Dumb equity arguments are used to claim job resumes are not useful for employment purposes. Maybe there are more applicable techniques in some circumstances. A survey of majors for US students show smart males choose Math and less achieving females choose nursing and social work. Only the survey is bogus. The stats may be correct, but don't include double degrees showing women are smarter than guys. It also compares mainstream professional colleges with Ivy League campuses. Weak measurement should not sway public debate, or one gets anthropogenic global warming hysteria.
Fake news media may get awards from Donald Trump. They are desperate to not cover news like Uranium deal by Hillary.
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 "Hallelujah" (Buckley version lyric)
"Hallelujah" is a song written by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen and originally released on his studio album Various Positions (1984).
Although it achieved little initial success, in recent years cover versions have been performed by a large number and broad range of artists, both in recordings and in concert, and has now surpassed "Suzanne" (written in the 1960s) to become the most-covered Cohen song
=== from 2017 ===
The December IPA Review is out and Richard Allsop reviews “Only in Australia” edited by William O Coleman in “Exceptional Views.” Australia is a great nation, where most workers are paid more to be on holidays four weeks a year than to be at work. This is because in the time of Gough Whitlam as PM, Australia’s centralised wage fixing system was forced to address the desire of the ruling ALP to impose a 4 week per annum annual leave to the working award. But it was pointed out the base wage for non salary workers was often supplemented with overtime and if everyone was forced to take annual leave then they would miss out on the overtime and maybe may not be able to do important things, like feed the cat or themselves. So, in order to make sure none would be disadvantaged for four weeks of pay for not working, the court of arbitration did a survey. It came back that the average wage earner did 17.5% extra overtime, on average in 1975. People in Australia often do much more overtime now, on average, but don’t ask for an increase in annual leave loading. Because you are lucky to have that at all. That is what unions did for you, mate. Sure they are corrupt and funnel your money to organised crime. Sure the unions make your workplace unsafe and uncompetitive with the rest of the world. The book excellently illustrates lots of such excesses. It even looks at Work Choices but ignores the real reasons why corrupt unions were able to overthrow it.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
=== from 2016 ===
The political apologists for extremist right wing parties are disgusting. They blow dog whistles on Islam when referring to Islamic terrorists. They praise Hitler for having effective policies. They declaim foreign aid and demand that such money be spent 'at home.' They claim they aren't racist, but they are bigoted. They say they won't support the conservatives this time when they didn't last time. They tend to protectionism when that shrinks the economy. They want to support farmers by cutting their markets. They oppose education reform but don't trust the classroom. They oppose technology that improves farming. They feel JFK was a good person cut down by corruption. They feel Jimmy Carter was compromised by the CIA. They feel that terrorists are tough negotiators. They feel that fictional works are real. Who would want to be someone they love? For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
=== from 2015 ===
One understands that the Koran should not be translated and so burning translated versions is not the same as burning the Koran, but that doesn't worry jihadists who threaten death to those making the political statement. It is similar to burning a pornographic photo and claiming it had depicted Mohammed, or his gay cousin. More remarkable then that UK has a charge of "suspicion of burning the Koran."
AirAsia flight QZ8501 has apparently crashed shortly after the pilot was denied the precaution of rising above the storm that claimed his craft. Apparently air traffic control had been concerned other planes would be in close proximity. The black box will be located soon and in all probability it was a freak, tragic accident that no precaution would have avoided.
Abysmal ALP/Green policy continues to threaten the lives and homes of country Australians during bushfire season. Back burning and limiting fuel is traditional and essential to effective administration of nature areas. Although pet scientists may disagree, as they are enthralled to the Greens.
As elections draw near in Israel, the left wing media campaign to bring down the conservative government of Netanyahu. Recently tv news media referenced an unending war between Israel and Palestine. Only there is currently no fighting and Palestine does not exist as a nation. But that does not matter to the partisan news media. Today is the 2002 anniversary of Israel pulling over a Palestinian bound ship crying 50 tons of weapons on the Red Sea.
AirAsia flight QZ8501 has apparently crashed shortly after the pilot was denied the precaution of rising above the storm that claimed his craft. Apparently air traffic control had been concerned other planes would be in close proximity. The black box will be located soon and in all probability it was a freak, tragic accident that no precaution would have avoided.
Abysmal ALP/Green policy continues to threaten the lives and homes of country Australians during bushfire season. Back burning and limiting fuel is traditional and essential to effective administration of nature areas. Although pet scientists may disagree, as they are enthralled to the Greens.
As elections draw near in Israel, the left wing media campaign to bring down the conservative government of Netanyahu. Recently tv news media referenced an unending war between Israel and Palestine. Only there is currently no fighting and Palestine does not exist as a nation. But that does not matter to the partisan news media. Today is the 2002 anniversary of Israel pulling over a Palestinian bound ship crying 50 tons of weapons on the Red Sea.
From 2014
The Howard administration began with an appeal for trust. Actual reform was delayed so as to provide a basis for change. So GST was not implemented early. Even at the end of the administration, changes were slowly being made. They were profound and served Australia well. The same could not be said for Rudd or Gillard. Nothing seemed planned when the ALP was in office. Change needs to be discussed and agreed to by the public. That takes time. Were Abbott to announce his intentions for reform, nay sayers could scuttle them before they could be implemented. I am sure the administration has a reform agenda and I am sure it includes the ABC. But precisely what that reform is I don't yet know. Akerman claims that a window of opportunity is closing. I disagree. The conservatives govern for all, not merely a few. When it is time, we will all know.
Climate deniers in the US are not being told of the ice-capades of their brethren in the antarctic. Trapped in summer ice, and 98% of US news outlets don't mention it. At this rate of heating, by 2050, the world will be a snowball. Apparently a high salt diet is good for longevity. Assange, who does not recognise the right of a court to come between him and his abusive style of lovemaking is appealing for one to abuse process on his behalf.
Climate deniers in the US are not being told of the ice-capades of their brethren in the antarctic. Trapped in summer ice, and 98% of US news outlets don't mention it. At this rate of heating, by 2050, the world will be a snowball. Apparently a high salt diet is good for longevity. Assange, who does not recognise the right of a court to come between him and his abusive style of lovemaking is appealing for one to abuse process on his behalf.
From 2013
not done
Historical perspective on this day
In 1431, Joan of Arc was defeated by Bishop Pierre Cauchon. 1521, Pope Leo Xexcommunicated Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem. 1653, by the Coonan Cross Oath, the Eastern Church in India cut itself off from colonial Portuguese tutelage. 1749, Benning Wentworth issued the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont. Also 1749, the first issue of Berlingske, Denmark's oldest continually operating newspaper, was published. 1777, American General George Washingtondefeated British General Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.
In 1815, Austria, the United Kingdom, and France formed a secret defensive alliance against Prussia and Russia. 1823, Stephen F. Austin received a grant of land in Texas from the government of Mexico. 1848, Joseph Jenkins Roberts was sworn in as the first president of the independent African Liberia. 1861, American Civil War: Delaware voted not to secede from the United States. 1868, Meiji Restoration in Japan: The Tokugawa shogunate was abolished; agents of Satsuma and Chōshū seized power. 1870, construction of the Brooklyn Bridgebegan. 1885, Sino-French War: Beginning of the Battle of Núi Bop 1888, the refracting telescope at the Lick Observatory, measuring 91 cm in diameter, was used for the first time. It was the largest telescope in the world at the time.
In 1911, a magnitude 7.7 earthquake destroyed the city of Almaty in Russian Turkestan. 1919, at the Paris Peace Conference, Emir Faisal I of Iraq signed an agreement with Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann on the development of a Jewish homeland in Palestine and an Arab nation in a large part of the Middle East. 1925, Benito Mussolini announced he was taking dictatorial powers over Italy. 1932, Martial law was declared in Honduras to stop a revolt by banana workers fired by the United Fruit Company. 1933, Minnie D. Craig became the first female elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first female to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States. 1938, the March of Dimes was established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. 1944, World War II: Top Ace Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington was shot down in his Vought F4U Corsair by Captain Masajiro Kawato flying a Mitsubishi A6M Zero. 1945, World War II: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz was placed in command of all U.S. Naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima and Okinawa in Japan. 1946, popular Canadian American jockey George Woolf died in a freak accident during a race; the annual George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award was created to honor him. 1947, proceedings of the U.S. Congress were televised for the first time. 1949, the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank of the Philippines, was established.
in 1953, Frances P. Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, became the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress. 1956, a fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower. 1957, the Hamilton Watch Company introduced the first electric watch. 1958, the West Indies Federation was formed. 1959, Alaska was admitted as the 49th U.S. state. Also 1959, separatists in the Maldives declared the establishment of the United Suvadive Republic. 1961, the United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba over the latter's nationalization of American assets. Also 1961, a core explosion and meltdown at the SL-1, a government-run reactor near Idaho Falls, Idaho, killed three workers. Also 1961, in Finland's worst civilian aviation accident an Aero Flight 311 crashed near Kvevlax, resulting in the deaths of all 25 people aboard. 1962, Pope John XXIII excommunicated Fidel Castro. 1976, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights came into effect. 1977, Apple Computer was incorporated.
