Some are outraged by the refugee resettlement assistance program cheque given for a monthly allowance for a family of five in their first month. It does not appear excessive to me for $3874. I'm alone and had some things when I moved from Sydney to Melbourne in '16. Even so I spent much more than a one fifth share of that. I do not approve of people smuggling or weak borders. I like refugees and am grateful for the support given me by that community.
Some say local councils are excessive in Australia. In Pakistan, a local council ordered the gang rape of a teen girl because she had married someone they had not approved. Palestinians are not a legitimate grouping. They are really Jordanians, Egyptians and Arabs. They have no historical connection to Israel. So, a meme from Al Jazeera is being spread that Israeli Hummus is illegitimate, and is really an Arab dish. But they are wrong. According to my family oral history, David served Hummus to King Saul, who was pleased. That may have been two thousand years before Islam.
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 "Yes Sir, That's My Baby"
=== from 2016 ===
The December IPA Review is out and Evan Mulholland wrote “Uber Markets” about the Ray Fishman and Tim Sullivan book “The Inner Lives of Markets.” There is a marketing revolution happening online. It means a shift in purchasing behaviour that will change infrastructure needs and cost burdens. It means that nineteenth century hangovers, like unions, need to change to remain relevant. Unions tend to impede business profits and prevent members from prospering. Without unions in the unregulated landscape, people can profit. Including workers. With union membership shrinking Paul Keating gifted unions Superannuation control with industry superannuation. The result has been even non members of unions have all their details available to union leaderships, and their savings is controlled and managed by unions who have no oversight regarding operations. The existence of slush funds should send a chill through regulating authorities, but they don’t exist. And won’t until ALP get elected after Turnbull remains as Liberal Party leader. While unions make business trading costs higher than elsewhere in the modern world, the new businesses can outperform them. Markets exist because people use them. Markets will disappear if people don’t use them. And badly run cities like Sydney (not Melbourne) will struggle to prosper if they don’t change. Australia needs Work Choices, and the new markets are delivering.
The sadness of the death of Debbie Reynolds (84) a day after her daughter Carrie Fisher (60) is testimony to love. There is loss and sadness at the passing of each. Reynolds’ life was full and rich. The ending tragically sad. It isn’t natural for a parent to out survive their children. Not the way we are conditioned to be. A parent dying is a tragedy, but an ordinary tragedy. In the west, baby boomers may experience more of this grief as their children are sacrificed for the pleasure of their parent’s excesses. Carrie’s life was unfinished. Probably related to drugs, Carrie struggled with sobriety. But Carrie forged a career as brilliant and deserving of accolades. The industry tried to chew her up and spit her out, but she was more than that bikini. Carrie did not enjoy fan adoration. Carrie could be caustic with idiot interviewers who looked to take her for granted. Together, some sixty five golden years have come to an end when more could have been expected. I thank them for the joy they gave.
CNN aviation analyst Mary Schiavo considers the possible fate of missing Air Asia flight QZ8501:
The sadness of the death of Debbie Reynolds (84) a day after her daughter Carrie Fisher (60) is testimony to love. There is loss and sadness at the passing of each. Reynolds’ life was full and rich. The ending tragically sad. It isn’t natural for a parent to out survive their children. Not the way we are conditioned to be. A parent dying is a tragedy, but an ordinary tragedy. In the west, baby boomers may experience more of this grief as their children are sacrificed for the pleasure of their parent’s excesses. Carrie’s life was unfinished. Probably related to drugs, Carrie struggled with sobriety. But Carrie forged a career as brilliant and deserving of accolades. The industry tried to chew her up and spit her out, but she was more than that bikini. Carrie did not enjoy fan adoration. Carrie could be caustic with idiot interviewers who looked to take her for granted. Together, some sixty five golden years have come to an end when more could have been expected. I thank them for the joy they gave.
=== from 2015 ===
In the early nineteenth century the United states was held together in a fragile state. Northern states were industrially oriented and Southern states relied on slave labour for their farms. Only the North out populated the South and the only thing that kept the fractured and divided union from splitting was a senate division based on state numbers. Exactly the same number of non slave states entered the union as slave states. Turnbull's administration is similarly held together. It has been known for a long time Mal Brough would have to step aside. Brough likes Turnbull. Meanwhile an Abbott supporter, minister Jamie Briggs is stepping aside after a Hong Kong dinner which sounds like Rudd at Scores .. no one remembers what happened, but someone is apologising to their wife. Turnbull is losing the back bench. Soon there will be a compromise.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
From 2014
In defence of Bill de Blasio. Some have said that de Blasio caused the deaths of two policemen murdered by a crazed gunman eager to give 'pigs wings' in response to a death de Blasio commented on. de Blasio had as much control over the crazed gunman as he had of his own tongue or surface thoughts. The crazed gunman may have seized on de Blasio's thought bubble that blamed NYC police for the death of a man resisting arrest. Of course the guy did not have to resist arrest. And after wrestling with many police, it is understandable that nobody tried to get close to him while he was unconscious But many others have commented on the death too, and why would anyone care what the New York Mayor thought? He is only the first Democrat Mayor since 1993. Back then, NYC was a basket case that was generally accepted as unfixable. And it was, while ever a Democrat is mayor.
“At this point, given it was extremely bad weather, the chances of this being some sort of terrorist activity are very small because most terrorist activities take place in good weather.”Australian terrorists fighting for ISIL remain stable in number, not character, as the number killed in fighting roughly matches the number of new arrivals.
Missing plane automatic locator beacon failed. Maybe no one paid for the option on their tickets?
From 2013
The left answer good argument with abuse. Miranda Devine illustrates this with detail in her column. But there are examples that extend further and appear closer. When Gillard gave thanks to the Rudd government she killed, she listed achievements, but failed to mention Rudd's ones. I didn't feel that any of them were worthy of the description of 'achievement' but .. Gillard's behaviour was small and petty and intrinsically abusive. I was reminded of this when I was invited to list my business activity on a FB chat page, and the page's owner listed all the businesses but my mine in their thank you. Petty, and typically left wing. Also the anti semitic comments some post in answer to pro Israeli comments. I would be more open to them if they were substantive. But typically, the most substantive that abusers get is to refer to UN complaints on events that did not happen or misrepresent situations. I similarly don't like the anti Islamic sentiment. I appreciate the nature of the terrorism pervasive in terrorist culture and the assertions of Islamo fascists that they are Islamic, which Islamic authorities rarely deny. But, it is stupid to enlarge the enemy - that is what terrorists want. There are decent Islamic peoples .. I know a few (no need to name them). Argument through abuse won't be rewarded by me.
Australia has improved in the business outlook since Abbott was elected PM. I'm told by numerous merchants that business is .. busier. Part of that could be the weaker dollar. Mr Abbott has much work to do to change things. A $5 copayment for medicare is being discussed. Naturally, opposition to it is strong and vocal. It wouldn't be the only cost of having had six years of a federal ALP government. In NSW, it is the first time since '72 that we have had a conservative government federally and statewide. The last time that happened, the long delayed Opera House was built and Snowy Mountain scheme completed. I want them to be as ambitious.
