Friday, August 16, 2013

Fri Aug 16th Todays News

Happy birthday and many happy returns Louise Tremblay and Blaine Transue. Born on the same day, across the years, as Philippa, 5th Countess of Ulster (1355), T. E. Lawrence (1888), Menachem Begin (1913), Robert Culp (1930), Julie Newmar (1933), Tim Farriss (1957), Madonna (1958) and Steve Carell (1962). On your day, Children's Day in Paraguay
1819 – Fifteen people were killed and 400–700 others were injured when cavalry charged into a crowd of about 60–80,000 who were gathered at St Peter's Field, Manchester, England, to demand the reform of parliamentary representation.
1863 – After Spain had annexed the Dominican Republic, rebels raised the Dominican flag in Santiago de los Caballeros to begin the War of Restoration.
1929 – A long-running dispute between Muslims and Jews over access to the Western Wall in Jerusalem escalated into a week-long period of violent riots throughout Palestine.
1960 – Joseph Kittinger parachuted from a balloon over New Mexico at 102,800 feet (31,330 m), setting records for high-altitude jump, free-fall height, and fastest speed by a human without an aircraft.
1977 – Elvis Presley, "The King of Rock and Roll", was officially pronounced dead at Baptist Memorial Hospital in Memphis, Tennessee, after he was found unresponsive on the floor of his Graceland bathroom.
Gathering is best when committed for praise. Raise the flag. Try not to give too many names to Jordanians. Make the preparations and take the leap. The king is dead .. long live the king.
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Poll: Beattie facing a thrashing in Forde. Which means Rudd will get one, too

Andrew Bolt August 16 2013 (5:10pm)

Remember: Kevin Rudd couldn’t get a swing back to him even in Forde, a key Coalition marginal seat he must win in his home state.
Then Rudd dumped the Labor candidate and personally asked former Labor Premier Peter Beattie to stand instead in a seat needing just a 1.6 per cent swing to fall.
So after proving he had no real voter appeal, Rudd proved he had no judgment, either:

Labor’s shock decision to recruit Peter Beattie as its candidate for the federal Queensland electorate of Forde appears to have backfired spectacularly, with the Coalition on track to win the seat in a landslide, The Australian Financial Review reports.
Forde is one of eight marginal seats polled by JWS Research… The poll shows that in Forde, in south-east Queensland, the incumbent Liberal-National Party Member Bert van Manen is thrashing the former Queensland premier on a two-party preferred basis by 60 per cent to 40 per cent.
This 10-percentage point lead represents a two-party swing of 8.4 per cent to the Coalition in Forde since the 2010 election.
Seems the locals associate Beattie with state Labor’s disastrous financial performance - a mirror of federal Labor’s - and is punishing him twice over.
This is one more sign Labor is fast heading for a hell of a hiding, with Rudd’s campaign all out of steam with still three weeks to go.
UPDATE
Defiant, but doomed:
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UPDATE
That smile is now a rictus:
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The policy that showed Labor is back to the old shambles

Andrew Bolt August 16 2013 (4:19pm)

The old Rudd all over again - the same man who decided to promise a $37 billion NBN after his Communications Minister caught a lift on his jet:

KEY Labor ministers appear to have been caught unawares by Kevin Rudd’s northern Australia announcement.
Employment Minister Bill Shorten said he learned about the policy yesterday when it was announced in Darwin.
And Resources Ministers Gary Gray said he knew about the Ord River announcement but not the other elements of the three point plan.
More of the old Rudd. Here is a promise that is:
uncosted
unexplained - as in just how it would work
on the never never, with Rudd saying it’s just an ambition for 2018. 

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The Bolt Report on Sunday

Andrew Bolt August 16 2013 (4:06pm)

On The Bolt Report on Network 10 at 10 and 4pm.
Here’s Labor pitch for this election. How could you resist it?
Coalition frontbencher Christopher Pyne. Is the green movement over? Did the Liberals surrender too much?
Panellists Amanda Vanstone and Gary Johns: did I just hear Kevin Rudd’s comeback die? How bad could this get?
The media stunt that showed Rudd was finished.
The twitter feed.
The place the videos appear

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Rudd now struggling to stop a Gillard-sized loss in NSW

Andrew Bolt August 16 2013 (10:18am)

Labor thought a couple of weeks ago that Dobell would be retained, but the swing now is on:

Labor support in the seats of Robertson and Dobell has fallen seven percentage points since the 2010 election on a two-party-preferred basis, which would put Liberal MPs into both seats. If the swing in the two marginal electorates were repeated in other NSW marginal Labor seats, it would be catastrophic for the Rudd government, handing the opposition up to seven other seats, not including New England and Lyne…
According to a Newspoll survey, conducted exclusively for The Australian in Dobell and Robertson last weekend, Labor’s primary vote was 35 per cent, eight percentage points down from the 2010 election, and the Coalition primary support was 50 per cent, up eight points since the last election. On a two-party-preferred basis, based on preference flows at the 2010 election, Labor’s support is down seven points to 46 per cent and the Coalition’s is up seven points to 54 per cent.
UPDATE
Dobell was said by Labor to be safe just one week ago:
CONTROVERSIAL former Labor MP Craig Thomson has no chance of retaining his NSW central coast seat of Dobell, according to internal party polling, but Labor is in a strong position to win it.
The secret internal Labor polling conducted 10 days ago shows Labor leads the Coalition by a two-party-preferred vote margin of 55-45 per cent, almost identical to the 2010 election result. Mr Thomson, who is running as an independent, is attracting just 6 per cent of the primary vote.
(Thanks to reader Alan RM Jones.)

UPDATE
Another small sign. Tony Abbott’s first campaign stop today is at Linfox, to talk about the carbon tax. Boss Lindsay Fox has long been close to Labor.
UPDATE
Graham Richardson:
Somebody has surgically removed any skerrick of belief, passion or vision [from Rudd]… If ever Rudd was a great campaigner, it appears that this talent has well and truly deserted him…
Labor’s campaign in the second week was just as rudderless as it was in the first. No one appears to understand that there is ground to be made up. There does not appear to be anyone capable of telling Rudd that the problem is him. It cannot be easy to manage a confident player who has lost his confidence…
At the start of this long march, my view was Labor would lose 10 seats. That view is now looking optimistic. If some fire and energy from the Rudd campaign does not manifest itself immediately it will be little consolation for Rudd to claim he “only lost 20 when Gillard would have lost 40”. On September 7 the prize for coming second is irrelevance.
UPDATE
The Liberals prepare to strike:
The Liberals will launch their real campaign this Sunday.
“It will make the Blitzkrieg look like a picnic,” says one senior Liberal of the advertising campaign that is about to be unleashed reminding voters of how dysfunctional the past three years has been - and the three years prior to that.
“You ain’t seen nothing yet,” they said.
The timing is strategic.
So far, Abbott has been restrained in his attacks on Rudd. Labor’s accusations of negativity factor have resonated. Abbott is mindful that when Rudd was popular, attacking him personally jarred with voters.
But that is all beginning to change.

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Egypts bleeds - and starves

Andrew Bolt August 16 2013 (10:18am)

The deaths are a tragedy. The closing of business in a country unable to feed itself are an even grimmer portent of Egypt’s future:
GENERAL Motors has closed its operations in Egypt indefinitely because of violence in the country… GM has around 1,400 workers in Egypt…
At least 638 people have been killed and nearly 4,000 wounded in violence after riot police razed two Cairo encampments of supporters of ousted President Mohammed Morsi.
UPDATE
More dead than seem counted:
In a Cairo mosque lie the charred and mutilated bodies of more than 200 Egyptians, apparently uncounted and unacknowledged by the state after security forces crushed Islamist protest camps.
UPDATE
The Islamic radicalisation of Egypt has led in turn to the crackdown, which in turn leads to more radicalism:

Egypt’s Coptic Christians say fresh attacks have been carried out against churches in at least four parts of the country and that tensions between the majority Sunni Muslims and minority Christian sects are higher than for many decades.
Christian leaders have blamed supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood for the attacks, which are believed to have led to several deaths, including that of a teenage girl who was reportedly leaving Bible class in Cairo when she was shot dead. At least nine churches nationwide have been torched since early Wednesday. Community leaders say the number of arson attacks could be as high as 20…
The Coptic sect has largely remained staunchly behind the interim military-led government that ousted President Mohammed Morsi, a senior Brotherhood figure, six weeks ago. Coptics had vehemently opposed the Brotherhood’s troubled year in office, railing against many decisions the Morsi government made, which were deemed by many Christians to be in favour of hardline Islamists.

