Saturday, April 03, 2021

Sat 3rd April 2021 Current Affairs

It is Easter, and a family member is coming to my rescue. I thank them. in the mean time, my computer is stuffed. Apple cannot help. the screen is cracked and would cost $800 to replace for a computer worth under $250. It may be my hard disc is stuffed (it is solid state!). The new operating system, Big Sur, won't allow me to run my own programs, like Final Cut Pro. Apple does not know why. When I buy a new computer, they expect to charge me for software I already own. 

Editorial, an Easter Message

Nothing lasts forever. My time is nearly up. I have relied on a 2013 era laptop to get through my 28 published books and online work. My ERTAON keys are all faded to smears as opposed to letters, and I only recognise them by position. This morning, I dropped my computer and now the screen is partly obscured by crisscrossing bands. I'm taking it to maintenance, but have little hope it won't be expensive. A comparable modern computer would cost me over $8k Australian, without insurance. I need to upgrade my phone, my iPad, my refrigerator and my calculator too, to be of a work standard for school. I can do without the latter for a time, but the loss of my computer is a blow. I went to Centrelink to organise a loan. They could loan me $500. I can't get a loan from a bank. The end comes with a rush, and a little whimper. I am proud of what I have achieved. I believe I can still follow through with daily postings to complete my video projects of Bible Reading, Bible Quotes and Morning and Evening. I will leave behind my 28 books. I explain to my students that to tell the truth, one must sometimes lie. The truth is I love God. I understate my issues, so as to not detract from my message of love for God. But in understating my issues, I am lying. The fact that I will eventually fail, falling from my stage, does not mean God is not working powerfully in my life. 

I tell people not to fight the Devil, but resist it. The Devil is fought by God, and has lost, The Devil has no future, but a black pit from which there is no escape. But, if one tries to fight the Devil, they can end up dancing to its' tune. It is not my job to be immortal. But it is my job to do my best. I thank Jesus for my life. 


Editorial on Genealogy fail

It is ok to fail, but better to be successful. MyHeritage had DNA linked me to a US based cousin. We have separate trees without common ancestors, but Ball is prominent in each. MyHeritage used generic trees to link us, providing me with a map. A common ancestor, it turned out, was the Potomac Ball line which includes George Washington. I immediately set about disproving the link in the hopes I would be unsuccessful. But I succeeded!

My family 'Ball' line goes to Salford, Manchester in the mid 1800's. We believe the line originated in County Cork, Ireland. However, Potomac Ball line originates in Manchester circa 1600. I'm confident, if I can research that far, I'll find a Potomac Ball before their migration to the New World as tobacco farmers. My Salford line includes a James Ball in mid 1800's whose father I've not yet found. It may have been a George Ball. The Potomac line includes a mid 1800 George Ball. However the Potomac George Ball would have been 9 years old when his first son was conceived. Unlikely. More likely is that my DNA linked cousin could not find their match and searched the Potomac way as a possible compromise. 

My search continues for family. 
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Did this CNN guest slip, and accidentally speak the truth? In this episode, I discuss the explosive segment where a CNN guest addresses the real reason behind the shutdowns and the push for vaccine passports.

News Picks:

=== Bongino Headlines ===
Arizona AG: Biden Is Telling Border States to “Pound Sand”

Biden Admin Plans “Indirect” Nuclear Deal Talks With Iran

Trump Takes a Swipe at Hunter Biden

U.S. Economy Adds 916k Jobs in March, Unemployment Falls to 6%

Hunter Biden Admits Laptop at Center of Controversy Could “Absolutely” Belong to Him

Border Patrol Expects Over One Million Encounters With Illegals in 2021

Capitol Hill
Andrew Yang Hospitalized With Abdominal Pains, NYC Campaign Events Cancelled
Buttigieg Unloads Bike From SUV, Rides Short Distance to Destination
Report: Gov. Cuomo Begged Top Aide to Stay After NY Post’s Nursing Home Revelations
Court Rules Seattle City Council Can Proceed Attempting to Remove Socialist Councilwoman
Former Trump Aide Raises $500k in First Month of Challenge Against GOP Rep. Gonzalez, Who Voted for Impeachment
Biden Is Failing at the Border and Americans Are Noticing
Bipartisan Bill Introduced to Combat Border Surge
The GOP’s Missed Opportunity on Infrastructure Is Coming Back to Cost Us
Rep. Greene Introduces “Fire Fauci Act”
Where’s Kamala?
Biden’s Infrastructure Plan Is Packed With Corporate Welfare
McConnell Rules Out GOP Support for Biden Infrastructure Bill