Australia has improved in the business outlook since Abbott was elected PM. I'm told by numerous merchants that business is .. busier. Part of that could be the weaker dollar. Mr Abbott has much work to do to change things. A $5 copayment for medicare is being discussed. Naturally, opposition to it is strong and vocal. It wouldn't be the only cost of having had six years of a federal ALP government. In NSW, it is the first time since '72 that we have had a conservative government federally and statewide. The last time that happened, the long delayed Opera House was built and Snowy Mountain scheme completed. I want them to be as ambitious.
Historical perspective on this day
In 1170, Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, was assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II; he subsequently became a saint and martyr in the Anglican Church and the Catholic Church. 1427, army of Ming dynasty started withdrawing from Hanoi, putting an end to the domination of Đại Việt. 1508, Portuguese forces under the command of Francisco de Almeida attacked Khambhat at the Battle of Dabul. 1778, American Revolutionary War: 3,000 British soldiers under the command of Lieutenant ColonelArchibald Campbell capture Savannah, Georgia. 1786, French Revolution: The Assembly of Notables was convened.
In 1812, the USS Constitution under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, captures the HMS Java off the coast of Brazil after a three hour battle. 1835, the Treaty of New Echota was signed, ceding all the lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the United States. 1845, in accordance with International Boundary delimitation, United States annexed the Republic of Texas, following the manifest destiny doctrine. The Republic of Texas, which had been independent since the Texas Revolution of 1836, was thereupon admitted as the 28th U.S. state. 1851, the first American YMCA opened in Boston, Massachusetts. 1860, the first British seagoing ironclad warship, HMS Warrior was launched. 1876, the Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster occurred, leaving 64 injured and 92 dead at Ashtabula, Ohio. 1890, Wounded Knee Massacre on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, 300 Lakota killed by the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment.
In 1911, Mongolia gained independence from the Qing dynasty, enthroning 9th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu as Khagan of Mongolia. Also 1911, Sun Yat-sen became the provisional President of the Republic of China; he formally took office on January 1, 1912. 1914, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, the first novel by James Joyce, was serialized in The Egoist. 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal's presidential address in Allahabad introduced the two-nation theory and outlined a vision for the creation of Pakistan. 1934, Japan renounced the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930. 1937, the Irish Free State was replaced by a new state called Ireland with the adoption of a new constitution. 1939, first flight of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator.
1940, World War II: In the Second Great Fire of London, the Luftwaffe fire-bombed London, England, UK, killing almost 200 civilians. 1949, KC2XAK of Bridgeport, Connecticut became the first Ultra high frequency (UHF) television station to operate a daily schedule. 1959, physicist Richard Feynman gave a speech entitled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom", which is regarded as the birth of nanotechnology. Also 1959, the Lisbon Metro began operation. 1972, an Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 (a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar) crashed on approach to Miami International Airport, Florida, killing 101. 1975, a bomb exploded at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, killing 11 people and injuring 74.
In 1989, riots broke-out after Hong Kong decided to forcibly repatriate Vietnamese refugees. 1992, Fernando Collor de Mello, president of Brazil, tried to resign amidst corruption charges, but was then impeached. 1996, Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity signed a peace accord ending a 36-year civil war. 1997, Hong Kong began to kill all the nation's 1.25 million chickens to stop the spread of a potentially deadly influenza strain. 1998, leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologised for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed over one million lives. 2001, a fire at the Mesa Redonda shopping center in Lima, Peru, killed at least 291. 2003, the last known speaker of Akkala Sami dies, rendering the language extinct. 2006, UK settled its Anglo-American loan, post-WWII loan debt. 2012, a Tupolev Tu-204 airliner crashed in a ditch between the airport fence and the M3 highway after overshooting a runway at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, killing five people and leaving three others critically injured. 2013, a suicide bomb attack at the Volgograd-1 railway station in the southern Russian city of Volgograd killed at least 18 people and wounded 40 others.
In 1812, the USS Constitution under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, captures the HMS Java off the coast of Brazil after a three hour battle. 1835, the Treaty of New Echota was signed, ceding all the lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the United States. 1845, in accordance with International Boundary delimitation, United States annexed the Republic of Texas, following the manifest destiny doctrine. The Republic of Texas, which had been independent since the Texas Revolution of 1836, was thereupon admitted as the 28th U.S. state. 1851, the first American YMCA opened in Boston, Massachusetts. 1860, the first British seagoing ironclad warship, HMS Warrior was launched. 1876, the Ashtabula River Railroad Disaster occurred, leaving 64 injured and 92 dead at Ashtabula, Ohio. 1890, Wounded Knee Massacre on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, 300 Lakota killed by the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment.
In 1911, Mongolia gained independence from the Qing dynasty, enthroning 9th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu as Khagan of Mongolia. Also 1911, Sun Yat-sen became the provisional President of the Republic of China; he formally took office on January 1, 1912. 1914, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, the first novel by James Joyce, was serialized in The Egoist. 1930, Sir Muhammad Iqbal's presidential address in Allahabad introduced the two-nation theory and outlined a vision for the creation of Pakistan. 1934, Japan renounced the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930. 1937, the Irish Free State was replaced by a new state called Ireland with the adoption of a new constitution. 1939, first flight of the Consolidated B-24 Liberator.
1940, World War II: In the Second Great Fire of London, the Luftwaffe fire-bombed London, England, UK, killing almost 200 civilians. 1949, KC2XAK of Bridgeport, Connecticut became the first Ultra high frequency (UHF) television station to operate a daily schedule. 1959, physicist Richard Feynman gave a speech entitled "There's Plenty of Room at the Bottom", which is regarded as the birth of nanotechnology. Also 1959, the Lisbon Metro began operation. 1972, an Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 (a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar) crashed on approach to Miami International Airport, Florida, killing 101. 1975, a bomb exploded at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, killing 11 people and injuring 74.
In 1989, riots broke-out after Hong Kong decided to forcibly repatriate Vietnamese refugees. 1992, Fernando Collor de Mello, president of Brazil, tried to resign amidst corruption charges, but was then impeached. 1996, Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity signed a peace accord ending a 36-year civil war. 1997, Hong Kong began to kill all the nation's 1.25 million chickens to stop the spread of a potentially deadly influenza strain. 1998, leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologised for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed over one million lives. 2001, a fire at the Mesa Redonda shopping center in Lima, Peru, killed at least 291. 2003, the last known speaker of Akkala Sami dies, rendering the language extinct. 2006, UK settled its Anglo-American loan, post-WWII loan debt. 2012, a Tupolev Tu-204 airliner crashed in a ditch between the airport fence and the M3 highway after overshooting a runway at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, killing five people and leaving three others critically injured. 2013, a suicide bomb attack at the Volgograd-1 railway station in the southern Russian city of Volgograd killed at least 18 people and wounded 40 others.