In 1990, former leader of Panama Manuel Noriega surrendered to American forces. 1993, in Moscow, Russia, George Bush and Boris Yeltsin signed the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START). 1994, more than seven million people from the former apartheid Homelandsreceived South African citizenship. 1996, the Motorola StarTAC, the first flip phone and one of the first mobile phones to gain widespread consumer adoption, went on sale. 1997, China announced it would spend US$27.7 billion to fight erosion and pollution in the Yangtze and Yellow River valleys. 1999, the Mars Polar Lander was launched. Also 1999, Israel detained, and later expelled, 14 members of Concerned Christians. 2000, the last original weekday Peanuts comic strip was published. 2002, Israeli forces seized the Palestinian freighter Karine A in the Red Sea, finding 50 tons of weapons. 2004, Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashed into the Red Sea, resulting in 148 deaths, making it the deadliest aviation accident in Egyptian history. 2009, the first block of the blockchain of the decentralized payment system Bitcoin, called the Genesis block, was established by the creator of the system, Satoshi Nakamoto.
=== 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
- 106 BC – Cicero, Roman politician and philosopher (d. 43 BC)
- 169 – Lü Bu, Chinese general and warlord (d. 199)
- 1806 – Henriette Sontag, German soprano (d. 1854)
- 1840 – Father Damien, Flemish missionary and priest (d. 1889)
- 1855 – Hubert Bland, English educator (d. 1914)
- 1861 – William Renshaw, English tennis player (d. 1904)
- 1873 – Ichizō Kobayashi, Japanese businessman, founded the Hankyu Hanshin Holdings (d. 1957)
- 1887 – Helen Parkhurst, American educator and author (d. 1973)
- 1892 – J. R. R. Tolkien, English philologist and author (d. 1973)
- 1909 – Victor Borge, Danish-American pianist and comedian (d. 2000)
- 1916 – Maxene Andrews, American singer (The Andrews Sisters) (d. 1995)
- 1942 – John Thaw, English actor (d. 2002)
- 1945 – Stephen Stills, American singer-songwriter, musician, and producer (Buffalo Springfield, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and Manassas)
- 1956 – Mel Gibson, American-Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1969 – Michael Schumacher, German race car driver
- 1975 – Danica McKellar, American actress
- 1988 – J. R. Hildebrand American race car driver
- 1993 – Kevin Ware, American basketball player
- 1848 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts (pictured) began his term as the first President of Liberia.
- 1888 – The 36 in (91 cm) refracting telescope at the Lick Observatory near San Jose, California, at the time the largest in the world, was used for the first time.
- 1919 – Emir Faisal of Iraq signed an agreement with Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann on the development of a Jewish homeland in Palestine and an Arab nation in a large part of the Middle East.
- 1949 – The first Central Bank of the Philippines was formally inaugurated with Miguel Cuaderno, Sr. as the first governor.
- 1976 – The multilateral International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, part of the International Bill of Human Rights, came into effect.
Deaths
- 236 – Pope Anterus
- 323 – Emperor Yuan of Jin (b. 276)
- 492 – Pope Felix III
- 661 – Pope Benjamin I of Alexandria
- 1098 – Walkelin, French bishop
- 1322 – Philip V of France (b. 1292)
- 1437 – Catherine of France (b. 1401)
- 1543 – Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, Portuguese explorer (b. 1499)
- 1571 – Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1505)
- 1641 – Jeremiah Horrocks, English astronomer (b. 1618)
- 1656 – Mathieu Molé, French politician (b. 1584)
- 1670 – George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, English soldier and politician (b. 1608)
- 1690 – Hillel ben Naphtali Zevi, Lithuanian rabbi (b. 1615)
- 1701 – Louis I, Prince of Monaco (b. 1642)
- 1705 – Luca Giordano, Italian painter (b. 1634)
- 1743 – Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian architect and designer (b. 1657)
- 1779 – Claude Bourgelat, French surgeon (b. 1712)
- 1785 – Baldassare Galuppi, Italian composer (b. 1706)
- 1795 – Josiah Wedgwood, English potter, founder of the Wedgwood Company (b. 1730)
- 1813 – Bennelong, Aborigine interlocutor (b. 1764)
- 1826 – Louis-Gabriel Suchet, French marshal (b. 1770)
- 1871 – Kuriakose Elias Chavara, Indian saint (b. 1805)
- 1875 – Pierre Larousse, French lexicographer (b. 1817)
- 1882 – William Harrison Ainsworth, English author (b. 1805)
- 1895 – James Merritt Ives, American lithographer and businessman, co-founded Currier and Ives (b. 1824)
- 1903 – Alois Hitler, Austrian civil servant (b. 1837)
- 1933 – Jack Pickford, Canadian actor (b. 1896)
- 1943 – André Fauquet-Lemaître, French polo player (b. 1862)
- 1943 – Walter James, Australian politician, 5th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1863)
- 1944 – Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet (b. 1873)
- 1945 – Edgar Cayce, American psychic (b. 1877)
- 1945 – Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish journalist and explorer (b. 1879)
- 1946 – William Joyce, American-English politician (b. 1906)
- 1967 – Jack Ruby, American murderer (b. 1911)
- 2006 – Steve Rogers, Australian rugby player (b. 1954)
- 2012 – Bob Weston, English guitarist and songwriter (Fleetwood Mac) (b. 1947)
- 2014 – Phil Everly, American singer and guitarist (The Everly Brothers) (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Alicia Rhett, American actress and painter (b. 1915)
Tim Blair 2017
DEEP SOUTH DEEP FREEZE
Even southern US states are not immune from global warming’s local colding.
COUNTDOWN CONTINUES TO MULTI-CULTI MADNESS
“‘Diversity’ is where once functioning societies go to die,” observes Mark Steyn, who presents evidence for this in a brilliantly creative and possibly soon to be outlawed form.
SNAP-FROZEN SHARKS AND THE GREAT CHOCOLATE PANIC OF 2048
Global warming or climate change or climate chaos or weather weirding or whatever the hell it’s called this week sure is turning on the fun.
GOOD QUESTION – NOT MUCH OF AN ANSWER, THOUGH
UPDATED “What are we doing here?" one of Melbourne’s vibrant multicultural youths snaps in response to Herald Sun reporter Aaron Langmaid’s polite question. “We’re f---ing your grandmother, that’s what we are doing."
Tim Blair
MILO’S MILLIONS
ALLAHU AKBAR AROUND THE WORLD
TUESDAY NOTICEBOARD
Miranda Devine
We still need answers
===MISSION NO-SPEAK CONTINUES
Tim Blair – Sunday, January 03, 2016 (1:57pm)
No language violation goes unpunished when elevator vigilante Clementine Ford is on the case:
This afternoon, I was waiting for the lift in the Myer shopping centre in Melbourne. A man with his family was standing behind me. I overheard him say, “...faggots looking sideways at you.” Although I was pretty shocked to hear that word being used so blatantly, I decided to say something to him. I told him that “faggots” was homophobic hate speech, at which point he just started repeatedly saying “shut up”. One of the men with him then told me that he was entitled to his opinion. I replied that in that case, I was also entitled to share my view that his language was hate speech.At this point, the lift arrived. Within a few seconds of us all entering, I took a photo of the man.
And then she posted it on Facebook – before eventually realising this may not have been the wisest course of action and removing it.
(Via J.F. Beck.)
AL GORE OF THE APES
Tim Blair – Sunday, January 03, 2016 (11:23am)
The Pope, Malcolm Turnbull and Koko the gorilla all agree:
A gorilla who is able to communicate through sign language has starred as the ‘voice of nature’ in a video shown at a recent climate change conference.The video shows the 44-year-old western lowland gorilla talking about nature and mankind through sign.“Man Koko love, Earth Koko love. But man stupid,” she says, gesturing to her head.“Fix Earth! Help Earth! Protect Earth.”
Some aren’t buying it:
Many skeptics insist the gestures are nothing but mimicry.One user on a forum for skeptics said, “I’m continually surprised to discover how many educated and informed people believe that gorillas and chimps have been taught sign language.”“Yes, some primates have been taught to make gestures, and to get what they want by using them, but this is a trivial trick that can be done with all sorts of animals.”
Like Greens voters, for example.
(Via Peter J.)
STATES OF EMERGENCY
Tim Blair – Saturday, January 03, 2015 (7:16pm)
Survivors look on as Victorian merino farmer David Coad prepares to bury thousands of sheep killed by massive bushfires:
Many properties in South Australia and Victoria are destroyed and many others threatened. A woman has been charged over 40 deliberately-lit fires in Victoria’s north.
Many properties in South Australia and Victoria are destroyed and many others threatened. A woman has been charged over 40 deliberately-lit fires in Victoria’s north.
CAN’T SEE ANY PROBLEM HERE
Tim Blair – Saturday, January 03, 2015 (6:54pm)
BuzzFeed editor Ben Smith responds to criticism of a front-page headline that was completely wrong:
Actually, I haven’t read the story. So I don’t feel I want to debate it with you.
What a pro.
KORAN COOKED
Tim Blair – Saturday, January 03, 2015 (1:49pm)
You can destroy any number of books in Britain and find yourself in no trouble at all. Except for one:
A 19-year-old West Yorkshire man was arrested by police at the weekend after posting a video on social media showing him tearing apart a Koran with his teeth, before putting it in a toilet and then burning it.The unnamed man, who has since been released on bail, was considered at-risk by West Yorkshire police after a number of violent threats to his life were made in the comment replies on the video, which showed him destroying an English translation of the Islamic text. Some went as far as calling the police to complain that they had been offended by the video …This man is not the first young Briton to have been arrested for burning a book. In September 2010 six young men were arrested for pouring petrol on and burning two Korans in a pub beer garden. In a statement at the time, Northumbria police said the offence was not related to creating, sharing or viewing a video, but rather they were specifically arrested on “suspicion of burning the Koran”.
Burning the Koran is stupid and needlessly provocative – just like burning national flags. But criminalising this dumb behaviour is even stupider.