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The Age finally finds a Wikileaker traitor

Andrew Bolt August 16 2013 (10:01am)

Leak against the US Government for Wikileaks and you’ll get kind coverage in The Age:

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Leak against Wikileaks for the US Government and you’ll get pilloried in The Age:
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When he met Julian Assange for the first time, Sigurdur Thordarson admired the WikiLeaks founder’s attitude and quickly signed up to the cause.
But little more than a year later, Thordarson was working as an informant spying on WikiLeaks for the US government – embroiling himself as a teenager in one of the most complicated international events in recent history… Only once, when recounting the time he spent passing information on Assange to the FBI, does his voice tremble with a quiver of guilt.  

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Wilkie wins

Andrew Bolt August 16 2013 (9:34am)

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Andrew Wilkie wins the battle of the billboards with a brilliant outflanking manouvre. It’s so brilliant that Labor’s expensive billboard is turned into one for Wilkie.
But the Liberal candidate wins the prize for best name in this contest:

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(Thanks to reader Nick.)  

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Rudd loses Labor’s compass

Andrew Bolt August 16 2013 (9:21am)

This sums up the mess that is Labor’s “strategy”:
KEVIN Rudd has contradicted himself three times in the past 24 hours.
After pledging to run a positive campaign, Labor released negative TV ads on Wednesday night attacking Opposition Leader Tony Abbott.
Yesterday, Mr Rudd made a promise to set up a new economic zone in the Northern Territory - the same policy Labor attacked Mr Abbott over six months ago. It was uncosted - Mr Rudd’s main attack line on the Opposition’s campaign.
Add to that this:

Rudd, who scrapped the Pacific Solution, now promises a PNG solution.
Rudd, who once said global warming was “the great moral issue of our generation”, now (falsely) promises to “terminate” the carbon tax.

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Rudd suddenly stops preaching about sexism

Andrew Bolt August 16 2013 (9:10am)

I’ll forgive a repented transgressor sooner than forgive a sanctimonious hypocrite:

A call from the Prime Minister last month to political activist turned businessman Jason Yat-sen Li persuaded him to run for preselection in the marginal seat of Bennelong…
In 1999, Mr Yat-sen Li criticised model Jodhi Meares for declining to support the republican movement when she refused to wear a T-shirt emblazoned with the slogan “Give an Australian the Head Job”.
Mr Yat-sen Li said of Ms Meares...: “It’s a shame. She had the chance to be the tits of the nation, but she’s missed out now.”
At the time, Mr Yat-sen Li initially said he did not remember making the comments and they were out of character, but nonetheless apologised.
Fourteen years on, he might just have got away with the issue staying largely under the radar, until Mr Rudd grew sanctimonious this week…
“If any male employer stood up in the workplace anywhere in Australia and pointed out a female staff member and said this person is a good staff member because they’ve got sex appeal, I think people would scratch their heads at least and the employer would find themselves in serious strife,” Mr Rudd said.

“In modern Australia sexism or racism or homophobia does not have any place."…
Questions put to Mr Rudd’s office yesterday about whether the Prime Minister knew about the “tits of the nation” comment at the time he wooed Mr Yat-sen Li went unanswered.
(Thanks to reader Peter.) 

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Just another bright Labor idea to make you sick

Andrew Bolt August 16 2013 (8:43am)

Another Labor scheme busts:
THE government has been rocked by the mass resignation of doctors advising it on its troubled $1 billion e- health system.
The system barely functions a year after it was launched and this week former AMA president Dr Mukesh Haikerwal and Dr Nathan Pinksier and two other advisers quit in frustration.
Although 690,000 Australians have signed up for an e-health record the Department of Health has admitted only 5427 patient records have been provided by doctors…
Patients claim their e-health records show them using medicines for conditions they don’t even have.
A disaster years in the making.  From 2008:

AUSTRALIA finally has an agreed national strategy for e-health adoption, but the Government is withholding details of the plan, which could save billions of dollars in costs resulting from medical errors.
Costings for the National E-Health Strategy have not been released, nor has a rollout schedule… Federal Health Minister Nicola Roxon this week declined to reveal further details of the e-health strategy…
Astoundingly, more than $5 billion has been spent on e-health projects and trials by federal and state governments over the past 10 years, with only “marginal progress” resulting.
April, 2010:

THE glaring omission of e-health in the Rudd government’s long-awaited national health and hospitals reform package has stunned and dismayed the IT industry…
It is understood COAG is still considering a business case for establishing a national health record system that was originally put before it late in 2008, with an estimated cost of $1.6 billion over four years. A revised estimate puts the cost at about $1.9bn.
February 2012:

KEVIN Rudd’s plan for a popular, patient-centric e-health record system - announced to general head-scratching in early 2010 - has morphed into a lumbering monster that remains frustratingly out of everyone’s grasp.
Allocated a mysteriously precise sum of $466.7m over two years in that budget, it now appears the decision was made by the boss in a hurry, without the benefit of proper cabinet consideration as former health minister Nicola Roxon revealed last week.
Expenditure has now reached $760m, meaning Labor has been spending an incredible $1.04m each and every day since..
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
UPDATE
Henry Ergas has other examples:
Labor quietly released its 2007 costings the night before the election, simply posting them on its website...(d)ismantling Howard’s Pacific Solution would save $60 million, they claimed; instead, it cost an additional $10.3bn.
Industrial relations reform would mean “less bureaucracy”, saving $260m; instead, spending increased by more than that amount.
Further millions would be saved by slashing government advertising and entirely eliminating the communications unit; in fact, spending on government spin is reaching record highs.
But the hide of Labor:

TALK about chutzpah. On Tuesday, Treasury and Finance release the Pre-election Economic and Fiscal Outlook showing a cumulative deficit from 2008-09 to 2015-16 of $250 billion; but Kevin Rudd calls it “D Day” for the Coalition, as if it was Tony Abbott who had some explaining to do… 

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Mirabella under threat as Nationals arc up

Andrew Bolt August 16 2013 (8:40am)

This could prove an upset:
The ALP is set to hand its preferences to conservative independent candidate Cathy McGowan in the northeastern Victorian seat of Indi, held by Liberal frontbencher Sophie Mirabella.
Liberals fear that rebel Nationals’ supporters are helping Ms McGowan amid anger over the Liberal Party’s decision to contest the Nationals’ electorate of Mallee in the state’s far northwest.

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Coalition to deny rewards to our 30,000 asylum seekers

Andrew Bolt August 16 2013 (7:59am)

The Coalition will swiftly evict fake refugees and deny permanent visas to refugees who pushed in:
The removal of failed asylum seekers from Australia would be dramatically fast tracked under a hardline Coalition plan to send them packing in as little as three months.
And any of the 30,000 boat arrivals already in the country who have been found to be genuine refugees would denied a permanent visa…
Asylum seekers would be “triaged” and those considered unlikely to be found to be refugees taken into detention, pending a review by up to two departmental case workers which could take as little as 28 days…
Failed refugees from countries, such as Iran which refuses to accept involuntary returns, would be left on the Christmas Island indefinitely…
Mr Morrison said the 30,000 asylum seekers who arrived before Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s announcement of the PNG Solution, and who are waiting in the community for their refugee claims to be processed, would be made to work for welfare payments…
The temporary visas would prevent them bringing family to Australia and if they chose to leave they would be barred from returning, in a policy mirroring the Howard Government’s temporary protection visas.
I can’t see how this treatment of what are in many cases illegal immigrants could fairly be criticised - not when we take in so many who applied through the normal means.
UPDATE
One criticism, actually:

THE Coalition’s plan to deny asylum-seekers access to the courts to review decisions against them has been shot down by one of the nation’s pre-eminent constitutional lawyers, who says it ”just can’t be done”.
University of NSW Professor George Williams said the pledge was a recycled Howard government policy that had already been invalidated by the High Court.
He said the Coalition could axe the Refugee Review Tribunal and bar such cases going to the Federal Court, but it could not prevent the High Court from hearing them.

