The meekness of modern police is astonishing to those who knew the world before the sixties. The Soviet Union exploited the peace movement as a way to secure reach within the West. And political correctness has been the brainchild of the peace movement, corroding institutions and emasculating police forces around the world. So that a celebrity who is the wrong colour can kill a woman the wrong colour and get away with it. So that a pedophile celebrity can become fabulously wealthy and highly lauded. So that a thief can resist arrest and be compensated. So that a President can openly demean the US public and be re elected. Note, names don't have to be used here because there are numerous examples of each. But part of the cure of the fear of terrorism, the way to address it, is to give police and the courts the latitude to do their jobs. To not have killers walking the streets because "they can't kill their victims again." It means border security like that Mr Abbott desires. It means security laws like that Mr Abbott is trying to pass. It means freedom of speech like Mr Abbott has promised.
Nothing need change for the West to be free of jihadism. Jail criminals. Police effectively. Have free and fair press. Strong border protection. Effective intelligence agencies. Strengthen cultural assets.
One footnote, a free and fair press does not mean a partisan press. Partisan left wing media have been complicit in promoting a narrative that has corroded cultural assets and prompted hysterical jihadism. People have died from lies spread by the media regarding so called insults to Islam. Or military activity that hasn't occurred. Case in point being the jailing of Peter Greste who, while adhering to international standards, is still guilty of promoting jihadism. Journalist standards have to rise for press to be free and fair. We must cross the river.
2014
Extreme left wingers seem to feel it is ok to drown people if one feels compassion while doing it. That would not be the position of a reasonable person. It is icing on the cake that illegal immigration also undermines systems that benefit people, such as refugee camps, foreign aid and migration. Because the extreme left have adopted that position, the moderate left have embraced it too. After all, the moderate left see themselves as being compassionate. And they dislike unfettered capitalism. It has to have fetters, like those employed monetarily to refugee seekers willing to pay to risk drowning. Because all lefties think the same, moderate leftists must embrace what extreme leftists espouse. That has not always been the case. Moderate leftists like Hawke and Keating were able to pull the extremists to back them on their compromises. They still managed to convey to extremists they would not behave sensibly. The kind of moderate left leadership provided by Hawke and Keating was surrendered by Beazley who was not capable of filling the vacuum left when Keating retired. Which is sad for boat people, who rely on people like Sarah Hanson Young to keep the drain unplugged as they circle the drain of Keating's vision of Australia. The conservative position espoused by Mr Abbott and of long standing public policy of conservative administrations is opposed by the radical left. And so it is also despised by moderates. And so Channel 10's morning show, after interviewing Mr Abbott, discussed the issue and no member of the four person panel spoke in favour of the conservative position. Not even Joe Hildebrand who is a vocal supporter of good government at other times. Such a jaundiced view is unwatchable and not entertaining, but irritating. Channel Ten's program was celebrating fifty episodes. It won't grow if it fails to be different to other channels.
Historical perspectives on this day
In 49 BC, Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon, signalling the start of civil war. 9, the Western Han Dynasty ended when Wang Mang claimed that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the beginning of his own, the Xin Dynasty. 69, Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus is appointed by Galba as deputy Roman Emperor. 236, Pope Fabian succeeded Anterus to become the twentieth pope of Rome. 1072, Robert Guiscard conquered Palermo. 1475, Stephen III of Moldavia defeated the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui. 1645, Archbishop William Laud is beheaded at the Tower of London. 1776, Thomas Paine published his pamphlet Common Sense. 1791, the Siege of Dunlap's Station began near Cincinnati during the Northwest Indian War.In 1806, Dutch settlers in Cape Town surrendered to the British. 1810, Napoleon Bonaparte divorced his first wife Joséphine. 1861, American Civil War: Florida seceded from the Union. 1863, the London Underground, the world's oldest underground railway, opened between London Paddington station and Farringdon station. 1870, John D. Rockefeller incorporated Standard Oil.
In 1901, the first great Texas oil gusher was discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas. 1916, World War I: In the Erzurum Offensive, Russia defeated the Ottoman Empire. 1920, the Treaty of Versailles took effect, officially ending World War I. 1922, Arthur Griffith was elected President of the Dáil Éireann. 1923, Lithuania seized and annexed Memel. 1927, Fritz Lang's futuristic film Metropolis was released in Germany. 1929, The Adventures of Tintin, one of the most popular European comic books, was first published in Belgium. 1941, World War II: The Greek army captured Kleisoura. 1946, the first General Assembly of the United Nations opened in London. Fifty-one nations were represented. Also 1946, the United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducted Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the moon and receiving the reflected signals.
In 1954, BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, exploded and fell into the Tyrrhenian Sea killing 35 people. 1962, Apollo program: NASA announced plans to build the C-5 rocket launch vehicle. It became better known as the Saturn V Moon rocket, which launched every Apollo Moon mission. 1972, Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returned to the newly independent Bangladesh as president after spending over nine months in prison in Pakistan. 1981, Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launched its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments 1984, Holy See–United States relations: The United States and Holy See (Vatican City) re-established full diplomatic relations after almost 117 years, overturning the United States Congress's 1867 ban on public funding for such a diplomatic envoy. 1985, Sir Clive Sinclair launched the Sinclair C5 personal electric vehicle, which became a notorious commercial failure and later a cult collector's item. Also 1985, Sandinista Daniel Ortega became president of Nicaragua and vowed to continue the transformation to socialism and alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba; American policy continued to support the Contras in their revolt against the Nicaraguan government.
In 1990, Time Warner was formed by the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications. 1999, Sanjeev Nanda killed three policemen in New Delhi, India with his car, an act for which he was later acquitted, resulting in a sharp drop in public confidence in the Indian legal system. 2005, a mudslide occurred in La Conchita, California, killing 10 people, injuring many more and closing U.S. Route 101, the main coastal corridor between Los Angeles and San Francisco for 10 days. 2007, a general strike began in Guinea in an eventually successful attempt to get President Lansana Conté to resign. 2011, 2010–2011 Queensland floods: Torrential rain in the Lockyer Valley region of South East Queensland, Australia caused severe flash flooding, killing 9 people. 2012, a bombing in Khyber Agency, Pakistan, killed at least 30 people with 78 others injured. 2013, more than 100 people were killed and 270 injured in several bomb blasts in Pakistan.
===
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.
===
Editorials will appear in the "History in a Year by the Conservative Voice" series, starting with August https://www.createspace.com/4124406 or at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/1482020262/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_dVHPub0MQKDZ4
===
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
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.
===
Happy birthday and many happy returns Stephanie Hurst. Born on the same day, across the years, along with
- 1480 – Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1530)
- 1769 – Michel Ney, French marshal (d. 1815)
- 1780 – Martin Lichtenstein, German physician and explorer (d. 1857)
- 1917 – Jerry Wexler, American record producer and journalist (d. 2008)
- 1939 – David Horowitz, American activist and author, founded the David Horowitz Freedom Center
- 1945 – John Fahey, Australian politician, 38th Premier of New South Wales
- 1945 – Rod Stewart, English-Scottish singer-songwriter (The Jeff Beck Group, Faces, Shotgun Express, and The Steampacket)
- 1990 – Tao Li, Singaporean swimmer
- 1998 – Xu Shilin, Chinese tennis player
- 1475 – Moldavian–Ottoman Wars: Moldavian forces under Stephen the Great defeated an Ottoman attack led by Hadân Suleiman Pasha, the Beylerbeyi of Rumelia, near Vaslui in present-day Romania.
- 1776 – Common Sense, a pamphlet by Thomas Paine(pictured) denouncing British rule in the Thirteen Colonies, was published.
- 1929 – The Adventures of Tintin, a series of popular comic books created by Belgian artist Hergé, first appeared in a children's supplement to the Belgian newspaper Le Vingtième Siècle.
- 1985 – Sir Clive Sinclair launched the Sinclair C5 personal electric vehicle, "one of the great marketing bombs of postwar British industry", which later became a cult collector's item.
- 2004 – Helge Fossmo, the village priest of Knutby, Sweden, orchestrated the murders of his wife and his neighbor, a crime that shocked the country.
Matches
- 49 BC – Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, signaling the start of civil war.
- 9 – The Western Han Dynasty ends when Wang Mang claims that the divine Mandate of Heaven called for the end of the dynasty and the beginning of his own, the Xin Dynasty.
