Thursday, September 22, 2016

Thu Sep 22nd Todays News

The issue of spousal privilege is important. She has as much advantage lying as telling the truth and who would know? Bob Hawke probably lied too about drinking. Hinch probably can drink, but should not drink much. But Hinch was an alcoholic. We don't know the truth, but the issues are important. I want Hinch to live a long life.

Anti Muslim activism is not a serious problem in comparison to Islamo Fascist terrorism. But it isn't good either. Or helpful. It is an overreach. Good politicians won't do it. Many bad ones won't either. Hanson's dog whistle gets people excited. I am disgusted with the race commissioner for reaching for the wrong tools to deal with it. Howard's way was best. The actual solution to the problem, as Australia faces it, will involve good Muslim people smacking down those who defend Islamofascism. In Dandenong, I will approach Mosques to speak to Imams. I am not seeking votes or monetary support. I will approach them out of respect, and speak to them about important issues that will help their community prosper. Not at the expense of others, but tied to the advantageous diversity which all Australians are free to enjoy and exploit.

So many clever people trying to work out the popularity of the tone deaf. Hanson still does not get it. But neither do advocates for Islamic Fascism. There will be a solution to the problem of Islamic terrorism. It will be seen after it has been effective. It will involve Islamic peoples not tolerating those who bring Islam into disrepute. People like those fighting for Al Qaeda, ISIL, Boko Haram etc are bringing Islam into disrepute. And one day soon, Muslims will be lynched by people that are afraid of the terrorists.

I considered worse ten years ago, and do so today. A QLD twelve-year-old girl was raped by a foster brother and murdered by her foster family after getting pregnant. It has nothing to do with immigration. I want to see Islamic authorities stop defending honour killings, maiming and paedophilia. The safest place in the world for an Islamic person is Israel. We need to have dialog over secular issues. And arrest those who have a low standard.

Turnbull is too close to Obama and Clinton. A better politician would not compromise themselves that way.
=== from 2015 ===
The year 5776 is coming into being. And so it is time to forgive and move on. Some have pointed to my posts and claimed I was being unfair, putting MT in a no win position. With respect, that is not true. My posts merely describe what has happened. By undermining the Liberal Party for years, MT has earned criticism, even when he stops because he is now leader. He has not addressed the criticism that he has not got a policy answer to the issues he criticised Mr Abbott for. Mal Brough today walked into a policy no go zone by antagonising the cross benchers that the Libs need to pass legislation. Brough wondered out loud why reform of votes for the senate had not yet been attempted. He has now been told why. Happy New Year. 

Some have said that Pauline Hanson is smart and admire her for standing up for things. Her politics was dumb and protectionist, which doesn't work. She stood up for people who had no idea how to effectively run a country. She had no business being in politics. Much like the sex party. 

For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility.
From 2014
 He is hated by the left and despised, called an idiot. Yet the first policy initiated and followed by President GHW Bush regarding speaking of Islamic terrorists following 911 is followed today by every Western Leader. There is no connection between terrorism and Islam which is the religion of peace. There is good reason for the policy, Islamic peoples are not terrorists and those who call themselves terrorist are not Islamic, although they claim to be and leaders embrace them. The status is not five and a half billion people vs one and a half billion terrorists, but seven billion people versus few terrorists. There is a very cynical connection between the left and terrorists, not merely Islamo fascists, but also Irish Catholics and communist insurgents of the Cold War. In many ways, mainstream media have shepherded and protected terrorists, giving them faux reasons for their outrageous behaviour and exhorting them to greater atrocities. One prize idiot is former security analyst, now parliamentarian Andrew Wilkie. Wilkie does not have much support, he is based in Tasmania which is over represented in federal politics due to her small population. As a former security advisor he sounds knowledgeably hawkish, but the reality is he is green left peacenik. He feels that it was wrong to invade Iraq for regime change seeking WMD. And so Wilkie can say he believes former PM Howard is lucky to not be facing war crimes. Wilkie is wrong to excuse Saddam Hussein's depredations. Wilkie is also wrong to accuse Mr Howard who has only acted properly regarding his duty to order Australia's disposal of her armed forces. Mr Howard does not face any such charges because he did no wrong. Wilkie is a despicable coward who has no right to be in parliament if he cannot contain any foolish thought bubble he might get. President Bush faces around the clock security for the rest of his life because of lies told about him. Wilkie's throwaway lie could put Mr Howard into a similar situation. For the record, Syria has shown that Wilkie was wrong re WMD.

Mr Abbott was right to use President Bush's mantra regarding the religion of peace, but Sydney has helicopters hovering since the terrorist raid and there are some in the Islamic community who do not feel peaceful. The reckless left are excusing terrorists, ABC asked the Attorney General if the new laws will mean that more would have been arrested and charged in the raid last week. The question is pernicious, as the AG could not answer about what the laws will be and will do before parliament sees them. And the senate is hostile. And then the media produce headlines which mislead and are counterproductive. Police did not execute raids with dogs. Neither were police brutal in the execution of their duty. Police have not targeted Islamic peoples, but those connected to terrorists. Prisoners riot in Australia, calling out Allahu Akbar, and the authorities are correct in saying it isn't religiously motivated. Islamic peoples would not commit crimes and be sent to jail. Neither would they behave in that outrageous way. Those calling out in prison are copying terrorist behaviours which might be empowering in the short term, but get a lot of people killed. Meanwhile the Greens Leader in Australia claims that Australia is following the US into an open ended war. They might be right. But the piece de resistance is Wendy Bacon likening Australia fighting in Iraq to Gallipoli, and ignoring other campaigns. 

Left wing journalists thought long and deeply about the left crushing a win in NZ at election. But they were very wrong, and there is now no journalist narrative describing why the Conservatives won convincingly. It is called a stunning win. It certainly wasn't predicted. Just like ALP adviser and drunk Bob Ellis predicting Scotland would leave the union weeks before they didn't. ABC is accused of being over paid and inept. The accuser uses bad language and says he learned it from a 'dirty Aunty' which is funny because ABC is called 'Aunty' in Australia. ABC had an opportunity of carrying a series of interviews with Mr Howard. They decline. It had been an opportunity to demonstrate balance. They had carried an interview with former ALP PM Keating. Mr Howard's interview, carried by channel 7 also keen to not appear biased, spoke against the divisive abuses that followed his good administration, with ALP in office. Certainly Gillard's declaration that Mr Abbott was a misogynist was wide of the mark and did not resonate with average Australians, but was applauded by journalists. Gillard has admitted to some mistakes, like hiring Bob Carr, but not others. 

Dividing people by race does not help things. Wealthy city folk who identify as being in a race of needy people because they get money and resources are diverting those resources from needy people who aren't in the cities. Journalist bias is not good for those who want to be informed by those journalists, and one example is the hyper critics of a responsible conservative couple being criticised for being on a study tour using budget travel, but ignoring ALP junketeers travelling first class before exiting parliament. 

A substantial abuse of power is that byAGW hysteric scientists and their supporters. One t-shirt seen recently pits Gaia vs humanity. It is probably time for humanity to deal with that bird forever quips Tim Blair. Arctic Ice is not behaving as scientists claimed it would. They said it would melt and never appear again. Instead, it is getting bigger. Meanwhile one scientific advisor to Obama admits the science is not settled. Maybe it can be discussed, now? 
From 2013
Obama's abysmal foreign policy of dithering and bomb dropping has resulted in a world where Al Qaeda, whom he claimed defeated prior to the last election as he blamed Benghazi on a coptic film maker he knew wasn't the cause, has not been defeated but may be resurgent. An Al Qaeda affiliate attack on a shopping mall in Kenya is a kind of circle, where Al Qaeda had blown up an embassy while Clinton was President. Kenyans are not especially anti Islamic, but that isn't a problem with terrorists. At least 30 people have died and over 200 injured. Australians know of the terrorist group, their affiliates planned a hit on Holsworthy army barracks a few years ago. 

Obama's dithering and bombing isn't limited to world peace. An Israeli IDF soldier was murdered by a relative of a captured terrorist. Obamacare threatens the economy. A spoof is circulating that Obama had to be sedated. That last item has a crack force of Obama supporters working the internet correcting the meme, but it is so believable, although Biden as VP means it isn't desirable. Meanwhile in China a top party official has been sentenced to life for corruption .. 

In Australia the ALP are trying to adjust to life out of government without recognising they lost an election. Two prospective leaders are campaigning on not changing policy or direction, as a form of renewal. Recycling apparently means never having to wash dishes, which may be why they are so keen to have women in politics. Julie Bishop is a very impressive woman, writes Miranda Devine, and the ALP lament there are not enough after they slammed Sophie Mirabella. Meanwhile NSW state ALP and love media are assaulting Pru Goward for being responsible when the previous ALP Minister hadn't been. Mud sticks, and the ABC and SMH are suffering with circulation. Another media beat up involved an Australian ALP government assault on a mixed Australian/Italian family. According to the ALP pollsters, denial works, 15 seats were saved by an inept PM who replaced an inept PM. It is a dangerous message for an ALP seeking to reform.
Historical perspective on this day
Not done
=== 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.
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Thanks to Warren for this advice on watching Bolt
Warren Catton Get this for your PC or MAC https://www.foxtel.com.au/foxtelplay/how-it-works/pc-mac.html Once you have installed it start it up and press Live TV you don't need a login to watch Sky News!
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I am publishing a book called Bread of Life: January. 

