Bairnsdale Conservative: Sun Feb 15th Todays News

On Bolt Report an ongoing policy is that any Islam post can only be on the pinned leader. Normal rules apply in that if it is merely foul and abusive it will be deleted. Otherwise comments are welcome.
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It began with a whisper campaign against Credilin. She is part of Mr Abbott's office and that is nobody's business except Mr Abbott. She had brilliantly worked with Mr Abbott to keep the Libs disciplined in opposition. But the whispers overstated and undermined. The consistent message being reported to press over leaks about Credilin was that Mr Abbott was 'not listening, but only receiving a kind of line of policy ideas that Credilin wanted.' But Mr Abbott is not the weak or simple minded. Another non issue was the knighthood. The knighthood of Prince Philip was a reasonable call. But the opposition to it began with a tale to republican Turnbull's Monarchy views. And the press ran with it, again on an issue which is nobody's business considering what has been approved in the past. Words were thrown around claiming the appointment was un-Australian and an insult.

It is interesting to see conservative commentators on the wrong side of the heckling. Akerman, Devine, Blair and Bolt have consistently played a line at odds with a stable Liberal administration, saying they had had leaks. The leaks were clearly orchestrated. Mr Abbott was sidelined by the campaign and he had no choice but to reset it by admitting to a fault that wasn't present but allowed the oppositional allies to remain in fold. The spill motion was not Ruddock's fault, but the size of back bench hostility was untenable and so, despite excellent service, Ruddock lost the whip's position. And it wasn't Ruddock's fault, but the fault of the monkey grinder influencing some dumb back benchers. We have heard what some of those back benchers have had to say on issues and they are not on top of them. They quote some of the concerns of some vested interests and the press loved to inflate the stories and quotes to trash the government.

Following the spill, the government has moved to address the criticism, even though the criticism was misplaced. And some policies will be dumped so as to strengthen the campaign on others. But even so, Bolt got it wrong when he assumed his bigoted position that the knighthood was wrong was behind Mr Abbott's acceptance of criticism. Mr Bolt has never established that the appointment was wrong. It is just the campaign is strong against it. A campaign that was silent when Tendulkar was given an award by Gillard just a few years earlier. Tendulkar was worthy too.

The thing with destabilising campaigns is they don't easily or suddenly stop. Channel 9 news, as well as the others, is still inflating the criticism and lampooning the attempts to right the ship of state. Which is why Mr Turnbull has to resign. Mr Akerman is claiming Mr Abbott has to work much harder to not let the excellent NSW Government founder in March. Akerman's aim is wrong.

2014

There are many reasons to love and learn from history. But one doesn't learn from closing their mind to parts of it. To get the most, one needs to be open. On this day in 1925, Nome Alaska got a serum they needed for an epidemic of diphtheria. Diptheria is largely eradicated through vaccination in most developed nations. It is a highly contagious respiratory illness and is fatal between 5% and 10% of cases for fit people, but in children or those aged over 40, may be 20%. In 1925, Alaska had telephone contact with the world but were isolated and the best route was by dog sled. The lead dog in this instance was Balto, causing Balto to become more famous in 1925, through radio broadcasts of his progress, than Rin Tin Tin. Worth considering when some selfish anti vaccination advocate spreads their poison, or when some unvaccinated third world people choose to break laws and migrate at the expense of refugees.

On this day in 1493, Christopher Columbus, on board Niña wrote a letter about his discoveries in the New World. He had not sailed to India, where cargo of spice may have made him rich, but thanks to his letter, we have things like a potato, chocolate and corn. And the Americas got horses. And herpes. The resulting trade has not been fair, but an extraordinary blessing which has seen the world grow smaller and much, much richer. Anyone born on that day might have witnessed some terrible things. But all of them would be dead today. And anyone born today anywhere in the world will experience comfort and joys unimaginable to Christopher as he wrote his letter. Worth thinking about as some neo-Nazi socialist protectionist opposes free trade, freedom of the press (with the commensurate opposition to removing bias) and conservative, libertarian economic values.

Also born on this day, 1820, was Susan B Anthony. She opposed Slavery, supported Temperance of alcohol and votes for women. She was a criminal for voting for U.S. Grant for President. Nowadays, Democrats show more respect and use dead people to vote for whom they want elected, but back then, Susan was more honest .. and GOP. These days, we may wonder when it was that things changed, and progressive policy left conservative politics. In the US, the black vote is overwhelmingly Democrat. It comes back to a highly lauded huckster FDR who exploited white Democrat supporters who had used guns to remove aid from black peoples following a hurricane in Louisiana that Hoover had helped. FDR denounced Hoover for giving aid to black peoples and the southern white press lapped it up. The result was black institutions began backing Democrats for their political clout. During the Civil Rights years, JFK ordered a Democrat to let Black kids go to school. FDR was the Democrat exception and did nothing to change Democrat culture.

Historical perspectives on this day

In 590, Khosrau II was crowned king of Persia. 706, Byzantine emperor Justinian II had his predecessors Leontios and Tiberios III publicly executed in the Hippodrome of Constantinople. 1113, Pope Paschal II issued a bill sanctioning the establishment of the Order of Hospitallers. 1493, while on board the Niña, Christopher Columbus wrote an open letter (widely distributed upon his return to Portugal) describing his discoveries and the unexpected items he came across in the New World. 1637, Ferdinand III became Holy Roman Emperor. 1690, Constantin Cantemir, Prince of Moldavia and the Holy Roman Empire signed a secret treaty in Sibiu, stipulating that Moldavia would support the actions led by the House of Habsburg against the Ottoman Empire.

In 1764, the city of St. Louis, Missouri was established. 1798, the Roman Republic was proclaimed after Louis Alexandre Berthier, a general of Napoleon, had invaded the city of Rome five days earlier 1804, the Serbian revolution began. 1835, the first constitutional law in modern Serbia was adopted. 1862, American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant attacked Fort Donelson, Tennessee. 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology was founded and offered the first Bachelors of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering. 1879, Women's rights: American President Rutherford B. Hayes signed a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States. 1891, Allmänna Idrottsklubben (AIK) (Swedish Sports Club) was founded. 1898, the battleship USS Maine exploded and sank in Havana harbour in Cuba, killing 274. This event led the United States to declare war on Spain.

In 1901, the association football club Alianza Lima was founded in Lima, Peru, under the name Sport Alianza. 1909, the Flores Theatre fire in Acapulco, Mexico killed 250. 1921, Kingdom of Romania established its legation in Helsinki. 1923, Greece became the last European country to adopt the Gregorian calendar. 1925, 1925 serum run to Nome: The serum arrived in Nome, Alaska, with Balto being the lead dog of the last team. 1933, in Miami, Florida, Giuseppe Zangara attempted to assassinate President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, but instead shot Chicago mayor Anton J. Cermak, who died of his wounds on March 6, 1933.

