In the United States, Jeff Sessions has tasked an investigation into Democrats colluding with Russia to steal uranium. It looks like the swamp will be drained and lots of Democrats will go to jail. So in panic, a few Democrat Congress people stage an event claiming they are impeaching Trump.
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 "Father and Son"
"Father and Son" is a popular song written and performed by English singer-songwriter, Yusuf Islam (then known as Cat Stevens) on his 1970 album Tea for the Tillerman.
The song frames an exchange between a father not understanding a son's desire to break away and shape a new life, and the son who cannot really explain himself but knows that it is time for him to seek his own destiny. To echo this, Stevens sings in a deeper register for the father's lines, while using a higher, more emotive one for those of the son. Additionally, there are backing vocals provided by Stevens' guitarist and friend, Alun Davies, singing an unusual chorus of simple words, and sentences such as, "No", "Why must you go and make this decision?", beginning mid-song, so softly, they are only perceptible with a slight increase in volume towards the end of the song.
=== from 2016 ===
IPA Review (Nov 2016) features a Matthew Lesh article on “Australian Tax Mutineers” and it includes the 1808 Rum Rebellion in NSW. Just more than twenty years since the penal colony had been founded, the Rum Rebellion was bloodless and peaceful enough. Nobody died. The Governor was taken from where he was hiding beneath his bed. Governor Bligh had form for rebellion, he had also been Captain of the Bounty when Fletcher Christian led a mutiny and Bligh brilliantly saved his life and others in an oared raft. Bligh was capable as a leader, but tensions in the colony ran deep as the colony was primarily convict, but free settlers wanted more. The rum trade (not just rum, but spirits were more prevalent than coin) was the focus of the rebellion, but the reality was the following governor Macquarie had an agenda of promoting the free state of NSW. In the end, Macquarie was broken by free traders running rough shod over him too.
The issue has a personal interest for me. My great great great great grandfather, Mak Sai Ying came from Canton Province to Sydney and stayed there at the behest of John Blaxland in 1818. Blaxland had been dudded in a land deal with NSW by Bligh. He convinced Mak Sai Ying to claim land too. Ying was dudded by NSW too, but went on to own a pub and start a business and family. Sydney colony had been merely a penal colony, but the Rum rebellion made her into a free colony. At issue was the ‘tax’ on alcohol trade. A regressive tax which retarded growth.
The issue has a personal interest for me. My great great great great grandfather, Mak Sai Ying came from Canton Province to Sydney and stayed there at the behest of John Blaxland in 1818. Blaxland had been dudded in a land deal with NSW by Bligh. He convinced Mak Sai Ying to claim land too. Ying was dudded by NSW too, but went on to own a pub and start a business and family. Sydney colony had been merely a penal colony, but the Rum rebellion made her into a free colony. At issue was the ‘tax’ on alcohol trade. A regressive tax which retarded growth.
=== from 2015 ===
In Syria, Russia backs the Syrian Government. The US backs some anti Assad forces. ISIL is a third party. By dividing the nation in two warring factions, a cold war is established and the world is safer as Syria implodes. It is a way of outsourcing security to Russia and it is not the sole example Obama has employed cold war tactics. He has done the same in Iran, in Ukraine, in Korea and throughout the Middle East. And wherever he has applied it, the tried and true tactics have failed, blowing up in his face, so the press have had to protect Obama. Consider why the press have never run with the question of why Ukraine facilitated rebels shooting down a Malaysian Airlines aircraft. Why was Malaysian airlines not warned about Ukrainian airspace? What role had Washington in monitoring the rebel forces during the atrocity? Why pin it on Russia? Unless it is part of a cold war big game. The tactic has failed so far in Syria. And just like the Ukraine, there are many, many, civilian casualties. And the damage is not isolated to war zones. And responsible decisions aren't being made in the cold war arm wrestle. For example, Iran is being gifted nuclear weapons.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
From 2014
MH17 forgery
MH17 photograph exposed as a forgery. Plane is flying in wrong direction and contains wrong details for the actual craft. In all probability, the entire tragedy is a Washington sting against Russia. Russia should never have allowed the equipment to be used by the separatists, but important questions need to be asked of Ukraine too .. like why they failed to warn Malaysia of the war they were fighting as well as the likelihood they deliberately got Russian separatists to target MH17. Blame Washington .. they got upset with Russia over Syria and negotiations on Iran .. and encouraged an illegitimate government in Ukraine to bid for economic independence and to deny Russia access to their naval port .. that, is the proximate cause of all of this. But, in the meantime, there is an intelligence war. The release of phone calls hours after the tragedy suggest Washington planned a smear well.
Islamo fascist bloody fail
Australia contributed four jihadis brothers to IS. Two so obese they could barely walk. Their mother is puzzled as to what has attracted them, saying they are simple boys. But simple is the kind of person who is attracted to the organisation killing Muslims and others. Meanwhile IS kills an Islamic convert who had been an aid worker, and then kills sixteen Islamic peoples who were soldiers for Syria. The killings have been deplored by world leaders, but impotent Islamic leaders are still not sure if there is sufficient evidence that the terrorists are not in fact Islamic.
Equal pay for female tech writer?
A female tech writer who was outraged by a shirt worn by an eminent scientist has claimed she has received death threats. It is wrong to threaten the life of such fools. Take away their livelihood. They listen to money, so they say. The tech writer had been outraged by the shirt of an astro physicist who had managed the unique feat of landing a probe on an asteroid.
Free Trade with China
The free trade deal with China has been signed. SMH are concerned about an arrangement which is already built into immigration whereby Chinese workers can be employed at Chinese projects if no Australian has the requisite skill. The 457 visa already exists for just that. Some things are not covered, like Sugar, rice and wheat. However there will be substantial expansion in key markets like education, finance, tourism and health. Also, 85% of all sales will be tariff free, expanding to 95% in a decade.
Left wing fails
Laura Tingle misrepresented Mr Abbott's success at the G20. Mr Abbott managed to have the final communique reflect economic ambitions as Obama crowed emptily over climatic ones. However, Laura was not the only idiot fooled. Many on ABC and Channel 9 lied about what had happened at the conference. On the Insiders the panel agreed that the 'shirtfront' comment was not understood by the panel but had not affected the summit. Malcolm Farr felt that Abbott shouldn't be allowed to say such confusing things. Sky News is taking on the role of national broadcaster, getting coverage of political debates as the ABC cannot be trusted.
From 2013
The dots have not yet connected Rudd to an allegation against a senior Victorian ALP MP. But otherwise, mystery remains as to why he resigned, but clearly he is as broken as he was dysfunctional in office. Fools cannot be taught. There are many lessons from Rudd's mistakes in office. One example of hubris is given by channel 9, who reported this morning on an investigator into the assassination of JFK. JFK was shot by two people, one Lee Harvey Oswald who was acting alone and using full metal jacket bullets. Two bullets were recovered from the three casings he left behind from some 15 seconds of shooting, 9 seconds of which were captured on tape. The other shooter was an accident from a secret service agent whose rifle had a dum-dum. The agent had taken the loaded rifle, undid the safety and the accidental discharge hit JFK in the back of the head. There was a cover up of the accident. However, channel 9 found a Democrat enthusiast who felt JFK, who was probably worse than Carter or Obama, had been cut in his prime. The fact that civilisation exists today is powerful testimony to a clumsy secret service agent. But that translates poorly to the ALP, which retain significant support. JFK did not learn from his mistakes, but was claimed by one of another.
Climate fear mongering by AGW alarmists is still fed with public money. It will take them a long time to fully exhaust the $trillions of dollars they took from the worlds' poorest peoples (they claimed it came from the rich, but when rich don't spend, it is the poor who suffer).
Also suffering are fans of Bridget Jones' Diary. In a post modernist twist, the fans lose interest in the sequel. Which is a salient warning to the ALP who don't seem to be able to pick a leader who in story terms is a good person.
Today is a special anniversary. Czech students in the velvet revolution begin demonstrating for freedom in 1989, fifty six years after FDR recognised Soviet Union.
Climate fear mongering by AGW alarmists is still fed with public money. It will take them a long time to fully exhaust the $trillions of dollars they took from the worlds' poorest peoples (they claimed it came from the rich, but when rich don't spend, it is the poor who suffer).
Also suffering are fans of Bridget Jones' Diary. In a post modernist twist, the fans lose interest in the sequel. Which is a salient warning to the ALP who don't seem to be able to pick a leader who in story terms is a good person.
Today is a special anniversary. Czech students in the velvet revolution begin demonstrating for freedom in 1989, fifty six years after FDR recognised Soviet Union.
Historical perspective on this day
In 474, Emperor Leo II died after a reign of 10 months. He was succeeded by his father Zeno, who became sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire. In 794, Japanese Emperor Kanmuchanged his residence from Nara to Kyoto. In 1183, the Battle of Mizushima. In 1292, John Balliol became King of Scotland. In 1405, Sharif ul-Hāshim established the Sultanate of Sulu. In 1511, Henry VIII of England concluded the Treaty of Westminster—a pledge of mutual aid against the French—with Ferdinand II of Aragon. In 1558, Elizabethan era began: Queen Mary I of England died and was succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth I of England. In 1603, English explorer, writer and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh went on trial for treason. In 1659, the Treaty of the Pyrenees was signed between France and Spain. In 1777, Articles of Confederation (United States) were submitted to the states for ratification. In 1796, French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Bridge of Arcole – French forces defeated the Austrians in Italy.
In 1800, the United States Congress held its first session in Washington, D.C. In 1810, Sweden declared war on its ally the United Kingdom to begin the Anglo-Swedish War, although no fighting ever took place. In 1811, José Miguel Carrera, Chilean founding father, was sworn in as President of the executive Junta of the government of Chile. In 1820, Captain Nathaniel Palmer became the first American to see Antarctica. (The Palmer Peninsula is later named after him.) In 1831, Ecuador and Venezuela were separated from Gran Colombia. In 1839, Oberto, Giuseppe Verdi's first opera, opened at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. In 1855, David Livingstone became the first European to see the Victoria Falls in what is now present-day Zambia-Zimbabwe. In 1856, American Old West: On the Sonoita River in present-day southern Arizona, the United States Army established Fort Buchanan in order to help control new land acquired in the Gadsden Purchase. In 1858, modified Julian Day zero. In 1863, American Civil War: Siege of Knoxville began – Confederate forces led by General James Longstreet place Knoxville, Tennessee, under siege. In 1869, In Egypt, the Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, was inaugurated. In 1871, the National Rifle Association was granted a charter by the state of New York. In 1876, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "Slavonic March" was given its premiere performance in Moscow, Russia. In 1878, first assassination attempt against Umberto I of Italy by anarchist Giovanni Passannante, who was armed with a dagger. The King survived with a slight wound in an arm. Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli blocked the aggressor, receiving an injury in a leg. In 1885, Serbo-Bulgarian War: The decisive Battle of Slivnitsabegan. In 1896, the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, which later became the first ice hockey league to openly trade and hire players, began play at Pittsburgh's Schenley Park Casino.
In 1903, the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party split into two groups: the Bolsheviks(Russian for "majority") and Mensheviks (Russian for "minority"). In 1911, Omega Psi PhiFraternity Incorporated, which was the first black Greek-lettered organization founded at an American historically black college or university, was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. In 1922, former Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI went into exile in Italy. In 1933, United States recognised Soviet Union. In 1939, nine Czech students were executed as a response to anti-Nazi demonstrations prompted by the death of Jan Opletal. In addition, all Czech universities were shut down and over 1200 Czech students sent to concentration camps. Since this event, International Students' Day is celebrated in many countries, especially in the Czech Republic. In 1947, the Screen Actors Guild implemented an anti-Communist loyalty oath. Also, American scientists John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain observed the basic principles of the transistor, a key element for the electronicsrevolution of the 20th century.
In 1950, Lhamo Dondrub was officially named the 14th Dalai Lama. In 1953, the remaining human inhabitants of the Blasket Islands, Kerry, Ireland, were evacuated to the mainland. In 1957, Vickers Viscount G-AOHP of British European Airways crashed at Ballerup after the failure of three engines on approach to Copenhagen Airport. The cause was a malfunction of the anti-icing system on the aircraft. In 1962, President John F. Kennedydedicated Washington Dulles International Airport, serving the Washington, D.C., region. In 1967, Vietnam War: Acting on optimistic reports that he had been given on November 13, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson told the nation that, while much remained to be done, "We are inflicting greater losses than we're taking...We are making progress." In 1968, Alexandros Panagoulis was condemned to death for attempting to assassinate Greek dictator Georgios Papadopoulos. Also, British European Airways introduced the BAC One-Eleven into commercial service. Also, viewers of the Raiders–Jets football game in the eastern United States were denied the opportunity to watch its exciting finish when NBCbroadcast Heidi instead, prompting changes to sports broadcasting in the U.S. In 1969, Cold War: Negotiators from the Soviet Union and the United States met in Helsinki, Finland to begin SALT I negotiations aimed at limiting the number of strategic weapons on both sides.
In 1970, Vietnam War: Lieutenant William Calley went on trial for the My Lai Massacre. Also, Luna programme: The Soviet Union landed Lunokhod 1 on Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) on the Moon. This was the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on another world and was released by the orbiting Luna 17 spacecraft. In 1973, Watergate scandal: In Orlando, Florida, U.S. President Richard Nixon told 400 Associated Press managing editors "I am not a crook." Also, the Athens Polytechnic uprising against the military regime ended in bloodshed in the Greek capital. In 1979, Brisbane Suburban Railway Electrification. The first stage from Ferny Grove to Darra was commissioned. In 1982, Duk Koo Kim died from injuries sustained during a 14-round match against Ray Mancini in Las Vegas, prompting reforms in the sport of boxing. In 1983, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation was founded in Mexico. In 1989, Cold War: Velvet Revolution began: In Czechoslovakia, a student demonstration in Prague was quelled by riot police. This sparked an uprising aimed at overthrowing the communist government (it succeeded on December 29).
In 1990, Fugendake, part of the Mount Unzen volcanic complex, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, became active again and erupted. In 1993, United States House of Representativespassed a resolution to establish the North American Free Trade Agreement after greater authority in trade negotiations was granted to President George Bush in 1991. Also, in Nigeria, General Sani Abacha ousted the government of Ernest Shonekan in a military coup. In 1997, in Luxor, Egypt, 62 people were killed by six Islamic militants outside the Temple of Hatshepsut, known as Luxor massacre (The police then killed the assailants). In 2000, a catastrophic landslide in Log pod Mangartom, Slovenia, kills seven, and caused millions of SIT of damage. It is one of the worst catastrophes in Slovenia in the past 100 years. Also, Alberto Fujimori was removed from office as president of Peru. In 2012, at least 50 schoolchildren were killed in an accident at a railway crossing near Manfalut, Egypt. In 2013, fifty people were killed when Tatarstan Airlines Flight 363 crashed at Kazan Airport, Russia. Also, a rare late-season tornado outbreak struck the Midwest. Illinois and Indiana are most affected with tornado reports as far north as lower Michigan. In all around six dozen tornadoes touched down in approximately an 11-hour time period, including seven EF3 and two EF4 tornadoes.
In 1800, the United States Congress held its first session in Washington, D.C. In 1810, Sweden declared war on its ally the United Kingdom to begin the Anglo-Swedish War, although no fighting ever took place. In 1811, José Miguel Carrera, Chilean founding father, was sworn in as President of the executive Junta of the government of Chile. In 1820, Captain Nathaniel Palmer became the first American to see Antarctica. (The Palmer Peninsula is later named after him.) In 1831, Ecuador and Venezuela were separated from Gran Colombia. In 1839, Oberto, Giuseppe Verdi's first opera, opened at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy. In 1855, David Livingstone became the first European to see the Victoria Falls in what is now present-day Zambia-Zimbabwe. In 1856, American Old West: On the Sonoita River in present-day southern Arizona, the United States Army established Fort Buchanan in order to help control new land acquired in the Gadsden Purchase. In 1858, modified Julian Day zero. In 1863, American Civil War: Siege of Knoxville began – Confederate forces led by General James Longstreet place Knoxville, Tennessee, under siege. In 1869, In Egypt, the Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, was inaugurated. In 1871, the National Rifle Association was granted a charter by the state of New York. In 1876, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "Slavonic March" was given its premiere performance in Moscow, Russia. In 1878, first assassination attempt against Umberto I of Italy by anarchist Giovanni Passannante, who was armed with a dagger. The King survived with a slight wound in an arm. Prime Minister Benedetto Cairoli blocked the aggressor, receiving an injury in a leg. In 1885, Serbo-Bulgarian War: The decisive Battle of Slivnitsabegan. In 1896, the Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, which later became the first ice hockey league to openly trade and hire players, began play at Pittsburgh's Schenley Park Casino.
In 1903, the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party split into two groups: the Bolsheviks(Russian for "majority") and Mensheviks (Russian for "minority"). In 1911, Omega Psi PhiFraternity Incorporated, which was the first black Greek-lettered organization founded at an American historically black college or university, was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C. In 1922, former Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI went into exile in Italy. In 1933, United States recognised Soviet Union. In 1939, nine Czech students were executed as a response to anti-Nazi demonstrations prompted by the death of Jan Opletal. In addition, all Czech universities were shut down and over 1200 Czech students sent to concentration camps. Since this event, International Students' Day is celebrated in many countries, especially in the Czech Republic. In 1947, the Screen Actors Guild implemented an anti-Communist loyalty oath. Also, American scientists John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain observed the basic principles of the transistor, a key element for the electronicsrevolution of the 20th century.
