Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Wed Nov 27th Todays News

Since 2008 I have worked to promote people I'm in touch with. I have several reasons for doing so. I hope to found what I call the Cabramatta/Fairfield/Smithfield Digital Cultural museum. I intend it will allow the local community to film, in television broadcast ready standard, material, from martial arts, through to cultural dance. One Ethiopian Christian Pastor I know could use it to produce crossover material for people in Ethiopia, where he has founded hundreds of churches, through to people living in Australia wishing to learn more about there. But these neighbourhoods are not merely one culture or ethnicity, but many. It would be good to have facilities to allow local schools to send drama students to hone all aspects of production skills. My dream will cost $ millions. But it could make money too through licensing and production. I note many skilled actors with martial arts back grounds struggle with employment between Underbelly shooting schedules. Offer work to them, and the material that will be produced would be valuable. 
But the dream is far distant. The reality is I am struggling. My place was flooded with raw sewage a few months ago and I live in a concrete shell, having lost everything I valued as a keepsake. I have no job because of government corruption from the ALP involving pedophilia and the death through apparent negligence of a school boy. I am unemployed for six years through no fault of my own, and am being forced to sell my only asset, my home, should insurance ever repair it. And just as I'm righting myself, I was slapped with a tax audit into my superannuation. 
I need help. I have done nothing wrong. I beg The PM or NSW Premier to come to my home. I post an event where they might become aware of my need. And eleven have bothered to list themselves as supporting. Many whom I promote, and will continue to promote, were invited. The only comment Andrew Bolt has ever made regarding me, of which I'm aware, is that he doesn't like my kind of poetry. I had shared with him my postings on freeing Korean hostages from Afghanistan, or of Clare Oliver's appeal to end sun beds. His criticism feels harsh, and his condemnation unwarranted, but I am aware that there are people who don't like me. They are embellishing things I post. So local newspapers like the Fairfield Advance or Fairfield Champion censor my letters to them, but post letters written by others using my name. Or when a former friend contacted me recently, someone posted to them so that they broke the contact and spoke of my having a mental illness (I don't). 
I don't agree with Bolt on all things, but I support him and will continue to do so. Should I set up another event? I don't know what the future holds, but I will fight so that our future is democratic, free and fair. I tend to conservative (and some libertarian, but not drug use) values as the key to achieving that end. 
Daily Mail might open a centrist news service in Australia, being very different to Fairfax, ABC, Guardian or regional papers. I don't think they will find fifty conservative journalists, and they are masting with Channel 9 which is extreme left, along with Sunrise, but not as far left as the ABC. ABC is fighting to be vile. Craig Thomson rejects a gift from prosecutors. ALP are united in opposing Australia .. remember how Gillard claimed she had no choice but to proceed with a Carbon Tax because the Greens were making her? They are continuing with it even though Greens aren't supporting them. Good news is, cold kills, but warming saves. Pyne has not broken a promise, but uses ALP cuts to education to make teachers more efficient. Naturally press call it a back flip. Bob Katter may be insignificant, but also, he doesn't count. Maybe he should do the 'Christian' thing and resign? A point of difference between Bolt and I is that I look forward to Australia's population exceeding 400 million. Before that happens, we will have built infrastructure. When that happens, opposition to a big Australia will be viewed as provincial and backwards, impeding economic growth. 
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Hatches
Happy birthday and many happy returns Sherry Ku and David Duong. Born on the same day, across the years. Along with
Matches
Despatches
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AN INTRIGUING DEVELOPMENT

Tim Blair – Wednesday, November 27, 2013 (2:11pm)

This might shake things up a little: 
Britain’s Daily Mail Group has announced it will launch an Australian version of its site with the goal of becoming this country’s leading news website.
Daily Mail Australia will launch early next year and hire 50 local journalists, with an editor to be appointed in the next few weeks. 
They’ve easily got enough cash to cover this, with a recent pre-tax profit in the UK of $500 million. Also, by partnering with Nine’s digital arm, they presumably won’t need to worry about technical and structural matters. They can concentrate solely on content. 
MailOnline publisher Martin Clarke said Australia was “an obvious market”.
“We are going very nakedly for a scale play,” he said …
He dismissed comparisons with British rival Guardian Australia, which launched here six months ago.
“I’m not hugely familiar with what they do in Australia,” he said. “We won’t be copying their model.” 
So they’re not stupid. This is the first recent entrant into local media that isn’t from the left. Let’s see who they hire.
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ABSOLUTELY FABULOUS

