Trump's compassion. Via HT "She says it’s a metaphor. I say it’s an insensitive POS of a MP who is not able to hide her hatred for Trump and her anti Semitic mentality. The irony is that she used a picture that only existed because of a policy started by the Obama administration." Via JQ "Policy from Clinton administration and carried through until now. Trump will fix it!"
Via PR "Daniel Andrews also spent $600,000 on a sanctuary for asylum seekers in Victoria who faced being deported" Shorten's backflip is only a small one. He apparently had misunderstood what the party leader wanted. He is also the party leader. His new policy highlights that there is a $20 billion black hole in his proposed budget.
Maryland shooting was apolitical. Media celebrities suffer from Trump Derangement Syndrome, like Peter Fonda or Bette Midler. Middler fondly recalls Obama era corruption.
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 Uncle
The Songs of a Sentimental Bloke is a verse novel by Australian novelist and poet C. J. Dennis. The book sold over 60,000 copies in nine editions within the first year, and is probably one of the highest selling verse novels ever published in Australia.
Contents
A Spring Song
The Intro
The Stoush O' Day
Doreen
The Play
The Stror 'at Coot
The Siren
Mar
Pilot Cove
Hitched
Beef Tea
Uncle Jim
The Kid
The Mooch o' Life
=== from 2017 ===
Some things should not happen, but they do. Cardinal George Pell is finally going to be able to have his day in court. We know too much about the impending court case because of leaks from Victoria's Police. Fake News are working over time, mentioning Tony Abbott's interview in 2004 when he denied having recently spoken with Pell (Abbott was cabinet minister and had answered professionally) but also said he had recently privately spoken with Pell whom he said is of fine character. Australian courts are corrupt and compromised, so it is possible that a bad result comes of this, but it seems like Pell has asked for his day in court. Fake News also reported a Chicago Cubs MLB players gave President Trump the Bird. But the player denies it and close inspection of the photo disproves it.
In 226, Cao Pi died after an illness; his son Cao Rui succeeded him as emperor of the Kingdom of Wei. Cao Wei was one of three kingdoms at the time. Cao Pi was the eldest son of Cao Cao, a famous warlord. Cao Pi was not a warlord, but survived through powerful court friends with court intrigues. 1149, Raymond of Poitiers was defeated and killed at the Battle of Inab by Nur ad-Din Zangi. After Raymond lost, his head was placed in a box by Shirkuh, the uncle of Saladin, and sent to the Caliph. In 1914, Jina Guseva attempted to assassinate Grigori Rasputin at his home town in Siberia. She was a peasant who had no nose, having been damaged by medication intended to treat Syphilus she didn't have. She became a follower of a rival monk. She stabbed Rasputin in the stomach, calling out "I have killed the antichrist," but she had not killed Rasputin. She was found not guilty due to insanity. 1916, the Irish Nationalist and British diplomat Roger Casement was sentenced to death for his part in the Easter Rising. There were moves to give him clemency, but when they read his diaries, authorities discovered he was gay, so they shot him.
In 226, Cao Pi died after an illness; his son Cao Rui succeeded him as emperor of the Kingdom of Wei. Cao Wei was one of three kingdoms at the time. Cao Pi was the eldest son of Cao Cao, a famous warlord. Cao Pi was not a warlord, but survived through powerful court friends with court intrigues. 1149, Raymond of Poitiers was defeated and killed at the Battle of Inab by Nur ad-Din Zangi. After Raymond lost, his head was placed in a box by Shirkuh, the uncle of Saladin, and sent to the Caliph. In 1914, Jina Guseva attempted to assassinate Grigori Rasputin at his home town in Siberia. She was a peasant who had no nose, having been damaged by medication intended to treat Syphilus she didn't have. She became a follower of a rival monk. She stabbed Rasputin in the stomach, calling out "I have killed the antichrist," but she had not killed Rasputin. She was found not guilty due to insanity. 1916, the Irish Nationalist and British diplomat Roger Casement was sentenced to death for his part in the Easter Rising. There were moves to give him clemency, but when they read his diaries, authorities discovered he was gay, so they shot him.
=== from 2016 ===
A routine atrocity has occurred in Turkey. Three suicide bombers have killed themselves at a large airport. They have claimed the lives of 36 victims, and the total is expected to rise to fifty. But such attacks have happened with regularity this year in Turkey. Turkey has gotten too close to Islamic terrorists. Five years ago they were sending ships that resisted searches for weapons, to so called Palestine. Even though Israel was bearing the cost of security and taking goods to so called Palestine.Turkey shot down a Russian plane that had been targeting ISIL troops. Europe has been keen to include Turkey in their union. Possibly Europe feels that Turkey will provide troops in return for a large market. But all Turkey really offers at the moment is a bad link to terrorists. Meanwhile, CNN interview a new expert who hadn't been prepped. Asked about the Muslim deaths, the expert replied that the targets were tourists, and Muslims were merely collateral damage. The expert was cut short.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
=== from 2015 ===
In 2004, Obama opposed gay marriage. But that was then, and he was facing election. He was wrong then, and he is 'right' now. Secular government has no business being involved in sexual lives, outside of pedophilia, bestiality or incest. On this day in 1916, a diplomat who had been leader of the Easter Uprisings in Ireland was executed. Roger Casement was highly respected, a critic of British government which committed atrocities overseas. There were many calling for clemency, and Casement would have been given it, as the authorities went through his back ground. But his diaries showed he was gay, and that was illegal, and so he had a pattern of illegal activity to go with his treason. Clemency refused.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is in denial. Her journalists all fail to understand the enormity of putting a terrorist sympathiser onto the world stage. The ABC paid for his travel and aided his writing of the questions so as to set up the lone conservative on the panel. The panellist had had no warning, other than the obvious fact he was on the show of an extremist left wing site. The defenders of the enormity label it freedom of speech. But the jihadist sympathiser's freedom of speech has not been diminished for his not being given a platform on tv. Neither has it been enhanced. Freedom of speech is not abuse, or the call to arms for terrorists. Freedom of speech can mean standing up to the bully, as Casement did in the Boer War, and again in Ireland, and saying unpopular truths. It is then freedom means something. But the jihadist message, though defiant, was not brave or even true. Freedom fails when one is bound by the bully, and says whatever looks appeasing, depending on where one is facing. Just like Obama on gay marriage.
Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is in denial. Her journalists all fail to understand the enormity of putting a terrorist sympathiser onto the world stage. The ABC paid for his travel and aided his writing of the questions so as to set up the lone conservative on the panel. The panellist had had no warning, other than the obvious fact he was on the show of an extremist left wing site. The defenders of the enormity label it freedom of speech. But the jihadist sympathiser's freedom of speech has not been diminished for his not being given a platform on tv. Neither has it been enhanced. Freedom of speech is not abuse, or the call to arms for terrorists. Freedom of speech can mean standing up to the bully, as Casement did in the Boer War, and again in Ireland, and saying unpopular truths. It is then freedom means something. But the jihadist message, though defiant, was not brave or even true. Freedom fails when one is bound by the bully, and says whatever looks appeasing, depending on where one is facing. Just like Obama on gay marriage.
From 2014
It is her birthday today (1972), and she did not get to live very long. Even though, she left a stamp. Samantha Smith may have been just a pawn. She was a young schoolgirl asking for peace. She wrote to the then Soviet Premier .. and he responded, setting up a meeting with her. She became a goodwill ambassador, and was cast in a series. On routine flight with her father, the plane landed short into trees, killing all six on board. She was 13 when she died.
Today is also the reputed death date of Saul of Tarsus, who later became Paul. He was a dreadfully boring speaker who bored one person to death, for a time. He is also thought to have been stoned to death on mission. This last time was final, allegedly at Nero's order. It is thought the bone fragments found in the basilica in Rome belong to him.
But who cares for death when there is life? It is Squizzy Taylor's birthday in 1888. The idiot gangster died in 1927, having lived too long. However, today is not all gloom and doom. The burning down of the Globe Theatre in 1613 lightens the path. Father Francisco founded a mission in what is now San Francisco in 1776. Muhammad Ahmad called himself the Mahdi on this day in 1881, suggesting modern idiots are mere copycats. He might have been the Mahdi, but he died four years later. His great achievement was killing an excellent English General Gordon when the stars aligned with a socialist English government that ignored Gordon to death. The US Supreme court decided that the death penalty should not be arbitrary on this day in 1972. Meaning that court cases decided on coin tosses were retried. Not as expensive as it sounds .. none had been decided that way. In a Gillard like symbol of achievement, Isabel Peron became the first female President of Argentina two days before her husband died in 1974. A year later Steve Wozniak tested his first prototype of the Apple 1. Thirty two years later, 2007, Apple released the first iPhone. But the crowning achievement on this day was the US supreme court in 2006 declaring that criminal prosecutions of Gitmo detainees was wrong, paving the way for terrorists to strike again and again.
Today is also the reputed death date of Saul of Tarsus, who later became Paul. He was a dreadfully boring speaker who bored one person to death, for a time. He is also thought to have been stoned to death on mission. This last time was final, allegedly at Nero's order. It is thought the bone fragments found in the basilica in Rome belong to him.
But who cares for death when there is life? It is Squizzy Taylor's birthday in 1888. The idiot gangster died in 1927, having lived too long. However, today is not all gloom and doom. The burning down of the Globe Theatre in 1613 lightens the path. Father Francisco founded a mission in what is now San Francisco in 1776. Muhammad Ahmad called himself the Mahdi on this day in 1881, suggesting modern idiots are mere copycats. He might have been the Mahdi, but he died four years later. His great achievement was killing an excellent English General Gordon when the stars aligned with a socialist English government that ignored Gordon to death. The US Supreme court decided that the death penalty should not be arbitrary on this day in 1972. Meaning that court cases decided on coin tosses were retried. Not as expensive as it sounds .. none had been decided that way. In a Gillard like symbol of achievement, Isabel Peron became the first female President of Argentina two days before her husband died in 1974. A year later Steve Wozniak tested his first prototype of the Apple 1. Thirty two years later, 2007, Apple released the first iPhone. But the crowning achievement on this day was the US supreme court in 2006 declaring that criminal prosecutions of Gitmo detainees was wrong, paving the way for terrorists to strike again and again.
Historical perspective on this day
In 226, Cao Pi died after an illness; his son Cao Rui succeeded him as emperor of the Kingdom of Wei. 1149, Raymond of Poitiers was defeated and killed at the Battle of Inabby Nur ad-Din Zangi. 1194, Sverre was crowned King of Norway. 1444, Skanderbegdefeated an Ottoman invasion force at Torvioll. 1534, Jacques Cartier was the first European to reach Prince Edward Island. 1613, the Globe Theatre in London burned to the ground. 1644, Charles I of England defeated a Parliamentarian detachment at the Battle of Cropredy Bridge, the last battle won by an English King on English soil. 1659, at the Battle of Konotop the Ukrainian armies of Ivan Vyhovsky defeated the Russians led by Prince Trubetskoy. 1776, first privateer battle of the American Revolutionary Warfought at Turtle Gut Inlet near Cape May, New Jersey Also 1776, Father Francisco Palou founded Mission San Francisco de Asis in what is now San Francisco, California. 1786, Alexander Macdonell and over five hundred Roman Catholic highlanders left Scotland to settle in Glengarry County, Ontario.
In 1807, Russo-Turkish War: Admiral Dmitry Senyavin destroyed the Ottoman fleet in the Battle of Athos. 1850, Autocephaly officially granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to the Church of Greece. 1864, Ninety-nine people were killed in Canada's worst railway disaster near St-Hilaire, Quebec. 1874, Greek politician Charilaos Trikoupis published a manifesto in the Athens daily Kairoi entitled "Who's to Blame?" in which he lays out his complaints against King George. He was elected Prime Minister of Greece the next year. 1880, France annexed Tahiti. 1881, in Sudan, Muhammad Ahmaddeclared himself to be the Mahdi, the messianic redeemer of Islam. 1888, George Edward Gouraud recorded Handel's Israel in Egypt onto a phonograph cylinder, thought for many years to be the oldest known recording of music. 1889, Hyde Park and several other Illinois townships voted to be annexed by Chicago, forming the largest United States city in area and second largest in population. 1895, Doukhobors burned their weapons as a protest against conscription by the Tsarist Russian government.
In 1914, Jina Guseva attempted to assassinate Grigori Rasputin at his home town in Siberia. 1915, the North Saskatchewan River flood of 1915 was the worst flood in Edmonton history. 1916, the Irish Nationalist and British diplomat Roger Casement was sentenced to death for his part in the Easter Rising. 1922, France grants 1 km² at Vimy Ridge "freely, and for all time, to the Government of Canada, the free use of the land exempt from all taxes". 1926, Arthur Meighen returned to office as Prime Minister of Canada. 1927, the Bird of Paradise, a U.S. Army Air Corps Fokker tri-motor, completed the first transpacific flight, from the mainland United States to Hawaii. 1927, first test of Wallace Turnbull's controllable-pitch propeller. 1928, the Outerbridge Crossing and Goethals Bridge in Staten Island, New York were both opened.
In 1945, Carpathian Ruthenia was annexed by the Soviet Union. 1956, the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signed, officially creating the United States Interstate Highway System. 1972, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case Furman v. Georgia that arbitrary and inconsistent imposition of the death penalty violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, and constituted cruel and unusual punishment. 1974, Isabel Perón was sworn in as the first female President of Argentina. Her husband, President Juan Perón, had delegated responsibility due to weak health and died two days later. Also 1974, Mikhail Baryshnikov defects from the Soviet Union to Canada while on tour with the Kirov Ballet. 1975, Steve Wozniak tested his first prototype of Apple I computer. 1976, the Seychelles became independent from the United Kingdom. Also 1976, the Conference of Communist and Workers Parties of Europe convened in East Berlin
In 1995, Space Shuttle program: STS-71 Mission (Atlantis) docked with the Russian space station Mir for the first time. Also 1995, the Sampoong Department Store collapsed in the Seocho-gu district of Seoul, South Korea, killing 501 and injuring 937. 2002, Naval clashes between South Korea and North Korea led to the death of six South Korean sailors and sinking of a North Korean vessel. 2006, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President George W. Bush's plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violated U.S. and international law. 2007, Apple Inc.released its first mobile phone, the iPhone. 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levantself-declared its caliphate in Syria and northern Iraq.
In 1807, Russo-Turkish War: Admiral Dmitry Senyavin destroyed the Ottoman fleet in the Battle of Athos. 1850, Autocephaly officially granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to the Church of Greece. 1864, Ninety-nine people were killed in Canada's worst railway disaster near St-Hilaire, Quebec. 1874, Greek politician Charilaos Trikoupis published a manifesto in the Athens daily Kairoi entitled "Who's to Blame?" in which he lays out his complaints against King George. He was elected Prime Minister of Greece the next year. 1880, France annexed Tahiti. 1881, in Sudan, Muhammad Ahmaddeclared himself to be the Mahdi, the messianic redeemer of Islam. 1888, George Edward Gouraud recorded Handel's Israel in Egypt onto a phonograph cylinder, thought for many years to be the oldest known recording of music. 1889, Hyde Park and several other Illinois townships voted to be annexed by Chicago, forming the largest United States city in area and second largest in population. 1895, Doukhobors burned their weapons as a protest against conscription by the Tsarist Russian government.