=== 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
- 765 – Ali Al-Ridha, Saudi Arabian 8th of the Twelve Imams (d. 818)
- 1721 – Madame de Pompadour, French mistress of Louis XV of France (d. 1764)
- 1800 – Charles Goodyear, American inventor (d. 1860)
- 1809 – William Ewart Gladstone, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1898)
- 1934 – Ed Flanders, American actor (d. 1995)
- 1936 – Mary Tyler Moore, American actress
- 1938 – Jon Voight, American actor
- 1946 – Marianne Faithfull, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1960 – David Boon, Australian cricketer
- 1966 – Martin Offiah, English rugby player
- 1970 – Aled Jones, Welsh singer
- 1972 – Jude Law, English actor, director, and producer
- 1994 – Princess Kako of Akishino
- 1998 – Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, American actor
- 1835 – The United States signed the Treaty of New Echota with leaders of a minority Cherokee faction, which became the legal basis for the forcible removal known as the Trail of Tears.
- 1891 – Physical education teacher James Naismith introduced a game in Springfield, Massachusetts, with thirteen rules and nine players on each team that he called "Basket Ball".
- 1911 – Sun Yat-sen (pictured) was elected in Nanjing as the Provisional President of the Republic of China.
- 1937 – The Constitution of Ireland, the founding legal document of the state known today as the Republic of Ireland, came into force.
- 1992 – President of Brazil Fernando Collor de Mello resigned in an attempt to stop his impeachment proceedings from continuing, but the Senate of Brazil continued anyway, finding him guilty.
Deaths
- 721 – Empress Genmei of Japan (b. 660)
- 1170 – Thomas Becket, English archbishop (b. 1118)
- 1563 – Sebastian Castellio, French preacher and theologian (b. 1515)
- 1565 – Queen Munjeong of Korea (b. 1501)
- 1634 – John Albert Vasa, Polish cardinal (b. 1612)
- 1661 – Antoine Girard de Saint-Amant, French poet (b. 1594)
- 1689 – Thomas Sydenham, English physician (b. 1624)
- 1731 – Brook Taylor, English mathematician (b. 1685)
- 1737 – Joseph Saurin, French minister and mathematician (b. 1659)
- 1785 – Johan Herman Wessel, Norwegian-Danish poet and playwright (b. 1742)
- 1825 – Jacques-Louis David, French painter and illustrator (b. 1748)
- 1887 – Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann, Estonian-Russian linguist and botanist (b. 1805)
- 1891 – Leopold Kronecker, Polish-German mathematician and academic (b. 1823)
- 1894 – Christina Rossetti, English poet and hymn-writer (b. 1830)
- 1896 – Jacob ben Moses Bachrach, Polish apologist (b. 1824)
- 1941 – Tullio Levi-Civita, Italian mathematician and scholar (b. 1873)
- 1986 – Harold Macmillan, English captain and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1894)
- 1986 – Andrei Tarkovsky, Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1932)
- 2012 – Tony Greig, South African-Australian cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1946)
- 2013 – Paul Sally, American mathematician and academic (b. 1933)
Tim Blair 2017
A LITTLE BIT OF THAT GOOD OLD GLOBAL WARMING
UPDATED An inoffensive, in fact completely friendly and positive, message from US president Donald Trump causes a massive snowflake meltdown.
YUMMY GUMMY
Flake is a ridiculously underrated dish.
Tim Blair
THURSDAY NOTICEBOARD
GEAR HERE
RED’S RECIPES
Miranda Devine
What’s the reward for saving lives? A pay cut
Pauline Hanson + Cory Bernardi = Perfect Storm
YACHT RACISM
Tim Blair – Tuesday, December 29, 2015 (3:04am)
It’s a Twitter racism crisis on the high seas:
The Sydney to Hobart yacht race organisers have removed a tweet about competitor Indian straying “off the reservation”, after a barrage of responses labelling it racist.The official race twitter account posted a photo of the yacht on Twitter yesterday with the caption: “This is what happens when you stray off the reservation — Indian battling 35+ knots and sea-sickening waves.”It prompted a backlash from followers criticising the comment as “bad taste” and “culturally insensitive”.
Twitter’s racism outrage police are off their game. Why weren’t they furious about a yacht named “Indian” in the first place?
AN ANGRY NEW YEAR
Tim Blair – Tuesday, December 29, 2015 (3:34am)
My friend and spiritual advisor Angry Anderson is playing the Harbord Bowlo on New Year’s Eve. Gentlemen and ladies of refined taste are invited to attend.
TWO MEN AND A SIGN
Tim Blair – Tuesday, December 29, 2015 (3:49am)
The ABC will promote any lame protest so long as it supports an ABC-endorsed cause. This is the lamest yet:
Those arboreal activists were later joined by a family of three, which still left the total number of protesters literally able to be counted on one hand. The ABC receives more than $1 billion of your taxes every single year.
Those arboreal activists were later joined by a family of three, which still left the total number of protesters literally able to be counted on one hand. The ABC receives more than $1 billion of your taxes every single year.
(Via Daniel L.)
THEY LIKE THE SUN
Tim Blair – Monday, December 29, 2014 (12:45pm)
CNN aviation analyst Mary Schiavo considers the possible fate of missing Air Asia flight QZ8501:
“At this point, given it was extremely bad weather, the chances of this being some sort of terrorist activity are very small because most terrorist activities take place in good weather.”
DEAD’S ARMY
Tim Blair – Monday, December 29, 2014 (4:23am)
To a certain extent, Australia’s jihadist contribution to the Islamic State cause in Syria and Iraq is a self-solving problem. Our brave soldiers of Allah are evidently such incompetent warriors that they are being killed at almost the same rate as they arrive.
“The overall number of Australians currently fighting with or supporting Islamic extremist groups in Syria and Iraq has remained consistent over recent months,” ASIO deputy director-general Kerri Hartland told a Senate hearing earlier this month.
“However, this does not reflect a reduction in the number of Australian travellers. Instead it reflects the relatively high casualty rate for Australians, with the numbers of new arrivals roughly keeping pace with the fatalities.”
Continue reading 'DEAD’S ARMY'
MR MANNERS
Tim Blair – Monday, December 29, 2014 (3:39am)
Step aside, June Dally-Watkins. While your excellent advice on manners is always valuable, there are a few modern circumstances you don’t quite cover.
Continue reading 'MR MANNERS'
Conservatives acknowledge the achievements of previous generations. They are realists. They see what works and doesn’t work @SenatorBobDay
Abbott must upset Left’s gravy train
Piers Akerman – Sunday, December 29, 2013 (8:45am)
ENJOY the last days of 2013 as the new year will be tough.
The Abbott government must address harsh realities and introduce long overdue reforms to stabilise the economy and restore optimism and certainty in the future.
Over six years of Labor misgovernment, the economy has haemorrhaged. The surplus left by the Howard-Costello team evaporated. Wayne Swan and Kevin Rudd panicked when the GFC struck and overspent on mickey mouse programs with no long-term benefit and set the pace for skyrocketing national debt.
Pitifully, they tried to claim the nation was in great shape by using some of the worst international basket cases as comparisons. Telling their followers that Australia was better off than Greece or Portugal when those countries were on their knees was insulting.