In 1950, Lhamo Dondrub was officially named the 14th Dalai Lama. In 1953, the remaining human inhabitants of the Blasket Islands, Kerry, Ireland, were evacuated to the mainland. In 1957, Vickers Viscount G-AOHP of British European Airways crashed at Ballerup after the failure of three engines on approach to Copenhagen Airport. The cause was a malfunction of the anti-icing system on the aircraft. In 1962, President John F. Kennedydedicated Washington Dulles International Airport, serving the Washington, D.C., region. In 1967, Vietnam War: Acting on optimistic reports that he had been given on November 13, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson told the nation that, while much remained to be done, "We are inflicting greater losses than we're taking...We are making progress." In 1968, Alexandros Panagoulis was condemned to death for attempting to assassinate Greek dictator Georgios Papadopoulos. Also, British European Airways introduced the BAC One-Eleven into commercial service. Also, viewers of the Raiders–Jets football game in the eastern United States were denied the opportunity to watch its exciting finish when NBCbroadcast Heidi instead, prompting changes to sports broadcasting in the U.S. In 1969, Cold War: Negotiators from the Soviet Union and the United States met in Helsinki, Finland to begin SALT I negotiations aimed at limiting the number of strategic weapons on both sides.
In 1970, Vietnam War: Lieutenant William Calley went on trial for the My Lai Massacre. Also, Luna programme: The Soviet Union landed Lunokhod 1 on Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) on the Moon. This was the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on another world and was released by the orbiting Luna 17 spacecraft. In 1973, Watergate scandal: In Orlando, Florida, U.S. President Richard Nixon told 400 Associated Press managing editors "I am not a crook." Also, the Athens Polytechnic uprising against the military regime ended in bloodshed in the Greek capital. In 1979, Brisbane Suburban Railway Electrification. The first stage from Ferny Grove to Darra was commissioned. In 1982, Duk Koo Kim died from injuries sustained during a 14-round match against Ray Mancini in Las Vegas, prompting reforms in the sport of boxing. In 1983, the Zapatista Army of National Liberation was founded in Mexico. In 1989, Cold War: Velvet Revolution began: In Czechoslovakia, a student demonstration in Prague was quelled by riot police. This sparked an uprising aimed at overthrowing the communist government (it succeeded on December 29).
In 1990, Fugendake, part of the Mount Unzen volcanic complex, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, became active again and erupted. In 1993, United States House of Representativespassed a resolution to establish the North American Free Trade Agreement after greater authority in trade negotiations was granted to President George Bush in 1991. Also, in Nigeria, General Sani Abacha ousted the government of Ernest Shonekan in a military coup. In 1997, in Luxor, Egypt, 62 people were killed by six Islamic militants outside the Temple of Hatshepsut, known as Luxor massacre (The police then killed the assailants). In 2000, a catastrophic landslide in Log pod Mangartom, Slovenia, kills seven, and caused millions of SIT of damage. It is one of the worst catastrophes in Slovenia in the past 100 years. Also, Alberto Fujimori was removed from office as president of Peru. In 2012, at least 50 schoolchildren were killed in an accident at a railway crossing near Manfalut, Egypt. In 2013, fifty people were killed when Tatarstan Airlines Flight 363 crashed at Kazan Airport, Russia. Also, a rare late-season tornado outbreak struck the Midwest. Illinois and Indiana are most affected with tornado reports as far north as lower Michigan. In all around six dozen tornadoes touched down in approximately an 11-hour time period, including seven EF3 and two EF4 tornadoes.
=== 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
- 9 – Vespasian, Roman emperor (d. 79)
- 1503 – Agnolo di Cosimo, Italian painter (d. 1572)
- 1749 – Nicolas Appert, French chef, inventor of canning (d. 1841)
- 1790 – August Ferdinand Möbius, German mathematician (d. 1868)
- 1896 – Lev Vygotsky, Russian psychologist (d. 1934)
- 1906 – Soichiro Honda, Japanese engineer and businessman, co-founded the Honda Motor Company (d. 1991)
- 1925 – Rock Hudson, American actor (d. 1985)
- 1937 – Peter Cook, English comedian and actor (d. 1995)
- 1938 – Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1940 – Luke Kelly, Irish singer and banjo player (The Dubliners) (d. 1984)
- 1942 – Martin Scorsese, American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
- 1944 – Danny DeVito, American actor, director, and producer
- 1958 – Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, American actress and singer
- 1966 – Jeff Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Gods and Monsters) (d. 1997)
- 1966 – Kate Ceberano, Australian singer-songwriter and actress
- 1966 – Sophie Marceau, French actress
- 1994 – Raquel Castro, American actress and singer
- 1292 – John Balliol was chosen to be King of Scots over Robert de Brus.
- 1839 – Giuseppe Verdi's first opera Oberto, Conte di San Bonifacio, was first performed at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan.
- 1950 – Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama(pictured), was enthroned as Tibet's head of state at the age of fifteen.
- 1993 – General Sani Abacha ousted Ernest Shonekan to become chairman of the Provisional Ruling Council of Nigeria.
- 2009 – Administrators at the Climatic Research Unit at the University of East Anglia discovered that their servers had been hacked and thousands of emails and files on climate change had been stolen.
Deaths
- 344 – Emperor Kang of Jin (b. 322)
- 375 – Valentinian I, Roman emperor (b. 321)
- 474 – Leo II, Byzantine emperor (b. 467)
- 594 – Gregory of Tours, Roman bishop and saint (b. 538)
- 641 – Emperor Jomei of Japan (b. 593)
- 885 – Liutgard of Saxony (b. 845)
- 1104 – Nikephoros Melissenos, Byzantine general (b. 1045)
- 1231 – Elizabeth of Hungary (b. 1207)
- 1326 – Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel, English politician (b. 1285)
- 1492 – Jami, Persian poet and saint (b. 1414)
- 1494 – Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Italian philosopher and author (b. 1463)
- 1558 – Mary I of England (b. 1516)
- 1558 – Reginald Pole, English cardinal (b. 1500)
- 1562 – Antoine of Navarre (b. 1518)
- 1592 – John III of Sweden (b. 1537)
- 1600 – Kuki Yoshitaka, Japanese commander (b. 1542)
- 1632 – Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, Bavarian field marshal (b. 1594)
- 1643 – Jean-Baptiste Budes, Comte de Guébriant, French general (b. 1602)
- 1648 – Thomas Ford, English viol player, composer, and poet (b. 1580)
- 1665 – John Earle, English bishop (b. 1601)
- 1668 – Joseph Alleine, English pastor and author (b. 1634)
- 1690 – Charles de Sainte-Maure, duc de Montausier, French general and politician (b. 1610)
- 1708 – Ludolf Bakhuizen, German-Dutch painter (b. 1631)
- 1713 – Abraham van Riebeeck, South African-Indonesian politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1653)
- 1747 – Alain-René Lesage, French author and playwright (b. 1668)
- 1768 – Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (b. 1693)
- 1776 – James Ferguson, English astronomer (b. 1710)
- 1780 – Bernardo Bellotto, Italian painter and illustrator (b. 1720)
- 1794 – Jacques François Dugommier, French general (b. 1738)
- 1796 – Catherine the Great, Russian wife of Peter III of Russia (b. 1729)
- 1808 – David Zeisberger, Czech-American clergyman and missionary (b. 1721)
- 1917 – Auguste Rodin, French sculptor (b. 1840)
- 1929 – Herman Hollerith, American businessman (b. 1860)
- 1937 – Jack Worrall, Australian footballer, cricketer, and coach (b. 1860)
- 1979 – John Glascock, English singer and bass player (Jethro Tull, The Gods, Toe Fat, Carmen, and Chicken Shack) (b. 1951)
- 1990 – Robert Hofstadter, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
- 2003 – Don Gibson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Mary Nesbitt Wisham, American baseball player (b. 1925)
Tim Blair 2017
LATE TO THE PARTY, AS USUAL
Leftists generally take a while to catch up – but many eventually do, in their charmingly bumbly, stumbly way.
DOOMED TO REPEAT IT
Socialism-besotted millennials helped propel the careers of old-timey leftists Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders, and their remarkable – even wilful – historical ignorance is warping politics in other ways, too.
THEY’RE ABOUT TO BLOW
UPDATED Stress levels are so high at the ABC that a union recently threatened to conduct some sort of bizarre forced-entry rescue mission.
Andrew Bolt 2017
$60 MILLION FOR EACH SOLAR JOB
The Queensland Premier, Annastacia Palasczcuk, was promoting green energy at the Clare Solar Farm. Resources Minister Matt Canavan calculates the astonishing waste: "The Clare Solar Farm stands to get something like $340 million in subsidies over the next 13 years for 5 jobs! That works out at $60 million a job."
SPECTATOR AUSTRALIA OUT NOW
Plenty of fine writing in the latest Spectator Australia, out now.
Tim Blair
ABC EDITED
IF ANYTHING, THEY’RE BECOMING EVEN CRAZIER
THURSDAY NOTICEBOARD
DINNERGATE
Andrew Bolt
Trump-hating Left is what it condemns
Turnbull smeared by gay activists
Er... Anyone got Trump's number?
On Waleed Aly’s explanation of the Paris massacre - and attack on Pauline Hanson
Andrew Bolt November 17 2015 (4:10pm)
I was wondering how Waleed Aly would spin the Paris massacre.
Tonight on The Project, Aly:
No, the one Australian he attacked was Pauline Hanson, a non-Muslim who has warned against the threat of jihadism.
That is disgraceful. That is evasive. That is scapegoating.
Pauline Hanson does not threaten to kill anyone. She does not espouse the creed of those who do.
True, Aly this time did mention Islam, which he refused to do in some past attempts to explain some Islamist terrorist attack.
But he did not give some important context in giving his bizarre take on the Paris atrocity.
First, he is a Muslim and was spokesman for the Islamic Council of Victoria at a time that it had voted to make the extremist Sheik Hilali the Mufti of Australia. He could be seen to have an agenda.
Second, just last year he falsely claimed the Islamic State represented no great threat to us:
I believe Channel 10 must question whether Aly should be the station’s main explainer of Islamist terrorism.
UPDATE
Mind you, I am the bad guy. The media Left on Twitter is loving Aly’s take. Anything that suggests that we can fight the Islamic State with a few hugs and hashtags, plus a big bucket of sand in which to bury our heads, is just what they want to hear.
UPDATE
Chris Kenny:
===Tonight on The Project, Aly:
- suggested it wasn’t actually the work of the Islamic State, even though the Islamic State has taken responsibility and France has retaliated by attacking Islamic State targets in Syria.Worse, though, Aly in his editorial singled out just one Australian by name - and picture - for criticism. No, it wasn’t a Muslim hate preacher like Sheik Wahwah. It wasn’t the evasive Grand Mufti, who today actually used the France terrorism to demand the West treat Muslims better. It wasn’t any of the Muslims who have joined or recruited for the Islamic State or shot or stabbed Australians here. It wasn’t any of the 21 Muslims jailed here for terrorism offences.
- claimed it was some kind of self-motivated “DIY” terrorism, even though the attack was extensive, clearly well-planned and well-supplied, involving at least eight heavily armed terrorists from at least three countries, with one terrorist apparently arriving in Europe as a “Syrian refugee” just last month.
- claimed the Islamic State was actually “weak”, even though this “weak” terrorist outfit has in the past month killed 129 people in France, 224 people in a Russian jet in Egypt and 44 people in bombings in Beirut.
- warned against fighting the Islamic State in Syria on the grounds we’d been falsely told that destroying al Qaeda would “end” terrorism - a claim no leader anywhere actually made, and one that ignores the inability of al Qaeda to repeat its “success” of September 11 since the invasion of Afghanistan.
- gave not one single proposal for actually fighting the Islamic State or reducing the terrorism threat other than a fatuous call to “unite”, even though he is a lecturer at Monash University’s terrorism centre.
No, the one Australian he attacked was Pauline Hanson, a non-Muslim who has warned against the threat of jihadism.
That is disgraceful. That is evasive. That is scapegoating.
Pauline Hanson does not threaten to kill anyone. She does not espouse the creed of those who do.
True, Aly this time did mention Islam, which he refused to do in some past attempts to explain some Islamist terrorist attack.
But he did not give some important context in giving his bizarre take on the Paris atrocity.
First, he is a Muslim and was spokesman for the Islamic Council of Victoria at a time that it had voted to make the extremist Sheik Hilali the Mufti of Australia. He could be seen to have an agenda.
Second, just last year he falsely claimed the Islamic State represented no great threat to us:
What seems to underlie all of this is that ISIS represents a serious threat to Australia. Can you give us an indication of precisely the scope of that threat and the mechanism, can you describe it precise terms? Because it’s not immediately clear when you consider this is a movement on the other side of the world that seems to be importing people rather than exporting them.Since then, an Islamic State supporter staged the deadly Martin Place siege. Another Islamic State supporter stabbed two police in Melbourne. A teenager in contact with the Islamic State shot police accountant Curtis Cheng. The Paris terrorists, linked to the Islamic State, shot an Australian teenager.
I believe Channel 10 must question whether Aly should be the station’s main explainer of Islamist terrorism.
UPDATE
Mind you, I am the bad guy. The media Left on Twitter is loving Aly’s take. Anything that suggests that we can fight the Islamic State with a few hugs and hashtags, plus a big bucket of sand in which to bury our heads, is just what they want to hear.
UPDATE
Chris Kenny:
Aly’s core element of truth is that the terrorists want to foment division. But he echoes their logic by suggesting it is the reaction of the broader community that sows division; that hatred somehow comes from our reaction to terrorism rather than the terror itself.
Blaming the West for the Paris slaughter. UPDATE: And the problem with Christopher Pyne
Andrew Bolt November 17 2015 (4:08pm)
There is a dangerous strand of victimology in the culture of the Muslim Middle East. It is dangerous because it leads many Muslim leaders to blame others for the crimes of Muslim terrorists, and tends to excuse what should be condemned.
And that is why the response of some Muslims representatives to the Paris atrocities sound like a list of demands - or else.
The Grand Mufti of Australia, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, blames Western hostility to Muslims for the Paris slaughter:
But the most obscene example of this victimology:
UPDATE
Malcolm Turnbull is so far silent on the Mufti. And Mike Baird evades his duty:
Treasurer Scott Morrison on 3AW this morning also attacked the Mufti’s statement as “disappointing” and one that had “let down” Australian Muslims.
I suspect Turnbull might now readjust his own appeasement of the Mufti:
Joe Hildebrand:
And the reason they look so often for that reassurance is that they still live in the forlorn hope that they will be shown there is no cause to fear our Muslim minority, as represented by their clerics. The trouble is that whatever Pyne may say to the Q&Acrowd, while the Grand Mufti, for instance, says he deplores the violence he does indeed think that at some level the terrorism is understandable, if not reasonable, and the fault lies with the West. And so we get not the unqualified condemnation of terrorism that might reassure us, but a list of denunciations of the West that warn of more terrorism if we do not (in effect) submit.
Given that, it is not surprising at all that Australians keep asking Muslim leaders to condemn terrorism, because they need to know just how many won’t - so that we can judge the scale of the threat.
On that point, Shakira Hussein, a writer and academic in multiculturalism and Muslim studies, attended a Hizb ut Tahrir meeting on Saturday:
(Thanks to reader Grendel.)
===And that is why the response of some Muslims representatives to the Paris atrocities sound like a list of demands - or else.
The Grand Mufti of Australia, Dr Ibrahim Abu Mohammed, blames Western hostility to Muslims for the Paris slaughter:
These recent incidents highlight the fact that current strategies to deal with the threat of terrorism are not working. It is therefore imperative that all causative factors such as racism, Islamophobia, curtailing freedoms through securitisation, duplicitous foreign policies and military intervention must be comprehensively addressed.On the ABC, Associate Professor Mohamad Abdalla, director of the Griffith University National Centre for Islamic Studies, also shifts blame to the West:
The murder of so many people in Paris and Lebanon over the last few days is, to say the least, outrageous and inhuman… As Muslims need to reconsider the interpretation and contextualisation of some of their texts, Western nations including Australia need to reconsider the double standards of their foreign policies, and involvement in the foreign wars.Diaa Mohamed, the founder of the new Australian Muslim Party:
We need to learn from past mistakes and realise that the destruction of other people’s nations, such as Iraq, at the hands of Western powers leads to injustices, social and political instability, oppression and tyranny. All of which lead people to abandoning some basic human principles for the sake of survival or political and religious opportunism.
He said the killings in Paris were “inexcusable” but drew a direct link between past foreign invasions in the Middle East and the spread of radical Islam, most recently by the Islamic State.In fact, the Islamic State is headquartered in Syria, a country not invaded by the West. Only after years of massacres by the Islamic State, mainly of other Muslims, did the West start a bombing campaign to prevent more.
But the most obscene example of this victimology:
[T]he official Palestinian Authority daily al-Hayat al-Jadida blamed Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency for Friday’s deadly terror attacks in Paris, suggesting they were orchestrated in order to undermine new European moves promoting a two-state solution and providing for the clear labeling of produce from Israeli West Bank settlements…Do people really trust the Palestinian Authority to lead a new Palestinian nation?
