Sat Sep 12th Todays News

None for 2015 .. because of Melbourne promotional trip

=== from 2014 ===

Oscar Pistorius acquitted of murder. A grave injustice has happened with this verdict, as yet incomplete. Pistorius murdered his girlfriend. He just wasn't convicted of it. Shades of OJ Simpson's unfair acquittal. Today is the anniversary of Steve Biko's death from an evil apartheid regime. Injustice is injustice for all time. One feels for Reeva's loved ones. A cohabiting couple must be assumed to be aware of each other's presence. A gun owner has a greater responsibility for the safe operation of the weapon. The argument that the prosecution could not prove so beyond a reasonable doubt is wrong. Had Oscar had less support, as with a normal person, he would not have been able to argue as he has. The evidence would have been deemed conclusive. It will be a complete disgrace if Pistorius ever participates in elite sport again, or gets less than a maximum sentence for manslaughter. 

A reminder of the importance of saying 'no' to constitutionalised racism. Australia is culturally diverse and thrives from that diversity. Should Australia decide to separate Australians by race it won't address the needs of people in need, but will instead become a tool of division. There are no admirable apartheid regimes anywhere in the world or in history. Israel doesn't divide by race, but Palestine does. South Africa did. The Conservative Voice will similarly oppose any reintroduction of slavery. Even if the US Democrats, or ALP really want it. A reminder of what a 'Yes' vote in Scotland might mean .. The Queen could abdicate the Scottish throne in favour of Charles, while keeping the English Throne for William .. think about that. But more seriously, those who favour a 'yes' vote claim that the disadvantages are overstated. Precisely which disadvantages are acceptable? 

Gillard faces a royal commission and lies about her memory of activity. One hopes that she is taken to task for lying. She corruptly created a slush fund from misappropriated money involving a Union employing stand over tactics to extort money from business. Some of that money was used to build her home. Yet there is no one ever who forgot getting caught for theft when they were young and naive. It becomes foundational to their character. And so it is with Gillard. A thief and liar. By way of contrast Arthur Sinodinos is fronting the corrupt body of the ICAC again. Sinodinos has not been accused of doing anything wrong, but is believed to be thought guilty by the ICAC of being a Liberal member. Mr Sinodinos, are you now, or have you ever been, a member of the Liberal Party? 

Meanwhile incompetent State ALP Member Nick Lalich has posed next to a street named after him. A car park might have been more appropriate. Although the only reason why there are now some more car parks in his electorate is thanks to a campaign initiated by Dai Le. ALP leadership in NSW deny their constituents to force a PUP candidate into a campaign as an ALP member. That there is true colours that is. Meanwhile RACV in Victoria argues "And studies show that as soon as you increase capacity, that capacity is taken up by people driving more cars on those roads. Congestion does not ease." The argument is a furphy, people only drive one car at a time and they need sensible road management to make their experience better. 

Obama's secret service is keen to catch them all as they tackle a Pikachu on the White House lawn. Gay activists complain after a straight couple agree to get married to win a prize of Rugby seats at a test. The activists argue that the wedding will trivialise gay marriage. The friends agree not to divorce for two years. Big Macs are the same size now as they were in 1970. However, a large number of products have become smaller so as to retain their supermarket price. 

From 2013

The Australian PM elect has not yet announced a ministry. Partly because a campaign against prospective industry Minister Sophie Mirabella has been successful, and her actual seat is in doubt. This is a tragedy because unlike Gillard or Wong, Mirabella has talent. The person who might defeat her is supported by a so called conservative independent who supported the left wing minority government and helped trash the political career of Nick Greiner. So naturally the press, in the interim,  are asking who or what will be the next ALP leader. Will it be from the corrupt ALP right in the form of Shorten, or from the corrupt ALP left in the form of Albanesi. It is in fact of no consequence, as both have the same policy of the other. Shorten will follow Gillard's lead regardless of what it is. Albo, as leader,will do what his mandate tells him. It is yet to be revealed what sweet nothings the mandate whispers. Some say it is Carbon Tax. Some say it is Gay marriage. Gillard opposed Gay marriage, but Shorten can be his own man, as soon as he works out what she really meant. Apparently the mandate isn't Tim Matherson and so the press have many questions they want answered, and are increasingly irritated Abbott hasn't told them yet. 

Also, there is leadership speculation in the US. Some say Obama is President. Obama is taking the lead from Putin. At first the press had thought Obama was dithering as over a hundred thousand people have died and millions have been made refugees in Syria. Clinton, who had a similar experience in Rwanda before he learned bombing could be ineffective in former Yugoslavia has given a lead to Obama. In order to be assertive, Obama wants to bomb something. So, in a masterclass display of dithering, Obama asked for permission to bomb Syria. But time passes, people die, a Christian village with the world's oldest Christian church has fallen to rebels (the CIA labels them Al-Qaeda, but the press know they are sensitive to leaks, so they call them rebels) and Obama is agreeable to a brokered position by Putin. This puts Russia in the box seat of negotiations between Iran and the US on nuclear issues. So the US President has abrogated US policy to Russia. Which is just as well, as it turns out that the weapons available to the Rebels include the high tech weapons stolen by Al-Qaeda at Benghazi last year. Confused? Think of it as a cancelled episode of Glee. 

=== Publishing News ===

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, September https://www.createspace.com/5106914, 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. 

===
For twenty two years I have been responsibly addressing an issue, and I cannot carry on. I am petitioning the Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbott to remedy my distress. I leave it up to him if he chooses to address the issue. Regardless of your opinion of conservative government, the issue is pressing. Please sign my petition at https://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/tony-abbott-remedy-the-persecution-of-dd-ball

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

Douglas Sutherland-Bruce via David Daniel Ball

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

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

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

===

Happy birthday and many happy returns Dharmarama Jen, Sylvie Theresa Lam and Fergie Tu. Born o the same day, across the years, along with Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino (1492), Hsinbyushin (1736), Richard Jordan Gatling (1818), Maurice Chevalier (1888), Shmuel Horowitz (1901), Jesse Owens (1913), Stanisław Lem (1921), Barry White (1944), Hans Zimmer (1957) and Colin Ford (1996). On your day, National Day in Cape Verde
1309 – Reconquista: Forces of the Kingdom of Castile captured Gibraltar from the Emirate of Granada, although they would lose control of it 24 years later.
1848 – Switzerland became a federal state with the adoption of a new constitution.
1933 – Hungarian-American physicist Leó Szilárd (pictured) conceived of the idea of the nuclear chain reaction while waiting for a traffic light in Bloomsbury, London.
1942 – A U-boat sank RMS Laconia with a torpedo off the coast of West Africa and attempted to rescue the passengers, which included some 80 civilians, 160 Polish and 268 British soldiers and about 1800 Italian POWs.
1983 – The clandestine group Boricua Popular Army staged a bank robbery in West Hartford, Connecticut, US, making off with $7 million in the largest cash theft in U.S. history at the time. You have Gibralter for now. Maybe make cheese, clocks and banks? Traffic lights inspire much destructive thought. You sink it, you take responsibility. Let the BPA pay, tonight.

• 1492 – Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino (d. 1519)
• 1494 – Francis I of France, King of France (d. 1547)
• 1605 – William Dugdale, English antiquarian (d. 1686)
• 1688 – Ferdinand Brokoff, Czech sculptor (d. 1731)
• 1725 – Guillaume Le Gentil, French astronomer (d. 1792)
• 1736 – Hsinbyushin, Burmese king (d. 1776)
• 1768 – Benjamin Carr, English-American singer-songwriter, educator, and publisher (d. 1831)
• 1812 – Richard March Hoe, American engineer and businessman, invented the Rotary printing press (d. 1886)
• 1818 – Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor, invented the Gatling gun (d. 1903)
• 1818 – Theodor Kullak, German pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1882)
• 1856 – Johann Heinrich Beck, American composer and conductor (d. 1924)
• 1875 – Matsunosuke Onoe, Japanese actor and director (d. 1926)
• 1888 – Maurice Chevalier, French actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1972)
• 1892 – Alfred A. Knopf, Sr., American publisher, founded Alfred A. Knopf Inc. (d. 1984)
• 1894 – Billy Gilbert, American actor and singer (d. 1971)
• 1895 – Freymóður Jóhannsson, Icelandic painter and composer (d. 1973)
• 1898 – Salvador Bacarisse, Spanish composer (d. 1963)
• 1898 – Alma Moodie, Australian violinist (d. 1943)
• 1901 – Shmuel Horowitz, Belarusian-Israeli agronomist (d. 1999)
• 1905 – Linda Agostini, Australian murder victim (d. 1934)
• 1913 – Jesse Owens, American sprinter (d. 1980)
• 1914 – Desmond Llewelyn, Welsh-English actor (d. 1999)
• 1931 – Ian Holm, English actor
• 1934 – Jaegwon Kim, South Korean-American philosopher
• 1944 – Barry White, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2003)
• 1944 – Colin Young, Barbadian-English singer (The Foundations)
• 1948 – Max Walker, Australian cricketer
• 1951 – Ali-Ollie Woodson, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and actor (The Temptations) (d. 2010)
• 1952 – Gerry Beckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (America)
• 1952 – Neil Peart, Canadian drummer, songwriter, and producer (Rush)
• 1956 – Barry Andrews, English singer and keyboard player (XTC, Shriekback, and The League of Gentlemen)
• 1957 – Hans Zimmer, German composer and producer
• 1962 – Amy Yasbeck, American actress
• 1965 – Einstein Kristiansen, Norwegian animator and producer
• 1971 – Ahn Jae-wook, South Korean actor and singer
• 1974 – Jennifer Nettles, American singer-songwriter (Sugarland)
• 1977 – Jeff Irwin, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1977 – James McCartney, English singer-songwriter
• 1977 – Idan Raichel, Israeli singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
• 1978 – Elisabetta Canalis, Italian model and actress
• 1980 – Gus G, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist (Firewind, Dream Evil, and Mystic Prophecy)
• 1981 – Jennifer Hudson, American singer and actress
• 1982 – Nana Ozaki, Japanese model
• 1983 – Carly Smithson, Irish singer-songwriter and actress (We Are the Fallen)
• 1984 – September, Swedish singer-songwriter
• 1986 – Emmy Rossum, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1986 – Yang Mi, Chinese actress and singer
• 1988 – Amanda Jenssen, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1992 – Sviatlana Pirazhenka, Belarusian tennis player
• 1994 – Elina Svitolina, Ukrainian tennis player
• 1996 – Colin Ford, American actor