Australia also has a cultural problem that has its roots in the handout mentality beloved of Labor and the trade union movement. The car manufacturing industry and its supplicants are a case in point.
After billions of dollars in subsidies, Australia faces the reality its signature carmaker Holden has been making cars Australians did not want to buy and were too expensive for the foreign market.
Opposition leader Bill Shorten and South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill say taxpayers should throw more money at the problem. Absolute hogwash. Throwing more money at the problem would have been adding to Labor’s waste and pandering to the featherbedding trade unions.
The Leftist commentators at the national broadcaster, all enjoying their own taxpayer-funded incomes, lapped up the ludicrous criticism of the newish conservative federal government unquestioningly.
For many years, it has been obvious Australia should play to its natural strengths and harness its considerable natural advantages. These are the vast mineral and energy reserves that should cushion the nation through the worst of times and prepare future generations for the best of times. It was heartening to see one of the brightest Australians, Andrew Liveris, the Darwin-born international president, chairman and chief executive of Dow Chemicals, singing from the same song sheet in The Australian on Friday.
“We must play to our strengths,” he wrote. “Manufacturing industry debate is about fitness for competition. Focus is critical.”
Liveris said today’s options for countries like Australia are in high-value, high-technology manufacturing; yet we expend huge amounts of effort on debates that simply are not relevant. He pointed out we cannot, for example, compete on wages, but we can compete on skills and energy and we do well on the first of those.
To compete and win, Liveris says we must have what sports coaches call an “X-factor” player on the team, something the others don’t have and can’t get and Australia’s “X-factor” is energy. But as far as new investments go, our primary sources of natural gas and electricity are now or will soon become negatives in any comparative calculation.
“Average prices of electricity have doubled in most states in recent years and the unprecedented contraction in consumption as the Grattan Institute has pointed out threatens a ‘death spiral’ in which falling consumption pushes up prices even further, causing further falls in consumption. This is a nightmare for industries with high electricity dependency,” he said.
“Equally troubling is the scandalous mismanagement of natural gas. This is a feedstock beyond its energy value that sustains highly valuable technology applications fundamental to global needs.”
The potential to expand our energy supply is only comparable with the US yet domestic prices are soaring. New investments based on Australian gas have already gone elsewhere in at least one case Liveris is aware, to the US. Existing users face a huge competitive handicap and, in some cases, doubts about available supply.
In less than a decade, the US has reversed its near-terminal manufacturing decline as new energy resources are tapped. The X-factor in the US turnaround in Liveris’ opinion is low-cost gas.
Unfortunately, the Australian mining industry has failed to articulate the argument for the need for aggressive expansion of the energy industry and particularly the gas industry; and the huge potential of Australia’s nuclear industry remains virtually untapped.
Merely by providing a safe repository for spent uranium which was originally mined here another multi-billion-dollar industry could be created in extremely short order. The vast and nonproductive environmental industry needs to start working cooperatively with miners to create wealth for the future and the union movement needs to understand that the gravy train has been derailed if we are going to beat the competition
The Goodes the bad and the ugly from 2013
Miranda Devine – Saturday, December 28, 2013 (11:05pm)
This year ended as it began, with furious readers flaming my email inbox. “As usual your column turns my stomach,” wrote Marie about a column criticising Tony Abbott for appointing Natasha Stott Despoja as Ambassador for Women and Girls. “Natasha is worth 100 of you.”
www.cfact.org
===Holly Sarah Nguyen
When I was a child I felt so alone, when I was a teenager I felt out of place, I rebelled and I still do to a certain extent, but now my rebellion is against things that are wrong and unjust, and towards people that try and bring me down to, who pretend they're superior..as I grew I felt I never quite fit in, always watching and observing..through my life I've experienced many things, both really good and really bad..its brought me to this point that I've not figured things out, but understand my experiences have brought me to a level I never thought existed..I'm thankful for the good experiences and even more grateful for the bad ones, for they've both brought me great knowledge and wisdom...and i know there's so much more to learn, and much more to experience, so even on the days that are challenging , I can find peace knowing its shaping me and giving me more so that I can give back in return..
You are a child of God. I thank you, when I was desperate, you offered me a home. I didn't need it, but I richly appreciated the offer. - ed
===
www.news.com.au
Syria may be self destructing, but She can still perform terrorist acts - ed===
A Prison that WORKS!
For those not familiar with Joe Arpio, he is the County Sheriff of Maricopa County, Arizona. He keeps getting re-elected over and over again.
These are some of the reasons why:
Sheriff Joe Arpaio created the "tent city jail" to save Arizona from spending tens of millions of dollars on another expensive prison complex. Inmates sleep in tents!
He has jail meals down to 20 cents a serving and charges the inmates for them.
He banned smoking and pornographic magazines in the jails, and took away their weightlifting equipment and cut off all but "G" movies. He says: "They're in jail to pay a debt to society not to build muscles so they can assault innocent people when they leave."
He started chain gangs to use the inmates to do free work on county and city projects and save taxpayer's money. Men work in Pink "Clean and Sober" Shirts. Their underwear is also Pink!
Then he started chain gangs for women so he wouldn't get sued for discrimination.
He took away cable TV until he found out there was a federal court order that required cable TV for jails. So he hooked up the cable TV again but only allows the Disney channel and the weather channel.
When asked why the weather channel, he replied: "So these morons will know how hot it's gonna be while they are working on my chain gangs."
He cut off coffee because it has zero nutritional value and is therefore a waste of taxpayer money. When the inmates complained, he told them, "This isn't the Ritz/Carlton. If you don't like it, don't come back."
He also bought the Newt Gingrich lecture series on US history that he pipes into the jails. When asked by a reporter if he had any lecture series by a Democrat, he replied that a democratic lecture series that actually tells the truth for a change would be welcome and that it might even explain why 95% of the inmates were in his jails in the first place.
With temperatures being even hotter than usual in Phoenix (116 degrees just set a new record for June 2nd 2009), the Associated Press reported: About 2,000 inmates living in a barbed wire surrounded tent encampment at the Maricopa County Jail have been given permission to strip down to their government-issued pink boxer shorts.
On the Wednesday, hundreds of men wearing pink boxer shorts were overheard chatting in the tents, where temperatures reached 128 degrees. “This is hell. It feels like we live in a furnace," said Ernesto Gonzales, an inmate for 2 years with 10 more to go. "It's inhumane."
Joe Arpaio, who makes his prisoners wear pink, and eat bologna sandwiches, is not one bit sympathetic. "Criminals should be punished for their crimes - not live in luxury until it's time for parole, only to go out and commit more crimes so they can come back in to live on taxpayers money and enjoy things many taxpayers can't afford to have for themselves."
The same day he told all the inmates who were complaining of the heat in the tents: "It's between 120 to 130 degrees in Iraq and our soldiers are living in tents there too, and they have to walk all day in that sun, wearing full battle gear and getting shot at, and THEY have not committed any crimes, so shut your damned mouths!"
