Thu Oct 17th Todays News

ALP vs Labor is a bit like spy vs spy in Mad Magazine. The media tends to fold on the dotted lines to show what might seem reasonable to a poorly educated, highly ignorant person. But remove the media filter and a tragically hilarious image emerges with leading identities with hands in honey pots and pork barrels, highly critical members forgetting to wear clothing and not having the power of invisibility. Former members wanting to speak out when they were silent when they had power. Media examine Abbott's expenses but have ignored Williamson's corruption. But it isn't limited to Williamson. But by divorcing Williamson, his ex wife manufactures money .. or turns nurses upside down and shakes them so change falls out of their pockets. 
One tragedy called policy under the ALP was to drown desperate people who had been instructed to pay pirates if they wanted a good life in Australia. Former foreign minister Bob Carr doesn't even say sorry while suggesting he made a mistake. One blessing for the ALP is that they have an endless supply of fools. 
US has arrived at a budget deal. Press are lauding Obama for not blinking, but he does not come out well from this. Obama was the one who failed to walk to a negotiating table on any occasion. This will not be forgotten next year at election. 
ABC Fact checkers are making up detail on Carbon pricing around the world. And what is the fact surrounding Plibersek and sexism? 
Global warming, or a mistake as a new data point from Texas reads 71 degrees celsius? If it isn't weeded out, it will 'inform' the next IPCC report. Meaning more middle class people can call themselves victims. ABC will probably give themselves an award for inflating a mistake of their facts. 
It is a standard remedy of parliament that when a politician's platform is untenable they resign. The ALP don't. I did in '07, from teaching. I challenge anyone to say why I shouldn't now resume teaching again? Or be compensated. Mr O'Farrell, Mr Abbott, can you hear me? 
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Hatches
Happy birthday and many happy returns Frank Severino and Dot Nguyen. Born on the same day, across the years, along with
1253 – Ivo of Kermartin, French priest and saint (d. 1303)
1725 – John Wilkes, English radical, journalist, and politician. (d. 1797)
1912 – Pope John Paul I (d. 1978)
1915 – Arthur Miller, American playwright (d. 2005)
1918 – Rita Hayworth, American actress and dancer (d. 1987)
1920 – Montgomery Clift, American actor (d. 1966)
1938 – Evel Knievel, American motorcycle stuntman (d. 2007)
1942 – Gary Puckett, American singer-songwriter (Gary Puckett & The Union Gap)
1946 – Cameron Mackintosh, English theater producer
1972 – Eminem, American rapper, producer, and actor (D12, Outsidaz, and Bad Meets Evil)
1974 – Matthew Macfadyen, English actor
1992 – Nanami Sakuraba, Japanese gravure idol, actress and singer
Matches
539 BC – Cyrus the Great marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost 70 years of exile. Cyrus allows the Jews to return to Yehud Medinata and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
1091 – London Tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London.
1346 – Battle of Neville's Cross: King David II of Scotland is captured by Edward III of England nearDurham, and imprisoned in the Tower of London for eleven years.
1456 – The University of Greifswald is established, making it the second oldest university in northern Europe (also for a period the oldest in Sweden, and Prussia).
1604 – Kepler's Star: German astronomer Johannes Kepler observes a supernova in the constellationOphiuchus.
1660 – Nine regicides, the men who signed the death warrant of Charles I, are hanged, drawn and quartered.
1662 – Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to France for 40,000 pounds
1771 – Premiere in Milan of the opera Ascanio in Alba, composed by Wolfgang Mozart, age 15.
1777 – American Revolutionary War: British General John Burgoyne surrenders his army at Saratoga, New York.
1781 – American Revolutionary War: British General Lord Charles Cornwallis surrenders at the Siege of Yorktown.
1814 – London Beer Flood occurs in London, killing nine.
1861 – 19 people are killed in the Cullin-La-Ringo massacre, the deadliest massacre of Europeans by aborigines in Australian history.
1888 – Thomas Edison files a patent for the Optical Phonograph (the first movie).
1907 – Guglielmo Marconi's company begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service between Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canadaand Clifden, Ireland.
1931 – Al Capone convicted of income tax evasion.
1933 – Albert Einstein flees Nazi Germany and moves to the United States.
1941 – German troops execute the male population of the villages Kerdyllia in Serres, Greece.
1943 – Burma Railway (Burma-Thailand Railway) is completed.
1943 – The Holocaust: Sobibor extermination camp is closed.
1956 – Donald Byrne and Bobby Fischer play a famous chess game called The Game of the Century. Fischer beat Byrne and wins a Brilliancy prize.
1964 – Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies opens the artificial Lake Burley Griffin in the middle of the capital Canberra.
1970 – Montreal, Quebec: Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte murdered by members of the FLQ terrorist group.
1973 – OPEC starts an oil embargo against a number of western countries, considered to have helped Israel in its war against Syria.
1992 – Having gone to the wrong house for a Halloween party, Japanese exchange student Yoshihiro Hattori is shot and killed by the homeowner in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Despatches
33 – Agrippina the Elder, Roman wife of Germanicus (b. 14 BC)
1893 – Patrice de Mac-Mahon, Duke of Magenta, French general and politician, President of France (b. 1808)
1956 – Anne Crawford, Israeli-English actress (b. 1920)
1967 – Puyi, Chinese emperor of China (b. 1906)
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LONE STAR BAKE

Tim Blair – Thursday, October 17, 2013 (3:52pm)

Global warming is really belting them in Texas:



(Via The Indomitable Snowman, Ph.D., who thinks that we can blame this one on the metric system.) 

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GLOBAL VICTIMS

Tim Blair – Thursday, October 17, 2013 (1:27pm)

Lefties love to celebrate their own suffering. Trouble is, as the first world becomes ever more comfortable, our leftoids have fewer genuine issues to complain about. So they invent new grievances or exaggerate perceived inequities. This explains the latest shrieking form of feminism, which sees wealthy white women claiming oppression even when they hold the highest office in the land.

It may also explain global warming fanaticism. Stanley Kurtz examines our old pal Bill McKibben, whose warming obsession evolved from his cravings for victimhood: 

In a 1996 piece titled “Job and Matthew,” McKibben describes his arrival at college in 1978 as a liberal-leaning student with a suburban Protestant background. “My leftism grew more righteous in college,” he says, “but still there was something pro forma about it.” The problem? “Being white, male, straight, and of impeccably middle-class background, I could not realistically claim to be a victim of anything.”

At one point, in what he calls a “loony” attempt to claim the mantle of victimhood, McKibben nearly convinced himself that he was part Irish so he could don a black armband as Bobby Sands and fellow members of the Provisional Irish Republican Army died in a hunger strike. Yet even as he failed to persuade himself he was Irish, McKibben continued to enthusiastically support every leftist-approved victim group he could find. Nonetheless, something was missing. None of these causes seemed truly his own. When McKibben almost singlehandedly turned global warming into a public issue in 1989, his problem was solved. Now everyone could be a victim …

Global warming allows the upper-middle-class to join the proletariat, cloaking erstwhile oppressors in the mantle of righteous victimhood. 

Good call.

(Via Roger B.)

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PRIZES ARE FOR CHILDREN

Tim Blair – Thursday, October 17, 2013 (1:25pm)

All you need to know about the Walkley awards: the Melbourne announcement of this year’s finalists will be hosted by Fairfax frightbat Clementine Ford and official ABC truth inspector Russell Skelton. 

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OVERWHELMING GENEROSITY

Tim Blair – Thursday, October 17, 2013 (12:12pm)

A note to readers from the good Tim Blair following his epic charity race in Scotland: 

This is just a quick email to say a massive thank you for your generous donation towards the fundraising I was doing for Epilepsy Research UK. With help from you and others like you, I managed to raise a staggering £12,900! ($21,549)

When I decided to race across Scotland to try and raise some much needed money for ERUK in memory of my cousin, Laurence, I couldn’t possibly have imagined the overwhelming generosity of people from around the world that I’d encounter: I’ve had donations large and small from across the world, many from people I don’t know and am unlikely to ever meet.

If you’d like to read a bit more about the whole journey, there’s a few posts on my race blog and a brief write up here. I’m planning on doing a proper, long-form report of the build up and race at some point in the near future.

We’ve raised a huge amount of money for an incredibly worthy charity. Thank you for being part of that, and allowing something good to come from such a tragedy.

Thank you so much again,

Tim (and family). 

(Via Beertruk in Toowoomba, one of many readers who contributed to Tim’s cause.)

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Labor about Labor

Andrew Bolt October 17 2013 (12:26pm)

Labor keeps talking about its favorite topic. Itself:

Labor frontbencher Chris Bowen has called for his colleagues to treat Kevin Rudd with respect, following a stinging broadside from former attorney-general Nicola Roxon, which slammed the former prime minister as a rude ‘’bastard’’ who should quit politics…
‘’All former Labor leaders are deserving of a place in the party’s history and they should be accorded the respect that the Labor Party has traditionally given to former leaders,’’ Mr Bowen told ABC Radio.

‘’I think that applies to Julia Gillard and I think it applies to Kevin Rudd.’’

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Admire the tears of those who merely cry for the drowned

Andrew Bolt October 17 2013 (9:00am)

Yet another academic, Gideon Boas, treats dead boat people as useful platform to advertise his more moral feelings, which licenses him to write for the grateful Age a stream of sustained vilification of everyone with contrary views on border policy to his own. Anyone who thinks that boat people should be stopped must just be racists, you see:

Bob Carr is a dinosaur feeding the hungry beast of racism in this country....  kicking already persecuted and downtrodden people… The race to the moral bottom on refugee and asylum seeker policy already reached perverse proportions during the election campaign… whose entire message is about fear and isolationism… Tony Abbott’s policy should be renamed ‘’Operation No Humanity’’… Since when has it been the role of our political leaders to play to base fear and hatred, to racism and meanness for nothing more than political gain and point-scoring? ... they pander to the thick vein of isolationism and racism that runs deep in this island nation… playing the fear and racism card… Our leaders have shown thus far they are hollow men. They stand for nothing other than getting into power or staying in power. They have abandoned all moral direction on this issue… It makes us look mean, not compassionate; racist, not tolerant… I don’t want to live in a country whose leaders stand for nothing; who play to racism, inwardness and self-interest.

