)
- 1898 – Eduard Pütsep, Estonian wrestler and actor (d. 1960)
- 1900 – Andrée Boisson, French Olympic fencer (d. 1973)
- 1907 – Nikos Engonopoulos, Greek painter and poet (d. 1985)
- 1908 – Niyazi Berkes, Cypriot-English sociologist and academic (d. 1988)
- 1911 – Mary Blair, American illustrator and animator (d. 1978)
- 1912 – Don Byas, American saxophonist and educator (d. 1972)
- 1912 – Alfredo Pián, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1990)
- 1912 – Georg Solti, Hungarian-English conductor and director (d. 1997)
- 1914 – Martin Gardner, American mathematician and author (d. 2010)
- 1915 – Owen Bradley, American country music record producer (d. 1998)
- 1917 – Dizzy Gillespie, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (d. 1993)
- 1918 – Milton Himmelfarb, American sociologist and author (d. 2006)
- 1919 – Jim Wallwork, English-Canadian sergeant and pilot (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Malcolm Arnold, English composer (d. 2006)
- 1921 – Bruce Beeby, Australian-English actor (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Robert Clothier, Canadian actor (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Jim Shumate, American fiddler and composer (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Ingrid van Houten-Groeneveld, Dutch astronomer and academic (d. 2015)
- 1922 – Liliane Bettencourt, French businesswoman and philanthropist (d. 2017)
- 1923 – Samuel Khachikian, Iranian director, screenwriter, and author (d. 2001)
- 1924 – Joyce Randolph, American actress
- 1924 – Julie Wilson, American actress and singer (d. 2015)
- 1925 – Celia Cruz, Cuban-American singer (d. 2003)
- 1925 – Virginia Zeani, Romanian soprano and educator
- 1926 – Bob Rosburg, American golfer (d. 2009)
- 1926 – Leonard Rossiter, English actor (d. 1984)
- 1927 – Fritz Wintersteller, Austrian mountaineer
- 1927 – Howard Zieff, American director and photographer (d. 2009)
- 1928 – Whitey Ford, American baseball player and coach
- 1928 – Eudóxia Maria Froehlich, Brazilian zoologist (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Vern Mikkelsen, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Pierre Bellemare, French radio and television host
- 1929 – Fritz Hollaus, Austrian footballer (d. 1994)
- 1929 – Ursula K. Le Guin, American author and critic
- 1930 – Ivan Silayev, Russian engineer and politician, 19th Prime Minister of Russia
- 1931 – Shammi Kapoor, Indian actor and director (d. 2011)
- 1931 – Jim Parks junior, English cricketer and manager
- 1932 – Pál Csernai, Hungarian footballer and manager (d. 2013)
- 1933 – Maureen Duffy, English author, poet, and playwright
- 1935 – Derek Bell, Irish harp player, pianist, and songwriter (d. 2002)
- 1935 – Mel Street, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1978)
- 1937 – Said Afandi al-Chirkawi, Russian spiritual leader and scholar (d. 2012)
- 1937 – Hank Nelson, Australian historian and academic (d. 2012)
- 1938 – Carl Brewer, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2001)
- 1940 – Jimmy Beaumont, American doo-wop singer-songwriter
- 1940 – Geoffrey Boycott, English cricketer and sportscaster
- 1940 – Frances FitzGerald, American journalist and author
- 1940 – Rhoda Gemignani, American actress
- 1940 – Manfred Mann, South African-English keyboard player and producer
- 1940 – Marita Petersen, Faroese educator and politician, Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 2001)
- 1941 – Steve Cropper, American guitarist, songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1942 – Elvin Bishop, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1942 – Allan Grice, Australian race car driver and politician
- 1942 – Lou Lamoriello, American ice hockey player, coach, and manager
- 1942 – Judith Sheindlin, American judge and television host
- 1942 – Christopher A. Sims, American economist and statistician, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1942 – John Stevens, Baron Stevens of Kirkwhelpington, English police officer and academic
- 1943 – Tariq Ali, Pakistani historian and author
- 1943 – Ron Elliott, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and composer