Bread of Life is a daily bible quote with a layman's understanding of the meaning. I give one quote for each day, and also a series of personal stories illustrating key concepts eg Who is God? What is a miracle? Why is there tragedy?

January is the first of the anticipated year-long work of thirteen books. One for each month and the whole year. It costs to publish. It (Kindle version) should retail at about $2US online, but the paperback version would cost more, according to production cost.If you have a heart for giving, I fundraise at gofund.me/27tkwuc
===
Editorials will appear in the "History in a Year by the Conservative Voice" series, starting with August, September, October, 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 a free kindle version.

List of available items at Create Space
Happy birthday and many happy returns Margaret Steed, Carolyn Evett and Ronald Marquiss. Born on the same day, across the years, along with Anne of Cleves  (1515), Michael Faraday (1791), Christabel Pankhurst (1880), Eric Baker (1920), James Cartwright (1949), Shari Belafonte (1954), Andrea Bocelli and Joan Jett (1958), Rupert Penry-Jones (1970), Harry Kewell (1978), Billie Piper (1982) and Tallan Latz (1999)
September 22: OneWebDay; Independence Day in Bulgaria (1908) and Mali (1960); Day of Baltic Unity in Latvia and Lithuania
Nordhordland Bridge
Even the eighty year war ended. The Republic is here. Papeete is no longer a threat to the world. Take care with what you call 'Mine.' Build a bridge, and party. 
Deaths
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Andrew Bolt






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RISK RATED

Tim Blair – Tuesday, September 22, 2015 (1:44pm)

Medical advice from dual abortion veteran Clementine Ford: 
It is more dangerous to give birth than it is to have an abortion. 
That depends. Apparently it’s quite dangerous for kids.
(Via Claire L.)
UPDATE. Further from Ford: 
My life – the lives of all people who have wombs – are more important than the potential lives legislators would see us forced to carry in them and then care for. 
This isn’t exactly a fair comparison. Clementine has a slight advantage by not being dead.
UPDATE II. Jim Treacher joins in.
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ADVANTAGE TURNBULL

Tim Blair – Tuesday, September 22, 2015 (4:40am)

Previous leadership usurpers received a poll bounce, and that trend continues: 
Mr Turnbull has opened a 34-point lead over Bill Shorten, who had been preferred prime minister for most of this year over Mr Abbott but has now suffered a massive hit, with his support tumbling 20 points to 21 per cent, the lowest level for any leader in six years. The Coalition’s two-party-preferred vote has jumped to 51 per cent compared with 49 per cent for Labor. 
That’s up from a peak of 48 per cent for the Coalition over the last seven months. 
The primary vote lift of five points for the Coalition switching from Mr Abbott to Mr Turnbull compares with a seven-point gain in 2010 when Ms Gillard toppled Kevin Rudd and a six-point lift in 2013 when Mr Rudd took back the leadership. 
True, but consider this. Where are Rudd and Gillard now?
UPDATE. The enwimpening begins: 
Malcolm Turnbull has warned against industrial reforms that “wage war with unions” ...
“The challenge for us is not to wage war with unions or the workers that they seek to represent, but really to explain what the challenges are and to lay out some reform options.” 
Turnbull loves explaining.
UPDATE II. The final Newspoll before Kevin Rudd was ousted had Labor at 52 per cent and the Coalition at 48 per cent. Turnbull’s bounce has not, at this stage, risen beyond the point that saw Rudd replaced.
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FRAN KELLY’S GREATEST MOMENT

Tim Blair – Tuesday, September 22, 2015 (3:16am)

This conversation, between deputy Nationals leader Barnaby Joyce and ABC activist Fran Kelly, really did happen: 
Fran Kelly: Barnaby Joyce, as deputy National Party leader, as Agriculture Minister, did you vote for Tony Abbott or Malcolm Turnbull?
Barnaby Joyce: I’m in the National Party, I tell you what we …
Fran Kelly: Oh, you don’t get to vote?
Barnaby Joyce: That’s right.
Fran Kelly: Oh, I beg your pardon. 
Kelly’s political expertise is funded by more than a quarter of a million dollars of your taxes every year.
UPDATE. Today’s Age is “unclear” on the Liberal party voting intentions ... of Nationals.
===

END THIS SEXIST WAGE INJUSTICE NOW

Tim Blair – Tuesday, September 22, 2015 (3:04am)

In the US, a male climate alarmist is paid $US750,000 per year.
In Australia, a female climate alarmist receives just $A220,000 – or only $US157,000.
For equality’s sake, they should both be paid precisely what they are worth. Absolutely nothing.
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POLICLICKS

Tim Blair – Tuesday, September 22, 2015 (2:45am)

Spectator columnist Rod Liddle seems a little annoyed by pig-ignorant lefty click activists: 
Click here to stop the Tories selling off our hospitals to their vile friends in the City. Click here to stop austerity right now. Click here to let everyone into the country and click here to stop us deporting Mohammed Jihadi al-Semtex, a really lovely bloke who somehow got stitched up by Cameron’s fascist goons. Oh, and the bees, the bees. The bees are dropping dead all over the place. Click here to save the bees. If you don’t save the bees your children will be next, etc. So click here. Put your name to the petition and make a bee happy today. It’s always from the maniacally obsessive, relentlessly involved liberal left, this stuff. Always. There is never a right-wing petition to be signed. You never get an offer which says ‘Click here to deport everyone and don’t let anyone else in’. Or ‘Click here to gas a badger’ …
There are no normal people at all in this online activism: normal people are all at work or down the pub. It is a tiny fraction of the population – I’d say much less than 0.5 per cent – and they are all psychotically furious about everything and think that you are scum. And they are winning …
Thank you, the internet. 
More BlairPolls are required.
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SAD CLOWNS

Tim Blair – Tuesday, September 22, 2015 (2:38am)

Enjoy the sequel to a recent headline of the week.
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THEY CANNING COULDN’T

Tim Blair – Tuesday, September 22, 2015 (1:56am)

Prior to Saturday’s Canning by-election, Greens senator Scott Ludlam posted an optimistically tilty photograph and the vows “Yes We Canning” and “Yes We Actually Canning”. Here’s Scott and his angled allies:


And here’s the result: 
6.1% for the Greens (down 1.3%) 
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Obama’s Syrian army: just four soldiers

Andrew Bolt September 22 2015 (8:05pm)

Russia is moving troops and planes into Syria.
No wonder. Barack Obama has created a vacuum there. Here his own pathetic response:

A US scheme to train Syrian rebels to fight Islamic State (IS) militants has been branded a total failure after a US general admitted only four or five were still fighting.
Congress approved $500m (£323m) to train and equip around 5,000 rebels as a key plank of US strategy against IS. But the first 54 graduates were routed by an al-Qaeda affiliate, Gen Lloyd Austin told lawmakers.
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Brough runs straight into a battle Abbott spotted a mile off

Andrew Bolt September 22 2015 (7:18pm)

I could not believe how arrogant new Special Minister of State Mal Brough was on the ABC this morning in pushing the case for reforming the voting rules for the Senate. Or is ignorant the word?
He said he had no idea why the Abbott Government had not aggressively pushed the case for reform so that we did not again get a repeat of what we had last time - people with miniscule primary votes getting elected almost by chance through impenetrable preference swaps.
Well. there was in fact a perfectly understandable reason the Government was waiting until closer to the election to announce changes to the voting system that would disadvantage the crossbench Senators who have a critical blocking vote. And Brough has just discovered it for himself:
Liberal Democratic senator David Leyonhjelm ... said the Government risked the crossbench blocking its legislative agenda if it embarked on Mr Brough’s plan. 
“We would retaliate. I think the entire crossbench would become totally hostile, if we thought this was a realistic chance of proceeding,” he said…
“It’ll be war, there’ll be no concessions, no nice guy, it’ll be hostilities like you’ve never seen before.”
Family First senator Bob Day challenged Mr Brough’s assertion the current system led to votes ending up with parties to which voters did not want them to go… Senator Day said Mr Brough’s proposed changes would entrench the Greens as the permanent balance of power party in the Senate…
Motoring Enthusiast Senator Ricky Muir said Mr Brough’s plan would represent a “power grab"…
Palmer United Party Senator Dio Wang said the first he heard about the proposal was through the media.
“It’s actually the first time I’ve heard Mal Brough talking about this idea and never met him before,” Senator Wang said. “I think probably a lesson I learned on the Abbott government’s behalf or in their perspective, is never talk to the crossbench through the media. If they want a conversation, have it face to face.” 
Has Brough really not been paying attention? Is this a measure of the new Turnbull Gvernment’s hubris? Certainly it’s a reminder that while the faces of the government have changed, the challenges remain the same. 
===