In 1942, World War II: Fall of Singapore. Following an assault by Japanese forces, the British General Arthur Percival surrenders. About 80,000 Indian, United Kingdom and Australian soldiers become prisoners of war, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history. 1944, World War II: The assault on Monte Cassino, Italy, began. Also 1944, World War II: The Narva Offensive began. 1945, World War II: Third day of bombing in Dresden. 1946, ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose computer, was formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. 1949, Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux began excavations at Cave 1 of the Qumran Caves, where they would eventually discover the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls. 1952, King George VI was buried in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. 1953, Parliamentary elections held in Liechtenstein. 1954, Canada and the United States agreed to construct the Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska.

In 1961, Sabena Flight 548 crashed in Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team, several coaches and family members. 1965, a new red-and-white maple leaf design was adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner. 1971, the decimalisation of British coinage was completed on Decimal Day. 1972, Sound recordings were granted U.S. federal copyright protection for the first time. Also 1972, José María Velasco Ibarra, serving as President of Ecuador for the fifth time, was overthrown by the military for the fourth time. 1976, the 1976 Constitution of Cuba was adopted by national referendum. 1979, Don Dunstan resigned as Premier of South Australia, ending a decade of sweeping social liberalisation. 1982, the drilling rig Ocean Ranger sank during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 workers. 1989, Soviet war in Afghanistan: The Soviet Union officially announced that all of its troops had left Afghanistan.

In 1991, the Visegrád Agreement, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, was signed by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland. 1996, at the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, a Long March 3 rocket, carrying an Intelsat 708, crashed into a rural village after liftoff, killing many people. 1999, Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), was arrested in Kenya. 2000, Indian Point II nuclear power plant in New York vented a small amount of radioactive steam when a steam generator failed. 2001, First draft of the complete human genome was published in Nature. 2003, Protests against the Iraq war took place in over 600 cities worldwide. It is estimated that between 8 million to 30 million people participated, making this the largest peace demonstration in history. 2013, a meteor explodes over Russia, injuring 1,500 people as a shock wave blew out windows and rocks buildings. This happened unexpectedly only hours before the expected closest ever approach of the larger and unrelated asteroid 2012 DA14. 2014, Renaud Lavillenie of France broke Sergey Bubka's world record in pole vault with a mark of 6.16 m.

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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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Editorials will appear in the "History in a Year by the Conservative Voice" series, starting with August https://www.createspace.com/4124406, October https://www.createspace.com/5106951, or at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/1482020262/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_dVHPub0MQKDZ4 The kindle version is cheaper, but the soft back version allows the purchase of a kindle version for just $3.99 more.

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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.

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Happy birthday and many happy returns Leanne T. Also to those born on this day. Including

1377 – Ladislaus of Naples (d. 1414)
1564 – Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer and physicist (d. 1642)
1571 – Michael Praetorius, German organist and composer (d. 1621)
1739 – Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect, designed the Paris Bourse (d. 1813)
1797 – Henry E. Steinway, German-American businessman, founded Steinway & Sons (d. 1871)
1809 – Cyrus McCormick, American businessman, co-founded International Harvester (d. 1884)
1820 – Susan B. Anthony, American activist (d. 1906)
1835 – Nguyen Khuyen, Vietnamese scholar, poet, and educator (d. 1909)
1861 – Alfred North Whitehead, English mathematician and philosopher (d. 1947)
1874 – Ernest Shackleton, Irish explorer (d. 1922)
1928 – Norman Bridwell, American author and illustrator
1930 – Bruce Dawe, Australian poet
1935 – Roger B. Chaffee, American lieutenant, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1967)
1945 – Douglas Hofstadter, American academic and author
1951 – Jane Seymour, English actress
1954 – Iain Banks, Scottish author (d. 2013)
1954 – Matt Groening, American animator, screenwriter, and producer
1998 – Zachary Gordon, American actor

February 15: National Day in Serbia (1804)

1898 – The United States Navybattleship USS Maine exploded and sank in Havana, Cuba (wreckage pictured), killing more than 260 people and precipitating the Spanish–American War.
1900 – Second Boer War: British cavalry under Major-General John French defeated Boer forces to end a 124-day siege of Kimberley, present-day South Africa.
1949 – Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vauxbegan excavations at Cave 1 of the Qumran Caves in the West Bank region of Jordan, the location of the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls.
1965 – Canada adopted the Maple Leaf flag, replacing the Canadian Red Ensign.
1999 – Abdullah Öcalan, one of the founding members of the militant organization the Kurdistan Workers' Party, was arrested by Turkish security forces in Nairobi, Kenya.

Cuba is beautiful. It is exciting. It was written. Sweet as Maple. The resistance was right. Let's party.
Matches

590 – Khosrau II is crowned king of Persia.
706 – Byzantine emperor Justinian II has his predecessors Leontios and Tiberios III publicly executed in the Hippodrome of Constantinople.
1113 – Pope Paschal II issues a bill sanctioning the establishment of the Order of Hospitallers.
1493 – While on board the Niña, Christopher Columbus writes an open letter (widely distributed upon his return to Portugal) describing his discoveries and the unexpected items he came across in the New World.
1637 – Ferdinand III becomes Holy Roman Emperor.
1690 – Constantin Cantemir, Prince of Moldavia and the Holy Roman Empire sign a secret treaty in Sibiu, stipulating that Moldavia would support the actions led by the House of Habsburg against the Ottoman Empire.
1764 – The city of St. Louis, Missouri is established.
1798 – The Roman Republic is proclaimed after Louis Alexandre Berthier, a general of Napoleon, had invaded the city of Rome five days earlier
1804 – The Serbian revolution begins.
1835 – The first constitutional law in modern Serbia is adopted.
1862 – American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant attacks Fort Donelson, Tennessee.
1870 – Stevens Institute of Technology is founded and offers the first Bachelors of Engineering in Mechanical Engineering.
1879 – Women's rights: American President Rutherford B. Hayes signs a bill allowing female attorneys to argue cases before the Supreme Court of the United States.
1891 – Allmänna Idrottsklubben (AIK) (Swedish Sports Club) is founded.
1898 – The battleship USS Maine explodes and sinks in Havana harbor in Cuba, killing 274. This event leads the United States to declare war on Spain.
1901 – The association football club Alianza Lima is founded in Lima, Peru, under the name Sport Alianza.
1909 – The Flores Theater fire in Acapulco, Mexico kills 250.
1921 – Kingdom of Romania establishes its legation in Helsinki.
1923 – Greece becomes the last European country to adopt the Gregorian calendar.
1925 – 1925 serum run to Nome: The serum arrives in Nome, Alaska, with Balto being the lead dog of the last team.
1933 – In Miami, Florida, Giuseppe Zangara attempts to assassinate President-elect Franklin D. Roosevelt, but instead shoots Chicago mayor Anton J. Cermak, who dies of his wounds on March 6, 1933.
1942 – World War II: Fall of Singapore. Following an assault by Japanese forces, the British General Arthur Percival surrenders. About 80,000 Indian, United Kingdom and Australian soldiers become prisoners of war, the largest surrender of British-led military personnel in history.
1944 – World War II: The assault on Monte Cassino, Italy, begins.
1944 – World War II: The Narva Offensive begins.
1945 – World War II: Third day of bombing in Dresden.
1946 – ENIAC, the first electronic general-purpose computer, is formally dedicated at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia.
1949 – Gerald Lankester Harding and Roland de Vaux begin excavations at Cave 1 of the Qumran Caves, where they will eventually discover the first seven Dead Sea Scrolls.
1952 – King George VI is buried in St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.
1953 – Parliamentary elections held in Liechtenstein.
1954 – Canada and the United States agree to construct the Distant Early Warning Line, a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic regions of Canada and Alaska.
1961 – Sabena Flight 548 crashes in Belgium, killing 73, including the entire United States figure skating team, several coaches and family members.
1965 – A new red-and-white maple leaf design is adopted as the flag of Canada, replacing the old Canadian Red Ensign banner.
1971 – The decimalisation of British coinage is completed on Decimal Day.
1972 – Sound recordings are granted U.S. federal copyright protection for the first time.
1972 – José María Velasco Ibarra, serving as President of Ecuador for the fifth time, is overthrown by the military for the fourth time.
1976 – The 1976 Constitution of Cuba is adopted by national referendum.
1979 – Don Dunstan resigns as Premier of South Australia, ending a decade of sweeping social liberalisation.
1982 – The drilling rig Ocean Ranger sinks during a storm off the coast of Newfoundland, killing 84 workers.
1989 – Soviet war in Afghanistan: The Soviet Union officially announces that all of its troops have left Afghanistan.
1991 – The Visegrád Agreement, establishing cooperation to move toward free-market systems, is signed by the leaders of Czechoslovakia, Hungary and Poland.
1996 – At the Xichang Satellite Launch Center in China, a Long March 3 rocket, carrying an Intelsat 708, crashes into a rural village after liftoff, killing many people.
1999 – Abdullah Öcalan, leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), is arrested in Kenya.
2000 – Indian Point II nuclear power plant in New York vents a small amount of radioactive steam when a steam generator fails.
2001 – First draft of the complete human genome is published in Nature.
2003 – Protests against the Iraq war take place in over 600 cities worldwide. It is estimated that between 8 million to 30 million people participate, making this the largest peace demonstration in history.
2013 – A meteor explodes over Russia, injuring 1,500 people as a shock wave blows out windows and rocks buildings. This happens unexpectedly only hours before the expected closest ever approach of the larger and unrelated asteroid 2012 DA14.
2014 – Renaud Lavillenie of France breaks Sergey Bubka's world record in pole vault with a mark of 6.16 m.