Tim Blair – Wednesday, November 27, 2013 (12:20pm)

Former Australian Test opening batsman Bruce Francis sends this remarkable promo shot, taken during the 1972 Ashes tour of England:

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Besides Francis himself, standing left of frame next to Joanna Lumley, we have four other Australian Test players here. One may be slightly more difficult to identify than the others.
(First published in Cass Francis: A Life Fulfilled, by Bruce’s father.) 
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Mafeking is relieved. Australia’s conservatives reinforced

Andrew Bolt November 27 2013 (5:10pm)


Britain’s Daily Mail - a right-of-centre media group with columnists such as Melanie Phillips, Dominic Lawson, Stephen Glover and Peter Hitchens - is opening an Australian website. It’s not mucking around either, announcing it will hire 50 local journalists. Its hugely successful UK site does not have a pay wall, and neither will this one.
This could change the odds in the cultural wars. Could also bid up the pay packets of the country’s few conservative journalists, to the further rage and mortification of some ABC Leftists.
The only doubt: this venture is in partnership with the Nine network. Will the Mail’s Australian partner simply assume that all news sites must of course tack to the Left, squabbling over an audience already supplied by Fairfax, the ABC, the Monthly, the Conversation, the Global Mail and the Guardian Australia?
The Mail is avoiding the Left-Right debate, which is wise. And let’s face it, it’s main business is show-biz and human interest:

Mail Online publisher and editor-in-chief Martin Clarke and Mi9 boss Mark Britt, who predicted the new site would quickly become Australia’s top digital news brand…
Mr Clarke said Daily Mail Australia would offer local readers the site’s familiar mix of “hard news, soft news, general interest news, human interest news and obviously showbiz, focused on Australians’’.
“Also, we’re not partisan. We don’t have a dog in anyone’s fight. I think people might find us refreshingly straight,” he said.
“We don’t edit with an agenda. It’s not a question of positioning ourselves to the left or the right of anyone.”
If this works, will Nine really want to buy or merge with Fairfax?
UPDATE
More evidence, incidentally, of how last century the Greens and Labor were with their attacks on the concentration of media ownership. 
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ABC demands licence to be vile

Andrew Bolt November 27 2013 (10:27am)


I am not a fan of defamation proceedings, but I’m far less impressed by an ABC now so out of control that it vilifies conservative critics and spends taxpayers’ money defending its right to call them “dog f...ers”:

Lawyers for Chris Kenny, a journalist and commentator with The Australian and Sky News, have lodged a statement of claim in the NSW Supreme Court against the ABC, Chaser presenter Andrew Hansen and production company Giant Dwarf for images and words broadcast on September 11 that referred to Kenny as “a dog f . . ker"…
The statement of claim also alleges the imputation the plaintiff’s “attacks on the ABC were so dishonorable . . . that he deserved to be compared to . . . a person who has sexual intercourse with a dog”.
Kenny is claiming aggravated damages, a permanent restraint on any future publication of the same or similar material and interest, plus costs.
I have never known the ABC to be so stridently partisan and so abusive of conservative critics. It has betrayed its charter and abused the trust - and taxes - of taxpayers. 
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Thomson “offered deal” on charges

Andrew Bolt November 27 2013 (9:38am)


Hmm:

THE police fraud case against former Labor MP Craig Thomson could be in doubt with the revelation that Victorian prosecutors offered to drop all 173 charges over alleged misuse of union credit cards if he pleaded guilty to a single offence of “obtaining benefits by deception”.
Mr Thomson’s lawyer, Chris McArdle, told The Australian yesterday his client was offered the deal to face a “single charge” on Friday during pre-trial discussions between prosecution and defence legal teams.
After considering the offer - which would result in a fine as the maximum penalty - last weekend, Mr Thomson decided to fight all charges related to alleged misuse of credit cards totalling $28,000 across a five-year period.
Michael Smith seems unworried.
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.) 
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“Team Australia” means Labor attacks the PM

Andrew Bolt November 27 2013 (9:30am)