In 1914, Jina Guseva attempted to assassinate Grigori Rasputin at his home town in Siberia. 1915, the North Saskatchewan River flood of 1915 was the worst flood in Edmonton history. 1916, the Irish Nationalist and British diplomat Roger Casement was sentenced to death for his part in the Easter Rising. 1922, France grants 1 km² at Vimy Ridge "freely, and for all time, to the Government of Canada, the free use of the land exempt from all taxes". 1926, Arthur Meighen returned to office as Prime Minister of Canada. 1927, the Bird of Paradise, a U.S. Army Air Corps Fokker tri-motor, completed the first transpacific flight, from the mainland United States to Hawaii. 1927, first test of Wallace Turnbull's controllable-pitch propeller. 1928, the Outerbridge Crossing and Goethals Bridge in Staten Island, New York were both opened.
In 1945, Carpathian Ruthenia was annexed by the Soviet Union. 1956, the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signed, officially creating the United States Interstate Highway System. 1972, the United States Supreme Court ruled in the case Furman v. Georgia that arbitrary and inconsistent imposition of the death penalty violated the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, and constituted cruel and unusual punishment. 1974, Isabel Perón was sworn in as the first female President of Argentina. Her husband, President Juan Perón, had delegated responsibility due to weak health and died two days later. Also 1974, Mikhail Baryshnikov defects from the Soviet Union to Canada while on tour with the Kirov Ballet. 1975, Steve Wozniak tested his first prototype of Apple I computer. 1976, the Seychelles became independent from the United Kingdom. Also 1976, the Conference of Communist and Workers Parties of Europe convened in East Berlin
In 1995, Space Shuttle program: STS-71 Mission (Atlantis) docked with the Russian space station Mir for the first time. Also 1995, the Sampoong Department Store collapsed in the Seocho-gu district of Seoul, South Korea, killing 501 and injuring 937. 2002, Naval clashes between South Korea and North Korea led to the death of six South Korean sailors and sinking of a North Korean vessel. 2006, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld: The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that President George W. Bush's plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violated U.S. and international law. 2007, Apple Inc.released its first mobile phone, the iPhone. 2014, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levantself-declared its caliphate in Syria and northern Iraq.
=== 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
Happy birthday and many happy returns John Markham, Quan Hong Kiet and Michelle Le. Born on the same day, across the years. On your day in 1613, The original Globe Theatre in London burned to the ground after a cannon employed for special effects misfired during a performance of William Shakespeare's Henry VIII and ignited the theatre's roof. In 1776, The first privateer battle of the American Revolutionary War was fought at the Battle of Turtle Gut Inlet near Cape May, New Jersey. In 1967, Actress Jayne Mansfield, her boyfriend Sam Brody, and their driver were killed in a car accident outside of New Orleans, while her children Miklós, Zoltán, and Mariska Hargitay escaped with only minor injuries. In 1974, Isabel Perón was sworn in as the first female President of Argentina, replacing her ill husband Juan Perón, who died two days later. In 2007, Apple Inc. released the first generation iPhone, which revolutionized the smartphone industry and made the company one of the world's most valuable publicly traded companies. This says much about you. You battle against tremendous odds, and sometimes all your brilliance is let down by special effects. You know that two enormous air bags won't make a car much safer. And when you ask Siri about Peron it comes back with Madonna singing "Don't Cry for me Argentina." Ride the bumps and enjoy life!
- 1136 – Petronilla of Aragon (d. 1173)
- 1398 – John II of Aragon (d. 1479)
- 1475 – Beatrice d'Este, Italian wife of Ludovico Sforza (d. 1497)
- 1596 – Emperor Go-Mizunoo of Japan (d. 1680)
- 1746 – Joachim Heinrich Campe, German linguist, educator, and author (d. 1818)
- 1793 – Josef Ressel, Czech-Austrian inventor, invented the propeller (d. 1857)
- 1798 – Giacomo Leopardi, Italian poet and philosopher (d. 1837)
- 1861 – William James Mayo, American physician, co-founded the Mayo Clinic (d. 1939)
- 1881 – Curt Sachs, German-American musicologist (d. 1959)
- 1888 – Squizzy Taylor, Australian gangster (d. 1927)
- 1892 – Henry Gerber, German-American activist, founded the Society for Human Rights (d. 1972)
- 1903 – Alan Blumlein, English engineer, developed the H2S radar (d. 1942)
- 1919 – Slim Pickens, American actor (d. 1983)
- 1925 – Hale Smith, American pianist and composer (d. 2009)
- 1933 – John Bradshaw, American theologian and author
- 1943 – Little Eva, American singer (d. 2003)
- 1953 – Colin Hay, Scottish-Australian singer, guitarist, and actor (Men at Work)
- 1957 – María Conchita Alonso, Cuban-Venezuelan singer and actress
- 1963 – Anne-Sophie Mutter, German violinist
- 1966 – Yoko Kamio, Japanese illustrator
- 1972 – Samantha Smith, American actress, author, and activist (d. 1985)
- 1980 – Katherine Jenkins, Welsh soprano
- 1984 – Han Ji-hye, South Korean actress
- 1990 – Sayuri Sugawara, Japanese singer
- 1994 – Shin Dongho, South Korean singer and actor (U-KISS)
Deaths
- 67 (c.) – Paul the Apostle, preacher, teacher and writer (b. [c.] 5)
- 226 – Cao Pi, Chinese emperor (b. 187)
- 1764 – Ralph Allen, English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1693)
- 1895 – Thomas Henry Huxley, English biologist (b. 1825)
- 1967 – Jayne Mansfield, American actress and singer (b. 1933)
- 1995 – Lana Turner, American actress and singer (b. 1921)
- 2003 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress and singer (b. 1907)
- 2013 – Margherita Hack, Italian astrophysicist and author (b. 1922)
June 29: Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (Christianity, Gregorian calendar); Independence Day in Seychelles(1976)
- 1149 – Second Crusade: An army led by Nur ad-Din Zangi destroyed the forces of Antioch led by Prince Raymond.
- 1444 – Albanians led by Skanderbeg scored a resounding victory in their rebellion against the Ottoman Empire.
- 1776 – Lieutenant José Joaquin Moraga and Father Francisco Palóu founded Mission San Francisco de Asís (pictured), the oldest surviving building in San Francisco.
- 1985 – The European Economic Community adopted the Flag of Europe, a flag previously adopted by the Council of Europe in 1955.
- 1995 – The Shuttle–Mir Program began when Space Shuttle Atlantis became the first space shuttle to dock with the Russian space station Mir.
The Prince stayed ahead. A victory ultimately failed. At least we have rice a reno. Hail the flag. A Mir space station success. Let's party.
No posts in 2018 from regular sources.
===
Delcon madness, Shorten unmasked, and other seminal campaign moments
Miranda Devine – Wednesday, June 29, 2016 (6:37am)
THERE are small moments in election campaigns that capture the trajectory of doom or triumph for political leaders. Rarely are they as dramatic and photogenic as the famous Mark Latham handshake in 2004. But we’ve had a couple of seminal flashes in the final days of this campaign which may be portents of the future.
The first, for Bill Shorten, occurred in one of his fabled town hall meetings at Caboolture RSL in Queensland on the weekend. Everything was going swimmingly until, at the back of the room, a little old lady with white hair stood and took the microphone.
Wearing the red Labor T-shirt of volunteers for Labor candidate Susan Lamb, she let fly at Shorten over his Medicare scare: “Last night I heard Malcolm Turnbull saying you had no evidence with what you put up… and I believed everything that was told to me.”
At this point a man standing beside her, also wearing a red Labor T-shirt, started grabbing at her microphone.
But she pulled away: “I haven’t washed up or done my laundry for five weeks … and I’m just saying what are you doing, why are you lying?”
By then the microphone had been forcibly snatched from her hand and handed to another man standing with a schooner of beer.
The lady had been silenced by Shorten’s goons but the damage was done.
In Labor’s heartland, the desperate Medi-scare, on which Shorten has staked the dying moments of his campaign, was seen as a cynical lie. And the little old lady in the red T-shirt at Caboolture RSL was Labor’s canary in the coal mine, if they cared to look.
Continue reading 'Delcon madness, Shorten unmasked, and other seminal campaign moments'
VIEWS COINCIDE
Tim Blair – Wednesday, June 29, 2016 (4:26pm)
The leftist ABC sends leftist comedian Ben Pobjie to interview Sarah Hanson-Young, his favourite leftist politician:
I yield to no one in my admiration for the outspoken Greens senator from South Australia, both for her views, which tend to happily coincide with mine, and the quirky change of pace she makes from the grey-faced machine men dominating Federal Parliament.I can’t pretend I’m not a fan of hers, or that meeting her isn’t a blast …
Well, OK then.
This raucous laughter thing is new. It’s also positively strange.
As J.F. Beck emails: “Yes indeed. Raucous laughter would be a new experience for comedian Ben Pobjie.”
Senator Hanson-Young has just two modes: incandescent anger and irretrievable sadness.
Sounds like just the sort of calm, balanced person we need in Parliament. Thank God for Senator Sarah Fury-Sad.
A Greens senator talking about “values” is an unnerving and suspicious sight.
Ben thinks “values” is some kind of devious right wing code word. Seriously.
There may be no other politician in Australia more willing to stick their head above the parapet and accept whatever missiles may come than Sarah Hanson-Young.
That explains her frequent Sky News interviews with Chris Kenny. Which never happen.
Like I said, I’m a fan.
You don’t say.
IT ONLY TAKES ONE
Tim Blair – Wednesday, June 29, 2016 (4:11pm)
Withering sarcasm from Ben Eltham:
I’m sure everyone in Britain will take note of a Tim Blair blog post.
You might be surprised, Ben, by the notice a single post may receive, and the entertaining consequences of that notice.
STEPHANIE HAS NEVER BEEN SO INSULTED
Tim Blair – Wednesday, June 29, 2016 (4:15am)
The Guardian‘s spectacularly-named Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett reports on young Brits who are not coping well with parental Brexit voting decisions:
Stephanie is 21, from Merseyside, and was visiting her parents for the week of the referendum. “Right from the moment I got back I was bombarded with questions about which side I was on and why,” she said. “I’m not one to shy away from healthy debate, but my parents completely refused to see things from any point of view but their own, and would deliberately misunderstand my view or rubbish it completely.“After the leave result, my parents continued to insult and degrade the 48% of us [who voted remain], with my dad at one point getting into an argument with a family friend who is an EU citizen and telling her she ‘should leave if she loves the EU so much’ …“What was supposed to be a nice week turned into a week of being belittled and endless arguments, and I have never felt so insulted by members of my own family before.”
I once visited a lake in Palau filled with jellyfish that had been cut off many centuries ago from their natural predators. As a result, subsequent generations of jellyfish lost their ability to sting. You can pick up three or four of those globey suckers and juggle them, if you wish. Not a single toxic barb will strike.
Modern millennial baby people – protected by political correctness, shielded by safe schools, guarded by the Guardian – are much like those inert Palau jellyfish. They have lost the ability to fight back in any precise or potent way, and are therefore easy marks for their battle-hardened parents. Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett continues:
Stephanie is far from being the only young person now seeing her family differently. “I’ve been having the most terrible rows with my mum about it, as I’m so heartbroken by the result,” says Alex. “Both my parents voted to leave despite me begging them not to. I tried to explain the effects it would have on my future, and my children’s future – but each time it would just end in the most awful arguments. Now, with the way things are, I feel like I can barely look at them. It sounds melodramatic, but I feel so betrayed by it all.”
It sounds melodramatic because it is melodramatic.
“I’m worried Brexit has made me ageist,” a friend said, following the shock of the referendum result on Friday morning. “I saw this older couple in the street and just felt this sudden, enormous wave of fury towards them and their generation. It was almost physical.”Over the past few days, thousands have vented on social media. “I’m never giving up my seat on the train for an old person again,” read one tweet.
Perhaps these youngsters aren’t just being ageist. They might also be racist. Film-maker and columnist Farai Sevenzo found more than a few Africans living in the UK who wanted to leave the EU:
Social media had been awash with the African Brexiteers’ pleas for the severing of ties with Europe, including WhatsApp circulars setting out the reasons …In comparison with the rest of the EU, Africans have long valued the opportunities available to them in the UK and the protection the law accords them … They have generally felt safer over the years in the UK than in the other 27 EU countries.In any case, their argument went, the expansion of the EU had drastically reduced the job chances of Africans from the Commonwealth and beyond.
Over to you, privileged white lefty children. Tell African Brexiteers they’re racist and wrong. Argue with them, if you can.
JEXIT DELAYED
Tim Blair – Wednesday, June 29, 2016 (4:11am)
Britain’s Labour leader bitterly clings, despite rejection by his own party:
Jeremy Corbyn has lost a no-confidence vote among Labour MPs.The party’s parliamentarians voted 172 to 40 against Mr Corbyn’s leadership in a secret ballot on Tuesday afternoon. There were four spoilt ballots in the contest, while 13 MPs did not vote.Mr Corbyn immediately responded to the vote by saying he would not resign, suggesting to do so would be a “betrayal” of the members who elected him by a landslide last year.
The landslide now seems to be against Corbyn.
DRIVING MISS COMMIE
Tim Blair – Wednesday, June 29, 2016 (2:09am)
HuffPo’s Josh Butler enjoys a day on the campaign trail with Greens senator Lee Rhiannon:
As the Greens candidates pack up their things and say goodbye to volunteers, Rhiannon moves toward the station gates; she has taken the train out to Sydenham, forgoing the taxpayer-funded car or Cabcharge. I have driven my car, so offer the senator and her staffer a lift back to their office in the Sydney CBD. What would have been an eight-minute train ride becomes a 30-minute crawl through morning peak hour traffic.“This is the problem with capitalism,” Rhiannon muses …
No, it’s the problem with choosing to ride in Josh Butler-Chauffeur’s crappy car during Sydney’s morning peak hour. Still, traffic jams were never a problem back in the good old Soviet Union, were they, Lee? Mainly because nobody could afford a car and everyone was in queues for rank month-old cabbage, but those are minor details.
In other political developments, Essential’s final poll of the 2016 election campaign has Labor leading by two points – the same margin held by the Coalition in the latest NewsPoll. Delcon readers may find John Stone’s voting guide to be very useful.
LOSE FIVE BILLION? WIN FIVE HUNDRED THOUSAND!
Tim Blair – Wednesday, June 29, 2016 (1:55am)
Life in an EU country:
The French economy is stagnant. GDP growth for the latest quarter was 0.6%. Over the past decade, growth has rarely risen above 1%. The unemployment rate is over 10% and the youth unemployment is 25%. Clearly tax and regulatory reform, including more labor flexibility, are needed to encourage employers to hire.As an example of the difficulty of firing workers, a French court this week ruled that Société Générale rogue trader Jérôme Kerviel, who lost $5.5 billion of the bank’s assets in 2008 and almost caused its bankruptcy, had been unfairly dismissed. Société Générale was ordered to pay Kerviel $511,000 because it decided he was dismissed “without cause.”
Via Dylan Kissane, who emails: “The average Turnbull minister would waste about that much every term but at least they stand half a chance of losing their job in the election.” Amen to that.
SUPER RACISM READER CHALLENGE
Tim Blair – Wednesday, June 29, 2016 (12:21am)
See if you can detect the blatant racism in this Colorado swimming pool safety poster:
Having trouble spotting it? Try harder! In fact, the poster is not merely racist, it is super racist. Thankfully, this vicious KKK-inspired Red Cross hate art has now been removed and the Red Cross has “deeply apologised”.
Having trouble spotting it? Try harder! In fact, the poster is not merely racist, it is super racist. Thankfully, this vicious KKK-inspired Red Cross hate art has now been removed and the Red Cross has “deeply apologised”.