Hatches

1377 – Ladislaus of Naples (d. 1414)
1458 – Ivan the Young, son of Ivan III of Russia (d. 1490)
1471 – Piero the Unfortunate, Italian ruler (d. 1503)
1564 – Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer and physicist (d. 1642)
1571 – Michael Praetorius, German organist and composer (d. 1621)
1612 – Paul de Chomedey, Sieur de Maisonneuve, French soldier, founded Montreal (d. 1676)
1620 – François Charpentier, French archaeologist (d. 1702)
1705 – Charles-André van Loo, French painter (d. 1765)
1710 – Louis XV of France (d. 1774)
1725 – Abraham Clark, English-American politician (d. 1794)
1734 – William Stacy, English-American colonel (d. 1802)
1739 – Alexandre-Théodore Brongniart, French architect, designed the Paris Bourse (d. 1813)
1748 – Jeremy Bentham, English jurist and philosopher (d. 1832)
1759 – Friedrich August Wolf, German philologist and critic (d. 1824)
1760 – Jean-François Le Sueur, French composer (d. 1837)
1761 – Jacob Kimball, Jr., English-American composer (d. 1826)
1792 – Floride Calhoun, American wife of John C. Calhoun (d. 1866)
1797 – Henry E. Steinway, German-American businessman, founded Steinway & Sons (d. 1871)
1809 – André Dumont, Belgian geologist (d. 1857)
1809 – Cyrus McCormick, American businessman, co-founded International Harvester (d. 1884)
1811 – Domingo Faustino Sarmiento, Argentinian politician, 7th President of Argentina (d. 1888)
1812 – Charles Lewis Tiffany, American jeweler, founded Tiffany & Co. (d. 1902)
1820 – Susan B. Anthony, American activist (d. 1906)
1825 – Carter Harrison, Sr., American politician, 29th Mayor of Chicago (d. 1893)
1834 – V. A. Urechia, Moldavian-Romanian historian, author, and politician (d. 1901)
1835 – Nguyen Khuyen, Vietnamese scholar, poet, and educator (d. 1909)
1835 – Demetrius Vikelas, Greek author (d. 1908)
1840 – Titu Maiorescu, Romanian politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1917)
1841 – Manuel Ferraz de Campos Sales, Brazilian politician, 4th President of Brazil (d. 1913)
1845 – Elihu Root, American lawyer and politician, 38th United States Secretary of State, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1937)
1847 – Robert Fuchs, Austrian composer and educator (d. 1927)
1849 – Rickman Godlee, English surgeon (d. 1925)
1850 – Ion Andreescu, Romanian painter (d. 1882)
1851 – Spiru Haret, Romanian-Armenian mathematician, astronomer, and politician (d. 1912)
1856 – Emil Kraepelin, German psychiatrist (d. 1926)
1861 – Martin Burns, American wrestler and coach (d. 1937)
1861 – Charles Édouard Guillaume, French physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1938)
1861 – Alfred North Whitehead, English mathematician and philosopher (d. 1947)
1866 – Edward William Exshaw, English sailor (d. 1927)
1869 – Cormic Cosgrove, American soccer player (d. 1930)
1873 – Hans von Euler-Chelpin, German-Swiss chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1964)
1874 – Ernest Shackleton, Irish explorer (d. 1922)
1883 – Sax Rohmer, English author (d. 1959)
1890 – Robert Ley, German politician (d. 1945)
1891 – Dino Borgioli, Italian tenor (d. 1960)
1892 – James Forrestal, American lieutenant and politician, 1st United States Secretary of Defense (d. 1949)
1893 – James Phinney Baxter III, American historian and author (d. 1975)
1893 – Walter Donaldson, American songwriter (d. 1947)
1895 – Earl Thomson, Canadian hurdler (d. 1971)
1896 – Arthur Shields, Irish actor (d. 1970)
1897 – Gerrit Kleerekoper, Dutch gymnast and coach (d. 1943)
1898 – Totò, Italian actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1967)
1898 – Allen Woodring, American runner (d. 1982)
1899 – Georges Auric, French composer (d. 1983)
1899 – Gale Sondergaard, American actress (d. 1985)
1904 – Antonin Magne, French cyclist (d. 1983)
1905 – Harold Arlen, American composer (d. 1986)
1906 – Jan Pijnenburg, Dutch cyclist (d. 1979)
1907 – Jean Langlais, French organist and composer (d. 1991)
1907 – Cesar Romero, American actor (d. 1994)
1908 – Sarto Fournier, Canadian politician, 38th Mayor of Montreal (d. 1980)
1909 – Miep Gies, Austrian-Dutch humanitarian, helped hide Anne Frank and her family (d. 2010)
1909 – Guillermo Gorostiza, Spanish footballer (d. 1966)
1910 – Irena Sendler, Polish nurse and social worker (d. 2008)
1911 – Leonard Woodcock, American union leader and diplomat (d. 2001)
1912 – Andrei Lupan, Moldavian author (d. 1992)
1912 – George Mikes, Hungarian-English author (d. 1987)
1913 – Erich Eliskases, Austrian chess player (d. 1997)
1914 – Hale Boggs, American politician (d. 1972)
1914 – Kevin McCarthy, American actor (d. 2010)
1916 – Mary Jane Croft, American actress (d. 1999)
1916 – Jack Hanlon, American actor (d. 2012)
1918 – Allan Arbus, American actor (d. 2013)
1918 – Hank Locklin, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)
1919 – Ducky Detweiler, American baseball player and manager (d. 2013)
1920 – Endicott Peabody, American politician, 62nd Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1997)
1921 – Radha Krishna Choudhary, Indian historian and author (d. 1985)
1922 – John B. Anderson, American lawyer and politician
1923 – Yelena Bonner, Russian activist (d. 2011)
1924 – Robert Drew, American director and producer (d. 2014)
1926 – Bubba Harris, American baseball player (d. 2013)
1927 – Frank Dunlop, English actor and director
1927 – Harvey Korman, American actor (d. 2008)
1927 – Yehoshua Neuwirth, Israeli rabbi and scholar (d. 2013)
1928 – Norman Bridwell, American author and illustrator, created Clifford the Big Red Dog (d. 2014)
1928 – Joseph Willcox Jenkins, American composer, conductor, and educator (d. 2014)
1928 – Eno Raud, Estonian author (d. 1996)
1929 – Graham Hill, English race car driver (d. 1975)
1929 – Kauko Armas Nieminen, Finnish physicist
1929 – James R. Schlesinger, American economist and politician, 12th United States Secretary of Defense (d. 2014)
1930 – Bruce Dawe, Australian poet
1930 – Nico Minardos, Greek-American actor (d. 2011)
1931 – Claire Bloom, English actress
1931 – Geoff Edwards, American actor and game show host (d. 2014)
1931 – Jonathan Steele, English journalist and author
1932 – Troy Kennedy Martin, Scottish-English screenwriter (d. 2009)
1934 – Graham Kennedy, Australian actor (d. 2005)
1934 – Niklaus Wirth, Swiss computer scientist, created the Pascal programming language
1934 – Abe Woodson, American football player and minister (d. 2014)
1935 – Susan Brownmiller, American journalist and author
1935 – Roger B. Chaffee, American lieutenant, engineer, and astronaut (d. 1967)
1935 – Gene Hickerson, American football player (d. 2008)
1937 – Nathan Davis, American saxophonist and clarinet player
1937 – Gregory Mcdonald, American author (d. 2008)
1937 – Coen Moulijn, Dutch footballer (d. 2011)
1939 – Gerd Bohnsack, German footballer and manager
1939 – Ole Ellefsæter, Norwegian skier
1939 – Robert Hansen, American serial killer (d. 2014)
1940 – John Hadl, American football player
1940 – Hamzah Haz, Indonesian politician, 9th Vice President of Indonesia
1940 – Vaino Vahing, Estonian psychiatrist, author, and playwright (d. 2008)
1941 – Florinda Bolkan, Brazilian actress
1941 – Brian Holland, American songwriter and producer