- 1944 – Mandy Rice-Davies, English model and actress (d. 2014)
- 1944 – Michael Tugendhat, English lawyer and judge
- 1945 – Michael White, English journalist
- 1946 – Jane Heal, English philosopher and academic
- 1946 – Jim Hill, American football player and sportscaster
- 1946 – Lux Interior, American singer-songwriter (d. 2009)
- 1946 – Lee Loughnane, American singer-songwriter and trumpet player
- 1948 – Shaye J. D. Cohen, American historian and academic
- 1948 – Allen Henry Vigneron, American archbishop
- 1949 – Michel Brière, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1971)
- 1949 – Mike Keenan, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1949 – Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli captain and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Israel
- 1950 – Ronald McNair, American physicist and astronaut (d. 1986)
- 1952 – Trevor Chappell, Australian cricketer and coach
- 1952 – Patti Davis, American actress and author
- 1952 – Allen Hoey, American poet and author
- 1952 – Brent Mydland, German-American keyboard player (d. 1990)
- 1953 – Charlotte Caffey, American guitarist and songwriter (The Go-Go's)
- 1953 – Eric Faulkner, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1953 – Keith Green, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and minister (d. 1982)
- 1953 – Marc Johnson, American bassist, composer, and bandleader
- 1953 – Peter Mandelson, English journalist and politician, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
- 1954 – Brian Tobin, Canadian journalist and politician, 6th Premier of Newfoundland
- 1955 – Dick DeVos, American businessman
- 1955 – Fred Hersch, American pianist and composer
- 1955 – Rich Mullins, American singer-songwriter (d. 1997)
- 1956 – Carrie Fisher, American actress and screenwriter (d. 2016)
- 1956 – Mike Tully, American pole vaulter
- 1957 – Julian Cope, English singer-songwriter
- 1957 – Wolfgang Ketterle, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1957 – Steve Lukather, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1958 – Andre Geim, Russian-English physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1959 – George Bell, Dominican baseball player
- 1959 – Rose McDowall, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1959 – Andy Picheta, English director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1959 – Kevin Sheedy, Welsh-Irish footballer and manager
- 1959 – Ken Watanabe, Japanese actor and producer
- 1962 – David Campese, Australian rugby player and coach
- 1964 – Jon Carin, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1965 – Ion Andoni Goikoetxea, Spanish footballer and manager
- 1965 – Horace Hogan, American wrestler
- 1965 – Hisashi Imai, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1966 – Phillip Price, Welsh golfer
- 1966 – Igor Prins, Estonian footballer and manager
- 1966 – Arne Sandstø, Norwegian footballer and manager
- 1967 – Georgi Dakov, Bulgarian high jumper (d. 1996)
- 1967 – Paul Ince, English footballer and manager
- 1967 – Gavin Lovegrove, New Zealand javelin thrower and graphic designer
- 1968 – Alexandros Alexandris, Greek footballer and manager
- 1968 – Kerstin Andreae, German politician
- 1969 – Michael Hancock, Australian rugby league player
- 1969 – Mo Lewis, American football player
- 1970 – Louis Koo, Hong Kong actor and singer
- 1971 – Hal Duncan, Scottish author and poet
- 1971 – Damien Martyn, Australian cricketer
- 1971 – Nick Oliveri, American singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1971 – Conor O'Shea, Irish rugby player and coach
- 1971 – Paul Telfer, Scottish footballer and coach
- 1971 – Thomas Ulsrud, Norwegian curler
- 1972 – Matthew Friedberger, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1972 – Orlando Thomas, American football player (d. 2014)
- 1972 – Evhen Tsybulenko, Ukrainian scholar and academic
- 1973 – Lera Auerbach, Russian-American pianist and composer
- 1973 – Charlie Lowell, American pianist and songwriter
- 1974 – Costel Busuioc, Romanian tenor
- 1975 – Toby Hall, American baseball player