Culture War
AOC Demands “Reparations” for Families Separated at the Border Under Trump
Court Docs Reveal Ahmaud Arbery Used “Jogging” Defense Multiple Times While Committing Crimes
CNN’s Chris Cuomo Claims White People “Take Comfort” in Racism
Pro-Life Hollywood Movie on Roe V. Wade Debuts Today
Illinois Dem Gov. Commutes Sentence of Convicted Double Murder Defendant
NY Times Mocked for “Straight Up Propaganda” Headline on Biden Infrastructure Bill
The “Coronavirus Passport” Now Has Competition
Most Voters Blame Mass Shootings on Mental Illness, Gang Violence
Tucker Slams Lester Holt for Saying Fairness in Reporting Is Overrated
Shocker: Every City That Cut Police Funding Last Year Saw Increases in Crime
NPR Issues Correction to Story Saying U.S. Intel Discredited Hunter Biden Laptop Story

Economy
George Soros Gives Largest Donation in History of Higher Education to Bard College
UFC Owner Endeavor Taps Elon Musk to Join Board Ahead of IPO
Saudi Arabia’s Energy Minister Cautious of Any Increase in Oil Production
U.S. Automakers Report Strong Q1 Sales
IMF to Provide $650 Billion in Currency Aid to Countries Hit Hardest by Pandemic
Biden Explores Legality of Cancelling $50k in Student Debt
Frontier Airlines IPO Suggests Travel Sector Is Recovering
U.S. Manufacturing Sector Index Soars to 37-Year High
Europe’s IPO Market Comes Back to Life
Biden’s $2 Trillion Infrastructure Bill Gives Big Prizes to Organized Labor
Psaki Admits Biden’s Infrastructure Bill Barely Deals With Infrastructure
Weekly Jobless Claims Total 719k vs. 675k Estimate

Swamp Watch
Liberal Watchdog Group Files Lawsuit Over Promotion of Andrew Cuomo’s Book
Biden Intends to Tax Businesses at a Higher Rate Than Communist China Does
Gun Rights Advocates Pressure Fed to Prosecute Hunter Biden
Georgia Gov. Kemp Says He Will Not Bow to the Corporate Mob Over Common-Sense Voting Bill
Biden’s Infrastructure Bill the Green New Deal Wrapped In More Politically Acceptable Language
Biden’s Infrastructure Bill Includes $20 Billion to Destroy “Racist Highways” in America
Capitol Police Watchdog Issues Preliminary Report Criticizing January 6th Riot “Deficiencies”
Jill Biden Mocked for Her Attempt to Speak Spanish and Flag Choice Used as Backdrop Called Into Question
Government Ethics Watchdog Group Files Complaint Against Gov. Cuomo Over Pandemic Memoir
=== Newsmax Headlines ===
https://www.newsmax.com/headline/border-crossings-surge-highest/2021/04/02/id/1016159/?oRef=mixi

Biden Presidency
Biden to Hold Talks With Iran on New Nuclear Deal
Biden's Infrastructure Plan Lacks Funding for Cybersecurity
US, Japan, South Korea Begin Talks on North Korea
Biden Plan Spends Billions to Help Pentagon Go Green
Japan and US Aim for Chip Supply Chain Deal
WH Lauds EU Talks on Readmitting US to Iran Nuke Deal
Biden Tasks Cabinet With Selling His $2T Infrastructure Plan
Senate Republicans Urge Biden to Keep Jobs in America
Biden Sending $125M to Palestinians
McCarthy: Biden's 'Absurd' $2T Infrastructure Spending No Joke
McConnell: Infrastructure a Guise for 'Liberal Wish List'
White House Confident J&J Will Meet Vaccine Shipment Targets

Newsfront
US Capitol on Lockdown After Car Attempts to Run Down Police Officers
A car rammed a barricade outside the U.S. Capitol on Friday afternoon, injuring two Capitol Police officers and leading to the driver being shot, according to two law enforcement officials.... [Full Story]
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https://honestreporting.com/ibn-20210104-west-bank-biden-trump-peace-to-prosperity-antisemitism-kosovo/#bullet1
https://honestreporting.com/ibn-20210104-west-bank-biden-trump-peace-to-prosperity-antisemitism-kosovo/#bullet2
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Here is a video I made Dead Woman 

Dead Woman (by Pablo Neruda)
by Lafayette and ddball

David D Ball has posted a poem by Pablo Neruda : "The Dead Woman - La Muerte". His diction is perfect.
See "Lyrics for details.
http://www.icompositions.com/music/song.php?sid=88805
I've thought I could adapt music over his spoken words.
I play all instruments.
You can listen there the result...