1942 – Leslie Griffiths, English minister and politician
1942 – Sherry Jackson, American actress
1943 – Griselda Blanco, Colombian drug lord (d. 2012)
1944 – Mick Avory, English drummer (The Kinks and The Kast Off Kinks)
1945 – Jack Dann, American-Australian author and poet
1945 – John Helliwell, English saxophonist and keyboard player (Supertramp and The Alan Bown Set)
1945 – Douglas Hofstadter, American academic and author
1946 – Esko Seppänen, Finnish journalist and politician
1946 – Clare Short, English politician, Secretary of State for International Development
1947 – John Adams, American composer
1947 – Marisa Berenson, American actress
1947 – Rusty Hamer, American actor (d. 1990)
1947 – Ádám Nádasdy, Hungarian linguist and poet
1948 – Ron Cey, American baseball player
1948 – Tino Insana, American actor, producer, and screenwriter
1948 – Art Spiegelman, American cartoonist
1949 – Ken Anderson, American football player
1949 – Hans Graf, Austrian conductor
1949 – Francisco Maturana, Colombian footballer and manager
1950 – David Brown, American bass player and songwriter (Santana) (d. 2000)
1950 – Tsui Hark, Vietnamese-Hong Kong director, producer, and screenwriter
1951 – Markku Alén, Finnish race car driver
1951 – Melissa Manchester, American singer-songwriter and actress (Harlettes)
1951 – Jane Seymour, English actress
1952 – Tomislav Nikolić, Serbian politician, 4th President of Serbia
1952 – Nikolai Sorokin, Russian actor and director (d. 2013)
1953 – Tony Adams, Irish-American screenwriter and producer (d. 2005)
1953 – Gregory Campbell, Irish politician
1954 – Iain Banks, Scottish author (d. 2013)
1954 – Matt Groening, American animator, producer, and screenwriter
1954 – Armand Parmentier, Belgian runner
1955 – Janice Dickinson, American model, agent, and author
1955 – Christopher McDonald, American actor
1956 – Desmond Haynes, Barbadian cricketer and coach
1956 – Hitoshi Ogawa, Japanese race car driver (d. 1992)
1957 – Steve Farhood, American historian
1957 – Gul Mohammed, Indian dwarf (d. 1997)
1957 – Jimmy Spencer, American race car driver
1957 – Jake E. Lee, American guitarist (Badlands and Ozzy Osbourne)
1958 – Chrystine Brouillet, Canadian author
1958 – Tony McKegney, Canadian ice hockey player
1958 – Matthew Ward, American singer-songwriter (Second Chapter of Acts)
1958 – Adam Boulton, English journalist
1959 – Ali Campbell, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (UB40)
1959 – Guy de Alwis, Sri Lankan cricketer (d. 2013)
1959 – Brian Propp, Canadian ice hockey player
1959 – Martin Rowson, English author and illustrator
1959 – Hugo Savinovich, Ecuadorian wrestler
1960 – Mikey Craig, English bass player (Culture Club)
1960 – Darrell Green, American football player
1960 – Roman Kostrzewski, Polish singer-songwriter (Kat and Kat & Roman Kostrzewski)
1961 – Cheam Channy, Cambodian politician
1962 – Milo Đukanović, Montenegrin politician
1963 – Steven Michael Quezada, American actor
1964 – Chris Farley, American actor and comedian (d. 1997)
1964 – Leland D. Melvin, American engineer and astronaut
1964 – Daniel Poudrier, Canadian ice hockey player
1964 – Mark Price, American basketball player
1965 – Bruce Bell, Canadian ice hockey player
1967 – Jane Child, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
1967 – Kelley Menighan Hensley, American actress
1967 – Syed Kamall, English politician
1967 – Craig Simpson, Canadian ice hockey player
1968 – Axelle Red, Belgian singer-songwriter
1968 – Mieke Suys, Belgian triathlete
1969 – Birdman, American rapper and producer (Big Tymers)
1969 – Josh Marshall, American journalist, founded the Talking Points Memo
1970 – Mariko Yoshida, Japanese wrestler
1971 – Renee O'Connor, American actress, director, and producer
1971 – Ray Sefo, New Zealand boxer and mixed martial artist
1972 – Anna-Jane Casey, English actress, singer, and dancer
1972 – Jaromír Jágr, Czech ice hockey player
1973 – Alex Borstein, American actress and singer
1973 – Kateřina Neumannová, Czech skier
1973 – Amy Van Dyken, American swimmer
1973 – Sarah Wynter, Australian actress
1974 – Miranda July, American actress, director, and screenwriter
1974 – Gina Lynn, Puerto Rican-American porn actress
1974 – Tomi Putaansuu, Finnish singer-songwriter (Lordi)
1974 – Ugueth Urbina, Venezuelan baseball player
1974 – Alexander Wurz, Austrian race car driver
1975 – Serge Aubin, Canadian ice hockey player
1975 – Annemarie Kramer, Dutch sprinter
1975 – Brendon Small, American animator, producer, screenwriter, and actor
1976 – Brandon Boyd, American singer-songwriter (Incubus)
1976 – Óscar Freire, Spanish cyclist
1976 – Giorgos Karagoutis, Greek basketball player
1976 – Ronnie Vannucci, Jr., American drummer and songwriter (The Killers and Big Talk)
1977 – Gran Naniwa, Japanese wrestler (d. 2010)
1977 – Brooks Wackerman, American drummer (Bad Religion, Infectious Grooves, Fear and the Nervous System, and Bad4Good)
1978 – Yiruma, South Korean pianist and composer
1978 – Kimberly Goss, American singer and keyboard player (Sinergy and Ancient)
1978 – Tuan Le, French-American poker player
1979 – Chantal Janzen, Dutch actress and singer
1979 – Alenka Kejžar, Slovenian swimmer
1979 – Josh Low, English footballer
1979 – Scott Severin, Scottish footballer
1979 – Gordon Shedden, Scottish race car driver
1980 – LuFisto, Canadian wrestler
1980 – Conor Oberst, American singer-songwriter (Bright Eyes, Desaparecidos, Park Ave., Monsters of Folk, The Faint, and Commander Venus)
1980 – Josh Sole, New Zealand-Italian rugby player
1981 – Olivia, American singer
1981 – Heurelho Gomes, Brazilian footballer
1981 – Matt Hoopes, American guitarist (Relient K)
1981 – Rita Jeptoo, Kenyan runner
1981 – Diego Martínez, Mexican footballer
1981 – Jenna Morasca, American model and actress
1981 – Larry Sweeney, American wrestler and manager (d. 2011)
1982 – Shameka Christon, American basketball player
1982 – Tahesia Harrigan, Virgin Islander sprinter
1982 – Alex Nodari, Italian footballer
1982 – James Yap, Filipino basketball player
1983 – Don Cowie, Scottish footballer
1983 – David Degen, Swiss footballer
1983 – Philipp Degen, Swiss footballer
1983 – Russell Martin, Canadian baseball player
1983 – Ashley Tesoro, American actress and singer
1984 – Doda, Polish singer-songwriter (Virgin)
1984 – Erik Cadée, Dutch discus thrower
1985 – Serkan Kırıntılı, Turkish footballer
1986 – Valeri Bojinov, Bulgarian footballer
1986 – Johnny Cueto, Dominican baseball player
1986 – Ami Koshimizu, Japanese voice actress
1986 – Gabriel Paletta, Argentinian footballer
1986 – Amber Riley, American actress and singer
1987 – Jarrod Sammut, Australian rugby player
1988 – Jarryd Hayne, Australian rugby player
1988 – Hironori Kusano, Japanese singer and actor (NEWS)
1988 – Tim Mannah, Australian rugby player
1990 – Dejan Lazarević, Slovenian footballer
1990 – Charles Pic, French race car driver
1990 – Erwin Sak, Polish footballer
1990 – Stephanie Vogt, Liechtensteiner tennis player
1991 – Ángel Sepúlveda, Mexican footballer
1991 – Panagiotis Tachtsidis, Greek footballer
1992 – Greer Grammer, American actress
1992 – Johanna Hyöty, Finnish tennis player
1998 – Zachary Gordon, American actor