Sheriff Joe was just re-elected for the fourteenth time as Sheriff in Maricopa County, Arizona.
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www.yalibnan.com
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shilohmusings.blogspot.com
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calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.se
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www.gatestoneinstitute.org
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www.timesofisrael.com
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israel21c.org
===- 875 – Charles the Bald, King of the Franks, is crowned as Holy Roman Emperor Charles II.
- 1170 – Thomas Becket, Archbishop of Canterbury, is assassinated inside Canterbury Cathedral by followers of King Henry II; he subsequently becomes a saint and martyr in the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church.
- 1427 – The Ming army begins its withdraw from Hanoi, ending the Chinese domination of Đại Việt.
- 1503 – The Battle of Garigliano (1503) was fought between a Spanish army under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba and a French army commanded by Ludovico II, Marquess of Saluzzo
- 1508 – Portuguese forces under the command of Francisco de Almeida attack Khambhat at the Battle of Dabul.
- 1778 – American Revolutionary War: Three thousand British soldiers under the command of Lieutenant Colonel Archibald Campbell capture Savannah, Georgia.
- 1812 – The USS Constitution under the command of Captain William Bainbridge, captures the HMS Java off the coast of Brazil after a three-hour battle.
- 1835 – The Treaty of New Echota is signed, ceding all the lands of the Cherokee east of the Mississippi River to the United States.
- 1845 – In accordance with International Boundary delimitation, the United States annexes the Republic of Texas, following the manifest destiny doctrine. The Republic of Texas, which had been independent since the Texas Revolution of 1836, is thereupon admitted as the 28th U.S. state.
- 1851 – The first American YMCA opens in Boston, Massachusetts.
- 1860 – The launch of HMS Warrior, with her combination of screw propeller, iron hull and iron armour, renders all previous warships obsolete.
- 1874 – The military coup of Gen. Martinez Campos in Sagunto ends the failed First Spanish Republic and the monarchy is restored as Prince Alfonso is proclaimed King of Spain.
- 1876 – The Ashtabula River railroad disaster occurs, leaving 64 injured and 92 dead at Ashtabula, Ohio.
- 1890 – Wounded Knee Massacre on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, 300 Lakota killed by the United States 7th Cavalry Regiment.
- 1911 – Mongolia gains independence from the Qing dynasty, enthroning 9th Jebtsundamba Khutughtu as Khagan of Mongolia.
- 1911 – Sun Yat-sen becomes the provisional President of the Republic of China; he formally takes office on January 1, 1912.
- 1916 – A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, the first novel by James Joyce, was first published as a book by an American publishing house B. W. Huebschis after it had been serialized in The Egoist (1914–15).
- 1930 – Sir Muhammad Iqbal's presidential address in Allahabad introduces the two-nation theoryand outlines a vision for the creation of Pakistan.
- 1934 – Japan renounces the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922 and the London Naval Treaty of 1930.
- 1937 – The Irish Free State is replaced by a new state called Ireland with the adoption of a new constitution.
- 1940 – World War II: In the Second Great Fire of London, the Luftwaffe fire-bombs London, England, killing almost 200 civilians.
- 1949 – KC2XAK of Bridgeport, Connecticut becomes the first Ultra high frequency (UHF) television station to operate a daily schedule.
- 1972 – Eastern Air Lines Flight 401 (a Lockheed L-1011 TriStar) crashes in the Florida Evergladeson approach to Miami International Airport, Florida, killing 101 of the 176 people onboard.
- 1975 – A bomb explodes at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, killing 11 people and injuring 74.
- 1989 – Czech writer, philosopher and dissident Václav Havel is elected the first post-communist President of Czechoslovakia.
- 1992 – Fernando Collor de Mello, president of Brazil, tries to resign amidst corruption charges, but is then impeached.
- 1996 – Guatemala and leaders of Guatemalan National Revolutionary Unity sign a peace accord ending a 36-year civil war.
- 1997 – Hong Kong begins to kill all the city's 1.25 million chickens to stop the spread of a potentially deadly influenza strain.
- 1998 – Leaders of the Khmer Rouge apologize for the 1970s genocide in Cambodia that claimed over one million lives.
- 2003 – The last known speaker of Akkala Sami dies, rendering the language extinct.
- 2006 – UK settles its Anglo-American loan, post-WWII loan debt.
- 2011 – Samoa and Tokelau skip straight to December 31 when moving from one side of the International Date Line to another.
- 2012 – A Tupolev Tu-204 airliner crashes in a ditch between the airport fence and the M3 highwayafter overshooting a runway at Vnukovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia, killing five people and leaving three others critically injured.
- 2013 – A suicide bomb attack at the Volgograd-1 railway station in the southern Russian city of Volgograd kills at least 18 people and wounds 40 others.
- 765 – Ali al-Ridha, Arabian 8th of the Twelve Imams (d. 818)
- 1019 – King Munjong of Goryeo (d. 1083)
- 1536 – Henry VI, Burgrave of Plauen (d. 1572)
- 1550 – García de Silva Figueroa, Spanish diplomat and traveller (d. 1624)
- 1633 – Johannes Zollikofer, Swiss vicar (d. 1692)
- 1709 – Elizabeth of Russia (d. 1762)
- 1746 – Saverio Cassar, Gozitan priest and rebel leader (d. 1805)
- 1766 – Charles Macintosh, Scottish chemist and the inventor of waterproof fabric (d. 1843)
- 1796 – Johann Christian Poggendorff, German physicist and journalist (d. 1877)
- 1800 – Charles Goodyear, American chemist and engineer (d. 1860)
- 1808 – Andrew Johnson, American general and politician, 17th President of the United States (d. 1875)
- 1809 – William Ewart Gladstone, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1898)
- 1816 – Carl Ludwig, German physician and physiologist (d. 1895)
- 1844 – Womesh Chunder Bonnerjee, Indian barrister and was the first president of Indian National Congress. (d. 1906)
- 1855 – August Kitzberg, Estonian author and poet (d. 1927)
- 1856 – Thomas Joannes Stieltjes, Dutch-French mathematician and academic (d. 1894)
- 1859 – Venustiano Carranza, Mexican soldier and politician, 37th President of Mexico (d. 1920)
- 1874 – François Brandt, Dutch rower and bishop (d. 1949)
- 1876 – Pablo Casals, Catalan cellist and conductor (d. 1973)
- 1879 – Billy Mitchell, American general and pilot (d. 1936)
- 1881 – Jess Willard, American boxer (d. 1968)
- 1885 – Roman von Ungern-Sternberg, Austrian-Russian general (d. 1921)
- 1886 – Norman Hallows, English runner and captain (d. 1968)
- 1895 – Oswald Freisler, German lawyer and author (d. 1939)
- 1896 – David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican painter (d. 1974)
- 1899 – Nie Rongzhen, Chinese general and politician, Mayor of Beijing (d. 1992)
- 1902 – Nels Stewart, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 1957)
- 1903 – Candido Portinari, Brazilian painter (d. 1962)
- 1904 – Kuvempu, Indian author and poet (d. 1994)
