Tue Nov 25th Todays News

Mismanagement. 

White Ribbon Day is about ending violence against women, including domestic violence. Men do not beat up women, but the ugly creatures are male. Usually not very bright males who cannot compete with decent people. They probably like getting smashed drunk and take drugs, making them fun at parties for comic value. They might feel they are successful at sleeping with lots of women, but struggle with intimacy where they try to be controlling. Women in relationships with such creatures may feel isolated. The secret to overthrowing the oppression is to be a friend, but some women isolate themselves. A tragic recent example might be the polynesian girl who left her baby in a drain. The baby was discovered after five days, but survived. The woman, now in jail awaiting a court appearance was so isolated, although living with her parents, that apparently none noticed she had given birth or without the child. How alone can one woman be? 

ABC management will move heaven and earth to save their home grown 1%ers. Their lawless, clueless, overpaid presenters, mostly living in Sydney's North and Eastern suburbs, or CBD. They have very refined opinions they insist others share, but they work very hard to ensure are the same as each others. A 5% efficiency for another group would mean delaying a computer project a few months, or having a smaller, Sydney University themed Christmas Party. But at the ABC it means sacking any of the subnormals who don't live in Sydney or earn enough to be truly valued. Also it means funnelling the savings into expanding their competition with commercial companies while sacrificing their core values of diversity and balance. 

Australian parliament in question time and the ALP leader asks Mr Abbott about a broken promise regarding an ABC cut. The Liberal Party made clear prior to the election that substantive funding would remain but there would be efficiency cuts. The 5% cut to the ABC maintains that promise, But ALP are unwilling to understand that. Shorten repeatedly asks the question and calls it a broken promise. His party had been $30 billion off budget and have blocked cuts since. The ALP debt has to be paid for. Shorten's apparent popularity stems from him saying anything at all without being responsible. It was the same policy that saw the ALP have four leaders in three years while stumbling from crisis to crisis in office. But the ABC has a special place in Shorten's heart, and he has promised if he is ever elected to government he would restore funding to the ALP regardless of efficiency. Shorten's party has seen a $600 billion turnaround in Australia's fortunes. No wonder he doesn't understand the answer to his own questions. But the question remains, why doesn't the ABC understand those answers? Assuming they aren't compromised in supporting a mate, they must be incompetent. 

Meanwhile in the US Obama has a plan to ensure he is irrelevant moving forward, by antagonising the new congress and attempting what he would never dare to when he had responsibilities. His incompetence is making it very difficult for the doormat, Hilary. Hilary might be very popular as an alternative to other Democrats, but unpopular when compared to any Republican. Hilary's problem, apart from being a doormat to any alpha male, is that Obama has isolated her. Someone needs to be her friend and help her leave politics. Meanwhile Obama has fired Chuck Hagel after championing him two years ago. Whatever has happened, it isn't Hagel's fault, because it wasn't his idea. He doesn't have them. He is a victim of mismanagement. A mismanagement that has raised the deficit to almost $18 trillion US. Obama had declared Bush was an 'Economic Vandal' when the debt was $8 trillion during a war.  

Historical perspective on this day 

In 571 BC, Servius Tullius, king of Rome, celebrated a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans. In 1034, Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots, died. Donnchad, the son of his daughter Bethóc and Crínán of Dunkeld, inherited the throne. In 1120, the White Ship sank in the English Channel, drowning William Adelin, son and heir of Henry I of England. In 1177, Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Raynald of Châtillon defeated Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard. In 1343, a tsunami, caused by an earthquake in the Tyrrhenian Sea, devastated Naples (Italy) and the Maritime Republic of Amalfi, among other places. In 1487, Elizabeth of York was crowned Queen of England. In 1491, the siege of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, began. In 1667, a deadly earthquake rocked Shemakha in the Caucasus, killing 80,000 people. In 1755, King Ferdinand VI of Spain granted royal protection to the Beaterio de la Compañia de Jesus, now known as the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary. In 1758,  French and Indian War: British forces captured Fort Duquesne from French control. Later, Fort Pitt would be built nearby and grow into modern Pittsburgh. In 1759, an earthquake hit the Mediterranean destroying Beirut and Damascus and killing 30,000-40,000. In 1783, American Revolutionary War: The last British troops left New York City three months after the signing of the Treaty of Paris. In 1795, Partitions of Poland: Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last king of independent Poland, was forced to abdicate and was exiled to Russia. 

In 1826, the Greek frigate Hellas arrived in Nafplion to become the first flagship of the Hellenic Navy. In 1833, a massive undersea earthquake, estimated magnitude between 8.7-9.2, rocked Sumatra, producing a massive tsunami all along the Indonesian coast. In 1839, a cyclone slammed India with high winds and a 40-foot storm surge, destroying the port city of Coringa (which has never been completely rebuilt). The storm wave sweeps inland, taking with it 20,000 ships and thousands of people. An estimated 300,000 deaths resulted from the disaster. In 1863, American Civil War: Battle of Missionary Ridge: At Missionary Ridge in Tennessee, Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grant broke the Siege of Chattanooga by routing Confederate troops under General Braxton Bragg. In 1864, American Civil War: A group of Confederate operatives calling themselves the Confederate Army of Manhattan started fires in more than 20 locations in an unsuccessful attempt to burn down New York City. In 1874, the United States Greenback Party was established as a political party consisting primarily of farmers affected by the Panic of 1873. In 1876, American Indian Wars: In retaliation for the American defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, United States Army troops sacked Chief Dull Knife's sleeping Cheyenne village at the headwaters of the Powder River. 

In 1905, Prince Carl of Denmark arrived in Norway to become King Haakon VII of Norway. In 1915, Albert Einstein presented the field equations of general relativity to the Prussian Academy of Sciences. In 1917, World War I: German forces defeat Portuguese army of about 1200 at Negomano on the border of modern-day Mozambique and Tanzania. In 1918, Vojvodina, formerly Austro-Hungarian crown land, proclaimed its secession from Austria–Hungary to join the Kingdom of Serbia. In 1926, the deadliest November tornado outbreak in U.S. history struck on Thanksgiving Day. Twenty-seven twisters of great strength were reported in the Midwest, including the strongest November tornado, an estimated F4, that devastates Heber Springs, Arkansas. There were 51 deaths in Arkansas alone, 76 deaths and over 400 injuries in all. In 1936, in Berlin, Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact, agreeing to consult on measures "to safeguard their common interests" in the case of an unprovoked attack by the Soviet Union against either nation. The pact is renewed on the same day five years later with additional signatories. 

In 1940, World War II: First flight of the de Havilland Mosquito and Martin B-26 Marauder. In 1941,  HMS Barham was sunk by a German torpedo during World War II. In 1943, World War II: Statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina was re-established at the State Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. In 1947, Red Scare: The "Hollywood Ten" were blacklisted by Hollywood movie studios. Also, New Zealand ratified the Statute of Westminster and thus becomes independent of legislative control by the United Kingdom. In 1950, the Great Appalachian Storm of November 1950, known at the time as the "Storm of the Century", strikes New England with hurricane force winds resulting in massive forest blow-downs and storm surge damage along the Northeast coast including New York City. This storm also brings blizzard conditions to the Appalachian Mountains and Ohio Valley, becoming one of the worst storms of all time. Three hundred fifty-three people die in the event. In 1952, Agatha Christie's murder-mystery play The Mousetrap opened at the Ambassadors Theatre in London. It would become the longest continuously-running play in history. Also, Korean War: After 42 days of fighting, the Battle of Triangle Hill ended as American and South Korean units abandoned their attempt to capture the "Iron Triangle". In 1958,  French Sudan gained autonomy as a self-governing member of the French Community. In 1960, the Mirabal sisters of the Dominican Republic were assassinated.

In 1970, in Japan, author Yukio Mishima and one compatriot commit ritualistic seppuku after an unsuccessful coup attempt. In 1973, George Papadopoulos, head of the military Regime of the Colonels in Greece, was ousted in a hardliners' coup led by Brigadier General Dimitrios Ioannidis. In 1975, Suriname gained independence from the Netherlands. In 1977, former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., was found guilty by the Philippine Military Commission No. 2 and was sentenced to death by firing squad. In 1981, Pope John Paul II appointed Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. In 1984, thirty-six top musicians gathered in a Notting Hill studio and recorded Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. In 1986, Iran–Contra affair: U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese announced that profits from covert weapons sales to Iran were illegally diverted to the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua. In 1986, the King Fahd Causeway was officially opened in the Persian Gulf.

In 1987, Typhoon Nina pummelled the Philippines with category 5 winds of 165 mph and a surge that destroyed entire villages. At least 1,036 deaths were attributed to the storm. In 1992, the Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia voted to split the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with effect from January 1, 1993. In 1996, an ice storm struck the central U.S., killing 26 people. A powerful windstorm affected Florida and winds gust over 90 mph, toppling trees and flipping trailers. In 1999, the United Nations established the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to commemorate the murder of three Mirabal sisters for resistance against the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic. In 2000, the 2000 Baku earthquake, with a Richter magnitude of 7.0, left 26 people dead in Baku, Azerbaijan, and became the strongest earthquake in the region in 158 years. In 2008, Cyclone Nisha struck northern Sri Lanka, killing 15 people and displacing 90,000 others while dealing the region the highest rainfall in nine decades. In 2009, Jeddah floods: Freak rains swamped the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during an ongoing Hajj pilgrimage. Three thousand cars were swept away and 122 people perished in the torrents, with 350 others missing.

from 2013

On the 50th anniversary of the death of JFK, Obama has celebrated by threatening the world. The deal with Iran to allow them to develop plutonium, which only has a purpose as a weapon, is a threat to world peace as big as the Cuban Missile Crisis. Iran funds terrorism. Already, Iranian missiles rain on Israel, the safest state in the world for a Muslim. Should Iran develop a nuclear warhead they will use it for terror. The intended bombing will not be like those when Democrats nuked civilians in Japan. Japan was at war at the time with the world. This bomb will be intended for people who provide aid to the needy and develop their land and educate all peoples. But the Iran deal does not merely let Iran develop the bomb, it will pay them money to do it. Iranian people currently oppressed by their terrorist government will not benefit. Why would Obama make such a bad deal? Maybe a hint can be found in what those people held slave in London for 30 years came together for. They were Marxists. The legacy of socialism is slavery. Cheers on the anniversary of JFK's untimely death. Also CS Lewis and the birth of Dr Who. I would trade all of JFK's fine words for him to have never been elected. And count it gain. As with Obama.