“It is not a coincidence that human blood was exploded in Paris at the same time that certain European sanctions are beginning to be implemented against settlement products, and while France leads Europe in advising the [UN] Security Council that will implement the two-state solution, Palestine and Israel — which the Israelis see as a warning of sudden danger coming from the direction of Europe, where the Zionist, occupying, settling endeavor was born…” the piece states. “The wise and correct thing is to look for who benefits,” the op-ed continues. “In short: They need to search the last place reached by the octopus arms of the Mossad… It is clear that its ‘Mossad’ will burn Beirut and Paris in order to achieve [Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu’s goals. He, who challenged the master of the White House, hides in his soul enough evil to burn the world.”
UPDATE
Malcolm Turnbull is so far silent on the Mufti. And Mike Baird evades his duty:
Premier Mike Baird declined to comment on the Mufti’s statement.Not so Immigration Minister Peter Dutton:
The Grand Mufti of Australia needs to take a stronger stance and condemn the extremists who carried out the Paris terrorist attacks, says Immigration Minister Peter Dutton…Actually, Peter, the Mufti’s comments were perfectly clear. He can’t clarify them further. He should resign.
Mr Dutton said the religious leader needs to clarify his comments.
“These acts need to be condemned for what they are - they’ve been condemned by Muslim leaders around the world and they should be condemned here in Australia by the leadership ... as well,” Mr Dutton told 2GB Radio on Tuesday.
Treasurer Scott Morrison on 3AW this morning also attacked the Mufti’s statement as “disappointing” and one that had “let down” Australian Muslims.
I suspect Turnbull might now readjust his own appeasement of the Mufti:
Speaking about the terrorist attacks in Paris, President Barack Obama said that it is time the Muslim community step up and challenge the narrative of extremists claiming to represent their religion.UPDATE
“I do think that Muslims around the world — religious leaders, political leaders, ordinary people — have to ask very serious questions about how did these extremist ideologies take root,” Obama said Monday during a press conference to wrap up the G20 conference in Turkey. “Even if it is only affecting a very small fraction of the population, it is real and it is dangerous and it has built up over time — and with social media it is now accelerating.”
Joe Hildebrand:
In an official written statement, the Grand Mufti of Australia and the National Imams Council sheeted the blame not onto extremism but instead what Western society has done to cause it.But Liberal frontbencher Christopher Pyne doesn’t get it:
“These recent incidents highlight the fact that current strategies to deal with the threat of terrorism are not working,” the statement said. “It is therefore imperative that all causative factors such as racism, Islamophobia, curtailing freedoms through securitisation, duplicitous foreign policies and military intervention must be comprehensively addressed.” Far from condemning the terrorists, it appeared to condemn the nation for not bending to their will.
I’ve never known one of these things [a terrorist attack] to happen where Muslim leaders in Australia didn’t come out and condemn them, but by the very act of demanding they come out you suggest that they didn’t want to, and that is something that we must stop happening in Australia… Whoever is doing that must stop it, because it is pejorative demand. I don’t know any Muslims in my community who would think that the acts in Paris or in Lebanon or anywhere else were reasonable, and their leadership should react exactly the same way as everyone else’s leadership, which is to be horrified and aghast by it.Australians actually look to Muslim leaders to share their horror. It is a plea for reassurance.
And the reason they look so often for that reassurance is that they still live in the forlorn hope that they will be shown there is no cause to fear our Muslim minority, as represented by their clerics. The trouble is that whatever Pyne may say to the Q&Acrowd, while the Grand Mufti, for instance, says he deplores the violence he does indeed think that at some level the terrorism is understandable, if not reasonable, and the fault lies with the West. And so we get not the unqualified condemnation of terrorism that might reassure us, but a list of denunciations of the West that warn of more terrorism if we do not (in effect) submit.
Given that, it is not surprising at all that Australians keep asking Muslim leaders to condemn terrorism, because they need to know just how many won’t - so that we can judge the scale of the threat.
On that point, Shakira Hussein, a writer and academic in multiculturalism and Muslim studies, attended a Hizb ut Tahrir meeting on Saturday:
I did not expect Hizb ut-Tahrir (HT) to join the global wave of condemnations for the Paris attacks at their seminar in Melbourne on Saturday night. After all, Hizb ut-Tahrir media spokesman Wassim Doureihi made headlines for his refusal to condemn IS during a heated argument with Emma Alberici on Lateline last year. The refusal to condemn is an HT hallmark—and one that strikes a chord with the growing number of Muslims who have become fed up with being held responsible for any atrocity committed by any Muslim, anywhere.Does Pyne seriously not understand the need to ask Muslim leaders if they condemn terrorist attacks? Does he seriously not see the importance of knowing some refuse to do so, or only do so by moving on the condemn the West for inviting such retribution?
Saturday’s seminar attracted a large and attentive audience… [S]eakers urged the audience to resist conforming to a storyline in which “radical Muslims” present the primary risk to global peace and security while Western atrocities are ignored or excused. This provided a pretext for the forcible imposition of “liberal values” upon Islam…
Ataman Atlas was introduced as a comedian as well as a lawyer… Atlas described himself as an independent advocate who was working with HT because, unlike other Muslim community organisations, HT has refused to endorse the dominant government and media narratives that serve to oppress Muslims. He reserved his own condemnations for Muslim leaders who were prepared to serve up regular condemnations for crimes committed in the name of Islam:"I condemn this, I condemn that!”
He noted that the Islamic Council of Victoria had immediately condemned the attack in Paris while allowing other atrocities and injustices to pass without comment. Why did the ICV and other Muslim community organisations not put a similar amount of effort into resisting the new anti-terrorism legislation, which, among other measures, would allow children as young as 14 to be subjected to control orders? No condemnation of the Paris attacks from him, then, or from any of the other speakers that evening.
(Thanks to reader Grendel.)
Shorten crashes twice
Andrew Bolt November 17 2015 (3:04pm)
That’s that. Small thing, but symbolic. Add the ISOS poll results - another crash, with 56 to 44 against Labor - and it’s time for Albo to get a go:
===Bill Shorten reportedly smashed into two parked cars while driving through Melbourne’s inner-north on Sunday morning.
The Opposition Leader crashed the silver Mitsubishi Colt, which belonged to his late mother, into the vehicles on Pigdon Street, Carlton North, an opposition spokesman told AAP.
There was minor damage to the parked cars and no injuries reported. There were reports that Mr Shorten had crashed the vehicle after spilling a cup of coffee, although that could not be confirmed.
Why is our government so sure about what the US is not?
Andrew Bolt November 17 2015 (2:55pm)
In the US:
Australia, with a population of 23 million, takes in 12,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees. The US, with a population of 320 million, takes in 10,000.
===FBI Director James Comey on Wednesday told Congress that the federal government cannot conduct thorough checks on all of the coming influx of 10,000 refugees from Syria.In Australia:
Appearing before the House Committee on Homeland Security, Comey said Syrians who aren’t already in the FBI’s database are unknown to the agency, meaning their backgrounds cannot be adequately scoured for a risk of terrorism… ‘So if someone has never made a ripple in the pond in Syria in a way that would get their identity or their interest reflected in our database, we can query our database until the cows come home, but there will be nothing show up because we have no record of them.’
Senior federal ministers have defended Australia’s immigration screening processes as among the toughest in the world as they stare down calls to reject 12,000 Syrian refugees.Apart from the different assessments of the usefulness of screening, note the disparity in the figures.
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said the government would not compromise on security checks and he was confident in the expertise of Australia’s security agencies to “weed out the people that would be seeking to do us harm’’.
Australia, with a population of 23 million, takes in 12,000 Syrian and Iraqi refugees. The US, with a population of 320 million, takes in 10,000.
White House journalists turn on their weak president
Andrew Bolt November 17 2015 (12:32pm)
Years of weak leadership in the battle against Islamist terrorism finally catches up with Barack Obama. From his press conference yesterday:
===Q Thank you, Mr. President. One hundred and twenty-nine people were killed in Paris on Friday night. ISIL claimed responsibility for the massacre, sending the message that they could now target civilians all over the world. The equation has clearly changed. Isn’t it time for your strategy to change?(Thanks to reader Christine.)
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, keep in mind what we have been doing. We have a military strategy that is putting enormous pressure on ISIL through airstrikes… I’ve already authorized additional Special Forces on the ground who are going to be able to improve that coordination… And when we find strategies that work, we will double down on those.
Margaret Brennan, CBS.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. A more than year-long bombing campaign in Iraq and in Syria has failed to contain the ambition and the ability of ISIS to launch attacks in the West. Have you underestimated their abilities? And will you widen the rules of engagement for U.S. forces to take more aggressive action?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: No, we haven’t underestimated our abilities… [W]hen I said that we are containing their spread in Iraq and Syria, in fact, they control less territory than they did last year… We play into the ISIL narrative when we act as if they’re a state, and we use routine military tactics that are designed to fight a state that is attacking another state…
Jim Avila.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. In the days and weeks before the Paris attacks, did you receive warning in your daily intelligence briefing that an attack was imminent? If not, does that not call into question the current assessment that there is no immediate, specific, credible threat to the United States today? And secondly, if I could ask you to address your critics who say that your reluctance to enter another Middle East war, and your preference of diplomacy over using the military makes the United States weaker and emboldens our enemies.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Jim, every day we have threat streams coming through the intelligence transit… There were no specific mentions of this particular attack that would give us a sense of something that we need—that we could provide French authorities, for example, or act on ourselves… I haven’t seen particular strategies that they would suggest that would make a real difference. Now, there are a few exceptions. And as I said, the primary exception is those who would deploy U.S. troops on a large scale to retake territory either in Iraq or now in Syria. ...
Jim Acosta.
Q Thank you very much, Mr. President. I wanted to go back to something that you said to Margaret earlier when you said that you have not underestimated ISIS’s abilities. This is an organization that you once described as a JV [Junior Varsity] team that evolved into a force that has now occupied territory in Iraq and Syria and is now able to use that safe haven to launch attacks in other parts of the world. How is that not underestimating their capabilities? And how is that contained, quite frankly? And I think a lot of Americans have this frustration that they see that the United States has the greatest military in the world, it has the backing of nearly every other country in the world when it comes to taking on ISIS. I guess the question is—and if you’ll forgive the language—is why can’t we take out these bastards?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, Jim, I just spent the last three questions answering that very question, so I don’t know what more you want me to add.... This is not, as I said, a traditional military opponent. We can retake territory. And as long as we leave our troops there, we can hold it, but that does not solve the underlying problem of eliminating the dynamics that are producing these kinds of violent extremist groups…
Ron Allen.
Q Thank you, Mr. President. I think a lot of people around the world and in America are concerned because given the strategy that you’re pursuing—and it’s been more than a year now—ISIS’s capabilities seem to be expanding. Were you aware that they had the capability of pulling off the kind of attack that they did in Paris? Are you concerned? And do you think they have that same capability to strike in the United States?
And do you think that given all you’ve learned about ISIS over the past year or so, and given all the criticism about your underestimating them, do you think you really understand this enemy well enough to defeat them and to protect the homeland?
PRESIDENT OBAMA: All right, so this is another variation on the same question. And I guess—let me try it one last time. We have been fully aware of the potential capabilities of them carrying out a terrorist attack. That’s precisely why we have been mounting a very aggressive strategy to go after them… And it’s going to take some time, but it’s not something that at any stage in this process have we not been aware needs to be done...
Now that Obama channels Abbott again, could the Abbott haters say sorry?
Andrew Bolt November 17 2015 (10:07am)
Tony Abbott in February:
Associate Professor Mohamad Abdalla on the ABC:
UPDATE
Remember the media criticism of Tony Abbott when he promised to stop the boats?
Remember the media criticism of Tony Abbott when he last year raised the terror alert?
Remember the media criticism of Tony Abbott last month when he urged Europe to close its borders to illegal immigrants?
Remember the media criticism of Tony Abbott last month when he suggested the West send combat soldiers into Syria?
To repeat: the difference between a conservative and the Left is often just time.
UPDATE
Europe’s tragedy: too few Abbotts. Too many politicians and journalists in denial, even now.
Charles Moore:
(Thanks to reader Me2.)
===I’ve often heard Western leaders describe Islam as a ‘religion of peace’. I wish more Muslim leaders would say that more often, and mean it.The media Left and its allies went crazy.
Associate Professor Mohamad Abdalla on the ABC:
We were appalled at the PM’s statement… This type of rhetoric is factually wrong, morally problematic and strategically inexplicable. It also reeks of political opportunism.The ABC’s PM:
PETER LLOYD: Mr Abbott used tone and language that’s drawing fire… [Abbott has] already fallen out spectacularly with Australia’s senior most Muslim leader, the grand mufti Ibrahim Abu Mohammed.The Greens’ Adam Bandt:
IBRAHIM ABU MOHAMMED (translated): I personally elected him in the previous election, but believe me I will not repeat this mistake again....I would say [to him] work in any other field but politics.
PETER LLOYD: Mr Abbott’s also been the target of a joint statement from more than 100 Muslim organisations and community groups along with prominent clerics, sheiks and scholars. It says the Prime Minister is demonising Muslims to stabilise what the statement calls ‘a fragile leadership’. And that was before today’s speech.
At times like this we should be uniting, not dividing.The Australian, channelling its new ally Malcolm Turnbull:
Gone would be “the blunt and often divisive language used by his predecessor Tony Abbott”, The Australian reported, clearly briefed by our new Prime Minister or his team. Abbott’s rude talk had just “alienated many in the Islamic community”, and “Mr Turnbull will adopt a new, more inclusive tone”.Former Liberal staffer Paula Matthewson, writing on the ABC about the refreshing change brought by Malcolm Turnbull:
Gone too are the references to those of Muslim faith not doing enough about extremists committing atrocities in the name of Islam… Just weeks after becoming PM, Turnbull reversed the onus imposed by Abbott on the Muslim community, flagging instead that he wanted the Government to work cooperatively with Muslim leaders to combat home-grown extremism…Crikey’s Bernard Keane:
In stark contrast to the blame-laying Abbott, Turnbull emphasised the Muslim community was our “necessary partner” in “combating this type of violent extremism”..
Abbott also used terrorism to attack the Muslim community, saying in February “I’ve often heard Western leaders describe Islam as a ‘religion of peace’. I wish more Muslim leaders would say that more often, and mean it”?—?an astonishing statement given the frequency with which Muslims leaders across Australia have repeatedly criticised IS and specific terrorist incidents, such as the Charlie Hebdo killings.After all these attacks, what will the media - and Turnbull - say now that even Barack Obama, the Left’s Messiah, finally echoes Abbott?:
Speaking about the terrorist attacks in Paris, President Barack Obama said that it is time the Muslim community step up and challenge the narrative of extremists claiming to represent their religion.The difference between a conservative and the Left? Often it’s just time.
“I do think that Muslims around the world — religious leaders, political leaders, ordinary people — have to ask very serious questions about how did these extremist ideologies take root,” Obama said Monday during a press conference to wrap up the G20 conference in Turkey. “Even if it is only affecting a very small fraction of the population, it is real and it is dangerous and it has built up over time — and with social media it is now accelerating.”
UPDATE
Remember the media criticism of Tony Abbott when he promised to stop the boats?
Remember the media criticism of Tony Abbott when he last year raised the terror alert?
Remember the media criticism of Tony Abbott last month when he urged Europe to close its borders to illegal immigrants?
Remember the media criticism of Tony Abbott last month when he suggested the West send combat soldiers into Syria?
To repeat: the difference between a conservative and the Left is often just time.
UPDATE
Europe’s tragedy: too few Abbotts. Too many politicians and journalists in denial, even now.
Charles Moore:
What is much more extraordinary is that a great many modern European leaders and policymakers still do not understand [the threat of Islam] If they did, they would not be expressing “shock” at Friday’s attacks. They would have been expecting them…
This is because of the implacable enmity of Islamism. It is a highly political version of Islam which cleverly mixes the modern blogosphere world of grievance and conspiracy theory with the sanctity of ancient texts ill-understood but passionately invoked. It has some advocates who are not themselves personally violent, but its entire idea is a violent one.
Essentially, Islamism is a doctrine which provides a reason to hate and kill everyone who does not subscribe to it. Start with the people in the front line of your malice – Jews, Christians in the Arab world, the professional soldiers of infidel countries.
Progress to those who transgress your morality – “loose” women who do not cover their faces, homosexuals, people who drink alcohol, people who dance and sing. And then end up with anyone – everyone – who does not submit to the will of Allah, as interpreted by your pop-up theologians…
It would be harder to imagine a clearer foe, yet we still have difficulty making policy in the light of the threat. After seven years in the White House, President Obama still cannot bear so much as to mention its religious aspect. He sees it all as a distressing misunderstanding arising from colonial wrongs and the fact that George Bush was President before him.
The whole of the West led – or rather, not led – by Mr Obama has failed to confront the effect of the civil war in Syria. It has therefore allowed Isil both physical and ideological space… What brings it all home, literally, is immigration… If a million Muslims, thanks to Angela Merkel, are reaching Germany this year, and even if only one per cent of them subscribe to the doctrines of Isil, that still means 10,000 people dedicated to killing their hosts and assailing the society that accommodates them.