(Via bingbing)
BINGE ON BURGE
Tim Blair – Saturday, January 03, 2015 (1:31pm)
===
Reform list begins with ABC on top
Piers Akerman – Friday, January 03, 2014 (8:35am)
THE Abbott government’s window of opportunity for major reform is rapidly closing.
98 per cent of US reports don’t mention the ice-trapped passengers were global warmists
Andrew Bolt January 03 2014 (6:04am)
The media here has covered up for the climate change expedition that got stuck in ice:
===Why have the ABC and Fairfax media, so keen at first to announce this expedition was to measure the extent and effects of global warming, since omitted that fact from their reports after the expedition became ice-bound?It’s been even worse in the US:
The Russian ship, Akademic Shokalskiy, was stranded in the ice while on a climate change research expedition, yet nearly 98 percent of network news reports about the stranded researchers failed to mention their mission at all…
In fact, rather than point out the mission was to find evidence of climate change, the networks often referred to the stranded people as “passengers,” “trackers” and even “tourists,” without a word about climate change or global warming… There was only one news story out of 41 that mentioned climate change. That was CBS “This Morning” Dec. 30. “Despite being frozen at a standstill, the team’s research on climate change and Antarctic wildlife is moving forward,” CBS News Correspondent Don Dahler said.
On the benefits of putting salt on even apples
Andrew Bolt January 03 2014 (5:53am)
Blaming the army for a man’s eating habits for the 60 years since he last served is already a ludicrous stretch:
But here’s the even more bizarre thing. Hutton died at 87. Why is there any talk of a premature death? Did the salt in fact preserve him?
(Via Catallaxy Files.)
===A WOMAN has won the right to a war widow’s pension by proving her late husband’s death was linked to the excessive salt-eating habit he developed as a serviceman.Hutton really had no free will to change his diet in 60 years?
After serving in the tropics during World War II, Queensland cane cutter and farmer Clement Hutton loaded all his food – from apples to porridge and rice – with salt.
His widow Shirley Hutton, 83, of Maroochy River on the Sunshine Coast, told the Administrative Appeal Tribunal her husband, who she married in 1951, developed his taste for salt during his Army service… Mr Hutton was diagnosed with hypertension in 1997 and died after a stroke in July 2012 aged 87.
But here’s the even more bizarre thing. Hutton died at 87. Why is there any talk of a premature death? Did the salt in fact preserve him?
(Via Catallaxy Files.)
Wikileaks not so in favor of debate, after all
Andrew Bolt January 03 2014 (5:29am)
The Wikileaks Party claims to want a free debate, with no stifling of dissent:
===Yet we are witness to a degeneration of democracy into political party oligarchy, in which dissent is stifled…Yet when another politician dissents from the Wikileaks line, the party calls in the lawyers:
How rare is it to see a Member of Parliament, whether in government or in opposition, stepping out of line, or raising difficult or controversial issues?…
It’s time to give dissidents a voice in our political system… In particular we will be fearless in the pursuit of the 21st century freedoms which are essential to the creation of any meaningful democracy. These include ... the free flow of information
Julian Assange’s father has engaged a silk to start legal action against Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop over comments relating to his political party’s controversial visit to Syria.
John Shipton came under fire after the Australian WikiLeaks Party sent a delegation to Syria to meet accused war criminal, President Bashar al-Assad…
“Because of the defamatory statements made against myself by Prime Minister Tony Abbott and Foreign Minister Julie Bishop, we have asked barrister Clive A. Evatt to begin defamation proceedings seeking $5 million in damages in each case,” he said…
Mr Evatt said ... “he’s suing on publicly being called stupid and reckless – that’s Bishop. “And Tony Abbott said more or less the same thing, reported in the media this morning.”
Sometimes people get it fast, sometimes slow.
Some people even take the douchebag way and steal other parking spots, or just as bad, DOUBLE PARK!
Some people may wait patiently, but you may not know if you'll be missing out on better parking spots!
Maybe some people find some reason to park illegally just because they can... And somehow get away with it (in Malaysia at least :p)
Or maybe after a long long tiring search people might give up one day and decide to use valet service!
Let's not forget to mention about the vvip parking!! On behalf of the rest of the community, screw u!!
... ...
But in the end, what really matters is that I should really stop comparing relationships to parking. The end.>
I got my eye on this really sweet spot. Now need to convince it I'm a car. I don't think I can just flash my headlights. Probably won't impress them if I leak oil too. Full of petrol. Clean windows. Licensed. Registered. - ed
===
www.news.com.au
2014 years is not long enough for a lefty to mature intellectually. HNY Safiyyah .. don't let the jerks get you down. - ed===
www.news.com.au
I can't see anything wrong with what passed. It isn't like fining a motorist for leaving windows a few cm down on their parked car on a hot day. - ed===
www.theage.com.au
http://www.theage.com.au/business/retail/we-spent-42b-on-christmas-and-government-gets-the-credit-20140103-309a5.html===
www.theage.com.au
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/assanges-father-to-start-legal-action-against-tony-abbott-julie-bishop-20140102-3080z.html===
www.theage.com.au
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/lack-of-accountability-clouding-the-climate-change-debate-20140102-307ja.html===
#TheirABC
www.theaustralian.com.au
===David Bowles
Wait! On this blessed day,
O Hurricane, Heart of Earth and Sky,
Source of ripeness and freshness,
Giver of daughters and sons,
Spread that stain, spill your drops
Of green and yellow—
Give life and beginning
To those we beget and bear,
So they too multiply and grow,
Nurturing and providing for you,
Calling to you along road and path,
Upon rivers, within canyons,
Beneath trees and bushes:
Give them their daughters and sons.
May there be no blame or barrier,
No lack or misery;
Let no deceiver sneak up behind
Or arise before them;
May they neither be snared nor wounded,
Nor seduced, nor burned,
Nor diverted below the road or above it;
May they neither fall backward nor stumble—
Keep them ever on the verdant path.
That road of deepest green.
—from "Cry of the Rulers' Hearts" in the Popol Vuh, the Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life
===O Hurricane, Heart of Earth and Sky,
Source of ripeness and freshness,
Giver of daughters and sons,
Spread that stain, spill your drops
Of green and yellow—
Give life and beginning
To those we beget and bear,
So they too multiply and grow,
Nurturing and providing for you,
Calling to you along road and path,
Upon rivers, within canyons,
Beneath trees and bushes:
Give them their daughters and sons.
May there be no blame or barrier,
No lack or misery;
Let no deceiver sneak up behind
Or arise before them;
May they neither be snared nor wounded,
Nor seduced, nor burned,
Nor diverted below the road or above it;
May they neither fall backward nor stumble—
Keep them ever on the verdant path.
That road of deepest green.
—from "Cry of the Rulers' Hearts" in the Popol Vuh, the Mayan Book of the Dawn of Life
Meh, who heads a terrorist organisation? Definitely not a democratically elected leader .. ed
===
===
www.frontpagemag.com
===
Israel news: the world’s most anti-Jewish country
http://www.israelnationalnews.co...
Here are some recent headlines you might have missed. These stories come from December 27 – 30, 2013.
The war against Israel
-Court Won't Intervene,
===The war against Israel
-Court Won't Intervene,
www.imra.org.il
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wordfromjerusalem.com
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www.nytimes.com
===<I do not find shocking as much as sickening the fact that President Obama is determined to destroy the majesty of the United States with his misguided concepts of who constitutes friend and who foe. Perhaps this is not an accident at all as he has made crystal clear the vital part Islam plays in his every day actions. The partnership with Israel is one in name only as long as Netanyahu accedes to Obama's commands conveyed by Kerry. By his every action Obama has shown that only the Muslim Brotherhood is integral in his life. The US as we have known it is slowly but surely disappearing.>
www.jpost.com
http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/===
www.tabletmag.com
===50 years of the War on Poverty
===
www.imra.org.il
===SAD FOR TURKEY
Turkish PM Erdoğan has now taken a page from the Dictator's Manual of Operations, claiming that there are giant foreign originated plots against him and Turkey.
Every dictator in the past 100 years has used this line. Most recently Chavez in Venezuela. But the list includes Stalin, Hitler, Ghaddafi,Assad, Saddam Hussein, and Idi Amin.
Far from a novel tactic, blaming scapegoats for one's failings, is a political tactic that many failing politicians use to bolster their power. Nothing new.
Turkey has gone from a progressive, secular, free society, to a place where journalists are jailed, from a growing prosperous nation to a no-growth economy for the past 22 months, and from a regional leader to a country that has isolated itself from its neighbors under Erdoğan's leadership.
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www.timesofisrael.com
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www.foxbusiness.com
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newsblaze.com
===Will Arabs Have the Courage to Label Muslim Brotherhood a Terrorist Group? :: Gatestone Institute
===
- 1521 – Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bullDecet Romanum Pontificem.
- 1653 – By the Coonan Cross Oath, the Eastern Church in India cuts itself off from colonial Portuguese tutelage.
- 1749 – Benning Wentworth issues the first of the New Hampshire Grants, leading to the establishment of Vermont.
- 1749 – The first issue of Berlingske, Denmark's oldest continually operating newspaper, is published.
- 1777 – American General George Washington defeats British General Lord Cornwallis at the Battle of Princeton.
- 1815 – Austria, the United Kingdom, and France form a secret defensive alliance against Prussiaand Russia.
- 1823 – Stephen F. Austin receives a grant of land in Texas from the government of Mexico.
- 1848 – Joseph Jenkins Roberts is sworn in as the first president of Liberia.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Delaware votes not to secede from the United States.
- 1868 – Meiji Restoration in Japan: The Tokugawa shogunate is abolished; agents of Satsuma and Chōshū seize power.
- 1870 – Construction of the Brooklyn Bridge begins.