At last, at a climate conference, Australia has sent adults who won't let down little Gracie, but responsibly counsel against spending money badly. Salient questions should be put to Gore. It is like adults white washing graffiti. ABC worry about the gap between rich and poor. It would be less if their socialist journalists were paid less. Turnbull is defending them, for now. Indonesia does a dummy spit, but what can be said for the polls in Australia? ALP are a house divided. ALP have compromised national security. ALP have no constructive policy. Yet the polls show they are popular? ALP would have people be slaves like those in London. 
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This column welcomes feedback and criticism. The column is not made up but based on the days events and articles which are then placed in the feed. So they may not have an apparent cohesion they would have had were they made up.
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For twenty two years I have been responsibly addressing an issue, and I cannot carry on. I am petitioning the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to remedy my distress. I leave it up to him if he chooses to address the issue. Regardless of your opinion of conservative government, the issue is pressing. Please sign my petition at https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/tony-abbott-remedy-the-persecution-of-dd-ball

Or the US President at
https://www.change.org/p/barack-obama-change-this-injustice#
or
https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/change-injustice-faced-david-daniel-ball-after-he-reported-bungled-pedophile-investigation-and/b8mxPWtJ or http://wh.gov/ilXYR

Douglas Sutherland-Bruce via David Daniel Ball

Mr Ball, I will not sign your petition as it will do no good, but I will share your message and ask as many of friends who read it, to share it also. Let us see if we cannot use the power of the internet to spread the word of these infamous killings. As a father and a former soldier, I cannot, could not, justify ignoring this appalling action by the perpetrators, whoever they may; I thank you Douglas. You are wrong about the petition. Signing it is as worthless and meaningless an act as voting. A stand up guy would know that. - ed

Lorraine Allen Hider I signed the petition ages ago David, with pleasure, nobody knows what it's like until they've been there. Keep heart David take care.

I have begun a bulletin board (http://theconservativevoice.freeforums.net) which will allow greater latitude for members to post and interact. It is not subject to FB policy and so greater range is allowed in posts. Also there are private members rooms in which nothing is censored, except abuse. All welcome, registration is free.
===

Happy birthday and many happy returns Peter Huynh. Born on the same day across the years, as 

• 1454 – Catherine Cornaro, Greek wife of James II of Cyprus (d. 1510)
• 1666 – Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Guarneri, Italian violin maker (d. 1740)
• 1787 – Franz Xaver Gruber, Austrian organist (d. 1863)
• 1835 – Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-American businessman, founded the Carnegie Steel Company (d. 1919)
• 1844 – Karl Benz, German engineer and businessman, founded Mercedes-Benz (d. 1929)
• 1880 – John Flynn, Australian minister, founded the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (d. 1951)
• 1881 – Jacob Fichman, Romanian-Israeli poet and critic (d. 1958)
• 1914 – Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player (d. 1999)
• 1920 – Ricardo Montalbán, Mexican actor (d. 2009)
• 1926 – Poul Anderson, American author (d. 2001)
• 1960 – Amy Grant, American singer
• 1971 – Christina Applegate, American actress and singer
• 1993 – Danny Kent, English Grand Prix motorcycle racer.

November 25: Teachers' Day in Indonesia; Evacuation Dayin New York (1783)

• 1034 – After Malcolm II of Scotland died at Glamis, Duncan, the son of his second daughter, instead of Macbeth, the son of his eldest daughter, inherited the throne to become the King of Scots.
• 1795 – Stanisław August Poniatowski (pictured), the last King of Poland, was forced to abdicate after the Third Partition of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth.
• 1863 – American Civil War: Confederate forces were defeated at the Battle of Missionary Ridge in Chattanooga, Tennessee, opening the door to the Union's invasion of the Deep South.
• 1952 – Agatha Christie's mystery play The Mousetrap, the play with the longest initial run in history, opened at the Ambassadors Theatre in London.
• 1960 – The Mirabal sisters, who opposed the dictatorship of military strongman Rafael Trujillo in the Dominican Republic, were beaten and strangled to death.

You got out the spots. We got him to leave. The way is clear, we will go south. The mouse trap is full. The sisters are coming. Let us party. 
Matches

• 571 BC – Servius Tullius, king of Rome, celebrates a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.
• 1034 – Máel Coluim mac Cináeda, King of Scots, dies. Donnchad, the son of his daughter Bethóc and Crínán of Dunkeld, inherits the throne.
• 1120 – The White Ship sinks in the English Channel, drowning William Adelin, son and heir of Henry I of England.
• 1177 – Baldwin IV of Jerusalem and Raynald of Châtillon defeat Saladin at the Battle of Montgisard.
• 1343 – A tsunami, caused by an earthquake in the Tyrrhenian Sea, devastates Naples (Italy) and the Maritime Republic of Amalfi, among other places.
• 1487 – Elizabeth of York is crowned Queen of England.
• 1491 – The siege of Granada, the last Moorish stronghold in Spain, begins.
• 1667 – A deadly earthquake rocks Shemakha in the Caucasus, killing 80,000 people.
• 1755 – King Ferdinand VI of Spain grants royal protection to the Beaterio de la Compañia de Jesus, now known as the Congregation of the Religious of the Virgin Mary.
• 1758 – French and Indian War: British forces capture Fort Duquesne from French control. Later, Fort Pitt will be built nearby and grow into modern Pittsburgh.
• 1759 – An earthquake hits the Mediterranean destroying Beirut and Damascus and killing 30,000-40,000.
• 1783 – American Revolutionary War: The last British troops leave New York City three months after the signing of the Treaty of Paris.
• 1795 – Partitions of Poland: Stanisław August Poniatowski, the last king of independent Poland, is forced to abdicate and is exiled to Russia.
• 1826 – The Greek frigate Hellas arrives in Nafplion to become the first flagship of the Hellenic Navy.
• 1833 – A massive undersea earthquake, estimated magnitude between 8.7-9.2, rocks Sumatra, producing a massive tsunami all along the Indonesian coast.
• 1839 – A cyclone slams India with high winds and a 40-foot storm surge, destroying the port city of Coringa (which has never been completely rebuilt). The storm wave sweeps inland, taking with it 20,000 ships and thousands of people. An estimated 300,000 deaths result from the disaster.
• 1863 – American Civil War: Battle of Missionary Ridge: At Missionary Ridge in Tennessee, Union forces led by General Ulysses S. Grantbreak the Siege of Chattanooga by routing Confederate troops under General Braxton Bragg.
• 1864 – American Civil War: A group of Confederate operatives calling themselves the Confederate Army of Manhattan starts fires in more than 20 locations in an unsuccessful attempt to burn down New York City.
• 1874 – The United States Greenback Party is established as a political party consisting primarily of farmers affected by the Panic of 1873.
• 1876 – American Indian Wars: In retaliation for the American defeat at the Battle of the Little Bighorn, United States Army troops sack Chief Dull Knife's sleeping Cheyenne village at the headwaters of the Powder River.
• 1905 – Prince Carl of Denmark arrives in Norway to become King Haakon VII of Norway.
• 1915 – Albert Einstein presents the field equations of general relativity to the Prussian Academy of Sciences.
• 1917 – World War I: German forces defeat Portuguese army of about 1200 at Negomano on the border of modern-day Mozambique and Tanzania.
• 1918 – Vojvodina, formerly Austro-Hungarian crown land, proclaims its secession from Austria–Hungary to join the Kingdom of Serbia.
• 1926 – The deadliest November tornado outbreak in U.S. history strikes on Thanksgiving Day. Twenty-seven twisters of great strength are reported in the Midwest, including the strongest November tornado, an estimated F4, that devastates Heber Springs, Arkansas. There are 51 deaths in Arkansas alone, 76 deaths and over 400 injuries in all.
• 1936 – In Berlin, Germany and Japan sign the Anti-Comintern Pact, agreeing to consult on measures "to safeguard their common interests" in the case of an unprovoked attack by the Soviet Union against either nation. The pact is renewed on the same day five years later with additional signatories.
• 1940 – World War II: First flight of the de Havilland Mosquito and Martin B-26 Marauder.
• 1941 – HMS Barham is sunk by a German torpedo during World War II.
• 1943 – World War II: Statehood of Bosnia and Herzegovina is re-established at the State Anti-fascist Council for the National Liberation of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
• 1947 – Red Scare: The "Hollywood Ten" are blacklisted by Hollywood movie studios.
• 1947 – New Zealand ratifies the Statute of Westminster and thus becomes independent of legislative control by the United Kingdom.
• 1950 – The Great Appalachian Storm of November 1950, known at the time as the "Storm of the Century", strikes New England with hurricane force winds resulting in massive forest blow-downs and storm surge damage along the Northeast coast including New York City. This storm also brings blizzard conditions to the Appalachian Mountains and Ohio Valley, becoming one of the worst storms of all time. Three hundred fifty-three people die in the event.
• 1952 – Agatha Christie's murder-mystery play The Mousetrap opens at the Ambassadors Theatre in London. It will become the longest continuously-running play in history.
• 1952 – Korean War: After 42 days of fighting, the Battle of Triangle Hill ends as American and South Korean units abandon their attempt to capture the "Iron Triangle".
• 1958 – French Sudan gains autonomy as a self-governing member of the French Community.
• 1960 – The Mirabal sisters of the Dominican Republic are assassinated.
• 1970 – In Japan, author Yukio Mishima and one compatriot commit ritualistic seppuku after an unsuccessful coup attempt.
• 1973 – George Papadopoulos, head of the military Regime of the Colonels in Greece, is ousted in a hardliners' coup led by Brigadier General Dimitrios Ioannidis.
• 1975 – Suriname gains independence from the Netherlands.
• 1977 – Former Senator Benigno Aquino, Jr., is found guilty by the Philippine Military Commission No. 2 and is sentenced to death by firing squad.
• 1981 – Pope John Paul II appoints Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (the future Pope Benedict XVI) Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith.
• 1984 – Thirty-six top musicians gather in a Notting Hill studio and record Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?" in order to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia.
• 1986 – Iran–Contra affair: U.S. Attorney General Edwin Meese announces that profits from covert weapons sales to Iran were illegally diverted to the anti-communist Contra rebels in Nicaragua.
• 1986 – The King Fahd Causeway is officially opened in the Persian Gulf.
• 1987 – Typhoon Nina pummels the Philippines with category 5 winds of 165 mph and a surge that destroys entire villages. At least 1,036 deaths are attributed to the storm.
• 1992 – The Federal Assembly of Czechoslovakia votes to split the country into the Czech Republic and Slovakia, with effect from January 1, 1993.
• 1996 – An ice storm strikes the central U.S., killing 26 people. A powerful windstorm affects Florida and winds gust over 90 mph, toppling trees and flipping trailers.
• 1999 – The United Nations establishes the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women to commemorate the murder of three Mirabal sisters for resistance against the Rafael Trujillo dictatorship in the Dominican Republic.
• 2000 – The 2000 Baku earthquake, with a Richter magnitude of 7.0, leaves 26 people dead in Baku, Azerbaijan, and becomes the strongest earthquake in the region in 158 years.
• 2008 – Cyclone Nisha strikes northern Sri Lanka, killing 15 people and displacing 90,000 others while dealing the region the highest rainfall in nine decades.
• 2009 – Jeddah floods: Freak rains swamp the city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, during an ongoing Hajj pilgrimage. Three thousand cars are swept away and 122 people perish in the torrents, with 350 others missing.