Lucy Turnbull cost Liberal supporters $40,000
Andrew Bolt June 29 2016 (10:15am)
The Turnbulls are costing the Liberals and their volunteers a lot of money:
===The Liberal Party’s grovelling apology to Lucy Turnbull has cost much more than just embarrassment.How much will be left of the Liberals when the Turnbulls finish with them?
The party has handed over a cheque for $40,000 to the St Vincent de Paul Society, the proceeds of two exclusive fundraisers at which the Prime Minister’s wife was the star attraction.
As revealed by Fairfax Media last week, the party inappropriately used Ms Turnbull’s position as the head of a NSW Government planning body, the Greater Sydney Commission, to promote a $3000-a-head women-only boardroom lunch hosted by Senator Michaelia Cash and and another event in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Both events billed Ms Turnbull in her planning role which is apolitical. Ms Turnbull said at the time she believed she had been invited to the lunch as the Prime Minister’s “consort”.... The Liberal Party has ignored a number of enquiries about how much was handed over to St Vincent de Paul as a result of its public apology to Ms Turnbull and its promise not to use the fundraiser proceeds for political purposes.
The none-of-the-above movement could get Oakeshott elected
Andrew Bolt June 29 2016 (10:03am)
Not laughing at Oakeshott now:
===Rob Oakeshott could be on the verge of a dramatic return to Parliament.
Coalition strategists appear to have hit the panic button in the NSW seat of Cowper, mobilising Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull in an attempt to protect former National Party minister Luke Hartsuyker against the late challenge by the independent.
In an unusual move for a Prime Minister in the last week of an election campaign, Mr Turnbull cold-called a small ABC radio station on Tuesday morning to go into bat for Mr Hartsuyker who is in danger of losing his seat despite a handsome 13 per cent margin to the Nationals in that seat.
Amazing! Scott Morrison finds $2.3 billion at the back of the couch
Andrew Bolt June 29 2016 (8:50am)
I share the cynicism of Lenore Taylor:
But the big picture here may be that the Government waited until the end - and some poll security - before putting out an announcement that will give it the mandate for the welfare reforms Christian Porter planned.
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
===You wouldn’t believe it. Just four days out from the election the Coalition has found $2.3bn from yet another “crackdown” on welfare recipients and pensioners that more than pays for all the pork barrelling it’s been doing for the past eight weeks.Peter Martin:
Every CCTV camera, road, football stadium and netball court showered upon Coalition marginal seats can be funded from cracking down, again, on overpayments, waste and, in some cases, rorting, which were already cracked down upon with such determination last year that it was forecast to yield $3.7bn. That’s a lazy $6bn in waste and abuse. The Department of Finance “signed off” on the latest $2.3bn before the election, which does raise the question as to why it wasn’t included in the budget in May. If it had been in the budget it would have been the government’s second-biggest saving.
Without the $2 billion, [the Coalition’s] election announcements would have sent the budget backwards ... by around $900 million.Warning: neither side can be trusted to tell you the truth about our finances.
But the big picture here may be that the Government waited until the end - and some poll security - before putting out an announcement that will give it the mandate for the welfare reforms Christian Porter planned.
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
Suicide bombers attack Istanbul airport
Andrew Bolt June 29 2016 (8:39am)
The Middle East advertises itself again:
UPDATE
Grimmer:
And grimmer:
===Two terrorists have attacked Istanbul’s major international airport, killing ten and injuring as many as 40 people in a spray of gunfire followed by an explosion…Turkey is pushing for visa-free travel to the EU.
Turkey has been rocked by several bombings in the past two years, either blamed on Islamic State or Kurdish militants. The latest was just three weeks ago when a police van was blown up killing 11, five of whom were members of the public.
UPDATE
Grimmer:
SUICIDE bombers have opened fire before blowing themselves up at the entrance to the main international airport in Istanbul, killing at least 28 people and wounding 60…UPDATE
While no group has yet claimed responsibility, Turkey’s Dogan news agency reported ISIS was behind the attack. At least six of the injured are in a critical condition.
And grimmer:
A senior Turkish official says nearly 50 people have been killed in the attack at Istanbul’s airport, AP reports. Another 88 have been wounded.
Farage to the EU Parliament: “You’re not laughing now, are you?”
Andrew Bolt June 29 2016 (8:36am)
UKIP leader Nigel Farage goes back to the European Parliament to give a hostile crowd an I-told-you-so, and still the Euro-mob won’t listen:
Note a frightening contrast. The EU Parliament booed Nigel Farage, but last week cheered Mahmoud Abbas:
More on the proposed EU superstate:
Former Labor minister Gary Johns:
===Isn’t it funny? When I came here 17 years ago and I said that I wanted to lead a campaign to get Britain out of the European Union, you all laughed at me. Well, I have to say, you’re not laughing now, are you?UPDATE
And the reason you’re so upset, the reason you’re so angry, has been perfectly clear from all the angry exchanges this morning. You, as a political project, are in denial. You are in denial that your currency is failing.
Just look at the Mediterranean. As a policy to impose poverty and the rest of the Mediterranean, you’ve done very well. And you are in denial over Mrs Merkel’s call last year for as many people as possible to cross the Mediterranean into the European Union. [It] has led to massive divisions within countries and between countries.
But the biggest problem you’ve got, and the main reason the United Kingdom voted the way that it did, is that you have, by stealth, by deception, without ever telling the truth to the British or the rest of the people’s of Europe, you have imposed upon them a political union. And when the people in 2005 in the Netherlands and France voted against the political union, when they rejected the constitution, you simply ignored them and brought the Lisbon treaty in through the back door.
Note a frightening contrast. The EU Parliament booed Nigel Farage, but last week cheered Mahmoud Abbas:
Echoing anti-Semitic claims that led to the mass killings of European Jews in medieval times, President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority accused rabbis in Israel of calling on their government to poison the water used by Palestinians.UPDATE
He made the unsubstantiated allegation during a speech to the European Parliament on Thursday…
“Just a week ago, a week, a group of rabbis in Israel announced, in a clear announcement, demanding their government, to poison, to poison, the water of the Palestinians,” he said. “Is this not incitement? Is this not clear incitement, to the mass murder of the Palestinian people?”
Mr. Abbas was repeating a claim initially made on the website of an office of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Anadolu, the Turkish state-run news agency, repeated the claim on Sunday… The Anadolu article said that a Rabbi Shlomo Mlma, whom it called the “chairman of the Council of Rabbis in the West Bank settlements,” had issued an “advisory opinion in which he allowed Jewish settlers to poison water in Palestinian villages and cities in the West Bank.”
The Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that news outlets had not been able to find a Rabbi Mlma or any listing for the council mentioned in the article…
Mr. Abbas, who did not meet with Mr. Rivlin in Brussels, receiveda standing ovation at the end of his 43-minute speech.
More on the proposed EU superstate:
THE EU has unveiled plans to morph the continent’s countries into one giant superstate just days after Britain voted to leave the EU, it is claimed…UPDATE
In a foreword to the nine-page report seen by the Daily Express, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his French counterpart Jean-Marc Ayrault said: “Our countries share a common destiny and a common set of values… that give rise to an even closer union between our citizens. We will therefore strive for a political union in Europe....”
In the wake of a vote for Brexit, EU chiefs have been more brazen about their desire to form an EU army. In a document titled ‘EU Global Strategy on Foreign and Security Policy’, Europe’s chief diplomat said the Brussels bloc must be able to “repel, to respond and to protect”.
Former Labor minister Gary Johns:
Elites sold Britain down the river in so many ways: why wouldn’t Britons give them a kick in the bollocks?(Thanks to readers Shauno, Grendel and Fiona.)
They sold them down the river by failing to regulate banks and rating agencies before the GFC; by posing as saviours of the world’s climate using taxpayers’ money; by posing as saviours of the world’s poor using taxpayers’ money; by refusing to control borders; and, by selling out the finest system of law in the world…
Elites beware. Every appeal to a UN convention, think refugees; every time an international body is invited to tell Australians how naughty they have been, think Great Barrier Reef and Tasmanian forests; every time an official quotes “international law”, is an insult to one of the world’s great liberal and law-abiding democracies: Australia.
Curtin Liberals tell Bishop her super policy must change
Andrew Bolt June 29 2016 (8:28am)
Does Julie Bishop represent her members to Canberra or Canberra to her members?
===The Curtin division of the Liberal Party — the wealthiest and most powerful in Western Australia — has passed a motion condemning the Turnbull government’s controversial changes to superannuation which will hit the retirement savings of many in the blue-ribbon electorate.At some stage the Turnbull strategy of taking Liberals for granted in wooing the Left will come back to bite him.
The motion means the issue will be debated at the Liberal Party’s state conference in August and will put pressure on Curtin MP and Liberal deputy leader Julie Bishop to defend the unpopular changes against claims by party members that they are unfair. Liberal members in Curtin hope the motion will form part of a backlash against the moves that will ultimately force the Turnbull government to back down before the changes come into effect in July next year.
Typical Green: blaming the world for their own failure
Andrew Bolt June 29 2016 (8:21am)
A Greens Senator diagnoses a capitalist ill after a reporter gives her a lift:
Is it because capitalism makes people actually rich enough to afford cars?
Or is it because Rhiannon-preferred socialism would actually ban people from using them?
Tim Blair suggests the real reason for Rhiannon’s slow ride. Rhiannon is blaming the system when she should blame herself:
===As the Greens candidates pack up their things and say goodbye to volunteers, Rhiannon moves toward the station gates; she has taken the train out to Sydenham, forgoing the taxpayer-funded car or Cabcharge. I have driven my car, so offer the senator and her staffer a lift back to their office in the Sydney CBD. What would have been an eight-minute train ride becomes a 30-minute crawl through morning peak hour traffic.Exactly how is a traffic jam at peak hour a problem of capitalism?
“This is the problem with capitalism,” Rhiannon muses …
Is it because capitalism makes people actually rich enough to afford cars?
Or is it because Rhiannon-preferred socialism would actually ban people from using them?
Tim Blair suggests the real reason for Rhiannon’s slow ride. Rhiannon is blaming the system when she should blame herself:
No, it’s the problem with choosing to ride in Josh Butler-Chauffeur’s crappy car during Sydney’s morning peak hour.
This is the union the Andrews Government has put in charge of the CFA
Andrew Bolt June 29 2016 (8:14am)
This is the manic union to which the Andrews Government has handed power over the Country Fire Authority volunteers. Something is seriously amiss with its leadership:
What kind of bullies and ideologues does this far-Left union harbor?
===Statements given to the Fair Work Commission, and an explosive “666” memo describing the Metropolitan Fire Brigade’s management as worse than the devil, have shed new light on the obstruction and intimidation of the United Firefighters Union.UPDATE
Statements by brigade managers, and posted on the union’s website as a form of intimidation, say union members refused to commission and crew a special truck called a Bronto for the devastating Hazelwood coalmine fire of 2014.
Instead, crews from South Australia had to be brought in to operate it, according to the statements, which also reveal a union veto over the design of new fire stations has delayed $8 million of building and refurbishing work.
The memo, authorised by union chief Peter Marshall to mark 666 days since the MFB tried to terminate an industrial agreement, invites members to “remember the evil actions perpetrated on that day” and lists the names of MFB managers who had given evidence in the conciliation hearings to highlight their “treachery”.
What kind of bullies and ideologues does this far-Left union harbor?
THREE firefighters have allegedly threatened to tear down a sign supporting the CFA and calling for voters to “Put Labor Last” in an intimidating move just days out from the federal election.These are the kind of people that the Andrews Government wants to run the Country Fire Authority volunteers.
The officers, wearing station uniform, barged into a poultry business in Dandenong on Monday and the owner says they demanded the business remove the sign.
The owner, who speaks little English, was left frightened and directed the fireys to a nearby garage, saying its owner had organised the sign.
Security footage obtained by the Herald Sun shows the trio enter the workshop at 2.47pm where they confront the owner, allegedly demanding to know how he votes and reminding him “who puts your fires out”.
ABC DISTRESSED
Tim Blair – Monday, June 29, 2015 (3:06pm)
The ABC begs for mercy:
Staff at News Corp have been urged to “resist pressure” to attack the ABC’s journalists, by the staff-elected director of the ABC Board Matt Peacock.Peacock said ABC staff were distressed by the portrayal of them in News Corp newspapers as traitors and one journalist had even been abused in the street ...“This is the direct result of an inflammatory campaign against the national public broadcaster directed by people who have a duty to show better leadership,” Peacock said in a note to staff on Monday afternoon.“Many staff have been distressed by the accusation of ‘betrayal’, the inappropriate call that ‘heads must roll’ and barrage of recent offensive headlines and fake pictures featuring ABC staff providing makeup for Isis terrorists and the ABC logo on an Isis flag …”“I urge staff to stand strong in the face of such intimidation and to maintain our statutory commitment to fearless, impartial and independent coverage,” Peacock, a senior journalist on 7.30, said.“I also urge my colleagues at News Corporation to resist pressure to mount unfair and provocative attacks on their fellow journalists. Hopefully the current security lockdown of ABC sites will soon be lifted and the inflammatory language end.”
There’s no “pressure”, Matt. I’m doing this for fun. Meanwhile, as guests abandon Q & A, reader Brad E. previews tonight’s show, complete with emergency stand-ins:
2015 FRIGHTBAT POLL UPDATE
Tim Blair – Monday, June 29, 2015 (3:05pm)
Gillian Triggs maintains a substantial lead, although 2014 runner-up Clementine Ford has gained ground following recent campaign initiatives. Both 2014 veteran Jenna Price and 2015 newcomer Ruby Hamad are mired in the relegation zone.
Voting continues.
COMEDY AND TRAGEDY
Tim Blair – Monday, June 29, 2015 (3:29am)
Proximity to events has a direct influence on perspective. As the great Mel Brooks once observed: “Tragedy is if I get a paper cut. Comedy is if you fall into an open sewer and die.”
Certain aspects of this were evident before and after Islamic extremist Zaky Mallah’s infamous appearance on last Monday’s Q&A.
(Continue reading Comedy and Tragedy.)
THE GREAT DECLINER
Tim Blair – Monday, June 29, 2015 (3:19am)
Six years ago the scientific establishment was shaken by an incident that came to be known as Climategate. At the core of the scandal were email-sourced allegations that influential climate researchers had doctored data.
One particular line stood out from those emails. Written by Phil Jones of the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit, it mentioned a way to “hide the decline” in temperatures.
Understandably, the scandal caused a marked increase in scepticism towards claims of impending climate disaster. Just as understandably, scientists on the global-warming side of the debate have been a little touchy about those emails ever since.
So it was more than slightly surprising last week to read a piece by warming alarmist Will Steffen in which he demonstrated the most graphic “hide the decline” data-altering technique since the discovery of Jones’s celebrated email.
(Continue reading The Great Decliner.)
CHECKOUT CONFUSION
Tim Blair – Monday, June 29, 2015 (2:30am)
My latest hobby is being confused about automatic checkout registers down at the supermarket with all the other old guys.
Actually, it’s more than a hobby. It’s practically a sport. There are two ways to play: competitive or recreational.
I prefer competitive, because recreational is mostly reserved for the really age-advanced who sometimes struggle to remember the score.
(Continue reading Checkout Confusion.)