(Thanks to reader Me2.)
How can the Immigration Minister not be on Turnbull’s National Security Committee?
Andrew Bolt November 17 2015 (9:20am)
Yet more pressure to restore the conservative Peter Dutton to a National Security Committee now dominated by Turnbull wets and allies:
===Dumped former defence minister Kevin Andrews has challenged Malcolm Turnbull to restore Immigration Minister Peter Dutton to the powerful national security committee of cabinet, in a direct rebuke to the Prime Minister over national security arrangements following the Paris terror attacks.Cory Bernardi added to the pressure on our 2GB/3AW show last night. Listen here.
Mr Andrews is the third conservative MP in two days, following Tasmanian MP Andrew Nikolic and former prime minister Tony Abbott, to question Mr Turnbull’s decision to remove Mr Dutton from the National Security Council, a key defence and foreign affairs decision making body…
Asked if he should be restored to the security council, Mr Dutton praised Mr Nikolic’s long service in the army before becoming an MP but said it was “a matter for the Prime Minister” to decide if he was to be restored to NSC.
“My view is that yes, border protection is absolutely central to our national security, not only stopping people from leaving because if they leave they get more radicalised ... but also very importantly for people who seek to come to our country,” he said.
Enough with the excuses and evasions
Andrew Bolt November 17 2015 (8:46am)
Douglas Murray on the nonsense said in response to the Paris massacre:
UPDATE
Waleed Aly’s spin on the Paris massacre:
Believe me, yelling at Pauline Hanson and calling for “unity” really won’t stop the Islamic State, no matter how passionately Aly insists.
UPDATE
More praise from the media Left for more consoling nonsense:
But MacLeod trumped that inanity with worse:
The number of Australian Muslims serving in the Australian Defence Force: 96
The number of Australian Muslims serving in the Islamic State and other jihadist armies: 120, with another 35 already killed. ASIO has also identified 160 people “actively supporting” the conflict in Syria and Iraq from Australia.
Muslim immigrants are actually more likely to serve in terrorist armies than our own. .
(Thanks to reader Grendel.)
===I thought it might be helpful to list the worst.Read on for more on the Murray list, plus links to his disproofs.
‘This attack has nothing to do with Islam’: obviously not true…
‘Islam means peace’: Very obviously not true. Incidentally the word actually means ‘submission’…
‘This attack was an attack on Islam’: No. It was an attack on the people of Paris who were going to watch a football match or a concert or eating in a restaurant.
‘MuslimsAreNotTerrorists’: Today’s leading hashtag on Twitter. Again, clearly wrong. While nobody thinks all Muslims are terrorists all the terrorists detonating at the moment are Muslims.
‘The vast majority of Muslims condemn actions like this’ / ‘How insulting to expect Muslims to condemn such atrocities’: A poll carried out after the last terrorist attacks in Paris in January found that 27pc of British Muslims felt “some sympathy for the motives behind the Charlie Hebdo attacks” with a further 10pc saying they weren’t sure or wouldn’t say. Sure 68pc agreed that acts of violence against those who publish images of Mohammed can “never be justified”, and that’s a majority. But that 27pc is a problem, no? ‘Don’t you realise that this plays into Isis’s hands’: [The Waleed Aly line last night.] ‘This’ being any analysis of the facts which goes beyond the level of futile emoting and fatuous hashtag-ery. If you identify the ideological component you are ‘playing into the hands of Isis’. If you identify what drives Isis and where their ideology comes from you are ‘feeding the Isis narrative.’ The only solution would appear to be to lie about what is happening. Fortunately most politicians and commentators remain happy to do this…
‘All religions are the problem’: This is the atheist social media coward’s way out. It means that after Isis start executing people in a Paris theatre the British government should close down Anglican state schools. The problem is not with ‘all’ religions. Sure, all religions have had their problems, but responding to the actions of Islamists by saying the religion of the Quakers and Jainists should be scrutinised is just a weasel-y way to avoid the real issue.
UPDATE
Waleed Aly’s spin on the Paris massacre:
‘Why he’s so very wrong, even though the media Left cheers.
Believe me, yelling at Pauline Hanson and calling for “unity” really won’t stop the Islamic State, no matter how passionately Aly insists.
UPDATE
More praise from the media Left for more consoling nonsense:
Professor Andrew MacLeod ... on a thoughtful [ABC Q&A] episode dominated almost entirely by the atrocities in Paris, ... cast a fair eye and a fresh voice across some well-worn territory…Really? The truth is more like the exact opposite, as Graeme Wood demonstrated in What ISIS Really Wants:
On the language we use: “I really don’t like the term moderate Islam. I would prefer to say ‘real Muslims’. There are extremists and real Muslims.”
The reality is that the Islamic State is Islamic. Very Islamic. Yes, it has attracted psychopaths and adventure seekers, drawn largely from the disaffected populations of the Middle East and Europe. But the religion preached by its most ardent followers derives from coherent and even learned interpretations of Islam.But the Q&A audience madly clapped the comforting fantasy it wanted to believe - that Islam is no threat at all.
Virtually every major decision and law promulgated by the Islamic State adheres to what it calls, in its press and pronouncements, and on its billboards, license plates, stationery, and coins, “the Prophetic methodology,” which means following the prophecy and example of Muhammad, in punctilious detail. Muslims can reject the Islamic State; nearly all do. But pretending that it isn’t actually a religious, millenarian group, with theology that must be understood to be combatted, has already led the United States to underestimate it and back foolish schemes to counter it.
But MacLeod trumped that inanity with worse:
We always talk about refugees and asylum seekers as a threat, not an asset ... we are turning our back on these people. I look at these 12,000 asylum seekers not just as asylum seekers and refugees, but in there is the potential members of our security and intelligence forces who will tell us more about Islamic State than we’ve ever known before.More applause. But here are brutal facts which demonstrate that the truth is, again, almost the very opposite what MacLeod says.
The number of Australian Muslims serving in the Australian Defence Force: 96
The number of Australian Muslims serving in the Islamic State and other jihadist armies: 120, with another 35 already killed. ASIO has also identified 160 people “actively supporting” the conflict in Syria and Iraq from Australia.
Muslim immigrants are actually more likely to serve in terrorist armies than our own. .
(Thanks to reader Grendel.)
Tribalising Australia: Muslims vs the others
Andrew Bolt November 17 2015 (8:36am)
Just part of the tribalisation of Australia, now becoming lethally dangerous:
I cannot believe how stupid our media and political classes have been to bring us to this point. Yet it will get worse before it gets better - if ever.
===A political party representing Australian Muslims has been launched, with its sights set on winning a Senate seat at the next election.This party will represent Muslims against the rest and will inevitably trade in grievances, real or imagined. And, of course, it will invite a reaction.
Western Sydney man Diaa Mohamed has unveiled The Australian Muslim Party, and is confident of signing up the 500 members needed to allow it to register for the Senate ballot paper.
I cannot believe how stupid our media and political classes have been to bring us to this point. Yet it will get worse before it gets better - if ever.
Voters are demanding borders close to Middle Eastern immigration
Andrew Bolt November 17 2015 (7:13am)
Learning from France, which now has some 6 million Muslims and an extreme terrorist threat:
The failure of mainstream parties to address the threat has driven voters to conservative and Right-wing parties that will - or promise to,
Reader Mike:
For instance:
The Paris terrorists included a man born in France to Algerian parents, and at least three Muslims born in Belgium.
Farhad Jabar, who killed police accountant Curtis Cheng in Sydney, was the son of Iranian Kurdish refugees.
Numan Haider, who stabbed two police in Melbourne, was the son of Afghan refugees.
Three of the four terrorists who killed 52 people in the London bombings of 2005 were born in Britain of Pakistani parents.
UPDATE
Other words for “hub” are ghetto, enclave and colony:
===Alabama, Michigan, Texas, Arkansas, Indiana and Louisiana governors start refusing Syrian refugees in wake of French terror attacksToo harsh? Then think of the alternative - not just terrorism but the sometimes ugly but entirely predictable reaction of a frightened people:
CROWDS of extreme right-wing protesters have disturbed a solidarity march in France as news breaks that at least one of the terrorists responsible for the slaughters in Paris was a Syrian refugee.In Germany, too, the push-back - and by moderates, too:
A peaceful demonstration taking place in the centre of Lille, northern France, was interrupted by right-wingers appearing to belong to the Front National. The unrest came as Front National leader Marine Le Pen declared French people “are no longer safe” and called for France to take back control of its borders. The protesters, armed with flares and with banners reading: “Throw out Islamists” pushed their way through the peaceful crowd and started chanting “Out the Muslims”.
ANGELA MERKEL is facing open revolt by her own party as senior ministers challenge the German chancellor’s authority in an attempt to force a crackdown on migrants…Why has it taken Western leaders and opinion makers so very, very long to address the threat?
Key ministers have joined a majority of government MPs in public rebellion against the chancellor’s open-arms policy towards refugees… Wolfgang Schäuble, the finance minster and CDU eminence grise, last week joined Thomas de Maizière, the interior minister, to push the party to pledge to reduce the migrant influx — against their leader’s wishes.
De Maizière, once one of Merkel’s most trusted lieutenants, was initially reprimanded by her aides when he demanded that Syrian refuges be banned from bringing in their families.
But after Merkel rejected his demands, Schäuble, 73, weighed in to support the proposals, saying Germany’s capacity to absorb refugees was “not unlimited”. In doing so, he directly contradicted Merkel’s earlier promise that there would be no “upper limit” to the number of people with the right to seek asylum in Germany.
The CDU leadership council then backed the curb on the rights of Syrian refugees to be reunited with their family… Since the chancellor allowed thousands to enter Germany without checks and visited refugee camps to welcome newcomers in August and September, the numbers arriving have risen, with the annual figure expected to exceed 1m by the end of the year.
The interior minister of France has called for the dissolution of “mosques where hate is preached” following a string of attacks that left at least 129 people dead across Paris. Bernard Cazeneuve made the comments during an interview on French television…All so tragically late. Yet again, the urge to seem good has trumped the need to achieve it. Fine sentiments have counted for more than saving lives and preserving not just our safety but our culture.
Around 7.5 percent of the country’s inhabitants are Muslim, but some 60 percent of prisoners are, according to a 2014 report. France has also deported 40 imams—Islamic spiritual leaders—since 2012 for “preaching hatred.” Nearly a quarter of those deportations happened in the first six months of this year.
The failure of mainstream parties to address the threat has driven voters to conservative and Right-wing parties that will - or promise to,
Reader Mike:
The following is the dramatic (if not) unsurprising shift toward right wing/nationalist/anti-immigration parties across the EU (which we judge from previous national election to latest polling). Stats are collected by http://www.electograph.comHere we are told our security agencies will carefully screen immigrants:
The chart below should explain it more clearly. Note in France this poll was taken on Nov 4th, ahead of the Paris attack. Marie Le Pen the likely candidate for President according to polls:
Immigration Minister Peter Dutton said that in the wake of the Paris atrocity the government would slow up the processing of the 12,000 Syrians who will come to Australia.But no screening is possible of the children - including those yet unborn - of those we take in. The harsh fact is that it’s the children who are often recruits of jihadists.
“I was in Jordan only the week before last and there is a lot of talk there about false documents and false passports and we need to make sure that we know who is coming to our country,’’ he said.
“We take biometric testing and we’ve said that we want as a priority women and children in that program.”
For instance:
The Paris terrorists included a man born in France to Algerian parents, and at least three Muslims born in Belgium.
Farhad Jabar, who killed police accountant Curtis Cheng in Sydney, was the son of Iranian Kurdish refugees.
Numan Haider, who stabbed two police in Melbourne, was the son of Afghan refugees.
Three of the four terrorists who killed 52 people in the London bombings of 2005 were born in Britain of Pakistani parents.
UPDATE
Other words for “hub” are ghetto, enclave and colony:
THERE are calls for Callan Park at Rozelle to be turned into a refugee hub to assist the flow of Syrians being settled in Australia in the wake of the war with Islamic State.
Leichhardt Labor councillor Simon Emsley will propose the move at a council meeting next week saying temporary accommodation in existing buildings could be arranged in a matter of months.
Talking real tax reform
Andrew Bolt November 17 2015 (5:29am)
===WADDLE SQUAD
Tim Blair – Monday, November 17, 2014 (1:42pm)
They’ll have fun, fun, fun ‘til jihadis take their t-bones away:
Four Sydney brothers who are believed to have joined Islamic State jihadists in Syria are “simple boys” who were so disorganised they missed their original flight out of Australia and had to rebook tickets for the following day, according to their family.The two oldest brothers are also obese, tipping the scales at more than 140 kilograms each, according to family friend and Muslim community leader Dr Jamal Rifi …“The mother, she’s questioning why would they go there? Two of them barely can walk, they’re very unfit, and obese.”
To paraphrase a great line: “Fat, Islamic and stupid is no way to go through life, son.”
EDEN THE ENFORCER
Tim Blair – Monday, November 17, 2014 (4:03am)
Who decides Sydney’s cultural trends? Is it bar bosses like Justin Hemmes and Fraser Short? Maybe the likes of Lara Bingle and Jennifer Hawkins lead the way, or those ridiculous apex hipsters from Newtown.
In fact, none of the above. The individual who determines what’s happening in our city is Eden Caceda, a second-year arts student at Sydney University.
Continue reading 'EDEN THE ENFORCER'
BEWARE THE WITLESS
Tim Blair – Monday, November 17, 2014 (3:12am)
Following his entertaining review of Peter Rankin’s Joan Littlewood biography – British theatre identity Littlewood was evidently something of a monster – Roger Lewis observes:
The most dangerous people are always those with no sense of humour. Without exception they are nasty, aggressive and stupid. Not geniuses by any stretch of the imagination. Not many laughs in the Kremlin.
Not many laughs lately from our modern behaviour enforcers, either. Do they ever laugh?
GOING BOLDLY WHERE NO SHIRT HAS GONE BEFORE
Tim Blair – Monday, November 17, 2014 (2:32am)
Fairfax’s lazy Ladypages examine the sexist scientist shirt scandal:
A female tech writer has received abuse and death threats on Twitter after criticising the sexist shirt worn by a scientist involved in this week’s Philae comet landing.Matt Taylor – a scientist from the European Space Agency’s Rosetta Project, which successfully landed a space probe on the comet 67P on Wednesday morning, following a decade-long mission – drew online criticism after he was interviewed wearing a shirt with naked women on it.
Aside from the women not being naked and the absence of death threats (none are shown by the Ladypages) this might almost be accurate.
Continue reading 'GOING BOLDLY WHERE NO SHIRT HAS GONE BEFORE'
OBAMA? YO MAMA!
Tim Blair – Monday, November 17, 2014 (2:22am)
Fairfax’s Laura Tingle was one of many who delighted at what they saw as the US president’s G20 slam on Tony Abbott:
Barack Obama has delivered a rather humiliating exercise in power politics over the weekend: showing how leadership and power lies in setting and controlling an agenda …
Well, he certainly showed how leadership and power lies. Tingle continued:
Whatever the G20 communique says about climate change, everyone will know our prime minister – rather than leading and shaping the debate – was dragged kicking and screaming to it.
That’s not quite how things worked out. Yesterday Abbott dragged climate alarmism into the street, gave it a solid kicking, and ignored the screams of Obama and other cash-craving carbon crybabies:
Tony Abbott has foiled Barack Obama’s attempt to hijack the G20 with climate change, refusing to put a cent into the US President’s push for a $10 billion global green climate fund.And as chair of the G20, he succeeded in ensuring global economic growth and job creation was at the top of the final declaration yesterday, delivering a blow to Mr Obama’s attempts to elevate climate change to a first order issue of the world leader’s meeting.In one of the rare instances of an Australian leader standing up to a US President on a major policy issue, Mr Abbott refused to allow the final communiqué to include a binding requirement that all G20 nations commit to the Green Climate Fund announced by Mr Obama on Saturday at University of Queensland.
An Australian Prime Minister has opposed the US. Lefties should be ecstatic.
GET YOUR LOCKS OFF
Tim Blair – Monday, November 17, 2014 (1:55am)
A look at the long-distance lockist community:
Anti-mining extremists are wasting police time and putting communities at risk during a wave of “lock-on” protests.
Activists at exploration sites in NSW are using reinforced locks with thick metal covers to secure themselves to barricades and equipment.The locks are modified in order to extend the amount of time police need to detach the activists. One activist group recently bragged online that it took police more than four hours to cut a protester loose from a site in Gloucester …
Continue reading 'GET YOUR LOCKS OFF'
OBAMAMATH
Tim Blair – Monday, November 17, 2014 (1:29am)
From the ABC’s list of holy Barack Obama quotes:
The President is wrong. According to this table, in 2012 Australia produced 430,000,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. In the same year, the US produced twelve times that amount: 5,190,000,000 tonnes.
The President is wrong. According to this table, in 2012 Australia produced 430,000,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide. In the same year, the US produced twelve times that amount: 5,190,000,000 tonnes.
(Via J.F. Beck)
UPDATE: Numbers corrected. See comments.
DOOR TO DOOR BORES
Tim Blair – Monday, November 17, 2014 (1:21am)
An excellent idea:
One of California’s largest newspapers has asked reporters and other employees to help deliver papers on Sundays, according to a memo obtained by Reuters, the latest sign of the toll that financial woes are taking on print journalism.