Despatches

670 – Oswiu of Northumbria (b. 612)
706 – Leontios, Byzantine emperor
706 – Tiberios III, Byzantine emperor
1145 – Pope Lucius II
1621 – Michael Praetorius, German organist and composer (b. 1571)
1637 – Ferdinand II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1578)
1738 – Matthias Braun, Czech sculptor (b. 1684)
1775 – Peter Dens, Flemish theologian (b. 1690)
1781 – Gotthold Ephraim Lessing, German author and philosopher (b. 1729)
1818 – Frederick Louis, Prince of Hohenlohe-Ingelfingen, Prussian general (b. 1746)
1835 – Henry Hunt, English politician (b. 1773)
1839 – François-Marie-Thomas Chevalier de Lorimier, Canadian rebel (b. 1803)
1842 – Archibald Menzies, Scottish surgeon (b. 1754)
1844 – Henry Addington, 1st Viscount Sidmouth, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1757)
1847 – Germinal Pierre Dandelin, Belgian mathematician and engineer (b. 1794)
1848 – Hermann von Boyen, Prussian general and politician, Prussian Minister of War (b. 1771)
1849 – Pierre François Verhulst, Belgian mathematician (b. 1804)
1857 – Mikhail Glinka, Russian composer (b. 1804)
1869 – Mirza Ghalib, Indian poet (b. 1796)
1885 – Gregor von Helmersen, Estonian-Russian geologist (b. 1803)
1897 – Dimitrie Ghica, Romanian politician, 10th Prime Minister of Romania (b. 1816)
1905 – Lew Wallace, American general and politician, 11th Governor of New Mexico Territory (b. 1827)
1911 – Theodor Escherich, German-Austrian pediatrician (b. 1859)
1919 – André Prévost, French tennis player (b. 1880)
1920 – Aleksander Aberg, Estonian wrestler (b. 1881)
1924 – Lionel Monckton, English composer (b. 1861)
1928 – H. H. Asquith, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1852)
1932 – Minnie Maddern Fiske, American actress and playwright (b. 1865)
1933 – Pat Sullivan, Australian animator and producer (b. 1887)
1939 – Kuzma Petrov-Vodkin, Russian painter (b. 1878)
1945 – Helmut Möckel, German politician (b. 1909)
1948 – Subhadra Kumari Chauhan Indian poet (b. 1904)
1953 – Oskar Goßler, German rower (b. 1875)
1953 – Karl Staaf, Swedish tug of war competitor (b. 1881)
1956 – Vincent de Moro-Giafferi, French lawyer (b. 1878)
1959 – Owen Willans Richardson, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1879)
1961 – Bradley Lord, American figure skater (b. 1939)
1961 – Laurence Owen, American figure skater (b. 1944)
1964 – Robert L. Thornton, American businessman and politician, Mayor of Dallas (b. 1880)
1965 – Nat King Cole, American singer and pianist (b. 1919)
1966 – Gerard Antoni Ciołek, Polish architect and historian (b. 1909)
1966 – Camilo Torres Restrepo, Colombian priest and theologian (b. 1929)
1967 – Antonio Moreno, Spanish-American actor and director (b. 1887)
1970 – Hugh Dowding, 1st Baron Dowding, Scottish air marshal (b. 1882)
1971 – Dimitrios Loundras, Greek gymnast (b. 1885)
1973 – Wally Cox, American actor (b. 1924)
1973 – Tim Holt, American actor (b. 1919)
1974 – Kurt Atterberg, Swedish composer (b. 1887)
1981 – Mike Bloomfield, American guitarist and songwriter (Electric Flag) (b. 1943)
1981 – Karl Richter, German organist and conductor (b. 1926)
1984 – Avon Long, American actor and singer (b. 1910)
1984 – Ethel Merman, American actress and singer (b. 1908)
1988 – Richard Feynman, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
1990 – Michel Drach, French director and producer (b. 1930)
1992 – María Elena Moyano, Peruvian activist (b. 1960)
1992 – William Schuman, American composer (b. 1910)
1994 – the Maunula mummy, a Finnish man who lay dead in his apartment for six years until discovered
1996 – Lucio Agostini, Italian-Canadian composer and conductor (b. 1913)
1996 – Tommy Rettig, American actor (b. 1941)
1996 – McLean Stevenson, American actor (b. 1929)
1998 – Martha Gellhorn, American journalist and author (b. 1908)
1998 – Georgios Mylonas, Greek politician (b. 1919)
1998 – Louie Spicolli, American wrestler (b. 1971)
1999 – Henry Way Kendall, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1926)
1999 – Big L, American rapper (Diggin' in the Crates Crew and Children of the Corn) (b. 1974)
2000 – Angus MacLean, Canadian politician, 25th Premier of Prince Edward Island (b. 1914)
2002 – Howard K. Smith, American journalist (b. 1914)
2002 – Kevin Smith, New Zealand actor (b. 1963)
2004 – Jens Evensen, Norwegian lawyer, judge, and politician (b. 1917)
2004 – Jan Miner, American actress (b. 1917)
2005 – Pierre Bachelet, French singer-songwriter (b. 1944)
2005 – Samuel T. Francis, American journalist (b. 1947)
2007 – Walker Edmiston, American actor (b. 1926)