Hatches 

• 1454 – Catherine Cornaro, Greek wife of James II of Cyprus (d. 1510)
• 1562 – Lope de Vega, Spanish playwright and poet (d. 1635)
• 1577 – Piet Pieterszoon Hein, Dutch admiral (d. 1629)
• 1609 – Henrietta Maria of France (d. 1669)
• 1638 – Catherine of Braganza (d. 1705)
• 1666 – Giuseppe Giovanni Battista Guarneri, Italian violin maker (d. 1740)
• 1697 – Maria Karolina Sobieska, Polish daughter of Countess Palatine Hedwig Elisabeth of Neuburg (d. 1740)
• 1703 – Jean-François Séguier, French astronomer and botanist (d. 1784)
• 1752 – Johann Friedrich Reichardt, German composer and critic (d. 1814)
• 1753 – Robert Townsend, a.k.a. "Culper, Jr.", American revolutionary spy (d. 1838)
• 1758 – John Armstrong, Jr., American soldier and politician (d. 1843)
• 1778 – Mary Anne Schimmelpenninck, English author (d. 1856)
• 1787 – Franz Xaver Gruber, Austrian organist and composer (d. 1863)
• 1814 – Julius Robert von Mayer, German physician and physicist (d. 1878)
• 1815 – William Sawyer, Canadian merchant and politician (d. 1904)
• 1817 – John Bigelow, American lawyer and politician, United States Ambassador to France (d. 1911)
• 1835 – Andrew Carnegie, Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1919)
• 1841 – Ernst Schröder, German mathematician (d. 1902)
• 1843 – Henry Ware Eliot, American businessman and philanthropist (d. 1919)
• 1844 – Karl Benz, German engineer and businessman, founded Mercedes-Benz (d. 1929)
• 1845 – José Maria de Eça de Queirós, Portuguese-French journalist and author (d. 1900)
• 1846 – Carrie Nation, American activist (d. 1911)
• 1858 – Alfred Capus, French journalist, author, and playwright (d. 1922)
• 1862 – Ethelbert Nevin, American pianist and composer (d. 1901)
• 1862 – Gustaf Söderström, Swedish tug of war competitor (d. 1958)
• 1867 – Talaat Harb, Egyptian economist, founded the Banque Misr (d. 1941)
• 1868 – Ernest Louis, Grand Duke of Hesse (d. 1937)
• 1869 – Ben Lindsey, American judge (d. 1934)
• 1870 – Winthrop Ames, American director, producer, and playwright (d. 1937)
• 1872 – Robert Maysack, American gymnast and triathlete (d. 1960)
• 1873 – Albert Henry Krehbiel, American painter and illustrator (d. 1945)
• 1874 – Joe Gans, American boxer (d. 1910)
• 1876 – Princess Victoria Melita of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha (d. 1936)
• 1880 – John Flynn, Australian minister, founded the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia (d. 1951)
• 1880 – Elsie J. Oxenham, English author (d. 1960)
• 1881 – Jacob Fichman, Romanian-Israeli poet and critic (d. 1958)
• 1881 – Pope John XXIII (d. 1963)
• 1883 – Harvey Spencer Lewis, American mystic and author (d. 1939)
• 1883 – Percy Marmont, English actor (d. 1977)
• 1883 – Merrill C. Meigs, American publisher (d. 1968)
• 1887 – Nikolai Vavilov, Russian botanist and geneticist (d. 1943)
• 1890 – Isaac Rosenberg, English soldier and poet (d. 1918)
• 1891 – Ōnishiki Uichirō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 26th Yokozuna (d. 1941)
• 1893 – Joseph Wood Krutch, American author and critic (d. 1970)
• 1895 – Wilhelm Kempff, German pianist and composer (d. 1991)
• 1895 – Helen Hooven Santmyer, American poet (d. 1986)
• 1895 – Ludvík Svoboda, Czech general and politician, 8th President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1979)
• 1896 – Albertus Soegijapranata, Indonesian archbishop (d. 1963)
• 1896 – Virgil Thomson, American composer and critic (d. 1989)
• 1898 – Debaki Bose, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1971)
• 1898 – Aarne Viisimaa, Estonian tenor and director (d. 1989)
• 1900 – Rudolf Höss, German SS officer (d. 1947)
• 1901 – Arthur Liebehenschel, German SS officer (d. 1948)
• 1902 – Eddie Shore, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (d. 1985)
• 1904 – Lillian Copeland, American discus thrower and shot putter (d. 1964)
• 1904 – Ba Jin, Chinese author (d. 2005)
• 1904 – Toni Ortelli, Italian composer and conductor (d. 2000)
• 1907 – John Stuart Hindmarsh, English race car driver and pilot (d. 1938)
• 1909 – P. D. Eastman, American author and illustrator (d. 1986)
• 1911 – Roelof Frankot, Dutch painter and photographer (d. 1984)
• 1913 – Lewis Thomas, American physician, etymologist, and educator (d. 1993)
• 1914 – Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player and coach (d. 1999)
• 1914 – Léon Zitrone, Russian-French journalist (d. 1995)
• 1915 – Augusto Pinochet, Chilean general and politician, 30th President of Chile (d. 2006)
• 1915 – Armando Villanueva, Peruvian politician, 121st Prime Minister of Peru (d. 2013)
• 1917 – Luigi Poggi, Italian cardinal (d. 2010)
• 1919 – Norman Tokar, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1979)
• 1920 – Ricardo Montalbán, Mexican-American actor, singer, and director (d. 2009)
• 1920 – Noel Neill, American actress
• 1920 – Putra of Perlis (d. 2000)
• 1922 – Shelagh Fraser, English actress (d. 2000)
• 1922 – Gloria Lasso, Spanish-French singer (d. 2005)
• 1923 – Mauno Koivisto, Finnish banker and politician, 9th President of Finland
• 1924 – Paul Desmond, American saxophonist and composer (d. 1977)
• 1924 – Takaaki Yoshimoto, Japanese poet, philosopher, and critic (d. 2012)
• 1926 – Poul Anderson, American author (d. 2001)
• 1926 – Jeffrey Hunter, American actor and producer (d. 1969)
• 1926 – Ranganath Misra, Indian jurist, 21st Chief Justice of India (d. 2012)
• 1927 – John K. Cooley, American journalist and author (d. 2008)
• 1929 – Judy Crichton, American director and producer (d. 2007)
• 1931 – Nat Adderley, American cornet and trumpet player (d. 2000)
• 1932 – Takayo Fischer, American actress and singer
• 1933 – Kathryn Crosby, American actress and singer
• 1936 – Trisha Brown, American dancer and choreographer
• 1938 – Rosanna Schiaffino, Italian actress (d. 2009)
• 1939 – Martin Feldstein, American economist and academic
• 1939 – Eleni Karaindrou, Greek composer
• 1940 – Reinhard Furrer, Austrian-German physicist and astronaut (d. 1995)
• 1940 – Joe Gibbs, American football player and coach
• 1940 – Jan Jongbloed, Dutch footballer and coach
• 1940 – Karl Offmann, Mauritian politician, 3rd President of Mauritius
• 1941 – Christos Papanikolaou, Greek pole vaulter
• 1941 – Gerald Seymour, English journalist and author
• 1941 – Riaz Ahmed Gohar Shahi, Pakistani spiritual leader and author
• 1941 – Percy Sledge, American singer
• 1942 – Bob Lind, American singer-songwriter
• 1942 – Mimis Papaioannou, Greek footballer and manager
• 1943 – Jerry Portnoy, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player
• 1944 – Bev Bevan, English drummer (The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, and ELO Part II)
• 1944 – Maarten 't Hart, Dutch biologist, ethologist, and author