What is striking about this lavish and self-congratulatory abuse is the almost total lack of argument or any consideration of consequences of the finer feelings Boas praises.
Take his attempt to draw a distinction between nice Europe and evil Australia, between the continent that actually produced fascism and one that fought it:

Just look at the contrasting response of Europe to the drowning of hundreds of African asylum seekers on their way to the Italian isle of Lampedusa - tens of millions of euros to assist in rescue operations, calls for unity of action, but most significantly compassion for those lost at sea. In Australia, it seems compassion has been completely drained from the discussion about asylum seekers. Apart from the perfunctory - and completely disingenuous - expressions of sorrow for the dead, ALP and Coalition politicians are falling over themselves to talk tough about boat arrivals.

See his trick? Sure, our politicians, like Europe’s, have expressed compassion for those who’ve drowned at sea. But Boas insists that the compassion expressed by our politicians was “perfunctory” and “completely disingenuous”, while Europe’s politicians had a “contrasting response” that was, presumably, sincere. How does he know any of this? How can he tell? This strikes me as his prejudices talking.
Boas also notes that Europe’s “contrasting response” has it committing “tens of millions of euros to assist in rescue operations”, but that is not a contrast at all. Australia spends significant amounts on search and rescue operations involving boat people, sending ships to save people as close as 60km from the Indonesian coast. 
But the more important thing is this. A policy is best judged by its results, not the tears in the eyes and the fine speeches of those who propose it. Boas thinks Europe shows “compassion” by promising some unspecified “unity of action” after the deaths of hundreds of boat people, while Australia allegedly shows none by actually tacking action that is sure to stop the drownings in the first place.
And indeed, days after hundreds of boat people died off Lampedusa, dozens more drowned off Malta.  The greater “compassion” Boas perceives in Europe is unlikely to lead to any diminution of deaths at sea (and ethnic tensions at home). Rather the reverse.
The message, then? For Boas, it seems, boat people do not exist as real people with real motives and real choices and posing real problems for the countries they are trying to get smuggled into. They are barely even abstract concepts. They are instead a mirror in which the likes of Boas can admire their goodness, shining like gold from the dirt that is everyone else.
This is a piece written by the vain, not the moral. 

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Too hard: Carr to go in a week

Andrew Bolt October 17 2013 (8:56am)

Bob Carr had fun while it lasted, but was never there for the hard yards:

BOB Carr will resign from the Senate without sitting again in parliament, with the NSW Labor Right expected to nominate one of its defeated MPs as the former foreign minister’s replacement.
Senator Carr, who was re-elected last month, will announce his retirement in the coming week, just 18 months after he was recruited by Julia Gillard.

Once again, the seat is handed to Labor insiders:

He is expected to be replaced by Deborah O’Neill, who lost the central coast seat of Robertson, although Mike Kelly, who held Eden-Monaro, has expressed an interest, as has Senator Carr’s chief of staff Graeme Wedderburn, once promised a position in the Senate in exchange for working for former premier Nathan Rees.

And Labor’s new foreign affairs spokesman comes, like Carr, from the modern tradition of anti-Israel posturing:

His likely successor, Tanya Plibersek, faced calls yesterday to recant her decade-old anti-Israel comments. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop called on the new Labor deputy leader to publicly repudiate comments she made in 2002 when she labelled Israel a “rogue state”.  

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Who was Rudd’s fool? Where is Abbott’s?

Andrew Bolt October 17 2013 (8:10am)

Samuel J on the missing member of Kevin Rudd’s Ministry:

The ancient tragedians - Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides – have as a central theme in their works the element of hubris – overweening pride – that afflicts each of their protagonists.
Hubris has a habit of afflicting many of those who accrete power; even those who accrete fame or notoriety. It is usually the cause of their undoing…
During the Roman Triumph..., where the victorious general paraded through the streets of Rome, painted in blood and wearing purple, riding on a chariot drawn by four horses, a slave whispered into his ear: “momento mori” (remember, you are but a man)…
In later times, for example under Elizabeth I, the Court employed a fool. A person who is licensed to say the unsayable and to mock the ruler mercilessly. The fool, frequently dressed as a clown or a harlequin, entertained the Court but warned by the use of satire…
In Shakespeare’s King Lear, the fool is the only person who not only speaks wisely but is not punished for doing so… Queen Elizabeth (reigned 1558–1603) is said to have rebuked one of her fools for being insufficiently severe with her....
Where was the fool under Kevin Rudd? Not only was Rudd badly affected by hubris, but he sought to reduce our freedom of speech. Yet there was no fool who could mock him at Cabinet meetings. Rudd’s regime was brought low by himself, but also by the lack of a fool.
Bring back the fool!

But another question: who is Tony Abbott’s fool?  Bill Heffernan? Agreed, Abbott doesn’t not suffer from Rudd-style hubris. Yet no leader can afford to be without someone prepared to mock him.  

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Don Randall should clear up this stink

Andrew Bolt October 17 2013 (8:04am)

Don Randall must explain why this is not a deceitful and highly improper use of taxpayers’ money:

WEST Australian MP Don Randall insists he was entitled to claim expenses including more than $5000 for a trip to Cairns on “electorate business’’ ...
The MP for Canning initially refused to answer questions about the latest expenses furore to hit the Liberals, but issued a statement late today in which he said .. “The claims relating to travel were appropriately acquitted with the Department of Finance.’’
Mr Randall updated his pecuniary interests register days after his overnight stay in Cairns in November 2012 to confirm he had taken possession of an investment property in Queensland.

So what electorate business did Randall have in Cairns? 

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In our face and in our pockets

Andrew Bolt October 17 2013 (7:53am)

The new morality

IS IT just that I’ve hit 54 and become more cranky? Or has the presumption of some people this week finally crossed a line?
Sure, we’ve tolerated for an absurdly long time the pushy politicians, activists and special interests helping themselves to our wallets and our freedoms.
Too rarely have they been called out for treating the rest of us as mere props or money-trees. Or as fools who’ll accept rubbish excuses while the imposters just help themselves to what isn’t theirs.
But this week we haven’t just had former Labor president Michael Williamson plead guilty to defrauding his Health Service Union members of $1 million, on top of his $500,000 a year salary. We’ve also heard a cacophony of oinking and snuffling and bellowing from people with a truly outsized sense of entitlement and no seeming shame about it.
Some examples?
Mining “billionaire” Clive Palmer owes $6 million in carbon tax penalties on his businesses.
(Read full article here.)  

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US Budget deal? Spending to continue

Andrew Bolt October 17 2013 (7:51am)

A deal to end the deadlock in Congress, perhaps:

“The compromise we reached will provide our economy with the stability it desperately needs,” Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said after he and his GOP counterpart, Sen. Mitch McConnell, struck the deal…
The agreement by Mr. Reid and Mr. McConnell signals the bill should clear the Senate, but it must also survive the House, where Republicans have the majority but leaders have shown little ability to control the floor. The legislation will likely require House Democrats to provide the majority of support.
The deal would reopen the government with a stopgap spending bill running to Jan. 15, and would extend the government’s borrowing authority through at least Feb. 7… The only major concession Republicans won was to include strict income monitoring of those seeking taxpayer subsidies under Obamacare.
Sen. Ted Cruz, the Texas Republican who led the GOP into its stance to withhold government funding until President Obama canceled the health care law, said Wednesday he had no regrets, and blamed his Republican colleagues for not backing his effort.

Terry McCrann (writing before this latest news):

JUST about everything you have read or heard about the US political brawl over spending, Obamacare and the debt ceiling, is almost certainly wrong.
In particular, that the whole world has been taken right to the edge of a financial crash at least as bad and indeed likely to be much more dramatic and more fundamentally destructive than the Global Financial Crisis, thanks to crazy Republican Tea Party extremists…
The truth is, [default] would only happen if the Obama administration deliberately chose to break not just the law but its fundamental constitutional obligations…
First, the US government is constitutionally required to prioritise its debt obligations. Secondly, self-evidently, it can repay debt maturities with new borrowings - as that would not increase its total debt…
The debt ceiling is one part of a much broader, more fundamental and indeed existential battle underway in the US - caricatured asininely by the media there and here as crazy extremist Tea Party types prepared - indeed wanting - to topple the whole structure of government in the US…
Just maybe, some Americans might think that running a government where 20c or so of every dollar it spends has to be borrowed, can only end in tears…
All this is mere byplay to the fundamental problem, that under Obama, a big structural deficit has opened up, with the government now spending about 4 per cent more of GDP than in 2001. 

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Modestly feeling like frauds, and trying hard not to be

Andrew Bolt October 17 2013 (7:23am)

Personal stuff I'm glad I wrote

BRITISH actor Bill Nighy is one of us - like Emma Watson, Tony Abbott and probably you. Me, too.
Nighy, languid star of Love Actually, told the Sydney Morning Herald this week it took years before he considered himself a real actor.
“I went along feeling like I was helping (real actors) out when they were busy ...
“But I don’t think that’s unusual. I think there are a lot of people in a lot of jobs who think that any minute someone is going to tap them on the shoulder and say ‘what are you doing here?’ “
My word, there are.
(Read full article here.) 