- 1871 – Battle of Bapaume, a battle in the Franco-Prussian war occurs.
- 1885 – Sino-French War: Beginning of the Battle of Núi Bop
- 1888 – The James Lick telescope at the Lick Observatory, measuring 91 cm in diameter, is used for the first time. It was the largest refracting telescope in the world at the time.
- 1911 – A magnitude 7.7 earthquake destroys the city of Almaty in Russian Turkestan.
- 1911 – A gun battle in the East End of London left two dead and sparked a political row over the involvement of then-Home Secretary Winston Churchill.
- 1913 – An Atlantic coast storm sets the lowest confirmed barometric pressure reading for a non-tropical system in the continental United States.
- 1919 – At the Paris Peace Conference, Emir Faisal I of Iraq signs an agreement with Zionist leader Chaim Weizmann on the development of a Jewish homeland in Palestine.
- 1925 – Benito Mussolini announces he is taking dictatorial powers over Italy.
- 1932 – Martial law is declared in Honduras to stop a revolt by banana workers fired by the United Fruit Company.
- 1933 – Minnie D. Craig becomes the first woman elected as Speaker of the North Dakota House of Representatives, the first woman to hold a Speaker position anywhere in the United States.
- 1938 – The March of Dimes is established as a foundation to combat infant poliois by PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt.
- 1944 – World War II: Top Ace Major Greg "Pappy" Boyington is shot down in his Vought F4U Corsair by Captain Masajiro Kawato flying a Mitsubishi A6M Zero.
- 1945 – World War II: Admiral Chester W. Nimitz is placed in command of all U.S. Naval forces in preparation for planned assaults against Iwo Jima and Okinawa in Japan.
- 1946 – Popular Canadian American jockey George Woolf dies in a freak accident during a race; the annual George Woolf Memorial Jockey Award is created to honor him.
- 1947 – Proceedings of the U.S. Congress are televised for the first time.
- 1949 – The Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, the central bank of the Philippines, is established.
- 1953 – Frances P. Bolton and her son, Oliver from Ohio, become the first mother and son to serve simultaneously in the U.S. Congress.
- 1956 – A fire damages the top part of the Eiffel Tower.
- 1957 – The Hamilton Watch Company introduces the first electric watch.
- 1958 – The West Indies Federation is formed.
- 1959 – Alaska is admitted as the 49th U.S. state.
- 1961 – The United States severs diplomatic relations with Cuba over the latter's nationalization of American assets.
- 1961 – The SL-1 nuclear reactor is destroyed by a steam explosion in the only reactor incident in the United States to cause immediate fatalities.
- 1961 – A protest by agricultural workers in Baixa de Cassanje, Portuguese Angola, turns into a revolt, opening the Angolan War of Independence, the first of the Portuguese Colonial Wars.
- 1962 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro.
- 1976 – International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights entered into force.
- 1977 – Apple Computer is incorporated.
- 1990 – Manuel Noriega, former leader of Panama, surrenders to American forces.
- 1993 – In Moscow, Russia, George Bush and Boris Yeltsin sign the second Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START).
- 1994 – More than seven million people from the former apartheid Homelands receive South African citizenship.
- 1999 – The Mars Polar Lander is launched by NASA.
- 2000 – Final daily edition of the Peanuts comic strip.
- 2002 – Israeli forces seize the Palestinian freighter Karine A in the Red Sea, finding 50 tons of weapons.
- 2004 – Flash Airlines Flight 604 crashes into the Red Sea, resulting in 148 deaths, making it one of the deadliest aviation accidents in Egyptian history.
- 2009 – The first block of the blockchain of the decentralized payment system Bitcoin, called the Genesis block, was established by the creator of the system, Satoshi Nakamoto.
- 2015 – Boko Haram militants raze the entire town of Baga in north-east Nigeria, starting the 2015 Baga massacre and killing as many as 2,000 people.
- 106 BC – Cicero, Roman philosopher, lawyer, and politician (d. 43 BC)
- 169 – Lü Bu, Chinese general and warlord (d. 199)
- 1196 – Emperor Tsuchimikado of Japan (d. 1231)
- 1509 – Gian Girolamo Albani, Italian cardinal (d. 1591)
- 1611 – James Harrington, English political theorist (d. 1677)
- 1698 – Pietro Metastasio, Italian poet and songwriter (d. 1782)
- 1710 – Richard Gridley, American soldier and engineer (d. 1796)
- 1722 – Fredrik Hasselqvist, Swedish biologist and explorer (d. 1752)
- 1760 – Veerapandiya Kattabomman, Indian ruler (d. 1799)
- 1775 – Francis Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont (d. 1863)
- 1778 – Antoni Melchior Fijałkowski, Polish archbishop (d. 1861)
- 1793 – Lucretia Mott, American activist (d. 1880)
- 1802 – Charles Pelham Villiers, English lawyer and politician (d. 1898)
- 1803 – Douglas William Jerrold, English journalist and playwright (d. 1857)
- 1806 – Henriette Sontag, German soprano and actress (d. 1854)
- 1810 – Antoine Thomson d'Abbadie, French geographer, ethnologist, linguist, and astronomer (d. 1897)
- 1816 – Samuel C. Pomeroy, American businessman and politician (d. 1891)
- 1819 – Charles Piazzi Smyth, Italian-Scottish astronomer and academic (d. 1900)
- 1821 – Karel Dežman, Slovenian archaeologist, botanist, and politician, Mayor of Ljubljana (d. 1889)
- 1831 – Savitribai Phule, Indian poet, educator, and activist (d. 1897)
- 1836 – Sakamoto Ryōma, Japanese samurai and rebel leader (d. 1867)
- 1840 – Father Damien, Flemish priest and missionary (d. 1889)
- 1855 – Hubert Bland, English businessman (d. 1914)
- 1861 – Ernest Renshaw, English tennis player (d. 1899)
- 1861 – William Renshaw, English tennis player (d. 1904)
- 1862 – Matthew Nathan, English soldier and politician, 13th Governor of Queensland (d. 1939)
- 1865 – Henry Lytton, English actor (d. 1936)
- 1870 – Henry Handel Richardson, Australian-English author (d. 1946)
- 1873 – Ichizō Kobayashi, Japanese businessman and art collector, founded the Hankyu Hanshin Holdings (d. 1957)
- 1875 – Alexandros Diomidis, Greek banker and politician, 145th Prime Minister of Greece (d. 1950)
- 1876 – Wilhelm Pieck, German carpenter and politician, 1st President of the German Democratic Republic (d. 1960)
- 1877 – Josephine Hull, American actress (d. 1957)
- 1880 – Francis Browne, Irish Jesuit priest and photographer (d. 1960)
- 1883 – Clement Attlee, English soldier, lawyer, and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom(d. 1967)
- 1883 – Duncan Gillis, Canadian discus thrower and hammer thrower (d. 1963)
- 1884 – Raoul Koczalski, Polish pianist and composer (d. 1948)
- 1885 – Harry Elkins Widener, American businessman (d. 1912)
- 1886 – John Gould Fletcher, American poet and author (d. 1950)
- 1886 – Arthur Mailey, Australian cricketer (d. 1967)
- 1887 – August Macke, German-French painter (d. 1914)
- 1887 – Helen Parkhurst, American author and educator (d. 1973)
- 1892 – J.R.R. Tolkien, English writer, poet, and philologist (d. 1973)
- 1894 – ZaSu Pitts, American actress (d. 1963)
- 1895 – Boris Lyatoshinsky, Ukrainian composer and conductor (d. 1968)
- 1897 – Marion Davies, American actress and comedian (d. 1961)
- 1898 – Carolyn Haywood, American author and illustrator (d. 1990)
- 1898 – Carlos Keller, Chilean historian, academic, and politician (d. 1974)
- 1900 – Donald J. Russell, American businessman (d. 1985)
- 1901 – Ngô Đình Diệm, Vietnamese lawyer and politician, 1st President of the Republic of Vietnam(d. 1963)
- 1905 – Dante Giacosa, Italian engineer (d. 1996)
- 1905 – Anna May Wong, American actress (d. 1961)
- 1907 – Ray Milland, Welsh-American actor and director (d. 1986)
- 1909 – Victor Borge, Danish-American pianist and conductor (d. 2000)
- 1910 – Frenchy Bordagaray, American baseball player and manager (d. 2000)
- 1911 – John Sturges, American director and producer (d. 1982)
- 1912 – Federico Borrell García, Spanish soldier (d. 1936)
- 1912 – Renaude Lapointe, Canadian journalist and politician (d. 2002)
- 1912 – Armand Lohikoski, American-Finnish actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
- 1915 – Jack Levine, American painter and soldier (d. 2010)
- 1916 – Maxene Andrews, American singer (d. 1995)
- 1916 – Betty Furness, American actress and television journalist (d. 1994)
- 1916 – Fred Haas, American golfer (d. 2004)
- 1917 – Albert Mol, Dutch author and actor (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Vernon A. Walters, American general and diplomat, 17th United States Ambassador to the United Nations (d. 2002)
- 1917 – Roger Williams Straus, Jr., American journalist and publisher, co-founded Farrar, Straus and Giroux (d. 2004)
- 1919 – Dorothy Morrison, American actress
- 1919 – Herbie Nichols, American pianist and composer (d. 1963)
- 1920 – Siegfried Buback, German lawyer and politician, Attorney General of Germany (d. 1977)
- 1920 – Renato Carosone, Italian singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 2001)
- 1921 – Chetan Anand, Indian director and screenwriter (d. 1997)
- 1922 – Bill Travers, English actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1994)
