NSW Police are accused of a culture of corruption. They had been under ALP for a long time and the Libs have gone softly softly for cultural change since achieving government in 2010. If the Libs don't change the culture of police in NSW, ALP will benefit from the corruption. And innocent people will be hurt. And are being hurt. Meanwhile, Police are too meek in Victoria and criminals are doing as they please. Once Dan Andrews goes, and Matthew Guy replaces him, those very same police will be potent against the same criminals. Because it is Victorian ALP law which hamstrings the police.
Fake news had it that Trump had bombed a mosque and killed a large number of IS leaders. It is not true. Trump defeated IS without bombing a mosque. UK Deputy PM has resigned after claiming he had not downloaded porn on his office computers. It sounds harsh, but he had mislead parliament by suggesting he had not known of the issue at all, when he had discussed it with police at the time. In NSW, Tripodi once claimed he had spoken to a Canley Vale Principal about gun crime when he had not. Press protected Tripodi for lying in parliament over nothing.
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 "Cracklin' Rosie"
"Cracklin' Rosie" is a 1970 song written and performed by Neil Diamond in 1970, from his album Tap Root Manuscript. This was Neil Diamond's first American #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in October 1970,[1] and his third to sell a million copies. It become Diamond's breakthrough single on the UK Singles Chart in 1970, reaching #3 in December 1970. It also reached #2 on the Australian Singles Chart
=== from 2016 ===
The December IPA Review is out and Simon Breheny and Morgan Begg have an article “Bleak Future” on reasons to repeal article 18c of the anti racism act of 1975. The article is focused on the events surrounding the Bill Leak cartoon which was quickly denounced as being racist, but the charge later withdrawn. The actions of Race Discrimination Commissioner Tim Soutphommasane on the issue should draw attention to his unsuitability for the role. Australia does not have free speech while the law is enacted, and such people as Tim act in partisan against free speech.
I finally have the confidence and security to speak on this issue. It is one issue of many I have needed to wait for God to answer me. My question is how do I treat Creationism as part of the Evolution in Science argument. My answer is that Creationism is junk science and not a fit biblical response to atheism in science. I am a fundamentalist evangelical Christian. I believe the Bible is the word of God. I have a strong understanding of how it came into being as a modern document. I get the first five books are later writings of oral accounts which don’t relate to rocket science. Which don’t relate to the physical universe’s creation. But it accurately depicts how God came to reveal himself to His chosen people. People in the Bible are real, but we no longer know what is allegorical. The arguments don’t require we know. If the resurrection of Jesus is real, then the entire Bible is valid. That does not mean there is Noah’s Ark or that the world was created in six non figurative days. Or that people once lived for hundreds of years or had children before other families were created. Evolution is merely observation of creation. Atheists make stronger claims than observation provides. Intelligent Design is similarly meaningless. Faith is not tested by evolution theory, but neither is it enhanced by Creationist theology. Believing in creationism is not the same as believing in God.
In the last hundred years, left wing atheist ideology has had powerful proponents seize arguments. They cast doubt on mainstays of creation and civilisation. Cultural assets such as nations, identity, marriage, justice, service, giving, faith, faithfulness, freedom, thoughtfulness, and gratitude have been diminished or supplanted by slavery to ideals, puritanical zeal, thoughtless adherence to populist ideology, supremacy of ego and identity over responsibility. It does not take a biblical scholar to demonstrate that the Bible has illustrated this struggle time and again.
I finally have the confidence and security to speak on this issue. It is one issue of many I have needed to wait for God to answer me. My question is how do I treat Creationism as part of the Evolution in Science argument. My answer is that Creationism is junk science and not a fit biblical response to atheism in science. I am a fundamentalist evangelical Christian. I believe the Bible is the word of God. I have a strong understanding of how it came into being as a modern document. I get the first five books are later writings of oral accounts which don’t relate to rocket science. Which don’t relate to the physical universe’s creation. But it accurately depicts how God came to reveal himself to His chosen people. People in the Bible are real, but we no longer know what is allegorical. The arguments don’t require we know. If the resurrection of Jesus is real, then the entire Bible is valid. That does not mean there is Noah’s Ark or that the world was created in six non figurative days. Or that people once lived for hundreds of years or had children before other families were created. Evolution is merely observation of creation. Atheists make stronger claims than observation provides. Intelligent Design is similarly meaningless. Faith is not tested by evolution theory, but neither is it enhanced by Creationist theology. Believing in creationism is not the same as believing in God.
In the last hundred years, left wing atheist ideology has had powerful proponents seize arguments. They cast doubt on mainstays of creation and civilisation. Cultural assets such as nations, identity, marriage, justice, service, giving, faith, faithfulness, freedom, thoughtfulness, and gratitude have been diminished or supplanted by slavery to ideals, puritanical zeal, thoughtless adherence to populist ideology, supremacy of ego and identity over responsibility. It does not take a biblical scholar to demonstrate that the Bible has illustrated this struggle time and again.
=== from 2015 ===
One of my extreme left wing sisters went to walk from South Africa to the Middle East as a young woman on a gap year. Blond haired, blue eyed. Alone. To show she could. That was before 911. In 2010, two young women went for a walk in the Middle East. One was Jewish, the other was Christian who looked Jewish. They were set upon by Palestinian jihadis that the world recognises as Muslim. The Christian girl was hacked to pieces by machete. After the police arrested the killers, their defence was they thought the dead Christian girl was Jewish. And if she had been, would that make the attack right? Obama got John Kerry to demand Israel surrender such killers from jail for peace. Fatah and Hamas greeted the killers as conquering heroes. But they weren't. Only decent people would say they weren't really even Muslim, as they brought Islam into disrepute. Today a senior Palestinian commander, who had among other atrocities, killed a 4 yo girl by dashing her head against a rock, that 'hero' was killed by an Israeli rocket. It would be good to thank the Israeli woman who killed the perpetrator of crimes against humanity. God speed her to her next target. That target is probably a well off friend of Obama.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
From 2014
Cabinet reshuffle
- Scott Morrison will be promoted to Minister for Social Services and be made part of the expenditure review committee
- Peter Dutton will be appointed as Minister for Immigration and Border Protection. He will join the National Security Committee of Cabinet.
- Sussan Ley will be promoted into Cabinet and become the Minister for Health and the Minister for Sport.
- Josh Frydenberg will be appointed as Assistant Treasurer. After $2 billion in red tape reduction in just one year, he will be an important part of 2015 Budget preparations and will join the Expenditure Review Committee of Cabinet.
- Christopher Pyne will become Minister for Education and Training and Senator Simon Birmingham will be promoted into the position of Assistant Minister for Education and Training.
- Ian Macfarlane will assume the title of Minister for Industry and Science.
- Kevin Andrews will become the Minister for Defence.
- Steven Ciobo will be promoted to the position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Foreign Affairs.
- Bob Baldwin will become Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for the Environment and provide a strong focus on the Green Army programme.
- Christian Porter will be appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister.
- Kelly O’Dwyer will be appointed as Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer in recognition of her work as Chair of the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Economics.
- Karen Andrews, a former engineer, will take on the role of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry and Science.
I record my gratitude to Senator the Hon David Johnston who will stand down as Minister for Defence. Senator Johnston has done a fine job in restoring investment in the Australian Defence Force after six years of neglect and has effectively managed the deployment of Australian Defence Force personnel to Europe and Iraq.
Laurie Oakes dismissed the shuffle as being necessary but unlikely to change much the perception that the government can't pass legislation.
The testimony of the baby sitter suggests the mother had a relationship difficulty, possibly with one of the five fathers, and began to isolate herself months ago. She apparently had been a good loving mother, starting at a young sixteen or seventeen. But possibly became addicted to ice. In public policy terms it highlights how hard it is with the ALP cutting the baby bonus for struggling families and cutting back on specialist services from Aboriginal Intervention, isolating women carers and promoting drugs through feel good policy like harm minimisation. But the mother will have her own reasons for killing her own children and a niece.