Our own future in fast forward, if we don’t save like Greece didn’t
Andrew Bolt June 29 2015 (2:14pm)
This could be serious:
===MORE than $30 billion has been wiped off the value of the Australian stockmarket today as investors brace for an increasingly likely Greek exit from the Eurozone…
It came after Greece’s financial crisis took its most dramatic turn yet at the weekend, with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras announcing Greek banks would remain shut indefinitely and restrictions would be imposed on cash withdrawals… Panicked Greek citizens lined up into the night to withdraw savings from ATMs amid fears of bank collapses.
Nick Cater pulls out of Q&A, too
Andrew Bolt June 29 2015 (2:02pm)
Another withdrawal:
The ABC staff go out of their way to confirm the central criticism, and the cause of its terrible misjudgement - the ABC is overwhelmingly biased to the Left. Chris Kenny details the astonishing groupthink on the Zaky Mallah controversy:
The silence actually proves the prosecution’s case.
===Menzies Research Centre executive director Nick Cater has pulled out of tonight’s Q&A program as Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull revealed he had declined an invitation today to appear on the show…Unfortunately:
A former editor of The Weekend Australian, Mr Cater has sent a letter to the Q&A’s executive producer Peter McEvoy explaining his eleventh-hour decision to withdraw from tonight’s panel…
His vote of no-confidence in the high-rating ABC panel show follows Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s Parliamentary Secretary, Alan Tudge’s withdrawal today from tonight’s panel as well. “Given that the ABC has failed to apologise unequivocally for giving an open microphone to a convicted criminal and terrorist sympathiser on last week’s Q&A, I will no longer be participating in tonight’s program,” Mr Cater said in his letter.
Editor-in-large of The Australian Paul Kelly confirmed he had accepted an invitation to take Mr Cater’s place on the panel.UPDATE
The ABC staff go out of their way to confirm the central criticism, and the cause of its terrible misjudgement - the ABC is overwhelmingly biased to the Left. Chris Kenny details the astonishing groupthink on the Zaky Mallah controversy:
A clutch of ABC personalities, including Emma Alberici, Jonathon Green and Patricia Karvelas, took to the airwaves, social media and ABC websites to make strong and condemnatory stands about media standards on this issue — but not against Q&A’s judgment or the ABC’s delinquency in replaying the offending broadcast. No, they railed — at taxpayers’ expense — against other media criticising the ABC (especially News Corp Australia tabloids).The ABC is the biggest media outlet in the nation. Is there not one journalist on its staff who thinks Q&A was way out of line, and the ABC’s Leftist bias now needs addressing?
“It’s appalling because it mischievously suggests the ABC supports terrorism,” tweeted Karvelas about the mocked-up images of jihadists with ABC banners, “And it’s a lie.” Glad we cleared that up. “It’s too easy to imagine,” wrote Green on The Drum, “that the real intent of Wednesday’s ubiquitous News Corp covers was to do harm to a public broadcaster whose presence in the Australian media is the last remaining coherent check on the ubiquity of its readily manipulated media message.” ...
“As an ABC employee,” said Alberici on Lateline, “I didn’t think it was fun to see an ABC flag waved to look like an Islamic State flag.” This was in between defending Q&A ("the question wasn’t gotcha"), defending ABC staff ("we are all entirely independent") and defending Mallah ("If you think Charlie Hebdo should have the right to insult Muslims, shouldn’t Zaky Mallah also have the right to insult Australians?").
On RN Breakfast, Alison Carabine told the Immigration Minister that the government’s reaction was “quite over the top”.... “Derryn Hinch has his own show,” quipped James Carleton (it is all very droll, this jihad stuff, you know)…
On Insiders yesterday, Barrie Cassidy couldn’t even see that when you invited a convicted extremist — who had armed himself with a weapon and ammunition, studied up on jihad, threatened to kill people, travelled to join extremist fighters in Syria and had a penchant for publicity — to join a live studio audience, it created a security risk… On Melbourne’s local ABC radio, Rafael Epstein decided someone had to be taken to task over the Q&A — Mallah episode, so he interrogated, yes of course, the editor of the Herald Sun, Damon Johnston. No, really.... Soon, rather than grilling the ABC about its commitment to the national interest, Epstein had the Victorian tabloid in the gun. “Andrew Bolt is in some way corroding the social fabric,” he accused. “Does that mean we should all question the Herald Sun’s real commitment to cohesive society?” Quite the gymnast is our Raf — the ABC puts a convicted extremist on air and it’s another excuse to banish Bolt.
The silence actually proves the prosecution’s case.
Abbott wrong to excuse Islam
Andrew Bolt June 29 2015 (12:51pm)
THE Prime Minister is wrong. I’m sure Tony Abbott knows it, too, but does not dare publicly tell the truth about Islamic terrorism.
Abbott insists Islam had nothing to do with last week’s shooting of tourists in Tunisia, bombing of Shia worshippers in Kuwait and beheading of a man in France.
“What’s being done by Daish (the Islamic State) has nothing to do with God, it has nothing to do with religion,” he claimed on Saturday.
Is he kidding us?
The Islamic State, which claims credit for the two worst attacks and is linked to the beheading, has nothing to do with Islam?
For heaven’s sake, we can all read. “Islam” is in the very title of this terrorist outfit.
And if religion had nothing to do with the attacks, why has Tunisia’s president just ordered 80 of the country’s mosques to be closed in response?
(Read full article here.)
===Abbott insists Islam had nothing to do with last week’s shooting of tourists in Tunisia, bombing of Shia worshippers in Kuwait and beheading of a man in France.
“What’s being done by Daish (the Islamic State) has nothing to do with God, it has nothing to do with religion,” he claimed on Saturday.
Is he kidding us?
The Islamic State, which claims credit for the two worst attacks and is linked to the beheading, has nothing to do with Islam?
For heaven’s sake, we can all read. “Islam” is in the very title of this terrorist outfit.
And if religion had nothing to do with the attacks, why has Tunisia’s president just ordered 80 of the country’s mosques to be closed in response?
(Read full article here.)
Too late. A thousand died while Labor dithered
Andrew Bolt June 29 2015 (11:30am)
The real question is not whether Labor will finally agree to towing back the boats. The question is really why Labor didn’t agree six years ago, when a 1200 lives could have been saved:
UPDATE
It is bizarre that even when turn backs have been shown - yet again - to work and to save lives, there are many in Labor so ideologically blind to the evidence:
===LABOR leader Bill Shorten is under increasing pressure from within senior NSW ranks of his opposition cabinet to adopt the Coalition’s turn-back policy on asylum seeker boats.How weak. A real leader would have backed Marles.
The Daily Telegraph understands the party’s largest faction, the NSW Right, is now united behind the push to support Tony Abbott’s controversial policy in the belief that Labor would otherwise be unelectable.
In a sign the ALP national conference could descend into warfare over the issue next month, veteran Labor frontbencher and senior member of the NSW Right Joel Fitzgibbon yesterday publicly backed reversing Labor’s policy to adopt turn-backs… Mr Shorten was forced to rebuke opposition immigration minister Richard Marles last year when he suggested a similar backdown on Labor’s opposition to turning back boats.... Sources close to Mr Shorten claimed the Labor leader privately supported the same view, but had to accommodate an increasingly hostile position on the policy from the Left.
UPDATE
It is bizarre that even when turn backs have been shown - yet again - to work and to save lives, there are many in Labor so ideologically blind to the evidence:
Members of Labor’s Left faction said Mr Fitzgibbon’s comments were disappointing and ill-considered…(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
Concerns were also raised about Mr Fitzgibbon’s intervention at this time, described as not constructive and not in the right spirit of how the debate should be conducted.
Left faction member, WA Senator Sue Lines, said Mr Fitzgibbon was welcome to express his view, but she did not expect it to be endorsed by conference delegates… The same view is not held by all Left faction members, with one senior member endorsing Mr Fitzgibbon’s comments…
You mean we still have such bigots among us?
Andrew Bolt June 29 2015 (11:24am)
What a slime this man is. What a throwback:
Ironically, Frydenberg is about to jet off for a quick break where he will visit one of the most moving memorials I’ve ever seen to the consequences of Jew hatred.
Howarth is entitled to his free speech, of course. And I am entitled to my own when I call him a disgrace of a human being.
(Thanks to reader WaG311.)
===A Brisbane financial adviser has refused to apologise for a stream of abusive tweets in which he calls Assistant Treasurer Josh Frydenberg a “tinkering Jew” and a “central planning Jew”.You sometimes assume humanity has progressed and left behind ancient hatreds, but then comes a cry from the swamps.
The principal of Retirement Wealth Advisers, James Howarth, attacked the MP on Twitter yesterday for supporting a proposal on the remuneration of life insurance sales staff that would cut large upfront commissions for financial advisers.
“What a cock sucker. First course of action was to regulate insurance salaries. Tinkering Jew,” Mr Howarth tweeted to his 5855 followers.
“Slap stick comedy Jew Frydenberg stars in Deregulating Regulator Regulating,” another tweet read.
Another says: “Get your Josh Frydenberg ‘Central Planning Jew’ punching bag ...” Mr Howarth told The Australian he stood by his “right to free speech” and ability to “defend” his rights.
Ironically, Frydenberg is about to jet off for a quick break where he will visit one of the most moving memorials I’ve ever seen to the consequences of Jew hatred.
Howarth is entitled to his free speech, of course. And I am entitled to my own when I call him a disgrace of a human being.
(Thanks to reader WaG311.)
This is not about free speech, and Mallah “help” isn’t equal to his threats
Andrew Bolt June 29 2015 (11:12am)
A very curious defence of the ABC from Errol Simper of The Australian.
First, a classic misuse of the free speech argument::
No, the issue is whether the ABC should give the likes of Mallah a platform on prime-time television, and one designed to boost his case and attack the Government.
Anyone screaming “free speech” either does not understand the concept or is trying to fool you.
Then this:
How is Mallah threatening to kill ASIO officials “equal” to Mallah giving ASIO information?
I’d even go further, how is Mallah threatening to kill ASIO officials - an indubitable fact - “equal” to someone merely accusing him, almost certainly falsely, of being a “covert operative” for ASIO?
Very, very poor stuff.
(Thanks to reader WaG311.)
===First, a classic misuse of the free speech argument::
The vituperative hostility directed at the ABC over its decision to allow Zaky Mallah to ask a question on last week’s Q&A might strike you as a classic case of shooting the messenger. It also raises interesting aspects about the fundamental equality of free speech.This is not an issue of free speech. No one is suggesting Mallah be jailed, fined or censored for saying what he did. He is free to say it and does so often, particularly on Twitter. His free speech is not in question, other than when he issues threats to kill.
No, the issue is whether the ABC should give the likes of Mallah a platform on prime-time television, and one designed to boost his case and attack the Government.
Anyone screaming “free speech” either does not understand the concept or is trying to fool you.
Then this:
Yes, Mallah is a misogynistic ratbag who did two years in the maximum security wing of Goulburn (NSW) Jail for threatening to murder ASIO officials. Equally, he has been accused of being a covert operative on behalf of Australian intelligence services.Could Simper explain his use of the word “equally”?
How is Mallah threatening to kill ASIO officials “equal” to Mallah giving ASIO information?
I’d even go further, how is Mallah threatening to kill ASIO officials - an indubitable fact - “equal” to someone merely accusing him, almost certainly falsely, of being a “covert operative” for ASIO?
Very, very poor stuff.
(Thanks to reader WaG311.)
ABC breaking the law in plain sight. So where is its chairman?
Andrew Bolt June 29 2015 (10:45am)
Why on earth did James Spigelman, a former Gough Whitlam staffer, agree to become the ABC chairman if he goes missing when most needed?:
Not one.
Sky News boss Angelos Frangopoulos is a strong contender to replace Scott as managing director. While those inside the ABC see him as too close to News Corp, Frangopoulos does not have ideological leanings and politicians are well aware of how efficiently he runs Sky News — frugality they think is greatly needed at the public broadcaster…
Other candidates include SBS managing director Michael Ebeid, ABC head of television Richard Finlayson, although his handling of the past week has not done in him any favours, and head of news Kate Torney.{/i]
I admire Frangopoulos, who knows how to do more with less and has given conservatives some prominence on Sky News - Alan Jones, Paul Murray and Chris Kenny. But bear in mind Sky News is still in no way a conservative outlet or local version of Fox News.
Under Michael Ebeid, SBS has become less politically radical but in now way can be considered politically balanced or neutral. No one can be confident that he is the man to drive cultural reform.
Kate Torney is a very nice person, but is running exactly the news division that is giving the ABC a bad name for bias.
UPDATE
There was no way Tudge could go on tonight without blunting the Government’s attack on a program that has been outrageously biased for too long and last week crossed the line:
Why not?
UPDATE
Paul Sheehan details more evidence of the ABC’s manifest and unlawful bias:
(Thanks very much to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
==={N)ot once last week did the controversy over the controversial Q&A;segment prompt the ABC board to meet or discuss the issue.But every member of the board should be told by the Government that under no circumstances will they be reappointed, given their failure to insist the ABC abide by its legal obligation to be balanced and impartial.
Chairman Jim Spigelman, who was overseas in Singapore, did not see the need to urgently discuss the matter with the board. The lack of contact frustrated some directors who pointed out the time difference between Singapore and Australia was not so great that a conference call could not be arranged.
The fact the ABC board did not quickly discuss the issue may have been one factor that prompted senior members of the federal government to investigate what levers and further action was available to it, including possibly investigating whether it has any power to fire non-executive directors. For the record, it does not. Directors can only be sacked by the governor-general for either bankruptcy, bad behaviour or mental incapacitation.
Not one.
The only exception will be the director, any director, that fulfils that central duty from this point on. Any takers?“Unlikely”? It must be irrevocably out of the question.
Although his contract is not up for some time, discussion has already begun about a replacement for Spigelman, even though he has been a long-term friend of Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull. One name has struck a chord: David Thodey who impressed the government with his handling of Telstra after Sol Trujillo… An extension for managing director Mark Scott is unlikely. He is said to have lost the confidence of his one-time supporter, Mr Turnbull.
Sky News boss Angelos Frangopoulos is a strong contender to replace Scott as managing director. While those inside the ABC see him as too close to News Corp, Frangopoulos does not have ideological leanings and politicians are well aware of how efficiently he runs Sky News — frugality they think is greatly needed at the public broadcaster…
Other candidates include SBS managing director Michael Ebeid, ABC head of television Richard Finlayson, although his handling of the past week has not done in him any favours, and head of news Kate Torney.{/i]
I admire Frangopoulos, who knows how to do more with less and has given conservatives some prominence on Sky News - Alan Jones, Paul Murray and Chris Kenny. But bear in mind Sky News is still in no way a conservative outlet or local version of Fox News.
Under Michael Ebeid, SBS has become less politically radical but in now way can be considered politically balanced or neutral. No one can be confident that he is the man to drive cultural reform.
Kate Torney is a very nice person, but is running exactly the news division that is giving the ABC a bad name for bias.
UPDATE
There was no way Tudge could go on tonight without blunting the Government’s attack on a program that has been outrageously biased for too long and last week crossed the line:
Tony Abbott’s parliamentary secretary Alan Tudge has withdrawn from tonight’s Q&A;program..It is remarkable how the ABC, our biggest media organisation can find not a single journalist to criticise its imbalance and particularly that of Q&A. Instead, as if to demonstrate that bias and groupthink, its journalists line up to attack the critics. They now include Alison Carabine, Emma Alberici, Annabel Crabb, Rafael Epstein, Jonathan Green and now Barrie Cassidy, to the astonishment of Communications Minister Malcolm Turnbull:
Mr Tudge said he discussed his decision with the Prime Minister’s office about his decision to withdrawn from tonight’s program “but ultimately it was my decision and I take responsibility for it’’. Last week Defence Minister Kevin Andrews also announced he would boycott Q&A..