• 1944 – Ben Stein, American actor, lawyer, and author
• 1945 – Gail Collins, American journalist and author
• 1945 – Patrick Nagel, American illustrator (d. 1984)
• 1945 – George Webster, American football player (d. 2007)
• 1946 – Marc Brown, American author and illustrator
• 1946 – Mike Doyle, English footballer (d. 2011)
• 1947 – Jonathan Kaplan, French-American director and producer
• 1947 – John Larroquette, American actor, director, and producer
• 1947 – Tracey Walter, American actor
• 1948 – Jacques Dupuis, Canadian lawyer and politician, 14th Deputy Premier of Quebec
• 1948 – Lars Eighner, American author
• 1949 – Kerry O'Keeffe, Australian cricketer and sportscaster
• 1950 – Chris Claremont, English-American author
• 1950 – Giorgio Faletti, Italian author, screenwriter, and actor (d. 2014)
• 1950 – Alexis Wright, Australian author
• 1951 – Bucky Dent, American baseball player and manager
• 1951 – Charlaine Harris, American author
• 1951 – Bill Morrissey, American singer-songwriter (d. 2011)
• 1951 – Arturo Pérez-Reverte, Spanish author and journalist
• 1951 – Johnny Rep, Dutch footballer and manager
• 1952 – Crescent Dragonwagon, American author and educator
• 1952 – Imran Khan, Pakistani cricketer and politician
• 1952 – John Lynch, American businessman and politician, 80th Governor of New Hampshire
• 1952 – Herschel Savage, American porn actor and director
• 1952 – Gabriele Oriali, Italian footballer
• 1953 – Graham Eadie, Australian rugby player and coach
• 1953 – Mark Frost, American author, screenwriter, and producer
• 1953 – Jeffrey Skilling, American businessman
• 1955 – Kurt Niedermayer, German footballer and manager
• 1955 – Connie Palmen, Dutch author
• 1955 – Bruno Tonioli, Italian dancer and choreographer
• 1955 – Don Hahn, American film producer
• 1956 – Hélène Goudin, Belgian-Swedish politician
• 1956 – Kalle Randalu, Estonian pianist and educator
• 1957 – Bob Ehrlich, American lawyer and politician, 60th Governor of Maryland
• 1959 – Charles Kennedy, Scottish journalist and politician
• 1959 – Steve Rothery, English guitarist and songwriter (Marillion and The Wishing Tree)
• 1960 – Amy Grant, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1960 – John F. Kennedy Jr., American lawyer, journalist, and publisher, co-founded George Magazine (d. 1999)
• 1960 – Amy Gibson, American actress and businesswoman
• 1961 – Paul Comstive, English footballer (d. 2013)
• 1962 – Gilbert Delorme, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1962 – Hironobu Sakaguchi, Japanese game designer, founded Mistwalker
• 1963 – Kevin Chamberlin, American actor
• 1963 – Holly Cole, Canadian singer
• 1963 – Chip Kelly, American football player and coach
• 1963 – Bernie Kosar, American football player and sportscaster
• 1963 – Ago Silde, Estonian politician
• 1964 – Mark Lanegan, American singer-songwriter (Screaming Trees and The Gutter Twins)
• 1964 – Bert van Vlaanderen, Dutch runner
• 1965 – Cris Carter, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1965 – Dougray Scott, Scottish actor and producer
• 1966 – Tim Armstrong, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Rancid, The Transplants, Devils Brigade, Operation Ivy, Dance Hall Crashers)
• 1966 – Billy Burke, American actor
• 1967 – Kazuya Nakai, Japanese voice actor
• 1967 – Anthony Nesty, Trinidadian-Surinamese swimmer and coach
• 1967 – Rodney Sheppard, American guitarist (Sugar Ray)
• 1967 – Gregg Turkington, Australian-American comedian and singer (Zip Code Rapists)
• 1968 – Jacqueline Hennessy, Canadian actress and journalist
• 1968 – Jill Hennessy, Canadian actress and singer
• 1968 – Galin Nikov, Bulgarian pole vaulter
• 1968 – Erick Sermon, American rapper and producer (EPMD)
• 1969 – Dexter Jackson, American bodybuilder
• 1971 – Christina Applegate, American actress, singer, and producer
• 1971 – Magnus Arvedson, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
• 1972 – Deepa Marathe, Indian cricketer
• 1972 – Mark Morton, American guitarist and songwriter (Lamb of God)
• 1973 – Steven de Jongh, Dutch cyclist
• 1973 – Octavio Dotel, Dominican baseball player
• 1973 – Erick Strickland, American basketball player
• 1973 – Eddie Steeples, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1974 – Kenneth Mitchell, Canadian actor
• 1975 – Abdelkader Benali, Moroccan-Dutch journalist and author
• 1975 – Kristian Nairn, Irish actor and DJ
• 1976 – Clint Mathis, American soccer player and coach
• 1976 – Donovan McNabb, American football player and sportscaster
• 1976 – Olena Vitrychenko, Ukrainian gymnast
• 1977 – Guillermo Cañas, Argentinian tennis player
• 1977 – Marcus Marshall, Australian race car driver
• 1978 – Ringo Sheena, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (Tokyo Jihen)
• 1979 – Thea Gilmore, English singer-songwriter
• 1979 – Michael Lehan, American football player
• 1980 – Valerie Azlynn, American actress
• 1980 – John-Michael Liles, American ice hockey player
• 1980 – Josh Mathews, American wrestler and sportscaster
• 1980 – Aaron Mokoena, South African footballer
• 1980 – Alviro Petersen, South African cricketer
• 1980 – Murray SawChuck, Canadian-American magician, comedian, and actor
• 1980 – Nick Swisher, American baseball player
• 1980 – Steffen Thier, German rugby player
• 1981 – Xabi Alonso, Spanish footballer
• 1981 – Lee Bum-ho, South Korean baseball player
• 1981 – Barbara Pierce Bush, American activist
• 1981 – Jenna Bush Hager, American journalist and author
• 1981 – Jared Jeffries, American basketball player
• 1981 – Maurício Rua, Brazilian mixed martial artist
• 1981 – Chevon Troutman, American basketball player
• 1983 – Joey Chestnut, American competitive eater
• 1983 – Kirsty Crawford, Scottish singer-songwriter and actress
• 1983 – Jhulan Goswami, Indian cricketer
• 1984 – Peter Siddle, Australian cricketer
• 1984 – Gaspard Ulliel, French model and actor
• 1985 – Dan Carpenter, American football player
• 1985 – Remona Fransen, Dutch pentathlete
• 1986 – Katie Cassidy, American actress and singer
• 1986 – Craig Gardner, English footballer
• 1986 – Amber Hagerman, American murder victim, inspired the AMBER Alert (d. 1996)
• 1987 – Dolla, American rapper (d. 2009)
• 1988 – Nodar Kumaritashvili, Georgian luger (d. 2010)
• 1988 – Jay Spearing, English footballer
• 1989 – Tom Dice, Belgian singer-songwriter
• 1990 – Rye Rye, American rapper, dancer, and actress
• 1991 – Jamie Grace, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
• 1991 – Luca Tremolada, Italian footballer
• 1991 – Kevin Woo, American-South Korean singer and dancer (U-KISS and Xing)
• 1992 – Ana Bogdan, Romanian tennis player
• 1992 – Martin del Rosario, Filipino actor
• 1992 – Zack Shada, American actor
• 1993 – Danny Kent, English motorcycle racer