- 1975 – Henrique Hilário, Portuguese footballer
- 1976 – Henrik Gustavsson, Swedish footballer
- 1976 – Jeremy Miller, American actor and singer
- 1976 – Lavinia Miloșovici, Romanian gymnast
- 1976 – Josh Ritter, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1976 – Mélanie Turgeon, Canadian skier
- 1978 – Joey Harrington, American football player and sportscaster
- 1978 – Henrik Klingenberg, Finnish singer and keyboard player
- 1979 – Khalil Greene, American baseball player
- 1979 – Gabe Gross, American baseball player
- 1980 – Kim Kardashian, American reality television personality, actress, model, businesswoman and socialite
- 1980 – Brian Pittman, American bass player
- 1981 – Martin Castrogiovanni, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
- 1981 – Nemanja Vidić, Serbian footballer
- 1982 – Matt Dallas, American actor
- 1982 – Jim Henderson, American baseball player
- 1982 – Antony Kay, English footballer
- 1982 – Hari Kondabolu, American comedian, actor, and podcaster
- 1982 – Ray Ventrone, American football player
- 1982 – Lee Chong Wei, Malaysian badminton player
- 1982 – James White, American basketball player
- 1982 – Tim Wildsmith, American singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1983 – Casey Fien, American baseball player
- 1983 – Zack Greinke, American baseball player
- 1983 – Gonzalo Klusener, Argentinian footballer
- 1983 – Andy Marte, Dominican baseball player (d. 2017)
- 1983 – Amber Rose, American model
- 1983 – Chris Sherrington, English-Scottish martial artist
- 1983 – Shelden Williams, American basketball player
- 1984 – Anna Bogdanova, Russian heptathlete
- 1984 – Tom Brandstater, American football player
- 1984 – Kenny Cooper, American soccer player
- 1984 – Anouk Leblanc-Boucher, Canadian speed skater
- 1984 – José Lobatón, Venezuelan baseball player
- 1984 – Marvin Mitchell, American football player
- 1984 – Kieran Richardson, English footballer
- 1985 – Simone Bracalello, Italian footballer
- 1986 – Almen Abdi, Swiss footballer
- 1986 – Chibuzor Chilaka, Nigerian footballer
- 1986 – Scott Rendell, English footballer
- 1987 – Justin De Fratus, American baseball player
- 1987 – Andrey Grechin, Russian swimmer
- 1988 – Ricki Olsen, Danish footballer
- 1988 – Daniel Schorn, Austrian cyclist
- 1989 – Mads Dahm, Norwegian footballer
- 1989 – Luke Murphy, English footballer
- 1989 – Jonathan Viera, Spanish footballer
- 1989 – Sam Vokes, English-Welsh footballer
- 1990 – Bengali-Fodé Koita, French footballer
- 1990 – Mathieu Peybernes, French footballer
- 1990 – Ricky Rubio, Spanish basketball player
- 1991 – Tom Eastman, English footballer
- 1991 – Geoffry Hairemans, Belgian footballer
- 1991 – Vadaine Oliver, English footballer
- 1991 – Harry Pell, English footballer
- 1992 – Bernard Tomic, German-Australian tennis player
- 1995 – Cameron Burgess, Scottish-Australian footballer
- 1995 – Antoinette Guedia Mouafo, Cameroonian swimmer
Births[edit]
- 645 – Zhenzhu Khan, khan of Xueyantuo
- 1023 – Gero, Archbishop of Magdeburg
- 1096 – Walter Sans Avoir, a leader of the First Crusade
- 1125 – Cosmas of Prague, Bohemian priest and historian (b. 1045)
- 1204 – Robert de Beaumont, 4th Earl of Leicester, English politician
- 1221 – Alix, Duchess of Brittany (b. 1201)
- 1266 – Birger Jarl, Swedish politician (b. 1210)
- 1314 – Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville
- 1422 – Charles VI of France (b. 1368)
- 1500 – Emperor Go-Tsuchimikado of Japan (b. 1442)
- 1505 – Paul Scriptoris, German mathematician and educator (b. 1460)
- 1556 – Pietro Aretino, Italian author (b. 1492)
- 1558 – Julius Caesar Scaliger, Italian physician and scholar (b. 1484)
- 1600 – Ōtani Yoshitsugu, Japanese samurai (b. 1558)
- 1623 – William Wade, English politician and diplomat, Lieutenant of the Tower of London (b. 1546)
- 1662 – Henry Lawes, English pianist and composer (b. 1595)
- 1687 – Edmund Waller, English poet and politician (b. 1606)
- 1765 – Giovanni Paolo Panini, Italian painter and architect (b. 1691)
- 1775 – Peyton Randolph, American lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Continental Congress(b. 1721)