- 69 – Lucius Calpurnius Piso Licinianus is appointed by Galba as deputy Roman Emperor.
- 236 – Pope Fabian succeeds Anterus to become the twentieth pope of Rome.
- 1072 – Robert Guiscard conquers Palermo.
- 1475 – Stephen III of Moldavia defeats the Ottoman Empire at the Battle of Vaslui.
- 1645 – Archbishop William Laud is beheaded at the Tower of London.
- 1776 – Thomas Paine publishes his pamphlet Common Sense.
- 1791 – The Siege of Dunlap's Station begins near Cincinnati during the Northwest Indian War.
- 1806 – Dutch settlers in Cape Town surrender to the British.
- 1810 – Napoleon Bonaparte divorces his first wife Joséphine.
- 1861 – American Civil War: Florida secedes from the Union.
- 1863 – The London Underground, the world's oldest underground railway, opens between London Paddington station and Farringdon station.
- 1870 – John D. Rockefeller incorporates Standard Oil.
- 1901 – The first great Texas oil gusher is discovered at Spindletop in Beaumont, Texas.
- 1916 – World War I: In the Erzurum Offensive, Russia defeats the Ottoman Empire.
- 1920 – The Treaty of Versailles takes effect, officially ending World War I.
- 1922 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of the Dáil Éireann.
- 1923 – Lithuania seizes and annexes Memel.
- 1927 – Fritz Lang's futuristic film Metropolis is released in Germany.
- 1929 – The Adventures of Tintin, one of the most popular European comic books, is first published in Belgium.
- 1941 – World War II: The Greek army captures Kleisoura.
- 1946 – The first General Assembly of the United Nations opens in London. Fifty-one nations are represented.
- 1946 – The United States Army Signal Corps successfully conducts Project Diana, bouncing radio waves off the moon and receiving the reflected signals.
- 1954 – BOAC Flight 781, a de Havilland DH.106 Comet 1, explodes and falls into the Tyrrhenian Sea killing 35 people.
- 1962 – Apollo program: NASA announces plans to build the C-5 rocket launch vehicle. It became better known as the Saturn V Moon rocket, which launched every Apollo Moon mission.
- 1972 – Sheikh Mujibur Rahman returns to the newly independent Bangladesh as president after spending over nine months in prison in Pakistan.
- 1981 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenangodepartments
- 1984 – Holy See–United States relations: The United States and Holy See (Vatican City) re-establish full diplomatic relations after almost 117 years, overturning the United States Congress's 1867 ban on public funding for such a diplomatic envoy.
- 1985 – Sir Clive Sinclair launches the Sinclair C5 personal electric vehicle, which became a notorious commercial failure and later a cult collector's item.
- 1985 – Sandinista Daniel Ortega becomes president of Nicaragua and vows to continue the transformation to socialism and alliance with the Soviet Union and Cuba; American policy continues to support the Contras in their revolt against the Nicaraguan government.
- 1990 – Time Warner is formed by the merger of Time Inc. and Warner Communications.
- 1999 – Sanjeev Nanda kills three policemen in New Delhi, India with his car, an act for which he was later acquitted, resulting in a sharp drop in public confidence in the Indian legal system.
- 2005 – A mudslide occurs in La Conchita, California, killing 10 people, injuring many more and closing U.S. Route 101, the main coastal corridor between Los Angeles and San Francisco for 10 days.
- 2007 – A general strike begins in Guinea in an eventually successful attempt to get President Lansana Conté to resign.
- 2011 – 2010–2011 Queensland floods: Torrential rain in the Lockyer Valley region of South East Queensland, Australia causes severe flash flooding, killing 9 people.
- 2012 – A bombing in Khyber Agency, Pakistan, kills at least 30 people and 78 others injured.
- 2013 – More than 100 people are killed and 270 injured in several bomb blasts in Pakistan.
Hatches
- 1480 – Margaret of Austria, Duchess of Savoy (d. 1530)
- 1538 – Louis of Nassau (d. 1574)
- 1607 – Isaac Jogues, French priest and missionary (d. 1646)
- 1628 – George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham, English politician (d. 1687)
- 1644 – Louis François, duc de Boufflers, French general (d. 1711)
- 1654 – Joshua Barnes, English scholar (d. 1712)
- 1702 – Johannes Zick, German painter (d. 1762)
- 1715 – Christian August Crusius, German philosopher and theologian (d. 1775)
- 1729 – Lazzaro Spallanzani, Italian biologist (d. 1799)
- 1741 – Princess Elizabeth of Great Britain (d. 1759)
- 1745 – Isaac Titsingh, Dutch surgeon, scholar, and diplomat (d. 1812)
- 1750 – Thomas Erskine, 1st Baron Erskine, Scottish-English lawyer and politician (d. 1823)
- 1760 – Johann Rudolf Zumsteeg, German composer and conductor (d. 1802)
- 1769 – Michel Ney, French marshal (d. 1815)
- 1776 – George Birkbeck, English doctor and academic, founded Birkbeck, University of London (d. 1841)
- 1780 – Martin Lichtenstein, German physician and explorer (d. 1857)
- 1797 – Eugenio Kincaid, American missionary (d. 1883)
- 1802 – Carl Ritter von Ghega, Albanian engineer (d. 1860)
- 1810 – Ferdinand Barbedienne, French engineer (d. 1892)
- 1810 – Jeremiah S. Black, American jurist and politician, 23rd United States Secretary of State (d. 1883)
- 1812 – Georg Hermann Nicolai, German architect (d. 1881)
- 1828 – Herman Koeckemann, German bishop (d. 1892)
- 1834 – John Dalberg-Acton, 1st Baron Acton, English historian and politician (d. 1902)
- 1836 – Charles Ingalls, American father of Laura Ingalls Wilder (d. 1902)
- 1840 – Louis-Nazaire Bégin, Canadian cardinal (d. 1925)
- 1842 – Luigi Pigorini, Italian palaeontologist, archaeologist, and ethnographer (d. 1925)
- 1843 – Frank James, American soldier and outlaw (d. 1915)
- 1848 – Reinhold Sadler, American politician, 9th Governor of Nevada (d. 1906)
- 1849 – Robert Crosbie, Canadian theosophist, founded the United Lodge of Theosophists (d. 1919)
- 1850 – John Wellborn Root, American architect, designed the Rookery Building and Monadnock Building (d. 1891)
- 1853 – Jessie Bond, English singer and actress (d. 1942)
- 1858 – Heinrich Zille, German illustrator and photographer (d. 1929)
- 1859 – Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, Spanish philosopher (d. 1909)
- 1860 – Charles G. D. Roberts, Canadian poet and author (d. 1943)
- 1864 – Grand Duke Peter Nikolaevich of Russia (d. 1931)
- 1865 – Mary Ingalls, American sister of Laura Ingalls Wilder (d. 1928)
- 1873 – Algernon Maudslay, English sailor (d. 1948)
- 1873 – Jack O'Neill, Irish-American baseball player (d. 1935)
- 1873 – George Orton, Canadian runner (d. 1958)
- 1875 – Issai Schur, German mathematician (d. 1941)
- 1880 – Manuel Azaña, Spanish politician, 7th President of Spain (d. 1940)
- 1881 – Leslie Rainey, Australian cricketer and footballer (d. 1962)
- 1883 – Francis X. Bushman, American actor (d. 1966)
- 1883 – Oscar Goerke, American cyclist (d. 1934)
- 1883 – Alfred Saalwächter, German admiral (d. 1945)
- 1883 – Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy, Russian author (d. 1945)
- 1887 – Robinson Jeffers, American poet (d. 1962)
- 1889 – Maurice Collis, Irish author (d. 1973)
- 1890 – Grigory Landsberg, Russian physicist (d. 1957)
- 1890 – Pina Menichelli, Italian actress (d. 1984)
- 1891 – Heinrich Behmann, German mathematician (d. 1970)
- 1891 – Ann Shoemaker, American actress (d. 1978)
- 1892 – Dumas Malone, American historian (d. 1986)
- 1892 – Melchior Wańkowicz, Polish journalist (d. 1974)