- 1923 – Hank Stram, American football coach and sportscaster (d. 2005)
- 1924 – Otto Beisheim, German businessman and philanthropist, founded Metro AG (d. 2013)
- 1924 – André Franquin, Belgian author and illustrator (d. 1997)
- 1924 – Nell Rankin, American soprano and educator (d. 2005)
- 1925 – Jill Balcon, English actress (d. 2009)
- 1926 – W. Michael Blumenthal, American economist and politician, 64th United States Secretary of the Treasury
- 1926 – George Martin, English composer, conductor, and producer (d. 2016)
- 1928 – Michael Barratt, English television host and announcer
- 1928 – Abdul Rahman Ya'kub, Malaysian lawyer and politician, 3rd Chief Minister of Sarawak (d. 2015)
- 1929 – Sergio Leone, Italian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1989)
- 1929 – Ernst Mahle, German-Brazilian composer and conductor
- 1929 – Gordon Moore, American businessman, co-founder of Intel Corporation
- 1930 – Robert Loggia, American actor and director (d. 2015)
- 1931 – Yashawant Dinkar Phadke, Indian historian and activist (d. 2008)
- 1932 – Dabney Coleman, American actor
- 1932 – Eeles Landström, Finnish pole vaulter and politician
- 1933 – Geoffrey Bindman, English lawyer
- 1933 – Anya Linden, English ballerina
- 1933 – Anne Stevenson, American-English poet and author
- 1934 – Marpessa Dawn, American-French actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2008)
- 1934 – Carla Anderson Hills, American lawyer and politician, 5th United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development
- 1935 – Raymond Garneau, Canadian businessman and politician
- 1936 – Michael Layard, English admiral
- 1937 – Glen A. Larson, American director, producer, and screenwriter, created Battlestar Galactica(d. 2014)
- 1938 – Robin Butler, Baron Butler of Brockwell, English academic and politician
- 1938 – K. Ganeshalingam, Sri Lankan accountant and politician, Mayor of Colombo (d. 2006)
- 1939 – Arik Einstein, Israeli singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2013)
- 1939 – Bobby Hull, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1940 – Leo de Berardinis, Italian actor and director (d. 2008)
- 1940 – Bernard Blaut, Polish footballer and coach (d. 2007)
- 1941 – Malcolm Dick, New Zealand rugby player
- 1942 – John Marsden, Australian lawyer and activist (d. 2006)
- 1942 – John Thaw, English actor and producer (d. 2002)
- 1943 – Jarl Alfredius, Swedish journalist (d. 2009)
- 1943 – Van Dyke Parks, American singer-songwriter, musician, composer, author, and actor
- 1944 – David Atherton, English conductor, co-founded London Sinfonietta
- 1944 – Raewyn Connell, Australian sociologist and academic
- 1944 – Blanche d'Alpuget, Australian author
- 1944 – Chris von Saltza, American swimmer
- 1945 – David Starkey, English historian and academic
- 1945 – Stephen Stills, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1946 – John Paul Jones, English bass player, songwriter, and producer
- 1946 – Michalis Kritikopoulos, Greek footballer (d. 2002)
- 1947 – Fran Cotton, English rugby player
- 1947 – Zulema, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1948 – Ian Nankervis, Australian footballer
- 1950 – Victoria Principal, American actress and businesswoman
- 1950 – Linda Steiner, American journalist and academic
- 1951 – Linda Dobbs, English lawyer and judge
- 1951 – Gary Nairn, Australian surveyor and politician, 14th Special Minister of State
- 1952 – Esperanza Aguirre, Spanish civil servant and politician, 3rd President of the Community of Madrid
- 1952 – Gianfranco Fini, Italian journalist and politician, Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1952 – Jim Ross, American professional wrestling commentator
- 1953 – Justin Fleming, Australian playwright and author
- 1953 – Mohammed Waheed Hassan, Maldivian educator and politician, 5th President of the Maldives
- 1956 – Mel Gibson, American-Australian actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1957 – Dave Dobbyn, New Zealand singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1958 – Shim Hyung-rae, South Korean actor, director, and producer
- 1960 – Russell Spence, English race car driver
- 1962 – Darren Daulton, American baseball player (d. 2017)
- 1962 – Gavin Hastings, Scottish rugby player
- 1963 – Stewart Hosie, Scottish businessman and politician
- 1963 – Aamer Malik, Pakistani cricketer
- 1963 – Alex Wheatle, English author and playwright
- 1964 – Bruce LaBruce, Canadian director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1964 – Cheryl Miller, American basketball player and coach
- 1966 – Chetan Sharma, Indian cricketer
- 1969 – Lorenzo Fertitta, American entrepreneur, casino executive and sports promoter
- 1969 – Jarmo Lehtinen, Finnish race car driver
- 1969 – Michael Schumacher, German race car driver
- 1969 – Gerda Weissensteiner, Italian luger and bobsledder
- 1971 – Cory Cross, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
- 1971 – Lee Il-hwa, South Korean actress
- 1972 – Janek Kiisman, Estonian footballer
- 1973 – Dan Harmon, American screenwriter and producer
- 1974 – Robert-Jan Derksen, Dutch golfer
- 1974 – Alessandro Petacchi, Italian cyclist
- 1974 – Shin Eun-jung, South Korean actress
- 1975 – Thomas Bangalter, French DJ, musician (Daft Punk), and producer
- 1975 – Jun Maeda, Japanese businessman, co-founded the Key Company
- 1975 – Danica McKellar, American actress, writer, and mathematician
- 1976 – Angelos Basinas, Greek footballer
- 1976 – Nicholas Gonzalez, American actor and producer
- 1977 – Lee Bowyer, English footballer and coach
- 1977 – A. J. Burnett, American baseball player
- 1977 – Mayumi Iizuka, Japanese voice actress and singer
- 1978 – Dimitra Kalentzou, Greek basketball player
- 1978 – Park Sol-mi, South Korean actress
- 1978 – Dominic Wood, English comedian and former magician
- 1980 – Bryan Clay, American decathlete
- 1980 – Angela Ruggiero, American ice hockey player
- 1980 – David Tyree, American football player
- 1980 – Kurt Vile, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
- 1980 – Mary Wineberg, American sprinter
- 1981 – Eli Manning, American football player
- 1982 – Peter Clarke, English footballer
- 1982 – Lasse Nilsson, Swedish footballer
- 1982 – Park Ji-yoon, South Korean singer and actress
- 1983 – Katie McGrath, Irish actress
- 1984 – Miloš Juhász, Slovak footballer
- 1984 – Kim Ha-eun, South Korean actress
- 1984 – Lee Wan, South Korean actor
- 1984 – Billy Mehmet, English-Irish footballer
- 1985 – Linas Kleiza, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1985 – Evan Moore, American football player
- 1986 – Dana Hussain, Iraqi sprinter
- 1986 – Greg Nwokolo, Indonesian footballer
- 1986 – Jessica O'Rourke, American footballer
- 1986 – Dmitry Starodubtsev, Russian pole vaulter
- 1986 – Jacob Timpano, Australian footballer
- 1986 – Allan Walker, Scottish footballer
- 1987 – Reto Berra, Swiss professional ice hockey goaltender
- 1987 – Kim Ok-bin, South Korean actress and singer
- 1987 – Leonidas Panagopoulos, Greek footballer
- 1988 – Ikechi Anya, Scottish-Nigerian footballer
- 1988 – Rodrigo de la Cadena, Mexican singer-songwriter
- 1988 – Jonny Evans, Northern Irish footballer
- 1988 – Matt Frattin, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1988 – J. R. Hildebrand, American race car driver
- 1989 – Adas Juškevičius, Lithuanian basketball player
- 1989 – Ben Matulino, New Zealand rugby league player
- 1989 – Kōhei Uchimura, Japanese artistic gymnast
- 1989 – Anthony Wordsworth, English footballer
- 1990 – Yoichiro Kakitani, Japanese footballer
- 1991 – Jerson Cabral, Dutch footballer
- 1991 – Özgür Çek, Turkish footballer
- 1991 – Sébastien Faure, French footballer
- 1991 – Dane Gagai, Australian rugby league player
- 1992 – Doug McDermott, American basketball player
- 1992 – Sio Siua Taukeiaho, New Zealand-Tongan rugby league player
- 1992 – Sandra Zaniewska, Polish tennis player
- 1993 – Kevin Ware, American basketball player
- 1995 – Kim Seol-hyun, South Korean singer and dancer
Births[edit]
- 236 – Pope Anterus
- 323 – Emperor Yuan of Jin (b. 276)
- 661 – Benjamin, Coptic Orthodox Patriarch of Alexandria
- 1098 – Walkelin, French bishop
- 1322 – Philip V of France (b. 1292)
- 1437 – Catherine of Valois, queen of Henry V of England (b. 1401)
- 1489 – Martin Truchseß von Wetzhausen, Grand Master of the Teutonic Knights (b. 1435)
- 1497 – Beatrice d'Este, Duchess of Milan (b. 1475)
- 1501 – Ali-Shir Nava'i, Turkic poet, linguist, and mystic (b. 1441)
- 1543 – Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo, Portuguese explorer and navigator (b. 1499)
- 1571 – Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1505)
- 1641 – Jeremiah Horrocks, English astronomer and mathematician (b. 1618)
- 1656 – Mathieu Molé, French politician (b. 1584)
- 1670 – George Monck, 1st Duke of Albemarle, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1608)
- 1701 – Louis I, Prince of Monaco (b. 1642)
- 1743 – Ferdinando Galli-Bibiena, Italian painter and architect (b. 1657)
- 1777 – William Leslie, Scottish captain (b. 1751)
- 1779 – Claude Bourgelat, French surgeon and lawyer (b. 1712)
- 1785 – Baldassare Galuppi, Italian composer (b. 1706)