2007 – Ray Evans, American songwriter (b. 1915)
2008 – Ashley Callie, South African actress (b. 1976)
2008 – Amnon Netzer, Iranian-Israeli journalist and historian (b. 1934)
2008 – Johnny Weaver, American wrestler and sportscaster (b. 1935)
2009 – Joe Cuba, American singer (b. 1931)
2009 – Diether Haenicke, American academic (b. 1935)
2010 – Jeanne M. Holm, American general (b. 1921)
2011 – Fadhel Al-Matrook, Bahraini protester (b. 1979)
2012 – Charles Anthony, American tenor (b. 1929)
2012 – William H. Dabney, American colonel (b. 1934)
2012 – Cyril Domb, English-Israel physicist and academic (b. 1920)
2012 – Lina Romay, Spanish actress and director (b. 1954)
2012 – Clive Shakespeare, English-Australian guitarist, songwriter, and producer (Sherbet) (b. 1949)
2012 – James Whitaker, English journalist (b. 1940)
2012 – John J. Yeosock, American general (b. 1937)
2013 – Kenneth Dement, American football player and lawyer (b. 1933)
2013 – Giovanni Narcis Hakkenberg, Dutch captain (b. 1923)
2013 – Carmelo Imbriani, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1976)
2013 – Sanan Kachornprasart, Thai general and politician (b. 1935)
2013 – Todor Kolev, Bulgarian actor and singer (b. 1939)
2013 – Bill Morrison, Australian politician (b. 1928)
2014 – Cliff Bole, American director and producer (b. 1937)
2014 – Mary Grace Canfield, American computer scientist (b. 1924)
2014 – Thelma Estrin, American actress (b. 1924)
2014 – Jean-Marie Géhu, French botanist (b. 1930)
2014 – Jim Lacy, American basketball player (b. 1926)
2014 – Christopher Malcolm, Scottish-English actor and singer (b. 1946)
2014 – Horst Rechelbacher, Austrian-American businessman, founded the Aveda Corporation (b. 1941)
2014 – Dénes Zsigmondy, Hungarian-German violinist and educator (b. 1922)

===
2015

Candlemas (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Christian Feast Day:
Liberation Day (Afghanistan)
John Frum Day (Vanuatu)
National Day (Serbia)
National Flag of Canada Day (Canada)
Parinirvana Day, also celebrated on February 8. (Mahayana Buddhism)
Susan B. Anthony Day (United States)
The ENIAC Day
The third and final day of Lupercalia, also known as Februa. (Roman Empire)
Total Defence Day (Singapore)

===

PM Tony Abbott’s fumbles may see Premier Mike Baird drop his election

Piers Akerman – Sunday, February 15, 2015 (12:03am)

NSW Premier Mike Baird strikes a chord with the electorate but an almost irrational backlash against the federal Abbott government is destroying the harmonics.

Continue reading 'PM Tony Abbott’s fumbles may see Premier Mike Baird drop his election'

===

Labor’s toxic legacy is a big enough challenge

Miranda Devine – Sunday, February 15, 2015 (12:00am)

Tony Abbott’s enemies are doing him a favour. All the hyperventilating over “holocaust” and gotcha moments have become so ludicrous that the pendulum of public sympathy will surely swing back in the Prime Minister’s favour.

Continue reading 'Labor’s toxic legacy is a big enough challenge'

===

CENTURY OF SHRINKAGE

Tim Blair – Sunday, February 15, 2015 (7:31pm)

Teddy Roosevelt carried a big stick.

Barack Obama carries a selfie stick.

(Via Peter B.)

===

SEND IN THE CULTURED REASON SQUAD

Tim Blair – Sunday, February 15, 2015 (12:08pm)

Following the deadly overnight attack in Copenhagen, against speakers who were discussing art, blasphemy and the freedom of expression, there has now been a second Copenhagen shooting:

Several people have been injured after shots were fired near a synagogue in Copenhagen, Danish police say.

One person was reportedly hit in the head, and two police officers had arm and leg injuries. The attacker is believed to have fled.

It is not clear whether the shooting is connected to an earlier attack on a cafe in the city.

A reminder: terrorism is an irritant that can be cured with cultured reason.

UPDATE. The Guardian‘s report on the first Copenhagen attack is accompanied by an ad for the paper’s cowardly cartoonist, Andrew Marlton:

Things not available from Marlton’s one-stop surrender shop: a spine, testicles, and the ability to maintain trouser dryness for more than one continuous hour.

UPDATE II. Danish cultured reasonists respond:

Police in Copenhagen have shot dead a man in connection with two shootings which claimed the lives of two civilians just hours apart.

Officers had an address in the Norrebro area of the Danish city under observation and hailed a man as he approached before he opened fire and was shot, police said.

A Danish police officer armed with high-calibre cultured reason outside the targeted synagogue.