The defence of this country no longer watched by hawks

Andrew Bolt September 22 2015 (6:53pm)

This is not just a petty move and unjustified, too, given Dutton’s responsibilities:
Malcolm Turnbull been accused of pursuing “vendettas and revenge” by stripping Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton of his position on the national security committee of cabinet. 
Mr Dutton, who held a permanent seat on the peak national security committee under Tony Abbott, confirmed today that he would now only attend meetings when they directly relate to his portfolio responsibilities.
The national security commission has also lost some spine. Hawks used to dominate - Tony Abbott, Joe Hockey, Peter Dutton and Kevin Andrews, against George Brandis and Julie Bishop, with Warren Truss playing the solid pragmatist.
But now? It’s Turnbull, Brandis, Bishop and Marise Payne doing the Obama thing, with Truss the pragmatist and Scott Morrison being ... we’re not sure any more.
That said, Turnbull was remarkably frank last night about the threat from China. 
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I am being ignored

Andrew Bolt September 22 2015 (6:49pm)

Can someone please explain to The Australian’s Jack the Insider the joke in his tweet?
(Thanks to reader Jack.) 
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Turnbull’s Washington puzzle

Andrew Bolt September 22 2015 (6:18pm)

I am curious about this speculation that Joe Hockey will be our next ambassador to Washington:
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull strongly hinted the government may give Mr Hockey such a job, saying he believed the Treasurer had more service to give to Australia. 
“Joe has made a long and distinguished contribution to our nation’s government and Parliament over many, many years for which I thank him,” Mr Turnbull said. “I believe he has a further contribution to make in our nation’s service.”
Sure, Hockey could do the job. And good on him if he gets it.
But there are two reasons above all why a Prime Minister would normally grant such a great gift on a colleague, absent an remarkable ability to network at the top levels of US politics. One, to reward him. Two for fear of him.
What did Hockey do for Turnbull that needed rewarding? It can’t be that Turnbull needed to offer him an inducement to quit. And what can Hockey do to Turnbull that could hurt?
Let’s compare. Despite his public denials, I believe for several very good reasons that Costello played an important role in counselling Scott Morrison to turn down Tony Abbott’s last-minute request to be his deputy and hence treasurer - a refusal that killed Abbott’s hope of surviving Malcolm Turnbull’s challenge. That is something Turnbull might reward.
Then there is the obverse. Costello’s role, and that if some of his proteges and former staffers such as Mitch Fifield, Kelly O’Dwyer and even Niki Savva, in bringing down Abbott should made Turnbull realise Costello is to be feared as well.  Costello also has power as a public commentator.
Costello has been interested in the Washington job, too.
This could be very, very interesting. 
===

Australian boasts a bit too quickly

Andrew Bolt September 22 2015 (6:03pm)

Some boasting going on:
Exclusive. Peter Hartcher, The Sydney­ Morning Herald, Saturday: 
Abbott ... called Scott Morrison to his office about 5pm and offered him the post of deputy, Bishop’s job ... “No,” came the Morrison reply.
Mark Kenny in the same edition of the paper:
Mr Morrison ... revealed on Friday that he had expressly rejected an offer from a desperate Mr Abbott to run as the then prime minister’s deputy on a joint ticket aimed at defeating Mr Turnbull and seeing off Ms Bishop as well. Confirmation of the offer came during a combative interview with the conservative radio host Ray Hadley.
And a proper exclusive. David Crowe, The Australian, Thursday:
Mr Abbott was told on Monday night, just hours before the leadership ballot­, that he had to cement Mr Morriso­n’s support ... Mr Abbott approached­ Mr Morrison, but the Social Services Minister rejected a plea to form a joint ticket going into the late-night ballot as leader and deputy.
In fact, as listeners to my nightly spot with Steve Price will know, we broke the story on Tuesday, two days before the Australian. 
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An editor losing that much money shouldn’t disparage the papers subsidising him

Andrew Bolt September 22 2015 (11:24am)

So much for that truce he called the last time, on the eve of Rupert Murdoch’s visit:
Bolt has argued that most of the response he receives — on-air during his 2GB segment and to his columns and blogs — is anger at the way Abbott was ruthlessly cut down by Turnbull. “And listen to our show last night, where listener after listener rang up to pay tribute to one of the finest people to be prime minister,” he wrote. 
The Australian’s editor-in-chief Chris Mitchell said that while this might be the case, the readers of Bolt’s blog were different from The Australian’s core demographic. “Bolt’s audience includes many conservative retirees whereas The Australian’s readership is younger, rich, better educated and working in legal, political or the business community,’’ he said. ”These people don’t read the Tele or Bolt.”
Untrue, ungenerous and unprofessional, as I explained here to Steve Price. The lawyers and young professionals listening to us were not impressed either.  
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Is Billson too independent for Turnbull

Andrew Bolt September 22 2015 (7:02am)

The dumping of Bruce Billson is not a good sign:
The small business lobby, regarded as one of the Liberal Party’s core constituencies, has accused Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull of pandering to the big end of town by removing Bruce Billson from cabinet… 
A Liberal source said Mr Billson’s removal was due to a personality clash between the two men..
“I don’t think Malcolm likes Bruce’s personality,” the source said. “He is very vocal in cabinet. He doesn’t let small business go and that gives Malcolm the shits.”
Another Liberal said Mr Billson, a Victorian without strong factional backing, lost out because of the need to promote more women and talented Victorians. Mr Billson’s demotion shocked many because he was popular in the small business sector, is regarded as a moderate and was a relatively recent appointee to the frontbench. By contrast Eric Abetz and Kevin Andrews, who were also demoted from cabinet, are viewed as strong conservatives and were senior ministers in the Howard years.
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Abbott says Morrison “misled”

Andrew Bolt September 22 2015 (6:59am)

More damage to Scott Morrison’s reputation:
TONY Abbott used his first interview since being deposed as prime minister a week ago to slam new Treasurer Scott Morrison for the part he played in his downfall.. 
Mr Abbott accused Mr Morrison of “badly misleading” the public over his role in last Monday…
He said Mr Morrison never warned him about the impending challenge by Malcolm Turnbull — contradicting the new Treasurer’s comments on radio last week that he had informed the Prime Minister’s Office about the looming treachery.
In a tense interview with 2GB’s Ray Hadley on Friday, Mr Morrison said he had warned the PM’s Office about the “febrile” situation… “Not true, not true. Scott never warned anyone,” Mr Abbott said yesterday. “He certainly never warned me. I spoke to him on (the) Friday — not a hint of a warning. So I’m afraid Scott badly misled people ...”
Reader Peter of Bellevue Hill:
Morrison claims he told the PMO rather than the PM on the Friday. If he did warn the PMO, it’s strange he wouldn’t also warn Abbott directly if the two spoke that day.
(Thanks to reader Gab.) 
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No, not soft on Liberal leaders generically

Andrew Bolt September 22 2015 (6:50am)

The Sydney Morning Herald misses the point about Leign Sales’ interview with Malcolm Turnbull last night:
The ABC 7.30 host has been criticised for her soft touch during the program’s first interview with Malcolm Turnbull as Prime Minister after repeated claims she had previously been too tough on the Liberal leadership. 
In fact, on Tony Abbott personally.
But Malcolm Turnbull is one of them. The ABC’s candidate. From The Australian:
It was at times flirtatious. At times, apologetic. And there was plenty of laughter. 
The tone of 7.30 host Leigh Sales’s first interview with Malcolm Turnbull last night could not have been more different from her approach when taking to task Tony Abbott or Joe Hockey.
Her interviews with the former prime minister and treasurer were so antagonistic that at one point, after the budget in May last year, the new Prime Minister himself criticised her style, along with Lateline host Emma Alberici’s.
“I would say as somebody who used to interview people for a living, both as a journalist and as a barrister and, of course, as a politician, I would say a more effective interviewing style is one that is less aggressive and more forensic,” he said in an interview on conservative commentator Andrew Bolt’s Ten Network program at the time.
In her political interviews past, Sales was criticised for repeat, curt and rude interruptions. Her tone has been described as hostile and aggressive. It was a different Sales who, at the helm of the ABC’s flagship news and current affairs program, spoke to Mr Turnbull last night in a widely promoted interview.
(Thanks to reader Paul.) 
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Newspoll: Turnbull honeymoon bounce just takes Libs to 51-49

Andrew Bolt September 21 2015 (9:05pm)

In line with the earlier polls - a lift in the Liberal vote but perhaps less than expected, given the honeymoon effect and the ABC’s rapturous welcome of their candidate:
The Coalition’s two-party-preferred vote has jumped to 51 per cent compared with 49 per cent for Labor — bringing to an end a run of 30 consecutive surveys, since April last year, in which the opposition has been ahead.
Abbott would have killed for even this slim lead, so it is welcome. But it is clearly not sufficient.
UPDATE
Essential’s poll has Labor still in front - 51 to 49, but that is an average of two weeks of figures. The bounce gives something more like a 50-50 result.
(Thanks to reader Gab.) 
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LITTLE MISS FLANNERY