Thx David

DDBall's page :
http://www.icompositions.com/artists/ddball

- LaFayette
https://rumble.com/vfa7pn-dead-woman-by-pablo-neruda-by-lafayette-and-ddball.html

=== From 2018 ===
Don't give up on hope. Bullying and hectoring are failed motivational tools often employed by the left wing to achieve their aims. But they are poor tools. Craig Ondarchie, shadow industry minister in Victoria posted a happy Easter message from his family. So I thanked him, and also thanked him for standing up for the volunteer firefighter group CFA on Good Friday. Premier Dan Andrews had attempted to divide the CFA on Good Friday when a Liberal legislator was sick. She had opposed the legislation, and her being away meant Dan Andrews would have the numbers on the day. Only it is not a normal sitting day. So, Andrews opened the day for a sitting, and in doing so denied the member a pairs as to have a majority to push through the legislation. Two Liberal members who are devoutly religious chose pairs so as to observe their own religious duties on Good Friday. Having done so, they returned in time to Parliament for the vote and saved Victoria from a split CFA. And for that, ALP partisan media have denounced the Liberals as undermining the Westminster system which allowed pairs. But the entire situation had been contrived because ALP had undermined the Westminster system to achieve just that. It is, in legal terms, fruit of the poisonous tree. And Andrews provided the poison. 

The legislation over CFA is awful. Less than a decade ago, restrictions on CFA back burning by environmentalists under a previous ALP government resulted in loss of lives and property in regional Victoria. 173 died on Black Saturday 2009, over 400 injured and 450 thousand hectares burned thanks to environmentalists and ALP. Now, ALP want to place a Union over volunteer firefighters. But they are volunteers and cannot be unionised. So, Victoria's government will not let CFA members fight fires until a unionist is present. But the unionists are in CBD areas and the volunteers are in regional areas. Should a volunteer try to fight a fire without a unionist, under Dan Andrews ridiculous legislation, then they become liable for property damage. The result is many with decades of experience volunteering for CFA are giving up. And moving out. These are traditional ALP supporters. The reasons for Andrews ramming the legislation through are not clear. Andrews has not allowed discussion or answered questions appropriately in parliament. Partisan media are hyper ventilating saying Andrews has a mandate. 

Consider the following postings on Craig Ondarchie's Easter Message
DDB Thank you Craig. And thank you for standing up for CFA. And Victorians. You are being criticised for being good. But then that happens on Easter and places you in excellent company.
PJ He new the legislation was coming up. And you say that lying is a good thing, and lying based on his religious values, is OK, when in the Courts you would be fined for lying after taking an oath based your you religion. Hi lied and cheated on his family and wife. He told the hold world he needed to be home and he wasn't. This cheater ran away from his wife and children on Good Friday! After promising the whole world he would be home. She must hate his guts. To be married to a cheater of the first degree.

WM Um standing up for Victorians? I want a fire service that is in the 21st century not stuck in the 1950s!

DDB Dan Andrews abused parliament when he set the sitting date for a day to prevent a no vote for someone sick .. Andrews lied. The CFA is not being modernised by placing it in a union

JG David Daniel Ball So win at any cost is ok with you? Like the Australian cricketers? Ok...

DDB I dispute that is what happened. Desperate Dan Andrews tried to abuse the Westminster system. But Craig and Bernie showed it could still work. Expect, in opposition, the ALP will still be underhanded

MG David Daniel Ball you really dont understand the issue do you? The CFA professional firefighters are already members of the UFU along with MFB firefighters - absolutely nothing has or will change when they are amalagmated to become FRV. The volunteers will have the CFA as their own organisation - and as they are voluteers, cannot be members of a trade union. Please get your facts straight before making outlandish and inflamatory comments.