Hypocrite alert. Tanya Plibersek isn’t the only Labor frontbencher showing the “Team Australia” approach means stabbing the captain in the back:
LABOR MPs have continued to criticise Tony Abbott’s handling of the Indonesian spying crisis, despite continued calls for a united Australian front from Bill Shorten.
Labor frontbencher Brendan O’Connor suggested a delay in responding from Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono to Mr Abbott’s letter sent last Friday was “a concern” and that the Prime Minister had made relations with Indonesia worse…
The Opposition Leader initially told Mr Abbott to consider doing what President Barack Obama had done with German Chancellor Angela Merkel in similar circumstances, which included a private apology and a public guarantee it would not happen again, but stepped back later and suggested it was time for a “team Australia” effort…
Asked if he was having trouble exercising leadership over his frontbench, Mr Shorten said Mr O’Connor and Ms Plibersek were “outstanding spokespeople in their areas” and they “too want the government to resolve this matter”.
Reader Baden:

You’d almost think they worked for the ABC.
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Cold kills. Warming would save

Andrew Bolt November 27 2013 (9:28am)


Global warming isn’t the threat. A cooling planet would be far deadlier:

The Office for National Statistics estimates that there were 31,000 excess winter deaths in England and Wales in 2012/13, a rise of 29 per cent on the previous year.
Last March was the coldest since 1962, with an average temperature of 2.2°C, and the second coldest since 1910. The majority of the excess deaths (25,000) occurred among those aged 75 or above.
(Thanks to readers OldDigger and John.) 
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Pyne hasn’t broken a promise …. yet

Andrew Bolt November 27 2013 (9:13am)


A much better interview from Education Minister Christopher Pyne on Lateline after his shambolic press conference.
If I understand the mess properly, Pyne should have realised before the election there was $1.2 billion less of funding for the Gonski reforms than he’d assumed, after Labor redirected the money set aside for the hold-out states and territory. Pyne may yet make some of that good in announcements to come.
Pyne claims he won’t break his promise to the states which signed on to keep the “funding envelope” - the overall spending amounts.
But he is not repeating his promise that individual schools won’t lose a dollar under the Coalition compared to what they were promised by Labor over the next four years. Whether that represents a broken promise remains to be seen.
Pyne’s criticism that some states didn’t actually sign the deals they agreed to seems too much a clever-dick lawyering, with Pyne now reluctant to say whether this technicality means he will not recognise or honor those agreements - or at least those part which the Liberals said before the election they would honor.
I don’t think Pyne has thought through his media strategy.
That said, this was good – a strong rebuttal of ABC Leftism:
STEVE CANNANE: So if you don’t believe there is an equity problem, given the Gonski review is all about improving equity in Australian schools, is it fair to say you never believed in Gonski?
CHRISTOPHER PYNE: I think Gonski should be about improving the quality of our students’ outcomes.
STEVE CANNANE: But Gonski was mostly about equity. Does that mean you never believed in it if you don’t think there’s an equity problem?
CHRISTOPHER PYNE: Steve, you’re the first person who has described the Gonski report as being all about equity. The Gonski report was about a new school funding model. It was supposed to be about high-quality outcomes for our students. If it was all about equity then that is news to most people.
(Thanks to reader Colleen.) 
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Bob Katter’s Indonesia: a Christian nation missing 17,954 of its islands

Andrew Bolt November 27 2013 (8:42am)


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Bob Katter is a member of Parliament who said the following things about Indonesia on the ABC, unchallenged:

BOB KATTER, KATTER’S AUST. PARTY:  ...  it may have been heroic and it may have been a morally excellent thing for us to do, to go into East Timor, but there are 240 million people jammed onto six tiny little islands and we took half of one of those islands off them. That is the way Jakarta television played out what happened.
Then there was this:

BOB KATTER: We were at war with Indonesia over them cutting off, effectively, the oil supply of Shell. We cut off their food supply. Now, in this case they have continuously returned. They have been the Christian nation here. Love your neighbour: they have exemplified that.
Curiously, the ABC transcript substitutes “question” for “Christian”, as if the ABC transcribers simply couldn’t believe Katter would really praise a Muslim nation of 245 million people on 18,000 islands as “Christian”. 
But Katter than does it again in a rant that sounds more like substance-inspired free-form poetry than political analysis:
BOB KATTER:  By the end of this year myself and the cattle crisis committee through our endeavours and the great Christianity - even though he’s not a Christian - of the Indonesian ambassador, we got the market restored. So the price is going up now. I mean, we’ve restored seven per cent of the demand for beef, for Australian beef. Seven per cent is back.
Well, I mean, through the intransigence of the Prime Minister and the most extraordinary behaviour of the Leader of the Opposition in following him with all I can say is truculent stupidity, but remember that Mr Shorten now has agreed with him. His party hasn’t… you quite rightly pointed out no one else in his party agrees with, and I don’t think there are too many in the Liberal Party that agree with the Prime Minister’s position.
(Thanks to reader Anthony.) 
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A climate of insane spending on nothing