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Rudd campaign slowly implodes

Andrew Bolt August 16 2013 (6:59am)

It wouldn’t be this tense if Kevin Rudd had truly changed, and if he realised he really was there simply to minimise the losses:
Strategist Bruce Hawker is said to be the only member of Rudd’s inner circle to be on the receiving end of any prime ministerial warmth as more and more staffers in his travelling circus are given the freezer treatment.
A very Ruddish dysfunction:
Twelve days into the federal election, Labor insiders in the Melbourne head office believe Mr Rudd is failing to cut through in the daily media cycle, with his press conferences running over time, the Prime Minister repeatedly criticising News Corp in the first week and snap decisions being taken by a small team of confidantes…
One Labor source in CHQ said senior advisers were being ignored and wanted campaign veteran Eamonn ­Fitzpatrick, a senior adviser to Mr Rudd and before that Julia Gillard, to leave Mr Rudd’s travelling party and “take charge” to improve communications and better relay decisions taken by the travelling party to headquarters.
Communications between the Rudd travelling party and CHQ are said to have been particularly problematic at the start of the campaign, with suggestions staff, including campaign director George Wright, were out of the loop on decisions taken by the Rudd brains trust, including Bruce Hawker and Mr Fitzpatrick, on the road.
Some fascinating stats, which actually reflect not just poor selling but poor targetting of taxpayer’s dollars - at least when judged by interest:

But many of Labor’s biggest-spending announcements in a campaign short of money have sunk without a trace, including:

• $100 million funding for the Victorian Eye and Ear hospital, ignored by Fairfax Media’s The Age and relegated to page 10 in News Corp’s Herald Sun.
• $42 million for the National ICT research centre in Sydney, which was reported in the Financial Review five days later and nowhere else.
• $209 million to fund 137 new national trade training centres, which received 130 to 200 words of coverage in metropolitan dailies and critical coverage in The Australian.
• $100 million for a farming irrigation upgrade program in the Goulburn-Murray region, with after-the-announcement coverage in Stock and Land and The Weekly Times.
Mr Rudd’s visit to Tasmania last Saturday featured neither in The Mercury nor The Examiner, despite the Prime Minister promising $5 million to help redevelop the Hobart Showground and $375,000 to redevelop Launceston’s Prospect Park, and was relegated to a 241-word page seven story in the Sunday Tasmanian.
Please. Who thought $5 million to redevelop a showground would be exciting? A sign that Labor could lead Tasmania to prosperity? It looks like just a handout.
In contrast:

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott is in Tasmania and has announced his jobs and growth plan for the state, which will include upgrading Hobart airport.
The funding - which could create 200 jobs - will build an extra 500m of runway will for the airport, which will increase its capacity for international flights and larger, heavily laden aircraft to Antarctica. 

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Kevin Rudd, war hero with scissors

Andrew Bolt August 15 2013 (9:51pm)

Politics - deceits and stuff ups
Kevin Rudd, war veteran:
SPEAKING to troops in Townsville, Kevin Rudd told his own war story about how he too had gone outside “the wire” into the danger zone in Afghanistan…
“The War Memorial has got the best piece of what I would describe as live action film of what it is like to be in the field in Afghanistan ... right at the point of engagement with the enemy.
“I was just taken aback, I have been to Tarin Kowt many times, probably five or six times now, and I have been basically behind the wire, once or twice I have gone out.”
Kevin Rudd, fake:
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Punters: Coalition by 22 seats

Andrew Bolt August 15 2013 (8:48pm)

The punters seem to have it pretty right:

Labor won’t have to stay up late on the evening of September 7 for the bad news of the electoral result, according to a new analysis of betting market odds.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s party will lose the election by 22 seats, collecting 63 seats to the oppositions’s 85, according to analysis done for The Australian Financial Review by statisticians Kaighin McColl and Leng Lee…
The number of seats Labor is expected to win dropped from 65 to 63 in the five days between August 6 and August 11.

Mr McColl notes that the ALP has now slid backwards twice since the analysis began.
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Sex appeal seems to be sealing the deal for the talented Fiona Scott:

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That kind of deal would be like blackmailing Hird

Andrew Bolt August 15 2013 (8:19pm)

Caroline Wilson, who has seemed well briefed by the AFL during the Essendon controversy, makes a staggering claim:
Had [coach James] Hird been prepared to plead guilty to having allowed the administering of banned and potentially harmful drugs to his players there is every chance that Essendon’s doctor of more than three decades, Bruce Reid, may have been spared. Ditto Danny Corcoran and Mark Thompson.

Pardon?
Is Wilson suggesting the AFL charged the three other officials not because it considers them guilty but because it wanted to put more pressure on Hird to give in?
This is bizarre. Either the men are believed guilty of something, and thus should face charges, or they are believed innocent and should not be charged at all. Anything else would be a monstrous abuse of power, and quite possibly blackmail.
I very much hope that Wilson’s speculation is just something she dreamed up herself. If it is in fact inspired by an AFL briefing it is a scandal. and further evidence that this whole case against Essendon is baseless.
UPDATE
Wilson’s latest story suggests it is indeed an AFL leak - which makes this even more shameful:

James Hird and his key staffers refused an AFL offer for the Essendon coach to plead guilty alone to misconduct charges, which would have spared club doctor Bruce Reid, Mark Thompson and Danny Corcoran from facing the commission.
With Hird and his club now openly at war with the competition’s governing body, it is understood that the AFL expected on Monday that Hird would be the only individual still at the club to face charges emanating from the 2011-12 drugs program.
The negotiation was to have seen Reid and Corcoran resign from Essendon at the end of the season. Instead both men, along with senior assistant Thompson, chose to stand alongside Hird and fight the misconduct charges.
So was Thompson charged just to force Hird to confess?
Why didn’t the AFL go the whole hog and hold Hird’s wife hostage, too? 

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Not new, not positive

Andrew Bolt August 15 2013 (7:27pm)

Kevin Rudd promised “a new way” and more “positive” politics.
But his latest ad is not new and not positive:

The original, from 1987:
Derivative, negative, tired. 

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What will Labor do with the 30,000 boat people waiting for a visa?

Andrew Bolt August 15 2013 (7:18pm)

Edited from the debate on 7.30 between Immigration Minister Tony Burke and the Coalition’s Scott Morrison was an exchange which shows Labor has no idea what to do with the 30,000 asylum seekers who have arrived and are waiting for a permanent visa.
Give them that visa and 30,000 people quickly become, say, 90,000 - thanks to family reunions. And the rewards will send a message to others…
MORRISON:
There is the issue of 15,000 people who have been given protection visas who came illegally by boat and 15,000 waiting offshore.  Now the minister has to make a decision on the other side of this election if he’s re-elected. And that is there are 30,000 people onshore now who are waiting for a decision on their claim.  On the other side of the election, they will get a permanent visa under Labor if they are found to be a refugee and under the Coalition they would not get a permanent visa. 