Tim Blair – Monday, September 22, 2014 (7:46pm)

The New York Times presents the finest climate change protester photograph ever taken.
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MODERN MO MANTRA

Tim Blair – Monday, September 22, 2014 (2:45pm)

Shortly after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the US, President George W. Bush established a protocol still observed by politicians worldwide more than 13 years later. According to the Bush protocol, any mention of Islamic terrorism must quickly be followed by a disclaimer pointing out that Islamic terrorism is nothing to do with Islam.
“Islam is peace,” Bush said six days after the attacks, which killed nearly 3000 people. “These terrorists don’t represent peace.” Bush returned to that theme during his second term: “I believe that Islam is a great religion that preaches peace.”
Thus began a tradition repeatedly followed all over the planet.
 Continue reading 'MODERN MO MANTRA'
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CONSTANT CHOPPERS

Tim Blair – Monday, September 22, 2014 (2:20pm)

Police helicopters have been putting in some serious hours above Sydney since last Thursday. Anyone noticed similar air activity elsewhere?
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WROBERT THE WRONG

Tim Blair – Monday, September 22, 2014 (12:20pm)

Many were anxious about last week’s vote on Scotland’s independence. Not me. Thanks to Bob Ellis, I knew a whole month earlier that the Yes vote was doomed.
 Continue reading 'WROBERT THE WRONG'
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HIRE MORE BRICKIES

Tim Blair – Monday, September 22, 2014 (12:04pm)

Bricklayer Mitchell Browne writes something sensible in the Sydney Morning Herald: 
Here is my own efficiency review of the ABC: If you are broadcasting four ABC TV channels, when you barely have enough quality material for one, that is not efficient. If you’re using taxpayers’ money to distribute soft porn, you are duplicating a service the private sector willingly provides for free.
And if you are doing all this in the honest belief there are no possible cost savings to be found, you should be out on your arse.
Sorry. You’ll have to excuse my language. Must have picked it up from my dirty Aunty. 
(Via Quadrant)
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MINDLESS BACON

Tim Blair – Monday, September 22, 2014 (11:51am)

An alternative history lesson from journalism academic Wendy Bacon :


A. R. M. Jones notes: “Just minutes apart: one enormous error (the British Empire invaded and controlled Cairo from 1882, not to mention Gordon of Khartoum and the 1914 Mesopotamian Campaign including the BE’s 1914 Fao landing and Basra occupation to safeguard the Persian Gulf) and a slur to the memory of those who gave their lives defeating Imperial Japan.” 
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Islamic State calls on followers to kill Australians

Andrew Bolt September 22 2014 (6:46pm)

Well, that’s a worry. Let’s hope the Islamic State does not have more serious supporters here:
THE ISLAMIC State has called for terrorist attacks in Australia and elsewhere, arguing the killing of civilians is justified if their government has joined the US-led attack on the group. 
At least one Australian is using social media to share the audio of a speech purportedly delivered by the group’s official spokesman and senior official, Syrian-born Sheik Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, who names Australia several times as an enemy of the Islamic State…
In the speech, Adnani said Australia had no justification for joining the US-led coalition to fight the Islamic State, before calling for “mujahideen” to “rise and defend your state from your place wherever you may be”.
”If you can kill a disbelieving American or European — especially the spiteful and filthy French — or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war, including the citizens of the countries that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State, then rely upon Allah, and kill him in any manner or way however it may be,” Adnani said, according to a translation of the speech released by one of the group’s propaganda arms, Al-Furqan. “Do not ask for anyone’s advice and do not seek anyone’s verdict. Kill the disbeliever whether he is civilian or military, for they have the same ruling...”
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ABC made to seem stupid - as well as biased - by Howard interview

Andrew Bolt September 22 2014 (3:25pm)

The ABC’s ratings for Kerry O’Brien’s love-in with Paul Keating:
8 KEATING ABC1 886,000
Channel Seven’s ratings for Janet Albrechtsen’s interview last night with John Howard:
6 SUNDAY NIGHT Network 7 ,1058,000 
Hmm. So why didn’t the ABC run the Howard interview, since that would have also helped to address the impression - the reality, really - that it is hopelessly biased?
July 12:
THE ABC has rejected a major television interview series with former prime minister John Howard, just six months after airing a four-part program with Paul Keating. 
The series, working title John Howard Defined, will be conducted by The Australian columnist and former ABC board member Janet Albrechtsen and has been snapped up by the Seven Network…
With ABC managing director Mark Scott on leave, spokesman Michael Millett said the ABC had been “interested in the concept” of a Howard series but would find it “difficult to slot” into its schedule.
Mr Millett said the ABC told Albrechtsen it was “concerned about her lack of on-air interviewing experience” ... Industry insiders were surprised that the ABC would decline the project, especially given that after recent criticism over perceived green-left bias, the Howard series would have been a timely opportunity to demonstrate some balance.
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Only bad when a Liberal does it, even at half the price

Andrew Bolt September 22 2014 (2:57pm)

Fairfax journalists and the ABC weren’t much fussed when taxpayers were slugged $72,000 for a farewell lap of Europe for Greg Combet and his ABC girlfriend. As Murdoch papers reported:
LABOR ministers plundered about $2 million on farewell around-the-world tours in the dying months of the Gillard and Rudd governments… 
In one of the most expensive, the 10-day trip by former climate change minister Greg Combet and ABC newsreader girlfriend Juanita Phillips through France, Belgium and Germany in April has come in at $72,027.
The bill included $57,673 on airfares, $8914 on hotels and meals and $4634 on ground transport.
The former NSW MP listed the reason as conducting a “series of high-level meetings” and attending the Towards a Global Carbon Market: Prospects for Emissions Trading Conference. But he refused to detail what Ms Phillips’ duties involved when The Daily Telegraph reported the first-class trip earlier this year, insisting it was within guidelines.
But the Fairfax Age today leads its home page with story panting with outrage about a Liberal minister spending less than half that amount on a trip with his wife, not girlfriend - and on which his wife at least had a role and during which the minister flew economy:
Education Minister Christopher Pyne and his wife had a taxpayer-funded $30,000 trip to London and Rome in April. 
The trip included taxpayers being billed $1352 for Mr Pyne to “day let” a room at a swish London hotel before he and his wife, Carolyn, flew back to Australia later that same day and more than $2000 for VIP services at Heathrow Airport…
Prime Minister Tony Abbott’s chief of staff Peta Credlin approved Mrs Pyne’s travel because of the “significant representational aspect of the travel”.
Mr Pyne, whose chief of staff also accompanied him, attended Anzac Day events in London on April 25 and went to Rome the next day to attend the canonisation of Pope John Paul II and Pope John XXIII.

A letter from Ms Credlin to Mr Pyne’s office approving the trip also notes that the attendance of Mrs Pyne was expected to cost the Commonwealth no more than a business class airfare for the minister. As a minister, Mr Pyne is entitled to fly business class on official overseas travel.
Mr Pyne flew business class from Adelaide to Sydney but switched to economy for the rest of the journey to London. 
The Left is distinguished by a tendency to pick a side and not a principle. 
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No, the science is not “settled”. Even an Obama scientist says so

Andrew Bolt September 22 2014 (10:56am)

Global warming - general

Steven Koonin might be the sceptic that even warmists might finally listen to.
After all, Koonin was undersecretary for science in the Energy Department during President Barack Obama’s first term. He is now director of the Center for Urban Science and Progress at New York University. His previous positions include professor of theoretical physics and provost at Caltech:
The crucial scientific question for policy isn’t whether the climate is changing… The climate has always changed and always will…
Nor is the crucial question whether humans are influencing the climate.... Rather, the crucial, unsettled scientific question for policy is, “How will the climate change over the next century under both natural and human influences?” ...
But—here’s the catch—those questions are the hardest ones to answer…
Even though human influences could have serious consequences for the climate, they are physically small in relation to the climate system as a whole. For example, human additions to carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by the middle of the 21st century are expected to directly shift the atmosphere’s natural greenhouse effect by only 1% to 2%. ...
A second challenge to “knowing” future climate is today’s poor understanding of the oceans....
A third fundamental challenge arises from feedbacks that can dramatically amplify or mute the climate’s response to human and natural influences.... But feedbacks are uncertain....
Beyond these observational challenges are those posed by the complex computer models used to project future climate.... Since 1990, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, or IPCC, has periodically surveyed the state of climate science…
For the latest IPCC report (September 2013), its Working Group I, which focuses on physical science, uses an ensemble of some 55 different models....
Although the Earth’s average surface temperature rose sharply by 0.9 degree Fahrenheit during the last quarter of the 20th century, it has increased much more slowly for the past 16 years, even as the human contribution to atmospheric carbon dioxide has risen by some 25%. This surprising fact demonstrates directly that natural influences and variability are powerful enough to counteract the present warming influence exerted by human activity.
Yet the models famously fail to capture this slowing in the temperature rise. Several dozen different explanations for this failure have been offered, with ocean variability most likely playing a major role. But the whole episode continues to highlight the limits of our modeling…
The models roughly describe the shrinking extent of Arctic sea ice observed over the past two decades, but they fail to describe the comparable growth of Antarctic sea ice, which is now at a record high…
Even though the human influence on climate was much smaller in the past, the models do not account for the fact that the rate of global sea-level rise 70 years ago was as large as what we observe today—about one foot per century…These and many other open questions are in fact described in the IPCC research reports… Yet a public official reading only the IPCC’s “Summary for Policy Makers” would gain little sense of the extent or implications of these deficiencies. These are fundamental challenges to our understanding of human impacts on the climate, and they should not be dismissed with the mantra that “climate science is settled.” 
UPDATE
Then there’s this question: is warming actually bad or good?  After all, think of the taller trees:
Trees have been growing significantly faster since the 1960s. The typical development phases of trees and stands have barely changed, but they have accelerated – by as much as 70 percent. This was the outcome of a study carried out by scientists from Technische Universität München (TUM) based on long-term data from experimental forest plots that have been continuously observed since 1870… 
The scientists are putting the growth acceleration down to rising temperatures and the extended growing season. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrogen are other factors contributing to the faster growth. The concentrations of these gases in the atmosphere have been rising steadily over the last century.  
UPDATE
The list has been updated. We are now up to 52 reasons for the pause in global warming.