- 1777 – Samuel Foote, English actor and playwright (b. 1720)
- 1805 – John Cooke, English captain (b. 1763)
- 1805 – George Duff, Scottish captain (b. 1764)
- 1805 – Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, English admiral (b. 1758)
- 1821 – Dorothea Ackermann, German actress (b. 1752)
- 1835 – Muthuswami Dikshitar, Indian poet and composer (b. 1775)
- 1872 – Jacques Babinet, French physicist, mathematician, and astronomer (b. 1794)
- 1873 – Johan Sebastian Welhaven, Norwegian author, poet, and critic (b. 1807)
- 1896 – James Henry Greathead, South African-English engineer (b. 1844)
- 1903 – Jinmaku Kyūgorō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 12th Yokozuna (b. 1829)
- 1904 – Isabelle Eberhardt, Swiss explorer and journalist (b. 1877)
- 1907 – Jules Chevalier, French priest, founded the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart (b. 1824)
- 1931 – Arthur Schnitzler, Austrian author and playwright (b. 1862)
- 1938 – Dorothy Hale, American actress (b. 1905)
- 1940 – William G. Conley, American journalist, lawyer, and politician, 18th Governor of West Virginia(b. 1866)
- 1941 – Alexander Greenlaw Hamilton, Australian biologist (b. 1852)
- 1944 – Alois Kayser, German-French missionary (b. 1877)
- 1952 – Hans Merensky, South African geologist and philanthropist (b. 1871)
- 1963 – Józef Franczak, Polish sergeant (b. 1918)
- 1965 – Bill Black, American bass player and bandleader (b. 1926)
- 1969 – Jack Kerouac, American novelist and poet (b. 1922)
- 1969 – Wacław Sierpiński, Polish mathematician and academic (b. 1882)
- 1971 – Minnie Evans, Potawatomi leader (b. 1888)
- 1973 – Nasif Estéfano, Argentinian race car driver (b. 1932)
- 1975 – Charles Reidpath, American runner and general (b. 1887)
- 1977 – Ferit Tüzün, Turkish composer (b. 1929)
- 1978 – Anastas Mikoyan, Armenian-Russian civil servant and politician (b. 1895)
- 1980 – Hans Asperger, Austrian physician and psychologist (b. 1906)
- 1982 – Radka Toneff, Norwegian singer-songwriter (b. 1952)
- 1983 – Joseph P. Lordi, American government official (b. 1919)
- 1984 – François Truffaut, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1932)
- 1985 – Dan White, American sergeant and politician (b. 1946)
- 1986 – Lionel Murphy, Australian jurist and politician, 22nd Attorney-General of Australia (b. 1922)
- 1989 – Jean Image, Hungarian-French director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1910)
- 1990 – Dany Chamoun, Lebanese engineer and politician (b. 1934)
- 1990 – Prabhat Ranjan Sarkar, Indian philosopher and author (b. 1921)
- 1991 – Lorenc Antoni, Albanian composer, conductor, and musicologist (b. 1909)
- 1992 – Jim Garrison, American lawyer and judge (b. 1921)
- 1993 – Sam Zolotow, American journalist and critic (b. 1899)
- 1995 – Maxene Andrews, American singer (b. 1916)
- 1995 – Jesús Blasco, Spanish author and illustrator (b. 1919)
- 1995 – Nancy Graves, American sculptor and painter (b. 1939)
- 1995 – Shannon Hoon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1967)
- 1996 – Georgios Zoitakis, Greek general and politician (b. 1910)
- 1998 – Francis W. Sargent, American soldier and politician, 64th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1915)
- 1999 – Lars Bo, Danish author and illustrator (b. 1924)
- 1999 – Ahmet Taner Kışlalı, Turkish political scientist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1939)
- 2003 – Louise Day Hicks, American politician (b. 1916)
- 2003 – Luis A. Ferré, Puerto Rican engineer and politician, 3rd Governor of Puerto Rico (b. 1904)
- 2003 – Elliott Smith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1969)
- 2006 – Sandy West, American singer-songwriter and drummer (b. 1959)
- 2007 – Paul Fox, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1951)
- 2010 – A. Ayyappan, Indian poet and translator (b. 1949)
- 2011 – Hikmet Bilâ, Turkish journalist and author (b. 1954)
- 2011 – Tone Pavček, Slovenian poet and author (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Yash Chopra, Indian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1932)
- 2012 – Antoni Dobrowolski, Polish educator (b. 1904)