- 1893 – Albert Jacka, Australian soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (d. 1932)
- 1894 – Pingali Lakshmikantam, Indian poet (d. 1972)
- 1898 – Katharine Burr Blodgett, American physicist (d. 1979)
- 1903 – Barbara Hepworth, English sculptor (d. 1975)
- 1903 – Voldemar Väli, Estonian wrestler (d. 1997)
- 1903 – Violet Wilkey, American actress (d. 1976)
- 1904 – Ray Bolger, American actor and dancer (d. 1987)
- 1905 – Albert Arlen, Australian pianist, composer, actor, and playwright (d. 1993)
- 1908 – Paul Henreid, Italian-American actor and director (d. 1992)
- 1908 – Bernard Lee, English actor (d. 1981)
- 1910 – Jean Martinon, French conductor and composer (d. 1976)
- 1911 – Binod Bihari Chowdhury, Bangladeshi activist (d. 2013)
- 1911 – Norman Heatley, English biologist (d. 2004)
- 1912 – Maria Mandel, Austrian SS guard (d. 1948)
- 1913 – Gustáv Husák, Slovak politician, 9th President of Czechoslovakia (d. 1991)
- 1913 – Mehmet Shehu, Albanian politician (d. 1981)
- 1914 – Pierre Cogan, French cyclist (d. 2013)
- 1914 – Yu Kuo-hwa, Chinese politician, 23rd Premier of the Republic of China (d. 2000)
- 1915 – Dean Dixon, American conductor (d. 1976)
- 1915 – Cynthia Freeman, American author (d. 1988)
- 1916 – Sune Bergström, Swedish biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2004)
- 1916 – Eldzier Cortor, American painter
- 1916 – Don Metz, Canadian ice hockey player (d. 2007)
- 1917 – Hilde Krahl, Austrian actress (d. 1999)
- 1917 – Jerry Wexler, American record producer and journalist (d. 2008)
- 1918 – Les Bennett, English footballer (d. 1999)
- 1918 – Arthur Chung, Guyanese politician, 1st President of Guyana (d. 2008)
- 1919 – Terukuni Manzō, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 38th Yokozuna (d. 1977)
- 1919 – Milton Parker, American businessman, co-founded the Carnegie Deli (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Billy Varga, American wrestler and actor (d. 2013)
- 1919 – Rex Marshall, American actor and radio personality (d. 1983)
- 1920 – Georges Marchal, French actor (d. 1997)
- 1920 – Max Patkin, American baseball player (d. 1999)
- 1921 – Tasso Kavadia, Greek actress (d. 2010)
- 1921 – Rodger Ward, American race car driver (d. 2004)
- 1922 – Billy Liddell, Scottish footballer (d. 2001)
- 1922 – Ester Mägi, Estonian composer
- 1922 – Hannelore Schroth, German actress (d. 1987)
- 1924 – Ludmilla Chiriaeff, Canadian ballerina, choreographer, and director (d. 1996)
- 1924 – Max Roach, American drummer and composer (M'Boom) (d. 2007)
- 1925 – Billie Sol Estes, American businessman (d. 2013)
- 1925 – Günther Knödler, German fencer
- 1926 – Musallam Bseiso, Palestinian journalist and politician
- 1927 – Gisele MacKenzie, Canadian-American singer and actress (d. 2003)
- 1927 – Lee Philips, American actor and director (d. 1999)
- 1927 – Johnnie Ray, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1990)
- 1927 – Otto Stich, Swiss politician, 140th President of the Swiss Confederation (d. 2012)
- 1928 – Philip Levine, American poet
- 1928 – Peter Mathias, English historian and academic
- 1929 – Derek Hammond-Stroud, English opera singer (d. 2012)
- 1929 – Tony Soper, English ornithologist and author
- 1930 – Elaine Devry, American actress
- 1930 – Roy E. Disney, American businessman (d. 2009)
- 1931 – Peter Barnes, English playwright and screenwriter (d. 2004)
- 1931 – Rosalind Howells, Baroness Howells of St Davids, Grenadian-English academic and politician
- 1931 – Massimo Vignelli, Italian-American graphic designer (d. 2014)
- 1931 – John Zizioulas, Greek metropolitan
- 1933 – Anton Rodgers, English actor and director (d. 2007)
- 1934 – Leonid Kravchuk, Ukrainian politician, 1st President of Ukraine
- 1935 – Ronnie Hawkins, American singer-songwriter and producer
- 1935 – Georg Katzer, German composer
- 1935 – Sherrill Milnes, American opera singer
- 1936 – Stephen E. Ambrose, American historian and author (d. 2002)
- 1936 – Walter Bodmer, German-English geneticist and academic
- 1936 – Burnum Burnum, Australian actor and author (d. 1997)
- 1936 – Al Goldstein, American publisher and pornographer (d. 2013)
- 1936 – Robert Woodrow Wilson, American physicist and astronomer, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1937 – Daniel Walker Howe, American historian
- 1937 – Thomas Penfield Jackson, American judge (d. 2013)
- 1938 – Donald Knuth, American computer scientist and author
- 1938 – Frank Mahovlich, Canadian ice hockey player and politician
- 1938 – Willie McCovey, American baseball player
- 1939 – Jared Carter, American poet
- 1939 – Sonosuke Fujimaki, Japanese fencer
- 1939 – David Horowitz, American activist and author, founded the David Horowitz Freedom Center
- 1939 – William Levy, Dutch author
- 1939 – Scott McKenzie, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2012)
- 1939 – Sal Mineo, American actor (d. 1976)
- 1939 – Bill Toomey, American decathlete
- 1940 – Guy Chevrette, Canadian politician
- 1940 – Harry Gant, American race car driver
- 1940 – Godfrey Hewitt, English geneticist (d. 2013)
- 1940 – Walter Hill, American director, screenwriter, and producer
- 1940 – Ntare VI of Ankole (d. 2011)
- 1940 – K. J. Yesudas, Indian singer-songwriter
- 1941 – Tom Clarke, English politician
- 1942 – Graeme Gahan, Australian footballer
- 1943 – Jim Croce, American singer-songwriter (d. 1973)
- 1943 – Jantzen Derrick, English footballer
- 1943 – Kristiina Elstelä, Finnish actress
- 1944 – Rory Byrne, South African engineer
- 1944 – Bernard Derome, Canadian journalist
- 1944 – William Sanderson, American actor
- 1944 – Frank Sinatra, Jr., American singer-songwriter and actor
- 1945 – Jerome Drayton, Canadian runner
- 1945 – John Fahey, Australian politician, 38th Premier of New South Wales
- 1945 – Gunther von Hagens, German anatomist, inventor of plastination
- 1945 – Jennifer Moss, English actress and singer (d. 2006)
- 1945 – Rod Stewart, English-Scottish singer-songwriter (The Jeff Beck Group, Faces, Shotgun Express, and The Steampacket)
- 1945 – Edward Wiskoski, American wrestler
- 1946 – Aynsley Dunbar, English drummer and songwriter (The Jeff Beck Group, Journey, Jefferson Starship, UFO, The Mojos, and John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers)
- 1946 – Alexis Nihon, Jr., Canadian wrestler (d. 2013)
- 1947 – Arlene Ackerman, American educator (d. 2013)
- 1947 – George Alec Effinger, American author (d. 2002)
- 1947 – Matthew Oakeshott, Baron Oakeshott of Seagrove Bay, English banker and politician
- 1947 – Peer Steinbrück, German politician
- 1947 – Tiit Vähi, Estonian politician, 11th Prime Minister of Estonia
- 1948 – Donald Fagen, American singer-songwriter and pianist (Steely Dan)
- 1948 – Teresa Graves, American actress and singer (d. 2002)
- 1948 – Mischa Maisky, Latvian-Israeli cellist
- 1948 – David Neuberger, Baron Neuberger of Abbotsbury, English lawyer and judge
- 1948 – Bernard Thévenet, French cyclist
- 1949 – Allu Aravind, Indian film producer
- 1949 – Fred Bronson, American journalist and author
- 1949 – George Foreman, American boxer
- 1949 – James Lapine, American director
- 1949 – Linda Lovelace, American porn actress and activist (d. 2002)
- 1950 – Roy Blunt, American politician
- 1950 – Ernie Wasson, American gardener and author
- 1951 – Paul DiMaggio, American educator
- 1951 – Nicolas Philibert, French actor and director
- 1951 – Pez Whatley, American wrestler (d. 2005)
- 1952 – Scott Thurston, American guitarist and songwriter (Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and The Stooges)