They are investigating whether he was connected to the two earlier attacks in which a man died after being shot in the head near a synagogue and a gunman killed a 55-year-old man at a freedom-of-speech event.

Referring to that attack, here’s Brendan O’Neill: “Today, it seems, it isn’t only the exercise of freedom of speech that can earn you summary punishment; so, too, can simply thinking about freedom of speech.”

===

HOLOCAUST HYPOCRITES

Tim Blair – Sunday, February 15, 2015 (12:06am)

A short film about short memories:

===

Denmark’s Hebdo: one dead in attack on free speech rally. UPDATE: Second attack

Andrew Bolt February 15 2015 (2:22pm)

The time is fast approaching when we must really decide a question we once complacently thought a bit melodramatic - is free speech worth defending to the death?

Shots rang out Saturday afternoon at a cafe in Copenhagen, killing one person and wounding three others, during a freedom of speech event hosted by controversial Swedish cartoonist Lars Vilks, police and Danish officials said. The suspects fled ...
The TV2 channel said there were some 30 bullet holes in the window of the cafe and at least two people were taken away on stretchers, including a uniformed police officer....
Vilks has faced numerous death threats for caricaturing the Prophet Muhammad in 2007. A Pennsylvania woman last year got a 10-year prison term for a plot to kill Vilks. In 2010, two brothers tried to burn down his house in southern Sweden and were imprisoned for attempted arson.
The event that the 68-year-old artist was hosting Saturday was called “Arts, Blasphemy and Freedom of Expression,” according to his website. When the artist is in Denmark, he receives police protection.

UPDATE
Another attack, another death - but a suspect later killed:

DANISH police have shot dead a man near a train station, hours after two people were killed and six wounded in twin shootings in Copenhagen.
The man was killed after he opened fire on police, at the climax of a huge manhunt through the capital, which followed the shootings at a freedom of speech event and outside a synagogue.
“The police have fired shots at Noerrebro Station. One person is hit,” Copenhagen police wrote on Twitter. Police later confirmed the man had died.
The first attack came on Saturday afternoon local time when a gunman sprayed bullets at the Krudttonden cultural centre as it hosted a seminar in which controversial Swedish artist Lars Vilks was among the speakers.
Hours later, a man was shot in the head and killed near Copenhagen’s main synagogue in the city centre. Two policemen were also wounded in the shooting at around 1:00am local time on Sunday morning (11am AEDT), police said.

===

Never mind the drowned boat people. Would have died anyway

Andrew Bolt February 15 2015 (10:02am)

Astonishing:

Let’s try that argument out in various permutations.
As in:
The 1200 people lured by Labor to their deaths? So what. Would have died anyway. Or been forced to live in some living hell like France.
The Sri Lankans who drowned trying to get here? Don’t fuss. Would have all been shot back home for certain.
The Pakistanis who drowned? The Bangladeshis? Faced instant death at home. No surer thing.
The Iranians with their designer T-shirts who never made it? Don’t sweat it. Hey, aren’t their kind being executed every day back home?
Now think this thing through.
Is Van Onselen seriously arguing that every person on the boats is a genuine refugee whose choice is to live here or face certain death at home?
Or is Van Onselen saying that because asylum seekers could go to, say, Europe instead, that we should take them all without question?
Hmm. It think we can add this tweet to Sarah Hanson-Young’s shrug of the shoulders: ”Tragedies happen, accidents happen.”
Or to sum up: don’t tell me a truth I can’t deal with.
(Thanks to reader NM and many others.)

===

The Bolt Report today, February 15

Andrew Bolt February 15 2015 (6:00am)

The Bolt Report is back - on Channel 10 at 10am and 4pm.
Editorial: He’s not finished yet…
My guest: Tony Abbott.
The panel: former Treasurer Peter Costello and former NSW Treasurer Michael Costa.
Plus: who is minding our gates?

===

Abbott loyal, not always to a fault

Andrew Bolt February 15 2015 (5:07am)

Sam Maiden:

The sacking of chief whip Philip Ruddock ... is being exploited by destabilisers. But in truth, Ruddock’s heart was never in the job. He accepted it as a consolation prize after the election. There were talks for some time over Abbott offering him another job and whatever transpired on Friday it is clear those talks have broken down. He was sacked. The real reasons will emerge…
Can the Prime Minister save himself by offering a human sacrifice? Credlin’s head on a stick in the town square? Or the Treasurer’s?
Let’s ask one of the Prime Minister’s most trusted lieutenants. “Abbott is not the sort of person who throws people under the bus. Part of being an effective leader is not throwing people under the bus,’’ he says."You can’t throw your Treasurer overboard. It won’t happen. They will succeed or fail together.’’
“They” includes Credlin by the way… Hockey is wounded and it shows. He has failed to sell the budget. But it is the Prime Minister and his chief of staff’s budget too.
Consider the leaks. The Prime Minister defied the Treasurer and Health Minister Peter Dutton on the $20 cut to the Medicare rebate. Today, we report that he ignored the concerns of the Social Services minister Kevin Andrews that a six month waiting period before school leavers got the dole was too harsh.
Credlin has been a huge flashpoint. But it for now, it appears that the Prime Minister has decided he needs her now more than ever.
“There can be no government without her. She is the government,’’ explains a Liberal MP bitterly.
In the minds of Coalition MPs she remains the nation’s first, female, Liberal Prime Minister — unelected, mind you — that we never knew we had.

I’ve long argued that Abbott does not necessarily have to get rid of Peta Credlin at all. What he needs are more Credlins - more loyal sources of advice. In contemplating such things, he might well reflect that whatever worked to get him elected PM, it also got him nearly kicked out last Monday.
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)

===

Post by Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.

===

David Bowles

Your daily Nahuatl on this Valentine's Eve:

tlazohtli, tlazohtzintli, tlazohtlalōni

"Beloved, lovable, worthy of love."

Used by Aztec men to describe classy women.

===

Post by The Master Shift.

Sorry Ed, there is more .. but in saying 'no' at times, frowning a bit, your loved ones know they are important to you .. ed
===

Post by Matt Granz.

===

BBC News - Vinegar Valentines: When love letters were hate mail http://t.co/3TXwVpIGS9
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) February 15, 2015

===

About Valentine http://t.co/rNkpbxU22S via @sharethis
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) February 14, 2015

===

Just saw on SBS2 PopAsia .. https://t.co/Tog5uY36Mq
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) February 14, 2015

===

I liked a @YouTube video http://t.co/Co7PGImgO3 여자친구 GFriend - 유리구슬 Glass Bead Official M/V
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) February 14, 2015

===

I liked a @YouTube video http://t.co/lHLfdRE9EO SAMMY DAVIS JUNIOR impersonates his peers.
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) February 14, 2015

===

I liked a @YouTube video http://t.co/lHLfdRE9EO SAMMY DAVIS JUNIOR impersonates his peers.
— David Daniel Ball (@DaOddBall67) February 14, 2015

=== Posts from last year ===

Palmer pursued

Andrew Bolt February 15 2014 (12:02pm)

How much financial strife is MP Clive Palmer in?