- 1908 – Helmut Gollwitzer, German theologian and author (d. 1993)
- 1908 – Magnus Pyke, English scientist and author (d. 1992)
- 1910 – Ronald Coase, English-American economist, author, and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2013)
- 1911 – Klaus Fuchs, German physicist and spy (d. 1988)
- 1914 – Zainul Abedin, Bangladeshi painter and academic (d. 1976)
- 1914 – Billy Tipton, American pianist and saxophonist (d. 1989)
- 1914 – Albert Tucker, Australian painter and illustrator (d. 1999)
- 1915 – Bill Osmanski, American football player and coach (d. 1996)
- 1915 – Robert Ruark, American hunter and author (d. 1965)
- 1915 – Jo Van Fleet, American actress (d. 1996)
- 1917 – Tom Bradley, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 38th Mayor of Los Angeles (d. 1998)
- 1917 – Ramanand Sagar, Indian director and producer (d. 2005)
- 1919 – Alfred de Grazia, American political scientist and author (d. 2014)
- 1919 – Roman Vlad, Italian pianist and composer (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Viveca Lindfors, Swedish-American actress, singer and poet (d. 1995)
- 1921 – Dobrica Ćosić, Serbian politician, 1st President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (d. 2014)
- 1922 – Little Joe Cook, American singer-songwriter (d. 2014)
- 1922 – William Gaddis, American author and academic (d. 1998)
- 1923 – Cheikh Anta Diop, Senegalese historian, anthropologist, and physicist (d. 1986)
- 1923 – Morton Estrin, American pianist and educator (d. 2017)
- 1923 – Dina Merrill, American actress, game show panelist, socialite, heiress, and businesswoman (d. 2017)
- 1923 – Shlomo Venezia, Greek-Italian author and Holocaust survivor (d. 2012)
- 1923 – Yvonne Choquet-Bruhat, French mathematician and physicist
- 1924 – Joe Allbritton, American businessman and publisher, founded the Allbritton Communications Company (d. 2012)
- 1925 – Pete Dye, American golfer and architect
- 1927 – Andy Stanfield, American sprinter (d. 1985)
- 1929 – Matt Murphy, American guitarist
- 1931 – Stasys Stonkus, Lithuanian basketball player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1932 – Inga Swenson, American actress and singer
- 1933 – Samuel Brittan, English journalist and author
- 1934 – Ed Flanders, American actor (d. 1995)
- 1936 – Mary Tyler Moore, American actress and producer (d. 2017)
- 1936 – Ray Nitschke, American football player (d. 1998)
- 1937 – Wayne Huizenga, American businessman, founded AutoNation
- 1938 – Harvey Smith, English horse rider and sportscaster
- 1938 – Jon Voight, American actor and producer
- 1939 – Ed Bruce, American country music singer-songwriter
- 1941 – Ray Thomas, English singer-songwriter and flute player
- 1942 – Óscar Andrés Rodríguez Maradiaga, Honduran cardinal
- 1943 – Bill Aucoin, American talent manager (d. 2010)
- 1943 – Molly Bang, American author and illustrator
- 1943 – Rick Danko, Canadian singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (d. 1999)
- 1944 – Rodney Redmond, New Zealand cricketer
- 1945 – Birendra of Nepal, King of Nepal from 1972 to 2001 (d. 2001)
- 1946 – Marianne Faithfull, English singer-songwriter and actress
- 1946 – Laffit Pincay, Jr., Panamanian jockey
- 1947 – Richard Crandall, American physicist and computer scientist (d. 2012)
- 1947 – Ted Danson, American actor and producer
- 1947 – Leonhard Lapin, Estonian architect and poet
- 1947 – Cozy Powell, English drummer, songwriter, and producer (d. 1998)
- 1947 – David Tanner, English rower and coach
- 1947 – Vincent Winter, Scottish actor, director, and production manager (d. 1998)
- 1948 – Peter Robinson, Northern Irish politician, 3rd First Minister of Northern Ireland
- 1949 – David Topliss, English rugby league player and coach (d. 2008)
- 1951 – Yvonne Elliman, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1952 – Gelsey Kirkland, American ballerina and choreographer
- 1953 – Thomas Bach, German fencer, lawyer and sports administrator; 9th President of the International Olympic Committee
- 1953 – Alan Rusbridger, Zambia-born English journalist and academic
- 1953 – Kate Schmidt, American javelin thrower and coach
- 1953 – Stanley Williams, American gang leader, co-founded the Crips (d. 2005)
- 1953 – Charlayne Woodard, American actress and playwright
- 1954 – Albrecht Böttcher, German mathematician and author
- 1956 – Katy Munger, American writer
- 1957 – Brad Grey, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2017)
- 1957 – Oliver Hirschbiegel, German actor, director, and producer
- 1957 – Iain Paxton, Scottish rugby player and coach
- 1957 – Paul Rudnick, American author, playwright, and screenwriter
- 1958 – Nancy J. Currie, American colonel, engineer, and astronaut
- 1959 – Keith Crossan, Irish rugby player
- 1959 – Patricia Clarkson, American actress
- 1959 – Ann Demeulemeester, Belgian fashion designer
- 1959 – Milton Ottey, Jamaican-Canadian high jumper and coach
- 1959 – Paula Poundstone, American comedian and author
- 1960 – David Boon, Australian cricketer
- 1960 – David Gilbert, Australian cricketer
- 1960 – Thomas Lubanga Dyilo, Congolese militia leader, founded the Union of Congolese Patriots
- 1961 – Kevin Granata, American engineer and academic (d. 2007)
- 1961 – Jim Reid, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1961 – Richard Horton, English physician and journalist
- 1962 – Wynton Rufer, New Zealand footballer
- 1962 – Devon White, Jamaican-American baseball player
- 1962 – Carles Puigdemont, Catalan politician and former president
- 1963 – Des Foy, English rugby player
- 1963 – Dave McKean, English illustrator, photographer, director, and pianist
- 1963 – Sean Payton, American football player and coach
- 1963 – Liisa Savijarvi, Canadian skier
- 1964 – Michael Cudlitz, American actor
- 1965 – Laurent Boudouani, French boxer
- 1965 – Dexter Holland, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1965 – Danilo Pérez, Panamanian pianist and composer
- 1966 – Stefano Eranio, Italian footballer and coach
- 1966 – Martin Offiah, English rugby league player and sportscaster
- 1967 – Ashleigh Banfield, Canadian-American journalist
- 1967 – Evan Seinfeld, American bass player, actor, and director
- 1968 – Ri Pun-hui, North Korean table tennis player
- 1969 – Jennifer Ehle, American actress
- 1969 – Allan McNish, Scottish race car driver and journalist
- 1970 – Enrico Chiesa, Italian footballer and manager
- 1970 – Aled Jones, Welsh singer and television host
- 1970 – Glen Phillips, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Toad the Wet Sprocket)
- 1971 – Besnik Hasi, Kosovo Albanian football manager and former player
- 1972 – Jude Law, English actor
- 1973 – Theo Epstein, American businessman
- 1974 – Mekhi Phifer, American actor and producer
- 1974 – Richie Sexson, American baseball player and coach
- 1974 – Ryan Shore, Canadian composer and producer
- 1975 – Shawn Hatosy, American actor
- 1975 – Jaret Wright, American baseball player
- 1976 – Filip Kuba, Czech ice hockey player
- 1976 – Danny McBride, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1977 – Jimmy Journell, American baseball player
- 1978 – Jake Berry, English lawyer and politician
- 1978 – Matthew Carr, Australian footballer
- 1978 – Pierre Dagenais, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1978 – Kieron Dyer, English footballer and coach
- 1978 – Danny Higginbotham, English footballer and journalist
- 1978 – Steve Kemp, English drummer
- 1979 – Mitsuhiro Ishida, Japanese mixed martial artist