- 1953 – Pat Benatar, American singer-songwriter
- 1953 – Dennis Cooper, American author
- 1953 – Bobby Rahal, American race car driver
- 1954 – John Gidman, English footballer
- 1954 – Greg Towns, Australian footballer
- 1955 – Michael Schenker, German guitarist (UFO, Scorpions, Contraband, and McAuley Schenker Group)
- 1955 – Franco Tancredi, Italian footballer
- 1956 – Shawn Colvin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1956 – Antonio Muñoz Molina, Spanish author
- 1957 – Paula Smith, American tennis player
- 1957 – Greg Walden, American politician
- 1958 – Eddie Cheever, American race car driver
- 1958 – Caroline Langrishe, English actress
- 1958 – Anatoly Pisarenko, Ukrainian weightlifter
- 1959 – Bernhard Hoff, German sprinter
- 1959 – Chris Van Hollen, American politician
- 1959 – Fran Walsh, New Zealand screenwriter and producer
- 1960 – Gurinder Chadha, Kenyan-English director
- 1960 – Brian Cowen, Irish politician, 12th Taoiseach
- 1960 – John Mann, English politician
- 1960 – Benoît Pelletier, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1960 – Samira Said, Moroccan singer-songwriter
- 1961 – Steve Hamilton, American author
- 1961 – Evan Handler, American actor
- 1961 – Janet Jones, American actress
- 1961 – Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg, Italian-American violinist, author, and educator
- 1962 – Michael Fortier, Canadian lawyer and politician
- 1963 – Malcolm Dunford, New Zealand footballer
- 1963 – Kira Ivanova, Soviet figure skater (d. 2001)
- 1963 – David Dewayne Johnson, American murderer (d. 2000)
- 1963 – Mark Pryor, American politician, 53rd Arkansas Attorney General
- 1964 – Chitti Babu, Indian actor (d. 2013)
- 1964 – Tony Gardner, English actor
- 1964 – Akifumi Tada, Japanese composer
- 1964 – Brad Roberts, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Crash Test Dummies)
- 1965 – Wally Bell, American baseball umpire (d. 2013)
- 1965 – Butch Hartman, American animator, voice actor, and singer
- 1966 – Robert Jürjendal, Estonian guitarist and composer
- 1966 – Steve Kramer, American politician
- 1966 – Murali Nair, Indian director and screenwriter
- 1966 – Jeremy Sims, Australian actor and director
- 1967 – Jeremy Cumpston, Australian actor
- 1967 – Johan Laats, Belgian martial artist
- 1967 – Maciej Śliwowski, Polish footballer
- 1969 – Janko Kastelic, Slovene-Canadian conductor
- 1969 – Andreas Reinke, German footballer
- 1970 – Buff Bagwell, American wrestler and actor
- 1970 – Scott Ludlam, Australian politician
- 1970 – Alisa Marić, Serbian chess player
- 1972 – Thomas Alsgaard, Norwegian skier
- 1972 – Mohammed Benzakour, Moroccan-Dutch journalist, poet, and author
- 1972 – Brian Lawler, American wrestler
- 1973 – Jakob Cedergren, Danish actor
- 1973 – Ryan Drummond, American actor and singer
- 1973 – Glenn Robinson, American basketball player
- 1973 – Félix Trinidad, Puerto Rican boxer
- 1974 – Jemaine Clement, New Zealand actor, singer, and guitarist (Flight of the Conchords)
- 1974 – Davide Dionigi, Italian footballer
- 1974 – Akari Kaida, Japanese composer
- 1974 – Andrey Korneyev, Russian swimmer
- 1974 – Steve Marlet, French footballer
- 1974 – Clinton O'Brien, Australian rugby player
- 1974 – Bob Peeters, Belgian footballer
- 1974 – Hrithik Roshan, Indian actor
- 1975 – Jake Delhomme, American football player
- 1976 – Adam Kennedy, American baseball player
- 1976 – Ian Poulter, English golfer
- 1976 – Alec Shelbrooke, English politician
- 1978 – Brent Smith, American singer-songwriter (Shinedown)
- 1978 – Tamina Snuka, American wrestler
- 1978 – Tanel Tein, Estonian basketball player
- 1979 – Simone Cavalli, Italian footballer
- 1979 – Bodo Sieber, German rugby player
- 1980 – Nelson Cuevas, Paraguayan footballer
- 1980 – Petri Lindroos, Finnish singer and guitarist (Ensiferum and Norther)
- 1980 – Tatjana Mannima, Estonian skier
- 1980 – Aleksandr Pogorelov, Russian decathlete
- 1980 – Sarah Shahi, American actress
- 1981 – James Coppinger, English footballer
- 1981 – Inga Jankauskaitė, Lithuanian actress, singer, and pianist
- 1981 – Brian Joo, American-South Korean singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (Fly to the Sky)
- 1982 – Julien Brellier, French footballer
- 1982 – Josh Ryan Evans, American actor (d. 2002)
- 1982 – Misato Fukuen, Japanese voice actress
- 1983 – Danilo Dirani, Brazilian race car driver
- 1983 – Li Nina, Chinese skier
- 1984 – Marouane Chamakh, Moroccan footballer
- 1984 – Trent Cutler, Australian rugby player
- 1984 – Nando Rafael, Angolan-German footballer
- 1985 – Abdulkader Dakka, Syrian footballer
- 1985 – Jaroslav Kolbas, Slovak footballer
- 1985 – Craig Lewis, American cyclist
- 1985 – Alex Meraz, American actor
- 1985 – Sofia Yfantidou, Greek heptathlete
- 1986 – Trent Barreta, American wrestler
- 1986 – Chen Jin, Chinese badminton player
- 1986 – Abbey Clancy, English model and television host
- 1986 – Kirsten Flipkens, Belgian tennis player
- 1986 – Hideaki Ikematsu, Japanese footballer
- 1986 – Saleisha Stowers, American model
- 1986 – Kenneth Vermeer, Dutch footballer
- 1987 – César Cielo, Brazilian swimmer
- 1988 – Marvin Martin, French footballer
- 1988 – Vladimir Zharkov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1989 – Emily Meade, American actress
- 1989 – Kyle Reimers, Australian footballer
- 1990 – Mirko Bortolotti, Italian race car driver
- 1990 – Wilhelm Ingves, Finnish footballer
- 1990 – Tao Li, Singaporean swimmer
- 1990 – Stefano Lilipaly, Dutch-Indonesian footballer
- 1990 – César Ruiz, Peruvian footballer
- 1991 – Romain Wattel, French golfer
- 1992 – Emmanuel Frimpong, Ghanaian footballer
- 1996 – María Paulina Pérez, Colombian tennis player
- 1996 – Paula Andrea Pérez, Colombian tennis player
- 1998 – Xu Shilin, Chinese tennis player
- 2000 – Sota Yamamoto, Japanese figure skater
Despatches
- 314 – Pope Miltiades
- 681 – Pope Agatho
- 976 – John I Tzimiskes, Byzantine emperor (b. 925)
- 1094 – Al-Mustansir Billah, Egyptian caliph (b. 1029)
- 1276 – Pope Gregory X (b. 1210)
- 1645 – William Laud, English archbishop (b. 1573)
- 1654 – Nicholas Culpeper, English botanist, physician, and astrologer (b. 1616)
- 1662 – Honoré II, Prince of Monaco (b. 1597)
- 1698 – Louis-Sébastien Le Nain de Tillemont, French historian (b. 1637)
- 1707 – Philibert de Gramont, French soldier (b. 1621)
- 1754 – Edward Cave, English publisher, founded the The Gentleman's Magazine (b. 1691)
- 1761 – Edward Boscawen, English admiral and politician (b. 1711)
- 1777 – Spranger Barry, Irish actor (b. 1719)
- 1778 – Carolus Linnaeus, Swedish botanist (b. 1707)
- 1794 – Georg Forster, German-Polish ethnologist and journalist (d. 1754)
- 1811 – Joseph Chénier, French poet, playwright, and politician (b. 1764)
- 1824 – Victor Emmanuel I of Sardinia (b. 1759)
- 1825 – Ioannis Varvakis, Greek sailor and soldier (b. 1745)
- 1828 – François de Neufchâteau, French politician (b. 1750)
- 1829 – Gregorio Funes, Argentinian clergyman, historian, and educator (b. 1749)
- 1833 – Adrien-Marie Legendre, French mathematician (b. 1752)
- 1851 – Karl Freiherr von Müffling, Prussian field marshal (b. 1775)
- 1855 – Mary Russell Mitford, English author and playwright (b. 1787)
- 1862 – Samuel Colt, American businessman, founded the Colt's Manufacturing Company (b. 1814)
- 1863 – Lyman Beecher, American minister, co-founded the American Temperance Society (b. 1775)
- 1866 – Pyotr Pletnyov, Russian poet (b. 1792)