- 1795 – Josiah Wedgwood, English potter, founded the Wedgwood Company (b. 1730)
- 1826 – Louis-Gabriel Suchet, French general (b. 1770)
- 1871 – Kuriakose Elias Chavara, Indian priest and saint (b. 1805)
- 1875 – Pierre Larousse, French lexicographer and publisher (b. 1817)
- 1882 – William Harrison Ainsworth, English author (b. 1805)
- 1895 – James Merritt Ives, American lithographer and businessman, co-founded Currier and Ives(b. 1824)
- 1903 – Alois Hitler, Austrian civil servant (b. 1837)
- 1911 – Alexandros Papadiamantis, Greek author and poet (b. 1851)
- 1915 – James Elroy Flecker, English poet, author, and playwright (b. 1884)
- 1916 – Grenville M. Dodge, American general and politician (b. 1831)
- 1922 – Wilhelm Voigt, German criminal (b. 1849)
- 1923 – Jaroslav Hašek, Czech journalist and author (b. 1883)
- 1927 – Carl David Tolmé Runge, German physicist and mathematician (b. 1856)
- 1931 – Joseph Joffre, French general (b. 1852)
- 1933 – Wilhelm Cuno, German lawyer and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
- 1933 – Jack Pickford, Canadian-American actor, director, and producer (b. 1896)
- 1943 – Walter James, Australian lawyer and politician, 5th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1863)
- 1944 – Jurgis Baltrušaitis, Lithuanian poet, critic, and translator (b. 1873)
- 1945 – Edgar Cayce, American psychic and author (b. 1877)
- 1945 – Ferdynand Antoni Ossendowski, Polish journalist and explorer (b. 1879)
- 1946 – William Joyce, American-born Irish-British pro-Axis propaganda broadcaster (b. 1906)
- 1956 – Alexander Gretchaninov, Russian-American pianist and composer (b. 1864)
- 1956 – Dimitrios Vergos, Greek wrestler, weightlifter, and shot putter (b. 1886)
- 1956 – Joseph Wirth, German educator and politician, Chancellor of Germany (b. 1876)
- 1958 – Cafer Tayyar Eğilmez, Turkish general (b. 1877)
- 1959 – Edwin Muir, Scottish poet, author, and translator (b. 1887)
- 1960 – Eric P. Kelly, American journalist, author, and academic (b. 1884)
- 1961 – Auvergne Doherty, Australian businesswoman (b. 1896)
- 1962 – Hermann Lux, German footballer and manager (b. 1893)
- 1965 – Milton Avery, American painter (b. 1885)
- 1966 – Sammy Younge Jr., American civil rights activist (b. 1944)
- 1967 – Mary Garden, Scottish-American soprano and actress (b. 1874)
- 1967 – Reginald Punnett, British scientist (b. 1875)
- 1967 – Jack Ruby, American businessman and murderer (b. 1911)
- 1969 – Jean Focas, Greek-French astronomer (b. 1909)
- 1969 – Tzavalas Karousos, Greek-French actor (b. 1904)
- 1970 – Gladys Aylward, English missionary and humanitarian (b. 1902)
- 1972 – Mohan Rakesh, Indian author and playwright (b. 1925)
- 1975 – Victor Kraft, Austrian philosopher from the Vienna Circle (b. 1880)
- 1975 – James McCormack, American general (b. 1910)
- 1977 – William Gropper, American lithographer, cartoonist, and painter (b. 1897)
- 1979 – Conrad Hilton, American businessman, founded the Hilton Hotels & Resorts (b. 1887)
- 1980 – Joy Adamson, Austrian-Kenyan author (b. 1910)
- 1980 – George Sutherland Fraser, Scottish poet and academic (b. 1915)
- 1981 – Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone (b. 1883)
- 1988 – Rose Ausländer, Ukrainian-German poet and author (b. 1901)
- 1988 – Joie Chitwood, American race car driver and stuntman (b. 1912)
- 1989 – Sergei Sobolev, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1909)
- 1992 – Judith Anderson, British actress (b. 1897)
- 1993 – Johnny Most, American soldier and sportscaster (b. 1923)
- 2002 – Satish Dhawan, Indian engineer (b. 1920)
- 2002 – Juan García Esquivel, Mexican pianist and composer (b. 1918)
- 2002 – Freddy Heineken, Dutch businessman (b. 1923)
- 2003 – Sid Gillman, American football player and coach (b. 1911)
- 2003 – Jimmy Stewart, Scottish race car driver (b. 1931)
- 2004 – Des Corcoran, Australian soldier and politician, 37th Premier of South Australia (b. 1928)
- 2005 – Koo Chen-fu, Taiwanese businessman and diplomat (b. 1917)
- 2005 – Egidio Galea, Maltese Roman Catholic priest, missionary, and educator (b. 1918)
- 2005 – Jyotindra Nath Dixit, Indian diplomat, 2nd Indian National Security Adviser (b. 1936)
- 2006 – Steve Rogers, Australian rugby player and coach (b. 1954)
- 2006 – Bill Skate, Papua New Guinean politician, 5th Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (b. 1954)
- 2007 – János Fürst, Hungarian violinist and conductor (b. 1935)
- 2007 – Earl Reibel, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1930)
- 2007 – William Verity, Jr., American businessman and politician, 27th United States Secretary of Commerce (b. 1917)
- 2007 – Cecil Walker, Northern Irish politician (b. 1924)
- 2008 – Aleksandr Abdulov, Russian actor and screenwriter (b. 1953)
- 2008 – Werner Dollinger, German economist and politician, German Federal Minister of Economic Cooperation and Development (b. 1918)
- 2008 – Choi Yo-sam, South Korean boxer (b. 1972)
- 2009 – Betty Freeman, American philanthropist and photographer (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Pat Hingle, American actor (b. 1923)
- 2009 – Ulf G. Lindén, Swedish businessman (b. 1937)
- 2009 – Hisayasu Nagata, Japanese politician (b. 1969)
- 2010 – Gustavo Becerra-Schmidt, Chilean-German composer and academic (b. 1925)
- 2010 – Mary Daly, American theologian and scholar (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Vicar, Chilean cartoonist (b. 1934)
- 2012 – Gene Bartow, American basketball player and coach (b. 1930)
- 2012 – Robert L. Carter, American lawyer and judge (b. 1917)
- 2012 – Winifred Milius Lubell, American author and illustrator (b. 1914)
- 2012 – Josef Škvorecký, Czech-Canadian author and publisher (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Bob Weston, English guitarist and songwriter (b. 1947)
- 2013 – Alfie Fripp, English soldier and pilot (b. 1913)
- 2013 – Ivan Mackerle, Czech cryptozoologist, explorer, and author (b. 1942)
- 2013 – William Maxson, American general (b. 1930)
- 2013 – Sergiu Nicolaescu, Romanian actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Phil Everly, American singer and guitarist (b. 1939)
- 2014 – George Goodman, American economist and author (b. 1930)
- 2014 – Saul Zaentz, American film producer (b. 1921)
- 2015 – Martin Anderson, American economist and academic (b. 1936)
- 2015 – Edward Brooke, American captain and politician, 47th Massachusetts Attorney General (b. 1919)
- 2015 – Bryan Caldwell, American football player (b. 1960)
- 2015 – Allie Sherman, American football player and coach (b. 1923)
- 2016 – Paul Bley, Canadian-American pianist and composer (b. 1932)
- 2016 – Peter Naur, Danish computer scientist, astronomer, and academic (b. 1928)
- 2016 – Bill Plager, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1945)
- 2016 – Igor Sergun, Russian general and diplomat (b. 1957)
- 2017 – H. S. Mahadeva Prasad, Indian politician (b. 1958)
Deaths[edit]
- Anniversary of the 1966 Coup d'état (Burkina Faso)
- Christian feast day:
- Ministry of Religious Affairs Day (Indonesia)
- Tamaseseri Festival (Hakozaki Shrine, Fukuoka, Japan)
- The first day of Nakhatsenendyan toner, celebrated until January 5 (Armenia).
- The tenth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)
Holidays and observances[edit]
“Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12NIV
===
Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
It is interesting to remark how large a portion of Sacred Writ is occupied with the subject of prayer, either in furnishing examples, enforcing precepts, or pronouncing promises. We scarcely open the Bible before we read, "Then began men to call upon the name of the Lord;" and just as we are about to close the volume, the "Amen" of an earnest supplication meets our ear. Instances are plentiful. Here we find a wrestling Jacob--there a Daniel who prayed three times a day--and a David who with all his heart called upon his God. On the mountain we see Elias; in the dungeon Paul and Silas. We have multitudes of commands, and myriads of promises. What does this teach us, but the sacred importance and necessity of prayer? We may be certain that whatever God has made prominent in his Word, he intended to be conspicuous in our lives. If he has said much about prayer, it is because he knows we have much need of it. So deep are our necessities, that until we are in heaven we must not cease to pray. Dost thou want nothing? Then, I fear thou dost not know thy poverty. Hast thou no mercy to ask of God? Then, may the Lord's mercy show thee thy misery! A prayerless soul is a Christless soul. Prayer is the lisping of the believing infant, the shout of the fighting believer, the requiem of the dying saint falling asleep in Jesus. It is the breath, the watchword, the comfort, the strength, the honour of a Christian. If thou be a child of God, thou wilt seek thy Father's face, and live in thy Father's love. Pray that this year thou mayst be holy, humble, zealous, and patient; have closer communion with Christ, and enter oftener into the banqueting-house of his love. Pray that thou mayst be an example and a blessing unto others, and that thou mayst live more to the glory of thy Master. The motto for this year must be, "Continue in prayer."