SALES:
Let me ask you, Tony Burke, on that question.  Why not try temporary protection visas, if they don’t work, you can get rid of them, why not try it?
BURKE:
Because all the evidence we have is when they were introduced the number of people coming by boat went up.
SALES:
But your judgement’s been wrong on these policies in the past, so why don’t you try something?
BURKE:
Well in terms of what we’re trying, what we’re doing, what we’re actually implementing is we’ve taken away the product -
MORRISON:
No you haven’t actually, Tony. 
BURKE:
Yes we have.  Nobody who arrives by boat now, nobody who arrives by boat now, will be settled in Australia, nobody…
MORRISON:
We will salvage everything we can out of this PNG arrangement and we will also implement all of our other measures on top of that, but Tony didn’t answer the key question.  On the other side of the election there are 30,000 people who have already arrived, they are not going to Nauru, they are not going to Manus Island under their policies and they will be waiting for a permanent visa from the Labor government if they are re-elected and if they are found to be refugees that is what they will give them and the Coalition will not. 

Read the full interview here (bold indicates the passages which were edited out of the broadcast): 

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Campaigning out at Loftus this afternoon - I wish they had these when I was a kid.

Thanks to the Loftus Boys for a quick lesson.
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It's all spiraling out of control... 

NEW UNDERBELLY Sunday 9.00pm on Channel 9

‪#‎Underbelly‬
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7 Things You May Not Know About Jesus

READ MORE ► http://r.beliefnet.com/sevengc
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4 her
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Now's the time to tell all your friends on Facebook or not, to support me in becoming the Federal MP for Petrie. More likes, much appreciated !
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Calling all former Police Prosecutors....! 

Last year we hosted the inaugural Retired Police Day where we welcomed back officers from past decades to visit their former commands. It was a roaring success and will be celebrated again this year on Thursday 5 September (although individual commands may host their celebrations on days before/after that date).

The Police Prosecution Branch will honour the commitment and dedication of our former NSW Police prosecutors and sworn staff at a function on Thursday, 5 September 2013 at Parramatta.

We are seeking those officers who worked in the Prosecutor Branch and who retired or resigned with 10 or more years of ethical and diligent service. For further details and to register your attendance, please contact Sergeant Ken Schneiders (schn1ken@police.nsw.gov.au) or A/Sergeant Phill Clarke (clar2phi@police.nsw.gov.au).

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Pastor Rick Warren
Often, the last key on your ring unlocks the door. Do not give up! Gal. 6:9

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The Greens don't think students should be allowed to decide where their own hard-earned money goes. Join my campaign against themhttp://ow.ly/nCMYg
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Holly Sarah Nguyen
It looks negative, but it turns out to be the most important turning point. It looks positive, but then it doesn't turn out the way you wanted. Beginning to think... life just IS. And its best to avoid constantly trying to define it as good or bad.

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This is the bridge connecting Denmark and Sweden!
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In the cloud forests of Ecuador, scientists have "discovered" the olinguito, the first new carnivore species reported in the Western Hemisphere in 35 years. http://oak.ctx.ly/r/9xom

The orange-brown olinguito eluded classification by scientists for more than 100 years, despite being observed in the wild, ending up in museum collections and even being exhibited at the Louisville Zoo, the National Zoo and the Bronx Zoo in the 1960s and 1970s.
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BEWARE OF LABOR LIES

Labor’s latest trick to mislead and deceive the Australia public is to put out advertising material claiming “Connection to the NBN is “free”.

The use of the word “free” creates the false impression that the NBN is free - you don't have to pay.

Wow, aren't Labor great with all this free stuff they dish out.

But nothing is for free – especially the NBN (given the cost blow-outs) which looks like costing north of $90 billion.

In fact, if and when (given how hopelessly behind schedule the NBN is) a person is eventually connected to the NBN, the cost of the highest speed of the NBN of 1000mb/s (which Labor keep promoting is why fibre to everyhome in the nation is needed) is likely to be $20,000 per month.

If a corporation advertised that “connection is FREE” without qualifying that statement, that you still need to pay to use the service – they would face prosecution by the ACCC for engaging in misleading or deceptive conduct - and face million dollar fines.

But as we know, that's how the Labor party attempts to maintain their power.

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Pastor Rick Warren
“Do not get tired of doing what's right for after a while you’ll reap a harvest IF you don't get discouraged and give up.” Gal. 6:9

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It isn't how things work. But my, what if it was? - ed
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Sarah Palin
Obama Broke Up With You. Really. Totally Unfriended You...

Bristol's spot on. Young Americans better get their heads out of the sand and realize what this president stands for. It's no longer a partisan problem. This comes down to either being pro-America or not. And if you can't take a stand for liberty, what DO you stand for? Obama supporters: keep it up and watch America go to hell in a hand basket while you try to sleep at night realizing our veterans fought in vain. Read her post below. And wake up. 
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/bristolpalin/2013/08/enough-is-enough/

I saw a documentary about her last night. I was aware on forehand that she has some strange ideas (to say the least). But what scared me the most was her personality and the level in politics she already managed to achieve. I sincerely hope she gave up now. The way she treats people is coming close to being a sociopath... and I strikes me odd that she still has so many followers...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3U_IrxZppVA
I've seen the commentators and heard those comments. I have heard her speak too, unscripted. I believe the vicious commentaries to be hyperbole. I think she is a loving person who brought a disabled child into the world when many would have killed it. Her governorship of Alaska was good for Alaska. I don't fear her. I would worry, were I living in the US about Obama policy on various issues, from health to defence, but it is ok to disagree. And you know I love you and cherish your friendship Iris, whatever happens. - ed
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There’s no class in high school on how to not be a shitty boyfriend or girlfriend. Sure, they teach us the biology of sex, the legality of marriage, and maybe read a few obscure love stories from the 19th century on how not to be.
But when it comes down to actually handling the nitty-gritty of relationships, we’re given no pointers… or worse, we’re given advice columns in women’s magazines.
Yes, it’s trial-and-error from the get-go. And if you’re like most people, it’s been mostly error.
But part of the problem is that many unhealthy relationship habits are baked into our culture. We worship romantic love — you know, that dizzying and irrational romantic love that somehow finds breaking china plates on the wall in a fit of tears somewhat endearing — and scoff at practicality or unconventional sexualities. Men and women are raised to objectify each other and to objectify the relationships they’re in. Thus our partners are often seen as assets rather than someone to share mutual emotional support.
A lot of the self help literature out there isn’t helpful either (no, men and women are not from different planets, you over-generalizing prick.) And for most of us, mom and dad surely weren’t the best examples either.
Fortunately, there’s been a lot of psychological research into healthy and happy relationships the past few decades and there are some general principles that keep popping up consistently that most people are unaware of or don’t follow. In fact, some of these principles actually go against what is traditionally considered “romantic” or normal in a relationship.

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UN chief: Settlements Endanger Prospect Of Two States ::Ban says he’s ‘deeply troubled’ by West Bank construction plans; Abbas: All key issues came up in Wednesday’s peace talks By ASHER ZEIGER and AP August 15, 2013 http://www.timesofisrael.com/un-chief-settlements-may-make-2-state-solution-impossible/
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Philip Tran
I'm told a rubber guard is a jiujitsu term .. (tears of laughter streaming down face). I asked my wife what Jiujitsu is. She did did this graceful cat like move which tossed me to the other end of the hall .. I landed on my feet .. turned to her and said "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." And she laughed.  - ed
Loving my rubber guard!!! Wooo!

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Australian science returns to core purpose - ed

While sipping a frosty ale when the temperature is scorching is an Australian tradition, the practice is often counter-productive as the alcohol content increases dehydration.
The consumption of alcohol while dehydrated is also known to increase drunkenness, leading to the possibility of risky behaviour and, of course, the dreaded hangover.
But nutrition researchers at Griffith University's Health Institute believe they've found the way to enjoy a beer and keep your fluid levels in check.
The institute manipulated the electrolyte levels of two commercial beers, one regular strength and one light, before giving them to people who had just been undertaking rigorous exercise.
And while the researchers don't recommend drinking beer after exercise, the study showed the altered light beer was a third more effective at hydrating a person than normal beer.
"This is definitely not a good idea, but what we've found is that many people who sweat a lot, especially tradesmen, knock off work and have a beer," associate professor Ben Desbrow said.
"But alcohol in a dehydrated body can have all sorts of repercussions, including decreased awareness of risk.
"So, if you're going to live in the real world, you can either spend your time telling people what they shouldn't do, or you can work on ways of reducing the danger of some of these socialised activities."