DDB Mick Gillies, you really don't understand the issues, do you? The volunteer organisation has members on hand to deal with fires and prevent them. By requiring that a UFU member is present at flare ups before they are dealt with, Dan Andrews is risking the lives of Victorians. As happened before when over a hundred lost their lives owing to neglect less than a decade ago. Further, volunteers that don't wait for UFU approval run the risk of litigation and accusations of property damage. Meaning that fires that could be controlled by ordinary means won't be. Please get your facts straight before making outlandish and inflammatory comments. Btw, I spelt inflammatory correctly. It isn't hard to do so.

DH David Daniel Ball you have just proven conclusively that you have absolutely no idea what you are talking about.

DDB Trolls say that. Others argue with reason
=== from 2017 ===
Some things should not happen, but they do. Gillard neutered the Australian defence force with a special prosecutor whose sole function seemed to be to prevent effective work, under the guise of procedural fairness. Today, one result evident is a soldier has attempted suicide after being bullied. But what about the special prosecutor bringing fairness? A noted female victim of extremist Islam cannot tour Australia because her life would be threatened. Yet Australia has a racial vilification code which has been protected by rabid opposition on the grounds it prevents stuff like that. Maybe 18c needs to be revised because it isn't effective? But when it comes to ineffective, it is hard to choose between Dan Andrews or the press who support him. According to fawning press, crime statistics showing crime is up 20% on the election of Andrews government, with weak bail laws, entangled police and a corrupt judiciary. According to fawning press, crime had been rising before Andrews was elected too. Ignored by the press is that NSW has lowest crime rates in forty years. You would have to go back to an Askin Liberal government to find things so peaceful in NSW. Neville Wran unleashed a crime wave. Grenier and Fahey cleaned things up. Bob Carr created another crime wave. And now The Liberals under O'Farrell, Baird and Berejiklian have cleaned things up. And the big difference between NSW and Victoria is the government in NSW is conservative and Victoria's is not. NSW makes tough decisions, while Victoria's Dan Andrews makes good decisions seem tough. The Press have campaigned hard against NSW, just as they have supported Dan Andrews' crime spree. A journalist will probably say that there is no difference between Liberals or ALP in Victoria. Those journalists lie. 
=== from 2016 ===
Malcolm Turnbull attempted a failed manoeuvre this week so as to not have to explain his government policy. Miranda Devine applauds, calling him a sly fox. As a result, the government will not address over spending, but won't be badly criticised for its' failure, as it would be had Tony Abbott tried to cut spending. Turnbull suggested the state governments raise taxes without Canberra. It breaks the federal divide of Federal raising taxes and states spending on services. States have good experience on spending programs that the federal government has not. Federal governments spend on schools and deliver plaques with ALP names on them. Federals spend on hospitals and produces wings that have no staff. Federal governments spend money on Pink Batts and three workers die and hundreds of houses burn down. Meanwhile States spend on such programs all the time and don't have those failures. But Turnbull didn't want the tax policy to go through. He just didn't want to be criticised for failing to cut spending. 

For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility. 
=== from 2015 ===
It is Good Friday for 2015, and so people around the world celebrate in different ways for different reasons. Because it is a big day, terrorists keen to make names for themselves have killed students in Kenya. The press are keen to call this Islamists killing Christians, but the fact is it is terrorists killing students. Jihadist terrorists. They entered a student hostel and asked if the victims were Islamic or Christian. They shot the Christians. But the question is not a simple dichotomy. They shot anyone who was not jihadist. Papers are quick to claim they 'freed' the Muslims. But Muslims weren't incarcerated at the university. 147 killed by jihadists who blew themselves up rather than be brought to book for their crimes against humanity. The plan was apparently made by a former headmaster of an Islamic school who gave up in 2007 and runs Al Shabbab from Somalia. Papers will make out that the jihadists are linked by religion to people in most neighbourhoods of the world who are Islamic. Some teachers who are practicing contrarians will claim there is legitimacy to such terrorism. But the jihadists are not arguing a point and they aren't soldiers of their faith or fighting for a cause or state. Jihadists are criminals who must be prosecuted for crimes against humanity. As should the Islamic leaders who side with them. 