- 1883 – Samuel Mudd, American physician (b. 1833)
- 1895 – Eli Whitney Blake, Jr., American scientist and academic (b. 1836)
- 1895 – Benjamin Godard, French violinist and composer (b. 1849)
- 1901 – James Robert Dickson, Australian politician, 13th Premier of Queensland (b. 1832)
- 1904 – Jean-Léon Gérôme, French painter and sculptor (b. 1824)
- 1905 – Kārlis Baumanis, Latvian composer and songwriter (b. 1835)
- 1917 – Buffalo Bill, American soldier and hunter (b. 1846)
- 1917 – Feliks Leparsky, Russian fencer (b. 1875)
- 1921 – Raymond Thorne, American swimmer (b. 1887)
- 1922 – Frank Tudor, Australian politician (b. 1866)
- 1926 – Eino Leino, Finnish poet (b. 1878)
- 1934 – Marinus van der Lubbe, Dutch anarchist (b. 1909)
- 1935 – Edwin Flack, Australian tennis player (b. 1873)
- 1941 – Frank Bridge, English viola player and composer (b. 1879)
- 1941 – John Lavery, Irish painter (b. 1856)
- 1941 – Joe Penner, Hungarian-American comedian and actor (b. 1904)
- 1941 – Issai Schur, German mathematician (b. 1875)
- 1949 – Erich von Drygalski, German geographer and geophysicist (b. 1865)
- 1951 – Sinclair Lewis, American author and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1885)
- 1951 – Yoshio Nishina, Japanese physicist (b. 1890)
- 1954 – Oscar Brockmeyer, American soccer player (b. 1883)
- 1954 – Chester Wilmot, American journalist (b. 1911)
- 1957 – Gabriela Mistral, Chilean poet and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1889)
- 1960 – Jack Laviolette, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1879)
- 1961 – Dashiell Hammett, American author and screenwriter (b. 1894)
- 1965 – Frederick Fleet, English crewman on the RMS Titanic (b. 1887)
- 1968 – Basil Sydney, English actor (b. 1894)
- 1969 – John Brownlee, Australian opera singer (b. 1900)
- 1969 – Sampurnanand, Indian activist and politician, 2nd Governor of Rajasthan (b. 1891)
- 1970 – Pavel Belyayev, Russian pilot and astronaut (b. 1925)
- 1971 – Coco Chanel, French fashion designer, founded Chanel (b. 1883)
- 1971 – Ignazio Giunti, Italian racing driver (b. 1941)
- 1972 – Aksel Larsen, Danish politician (b. 1897)
- 1976 – Howlin' Wolf, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1910)
- 1978 – Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, Nicaraguan journalist (b. 1924)
- 1978 – Don Gillis, American composer and conductor (b. 1912)
- 1980 – Hughie Critz, American baseball player (b. 1900)
- 1980 – George Meany, American union leader (b. 1894)
- 1980 – Bo Rein, American football player and coach (b. 1945)
- 1981 – Katharine Alexander, American actress (b. 1898)
- 1981 – Richard Boone, American actor (b. 1917)
- 1981 – Fawn M. Brodie, American historian and author (b. 1915)
- 1982 – Paul Lynde, American comedian and actor (b. 1926)
- 1984 – Souvanna Phouma, Laotian politician, 8th Prime Minister of Laos (b. 1901)
- 1985 – Anton Karas, Austrian zither player and composer (b. 1906)
- 1986 – Jaroslav Seifert, Czech journalist and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1901)
- 1987 – Marion Hutton, American singer and actress (b. 1919)
- 1987 – David Robinson, English businessman and philanthropist (b. 1904)
- 1989 – Herbert Morrison, American journalist (b. 1905)
- 1989 – Colin Winchester, Australian police officer (b. 1933)
- 1990 – Tochinishiki Kiyotaka, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 44th Yokozuna (b. 1925)
- 1991 – Richard Kuremaa, Estonian footballer (b. 1912)
- 1992 – Roberto Bonomi, Argentine race car driver (b. 1919)
- 1995 – Kathleen Tynan, Canadian-English journalist, author, and screenwriter (b. 1937)
- 1997 – Elspeth Huxley, Kenyan-English journalist and author (b. 1907)
- 1997 – Sheldon Leonard, American actor, producer, and director (b. 1907)
- 1997 – Alexander R. Todd, Baron Todd, Scottish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
- 1999 – Edward Williams, Australian judge (b. 1921)
- 2000 – Sam Jaffe, American film producer (b. 1901)
- 2002 – W. A. Criswell, American pastor and author (b. 1909)
- 2004 – Spalding Gray, American actor and screenwriter (b. 1941)
- 2004 – Alexandra Ripley, American author (b. 1934)
- 2005 – Basil, Ukrainian-Canadian bishop (b. 1909)
- 2005 – Gene Baylos, American comedian (b. 1906)
- 2005 – Margherita Carosio, Italian soprano (b. 1908)
- 2005 – James Forman, American activist (b. 1928)
- 2005 – Kalevi Hämäläinen, Finnish skier (b. 1932)
- 2005 – Erwin Hillier, German-English cinematographer (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Jack Horner, American journalist (b. 1912)
- 2005 – Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium (b. 1927)
- 2005 – Arthur Walworth, American author (b. 1903)
- 2007 – Carlo Ponti, Italian film producer (b. 1912)
- 2007 – Bradford Washburn, American explorer, photographer, and cartographer (b. 1910)
- 2008 – Christopher Bowman, American figure skater (b. 1967)
- 2008 – Mikhail Minin, Russian soldier (b. 1922)
- 2008 – Maila Nurmi, Finnish-American actress (b. 1921)
- 2009 – Bill Stone, English sailor (b. 1900)
- 2011 – John Dye, American actor (b. 1963)
- 2011 – Vivek Shauq, Indian actor (b. 1963)
- 2011 – Margaret Whiting, American singer (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Vince Gibson, American football player and coach (b. 1933)
- 2012 – Kyra T. Inachin, German-American historian and author (b. 1968)
- 2012 – Lila Kaye, English actress (b. 1929)
- 2012 – Jean Pigott, Canadian businesswoman and politician (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Cliff Portwood, English footballer and singer (b. 1937)
- 2012 – Mary Raftery, Irish journalist (b. 1957)
- 2012 – Gevork Vartanian, Russian intelligence agent (b. 1924)
- 2013 – Christel Adelaar, Indonesian-Dutch actress (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Antonino Calderone, Italian mobster (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Evan S. Connell, American author and poet (b. 1924)
- 2013 – George Gruntz, Swiss pianist and composer (b. 1932)
- 2013 – Jay Handlan, American basketball player (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Franz Lehrndorfer, German organist and composer (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Claude Nobs, Swiss businessman, founded the Montreux Jazz Festival (b. 1936)
- 2013 – Lucien Poirier, French general (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Jorge Selarón, Chilean-Brazilian painter (b. 1947)
- 2014 – Sam Berns, an American who suffered from progeria and helped raise awareness about the disease (b. 1996)
- 2014 – Elliot W. Eisner, American academic (b. 1933)
- 2014 – Aram Gharabekian, Armenian conductor (b. 1955)
- 2014 – Petr Hlaváček, Czech shoemaker and academic (b. 1950)
- 2014 – Zbigniew Messner, Polish economist and politician, 9th Prime Minister of the Republic of Poland (b. 1929)
- 2014 – Donald Morton, American oncologist (b. 1934)
- 2014 – Ian Redford, Scottish footballer and manager (b. 1960)
- 2014 – Larry Speakes, American journalist, 16th White House Press Secretary (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Allard van der Scheer, Dutch actor (b. 1928)
2015
- Christian Feast Day:
- Traditional Day (Benin)
FIRST DOG ON HIS BACK
Tim Blair – Saturday, January 10, 2015 (1:46pm)
Walkley Award-winning coward Andrew Marlton’s gossamer-spined response to Islamic terrorism in Paris:
In fact, there are plenty of words. Words like these: Islamic maniacs have been killing and threatening to kill Western cartoonists and other artists for decades.