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Dry Bones, cartoon,Jonathan Pollard, Pollard, Prisoner Release, King Solomon, Israel, America, Palestinians, Peace, terror, terrorists,
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A local resident in Bullitt County Kentucky found a test an 8th grader would have taken in 1912. David Strange, the executive director of the Bullitt County History Museum, will join us at 12:50 to talk about this fun discovery!
Do you think you're smarter than an 8th grader from over 100 years ago? Answer the questions below to find out! (No cheating! Remember: calculators, Google, and Wikipedia did not exist 100 years ago!)
Arithmetic
1. Write in words the following: .5764; .000003; .123416; 653.0965; 43.37
2. Solve: 35.7 plus 4, 5.8 plus 5.14 -59.112.
3. Find cost at 12 1/2 cents per sq. yd. of kalsomining the walls of a room 20 ft. long, 16 ft. wide and 9 ft. high deducting 1 door 8 ft. by 4 ft. 6 in. and 2 windows 5 ft. by 3 ft. 6 in. each.
4. A man bought a farm for $2400 and sold it for $2700. What percent did he gain?
5. A man sold a watch for $180 and lost 16 2/3%. What was the cost of the watch?
6. Find the amount of $5030 for 3 yrs., 3 mo., and 3 days, at 8 per cent.
7. A school enrolled 120 pupils and the number of boys was two thirds the number of girls. How many of each sex were enrolled?
8. How long a rope is required to reach from the top of a building 40 ft. high to the ground 30 ft. from the base of the building?
9. How many steps 2 ft. 4 in. each will a man take in walking 2 1/4 miles?
10. At $1.62 1/2 a cord, what will be the cost of a pile of wood 24. ft long, 4 ft. wide, and 6 ft. 3 in. high?
Grammar
1. How many parts of speech are there? Define each.
2. Define proper noun; common noun. Name the properties of a noun.
3. What is a Personal Pronoun? Decline I.
4. What properties have verbs?
5. "William struck James." Change the Voice of the verb.
6. Adjectives have how many Degrees of Comparison? Compare good; wise; beautiful.
7. Diagram: The Lord loveth a cheerful giver.
8. Parse all the words in the following sentences. John ran over the bridge. Helen's parents love her.
Geography
1. Define longitude and latitude.
2. Name and give boundaries of the five zones.
3. Tell what you know of the Gulf Stream.
4. Locate Erie Canal; what waters does it connect, and why is it important?
5. Locate the following countries which border each other: Turket, Greece. Servia, Montenegro, Roumania.
6. Name and give the capitals of States touching the Ohio River.
7. Locate these cities: Mobile, Quebec, Buenos Aires, Liverpool, Honolulu.
8. Name in the order of their size: the three largest states in the United States.
9. Locate the following mountains: Blue Ridge, Himilaya, Andes, Alps, Wasatch.
10. Through what waters would a vessel pass in going from England through the Suez Canal to Manila?
Physiology
1. How does the liver compare in size with other glands in the human body? Where is it located? What does it secrate.
2. Name the organs of circulation.
3. Describe the heart.
4. Compare arteries and veins as to function. Where is the blood carried to be purified?
5. Where is the chief nervous center of the body?
6. Define Cerebrum; Cerebellum.
7. What are the functions (or uses) of the spinal column?
8. Why should we study Physiology?
9. Give at least five rules to be observed in maintaining good health?
Civil Government
1. Define the following forms of government: Democracy, Limited Monarchy, Absolute Monarchy, Republic. Give examples of each.
2. To what four governments in school subjected?
3. Name five county officers, and the principal duties of each.
4. Name and define the three branches of the government of the United States.
5. Give three duties of the President. What is meant by veto power?
6. Name three rights given Congres by the Constitution and two rights denied Congress.
7. In the election of a president and vice-president, how many electoral votes in each State allowed?
8. Give the eligibility of president, vice-president, and Governor of Kentucky.
9. What is copyright? Patent right?
10. Describe the manner in which the president and vice president of the United States are elected.
History
1. Who first discovered the following places: Florida, Pacific Ocean, Mississippi River, St. Lawrence River?
2. Sketch briefly Sir Walter Rawleigh, Peter Stuyvesant.
3. By whom were the following settled. Ga, Md, Mass, R.I., Fla?
4. During what wars were the following battles fought: Brandywine, Great Meadows, Lundy's Lane, Antietam, Buena Vista.
5. Descrive the Battle of Quebec.
6. Give the cause of the war of 1812 and name an important battle fought during that war.
7. Name 2 presidents who have died in office, three who were assasinated.
8. Name the last battle of the Civil War; War of 1812; French and Indian War, and the commanders in each battle.
9. What president was impeached, and on what charge?
10. Who invented the following - Magnetic, Telegraph, Cotton Gin, Sewing Machine, Telephone, Phonograph?


Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/happening-now/blog/2013/08/15/are-you-smarter-8th-grader-1912#ixzz2c8Flis4E