Deaths

• 640 – Sak K'uk', Mayan queen
• 1185 – Andronikos I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1118)
• 1712 – Jan van der Heyden, Dutch painter (b. 1637)
• 1810 – Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet, English banker (b. 1740)
• 1869 – Peter Mark Roget, English physician, theologian, and lexicographer (b. 1779)
• 1972 – William Boyd, American actor and producer (b. 1895)
• 1977 – Steve Biko, South African activist (b. 1946)
• 1978 – William Hudson, New Zealand-Australian engineer (b. 1896)
• 1992 – Anthony Perkins, American actor, singer, and director (b. 1932)
• 1993 – Raymond Burr, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1917)
• 2003 – Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (The Tennessee Three and The Highwaymen) (b. 1932)
• 2009 – Jack Kramer, American tennis player (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Whobegotyou, Australian race horse (b. 2005)
• 2013 – Ray Dolby, American engineer and businessman, founded Dolby Laboratories (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Erich Loest, German author and screenwriter (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Joan Regan, English singer and actress (b. 1928)

===

===

LUCA LEAVES

Tim Blair – Friday, September 12, 2014 (12:55pm)

Forty years ago, Ferrari F1 boss leaping Luca di Montezemolo celebrates Niki Lauda’s first Grand Prix victory – and Ferrari’s first win in two years:



This week di Montezemolo announced his resignation as Ferrari president and chairman – while his F1 team currently faces its first winless season since 1993. Previously, di Montezemolo oversaw a spectacular revival for the company, now hugely profitable following near-collapse in the 1990s.

===

GOODBYE KITTY

Tim Blair – Friday, September 12, 2014 (12:22pm)

War is hell: 

A British schoolgirl who ran away to Syria and to join Islamic State has fallen out with her jihadist husband in a fight over their kitten. 

===

ROB YOUNG

Tim Blair – Friday, September 12, 2014 (12:18pm)

Primal Scream guitarist Rob Young has died at 49:

===

TRAVIS AND MATT

Tim Blair – Friday, September 12, 2014 (3:10am)

New Zealand’s first straight same-sex wedding infuriates gay activists, who believe it “trivialises” marriage.

===

On hearing Glenn Beck

Andrew Bolt September 12 2014 (8:13am)

Tony Thomas goes to two Glenn Beck speech nights and is seriously impressed.
(Sorry. The first time I posted this I had the wrong link.) 

===

Noel Pearson puts the no case well. No to this racism

Andrew Bolt September 12 2014 (6:46am)

The political class will make a real mistake - again - if it assumes a referendum to recognise Aborigines in the constitution will be defeated because of ignorance.
Dennis Shanahan:

That’s why John Anderson and his [Government-appointed review] panel have recommended urgent action to ensure a referendum model is “landed” as soon as possible while leaving polling day as late as possible. One of the real barriers to a successful referendum is not the Constitution failing the Australian people but the Australian people failing the constitution. 
Even before considering a detailed question on racial discrimination and recognition of Aborigines there is the hurdle that not enough people have a knowledge of history or a sense of the real role of the Constitution or what it is supposed to do. 

In fact, if the referendum is defeated I suspect it will be that Australians understand only too well that they are being divided by race. And Australians tend to hate racism.
This is not about ignorance but preference.
Bizarrely, the “no” case is put very well by Noel Pearson, chairman of the Cape York Partnership and member of the expert panel which put together the “yes” proposal (although he is plainly and astonishingly wrong about Aborigines not have citizenship until 1967):

Well we understand something we didn’t understand in 1967 as clearly as we do today and that is that there are no distinct human races. There is only one human race. And that idea was not clear in 1967 when we became citizens. And the fatefully wrong basis of our citizenship back in ‘67 was the basis of race. And so this will correct that. It will say that we are all human beings, there are no separate races.  And to the extent that over the last 40 years we’ve laboured under this idea that there might be distinct races, I think we’ve carried a huge baggage with that over these past 40 years and it’ll be very liberating for us to put race behind us… 
[I]n the future, if there is social and economic provisioning for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, it should be on the basis of need, not race. It’s because we’re needy Australians, just like Muslim Australians or white Australians might have social and economic needs, so too do certain Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders. Let’s move from race to need as the basis of government action.

Absolutely. Forget this divisive, offensive and ultimately dangerous race industry. We’re just one people, one “race”, sharing a continent and bounded by a single law.
But then Pearson, having denounced the race industry and racism in the constitution, bizarrely proposes a change even more racist and divisive - a separate parliament for the Aboriginal race:

And the alternative, it seems to me, is that Aboriginal people should be in a position to say what laws and policies apply to our own people. We should be able to self-determine that and we should focus our minds on how to solve this democratic deficit we have in relation to the role of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders in this, our own country… It’s a capacity to be involved in advising the parliamentary process in respect of laws and policies that apply to our people… 
You see, every nation has got to come to grips with these democratic questions and the democratic question for us here in this country is that we have a three per cent mouse and a 97 per cent elephant. And what kind of fulcrum do we need in our constitutional structure that at least enables the mouse to determine what laws and policies should apply to us as an Indigenous people? Our democratic process should empower us and enliven us to do that.
TONY JONES: But you are talking about some sort of representative body, are you? NOEL PEARSON: Yes, I think that’s where the discussion should be focused.

In fact, Aborigines have a representative body already. It’s called the Australian Parliament. (There are also state parliaments and local councils.)
In that Parliament each Aborigine has the same say as each non-Aboriginal Australian. In that Parliament there are even Aboriginal politicians, including Ken Wyatt, Nova Peris and (she says) Jacqui Lambie.
What Pearson wants is a further parliament just for one “race”, to give members of that “race” more power than members of other “races”, and a different legal status.
This would dismember our polity and our community.
No to racism. No to racial division. No to this racist change to our constitution. 

===

Dan Andrews makes Labor look a mad rabble over East-West link

Andrew Bolt September 12 2014 (12:32am)

Yes, even The Age is shocked that Victorian Labor could do something so cowboy-ish:

Labor leader Daniel Andrews is playing politics over the East West Link instead of developing sound policy and a genuine solution to Melbourne’s worsening traffic congestion… 
Mr Andrews is waving around legal advice, which contends that if the Supreme Court finds the Napthine government’s process for approving the East West project was flawed, then the contracts underpinning the deal would be deemed invalid… What is surprising is Labor’s decision to pitch everything it has behind that advice. In doing so, it is sliding away from its earlier commitment to honour contracts signed by the Napthine government prior to the election…

The $6-8 billion road is undoubtedly expensive and controversial, but it would release some of the pressure on Melbourne’s road network… By indulging in this kind of political manoeuvring, Mr Andrews risks Labor being depicted as mercurial and capricious, and that puts the business community on edge, jeopardises credit ratings and serves to dissuade new investment. It is not the mark of a responsible leader.

Labor is giving a few far-Left councils enormous power over the rest of the city:

Yarra and Moreland councils, which are stacked with Labor, Greens and Socialist aligned councillors, launched Supreme Court action against the Government over the East West Link in July. 
The councils are arguing the planning process to approve the tunnel was invalid because Planning Minister Matthew Guy and the independent assessment committee did not take into account the business case for the $8 billion project.
The case is due to go to trial on 15 December, just two weeks after the election… Opposition Leader Daniel Andrews said Labor would not defend the court action if it wins office on November 29.
If that happened the councils would win the court action by default as there would be no party to defend the case…
Seven of the nine Yarra councillors are Labor, Greens or Socialist leaning. At Moreland eight of the 11 councillors have allegiances to Labor, the Greens or Socialist Alliance. 

Reader na joined more dots:

Two days ago the preferred bidder for East-West link was announced (Lend Lease). 
One day ago news that the contract required flexibility in union access and could freeze out the CFMEU.
Today [Thursday] Daniel Andrews does sharp U turn and announces Labor will abandon any contract to build East-West link. The CFMEU has previously been reported as Andrews’ biggest backer.  This could be very big indeed. And if Andrews gets up, be very afraid.