With a formal government review of last week’s program under way Mr Tudge did not think it appropriate that he appear on Q&A
Mr Turnbull ... had a fiery on-air exchange [on Sunday] with the ABC’s Barrie Cassidy over claims that audience members were threatened by Q&A;’s “undergraduate” decision to include Mallah…Has ABC boss Mark Scott fronted a single interview this past week to defend the ABC’s bias or last week’s Q&A?
Cassidy asked Mr Turnbull: “How many hundreds of shopping centres has this guy walked into and exposed himself to thousands of people in that way? How has that been a threat? What’s the difference between him going into a shopping centre?”
Visibly stunned, Mr Turnbull denied the threat had been “exaggerated”. “Are you pulling my leg? After the Martin Place siege, you are saying to me that there is no security in putting Zaky Mallah in a live audience?” Mr Turnbull said.
Cassidy interrupted: “What’s the difference between that and Zaky Mallah walking into a shopping centre?”
Mr Turnbull answered: “If you can’t see that, I’m sorry, seriously you’ve lost the plot there, with all due respect. This is a high-profile audience, a very high-profile target.”
Why not?
UPDATE
Paul Sheehan details more evidence of the ABC’s manifest and unlawful bias:
(I)n 2001, the issue of asylum seekers emerged for the first time as a pivotal election issue…The ABC is breaking the law in plain sight - breaking the ABC Act that requires it to be impartial. So who is being held to account?
The ABC went into overdrive on the issue. Its opposition to government policy was self-evident, permeating its coverage ... I was so struck by the flagrant bias of Lateline, hosted by Tony Jones…
During the period of the federal election and its aftermath, from August 2001 to April 2002, Lateline broadcast 125 editions. In that time, it ran 125 stories about boat people. It was not just the sheer scale of its coverage, it was the weight of emphasis:
“Noose to tighten … public support waning … more embarrassment for the government … Howard under siege … genuine refugees killed … Nauru in crisis … Labor stands firm … Keating speaks out … Beazley commits … Liberals accused … Indonesia loses faith … Greens criticise … Amnesty speaks out … government staff gagged … Navy under scrutiny … government under [fire] … Navy moral hit … Indonesian snub … Fraser blasts … UN attacks … Liberals accused … desperate plight … voyage of the damned…"…
Fourteen years later, nothing has changed. The ABC news and current affairs remains implacably hostile to Coalition policies on the issue. It continues to act as an agent of influence for the refugee lobby. It continues to amplify the policies of the Greens.
Fourteen years ago, a related agenda was permeating another ABC TV program, Media Watch. The executive producer then was Peter McEvoy. On his watch, the show made a habit of confronting journalists who criticised Muslims. The low point came when host David Marr described the reportage of numerous gang rapes in Sydney by Muslim men as “a beat-up”. Subsequent events would render this comment disgraceful. Fast forward to today. Tony Jones is the host of Q&A;, Peter McEvoy is the executive producer, and Zaky Mallah is suddenly the poster boy for everything sly about the show.
(Thanks very much to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
Triggs’s next trick: helping another armed robber by recommending $100,000 payout
Andrew Bolt June 29 2015 (10:38am)
It’s as if Gillian Triggs figures her one hope of salvaging her reputation is to appeal to the green Left with ever more extreme decisions, and to hang with the public that must pay:
(Thanks to readers brett t r and Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
===A New Zealand-born kidnapper and armed robber convicted of ramming his car into a drunk pedestrian to “scare” him deserves a $100,000 payout because he was detained ahead of his deportation from Australia, says Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs.And the other day she even told the ANZ bank to apologise for not hiring a convicted armed robber.
After serving a seven-year jail term for the “callous and deliberate” road-rage attack, Phillip Shayne Tapara, 49, was deemed an “unacceptable risk to the community” and remained in detention for 17 months while he launched unsuccessful legal appeals against the Gillard government’s efforts to deport him.
Professor Triggs, in a report tabled in parliament this month, argued the government’s failure to restrain Tapara in a “less restrictive” way — such as in the community with reporting conditions, travel restrictions or a curfew — was arbitrary and breached his rights under international law…
The Coalition renounced confidence in Professor Triggs over alleged political bias for delaying an inquiry into children in immigration detention until after the 2013 election. Professor Triggs has also drawn fire for recommending $350,000 compensation to an Indonesian refugee, John Basikbasik, who has been detained for seven years after serving jail time for bashing his pregnant spouse to death with a child’s bicycle.
In other cases, Professor Triggs recommended $140,000 for a British-Afghan dual-citizen who was detained for more than two years while he pursued a “futile” asylum claim, and $300,000 for an American con artist who was held for 22 months while he mounted legal arguments later rejected as “frivolous, vexatious, embarrassing and (lacking) any support”.
(Thanks to readers brett t r and Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
Shorten failing, but Labor stuck
Andrew Bolt June 29 2015 (10:32am)
Bill Shorten is a very lucky man. He has been gifted Kevin Rudd’s last, disastrous gift to Labor - new rules making him almost impossible to remove before the election.
Troy Bramston:
(Thanks to reader Paul.)
===Troy Bramston:
If Labor had not adopted rules in July 2013 to effectively safeguard its leader from removal by a caucus coup, Bill Shorten’s leadership would be under intense pressure given the dramatic collapse in his standing with voters and growing doubt he can win the next election.But who?
Shorten’s plummeting voter support is one of the most significant turnarounds for a party leader in recent decades. He is deeply unpopular. It is mind-boggling to many Labor MPs that Shorten is more disliked than Tony Abbott, who has never been popular with voters.
I wrote in March about growing internal Labor concern over Shorten’s leadership. It has increased significantly since then, particularly in NSW and Queensland.
Now leaks from shadow cabinet and caucus are spilling into the public domain. Labor frontbenchers are challenging Shorten on policy.
The key complaints against Shorten go to the development and sequencing of policy; parliamentary tactics; the quality of his speeches and statements and his penchant for embarrassing “zingers”; the slow pace of internal party reform; and the running of his office. Few inside Labor think they can defeat the Coalition after one term.
Most of the thinking settles on three contenders: Tanya Plibersek, Anthony Albanese and Chris Bowen. Others, such as Richard Marles, Mark Butler and Tony Burke, are also said to be eyeing the crown in the future…But:
Plibersek, from the Left faction, would likely beat Shorten in a head-to-head contest. >She is more popular among members…
Most MPs think Albanese had his shot and blew it. If he couldn’t win last time — because half a dozen or so Left MPs refused to support him — it is hard to see him winning next time. Albanese and Plibersek are not close… Bowen, from the Right, is the other frontrunner. He has performed well as shadow treasurer. He understands Labor needs to rebuild economic credibility.
Shorten can’t be removed unless three conditions are met: 60 per cent of caucus sign a petition calling for a spill (it is 75 per cent in government), a candidate challenges, and that candidate wins more than 50 per cent of the caucus vote.But for all Shorten’s failings, remember that this is actually a collective failing, too. Many of his colleagues have driven him to back savings he should have supported, promote a carbon tax he should have dropped and resist boat turn-backs he should have endorsed.
(Thanks to reader Paul.)
Thank you, from Oliver’s great uncle
Andrew Bolt June 29 2015 (10:19am)
Reader Observer of Wodonga:
===I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Andrew and the readers of his blog that read and donated towards my great nephew, Oliver’s fund, yesterday.
Everyone that chose to donate was incredibly generous and a lot of money was raised in a single day. This money will help Oliver and his parents achieve a great many of the hopes and goals they wanted to, once he is finally able to leave hospital after this latest long stint. I know that Ollie and his parents are completely overwhelmed and appreciative of the level of generosity from people they have never met, towards their son’s wellbeing. From my family, thank you all.
No to racism in our constitution, Liberals warn Abbott
Andrew Bolt June 28 2015 (10:00pm)
Grass-roots Liberals say no to Tony Abbott’s plan to change our Constitution:
And another motion asking the Abbott Government to be true to its Liberal roots and fight for freedom:
===With the Prime Minister backing a referendum for constitutional recognition of indigenous people in the Constitution, the Liberal federal council, meeting in Melbourne today, passed a motion backing “efforts to eliminate any references to race in the Commonwealth Constitution’’ ...Spot on.
Another WA party member, Lorraine Finlay, proposed the motion, arguing that Australia’s Constitution should be a document that united all Australians, rather than drew distinctions based on the colour of their skin.
Ms Finlay said the inclusion of references to race was based upon an assumption that indigenous Australians formed a homogenous group.
She also opposed a race power which only allowed for beneficial legislation for a particular group.
“Racism is racism, whether it’s done for a good reason or a bad reason,” Ms Finlay said.
And another motion asking the Abbott Government to be true to its Liberal roots and fight for freedom:
The West Australian branch ... also called on the federal government to remove the words “offend’’ and “insult’’ from Section 18C of the RDA [Racial Discrimination Act] as grounds.I don’t know what’s in the water in Western Australia but they should bottle it.
The present law prohibits statements which may insult or offend people based on race and was used to prosecute media commentator Andrew Bolt.
The Abbott Coalition government has backed away from changes to Section 18C, arguing such a move would impede progress on other policy areas…
A Day at the Beach I visited this piece of shoreline which is close by to Duncan's Point where my brother Randy and...
Posted by Matt Granz on Sunday, 28 June 2015
Peter McEvoy
Executive Producer
Q&A
Dear Mr McEvoy
Executive Producer
Q&A
Dear Mr McEvoy
Given that the ABC has failed to apologise unequivocally for giving an open microphone to a convicted criminal and terrorist sympathiser on last week's Q&A, I will no longer be participating in tonight's program.
The Menzies Research Centre is a public policy think tank, not a political player. The reputation of our ongoing public policy research must be protected.
It is unfortunate that senior figures within the ABC understand neither the gravity of their error nor its consequences - a failure confirmed by Managing Director Mark Scott's speech last week and Barrie Cassidy's extraordinary interview with Malcolm Turnbull yesterday.
In the current circumstances, there is little prospect of a fair-minded and balanced discussion on Q&A of the kind in which the MRC seeks to participate.
Nick Cater
Executive Director
Menzies Research Centre
It can be tough to write after a bit of a lull. Here's some advice for getting back into the groove: http://bit.ly/1QO8WWc
Posted by Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing on Sunday, 28 June 2015
KK: Hahhaa!
Posted by 97.7 HTZ-FM on Thursday, 3 July 2014
===
Journalist jailed to silence critics
Piers Akerman – Sunday, June 29, 2014 (6:51am)
AWARD-winning Australian journalist Peter Greste intended to cover the cauldron of Middle Eastern politics not become the story.
Yet with his sentencing to a seven-year term on a charge of reporting false news he has focused attention on the rotten Egyptian regime and the web of international alliances that are helping to prop up the goverment of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.
Greste has not committed any crime other than cover the news. But he was working for the Qatar-owned al-Jazeera which the Egyptians see as aligned to the repressive Muslim Brotherhood.
Al-Sisi’s military supporters toppled Egypt’s Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in a coup that was backed by the Saudis, who see the Muslim Brotherhood as a threat to their hold on their kingdom.
Greste and his colleagues Mohamed Fahmy and Baher Mohamed are proxies in Egypt’s jihad against the Muslim Brotherhood.
In the first message relayed by his brothers Mike and Andrew since he was sentenced, Peter Greste said he would do everything possible to have the conviction overturned.
“Throughout this trial the prosecutor has consistently failed to present a single piece of concrete evidence to support the outrageous allegations against us,” he said.
“The verdict confirms that our trial was never simply about the charges against us. It has been an attempt to use the court to intimidate and silence critical voices in the media.”
Anyone who followed the farcical process would have to agree. The prosecution presented video material from networks about events that had nothing to with Egyptian politics or al-Jazeera.
Three prosecution witnesses recanted during the trial, admitting they didn’t know whether the three journalists had undermined national security.
Ten-year sentences were also handed to British journalists Sue Turton and Dominic Kane and the Dutch reporter Rena Netjes, who were tried in absentia. Court papers show Netjes’ name was spelled incorrectly and a wrong passport number cited, but that made no difference.
I’m not a great fan of al-Jazeera, which has been the terrorists’ channel of choice since Osama bin Laden favoured it with his videoed cave-mouth monologues, and have always thought its commentators took a view to the Left of that held by the biased BBC.
But Greste is a news reporter not a commentator and did his best to present the facts.
The question facing fair-minded people around the world is how to ensure that Greste and his colleagues are released as soon as possible.
Hysterical screeching from politicians like Greens leader Christine Milne is totally counterproductive and having anyone from the Greens or the Labor Party stand up and gibber about the free speech is disgustingly hypocritical given both parties’ attacks on courageous sections of the Australian press in recent years.
It’s probably best the ABC stays well out of the picture, too, given its role in damaging Australia’s relations with Indonesia and subsequent curtailment of beef exports and its work in assisting renegade US defector Edward Snowden publicise his theft of intelligence secrets.
The European Union gives Egypt more than $8.5 billion in assistance annually, and Saudi, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates give $12 billion. That’s not going to stop and any action taken unilaterally by Australia wouldn’t be noticed.
The best chance for Greste and his colleagues is for Australia to ask its international friends, the US, particularly, whether they will assist its diplomatic efforts. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop has already spoken with the US Ambassador, the EU representative, ambassadors from the Gulf States, and the Latvian foreign minister — Greste’s parents Lois and Juris, are from Latvia.
The US, which supplies more than $1.5 billion in military and other aid annually, is unlikely to agree to any cutbacks as it sees Egypt as a valuable ally against the terrorists who constantly attempt to invade Israel, the only liberal democracy in the region.
But US Secretary of State John Kerry may be inclined to assist in working for the release of the journalists as Egypt made him look like a fool last week when it hosted him at an event at which he promised to release previously withheld funds and praised Egypt’s leadership transition and called for an improvement in its human rights record the day before the harsh sentences were announced. Kerry condemned them immediately as “chilling and draconian”.
From his cell, Greste sent the message: “We must all remain committed to fight this gross injustice for as long as necessary.”
This is not just about a journalist: every freedom-loving person should be as committed to righting this massive wrong.
HOUSE, SHED, TREE, GRAVITY
Tim Blair – Sunday, June 29, 2014 (5:41pm)
Let’s see how this works out:
YOU’RE IN TROUBLE, TODD CARNEY
Tim Blair – Sunday, June 29, 2014 (4:13pm)
Andrew Johns defends Cronulla Sharks player Todd Carney following the latest NRL outrage:
Surely they couldn’t sack him for that … he is only doing it to himself.
It turns out that they can sack him. Nate Myles and Julian O’Neill are now joined by Carney on the list of NRL players who have mistaken other objects for toilets – respectively a hotel hallway, a shoe, and his own mouth.
UNCHANGED POLL CHANGES
Tim Blair – Sunday, June 29, 2014 (10:57am)
Melbourne street artist Sayraphim Lothian alleges electoral tampering at the frightbat poll:
The original post has now been changed, a number of paragraphs have been removed entirely and some of the remaining language has been softened, it still remains as the latest in a long line of attacks on women who speak out about injustice and hate speech.
She’s wrong. Nothing at all has been changed, removed or softened. It is as it ever was. You know, it’s possible that Sayraphim’s initial impression of the post was gained through hysterical Twitter overreaction, which could not be reconciled with the mild and inoffensive words she eventually read; so something must have been changed!