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Recently a United Nations entity, theCommittee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP), awarded official UN accreditation to an NGO called thePerdana Global Peace Foundation. The NGO is led by its founder, Mahathir Mohamad, a former Malaysian prime-minister known for his overtly anti-Semitic views. CEIRPP Chairman Abdu Salam Diallo wished to “thank him and congratulate him for everything he has done in his political career and for the Palestinian people”.
In 2003 Mahathir Mohamad became rather infamous for his anti-Semitic views, after he attacked Israel and the Jewish People in an Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) speech, which was criticised internationally. He stated:
…today the Jews rule the world by proxy. They get others to fight and die for them… They invented socialism, communism, human rights and democracy, so that persecuting them would appear to be wrong, so that they can enjoy equal rights with others.
His OIC speech is one of numerous examples through the years. At an al Quds pro-Palestinian rally in 2010 Mohamad effectively justified the Holocaust:
Jews had always been a problem in European countries. They had been confined in ghettos and periodically massacred… Even after their massacre by the Nazis in Germany, they survived to be a source of even greater problems to the world.
Media slippage
Unfortunately the media rarely challenge the CEIRPP’s activities. Slanted coverage of theMohamad story by the Times of Israel gives credence to the CEIRPP’s claim that they seek a lasting two-state solution:
The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, whose objective is “two states, Israel and Palestine, living side by side within secure and recognized borders,”…
The assertion is presented as fact, which is only countered by the quoted opinions of others, without the citation of opposing factual claims. However, it is quite evident that the CEIRPP seeks the nullification of Israel’s Jewish status by proposed demographic methods. To quote an annex of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 35/169:
69. The second phase deals with the return to their homes of the Palestinians displaced between 1948 and 1967. The Committee recommends that:
(a) While the first phase is being implemented, the United Nations in co-operation with the States directly involved, and the Palestine Liberation Organization as the interim representative of the Palestinian entity, should proceed to make the necessary arrangements to enable Palestinians displaced between 1948 and 1967 to exercise their right to return to their homes and property…
Thus, if there is any truth to the CEIRPP’s assertions, the only two-state solution they advocate would be two Palestine’s, where one is Israel in name only, its populace subsumed by Muslim-Arab migration. Such a stance has long been advocated by Arab-Palestinian leaders, and many groups hostile to Israel.
The CEIRPP has for many years organised conferences devoted to Israeli occupation “from 1948 onward” — 1948 being the very point of Israel’s creation. Clearly they do not recognise Israel’s right to exist in any meaningful sense.
An instrument of the UN’s belligerence against Israel
The United Nation’s decades-long animosity toward Israel has become the stuff of legend. Indeed,Kofi Annan admitted in 2006:
On one side, supporters of Israel feel that it is harshly judged by standards that are not applied to its enemies, and too often this is true, particularly in some UN bodies.
Unfortunately such admissions have done nothing to alter the UN’s prejudicial policy toward Israel, a cruel irony given the fact that the UN’s creation was given some impetus as a consequence of the Holocaust.
There are numerous examples of direct and indirect UN agency involvement in Israel’s demonisation, e.g. in 2012 Palestinian Media Watch discovered that a UN funded Arab-Palestinian community centre was putting on a puppet show in Jerusalem that suggested children shouldn’t smoke cigarettes. Instead they should clutch machine guns to kill Jews.
The UN’s Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) is a principle source of anti-Israel NGO funding, although for the most part the organisation has not issued details of its funding network publicly.
An ADL report in 2009 noted that substantial annual funds allocated to the CEIRPP by the UN have enabled it to become “a primary vehicle for Israeli demonization” and represents “the only committee in the UN devoted to a specific people.”
The CEIRPP is a central element of the UN’s policy toward Israel. Its unique status, dedicated to a specific people is redolent of the UNHRC’s permanent anti-Israel agenda at its meetings, treatment that is not afforded to other states. UNRWA is the only UN refugee agency dedicated to a specific people, the Palestinians. In contrast to UNHCR, the general UN refugee agency, UNRWA has been shown to systematically radicalise those in its care, perpetuating their refugee status instead of resolving it through integration and resettlement.
There are eleven primary committees that serve the United Nations General Assembly. The CEIRPP is one of these eleven, oddly placed among other committees performing very generalised roles within the UN or dealing with generalised subject areas, such as outer space and atomic energy. There is a separate category of seven explicitly specific “ad-hoc” committees, of which the UNRWA is one. Again it is the only entity of this group dedicated to a specific people. Finally there are four “special” and three “advisory” committees, where again only one is dedicated to a specific people, the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People and Other Arabs of the Occupied Territories (SCIIHRP)!
Of the other working groups assisting the UN General Assembly, only one is specific to a distinct group of people, the Working Group on the Finance of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
Another UN entity, the Division for Palestinian Rights (DPR), has a quasi-symbiotic role in assisting the CEIRPP with its many international conferences and reports. In 2005 Anne Patterson, Deputy US Representative to the UN, stated:
The U.S. seeks the abolition of the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian and of the Division of Palestinian Rights because both are inimical to the aim of ensuring that UN monies are directed to our highest priorities and in achieving a just and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict… The United States strongly opposes the use of scarce UN resources to support the biased and one-sided political activities carried out by the Committee.
Defamation under the dovish guise of peace
The Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People has been a coreinternational component of Israel’s demonisation since 1975. Fittingly, it was created when the United Nations Arab and Islamic blocs managed passage of General Assembly Resolution 3379, an infamous text that declared Zionism to be “a form of racism and racial discrimination.”
UN Resolution 3379 was repealed in 1991 but the CEIRPP succeeded in reintroducing the same meme that self-determination of the Jewish People equals racism, at the equally infamous United Nations 2001 Durban “anti-racism” Conference. Durban I is seen by many as a crucial catalytic event that has greatly advanced Israel’s demonisation.
The CEIRPP would continue to spread this message with a succession of major conferences through the first decade of the New Millennium. One of their conferences in Paris became the international platform for launching the BDS Movement which aims to destroy Israel.
The CEIRPP’s concerns about racism can be viewed with genuine scepticism, not only because the organisation is a driving force at anti-Semitic events. Its commitment to prejudice against Arabs, of which the Palestinians are comprised, can also be questioned because Mahathir Mohamad’sstatements about Arab stupidity were of little concern to them.
The Committee’s successes are notable. In 2007, the CEIRPP hosted a conference at the European Parliament in Brussels. The event was called “International Conference of Civil Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace.” The title is yet another example of Orwellian propaganda since speakers uniformly demonised the Jewish State.
A number of European Parliamentary members aptly described the CEIRPP’s corrosive influence:
Despite the neutrally sounding title of its conference, CEIRPP has a proven record of anti-Israel bias, spreading propaganda that presents only the Palestinian narrative, including the delegitimization of Israel — a UN member state. The CEIRPP casts a shadow on the UN role in the Middle East conflict and is first and foremost harmful to the UN.
Similarly, in 2011 the CEIRPP was an important tool in galvanising support for a unilateral bid for Palestinian statehood at the UN, a move which went against the spirit of a negotiated peace as enshrined in the Oslo Accords.
In 2012 the Simon Wiesenthal Centre sought to bring the CEIRPP’s activities to the attention of Ban Ki-moon, the United Nation’s Secretary General, in the aftermath of a CEIRPP sponsored UNESCO meeting in Paris. The Centre requested an investigation into the Committee’s activities, deeming them to be in violation of the principles of the UN Charter, and a threat to world peace.
Rob Harris contributes articles to several websites on contentious political issues (not to be confused with the popular English novelist (1957-) of the same name). He blogs ateirael.blogspot.com. He lives in Ireland. For all the exclusive blog entries by Rob Harris,go here.

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4 her
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Rhodolite ring and coloured stones by Isabelle Langlois
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Hope in desolation in Egypt - ed
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Pastor Rick Warren
I want to sincerely thank you for following me. I pray you feel God's presence, enjoy his grace,and experience his peace today.

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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in Your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed (Psalm 139:16)
Did you know that God has already recorded every part of your life from the beginning to the end? He knows every disappointment, every loss, every challenge; and the good news is that your story ends in victory. God has written out a plan to bless and prosper you. Your final chapter concludes with you fulfilling your God-given destiny. Here’s the key: when you go through a disappointment, when you go through a loss, don’t stop on that page in your life. You’ve got to decide to keep moving forward. There’s another chapter in front of you, but you’ve got to be willing to take the next step.
It may not have been fair, but remember, the next chapter is full of blessing, full of favor, and full of victory. Make the decision to let go of the old so that you can move forward into the abundant life God has in store for you.God bless you.

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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
Be encouraged today because God is working behind the scenes on your behalf. Delight yourself in Him — find joy in serving Him and make your heart moldable in His hands. Don’t settle for mediocrity because God knows what’s in you, and His plan is to finish the work He began in you.
Abba Father,I thank You for the favor and blessing You have poured out upon my life. I humbly come to You today, giving You all that I am. Thank You for fulfilling every desire in my heart. Mold me and shape me into Your image. Remove anything from my life that is displeasing to You so that everything I am brings glory to You. I choose to look with my eyes of faith past my circumstances to the good future You have prearranged for me. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.

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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
His favor lasts a lifetime.(Psalm 30:5, NIV)
Did you know that God has already released good things into your future? His favor covers your lifetime! When God laid out the plan for your life, He lined up the right people, the right circumstances, and the right breaks. In your future, He’s already released favor, supernatural opportunities, and divine connections. The good breaks you need have already been preordained to come across your path. If you will stay in faith and go out each day and be a person of excellence. You’ll look back and think, “How did I get to where I am? I’m not the most qualified, but I got the promotion. I didn’t deserve that break, but someone went out of their way to help me.” What happened? You walked into that favor that was already poured out on your path.

Today, no matter what you may be facing, focus on moving forward. He has already ordered your steps and arranged good things for you. Keep praying, keep believing, and keep hoping because there is favor in store for your future.God bless you.

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Today The Australian newspaper reported:
“Aided by a $2 levy on two million union members over three years, the ACTU has amassed an electoral war chest valued at more than $12 million, which will be used to intensify its on-the-ground campaign in 38 key seats … Several unions are directly funding Labor and supporting individual candidates with resources.”
We have an opportunity to change Australia for the better, but only if we have the resources to match Labor and the Union bosses.

To directly help fund our advertising campaign, I’m asking you, and your friends, to make a donation.

If you want to help us win the election – now is the time to please consider stepping up andmaking a donation at https://www.liberal.org.au/donate

You can also assist by forwarding this request to as many of your friends as possible.

Your support is greatly valued and appreciated.

Kind regards,

Brian Loughnane
Campaign Director

Authorised by Brian Loughnane, Cnr Blackall and Macquarie Streets, Barton  ACT 2604. 
Copyright © Liberal Party of Australia.