===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 
===

 

===

The ABC Fact Check agrees Scott Morrison was right. Well, there you go.

Mr Morrison is correct.

Based on the definition set out in the people smuggling protocol, people who have come to Australia without a valid visa have illegally entered the country.

That is the case even though these people have not committed any crime, nor broken any Australian or international law.>

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-09-06/morrison-correct-illegal-entry-asylum-seekers/4935372
===
Pastor Rick Warren
Syria’s Christian city of Ma'loula has fallen to rebels. Christians beheaded, and one of world's oldest churches sacked and burned.

John Tran Associate press reported on SBS the Militia on Assad's side fighting to regain the Town. Mostly Christian volunteers who basically said Assad is the lesser of the 2 evils and he has never done anything to harm them, and Obama wants to help these blood thirsty Jihadist.. They just can't comprehend it.. To them the world should be helping Assad restore stability.

David Daniel Ball I will not shed tears when Assad is no more. He is as despicable as Saddam. I am sure those Christians are sincere .. but Assad's goodness is overstated.

John Tran Yes, he is a bloody murderous tyrant, I think they were simple people, or had to say things in a moment of desperation.

David Daniel Ball I think the 'Rebels' are an immediate threat .. were they to 'side' with the rebels they get chemical treatment .. so they can't win ..
===
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
Israel Fire and Rescue Services to Hold 9/11 Memorial Ceremony
Israel Fire and Rescue Services to Hold Memorial Ceremony Tomorrow for
Firefighters who Perished in the 9/11 Disaster

(Communicated by the Israel Fire and Rescue Services Spokesman)

The Israel Fire and Rescue Services
http://www.102.gov.il/English/Pages/HomePage.aspx
will, tomorrow (Wednesday, 11 September 2013), at 10:00, at the fire station
in Rishon LeZion (corner of Moshe Dayan Boulevard & Yitzhak Ben-Tzvi
Street), hold a memorial ceremony for the firefighters who perished in the
9/11 disaster.

The event is the initiative of the Rishon LeZion firefighters in memory of
the brother of one of their members, the late Danny Levy, a New York
firefighter who passed away this past January from a 9/11-related illness
http://www.antonnews.com/plainviewoldbethpageherald/news/26906-fire-department-honors-the-memory-of-danny-levy.html

For details, please contact Israel Fire and Rescue Services Spokesman Yoram
Levy at 050-6204054, IFRS Central District
Spokesman Guy Mansharov at 054-2300892.
===
Israel-bashing seminar does ANU no credit

BY:GERALD M. STEINBERG From: The Australian September 11, 2013 12:00AM

THE main task of a university is to pursue knowledge, free from political or religious dogmas, and ideological or other biases. It is for this reason that institutions of higher learning are granted special status and supported by public funds.

But when these values are violated, and the campus is exploited as a venue for lobbying on behalf of narrow interests, this tarnishes the reputation of the academic community, while society is deprived of benefits from the pursuit of knowledge.

Unfortunately, the conference on "Human Rights in Palestine", scheduled for the Australian National University today and tomorrow, is a blatant effort to exploit and distort the marketplace of ideas.

Only a few of the advertised speakers have relevant research credentials or peer-reviewed academic publications in the field of human rights. Instead, the program is dominated by opinionated activists associated with and funded by political advocacy groups that exploit the banner of human rights.

For example, "Professor" Hanan Ashrawi, who is featured in the program, is a prominent Palestinian politician and highly visible media spokeswoman. She holds a PhD in medieval and comparative literature.

She achieved notoriety in January 1991, during a US radio interview at the beginning of the Gulf War, when she referred to Saddam Hussein favourably for "standing up for Arab rights, Arab dignity, Arab pride". (Yasser Arafat and the PLO were closely allied with Saddam.) In February 1991, while the Iraqi dictator's troops were looting and burning Kuwait, she praised Saddam's "commitment to peace". And in 1996, she was among the minority of PLO officials who opposed revising the PLO Charter to remove clauses calling for Israel's destruction.

Other speakers are involved with "the Steering Committee for the Gaza Freedom March", the "Palestinian Boycott Divestment and Sanctions National Committee", and Electronic Intifada. For example, Ziyaad Lunat has referred to Israel as "the Zionist colonial implant" - not the type of language one would expect at an academic conference on human rights.

Keynote speaker Richard Falk is primarily known as a fringe "9/11 conspiracy theorist", and has been widely denounced, including by the Secretary-General of the UN, for vile comments blaming the Boston terrorist attack on "the American global domination project" and "Tel Aviv".

As noted by the British government's equality and non-discrimination team, Falk's recent writings are "resonant of the longstanding anti-Semitic practice of blaming Jews (through the state of Israel by proxy) for all that is wrong in the world".

In a clumsy attempt to endow the event with some academic credibility, the ANU organisers included the logo of the prestigious British Academy on the website as an indication of co-sponsorship.

When this was brought to their attention, officials replied: "The academy is not organising that event, was not consulted on the program and is not directly sponsoring the event itself. The text that appears on the conference website claiming that the British Academy is a 'platinum sponsor' for the event, is therefore misleading, and appeared without authorisation from us."

Instead of removing the logo, however, the official program website recently added a tiny and misleading caveat underneath. Even if a complete correction were subsequently to be made, the fact the conference organisers made so fundamental an error does not reflect well on the organisers' standards of accuracy.

When shocking atrocities are being committed in Syria against Palestinians, among many others, an academic conference ostensibly dedicated to the entirely legitimate subject of Palestinian human rights should not be focused exclusively on the West Bank. This, and the neglect of other pressing human rights issues in the Middle East, reinforce the impression that the real purpose of the conference is to polemicise against Israel.

It also seems not to have occurred to the organisers that Israelis have human rights too. Any assessment of "Economic, Social, Political and Cultural Rights" in the "Occupied Palestinian Territories" that excludes the central complexities is at best meaningless, at worst sinister.

It is up to the ANU to decide how best to deal with this scholarly farce, which threatens to tarnish its reputation. Even respected universities are not immune from fringe political campaigns or indulging in nonsense.

Gerald M. Steinberg heads the NGO Monitor research institute.
===

===
The Bible Series
"Have you forgotten God? Even if you have, He has not forgotten you." -Moses
===

IT WAS unquestionably the most terrible day of our age. September 11, 2001.

Almost 3000 innocent people died when terrorists hijacked four civilian planes. Two of the planes struck the twin towers of New York's World Trade Center. One nosedived into the Pentagon in Washington. And one crashed into a field in Pennsylvania thanks to the brave efforts of passengers who stormed the cockpit.

As Americans begin their day of mourning, we've compiled 30 images to remind you why this day was so momentous.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/world-news/pictures-of-911-that-show-you-why-you-should-never-forget/story-fndir2ev-1226717187453#ixzz2egKCVul4
===

NEVER has a tragedy been captured in as much depth and breadth like September 11, 2001.

As newspapers published shocking images from the most photographed and videotaped day in history, some were deemed too awful, too confronting for the public to face.

In particular, pictures of the estimated 200 people who plunged to their death from the Twin Towers. Trapped, with nowhere to go, it was a heartbreaking way to die as thousands watched on, from the streets of New York, to the lounge rooms of those watching on television.

One photo, though, was the most controversial of all: the Falling Man.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/world-news/the-story-behind-the-most-powerful-image-of-911-the-falling-man/story-fndir2ev-1226717247792#ixzz2egE8Wtzm
He was a victim .. but we don't have to be. Never forget what terrorists did, when allied with AlQaeda and the Taliban. Never forget. Never. - ed
===

Swedish furniture giant Ikea is working with the UNHCR to produce a flatpack refugee shelter that can be rapidly assembled in crisis zones, such as in Syria, where over one million people have fled the country.

===

Pastor Rick Warren

Fear creates conflict. Love creates consensus.
===
Because… we have to attack Syria in the middle of a civil war to punish Assad for allegedly using chemical weapons to kill 1.5% of those killed by the war, potentially destabilizing the regime and spreading the power of a cohort of Sunni muslims, including al Qaeda, the Nusrah Front, the FSA rebels, and the Muslim Brotherhood… but this doesn’t matter because Bashar al-Assad needs to eat his Cheerios with a fork while suffering unbelievably small airstrikes that won’t be a “pinprick”?
===
成龍 Jackie Chan
"Do not let circumstances control you. You change your circumstances." - Jackie
===

PSYCHOLOGISTS will tell you that even perfectly sane people have the ability to accept wild conspiracy theories. The more powerless or alone we feel, the more likely we are to develop such theories.

It's all linked to self-esteem. If you're the sort of person who feels isolated or disenfranchised, you're much more likely to develop wild theories as a way of making you seem more knowledgeable, more powerful, more special.

That might help explain why many Americans are into conspiracies. The irony of our technologically over-connected age is that there are scores of socially disconnected people sitting in dark rooms extrapolating all sorts of crap from factoids they find online. Here are six of the worst:

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/world-news/six-really-stupid-911-conspiracies-debunked-in-about-six-seconds/story-fndir2ev-1226717737311#ixzz2egDitNUG
===

WHEN it comes to safety, TRW Automotive believes in transparency - literally.