Medical Marijuana is to go on trial in NSW who haven't worked out yet where they will source it. NSW are keen to implement a safe zero tolerance policy which protects the sick. Victoria's enthusiastic ALP aren't bothering with a trial. They want drugs in the community now.
Interim union report discredits former PM Gillard's testimony. ABC viewers not advised as the partisan ABC won't admit it.
Report to authorities warned about Monis two days before his atrocity. The report was only about his Facebook page. Authorities treated the report seriously and it would not have changed the outcomes. It is worth noting that Islamic authorities are refusing to bury the body, but suggest putting it in sewage or at sea. The same Islamic authorities had accepted Monis when he wrote to soldier's widows.
Two NYC police are executed by an opportunist terrorist. The killer, Abdullah, had been wanted for murdering his own girlfriend. Media are reporting he has given 'reasons' for his act of terrorism, but they don't bear scrutiny. It is apparent he knew he was going to serve serious time and so he took police with him. No doubt ISIL will accept credit.
Extremist knifes police in France and is shot dead by police. No details are yet available as to the 'reason' for the attack, but probably ISIL will claim credit.
Reports of ISIL killing foreign supporters who don't fight well. The victims had tried to flee Raqqa, in Syria during fierce fighting. It has been verified at least one hundred were executed. Meanwhile Kurds report success in breaking a siege on a mountain where Yazidi civilians had been trapped.
Other news
Mother charged with killing 8 children highlights issues, it is dangerous to be a child of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Island peoples. It is dangerous to be around drug users. The ALP's removal of the baby bonus is impacting on the lives of struggling families. The testimony of the baby sitter suggests the mother had a relationship difficulty, possibly with one of the five fathers, and began to isolate herself months ago. She apparently had been a good loving mother, starting at a young sixteen or seventeen. But possibly became addicted to ice. In public policy terms it highlights how hard it is with the ALP cutting the baby bonus for struggling families and cutting back on specialist services from Aboriginal Intervention, isolating women carers and promoting drugs through feel good policy like harm minimisation. But the mother will have her own reasons for killing her own children and a niece.
Medical Marijuana is to go on trial in NSW who haven't worked out yet where they will source it. NSW are keen to implement a safe zero tolerance policy which protects the sick. Victoria's enthusiastic ALP aren't bothering with a trial. They want drugs in the community now.
Interim union report discredits former PM Gillard's testimony. ABC viewers not advised as the partisan ABC won't admit it.
Report to authorities warned about Monis two days before his atrocity. The report was only about his Facebook page. Authorities treated the report seriously and it would not have changed the outcomes. It is worth noting that Islamic authorities are refusing to bury the body, but suggest putting it in sewage or at sea. The same Islamic authorities had accepted Monis when he wrote to soldier's widows.
Two NYC police are executed by an opportunist terrorist. The killer, Abdullah, had been wanted for murdering his own girlfriend. Media are reporting he has given 'reasons' for his act of terrorism, but they don't bear scrutiny. It is apparent he knew he was going to serve serious time and so he took police with him. No doubt ISIL will accept credit.
Extremist knifes police in France and is shot dead by police. No details are yet available as to the 'reason' for the attack, but probably ISIL will claim credit.
Reports of ISIL killing foreign supporters who don't fight well. The victims had tried to flee Raqqa, in Syria during fierce fighting. It has been verified at least one hundred were executed. Meanwhile Kurds report success in breaking a siege on a mountain where Yazidi civilians had been trapped.
From 2013
A senior warmest is jailed, but the wheels of justice are slow, and they haven't been jailed for long enough, or for all the correct reasons. Warmism has cost the world economies $trillions and that money has come from the investment pool supporting the poorest people in the world .. rich people have increased their ownership of resources. There is nothing wrong with rich people getting money, but it is criminal to take from the poorest. Because of the poor business practice supporting AGW alarmism, poor people have gone without medication, food, electricity, water and opportunity. But the defence of the alarmist is that they are a fantasist who just liked having personal time. So what if billions of poor people suffer in the mean time?
Evidence is that 2013 was the coolest in history .. in cultural terms .. being the 17th consecutive year of no warming. Obama admits he screwed up, but if you want him to fix what he did, then you are screwed. If you want to see what Obama could do to the best parts of the US, visit Tasmania. If you want to see what Obama is doing to the rest of the US, visit Detroit.
Evidence is that 2013 was the coolest in history .. in cultural terms .. being the 17th consecutive year of no warming. Obama admits he screwed up, but if you want him to fix what he did, then you are screwed. If you want to see what Obama could do to the best parts of the US, visit Tasmania. If you want to see what Obama is doing to the rest of the US, visit Detroit.
Historical perspective on this day
In 69, the Roman Senate declared Vespasian as Roman emperor, the last in the Year of the Four Emperors. 1124, Pope Honorius II was elected. 1140, Conrad III of Germany besieged Weinsberg. 1237, the city of Ryazan was sacked by the Mongol army of Batu Khan. 1361, the Battle of Linuesa was fought in the context of the Spanish Reconquista between the forces of the Emirate of Granada and the combined army of the Kingdom of Castile and of Jaénresulting in a Castilian victory. 1598, Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche, led by cacique Pelentaru, inflicted a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile. 1620, Plymouth Colony: William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims landed on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
In 1826, American settlers in Nacogdoches, Mexican Texas, declared their independence, starting the Fredonian Rebellion. 1832, Egyptian–Ottoman War: Egyptian forces decisively defeated Ottoman troops at the Battle of Konya. 1844, the Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers commenced business at its cooperative in Rochdale, England, starting the Cooperative movement. 1861, Medal of Honor: Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor, was signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln. 1872, Challenger expedition: HMS Challenger, commanded by Captain George Nares, sailed from Portsmouth, England. 1879, world première of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark. 1883, The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment, the first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army, were formed: .
In 1907, the Chilean Army committed a massacre of at least 2,000 striking saltpeter miners in Iquique, Chile. 1910, An underground explosion at the Hulton Bank Colliery No. 3 Pit in Over Hulton, Westhoughton, England, killed 344 miners. 1913, Arthur Wynne's "word-cross", the first crossword puzzle, was published in the New York World. 1919, American anarchistEmma Goldman was deported to Russia. 1923, United Kingdom and Nepal formally signed an agreement of friendship, called the Nepal–Britain Treaty of 1923, which superseded the Sugauli Treaty signed in 1816. 1936, first flight of the Junkers Ju 88 multi-role combat aircraft. 1937, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world's first full-length animatedfeature, premiered at the Carthay Circle Theatre.
In 1941, World War II: A formal treaty of alliance between Thailand and Japan was signed in the presence of the Emerald Buddha in Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand. 1946, an 8.1 Mwearthquake and subsequent tsunami in Nankaidō, Japan, killed over 1,300 people and destroyed over 38,000 homes. 1951, Libya became an independent country. 1962, Rondane National Park was established as Norway's first national park. 1967, Louis Washkansky, the first man to undergo a heart transplant, died in Cape Town, South Africa, having lived for 18 days after the transplant. 1968, Apollo program: Apollo 8 was launched from the Kennedy Space Center, placing its crew on a lunar trajectory for the first visit to another celestial body by humans. 1969, the United Nations adopted the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. 1973, the Geneva Conference on the Arab–Israeli conflict opened. 1979, Lancaster House Agreement: An independence agreement for Rhodesia was signed in London by Lord Peter Carrington, Sir Ian Gilmour, Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo, Bishop Abel Muzorewa and S.C. Mundawarara.