- 2012 – Jaroslav Kozlík, Czech volleyball player and educator (b. 1907)
- 2012 – Alf Kumalo, South African photographer and journalist (b. 1930)
- 2012 – George McGovern, American historian, lieutenant, and politician (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Bud Adams, American businessman (b. 1923)
- 2013 – Gianni Ferrio, Italian composer and conductor (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Rune T. Kidde, Danish author, poet, and illustrator (b. 1957)
- 2013 – Colonel Robert Morris, American singer-songwriter and drummer (b. 1954)
- 2013 – Major Owens, American librarian and politician (b. 1936)
- 2013 – Tony Summers, Welsh swimmer (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Oscar Yanes, Venezuelan journalist and author (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Ben Bradlee, American journalist and author (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Nelson Bunker Hunt, American businessman (b. 1926)
- 2014 – Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi Kani, Iranian cleric and politician, Prime Minister of Iran (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Edith Kawelohea McKinzie, Hawaiian genealogist, author, and hula expert (b. 1925)
- 2014 – Gough Whitlam, Australian lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 21st Prime Minister of Australia(b. 1916)
- 2015 – France Bučar, Slovenian lawyer and politician (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Marty Ingels, American actor (b. 1936)
- 2015 – Norman W. Moore, English conservationist and author (b. 1923)
- 2015 – Sheldon Wolin, American philosopher, theorist, and academic (b. 1922)
Deaths[edit]
- Apple Day (United Kingdom)
- Armed Forces Day (Honduras)
- Christian feast day:
- Egyptian Naval Day (Egypt)
- Indian Police Commemoration Day (India)
- International Day of the Nacho
- National Nurses' Day (Thailand)
- Ndadaye Day (Burundi)
- Overseas Chinese Day (Republic of China)
- Trafalgar Day (the British Empire in the 19th and early 20th century)
- Birth of the Báb (2017) (Bahá’í)
“Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.” Psalm 51:12 NIV
===
Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
Many Christians remain stunted and dwarfed in spiritual things, so as to present the same appearance year after year. No up-springing of advanced and refined feeling is manifest in them. They exist but do not "grow up into him in all things." But should we rest content with being in the "green blade," when we might advance to "the ear," and eventually ripen into the "full corn in the ear?" Should we be satisfied to believe in Christ, and to say, "I am safe," without wishing to know in our own experience more of the fulness which is to be found in him. It should not be so; we should, as good traders in heaven's market, covet to be enriched in the knowledge of Jesus. It is all very well to keep other men's vineyards, but we must not neglect our own spiritual growth and ripening. Why should it always be winter time in our hearts? We must have our seed time, it is true, but O for a spring time--yea, a summer season, which shall give promise of an early harvest. If we would ripen in grace, we must live near to Jesus--in his presence--ripened by the sunshine of his smiles. We must hold sweet communion with him. We must leave the distant view of his face and come near, as John did, and pillow our head on his breast; then shall we find ourselves advancing in holiness, in love, in faith, in hope--yea, in every precious gift. As the sun rises first on mountain-tops and gilds them with his light, and presents one of the most charming sights to the eye of the traveller; so is it one of the most delightful contemplations in the world to mark the glow of the Spirit's light on the head of some saint, who has risen up in spiritual stature, like Saul, above his fellows, till, like a mighty Alp, snow-capped, he reflects first among the chosen, the beams of the Sun of Righteousness, and bears the sheen of his effulgence high aloft for all to see, and seeing it, to glorify his Father which is in heaven.