(Thanks to readers Tom S, Rocky and Andre.) 
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Journalists lose in NZ, reform wins

Andrew Bolt September 22 2014 (8:24am)

Many journalists of the Left covering the New Zealand elections - especially on the ABC - gave Julian Assange and traitor Edward Snowden a stature they simply do not have (or deserve) in the wider community.
One of the most astonishing examples of this came last week from America’s ABC:
Our own ABC last week was a little more restrained, but still devoted lots of time to a party and people of minimal significance to most New Zealand voters. For instance:
A thousand people packed Auckland Town Hall for the rally organized by Kim Dotcom, the founder of New Zealand’s Internet Party who’s fighting extradition to the US for alleged copyright fraud… Wikileaks founder Julian Assange and former US National Security Agency (NSA) analyst turned whistleblower Edward Snowdon were beamed in live from their exiles in England and Russia. Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist Glenn Greenwald was on stage. 
All three say New Zealand is engaged in mass surveillance of its residents through the Five Eyes network and the use of surveillance tools, such as the NSA’s XKeyscore… It’s all intriguing and worth further investigation, not least the revelation from Edward Snowden that the US national security agency had an operation in Auckland - or the email published by a New Zealand newspaper which suggests that Mr Key and Hollywood executives were part of a plot to pave the way for Mr Dotcom’s extradition to the US, an email which Warner Brothers says is a fake.
But will any of this sway voters one way or the other?
The initial reaction from many political commentators is that it won’t, that John Key is still likely to form the next government. But it’s not turning out to be the comfortable ride to re-election that most pundits forecast earlier in the campaign.  
Actually, it turned out a more than comfortable ride for Key, and a complete wipeout for Dotcom:
New Zealand’s conservative Prime Minister John Key swept to a historic election victory on Saturday, securing a third term… The resounding win makes Key the first New Zealand leader able to govern in his own right since proportional voting was introduced in 1996… 
National won 61 of 121 parliamentary seats, up from 59 at the last election in 2011, while the main opposition Labour Party managed only 32, down two, after its worst performance since the 1920s…
The Internet-Mana party, bankrolled by flamboyant tech mogul Kim Dotcom in a bid to oust Key, did not win a single seat after attracting only 1.26 percent of the vote… Support for the Greens slipped 1.1 percent to 10.0 percent, well short of the 15 percent it was targeting while the populist New Zealand First Party (NZF) increased its number of seats from 7 to 11. 
UPDATE
Henry Ergas draws some lessons:
That result attests to the merits of Key’s policies: a prudent fiscal strategy, which will see New Zealand return to surplus sooner than Australia, despite being harder hit by the global financial crisis and having to bear the immense costs of reconstructing Christchurch; far-reaching tax reform, which reduced income taxes and raised the GST; and a continued emphasis on controlling public spending, including by better targeting social welfare. 
Together with cautious changes to industrial relations, injecting greater flexibility into the Employment Relations Act Key inherited from Labour, those policies have helped lift the country’s growth rate to a stellar near 4 per cent.
However, Key’s victory also reflects the effectiveness with which his government operates. At its heart is the triumvirate of Key, Transport Minister Steven Joyce and the indefatigable Finance Minister, Bill English, who crisscrosses New Zealand explaining the tough choices the government has made. At the same time, ... weaker ministers and ageing MPs leave promptly, with 15 departing parliament at this election.
And a warning for Labor:
...under David Cunliffe, Labour has lurched to the left, promising to “soak the rich”, raise minimum wages and bolster public spending, while intervening in housing, insurance and electricity markets. 
Cunliffe’s ill-conceived proposals reflect his masters’ voice. Backed by less than a third of Labour’s partyroom in the 2013 leadership ballot, Cunliffe succeeded thanks to the unions, which gave him 60 per cent of the membership vote and more than 70 per cent of the vote of Labour-affiliated entities.
In exchange, Cunliffe promised to reverse Key’s changes to the IR laws…
Unfortunately, NZ’s Labour Party is hardly alone in repudiating its reform legacy.... Bill Shorten and Ed Miliband (who rose to the top of Britain’s Labour Party solely thanks to his 60 per cent share of union votes), [are part of] a new generation of leaders that brandishes the rhetoric of class warfare to defend existing entitlements, ignoring entirely how those entitlements are to be financed. 
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If I also talked about “neo-traditional Aborigines” could we then have this important debate?

Andrew Bolt September 22 2014 (8:12am)

Professor Rolf Gerritsen avoid the legally dangerous area of questioning definitions of Aboriginality - and giving examples to illustrate the problem - but he does raise an issue that I tried to discuss, too:
ROLF GERRITSEN: ... The Aboriginal population of Australia is increasing dramatically; it’s more than doubled since 1981 at a rate far greater than natural increase, and it’s because people in the eastern states are basically identifying as Aboriginal. 
SARAH DINGLE: Is the increase of people identifying as Aboriginal in metropolitan cities, for instance, exacerbating the flow of resources away from poor Indigenous communities?
ROLF GERRITSEN: It is. Because of the way the Commonwealth Grants Commission calculates disadvantage, Indigeneity is an indicator of disadvantage.
So if lawyers and public servants and et cetera and workers in cities identify as Aboriginal, then that benefits their state.
So it’s, in the last round of GST allocations, it probably cost the Northern Territory Government $100 million…
SARAH DINGLE: So you’ve got a disengaged population in remote areas who are getting less Commonwealth money overall because more people in bigger cities are identifying as Aboriginal?…
ROLF GERRITSEN:  I mean there’s serious problems in other parts of Australia with Aboriginal people, but the real problem is that if we had a national forum for Aboriginal people, then the remote Aboriginal people, the neo-traditional Aboriginal people of central and northern Australia would be swamped.
SARAH DINGLE: And the same divide would be entrenched? ROLF GERRITSEN: Yeah. I mean, there’s a divide that occurs now, but we’re just not sort of aware of it. Because, I mean, let’s be honest, there’s a political correctness. 
Not mere political correctness. We now have laws and judges to actually suppress certain debates. Hence Gerritsen’s complaint that “we’re just not sort of aware of it”.
Who dares discuss it? I would like to show you how Aboriginal grants, prizes and jobs are going to people you might not think need race-based assistance, but my lawyers have repeatedly warned me not to. Result: people you might think most need special assistance tend to miss out.
(Thanks to reader AyesHavit.) 
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Barracking for the other side in Earth vs humans

Andrew Bolt September 22 2014 (8:04am)

I can’t escape the feeling that many warmists who marched yesterday are actually looking forward to humans getting their comeuppance:
UPDATE
Reader handjive gives some perspective to counter the ABC’s excitement over the global warming rallies:
December, 2009: 
80,000 Australians took to the streets around the country to support calls for a new climate treaty. It was Walk Against Warming smack bang in the middle of global climate negotiations in Copenhagen… Walk Against Warming in Melbourne attracted the largest turnout, with 50,000 people taking part.
21 September 2014: 
Australians join global push for action ahead of UN climate summit Locally, more than 10,000 people took to the streets in Melbourne and about 1,500 in Brisbane.
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The reckless Left is feeding the Muslim far Right

Andrew Bolt September 22 2014 (7:48am)

Islamism, Media

WASSIM Doureihi said something very frightening to Muslims protesting in Lakemba against last Thursday’s anti-terrorist raids.
Even more frightening is that no one — no politician, commentator or academic — condemned him.
Doureihi, a veteran leader of the Hizb ut-Tahrir movement, brushed off police claims that the men they’d arrested had planned to behead Australians on the orders of the Islamic State.
“Let me say clearly, even if a single bomb went off, even if a thousand bombs went off in this country, all it will prove is that Muslims are angry,” Doureihi said, speaking calmly.
Put his comment in context. It was Doureihi who last November told 600 supporters at Hizb ut-Tahrir’s conference in Lidcombe they were victims of “a war on Islam — a war that is being waged in this country as it is in the rest of the world”.
And what does the Koran say to Muslims who believe themselves at war?
(Read full article here.) 
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Arctic doomsday prediction adjusted

Andrew Bolt September 22 2014 (7:17am)

Global warming - dud predictions


A 2009 roundup of the warmists’ scares of an ice-free Arctic by 2008, 2012, or 2013 or 2014:
Two years ago Californian researchers warned the ice in the Arctic could vanish in 2012.  Or thereabouts, agreed a NASA scientist. The US National Snow and Ice Data Centre claimed it could even be ice-free in 2008. 
The Arctic ice in 2008 increased.
Oh. All right, so Al Gore in December 2008 adjusted his prediction of an ice-free Arctic to 2013: 
Except the Arctic refreeze that winter was remarkably strong.
So early this year, Al Gore predicted the ice could vanish by 2014.
Yet the ice this year increased again…
Could the ABC’s Four Corners now update this scaremongering it perpetrated last year, when it warned “in 2012/13 we could have an ice-free Arctic”? 