In 1988, a bomb exploded on board Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, killing 270. 1992, a Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashed at Faro Airport, killing 56. 1994, Mexican volcano Popocatépetl, dormant for 47 years, erupted gases and ash. 1995, the city of Bethlehem passed from Israeli to Palestinian control. 1999, the Spanish Civil Guard intercepted a van loaded with 950 kg of explosives that ETA intended to use to blow up Torre Picasso in Madrid, Spain. 2004, Iraq War: A suicide bomber killed 22at the forward operating base next to the main U.S. military airfield at Mosul, Iraq, the single deadliest suicide attack on American soldiers. 2012, the world was predicted to end on December 21, 2012 according to some calendars. 2012, The Walt Disney Companycompleted its acquisition of Lucasfilm and of the Star Wars franchise.
=== 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
- 1118 – Thomas Becket, English archbishop (d. 1170)
- 1401 – Masaccio, Italian painter (d. 1428)
- 1603 – Roger Williams, English theologian and politician, founded the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (d. 1684)
- 1734 – Paul Revere, American silversmith and patriot (d. 1818)
- 1804 – Benjamin Disraeli, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1881)
- 1850 – William Wallace Lincoln, American son of Abraham Lincoln (d. 1862)
- 1878 – Jan Łukasiewicz, Polish philosopher and mathematician (d. 1956)
- 1940 – Ray Hildebrand, American singer-songwriter (Paul & Paula)
- 1940 – Frank Zappa, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (The Mothers of Invention) (d. 1993)
- 1948 – Samuel L. Jackson, American actor and producer
- 1954 – Chris Evert, American tennis player
- 1966 – Kiefer Sutherland, English-Canadian actor, director, and producer
- 1994 – Eva Paalma, Estonian tennis player
December 21: December solstice (23:03 UTC, 2014); Yaldā, Yule, and other winter solstice festivals (Northern Hemisphere); Summer solstice (Southern Hemisphere).
- 1826 – American settlers in Mexican Texas made the first attempt to secede from Mexico, establishing the short-lived Republic of Fredonia.
- 1844 – The Rochdale Pioneers, usually considered the first successful co-operative enterprise, opened their store (pictured) in Rochdale, England, and formed the basis for the modern co-operative movement.
- 1923 – Nepal and the United Kingdom signed a treaty, the first to define the international status of Nepal as an independent and a sovereign nation.
- 1965 – The United Nations adopted the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, which 87 member nations have since signed.
- 1994 – Mexico's Popocatépetl volcano, dormant for 47 years, began erupting, and is now the nation's most active volcano.
Deaths
- 72 – Thomas the Apostle, Israeli martyr and saint (b. 1 AD)
- 882 – Hincmar, French archbishop (b. 806)
- 1308 – Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse (b. 1244)
- 1375 – Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian author and poet (b. 1313)
- 1504 – Bertold von Henneberg-Römhild, German archbishop (b. 1442)
- 1549 – Marguerite de Navarre, French wife of Henry II of Navarre (b. 1492)
- 1597 – Peter Canisius, Dutch priest and saint (b. 1521)
- 1799 – Philip Affleck, English admiral (b. 1726)
- 1807 – John Newton, English soldier and minister (b. 1725)
- 1907 – Klara Hitler, mother of Austrian-born German dictator Adolf Hitler (b. 1860)
- 1940 – F. Scott Fitzgerald, American author and poet (b. 1896)
- 1945 – George S. Patton, American general (b. 1885)
- 1963 – Jack Hobbs, English cricketer (b. 1882)
- 2013 – John Eisenhower, American historian, general, and diplomat, 45th United States Ambassador to Belgium (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Kobus Van Rensburg, South African evangelist and author (b. 1952)
Tim Blair 2017
MELBOURNE ATTACKED
For the second time this year, a car has been driven into crowds walking through the centre of Melbourne.
“WE HAVE TO BALANCE PEOPLE’S HUMAN RIGHTS”
A mob of unruly young people recently turned up at a Werribee house party, where they trashed the place before rampaging through nearby streets. When police arrived, they were pelted with rocks.
TALIBAN DAN SLAMS MUSICAL FRIVOLITY
The ABC recently announced it would shift its Triple J top 100 song countdown from hurty and harmy Australia Day to the far less worrisome International Holocaust Remembrance Day.
===
Tim Blair
BDS BOY GETS TASTE OF OWN MEDICINE
===
Andrew Bolt
ADD MORE DEFCONS
Tim Blair – Monday, December 21, 2015 (6:21pm)
RAY OF HOPELESS
Tim Blair – Monday, December 21, 2015 (3:09pm)
ABC bias detective Ray Martin is on the case:
The impression is that Q&A is a left-leaning, politically overcharged, sometimes biased TV discussion. Close examination of 23 consecutive programs in 2015 reveals that, on rare occasions, the program is guilty of each of those complaints. I suspect it’s usually an unwitting mistake.
As always. Ever notice that no ABC program is ever accidentally conservative?
Q&A obviously needs more money to take the show on the road regularly …
Det. Martin makes this recommendation despite having absolutely no idea of the show’s current tax-funded budget, which apparently is a big ABC secret. That’s some great investigating, Ray.
QUOTES OF 2015
Tim Blair – Monday, December 21, 2015 (3:10am)
A one-per-month taste of this year’s notable quotes:
“We rejected freedom yesterday, we rejected freedom today and we reject your freedom tomorrow.” – Sufyan Badar, a speaker at a Sydney Islamic rally.
“We are not the Labor Party and we are not going to repeat the chaos of Labor years.” – Prime Minister Tony Abbott faces a spill motion.
“I furkan derya to find a better name than Furkan Derya.” – Your columnist’s innocent celebration of multiculturalism sparks international Twitter outrage.
(UPDATE. One of the best Furkan Derya follow-ups occurred in the UK.)
“No. None of it’s true.” – So-called “wellness guru” Belle Gibson confesses that her tale of curing brain cancer with a special diet was a lie.
“Is having a loving family an unfair advantage? Should parents snuggling up for one last story before lights out be even a little concerned about the advantage they might be conferring?” – The ABC worries about reading to children.
“I like their whiteness and grandeur and how they catch the morning light like so many celestial beings beamed across the landscape. I like the spin of those spiky trefoils, all slightly out-of-synch in eerie contrapuntal rhythm.” – The SMH’s Elizabeth Farrelly really likes wind turbines.
“I can’t imagine Australia without the ABC.” – Independent observer Ray Martin, appointed by the ABC to investigate claims of bias.
“Don Randall?” – Leftist academic Scott Burchill’s suggested replacement for speaker Bronwyn Bishop. As ABC hosts quickly reminded him, Randall died the previous month.
“It is more dangerous to give birth than it is to have an abortion.” – Not if you’re the child, Clementine Ford.
“We’ve more than a century of relationships with our Islamic communities where it’s lived quite peacefully, and one little incident over a hundred years has been what we have had.” – Penrith Liberal MP Fiona Scott downplays Islamic terror.
“That can be a really kind of chilling experience.” – Harvard University’s Van Bailey on the horror of having to use gender pronouns “he” and “she”.
“It wasn’t a terrorist event.” – On the anniversary of the Lindt Cafe terrorist siege, Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore rewrites history.
DAMASCENE DELIGHT
Tim Blair – Sunday, December 20, 2015 (9:51pm)
“One smokin’ goat.” Mark Steyn reviews a range of critters, including the aforementioned hircine hotty.
Interim union report shreds Julia Gillard’s version
Piers Akerman – Saturday, December 20, 2014 (11:19pm)
THE damning interim report of the royal commission into trade unions gives Julia Gillard a scathing character reference, of which followers of “our” ABC have been kept ignorant.
Continue reading 'Interim union report shreds Julia Gillard’s version'STOP THE BLUDGERS
Tim Blair – Sunday, December 21, 2014 (7:32pm)
The big news from today’s cabinet reshuffle: boat-stopper Scott Morrison takes over as minister for social services. Christine Milne is horrified:
“Putting Scott Morrison in charge of Social Services will send shivers down the spines of people across the country,” she said.“Scott Morrison and the word compassion don’t go in the same sentence.”