You wouldn’t expect it in New York, either, but that’s where Islamic extremists called for the death of Marlton’s fellow faux-naïve critter-scribbler Michael Leunig in 2006. You also wouldn’t expect cartoonist death plots to emerge from Seattle, Denmark, Sweden or Ireland. Here’s the thing, though; this isn’t about geography. It’s more to do with demographics.
… not laughing, if he’s even partially sentient. But why would Melbourne-based Marlton be even slightly worried about an “Anders Breivik type”? So far as I’m aware there is only one Anders Breivik type: his name is Anders Breivik, and he’s safely imprisoned 16,000 kilometres away in Oslo. And he never expressed any particular feelings about cartoonists.
“Probably racist.” That’s beautiful, Andrew. Care to identify the offended race? Of course, Marlton’s appeasement goes further than his reluctance to draw some goofy prophet. Last year, faced with evidence that a large Islamic bookstore in Sydney was selling works that celebrate Hitler, describe Jews as baby-killing animals and condemn women as worth only half as much as men, Marlton deliberately talked it all down.
In fact, there are plenty of words. Words like these: Islamic maniacs have been killing and threatening to kill Western cartoonists and other artists for decades.
You wouldn’t expect it in New York, either, but that’s where Islamic extremists called for the death of Marlton’s fellow faux-naïve critter-scribbler Michael Leunig in 2006. You also wouldn’t expect cartoonist death plots to emerge from Seattle, Denmark, Sweden or Ireland. Here’s the thing, though; this isn’t about geography. It’s more to do with demographics.
… not laughing, if he’s even partially sentient. But why would Melbourne-based Marlton be even slightly worried about an “Anders Breivik type”? So far as I’m aware there is only one Anders Breivik type: his name is Anders Breivik, and he’s safely imprisoned 16,000 kilometres away in Oslo. And he never expressed any particular feelings about cartoonists.
“Probably racist.” That’s beautiful, Andrew. Care to identify the offended race? Of course, Marlton’s appeasement goes further than his reluctance to draw some goofy prophet. Last year, faced with evidence that a large Islamic bookstore in Sydney was selling works that celebrate Hitler, describe Jews as baby-killing animals and condemn women as worth only half as much as men, Marlton deliberately talked it all down.
Charlie Hebdo editor and publisher Stephane Charbonnier said he would “rather die standing than live on my knees.” Even the latter option is unavailable to Marlton. His kind is kneeless.
THIRD AND FINAL DAY
Tim Blair – Friday, January 09, 2015 (9:37pm)
The two Charlie Hebdo terrorists are now trapped by police at a small printing plant near to Charles de Gaulle airport. They are believed to be holding one hostage.
UPDATE. A woman barricaded nearby describes the scene:
Christelle Alleaume told the i-Tele TV channel that she could see about 15 policemen in front of CTD’s premises on an industrial estate in Dammartin-en-Goële.“They’re heavily armed and wearing helmets,” she said. “I can see four helicopters overhead. The police have cordoned off the whole area. They came and told us to stay inside as we’re right in the middle of it and there’s a hostage situation. We heard three or four shots fired.”A local MP, Yves Albarello, said one hostage was being held. He said the gunmen had indicated to negotiators that they wanted to “die as martyrs”.
UPDATE II. Fox News, CNN and the ABC are presently locked on to pool footage of a large industrial building where they report the terrorists are located. The actual site of the siege, however, appears to be a much smaller building next to the larger structure:
UPDATE III. Police now link the murder of a Paris policewoman yesterday to the Charlie Hebdo terrorists.
UPDATE III. Police now link the murder of a Paris policewoman yesterday to the Charlie Hebdo terrorists.
UPDATE IV. Yet another attack in Paris, with another man reportedly taken hostage:
An armed man has apparently taken a hostage in a kosher grocery in Porte de Vincennes, eastern Paris. Reports that one person wounded in a shootout at the shop.It is thought that it is the gunman who shot dead a policewoman, Clarissa Jean-Philippe, yesterday morning.
Live Sky streaming at this link. Latest reports claim there may be five hostages at the kosher store shooting site. A reminder: according to Australian experts, Islamic terrorists are mere irritants who can easily be defeated by audacious confidence in the fundamental goodness of others. For some reason, neither of these experts has recently been contacted by French authorities.
UPDATE V. Two reported deaths at the kosher siege.
UPDATE VI. Police say there are TWO terrorists at the kosher supermarket siege. One appears to be a young white woman named Hayat Boumeddiene:
UPDATE VII. Ten seconds of gunfire and then explosions at the print plant hostage site. Smoke now above the area. Further gunfire and continuing explosions:
UPDATE VIII. Several explosions at the kosher siege site in Paris.
UPDATE VII. Ten seconds of gunfire and then explosions at the print plant hostage site. Smoke now above the area. Further gunfire and continuing explosions:
UPDATE VIII. Several explosions at the kosher siege site in Paris.
UPDATE IX. Sky is now reporting, but not confirming, that Charlie Hebdo terrorists Said and Cherif Kouachi have been killed. Also reported but not confirmed: their hostage has survived. Hostage liberations are reported in Paris.
UPDATE X. A report from the scene of the print hostage scene, just prior to the conclusive police action. At this stage – 3.40am Sydney time – hostages at both sites are reported to be alive and all terrorists dead. Hopefully these reports are accurate.
UPDATE XI. Tragically, those early reports are now contradicted by claims that four people held in the kosher supermarket may have been killed.
No, you are not all Charlie.
Andrew Bolt January 10 2015 (8:03pm)
I am in Holland and the
other night, in Groningen, passed one of those demonstrations now held
all over Europe in support of the magazine Charlie Hebdo and the
journalists murdered this week by Islamists. Many people held up the
sign seen at all these demonstrations: Je suis Charlie. I am Charlie.
Pardon me, but those signs are just not true. Charlie Hebdo was selected by al Qaeda for attack precisely because almost no one else was Charlie Hebdo. It was almost alone in newspapers and magazines to mock the ideology that some many other journalists fear. That is what it was the target, and, say, The Age, The Guardian or the New York Times not.
And I suspect this attack will work. There will in fact be fewer Charlie Hebdos than ever. More on this in tomorrow’s Sunday Herald Sun, once the lawyers have carefully checked what I am permitted to say under our already absurd laws against free speech.
===Pardon me, but those signs are just not true. Charlie Hebdo was selected by al Qaeda for attack precisely because almost no one else was Charlie Hebdo. It was almost alone in newspapers and magazines to mock the ideology that some many other journalists fear. That is what it was the target, and, say, The Age, The Guardian or the New York Times not.
And I suspect this attack will work. There will in fact be fewer Charlie Hebdos than ever. More on this in tomorrow’s Sunday Herald Sun, once the lawyers have carefully checked what I am permitted to say under our already absurd laws against free speech.
===
===
ABC must confront the inconvenient truth about Islamic terrorism
Gerard Henderson Columnist THE AUSTRALIAN JANUARY 10, 2015
SO Paris is the most recent city to experience a dose of what Monash University academic and former ABC Radio National presenter Waleed Aly has termed a “perpetual irritant”. However, to everyday Parisians, the murder of Charlie Hebdo staff and two policemen was by no means an “irritant”.
The latest attack by an Islamist group on a democratic society again pointed out the difference in approach to such events taken by most members of the general public and some members of the intelligentsia. To the former, jihadist inspired murder is just jihadist inspired murder. To some commentators, on the other hand, murderers have complicated intentions along with motives that appear other than what they are. Still others decline to call a jihadist a jihadist.
On early Thursday morning news broke in Australia on the latest terrorist attack in France. In Sydney, ABC Radio 702 issued the following tweet: “Waking up and learning of the overnight violence in Paris? Here’s some of the history of Charlie Hebdo.” To which one tweeter responded: “Overnight violence? How about calling it an ‘Islamist terrorist attack’? That’s what it is.”