Evening
Although this message was sent to the south, and referred to the seed of Israel, it may profitably be a summons to ourselves. Backward we are naturally to all good things, and it is a lesson of grace to learn to go forward in the ways of God. Reader, are you unconverted, but do you desire to trust in the Lord Jesus? Then keep not back. Love invites you, the promises secure you success, the precious blood prepares the way. Let not sins or fears hinder you, but come to Jesus just as you are. Do you long to pray? Would you pour out your heart before the Lord? Keep not back. The mercy-seat is prepared for such as need mercy; a sinner's cries will prevail with God. You are invited, nay, you are commanded to pray; come therefore with boldness to the throne of grace.
Dear friend, are you already saved? Then keep not back from union with the Lord's people. Neglect not the ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper. You may be of a timid disposition, but you must strive against it, lest it lead you into disobedience. There is a sweet promise made to those who confess Christ--by no means miss it, lest you come under the condemnation of those who deny him. If you have talents keep not back from using them. Hoard not your wealth, waste not your time; let not your abilities rust or your influence be unused. Jesus kept not back; imitate him by being foremost in self-denials and self-sacrifices. Keep not back from close communion with God, from boldly appropriating covenant blessings, from advancing in the divine life, from prying into the precious mysteries of the love of Christ. Neither, beloved friend, be guilty of keeping others back by your coldness, harshness, or suspicions. For Jesus' sake go forward yourself, and encourage others to do the like. Hell and the leaguered bands of superstition and infidelity are forward to the fight. O soldiers of the cross, keep not back.
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Today's reading: Isaiah 59-61, 2 Thessalonians 3 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Isaiah 59-61
Sin, Confession and Redemption
1 Surely the arm of the LORD is not too short to save,
nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are stained with blood,
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.
They pursue evil schemes;
acts of violence mark their ways.
8 The way of peace they do not know;
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
no one who walks along them will know peace....
nor his ear too dull to hear.
2 But your iniquities have separated
you from your God;
your sins have hidden his face from you,
so that he will not hear.
3 For your hands are stained with blood,
your fingers with guilt.
Your lips have spoken falsely,
and your tongue mutters wicked things.
4 No one calls for justice;
no one pleads a case with integrity.
They rely on empty arguments, they utter lies;
they conceive trouble and give birth to evil.
5 They hatch the eggs of vipers
and spin a spider’s web.
Whoever eats their eggs will die,
and when one is broken, an adder is hatched.
6 Their cobwebs are useless for clothing;
they cannot cover themselves with what they make.
Their deeds are evil deeds,
and acts of violence are in their hands.
7 Their feet rush into sin;
they are swift to shed innocent blood.
They pursue evil schemes;
acts of violence mark their ways.
8 The way of peace they do not know;
there is no justice in their paths.