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Hi everyone! Here's the MichelleMalkin.com newsletter for August 15th. Enjoy!

From the Blog

10 images mocking George W. Bush that were far worse than a harmless rodeo clown

Over the years, I’ve meticulously chronicled progressive haters and their rank hypocrisy...

NBC: Businesses cutting employee hours because of Obamacare; White House: Nuh-uh!

Last month, Jay Carney said that the suggestion that Obamacare is reducing full-time hiring is “belied by the facts,” not unlike Jay Carney usually is...

Stop Common Core video of the day: 3 x 4 = 11

Loyal readers know of my longtime crusade against fuzzy math/Everyday Math and Common Core educational corruption...

More From the Right Side of the Web

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This morning on "FOX & Friends," Michelle talked about Sen. Rubio's support for Shamnesty and the Left's obsession with a rodeo clown.

Michelle's Top Tweets

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And ... Our Hate Tweet of the Day

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Truly an honor to be acknowledged by a wordsmith like Ringo.

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August 16Children's Day in Paraguay
Joseph Kittinger making his record-setting parachute jump

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Events[edit source | editbeta]

Births[edit source | editbeta]

Deaths[edit source | editbeta]

Holidays and observances[edit source | editbeta]


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“If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.”Romans 14:8 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

"Isaac went out to meditate in the field at the eventide."
Genesis 24:63
Very admirable was his occupation. If those who spend so many hours in idle company, light reading, and useless pastimes, could learn wisdom, they would find more profitable society and more interesting engagements in meditation than in the vanities which now have such charms for them. We should all know more, live nearer to God, and grow in grace, if we were more alone. Meditation chews the cud and extracts the real nutriment from the mental food gathered elsewhere. When Jesus is the theme, meditation is sweet indeed. Isaac found Rebecca while engaged in private musings; many others have found their best beloved there.
Very admirable was the choice of place. In the field we have a study hung round with texts for thought. From the cedar to the hyssop, from the soaring eagle down to the chirping grasshopper, from the blue expanse of heaven to a drop of dew, all things are full of teaching, and when the eye is divinely opened, that teaching flashes upon the mind far more vividly than from written books. Our little rooms are neither so healthy, so suggestive, so agreeable, or so inspiring as the fields. Let us count nothing common or unclean, but feel that all created things point to their Maker, and the field will at once be hallowed.
Very admirable was the season. The season of sunset as it draws a veil over the day, befits that repose of the soul when earthborn cares yield to the joys of heavenly communion. The glory of the setting sun excites our wonder, and the solemnity of approaching night awakens our awe. If the business of this day will permit it, it will be well, dear reader, if you can spare an hour to walk in the field at eventide, but if not, the Lord is in the town too, and will meet with thee in thy chamber or in the crowded street. Let thy heart go forth to meet him.

Evening

"And I will give you an heart of flesh."
Ezekiel 36:26
A heart of flesh is known by its tenderness concerning sin. To have indulged a foul imagination, or to have allowed a wild desire to tarry even for a moment, is quite enough to make a heart of flesh grieve before the Lord. The heart of stone calls a great iniquity nothing, but not so the heart of flesh.
"If to the right or left I stray,
That moment, Lord, reprove;
And let me weep my life away,
For having grieved thy love"
The heart of flesh is tender of God's will. My Lord Will-be-will is a great blusterer, and it is hard to subject him to God's will; but when the heart of flesh is given, the will quivers like an aspen leaf in every breath of heaven, and bows like an osier in every breeze of God's Spirit. The natural will is cold, hard iron, which is not to be hammered into form, but the renewed will, like molten metal, is soon moulded by the hand of grace. In the fleshy heart there is a tenderness of the affections. The hard heart does not love the Redeemer, but the renewed heart burns with affection towards him. The hard heart is selfish and coldly demands, "Why should I weep for sin? Why should I love the Lord?" But the heart of flesh says; "Lord, thou knowest that I love thee; help me to love thee more!" Many are the privileges of this renewed heart; "'Tis here the Spirit dwells, 'tis here that Jesus rests." It is fitted to receive every spiritual blessing, and every blessing comes to it. It is prepared to yield every heavenly fruit to the honour and praise of God, and therefore the Lord delights in it. A tender heart is the best defence against sin, and the best preparation for heaven. A renewed heart stands on its watchtower looking for the coming of the Lord Jesus. Have you this heart of flesh?
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Today's reading: Psalm 91-93, Romans 15:1-13 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Psalm 91-93

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High
will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust."
3 Surely he will save you
from the fowler's snare
and from the deadly pestilence.
4 He will cover you with his feathers,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.
You will not fear the terror of night,
nor the arrow that flies by day,
6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness,
nor the plague that destroys at midday.
7 A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand at your right hand,
but it will not come near you.
8 You will only observe with your eyes
and see the punishment of the wicked....

Today's New Testament reading: Romans 15:1-13

1 We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves. 2 Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up. 3 For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: "The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me." 4 For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have hope.
5 May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind toward each other that Christ Jesus had, 6 so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ....
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Hannah