Faith is still an issue, and Good Friday is very important on the Christian Calendar. It is the anniversary of the time Christ sacrificed himself, submitting himself to death to secular authority to prove a point which was demonstrated the following Sunday. People blame Jews for it, but Jews didn't do it, Christ did. The Romans were the instrument, and they crucified. Had Jews done it, they'd have stoned Jesus. Even so, Jews broke a number of their own regulations to get the job done. But it was for a good cause. Some people blame Jews for what happened, but they are wrong. It was what Jesus wanted. At Gethsemane, Jesus sweated blood praying for God to lift his burden. God didn't, and Jesus submitted. It happened in accordance with scripture, which might freak out people today when they considered the scripture was hundreds of years old which predicted it from several sources. Yet even so, the disciples were not expecting what happened. Judas tried to force Jesus to take up arms and fight for Israel. But that plan did not pan out as he saw it. Peter tried to get close, but denied he was a disciple three times before the cock crowed for dawn. It is one of the best recorded events in history and there is a number of pointers to it having happened. The Shroud of Turin is possibly a record of the event, although there are claims it had been faked in antiquity. The ossuary for the high priest of the day contained iron nails of the type used for crucifixion. We know how the city was laid out on the day, and various elements of the neighbourhood exist today. On this day, in 1968, Martin King delivered his speech "I've been to the Mountaintop." And he is now with the Lord. Like many of those poor students gunned down by jihadists. Jesus is Lord, and did not deserve what happened to him. But it pays a price in blood. And nothing those jihadists do will wash out the spots. 
From 2014
Neither attributed much to God, one was a genius, the other an Atheist known for creating rules for boxing which stand today. The Marquess of Queensberry had approached Wilde in 1894 and engaged in a yelling match over the Marquess' son, Lord Alfred (Bosie) Douglas. Queensberry confronted Wilde over his affair with his son, as described by Wilde "I do not say that you are it, but you look it, and pose at it, which is just as bad. And if I catch you and my son again in any public restaurant I will thrash you" to which Wilde responded: "I don't know what the Queensberry rules are, but the Oscar Wilde rule is to shoot on sight." Queensberry said Wilde had "shown him the white feather", meaning he had acted in a cowardly way. Even so, nothing much would have come of it, but Wilde was not satisfied. When Queensberry left his calling card marked "For Oscar Wilde, posing somdomite" [sic] Wilde had Queensberry arrested and charged with libel. That court case ruined Wilde, for to substantiate the claim, Wilde's private life was made public. His life was ruined. He was not persecuted for being gay, but for involving himself in a family dispute. The 1895 court case began on this day. Wilde was not religious, but no one could say he did not know God after he wrote The Happy Prince in 1888. He just wasn't well known.

"They were beaten, and they were starved as they marched. Those who fell were bayoneted. Some of those who fell were beheaded by Japanese officers who were practicing with their samurai swords from horseback. The Japanese culture at that time reflected the view that any warrior who surrendered had no honor; thus was not to be treated like a human being. Thus they were not committing crimes against human beings.[...] The Japanese soldiers at that time [...] felt they were dealing with subhumans and animals." These words from US Congressional rep Dana Rohrabacher shows the brutality of the Bataan death march. An insult to Douglas MacArthur who had fled to prosecute the war from Australia. MacArthur chose a path of grace in not killing the Emperor at the end of the war. But on this day in 1946, the General (Masaharu Homma) responsible for this war crime was executed. 
Historical perspective on this day
In 503 BC, according to the Fasti Triumphales, Roman consul Publius Postumius Tubertuscelebrated an ovation for a military victory over the Sabines. 686, Maya king Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk' assumed the crown of Calakmul. 1043, Edward the Confessor was crowned King of England. 1077, the first Parliament of Friuli was created. 1559, the Peace of Cateau-Cambrésis treaty was signed, ending the Italian Wars.

In 1834, the generals in the Greek War of Independence stood trial for treason. 1860, the first successful United States Pony Express run from Saint Joseph, Missouri, to Sacramento, California, began. 1865, American Civil War: Union forces captured Richmond, Virginia, the capital of the Confederate States of America. 1882, American Old West: Jesse James was killed by Robert Ford. 1885, Gottlieb Daimler was granted a German patent for his enginedesign. 1888, the first of eleven unsolved brutal murders of women committed in or near the impoverished Whitechapel district in the East End of London, occurred. 1895, the trial in the libel case brought by Oscar Wilde began, eventually resulting in his imprisonment on charges of homosexuality.