They just did.
===
DON’T THROW A SANDWICH, MAN
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 21, 2013 (3:18pm)
Someone is unhappy:
WARMY JAILED
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 21, 2013 (2:35pm)
Climate change official John Beale is going to the big house after claiming to be a CIA spy working in Pakistan so he could avoid his real job:
In September, Beale pleaded guilty to theft of government property and agreed to pay $886,186 in restitution and to forfeit another $507,207. On Wednesday he was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison …Beale was no low-level bureaucrat, unknown to senior officials and operating in the depths of the agency. He was among the EPA’s most senior, most highly paid officials, one entrusted with formulating the agency’s most controversial policies. Thus the consequences of his EPA tenure go far beyond the specific fraud for which he will now go to prison …Beale’s attorney John Kern says his client “has come to recognize that, beyond the motive of greed, his theft and deception were animated by a highly self-destructive and dysfunctional need to engage in excessively reckless, risky behavior.” Mr. Kern adds that Beale was motivated “to manipulate those around him through the fabrication of grandiose narratives” because of “his insecurities.”
He’s a typical warmy, in other words, with his community’s usual fantasy addictions:
Beale secured a coveted handicap parking spot at the workplace he wasn’t going to by claiming to have malaria, which he didn’t, from serving in Vietnam, where he’d never been.
So what did Beale get up to during all his years of office dodging?
When Huvelle asked Beale what he was doing when he claimed he was working for the CIA, he said, “I spent time exercising. I spent a lot of time working on my house.”He also said he used the time “trying to find ways to fine tune the capitalist system” to discourage companies from damaging the environment. “I spent a lot of time reading on that,” said Beale.
The former EPA climate guru now has another 32 peaceful months to continue his research. Summary from Michelle Cottle :
In the case of Beale’s fabulism, bigger really was better. At least, that is, until it landed him in federal court. But, hell, it took them 20 years to catch him. Just think of all the fun he had in the meantime.
Warmies have had fun for at least 20 years, much of it using public money. A terrible reckoning now draws nigh.
ONE COOL YEAR
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 21, 2013 (1:23pm)
This year was the best in history, according to the Spectator. And here’s one reason why:
2013 marks the 17th year of no warming on the planet. It marks the first time that James Hansen, Al Gore’s guru and the one whose predictions set off the global warming scare, admitted that warming had stopped. It marks the first time that major media enforcers of the orthodoxy — the Economist, Reuters and the London Telegraph – admitted that the science was not settled on global warming, the Economist even mocking the scientists’ models by putting them on “negative watch.” Scientific predictions of global cooling – until recently mostly shunned in the academic press for fear of being labeled crackpot – were published and publicized by no less than the BBC, a broadcaster previously unmatched in the anthropogenic apocalyptic media.
(Via the GWPF)
NEEDS MORE ACTION
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 21, 2013 (1:17pm)
Throw in a few special effects here and there, and Stephen Chow’s latest could really be worth seeing:
(Via David Thompson)
(Via David Thompson)
CAUSE AND EFFECT
Tim Blair – Saturday, December 21, 2013 (12:45pm)
An unintentional but completely accurate admission from Barack Obama:
The president described the health care roll-out as his biggest mistake: “Since I’m in charge, obviously we screwed it up.”
He should probably seek a less demanding form of employment.
UPDATE. The President’s latest genius idea to sell Obamacare involves a hipster in a onesie:
(Via Iowahawk, who writes: “I’m sipping hot cocoa in my plaid footsie jammies and ready to talk about insurance ... laaaaadies.")
(Via Iowahawk, who writes: “I’m sipping hot cocoa in my plaid footsie jammies and ready to talk about insurance ... laaaaadies.")
RADIO TIM
Tim Blair – Friday, December 20, 2013 (8:31pm)
Tonight on 2GB with Michael McLaren we discuss the latest leftoid meltdown.
TOASTIE THROWN
Tim Blair – Friday, December 20, 2013 (1:42pm)
It turns out that Guardian columnist Van Badham’s capacity for indulgent hysteria was inherited from her father:
When I was 13, my dad left one job after he had been offered another one – and the new job fell through. My parents had only just taken out a mortgage, and now dad was unemployed ...The events which pushed dad into unemployment were entirely beyond his control – just like Holden’s collapse is not to blame on its workers – but he was humiliated by them anyway. He was a man who defined himself by a willingness to work hard, and his ambitions were simple: to look after my mother and provide his only child everything he could to realise her dreams. When he became unemployed the two simple pillars of his character – his self-belief and role as a provider – were annihilated by forces beyond his control.I can now write about this openly only because my beloved father is dead. He was a fantastically resilient man who never cried but with the sense of personal failure that accompanied the disappearance of his income, he talked about killing himself. He raged at my mother for staying with him. He raged at me and when I made him a cheese toastie as a peace offering, he hurled it against the wall. I had failed to comprehend that my acts of charity were corroding any self-esteem he had left.
Or maybe he just didn’t like crappy sandwiches. Throw it on the ground! Anyway, for how long did this fellow endure what Badham describes as the “horrific stress of unemployment” and “the soul-shattering destruction of pride that goes with unemployment”? How long did it take before this victim of vicious capitalism found another job?
A total of six weeks.
UPDATE. The extract above is now expanded to give even greater insight into Van’s family tragedy, which basically goes like this: Dad quit his job. Then his new job didn’t happen. A month-and-a-half later, he got a job somewhere else. In the meantime he threw away a sandwich. This took place 22 years ago. The end.
About Tasmania. A beautiful warning
Andrew Bolt December 20 2013 (9:49pm)
In Tasmania:
- the Tasman Peninsula, simply lovely and made lovelier still by not being wilderness, is marred only by the world’s biggest collection of “for sale” signs outside homes, abandoned housing lots, holiday houses and farms.
- even the Penitentiary at Port Arthur, built by convict labor, is more beautiful than almost anything built in Hobart in the past 50 years by free men, under the instruction of the best-educated architects.
- the MONA museum, built with a gambler’s money, is a rare example of indifferent art being made to seem twice as good by the building and the élan of the founder and his curators. The museum is actually the work of art, with the art works just components of the whole. Some of the art is, literally, shit.
- if Hobart’s city council had not been so keen to improve the city Hobart would be even better. I cannot believe many of the newer buildings are more handsome than what they replaced.
- Hobart’s museum caught a dose of the illness that virtually killed Melbourne’s museum. Objects are displayed with a bower bird’s eye for pretty and shiny. Explanations at times are minimal. Attitude is often rated above knowledge. The Aboriginal section has been handed over to Aboriginal curators for fashionable preaching about identity and dispossession. Lots of space is wasted. Little European settlement history is covered, although there is some interesting stuff on the great Mawson. Convicts are described as the “dispossessed” who in turn dispossessed Aborigines.
- there is a nice display on the Tasmanian tiger. I am sad it’s extinct but am less sure why it really matters. If Tasmanians worried less about such things, would the state have done a lot better? It has the oldest surviving Catholic church in Australia and the oldest stone bridge. Its colony was something when Melbourne was nothing. Now it is our poorest state. Memo to Greens: you can’t eat scenery.
- a local paper interviews six women who all complain about the lack of Christmas decorations. All are friends and relatives of Middle Eastern background, and one has the surname Mohamed.
- the art work in the Tasmanian art gallery that best sums up a gorgeous state led astray by its elite is an illuminated photograph of an artist who, having shaken the hand of a token Aboriginal then hangs himself apparently for being white.
- Nearby a video installation shows another whie artist who has taken off his clothes, stuck feathers or fluff on his well-fed body and now is filmed stumbling awkwardly on unshoed feet in the bush. It is unclear what he seeks. Civilisation? A grant? I am, however, certain he did find his clothes again and spent the night in a comfortable bed. He was pretending.