Incidentally, Margo is now winning. The tyrannical reign of Queenbat Clementine is over!
LEFTY TOONISTS LOVE APES
Tim Blair – Sunday, June 29, 2014 (2:27am)
Fairfax’s David Pope may owe some primate credit to the Guardian‘s Steve Bell:
Always with the apes. Fairfax’s John Shakespeare is also a monkey man.
Always with the apes. Fairfax’s John Shakespeare is also a monkey man.
The Bolt Report today, June 29
Andrew Bolt June 29 2014 (4:23pm)
On Sunday on Channel 10 at 10am and 4pm…
Editorial: Clive Palmer and Al Gore do each other a nice little favor. Journalists fooled.
My guest: Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews on new plans to reform welfare and handouts.
The panel: former Gillard media advisor Sean Kelly and former Howard chief of staff Grahame Morris.
NewsWatch: Gerard Henderson.
Plus spin of the week, the dark side of al Jazeera and more.
UPDATE
Transcript of the interview with Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews:
Continue reading 'The Bolt Report today, June 29'
===Editorial: Clive Palmer and Al Gore do each other a nice little favor. Journalists fooled.
My guest: Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews on new plans to reform welfare and handouts.
The panel: former Gillard media advisor Sean Kelly and former Howard chief of staff Grahame Morris.
NewsWatch: Gerard Henderson.
Plus spin of the week, the dark side of al Jazeera and more.
UPDATE
Transcript of the interview with Social Services Minister Kevin Andrews:
THE BOLT REPORTThe videos of the shows appear here.
29 JUNE 2014
INTERVIEW WITH KEVIN ANDREWS
ANDREW BOLT, PRESENTER: The Government, last year, set up a review into reforming welfare payments, a review headed by Patrick McClure, former head of Mission Australia. Its interim report is released today and says taxpayers are now handing other Australians income support worth $100 billion a year. And what a tangle of handouts, around 20 different payments for pensioners, students, widows, the jobless, the sick, the disabled, partners, carers, students, whatever. Plus, 55 different supplement payments. Joining me is social security minister, Kevin Andrews. What a mess! What are you going to do about all of that?
KEVIN ANDREWS, SOCIAL SERVICES MINISTER: Well, as you described it, you can see how complex it has become, Andrew, and that’s because it’s been ad hoc decision on ad hoc decision over years and decades, and it’s time to try and simplify it, and what Mr McClure has done is provided a proposed new simple architecture for welfare in Australia.
ANDREW BOLT: How much could that save us, of that $100 billion?
KEVIN ANDREWS: Well, people just have trouble finding their way through the system, that’s a huge cost. It’s difficult to administer. There’s 4,000 pages of legislation, so -
ANDREW BOLT: So, your idea is to make it easier for them to claim welfare? I thought we were handing out too much!
KEVIN ANDREWS: No, not easier to claim it in the sense that, you know, people should just be able to rort the system, but people should
be able to understand the system, and what we’re proposing is four, four basic streams of payments. The aged pension, people who have got a genuine disability and an incapacity to work, working age payment, which also encourages people to get into work where they can, and then a payment around having children.
ANDREW BOLT: Right, OK, and you reckon that’ll save us a bit of money?
KEVIN ANDREWS: It will certainly save money if you can, if you can simplify the system. It’ll save government money, but if the administration of it is so complex, we just have to do something about it.
ANDREW BOLT: Now, this report to you from McClure says, “Income management could be considered for disadvantaged young people who don’t have a job and need more skills”. Are you going to start controlling how young unemployed spend their dole?
KEVIN ANDREWS: What we’re doing now, we’ve got trials in parts of Australia, which started in the Northern Territory, to income manage for people in situations where they need that.
ANDREW BOLT: That‘s traditionally been, almost exclusively, Aboriginal recipients –
KEVIN ANDREWS: Well, the trials, the trials in other parts of Australia, for example, in Shepparton, in Victoria, and other parts of Australia, it’s not exclusively for indigenous people. It’s broader than that, and our view is, that, where it’s appropriate, it shouldn’t be related to race, or whether a person’s indigenous or not, it should be related to their circumstances. Now, this is something which we are committed to, we are rolling out a new program this year, or starting one in Ceduna, in South Australia and through this process, we hope that we’ll be able to roll it out more nationally.
ANDREW BOLT: So, at the moment, around 24,000 people are on it,
again, many Aboriginal. You expect that number to rise?
KEVIN ANDREWS: I do, because we‘ve got to get the architecture of this right, as well. Part of it is costly to do, because of the counselling and the case management aspects of it. But, one of the things we are looking at, and which the Forest Report is looking at, is a more widespread use of, essentially, a basics card.
ANDREW BOLT: So, if you’re young and unemployed, how would that look?
KEVIN ANDREWS: Well, it’d look in terms of, there are certain things which you can spend your money on, and certain things which you can’t.
ANDREW BOLT: So, they want to go to the bottle shop, and you say, what?
KEVIN ANDREWS: We would say, you can have a card, a bit like a debit card now, that precludes certain expenditure on that card. So, you could, for example, preclude expenditure on alcohol.
ANDREW BOLT: Oh, so, you get a card, you go to the bottle shop, and they say, “oh sorry, transaction declined”.
KEVIN ANDREWS: Yes, and you would know that. So, just like, you know, when you go, some cards that you use to fill up your car with petrol, it will enable you to put petrol in the car, but won’t enable you to go and buy something else from the shop, associated with the service station. So, that technology is there, it’s a question of how you can roll it out in relation to welfare.
ANDREW BOLT: All young unemployed, or young unemployed who are having trouble?
KEVIN ANDREWS: Well this is what, this is what we are having the consultations about. We’re waiting – Mr Forest has given his draft report in relation to this, so –
ANDREW BOLT: So, possibly, all young unemployed?
Continue reading 'The Bolt Report today, June 29'Leyonhjelm promises a great fight
Andrew Bolt June 29 2014 (11:34am)
David Leyonhjelm takes up his seat in the Senate next week and promises plenty that’s good:
===The first of July 2014 will be my first day as a Senator, representing NSW and the Liberal Democratic Party. I hope history will say it was the day we got to work putting Godzilla back in its cage....(Thanks to reader Streetcred.)
Godzilla is that blundering monster that our governments have become, with their hands in our pocket and noses in every room of our house....
In my term in Parliament, I want to convince Australians to reconsider whether handing their money over to the government is better than keeping it themselves. I want them to understand that disapproving of something does not justify it being prohibited or heavily regulated. I want them to understand the connection between the liberties they care about and the liberty of others, and to understand that individual freedom is universal, precious and must be fiercely protected… We need more people in the Senate intent on putting Godzilla back in its cage, but in the meantime I will bring argument, reason, pleading and occasionally, blackmail, to the fight.
Tax axe safe: John Madigan denies he’d vote against the carbon tax repeal.
Andrew Bolt June 29 2014 (6:34am)
The carbon tax is gone, despite claims that Ricky Muir might break free from Clive Palmer’s grip:
===Prime Minister Tony Abbott has the numbers to abolish the carbon tax. Democratic Labour Party senator John Madigan said on Friday he would back the carbon tax repeal bills, scotching reports that an alliance of three could frustrate the Abbott government’s number one priority vote in the new Senate.Readere Peter of Bellevue Hill adds:
Senator Madigan told Fairfax Media it was an ‘’absolute crock’’ that he would join Victorian senator-elect Ricky Muir and South Australian independent Nick Xenophon in making their support contingent on the government retaining Labor’s $1.6 billion automotive transformation scheme…
‘’I have never spoken to Ricky Muir or anyone associated with Ricky Muir and I resent people putting words in my mouth,’’ Senator Madigan said.
He said the DLP had gone to the election promising to stand against the carbon tax and that position had not changed, even though he was concerned about what funding cuts to the auto scheme would do to jobs as local car manufacturers cease production by 2017. Senator Xenophon said he had not come to a decision on the carbon tax… Mr Muir, who is due to meet with the government’s Senate leader, Eric Abetz, next week, said through a spokesman he was concerned at the potential for thousands of job losses in the auto sector but had not made any decision on how he would vote.
AB, it appears most of the elements of Peter van Onselen’s story on Fridaywere simply wrong.Still, it got a good run.
It’s the duty of extremists to fit in, not ours to give in
Andrew Bolt June 29 2014 (5:48am)
To think our diplomats helped him get out of trouble with Saudi Arabia, where his brother remains jailed:
Dr Yassir Morsi, researcher at the International Centre for Muslim and Non-Muslim Understanding at the University of South Australia, last week on 3AW rationalised a hatred and a threat that he should have deplored:
About Morsi, note we pay him to peddle victimisation policies that put the responsibility for change on Australia, and not jihadists:
===Foreign Minister Julie Bishop says a West Australian man is being investigated after appearing online in a video railing against the West, entitled ‘The Status of Women in Islam’…Would we have had a deal had a politician warned beforehand that taking in Muslim immigrants came with an obligation to dump Israel and turn against the West - or risk danger?
In the video, Junaid Thorne appears in front of a version of the black flag of Jihad popular across the Middle East, including with the Sunni insurgent group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), which is also known as ISIL.
“ISIL is a prescribed terrorist organisation and it is an offence to support or promote or engage with terrorist organisations and can be punishiable by severe penalties,” Bishop said.
Mr Thorne is not known to have vocalised his support for ISIL…
West Australian Noongar man Thorne is known to authorities after Saudi Arabian authorities jailed then freed his brother on terrorism-related offences…
In a video speech, delivered mostly in English but partly in Arabic, he rails against injustices being perpetrated against Muslims, calling for Muslim men to “defend our sisters”. “Look at other parts of the world. Our sisters being raped by filthy Jews and Christians,” Thorne says in the video.
Dr Yassir Morsi, researcher at the International Centre for Muslim and Non-Muslim Understanding at the University of South Australia, last week on 3AW rationalised a hatred and a threat that he should have deplored:
A lot of young Muslims… feel, without taking that leap, without taking that jump to go and fight [with jihadists overseas] that their own sense of worth has to be won through themselves and not through showing faith to a state [Australia] which they feel hasn’t shown any faith to them and continually, globally, politically, has not given the time to express their concerns about issues such as Israel, Syria, so forth. It is just a complete lack of faith in the system and when that happens they’ll go beyond it… Come on, you don’t feel that people of minority status just feel a little bit alienated? That news to you, really? … A lot of Muslims feel it…Morsi confirms what is usually denounced by his sort as xenophobia - that immigrants, particularly of Muslim countries, cannot be assumed to be loyal to their new country, and can switch their allegiance to what we’d agree are terrorist groups. Morsi suggests the answer is Australia should change. Many Australians would have a neater and safer solution.
[Many Muslims] have their own coorrdinates and world view about the way the world should be run but when that’s matched by an inability by our existing political institutions and politicians to represent great concerns that a lot of people have then I don’t think we should be surprised that there are some Muslims out there who have no loyalty to Australia. I’m not quite sure what the shock is… There is plenty of anger out there…
Loyalty here should be seen two ways…
I agree people should show a level of concern for their neighbours and their country… If you want young Muslims to feel that they ought to have loyalty to Australia then there are a series of issues that need to be addressed one of which is of course dealing with the fact that many of them don’t feel represented.... from historical grounds, to inequalities to xenophobia and racism… I think this discussion about loyalty favors one side. It comes out of this idea that Australia is a host, we’ve given you hope, we’ve given you opportunity, why have you turned on us?
About Morsi, note we pay him to peddle victimisation policies that put the responsibility for change on Australia, and not jihadists:
His main area of research is the critical analysis of contemporary racism and Islamophobia. He looks at the struggles facing Muslim minorities living in a secular, postcolonial and liberal west. Yassir was president of the University of Melbourne Islamic society as well as the peak student body in Victoria. He has been an active member of the Muslim community engaging with young Muslims in numerous community projects.
That pleading woman in Gillard’s office
Andrew Bolt June 29 2014 (5:04am)
I’m not surprised poor Shorten thought it crass:
===Author Mary Delahunty was “embedded’’ in the Prime Minister’s office for six months to write the book ["Gravity — Inside the Prime Minister’s office during her final year and last days"] at the request of Ms Gillard and chief of staff Ben Hubbard. But her presence infuriated staff who were worried she was recording private conversations.Et tu, Brute?
Her book suggests they shouldn’t have worried, an unabashed Labor supporter, Ms Delahunty is an unabashed supporter. At one stage in the book she grasps the hand of Bill Shorten begging him to stick the course with Australia’s first female Prime Minister. Ms Delahunty writes the approach makes him grimace.
Ms Gillard also reveals that the decision of Senator Penny Wong to defect to the Rudd camp was a body blow that sealed her fate and has a jab at Labor frontbencher Jason Clare.
“Yesterday when Minister Jason Clare came in to tell her he could not vote for her, she asked why,’’ Delahunty writes.
“It’s about my seat,’’ Clare replies. “No,’’ she countered. “It’s about principle.”
“Senior Minister Penny Wong came to her in tears. She, too, was abandoning Gillard. Why? “It’s the South Australian seats,’’ Wong replies. “I knew then that I’d lost it,’’ Gillard said.
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June 29: Ramadan begins (Islam, 2014); Feast of Saints Peter and Paul(Christianity, Gregorian calendar)
- 1864 – Canada's worst railway accident took place when a passenger train fell through an open swing bridge into the Richelieu River near present-day Mont-Saint-Hilaire, Quebec.
- 1889 – Hyde Park and several other Illinois townships voted to be annexed by Chicago, forming the largest city in area in the United States and second largest in population.
- 1914 – During the second day of the anti-Serb riots in Sarajevo(pictured), numerous buildings owned by ethnic Serbs were vandalized and looted.
- 1950 – In one of the greatest upsets in sporting history, the United Statesdefeated England during the 1950 FIFA World Cup.
- 1974 – Russian dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov defected from the Soviet Union while on tour with the Bolshoi Ballet in Toronto.
- 226 – Cao Pi dies after an illness; his son Cao Rui succeeds him as emperor of the Kingdom of Wei.
- 1149 – Raymond of Poitiers is defeated and killed at the Battle of Inab by Nur ad-Din Zangi.
- 1194 – Sverre is crowned King of Norway.
- 1444 – Skanderbeg defeats an Ottoman invasion force at Torvioll.
- 1534 – Jacques Cartier is the first European to reach Prince Edward Island.
- 1613 – The Globe Theatre in London burns to the ground.
- 1644 – Charles I of England defeats a Parliamentarian detachment at the Battle of Cropredy Bridge.
- 1659 – At the Battle of Konotop the Ukrainian armies of Ivan Vyhovsky defeat the Russians led by Prince Trubetskoy.
- 1786 – Alexander Macdonell and over five hundred Roman Catholic highlanders leave Scotland to settle in Glengarry County, Ontario.
- 1807 – Russo-Turkish War: Admiral Dmitry Senyavin destroys the Ottoman fleet in the Battle of Athos.
- 1850 – Autocephaly officially granted by the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople to the Church of Greece.
- 1864 – Ninety-nine people are killed in Canada's worst railway disaster near St-Hilaire, Quebec.
- 1874 – Greek politician Charilaos Trikoupis publishes a manifesto in the Athens daily Kairoi entitled "Who's to Blame?" leveling complaints against King George. Trikoupis is elected Prime Minister of Greece the next year.
- 1880 – France annexes Tahiti.
- 1881 – In Sudan, Muhammad Ahmad declares himself to be the Mahdi, the messianic redeemer of Islam.