Despatches

• 311 – Pope Peter of Alexandria
• 1034 – Malcolm II of Scotland (b. 954)
• 1120 – William Adelin, English son of Henry I of England (b. 1104)
• 1185 – Pope Lucius III (b. 1097)
• 1326 – Prince Koreyasu, Japanese shogun (b. 1264)
• 1374 – Philip II, Prince of Taranto (b. 1329)
• 1456 – Jacques Cœur, French merchant and banker (b. 1395)
• 1517 – Marcus Musurus, Greek philosopher and scholar (b. 1470)
• 1560 – Andrea Doria, Italian admiral (b. 1466)
• 1626 – Edward Alleyn, English actor (b. 1566)
• 1694 – Ismaël Bullialdus, French astronomer and mathematician (b. 1605)
• 1700 – Stephanus Van Cortlandt, American politician, 10th Mayor of New York City (b. 1643)
• 1748 – Isaac Watts, English hymnwriter and theologian (b. 1674)
• 1755 – Johann Georg Pisendel, German violinist and composer (b. 1687)
• 1785 – Richard Glover, English poet and politician (b. 1712)
• 1865 – Heinrich Barth, German explorer and scholar (b. 1821)
• 1884 – Hermann Kolbe, German chemist and academic (b. 1818)
• 1885 – Thomas A. Hendricks, American lawyer and politician, 21st Vice President of the United States (b. 1819)
• 1885 – Alfonso XII of Spain (b. 1857)
• 1907 – George Sheldon, American diver (b. 1874)
• 1909 – Edward P. Allen, American lawyer and politician (b. 1839)
• 1920 – Gaston Chevrolet, French-American race car driver (b. 1892)
• 1944 – Kenesaw Mountain Landis, American lawyer and judge (b. 1866)
• 1948 – Kanbun Uechi, Japanese martial artist (b. 1877)
• 1949 – Bill Robinson, American actor and dancer (b. 1878)
• 1950 – Johannes V. Jensen, Danish author and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1873)
• 1950 – Gustaf John Ramstedt, Finnish linguist and diplomat (b. 1873)
• 1955 – Herman Hoogland, Dutch draughts player (b. 1891)
• 1955 – Louis Lachenal, French mountaineer (b. 1921)
• 1956 – Alexander Dovzhenko, Ukrainian-Russian director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1894)
• 1957 – Prince George of Greece and Denmark (b. 1869)
• 1959 – Gérard Philipe, French actor (b. 1922)
• 1961 – Hubert Van Innis, Belgian archer (b. 1866)
• 1963 – Alexander Marinesko, Russian lieutenant (b. 1913)
• 1965 – Myra Hess, English pianist and educator (b. 1890)
• 1968 – Upton Sinclair, American journalist, author, and politician (b. 1878)
• 1968 – Paul Siple, American geographer and explorer (b. 1908)
• 1970 – Yukio Mishima, Japanese author, actor, and director (b. 1925)
• 1972 – Henri Coandă, Romanian engineer, designed the Coandă-1910 (b. 1886)
• 1973 – Laurence Harvey, Lithuanian-English actor, director, and producer (b. 1928)
• 1974 – Nick Drake, Burmese-English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1948)
• 1974 – U Thant, Burmese diplomat, 3rd Secretary-General of the United Nations (b. 1909)
• 1978 – Elaine Esposito, American coma victim (b. 1934)
• 1981 – Jack Albertson, American actor and singer (b. 1907)
• 1984 – Yashwantrao Chavan, Indian politician, 5th Deputy Prime Minister of India (b. 1913)
• 1985 – Geoffrey Grigson, English poet and critic (b. 1905)
• 1985 – Franz Hildebrandt, German pastor and theologian (b. 1909)
• 1985 – Ray Jablonski, American baseball player (b. 1926)
• 1987 – Harold Washington, American lawyer and politician, 51st Mayor of Chicago (b. 1922)
• 1989 – Alva R. Fitch, American general (b. 1907)
• 1990 – Merab Mamardashvili, Georgian philosopher and academic (b. 1930)
• 1991 – Eleanor Audley, American actress and singer (b. 1905)
• 1995 – Alan Nicholls, English footballer (b. 1973)
• 1995 – Léon Zitrone, Russian-French journalist (b. 1914)
• 1997 – Hastings Banda, Malawian physician and politician, 1st President of Malawi (b. 1898)
• 1998 – Nelson Goodman, American philosopher and academic (b. 1906)
• 1998 – Flip Wilson, American comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1933)
• 1999 – Valentín Campa, Mexican union leader and politician (b. 1904)
• 2000 – Hugh Alexander, American baseball player and scout (b. 1917)
• 2001 – Harry Devlin, American painter and illustrator (b. 1918)
• 2002 – Karel Reisz, Czech-English director and producer (b. 1926)
• 2005 – George Best, Irish-English footballer (b. 1946)
• 2005 – Richard Burns, English race car driver (b. 1971)
• 2006 – Luciano Bottaro, Italian illustrator (b. 1931)
• 2006 – Valentín Elizalde, Mexican singer-songwriter (b. 1979)
• 2006 – Phyllis Fraser, American actress and publisher, co-founded Beginner Books (b. 1916)
• 2006 – Kenneth M. Taylor, American lieutenant and pilot (b. 1919)
• 2006 – Antonis Vratsanos, Greek soldier (b. 1919)
• 2007 – Peter Lipton, American philosopher and academic (b. 1954)
• 2010 – Alfred Balk, American journalist and author (b. 1930)
• 2010 – Peter Christopherson, English keyboard player, songwriter, and director (Soisong, Coil, and Throbbing Gristle) (b. 1955)
• 2010 – C. Scott Littleton, American anthropologist and academic (b. 1933)
• 2010 – Bernard Matthews, English businessman, founded Bernard Matthews Farms (b. 1930)
• 2011 – Vasily Alekseyev, Russian weightlifter and coach (b. 1942)
• 2011 – Coco Robicheaux, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1947)
• 2012 – Juan Carlos Calderón, Spanish singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
• 2012 – Earl Carroll, American singer (The Cadillacs and The Coasters) (b. 1937)
• 2012 – Lars Hörmander, Swedish mathematician and educator (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Dave Sexton, English footballer and manager (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Dinah Sheridan, English actress (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Lary J. Swoboda, American educator and politician (b. 1939)
• 2012 – Jim Temp, American football player and businessman (b. 1933)
• 2012 – Simeon ten Holt, Dutch composer (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Carlisle Towery, American basketball player (b. 1920)
• 2013 – William Adam, American trumpet player and educator (b. 1917)
• 2013 – Lou Brissie, American baseball player (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Ricardo Fort, Argentinian businessman (b. 1968)
• 2013 – Bill Foulkes, English footballer and manager (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Chico Hamilton, American drummer and bandleader (b. 1921)
• 2013 – Greg Kovacs, Canadian bodybuilder (b. 1968)
• 2013 – Joel Lane, English author, poet, and critic (b. 1963)
• 2013 – Egon Lánský, Czech journalist and politician (b. 1934)
• 2013 – Chae Myung-shin, South Korean general (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Al Plastino, American author and illustrator (b. 1921)

===

• Christian feast day:
  • Catherine of Alexandria
  • Elizabeth of Reute
  • Catherine Labouré
  • James Otis Sargent Huntington (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Isaac Watts (Lutheran)
  • November 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Evacuation Day (19th century New York City)
• Independence Day (Suriname), celebrates the independence of Suriname from the Netherlands in 1975.
• International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women (International)
• National Day (Bosnia and Herzegovina)
• Teachers' Day or Hari Guru (Indonesia)
• Vajiravudh Day (Thailand)

===

ONE-PERCENTERS SAVED

Tim Blair – Tuesday, November 25, 2014 (2:27am)

ABC managing director Mark Scott’s statement to staff: 

My thoughts go out firstly to those who are losing their jobs. As other companies in the media sectorhave found, structural change can have painful personal consequences. We anticipate that more than 400 people – close to ten per cent of our ongoing workforce – face redundancy as we adjust our activities. We regard the changes as vital to securing the long term health of the organisation but I acknowledge that is no comfort to those who may lose their positions. 

Three points:

• The ABC is not a “company in the media sector”. A wholly government-funded ideological and financial handbrake on the nation, yes, but a company, no.

• Cuts of just five per cent over five years do not require Scott’s level of “structural change”, nor do they justify Community and Public Sector Union boss Michael Tull claiming the government has “forced” the ABC “to slash one in 10 jobs from its workforce.” Which leads to the third point:

• How do five per cent budget cuts become ten per cent job cuts? Maybe because the ABC is sacrificing regional funding in order to safeguard the one per cent: Sydney’s wealthiest ABC tax hoovers. Just a theory. In other ABC developments, Phillip Adams wonders why no major ABC television types have appeared at recent rallies: 

… the absence of ABC TV’s stars remains conspicuous and curious … 

Possibly they’ve been crowded out by the ABC’s real stars: Labor leaders, Greens senators and union hacks. In Canberra, a fellow ABC fan laments his tragic “loose”:



Too bad he didn’t learn anything about spelling or apostrophes. “Looses” instead of “loses” is a shockingly common error. Here is another, courtesy of angry emailer Phil W.: 

All bets are on Abbott being a one term leader and no amount of bias reporting from you and your mates will help him at the next election. 

That would be biased reporting, Phil. Discover the difference here.

===

THEY’VE EARNED IT

Tim Blair – Tuesday, November 25, 2014 (2:22am)

Chatting at the SCG on Sunday with a senior cricket identity who mentioned that ground organisers face a dilemma over this summer’s England-Afghanistan World Cup match. Who should get the home team dressing rooms? England has apparently never been granted that honour. Might this be the first time?

I argued in favour of Afghanistan. Of the two represented nations, it has fewer Islamic fundamentalists.

===

PEOPLE WHO DON’T LIKE PEOPLE

Tim Blair – Tuesday, November 25, 2014 (2:17am)

Many hobbies involve collecting things, which is fine, except that most of these collections draw from finite sources – old coins, stamps, the Elgin Marbles and so on.

It’s much more fun when supplies are both old and newly-occurring. This is why I collect stupid things said and done by left-wing types. Particularly prized are moments when leftists reveal they really don’t have all that much in common with the common folk they claim to support.

 Continue reading 'PEOPLE WHO DON’T LIKE PEOPLE'

===

NO SLOW DAYS AT THE ABC

Tim Blair – Tuesday, November 25, 2014 (1:42am)

Fifteen years ago I was driving to the Telegraph‘s office to run the news desk solo for the first time. I not only had no prospective front-page story, but nothing for pages two through to 15. It might have been Sydney’s slowest-ever news day, and I was going to get fired for it.

Then the radio announced that John F. Kennedy Jr’s small aircraft had vanished on a flight to Martha’s Vineyard. Tragic news, obviously, but also massive news.

Of course, one organisation’s slow news day can be another’s bonanza. It all depends on priorities.

 Continue reading 'NO SLOW DAYS AT THE ABC'

===

REAL WOMEN DRIVE V8 UTES

Tim Blair – Tuesday, November 25, 2014 (1:03am)

A powerful feminist statement spotted in my old home town:



Also from Werribee – but now in Surry Hills – quality glassware for quality drinks:

===

MARION BARRY

Tim Blair – Tuesday, November 25, 2014 (12:58am)

Remembering Marion Barry, the original and still the best crack-smoking North American city mayor, now dead at 78.

===

CAN’T STOP A 44

Tim Blair – Tuesday, November 25, 2014 (12:51am)

Sweet. After winning the final Grand Prix of the year, 2014 F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton was told by his team to select ‘driver default 44’ on his in-car computer. This image then appeared on Hamilton’s steering wheel display.