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We’re on our own with this crazy carbon tax

Andrew Bolt October 17 2013 (7:01am)

Carbon tax

Greg Sheridan fact checks the ABC’s favorite claim about world-wide moves to “put a price on carbon”:

The ABC in particular runs a constant propaganda campaign in favour of the idea that the world is moving to put a price on carbon…
But here are some actual facts. The UN Framework Convention on Climate has 195 members. Only 34 of those use anything resembling an emissions trading scheme. Of those, 27 are in the EU scheme…
What about these Chinese schemes we hear so much about on the ABC? There are seven designated pilot projects in China. One - that’s right, one - has begun operation. That is in Shenzhen. So far all the permits are given away for free…
Japan has effectively abandoned plans for an ETS...South Korea has a plan, but it will issue all permits for free in the first period and is looking to redesign its scheme partly to avoid the impact on electricity prices, which Australia’s scheme had. New Zealand has a notional scheme, but the price is a meaningless $1 per tonne.
The US has no carbon tax or ETS and is unlikely ever to have one. The separate Californian scheme ...  covers only 37 per cent of emissions, compared with the Australian tax that covered 60 per cent of our emissions. More importantly, in California, 90 per cent of permits for electricity are given for free.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative covers several northern states in the US. But the price is $2.55 per tonne and it covers only electricity.
Canada does not have an ETS or a carbon tax. The Quebec scheme covers a minority of emissions and because the province is so reliant on hydro-electricity the scheme has little impact…
The European scheme has a price of about $7. Famously, ...  in its first five years it tended to raise about $500 million a year whereas our carbon tax raised $9 billion a year. 

Remember when we had a government that lied to us about being left behind if we didn’t have its carbon tax?

Ms Gillard said Australia had to adapt and innovate.
“I do not believe Australia needs to lead the world on climate change, but I also do not think we can afford to be left behind,’’ she said.

And:

“It’s clear that many countries around the world are taking steps to reduce carbon pollution,” [Climate Change Minister Greg Combet] told ABC radio…
Wayne Swan also said that “every policy to reduce carbon pollution puts an effective price on carbon, even if that price isn’t immediately obvious”.
“Countries around the world are taking action to reduce carbon pollution and an open trading nation like Australia can’t afford to be left behind,” the Treasurer said. 

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It is only sexist if a man says the obvious

Andrew Bolt October 17 2013 (6:57am)

If Bob Hawke was a sexist, then isn’t Tanya Plibersek?

Clementine Ford, Daily Life, Tuesday: 

TANYA Plibersek, everyone’s favourite political girl crush, has been announced as the deputy Opposition Leader in Canberra today… We can look forward to the conservative commentators whinging about quotas, EMILY’s List and the importance of meritocracies ... And, regrettably, we will probably witness some of the heinous sexism that reared its ugly head under Gillard’s leadership. (Indeed, we already have. Let us not forget that Bob Hawke warned against the viability of Plibersek taking on the top job because she is the parent of a three-year-old.

Call off the hit squad! Tanya Plibersek on ABC RN Breakfast on Tuesday:

ACTUALLY I feel quite embarrassed about Bob Hawke getting a hard time about that. He asked me before the election, you know, if it all goes badly will you stand for leader? And I had frankly not ever contemplated that. So I just said the first thing that came into my head, which is I just don’t know how I would manage the responsibility and the extra travel. All that, you know, whole range of complications ... And poor old Bob just repeated all that and got into all sorts of trouble, but it is a big responsibility and I’m just very sorry that poor old Bob copped it.
Alison Carabine: OK so we’ll have to all ease up on Bob Hawke.
Plibersek: Pull back, pull back, Alison.

UPDATE
Reader Charles:

A perfect little example of the chummy collusion that is the relationship between the ALP and the ABC, particularly on sycophantic ABC Radio. 

Alison Carabine: OK so we’ll have to all ease up on Bob Hawke.
Plibersek: Pull back, pull back, Alison.

They probably don’t even realise that there is anything wrong with carrying on like this.

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Williamson’s estranged wife keeps some cash

Andrew Bolt October 17 2013 (6:21am)

This doesn’t seem fair:

UNION crook Michael Williamson’s now estranged wife Julie-Anne Williamson will walk away with well over $1 million of her husband’s superannuation in an agreement he reached with the Health Services Union over his crimes.
The union says it did not want to give Mr Williamson a dime, as he has agreed he already owes it $5 million, but it is understood the unemployed former union boss has been given $20,000 and Mrs Williamson, having filed for divorce, was going to be entitled to half his “defined benefits” superannuation so union lawyers settled with her.
Had she not filed to leave her husband, she would not have received that settlement.

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MARIA Kang started a fitness blog almost a decade ago but you probably didn't hear about her until this week.

And when her name did make it on to your radar, it was probably accompanied by words like "judgmental", "fat-shamer" and "bully".

Without meaning to, the LA-based mother-of-three sparked a war on Facebook when she posted a photo of herself dressed in fitness gear, showing off her super-toned abs, surrounded by her three little boys.

Harmless enough under normal circumstances, but at the top of the photograph, Kang asks What's your excuse?

I have none. - ed
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Today's sun look so different! Sun at 4pm
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Creepy town #weird #haze #bushfire #sky
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Craig Kelly
LABOR = HIGHER ELECTRICITY PRICES

Every day the divided and dysfunctional Labor Party opposes the repeal of the carbon tax is another day that the Labor Party supports higher electricity prices for Australian families and businesses.

Its time Labor respected the will of the Australian people.
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‘Praise be to God!’: Congressional stenographer reportedly kicked off House floor [audio, video, Vine] ==> http://twitchy.com/2013/10/16/praise-be-to-god-congressional-stenographer-kicked-off-house-floor/
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Larry Pickering
A 'SPARROW' FALLS PREY TO PRETENSE

Intelligent crooks are rarely caught, it is the dumb ones who invariably fall victim to their own stupidity. A small story I found in the New York Times told of notorious Somalian pirate, kingpin Mohamed Abdi Hassan (nicknamed Bigmouth) who was demanding Western millions for the return of ships and oil tankers the size of aircraft carriers and their crews.

Belgian authorities, who had suffered piracy at the hands of Bigmouth, had had enough of this bloke and came up with a novel approach to capture him.

They did some investigating to find out exactly what made Bigmouth tick. They discovered it was vanity. He saw himself as a Somalian hero, a Capt. Jack Sparrow, a revered swashbuckling pirate who bravely plied the Gulf of Aden in the pursuit of notoriety and riches.

What happened next was almost predictable.

The authorities offered him the leading role in a blockbuster Hollywood movie bearing his name: “Captain Hassan, Pirate King”.

Bigmouth must have come in his kaftan because he and his crew members, who were also offered parts, rushed to Brussells to sign contracts.

Of course they were arrested on arrival.

Belgian ingenuity has meant that the incidence of piracy off the Somali coastal has dropped by 75% and the UN reports that not one successful attempt has been made in the past year.

Perhaps craftiness is mightier than the cutlass.
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HISTORY IN THE HEADLINES: On October 16, 1793, the 37-year-old former queen of France was put to death just hours after being convicted of treason. On the 220th anniversary of her execution, learn 10 surprising facts about Marie Antoinette.
http://histv.co/19NjXLE
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Michele Bachmann'

President Obama’s position of no negotiation took us to the brink of government default to advance his political agenda over the best interests of the American people. Republicans were the adults in the room, offering compromise after compromise and urging the President to come to the table and do what’s right for our country.

President Obama may have won an immediate political battle for his radical agenda but it comes at a great cost to the economy, to our health care system, and to the American people. It means we will continue on the same trajectory towards economic decline, skyrocketing national debt, and greater government intrusion in our health care.

After an embarrassing two weeks of Obamacare failures, I hope President Obama will soon realize that forcing every American to purchase a health insurance policy that they don’t want at a price they can’t afford from a website that doesn’t work is not a sustainable course of action.

I could not vote for this bill as it does nothing to give relief to the countless Americans hurting under Obamacare, nor does it address our out of control spending and $17 trillion national debt.

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Sarah Palin

Todd and I were proud to stand with Mark Levin and other bold, patriotic warriors in support of Steve Lonegan in the New Jersey Senate race! Mayor Lonegan fought the good fight, and he and his supporters have not “finished the race,” they’ve just begun! The press has now called the race for Barack Obama’s celebrity stand-in, Cory Booker, but rest assured that Steve fought gallantly for every vote that would have led to American solvency and exceptionalism. Steve is a lucky guy to have a strong New Jersey wife and two great daughters who supported him through this campaign. We so enjoyed getting to know them, as their passion and love for this country inspired us. Looking at Steve’s life story should remind all of us to never be afraid to climb a mountain, no matter how high. Steve energized commonsense conservatives all across the country. And though it’s sad, it’s not surprising to see the far left lapdog media finally cover this race tonight (once their chosen one was deemed the victor, but not previously when voters deserved to hear of Lonegan’s successful small-government record and intentions to defend our republic).

Tonight’s press coverage of the status quo antics in Washington, D.C. energize us further. Tonight’s New Jersey race was a win for Barack Obama, and the Senate deal in D.C. was a loss for the American people replete with more back-room deals, billion dollar corrupt earmark kickbacks, and weak leadership unwilling to stand up for the people who sent them to Washington. What happened in D.C. tonight reminds us of how hard we must fight in 2014 to return to a government of the people, by the people, for the people. These politicians work for us, and yet a new poll accurately reflects that just 13% of us feel as though this country that we love is on the right track. The way forward is to elect leaders who will listen to us; and if they don’t, we must hold them accountable on election day – no matter what party. Let’s commit to continue to be in the trenches fighting for those who stand on principle over politics, despite the odds.

Friends, do not be discouraged by the shenanigans of D.C.’s permanent political class today. Be energized. We’re going to shake things up in 2014. Rest well tonight, for soon we must focus on important House and Senate races. Let’s start with Kentucky – which happens to be awfully close to South Carolina, Tennessee, and Mississippi – from sea to shining sea we will not give up. We’ve only just begun to fight.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2013/10/16/todd-starnes-american-taxpayers-betrayed-by-chicken-hearted-rinos/

- Sarah Palin

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Zaya Toma'

My thoughs and prayers are with my friends and their families as well as everyone else that lives in the Wollondilly and Camden shires who are affected by the bush fires. There are gale force winds and really high tempratures. God bless the fire fighters putting their lives at risk to save others.

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I vow to limit myself to a few slices .. ed
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The Theme: It's Halloween and you're in a horror movie. Choosing the first 9 people in your chat box. 