The safety system maker has made its Frankfurt motor show demonstration car see-through.

While an acrylic car has about as much chance of making production as a new Falcon, the array of life saving technology within this demo will be and in some instances already can be found in cars from Ford, Volkswagen, General Motors and Mercedes-Benz.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/business/companies/frankfurt-motor-show-models-seethrough-cars-reveal-future-of-driving/story-fnda1bsz-1226717941403#ixzz2egBkezMf
With a transparent car there is the commercial model possibility of people paying me not to drive nude. - ed
===
“Peace” is more than one of our society’s values; it is a virtue that all humans should pursue. But what is peace and how do we pursue it? War has always been one of the ways to win peace. But it is one thing to win the war - an entirely different thing to win the peace. The war in Iraq was over in a few short days of intense fighting. It was so fast that the long slow build up made the actual fighting almost seem like an anticlimax. Yet the peace has been much harder to secure. Peace has always been hard to win. The peace treaty of Versailles at the end of the First World War has been widely criticised as creating the conditions for the Second World War. The long Cold War that followed the Second World War is another demonstration of the difficulty of winning peace. If war is not the way to peace neither is appeasement. On his return from the unjust Munich conference Mr Chamberlain famously declared a peace for our time”. The year was 1938! The “agreement” was with Adolf Hitler. Part of our problem in pursuing peace is failure to appreciate what peace is. We think of it as the absence of something (war) rather than the creation of something positive. But creating something positive requires us to have a clear view of the good life that we believe in. Democracy or multi-culturalism are hardly the issues that will secure peace. Nor will prosperity or materialism. These are not necessarily wrong things but if that is all we have to offer we will be as disappointed as the people upon whom we (sometimes undemocratically) impose them. So what is peace and how do we find it? It is not to be found without some of its accompaniments like truth and justice, forgiveness and love. It is not to be found by human efforts because we who are sinful will always be at war with one another. God’s peace “surpasses all understanding”. Our sinful hearts will never understand the way to peace. The world did not understand the peace that Jesus came to bring. They did not like the Prince of Peace but rather violently crucified him. Yet it was in his death that peace was established. As the Scriptures say “he is our peace”. He created peace not only between God and us but also between us. For by Christ’s death for sin we all have access to the same Father. Irrespective of our background or our sinfulness we are united into the same family of forgiveness. The peace that Christ created for us is our rich relationship with God. So with the peace he won for us we also receive health, salvation, righteousness, safety and prosperity. Some of these we experience now. Others have to wait till Christ returns. But the peace with God and each other starts now, even in the midst of wars and rumours of wars. It starts now and can be experienced now, but it still requires us to pursue it. It is the gift of God in Christ Jesus, and part of the fruit of the Spirit, but it still is something we must put into practice in all our relationships. So we are commanded in the scriptures: “If possible, so far as it depends on you live peaceably with all.” (Romans 12:18) “Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14) “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15) - See more at: http://phillipjensen.com/articles/peace1/#sthash.iaaWtOQG.dpuf
I've enjoyed watching the tv series Vikings. Usually, populist rubbish leaves me cold, but it is fascinating to see how the Lord tamed a violent culture and made it his own. Seeing Christians portrayed back then aren't shallow, as they are portrayed now. Standing for faith .. it isn't about difficulty, it is about choice. The choice is not money or God, but between the world and God. Neither is the choice war or peace. A faithful man can fight. A faithful man can die. A faithful man will hold to God. - ed
===
nees and a strategic use of the rude word and whispered theories about the sinister forces that have us all by the short and curlies. The surfer who found Jesus and wants to tell you how blind we all are. The cranky veteran of the campus boycott against sexist language, who nowadays doesn't have to be polite in argument because she was too nice for too long to all those sexists.

The Greens seem never to tire of telling Australians they lack compassion, how the "big parties" fool us into a "race to the bottom", how we are a bunch of mindless consumers; how generally unworthy we are – except of course when we are expressing our support for same-sex marriage.

Australians are in generally sceptical of people who lecture them from a high moral plane. And too often, the Greens look like a bunch of finger waggers.>

http://www.smh.com.au/comment/greens-should-spare-us-the-finger-wagging-20130912-2tmaj.html
===
George W. Bush
Observing a moment of silence with staff of the George W. Bush Presidential Center this morning at 7:46 am in Dallas. Exactly 12 years ago on September 11, 2001, the first plane struck the North Tower of the World Trade Center. “These acts shattered steel, but they cannot dent the steel of American resolve.” We Will #NeverForget. -- via @GeorgeWBush on Instagram
===
Israeli ministers have been keeping unusually quiet on the situation in Syria... But Justice Minister Tsipi Livni is speaking out: "It’s not enough to make moving speeches. It must fight for the values with deeds as well. The events in Syria must be destroyed while they’re still small."
In defence of UN inaction in the face of the catastrophe, they have yet to work out how to oppose Israel .. ed
===

===
Emma Watson
"I've always given 100 percent. I can't do it any other way."
===
Says an unhappy Netanyahu: “The message that is received in Syria will be clearly understood in Iran.”

John Tran Been speaking to some of my leftist friends.. even they are dismayed at Obama.. some are hating him

David Daniel Ball Aye, but they'd still vote for him .. rust is like that ..

John Tran Yep, some because the hate conservatives are stronger.. but I observe that some, are like overpowered abused people.. they are damaged but are drawn to the abusive masters of the left for comfort.===
"Let us have the strength to face the threats that endure, different though they may be from 12 years ago, so that as long as there are those who would strike our citizens, we will stand vigilant and defend our nation ... And above all, let us have the courage, like the survivors and families here today, to carry on no matter how dark the night or how difficult the day." -President Obama speaking at the Pentagon on the 12th anniversary of the September 11th attacks

Watch President Obama's remarks: http://tinyurl.com/ng7jm4t
===
God bless Obama..ehem, I mean the Koch brothers. Hey, guys, want to branch out into foreign affairs? Latma's available. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-sdO6pwVHQ

===
Pastor Rick Warren
#NeverForget #Remember911 #HonorTheHeroes"The greatest love a person can show is to die for his friends." John 15:13
===

September 12

• 1609 – While sailing aboard the Halve Maen, Englishman Henry Hudson began his exploration of the Hudson River, laying the foundation for Dutch colonization of present-day New York.
• 1814 – War of 1812: Although the Maryland Militia lost the Battle of North Point, they delayed the British advance against Baltimore, buying time for thedefense of the city.
• 1910 – Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8, one of the largest-scale choral works in the classical concert repertoire, was first performed in Munich.
• 1942 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Armybegan the Battle of Edson's Ridge in an effort to retake Henderson Field on Guadalcanal.
• 1974 – Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia (pictured)was deposed by the Derg, a military junta.