===

Government considers move against Gillian Triggs

Andrew Bolt November 25 2014 (3:41pm)

Gillian Triggs cannot credibly lead any inquiry into this Government, in my opinion:

THE Abbott government has “great concerns” about the behaviour of Human Rights Commission president Gillian Triggs and will “take the matter forward”, according to Parliamentary Secretary to the Prime Minister Josh Frydenberg.
And Immigration Minister Scott Morrison says the HRC’s ­inquiry into children in detention “risks being a complete waste of taxpayers’ money” in the wake of controversy over how it was ­established.
Appearing before the Senate’s Legal and Constitutional Affairs Committee last week, Professor Triggs revealed she had decided to hold the inquiry early last year, but delayed it because of what she claimed was the possibility of an early election.
After initially denying she ­discussed it with the then Labor government, she admitted under questioning that she had raised it separately with two Labor immigration ministers…
Referring to “contradictions in the evidence”, Mr Frydenberg ... said: “It is going to be up to (Attorney-General) George Brandis to take this matter forward, but there are many questions that need to be answered.”

Add to that this further unreliability over the facts and the evidence which Triggs is meant to be impartially considering:

[In July], for instance, she claimed “we’ve had reports that have been confirmed during the day that 10 women have attempted suicide” on Christmas Island.
False. There has been only one case of self-harm by a woman that could with any credibility be described as “attempted suicide"…
Triggs also claimed last month she’d visited the detained children on Christmas Island and “almost all of them, including the adults, were coughing, were sick, were depressed, unable to communicate (and) weak”, which made her want to ask: “What’s going on? Why is this child not being treated?”
False again. Sick children are indeed being treated and the Government hotly disputes Triggs’ claim that almost every detained child on Christmas Island is sick…
Triggs insisted “the people on Christmas Island are being detained in a prison effectively” because on her three visits she had noticed “you cannot get into any of the sections without going through armed guards”.
That infuriated the Immigration Department secretary Martin Bowles, who protested at Triggs’ “emotive statements"…
“We do not have armed guards, President. I would like you to acknowledge that."…
But if the head of an inquiry can see armed guards where there are none, and a prison where there are only pool fences, what else is she imagining about what she’s supposed to impartially judge?

(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
UPDATE
Watch Gillian Triggs giving evidence to the committee on November 20. It is a complete disaster.  

===

Phil Hughes serious after hit by bouncer

Andrew Bolt November 25 2014 (3:00pm)

Pray for the best:

CRICKETER Phil Hughes is gravely ill after being struck on the head in the Sheffield Shield match at the SCG today. 

Doctors attempted to resuscitate the batsman on the wicket and stopped the medical van on the boundary to continue treatment soon after.
An ambulance arrived 35 minutes after the accident and is treating Hughes, 25, in front of the members stand.
Hughes was 63 not out at the time he was hit in the head from a short ball by Sean Abbott.
He appeared stunned by the blow, standing at the crease before falling to the ground.

Terrible:

After appearing to be struck in the head Hughes stood, looked at his feet and crashed face-first into the pitch. 

===

The new racism: this time the villains are not white. UPDATE: Wilson cleared

Andrew Bolt November 25 2014 (10:56am)

The most dangerous racism now in the US comes a black community that cannot accept a jury verdict that a white man might be innocent:

In Ferguson the community is waiting to hear whether the grand jury will indict Darren Wilson, the white police officer who shot dead Michael Brown, an unarmed black teenager, in August…
On everyone’s mind was the prospect of more violence if Darren Wilson was not indicted.
After the shooting in August, demonstrators clashed with heavily armed police on the streets for days.
The protests were often violent. Shops were looted and a petrol station burnt down. Outside, activists swelled the ranks of locals, with some provoking fights…
Leaks from the grand jury testimony, including the official autopsy report, indicate there may be no indictment… Missouri State Governor Jay Nixon has already declared a state of emergency and activated the National Guard.

There is a sickness here. This is tribal. If Wilson were black would the mob demand he pay, regardless of the evidence showing his innocence?
UPDATE
St. Louis County prosecuting attorney Robert McCulloch says a grand jury has decided “no probable cause exists” on all five indictments against Wilson.
He says Wilson was responding to burglary call, came across Brown walking with friend in the middle of the road. Wilson told Brown to go to sidewalk. Brown didn’t. Wilson then saw Brown carrying cigarettes. He blocked the road with his car. Words were exchanged. Witnesses reported a tussle between the two men, with Wilson still in the car. Wilson fired two shots at Brown as he sat in the car. Brown then ran, and Wilson got out of his car and chased.  Shots were fired.
McCulloch says witnesses who claimed their seen Wilson standing over Brown and shooting him in the back were contradicted by the autopsies. Witnesses changed their stories after contradicted, and others admitted they’d actually seen nothing. Some say Brown had his hands in the air, others not. Some say Brown stood still when challenged, others that he charged Wilson full on.
Brown’s blood was found metres past where he later fell.  Brown’s blood and DNA were also found on Wilson’s clothing and gun, and inside and outside Wilson’s car. 12 shots in all were fired, two from the car.
Wilson was later found with redness and swelling on his face.
UPDATE
Let’s not ennoble or licence this with talk of marginalisation and justice. Cars have now been torched, windows smashed and shops looted. 

===

Lambie could help drive down the price of warming alarmism

Andrew Bolt November 25 2014 (10:48am)

More hope for the Abbott Government to wind back the cost of warming alarmism:

Senator David Leyonhjelm is counting crossbench votes for a new plan to wind back the renewable energy target (RET) after Jacqui Lambie indicated she could vote for changes if the government makes concessions over defence force pay.
The government ... has failed to convince Labor and the Palmer United party to back changes – and Labor walked out of talks on the issue earlier this month.
Lambie ... has publicly advocated including existing Tasmanian hydro projects in the RET…
She has said she will vote against all government legislation until the prime minister agrees to increase the recent below-inflation defence force pay offer. But it is possible changes to the RET could be presented as a private senator’s bill rather than as government legislation, which may allow it to bypass Lambie’s voting edict…
Liberal Democratic party senator Leyonhjelm and Family First senator Bob Day support a reduction in the RET and Day told Guardian Australia he strongly supported Lambie’s call for the inclusion of existing hydro in the scheme.
Independent senator John Madigan has supported a reduction in the RET and both he and South Australian senator Nick Xenophon have argued it has allowed for too much investment in wind power at the expense of other kinds of renewables such as geothermal.
This could leave Motoring Enthusiast senator Ricky Muir with the deciding vote on the issue. He recently recommitted to voting alongside PUP senators to oppose any changes to the scheme, but he is being heavily lobbied by all sides of the argument. Lambie also indicated she would be open to discussions with the government about its so-far thwarted plan to abolish the Clean Energy Finance Corporation.

(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.) 

===

Taxpayers will pay plenty for Daniel Andrews’ debts

Andrew Bolt November 25 2014 (9:59am)

Daniel Andrews leads an old-style Labor party dominated by vested interests, as I warned on Monday, and taxpayers will pay. 
Pleasing green voters in the inner city could cost $1.1 billion:

VICTORIANS face a $1.1. billion compensation payout to the consortium building East West Link if Labor abandons the project.
Government sources have revealed the first details of the top-secret compensation clauses in the confidential East West contract…
The formula includes the money being contributed by the consortium, both debt and equity, at the time the contracts are terminated. It also includes lost profits and returns that would have been earned during the 25-year contract to construct and operate the road link… The compensation payout would come on top of $1.5 billion in federal funds that Victoria has received for the project, which it would have to return to Canberra…
Just last week, Mr Andrews said: “Labor’s advice is the contract is not worth the paper it’s written on.”
He has based this view on legal advice from former Federal Court judge Ray Finkelstein, QC… But according to Allan Myers, QC, one of Australia’s leading commercial barristers, the East West contracts are almost certainly valid even if the Supreme Court decides in favour of the councils on the planning approval.

Then there’s the cost of pleasing the ambulance union:

Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews also said he would sack the Ambulance Victoria board on Monday if elected.
His funding package does not include the cost of pay increases [for ambulance paramedics], which could reach 32 per cent for some paramedics…
Speaking before a room of paramedics on Monday, Mr Andrews said: “I have no confidence in an Ambulance Victoria board that sits by and hides ambulance response times, sits by and sees ambulance response times get worse and worse.” ...
[Health Minister David] Davis ... claimed the pledge to sack the Ambulance Victoria board was ordered by unions.
“This declaration amounts to a union takeover of Ambulance Victoria,” he said.

===

Mark Scott guts the best of the ABC to play digital games

Andrew Bolt November 25 2014 (8:42am)

Media Watch last night glossed over this pea-and-thimble trick by ABC boss Mark Scott:

Scott claims that ALL the $250 million Canberra Cut as he called it WILL be found from back-office savings
But programming will also be cut by $20 million a year to fund the ABC’s investment in digital and mobile.