- a lot of people are out of work on this island. Most of the place has been turned into a national park. That is great for artists wanting to hobble around the bush naked, with just a few feathers glued to their hide. It is less good for people wanting to cut down some trees to make furniture, houses and paper.
- Daci and Daci is a most excellent bakery and cake shop. I recommend the pistachio and rose water meringue.
- if I had to hide myself somewhere beautiful to write a book or flee the madness of contemporary culture I would probably choose the Tasman Peninsula. I just wish I knew more about boat engines. But that would bore me.
===- the Tasman Peninsula, simply lovely and made lovelier still by not being wilderness, is marred only by the world’s biggest collection of “for sale” signs outside homes, abandoned housing lots, holiday houses and farms.
- even the Penitentiary at Port Arthur, built by convict labor, is more beautiful than almost anything built in Hobart in the past 50 years by free men, under the instruction of the best-educated architects.
- the MONA museum, built with a gambler’s money, is a rare example of indifferent art being made to seem twice as good by the building and the élan of the founder and his curators. The museum is actually the work of art, with the art works just components of the whole. Some of the art is, literally, shit.
- if Hobart’s city council had not been so keen to improve the city Hobart would be even better. I cannot believe many of the newer buildings are more handsome than what they replaced.
- Hobart’s museum caught a dose of the illness that virtually killed Melbourne’s museum. Objects are displayed with a bower bird’s eye for pretty and shiny. Explanations at times are minimal. Attitude is often rated above knowledge. The Aboriginal section has been handed over to Aboriginal curators for fashionable preaching about identity and dispossession. Lots of space is wasted. Little European settlement history is covered, although there is some interesting stuff on the great Mawson. Convicts are described as the “dispossessed” who in turn dispossessed Aborigines.
- there is a nice display on the Tasmanian tiger. I am sad it’s extinct but am less sure why it really matters. If Tasmanians worried less about such things, would the state have done a lot better? It has the oldest surviving Catholic church in Australia and the oldest stone bridge. Its colony was something when Melbourne was nothing. Now it is our poorest state. Memo to Greens: you can’t eat scenery.
- a local paper interviews six women who all complain about the lack of Christmas decorations. All are friends and relatives of Middle Eastern background, and one has the surname Mohamed.
- the art work in the Tasmanian art gallery that best sums up a gorgeous state led astray by its elite is an illuminated photograph of an artist who, having shaken the hand of a token Aboriginal then hangs himself apparently for being white.
- Nearby a video installation shows another whie artist who has taken off his clothes, stuck feathers or fluff on his well-fed body and now is filmed stumbling awkwardly on unshoed feet in the bush. It is unclear what he seeks. Civilisation? A grant? I am, however, certain he did find his clothes again and spent the night in a comfortable bed. He was pretending.
- a lot of people are out of work on this island. Most of the place has been turned into a national park. That is great for artists wanting to hobble around the bush naked, with just a few feathers glued to their hide. It is less good for people wanting to cut down some trees to make furniture, houses and paper.
- Daci and Daci is a most excellent bakery and cake shop. I recommend the pistachio and rose water meringue.
- if I had to hide myself somewhere beautiful to write a book or flee the madness of contemporary culture I would probably choose the Tasman Peninsula. I just wish I knew more about boat engines. But that would bore me.
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A COMPLIMENT is the perfect ice breaker. It's friendly, fun - and by its very nature, complimentary.
You have a strong right hand? - ed
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Character reformed? - ed===
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===Sarah Palin
A Christmas Call to Action…
Here's the choice: will we succumb to politically correct Thought Police and let the intolerants stifle freedom? Or will we be just a little bit brave and take a stand to protect the heart of America, which beats with freedom? The latter will make you Happy, Happy, Happy! This Duck Dynasty controversy is another reminder of the chilling effect we see with the right to express a faith-filled opinion that some may disagree with. It's the issue addressed in "Good Tidings and Great Joy." Here's a nice video about the book by CBN noting how the book is a Christmas "call to action" to inspire us to be fearless. Be empowered in expressing the positive message of faith on something greater than self, and please don't cower or hide because of intolerants who would marginalize any expression of faith (even non-controversial ones like a simple Nativity scene!):http://cbn.com/tv/2914888991001
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=== - AD 69 – The Roman Senate declares Vespasian emperor of Rome, the last in the Year of the Four Emperors.
- 1124 – Pope Honorius II is elected.
- 1140 – Conrad III of Germany besieges Weinsberg.
- 1237 – The city of Ryazan is sacked by the Mongol army of Batu Khan.
- 1361 – The Battle of Linuesa is fought in the context of the Spanish Reconquista between the forces of the Emirate of Granada and the combined army of the Kingdom of Castile and of Jaénresulting in a Castilian victory.
- 1598 – Battle of Curalaba: The revolting Mapuche, led by cacique Pelentaru, inflict a major defeat on Spanish troops in southern Chile.
- 1620 – Plymouth Colony: William Bradford and the Mayflower Pilgrims land on what is now known as Plymouth Rock in Plymouth, Massachusetts.
- 1826 – American settlers in Nacogdoches, Mexican Texas, declare their independence, starting the Fredonian Rebellion.
- 1832 – Egyptian–Ottoman War: Egyptian forces decisively defeat Ottoman troops at the Battle of Konya.
- 1844 – The Rochdale Society of Equitable Pioneers commences business at its cooperative in Rochdale, England, starting the Cooperative movement.
- 1861 – Medal of Honor: Public Resolution 82, containing a provision for a Navy Medal of Valor, is signed into law by President Abraham Lincoln.
- 1872 – Challenger expedition: HMS Challenger, commanded by Captain George Nares, sails from Portsmouth, England.
- 1879 – World premiere of Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark.
- 1883 – The Royal Canadian Dragoons and The Royal Canadian Regiment, the first Permanent Force cavalry and infantry regiments of the Canadian Army, are formed.
- 1907 – The Chilean Army commits a massacre of at least 2,000 striking saltpeter miners in Iquique, Chile.
- 1910 – An underground explosion at the Hulton Bank Colliery No. 3 Pit in Over Hulton, Westhoughton, England, kills 344 miners.
- 1913 – Arthur Wynne's "word-cross", the first crossword puzzle, is published in the New York World.
- 1919 – American anarchist Emma Goldman is deported to Russia.
- 1923 – United Kingdom and Nepal formally signed an agreement of friendship, called the Nepal–Britain Treaty of 1923, which superseded the Treaty of Sugauli signed in 1816.
- 1936 – First flight of the Junkers Ju 88 multi-role combat aircraft.
- 1937 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world's first full-length animated feature, premieres at the Carthay Circle Theatre.
- 1941 – World War II: A formal treaty of alliance between Thailand and Japan is signed in the presence of the Emerald Buddha in Wat Phra Kaew, Thailand.
- 1946 – An 8.1 Mw earthquake and subsequent tsunami in Nankaidō, Japan, kills over 1,300 people and destroys over 38,000 homes.
- 1963 – "Bloody Christmas" begins in Cyprus, ultimately resulting in the displacement of 25,000-30,000 Turkish Cypriots and destruction of more than 100 villages.
- 1965 – International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination is adopted.
- 1967 – Louis Washkansky, the first man to undergo a heart transplant, dies in Cape Town, South Africa, having lived for 18 days after the transplant.
- 1968 – Apollo program: Apollo 8 is launched from the Kennedy Space Center, placing its crew on a lunar trajectory for the first visit to another celestial body by humans.
- 1970 – First flight of F-14 multi-role combat aircraft.
- 1973 – The Geneva Conference on the Arab–Israeli conflict opens.