HERE'S THE RESULTS!> Matt Granz

Cries like a baby: Ty Tyrell
The one who trips while running in the woods: Don Kramer
First to go missing: William Tan
Murdered saving you: Timothy Ly
Survives by faking death: Wilson Tanman
Has a solid survival plan nobody listens to: Eric Kalemen
Spends all the time looking for Twinkies: Zaya Toma
Gets turned into a zombie: John Tran
Is really the killer: Aprille Love
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Labor MPs have lashed former colleague Nicola Roxon for “reheating” the divisions that riddled the party under the Rudd and Gillard governments.

In a wide-ranging speech on Wednesday night, the former attorney general labelled Kevin Rudd a "bastard" and a destabilising influence, urging the former prime minister to leave parliament for the good of the party.

Ms Roxon, who was one of Julia Gillard’s closest political allies and who also served as health minister, said Mr Rudd had a vicious tongue and temper and had treated brilliant people terribly.She would have said exactly the same better before the election .. but she has contempt for voters. - ed
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<How to lose your freedom, become unemployable, and lose your right to vote...in one easy lesson. Do some not *get* Homeland Security is real, and TSA hasn't been taking shit for a dozen years now? Can't bring 3 ounces of shampoo on board, let alone a dry ice b*mb. We take off shoes, get full-body x-rayed--can't mention a word that starts and ends with a "b" in an airport without being tackled (I don't even risk it and say, "Bob")--but this guy sets off a dry ice prank at an airport! Is there a factory producing these people? (No shortage.) Guy--if you know you're going to prison after a prank--at least get video for YouTube! Well, he's probably already got a neck tattoo...he'll fit right in.>
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<How Labor will write its own suicide note if it tries to block Abbott's carbon tax repeal.>
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When life gives you lemons, at this point make margaritas. Caving on debt could drive one to drink.

This photo of my son and nephew ran in our local newspaper about 15 years ago. I’m betting dollars to doughnuts our president skipped this universal childhood lesson in Economics 101, and perhaps that explains his problem understanding the tragedy to befall us as America drowns in debt. Running a lemonade stand teaches you to progress by the sweat of your brow and live within your means. It taught these boys that it was unacceptable and self-defeating to keep coming back to mama for more money for ingredients needed to concoct a product to sell to the public. Obviously more debt means less progress and opportunity to expand. Anyone who has run a business knows more debt equals less profit, and less profit means less ability to grow operations, employ more people, and even hold your head high above shortsighted economic decisions that history proves lead to failure.

All these lessons about the kids’ lemonade stand and economic freedom apply to our families’ budgets, our businesses, and most certainly our government. We cannot borrow our way to prosperity. We’re in a deep hole; quit digging. We cannot ignore the economic realities of bankruptcy.

President Obama is giddily enthused now about growing more debt, but just a few years prior when he was still a senator, he scolded America, proclaiming: “The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure.…Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally.” And on July 3, 2008, he declared, “driving up our national debt from $5 trillion dollars to $9 trillion is irresponsible. It’s unpatriotic.” If it was irresponsible and unpatriotic at $5 trillion, what is it at $17 trillion?

Was he lying then or now?

Mr. President, boys and girls all across our great nation would no doubt share their lessons learned about the danger of debt. It’s our posterity you've made insecure when you doubled our national debt since taking office, which violates the preamble of our Constitution which speaks of securing “the blessings of liberty to ourselves and our posterity.” How can we secure our liberty when we’re hopelessly in debt to foreign nations? You said today that the cool thing about being President is you can “pick up the phone and call anyone in the world and they’ll answer.” Call Track and Payton. I’m sure your NSA and IRS have their numbers.

For more on the wisdom of children and their lemonade stands, see this video: http://youtu.be/7tu2ejcFWtg
Sarah Palin
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Madu Odiokwu Pastorvin

Who do you share your deepest secrets with? Most people only share their inner thoughts with those who are closest to them. People they trust. People they’ve gone through experiences with. Do you know who God share’s His secrets with? This passage goes on to say, “Who can know a man’s thoughts except his own spirit?” In other words, God’s Spirit knows His thoughts. As believers, His Spirit lives inside of us, revealing to us the heart and thoughts of God Himself.
“That is what the Scriptures mean when they say, ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.’ But it was to us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out everything and shows us God’s deep secrets.”
(1 Corinthians 2:9–10)

God wants you to know what He thinks about you. He wants you to know about the plans He has for you. He wants to show you things you’ve never seen, heard about or even imagined. As a believer in Jesus, you are His child, but you are also His friend. He wants you as His closest companion. He wants to walk with you, talk with and share with you. What a wonderful, amazing thought — we can know God’s thoughts because we are one with Him. Open your heart and allow Him to share His deep secrets with you today.God bless you.

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What shall we say about such wonderful things as these? If God is for us, who can ever be against us?(Romans 8:31)
Think about that for a moment. The same God who created the heavens and earth, the one who spoke the universe into existence and knows everything about you, He is on your side and wants the best for you. I love today’s verse because it is a great reminder that when God is for you, no one can win against you. Not the pain of your past. Not any mistake you’ve made. Not the forces of hell, your worst enemy, a bad economy, a difficult housing market or anything else on this earth.

Scripture tells us that God is gracious, patient and loving, that He is forgiving and doesn’t treat us as our sins deserve. Scripture tells us that God is for us, and if God is for us, who can be against us? With God on your side, you are headed for victory,God bless you.

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Autumn on the Stanislaus River
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Pastor Rick Warren

Strength is developed by struggle and suffering, not success.

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Just finished rehearsing to present the#WorshipAlbumOfTheYear in Nashville tonight at the 44th GMA Dove Awards.
2013 Nominees are "All Sons and Daughters:Live", "Burning Lights" (Chris Tomlin) , "Let The Future Begin" (Passion), "Worth It All" (Meredith Andrews), and "White Flag" (Passion). 
All 5 albums are Spirit-inspired and quite moving. I'm glad I wasn't responsible for having to choose between my friends!
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Cool! Saddleback students using #ClashOfClansgame to invite players to church. Check this out:
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ALL ALONG THE DRY LINE

Sick at home with the traditional Fall Season cold bug, feeling uckeee... decided to bide my time working through some old storm chase images with some new post processing techniques.

Here's the story:

May 31, 2010. Just a little South East of Boise City in the panhandle of Oklahoma. To my left, outside of this picture frame, a Mothership was spinning and getting ready to drop another tornado. The air was hot and thick and electrically charged. The chances to see anything happen on this day were slim, but the warm humid air colliding with the dry cold air had something else in mind. — atOklahoma!
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The Turkish-Israeli relationship became so poisonous early last year that the Turkish government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is said to have disclosed to Iranian intelligence the identities of up to 10 Iranians who had been meeting inside Turkey with their Mossad case officers.

Knowledgeable sources describe the Turkish action as a “significant” loss of intelligence and “an effort to slap the Israelis.” The incident, disclosed here for the first time, illustrates the bitter, multi-dimensional spy wars that lie behind the current negotiations between Iran and Western nations over a deal to limit the Iranian nuclear program. A Turkish Embassy spokesman had no comment.===

Chemical–Biological-Radiological – Nuclear. Military Threat Assessment

http://iranthreatassessmentcbrn.com/news/chemical-biological-radiological-nuclear-military-threat-assessment/

There is a bewildering paradox, the International Community along with their vast Intelligence agencies acknowledged, confronted, the rise of Communism, and its goal of global domination. They comprehended communism darkness which endeavored to reshape ...

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Almost a quarter of respondents in a major survey of Jews from nine European countries said they avoid visiting places and wearing symbols that identify them as Jews for fear of anti-Semitism.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/fearful-of-anti-semitism-22-of-european-jews-hide-identity/
 That is not how I want my world to be. My auntie is quite elderly now, she studied psychology as a mature age student and recalls that there are three inherited characteristics of personality .. emotionality, activity and perseverance .. and she reckons Jewish people score highly in all three so Jewish culture promotes discipline within family because the children .. and adults are very active, persistent and strongly emotional .. just a theory .. but she has to explain how her mum had three children who shook the world in their fields .. and whose grand children do the same .. - ed
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By EUGENE KONTOROVICH, JPOST

The EU knowingly and purposefully provides substantial direct financial assistance to settlements in occupied territory – in Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus, that is.

GIANT Turkish flag is seen displayed on the side of a mountain near Nicosia in Turk-occupied Cyprus Photo: reuters

A delegation of European Union officials arrived in Israel this week to discuss the European Commission’s proposed regulations for discretionary funding to Israeli entities.
Under guidelines prepared earlier this summer, euros would not be allowed to go to Israeli entities located cross the Green Line – or to those that have any operations there. All Israeli entities applying for funding would have to submit a declaration that they do not have such operations.

Europe claims that such a move – unparalleled in its dealings with any other country – is mandated by international law. The EU does not recognize Israel’s sovereignty over the territories, and thus has an obligation to keep its money from going there. Those who celebrated the move said that Israel is finally paying the international price for its occupation.
Yet it turns out that despite the guidelines, the EU still knowingly and purposefully provides substantial direct financial assistance to settlements in occupied territory – in Turkish-occupied Northern Cyprus, that is. So the EU funds the occupation of an EU member state. Turkey’s invasion and occupation of Cyprus in 1974 was condemned the UN Security Council, and the EU’s official policy is that the Turkish occupation is illegitimate, and Turkey must completely withdraw. The EU does not recognize the Turkish government in Northern Cyprus.

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Italy remembers 1943 roundup of Jews amid turmoil over Nazi's funeral

http://www.telegram.com/article/20131016/NEWS/310169824/0#.Ul8yLIf1QjU.facebook

ROME — Italy on Wednesday marked the 70th anniversary of the roundup and deportation of Jews from Rome's ghetto amid deep anger over the late Nazi war criminal Erich Priebke and his Holocaust-denying final statement.