Instead:
Never mind! Mark the latest prediction in the calendar:
“The Arctic ice cap is in a death spiral,” said Peter Wadhams, professor of ocean physics at Cambridge University… 
”One or two warm summers could melt it away. The evidence suggests that September will be ice-free very soon, and that will increase so that within five years or so we could be seeing an ice-free Arctic for up to four months in the summer, and much thinner ice for the rest of the year too.”
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Gillard admits work-shy Carr was a mistake

Andrew Bolt September 22 2014 (7:13am)

Julia Gillard is starting to admit to just some of her appalling errors - including making a tourist the foreign minister:
JULIA Gillard has opened raw wounds in the Labor Party by declaring that she compounded the mistake of appointing Kevin Rudd as foreign minister by replacing him in the role with former NSW premier Bob Carr… 
She has told veteran interviewer Ray Martin that she had no choice but to give Mr Rudd the consolation prize of foreign minister when Labor’s 2010 re-election campaign was destabilised by internal leaks, blamed on the former prime minister or his supporters.
“She felt she had no choice, but it was a huge mistake,’’ Martin told The Australian, previewing what he describes as the most candid interview he has conducted with a former prime minister. “For a moment it stopped the leaks, she said … but then they came back in the second term.’’… But, in one of the major surprises in the Martin interview, Ms Gillard accuses Mr Carr of being work-shy. “She certainly makes it clear that he didn’t like hard work,’’ Martin said. “He said to her at one stage that: ‘I didn’t realise I was so settled in my retirement.’ When he came back, she found he just wasn’t up for the pace of the job … she thinks it was a mistake dragging him out of retirement.’’
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Not religiously motivated, claim prison authorities

Andrew Bolt September 22 2014 (7:00am)

More members of a tiny, unrepresentative minority:
PRISON officers in riot gear have used tear gas to control maximum security inmates who tore apart Goulburn Jail in a racially fuelled riot ­described as the biggest in 10 years. 
With shouts of “Allah Akbar”, prisoners armed with homemade weapons threatened guards and smashed through an internal fence at the state’s toughest jail, which was in lockdown yesterday.
The riot came as prison authorities cracked down on Muslim prayer meetings in the state’s jails, believed to be a key way Islamic extremists foment their hatred and plot their attacks…
The source said the unrest had begun as a result of some privileges being requested — and denied — for a handful of inmates, but the situation quickly turned into a full-scale riot along religious lines… Corrective Services NSW confirmed it had used chemicals on Saturday against inmates who caused damage but denied reports that it was religiously motivated.
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Greens are right. This war is open-ended

Andrew Bolt September 22 2014 (6:57am)

GREENS leader Christine Milne is right. Australia is following the United States into an “open-ended war” in Iraq and Syria.
Fighting the Islamic State in northern Iraq is pretty straightforward. We will help our American and European allies bomb them from the air, and leave it to Iraqi soldiers to attack on the ground.
But is the Iraqi army disciplined and committed enough for the urban warfare almost certainly required to recapture the cities it abandoned?
Then there’s the more serious problem. The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says most IS fighters — up to 50,000 — are actually in Syria.
(Read full article here.) 
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Howard attacks the politics of division - from the “misogyny” smear to multiculturalism

Andrew Bolt September 22 2014 (5:41am)

John Howard was never a fan of the politics of division.
For instance:
FORMER prime minister John Howard has slammed Julia Gillard for “playing the misogyny card"… 
In an open and frank interview on Seven’s Sunday Night, Howard described Ms Gillard’s sexism speech in Parliament as “nonsense ... because it was untrue”.
“The idea that Tony Abbott is anti-women is ridiculous — it’s just quite wrong,” Mr Howard told interviewer Janet Albrechtsen....
Mr Howard said Ms Gillard’s famous speech — which made headlines around the world — did not resonate with “any women I know"… “I think it is the worst possible way of promoting a greater involvement by women in public life … and to play the misogyny card — so many women of ability I know in the community pour scorn on that.”
Howard is also rightly suspicious of multiculturalism:
The former PM also offered views on multiculturalism and the threat of homegrown terror plots. 
“I think some people have spent too much time in closed communities where that kind of thing can occur,” he said.
“I think we should try harder at integration. I am not an overwhelming fan of the doctrine of multiculturalism. “Once you’re here you have to become part of the mainstream of the community.”
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Americans who are fed up with Obamacare won a victory yesterday. The House voted to defund Obamacare while still funding the federal government to avoid a “devastating” shutdown. (I shall not digress, but it’s beyond distressing to hear liberals try to convince Americans that any government slowdown is comparable to “terrorism.”) 

Now the battle goes to the Senate, and we’ll find out if Harry Reid is so committed to the horrendous “Un-affordable Care Act” that he’ll be the one to shut down the government to fund the unworkable Obamacare.
Let’s be clear. Republicans in Congress aren't advocating a government shutdown. That’s why they voted in the House to fully fund our bureaucracy while defunding Obamacare. The conservatives in Congress are listening to the majority of Americans who do not want Obamacare.
Following the will of the people is apparently a novel idea in D.C. these days. Just ask Senator Ted Cruz and his liberty-loving posse on Capitol Hill who have led the charge to defund Obama’s train wreck.
Sarah Palin.
We have your backs, Ted and Mike! #DefundObamacare
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A Palestinian man lured a 20-year-old soldier to the West Bank and murdered him on Friday, before hiding the body in a well, security forces announced on Saturday.

The murder victim has been identified as Sgt. Tomer Hazan, of Bat Yam. He served in the Israel Air Force. His funeral will take place Sunday afternoon at the Holon military cemetery.

The terror suspect, who is in custody, told security forces he led the victim, with whom he worked together in a restaurant in Bat Yam, to the West Bank, where he committed the murder.

He then hoped to secure the release of his brother – an incarcerated terrorist arrested in 2003 for being part of a suicide bombing attack cell – by offering to return the soldier.

Security forces believe the suspect planned to deceive Israel by not notifying them that he had killed the soldier before reaching an agreement to release his brother.
Part of Obama's peace process .. free killers, then they kill for free. - ed
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THE exclusion of Jack Klugman from an Emmy Awards tribute that includes Cory Monteith is an insult to the memory of the late TV veteran and three-time Emmy winner who starred in The Odd Couple and Quincy M.E., Klugman's son says.
"I think it's criminal," said Adam Klugman in an interview with The Associated Press. "My dad was at the inception of television and helped build it in the early days."
Ceremony producers announced this week that five individual salutes would be included on Sunday night's Emmy show in addition to the traditional "in memoriam" segment that groups together industry members who died in the past year.
Besides Monteith, the Glee star who died in July of a heroin and drug overdose, those to be honoured include The Sopranos star James Gandolfini; Jean Stapleton of All in the Family; comedian and actor Jonathan Winters; and Family Ties producer Gary David Goldberg.
Monteith, who was 31 when he died, is by far the youngest of the group. All the others are Emmy winners, while he had yet to be nominated in his abbreviated career.
Emmy nominees who died last year and won't be accorded separate tributes include Larry Hagman of Dallas and Charles Durning of Evening Shade.
Hagman, Durning and Klugman will be included in the group remembrance, an academy spokesman said Friday. The ceremony at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles airs live on Fox8 from 10am AEST time Monday.


Read more: http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/television/cory-monteiths-emmy-tribute-at-expense-of-three-time-emmy-winner-jack-klugman-criminal-son-says/story-e6frfmyi-1226724526172#ixzz2fcTL0yBY
drug abuse laudable? - ed
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HE WAS a handsome football star and part-time model, but behind closed doors he was a violent control freak with a frightening temper.
At first, Chris Dawson charmed everyone - the childhood sweetheart he married, her family and the schoolgirls he taught and seduced.
But when he moved a 16-year-old student into the family home and then his wife vanished, the truth emerged about how he was a cruel abusive man.
A decade on from when a NSW Coroner recommended charges be laid in the mysterious disappearance of Lynette Joy Dawson, her family is still seeking answers.
The missing woman's sister Pat Jenkins and brother, Greg Simms, appear on Channel Ten's Wanted at 8.30pm on Thursday, September 26.
On the program, I recount some of the chilling moments from the inquest, at which Mr Dawson declined to appear.


Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national-news/what-happened-to-lynette-dawson/story-fncynjr2-1226724647049#ixzz2fcTp4OxM
It isn't the promise that has to be good, but the substance of the promise .. ed
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The Cult of the Suicide Bomber (2012) Documentary
Robert Baer, a decorated, former Middle East CIA Agent for over two decades, one of the few professional researchers on this subject.
Their devastating and deadly actions punctuate the world news almost nightly, yet they remain faceless figures amidst the violence and turmoil that engulf the Middle East. Robert Baer returns to his former center of operations, the Middle East, to trace the origins of the modern day bomber, Iran. In this poignant documentary, Baer reveals the fascinating story of the world’s first suicide bomber, 13-year-old Hossein Fahmideh–who was martyred in the Iran-Iraq war and is now a hero in Iran; and visits his highly decorated grave in the graveyard of martyrs just outside Tehran.
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The last thing the Jordanians want to see is hundreds of thousands of Palestinians move from the West Bank or Gaza Strip into the kingdom. Understandably, the Jordanian monarch cannot go public with this stance for fear of being accused by Arabs and Muslims of treason and collaboration with the "Zionist enemy."
Palestinian Authority Pesident Mahmoud Abbas says that the Palestinians will not accept any Israeli presence along the border between a future Palestinian state and Jordan.
But the question is whether Jordan really wants to have Palestinians on its borders.
In private off-the-record meetings, top Jordanian officials make it crystal clear that they prefer to see Israel sitting along their shared border.
Speaking at a university graduation ceremony in Jericho, Abbas stated that the borders of the Palestinian state would stretch from the Dead Sea in the south and through the Jordan Valley all the way up to the town of Bet She'an in the north.
"This is a Palestinian-Jordanian border and that is how it will remain," Abbas said. "The responsibility for security along the border will be in the hands of the Palestinians."
Abbas's remarks came in wake of leaks by Palestinian officials to the effect that at the current US-sponsored secret peace negotiations, Israel is demanding full control over the border with Jordan in any peace settlement with the Palestinians.
Israel, of course, has its own reasons for refusing to cede control over the strategic Jordan Valley.
Israel's main concern is that the border with Jordan will be used by Palestinian terror groups and Islamist fundamentalist organizations to smuggle weapons and terrorists into the West Bank and Israel.
However, there's another reason why Israel remains strongly opposed to surrendering control over its border with Jordan to the Palestinian Authority or a third party.
It is no secret that the Jordanians have long been worried about the repercussions of the presence of Palestinians on their border.
In a recent closed briefing with a high-ranking Jordanian security official, he was asked about the kingdom's position regarding the possibility that Palestinians might one day replace Israel along the border with Jordan.
"May God forbid!" the official retorted. "We have repeatedly made it clear to the Israeli side that we will not agree to the presence of a third party at our border."
The official explained that Jordan's stance was not new. "This has been our position since 1967," he said. "The late King Hussein made this clear to all Israeli governments and now His majesty, King Abdullah, remains committed to this position."
Jordan's opposition to placing the border crossings with the West Bank under Palestinian control is not only based on security concerns.
Of course, Jordan's security concerns are not unjustified, especially in light of what has been happening over the past few years along the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
The Egyptians are now paying a heavy price for neglecting their shared border with the Gaza Strip over the past few decades. This lapse has seen Sinai emerge as a hotbed for Al-Qaeda-linked terror groups that are now posing a serious threat to Egypt's national security.
Besides the security concerns, the Jordanians are also worried about the demographic implications of Palestinian security and civilian presence over the border.
Their worst nightmare, as a veteran Jordanian diplomat once told Israeli colleagues during a private encounter, is that once the Palestinians are given control over the border, thousands of them from the future Palestinian state would pour into Jordan.
The Jordanians already have a "problem" with the fact that their kingdom's population consists of a Palestinian majority, which some say has reached over 80%. The last thing the Jordanians want is to see hundreds of thousands of Palestinians move from the West Bank or Gaza Strip into the kingdom.
Although the Jordanians are not part of the ongoing peace talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel, they are hoping that Israel will not rush to abandon security control over its long border with the kingdom. Understandably, the Jordanian monarchy cannot go public with its stance for fear of being accused by Arabs and Muslims of treason and collaboration with the "Zionist enemy."
The Egyptians today know what the Jordanians have been aware of for a long time -- that a shared border with Fatah or Hamas or any other Palestinian group is a recipe for instability and anarchy. The Egyptians surely miss the days when the Israel Defense Forces were sitting along the border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip.
Even if Abbas's forces initially manage to maintain security and order along the border with Jordan, there is no guarantee as to what would happen in the future.
Between 2005 and 2007, Abbas's security forces were in control of the main border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt -- before they were expelled by Hamas.
It is in Israel's interest to have stability and calm in Jordan. Undermining Jordan's security would create many problems for Israel. To prevent such a scenario, Israel, if and when it reaches a deal with Abbas's Palestinian Authority, needs to take King Abdullah's fears and interests into consideration.
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WASHINGTON: Iran’s new President Hassan Rowhani described Israel as an “occupier” which has brought instability to the Middle East but said the Islamic republic did not seek war with any country.
In the second part of an exclusive interview with US broadcaster NBC aired Thursday, Rowhani also deflected a question on whether, like his predecessor, he believed the Holocaust was a myth.
But he said Tehran was not seeking war but rather peace in the region.
“We believe in the ballot box. We do not seek war with any country. We seek peace and friendship among the nations of the region.”
He branded archfoe Israel an “occupier” that “does injustice ... and has brought instability to the region with its warmongering policies.”
When asked about the Holocaust, he said: “I’m not a historian. I’m a politician.”
The interview aired just days before Rowhani travels to New York for the UN General Assembly.
Tehran could prove it by disarming Hamas & Hezbollah, pull its forces out of Iraq , stop promoting war in Bahrain, Yemen , Sudan, Egypt , and a few other places
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KENYAN troops are locked in a fierce firefight with Somali militants inside an up-market Nairobi shopping mall, in a final push to end a siege that has left 43 dead and 200 wounded, with an unknown number of hostages still being held.
Heavy gunfire could be heard as Kenyan security officials said they were attempting to kill or capture the remaining attackers and end to the 22-hour-long bloodbath at the Westgate mall.
Somalia's al-Qaida-inspired Shebab rebels said the carnage at the part Israeli-owned complex mall was in retaliation for Kenya's military intervention in Somalia, where African Union troops are battling the Islamists.
After a day and night of sometimes ferocious gun battles, security sources said police and soldiers had finally "pinned down" the gunmen. The Kenyan Red Cross appealed for blood donations and authorities urged residents to steer clear of the area.
"We are still battling with the attackers and our forces have managed to maroon the attackers on one of the floors," said Kenyan military spokesman Colonel Cyrus Oguna.

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Meltdown in Washington: President Obama Reported Sedated Following Emotional Breakdown - NationReport.net

Folks, this is getting ridiculous. Like so much of the junk circulating via social media under the rubric of "news" these days, this story simply isn't true.
Tell your family, tell your friends, tell your enemies, tell everybody you can think of: NationalReport.net is a fake news site. Everything they publish, including the above article claiming that President Obama has suffered a nervous breakdown, is, according to their own former disclaimer page (deleted a couple of weeks ago without explanation), satire.
but .. but .. it was so believable. - ed
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LABOR'S mea culpa on welfare cuts to sole parents has come too little too late for single mothers battling to survive on $35-a-day dole payments.
The two men vying for the federal Labor leadership - Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese - have admitted the party did the wrong thing when it implemented welfare cuts this year.
They say the party needs to revisit its policy stance, but single mothers say it's cold comfort.
In January, tens of thousands of single mothers, many working part time, were shifted off parenting payments and onto the unemployment benefit, Newstart, leaving many between $60 and $100 a week worse off.
The decision was to save taxpayers $728 million over four years.