===

• 490 BC – Battle of Marathon: The conventionally accepted date for the Battle of Marathon. The Athenians and their Plataean allies, defeat the first Persian invasion force of Greece.
• 372 – Sixteen Kingdoms: Jin Xiaowudi, age 10, succeeds his father Jin Jianwendi as Emperor of the Eastern Jin dynasty.
• 1185 – Emperor Andronikos I Komnenos brutally put to death in Constantinople.
• 1213 – Albigensian Crusade: Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester, defeats Peter II of Aragon at the Battle of Muret.
• 1229 – Battle of Portopí: The Aragonese army under the command of James I of Aragondisembarks at Santa Ponça, Majorca, with the purpose of conquering the island.
• 1309 – The First Siege of Gibraltar takes place in the context of the Spanish Reconquistapitting the forces of the Kingdom of Castile against the Emirate of Granada resulting in a Castilian victory.
• 1609 – Henry Hudson begins his exploration of the Hudson River while aboard the Halve Maen.
• 1683 – Austro-Ottoman War: Battle of Vienna – several European armies join forces to defeat the Ottoman Empire.
• 1814 – Battle of North Point: an American detachment halts the British land advance to Baltimore in the War of 1812.
• 1846 – Elizabeth Barrett elopes with Robert Browning.
• 1847 – Mexican–American War: the Battle of Chapultepec begins.
• 1848 – Switzerland becomes a Federal state.
• 1857 – The SS Central America sinks about 160 miles east of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, drowning a total of 426 passengers and crew, including Captain William Lewis Herndon. The ship was carrying 13–15 tons of gold from the California Gold Rush.
• 1885 – Arbroath 36–0 Bon Accord, a world record scoreline in professional Association football.
• 1890 – Salisbury, Rhodesia, is founded.
• 1897 – Tirah Campaign: Battle of Saragarhi.
• 1906 – The Newport Transporter Bridge is opened in Newport, South Wales by Viscount Tredegar.
• 1910 – Premiere performance of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 in Munich (with a chorus of 852 singers and an orchestra of 171 players. Mahler's rehearsal assistant conductor was Bruno Walter)
• 1919 – Adolf Hitler joins the German Workers' Party (later the Nazi Party).
• 1923 – Southern Rhodesia, today called Zimbabwe, is annexed by the United Kingdom.
• 1930 – In cricket Wilfred Rhodes ends his 1110-game first-class career by taking 5 for 95 for H.D.G. Leveson Gower's XI against the Australians.
• 1933 – Leó Szilárd, waiting for a red light on Southampton Row in Bloomsbury, conceives the idea of the nuclear chain reaction.
• 1938 – Adolf Hitler demands autonomy and self-determination for the Germans of the Sudetenland region of Czechoslovakia.
• 1940 – Cave paintings are discovered in Lascaux, France.
• 1940 – An explosion at the Hercules Powder Company plant in Kenvil, New Jersey kills 51 people and injures over 200.
• 1942 – World War II: RMS Laconia, carrying civilians, Allied soldiers and Italian POWs is torpedoed off the coast of West Africa and sinks with a heavy loss of life.
• 1942 – World War II: First day of the Battle of Edson's Ridge during the Guadalcanal Campaign. U.S. Marines protecting Henderson Field on Guadalcanal are attacked by Imperial Japanese Army forces.
• 1943 – World War II: Benito Mussolini, dictator of Italy, is rescued from house arrest on the Gran Sasso in Abruzzi, by German commando forces led by Otto Skorzeny.
• 1944 – World War II: The liberation of Serbia from Nazi Germany continues. Bajina Bašta in western Serbia is among those liberated cities. Near Trier, American troops enter Germany for the first time.
• 1948 – Invasion of the State of Hyderabad by the Indian Army on the day after the Pakistani leader Muhammad Ali Jinnah's death.
• 1952 – Strange occurrences, including a monster sighting, take place in Flatwoods, West Virginia.
• 1953 – U.S. Senator and future President John Fitzgerald Kennedy marries Jacqueline Lee Bouvier at St. Mary's Church in Newport, Rhode Island.
• 1958 – Jack Kilby demonstrates the first integrated circuit.
• 1959 – Premiere of Bonanza, the first regularly scheduled TV program presented in color.
• 1959 – The Soviet Union launches a large rocket, Lunik II, at the moon.
• 1961 – The African and Malagasy Union is founded.
• 1964 – Canyonlands National Park is designated as a National Park.
• 1966 – Gemini 11, the penultimate mission of NASA's Gemini program, and the current human altitude record holder (except for the Apollo lunar missions)
• 1970 – Dawson's Field hijackings: Palestinian terrorists blow up three hijacked airliners in Jordan, continuing to hold the passengers hostage in various undisclosed locations in Amman.
• 1974 – Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, 'Messiah' of the Rastafari movement, is deposed following a military coup by the Derg, ending a reign of 58 years.
• 1974 – Juventude Africana Amílcar Cabral is founded in Guinea-Bissau.
• 1977 – South African anti-apartheid activist Steve Biko dies in police custody.
• 1979 – Indonesia is hit with an earthquake that measures 8.1 on the Richter scale.
• 1980 – Military coup in Turkey.
• 1983 – A Wells Fargo depot in West Hartford, Connecticut, United States, is robbed of approximately US$7 million by Los Macheteros.
• 1983 – The USSR vetoes a United Nations Security Council Resolution deploring the Soviet shooting down of a Korean civilian jetliner on September 1.
• 1984 – Dwight Gooden sets the baseball record for strikeouts in a season by a rookie with 246, previously set by Herb Score in 1954. Gooden's 276 strikeouts that season, pitched in 218 innings, set the current record.
• 1988 – Hurricane Gilbert devastates Jamaica; it turns towards Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula 2 days later, causing an estimated $5 billion in damage.
• 1990 – The two German states and the Four Powers sign the Treaty on the Final Settlement with Respect to Germany in Moscow, paving the way for German reunification.
• 1992 – NASA launches Space Shuttle Endeavour on STS-47 which marked the 50th shuttle mission. On board are Mae Carol Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, Mamoru Mohri, the first Japanese citizen to fly in a US spaceship, and Mark Lee and Jan Davis, the first married couple in space.
• 1992 – Abimael Guzmán, leader of the Shining Path, is captured by Peruvian special forces; shortly thereafter the rest of Shining Path's leadership fell as well.
• 1994 – Frank Eugene Corder crashes a single-engine Cessna 150 into the White House's south lawn, striking the West wing and killing himself.
• 1999 – Indonesia announces it will allow international peace-keepers into East Timor.
• 2001 – Ansett Australia, Australia's first commercial interstate airline, collapses due to increased strain on the international airline industry, leaving 10,000 people unemployed.
• 2003 – The United Nations lifts sanctions against Libya after that country agreed to accept responsibility and recompense the families of victims in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103.
• 2003 – Iraq War: In Fallujah, U.S. forces mistakenly shoot and kill eight Iraqi police officers.
• 2005 – Hong Kong Disneyland opens in Penny's Bay, Lantau Island, Hong Kong.
• 2007 – Former Philippine President Joseph Estrada is convicted of the crime of plunder.
• 2008 – The 2008 Chatsworth train collision in Los Angeles between a Metrolink commuter train and a Union Pacific freight train kills 25 people.
• 2011 – The 9/11 Memorial Museum in New York City opens to the public.
• 2014 – Oscar Pistorius is found guilty of the culpable homicide of his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp.

Births[edit]