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Has anyone else noted the similarity in today's top two Middle East news headlines – the telephone call between the Iranian and American presidents and the passage of U.N. Security Council Resoluton 2118 that calls for the "expeditious destruction" of Syrian chemical weapons? In both cases:

• A long-ruling tyrant (Ali Khamene'i, Bashar al-Assad,) is reaching out to the West.
• Those tyrants are furiously signaling an apparent reform (a smiling Hassan Rouhani, Assad acknowledging his chemical weapons and agreeing to turn them over).
• "Who us, WMD?" they ask. "No interest at all in them."

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The government of Israel and its legal advisers - Who is the real ruler?

http://calevbenyefuneh.blogspot.co.il/2013/09/the-government-of-israel-and-its-legal.html

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They Own It

http://www.jewishpress.com/blogs/yoris-news-clips/they-own-it/2013/10/16/

Let's face it, if we wanted to be on Temple Mount, we'd have been there.

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Post by ‎דוד שמשון‎.

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I've reported them, but FB approves of them. - ed
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Post by ‎דוד שמשון‎.

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Post by ‎דוד שמשון‎.

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Visualizing Occupation: Freedom of movement | +972 Magazine

http://972mag.com/visualizing-oc...http://972mag.com/visualizing-occupation-freedom-of-movement/45605/

Whereas West Bank settlers can travel freely between Israel and the West Bank, Palestinian movement is governed by the Israeli security establishment. This illustration is the fourth in a series of graphics on the effect of…

<Total bullshit ! So why are Israeli beaches full of Arabs ? 

This is just left wing Anti Semitic propaganda and anyone believing this left-wing apartheid-swinging garbage knows nothing about Israel or the people in it.

This is being promoted by the Australian Libertarian Society on their facebook page.>===

MDA Cancels Service in Judea, Samaria

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/172866

MDA blames funding cut for decision to shut down 13 emergency response posts, but residents say Red Cross is behind the move.

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Hareidi Woman Set to Make History in Elad

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/172873

Hareidi ‘Mothers’ Party’ may become make history with female representatives in hareidi city.

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Report: Livni and Erekat Weighing Land Transfer Proposal

http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/172886

Transfer of land around Shechem is reportedly tabled in return for Israel's annexation of areas in Judea and Samaria.

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The Islamist Trojan Horse :: Gatestone Institute

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4018/islamist-trojan-horse

With every Middle East country at each other's throat, the Arab-Muslim world is uncertain of its fate. Some of its totalitarian regimes were toppled in the so-called Arab Spring but they have yet to be replaced by stable governments; the battle for the

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Our World: The bothersome, annoying truth

http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Columnists/Our-World-The-bothersome-annoying-truth-328715

Israel’s rights and justness are grounded in truth. But today truth isn’t worth as much as it used to be. Those who fight for it find themselves routinely maligned as close-minded extremists.

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Daily Videos Click here to watch: Great Youth Poetry SLAM 2013 – Brainwashing or Education? Wow, this Jewish kid is amazing! What an amazing message. What a great poetry slam. Be inspiried! Don't miss this one! Follow us on Facebook for top Israel videoswww.facebook.com/12tribefilms Click here to watch: Mazal Tov Onavo – Israeli Start Up Just Bought by Facebook! What fabulous news. Check out the great innovation in the mobile space this Israeli company just added for facebook! Now not only does Google have an office in Israel, but also Facebook! Follow us on Facebook for top Israel videos www.facebook.com/12tribefilms Click here to watch: We Are Thankful (Modim) – Jewish Music Enjoy this wonderful Jewish song called Modim - We are Thankful! What a great attitude to have. This such an important prayer and symbolizes why we are urged to constantly pray and say blessings - to show our thankfullness to our creator. Follow us on Facebook for top Israel videoswww.facebook.com/12tribefilms Click here to watch: THE UN IS A JOKE: Arabs Tell UN that "Israel Violates Syrian Human Rights," Did they not get the memo that Israel is treating Syrian casualties while hundreds of thousands of Syrians are being massacred, by Iran and Syria, on one side, and radical Muslim terrorists supported by other Arab countries on the other side?See the video report here. Follow us on Facebook for top Israel videos www.facebook.com/12tribefilms Thank you for caring about Israel. Here is a new tool we have developed for people like you to stay up-to-date with important videos with the latest news in Israel. Sign Up Here! FEATURED VIDEOS Click here to watch: NEVER AGAIN! Must-Watch- This might be the most powerful clip you ever see. Click here to watch:Fascinating! The Legal Case for Israel International law is on Israel's side. Watch the video to understand why! This must be one of the best video presentations that clearly explains international law and the legal case for Israel and Israel's presence in Judea and Samaria. Definitely watch this to have a better understanding of international law so you can talk about Israel's situation intelligently with others. Support the Israeli Economy - Weekly Deal Don't miss this best seller!  Click here to purchase this special holiday gift. What a unique honey dish! People will want to ooh and aah over it whenever they see it! The pomegranate form (a classic Jewish decorative motif) has been decorated with 24K gold plating in places, as well as numerous highlights of iridescent enamel and Amber crystals. IsraelVideoNetwork.com, run by 12Tribe Films, is developing the next generation of Israel activists using online video and social networking. Join our mission - Click here to make a tax-deductible donation to help us grow our network to reach hundreds of thousands of people to make a difference for Israel. ©2013 12Tribe Films | Jerusalem, Israel

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Today's Top Stories • Is Hamas mending fences with Bashar Assad? • Iran will accept snap visits of its nuclear sites. • What's Hamas to do with ancient Greek statue it can't display or sell? Read the full roundup here... Hot Content from HonestReporting The Demonization of Israel: Check out our latest slideshare, and -- if you haven't yet done so -- sign our petition calling for the media to adopt US and EU definitions of anti-Semitism. View the slideshare . . . Welcome to the Israel Daily News Stream The IDNS is a daily roundup of everything you need to know about how the media is covering Israel, all in one place for easy reference, delivered directly to your inbox every morning. Want to receive weekly Bias Alerts? Manage your subscriptions. Please tell your friends to learn more and sign up here. Tired of Seeing Israel Slammed in the Media? Join more than 150,000 people demanding fair media coverage. HonestReporting was formed in 2000 to respond to unfair coverage against Israel in the wake of the second Intifada. Since then, it's prompted hundreds of corrections and retractions. Stay informed on all media issues by signing up to HR's weekly bias alert emails.

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HonestReporting Bias Alert for ddbanddtt@hotmail.com. View this email in your browser. 16 OCTOBER 2013 Slideshow: The Demonization of Israel What is demonization? Find out in this slideshow - featuring graphic examples from published media of political cartoons that demonize Israel. View the slideshow... Sign the Petition - Stop the Demonization of Israel Join over 26,000 who have already signed our petition calling for the media to adopt U.S. and EU Definitions of Anti-Semitism. Sign the petition now... Mission to Israel Nov 18-26, 2013 - LAST FEW PLACES AVAILABLE! Now is the time to find out what's REALLY going in on the Middle East.  Join us for a full week of meetings with policy makers, security briefings, trips to the hotspots in the news, and much more. Emailhrmission@honestreporting.com or call (847) 745 8284 (EST+7) or in Israel (972) 54 239-2574 for more information. IN OTHER NEWS The Gray Lady’s Grouchiness is Hard to Miss Israel Hate at the Irish Times Demonizing Israel? Who, Us? SHARING IS CARING Do you know someone who might be interested in seeing this free weekly newsletter?  Forward this email WE'RE SOCIAL  HonestReporting Home  BackSpin Blog  HR on Facebook  HR on Twitter  HR Images on Flickr HR FEATURES  Israel Daily News Stream  HR Video Channel  HR Slideshows  Press Box CONTACT US 10024 Skokie Blvd. Suite 202 Skokie, IL 60077-9945 U.S.A.  Email us Speakers and Events: Toll-free in the U.S. Ph 1-866-50-TRUTH

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Photo credit: Jensen Sutta Photography Hi everyone! Here's the MichelleMalkin.com newsletter for October 16th. Enjoy! From the Blog Homeland insecurity alert: Dry ice and dry runs Testing, 1, 2, 3, testing... Please click here to read the rest ‘Day of Action’ rally: Has OFA furloughed some demonstrators due to the shutdown? As a set-up, read a snip from this Politico article that was published Monday... Please click here to read the rest MSNBC anchor trifecta: Rep. Marsha Blackburn accused of being unpatriotic, taking hostages and pushing people off a cliff Ah, “journalism”... Please click here to read the rest More From the Right Side of the Web John Stossel: Longing to be a victim Hot Air: Video: The Affordable Care Act is looking pretty darned unaffordable The DC Trawler: Hey, where's @Obamacare? Twitchy: Warrior vs. commander in chief: Wounded hero’s moving salute reminds James Woods of Obama pic Twitchy: Aww: GOP reps congratulate Delaware on very first Obamacare enrollee (yes, first) Michelle's Top Tweets And ... Our Hate Tweet of the Day Arch is also fluent in Jackass.

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October 17: Dessalines Day in Haiti (1806)

• 1604 – German astronomer Johannes Kepler observed an exceptionally bright star, now known as Kepler's Supernova (remnant nebula pictured), which had suddenly appeared in the constellation Ophiuchus.
• 1943 – The Holocaust: Three days after a successful revolt by inmates, Sobibor extermination camp in eastern Poland was closed.
• 1956 – Queen Elizabeth II opened the world's first commercial nuclear power plant at Calder Hall inCumbria, England.
• 1992 – Having gone to the wrong house for a Halloweenparty, Japanese exchange student Yoshihiro Hattoriwas shot and killed by the homeowner in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, US.
• 2010 – Mary MacKillop was canonised to become the only Australian to be recognised by the Roman Catholic Church as a saint.