This could catch on in Australia, where certain titles need to make all the savings they can. It shouldn’t take Agejournalists long to cover the two or three Melbourne suburbs where they still have subscribers. But why stop at deliveries? Imagine some of Fairfax’s finest roving door to door trying to sell subscriptions, particularly in areas that have long abandoned Fairfax publications: “Hello, sir, my name is Elizabeth Farrelly and I’m … wait a minute. Is that a delivery truck in your driveway?”
BATSMAN vs CHATSMEN
Tim Blair – Monday, November 17, 2014 (12:36am)
The top ten ways in which Michael Clarke’s hamstring injury is more significant than the G20 summit:
Continue reading 'BATSMAN vs CHATSMEN'Are our journalists the world’s most warming-obsessed?
Andrew Bolt November 17 2014 (2:41pm)
Tony Abbott’s press conference yesterday:
===Questions from non-Australian journalists: 4British Prime Minister David Cameron’s press conference yesterday:
Questions from non-Australian journalists about global warming: 0
Questions from Australian journalists: 10
Questions from Australian journalists about global warming: 4
Questions from non-Australian journalists: 9
Questions from non-Australian journalists about global warming: 1
Questions from Australian journalists: 1
Questions from Australian journalists about global warming: 1
Let’s get down to business
Andrew Bolt November 17 2014 (1:35pm)
Far more important than global warming is this deal landed by Tony Abbott:
Chinese president Xi Jinping addresses our Parliament. He talks of business. He assures us that while some worry about China - the “big guy” in the room - its history shows it values peace. He says its first aim is to increase the wealth of the people. He does not once mention global warming.
In fact, the only one to mention his “deal” with Barack Obama - a non-binding agreement which allows China to keep increasing emissions for another 16 years- is Bill Shorten in his welcoming remarks, trying to make a domestic political point.
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
===TONY Abbott has won a dramatic increase in market access for Australian farmers, services and manufacturers in a trade deal worth at least $18 billion over a decade that maintains full scrutiny of investments by Chinese state-owned enterprises…Phil Coorey:
Under the deal, 85 per cent of all Australian exports will enter China tariff-free. This is expected to rise to 93 per cent within four years and 95 per cent when the deal is fully in force in more than a decade… The deal will ease the concerns of some coalminers; the newly imposed 3 per cent tariff on coking coal exports worth $6bn will be abolished as soon as the agreement takes effect. But surprisingly, the 6 per cent tariff on thermal and other coal will be phased out over two years instead of immediately...
Under the deal, financial services providers will have access to China second only to that of providers in Hong Kong and Macau, both special regions of China.UPDATE
Access will be provided to such sectors as banking, securities, futures and insurance. It is understood Australian insurers will have access to China’s lucrative third-party motor vehicle insurance scheme, fund managers will be able to manage Chinese investments, and Australian superannuation funds will be able to invest in the Chinese market. Tourism and health providers, for example, will be able to build and operate hospitals, hotels and other facilities in China.
Chinese president Xi Jinping addresses our Parliament. He talks of business. He assures us that while some worry about China - the “big guy” in the room - its history shows it values peace. He says its first aim is to increase the wealth of the people. He does not once mention global warming.
In fact, the only one to mention his “deal” with Barack Obama - a non-binding agreement which allows China to keep increasing emissions for another 16 years- is Bill Shorten in his welcoming remarks, trying to make a domestic political point.
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
Greens get the independent foreign policy they called for
Andrew Bolt November 17 2014 (10:32am)
Greens leader Christine Milne: in September:
The Greens must be, er, pleased.
UPDATE
Laura Tingle might have to rewrite her weekend gloat to reverse the roles:
Memo to Abbott Government ministers: listen to how Environment Minister Greg Hunt called out the ABC’s Fran Kelly for verballing and hyperboling in her typical global warming enthusiasm. The ABC’s bias must be challenged at every turn. It is out of control.
But with the Hunt interview over, Kelly then gets on two fellow journalists - Mark Kenny and Michelle Grattan - to agree with her that Obama is a climate hero, Abbott is a zero and climate change a menace.
The ABC’s balance?
UPDATE
Reader The Village Idiot (Reformed) confirms that the G20 communique gave Barack Obama virtually nothing - and the Fairfax media (and Channel 9 yesterday) were spinning wildly inclaiming Obama put global warming on the agenda against Tony Abbott’s wishes:
===Greens leader Christine Milne has condemned the government’s decision to follow the US ...Prime Minister Tony Abbott delivers:
“It’s time Australians recognised we need to have our own independent foreign policy,” she said.
TONY Abbott has foiled Barack Obama’s attempt to hijack the G20 with climate change, refusing to put a cent into the US President’s push for a $10 billion global green climate fund.Abbott’s defiance is important. It saves taxpayers money, prevents waste and helps the poor and unemployed.
And as chair of the G20, he succeeded in ensuring global economic growth and job creation was at the top of the final declaration yesterday, delivering a blow to Mr Obama’s attempts to elevate climate change to a first order issue of the world leader’s meeting.
In one of the rare instances of an Australian leader standing up to a US President on a major policy issue, Mr Abbott refused to allow the final communiqué to include a binding requirement that all G20 nations commit to the Green Climate Fund announced by Mr Obama on Saturday at University of Queensland. Several Australian officials, however, said privately that it had been “discourteous” of the US President to grandstand on the issue as a guest in Australia — this year’s host of the G20.
The Greens must be, er, pleased.
UPDATE
Laura Tingle might have to rewrite her weekend gloat to reverse the roles:
Barack Obama has delivered a rather humiliating exercise in power politics over the weekend: showing how leadership and power lies in setting and controlling an agenda …UPDATE
Memo to Abbott Government ministers: listen to how Environment Minister Greg Hunt called out the ABC’s Fran Kelly for verballing and hyperboling in her typical global warming enthusiasm. The ABC’s bias must be challenged at every turn. It is out of control.
But with the Hunt interview over, Kelly then gets on two fellow journalists - Mark Kenny and Michelle Grattan - to agree with her that Obama is a climate hero, Abbott is a zero and climate change a menace.
The ABC’s balance?
UPDATE
Reader The Village Idiot (Reformed) confirms that the G20 communique gave Barack Obama virtually nothing - and the Fairfax media (and Channel 9 yesterday) were spinning wildly inclaiming Obama put global warming on the agenda against Tony Abbott’s wishes:
The Sydney Morning Herald ... led with this quote from the Brisbane communique:Contrast these facts with the Sydney Morning Herald’s tale of Obama triumphing over Abbott’s defence of coal:
The final communique calls on G20 members to “rationalise and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”.In fact, the communique said:
“ We reaffirm our commitment to rationalise and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, recognising the need to support the poor.So in fact the G20 only wants wasteful consumption stopped, and it should not affect our Aborigines, single mums, our aged or our infirmed.
The 2013 St. Petersburg communique read as follows:
“94. We reaffirm our commitment to rationalise and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption over the medium term while being conscious of necessity to provide targeted support for the poorest.Sounds like a cut and paste by the Brisbane delegates that any Macquarie University Arts undergraduate would be proud to submit in an assignment.
The 2012 Los Cabos, Mexico communique states:
“74. We welcome the progress report on fossil fuel subsidies, and we reaffirm our commitment to rationalize and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsides that encourage wasteful consumption over the medium term while providing targeted support for the poorest”The 2011 Cannes communique:
“57. We reaffirm our commitment to rationalise and phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, while providing targeted support for the poorest.”The 2010 Seoul communique:
“58. We reaffirm our commitment to rationalize and phase out over the medium term inefficient fossil fuel subsidies that encourage wasteful consumption, with timing on national circumstances, while providing targeted support for the poorest.”
Mr Obama is understood to have spoken forcefully against Mr Abbott’s position on fossil fuel subsidies. The final communique calls on G20 members to “rationalise and phase out inefficient fossil fuel subsidies”.
Robyn Dixon and Peter Hartcher swap quotes to prove the world agrees Australia is stupid
Andrew Bolt November 17 2014 (9:50am)
Here’s how this game works: the media Left in one country quotes the media Left in another to persuade its readers that the whole world thinks Left.
But has anyone played this game as comically as Robyn Dixon of the Los Angeles Times and Peter Hartcher of the Sydney Morning Herald?
To LA Times readers, Dixon quotes Fairfax’s Hatcher, a Leftist long known as Kevin Rudd’s postbox:
UPDATE
Former Fairfax writer Robyn Dixon, now with the equally Leftist Los Angeles Times, sprays her American readers with her contempt for Australia, hatred of Tony Abbott and zeal for global warmism. Naturally The Age is delighted to publish her rant as the view from the US:
If the LA Times readers were stupid enough to believe Dixon they’d think Australians were aching to spend more on global warming policies, and that our relations with Indonesia were broken - rather than better than they ever were under Rudd or Gillard:
===But has anyone played this game as comically as Robyn Dixon of the Los Angeles Times and Peter Hartcher of the Sydney Morning Herald?
To LA Times readers, Dixon quotes Fairfax’s Hatcher, a Leftist long known as Kevin Rudd’s postbox:
Hartcher believes that Australian politicians have lately squandered opportunities to strengthen the country’s global position at the time of a major global power shift.To Fairfax readers, Hartcher in turn quotes Dixon, portraying this Australian and former Fairfax journalist as in fact the voice of the US:
But [Abbott’s G20] achievement was almost buried under a towering international indignation at Abbott’s suspected climate change denialism.Robyn Dixon, a Leftist from Melbourne, is the measure of “towering international indignation” against Abbott? Seriously, Peter?
“He throws in a boast that his government repealed the country’s carbon tax, standing out among Western nations as the one willing to reverse progress on climate change,” commented a Los Angeles Times journalist, Robyn Dixon, “just days after the United States and China reached a landmark climate change deal.” Australia, she wrote before the summit’s end, looked like an “adolescent country”.
UPDATE
Former Fairfax writer Robyn Dixon, now with the equally Leftist Los Angeles Times, sprays her American readers with her contempt for Australia, hatred of Tony Abbott and zeal for global warmism. Naturally The Age is delighted to publish her rant as the view from the US:
The adolescent country. The bit player. The shrimp of the schoolyard.Really?
For Australians it’s not so bad - most of the time - to be so far away, so overlooked, so seemingly insignificant as to almost never factor in major international news. The lifestyle makes up for it.
But occasionally, there’s an awkward, pimply youth moment so embarrassing that it does sting. Like when 19 of the world’s most important leaders visit for a global summit and Prime Minister Tony Abbott opens their retreat on Saturday with a whinge about his doomed efforts to get his fellow Australians to pay $7 to see a doctor.
And then he throws in a boast that his government repealed the country’s carbon tax, standing out among Western nations as the one willing to reverse progress on climate change - just days after the United States and China reached a landmark climate change deal. The Group of 20 summit could have been Australia’s moment, signalling its arrival as a global player, some here argued. But in all, the summit had Australians cringing more than cheering.
If the LA Times readers were stupid enough to believe Dixon they’d think Australians were aching to spend more on global warming policies, and that our relations with Indonesia were broken - rather than better than they ever were under Rudd or Gillard:
[Abbott] offended the world’s most populous Muslim country and one of Australia’s closest and most important neighbours, Indonesia, over his handling of his policy to turn back boats...They’d think Abbott was turning his back on the world, rather than helping to lead it in confronting Russia, signing three free trade deals with major partners, chairing a successful G20 meeting to promote economic development:
Hartcher believes that Australian politicians have lately squandered opportunities to strengthen the country’s global position at the time of a major global power shift.They’d think Abbott was at war with China, rather than so engaged that he will today announce an historic free trade deal with China and give the Chinese president the honor of addressing the Australian parliament:
Since his election last year, Abbott has also taken a tough line with China, his country’s biggest trading partner.They’d think that Abbott’s G20 meeting had been dominated by Obama’s global warming evangelism, when - as another Fairfax writer sadly concedes - Obama’s agenda was confined to a passing and perfunctory mention in the communique:
In the lead-up to the G20 summit, the conservative Abbott insisted climate change would not be on the agenda, only to be wrong-footed by the US-China climate change deal and President Barack Obama’s pledge to contribute $3 billion to a fund to help developing countries deal with the effects of global warming.And Dixon’s LA Times readers would think Australians regarded Gough Whitlam as the great leader, rather than as one of our worst:
For some, the G20 moment stung all the more after a memorial service this month for a reformist Australian, former Labor Party prime minister Gough Whitlam, who died in October at 98. It was a day of stirring speeches, with nostalgia for a time when leaders had sweeping ideas of the country’s identity, vision and place in the world and weren’t afraid to spell them out in grand, compelling speeches.Ah, yes, the Left’s obsession with grand speeches and contempt for gritty achievements. And, of course, for facts.
Liberals don’t trust the ABC with election debates. The new national broadcaster is Sky News
Andrew Bolt November 17 2014 (9:24am)
The ABC is upset that yet again it won’t hold an election debate - this one between the Victorian Premier and Opposition Leader.
It was also shunned for the leader debates in the past couple of federal elections and the past NSW and South Australian elections, each time losing out to Sky News. The 2012 leaders debate in the Queensland election was hosted by the Courier Mail.
The ABC should realise what this means: its bias is so clear and toxic that almost no Liberal or LNP leader trusts the ABC to be fair when it counts most.
ABC presenter Jon Faine was complaining this morning about Sky News edging out the ABC again in Victoria.
His own interview with Police and Emergency Services Minister Kim Wells just minutes earlier should have told him why the Liberals are entitled to think the ABC unworthy. He recycled the spin of the far-Left Firefighters Union to badger Wells about a complete pre-election furphy - that the Liberal Government had allegedly slashed the CFA, and that this volunteer body might be more efficient if given to the (heavily unionised) Metropolitan Fire Brigade instead.
===It was also shunned for the leader debates in the past couple of federal elections and the past NSW and South Australian elections, each time losing out to Sky News. The 2012 leaders debate in the Queensland election was hosted by the Courier Mail.
The ABC should realise what this means: its bias is so clear and toxic that almost no Liberal or LNP leader trusts the ABC to be fair when it counts most.
ABC presenter Jon Faine was complaining this morning about Sky News edging out the ABC again in Victoria.
His own interview with Police and Emergency Services Minister Kim Wells just minutes earlier should have told him why the Liberals are entitled to think the ABC unworthy. He recycled the spin of the far-Left Firefighters Union to badger Wells about a complete pre-election furphy - that the Liberal Government had allegedly slashed the CFA, and that this volunteer body might be more efficient if given to the (heavily unionised) Metropolitan Fire Brigade instead.
Russia’s MH17 lie exposed
Andrew Bolt November 17 2014 (9:05am)
As Russian president Vladimir Putin jetted into Brisbane for the G20 meeting, Russian state television broadcast fake pictures to take the pressure off him over Russian involvement in the shooting down of MH17.
As Australian outlets helpfully reported:
I asked Foreign Minister Julie Bishop about this yesterday:
===As Australian outlets helpfully reported:
Russian state television has broadcast what it says are satellite images of a MiG-29 fighter jet flying near the Malaysia Airlines jet that was shot down over eastern Ukraine in July.Bellingcat exposes the fraud:
The report on Saturday quoted Ivan Andrijewski, vice president of the Russian union of engineers, as saying the images presumably came from a British or a US spy satellite.
Overlaying the image with known data points about the MH17 flight path and debris gives the following results, showing the aircraft in the picture off the reported course....It is clear that the satellite map imagery is created from a composite of different satellite map imagery…More evidence, pictures and links at the Bellingcat site.
Looking at the plane that is supposedly flight MH17, the appearance of the aircraft does not match the real 9M-MRD: the Malaysian airlines logo is in the wrong place, with the Malaysia Airlines logo beginning above the wing in reference images for MH17, while the satellite map imagery shows the logo beginning just in front of the wing.
I asked Foreign Minister Julie Bishop about this yesterday:
There are citizen journalists who take the time to assess these things very closely, and it would seem that the picture of the jet was something just downloaded from Google. It wasn’t MH17, and they’ve done a comparison with the markings on the plane and the markings on this photograph and they don’t match up. So, if that is another attempt by Russia to blame Ukraine for what is clearly, in our mind, from the evidence that we’ve seen, a matter involving Russia, then it’s a pretty sad state of affairs.
The five reasons Obama’s climate “breakthrough” is a con
Andrew Bolt November 17 2014 (8:44am)
ALMOST everything you’re told about Barack Obama’s “breakthrough” deal with China on global warming is a con.
But, God, listen to the spin.
President Obama told ecstatic students in Brisbane on Saturday that last week’s deal to limit carbon dioxide emissions would help save our Great Barrier Reef and “I want that there 50 years from now”.
Greens leader Christine Milne insisted it showed the Prime Minister Tony Abbott “is completely out of step with the rest of the world”.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said it recognised “human activity is already changing the world’s climate system”, and “we most certainly need to address climate change as the presidents of China and the United States have done”.
Red China was going green, agreed the warmist ABC, since “the most concrete target is to have 20 per cent of China’s energy produced from renewable sources by 2030”.
Hear all that?
Every claim is actually false, fake or overblown, as so often with the global warming scare.
Here are the five biggest falsehoods told about this “breakthrough”.
(Read full article here.)