• 1492 – Lorenzo de' Medici, Duke of Urbino (d. 1519)
• 1494 – Francis I of France (d. 1547)
• 1605 – William Dugdale, English genealogist and historian (d. 1686)
• 1688 – Ferdinand Brokoff, Czech sculptor (d. 1731)
• 1690 – Peter Dens, Flemish theologian and academic (d. 1775)
• 1725 – Guillaume Le Gentil, French astronomer (d. 1792)
• 1736 – Hsinbyushin, Burmese king (d. 1776)
• 1740 – Johann Heinrich Jung, German author and academic (d. 1817)
• 1768 – Benjamin Carr, English-American singer-songwriter, educator, and publisher (d. 1831)
• 1797 – Samuel Joseph May, American activist (d. 1871)
• 1812 – Edward Shepherd Creasy, English historian and jurist (d. 1878)
• 1812 – Richard March Hoe, American engineer and businessman, invented the Rotary printing press (d. 1886)
• 1818 – Richard Jordan Gatling, American inventor, invented the Gatling gun (d. 1903)
• 1818 – Theodor Kullak, German pianist, composer, and educator (d. 1882)
• 1830 – William Sprague, American businessman and politician, 27th Governor of Rhode Island (d. 1915)
• 1837 – Louis IV, Grand Duke of Hesse (d. 1892)
• 1852 – H. H. Asquith, English lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1928)
• 1855 – Simon-Napoléon Parent, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Premier of Quebec (d. 1920)
• 1856 – Johann Heinrich Beck, American composer and conductor (d. 1924)
• 1857 – Manuel Espinosa Batista, Colombian pharmacist and politician (d. 1919)
• 1862 – Carl Eytel, German-American painter and illustrator (d. 1925)
• 1866 – Freeman Freeman-Thomas, 1st Marquess of Willingdon, English cricketer and politician, 13th Governor General of Canada (d. 1941)
• 1875 – Matsunosuke Onoe, Japanese actor and director (d. 1926)
• 1880 – H. L. Mencken, American journalist and critic (d. 1956)
• 1882 – Ion Agârbiceanu, Romanian journalist, politician, and archbishop (d. 1963)
• 1884 – Martin Klein, Estonian wrestler and coach (d. 1947)
• 1885 – Heinrich Hoffmann, German photographer and art dealer (d. 1957)
• 1888 – Maurice Chevalier, French actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1972)
• 1889 – Ugo Pasquale Mifsud, Maltese politician, 3rd Prime Minister of Malta (d. 1942)
• 1891 – Pedro Albizu Campos, Puerto Rican lawyer and politician (d. 1965)
• 1891 – Arthur Hays Sulzberger, American publisher (d. 1968)
• 1892 – Alfred A. Knopf, Sr., American publisher, founded Alfred A. Knopf Inc. (d. 1984)
• 1894 – Billy Gilbert, American actor and singer (d. 1971)
• 1894 – Kyuichi Tokuda, Japanese lawyer and politician (d. 1953)
• 1895 – Freymóður Jóhannsson, Icelandic painter and composer (d. 1973)
• 1897 – Grietje Jansen-Anker, Dutch super-centenarian (d. 2009)
• 1897 – Irène Joliot-Curie, French chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1956)
• 1897 – Walter B. Gibson, American magician and author (d. 1985)
• 1898 – Salvador Bacarisse, Spanish composer (d. 1963)
• 1898 – Alma Moodie, Australian violinist and educator (d. 1943)
• 1898 – Ben Shahn, Lithuanian-American painter and photographer (d. 1969)
• 1900 – Haskell Curry, American mathematician, logician, and academic (d. 1982)
• 1901 – Ben Blue, Canadian-American actor and singer (d. 1975)
• 1901 – Shmuel Horowitz, Belarusian-Israeli agronomist and academic (d. 1999)
• 1902 – Juscelino Kubitschek, Brazilian physician and politician, 21st President of Brazil (d. 1976)
• 1902 – Marya Zaturenska, Ukrainian-American poet and author (d. 1982)
• 1904 – István Horthy, Hungarian admiral (d. 1942)
• 1904 – John Courtney Murray, American priest and theologian (d. 1967)
• 1904 – Lou Moore, American race car driver (d. 1956)
• 1905 – Linda Agostini, Australian murder victim (d. 1934)
• 1907 – Louis MacNeice, Irish poet and playwright (d. 1963)
• 1909 – Donald MacDonald, Canadian union leader and politician (d. 1986)
• 1913 – Jesse Owens, American sprinter and long jumper (d. 1980)
• 1913 – Eiji Toyoda, Japanese businessman (d. 2013)
• 1914 – Rais Amrohvi, Pakistani psychoanalyst, poet, and scholar (d. 1988)
• 1914 – Desmond Llewelyn, Welsh-English actor (d. 1999)
• 1915 – Billy Daniels, American singer and actor (d. 1988)
• 1916 – Tony Bettenhausen, American race car driver (d. 1961)
• 1916 – Edward Binns, American actor (d. 1990)
• 1917 – Pierre Sévigny, Canadian colonel, academic, and politician (d. 2004)
• 1917 – Han Suyin, Chinese-Swiss physician and author (d. 2012)
• 1919 – Frank Stallone, Sr., Italian-American hairdresser and author (d. 2011)
• 1920 – Irene Dailey, American actress and singer (d. 2008)
• 1921 – Frank McGee, American journalist (d. 1974)
• 1921 – Stanisław Lem, Ukrainian-Polish philosopher and author (d. 2006)
• 1922 – Antonio Cafiero, Argentinian accountant and politician, Governor of Buenos Aires Province (d. 2014)
• 1922 – Jackson Mac Low, American poet, playwright, and composer (d. 2004)
• 1922 – Mark Rosenzweig, American psychologist and academic (d. 2009)
• 1925 – Stan Lopata, American baseball player (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Dickie Moore, American actor (d. 2015)
• 1927 – Mathé Altéry, French soprano and actress
• 1927 – Freddie Jones, English actor
• 1928 – Robert Irwin, American painter and gardener
• 1928 – Muriel Siebert, American businesswoman and philanthropist (d. 2013)
• 1928 – Ernie Vandeweghe, Canadian-American basketball player and physician (d. 2014)
• 1929 – Harvey Schmidt, American composer and illustrator
• 1930 – Larry Austin, American composer and educator
• 1931 – Ian Holm, English actor and singer
• 1931 – Kristin Hunter, American author and educator (d. 2008)
• 1931 – George Jones, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2013)
• 1931 – Bill McKinney, American actor and singer (d. 2011)
• 1932 – Atli Dam, Faroese engineer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (d. 2005)
• 1932 – Kim Hamilton, American actress (d. 2013)
• 1933 – Tatiana Doronina, Russian actress
• 1934 – Glenn Davis, American hurdler, sprinter, and football player (d. 2009)
• 1934 – Jaegwon Kim, South Korean-American philosopher and academic
• 1935 – Richard Hunt, American sculptor
• 1937 – George Chuvalo, Canadian boxer
• 1937 – Wes Hall, Barbadian cricketer and politician
• 1938 – Claude Ruel, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2015)
• 1938 – Tatiana Troyanos, American soprano and actress (d. 1993)
• 1939 – Phillip Ramey, American pianist and composer
• 1939 – Henry Waxman, American lawyer and politician
• 1940 – Linda Gray, American actress, director, and producer
• 1940 – Skip Hinnant, American actor
• 1940 – Mickey Lolich, American baseball player
• 1940 – Patrick Mower, English actor
• 1940 – Stephen J. Solarz, American academic and politician (d. 2010)
• 1941 – Heino Kurvet, Estonian canoe racer
• 1942 – Michel Drucker, French journalist
• 1942 – Tomás Marco, Spanish composer
• 1942 – François Tavenas, Canadian engineer and academic (d. 2004)
• 1943 – Maria Muldaur, American singer (Jerry Garcia Band and Even Dozen Jug Band)
• 1943 – Michael Ondaatje, Sri Lankan-Canadian author and poet
• 1944 – Fred Fay, American activist (d. 2011)
• 1944 – Leonard Peltier, American activist
• 1944 – Vladimir Spivakov, Russian violinist and conductor
• 1944 – Barry White, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2003)
• 1944 – Colin Young, Barbadian-English singer (The Foundations)
• 1945 – Maria Aitken, Irish-English actress, director, and producer
• 1945 – David Garrick, English singer (d. 2013)
• 1945 – Milo Manara, Italian author and illustrator
• 1945 – John Mauceri, American conductor and producer
• 1946 – Tony Bellamy, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Redbone) (d. 2009)
• 1947 – Bjørn Floberg, Norwegian actor
• 1947 – David Grant, English engineer and academic
• 1947 – Gerald Howarth, English soldier, pilot, and politician, Minister for International Security Strategy
• 1948 – Luis Lima, Argentinian tenor
• 1948 – Steve Turre, American trombonist and educator
• 1948 – Max Walker, Australian cricketer, sportscaster, and architect
• 1949 – Charles Burlingame, American captain and pilot (d. 2001)
• 1949 – Irina Rodnina, Russian figure skater and politician
• 1950 – Marguerite Blais, Canadian journalist and politician
• 1950 – Gustav Brunner, Austrian engineer
• 1950 – Bruce Mahler, American actor and screenwriter