- 1979 – Lancaster House Agreement: An independence agreement for Rhodesia is signed in London by Lord Peter Carrington, Sir Ian Gilmour, Robert Mugabe, Joshua Nkomo, Bishop Abel Muzorewa and S.C. Mundawarara.
- 1988 – A bomb explodes on board Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, killing 270.
- 1988 – The first flight of Antonov An-225 Mriya, the largest aircraft in the world.
- 1992 – A Dutch DC-10, flight Martinair MP 495, crashes at Faro Airport, killing 56.
- 1995 – The city of Bethlehem passes from Israeli to Palestinian control.
- 1999 – The Spanish Civil Guard intercepts a van loaded with 950 kg of explosives that ETAintended to use to blow up Torre Picasso in Madrid, Spain.
- 2004 – Iraq War: A suicide bomber killed 22 at the forward operating base next to the main U.S. military airfield at Mosul, Iraq, the single deadliest suicide attack on American soldiers.
- 2012 – 2012 phenomenon: This day was regarded as the end-date of a 5,126-year-long cycle in the Mesoamerican Long Count calendar, leading to widespread expectations of cataclysmic event.
- 968 – Minamoto no Yorinobu, Japanese samurai (d. 1048)
- 1401 – Masaccio, Italian painter (d. 1428)
- 1468 – William Conyers, 1st Baron Conyers, English baron (d. 1524)
- 1505 – Thomas Wriothesley, 1st Earl of Southampton, English politician (d. 1550)
- 1538 – Luigi d'Este, Catholic cardinal (d. 1586)
- 1542 – Thomas Allen, English mathematician and astrologer (d. 1632)
- 1550 – Man Singh I, Mughal noble (d. 1614)
- 1596 – Peter Mogila, Romanian-Ukrainian metropolitan and saint (d. 1646)
- 1603 – Roger Williams, English minister, theologian, and politician, 9th President of the Colony of Rhode Island (d. 1684)
- 1615 – Benedict Arnold, Rhode Island colonial governor (d. 1678)
- 1672 – Benjamin Schmolck, German pastor and composer (d. 1737)
- 1714 – John Bradstreet, Canadian-English general (d. 1774)
- 1728 – Hermann Raupach, German harpsichord player and composer (d. 1778)
- 1778 – Anders Sandøe Ørsted, Danish jurist and politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Denmark (d. 1860)
- 1795 – Jack Russell, English priest, hunter, and dog breeder (d. 1883)
- 1795 – Leopold von Ranke, German historian, author, and academic (d. 1886)
- 1803 – Achille Vianelli, Italian painter and academic (d. 1894)
- 1804 – Benjamin Disraeli, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1881)
- 1805 – Thomas Graham, Scottish chemist and academic (d. 1869)
- 1811 – Archibald Tait, Scottish-English archbishop (d. 1882)
- 1815 – Thomas Couture, French painter and educator (d. 1879)
- 1820 – William H. Osborn, American businessman (d. 1894)
- 1830 – Bartolomé Masó, Cuban soldier and politician (d. 1907)
- 1832 – John H. Ketcham, American general and politician (d. 1906)
- 1840 – Namık Kemal, Turkish journalist, playwright, and activist (d. 1888)
- 1843 – Thomas Bracken, Irish-New Zealand journalist, poet, and politician (d. 1898)
- 1850 – Zdeněk Fibich, Czech composer and poet (d. 1900)
- 1851 – Thomas Chipman McRae, American lawyer and politician, 26th Governor of Arkansas (d. 1929)
- 1857 – Joseph Carruthers, Australian politician, 16th Premier of New South Wales (d. 1932)
- 1859 – Gustave Kahn, French poet and critic (d. 1936)
- 1866 – Maud Gonne, Irish nationalist and political activist (d. 1953)
- 1868 – George W. Fuller, American chemist and engineer (d. 1934)
- 1872 – Trevor Kincaid, Canadian-American zoologist and academic (d. 1970)
- 1872 – Lorenzo Perosi, Italian priest and composer (d. 1956)
- 1872 – Albert Payson Terhune, American journalist and author (d. 1942)
- 1876 – Jack Lang, Australian lawyer and politician, 23rd Premier of New South Wales (d. 1975)
- 1877 – Jaan Sarv, Estonian mathematician and scholar (d. 1954)
- 1878 – Jan Łukasiewicz, Polish-Irish mathematician and philosopher (d. 1956)
- 1885 – Frank Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1960)
- 1888 – Jean Bouin, French runner and rugby player (d. 1914)
- 1889 – Sewall Wright, American geneticist and biologist (d. 1988)
- 1890 – Hermann Joseph Muller, American geneticist and biologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1967)
- 1891 – John William McCormack, American lawyer and politician, 53rd Speaker of the United States House of Representatives (d. 1980)
- 1892 – Walter Hagen, American golfer (d. 1969)
- 1892 – Rebecca West, English journalist and author (d. 1983)
- 1896 – Konstantin Rokossovsky, Marshal of the Soviet Union during World War II (d. 1968)
- 1900 – Luis Arturo González López, Guatemalan supreme court judge and briefly acting president (d. 1965)
- 1905 – Anthony Powell, English author (d. 2000)
- 1905 – Käte Fenchel, German mathematician (d. 1983)
- 1909 – Seichō Matsumoto, Japanese journalist and author (d. 1992)
- 1911 – Josh Gibson, American baseball player (d. 1947)
- 1913 – Arnold Friberg, American illustrator and painter (d. 2010)
- 1914 – Frank Fenner, Australian microbiologist and virologist (d. 2010)
- 1915 – Werner von Trapp, Austrian-American singer (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Heinrich Böll, German novelist and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1985)
- 1918 – Donald Regan, American colonel and politician, 11th White House Chief of Staff (d. 2003)
- 1918 – Kurt Waldheim, Austrian colonel, war criminal, and politician; 9th President of Austria (d. 2007)
- 1919 – Doug Young, American voice actor
- 1920 – Alicia Alonso, Cuban ballerina and choreographer, founded the Cuban National Ballet
- 1920 – Adele Goldstine, American computer programmer (d. 1964)
- 1922 – Itubwa Amram, Nauruan pastor and politician (d. 1989)
- 1922 – Paul Winchell, American actor, voice artist, and ventriloquist (d. 2005)
- 1922 – Cécile DeWitt-Morette, French mathematician and physicist (d. 2017)
- 1926 – Arnošt Lustig, Czech author and playwright (d. 2011)
- 1926 – Joe Paterno, American football player and coach (d. 2012)
- 1932 – U. R. Ananthamurthy, Indian author, poet, and critic (d. 2014)
- 1932 – Edward Hoagland, American author and critic
- 1933 – Jackie Hendriks, Jamaican cricketer
- 1933 – Robert Worcester, American businessman and academic, founded MORI
- 1934 – Giuseppina Leone, Italian sprinter
- 1934 – Hanif Mohammad, Pakistani cricketer (d. 2016)
- 1935 – John G. Avildsen, American director, producer, and cinematographer (d. 2017)
- 1935 – Lorenzo Bandini, Italian race car driver (d. 1967)
- 1935 – Phil Donahue, American talk show host and producer
- 1935 – Edward Schreyer, Canadian academic and politician, 22nd Governor General of Canada
- 1937 – Jane Fonda, American actress, producer, and activist
- 1939 – Lloyd Axworthy, Canadian academic and politician, 2nd Canadian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1939 – Wafic Saïd, Syrian-Saudi Arabian financier, businessman and philanthropist
- 1940 – Frank Zappa, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1993)
- 1942 – Hu Jintao, Chinese engineer and politician, 6th President of China
- 1943 – Albert Lee, English guitarist and songwriter
- 1943 – Walter Spanghero, French rugby player
- 1944 – Michael Tilson Thomas, American pianist, composer, and conductor
- 1944 – Zheng Xiaoyu, Chinese diplomat (d. 2007)
- 1945 – Doug Walters, Australian cricketer
- 1946 – Roy Karch, American director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1946 – Carl Wilson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1998)
- 1947 – Paco de Lucía, Spanish guitarist, songwriter, and producer (d. 2014)
- 1948 – Barry Gordon, American actor and voice artist; longest-serving president of the Screen Actors Guild (1988–95)
- 1948 – Samuel L. Jackson, American actor and producer
- 1948 – Dave Kingman, American baseball player
- 1949 – Thomas Sankara, Burkinabé captain and politician, 5th President of Burkina Faso (d. 1987)
- 1949 – Nikolaos Sifounakis, Greek lawyer and politician
- 1950 – Jeffrey Katzenberg, American screenwriter and producer, co-founded DreamWorks Animation