===But, God, listen to the spin.
President Obama told ecstatic students in Brisbane on Saturday that last week’s deal to limit carbon dioxide emissions would help save our Great Barrier Reef and “I want that there 50 years from now”.
Greens leader Christine Milne insisted it showed the Prime Minister Tony Abbott “is completely out of step with the rest of the world”.
Opposition Leader Bill Shorten said it recognised “human activity is already changing the world’s climate system”, and “we most certainly need to address climate change as the presidents of China and the United States have done”.
Red China was going green, agreed the warmist ABC, since “the most concrete target is to have 20 per cent of China’s energy produced from renewable sources by 2030”.
Hear all that?
Every claim is actually false, fake or overblown, as so often with the global warming scare.
Here are the five biggest falsehoods told about this “breakthrough”.
(Read full article here.)
Obama’s climate posturing weakens the US, helps China and betrays Australia
Andrew Bolt November 17 2014 (8:34am)
Barack Obama on his visit here was crass, graceless, bombastic and deliberately rude.
His global warming speech in Brisbane was a deliberate, hyperbolic and inappropriate attack on the Abbott Government. His attempt to hijack the G20 agenda was mere posturing on an issue which he was too cowardly to raise in his own election debates. And his clowning around at the staged handshake with Abbott and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was clearly meant to show disrespect to his host.
Obama always was a windbag and a disastrously weak and ineffectual President. But now that his power is ebbing after the Republican landslide in the mid-term elections he’s become a particularly vindictive one.
Greg Sheridan on Barack Obama’s treachery - which I suspect won’t actually do Tony Abbott much harm as long as the government makes clear it defied and defeated Obama’s empty grandstanding:
Maurice Newman agrees Obama’s deal is a fraud - as well as a threat to the US:
But on Labor leader Bill Shorten, Kelly is surely correct:
Nine Graphs That Prove Using Fossil Fuels Hasn’t Harmed The Planet
(Thanks to reader fulchrum.)
===His global warming speech in Brisbane was a deliberate, hyperbolic and inappropriate attack on the Abbott Government. His attempt to hijack the G20 agenda was mere posturing on an issue which he was too cowardly to raise in his own election debates. And his clowning around at the staged handshake with Abbott and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was clearly meant to show disrespect to his host.
Obama always was a windbag and a disastrously weak and ineffectual President. But now that his power is ebbing after the Republican landslide in the mid-term elections he’s become a particularly vindictive one.
Greg Sheridan on Barack Obama’s treachery - which I suspect won’t actually do Tony Abbott much harm as long as the government makes clear it defied and defeated Obama’s empty grandstanding:
BARACK Obama blindsided the Abbott government in Brisbane, pretty viciously. Through his remarks on climate change, he has damaged the government politically.It is a feature of global warmists to lack all moderation and sense of proportion. But the faith always did appeal to the inner totalitarian.
It’s a strange way to treat a friend but it is all of a piece, sadly, with Obama’s presidential style…
The damage may not be long-lasting because the US President’s remarks bore little relation to anything he can deliver or will do. Instead, they reprise the most ineffably capricious and inconsequential moments in the Obama presidency: grand gestures, soaring visions, which never actually get implemented in the real world.
Obama went out of his way to imply, in the most politically damaging fashion he could, that Australia’s efforts on climate change were negligible and compared poorly with America’s. In fact, Australia’s efforts on greenhouse gas reduction are almost identical with those of the US. As some American journalists observed, it is not a speech Obama would have given at home, where his authority is gone and nobody buys the moonshine any more…
In reality, the US is in no position to lecture Australia on climate change. In the period covered by the first Kyoto agreement, for example, the US committed, amid great fanfare, to a 7 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. It recorded a 9 per cent increase....
On current commitments, if 1990 is the base year, then by 2020 Australia will have cut its emissions 4 per cent, if it meets its targets, and the US by 5 per cent, if it meets its targets. On the same figures, if you take 2005 as the base year, Australia will have cut its emissions 12 per cent and the US 17 per cent....
Obama’s new targets for the US do represent an increase, but he won’t be in office to implement these targets and congress is likely to oppose the regulatory measures required for them. They are in every sense hypothetical. ... Nor did Obama in his speech point out that under this deal China is not committed to doing anything at all before 2030 and that its emissions will keep rising until then. But by using motifs which have figured in the domestic Australian debate, such as the fate of the Great Barrier Reef, Obama’s speechwriters determined to hurt the Abbott government.
Maurice Newman agrees Obama’s deal is a fraud - as well as a threat to the US:
While Obama may have noble intent, his latest climate “deal” with China reveals faulty judgment and dangerous naivety. As The Wall Street Journal editorialised on Thursday, “The Chinese ... must have been delighted to see a US President agree to make America less economically competitive in return for rhetorical bows to doing something some day about climate change."…Paul Kelly, a luke warmist, says Obama has put pressure on Tony Abbott to lift his targets for cuts to emissions - although I’d say it puts pressure on Tony Abbott to challenge the warmist dogma.
[China] ... has signed a meaningless agreement to the rapturous acclaim of the world’s climate cheerleaders… It has potentially inflicted harm and slower growth on the US economy and ensured renewed hostilities between the Obama administration and the new majority Republican lawmakers, when the American people had hoped that political gridlock was behind them. Agreement or no agreement, for China it will be business as usual. But for the US it will mean working out how to cut its emissions by 26 per cent below 2005 levels without slashing coal-fired electricity output by 75 per cent by 2025. Senator James Inhofe, who is likely to chair the Senate’s Environment and Public Works Committee, has called the deal “a non-binding charade..”
But on Labor leader Bill Shorten, Kelly is surely correct:
Shorten mocks Abbott as stubborn, an isolationist and an ideologue. Yet Shorten has the same target as Abbott — a 5 per cent emission reduction target by 2020....UPDATE
Labor, as Shorten signalled yesterday, must increase its target. He said Abbott “needs to do more”, yet that comment applies equally to Labor. Shorten affirmed that Labor’s “fallback’’ position was still operative: to go to a 15 per cent reduction if the world moved. And the world, of course, is moving. [Really? - AB]
The problem for Labor lies in the text of the US-China agreement. It ... does not mention carbon pricing or an emissions trading scheme, yet a national ETS is what Labor will take to the 2016 election. The risk for Labor is that the world is moving away from economy wide, “one size fits all’’ ETS schemes as legislated by the former Gillard government. Shorten’s 2016 problem is that he will champion a national ETS that does not exist in the US, a powerful negative for him. Labor’s ETS policy also means the higher the target, the higher the price. And the higher the carbon price, the more lethal will be Abbott’s attack.
Nine Graphs That Prove Using Fossil Fuels Hasn’t Harmed The Planet
(Thanks to reader fulchrum.)
Why is the government saving state media by crippling the commercials?
Andrew Bolt November 17 2014 (8:31am)
HOW strange. Why would the Abbott Government help our gigantic state media tighten its grip on debate?
Does it really think the ABC and SBS need more help to crush their commercial rivals — and belt up conservatives?
No healthy democracy can afford a state-funded media this big.
The ABC has four TV stations and five radio stations in every city, as well as an online newspaper, bookshops and a publishing house.
SBS has two TV stations (three, including the indigenous one) and four radio stations. This an overwhelming presence. No private media comes close in size. In fact, there are laws against it.
This megasize would be a problem even if the ABC and SBS were balanced and not relentlessly pushing the Left’s creeds of global warming, “reconciliation”, mass immigration, multiculturalism, same sex marriage and the predictable rest.
(Read the full article here.)
===Does it really think the ABC and SBS need more help to crush their commercial rivals — and belt up conservatives?
No healthy democracy can afford a state-funded media this big.
The ABC has four TV stations and five radio stations in every city, as well as an online newspaper, bookshops and a publishing house.
SBS has two TV stations (three, including the indigenous one) and four radio stations. This an overwhelming presence. No private media comes close in size. In fact, there are laws against it.
This megasize would be a problem even if the ABC and SBS were balanced and not relentlessly pushing the Left’s creeds of global warming, “reconciliation”, mass immigration, multiculturalism, same sex marriage and the predictable rest.
(Read the full article here.)
ABC hails hot day in Brisbane as “climate change”
Andrew Bolt November 17 2014 (8:06am)
Global warming alarmism on the ABC’s Insiders:
Meanwhile, Arctic ice is at its highest level in a decade.
(Thanks to reader Old Fellah.)
===BARRIE CASSIDY: And I understand the temperature will reach at least 40 degrees in Brisbane today, so climate change has arrived certainly in more ways than one it seems at this conference.Would Cassidy have said the same if the G20 had been held in the US instead:
Record-setting cold continues for another day on Thursday in the Central U.S., where frigid temperatures are hovering to 45 degrees below average.UPDATE
Casper, Wyo., fell to a low temperature of minus 27 degrees on Wednesday night, which breaks the record for all-time November low temperature of minus 21 degrees, set in 1985. Overnight lows in Denver, Colo., plummeted to 14 degrees below zero, which ties the record for second coldest temperature in November.
Meanwhile, Arctic ice is at its highest level in a decade.
(Thanks to reader Old Fellah.)
Submitting to Islamists won’t save us
Andrew Bolt November 17 2014 (7:59am)
It is a ghastly metaphor. No kindness, no submission is enough to appease Islamism:
===THE Islamic State jihadist group is claiming to have executed US aid worker Peter Kassig as a warning to the United States.The love of cruelty is also noteworthy. Even the Nazis preferred to keep their worst barbarity a secret:
The extremist group has released a video showing a masked militant claiming to have beheaded Kassig, also known as Abdul-Rahman, and standing over a severed head… Kassig, 26, was captured last year while helping provide medical aid to Syrians. His friends say he converted to Islam in captivity and changed his name to Abdul-Rahman.
The video also showed what appeared to be the mass beheading of several captured Syrian soldiers.
In the highly choreographed sequence, jihadists march the prisoners by a wooden box of long military knives, each taking one as they pass, before forcing their victims to kneel in a line and decapitating them.
Why feminism is crashing to earth
Andrew Bolt November 17 2014 (12:01am)
A team of male and female scientists land a space vehicle on a tiny comet in an astonishing triumph of science. But...:
===Matt Taylor, was wearing a shirt, made for him by a female “close pal,” featuring comic-book depictions of semi-naked women. And suddenly, the triumph of the comet landing was drowned out by shouts of feminist outrage about...what people were wearing. It was one small shirt for a man, one giant leap backward for womankind....The woman who made the shirt and gave it to Taylor:
What should have been the greatest day in a man’s life—accomplishing something never before done in the history of humanity—was instead derailed by people with their own axes to grind. As Chloe Price observed: “Imagine the ...storm if the scientist had been a woman and everyone focused solely on her clothes and not her achievements.”
Dr. Matt Taylor is an amazing, kind, loving and sensitive person. I never expected him to wear my gift to him for such a big event and was surprised and deeply moved that he did… I am so proud of Matt and his achievements and the fact he is an interesting and very brave person to do what he did with the very sweet gesture he made towards my gift and to wear his individuality with pride.Tim Blair:
Fairfax’s lazy Ladypages examine the sexist scientist shirt scandal:I wouldn’t count on feminists unable to describe a shirt being able to land a rocket.
A female tech writer has received abuse and death threats on Twitter after criticising the sexist shirt worn by a scientist involved in this week’s Philae comet landing.Aside from the women not being naked and the absence of death threats (none are shown by the Ladypages) this might almost be accurate.
Matt Taylor – a scientist from the European Space Agency’s Rosetta Project, which successfully landed a space probe on the comet 67P on Wednesday morning, following a decade-long mission – drew online criticism after he was interviewed wearing a shirt with naked women on it.
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/24246/Default.aspx
===Daniel Katz
I am seeing pictures of grieving Israeli Jewish families pouring their hearts out over the coffins of their loved ones before burial.
These emotive scenes should not be photographed and published to fullfil the blood lust of news thirsty media.
It encourages future murderers and gives their supporters satisfaction.
The father of the young cowardly Arab boy who stabbed to death an innocent sleeping young Israeli soldier last week in a bus has praised his son for the murder.
You can not reason with such disgraceful people. Diplomacy has failed and will continue to fail.
Indeed all decent people are under attack, Muslim or non Muslim.
Either the jihadist scum are hunted down like dogs and killed or be prepared to be killed by them.
These barbarian douche bags are the people the apostate Muslim anti POTUS Barry Soetoro wants Israel to have a two state solution with.
It takes only one filthy lying douche bag like Obama's support of these Arabs to promote more murders in the future.
It's time Israel cuts their umbilical chord from the USA and stands alone because they will be standing alone anyway as we saw in the past and we now see in the future with increasing anti Semitism while countries are infiltrated by Islamist invaders spreading their poison with the left wing socialist alliance.
History has shown what happens to those nations that attack their Jews and we are now witnessing the self destruction of the American empire filled with dumb downed ferals who re elected the most treacherous evil POTUS undermining the USA and it's constitution by allowing the Muslim Brotherhood a voice.
One can only unbelievably admire the efforts of the Egyptian army for recognising and eliminating the same problem that the USA now protects and supports.
Benghazi was not an omen. It was an attack on the USA and Obama and his goons did nothing.
http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/24247/Default.aspx?hp=article_title
... Just another bribe making the corrupt Phallistinean Authority richer in the West Bank.How many millions of Americans now live below the poverty line while their money is being given away to people who hate them ?
And how can a country that is close to USD$18 trillion in debt keep giving away money ?
===
http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/5263318/meet-debbi-wood-most-jealous-woman-in-world.html
Auditions for Dr Phil? ed===
Enjoy feeling proud of the Jewish State of Israel:
www.youtube.com
http://www.youtube.com/===
http://newsblaze.com/story/20131026075925nurg.nb/topstory.html
===
http://networkedblogs.com/QtCfY
===
http://sarahhonig.com/2013/11/17/the-russians-are-coming/
===
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/Articles/Article.aspx/14113#.UohAbOKRmM8
I heard a story of injustice by Stephen Fry on QI recently. In the dark ages of England, a peasant looked like a pig .. straggly hair,, obese .. one eye .. ears raised .. worse, there was a pig with the same one eye. He was accused of unnatural acts with the pig's sow-mum. He denied it. Finally the accusers said "We could show you mercy if you only admitted it." He'd been tortured and confessed. Whereupon he was told that the mercy would be shown by G-d. To execute him, they required two witnesses. His confession meant he was one witness. The pig was considered the other. The pig was executed too. I would like to show Obama mercy .. ed===
Class warfare hurts everyone.
www.dailytelegraph.com.au
http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/one-million-families-downgraded-private-health-cover-after-labor-cut-rebate/story-fni0cx12-1226761691526===
http://publicculture.org/articles/view/19/3/jews-lice-and-history
==="My point here is that many Europeans behaved with incredible cowardice and indecency. No matter what they pretended later, they pretty much knew what Hitler had in store for a bunch of innocent men, women and children whose only crime was that they were Jews, and they only thing they cared about was looking out for number one and dividing up any spoils that were left over.">
Read more here :
joshuapundit.blogspot.com
http://joshuapundit.blogspot.se/2013/02/why-europeans-wil-never-forgive-jews.html===
- 474 – Emperor Leo II dies after a reign of ten months. He is succeeded by his father Zeno, who becomes sole ruler of the Byzantine Empire.
- 794 – Japanese Emperor Kanmu changes his residence from Narato Kyoto.
- 887 – Emperor Charles the Fat is deposed by the Frankish magnates in an assembly at Frankfurt. His nephew Arnulf of Carinthia is elected as king of the East Frankish Kingdom.
- 1183 – The Battle of Mizushima takes place.
- 1292 – John Balliol becomes King of Scotland.
- 1405 – Sharif ul-Hāshim establishes the Sultanate of Sulu.
- 1511 – Henry VIII of England concluded the Treaty of Westminster, a pledge of mutual aid against the French, with Ferdinand II of Aragon.
- 1558 – Elizabethan era begins: Queen Mary I of England dies and is succeeded by her half-sister Elizabeth I of England.
- 1603 – English explorer, writer and courtier Sir Walter Raleigh goes on trial for treason.
- 1777 – Articles of Confederation (United States) are submitted to the states for ratification.
- 1796 – French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of the Bridge of Arcole: French forces defeat the Austrians in Italy.
- 1800 – The United States Congress holds its first session in Washington, D.C.
- 1810 – Sweden declares war on its ally the United Kingdom to begin the Anglo-Swedish War, although no fighting ever takes place.
- 1811 – José Miguel Carrera, Chilean founding father, is sworn in as President of the executive Junta of the government of Chile.
- 1820 – Captain Nathaniel Palmer becomes the first American to see Antarctica. (The Palmer Peninsula is later named after him.)
- 1831 – Ecuador and Venezuela are separated from Gran Colombia.
- 1839 – Oberto, Giuseppe Verdi's first opera, opens at the Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Italy.
- 1856 – American Old West: On the Sonoita River in present-day southern Arizona, the United States Army establishes Fort Buchanan in order to help control new land acquired in the Gadsden Purchase.
- 1858 – Modified Julian Day zero.
- 1863 – American Civil War: Siege of Knoxville begins: Confederate forces led by General James Longstreet place Knoxville, Tennessee, under siege.
- 1869 – In Egypt, the Suez Canal, linking the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea, is inaugurated.