- 1979 – Diego Luna, Mexican actor, director, and producer
- 1979 – Moe Oshikiri, Japanese model and actress
- 1979 – George Parros, American ice hockey player
- 1981 – Shizuka Arakawa, Japanese figure skater and sportscaster
- 1981 – Shaun Suisham, American football player
- 1981 – Vjatšeslav Zahovaiko, Estonian footballer
- 1982 – Alison Brie, American actress and singer
- 1982 – Brian Hill, Canadian swimmer
- 1982 – Dale Morris, Australian footballer
- 1982 – Norbert Siedler, Austrian race car driver
- 1983 – Jessica Andrews, American singer-songwriter
- 1983 – James Kelly, Australian footballer
- 1984 – Brenton Lawrence, Australian rugby league player
- 1984 – Reimo Tamm, Estonian basketball player
- 1986 – Joe Anyon, English footballer
- 1987 – Yuhi Sekiguchi, Japanese race car driver
- 1988 – Eric Berry, American football player
- 1988 – Christen Press, American footballer
- 1988 – Ágnes Szávay, Hungarian tennis player
- 1989 – Kei Nishikori, Japanese tennis player
Births[edit]
- 721 – Empress Genmei of Japan (b. 660)
- 1125 – Agnes I, Abbess of Quedlinburg (b.c. 1090)
- 1170 – Thomas Becket, English archbishop and saint (b. 1118)
- 1208 – Emperor Zhangzong of Jin, (b. 1168)
- 1380 – Elizabeth of Poland, queen consort of Hungary (b. 1305)[1]
- 1416 – Mathew Swetenham, bow bearer of Henry IV
- 1550 – Bhuvanaikabahu VII, King of Kotte (b. 1468)
- 1563 – Sebastian Castellio, French preacher and theologian (b. 1515)
- 1565 – Queen Munjeong of Korea (b. 1501)
- 1606 – Stephen Bocskay, Prince of Transylvania (b. 1557)
- 1634 – John Albert Vasa, Polish cardinal (b. 1612)
- 1661 – Antoine Girard de Saint-Amant, French poet (b. 1594)
- 1689 – Thomas Sydenham, English physician and author (b. 1624)
- 1720 – Maria Margarethe Kirch, German astronomer and educator (b. 1670)
- 1731 – Brook Taylor, English mathematician and theorist (b. 1685)
- 1737 – Joseph Saurin, French minister and mathematician (b. 1659)
- 1785 – Johan Herman Wessel, Norwegian-Danish poet and playwright (b. 1742)
- 1825 – Jacques-Louis David, French painter and illustrator (b. 1748)
- 1887 – Ferdinand Johann Wiedemann, Estonian-Russian linguist and botanist (b. 1805)
- 1890 – Spotted Elk, American tribal leader (b. 1826)
- 1891 – Leopold Kronecker, Polish-German mathematician and academic (b. 1823)
- 1894 – Christina Rossetti, English poet and hymn-writer (b. 1830)
- 1897 – William James Linton, English-American painter, author, and activist (b. 1812)
- 1900 – John Henry Leech, English entomologist (b. 1862)
- 1910 – Reginald Doherty, English tennis player (b. 1872)
- 1924 – Carl Spitteler, Swiss poet and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1845)
- 1925 – Félix Vallotton, Swiss/French painter (b. 1865)
- 1926 – Rainer Maria Rilke, Austrian poet and author (b. 1875)
- 1929 – Wilhelm Maybach, German engineer and businessman, founded Maybach (b. 1846)
- 1937 – Don Marquis, American journalist, author, and playwright (b. 1878)
- 1941 – Tullio Levi-Civita, Italian mathematician and scholar (b. 1873)
- 1944 – Khasan Israilov, Chechen rebel (b. 1910)
- 1949 – Tyler Dennett, American historian and author (b. 1883)
- 1952 – Fletcher Henderson, American pianist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1897)
- 1959 – Robin Milford, English soldier and composer (b. 1903)
- 1960 – Eden Phillpotts, English author and poet (b. 1862)
- 1967 – Paul Whiteman, American violinist, composer, and conductor (b. 1890)
- 1968 – Austin Farrer, English theologian and philosopher (b. 1904)
- 1970 – Marie Menken, American director and painter (b. 1909)
- 1972 – Joseph Cornell, American sculptor and director (b. 1903)
- 1972 – Chrysostomos Papasarantopoulos, Greek priest and missionary (b. 1903)
- 1976 – Ivo Van Damme, Belgian runner (b. 1954)
- 1980 – Nadezhda Mandelstam, Russian author and educator (b. 1899)
- 1981 – Miroslav Krleža, Croatian author, poet, and playwright (b. 1893)
- 1986 – Harold Macmillan, English captain and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1894)
- 1986 – Andrei Tarkovsky, Russian director and screenwriter (b. 1932)
- 1988 – Mike Beuttler, Egyptian race car driver (b. 1940)
- 1996 – Mireille Hartuch, French singer-songwriter and actress (b. 1906)
- 1998 – Jean-Claude Forest, French author and illustrator (b. 1930)
- 1999 – Leon Radzinowicz, Polish-English criminologist and academic (b. 1906)
- 2000 – Adele Stimmel Chase, American sculptor and painter (b. 1917)
- 2001 – Takashi Asahina, Japanese conductor (b. 1908)
- 2003 – Bob Monkhouse, English comedian, actor, and game show host (b. 1928)
- 2004 – Julius Axelrod, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)
- 2004 – Ken Burkhart, American baseball player and umpire (b. 1915)
- 2007 – Phil O'Donnell, Scottish footballer (b. 1972)
- 2008 – Freddie Hubbard, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1938)
- 2009 – Steven Williams, American professional wrestler (b. 1960)
- 2010 – Avi Cohen, Israeli footballer and manager (b. 1956)
- 2012 – Tony Greig, South African-Australian cricketer and sportscaster (b. 1946)
- 2012 – Roland Griffiths-Marsh, Australian soldier and author (b. 1923)
- 2012 – Edward Meneeley, American painter and sculptor (b. 1927)
- 2012 – Paulo Rocha, Portuguese director and screenwriter (b. 1935)
- 2012 – Bruce Stark, American cartoonist (b. 1933)
- 2013 – C. T. Hsia, Chinese-American critic and scholar (b. 1921)
- 2013 – Benjamin Curtis, American guitarist, drummer, and songwriter (b. 1978)
- 2013 – Connie Dierking, American basketball player (b. 1936)
- 2013 – Eero Mäntyranta, Finnish skier (b. 1937)
- 2013 – Jagadish Mohanty, Indian author and translator (b. 1951)
- 2013 – Paul Sally, American mathematician and academic (b. 1933)
- 2013 – Wojciech Kilar, Polish classical and film music composer (b. 1932)
- 2014 – Hari Harilela, Indian-Hong Kong businessman and philanthropist (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Juanito Remulla, Sr., Filipino lawyer and politician, Governor of Cavite (b. 1933)
- 2015 – Om Prakash Malhotra, Indian general and politician, 25th Governor of Punjab (b. 1922)
- 2015 – Pavel Srníček, Czech footballer and coach (b. 1968)
- 2016 – Keion Carpenter, American football defensive back (b. 1977)
- 2016 – LaVell Edwards, American football head coach (b. 1930)
Deaths[edit]
- Christian feast day:
- David, King and prophet (Catholic, Lutheran)
- Thomas Becket
- Trophimus of Arles
- December 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Constitution Day (Ireland)
- Independence Day (Mongolia)
- The fifth day of Christmas (Western Christianity)
- The fourth day of Kwanzaa (United States)
Holidays and observances[edit]
““Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Matthew 11:28 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
When the Lord in mercy passed by and saw us in our blood, he first of all said, "Live;" and this he did first, because life is one of the absolutely essential things in spiritual matters, and until it be bestowed we are incapable of partaking in the things of the kingdom. Now the life which grace confers upon the saints at the moment of their quickening is none other than the life of Christ, which, like the sap from the stem, runs into us, the branches, and establishes a living connection between our souls and Jesus. Faith is the grace which perceives this union, having proceeded from it as its firstfruit. It is the neck which joins the body of the Church to its all-glorious Head.