- 1950 – Lillebjørn Nilsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1950 – Max Maven, American magician and mentalist
- 1951 – Steve Perryman, English footballer and manager
- 1952 – Joaquín Andújar, Dominican baseball player (d. 2015)
- 1952 – Steve Furniss, American swimmer
- 1953 – András Schiff, Hungarian-English pianist and conductor
- 1953 – Betty Wright, American singer-songwriter
- 1954 – Chris Evert, American tennis player and coach
- 1955 – Jane Kaczmarek, American actress
- 1955 – Kazuyuki Sekiguchi, Japanese singer-songwriter and bass player
- 1956 – Dave Laut, American shot putter (d. 2009)
- 1957 – Ray Romano, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1958 – Tamara Bykova, Russian high jumper
- 1959 – Florence Griffith Joyner, American sprinter and actress (d. 1998)
- 1959 – Krishnamachari Srikkanth, Indian cricketer
- 1960 – Sherry Rehman, Pakistani journalist, politician, and diplomat, 25th Pakistan Ambassador to the United States
- 1961 – Ryuji Sasai, Japanese bass player and composer
- 1963 – Govinda, Indian actor, singer, and politician
- 1964 – Joe Kocur, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1964 – Kunihiko Ikuhara, Japanese director and illustrator
- 1965 – Glenn Coleman, Australian rugby league player
- 1965 – Andy Dick, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1965 – Anke Engelke, Canadian-German actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1966 – William Ruto, Kenyan politician, Deputy President of Kenya
- 1966 – Kiefer Sutherland, British-Canadian actor, director, and producer
- 1967 – Terry Mills, American basketball player and coach
- 1967 – Mikheil Saakashvili, Georgian lawyer and politician, 3rd President of Georgia
- 1969 – Julie Delpy, French model, actress, director, and screenwriter
- 1969 – Mihails Zemļinskis, Latvian footballer, coach, and manager
- 1971 – Matthieu Chedid, French singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1972 – Y. S. Jaganmohan Reddy, Indian journalist and politician
- 1973 – Irakli Alasania, Georgian colonel and politician, Georgian Minister of Defense
- 1974 – Karrie Webb, Australian golfer
- 1975 – Paloma Herrera, Argentinian ballerina
- 1977 – Emmanuel Macron, Current President of France
- 1977 – Leon MacDonald, New Zealand rugby player
- 1978 – Emiliano Brembilla, Italian swimmer
- 1978 – Charles Dera, American pornographic actor, dancer, model, and mixed martial arts fighter
- 1978 – Shaun Morgan, South African musician, singer, and guitarist
- 1979 – Steve Montador, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2015)
- 1981 – Cristian Zaccardo, Italian footballer
- 1982 – Philip Humber, American baseball player
- 1983 – Steven Yeun, American actor
- 1984 – Darren Potter, English footballer
- 1985 – Tom Sturridge, English actor
- 1987 – Denis Alekseyev, Russian sprinter
- 1988 – Perri Shakes-Drayton, English sprinter and hurdler
- 1989 – Mark Ingram Jr., American football player
- 1991 – Riccardo Saponara, Italian footballer
- 1992 – Ha Ha Clinton-Dix, American football player
- 1995 – Bobby, South Korean-American rapper
Births[edit]
- AD 72 – Thomas the Apostle, Roman martyr and saint (b. 1 AD)
- 882 – Hincmar, French archbishop and historian (b. 806)
- 956 – Sun Sheng, Chinese chancellor
- 975 – Al-Mu'izz, Fatimid caliph (b. 932)
- 1001 – Hugh of Tuscany, Italian margrave (b. 950)
- 1308 – Henry I, Landgrave of Hesse (b. 1244)
- 1338 – Thomas Hemenhale, bishop of Worcester
- 1362 – Constantine III, king of Armenia (b. 1313)
- 1375 – Giovanni Boccaccio, Italian author and poet (b. 1313)
- 1504 – Berthold von Henneberg, German archbishop (b. 1442)
- 1536 – John Seymour, English courtier (b. 1474)
- 1549 – Marguerite de Navarre, queen of Henry II of Navarre (b. 1492)
- 1581 – Jean de la Cassière, 51st Grandmaster of the Knights Hospitaller (b. 1502)
- 1597 – Peter Canisius, Dutch priest and saint (b. 1521)
- 1608 – William Davison, secretary to Queen Elizabeth I of England (b. c. 1541)
- 1610 – Catherine Vasa, Swedish princess (b. 1539)
- 1701 – Sir Hugh Paterson, Baronet of Bannockburn (b. 1659)
- 1807 – John Newton, English soldier and minister (b. 1725)
- 1824 – James Parkinson, English physician and paleontologist (b. 1755)
- 1869 – Friedrich Ernst Scheller, German jurist and politician (b. 1791)
- 1873 – Francis Garnier, French admiral and explorer (b. 1839)
- 1889 – Friedrich August von Quenstedt, German geologist and palaeontologist (b. 1809)
- 1920 – Mohammed Abdullah Hassan, Somalian general, founded the Dervish state (b. 1856)
- 1929 – I. L. Patterson, American politician, 18th Governor of Oregon (b. 1859)
- 1933 – Knud Rasmussen, Greenlandic anthropologist and explorer (b. 1879)
- 1935 – Ted Birnie, English footballer and manager (b. 1878)
- 1935 – Kurt Tucholsky, German-Swedish journalist and author (b. 1890)
- 1937 – Ted Healy, American comedian and actor (b. 1896)
- 1937 – Frank B. Kellogg, American lawyer and politician, 45th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1856)
- 1940 – F. Scott Fitzgerald, American novelist and short story writer (b. 1896)
- 1945 – George S. Patton, American general (b. 1885)
- 1952 – Kenneth Edwards, American golfer (b. 1886)
- 1953 – Kaarlo Koskelo, Finnish-American wrestler and businessman (b. 1888)
- 1957 – Eric Coates, English-American viola player and composer (b. 1886)
- 1958 – H.B. Warner, English actor (b. 1875)
- 1958 – Lion Feuchtwanger, German-American author and playwright (b. 1884)
- 1959 – Rosanjin, Japanese calligrapher, engraver, and painter (b. 1883)
- 1963 – Jack Hobbs, English cricketer and journalist (b. 1882)
- 1964 – Carl Van Vechten, American author and photographer (b. 1880)
- 1965 – Claude Champagne, Canadian violinist, pianist, and composer (b. 1891)
- 1968 – Vittorio Pozzo, Italian footballer, coach, and manager (b. 1886)
- 1974 – Richard Long, American actor and director (b. 1927)
- 1982 – Abu Al-Asar Hafeez Jullundhri, Pakistani poet and composer (b. 1900)
- 1983 – Paul de Man, Belgian-born philosopher, literary critic and theorist (b. 1919)
- 1988 – Nikolaas Tinbergen, Dutch-English ethologist and ornithologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
- 1992 – Stella Adler, American actress and educator (b. 1901)
- 1992 – Albert King, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1924)
- 1992 – Nathan Milstein, Russian-American violinist and composer (b. 1903)
- 1998 – Ernst-Günther Schenck, German colonel and physician (b. 1904)
- 2004 – Autar Singh Paintal, Indian physiologist and neurologist (b. 1925)
- 2006 – Saparmurat Niyazov, Turkmen engineer and politician, 1st President of Turkmenistan (b. 1940)
- 2009 – Edwin G. Krebs, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
- 2009 – Christos Lambrakis, Greek journalist and businessman (b. 1934)
- 2010 – Enzo Bearzot, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1927)
- 2013 – Edgar Bronfman, Sr., Canadian-American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1929)
- 2013 – John Eisenhower, American historian, general, and diplomat, 45th United States Ambassador to Belgium (b. 1922)
- 2014 – Udo Jürgens, Austrian-Swiss singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Sitor Situmorang, Indonesian poet and author (b. 1923)
- 2014 – Billie Whitelaw, English actress (b. 1932)
Deaths[edit]
- Armed Forces Day (Philippines)
- Christian feast day:
- Earliest date for the winter solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere, and its related observances:
- Blue Christmas (Western Christianity)
- Dongzhi Festival (Asia)
- Sanghamitta Day (Theravada Buddhism)
- Yule in the Northern Hemisphere (Neopagan Wheel of the Year)
- Ziemassvētki (ancient Latvia)
- Forefathers' Day (Plymouth, Massachusetts)
- São Tomé Day (São Tomé and Príncipe)
- The first day of Pancha Ganapati, celebrated until December 25 (Saiva Siddhanta Church)
Holidays and observances[edit]
“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child.” Luke 2:1, 4-5 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