- 1871 – The National Rifle Association is granted a charter by the state of New York.
- 1876 – Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky's "Slavonic March" is given its premiere performance in Moscow, Russia.
- 1878 – First assassination attempt against Umberto I of Italy by anarchist Giovanni Passannante, who was armed with a dagger. The King survived with a slight wound in an arm. Prime MinisterBenedetto Cairoli blocked the aggressor, receiving an injury in a leg.
- 1885 – Serbo-Bulgarian War: The decisive Battle of Slivnitsa begins.
- 1894 – H. H. Holmes, one of the first modern serial killers, is arrested in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1896 – The Western Pennsylvania Hockey League, which later became the first ice hockey league to openly trade and hire players, began play at Pittsburgh's Schenley Park Casino.
- 1903 – The Russian Social Democratic Labour Party splits into two groups: The Bolsheviks (Russian for "majority") and Mensheviks (Russian for "minority").
- 1911 – Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated, which is the first black Greek-lettered organization founded at an American historically black college or university, was founded on the campus of Howard University in Washington, D.C.
- 1933 – United States recognizes Soviet Union.
- 1939 – Nine Czech students are executed as a response to anti-Nazi demonstrations prompted by the death of Jan Opletal. All Czech universities are shut down and more than 1,200 students sent to concentration camps. Since this event, International Students' Day is celebrated in many countries, especially in the Czech Republic.
- 1947 – The Screen Actors Guild implements an anti-Communist loyalty oath.
- 1947 – American scientists John Bardeen and Walter Houser Brattain observe the basic principles of the transistor, a key element for the electronics revolution of the 20th century.
- 1950 – Lhamo Dondrub is officially named the 14th Dalai Lama.
- 1950 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 89 relating to the Palestine Question is adopted.
- 1953 – The remaining human inhabitants of the Blasket Islands, Kerry, Ireland, are evacuated to the mainland.
- 1957 – Vickers Viscount G-AOHP of British European Airways crashes at Ballerup after the failure of three engines on approach to Copenhagen Airport. The cause is a malfunction of the anti-icing system on the aircraft.
- 1962 – President John F. Kennedy dedicates Washington Dulles International Airport, serving the Washington, D.C., region.
- 1967 – Vietnam War: Acting on optimistic reports that he had been given on November 13, U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson tells the nation that, while much remained to be done, "We are inflicting greater losses than we're taking...We are making progress."
- 1968 – British European Airways introduces the BAC One-Eleven into commercial service.
- 1968 – Viewers of the Raiders–Jets football game in the eastern United States are denied the opportunity to watch its exciting finish when NBC broadcasts Heidi instead, prompting changes to sports broadcasting in the U.S.
- 1969 – Cold War: Negotiators from the Soviet Union and the United States meet in Helsinki, Finland to begin SALT I negotiations aimed at limiting the number of strategic weapons on both sides.
- 1970 – Vietnam War: Lieutenant William Calley goes on trial for the My Lai Massacre.
- 1970 – Luna programme: The Soviet Union lands Lunokhod 1 on Mare Imbrium (Sea of Rains) on the Moon. This is the first roving remote-controlled robot to land on another world and is released by the orbiting Luna 17 spacecraft.
- 1973 – Watergate scandal: In Orlando, Florida, U.S. President Richard Nixon tells 400 Associated Press managing editors "I am not a crook."
- 1973 – The Athens Polytechnic uprising against the military regime ends in a bloodshed in the Greek capital.
- 1978 – The Star Wars Holiday Special airs on CBS, receiving negative reception from critics, fans, and even Star Wars creator George Lucas.
- 1979 – Brisbane Suburban Railway Electrification. The first stage from Ferny Grove to Darra is commissioned.
- 1983 – The Zapatista Army of National Liberation is founded in Mexico.
- 1989 – Cold War: Velvet Revolution begins: In Czechoslovakia, a student demonstration in Prague is quelled by riot police. This sparks an uprising aimed at overthrowing the communist government (it succeeds on December 29).
- 1990 – Fugendake, part of the Mount Unzen volcanic complex, Nagasaki Prefecture, Japan, becomes active again and erupts.
- 1993 – United States House of Representatives passes a resolution to establish the North American Free Trade Agreement.
- 1993 – In Nigeria, General Sani Abacha ousts the government of Ernest Shonekan in a military coup.
- 1997 – In Luxor, Egypt, 62 people are killed by six Islamic militants outside the Temple of Hatshepsut, known as Luxor massacre.
- 2000 – A catastrophic landslide in Log pod Mangartom, Slovenia, kills seven, and causes millions of SIT of damage. It is one of the worst catastrophes in Slovenia in the past 100 years.
- 2000 – Alberto Fujimori is removed from office as president of Peru.
- 2012 – At least 50 schoolchildren are killed in an accident at a railway crossing near Manfalut, Egypt.
- 2013 – Fifty people are killed when Tatarstan Airlines Flight 363 crashes at Kazan Airport, Russia.
- 2013 – A rare late-season tornado outbreak strikes the Midwest. Illinois and Indiana are most affected with tornado reports as far north as lower Michigan. In all around six dozen tornadoes touch down in approximately an 11-hour time period, including seven EF3 and two EF4 tornadoes.
- AD 9 – Vespasian, Roman emperor (d. 79)
- 1453 – Alfonso, Prince of Asturias (d. 1468)
- 1493 – John Neville, 3rd Baron Latimer, English politician (d. 1543)
- 1503 – Bronzino, Italian painter (d. 1572)
- 1576 – Roque González de Santa Cruz, Paraguayan missionary and saint (d. 1628)
- 1587 – Joost van den Vondel, Dutch poet and playwright (d. 1679)
- 1602 – Agnes of Jesus, Roman Catholic nun (d. 1634)
- 1612 – Dorgon, Manchu prince (d. 1650)
- 1681 – Pierre François le Courayer, French theologian and author (d. 1776)
- 1685 – Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, Canadian commander and explorer (d. 1749)
- 1729 – Maria Antonia Ferdinanda of Spain (d. 1785)
- 1749 – Nicolas Appert, French chef, invented canning (d. 1841)
- 1753 – Gotthilf Heinrich Ernst Muhlenberg, American pastor and botanist (d. 1815)
- 1755 – Louis XVIII of France (d. 1824)
- 1765 – Jacques MacDonald, French general (d. 1840)
- 1769 – Duchess Charlotte Georgine of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (d. 1818)
- 1790 – August Ferdinand Möbius, German mathematician and astronomer (d. 1868)
- 1793 – Charles Lock Eastlake, English painter, historian, and academic (d. 1865)
- 1816 – August Wilhelm Ambros, Austrian composer and historian (d. 1876)
- 1827 – Petko Slaveykov, Bulgarian journalist and poet (d. 1895)
- 1835 – Andrew L. Harris, American general and politician, 44th Governor of Ohio (d. 1915)
- 1854 – Hubert Lyautey, French general and politician, French Minister of War (d. 1934)
- 1857 – Joseph Babinski, French neurologist and academic (d. 1932)
- 1866 – Voltairine de Cleyre, American author and activist (d. 1912)
- 1868 – Korbinian Brodmann, German neurologist and academic (d. 1918)
- 1877 – Frank Calder, English-Canadian journalist and businessman (d. 1943)
- 1878 – Grace Abbott, American social worker (d. 1939)
- 1878 – Augustus Goessling, American swimmer and water polo player (d. 1963)
- 1886 – Walter Terence Stace, English-American philosopher, academic, and civil servant (d. 1967)
- 1887 – Bernard Montgomery, 1st Viscount Montgomery of Alamein, English field marshal (d. 1976)
- 1891 – Lester Allen, American screen, stage, vaudeville, circus actor, and film director (d. 1949)
- 1895 – Gregorio López, Mexican journalist, author, and poet (d. 1966)
- 1896 – Lev Vygotsky, Belarusian-Russian psychologist and philosopher (d. 1934)
- 1897 – Frank Fay, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1961)
- 1899 – Douglas Shearer, Canadian-American engineer (d. 1971)
- 1901 – Walter Hallstein, German academic and politician, 1st President of the European Commission (d. 1982)
- 1901 – Lee Strasberg, Ukrainian-American actor and director (d. 1982)
- 1902 – Eugene Wigner, Hungarian physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1995)
- 1904 – Isamu Noguchi, American sculptor and architect (d. 1988)
- 1905 – Mischa Auer, Russian-American actor (d. 1967)
- 1905 – Astrid of Sweden (d. 1935)
- 1905 – Arthur Chipperfield, Australian cricketer (d. 1987)
- 1906 – Soichiro Honda, Japanese engineer and businessman, co-founded the Honda Motor Company (d. 1991)
- 1906 – Rollie Stiles, American baseball player (d. 2007)
- 1907 – Israel Regardie, English occultist and author (d. 1985)
- 1911 – Christian Fouchet, French lawyer and politician, French Minister of the Interior (d. 1974)
- 1916 – Shelby Foote, American historian and author (d. 2005)
- 1917 – Ruth Aaronson Bari, American mathematician (d. 2005)
- 1919 – Kim Heungsou, Korean painter and educator (d. 2014)
- 1920 – Camillo Felgen, Luxembourgian singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
- 1920 – Gemini Ganesan, Indian actor and director (d. 2002)
- 1921 – Albert Bertelsen, Danish painter and illustrator
- 1922 – Stanley Cohen, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1922 – Jack Froggatt, English footballer (d. 1993)
- 1923 – Hubertus Brandenburg, Swedish bishop (d. 2009)
- 1923 – Mike Garcia, American baseball player (d. 1986)
- 1923 – Aristides Pereira, Cape Verdean politician, 1st President of Cape Verde (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Bert Sutcliffe, New Zealand cricketer and coach (d. 2001)
- 1925 – Jean Faut, American baseball player and bowler
- 1925 – Rock Hudson, American actor (d. 1985)
- 1925 – Charles Mackerras, American-Australian oboe player and conductor (d. 2010)
- 1927 – Robert Drasnin, American clarinet player and composer (d. 2015)
- 1927 – Fenella Fielding, English actress
- 1927 – Nicholas Taylor, Canadian geologist, businessman, and politician
- 1928 – Arman, French-American painter and sculptor (d. 2005)
- 1928 – Rance Howard, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1928 – Colin McDonald, Australian cricketer
- 1929 – Gorō Naya, Japanese actor and director (d. 2013)
- 1929 – Norm Zauchin, American baseball player (d. 1999)
- 1930 – Bob Mathias, American decathlete, actor, and politician (d. 2006)
- 1932 – Jeremy Black, English admiral (d. 2015)
- 1933 – Dan Osinski, American baseball player (d. 2013)
- 1933 – Orlando Peña, Cuban-American baseball player and scout
- 1934 – Jim Inhofe, American soldier and politician, senior senator of Oklahoma
- 1934 – Anthony King, Canadian-English psephologist and academic (d. 2017)
- 1934 – Terry Rand, American basketball player (d. 2014)
- 1935 – Bobby Joe Conrad, American football player
- 1935 – Toni Sailer, Austrian skier and actor (d. 2009)
- 1936 – Crispian Hollis, English Roman Catholic bishop
- 1937 – Peter Cook, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (d. 1995)
- 1938 – Charles Guthrie, Baron Guthrie of Craigiebank, Scottish general
- 1938 – Gordon Lightfoot, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1939 – Auberon Waugh, English journalist and author (d. 2001)
- 1942 – Derek Clayton, English-Australian runner
- 1942 – Partha Dasgupta, Bangladeshi economist and academic
- 1942 – Bob Gaudio, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
- 1942 – Lesley Rees, English endocrinologist and academic
- 1942 – István Rosztóczy, Hungarian-Japanese microbiologist and physician (d. 1993)
- 1942 – Martin Scorsese, American director, producer, screenwriter, and actor
- 1943 – Lauren Hutton, American model and actress
- 1944 – Jim Boeheim, American basketball player and coach
- 1944 – Malcolm Bruce, English-Scottish journalist, academic, and politician
- 1944 – Gene Clark, American singer-songwriter and musician (The Byrds) (d. 1991)
- 1944 – Danny DeVito, American actor, director, and producer
- 1944 – Rem Koolhaas, Dutch architect and academic, designed the Seattle Central Library
- 1944 – Lorne Michaels, Canadian-American screenwriter and producer, created Saturday Night Live
- 1944 – Tom Seaver, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1944 – Sammy Younge Jr., American civil rights activist (d. 1966)
- 1945 – Lesley Abdela, English journalist and activist
- 1945 – Jeremy Hanley, English accountant and politician, British Minister of State for Foreign Affairs
- 1945 – Elvin Hayes, American basketball player and sportscaster
- 1945 – Roland Joffé, English-French director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1946 – Martin Barre, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1946 – Terry Branstad, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 39th Governor of Iowa
- 1946 – Petra Burka, Dutch-Canadian figure skater and coach
- 1947 – Rod Clements, British singer-songwriter, guitarist, and multi-instrumentalist (Lindisfarne)
- 1948 – Howard Dean, American physician and politician, 79th Governor of Vermont
- 1948 – East Bay Ray, American guitarist
- 1949 – John Boehner, American businessman and politician, 61st Speaker of the United States House of Representatives
- 1949 – Nguyễn Tấn Dũng, Vietnamese soldier and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Vietnam
- 1949 – Michael Wenden, Australian swimmer
- 1950 – Roland Matthes, German swimmer
- 1950 – Tom Walkinshaw, Scottish race car driver and businessman, founded Tom Walkinshaw Racing (d. 2010)
- 1951 – Butch Davis, American football player and coach
- 1951 – Werner Hoyer, German economist and politician
- 1951 – Dean Paul Martin, American singer, actor, and pilot (d. 1987)
- 1951 – Stephen Root, American actor
- 1951 – Jack Vettriano, Scottish painter and philanthropist
- 1952 – David Emanuel, Welsh fashion designer
- 1952 – Ties Kruize, Dutch field hockey player
- 1952 – Runa Laila, Bangladeshi singer
- 1952 – Cyril Ramaphosa, South African businessman and politician, 7th Deputy President of South Africa
- 1953 – Babis Tennes, Greek footballer and manager
- 1954 – Chopper Read, Australian criminal and author (d. 2013)
- 1955 – Peter Cox, English singer-songwriter (Go West)
- 1955 – Yolanda King, American actress and activist (d. 2007)
- 1955 – Dennis Maruk, Ukrainian-Canadian ice hockey player
- 1956 – Jim McGovern, Scottish politician
- 1957 – Jim Babjak, American guitarist and songwriter (The Smithereens)
- 1958 – Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, American actress and singer
- 1959 – Terry Fenwick, English footballer and manager
- 1959 – William R. Moses, American actor and producer
- 1959 – Jaanus Tamkivi, Estonian politician
- 1960 – Michael Hertwig, German footballer and manager
- 1960 – Jonathan Ross, English actor and talk show host
- 1960 – RuPaul, American drag queen performer, actor, and singer
- 1961 – Robert Stethem, American soldier (d. 1985)
- 1961 – Pat Toomey, American businessman and politician
- 1962 – Dédé Fortin, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2000)
- 1964 – Susan Rice, American academic and politician, 24th United States National Security Advisor
- 1964 – Mitch Williams, American baseball player and sportscaster
- 1965 – Darren Beadman, Australian jockey
- 1965 – Amanda Brown, Australian violinist and composer
- 1966 – Alvin Patrimonio, Filipino basketball player and manager
- 1966 – Ben Allison, American bassist and composer
- 1966 – Jeff Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1997)
- 1966 – Kate Ceberano, Australian singer-songwriter and actress
- 1966 – Richard Fortus, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
- 1966 – Daisy Fuentes, Cuban-American model and actress
- 1966 – Sophie Marceau, French actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1967 – Tab Benoit, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1967 – Ronnie DeVoe, American singer, producer, and actor
- 1968 – Sean Miller, American basketball player and coach
- 1969 – Ryōtarō Okiayu, Japanese voice actor and singer
- 1969 – Jean-Michel Saive, Belgian table tennis player
- 1969 – Rebecca Walker, American author
- 1970 – Paul Allender, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1970 – Tania Zaetta, Australian actress
- 1972 – Kimya Dawson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1972 – Joanne Goode, English badminton player
- 1972 – Lorraine Pascale, English model and chef
- 1972 – Leonard Roberts, American actor
- 1973 – Andreas Hedlund, Swedish singer-songwriter and producer
- 1973 – Eli Marrero, Cuban-American baseball player, coach, and manager
- 1973 – Bernd Schneider, German footballer
- 1973 – Alexei Urmanov, Russian figure skater and coach
- 1973 – Leslie Bibb, American actress and producer
- 1974 – Eunice Barber, Sierra Leonean-French heptathlete and long jumper
- 1974 – Berto Romero, Spanish comedian and actor
- 1975 – Kinga Baranowska, Polish mountaineer
- 1975 – Lee Carseldine, Australian cricketer
- 1975 – Roland de Marigny, South African-Italian rugby player
- 1975 – Lord Infamous, American rapper (d. 2013)
- 1975 – Jerome James, American basketball player
- 1976 – Diane Neal, American actress and director
- 1977 – Ryk Neethling, South African swimmer
- 1977 – Paul Shepherd, English footballer
- 1978 – Glen Air, Australian rugby league player
- 1978 – Zoë Bell, New Zealand actress and stuntwoman
- 1978 – Rachel McAdams, Canadian actress
- 1978 – Reggie Wayne, American football player
- 1979 – Matthew Spring, English footballer
- 1980 – Jay Bradley, American wrestler
- 1980 – Isaac Hanson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1981 – Sarah Harding, English singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
- 1982 – Katie Feenstra-Mattera, American basketball player
- 1982 – Otacílio Mariano Neto, Brazilian footballer