Good point. Since the Paris office of Charlie Hebdo had been fire bombed in 2011 by jihadists who resented its presentation of the prophet Mohammed, it was obvious that a planned attack on its staff was a terrorist attack. Not a manifestation of “violence”.
Soon after, on ABC radio RN Summer Breakfast, presenter Jonathan Green interviewed Greg Barton of the Global Terrorism Research Centre at Monash University. Barton usually talks sense on national security issues. It’s possible that, on this occasion, he was influenced by Green’s inner-city leftist agenda.
While Green did condemn the murders, he added the following comment: “Things are very tense in France, in Paris. Racial or religious divisions are strong and they have all sorts of manifestations through economic division as well. This will play out awkwardly, there is tension underlying this incident.”
Barton, accommodating Green’s line, replied: “One fears so, Jonathan. The hope is that … the better angels of French nature rise to the surface … saying — we’re not going to be provoked … we’re not going to give them [terrorists] what they want.”
Barton went on to talk about high levels of youth unemployment in France and how “it’s hard to get a job if you have a Moroccan or Algerian name”. He added that this leads to “a real sense of alienation”.
Maybe it does. But, according to available evidence, there is no causal relationship between French unemployment and the attack on Charlie Hebdo. None at all. Rather, this was a jihadist attack armed at silencing the satirical magazine. In other words, the Paris murderers took aim at freedom of expression.
Moreover, Barton’s assessment, in response to Green’s questioning, was misleading. There is no evidence that the French jihadists want to provoke French society to respond in like fashion. If this were the case, the gunmen would have stayed at the scene of the crime and attempted to kill others, rather than fleeing.
The jihadists in our midst do not want to provoke us. Rather, they want to silence us. In short, jihadists want Western democracies to submit to their demands across a range of issues — from winding back freedom of expression to changing foreign policy with respect to the Middle East and on to the eventual establishment of Sharia law.
Green added to the Barton-induced confusion when he commented “this sort of violence is almost an admission of weakness” on the part of the attackers. No, it’s not. The terrorists did not exhibit weakness but, rather, their ability to murder at will and temporarily close down a modern city. That’s a sign of strength.
Soon after the Australian-born journalist Annette Young, who works for the television news station France 24, appeared on ABC News 24. She also threw the switch to irrelevance by declaring that “the problem” with the attack on Charlie Hebdo was that “it comes at a time when there’s been fraught relations between the Muslim community and the ruling political elite; for instance … the [Muslim] veil has been banned.”
Young’s reference to the “ruling political elite” was, in fact, a comment about the French political system. Francois Hollande happens to be the socialist president of France. As such, he is a democratically elected politician — not the head of a political elite. Moreover, on all the available evidence, there is no causal relationship between the attack on Charlie Hebdo and the debate over whether the hijab should be worn in government schools in France.
Young then moved quickly to discuss the likelihood that the terrorist attack “will see a rise in support for the far-right National Front”. Later, on ABC radio’s The World Today, Young described a possible growth in support for the National Front, and its leader Marine Le Pen, as the “big worry” following the attack on Charlie Hebdo.
Once again, this is a view from the intelligentsia. The real “big worry” of the events, which occurred in France on Wednesday, is that Charlie Hebdo staff along with police were murdered and French society was terrorised. The attack had nothing to do with the National Front. In any event, Marine Le Pen does not share the anti-Semitism of her father, Jean-Marie Le Pen, and her political position does not warrant Young’s reflex dismissal.
So much of the early commentary on the most recent outbreak of terrorism in France turned on anything but the inconvenient truth. Which is that there are jihadists within Western democracies, particularly in western Europe, who want to establish an Islamist state. This is documented by Soeren Kern in a paper, published by the New York-based Gatestone Institute, titled The Islamisation of Britain in 2014.
The recent attacks in France and Belgium (where a French terrorist murdered visitors at a Jewish museum) demonstrates why nations like Australia are correct in attempting to stop young Muslims travelling to Iraq and Syria where they will be trained in terrorism, which is much more than an irritant or a manifestation of violence.
Gerard Henderson is executive director of The Sydney Institute.
Spelt?
===
their ABC
===
Where was Bill Shorten MP? On holidays ..
===
Post by Latika M Bourke.
Acting PM? She is worthy
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#illwrite4u .. No, you are not all Charlie. http://t.co/FaPUnkm1Lo
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 10, 2015
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Syd men in court after anti-terror raids http://t.co/p1dKWq12dC via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 10, 2015
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Rebuilding America’s ghost town: Detroit on the road to recovery as police chief still urges citi... http://t.co/DRcKkTYEFp via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 10, 2015
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Louisiana .. kept in family .. This rapper just found out that his girlfriend is actually his cousin http://t.co/dkU2RJJ6TH via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 10, 2015
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Deadliest massacre in history http://t.co/LUk18qNCT6 via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 10, 2015
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Expert wrong. Terror fails to rule of law. http://t.co/vZgMG0oojf via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 10, 2015
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Unfinished business .. Hayat Boumeddiene: The most wanted woman in Paris http://t.co/Pg4T6usgyn via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 10, 2015
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Brilliant match Smith has taught Australia to not fold to defeat when they don't win. http://t.co/uCsEqbN4F7 via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 10, 2015
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Islamophobia Is a Myth | National Review Online http://t.co/o9l7Gs3SFS via @#
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 10, 2015
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It isn't hard to change. Just enforce law .. not political correctness .. Paris and beyond: Europe war's itself http://t.co/YEEztFGZ8v
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 10, 2015
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Wrongheaded advice obscures issues. .. Latika Bourke: Why Tony Abbott must stop baffling the voters http://t.co/dMidczs6U8 via @smh
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 10, 2015
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Labor to blame for watering down law that make it harder to jail returning jihadis http://t.co/JVrjPpOqI3
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 10, 2015
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Back from Beijing. China changing fast as entrepreneurs everywhere.
Beneath surface optimism abounds despite obvious difficulties ahead.
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) January 7, 2015
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China 2) corruption crackdown applauded by masses without question unlike by some big shots. Not surprising.
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) January 7, 2015
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China 3) country moving from just copying Western things to much impressive innovation - also business models with vast mass market.
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) January 7, 2015
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Maybe most Moslems peaceful, but until they recognize and destroy their growing jihadist cancer they must be held responsible.
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) January 10, 2015
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Big jihadist danger looming everywhere from Philippines to Africa to Europe to US.
Political correctness makes for denial and hypocrisy.
— Rupert Murdoch (@rupertmurdoch) January 10, 2015
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Police Kill Charlie Hebdo Terrorists http://t.co/33UtLhiTkU via @nicohines
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 9, 2015
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TERRORIST NATION http://t.co/2YuCufJvNK via @wordpressdotcom
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 9, 2015
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Photoset: ri-science: On the 9th January 1816 the Davy Miners Safety Lamp was trialled at Hebburn Colliery... http://t.co/VfuEuOYyQO
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 9, 2015
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Charlie Hebdo attack: shooting at Paris kosher grocery http://t.co/fzvJtxcu6l via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 9, 2015
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Not a world I want to be part of .. http://t.co/Yrkz0XSMjj via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 9, 2015
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#SteveSmith top of the leader board for runs scored #AUSvIND 👏👏🎉💥 pic.twitter.com/glW14BYgZF
— Michael Myer (@myer051) January 9, 2015
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Most runs in a series (while playing only 4 Tests)
829 V Richards in Eng 1976
774 S Gavaskar in WI 1971
770 Steven Smith 2014/15
#AusvInd
— Mohandas Menon (@mohanstatsman) January 9, 2015
===
I'm not disappointed. Had Thunder played well and lost, I would be. http://t.co/4NjajjbXv2 via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 9, 2015
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Roger that .. Brisbane International: Roger Federer into semi-final after thrashing James Duckworth http://t.co/rvqFUDY91g via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 9, 2015
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Australia vs Kuwait Asian Cup Group A opener in Melbourne http://t.co/mgHBcjeKX1 via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 9, 2015
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Unnecessary use of violence in their apprehension has been approved ... http://t.co/TKPIWyoLQI via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 9, 2015
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Embattled comedian Bill Cosby cracks a rape joke on stage after months of sex assault allegations http://t.co/HAQDAioUvQ via @newscomauHQ
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 9, 2015
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Photo: Freedom is not a belief .. http://t.co/EyArERpl6E
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) January 9, 2015
=== Posts from last year ===
Bad luck Sarah, but that boat won’t float
Piers Akerman – Thursday, January 09, 2014 (6:39pm)
OUR ABC, and Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young, choked the pre-election airwaves with wild predictions that the Coalition’s turn-back-the-boats policy was unworkable.