MINING magnate Clive Palmer is being pursued for $8.4 million for flouting the law on carbon emissions after failing to pay the Clean Energy Regulator carbon tax since it became law…
Mr Palmer’s nickel refinery was hit with a further carbon charge of $2.3m yesterday after he failed to pay a $6.1m charge the federal regulator imposed last June.

===

No boats but no sorries

Andrew Bolt February 15 2014 (8:18am)

No boats for eight weeks, and no sorries from those who misled us.
Chris Kenny:

After Labor relaxed the regime, 820 boats arrived carrying 51,870 asylum-seekers and more than 1200 others (that we know of) drowned at sea…

“You know that Tony Abbott’s policy of turning the boats back won’t work,” said soon-to-be immigration minister Chris Bowen before the 2010 election.

Then prime minister Julia Gillard said: “In his own policy document (Tony Abbott) says that the so-called turnaround of boats would only happen, and I quote - ‘where circumstances permit’ - this is an admission that it won’t work.”

Said then defence minister Stephen Smith: “Seven boats were turned back under John Howard and everyone knows it’s not a practical way forward. They are trying to pretend and trick the Australian public into believing that there is a magical solution to these very difficult problems caused by enormous conflict in countries like Afghanistan and Sri Lanka.”

Said Bowen in 2012: “All the advice to us, all the evidence to us from navy and other government agencies, is that it’s completely impractical to turn boats around. Indonesia has said very clearly and repeatedly that they will not accept boat turnarounds, they just won’t co-operate with it and so the big problem with Tony Abbott’s plan is it just doesn’t work.”

Former Labor adviser John Menadue picked up the theme on the ABC’s The Drum website: “It is clear to most people who look beyond the one-liners that Nauru, turning the boats back and temporary protection visas are not viable policies.”

In The Age, Michelle Grattan wrote about the clear dangers. “Asking Australian sailors to risk their own lives and the lives of others in this way does not have to be part of a tough border-protection policy,” she wrote, “and, on the evidence that we have, should not be.”

Then attorney-general Nicola Roxon said that it was “fraught” legally. “We have the operational staff saying they couldn’t do it,” she said in 2012. “I really do think that this is a serious problem.”

When Tony Burke took immigration, he derided Abbott’s “slogans” about boat turn-backs. “By the time we came to government, we recognised it wasn’t able to be done,” he told the ABC last year…

Another minister, Brendan O’Connor, refused to consider turn-backs. “The ‘turn back the boats’ policy is an element of the ‘stop the boats’ fraud,” he told parliament in early 2012. “Their ‘turn back the boats’ policy does not exist except in the minds of those opposite.”

Even after losing government, Bill Shorten held the line. In November, he said the Coalition was “in trouble” with its boats policy. “They said before the election they would turn back the boats,” he told the ABC. “Now we are seeing that not only are they not turning back the boats, but they are hiding behind Australia’s military when they do press conferences, they’re not answering questions about what is really happening."…

More of those nay-sayers from an ABC piece last year quoting only people predicting failure:

Dr Khalid Koser, from Switzerland’s Geneva Centre for Security Policy, says. “I think we have to recognise boat arrivals will continue at some number,”

Author Robin De Crespigny, “If you want to stop people smuggling you’ve got to stop the thing that causes people to flee their country,” she says. “They’ll keep running if they continue to be persecuted.”

Caz Coleman from the Minister’s Council on Asylum Seekers and Detention says Australia will have to make some difficult decisions in the next few years. “I think we do need to think seriously about whether we need to accept there will be a higher rate of arrivals into Australia,”

(Thanks to readers James and Peter of Bellevue Hill.)

===

Hockey speaks for the Abduls watching the big guys holding out their hand

Andrew Bolt February 15 2014 (7:40am)

Treasurer Joe Hockey, of Palestinian background, keeps it very real in explaining why he won’t give handouts to big, rich car makers and canneries:

Abdul the kebab maker in Parramatta mall, to quote [former Liberal MP] Ross Cameron, is not asking for a new oven… We want to encourage enterprise, not entitlement.

The ABC’s business editor, the excellent Peter Ryan, visits Abdul the kebab maker in Surry Hills:

PETER RYAN: ... So ... would [you] consider seeking government help if [your] business ever got into strife?…
ABDUL GHAZEL: Well, I don’t think so. I don’t think so they’ll give me anything. You know they just say go and get it yourself! ... Yeah, .... they’re not going to help me with the fridge or with the freezer or with the kebab machines or with the griller. You know you have to pay your own, you have to buy your own.
PETER RYAN: How do you think you stand? You’re a small business and you have a lot of loyal clients, but where do you think you rank in the Government’s eyes compared to Qantas or SPC Ardmona?
ABDUL GHAZEL: Very, very small. They can’t see anyway. They can’t see me…
PETER RYAN: You run a late night business, you’re open on weekends. Mr Hockey is looking at the whole area of entitlements and that would include penalty rates and overtime. How do those factors affect a business like yours? ABDUL GHAZEL: It put a lot of pressure. Sometimes, you know, you’re not busy so you have to pay from the pocket and you can’t tell the workers, “Go, I don’t have any work”.

Well done to not just Hockey but to Ryan, giving a voice to those who usually watch on, unnoticed and unconsulted, as the connected help themselves to the public’s cash.
(Thanks to reader Anthony.)

===

Why rape suspects should be identified even if they are refugees

Andrew Bolt February 15 2014 (6:10am)

Siv Parker in The Guardian would rather police didn’t describe the alleged pack rapists they were asking the public to help catch:

But can we make our society safer without demonising people of colour? The alleged gang rape of a a 14-year-old girl in a western Sydney suburb has been almost entirely framed in terms of race. The girl has been described as being of Pacific Islander descent, while her attackers were “men of African appearance”. One of them, a 16-year-old, was arrested and charged yesterday.
Assuming that no-one talking about someone of African appearance is talking about a white person from Africa, what was the effective call to action here, other than “keep an eye out for black men”? And what was the subliminal message, other than “black men are dangerous”?

Parker should, by that reasoning, also worry that men were being singled out. Were police sending the subliminal message,that “men are dangerous”?

For the issuing of a physical description of an alleged perpetrator to be helpful, it must be accurate and detailed.

Dear Ms Parker: police were asking for help from anyone who might have seen or known of the alleged rapists and were giving an accurate detail that helpfully excluded 99 per cent of the population. Get it?

Otherwise, the very real consequence is the feeding of stereotypes that themselves damage our society… As I write, media reports about the suspected attacker include statements such as “Court papers show the teen’s country of birth as Sudan”. One assumes the writer attaches some significance or relevance to this fact. But because it is unspoken, we are left unhelpfully to connect the dots.

The dots have actually been often excluded or rubbed out by police, politicians and press. The fact is that refugee groups from Africa have a high rate of arrest and imprisonment. This is not a “stereotype” but a statistical fact. What damages our society - and some unfortunate victims of crime - is that we have refused to properly discuss the wisdom of bringing in groups which would struggle, on average, to fit in. Now we read of long-standing tensions between the two ethnic groups involved in this latest alleged crime. I don’t think this is healthy.
Parker wishes such things not be revealed and discussed. I disagree. I suspect Parker is actually protecting her politics rather than people.

===

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Sun Feb 15th Todays News