- 1982 – Yusuf Pathan, Indian Cricketer
- 1982 – Hollie Smith, New Zealand singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1983 – Viva Bianca, Australian actress, producer, and screenwriter
- 1983 – Ioannis Bourousis, Greek basketball player
- 1983 – Ryan Bradley, American figure skater
- 1983 – Ryan Braun, American baseball player
- 1983 – Trevor Crowe, American baseball player
- 1983 – Jodie Henry, Australian swimmer
- 1983 – Harry Lloyd, English actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1983 – Nick Markakis, American baseball player
- 1983 – Scott Moore, American baseball player
- 1983 – Christopher Paolini, American author
- 1984 – Amanda Evora, American figure skater
- 1984 – Park Han-byul, South Korean model and actress
- 1985 – Luis Aguiar, Uruguayan footballer
- 1985 – Sékou Camara, Malian footballer (d. 2013)
- 1985 – Carolina Neurath Swedish journalist
- 1986 – Everth Cabrera, Nicaraguan baseball player
- 1986 – Fabio Concas, Italian footballer
- 1986 – Nani, Portuguese footballer
- 1986 – Greg Rutherford, English long jumper
- 1987 – Craig Noone, English footballer
- 1987 – Gemma Spofforth, English swimmer
- 1989 – Ryan Griffin, American football player
- 1989 – Roman Zozulya, Ukrainian football striker
- 1992 – Danielle Kettlewell, Australian synchronised swimmer
- 1992 – Alex Sheedy, Australian basketball player
- 1993 – Taylor Gold, American snowboarder
- 1997 – Yugyeom, South Korean Singer (member of Got7)
Births[edit]
- 344 – Emperor Kang of Jin (b. 322)
- 375 – Valentinian I, Roman emperor (b. 321)
- 474 – Leo II, Byzantine emperor (b. 467)
- 594 – Gregory of Tours, Roman bishop and saint (b. 538)
- 641 – Emperor Jomei of Japan (b. 593)
- 885 – Liutgard of Saxony (b. 845)
- 935 – Chen Jinfeng, empress of Min (b. 893)
- 935 – Wang Yanjun, emperor of Min (Ten Kingdoms)
- 1104 – Nikephoros Melissenos, Byzantine general (b. 1045)
- 1188 – Usama ibn Munqidh, Arab chronicler (b. 1095)
- 1231 – Elizabeth of Hungary (b. 1207)
- 1307 – Hethum II, King of Armenia (b. 1266)
- 1307 – Leo III, King of Armenia (b. 1289)
- 1326 – Edmund FitzAlan, 9th Earl of Arundel, English politician (b. 1285)
- 1417 – Gazi Evrenos, Ottoman general (b. 1288)
- 1492 – Jami, Persian poet and saint (b. 1414)
- 1494 – Giovanni Pico della Mirandola, Italian philosopher and author (b. 1463)
- 1525 – Eleanor of Viseu, queen of João II of Portugal (b. 1458)
- 1558 – Mary I of England (b. 1516)
- 1558 – Reginald Pole, English cardinal and academic (b. 1500)
- 1558 – Hugh Aston, English composer (b. 1485)
- 1562 – Antoine of Navarre (b. 1518)
- 1592 – John III of Sweden (b. 1537)
- 1600 – Kuki Yoshitaka, Japanese commander (b. 1542)
- 1624 – Jakob Böhme, German mystic (b. 1575)
- 1632 – Gottfried Heinrich Graf zu Pappenheim, Bavarian field marshal (b. 1594)
- 1643 – Jean-Baptiste Budes, Comte de Guébriant, French general (b. 1602)
- 1648 – Thomas Ford, English viol player, composer, and poet (b. 1580)
- 1665 – John Earle, English bishop (b. 1601)
- 1668 – Joseph Alleine, English pastor and author (b. 1634)
- 1690 – Charles de Sainte-Maure, duc de Montausier, French general and politician (b. 1610)
- 1708 – Ludolf Bakhuizen, German-Dutch painter (b. 1631)
- 1713 – Abraham van Riebeeck, South African-Indonesian merchant and politician, Governor-General of the Dutch East Indies (b. 1653)
- 1747 – Alain-René Lesage, French author and playwright (b. 1668)
- 1768 – Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Great Britain (b. 1693)
- 1776 – James Ferguson, Scottish astronomer and instrument maker (b. 1710)
- 1780 – Bernardo Bellotto, Italian painter and illustrator (b. 1720)
- 1796 – Catherine the Great, of Russia (b. 1729)
- 1808 – David Zeisberger, Czech-American pastor and missionary (b. 1721)
- 1812 – John Walter, English Insurance underwriter and founder of The Times newspaper (b. 1738/1739)
- 1818 – Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1744)
- 1835 – Carle Vernet, French painter and lithographer (b. 1758)
- 1865 – James McCune Smith, American physician and author (b. 1813)
- 1897 – George Hendric Houghton, American pastor and theologian (b. 1820)
- 1902 – Hugh Price Hughes, Welsh theologian and educator (b. 1847)
- 1905 – Adolphe, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, (b. 1817)
- 1910 – Ralph Johnstone, American pilot (b. 1886)
- 1917 – Auguste Rodin, French sculptor and illustrator (b. 1840)
- 1922 – Robert Comtesse, Swiss lawyer and politician, 29th President of the Swiss Confederation (b. 1847)
- 1923 – Eduard Bornhöhe, Estonian author (b. 1862)
- 1924 – Gregory VII of Constantinople (b. 1850)
- 1928 – Lala Lajpat Rai, Indian author and politician (b. 1865)
- 1929 – Herman Hollerith, American statistician and businessman (b. 1860)
- 1932 – Charles W. Chesnutt, American lawyer, author, and activist (b. 1858)
- 1936 – Ernestine Schumann-Heink, German-American singer (b. 1861)
- 1937 – Jack Worrall, Australian footballer, cricketer, and coach (b. 1860)
- 1938 – Ante Trumbić, Croatian lawyer and politician, 20th Mayor of Split (b. 1864)
- 1940 – Eric Gill, English sculptor and typeface designer (b. 1882)
- 1940 – Raymond Pearl, American biologist and academic (b. 1879)
- 1947 – Victor Serge, Russian historian and author (b. 1890)
- 1954 – Yitzhak Lamdan, Russian-Israeli poet and journalist (b. 1899)
- 1955 – James P. Johnson, American pianist and composer (b. 1894)
- 1958 – Mort Cooper, American baseball player (b. 1913)
- 1959 – Heitor Villa-Lobos, Brazilian guitarist and composer (b. 1887)
- 1968 – Mervyn Peake, English poet, author, and illustrator (b. 1911)
- 1971 – Gladys Cooper, English actress (b. 1888)
- 1973 – Mirra Alfassa, French-Indian spiritual leader (b. 1878)
- 1976 – Abdul Hamid Khan Bhashani, Bangladeshi scholar and politician (b. 1880)
- 1979 – John Glascock, English singer and bass player (b. 1951)
- 1982 – Eduard Tubin, Estonian composer and conductor (b. 1905)
- 1986 – Georges Besse, French businessman (b. 1927)
- 1987 – Paul Derringer, American baseball player (b. 1906)
- 1988 – Sheilah Graham Westbrook, English-American actress, author, and journalist (b. 1904)
- 1989 – Costabile Farace, American criminal (b. 1960)
- 1990 – Robert Hofstadter, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915)
- 1992 – Audre Lorde, American poet, essayist, memoirist, and activist (b. 1934)
- 1993 – Gérard D. Levesque, Canadian lawyer and politician, 5th Deputy Premier of Quebec (b. 1926)
- 1995 – Alan Hull, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1945)
- 1998 – Kea Bouman, Dutch tennis player (b. 1903)
- 1998 – Esther Rolle, American actress (b. 1920)
- 2000 – Louis Néel, French physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1904)
- 2001 – Michael Karoli, German guitarist and songwriter (b. 1948)
- 2001 – Harrison A. Williams, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician (b. 1919)
- 2002 – Abba Eban, South African-Israeli soldier and politician, 3rd Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs(b. 1915)
- 2002 – Frank McCarthy, American painter and illustrator (b. 1924)
- 2003 – Surjit Bindrakhia, Indian singer (b. 1962)
- 2003 – Arthur Conley, American-Dutch singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
- 2004 – Mikael Ljungberg, Swedish wrestler and manager (b. 1970)
- 2004 – Alexander Ragulin, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1941)
- 2005 – Marek Perepeczko, Polish actor and director (b. 1942)
- 2006 – Ruth Brown, American singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1928)
- 2006 – Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1927)
- 2006 – Bo Schembechler, American football player and coach (b. 1929)
- 2007 – Aarne Hermlin, Estonian chess player (b. 1940)
- 2008 – George Stephen Morrison, American admiral (b. 1919)
- 2008 – Pete Newell, American basketball player and coach (b. 1915)
- 2011 – Kurt Budke, American basketball player and coach (b. 1961)
- 2012 – Ponty Chadha, Indian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Armand Desmet, Belgian cyclist (b. 1931)
- 2012 – Lea Gottlieb, Hungarian-Israeli fashion designer, founded the Gottex Company (b. 1918)
- 2012 – Freddy Schmidt, American baseball player (b. 1916)
- 2012 – Billy Scott, American singer-songwriter (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Bal Thackeray, Indian cartoonist and politician (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Margaret Yorke, English author (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Zeke Bella, American baseball player (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Alfred Blake, English colonel and lawyer (b. 1915)
- 2013 – Syd Field, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Doris Lessing, British novelist, poet, playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1919)
- 2013 – Alex Marques, Portuguese footballer (b. 1993)
- 2013 – Mary Nesbitt Wisham, American baseball player (b. 1925)
- 2014 – John T. Downey, American CIA agent and judge (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Bill Frenzel, American lieutenant and politician (b. 1928)
- 2014 – Ray Sadecki, American baseball player (b. 1940)
- 2014 – Patrick Suppes, American psychologist and philosopher (b. 1922)
- 2015 – John Leahy, English lawyer and diplomat, High Commissioner to Australia (b. 1928)
- 2015 – Rahim Moeini Kermanshahi, Iranian poet and songwriter (b. 1926)
Deaths[edit]
- Christian feast day:
- Earliest day on which National Survivors of Suicide Day can fall, while November 23 is the latest; celebrated on Saturday before Thanksgiving. (United States)
- International Students' Day
- Martyrs' Day (Orissa, India)
- Presidents Day (Marshall Islands)
- Struggle for Freedom and Democracy Day (Czech Republic and Slovakia)
- World Prematurity Day
Holidays and observances[edit]
“Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law.” Psalm 119:18 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
It is not "The Lord is partly my portion," nor "The Lord is in my portion"; but he himself makes up the sum total of my soul's inheritance. Within the circumference of that circle lies all that we possess or desire. The Lord is my portion. Not his grace merely, nor his love, nor his covenant, but Jehovah himself. He has chosen us for his portion, and we have chosen him for ours. It is true that the Lord must first choose our inheritance for us, or else we shall never choose it for ourselves; but if we are really called according to the purpose of electing love, we can sing--
"Lov'd of my God for him again
With love intense I burn;
Chosen of him ere time began,
I choose him in return."
The Lord is our all-sufficient portion. God fills himself; and if God is all-sufficient in himself, he must be all- sufficient for us. It is not easy to satisfy man's desires. When he dreams that he is satisfied, anon he wakes to the perception that there is somewhat yet beyond, and straightway the horse-leech in his heart cries, "Give, give." But all that we can wish for is to be found in our divine portion, so that we ask, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee." Well may we "delight ourselves in the Lord" who makes us to drink of the river of his pleasures. Our faith stretches her wings and mounts like an eagle into the heaven of divine love as to her proper dwelling-place. "The lines have fallen to us in pleasant places; yea, we have a goodly heritage." Let us rejoice in the Lord always; let us show to the world that we are a happy and a blessed people, and thus induce them to exclaim, "We will go with you, for we have heard that God is with you."
Evening
"Thine eyes shall see the King in his beauty."
Isaiah 33:17
Isaiah 33:17
The more you know about Christ the less will you be satisfied with superficial views of him; and the more deeply you study his transactions in the eternal covenant, his engagements on your behalf as the eternal Surety, and the fulness of his grace which shines in all his offices, the more truly will you see the King in his beauty. Be much in such outlooks. Long more and more to see Jesus. Meditation and contemplation are often like windows of agate, and gates of carbuncle, through which we behold the Redeemer. Meditation puts the telescope to the eye, and enables us to see Jesus after a better sort than we could have seen him if we had lived in the days of his flesh. Would that our conversation were more in heaven, and that we were more taken up with the person, the work, the beauty of our incarnate Lord. More meditation, and the beauty of the King would flash upon us with more resplendence. Beloved, it is very probable that we shall have such a sight of our glorious King as we never had before, when we come to die. Many saints in dying have looked up from amidst the stormy waters, and have seen Jesus walking on the waves of the sea, and heard him say, "It is I, be not afraid." Ah, yes! when the tenement begins to shake, and the clay falls away, we see Christ through the rifts, and between the rafters the sunlight of heaven comes streaming in. But if we want to see face to face the "King in his beauty" we must go to heaven for the sight, or the King must come here in person. O that he would come on the wings of the wind! He is our Husband, and we are widowed by his absence; he is our Brother dear and fair, and we are lonely without him. Thick veils and clouds hang between our souls and their true life: when shall the day break and the shadows flee away? Oh, long-expected day, begin!
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Today's reading: Ezekiel 3-4, Hebrews 11:20-40 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 3-4
1 And he said to me, “Son of man, eat what is before you, eat this scroll; then go and speak to the people of Israel.” 2 So I opened my mouth, and he gave me the scroll to eat.
3 Then he said to me, “Son of man, eat this scroll I am giving you and fill your stomach with it.” So I ate it, and it tasted as sweet as honey in my mouth.
4 He then said to me: “Son of man, go now to the people of Israel and speak my words to them. 5 You are not being sent to a people of obscure speech and strange language, but to the people of Israel— 6 not to many peoples of obscure speech and strange language, whose words you cannot understand. Surely if I had sent you to them, they would have listened to you. 7 But the people of Israel are not willing to listen to you because they are not willing to listen to me, for all the Israelites are hardened and obstinate. 8 But I will make you as unyielding and hardened as they are. 9 I will make your forehead like the hardest stone, harder than flint. Do not be afraid of them or terrified by them, though they are a rebellious people....”
Today's New Testament reading: Hebrews 11:20-40
20 By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau in regard to their future.
21 By faith Jacob, when he was dying, blessed each of Joseph’s sons, and worshiped as he leaned on the top of his staff.
22 By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and gave instructions concerning the burial of his bones.
23 By faith Moses’ parents hid him for three months after he was born, because they saw he was no ordinary child, and they were not afraid of the king’s edict.
24 By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be known as the son of Pharaoh’s daughter. 25 He chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. 26 He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward. 27 By faith he left Egypt, not fearing the king’s anger; he persevered because he saw him who is invisible. 28 By faith he kept the Passover and the application of blood, so that the destroyer of the firstborn would not touch the firstborn of Israel....
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Demas
[Dē'mas] - popular or ruler of people.A companion of Paul during his first Roman imprisonment (Col. 4:14; Philem. 24).
[Dē'mas] - popular or ruler of people.A companion of Paul during his first Roman imprisonment (Col. 4:14; Philem. 24).
The Man Who Forsook His Friend
This seems to be an indication that this native of Thessalonica was not fully trusted even when he was near to Paul (Phil. 2:20). Scripture has this against him, that he forsook Paul for this present world ( 2 Tim. 4:10). It is amazing how a student of Comparative Anatomy can build up a whole unknown structure from one or two known bones. In the same way we can sketch the character of Demas from the few references to him in the Bible's portrait gallery.
Before he met Paul we can picture him as an agreeable young man with no particular vice. The material of his character had no rent in it. It was only shoddy throughout. Under the strong influence of Paul's personality, Demas was like a piece of soft iron, temporarily magnetized by the presence of a magnet. Becoming a disciple, he was carried away by the enthusiasm of sacrifice. He wanted to live with Paul and die with him, and have a throne and a halo among the martyred saints.
But when Demas came up to the great capital of the then known world in company with the Lord's prisoners, Paul and Epaphras, it was a different story. He was not a prisoner, and gradually the contrast between the cell and the outer world became intolerable to him. He saw the magnificent halls of the Caesars, the gorgeous homes of the rich and the glitter of a world of music, venal loves, jest and wine. Such a gay world cast its glamor over Demas, and he yielded to its charms. The prison where his friends were languishing seemed wretched alongside the music-haunted, scented, dazzling halls of Rome. Thus Paul had to write one of the most heartbreaking lines in his letters:
"Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world." This man of wavering impulse who surrendered the passion of sacrifice and sank in the swirling waters of the world, is a true reflection of the thought that where our love is, there we finally are.
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