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Events[edit]

• 539 BC – Cyrus the Great marches into the city of Babylon, releasing the Jews from almost 70 years of exile. Cyrus allows the Jews to return to Yehud Medinata and rebuild the Temple in Jerusalem.
• 456 – Battle of Placentia: Ricimer, supported by Majorian (comes domesticorum), defeats the Roman usurper Avitus near Piacenza (Northern Italy) .
• 1091 – London Tornado of 1091: A tornado thought to be of strength T8/F4 strikes the heart of London.
• 1346 – Battle of Neville's Cross: King David II of Scotland is captured by Edward III of England nearDurham, and imprisoned in the Tower of London for eleven years.
• 1448 – Second Battle of Kosovo, where the mainly Hungarian army led by John Hunyadi is defeated by anOttoman army led by Sultan Murad II.
• 1456 – The University of Greifswald is established, making it the second oldest university in northern Europe (also for a period the oldest in Sweden, and Prussia).
• 1558 – Poczta Polska, the Polish postal service, is founded.
• 1604 – Kepler's Star: German astronomer Johannes Kepler observes a supernova in the constellationOphiuchus.
• 1610 – French king Louis XIII is crowned in Rheims.
• 1660 – Nine regicides, the men who signed the death warrant of Charles I, are hanged, drawn and quartered.
• 1662 – Charles II of England sells Dunkirk to France for 40,000 pounds.
• 1771 – Premiere in Milan of the opera Ascanio in Alba, composed by Wolfgang Mozart, age 15.
• 1777 – American Revolutionary War: British General John Burgoyne surrenders his army at Saratoga, New York.
• 1781 – American Revolutionary War: British General Lord Charles Cornwallis surrenders at the Siege of Yorktown.
• 1800 – Britain takes control of the Dutch colony of Curaçao.
• 1806 – Former leader of the Haitian Revolution, Emperor Jacques I of Haiti is assassinated after an oppressive rule.
• 1814 – London Beer Flood occurs in London, killing nine.
• 1860 – First The Open Championship (referred to in North America as the British Open).
• 1861 – 19 people are killed in the Cullin-La-Ringo massacre, the deadliest massacre of Europeans by aborigines in Australian history.
• 1888 – Thomas Edison files a patent for the Optical Phonograph (the first movie).
• 1905 – The October Manifesto issued by Tsar Nicholas II of Russia
• 1907 – Guglielmo Marconi's company begins the first commercial transatlantic wireless service between Glace Bay, Nova Scotia, Canadaand Clifden, Ireland.
• 1912 – Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia declare war on the Ottoman Empire, joining Montenegro in the First Balkan War.
• 1917 – First British bombing of Germany in World War I.
• 1919 – RCA is incorporated as the Radio Corporation of America.
• 1931 – Al Capone convicted of income tax evasion.
• 1933 – Albert Einstein flees Nazi Germany and moves to the United States.
• 1941 – For the first time in World War II, a German submarine attacks an American ship.
• 1941 – German troops execute the male population of the villages Kerdyllia in Serres, Greece.
• 1943 – Burma Railway (Burma-Thailand Railway) is completed.
• 1943 – The Holocaust: Sobibor extermination camp is closed.
• 1945 – A massive number of people, headed by CGT, gather in the Plaza de Mayo in Argentina to demand Juan Peron's release. It calls "el día de la lealtad peronista" (peronista loyalty day)
• 1945 – Archbishop Damaskinos of Athens becomes Prime Minister of Greece between the pull-out of the German occupation force in 1944 and the return of King Georgios II to Greece.
• 1956 – The first commercial nuclear power station is officially opened by Queen Elizabeth II in Sellafield,in Cumbria, England.
• 1956 – Donald Byrne and Bobby Fischer play a famous chess game called The Game of the Century. Fischer beat Byrne and wins a Brilliancy prize.
• 1961 – Scores of Algerian protesters (some claim up to 400) are massacred by the Paris police at the instigation of former Nazicollaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Prefecture of Police.
• 1964 – Prime Minister of Australia Robert Menzies opens the artificial Lake Burley Griffin in the middle of the capital Canberra.
• 1965 – The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair closes after a two year run. More than 51 million people had attended the two-year event.
• 1966 – A fire at a building in New York City kills 12 firefighters, the fire department's deadliest day until the September 11, 2001 attacks.
• 1966 – Botswana and Lesotho join the United Nations.
• 1970 – Montreal, Quebec: Quebec Vice-Premier and Minister of Labour Pierre Laporte murdered by members of the FLQ terrorist group.
• 1973 – OPEC starts an oil embargo against a number of western countries, considered to have helped Israel in its war against Syria.
• 1977 – German Autumn: Four days after it is hijacked, Lufthansa Flight 181 lands in Mogadishu, Somalia, where a team of German GSG 9commandos later rescues all remaining hostages on board.
• 1979 – Mother Teresa awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1979 – The Department of Education Organization Act is signed into law creating the US Department of Education and US Department of Health and Human Services.
• 1980 – As part of the Holy See – United Kingdom relations a British monarch makes the first state visit to the Vatican
• 1989 – 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake (7.1 on the Richter scale) hits the San Francisco Bay Area and causes 57 deaths directly (and 6 indirectly).
• 1992 – Having gone to the wrong house for a Halloween party, Japanese exchange student Yoshihiro Hattori is shot and killed by the homeowner in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
• 1994 – Russian journalist Dmitry Kholodov is assassinated while investigating corruption in the armed forces.
• 2000 – Train crash at Hatfield, north of London, leading to collapse of Railtrack.
• 2001 – Israeli tourism minister Rehavam Ze'evi became the first Israeli minister to be assassinated in a terrorist attack.
• 2003 – The pinnacle is fitted on the roof of Taipei 101, a 101-floor skyscraper in Taipei, allowing it to surpass the Petronas Twin Towers inKuala Lumpur by 56 metres (184 ft) and become the world's tallest highrise.

Births[edit]