In 1922, Joseph Stalin became the first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. 1929, RMS Queen Mary was ordered from John Brown & Company Shipbuilding and Engineering by Cunard Line. 1933, first flight over Mount Everest, a British expedition, led by the Marquis of Clydesdale, and funded by Lucy, Lady Houston. 1936, Bruno Richard Hauptmann was executed for the kidnapping and death of Charles Augustus Lindbergh, Jr., the baby son of pilot Charles Lindbergh.

In 1942, World War II: Japanese forces began an assault on the United States and Filipinotroops on the Bataan Peninsula. 1946, Japanese Lt. General Masaharu Homma was executed in the Philippines for leading the Bataan Death March. 1948, President Harry S. Trumansigned the Marshall Plan, authorising $5 billion in aid for 16 countries. Also 1948, in Jeju, South Korea, a civil-war-like period of violence and human rights abuses began, known as the Jeju massacre. 1955, the American Civil Liberties Union announced it would defend Allen Ginsberg's book Howl against obscenity charges. 1956, Hudsonville-Standale Tornado: The western half of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan was struck by a deadly F5 tornado.

In 1961, the Leadbeater's Possum was rediscovered in Australia after 72 years. 1968, Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered his "I've Been to the Mountaintop" speech. 1969, Vietnam War: United States Secretary of Defense Melvin Laird announced that the United States would start to "Vietnamize" the war effort. 1973, Martin Cooper of Motorola made the first handheld mobile phone call to Joel S. Engel of Bell Labs, though it took ten years for the DynaTAC 8000X to become the first such phone to be commercially released. 1974, The Super Outbreak occurred, the second biggest tornado outbreak in recorded history (after the April 25–28, 2011 tornado outbreak). The death toll was 315, with nearly 5,500 injured. 1975, Bobby Fischer refused to play in a chess match against Anatoly Karpov, giving Karpov the title of World Champion by default. 1981, the Osborne 1, the first successful portable computer, was unveiled at the West Coast Computer Faire in San Francisco. 1996, suspected "Unabomber" Theodore Kaczynski was captured at his cabin in Montana, United States. Also 1996, a United States Air Force airplane carrying United States Secretary of Commerce Ron Brown crashed in Croatia, killing all 35 on board. 1997, the Thalit massacre began in Algeria; all but one of the 53 inhabitants of Thalit were killed by guerrillas.

In 2000, United States v. Microsoft: Microsoft was ruled to have violated United States antitrust laws by keeping "an oppressive thumb" on its competitors. 2004, Islamic terroristsinvolved in the 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks were trapped by the police in their apartment and killed themselves. 2007, Conventional-Train World Speed Record: a French TGV train on the LGV Est high speed line set an official new world speed record. 2008, ATA Airlines, once one of the ten largest U.S. passenger airlines and largest charter airline, filed for bankruptcy for the second time in five years and ceased all operations. Also 2008, Texas law enforcement cordons off the FLDS's YFZ Ranch. Eventually 533 women and children would be removed and taken into state custody. 2009, Jiverly Antares Wong opened fire at an American Civic Association immigration centre in Binghamton, NY, killing thirteen and wounding four before committing suicide. 2013, more than 50 people died in floods resulting from record-breaking rainfall in La Plata and Buenos Aires, Argentina.

=== Bible Reading ===

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Today's reading: Judges 16-18, Luke 7:1-30 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Judges 16-18

Samson and Delilah
1 One day Samson went to Gaza, where he saw a prostitute. He went in to spend the night with her. 2 The people of Gaza were told, "Samson is here!" So they surrounded the place and lay in wait for him all night at the city gate. They made no move during the night, saying, "At dawn we'll kill him."
3 But Samson lay there only until the middle of the night. Then he got up and took hold of the doors of the city gate, together with the two posts, and tore them loose, bar and all. He lifted them to his shoulders and carried them to the top of the hill that faces Hebron....