- 1888 – George Edward Gouraud records Handel's Israel in Egypt onto a phonograph cylinder, thought for many years to be the oldest known recording of music.
- 1889 – Hyde Park and several other Illinois townships vote to be annexed by Chicago, forming the largest United States city in area and second largest in population at the time.
- 1915 – The North Saskatchewan River flood of 1915 is the worst flood in Edmonton history.
- 1916 – British diplomat turned Irish nationalist Roger Casement is sentenced to death for his part in the Easter Rising.
- 1922 – France grants 1 km² at Vimy Ridge "freely, and for all time, to the Government of Canada, the free use of the land exempt from all taxes".
- 1927 – The Bird of Paradise, a U.S. Army Air Corps Fokker tri-motor, completes the first transpacific flight, from the mainland United States to Hawaii.
- 1945 – Carpathian Ruthenia is annexed by the Soviet Union.
- 1950 – Korean War: U.S. President Harry S. Truman authorizes a sea blockade of Korea.
- 1956 – The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 is signed, officially creating the United States Interstate Highway System.
- 1972 – The United States Supreme Court rules in the case Furman v. Georgia that arbitrary and inconsistent imposition of the death penalty violates the Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments, and constitutes cruel and unusual punishment.
- 1974 – Isabel Perón is sworn in as the first female President of Argentina.
- 1974 – Mikhail Baryshnikov defects from the Soviet Union to Canada while on tour with the Kirov Ballet.
- 1975 – Steve Wozniak tested his first prototype of Apple I computer.
- 1976 – The Seychelles become independent from the United Kingdom.
- 1976 – The Conference of Communist and Workers Parties of Europe convenes in East Berlin.
- 1987 – Vincent Van Gogh’s painting, the Le Pont de Trinquetaille, was bought for $20.4 million at an auction in London, England.
- 1995 – Space Shuttle program: STS-71 Mission (Atlantis) docks with the Russian space station Mir for the first time.
- 1995 – The Sampoong Department Store collapses in the Seocho District of Seoul, South Korea, killing 501 and injuring 937.
- 2002 – Naval clashes between South Korea and North Korea lead to the death of six South Korean sailors and sinking of a North Korean vessel.
- 2006 – Hamdan v. Rumsfeld: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that President George W. Bush's plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violates U.S. and international law.
- 2007 – Apple Inc. releases its first mobile phone, the iPhone.
- 2012 – A derecho sweeps across the eastern United States, leaving at least 22 people dead and millions without power.
- 2014 – The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant self-declared its caliphate in Syria and northern Iraq.
- 1136 – Petronilla of Aragon (d. 1173)
- 1326 – Murad I, Ottoman Sultan (d. 1389)
- 1398 – John II of Aragon and Navarre (d. 1479)
- 1443 – Anthony Browne, English knight (d. 1506)
- 1482 – Maria of Aragon, Queen of Portugal (d. 1517)
- 1488 – Pedro Pacheco de Villena, Catholic cardinal (d. 1560)
- 1517 – Rembert Dodoens, Flemish physician and botanist (d. 1585)
- 1525 – Peter Agricola, German humanist, theologian, diplomat and statesman (d. 1585)
- 1528 – Julius, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg (d. 1589)
- 1543 – Christine of Hesse, Duchess consort of Holstein-Gottorp (d. 1604)
- 1596 – Emperor Go-Mizunoo of Japan (d. 1680)
- 1621 – Willem van der Zaan, Dutch Admiral (d. 1669)
- 1746 – Joachim Heinrich Campe, German linguist, author, and educator (d. 1818)
- 1768 – Vincenzo Dimech, Maltese sculptor (d. 1831)
- 1793 – Josef Ressel, Czech-Austrian inventor, invented the propeller (d. 1857)
- 1798 – Willibald Alexis, German author and poet (d. 1871)
- 1798 – Giacomo Leopardi, Italian poet and philosopher (d. 1837)
- 1801 – Frédéric Bastiat, French economist and theorist (d. 1850)[1]
- 1803 – John Newton Brown, American minister and author (d. 1868)
- 1818 – Angelo Secchi, Italian astronomer and academic (d. 1878)
- 1819 – Thomas Dunn English, American poet, playwright, and politician (d. 1902)
- 1833 – Peter Waage, Norwegian chemist and academic (d. 1900)
- 1835 – Celia Thaxter, American poet and story writer (d. 1894)
- 1844 – Peter I of Serbia (d. 1921)
- 1849 – Pedro Montt, Chilean lawyer and politician, 15th President of Chile (d. 1910)
- 1849 – Sergei Witte, Russian politician, 1st Chairmen of Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire (d. 1915)
- 1849 – John Hunn, American businessman and politician, 51st Governor of Delaware (d. 1926)
- 1858 – George Washington Goethals, American general and engineer, co-designed the Panama Canal (d. 1928)
- 1858 – Julia Lathrop, American activist and politician (d. 1932)
- 1861 – William James Mayo, American physician and surgeon, co-founded the Mayo Clinic (d. 1939)
- 1863 – Wilbert Robinson, American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1934)
- 1866 – Bartholomeus Roodenburch, Dutch swimmer (d. 1939)
- 1868 – George Ellery Hale, American astronomer and journalist (d. 1938)
- 1870 – Joseph Carl Breil, American tenor, composer, and director (d. 1926)
- 1873 – Leo Frobenius, German ethnologist and archaeologist (d. 1938)
- 1879 – Benedetto Aloisi Masella, Italian cardinal (d. 1970)
- 1880 – Ludwig Beck, German general (d. 1944)
- 1881 – Harry Frazee, American director, producer, and agent (d. 1929)
- 1881 – Curt Sachs, German-American composer and musicologist (d. 1959)
- 1882 – Henry Hawtrey, English runner (d. 1961)
- 1882 – Franz Seldte, German captain and politician, Reich Minister for Labour (d. 1947)
- 1886 – Robert Schuman, Luxembourgian-French lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1963)
- 1888 – Squizzy Taylor, Australian gangster (d. 1927)
- 1889 – Willie Macfarlane, Scottish-American golfer (d. 1961)
- 1890 – Robert Laurent, American sculptor and academic (d. 1970)
- 1890 – Hendrikje van Andel-Schipper, Dutch supercentenarian (d. 2005)
- 1893 – Prasanta Chandra Mahalanobis, Indian economist and statistician (d. 1972)
- 1893 – Aarre Merikanto, Finnish composer and educator (d. 1958)
- 1897 – Fulgence Charpentier, Canadian journalist and publisher (d. 2001)
- 1898 – Yvonne Lefébure, French pianist and educator (d. 1986)
- 1900 – Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, French poet and pilot (d. 1944)
- 1901 – Nelson Eddy, American singer and actor (d. 1967)
- 1903 – Alan Blumlein, English engineer, developed the H2S radar (d. 1942)
- 1904 – Witold Hurewicz, Polish mathematician (d. 1956)
- 1906 – Ivan Chernyakhovsky, Ukrainian general (d. 1945)
- 1906 – Heinz Harmel, German general (d. 2000)
- 1908 – Leroy Anderson, American composer and conductor (d. 1975)
- 1908 – Erik Lundqvist, Swedish javelin thrower (d. 1963)
- 1910 – Frank Loesser, American composer and conductor (d. 1969)
- 1910 – Burgess Whitehead, American baseball player (d. 1993)
- 1911 – Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (d. 2004)
- 1911 – Katherine DeMille, Canadian-American actress (d. 1995)
- 1911 – Bernard Herrmann, American composer and conductor (d. 1975)
- 1912 – José Pablo Moncayo, Mexican pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1958)
- 1912 – Émile Peynaud, French oenologist and academic (d. 2004)
- 1912 – John Toland, American historian and author (d. 2004)
- 1913 – Earle Meadows, American pole vaulter (d. 1992)
- 1914 – Rafael Kubelík, Czech-American conductor and composer (d. 1996)
- 1914 – Christos Papakyriakopoulos, Greek-American mathematician and academic (d. 1976)
- 1916 – Ruth Warrick, American actress and activist (d. 2005)
- 1917 – Ling Yun, Chinese politician (d. 2018)
- 1918 – Heini Lohrer, Swiss ice hockey player (d. 2011)
- 1918 – Gene La Rocque, U.S admiral (d. 2016)
- 1918 – Francis W. Nye, United States Air Force major general
- 1919 – Ernesto Corripio y Ahumada, Mexican cardinal (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Walter Babington Thomas, Commander of British Far East Land Forces (d. 2017)
- 1919 – Slim Pickens, American actor and rodeo performer (d. 1983)
- 1920 – César Rodríguez Álvarez, Spanish footballer and manager (d. 1995)
- 1920 – Ray Harryhausen, American animator and producer (d. 2013)
- 1920 – Nicole Russell, Duchess of Bedford (d. 2012)
- 1921 – Frédéric Dard, French author and screenwriter (d. 2000)
- 1921 – Jean Kent, English actress (d. 2013)
- 1921 – Reinhard Mohn, German businessman (d. 2009)
- 1921 – Harry Schell, French-American race car driver (d. 1960)
- 1922 – Ralph Burns, American songwriter, bandleader, composer, conductor, arranger and pianist (d. 2001)
- 1922 – Vasko Popa, Serbian poet and academic (d. 1991)
- 1922 – John William Vessey, Jr., American general (d. 2016)
- 1923 – Chou Wen-chung, Chinese-American composer and educator
- 1924 – Ezra Laderman, American composer and educator (d. 2015)
- 1924 – Roy Walford, American pathologist and gerontologist (d. 2004)
- 1924 – Philip H. Hoff, American politician (d. 2018)
- 1925 – Francis S. Currey, American World War II Medal of Honor recipient
- 1925 – Giorgio Napolitano, Italian journalist and politician, 11th President of Italy
- 1925 – Chan Parker, American dancer and author (d. 1999)
- 1925 – Jackie Lynn Taylor, American actress (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Cara Williams, American actress
- 1926 – Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Kuwaiti ruler, 3rd Emir of Kuwait (d. 2006)
- 1926 – Julius W. Becton, Jr., U.S lieutenant general
- 1926 – Roger Stuart Bacon, 21st Premier of Nova Scotia from 1990 to 1991.
- 1926 – Bobby Morgan, American professional baseball player
- 1927 – Pierre Perrault, Canadian director and screenwriter (d. 1999)
- 1927 – Marie Thérèse Killens, Canadian politician
- 1928 – Ian Bannen, Scottish actor (d. 1999)
- 1928 – Jean-Louis Pesch, French author and illustrator
- 1928 – Radius Prawiro, Indonesian economist and politician (d. 2005)
- 1929 – Pat Crawford Brown, American actress
- 1929 – Pete George, American weightlifter
- 1929 – Oriana Fallaci, Italian journalist and author (d. 2006)
- 1930 – Ernst Albrecht, German economist and politician, 6th Prime Minister of Lower Saxony (d. 2014)
- 1930 – Robert Evans, American actor and producer
- 1930 – Viola Léger, American-Canadian actress and politician
- 1930 – Sławomir Mrożek, Polish-French author and playwright (d. 2013)
- 1931 – Sevim Burak, Turkish author (d. 1983)
- 1932 – Brian Hutton, Baron Hutton, British jurist; Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland
- 1933 – Bob Shaw, American baseball player and manager (d. 2010)
- 1933 – John Bradshaw, American theologian and author (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Corey Allen, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2010)
- 1935 – Vassilis C. Constantakopoulos, Greek captain and businessman (d. 2011)
- 1935 – Katsuya Nomura, Japanese baseball player and manager
- 1936 – Harmon Killebrew, American baseball player and sportscaster (d. 2011)
- 1939 – Alan Connolly, Australian cricketer
- 1939 – Amarildo Tavares da Silveira, Brazilian footballer and coach
- 1940 – Vyacheslav Artyomov, Russian composer
- 1940 – John Dawes, Welsh rugby player and coach
- 1941 – John Boccabella, American baseball player
- 1941 – Stokely Carmichael, Trinidadian-American activist (d. 1998)
- 1942 – Charlotte Bingham, English author and screenwriter
- 1942 – Mike Willesee, Australian journalist and producer
- 1943 – Little Eva, American singer (d. 2003)
- 1943 – Louis Nicollin, French entrepreneur and chairman of Montpellier HSC from 1974 to his death (d. 2017)
- 1944 – Gary Busey, American actor
- 1944 – Andreu Mas-Colell, Spanish economist, academic, and politician
- 1944 – Seán Patrick O'Malley, American cardinal
- 1945 – Chandrika Kumaratunga, Sri Lankan journalist and politician, 5th President of Sri Lanka
- 1946 – Ernesto Pérez Balladares, Panamanian politician, 33rd President of Panama
- 1946 – Egon von Fürstenberg, Swiss fashion designer (d. 2004)
- 1947 – Richard Lewis, American actor and screenwriter
- 1948 – Sean Bergin, South African-Dutch saxophonist and flute player (d. 2012)
- 1948 – Fred Grandy, American actor and politician
- 1948 – Ian Paice, English drummer, songwriter, and producer
- 1948 – Usha Prashar, Baroness Prashar, Kenyan-English politician
- 1949 – Dan Dierdorf, American football player and sportscaster
- 1949 – Joan Clos, Spanish anesthesiologist and politician, 116th Mayor of Barcelona
- 1949 – Ann Veneman, American lawyer and politician, 27th United States Secretary of Agriculture
- 1950 – Bobby London, American illustrator
- 1951 – Craig Sager, American sportscaster (d. 2016)
- 1953 – Don Dokken, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Dokken)
- 1953 – Colin Hay, Scottish-Australian singer and guitarist,
- 1954 – Rick Honeycutt, American baseball player and coach
- 1954 – Leovegildo Lins da Gama Júnior, Brazilian footballer, coach, and manager
- 1955 – Charles J. Precourt, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1956 – Nick Fry, English economist and businessman
- 1956 – David Burroughs Mattingly, American illustrator and painter
- 1956 – Pedro Guerrero, Dominican-American baseball player and manager
- 1956 – Pedro Santana Lopes, Portuguese lawyer and politician, 118th Prime Minister of Portugal
- 1956 – Pyotr Vasilevsky, Belarusian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
- 1957 – Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow, Turkmen dentist and politician, 2nd President of Turkmenistan
- 1957 – María Conchita Alonso, Cuban-Venezuelan singer and actress
- 1957 – Robert Forster, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1957 – Michael Nutter, American politician, 98th Mayor of Philadelphia
- 1957 – Terry Wyatt, English physicist and academic
- 1958 – Dieter Althaus, German politician
- 1958 – Rosa Mota, Portuguese runner
- 1961 – Sharon Lawrence, American actress, singer, and dancer
- 1962 – Amanda Donohoe, English actress
- 1962 – Joan Laporta, Spanish lawyer and politician
- 1962 – George D. Zamka, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut
- 1963 – Anne-Sophie Mutter, German violinist
- 1964 – Stedman Pearson, English singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1965 – Tripp Eisen, American guitarist
- 1965 – Paul Jarvis, English cricketer
- 1966 – Yoko Kamio, Japanese author and comic artist
- 1967 – Jeff Burton, American race car driver
- 1967 – Melora Hardin, American actress and singer
- 1967 – Seamus McGarvey, Northern Irish cinematographer
- 1968 – Brian d'Arcy James, American actor and musician
- 1968 – Theoren Fleury, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968 – Judith Hoag, American actress and educator
- 1969 – Claude Béchard, Canadian politician (d. 2010)
- 1969 – Pavlos Dermitzakis, Greek footballer and manager
- 1969 – Tōru Hashimoto, Japanese lawyer and politician
- 1970 – Melanie Paschke, German sprinter
- 1970 – Emily Skinner, American actress and singer
- 1971 – Matthew Good, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1973 – George Hincapie, American cyclist
- 1976 – Daniel Carlsson, Swedish race car driver
- 1976 – Bret McKenzie, New Zealand comedian, actor, musician, songwriter, and producer
- 1977 – Sotiris Liberopoulos, Greek footballer
- 1977 – Zuleikha Robinson, English actress
- 1978 – Nicole Scherzinger, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