• 1950 – Mike Murphy, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1950 – Cynthia Myers, American model and actress (d. 2011)
• 1951 – Bertie Ahern, Irish accountant and politician, 11th Taoiseach of Ireland
• 1951 – Norm Dubé, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1951 – Ray Gravell, Welsh rugby player and actor (d. 2007)
• 1951 – Joe Pantoliano, American actor and producer
• 1951 – Gerald Stano, American serial killer (d. 1998)
• 1951 – Ali-Ollie Woodson, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and actor (The Temptations) (d. 2010)
• 1952 – Gerry Beckley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (America)
• 1952 – Neil Peart, Canadian drummer, songwriter, and producer (Rush)
• 1953 – Nan Goldin, American photographer
• 1953 – Fiona Mactaggart, Scottish educator and politician
• 1954 – Adrian Adonis, American wrestler (d. 1988)
• 1954 – Robert Gober, American sculptor
• 1954 – Scott Hamilton, American saxophonist
• 1954 – Peeter Volkonski, Estonian singer-songwriter and actor (Propeller)
• 1955 – Peter Scolari, American actor and director
• 1955 – Brian Smith, English footballer (d. 2013)
• 1956 – Barry Andrews, English singer and keyboard player (XTC, Shriekback, and The League of Gentlemen)
• 1956 – Chip Beck, American golfer
• 1956 – Sam Brownback, American lawyer and politician, 46th Governor of Kansas
• 1956 – Leslie Cheung, Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2003)
• 1956 – David Goodhart, English journalist and author
• 1956 – Brian Robertson, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Thin Lizzy, Motörhead, and Wild Horses)
• 1956 – Ricky Rudd, American race car driver and sportscaster
• 1956 – Walter Woon, Singaporean lawyer and politician, 7th Attorney-General of Singapore
• 1957 – Rachel Ward, English-Australian actress, director, and screenwriter
• 1957 – Hans Zimmer, German composer and producer
• 1958 – Wilfred Benítez, American boxer
• 1958 – Gregg Edelman, American actor
• 1959 – Scott Brown, American colonel and politician
• 1959 – Deron Cherry, American football player
• 1959 – Sigmar Gabriel, German educator and politician, 17th Vice-Chancellor of Germany
• 1960 – Evan Jenkins, American academic and politician
• 1960 – Stefanos Korkolis, Greek pianist and composer
• 1961 – Kadhim Al-Sahir, Iraqi singer-songwriter
• 1961 – Mylène Farmer, Canadian-French singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
• 1962 – Sunay Akın, Turkish poet, journalist, and philanthropist
• 1962 – Dino Merlin, Bosnian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1962 – Amy Yasbeck, American actress
• 1963 – Paul Bellini, Canadian actor and screenwriter
• 1964 – Simon Bowthorpe, English businessman
• 1964 – Greg Gutfeld, American journalist and author
• 1964 – Dieter Hecking, German footballer and manager
• 1965 – Einstein Kristiansen, Norwegian animator and producer
• 1965 – Vernon Maxwell, American basketball player
• 1965 – Ahmet Mümtaz Taylan, Turkish actor and director
• 1966 – Darren E. Burrows, American actor and director
• 1966 – Ben Folds, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Ben Folds Five, The Bens, Fear of Pop, and 8in8)
• 1966 – Vezio Sacratini, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1967 – Louis C.K., American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1967 – Pat Listach, American baseball player, coach, and manager
• 1968 – Larry LaLonde, American guitarist and songwriter (Primus, Possessed, and Blind Illusion)
• 1968 – Nicholas Russell, 6th Earl Russell, English politician (d. 2014)
• 1968 – Richard Snell, South African cricketer and physiotherapist
• 1968 – Paul F. Tompkins, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1969 – Max Boot, Russian-American historian and author
• 1969 – Ángel Cabrera, Argentinian golfer
• 1969 – James Frey, American author and screenwriter
• 1969 – Shigeki Maruyama, Japanese golfer
• 1970 – Josh Hopkins, American actor and singer
• 1970 – Nathan Larson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Shudder To Think, Hot One, and A Camp)
• 1971 – Younes El Aynaoui, Moroccan tennis player
• 1971 – Ahn Jae-wook, South Korean actor and singer
• 1972 – Gideon Emery, English-American actor, producer, and screenwriter
• 1972 – Paul Green, Australian rugby league player and coach
• 1972 – Sidney Souza, Brazilian footballer
• 1973 – Said Ali al-Shihri, Saudi Arabian terrorist (d. 2013)
• 1973 – Darren Campbell, English sprinter
• 1973 – Ki-Jana Carter, American football player and blogger
• 1973 – Martin Lapointe, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1973 – Paul Walker, American actor and producer (d. 2013)
• 1974 – Caroline Aigle, French soldier and pilot (d. 2007)
• 1974 – Jennifer Nettles, American singer-songwriter (Sugarland)
• 1974 – Guy Smith, English race car driver
• 1974 – Kenichi Suzumura, Japanese voice actor and singer-songwriter
• 1974 – Nuno Valente, Portuguese footballer and coach
• 1975 – Luis Castillo, Dominican baseball player
• 1975 – Bill Kirby, Australian swimmer and coach
• 1976 – Bizzy Bone, American rapper (Bone Thugs-n-Harmony and Bone Brothers)
• 1976 – 2 Chainz, American rapper (Playaz Circle)
• 1976 – Lauren Stamile, American actress
• 1976 – Maciej Żurawski, Polish footballer
• 1977 – Nathan Bracken, Australian cricketer
• 1977 – Grant Denyer, Australian race car driver and journalist
• 1977 – Jeff Irwin, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1977 – James McCartney, English singer-songwriter
• 1977 – Idan Raichel, Israeli singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer
• 1977 – David Thompson, English footballer
• 1978 – Elisabetta Canalis, Italian model and actress
• 1979 – Pakorn Lum, Thai actor and singer
• 1978 – Benjamin McKenzie, American actor
• 1978 – Ruben Studdard, German-American singer and actor
• 1980 – Roda Antar, Sierra Leonean-Lebanese footballer
• 1980 – Sean Burroughs, American baseball player
• 1980 – Fernando César de Souza, Brazilian footballer
• 1980 – Gus G, Greek singer-songwriter and guitarist (Firewind, Dream Evil, and Mystic Prophecy)
• 1980 – Yao Ming, Chinese basketball player
• 1980 – Kevin Sinfield, English rugby player
• 1980 – Josef Vašíček, Czech ice hockey player (d. 2011)
• 1981 – Marty Adams, Canadian actor and screenwriter
• 1981 – Alan Arruda, Brazilian footballer
• 1981 – Jennifer Hudson, American singer and actress
• 1981 – Staciana Stitts, American swimmer
• 1981 – Hosea Chanchez, American actor
• 1982 – Nana Ozaki, Japanese model
• 1982 – Zoran Planinić, Croatian basketball player
• 1983 – Tom Geißler, German footballer
• 1983 – Rami Haikal, Jordanian guitarist (Bilocate)
• 1983 – Sebastian Hofmann, German footballer
• 1983 – Daniel Muir, American football player
• 1983 – Sergio Parisse, Argentinian-Italian rugby player
• 1983 – Clayton Richard, American baseball player
• 1983 – Carly Smithson, Irish singer-songwriter and actress (We Are the Fallen)
• 1984 – Nashat Akram, Iraqi footballer
• 1984 – Chelsea Carey, Canadian curler
• 1984 – Petra Marklund, Swedish singer-songwriter
• 1985 – Headhunterz, Dutch DJ and producer (Project One)
• 1985 – Burak Aksak, Turkish actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1985 – Jonatan Cerrada, Belgian singer
• 1986 – Alfie Allen, English actor
• 1986 – Kamila Chudzik, Polish heptathlete
• 1986 – Akwasi Fobi-Edusei, English footballer
• 1986 – Joanne Jackson, English swimmer
• 1986 – Yang Mi, Chinese actress and singer
• 1986 – Yuto Nagatomo, Japanese footballer
• 1986 – Dimitrios Regas, Greek sprinter
• 1986 – Emmy Rossum, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1987 – Yaroslava Shvedova, Kazakhstani tennis player
• 1988 – Amanda Jenssen, Swedish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1989 – Freddie Freeman, American-Canadian baseball player
• 1989 – Andrew Luck, American football player
• 1991 – Scott Wootton, English footballer
• 1992 – Kelsea Ballerini, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1992 – Connor Franta, American blogger and author
• 1992 – Sviatlana Pirazhenka, Belarusian tennis player
• 1994 – Elina Svitolina, Ukrainian tennis player
• 1995 – Ryan Potter, American actor and martial artist
• 1996 – Colin Ford, American actor