Today's New Testament reading: Luke 7:1-30

The Faith of the Centurion
1 When Jesus had finished saying all this to the people who were listening, he entered Capernaum. 2 There a centurion's servant, whom his master valued highly, was sick and about to die. 3 The centurion heard of Jesus and sent some elders of the Jews to him, asking him to come and heal his servant. 4 When they came to Jesus, they pleaded earnestly with him, "This man deserves to have you do this, 5 because he loves our nation and has built our synagogue." 6 So Jesus went with them.
He was not far from the house when the centurion sent friends to say to him: "Lord, don't trouble yourself, for I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. 7 That is why I did not even consider myself worthy to come to you. But say the word, and my servant will be healed. 8 For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, 'Go,' and he goes; and that one, 'Come,' and he comes. I say to my servant, 'Do this,' and he does it."
9 When Jesus heard this, he was amazed at him, and turning to the crowd following him, he said, "I tell you, I have not found such great faith even in Israel." 10 Then the men who had been sent returned to the house and found the servant well....

=== Morning and Evening ===


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Morning

"He answered him to never a word."
Matthew 27:14
He had never been slow of speech when he could bless the sons of men, but he would not say a single word for himself. "Never man spake like this man," and never man was silent like him. Was this singular silence the index of his perfect self-sacrifice? Did it show that he would not utter a word to stay the slaughter of his sacred person, which he had dedicated as an offering for us? Had he so entirely surrendered himself that he would not interfere in his own behalf, even in the minutest degree, but be bound and slain an unstruggling, uncomplaining victim? Was this silence a type of the defencelessness of sin? Nothing can be said in palliation or excuse of human guilt; and, therefore, he who bore its whole weight stood speechless before his judge. Is not patient silence the best reply to a gainsaying world? Calm endurance answers some questions infinitely more conclusively than the loftiest eloquence. The best apologists for Christianity in the early days were its martyrs. The anvil breaks a host of hammers by quietly bearing their blows. Did not the silent Lamb of God furnish us with a grand example of wisdom? Where every word was occasion for new blasphemy, it was the line of duty to afford no fuel for the flame of sin. The ambiguous and the false, the unworthy and mean, will ere long overthrow and confute themselves, and therefore the true can afford to be quiet, and finds silence to be its wisdom. Evidently our Lord, by his silence, furnished a remarkable fulfilment of prophecy. A long defence of himself would have been contrary to Isaiah's prediction: "He is led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth." By his quiet he conclusively proved himself to be the true Lamb of God. As such we salute him this morning. Be with us, Jesus, and in the silence of our heart, let us hear the voice of thy love.

Evening

"He shall see his seed; he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand."
Isaiah 53:10
Plead for the speedy fulfilment of this promise, all ye who love the Lord. It is easy work to pray when we are grounded and bottomed, as to our desires, upon God's own promise. How can he that gave the word refuse to keep it? Immutable veracity cannot demean itself by a lie, and eternal faithfulness cannot degrade itself by neglect. God must bless his Son, his covenant binds him to it. That which the Spirit prompts us to ask for Jesus, is that which God decrees to give him. Whenever you are praying for the kingdom of Christ, let your eyes behold the dawning of the blessed day which draweth near, when the Crucified shall receive his coronation in the place where men rejected him. Courage, you that prayerfully work and toil for Christ with success of the very smallest kind, it shall not be so always; better times are before you. Your eyes cannot see the blissful future: borrow the telescope of faith; wipe the misty breath of your doubts from the glass; look through it and behold the coming glory. Reader, let us ask, do you make this your constant prayer? Remember that the same Christ who tells us to say, "Give us this day our daily bread," had first given us this petition, "Hallowed be thy name; Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven." Let not your prayers be all concerning your own sins, your own wants, your own imperfections, your own trials, but let them climb the starry ladder, and get up to Christ himself, and then, as you draw nigh to the blood-sprinkled mercy-seat, offer this prayer continually, "Lord, extend the kingdom of thy dear Son." Such a petition, fervently presented, will elevate the spirit of all your devotions. Mind that you prove the sincerity of your prayer by labouring to promote the Lord's glory.

=== Bible Quote ===

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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.

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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 (Gofundme finished the fund raiser, 2017)

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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.


The Amazon Author Page for David Ball

UK .. http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B01683ZOWG

French .. http://www.amazon.fr/-/e/B01683ZOWG

Japan .. http://www.amazon.co.jp/-/e/B01683ZOWG

German .. http://www.amazon.de/-/e/B01683ZOWG

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Other Stuff

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I'm now on MAGAbook to sidestep FB censorship

https://www.magabook.com/register?invite=11673951025fadd3f055eca4.00045664

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I'm looking for former students to endorse me

https://www.superprof.com.au/write-recommendation-13371374-1cc2cf0f56166c9b04ad4097fc7d0b67.html

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