Continue reading 'Bad luck Sarah, but that boat won’t float'
SEXIST, RACIST DECISION REVERSED
Tim Blair – Friday, January 10, 2014 (12:53pm)
Excellent result:
An African woman who was denied permission to travel to Australia for facial reconstruction surgery by the Gillard government has had a second visa application approved.Ayaan Mohamed, 25, suffered horrific facial injuries when she was shot as an infant during Somalia’s brutal civil war.Brisbane’s Wesley Hospital and Rotary offered to bring Ayaan to Australia for the complicated surgery free of charge, but she was denied a medical visa last March.Ayaan made a second visa application in October, which Immigration Minister Scott Morrison has now approved.
More than 40,000 people petitioned the government on the woman’s behalf.
BIGGER THAN THE MOON
Tim Blair – Friday, January 10, 2014 (11:54am)
Antarctic tourism academic Chris Turney claims:
Never before has a science expedition reached out live to so many people from such a remote location.
Roger Corbett responds:
… er, “one small step for a man ...”
(Via John R.)
FIGHTY WHITEYS
Tim Blair – Friday, January 10, 2014 (11:47am)
ABBOTT NOT BLAMED
Tim Blair – Friday, January 10, 2014 (11:38am)
Melbourne leftoid Jeff Sparrow blames violence in Sydney on George W. Bush:
If you sought to normalise brutality, to present killing as an acceptable way for perpetrators to get what they wanted without repercussions, could you conceive of a better way than the war against Iraq?
Fundamentalist Islam, for one. But in Sydney’s case, the violence is probably more due to drunken idiots on ice or steroids rather than any geopolitical or religious factors. Just a theory.
HYPOTHETICAL HANSON-YOUNG
Tim Blair – Friday, January 10, 2014 (11:17am)
Piers Akerman deals with Greens senator Sarah Accidents-Happen:
The Senator flippantly shrugged off any Greens responsibility for contributing to the deaths of about 200 people who tried to enter aboard an illegal people smuggler boat in December 2011 with the astoundingly superficial comment: “Tragedies happen, accidents happen.”Hanson-Young is now dismayed the Australian naval personnel may be responsible for saving lives at sea.
Speaking to “our” ABC after Indonesian authorities reported at least two illegal people smuggler boats had returned to Indonesia (there have been more), the pointless South Australian said the people-smuggler passengers ”could have drowned”.
Post by Grant Teeboon.
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www.thecollegefix.com
" When I enrolled in an advanced German for beginners class last fall at The College of New Jersey, I intended to improve my ability to speak and write in conversational German. What I did not expect to learn in German 103 was that the Affordable Care Act – a.k.a Obamacare – is the answer to our prayers..."===
David Bowles
Excited about an awesome project I'm about to embark on for Lamar University Press with the collaboration of the amazing artist Jose Mlndz. Got to wrap up the Mythological History of Mexico manuscript first, though. :cracks knuckles and neck muscles: ¡A chambiar!
===I'm too old to know the difference or care .. my ears probably wouldn't hear the pin .. But it allows them to rebadge their material .. - ed
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catallaxyfiles.com
There is diversity amongst conservatives .. but Libertarians are pretty well defined within the conservative movement .. Bernardi is not Libertarian even if he takes on economic conservative views .. his social conservatism is apparent with his embrace of regulation as a solution to much. - ed1) Libertarian/Classical Liberal.
2. Conservative.
3) Fascism.
Moving from centre to Left.
4) Left-liberal (inner-city leftie)
5) Social democrat
6)Communism.
Of course there are overlaps between 1) and 4) (e.g social progressiveness, freedom), 2) and 5) (e.g valuing family, God) and 3) and 6) (e.g totalitarianism, use of violence). And some people have particular views on certain topics.>
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“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” - Matthew 6:19-21
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
January 9: Morning
"I will be their God." - Jeremiah 31:33
Christian! here is all thou canst require. To make thee happy thou wantest something that shall satisfy thee; and is not this enough? If thou canst pour this promise into thy cup, wilt thou not say, with David, "My cup runneth over; I have more than heart can wish"? When this is fulfilled, "I am thy God", art thou not possessor of all things? Desire is insatiable as death, but he who filleth all in all can fill it. The capacity of our wishes who can measure? But the immeasurable wealth of God can more than overflow it. I ask thee if thou art not complete when God is thine? Dost thou want anything but God? Is not his all-sufficiency enough to satisfy thee if all else should fail? But thou wantest more than quiet satisfaction; thou desirest rapturous delight. Come, soul, here is music fit for heaven in this thy portion, for God is the Maker of Heaven. Not all the music blown from sweet instruments, or drawn from living strings, can yield such melody as this sweet promise, "I will be their God." Here is a deep sea of bliss, a shoreless ocean of delight; come, bathe thy spirit in it; swim an age, and thou shalt find no shore; dive throughout eternity, and thou shalt find no bottom. "I will be their God." If this do not make thine eyes sparkle, and thy heart beat high with bliss, then assuredly thy soul is not in a healthy state. But thou wantest more than present delights--thou cravest something concerning which thou mayest exercise hope; and what more canst thou hope for than the fulfilment of this great promise, "I will be their God"? This is the masterpiece of all the promises; its enjoyment makes a heaven below, and will make a heaven above. Dwell in the light of thy Lord, and let thy soul be always ravished with his love. Get out the marrow and fatness which this portion yields thee. Live up to thy privileges, and rejoice with unspeakable joy.
Evening
"Serve the Lord with gladness." - Psalm 100:2
Delight in divine service is a token of acceptance. Those who serve God with a sad countenance, because they do what is unpleasant to them, are not serving him at all; they bring the form of homage, but the life is absent. Our God requires no slaves to grace his throne; he is the Lord of the empire of love, and would have his servants dressed in the livery of joy. The angels of God serve him with songs, not with groans; a murmur or a sigh would be a mutiny in their ranks. That obedience which is not voluntary is disobedience, for the Lord looketh at the heart, and if he seeth that we serve him from force, and not because we love him, he will reject our offering. Service coupled with cheerfulness is heart-service, and therefore true. Take away joyful willingness from the Christian, and you have removed the test of his sincerity. If a man be driven to battle, he is no patriot; but he who marches into the fray with flashing eye and beaming face, singing, "It is sweet for one's country to die," proves himself to be sincere in his patriotism. Cheerfulness is the support of our strength; in the joy of the Lord are we strong. It acts as the remover of difficulties. It is to our service what oil is to the wheels of a railway carriage. Without oil the axle soon grows hot, and accidents occur; and if there be not a holy cheerfulness to oil our wheels, our spirits will be clogged with weariness. The man who is cheerful in his service of God, proves that obedience is his element; he can sing,
"Make me to walk in thy commands,
'Tis a delightful road."
Reader, let us put this question--do you serve the Lord with gladness? Let us show to the people of the world, who think our religion to be slavery, that it is to us a delight and a joy! Let our gladness proclaim that we serve a good Master.
"Make me to walk in thy commands,
'Tis a delightful road."
Reader, let us put this question--do you serve the Lord with gladness? Let us show to the people of the world, who think our religion to be slavery, that it is to us a delight and a joy! Let our gladness proclaim that we serve a good Master.
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Today's reading: Genesis 23-24, Matthew 7 (NIV)
View today's reading on Bible GatewayToday's Old Testament reading: Genesis 23-24
The Death of Sarah
1 Sarah lived to be a hundred and twenty-seven years old. 2She died at Kiriath Arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan, and Abraham went to mourn for Sarah and to weep over her.
3 Then Abraham rose from beside his dead wife and spoke to the Hittites. He said, 4 "I am an alien and a stranger among you. Sell me some property for a burial site here so I can bury my dead."
Today's New Testament reading: Matthew 7
Judging Others
1 "Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 "Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother's eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, 'Let me take the speck out of your eye,' when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.
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