Deaths[edit]

• 640 – Sak K'uk', Mayan queen
• 1185 – Andronikos I Komnenos, Byzantine emperor (b. 1118)
• 1213 – Peter II of Aragon (b. 1174)
• 1362 – Pope Innocent VI (b. 1295)
• 1369 – Blanche of Lancaster (b. 1345)
• 1500 – Albert III, Duke of Saxony (b. 1443)
• 1612 – Vasili IV of Russia (b. 1552)
• 1642 – Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, Marquis of Cinq-Mars, French conspirator (b. 1620)
• 1660 – Jacob Cats, Dutch poet, jurist, and politician (b. 1577)
• 1665 – Jean Bolland, Belgian priest and hagiographer (b. 1596)
• 1672 – Tanneguy Le Fèvre, French scholar and author (b. 1615)
• 1683 – Afonso VI of Portugal (b. 1643)
• 1691 – John George III, Elector of Saxony (b. 1647)
• 1695 – Jacob Abendana, Spanish-English rabbi and scholar (b. 1630)
• 1712 – Jan van der Heyden, Dutch painter and illustrator (b. 1637)
• 1764 – Jean-Philippe Rameau, French composer and theorist (b. 1683)
• 1779 – Richard Grenville-Temple, 2nd Earl Temple, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Buckinghamshire (b. 1711)
• 1810 – Sir Francis Baring, 1st Baronet, English banker and politician (b. 1740)
• 1814 – Robert Ross, Irish general (b. 1766)
• 1819 – Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher, Prussian general (b. 1742)
• 1836 – Christian Dietrich Grabbe, German playwright (b. 1801)
• 1869 – Peter Mark Roget, English physician, theologian, and lexicographer (b. 1779)
• 1870 – Fitz Hugh Ludlow, American journalist, explorer, and author (b. 1836)
• 1874 – François Guizot, French historian and politician, 22nd Prime Minister of France (b. 1787)
• 1885 – Ranbir Singh, Indian tribal chief (b. 1830)
• 1903 – Duncan Gillies, Scottish-Australia businessman and politician, 14th Premier of Victoria (b. 1834)
• 1907 – Ilia Chavchavadze, Georgian poet, journalist, and lawyer (b. 1837)
• 1912 – Pierre-Hector Coullié, French cardinal (b. 1829)
• 1918 – George Reid, Australian accountant and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Australia (b. 1845)
• 1919 – Leonid Andreyev, Russian author and playwright (b. 1871)
• 1923 – Jules Violle, French physicist and academic (b. 1841)
• 1927 – Sarah Frances Whiting, American physicist and astronomer (b. 1847)
• 1929 – Rainis, Latvian poet and playwright (b. 1865)
• 1938 – Prince Arthur of Connaught (b. 1883)
• 1945 – Hajime Sugiyama, Japanese field marshal and politician, 44th Japanese Minister of War (b. 1880)
• 1953 – James Hamilton, 3rd Duke of Abercorn, English politician, Governor of Northern Ireland (b. 1869)
• 1953 – Hugo Schmeisser, German engineer (b. 1884)
• 1953 – Lewis Stone, American actor (b. 1879)
• 1956 – Hans Carossa, German author and poet (b. 1878)
• 1956 – Noëlle, Countess of Rothes (b. 1878)
• 1956 – Sándor Festetics, Hungarian politician, Hungarian Minister of War (b. 1882)
• 1960 – Dino Borgioli, Italian tenor and actor (b. 1891)
• 1961 – Carl Hermann, German physicist and academic (b. 1898)
• 1962 – Spot Poles, American baseball player and soldier (b. 1887)
• 1962 – Rangeya Raghav, Indian author and playwright (b. 1923)
• 1967 – Vladimir Bartol, Italian-Slovene author and playwright (b. 1903)
• 1968 – Tommy Armour, Scottish-American golfer and journalist (b. 1894)
• 1971 – Walter Egan, American golfer (b. 1881)
• 1972 – William Boyd, American actor and producer (b. 1895)
• 1977 – Steve Biko, South African activist (b. 1946)
• 1977 – Les Haylen, Australian journalist and politician (b. 1898)
• 1977 – Robert Lowell, American poet and academic (b. 1917)
• 1978 – Frank Ferguson, American actor (b. 1899)
• 1978 – William Hudson, New Zealand-Australian engineer (b. 1896)
• 1981 – Eugenio Montale, Italian poet and author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1896)
• 1982 – Federico Moreno Torroba, Spanish composer and conductor (b. 1891)
• 1986 – Jacques Henri Lartigue, French painter and photographer (b. 1894)
• 1986 – Frank Nelson, American actor (b. 1911)
• 1986 – Charlotte Wolff, German-English psychotherapist and physician (b. 1897)
• 1987 – John Qualen, Canadian-American actor and singer (b. 1899)
• 1990 – Athene Seyler, English actress (b. 1889)
• 1991 – Bruce Matthews, Canadian general and businessman (b. 1909)
• 1992 – Anthony Perkins, American actor, singer, and director (b. 1932)
• 1992 – Ed Peck, American actor (b. 1917)
• 1993 – Raymond Burr, Canadian-American actor and director (b. 1917)
• 1994 – Tom Ewell, American actor and singer (b. 1909)
• 1994 – Boris Yegorov, Russian physician and astronaut (b. 1937)
• 1995 – Jeremy Brett, English actor (b. 1933)
• 1995 – Katherine Locke, American actress and singer (b. 1910)
• 1995 – Yasutomo Nagai, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1965)
• 1996 – Ernesto Geisel, Brazilian general and politician, 29th President of Brazil (b. 1907)
• 1997 – Idel Jakobson, Latvian NKVD officer (b. 1904)
• 1999 – Bill Quackenbush, Canadian-American ice hockey player and coach (b. 1922)
• 2000 – Konrad Kujau, German illustrator (b. 1938)
• 2000 – Gary Olsen, English actor (b. 1957)
• 2000 – Stanley Turrentine, American saxophonist, composer, and bandleader (b. 1934)
• 2001 – Victor Wong, American actor (b. 1927)
• 2003 – Johnny Cash, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (The Tennessee Three and The Highwaymen) (b. 1932)
• 2004 – Kenny Buttrey, American drummer (Barefoot Jerry and Area Code 615) (b. 1945)
• 2005 – Serge Lang, French-American mathematician, author and academic (b. 1927)
• 2007 – Bobby Byrd, American singer-songwriter and producer (The Famous Flames) (b. 1934)
• 2008 – Bob Quinn, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1915)
• 2008 – David Foster Wallace, American author and educator (b. 1962)
• 2009 – Norman Borlaug, American agronomist and humanitarian, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914)
• 2009 – Jack Kramer, American tennis player and sportscaster (b. 1921)
• 2009 – Willy Ronis, French photographer and author (b. 1910)
• 2010 – Claude Chabrol, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
• 2010 – Giulio Zignoli, Italian footballer (b. 1946)
• 2011 – Alexander Galimov, Russian ice hockey player (b. 1985)
• 2012 – Whobegotyou, Australian race horse (b. 2005)
• 2012 – Arkadii Dragomoshchenko, Russian poet and author (b. 1946)
• 2012 – Jon Finlayson, Australian actor and screenwriter (b. 1938)
• 2012 – Derek Jameson, English journalist and broadcaster (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Tom Sims, American skateboarder and snowboarder, founded Sims Snowboards (b. 1950)
• 2012 – Sid Watkins, English surgeon and academic (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Abu Mansoor Al-Amriki, American-Somali terrorist (b. 1984)
• 2013 – Ray Dolby, American engineer and businessman, founded Dolby Laboratories (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Warren Giese, American football player, coach, and politician (b. 1924)
• 2013 – Erich Loest, German author and screenwriter (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Rod Masterson, American actor (b. 1945)
• 2013 – Candace Pert, American neuroscientist and pharmacologist (b. 1946)
• 2013 – Joan Regan, English singer and actress (b. 1928)
• 2013 – Otto Sander, German actor and director (b. 1941)
• 2014 – John Bardon, English actor (b. 1939)
• 2014 – Atef Ebeid, Egyptian academic and politician, 47th Prime Minister of Egypt (b. 1932)
• 2014 – Theodore J. Flicker, American actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
• 2014 – John Gustafson, English singer-songwriter and bass player (Roxy Music, Ian Gillan Band, The Big Three, Quatermass, and Episode Six) (b. 1942)
• 2014 – Ian Paisley, Northern Irish minister and politician, 2nd First Minister of Northern Ireland (b. 1926)
• 2014 – Joe Sample, American pianist and composer (The Crusaders) (b. 1939)
• 2014 – Hugh Royer, Jr., American golfer (b. 1936)
• 2015 – Frank D. Gilroy, American playwright and screenwriter (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances[edit]

• Christian feast day:
  • Ailbe of Emly
  • Guy of Anderlecht
  • Holy Name of Mary
  • John Henry Hobart (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Laisrén mac Nad Froích
  • Sacerdos of Lyon
  • September 12 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Earliest date on which Programmers' Day can fall, while September 13 is the latest; celebrated on the 256th day of the year (Russia and programmers around the world)
• Day of Conception (Russia)
• Defenders Day (Maryland. (United States)
• Enkutatash falls on this day if it is a leap year. Celebrated on the first day of Mäskäräm. (Ethiopia)
• Mindfulness Day
• National Chocolate Milkshake Day (United States)
• National Day (Cape Verde)
• National Day of Encouragement (United States)
• Saragarhi Day (Sikhism) (this day or nearest weekday)

===

“A song of ascents. I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth.” Psalm 121:1-2 NIV

===

Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

"Be ye separate."
2 Corinthians 6:17

The Christian, while in the world, is not to be of the world. He should be distinguished from it in the great object of his life. To him, "to live," should be "Christ." Whether he eats, or drinks, or whatever he does, he should do all to God's glory. You may lay up treasure; but lay it up in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, where thieves break not through nor steal. You may strive to be rich; but be it your ambition to be "rich in faith," and good works. You may have pleasure; but when you are merry, sing psalms and make melody in your hearts to the Lord. In your spirit, as well as in your aim, you should differ from the world. Waiting humbly before God, always conscious of his presence, delighting in communion with him, and seeking to know his will, you will prove that you are of heavenly race. And you should be separate from the world in your actions. If a thing be right, though you lose by it, it must be done; if it be wrong, though you would gain by it, you must scorn the sin for your Master's sake. You must have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. Walk worthy of your high calling and dignity. Remember, O Christian, that thou art a son of the King of kings. Therefore, keep thyself unspotted from the world. Soil not the fingers which are soon to sweep celestial strings; let not these eyes become the windows of lust which are soon to see the King in his beauty--let not those feet be defiled in miry places, which are soon to walk the golden streets--let not those hearts be filled with pride and bitterness which are ere long to be filled with heaven, and to overflow with ecstatic joy.

Then rise my soul! and soar away,

Above the thoughtless crowd;

Above the pleasures of the gay,

And splendours of the proud;

Up where eternal beauties bloom,

And pleasures all divine;

Where wealth, that never can consume,

And endless glories shine.

Evening

"Lead me, O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies."
Psalms 5:8

Very bitter is the enmity of the world against the people of Christ. Men will forgive a thousand faults in others, but they will magnify the most trivial offence in the followers of Jesus. Instead of vainly regretting this, let us turn it to account, and since so many are watching for our halting, let this be a special motive for walking very carefully before God. If we live carelessly, the lynx-eyed world will soon see it, and with its hundred tongues, it will spread the story, exaggerated and emblazoned by the zeal of slander. They will shout triumphantly. "Aha! So would we have it! See how these Christians act! They are hypocrites to a man." Thus will much damage be done to the cause of Christ, and much insult offered to his name. The cross of Christ is in itself an offence to the world; let us take heed that we add no offence of our own. It is "to the Jews a stumblingblock": let us mind that we put no stumblingblocks where there are enough already. "To the Greeks it is foolishness": let us not add our folly to give point to the scorn with which the worldly-wise deride the gospel. How jealous should we be of ourselves! How rigid with our consciences! In the presence of adversaries who will misrepresent our best deeds, and impugn our motives where they cannot censure our actions, how circumspect should we be! Pilgrims travel as suspected persons through Vanity Fair. Not only are we under surveillance, but there are more spies than we know of. The espionage is everywhere, at home and abroad. If we fall into the enemies' hands we may sooner expect generosity from a wolf, or mercy from a fiend, than anything like patience with our infirmities from men who spice their infidelity towards God with scandals against his people. O Lord, lead us ever, lest our enemies trip us up!

===

Today's reading: Proverbs 10-12, 2 Corinthians 4 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Proverbs 10-12

Proverbs of Solomon

¹ The proverbs of Solomon:

A wise son brings joy to his father,
but a foolish son brings grief to his mother.

² Ill-gotten treasures have no lasting value,
but righteousness delivers from death.

³ The LORD does not let the righteous go hungry,
but he thwarts the craving of the wicked.

⁴ Lazy hands make for poverty,
but diligent hands bring wealth.

⁵ He who gathers crops in summer is a prudent son,
but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son....

...read the rest on Bible Gateway

Today's New Testament reading: 2 Corinthians 4

Present Weakness and Resurrection Life

¹ Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. ² Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. ³ And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. ⁴ The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. ⁵ For what we preach is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. ⁶ For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of God’s glory displayed in the face of Christ....

...read the rest on Bible Gateway

===