They have turned them into crooked roads;
no one who walks along them will know peace....
Today's New Testament reading: 2 Thessalonians 3
Request for Prayer
1 As for other matters, brothers and sisters, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you. 2 And pray that we may be delivered from wicked and evil people, for not everyone has faith. 3But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one. 4 We have confidence in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we command. 5May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.
Warning Against Idleness
6 In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers and sisters, to keep away from every believer who is idle and disruptive and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, 8 nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you. 9 We did this, not because we do not have the right to such help, but in order to offer ourselves as a model for you to imitate. 10 For even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: “The one who is unwilling to work shall not eat....”
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Samuel
[Săm'uel] - heard, asked of god, offering of god or appointed by god.
[Săm'uel] - heard, asked of god, offering of god or appointed by god.
The Man Who Had God's Ear
Samuel was the earliest of the Hebrew prophets after Moses and the last of the Judges. He was the son of Elkanah of Ephraim (1 Sam. 1:1), and of Hannah, Elkanah's other wife. Samuel was her first-born and possibly saw the light of day at Ramah (1 Sam. 2:11; 7:17). Hannah bore Elkanah five other children ( 1 Sam. 2:21). There are many points of resemblance between Hannah and Mary, the mother of our Lord (1 Sam. 2:1-11 with Luke 1:46-56).
Samuel was a Nazarite (1 Sam. 1:11), the character of the vow being:
Abstinence from intoxicating drinks; self-denial and separation from sensual indulgence.
Free growth of hair, indicating the complete dedication of all the power of the head to God.
Avoidance of contact with a dead body as a token of absolute purity of life (Num. 6).
Samuel's call to service came when weaned and dedicated to God by his mother (1 Sam. 1:24-28; 3:1-18). When Samuel was around twelve years of age he received his first revelation of the Lord, which was a clear message of doom against Eli's guilty house (1 Sam. 3:11-14).
Samuel's ministry was of a fourfold nature. We see him:
I. As a prophet. As a prophet of the Lord ( 1 Sam. 2:27-35; 3:19-21; 8:22), his faithfulness was a rebuke to the unfaithfulness of Eli. To the end of his days Samuel exercised the office of prophet and his ministry was not in vain. Under the impact of his courageous pronouncements Israel renounced her idolatry and shook off the yoke of the Philistines.
II. As an intercessor. Samuel was born in answer to prayer and his name constantly reminded him of the power of prayer and of the necessity of maintaining holy intimacy with God. Samuel deemed it a sin not to pray for others ( 1 Sam. 7:5-8; 8:6; 12:17, 19, 23; 15:11).
III. As a priest. Although Samuel was only a Levite and not a priest by descent, the words, "I will raise up," imply an extraordinary office (1 Sam. 2:35; 7:9, 10; 13:8-10; Judg. 2:16). The exercises of priestly functions are proved by the following:
By intercession (1 Sam. 7:9).
By offering sacrifices (1 Sam. 7:9, 10).
By benediction ( 1 Sam. 10:17, 25).
By anointing kings (1 Sam. 10:1; 16:13).
IV. As a judge. Of Samuel it is said that he "judged Israel all the days of his life." Even after the government of Israel had changed from that of a theocracy to a monarchy, Samuel still acted as a circuit judge, going from place to place giving divine judgment upon moral and spiritual questions, and maintaining in the hearts and lives of the people the law and authority of Jehovah (1 Sam. 7:15-17 ). The appointment of his own sons as Judges to succeed him (1 Sam. 8:1) was a parental mistake, for their wickedness gave the people reason for demanding a king (1 Sam. 8:5).
The universal reverence and love the nation had for Samuel is proven by the grief manifested at his death. "All Israel lamented him" (1 Sam. 25:1; 28:3). His passing as one of the great heroes of Hebrew history makes impressive reading. Faith was the animating principle of his honored life and labors ( Heb. 11:32).
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