• 1253 – Ivo of Kermartin, French priest and saint (d. 1303)
• 1577 – Cristofano Allori, Italian painter (d. 1621)
• 1577 – Dmitry Pozharsky, Russian prince (d. 1642)
• 1582 – Johann Gerhard, German theologian (d. 1637)
• 1623 – Francis Turretin, Swiss theologian (d. 1687)
• 1688 – Domenico Zipoli, Italian composer (d. 1726)
• 1711 – Jupiter Hammon, American poet (d. 1806)
• 1719 – Jacques Cazotte, French author (d. 1792)
• 1720 – Maria Teresa Agnesi Pinottini, Italian composer (d. 1795)
• 1725 – John Wilkes, English radical, journalist, and politician. (d. 1797)
• 1729 – Pierre-Alexandre Monsigny, French composer (d. 1817)
• 1760 – Claude Henri de Rouvroy, comte de Saint-Simon, French economist and philosopher (d. 1825)
• 1811 – Albertus van Raalte, Dutch-American pastor (d. 1876)
• 1813 – Georg Büchner, German playwright (d. 1837)
• 1814 – Yakiv Holovatsky, Ukrainian historian, scholar, and poet (d. 1888)
• 1817 – Syed Ahmad Khan, Indian educator and politician (d. 1898)
• 1853 – Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna of Russia (d. 1920)
• 1864 – Elinor Glyn, English author and scriptwriter (d. 1943)
• 1865 – James Rudolph Garfield, American lawyer and politician (d. 1950)
• 1883 – Thaddeus Shideler, American hurdler (d. 1966)
• 1886 – Spring Byington, American actress (d. 1971)
• 1890 – Roy Kilner, English cricketer (d. 1928)
• 1892 – Theodor Eicke, German SS general (d. 1943)
• 1892 – Herbert Howells, English composer (d. 1983)
• 1898 – Shinichi Suzuki, Japanese violinist and educator (d. 1998)
• 1898 – Simon Vestdijk, Dutch author and poet (d. 1971)
• 1900 – Jean Arthur, American actress (d. 1991)
• 1902 – Irene Ryan, American actress (d. 1973)
• 1903 – Nathanael West, American author and screenwriter (d. 1940)
• 1906 – Paul Derringer, American baseball player (d. 1987)
• 1908 – Red Rolfe, American baseball player (d. 1969)
• 1909 – Cozy Cole, American drummer (d. 1981)
• 1910 – Ester Wier, American author (d. 2000)
• 1912 – Pope John Paul I (d. 1978)
• 1912 – Theodore Marier, American composer and educator, founder of the Boston Archdiocesan Choir School (d. 2001)
• 1912 – Jack Owens, American singer-songwriter and pianist (d. 1982)
• 1914 – Jerry Siegel, American writer and illustrator (d. 1996)
• 1915 – Arthur Miller, American playwright (d. 2005)
• 1917 – Sumner Locke Elliott, Australian-American author (d. 1991)
• 1917 – Marsha Hunt, American actress
• 1918 – Rita Hayworth, American actress and dancer (d. 1987)
• 1918 – Ralph Wilson, American businessman
• 1919 – Isaak Markovich Khalatnikov, Russian physicist
• 1920 – Montgomery Clift, American actor (d. 1966)
• 1920 – Miguel Delibes, Spanish author (d. 2010)
• 1921 – George Mackay Brown, Scottish Poet (d. 1996)
• 1921 – Priscilla Buckley, American author (d. 2012)
• 1921 – Maria Gorokhovskaya, Soviet gymnast (d. 2001)
• 1921 – Tom Poston, American actor and comedian (d. 2007)
• 1922 – Luiz Bonfá, Brazilian composer (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Pierre Juneau, Canadian broadcaster and politician, co-founded the Montreal World Film Festival (d. 2012)
• 1923 – Barney Kessel, American guitarist and composer (d. 2004)
• 1923 – Charles McClendon, American football player and coach (d. 2001)
• 1924 – Don Coryell, American football coach (d. 2010)
• 1924 – Anton Geiser, Yugoslav SS officer (d. 2012)
• 1925 – Harry Carpenter, English sportscaster (d. 2010)
• 1926 – Julie Adams, American actress
• 1926 – Beverly Garland, American actress (d. 2008)
• 1929 – Mario Wilson, Portuguese footballer and coach
• 1930 – Robert Atkins, American physician and cardiologist, created the Atkins diet (d. 2003)
• 1930 – Jimmy Breslin, American journalist and author
• 1931 – Ernst Hinterberger, Austrian author (d. 2012)
• 1933 – William Anders, American general and astronaut
• 1933 – Jeanine Deckers, Belgian nun and singer (d. 1985)
• 1934 – Johnny Haynes, English footballer (d. 2005)
• 1934 – Rico Rodriguez, American trombonist
• 1935 – Sydney Chapman, English politician and architect
• 1936 – Sathima Bea Benjamin, South African singer-songwriter
• 1936 – Hiroo Kanamori, Japanese seismologist
• 1937 – Paxton Whitehead, English actor
• 1938 – Evel Knievel, American motorcycle stuntman (d. 2007)
• 1938 – Les Murray, Australian poet
• 1940 – Stephen Kovacevich, American pianist and conductor
• 1940 – Jim Smith, English footballer and manager
• 1940 – Peter Stringfellow, English nightclub owner
• 1941 – Earl Thomas Conley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1942 – Steve Jones, American basketball player
• 1942 – Gary Puckett, American singer-songwriter (Gary Puckett & The Union Gap)
• 1946 – Ronni Chasen, American publicist (d. 2010)
• 1946 – Michael Hossack, American drummer (The Doobie Brothers) (d. 2012)
• 1946 – Cameron Mackintosh, English theater producer
• 1946 – Adam Michnik, Polish historian
• 1946 – Drusilla Modjeska, English author
• 1946 – Bob Seagren, American pole vaulter
• 1947 – Simi Garewal, Indian actress
• 1947 – Gene Green, American politician
• 1947 – Michael McKean, American actor
• 1948 – Robert Jordan, American author (d. 2007)
• 1948 – Margot Kidder, Canadian actress
• 1948 – George Wendt, American actor
• 1949 – Owen Arthur, Barbadian politician
• 1950 – Philippe Barbarin, French cardinal
• 1950 – Howard Rollins, American actor (d. 1996)
• 1951 – Annie Borckink, Dutch speed skater
• 1951 – Roger Pontare, Swedish singer
• 1951 – Shari Ulrich, Canadian singer-songwriter (Hometown Band, The Pied Pumkin, and UHF)
• 1953 – Joseph Bowie, American trombonist (Defunkt)
• 1954 – Carlos Buhler, American mountaineer
• 1955 – George Alogoskoufis, Greek economist and politician
• 1955 – Smita Patil, Indian Actress(d.1986)
• 1956 – Mae Jemison, American physician and astronaut
• 1956 – Pat McCrory, American politician
• 1957 – Lawrence Bender, American film producer
• 1957 – Steve McMichael, American football player
• 1957 – Vincent Van Patten, American actor
• 1958 – Alan Jackson, American singer-songwriter
• 1959 – Ron Drummond, American author and scholar
• 1959 – Russell Gilbert, Australian comedian and actor
• 1959 – Mark Peel, Australian historian and academic
• 1959 – Richard Roeper, American columnist and critic
• 1960 – Guy Henry, English actor
• 1960 – Rob Marshall, American director
• 1960 – Bernie Nolan, Irish singer and actress (The Nolans) (d. 2013)
• 1962 – Mike Judge, American animator, director, screenwriter, producer and actor
• 1963 – Sergio Goycochea, Argentine footballer
• 1963 – Norm Macdonald, Canadian comedian and actor
• 1964 – Dhondup Wangchen, Chinese director and producer
• 1965 – Aravinda de Silva, Sri Lankan cricketer
• 1966 – Danny Ferry, American basketball player
• 1966 – Mark Gatiss, English actor, screenwriter, and author
• 1966 – Tommy Kendall, American race car driver
• 1967 – Kim Seung-jun, South Korean voice actor
• 1967 – René Dif, Danish singer and actor (Aqua)
• 1968 – Ziggy Marley, Jamaican singer-songwriter, guitarist, and voice actor (Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers)
• 1968 – David Robertson, Scottish footballer
• 1969 – Ernie Els, South African golfer
• 1969 – Wyclef Jean, Haitian-born American rapper, songwriter, producer, and actor (Fugees)
• 1969 – Wood Harris, American actor
• 1969 – Rick Mercer, Canadian comedian
• 1970 – Anil Kumble, Indian cricketer
• 1970 – John Mabry, American baseball player
• 1970 – Shauna O'Brien, American model and actress
• 1970 – Blues Saraceno, American guitarist, composer, and producer (Poison)
• 1971 – Chris Kirkpatrick, American singer, dancer, and voice actor ('N Sync)
• 1971 – Kim Ljung, Norwegian singer-songwriter and bass player (Seigmen and Zeromancer)
• 1972 – Eminem, American rapper, producer, and actor (D12, Outsidaz, and Bad Meets Evil)
• 1972 – Tarkan, German-Turkish singer-songwriter and producer
• 1972 – Sharon Leal, American actress
• 1972 – Joe McEwing, American baseball player
• 1972 – Musashi, Japanese martial artist
• 1973 – Andrea Tarozzi, Italian footballer
• 1974 – Ariel Levy, American author
• 1974 – Matthew Macfadyen, English actor
• 1974 – Janne Puurtinen, Finnish keyboard player (HIM)
• 1974 – John Rocker, American baseball player
• 1975 – Janne Aikala, Finnish murder victim (d. 1986)
• 1975 – Francis Bouillon, American ice hockey player
• 1975 – Vina Morales, Filipino singer,dancer,host,actress, and entrepreneur
• 1976 – Sebastián Abreu, Uruguayan footballer
• 1976 – Rena Inoue, Japan-born American figure skater
• 1977 – Dudu Aouate, Israeli footballer
• 1977 – Alimi Ballard, American actor
• 1977 – Bryan Bertino, American director and screenwriter
• 1977 – André Villas-Boas, Portuguese football manager
• 1978 – Jerry Flannery, Irish rugby player
• 1978 – Erin Karpluk, Canadian actress
• 1979 – Marcela Bovio, Mexican singer-songwriter and violinist (Stream of Passion and Elfonía)
• 1979 – Alexandros Nikolaidis, Greek martial artist
• 1979 – Kimi Räikkönen, Finnish race car driver
• 1979 – Kostas Tsartsaris, Greek basketball player
• 1980 – Yekaterina Gamova, Russian volleyball player
• 1980 – Mohammad Hafeez, Pakistani cricketer
• 1980 – Alessandro Piccolo, Italian race car driver
• 1981 – Tsubasa Imai, Japanese singer, actor, and dancer (Johnny & Associates and Tackey & Tsubasa)
• 1982 – Nick Riewoldt, Australian rules footballer
• 1983 – Daniel Booko, American actor
• 1983 – Milica Brozovic, Yugoslav-born Russian figure skater
• 1983 – Felicity Jones, British actress
• 1983 – Toshihiro Matsushita, Japanese footballer
• 1983 – Junichi Miyashita, Japanese swimmer
• 1983 – Ivan Saenko, Russian footballer
• 1983 – Mitch Talbot, American baseball player
• 1983 – Vitali Teleš, Estonian footballer
• 1984 – Jelle Klaasen, Dutch darts player
• 1984 – Chris Lowell, American actor
• 1984 – Randall Munroe, American cartoonist
• 1985 – Carlos González, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1985 – Max Irons, English actor
• 1985 – Collins John, Dutch footballer
• 1985 – Baran Kosari, Iranian actress
• 1985 – Tomokazu Nagira, Japanese footballer
• 1986 – Aija Brumermane, Latvian basketball player
• 1986 – Yannick Ponsero, French figure skater
• 1987 – Bea Alonzo, Filipino actress
• 1987 – Mihir Desai, American legal scholar and philosopher
• 1987 – Jarosław Fojut, Polish footballer
• 1987 – Hideto Takahashi, Japanese footballer
• 1988 – Christina Crawford, American wrestler and dancer
• 1988 – Tori Matsuzaka, Japanese actor
• 1988 – Yuko Oshima, Japanese actress and singer (AKB48 and Not Yet)
• 1990 – Bianca Bree, Belgian-American actress
• 1990 – Paolo Campinoti, Italian footballer
• 1990 – Saki Kumagai, Japanese footballer
• 1990 – Patrick Lambie, South African rugby player
• 1990 – Arisa Murata, Japanese freestyle skier
• 1992 – Sam Concepcion, Filipino singer, dancer, and actor
• 1992 – Nanami Sakuraba, Japanese gravure idol, actress and singer

Deaths[edit]