Which means Scott is blaming Canberra for some cuts he actually intended to make all along.
The Australian doesn’t miss - either the trick or the flawed strategy behind it:

Scott has used the demand for efficiencies at the ABC — required of all government agencies at a time of fiscal consolidation — as cover to expand his digital empire.... [B]ut the ABC was created to be a market-failure service provider, first and foremost, offering the services other outlets can’t or won’t…
Start-ups like Mamamia and Buzzfeed, the entry of Guardian Australia and others, and expansion into apps by traditional media, among other innovations, mean there is more media competition than ever. The ABC is not there to compete against and crowd out new and existing entrants in ultra-competitive areas… [Scott] and his management cabal have been pumping ever more scarce resources into online magazines and opinion hub The Drum, while draining funds from those core services where the ABC has no peer.
Consider the groundbreaking and agenda-setting Lateline. It has been denuded of firepower in recent years.... Instead of putting more resources into this program’s news gathering, Scott and co are now relegating it to the second rank of News24. Here is a clear case of market failure. Not long ago, the three commercial television networks screened late-night news programs, starting at 10.30. But the networks, under immense financial pressure, have vacated the field. Only the ABC can fill the void, yet it is retreating from this important space.
The same goes for the eight state and territory-based weekly 7.30 programs, which are being axed. The very opposite should happen.... 
The ABC’s foray into digital media services has been going on for a decade. But it was only last year that the Gillard government quietly changed the ABC charter to formalise the digital surge by Scott. Digital is now “a core function” of the ABC according to its board. Clearly, the charter needs a rewrite… Just as governments have retreated from running banks and airlines, there is no need to have taxpayers’ funds tied up in those services that the private sector does well, at lower cost…

UPDATE
Even former Media Watch host Jonathan Holmes is puzzled:

Of course, Mark Scott’s radical cuts to ABC output are in the headlines – cuts far more radical, Malcolm Turnbull would have us believe, than the government’s “modest” efficiency requirements justify.  Certainly, they are puzzling to this outsider: they seem almost designed to alienate still further the ABC’s enemies in the Coalition, and to undercut its Coalition allies.
State-based TV journalism, regional radio and decentralised production are all expensive – but they are surely the last, rather than the first elements of the ABC’s overall service that should be cut.

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The public has chosen. Murdoch wins, Cromwell loses

Andrew Bolt November 25 2014 (7:26am)

Murdoch-hating Leftist James Cromwell on the ABC (of course):

ACTOR James Cromwell: I disagree with Mr Murdoch on almost every position that he seems to take ...  If you don’t believe in what Rupert Murdoch stands for and what Rupert Murdoch says don’t buy his bloody paper! That’s very simple.

The public has spoken. Given the choice, they prefer to buy Murdoch’s papers:

News Corp Australia accounts for 33% of the newspaper titles that have sales audited by the Audit Bureau of Circulation… News Corp Australia titles account for 59% of the sales of all daily newspapers,

That is why the Left is so insistent that taxpayers fund the ABC at unprecedented levels. They want taxpayers forced to subsidise opinions that most will not buy if given the choice.
UPDATE
One reason for Murdoch’s success is that he enjoys a debate, and his outlets reflect it. A Cromwell insists Murdoch imposes his opinions when in fact his outlets tend to employ more Leftists than his rivals employ conservatives.
Compare:
Number of conservative columnists employed by The Age:

Zero (unless you count the fortnightly Amanda Vanstone, actually a contributer, not staffer, and a small-l liberal)

Number of conservative hosts of mainstream current affairs shows employed by the ABC:

Zero (unless you count the weekly Counterpoint program on the little-heard Radio National hosted by Amanda Vanstone)

Number of conservatives among the six people on last night’s Q&A:

Zero (unless you include the ubiquitous token, Amanda Vanstone).

Leftist columnists in Murdoch’s Australian newspapers:

Phillip Adams
Troy Bramston
Tory Shepherd
Susie O’Brien
Laurie Oakes
David Penberthy
Anthony Sharwood
Jack the Insider
Joe Hildebrand
Malcolm Farr
Terry Sweetman
Paul Syvret
Dennis Atkins
Graham Richardson
Claire Harvey
Peter Brent
Errol Simper
Tristan Edis
Peter van Onselen (depending on the wind)

I could go on. And note, I am even excluding people such as Paul Kelly and Alan Kohler, who on social issues would tend to lean Left but on economics more dry.
The point is: why doesn’t the ABC show the same commitment to plurality that Murdoch does, when, unlike Murdoch, it is actually legally obliged to?
The conclusion is: the Left doesn’t actually want debate, and its real beef with Murdoch is that he does. 

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Obama could destroy Hillary

Andrew Bolt November 25 2014 (7:09am)

Barack Obama, now more radical as well as more ineffectual, is destroying the chances of Hillary Clinton. Douglas E. Schoen and Patrick H. Caddell:

Mrs. Clinton’s putative bid for the Democratic presidential nomination is already running into trouble. The national exit poll from the recently completed midterm elections showed her with less than a majority of voters (43%) saying she would make a good president. When pitted against an unnamed Republican candidate, Mrs. Clinton lost 40% to 34%…
And that was before President Obama launched a defiant post-midterm campaign discarding political compromise and unilaterally doubling down on his unpopular policies…
The latest indication of the president’s politically damaging approach was his move on Thursday to unilaterally grant amnesty to an estimated five million illegal immigrants. A Rasmussen poll released Nov. 18 found that 53% of likely voters opposed the amnesty without congressional approval, while 34% approved....

Another source of trouble for Democrats: The proposed Keystone XL pipeline, which is enormously popular—59% of Americans are in favor, 31% against, according to a Pew poll this month. With the project so heavily favored, the president could score an easy win by backing the pipeline, but instead he has aligned himself with the elitist, environmentalist left led by billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer.
Mr. Obama’s willingness to disregard the public’s wishes will hurt Mrs. Clinton in particular. The president’s former secretary of state is already struggling to forge an independent identity without disowning the president…
And if that weren’t enough, foreign policy—which should be a selling point for the former secretary of state—will be a minefield. The president seemingly has no coherent strategy to deal with Islamic State terrorists in Iraq and Syria, no coherent strategy for dealing with Russian President Vladimir Putin ‘s bellicosity in Eastern Europe, and no coherent strategy for dealing with the Iranian nuclear program....
All of these foreign-policy dead zones have roots in Mrs. Clinton’s tenure as secretary of state…
With President Obama now courting a constitutional crisis over his unilateral action on immigration reform, the Democratic Party is losing popularity by the day… Barack Obama could end up beating Hillary Clinton yet again.

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Floundering Obama dumps his Defense Secretary

Andrew Bolt November 25 2014 (6:51am)

Chuck Hagel struggled even at his confirmation hearings last year, where he displayed all the faults for which he’s now being dismissed:

CNN reports that even Democrat senators were “very surprised” and “perplexed” by Hagel’s performance and “shocked” at how “ill-prepared” he seemed.

Now he’s out, a scapegoat for an equally passive and inadequate president:

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel handed in his resignation on Monday under pressure, the first cabinet-level casualty of the collapse of President Obama’s Democratic majority in the Senate and the struggles of his national security team to respond to an onslaught of global crises…
The officials characterized the decision as a recognition that the threat from the militant group Islamic State will require different skills from those that Mr. Hagel, who often struggled to articulate a clear viewpoint and was widely viewed as a passive defense secretary, was brought in to employ.
Mr. Hagel, a combat veteran who was skeptical about the Iraq war, came in to manage the Afghanistan combat withdrawal and the shrinking Pentagon budget in the era of budget sequestrations.
Now, however, the American military is back on a war footing, although it is a modified one. Some 3,000 American troops are being deployed in Iraq to help the Iraqi military fight the Sunni militants of the Islamic State, even as the administration struggles to come up with, and articulate, a coherent strategy to defeat the group in both Iraq and Syria.

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More Jews attacked in Jerusalem. UPDATE: Britain warns of worst-ever threat

Andrew Bolt November 25 2014 (6:14am)

Yet another attack in Jerusalem, a front line in the battle against jihadism:

A Jewish man in his 40s is in moderate-to-serious condition after being stabbed in the upper torso Monday evening, while another man sustained light wounds, police said, when both were attacked by a group of Arab assailants near the Old City’s Jaffa Gate.
According to Police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld, police “strongly believe the stabbing was a terrorist attack.”

UPDATE
Mass immigration from the Third World has turned Britain into another front-line state:

In a significant upgrading to counter terrorism laws, Home Secretary Theresa May has revealed the nation has combated 40 major terrorist plots since the 2005 bombings of London’s transport network including assassinations of ambassadors, “marauding Mumbai-style gun attacks”, a
But she said the worst was yet to come with Islamic State, also known as ISIS, posing a greater threat to national security than anytime before or after the 9/11 attacks in the US that saw worldwide threats by al-Qaeda.
She said the nation faced the greatest terror threat in its history, eclipsing the decades-long assaults by the IRA in the 1980s and al-Qaeda in the 2000s.

Terrorism is on the rise, and Muslim nations are the main source and main victims:

In 2013, nearly 18,000 people around the world were killed in terrorist attacks, a 61-percent increase from the prior year, according to the recently published annual Global Terrorism Index report.
Most of the terrorist incidents were concentrated in only a handful of countries – Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria and Syria – collectively accounting for nearly 15,000, or 82 percent, of the fatalities, the report noted… By comparison, the index showed that the United States had nine incidents last year, resulting in six fatalities.

Those figures do not include the victims of Muslim sectarian wars. 

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Clive Palmer now faces questions about $23 million

Andrew Bolt November 25 2014 (5:37am)

Hedley Thomas:

THE scale of the fraud alleged against Clive Palmer is tipped to almost double to about $23 million, the total amount of Chinese cash ­allegedly siphoned by Mr Palmer and his companies from a bank account set up to fund operations of a port for iron ore ­exports.
A police investigation into an alleged fraud by Mr Palmer over more than $12m of the Chinese funds is also expected to examine claims he fabricated documents to conceal the conduct…
But records show Mr Palmer’s company, Mineralogy, billed the Chinese government-owned companies for about $23m in three years, the money sent by Beijing and spent by Mr Palmer.
Little if any of the money ­appears to have been spent on port management services, as claimed by Mr Palmer’s company, which has not been in control or possession of the port at Cape Preston in remote WA… A civil “breach of trust” trial over the $12m-plus that he allegedly fraudulently siphoned is due to start in the Supreme Court in Brisbane tomorrow.

(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.) 