Read more: http://www.news.com.au/breaking-news/national/labor-may-rethink-single-mum-welfare/story-e6frfku9-1226724594014#ixzz2fbxYRhgf
So many bad policies they could have cut - ed
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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
Father,I thank You for ordering my steps. I trust that You are aligning people and opportunities in my life. I rest in You and praise You for Your goodness in Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin
The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD, and He delights in his way.
(Psalm 37:23, NKJV)
You don’t have to worry about your future. You don’t have to try to make things happen in your own strength. You can go through the day in peace because God knows exactly what you need. In your future, He has already lined up the right people to meet you.God will cause you to come in on cue. And if for some reason it doesn’t work out, don’t get all discouraged. Don’t get depressed. That just means that God has something better in store. It means He has a bigger opportunity in your future. He orders your steps, so keep your faith and trust in Him.God bless you.
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J.John
My God will meet all your needs according to the riches of His glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19http://t.co/xZTTVdBt03
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J.John
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; 
Psalm 37:7
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“May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” 2 Corinthians 13:14 NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning


"I will rejoice over them to do them good."
Jeremiah 32:41
How heart-cheering to the believer is the delight which God has in his saints! We cannot see any reason in ourselves why the Lord should take pleasure in us; we cannot take delight in ourselves, for we often have to groan, being burdened; conscious of our sinfulness, and deploring our unfaithfulness; and we fear that God's people cannot take much delight in us, for they must perceive so much of our imperfections and our follies, that they may rather lament our infirmities than admire our graces. But we love to dwell upon this transcendent truth, this glorious mystery: that as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so does the Lord rejoice over us. We do not read anywhere that God delighteth in the cloud-capped mountains, or the sparkling stars, but we do read that he delighteth in the habitable parts of the earth, and that his delights are with the sons of men. We do not find it written that even angels give his soul delight; nor doth he say, concerning cherubim and seraphim, "Thou shalt be called Hephzibah, for the Lord delighteth in thee"; but he does say all that to poor fallen creatures like ourselves, debased and depraved by sin, but saved, exalted, and glorified by his grace. In what strong language he expresses his delight in his people! Who could have conceived of the eternal One as bursting forth into a song? Yet it is written, "He will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing." As he looked upon the world he had made, he said, "It is very good"; but when he beheld those who are the purchase of Jesus' blood, his own chosen ones, it seemed as if the great heart of the Infinite could restrain itself no longer, but overflowed in divine exclamations of joy. Should not we utter our grateful response to such a marvellous declaration of his love, and sing, "I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation?"

Evening


"Gather not my soul with sinners."
Psalm 26:9

Fear made David pray thus, for something whispered, "Perhaps, after all, thou mayst be gathered with the wicked." That fear, although marred by unbelief, springs, in the main, from holy anxiety, arising from the recollection of past sin. Even the pardoned man will enquire, "What if at the end my sins should be remembered, and I should be left out of the catalogue of the saved?" He recollects his present unfruitfulness--so little grace, so little love, so little holiness, and looking forward to the future, he considers his weakness and the many temptations which beset him, and he fears that he may fall, and become a prey to the enemy. A sense of sin and present evil, and his prevailing corruptions, compel him to pray, in fear and trembling, "Gather not my soul with sinners." Reader, if you have prayed this prayer, and if your character be rightly described in the Psalm from which it is taken, you need not be afraid that you shall be gathered with sinners. Have you the two virtues which David had--the outward walking in integrity, and the inward trusting in the Lord? Are you resting upon Christ's sacrifice, and can you compass the altar of God with humble hope? If so, rest assured, with the wicked you never shall be gathered, for that calamity is impossible. The gathering at the judgment is like to like. "Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn." If, then, thou art like God's people, thou shalt be with God's people. You cannot be gathered with the wicked, for you are too dearly bought. Redeemed by the blood of Christ, you are his forever, and where he is, there must his people be. You are loved too much to be cast away with reprobates. Shall one dear to Christ perish? Impossible! Hell cannot hold thee! Heaven claims thee! Trust in thy Surety and fear not!
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Today's reading: Ecclesiastes 7-9, 2 Corinthians 13 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Ecclesiastes 7-9


Wisdom

1 A good name is better than fine perfume,
and the day of death better than the day of birth.
2 It is better to go to a house of mourning
than to go to a house of feasting,
for death is the destiny of everyone;
the living should take this to heart.
3 Frustration is better than laughter,
because a sad face is good for the heart.
4 The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,
but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure.
5 It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person
than to listen to the song of fools.
6 Like the crackling of thorns under the pot,
so is the laughter of fools.
This too is meaningless....


Today's New Testament reading: 2 Corinthians 13


Final Warnings

1 This will be my third visit to you. “Every matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.” 2 I already gave you a warning when I was with you the second time. I now repeat it while absent: On my return I will not spare those who sinned earlier or any of the others, 3 since you are demanding proof that Christ is speaking through me. He is not weak in dealing with you, but is powerful among you. 4 For to be sure, he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by God’s power. Likewise, we are weak in him, yet by God’s power we will live with him in our dealing with you.

5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? 6 And I trust that you will discover that we have not failed the test. 7 Now we pray to God that you will not do anything wrong—not so that people will see that we have stood the test but so that you will do what is right even though we may seem to have failed. 8 For we cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth. 9 We are glad whenever we are weak but you are strong; and our prayer is that you may be fully restored. 10 This is why I write these things when I am absent, that when I come I may not have to be harsh in my use of authority—the authority the Lord gave me for building you up, not for tearing you down....
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Joshua, Jehoshua, Jehoshuah, Jeshua, Jesus

[Jŏsh'uă, Jēhŏsh'u ă, Jĕsh'u ă, Jē'sus] - jehovah is salvation.

1. The son of Nun and successor of Moses and author of the book bearing his name. He is also called Hoshea (Num. 13:8, 16; Deut. 32:44).

The Man Who Was a Soldier-Saint


Joshua has been rightly called, "The first soldier consecrated by sacred history." A profitable way of studying his profile is to think of him in the following roles:

As a Son . Joshua was the son of Nun - a name meaning "prosperity, durable" - and of the tribe of Ephraim. Nothing is known of his mother. One usually finds, however, a good and gracious woman in the background of a man who reaches a position of influence and honor. Without doubt, Joshua's parents feared the God of Israel, and he continued their godly influence.

As a Slave . Born during the weary years of bondage his nation suffered in Egypt under Pharaoh, Joshua knew something of the lash of the whip, the almost impossible task in the brick-fields, and the deep sigh of liberty. But little did he realize that although a slave, he would rise to become Israel's supreme leader and commander. He had witnessed the moral and social degradation of his countrymen brought about by the terrible idolatries of that time. Thus, when he came to the position of leadership, his solemn commands were colored by early experience (Josh. 24:15).

As a Soldier . Joshua was pre-eminent as a military leader who knew how to plan campaigns, discipline his forces, use spies, but above all, pray and trust in God. Many a general has closely studied Joshua's conquest of Canaan and followed his strategy. Read how he discomfited Amalek (Exod. 17:9-16)! He never stooped to pilfering and plunder. It was as true of him as of Sir Henry Havelock, of whom it was said, "He was every inch a soldier, and every inch a Christian." Joshua was first of all a good soldier of the Lord whom he encountered and obeyed as Captain of the Lord's host ( Josh. 5:13-15).

As a Servant. Joshua's victory over Amalek gave him the open door of further usefulness and responsibility. That he was prepared for the responsibilities of leadership is evidenced by the fact that because of his unswerving loyalty and devotion, he is called "the servant of Moses" (Num. 11:28; Josh. 1:1).

As a Spy. Joshua, along with eleven others, was chosen to search the land of Canaan (Num. 13:1-16 ). It was at this time that Moses changed his servant's name from Oshea or Hoshea, meaning "help" to Joshua, meaning "God's help" or "salvation." The changed name indicated the desire of Moses to lift the thoughts of the people Godward, and to lead them from reliance upon leaders to God's help. Along with Caleb, Joshua brought back a faithful report of the land, which the people rejected, and wandered thereby for forty years in the wilderness. But Joshua profited by such an experience (Josh. 2:1, 2).

As a Saviour . Moses, representing the Law, brought the people to the border of the land, but it took a Joshua (God's salvation) to take them into the land. Divinely commissioned for such a task, he was probably about eighty-five years of age when he assumed command at Shittim. What a saviour he was! How marvelously was he helped to roll away Israel's reproach and to lead them to possess their possessions! His conquests and victories are typical of all the Lord has made possible for His own.
As a Statesman . What magnanimity and unselfish statesmanship Joshua revealed! Once the division of the land was completed, he carried through the setting up of the Tabernacle, the appointing of the cities of refuge, the arrangement of the Levitical order and service, with the same precision and thoroughness that characterized his other work as Israel's Premier and leader.
As a Saint. Joshua's saintliness marked him out as Moses'successor (Deut. 34:9). What a soldier-saint he was!
He was filled with the Spirit of God (Deut. 34:9).
He enjoyed the presence of God (Josh. 1:5; 6:27).
He was indwelt by the word of God (Josh. 1:8).
He was ever obedient to the will of God (Num. 32:12; Josh. 5:14).
No wonder his death at 110 years of age was deeply mourned and his eminent service universally acknowledged! The brief but noble epitaph of the historian is eloquent with meaning, "before Joshua, the servant of the Lord." Dead, he could yet speak, for the nation continued to serve the Lord all the days of the elders that outlived Joshua (Josh. 24:3).
2. A Beth-shemite, and owner of a field in the days of Eli (1 Sam. 6:14, 18).
3. The Governor of Jerusalem in the days of Josiah ( 2 Kings 23:8).
4. The son of Josedech and high priest at the time of the rebuilding of the Temple (Hag. 1:1; 2:4; Zech. 3; 6:11).
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