"Oh Faith! thou bond of union with the Lord,
Is not this office thine? and thy fit name,
In the economy of gospel types,
And symbols apposite--the Church's neck;
Identifying her in will and work
With him ascended?"
Faith lays hold upon the Lord Jesus with a firm and determined grasp. She knows his excellence and worth, and no temptation can induce her to repose her trust elsewhere; and Christ Jesus is so delighted with this heavenly grace, that he never ceases to strengthen and sustain her by the loving embrace and all-sufficient support of his eternal arms. Here, then, is established a living, sensible, and delightful union which casts forth streams of love, confidence, sympathy, complacency, and joy, whereof both the bride and bridegroom love to drink. When the soul can evidently perceive this oneness between itself and Christ, the pulse may be felt as beating for both, and the one blood as flowing through the veins of each. Then is the heart as near heaven as it can be on earth, and is prepared for the enjoyment of the most sublime and spiritual kind of fellowship.
Evening
"I came not to send peace on earth, but a sword."
Matthew 10:34
Matthew 10:34
The Christian will be sure to make enemies. It will be one of his objects to make none; but if to do the right, and to believe the true, should cause him to lose every earthly friend, he will count it but a small loss, since his great Friend in heaven will be yet more friendly, and reveal himself to him more graciously than ever. O ye who have taken up his cross, know ye not what your Master said? "I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother; and a man's foes shall be they of his own household." Christ is the great Peacemaker; but before peace, he brings war. Where the light cometh, the darkness must retire. Where truth is, the lie must flee; or, if it abideth, there must be a stern conflict, for the truth cannot and will not lower its standard, and the lie must be trodden under foot. If you follow Christ, you shall have all the dogs of the world yelping at your heels. If you would live so as to stand the test of the last tribunal, depend upon it the world will not speak well of you. He who has the friendship of the world is an enemy to God; but if you are true and faithful to the Most High, men will resent your unflinching fidelity, since it is a testimony against their iniquities. Fearless of all consequences, you must do the right. You will need the courage of a lion unhesitatingly to pursue a course which shall turn your best friend into your fiercest foe; but for the love of Jesus you must thus be courageous. For the truth's sake to hazard reputation and affection, is such a deed that to do it constantly you will need a degree of moral principle which only the Spirit of God can work in you; yet turn not your back like a coward, but play the man. Follow right manfully in your Master's steps, for he has traversed this rough way before you. Better a brief warfare and eternal rest, than false peace and everlasting torment.
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Today's reading: Zechariah 5-8, Revelation 19 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Zechariah 5-8
The Flying Scroll
1 I looked again, and there before me was a flying scroll.
2 He asked me, “What do you see?”
I answered, “I see a flying scroll, twenty cubits long and ten cubits wide.”
3 And he said to me, “This is the curse that is going out over the whole land; for according to what it says on one side, every thief will be banished, and according to what it says on the other, everyone who swears falsely will be banished. 4The LORD Almighty declares, ‘I will send it out, and it will enter the house of the thief and the house of anyone who swears falsely by my name. It will remain in that house and destroy it completely, both its timbers and its stones.’”
The Woman in a Basket
5 Then the angel who was speaking to me came forward and said to me, “Look up and see what is appearing.”
6 I asked, “What is it?”
He replied, “It is a basket.” And he added, “This is the iniquity of the people throughout the land....”
Today's New Testament reading: Revelation 19
Threefold Hallelujah Over Babylon’s Fall
1 After this I heard what sounded like the roar of a great multitude in heaven shouting:
“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God,
2 for true and just are his judgments.
He has condemned the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth by her adulteries.
He has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”
3 And again they shouted:
“Hallelujah!
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever....”
The smoke from her goes up for ever and ever....”
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Elimelech [Ĕlĭm'elĕch]—god is king.The husband of Naomi and father of Mahlon and Chilion, Ephrathites of Bethlehem-judah (Ruth 1:2, 3; 2:1, 3;4:3-9; 1 Sam. 17:12).
The Man Whose Ways Contradicted His Name
It is one thing to have a good name, but a different matter altogether to have a life corresponding to that name. Elimelech’s name implies that God is King, an expressive name given him by godly parents when the nation followed the Lord. But Elimelech belied the name he bore, for had he truly believed that God was King, he would have stayed in Bethlehem in spite of the prevailing famine.
But one might argue that it was a wise thing to do to leave a famine-stricken land for another land where there was plenty of food for his family. Surely that was a journey any father would undertake to save his dear ones from starvation. But Elimelech was a Jew and as such had the promise, “In the days of famine ye shall be satisfied.” Had he firmly believed in the sovereignty of God, Elimelech would have remained in Bethlehem, knowing that need can never throttle God. Had he not declared that bread and water for His own would be sure? Alas, however, Elimelech did not live up to his wonderful name! In going down to Moab, he stepped out of the will of God, who had forbidden His people to have any association with the Moabites. In Moab, Elimelech and his two sons found graves. Yet such a wrong move was overruled by God, for as the result of it, Ruth the Moabitess returned to Bethlehem with Naomi, who was to become the ancestress of our blessed Lord.
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