The Woman Who Personifies Ideal Motherhood
Scripture References - 1 Samuel 1; 2:1, 21
Name Meaning - The Hebrew setting of Hannah has the beautiful and attractive meaning of "gracious" or "graciousness" or "favor" and by a slight change becomes the smoother Ann, Anne, or Anna - the latter form touching the classic world with keen interest. Anna was the name given by Virgil to the twin-souled sister of the lovelorn Queen Dido.
And now Aurora from the heavens had rent the mist apart,
Sick-souled her sister (Anna) she bespeaks, the sharer of her heart.
Family Connections - Hannah was the favorite wife of Elkanah, a Levite of Ramathaim Zophim who belonged to one of the most honorable families of that priestly portion of Jacob's progeny - the Kohathites. Although a godly man he followed the common custom of polygamy in those days when "every man did that which was right in the sight of his own eyes." As it was the burning desire of every Hebrew parent to have a son, Hannah who was barren, may have urged her husband to take another wife, as Sarah arranged with Abraham to do, so that Elkanah's name might be perpetuated. The second wife was Peninnah, of whom we know nothing save that she bore Elkanah several children, and grieved Hannah with her cruel and scurrilous tongue. "The sacred writer does not keep us long in Peninnah's company," says Alexander Whyte, "he hastens past Peninnah to tell us about Hannah, that sorely-fretted and sequestered woman, who waters her couch with her tears." The curse accompanying polygamy shows up in Elkanah's home life. Hannah became the mother of the renowned Samuel, and also bore Elkanah three other sons and two daughters none of whom are mentioned by name (1 Samuel 2:21)
The Bible has been called "The World's Gallery of Lasting Fame," and in this gallery the portrait of Hannah occupies a conspicuous place. All that is recorded of this mother, who was one of the most noble Hebrews who ever lived, is an inspiration and a benediction. Whether she was as beautiful as Sarah we are not told, but because of her inner serenity she must have had "a very sensitive face, in which her moods were reflected like sunshine and shadow on a quiet lake." The story we have of her is "a harp-note of the immortal triumph of patience." Hannah is a beautiful example of how the most unpleasant and untoward circumstances can produce a character blessing the world. "The outline touches of her life," says John F. Jurst, "sombre and mournful at first, but radiant with faith and hope at last, form the fitting introduction to the narrative of the career of her great son Samuel in his combined character of Judge and Prophet of Israel." Perhaps we can best summarize Hannah's career in the following fivefold way -
Her Sanctity
From the record we have of Hannah she appears to have been a woman with an unblemished character. Piety reigned in her heart, and she maintained constant communion with the religious ordinances of her nation. Pious Hannah was separated unto the Lord, and amidst trying domestic relationships knew how to have recourse to Him for all necessary grace to bear her troubles. She cried day and night unto the Lord, and was heard in that she feared Him whom her soul loved. Because of her godliness, devotion, trust, patience and self-sacrifice, she came to be signally blessed of the Lord, and, in turn, communicated to her renowned son Samuel something of her saintliness of life and character. It was no easy task to live for years with a nasty woman like Peninnah, but Hannah retained her serenity of soul and was a veritable lily among thorns.
Her Sorrow
While Hannah had a house she did not have a home. The ideal of every Jewess was to be "head of the home," but she had no child, no family. True, she had a devout husband who loved her, and bestowed richer gifts upon her than he did upon his other wife, but she was childless. Comforting her yearning heart Elkanah said, "Am I not better to thee than ten sons?" Hannah, however, longed for a son out of her own womb to love and fondle. As the years went by her agony became more intense, and her barrenness was a greater burden because of the jealousy and heartlessness of her rival, Peninnah, who frequently tantalized Hannah for being childless. But true to her name, she manifested the grace of self-control amid the cruel chidings and reproaches of Peninnah, "her adversary who provoked her sore, and made her to fret." Can we wonder that Hannah referred to herself as, "a woman of a sorrowful spirit"? Jealousy, "the green-eyed monster that mocks the meat it feeds on," had taken possession of Peninnah, but not of Hannah. Although the Lord had "shut up her womb" her heart was still open toward Him. Made to sorrow by those nearest to her, Hannah was never guilty of any unwomanly, retaliatory conduct. Whenever her husband tried to comfort her stricken heart, her adversary was provoked to fresh insults and taunts. The fact that Elkanah loved Hannah and bestowed a double portion upon her only added more fuel to the fire of contempt in Peninnah's heart.
Her Supplication
Childless, Hannah was not prayerless. Barren, she still believed, and her pain found a refuge in prayer. In God's house, she besought the Creator "to raise her into the empire of motherhood," and to interfere with the law of nature on her behalf. How moving is the episode of Hannah pouring out her soul before God in His house and vowing that if He would give her a son, then she would give him back to God for His exclusive use! She bargained with God, and kept her bargain. She took her particular sorrow to God, and prayed, not that Peninnah's joy might be less, but that He would take away the cause of her own anguish. She gave herself to prayer, and in the presence of God her sorrow burst its bonds. Yet even in God's house at Shiloh she did not find at first the sympathy and understanding she sought. Think, for a moment, about some of the features of her heartfelt cry!
First of all, her prayer was of a peculiar kind. It was a supplication without external speech. Her lips moved but there was no sound. Her prayer was internal, and as she spoke thus to herself she created the impression that she was drunk with wine. She had learned that prayer is the Christian's native breath, "unuttered or expressed." While she never said a prayer, "she breathed a wish in her soul and sent it up unspoken right to the throne of God. It is a unique experience for the age of the Judges; the piety of Hannah is a ripe flower in an almost sterile field." The old priest Eli, not meaning to be unkind when he saw Hannah's lips moving and her whole being caught up in the fervency of her supplication and yet heard no words being expressed, somewhat felt that Hannah was drunk and upbraided her for coming into God's house in such a condition. How his hasty, ill-founded conclusions added gall to the sorrow of her heart.
Hannah protested her innocence and declared that she had never taken strong drink, and then poured out her soul to Eli who, discerning that her desire for a child was intense and her spirit, sacrificial, for she wanted nothing for herself alone, assured her that her inarticulate prayer had been heard. "Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant thee thy petition that thou hast asked of him." Down she went to her house content forshe believed. She was no longer forlorn, sorrowful, heart-hungry, but joyous and buoyant. God granted her wish, and the yearned-for child arrived and she called his name Samuel, which means, "asked of the Lord."
Her Song
Hannah's Psalm of Thanksgiving marks her out as a poetess and prophetess of no mean order. With her desire fulfilled she bursts into song and pours forth her gratitude to God for His goodness, and her Magnificat became the basis of the one the blessed Virgin Mary was to offer to the same covenant-keeping God. The reader will find a strong resemblance between Hannah's song and that of Mary's (Luke 1:46-55 ). The spiritual lyric of Hannah is equal to any of the Psalms and is eloquent with the divine attributes of power, holiness, knowledge, majesty and grace. Such an elevated poetic utterance elicited by God's answer to her prayer, has stirred the hearts of saints all down the centuries. The following parallel arrangement brings out the points of resemblance between Hannah's song and that of Mary's -
Mary's Song

My soul doth magnify the Lord
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
He hath shewed strength with his arm;
He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats,
And exalted them of low degree.
He hath filled the hungry with good things;
And the rich he hath sent empty away.
Hannah's Song

My heart rejoiceth in the Lord,
Mine horn is exalted in the Lord;
The bows of the mighty men are broken
And they that stumbled are girded with strength.
The Lord killeth, and maketh alive:
He bringeth down to the grave and bringeth up;
They that were full have hired out themselves for bread;
And they that were hungry ceased.
Her Sacrifice
Hannah prayed and promised, and when her prayer was answered she quietly redeemed her promise. More than anything in the world she wanted a son, and when God gave her one, she gave him back to the Lord. Although Samuel was not born to the priesthood, his mother had sacredly pledged him to the Lord; and that pledge must be kept no matter what it might cost her in loneliness. So when weaned, Samuel was taken to the house of the Lord, "there to abide forever." Once a year she visited him and what a human touch we have in that she made a little coat for him to wear. Her saintliness and sacrifice were rewarded for she bore Elkanah five more children. As for Samuel, he grew up to reflect his revered mother's godliness. True to the meaning of his own name, and in likeness to his mother's prevailing intercession, he became a man of prayer and intercession all his days - and beyond all men had power with, and from, God. How appropriate are the lines of Tennyson as we think of Samuel and his saintly mother, Hannah -
Happy he
With such a mother! Faith in womankind
Beats with his blood, and trust in all things high
Comes easy to him, and tho' he trip and fall
He shall not blind his soul with clay.
The lessons to be gathered from the fascinating story of Hannah are clearly evident. First of all, as we think of all Samuel became we realize how the excellencies of many men have usually been foreshadowed, if not exemplified, in the characters of their mothers. "The genius and intellectual sweep of Goethe were foretokened in the manysided brilliancy of Frau Rath." The mother of John Wesley was remarkable for her intelligence, godliness and executive ability earning her the title of "The Mother of Methodism." As no one in all the bleak world is more fitted to guide little feet God-ward, may heaven grant us more mothers like godly Hannah.
From Peninnah's harsh treatment of Hannah we discover how a thoughtless, unloving word of ours can give sorrow to others. How necessary it is to guard our tongues! (James 3:910 ). From Hannah's conduct under much provocation we first of all learn that the heart of God is a comforting retreat for a sorrowful soul. Whatever our particular sorrow may be, the Man of Sorrows waits to undertake. Hannah carried her trial and yearning to God in prayer and she teaches us something about the necessity for form and the spirit of intercession. Compare her silent heart-prayer with Psalm 19:14 . From Eli who misjudged Hannah we learn not to be too hasty in our conclusions. Too often we wrong others by misinterpreting their motives. In Hannah's mild and dignified defense of her character we learn how to defend our rights in all humility (seeJohn 8:4849Acts 26:24-26).
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Jozabad, Josabad

[Jŏz'abăd, Jŏs'a băd] - jehovah hath bestowed or endowed.
  1. A Gederathite of Judah who joined David at Ziklag (1 Chron. 12:4). Also called Josabad.
  2. A man of Manasseh who did the same (1 Chron. 12:20).
  3. Another Manassite who did the same (1 Chron. 12:20).
  4. A Levite , and one of the overseers of tithes in Hezekiah's reign (2 Chron. 31:13).
  5. A Levite chief in Josiah's reign (2 Chron. 35:9).
  6. A son of Jeshua, employed in weighing the sanctuary vessels brought from Babylon (Ezra 8:33).
  7. A priest who had married a foreign wife (Ezra 10:22).
  8. A Levite who had also married a foreign wife ( Ezra 10:23 ).
  9. A Levite interpreter of the Law read by Ezra (Neh. 8:7).
  10. A chief Levite in Jerusalem after the exile (Neh. 11:16).
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