Sometimes the Lord Jesus tells his Church his love thoughts. "He does not think it enough behind her back to tell it, but in her very presence he says, Thou art all fair, my love.' It is true, this is not his ordinary method; he is a wise lover, and knows when to keep back the intimation of love and when to let it out; but there are times when he will make no secret of it; times when he will put it beyond all dispute in the souls of his people" (R. Erskine's Sermons). The Holy Spirit is often pleased, in a most gracious manner, to witness with our spirits of the love of Jesus. He takes of the things of Christ and reveals them unto us. No voice is heard from the clouds, and no vision is seen in the night, but we have a testimony more sure than either of these. If an angel should fly from heaven and inform the saint personally of the Saviour's love to him, the evidence would not be one whit more satisfactory than that which is borne in the heart by the Holy Ghost. Ask those of the Lord's people who have lived the nearest to the gates of heaven, and they will tell you that they have had seasons when the love of Christ towards them has been a fact so clear and sure, that they could no more doubt it than they could question their own existence. Yes, beloved believer, you and I have had times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord, and then our faith has mounted to the topmost heights of assurance. We have had confidence to lean our heads upon the bosom of our Lord, and we have no more questioned our Master's affection to us than John did when in that blessed posture; nay, nor so much: for the dark question, "Lord, is it I that shall betray thee?" has been put far from us. He has kissed us with the kisses of his mouth, and killed our doubts by the closeness of his embrace. His love has been sweeter than wine to our souls.
Evening
God is a good paymaster; he pays his servants while at work as well as when they have done it; and one of his payments is this: an easy conscience. If you have spoken faithfully of Jesus to one person, when you go to bed at night you feel happy in thinking, "I have this day discharged my conscience of that man's blood." There is a great comfort in doing something for Jesus. Oh, what a happiness to place jewels in his crown, and give him to see of the travail of his soul! There is also very great reward in watching the first buddings of conviction in a soul! To say of that girl in the class, "She is tender of heart, I do hope that there is the Lord's work within." To go home and pray over that boy, who said something in the afternoon which made you think he must know more of divine truth than you had feared! Oh, the joy of hope! But as for the joy of success! it is unspeakable. This joy, overwhelming as it is, is a hungry thing--you pine for more of it. To be a soul-winner is the happiest thing in the world. With every soul you bring to Christ, you get a new heaven upon earth. But who can conceive the bliss which awaits us above! Oh, how sweet is that sentence, "Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!" Do you know what the joy of Christ is over a saved sinner? This is the very joy which we are to possess in heaven. Yes, when he mounts the throne, you shall mount with him. When the heavens ring with "Well done, well done," you shall partake in the reward; you have toiled with him, you have suffered with him, you shall now reign with him; you have sown with him, you shall reap with him; your face was covered with sweat like his, and your soul was grieved for the sins of men as his soul was, now shall your face be bright with heaven's splendour as is his countenance, and now shall your soul be filled with beatific joys even as his soul is.
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Today's reading: Micah 1-3, Revelation 11 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Micah 1-3
1 The word of the LORD that came to Micah of Moresheth during the reigns of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah—the vision he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.
2 Hear, you peoples, all of you,
listen, earth and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign LORD may bear witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
listen, earth and all who live in it,
that the Sovereign LORD may bear witness against you,
the Lord from his holy temple.
Judgment Against Samaria and Jerusalem
3 Look! The LORD is coming from his dwelling place;
he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.
4 The mountains melt beneath him
and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.
5 All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
because of the sins of the people of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
Is it not Samaria?
What is Judah’s high place?
Is it not Jerusalem?
he comes down and treads on the heights of the earth.
4 The mountains melt beneath him
and the valleys split apart,
like wax before the fire,
like water rushing down a slope.
5 All this is because of Jacob’s transgression,
because of the sins of the people of Israel.
What is Jacob’s transgression?
Is it not Samaria?
What is Judah’s high place?
Is it not Jerusalem?
Today's New Testament reading: Revelation 11
The Two Witnesses
1 I was given a reed like a measuring rod and was told, “Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, with its worshipers. 2 But exclude the outer court; do not measure it, because it has been given to the Gentiles. They will trample on the holy city for 42 months. 3 And I will appoint my two witnesses, and they will prophesy for 1,260 days, clothed in sackcloth.” 4 They are “the two olive trees” and the two lampstands, and “they stand before the Lord of the earth.” 5 If anyone tries to harm them, fire comes from their mouths and devours their enemies. This is how anyone who wants to harm them must die. 6 They have power to shut up the heavens so that it will not rain during the time they are prophesying; and they have power to turn the waters into blood and to strike the earth with every kind of plague as often as they want....
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Lazarus [Lăz'arŭs]—god hath helpedor without help.
- The beggar in the parable of the rich man. This is the only instance where Jesus gives a name to a parabolic character, and there was an idea in early times that it was not a parable but a story from real life (Luke 16:19-31).
- The brother of Mary and Martha of Bethany whom Jesus raised from the dead (John 11; 12:1-17).
The Man Who Lived Again
Alexander Whyte comments,
Lazarus of Bethany comes as near to Jesus of Nazareth, both in his character, and in his services, and in his unparalleled experience, as mortal men ever come. Lazarus'name is never to be read in the new Testament till the appointed time comes when he is to be sick, ...to die, and to be raised from the dead for the glory of God. Nor is his voice heard. Lazarus loved silence. He sought obscurity. He liked to be overlooked. He revelled in neglect...The very Evangelists pass over Lazarus as if he were a worm and no man.
I. He is the subject of the greatest and most startling miracle of the gospel story.
II. He was the friend of Jesus, being loved by Him. Jesus wept at his grave.
III. His resurrection threatened the life of Jesus. The Sanhedrin were determined to put Him to death.
IV. His attendance at Simon’s banquet excited the enthusiasm of the people (John 12:9, 17, 18).
After his presence as an honored guest at Simon’s house, Lazarus vanishes from the gospel story. Of all men, he should have stood by Jesus at His trial and crucifixion. Doubtless Lazarus was forced to flee, seeing that the infuriated elders determined his death (John 12:10, 11). With a deep affection for his Friend, Lazarus would withdraw more for His sake than for his own. He felt his presence only increased the Master’s danger.
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