Evening
All things on earth need to be renewed. No created thing continueth by itself. "Thou renewest the face of the year," was the Psalmist's utterance. Even the trees, which wear not themselves with care, nor shorten their lives with labour, must drink of the rain of heaven and suck from the hidden treasures of the soil. The cedars of Lebanon, which God has planted, only live because day by day they are full of sap fresh drawn from the earth. Neither can man's life be sustained without renewal from God. As it is necessary to repair the waste of the body by the frequent meal, so we must repair the waste of the soul by feeding upon the Book of God, or by listening to the preached Word, or by the soul-fattening table of the ordinances. How depressed are our graces when means are neglected! What poor starvelings some saints are who live without the diligent use of the Word of God and secret prayer! If our piety can live without God it is not of divine creating; it is but a dream; for if God had begotten it, it would wait upon him as the flowers wait upon the dew. Without constant restoration we are not ready for the perpetual assaults of hell, or the stern afflictions of heaven, or even for the strifes within. When the whirlwind shall be loosed, woe to the tree that hath not sucked up fresh sap, and grasped the rock with many intertwisted roots. When tempests arise, woe to the mariners that have not strengthened their mast, nor cast their anchor, nor sought the haven. If we suffer the good to grow weaker, the evil will surely gather strength and struggle desperately for the mastery over us; and so, perhaps, a painful desolation, and a lamentable disgrace may follow. Let us draw near to the footstool of divine mercy in humble entreaty, and we shall realize the fulfilment of the promise, "They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength."
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Today's reading: Genesis 4-6, Matthew 2 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayCain and Abel
1 Adam made love to his wife Eve, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Cain. She said, “With the help of the LORD I have brought forth a man.” 2 Later she gave birth to his brother Abel.
Now Abel kept flocks, and Cain worked the soil. 3 In the course of time Cain brought some of the fruits of the soil as an offering to the LORD. 4 And Abel also brought an offering—fat portions from some of the firstborn of his flock. The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, 5 but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast.
6 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? 7 If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Now Cain said to his brother Abel, “Let’s go out to the field.” While they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him.
9 Then the LORD said to Cain, “Where is your brother Abel?”
“I don’t know,” he replied. “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
10 The LORD said, “What have you done? Listen! Your brother’s blood cries out to me from the ground. 11 Now you are under a curse and driven from the ground, which opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand. 12When you work the ground, it will no longer yield its crops for you. You will be a restless wanderer on the earth.”
13 Cain said to the LORD, “My punishment is more than I can bear. 14 Today you are driving me from the land, and I will be hidden from your presence; I will be a restless wanderer on the earth, and whoever finds me will kill me.”
15 But the LORD said to him, “Not so; anyone who kills Cain will suffer vengeance seven times over.” Then the LORD put a mark on Cain so that no one who found him would kill him. 16So Cain went out from the LORD’s presence and lived in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
17 Cain made love to his wife, and she became pregnant and gave birth to Enoch. Cain was then building a city, and he named it after his son Enoch. 18 To Enoch was born Irad, and Irad was the father of Mehujael, and Mehujael was the father of Methushael, and Methushael was the father of Lamech.
19 Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah. 20 Adah gave birth to Jabal; he was the father of those who live in tents and raise livestock. 21 His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all who play stringed instruments and pipes. 22 Zillah also had a son, Tubal-Cain, who forged all kinds of tools out of bronze and iron. Tubal-Cain’s sister was Naamah.
23 Lamech said to his wives,
“Adah and Zillah, listen to me;
wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for injuring me.
24 If Cain is avenged seven times,
then Lamech seventy-seven times.”
wives of Lamech, hear my words.
I have killed a man for wounding me,
a young man for injuring me.
24 If Cain is avenged seven times,
then Lamech seventy-seven times.”
25 Adam made love to his wife again, and she gave birth to a son and named him Seth, saying, “God has granted me another child in place of Abel, since Cain killed him.” 26 Seth also had a son, and he named him Enosh.
At that time people began to call on the name of the LORD.
Genesis 5
From Adam to Noah
1 This is the written account of Adam’s family line.
When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. 2 He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them “Mankind” when they were created.
3 When Adam had lived 130 years, he had a son in his own likeness, in his own image; and he named him Seth. 4 After Seth was born, Adam lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 5 Altogether, Adam lived a total of 930 years, and then he died.
6 When Seth had lived 105 years, he became the father of Enosh. 7 After he became the father of Enosh, Seth lived 807 years and had other sons and daughters. 8 Altogether, Seth lived a total of 912 years, and then he died.
9 When Enosh had lived 90 years, he became the father of Kenan. 10 After he became the father of Kenan, Enosh lived 815 years and had other sons and daughters. 11 Altogether, Enosh lived a total of 905 years, and then he died.
12 When Kenan had lived 70 years, he became the father of Mahalalel. 13 After he became the father of Mahalalel, Kenan lived 840 years and had other sons and daughters. 14Altogether, Kenan lived a total of 910 years, and then he died.
15 When Mahalalel had lived 65 years, he became the father of Jared. 16 After he became the father of Jared, Mahalalel lived 830 years and had other sons and daughters. 17Altogether, Mahalalel lived a total of 895 years, and then he died.
18 When Jared had lived 162 years, he became the father of Enoch. 19 After he became the father of Enoch, Jared lived 800 years and had other sons and daughters. 20 Altogether, Jared lived a total of 962 years, and then he died.
21 When Enoch had lived 65 years, he became the father of Methuselah. 22 After he became the father of Methuselah, Enoch walked faithfully with God 300 years and had other sons and daughters. 23 Altogether, Enoch lived a total of 365 years.24 Enoch walked faithfully with God; then he was no more, because God took him away.
25 When Methuselah had lived 187 years, he became the father of Lamech. 26 After he became the father of Lamech, Methuselah lived 782 years and had other sons and daughters.27 Altogether, Methuselah lived a total of 969 years, and then he died.
28 When Lamech had lived 182 years, he had a son. 29 He named him Noah and said, “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the LORD has cursed.” 30 After Noah was born, Lamech lived 595 years and had other sons and daughters. 31 Altogether, Lamech lived a total of 777 years, and then he died.
32 After Noah was 500 years old, he became the father of Shem, Ham and Japheth.
Genesis 6
Wickedness in the World
1 When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, 2 the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. 3 Then the LORD said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”
4 The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.
5 The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. 6 The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. 7 So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” 8But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
Noah and the Flood
9 This is the account of Noah and his family.
Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. 10 Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.
11 Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. 12 God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. 13 So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. 14 So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. 15 This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. 16Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. 17 I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. 18 But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. 19 You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. 20 Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. 21 You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”
22 Noah did everything just as God commanded him.
Matthew 2
The Magi Visit the Messiah
1 After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem 2and asked, “Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him.”
3 When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. 4 When he had called together all the people’s chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. 5 “In Bethlehem in Judea,” they replied, “for this is what the prophet has written:
6 “‘But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.’”
7 Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. 8 He sent them to Bethlehem and said, “Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him.”
9 After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. 10 When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. 11 On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. 12 And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.
The Escape to Egypt
13 When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. “Get up,” he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him.”
14 So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, 15 where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called my son.”
16 When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. 17Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled:
18 “A voice is heard in Ramah,
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
weeping and great mourning,
Rachel weeping for her children
and refusing to be comforted,
because they are no more.”
The Return to Nazareth
19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child’s life are dead.”
21 So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. 22 But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, 23 and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.
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Delilah
The Woman Who Betrayed Her Husband for Silver
Scripture References—Judges 16:4-21 (Read Proverbs 5)
Name Meaning —Delilah is a sweet-sounding name which any vain woman would covet, for it means “delicate” or “dainty one.” Because of the foul deed of which Delilah was guilty, no other female in Scripture appears with such a tarnished name. In fact, it is rare indeed to find a woman bearing this name.
Family Connections—The Bible gives us no knowledge of her parentage and background save that she came from the valley of Sorek which extended from near Jerusalem to the Mediterranean, and which entrance was beautiful with rare flowers perfuming the air with sweet odors.
The record of Delilah, the heartless wrecker of a mighty man, is given in eighteen verses; and the description of Samson’s betrayal, fall, bondage and death is one of the most graphic in the Bible. We cannot, of course, write of Delilah without mentioning Samson. What a contrast they present, and how symbolic they are of characters in the world today! Samson was physically strong but morally weak. Although able to rend a lion, he could not fight his lusts. He could break his bonds, but not his habits. He could conquer Philistines but not his passions. Delilah was a woman who used her personal charm to lure a man to his spiritual and physical destruction, and she stands out as one of the lowest, meanest women of the Bible—the female Judas of the Old Testament.
This Philistine courtesan was a woman of unholy persistence and devilish deceit, who had personal charm, mental ability, self-command, and nerve, but who used all her qualities for one purpose &--;money. She and womanly honor and love had never met, for behind her beautiful face was a heart as dark as hell, and full of viperous treachery. “Her supreme wickedness lay not in betraying Samson to his enemies but in causing him to break faith with his ideals.” Shakespeare might well have had Delilah in mind when he wrote—
O Nature! What hadst thou to do in Hell,
When thou didst bower the spirit of a fiend
In mortal Paradise of such sweet flesh.
Deluding Samson into believing she really loved him, Delilah sold him to blindness, bondage and death. The ease with which she betrayed her husband revealed that she belonged to the enemies of God’s people, the people of whom Samson was the recognized leader at that time. The Philistines did not like Samson around because he was the champion of Israel and as such interfered with their practices. Therefore he must be got rid of, and in Delilah, the Philistine prostitute, the Philistines had one who was willing to be bribed to act as their agent. She had one purpose and that was to secure money, and had no qualms of conscience to trifle with love for the sake of wealth. Thus, as Kuyper expresses it, “All the while she kept a police force quartered in her rooms and awaited the moment in which she could surrender her lover into his enemies' hands.”