- 1979 – Matthew Bode, Australian footballer
- 1979 – Andy O'Brien, English footballer
- 1979 – Marleen Veldhuis, Dutch swimmer
- 1980 – Katherine Jenkins, Welsh soprano and actress
- 1981 – Luke Branighan, Australian rugby league player
- 1981 – Joe Johnson, American basketball player
- 1981 – Nicolás Vuyovich, Argentinian race car driver (d. 2005)
- 1981 – Shmuly Yanklowitz, American rabbi, author, and educator
- 1982 – Dusty Hughes, American baseball player
- 1982 – Lily Rabe, American actress
- 1983 – Aundrea Fimbres, American singer-songwriter and dancer
- 1983 – Jeremy Powers, American cyclist
- 1984 – Aleksandr Shustov, Russian high jumper
- 1985 – Quintin Demps, American football player
- 1986 – José Manuel Jurado, Spanish footballer
- 1986 – Edward Maya, Romanian singer-songwriter and producer
- 1987 – Ana Free, Portuguese singer-songwriter
- 1987 – Ilya Shesterkov, Russian footballer
- 1988 – Éver Banega, Argentinian footballer
- 1990 – Kim Little, Scottish footballer
- 1990 – Yann M'Vila, French footballer
- 1991 – Suk Hyun-jun, South Korean footballer
- 1991 – Kawhi Leonard, American basketball player
- 1991 – R. Jeeva, Indian Tamil Musician
- 1994 – Camila Mendes, American actress and model
- 1996 – Joseph Manu, New Zealand rugby league player
- 2006 – Sam Lavagnino, American child voice actor
- 226 – Cao Pi, Chinese emperor (b. 187)
- 884 – Yang Shili, general of the Tang Dynasty
- 976 – Gero, archbishop of Cologne
- 1059 – Bernard II, Duke of Saxony (b. 995)
- 1149 – Raymond of Poitiers, Prince of Antioch (b. 1115)
- 1153 – Óláfr Guðrøðarson, King of the Isles
- 1252 – Abel, King of Denmark (b. 1218)
- 1293 – Henry of Ghent, philosopher (b. c.1217)
- 1315 – Ramon Llull, Spanish philosopher (b. 1235)
- 1344 – Joan of Savoy, duchess consort of Brittany, throne claimant of Savoy (b. 1310)
- 1374 – Jan Milíč of Kroměříž, Czech priest and reformer
- 1432 – Janus of Cyprus (b. 1375)
- 1509 – Margaret Beaufort, Countess of Richmond and Derby (b. 1443)
- 1520 – Moctezuma II, Aztec ruler (b. 1466)
- 1575 – Baba Nobuharu, Japanese samurai (b. 1515)
- 1594 – Niels Kaas, Danish politician, Chancellor of Denmark (b. 1535)
- 1626 – Scipione Cobelluzzi, Italian cardinal and archivist (b. 1564)
- 1646 – Laughlin Ó Cellaigh, Gaelic-Irish Lord
- 1725 – Arai Hakuseki, Japanese philosopher, academic, and politician (b. 1657)
- 1729 – Edward Taylor, American-English poet, pastor, and physician (b. circa 1642)
- 1744 – André Campra, French composer and conductor (b. 1660)
- 1764 – Ralph Allen, English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1693)
- 1779 – Anton Raphael Mengs, German painter (b. 1728)
- 1831 – Heinrich Friedrich Karl vom und zum Stein, Prussian minister and politician (b. 1757)
- 1840 – Lucien Bonaparte, French prince (b. 1775)
- 1852 – Henry Clay, American lawyer and politician, 9th United States Secretary of State (b. 1777)
- 1853 – Adrien-Henri de Jussieu, French botanist and academic (b. 1797)
- 1855 – John Gorrie, American physician and humanitarian (b. 1803)
- 1860 – Thomas Addison, English physician and endocrinologist (b. 1793)
- 1861 – Elizabeth Barrett Browning, English poet and translator (b. 1806)
- 1873 – Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Indian poet and playwright (b. 1824)
- 1875 – Ferdinand I of Austria (b. 1793)
- 1895 – Thomas Henry Huxley, English biologist (b. 1825)
- 1900 – Ivan Mikheevich Pervushin, Russian mathematician and academic (b. 1827)
- 1907 – Konstantinos Volanakis, Greek painter and academic (b. 1837)
- 1919 – José Gregorio Hernández Venezuelan physician and educator (b. 1864)
- 1931 – Nérée Beauchemin, Canadian poet and physician (b. 1850)
- 1933 – Roscoe Arbuckle, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1887)
- 1935 – Jack O'Neill, Irish-American baseball player and manager (b. 1873)
- 1936 – János Szlepecz, Slovene priest and missionary (b. 1872)
- 1940 – Paul Klee, Swiss painter and illustrator (b. 1879)
- 1941 – Ignacy Jan Paderewski, Polish pianist, composer, and politician, 2nd Prime Minister of Poland (b. 1860)
- 1942 – Paul Troje, German politician, Mayor of Marburg (b. 1864)
- 1949 – Themistoklis Sofoulis, Greek politician, 115th Prime Minister of Greece (b. 1860)
- 1955 – Max Pechstein, German painter and academic (b. 1881)
- 1960 – Frank Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (b. 1885)
- 1964 – Eric Dolphy, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1928)
- 1967 – Primo Carnera, Italian boxer and actor (b. 1906)
- 1967 – Jayne Mansfield, American actress (b. 1933)
- 1969 – Moise Tshombe, Congolese accountant and politician, Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1919)
- 1971 – Nestor Mesta Chayres, Mexican operatic tenor and bolero vocalist (b. 1908)
- 1975 – Tim Buckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1947)
- 1978 – Bob Crane, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1979 – Lowell George, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (b. 1945)
- 1981 – Russell Drysdale, English-Australian painter (b. 1912)
- 1982 – Pierre Balmain, French fashion designer, founded Balmain (b. 1914)
- 1982 – Henry King, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1886)
- 1986 – Frank Wise, Australian politician, 16th Premier of Western Australia (b. 1897)
- 1990 – Irving Wallace, American author and screenwriter (b. 1916)
- 1992 – Mohamed Boudiaf, Algerian soldier and politician, President of Algeria (b. 1919)
- 1993 – Héctor Lavoe, Puerto Rican-American singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
- 1994 – Kurt Eichhorn, German conductor and educator (b. 1908)
- 1995 – Lana Turner, American actress (b. 1921)
- 1997 – William Hickey, American actor (b. 1927)
- 1998 – Horst Jankowski, German pianist and composer (b. 1936)
- 1999 – Karekin I, Syrian-Armenian patriarch (b. 1950)
- 1999 – Allan Carr, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1937)
- 2000 – Vittorio Gassman, Italian actor and director (b. 1922)
- 2002 – Rosemary Clooney, American singer and actress (b. 1928)
- 2003 – Katharine Hepburn, American actress (b. 1907)
- 2004 – Bernard Babior, American physician and biochemist (b. 1935)
- 2004 – Alvin Hamilton, Canadian lieutenant and politician, 18th Canadian Minister of Agriculture (b. 1912)
- 2006 – Fabián Bielinsky, Argentinian director and screenwriter (b. 1959)
- 2006 – Randy Walker, American football player and coach (b. 1954)
- 2007 – Fred Saberhagen, American soldier and author (b. 1930)
- 2007 – Joel Siegel, American journalist and critic (b. 1943)
- 2009 – Joe Bowman, American marksman, target shooter and boot-maker (b. 1925)
- 2011 – K. D. Sethna, Indian poet, scholar, writer, philosopher, and cultural critic (b. 1904)
- 2012 – Yong Nyuk Lin, Singaporean politician, Singaporean Minister of Health (b. 1918)
- 2012 – Vincent Ostrom, American political scientist and academic (b. 1919)
- 2012 – Juan Reccius, Chilean triple jumper (b. 1911)
- 2012 – Floyd Temple, American baseball player, coach, and manager (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Peter Fitzgerald, Irish footballer and manager (b. 1937)
- 2013 – Jack Gotta, American-Canadian football player, coach, and manager (b. 1929)
- 2013 – Margherita Hack, Italian astrophysicist and author (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Gilma Jiménez, Colombian politician (b. 1956)
- 2014 – Damian D'Oliveira, South African cricketer (b. 1960)
- 2014 – Dermot Healy, Irish author, poet, and playwright (b. 1947)
- 2015 – Hisham Barakat, Egyptian lawyer and judge (b. 1950)
- 2015 – Josef Masopust, Czech footballer and coach (b. 1931)
- 2015 – Charles Pasqua, French businessman and politician, French Minister of the Interior (b. 1927)
- 2017 – Louis Nicollin, French entrepreneur and chairman of Montpellier HSC from 1974 to his death (b. 1943)
- 2017 – Dave Semenko, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1957)
- Christian feast day:
- Cassius of Narni
- Feast of Saints Peter and Paul (Western Christianity), and its related observances:
- June 29 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
- Engineer's Day (Ecuador)
- Independence Day (Seychelles), celebrates the independence of Seychelles from the United Kingdom in 1976.
- Veterans' Day (Netherlands)
“The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
Morning
It is ever the Holy Spirit's work to turn our eyes away from self to Jesus; but Satan's work is just the opposite of this, for he is constantly trying to make us regard ourselves instead of Christ. He insinuates, "Your sins are too great for pardon; you have no faith; you do not repent enough; you will never be able to continue to the end; you have not the joy of his children; you have such a wavering hold of Jesus." All these are thoughts about self, and we shall never find comfort or assurance by looking within. But the Holy Spirit turns our eyes entirely away from self: he tells us that we are nothing, but that "Christ is all in all." Remember, therefore, it is not thy hold of Christ that saves thee--it is Christ; it is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee--it is Christ; it is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument--it is Christ's blood and merits; therefore, look not so much to thy hand with which thou art grasping Christ, as to Christ; look not to thy hope, but to Jesus, the source of thy hope; look not to thy faith, but to Jesus, the author and finisher of thy faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings; it is what Jesus is, not what we are, that gives rest to the soul. If we would at once overcome Satan and have peace with God, it must be by "looking unto Jesus." Keep thine eye simply on him; let his death, his sufferings, his merits, his glories, his intercession, be fresh upon thy mind; when thou wakest in the morning look to him; when thou liest down at night look to him. Oh! let not thy hopes or fears come between thee and Jesus; follow hard after him, and he will never fail thee.
"My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness:
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus' name."
Evening
This incident is an instructive emblem of the sure victory of the divine handiwork over all opposition. Whenever a divine principle is cast into the heart, though the devil may fashion a counterfeit, and produce swarms of opponents, as sure as ever God is in the work, it will swallow up all its foes. If God's grace takes possession of a man, the world's magicians may throw down all their rods; and every rod may be as cunning and poisonous as a serpent, but Aaron's rod will swallow up their rods. The sweet attractions of the cross will woo and win the man's heart, and he who lived only for this deceitful earth will now have an eye for the upper spheres, and a wing to mount into celestial heights. When grace has won the day the worldling seeks the world to come. The same fact is to be observed in the life of the believer. What multitudes of foes has our faith had to meet! Our old sins--the devil threw them down before us, and they turned to serpents. What hosts of them! Ah, but the cross of Jesus destroys them all. Faith in Christ makes short work of all our sins. Then the devil has launched forth another host of serpents in the form of worldly trials, temptations, unbelief; but faith in Jesus is more than a match for them, and overcomes them all. The same absorbing principle shines in the faithful service of God! With an enthusiastic love for Jesus difficulties are surmounted, sacrifices become pleasures, sufferings are honours. But if religion is thus a consuming passion in the heart, then it follows that there are many persons who profess religion but have it not; for what they have will not bear this test. Examine yourself, my reader, on this point. Aaron's rod proved its heaven-given power. Is your religion doing so? If Christ be anything he must be everything. O rest not till love and faith in Jesus be the master passions of your soul!
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Joab
[Jō'ăb] - jehovah is a good father.
[Jō'ăb] - jehovah is a good father.
- A descendant of Caleb the son of Hur, a Judahite (1 Chron. 2:54).
- Son of Seraiah, grandson of Kenaz, associated with valley craftsmen (1 Chron. 4:13, 14).
- An Israelite whose posterity went up from Babylon with Zerubbabel (Ezra 2:6; Neh. 7:11).
- One whose descendants went up from Babylon with Ezra ( Ezra 8:9.)
- The son of David's half-sister, Zeruiah. This nephew of David became the most overbearing captain in his uncle's army (1 Sam. 26:6; 2 Sam. 2; 13).
The Man Who Was Overambitious
Joab was the first person to be thought of in Joab's mind. His apparent devotion to David had one objective, namely that he himself should have first place. He loved self. He murdered those who stood in the way of pre-eminence as the leader of Israel's hosts (2 Sam. 3:27 ). Alexander Whyte says, "Had it not been for David, Joab would have climbed up into the throne of Israel. . . Even the king himself was afraid of his commander-in-chief. The sovereign took his orders meekly from his subject." In his own well-read and picturesque way, Dean Stanley describes Joab aptly as the Marlborough of the empire of Israel.
W. O. E. Osterley gives us the following summary of Joab's life and labors:
I. He was a skilled general, proven by the number of victories he gained (2 Sam. 2:12-32; 10; 11:1; 12:26-29; 20:4-22; 1 Chron. 11:6-9).
II. He was loyal to the house of David as his whole life of devoted service illustrates (2 Sam. 12:26; 14:1; 18:20; 19:5-7).
III. He was guilty of vindictiveness and ruthless cruelty. The treacherous and bloodthirsty acts of which Joab was guilty constitute a dark blot upon his character (2 Sam. 3:22-27; 18:14; 20:9, 10; 1 Kings 11:16).
The tragedy is that in spite of all his abundant energy, boldness, ability, shrewdness and common sense, he never manifested any real faith in God. The nearest he came to such a faith is to be found in 2 Samuel 10:12, where his trust was more in "Providence" than a personal resting in the God of Israel. Full of self-confidence, ambition and selfishness, Joab never got far away from his own interests.
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Today's reading: Job 11-13, Acts 9:1-21 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Job 11-13
Zophar
1 Then Zophar the Naamathite replied:
2 "Are all these words to go unanswered?
Is this talker to be vindicated?
3 Will your idle talk reduce others to silence?
Will no one rebuke you when you mock?
4 You say to God, 'My beliefs are flawless
and I am pure in your sight.'
5 Oh, how I wish that God would speak,
that he would open his lips against you
6 and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.
Is this talker to be vindicated?
3 Will your idle talk reduce others to silence?
Will no one rebuke you when you mock?
4 You say to God, 'My beliefs are flawless
and I am pure in your sight.'
5 Oh, how I wish that God would speak,
that he would open his lips against you
6 and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.
Today's New Testament reading: Acts 9:1-21
Saul's Conversion
1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord's disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"
5 "Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked.
"I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting," he replied. 6 "Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."
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