• 33 – Agrippina the Elder, Roman wife of Germanicus (b. 14 BC)
• 532 – Pope Boniface II
• 1174 – Petronilla of Aragon (b. 1135)
• 1575 – Gaspar Cervantes de Gaeta, Spanish cardinal (b. 1511)
• 1586 – Philip Sidney, English courtier and soldier (b. 1554)
• 1587 – Francesco I de' Medici, Grand Duke of Tuscany (b. 1541)
• 1616 – John Pitts, English scholar (b. 1560)
• 1660 – Adrian Scrope, English military officer (b. 1601)
• 1673 – Thomas Clifford, 1st Baron Clifford of Chudleigh, English politician (b. 1630)
• 1757 – René Antoine Ferchault de Réaumur, French scientist (b. 1683)
• 1776 – Pierre François le Courayer, French theologian (b. 1681)
• 1780 – William Cookworthy, English chemist (b. 1705)
• 1786 – Johann Ludwig Aberli, Swiss painter (b. 1723)
• 1806 – Jean-Jacques Dessalines, Haitian military leader and politician, Governor-General of Haiti (b. 1758)
• 1836 – Orest Kiprensky, Russian painter (b. 1782)
• 1837 – Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1778)
• 1849 – Frédéric Chopin, Polish pianist and composer (b. 1810)
• 1868 – Laura Secord, Canadian war heroine (b. 1775)
• 1887 – Gustav Kirchhoff, German physicist (b. 1824)
• 1889 – Nikolai Chernyshevsky, Russian philosopher (b. 1828)
• 1893 – Patrice de Mac-Mahon, Duke of Magenta, French general and politician, President of France (b. 1808)
• 1910 – Julia Ward Howe, American poet and abolitionist (b. 1819)
• 1928 – Frank Dicksee, English painter and illustrator (b. 1853)
• 1931 – Alfons Maria Jakob, German neurologist (b. 1884)
• 1934 – Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Spanish histologist and neuroscientist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1852)
• 1937 – J. Bruce Ismay, English businessman, survivor of the Sinking of the RMS Titanic (b. 1862)
• 1938 – Karl Kautsky, Czech-German theoretician (b. 1854)
• 1943 – Stefan Starzyński, Polish economist and politician (b. 1893)
• 1956 – Anne Crawford, Israeli-English actress (b. 1920)
• 1958 – Paul Outerbridge, American photographer (b. 1896)
• 1958 – Charlie Townsend, English cricketer (b. 1876)
• 1962 – Natalia Goncharova, Russian painter (b. 1882)
• 1963 – Jacques Hadamard, French mathematician (b. 1865)
• 1965 – Bart King, Filipino cricketer (b. 1873)
• 1966 – Sidney Hatch, American runner (b. 1883)
• 1966 – Wieland Wagner, German director (b. 1917)
• 1967 – Puyi, Chinese emperor of China (b. 1906)
• 1970 – Pierre Laporte, Canadian lawyer, journalist, and politician (b. 1921)
• 1970 – Vola Vale, American actress (b. 1897)
• 1970 – Quincy Wright, American political scientist (b. 1890)
• 1972 – Turk Broda, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1914)
• 1972 – George, Crown Prince of Serbia (b. 1887)
• 1972 – Billy Williams, American singer (The Charioteers) (b. 1910)
• 1973 – Ingeborg Bachmann, Austrian author and poet (b. 1926)
• 1978 – Giovanni Gronchi, Italian politician, 3rd President of the Italian Republic (b. 1887)
• 1979 – S. J. Perelman, American author and screenwriter (b. 1904)
• 1979 – John Stuart, Scottish actor (b. 1898)
• 1981 – Albert Cohen, Swiss author (b. 1895)
• 1981 – Lina Tsaldari, Greek politician (b. 1887)
• 1983 – Raymond Aron, French philosopher (b. 1905)
• 1987 – Abdul Malek Ukil, Bangladeshi lawyer and politician (b. 1925)
• 1991 – Tennessee Ernie Ford, American singer and actor (b. 1919)
• 1992 – Herman Johannes, Indonesian professor, scientist and politician (b. 1912)
• 1992 – Orestis Laskos, Greek actor, director, and screenwriter (b. 1908)
• 1993 – Criss Oliva, American guitarist and songwriter (Savatage) (b. 1963)
• 1996 – Chris Acland, English drummer (Lush) (b. 1966)
• 1997 – Larry Jennings, American magician (b. 1933)
• 1998 – Joan Hickson, English actress (b. 1906)
• 1998 – Hakim Said, Pakistani scholar and politician, 20th Governor of Sindh (b. 1920)
• 1999 – Nicholas Metropolis, Greek-American mathematician and physicist (b. 1915)
• 2000 – Leo Nomellini, Italian-American football player and wrestler (b. 1924)
• 2000 – Joachim Nielsen, Norwegian singer-songwriter and poet (b. 1964)
• 2001 – Jay Livingston, American composer and songwriter (b. 1915)
• 2001 – Micheline Ostermeyer, French athlete and pianist (b. 1922)
• 2001 – Rehavam Ze'evi, Israeli general and politician (b. 1926)
• 2002 – Derek Bell, Irish pianist and songwriter (The Chieftains) (b. 1935)
• 2002 – Aileen Riggin, American swimmer (b. 1906)
• 2004 – Uzi Hitman, Israeli singer-songwriter (b. 1952)
• 2005 – Ba Jin, Chinese author (b. 1904)
• 2006 – Daniel Emilfork, French actor (b. 1924)
• 2006 – Christopher Glenn, American journalist (b. 1938)
• 2007 – Joey Bishop, American actor (b. 1918)
• 2007 – Teresa Brewer, American singer (b. 1931)
• 2007 – Suzy Covey, American scholar (b. 1939)
• 2008 – Levi Stubbs, American singer and actor (Four Tops) (b. 1936)
• 2008 – Ben Weider, Canadian businessman, co-founded the International Federation of BodyBuilding & Fitness (b. 1923)
• 2009 – Norma Fox Mazer, American children's author (b. 1931)
• 2009 – Vic Mizzy, American composer (b. 1916)
• 2011 – Carl Lindner, Jr., American businessman (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Émile Allais, French skier (b. 1912)
• 2012 – Frank Moore Cross, American scholar and academic (b. 1921)
• 2012 – Bandya Kakade, Indian footballer (b. 1945)
• 2012 – Stanford R. Ovshinsky, American scientist and businessman, co-founded Energy Conversion Devices (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Kōji Wakamatsu, Japanese director and screenwriter (b. 1936)

Holidays and observances[edit]

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Catervus
  • Ignatius of Antioch
  • Marguerite Marie Alacoque (formerly)
  • Rule of Andrew
  • Richard Gwyn
  • October 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Dessalines Day (Haiti)
• International Day for the Eradication of Poverty (International)
• Loyalty Day (Argentina)

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“May these words of my mouth and this meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.” Psalm 19:14 NIV

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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

"Jesus saith unto them, Come and dine."
John 21:12

In these words the believer is invited to a holy nearness to Jesus. "Come and dine," implies the same table, the same meat; aye, and sometimes it means to sit side by side, and lean our head upon the Saviour's bosom. It is being brought into the banqueting-house, where waves the banner of redeeming love. "Come and dine," gives us a vision of union with Jesus, because the only food that we can feast upon when we dine with Jesus is himself. Oh, what union is this! It is a depth which reason cannot fathom, that we thus feed upon Jesus. "He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him." It is also an invitation to enjoy fellowship with the saints. Christians may differ on a variety of points, but they have all one spiritual appetite; and if we cannot all feel alike, we can all feed alike on the bread of life sent down from heaven. At the table of fellowship with Jesus we are one bread and one cup. As the loving cup goes round we pledge one another heartily therein. Get nearer to Jesus, and you will find yourself linked more and more in spirit to all who are like yourself, supported by the same heavenly manna. If we were more near to Jesus we should be more near to one another. We likewise see in these words the source of strength for every Christian. To look at Christ is to live, but for strength to serve him you must "come and dine." We labour under much unnecessary weakness on account of neglecting this precept of the Master. We none of us need to put ourselves on low diet; on the contrary, we should fatten on the marrow and fatness of the gospel that we may accumulate strength therein, and urge every power to its full tension in the Master's service. Thus, then, if you would realize nearness to Jesus, union with Jesus, love to his people and strength from Jesus, "come and dine" with him by faith.

Evening

"With thee is the fountain of life."
Psalm 36:9

There are times in our spiritual experience when human counsel or sympathy, or religious ordinances, fail to comfort or help us. Why does our gracious God permit this? Perhaps it is because we have been living too much without him, and he therefore takes away everything upon which we have been in the habit of depending, that he may drive us to himself. It is a blessed thing to live at the fountain head. While our skin- bottles are full, we are content, like Hagar and Ishmael, to go into the wilderness; but when those are dry, nothing will serve us but "Thou God seest me." We are like the prodigal, we love the swine-troughs and forget our Father's house. Remember, we can make swine-troughs and husks even out of the forms of religion; they are blessed things, but we may put them in God's place, and then they are of no value. Anything becomes an idol when it keeps us away from God: even the brazen serpent is to be despised as "Nehushtan," if we worship it instead of God. The prodigal was never safer than when he was driven to his father's bosom, because he could find sustenance nowhere else. Our Lord favours us with a famine in the land that it may make us seek after himself the more. The best position for a Christian is living wholly and directly on God's grace--still abiding where he stood at first--"Having nothing, and yet possessing all things." Let us never for a moment think that our standing is in our sanctification, our mortification, our graces, or our feelings, but know that because Christ offered a full atonement, therefore we are saved; for we are complete in him. Having nothing of our own to trust to, but resting upon the merits of Jesus--his passion and holy life furnish us with the only sure ground of confidence. Beloved, when we are brought to a thirsting condition, we are sure to turn to the fountain of life with eagerness.

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Today's reading: Isaiah 47-49, 1 Thessalonians 4 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Isaiah 47-49

¹ “Go down, sit in the dust,
Virgin Daughter Babylon;
sit on the ground without a throne,
queen city of the Babylonians.
No more will you be called
tender or delicate.
² Take millstones and grind flour;
take off your veil.
Lift up your skirts, bare your legs,
and wade through the streams.
³ Your nakedness will be exposed
and your shame uncovered.
I will take vengeance;
I will spare no one.”

⁴ Our Redeemer—the LORD Almighty is his name—
is the Holy One of Israel.

⁵ “Sit in silence, go into darkness,
queen city of the Babylonians;
no more will you be called
queen of kingdoms.
⁶ I was angry with my people
and desecrated my inheritance;
I gave them into your hand,
and you showed them no mercy.
Even on the aged
you laid a very heavy yoke.
⁷ You said, ‘I am forever—
the eternal queen!’
But you did not consider these things
or reflect on what might happen.

...read the rest on Bible Gateway

Today's New Testament reading: 1 Thessalonians 4

Living to Please God

¹ As for other matters, brothers and sisters, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more. ² For you know what instructions we gave you by the authority of the Lord Jesus.

³ It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; ⁴ that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, ⁵not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; ⁶and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. ⁷ For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. ⁸ Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit.

⁹ Now about your love for one another we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. ¹⁰ And in fact, you do love all of God’s family throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers and sisters, to do so more and more, ¹¹ and to make it your ambition to lead a quiet life: You should mind your own business and work with your hands, just as we told you, ¹² so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody....

...read the rest on Bible Gateway

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