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Barry O’Farrell quits

Andrew Bolt November 24 2014 (9:01pm)

O’Farrell, the former NSW Premier, has quit politics. One bottle of wine, one untruth to ICAC and a distinguished career is now over. 

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Post by ABC News 24.

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Post by Dallas Beaufort.

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Post by Diamond Imports.

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Party animals .. come back .. Australian airport security to be reviewed http://t.co/7izhj15Qql via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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Not dead until he is buried at sea .. Australian ISIS kingpin Ali Baryalei more likely alive http://t.co/hLl7UU3ab6 via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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To Parliament? .. Craig Thomson lied about prostitutes because he was ‘embarrassed’ http://t.co/nnbIYdNTvT via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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A canoe is about their standard .. Minister wouldn't trust ASC to build canoe http://t.co/csORF3AkRG via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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The ABC's 5%, right there. .. Phil Hughes ABC tweet described as ‘horrible’ and ‘disgusting’ http://t.co/FWXr3VyA6q via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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Rioters mourn lack of racism in courts .. #Ferguson police officer won’t be charged over shooting http://t.co/NxkDb8PzQh via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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Will new Senate see sense? David Leyonhjelm counting crossbench votes for plan to wind back RET http://t.co/2QuaFHOZmq via @guardian
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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My two best qualities are Knowledge and Enlightenment. What are your two best qualities? on @bitecharge http://t.co/Jin4hO7Irq
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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The September 11 pic you haven’t seen yet http://t.co/Ok2aitv7nM via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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Sounds good response from school. Student banned from school formal over letter about staff member http://t.co/yGiXDpz488 via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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Aussie Schoolie culture needs shaking too .. shaken US fraterniy ‘party cult... http://t.co/m4eNqYxWRU via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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Prove it, or quit. .. ABC boss denies neglecting regional Aust http://t.co/60ZfTUokkS via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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Reason, not rioters, prevails #Ferguson police officer won’t be charged over shooting http://t.co/NxkDb8PzQh via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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Five Harry Potter fan theories so crazy they might just be true http://t.co/vvBJSm7co9 via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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The numbers that should shock you to tears http://t.co/yFiLk9WXGq via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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Advertising? Social media exposes the very worst of Schoolies Week on the Gold Coast http://t.co/maxqjLgykh via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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What happened to April-Lee? http://t.co/WKralc19xT via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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So when I ask my wife to get me a sandwich, I shouldn't have to pay that retail price? http://t.co/lDkXDvRL2X
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 25, 2014

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Should have hired Rowan Atkinson? Bungling, unqualified minister ruins couple’s wedding http://t.co/bXv7x74kNw via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 24, 2014

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Good man, good Premier. He failed me, but it wasn't his fault. Barry O’Farrell resigns http://t.co/IhmSNYUOwE via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 24, 2014

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Pie Face chain placed into voluntary administration, hundreds to lose jobs http://t.co/0alogdCdap via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 24, 2014

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Conviction seems a slam dunk .. Man on trial for sex with teen swim star http://t.co/84AZqttMdP via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) November 24, 2014

=== Posts from last year ===

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'Gate to Hell' guardians recovered in Turkey

http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/11/20/gate-to-hell-guardians-recovered-in-turkey/?intcmp=features

Archaeologists digging in Turkey have found the guardians of the Gate to Hell -- two unique marble statues which once warned of a deadly cave in the ancient Phrygian city of Hierapolis, near Pamukkale.

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Articles: The Truth Behind China Ending One-Child Policy

http://www.americanthinker.com/2013/11/the_truth_behind_china_ending_one-child_policy.html

China just announced that after 34 years of restricting population growth through its one-child policy, the nation will now allow families to have two children if one of the parents is an only child. The policy "initially produced a population pyramid optimal to economic growth -- that is, where the...

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Suicide Prevention and Awareness Day

http://saddleback.com/newsandevents/suicideprevention/

Suicide Prevention & Awareness Day Every 14 minutes, someone in the U.S. dies by suicide.

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Mother-to-be hits her baby bump with hammer to show 'my baby's hard'

http://mobile.news.com.au/lifestyle/parenting/mothertobe-hits-her-baby-bump-with-hammer-to-show-my-babys-hard/story-fnet085v-1226767725372

A HEAVILY pregnant woman has been caught on camera hitting her baby bump with a hammer to prove how 'hard' her unborn child is.

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“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live your lives in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.”Colossians 2:6-7 NIV

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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

"The glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers and streams."
Isaiah 33:21

Broad rivers and streams produce fertility, and abundance in the land. Places near broad rivers are remarkable for the variety of their plants and their plentiful harvests. God is all this to his Church. Having God she has abundance. What can she ask for that he will not give her? What want can she mention which he will not supply? "In this mountain shall the Lord of Hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things." Want ye the bread of life? It drops like manna from the sky. Want ye refreshing streams? The rock follows you, and that Rock is Christ. If you suffer any want it is your own fault; if you are straitened you are not straitened in him, but in your own bowels. Broad rivers and streams also point to commerce. Our glorious Lord is to us a place of heavenly merchandise. Through our Redeemer we have commerce with the past; the wealth of Calvary, the treasures of the covenant, the riches of the ancient days of election, the stores of eternity, all come to us down the broad stream of our gracious Lord. We have commerce, too, with the future. What galleys, laden to the water's edge, come to us from the millennium! What visions we have of the days of heaven upon earth! Through our glorious Lord we have commerce with angels; communion with the bright spirits washed in blood, who sing before the throne; nay, better still, we have fellowship with the Infinite One. Broad rivers and streams are specially intended to set forth the idea of security. Rivers were of old a defence. Oh! beloved, what a defence is God to his Church! The devil cannot cross this broad river of God. How he wishes he could turn the current, but fear not, for God abideth immutably the same. Satan may worry, but he cannot destroy us; no galley with oars shall invade our river, neither shall gallant ship pass thereby.

Evening

"Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth; and thy want as an armed man."
Proverbs 24:33-34

The worst of sluggards only ask for a little slumber; they would be indignant if they were accused of thorough idleness. A little folding of the hands to sleep is all they crave, and they have a crowd of reasons to show that this indulgence is a very proper one. Yet by these littles the day ebbs out, and the time for labour is all gone, and the field is grown over with thorns. It is by little procrastinations that men ruin their souls. They have no intention to delay for years--a few months will bring the more convenient season--to-morrow if you will, they will attend to serious things; but the present hour is so occupied and altogether so unsuitable, that they beg to be excused. Like sands from an hour-glass, time passes, life is wasted by driblets, and seasons of grace lost by little slumbers. Oh, to be wise, to catch the flying hour, to use the moments on the wing! May the Lord teach us this sacred wisdom, for otherwise a poverty of the worst sort awaits us, eternal poverty which shall want even a drop of water, and beg for it in vain. Like a traveller steadily pursuing his journey, poverty overtakes the slothful, and ruin overthrows the undecided: each hour brings the dreaded pursuer nearer; he pauses not by the way, for he is on his master's business and must not tarry. As an armed man enters with authority and power, so shall want come to the idle, and death to the impenitent, and there will be no escape. O that men were wise be-times, and would seek diligently unto the Lord Jesus, or ere the solemn day shall dawn when it will be too late to plough and to sow, too late to repent and believe. In harvest, it is vain to lament that the seed time was neglected. As yet, faith and holy decision are timely. May we obtain them this night.

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Today's reading: Ezekiel 22-23, 1 Peter 1 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 22-23

Judgment on Jerusalem’s Sins

¹ The word of the LORD came to me:

² “Son of man, will you judge her? Will you judge this city of bloodshed? Then confront her with all her detestable practices ³and say: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: You city that brings on herself doom by shedding blood in her midst and defiles herself by making idols, ⁴ you have become guilty because of the blood you have shed and have become defiled by the idols you have made. You have brought your days to a close, and the end of your years has come. Therefore I will make you an object of scorn to the nations and a laughingstock to all the countries. ⁵ Those who are near and those who are far away will mock you, you infamous city, full of turmoil....

...read the rest on Bible Gateway

Today's New Testament reading: 1 Peter 1

¹ Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and Bithynia, ² who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood:

Grace and peace be yours in abundance.

Praise to God for a Living Hope

³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, ⁴ and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, ⁵ who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time....

...read the rest on Bible Gateway

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Rechab [Rē'chăb]—companionship, a horseman or square.

1. A son of Rimmon, a Beerothite, captain of the band who slew Ish-bosheth in his bed, and who was put to death by David (2 Sam. 4:2-9).
2. Father of Jehonadab and founder of a tribe known as the “Rechabites” ( 2 Kings 10:15,23).

The Man Who Vowed to Be Separate

This particular order had its rise in the religious revival that took place under Elijah and Elisha. The tenets of the followers of Rechab were a reaction and a protest against the luxury and license which under Jezebel and Ahab threatened to destroy the simplicity of the ancient nomadic life of Israel. Accordingly, the Rechabites vowed to drink no wine, nor build houses, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyards, but dwell in tents all their days. They were to remember they were strangers in the land. For 250 years they adhered faithfully to their rules but were driven from their tents when in 607 b.c.Nebuchadnezzar invaded Judah.

Of these noteworthy people, whose high moral example was specially commended by God, Dr. Dinsdale Young elaborates on these points:

I. They honored the memory of the good.

II. They were marked by great simplicity of life.

III. They were worshipers of Jehovah.

IV. They maintained their integrity amid surrounding degeneracy.

V. They had their principles severely tested.

VI. They received special blessing.

May all of us be found among God’s true Rechabites!

3. A descendant of Hemath a Kenite (1 Chron. 2:55).

4. The father of Malchiah, a chief man who, after his return from exile, helped to repair the wall of Jerusalem (Neh. 3:14).

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