Samson became a traitor to himself because he could not resist a woman’s charm. First one woman and then another took advantage of this deep-seated weakness and basic sin of his, and Delilah was the most effective in destroying him. She remains as a warning to all men to beware of the charm and wiles of a wicked, scheming woman. As one unknown writer puts it—
The women of the Bible pass before the imagaination in the vision of antiquity, like pure and radiant stars, their frailties scarcely more than the wing of a transparent cloud upon these beautiful spheres. Delilah rises suddenly from darkness, as a glorious meteor, describes an arc of romantic and fatal light, and goes down in a horizon of awful gloom.
The lords of the Philistines offered an enormous sum as a bribe, namely, 1,100 pieces of silver. Jesus was sold by Judas for only 30 pieces of silver. Such a fortune was no small temptation to Delilah, and sharing her tempters' passion for revenge, she set about, in a subtle way, to earn the price of blood. She tried four times in her cunning, evil way to get Samson to reveal the secret of his supernatural power. The first three times Samson humorously lied in answering Delilah’s question by enumerating the green withs or twigs, the new ropes, and the weaving of the hair. Thrice deceived, Delilah the enchantress employed her final weapon—tears . Sobbing, she said, “How canst thou say I love thee, when thine heart is not with me? Thou hast mocked me these three times, and hast not told me wherein thy great strength lieth.”
Samson was conquered. A weeping woman melted his heart, and he confessed the truth of his Nazarite vow, and how, if shorn of his long hair, his strength would depart and he would become like any other normal man. Recognizing that the truth had been told, Delilah lulled Samson to sleep. As he slept, the waiting Philistines destroyed the sign of the vow, and when Samson awoke, although he tried to exert his power as before, he found it had deserted him. The rest of the tragic story belongs to Samson. His foes gouged out his eyes, bound him in fetters and in Gaza, where his God-given strength was manifested, he was made to grind corn. The spiritual Hercules had been reduced to the very depth of degradation. Samson knew that his bitter servitude was the result of his sin and could confess—
Myself my sepulchre, a moving grave.
Prison within prison,
Inseparably dark!
Nothing of all these evils hath befall'n me
But justly; I myself have brought them,
Sole author I, sole cause. If aught seems vile,
As vile hath been my folly.
But out of the depths Samson cried unto the Lord, and, as we read, his hair began to grow. Forsaken by all, there was One near at hand, and the God of grace restored unto His sinning and now repentant servant, the power he had lost. Samson’s extremity became God’s opportunity. While Samson was in prison, in the palace, three thousand Philistines gathered to honor their god Dagon for victory over their feared enemy. As hearts beat high and warm, with banquet wine and dance, the cry goes up to have blind Samson brought in to be made the butt of their jests and ridicule. A lad brings the giant in and places him between the pillars of the heathen temple where all eyes could see him. The mockery of the drunken crowd begins. They ask for a riddle and Samson acted one they did not expect. With his arms around the pillars, and deeply penitent for his sins, he prayed, “O Lord, remember me and give me strength only this once.”
Then shaking himself as of old, he threw his arms around the pillars, the massive temple tottered and the 3,000 Philistines, including the treacherous Delilah perished. It was a victory that cost Samson his own life, and we find that he slew more at his death than he had in the heyday of his power.
There is no evidence for John Milton’s idea that Delilah was deeply repentant for her crime against Samson, and visited him in prison imploring his forgiveness, or of his stern reply—
Out! out! hyena, these are thy wonted arts,
And arts of every woman false like thee;
To break all faith, all vows, deceive, betray.
Then as repentant, to submit, beseech
And reconcilement move with feigned remorse.
In his drama, Samson Agonistes , Milton goes on to describe Delilah’s further efforts to secure forgiveness and at last throws herself upon her reserved resource and pleads her love of country and the grateful esteem in which she will be held by her posterity. But a woman like Delilah did not know how to repent; and as Judas went out and hanged himself, so it would seem as if Delilah, gloating over the price received for Samson’s betrayal, died a terrible death when buried beneath the frightful ruins of the temple her husband’s restored, divine strength had caused.
What are the lessons to be gathered from Samson and Delilah, whose record Hollywood could not resist turning into a sexy movie with box-office appeal? The question may be asked, How can we learn any lesson from such an unpleasant story? Why is this sordid record to the last degree in the Bible? The reading of the man under a vow to God and of great physical strength and mental agility choosing a woman of no morals may be deemed unfit for inclusion in Holy Writ. Yet all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and the writer of the Book of Judges was guided by the Spirit to set forth the details of the amorous life of Samson. Our answer is that the Bible would not be true to life and to its mission in the world if it did not hold up the mirror and reveal to us, in restrained language, workings of evil, and the boundless love and grace of God toward those whose lives are so bankrupt of virtues pleasing to Him. As the biography of humanity, the Bible is most up-to-date for us, as H. V. Morton reminds us—
The police courts are always telling the old story of Samson and Delilah. It comes up in a number of ingenious disguises, a theme capable of infinite variation, but the main motif throughout is that of a man who plunges deeper and deeper into his own lack of self-control until the moment arrives when, trapped and shorn of his strength he is blinded and branded.
This same writer goes on to say that Delilah vanished, as such women do, when her task was completed and she received a reward. Morton then relates a conversation he had with a criminal lawyer about the prosecution in a recent case when certain charges were brought against a man who ruined him. “It is simple,” said the lawyer. “A girl pretended to be in love with him and gave him away.”
“You mean his enemies bribed her?”
“Of course,” he said.
This incident, like the story of Delilah, needs no moralizing. The record is sufficient in itself. Delilah was not concerned about the weakness of Samson, but his strength. Once a man betrays his strength, he has no reserve, and courts disaster. A further lesson to be learned from the story before us is that true feminine charm and the appeal of love are gifts received from the Creator, and that when these fairest and most effective of gifts are misused or deliberately trifled with, divine retribution overtakes those who prostitute such gifts.
Another lesson to be gleaned from the ancient record before us is that of the folly of being unequally yoked. Samson married outside his own country, people and religion. Had Samson, hero of Israel, married an Israelitish maiden, the tragedy overtaking him would never have happened. But he took to wife a devotee of a heathen god which, for a judge of Israel, was against the divine decree, and he paid the fatal price of his action.
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Azariah [Ăzarī'ah]—jehovah is keeper or hath helped. The fact that there are almost thirty men bearing the name of Azariah is proof that it was a common name in Hebrew, especially in the family of Eleazar, whose name has a similar meaning, and is almost identical with Ezra, Zerahiah and Seraiah. See also Azariahu and Zacharias.
- The son of Zadok and a descendant of David’s high priest ( 1 Kings 4:2).
- The son of Nathan, ruler of Solomon’s officers (1 Kings 4:5).
- The son of Amaziah, who was made king of Judah after his father (2 Kings 14:21; 15:1-27; 1 Chron. 3:12).
- A man of Judah, of the family of Zerah and of the house of Ethan (1 Chron. 2:8).
- The son of Jehu and grandson of Obed, a Judahite ( 1 Chron. 2:38, 39).
- A son of Ahimaz and grandson of Zadok (1 Chron. 6:9).
- A son of Johanan and grandson of No. 6 who served in Solomon’s time ( 1 Chron. 6:10, 11).
- A son of Hilkiah, and father of Seraiah the high priest in Josiah’s reign (1 Chron. 6:13, 14; 9:11; Ezra 7:1).
- A Levite of the family of Kohath and an ancestor of Samuel the prophet (1 Chron. 6:36).
- A prophet, son of Obed, he encouraged Asa to persevere in his national religious revival ( 2 Chron. 15:1).
- A son of king Jehoshaphat (2 Chron. 21:2).
- Another son of the above (2 Chron. 21:2).
- Son of Jehoram (2 Chron. 22:6).
- The son of Jehoram and a captain who assisted in the overthrow of Athaliah and the elevation of Joash to the throne of Judah (2 Chron. 23:1).
- The son of Obed who also assisted in the above task (2 Chron. 23:1).
- The high priest who hindered Uzziah from burning incense on the altar ( 2 Chron. 26:17, 20).
- The son of Johanan and a chief of the tribe of Ephraim (2 Chron. 28:12).
- The father of Joel and a Kohathite (2 Chron. 29:12). He assisted in the purification of the Temple in Hezekiah’s time.
- The son of Jehalelel, a Merarite who also assisted in Hezekiah’s revival (2 Chron. 29:12).
- The chief priest of the house of Zadok in King Hezekiah’s time (2 Chron. 31:10, 13).
- The son of Meraioth , and an ancestor of Ezra (Ezra 7:3).
- The son of Maaseiah, of the family of Ananiah, who repaired a portion of the wall of Jerusalem (Neh. 3:23,24).
- An Israelite who returned with Zerubbabel ( Neh. 7:7). Name also given as Seraiah.
- One of the priests who explained the Law to the people as Ezra read it. Perhaps the same person as No. 22 (Neh. 8:7).
- Another priest who sealed the covenant (Neh. 10:2).
- A prince of Judah who joined in the procession with Nehemiah ( Neh. 12:33).
- A son of Hoshaiah and an opponent of Jeremiah whom he charged with false prophecies (Jer. 43:2).
- The Hebrew and original name of Abed-nego, who with Daniel and others was carried away captive to Babylon (Dan. 1:6, 7, 11, 19; 2:17).
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