Andrew Bolt November 27 2013 (8:28am)

Global warming - general

Terry McCrann measures the great global warming gravy train:
[An] attempt was made [at the UN climate talks in Warsaw] to develop a new source for restocking the gravy train.
That we should have up to $US100?billion a year funded by the developed countries to pour money into third world kleptocracies under the guise of paying for “climate harm”.
Australia’s share could run at $2-3?billion a year, EVERY YEAR AND RISING.
It is important to understand this would be completely separate to another fund, also of $US100 billion a year, also funded by developed countries, to pay for so-called green climate action.
Put them together and the Federal Government could be up for a new bill of $4-6 billion a year… Remember too, that $4-6 billion a year would be COMPLETELY ADDITIONAL to the cost we would have to pay to cut our CO2 emissions by the 5 per cent, currently bipartisanly mandated, or the “at least” 15 per cent so casually demanded by the discredited and hopefully soon-to-be disbanded Climate Authority.
If “Electricity Bill” Shorten got his way, we would be writing out further cheques for another $7 billion a year by 2020 - rising to a mind-blowing something like $57 billion a year by 2050 - according to Treasury modelling, to buy “emission permits” from overseas…
Do the math. The climate crazies want the government to hand over maybe $6 billion every year, and rising, to third-world countries, compensating for our past sins not of commission or even omission but of emission… AND in addition to all that budget pain, you will be forced to pay for that $57 billion that will be flowing to who knows whom and where, via yet dramatically higher power prices, either as ordinary consumers or Australian businesses.
And all to achieve absolutely nothing. 
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Today’s Abbott-hate in The Age

Andrew Bolt November 27 2013 (8:17am)

The headline:

image
The truth, as noted in the report:


Dr Yudhoyono would not release [Tony Abbott’s] letter, but spoke approvingly its contents before saying there were “a number of matters that still require to be clarified by the Government of Australia”.
UPDATE
Never let The Age complain about News Corp bias when its own is so childishly transparent:

image

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Burnside claim: Abbott stoking Indonesian conflict to hide his, er, success in stopping boats

Andrew Bolt November 27 2013 (7:43am)


Surprise one: Julian Burnside QC, the “human rights” lawyer, fancies he fights for civilised values when he actually celebrates an attempted bombing of Parliament, wants children to spit on a politician, and publishes obscene abuse.
Surprise two, Julian Burnside QC, is rated as a superior lawyer when he advances the most preposterous conspiracy theories in defiance of the most basic facts:
JULIAN BURNSIDE:  I would say that the relationship between Australia and Indonesia is a bit like your relationship with your mother-in-law. You just have to make it work and we are not doing a very good job at that at the moment but there is a really interesting question. Why have we not handled this fairly obvious problem a bit more intelligently? One cynical explanation might be this: it looks as though, at least in the short-term, Indonesia is not going to be cooperating in Australia’s desire to stop boat people getting to our shores. A bit of a set-to with Indonesia is a perfect excuse for the fact the idea of stopping the boats hasn’t worked and won’t work. 
I’m not sure whether to laugh or be appalled that something so stupid can be advanced to explain a serious breakdown with our relationship with Indonesia, caused when Left-wing media outlets released intelligence material on a Labor-authorised spying operation that was stolen by a Left-wing traitor.
That Burnside cannot see how hard the Government is working to fix this without betraying our national interest is one thing.
That Burnside cannot see how much the Government needs this fixed to actually keep its boat policies working is even stranger.
But that he seriously thinks Abbott’s boat policies haven’t worked when we’ve had just four boats arrive in the past four weeks is even crazier. Why on earth would Abbott want to distract attention from a fact his government proudly announces?
Just as deluded is Burnside’s theory that the truth of the arrivals is being kept from us:

JOSH FRYDENBERG:… But there has been very good cooperation and Operation Sovereign Borders, Julian may not like to hear this, but it is actually working.
TONY JONES: All right. We will come to that issue.
JULIAN BURNSIDE: We don’t know, do we, because we are not allowed to know

Actually, Julian, we are indeed allowed to know. Your suggestion that the numbers of arrivals are kept secret is another baseless conspiracy theory. The numbers of arrivals are given each Friday, as are numbers of detainees. Residents on Christmas Island and the Indonesian search and rescue agency generally confirm arrivals or rescues. There is zero evidence of boats being intercepted but not reported, and zero evidence of boat people being hidden, unreported, in detention centres.
The question must surely be whether you actually believe this nonsense or are deliberately peddling a conspiracy theory you know is false. The choice for me seems to be between doubting your intelligence or your integrity. Could you explain what I am missing here? 
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Too full and fractured already, but our door is opened wider

Andrew Bolt November 27 2013 (7:23am)

Immigration

The infrastructure of our cities is already struggling to cope with population increases, and community solidarity is shredding. So how is this in our national interest?

Almost 10 million migrants over the next 50 years will swell Australia’s population to more than 40 million by 2060 and more than 50 million by 2100, under dramatically higher new projections by the Bureau of Statistics.
The projections, the first for five years, envisage tens of millions more people crowding into Australia’s capital cities over the next 50 years, overwhelmingly due to migration.
By 2060, the bureau estimates, Melbourne will have 8.5 million people, twice as many as now.  By then Sydney would have 8.4 million, an increase of 80 per cent from now. Perth would more than double to 5.5 million people, and Brisbane to 4.8 million. Both cities would be bigger than Sydney is now.
Immigration brings profound and irreversible changes. It astonishes me that it’s assumed by the political class to be a phenomenon whose benefits cannot be questioned, whose risks cannot be acknowledged. 
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ABC betrayed its trust

Andrew Bolt November 27 2013 (7:06am)


Angelos Frangopoulos, chief executive of Australian News Channel, says the ABC wrongly won the Australia Network with Labor’s help and then betrayed its trust:

The ABC’s conflicted and inept handling of the Indonesian spying crisis has highlighted the folly of the extraordinary political intervention that handed the ABC the Australia Network contract against two findings of the tender board…
The network was created as a service to be commissioned by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade to promote our trade, cultural and related interests… It was only the extraordinary intervention in the tender of the former communications minister Stephen Conroy that enabled the ABC to continue treating the Australia Network as its vanity project on the international stage, just another branch of the ABC, and the source of an extra $223m in funding from taxpayers to subsidise the ABC’s hobbyhorses…
It says much about the ABC’s view of itself for [ABC news director Kate] Torney to write that - after failing to win on merit and having to fall back on the intervention of Conroy - ”the ABC’s reputation as a trusted, independent source of news and information is one of the reasons the ABC was awarded the Australia Network”.
Our company, which produces the Sky News channels..., bid to supply the Australia Network to DFAT in 2011… Even though the tender rules were changed midstream to assist the ABC, the tender board preferred the Sky News proposals…
In her opinion piece, Torney tries to draw Sky News into the ABC’s spying crisis by suggesting we would not run dead on reporting an issue that reflected badly on Australia. Of course Sky News would not run dead. But unlike the ABC’s confused news management, we do understand the critical difference between a Sky News channel and the DFAT-funded Australia Network.
What the ABC does with its dedicated news and current affairs services on TV, radio and online is its call.
But what the ABC and The Guardian have done is join the Australia Network in a diplomatic situation with unintended consequences. DFAT staff in Jakarta have spent hours in lockdown, tear gas has been fired and Australian flags are being burned in the streets… ABC management professed its expertise in delivering soft diplomacy to secure the Australia Network contract in perpetuity. In practice it has failed.  
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Yudhoyono demands intelligence deal

Andrew Bolt November 27 2013 (6:56am)


This suggests both countries are implicitly blaming the Rudd Government for going too far - but the danger is that we now deny ourselves useful intelligence in an uncertain future:

INDONESIA has accepted Tony Abbott’s explanation of the 2009 spying scandal but says the bilateral relationship will not fully resume until a new “protocol and code of ethical conduct” is agreed and implemented between the two countries.
President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono extended the olive branch to Australia last night…
However, Dr Yudhoyono made clear that the relationship would not be fully resumed - including military and police cooperation on people smuggling - until the code of conduct he and the Prime Minister had signed was “fully implemented"…
“So I think bilateral cooperation that really brings mutual benefit can be resumed including military and police cooperation between the two countries."…
The Indonesian leader said Mr Abbott ...  had undertaken that Australia would not in future engage in conduct “that will be harmful to the relationship or disturb Indonesia”.
This appeared to confirm the reported commitment earlier this month by Australian intelligence chiefs to their Indonesian counterpart, Marciano Norman, that Australia was not now and would not engage in electronic surveillance against domestic targets in Indonesia.
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Newspoll: Coalition 52 to 48 ahead

Andrew Bolt November 26 2013 (7:12pm)


Yesterday’s Neilsen poll in Fairfax - showing Labor way ahead - does indeed seem a wild outlier, although the Coalition has lost a little of its lead:
According to the latest Newspoll survey, conducted exclusively for The Australian on the weekend, the Coalition’s primary vote went from 45 per cent two weeks ago to 43 per cent as Labor’s rose from 32 per cent to 35 per cent. Greens’ support went from 12 per cent two weeks ago to 10 per cent…
Based on preference flows at the 2010 election, the Coalition’s two-party-preferred lead is now 52 per cent to Labor’s 48 per cent - a slight narrowing in the past fortnight.
UPDATE
Essential Media: Coalition 53, Labor 47
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Vote Miley. Because heads exploding are fun
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PRINCESS CUT DIAMOND ENGAGEMENT RING — atDiamond Imports.
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Something the ALP would not have even started on .. it would have interfered with them filling pork barrels. - ed
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIEeiDjdUuU#t=19
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Larry Pickering
A DIFFERENT SORT OF DEMOCRACY

As protesters burned Australian flags outside the Australian Embassy in Jakarta, shouting “death to infidels”, parliamentarians were urging President Yudhoyono to revoke the presidential decree which granted remissions to Schapelle Corby. Taslim Chaniago, of the National Mandate Party (PAN), said, “This should be done to heal the Indonesian people’s feelings at the moment.”

The Indonesian Democratic Party’s Ahmad Basarah said, “The government should take its anger out on Corby. The two countries have no reason to cooperate right now.

“I urge President SBY to revoke the remissions that have been granted to drug convict Corby,” Basarah said. “There is no reason to say that Indonesia has a strategic interest in the Australian government.

"Yudhoyono’s decision to grant Corby clemency is clearly wrong. It brings no benefits to Indonesia.”

Corby has received a total of 31 months in sentence reductions since being convicted in May 2005 of attempting to smuggle 4.2 kilograms of marijuana into Bali.

She was sentenced to 20 years in prison, but is currently expected to be granted parole. Officials at Bali’s Kerobokan Prison have filed for Corby’s parole, but the matter has stalled, awaiting approval.

Indonesians have obviously not heard of “separation of powers”! The government, the judiciary and military are one and the same to an Indonesian politician.

This typifies the gulf between western democracy and Indonesia-style democracy. Now it appears vindictiveness is also a part of their judicial system.

Corby, guilty or not, will be released on parole eventually. But only on condition she does not leave the area or speak of her experience.

She was convicted on tainted evidence that would be inadmissible in any western court. Many pertinent questions remain unanswered surrounding that anomalous 4.2 kilo of hash and Corby, while on parole will be gagged, under threat of re-incarceration, to protect Indonesia’s corrupt police and our AFP for as long as possible.

Many have bought their way out of Kerokoban Prison and US dollars in the right hands would have seen Corby back home nine years ago.

Her high profile has cost her dearly but even now a small wad of cash in the right place would see her home for Christmas.

Unfortunately Muslims aren’t particularly interested in Christmas.

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passione mediterranea
"Ti accorgi di voler bene ad una persona solo in un preciso gesto "eroico"...quando la lasci andar via da te per la sua felicitá..." 

(Valentine Cassetta)
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Roma Downey
A small act of kindness can go a long way #bible#tvminiseries #PeoplesChoice
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"I would like to be remembered, well ... the Mexicans have a phrase, "Feo fuerte y formal". Which means he was ugly, strong and had dignity." - JOHN WAYNE | TIME interview (1969)
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Silence will fall.

We can reveal that this year's Christmas special will be called 'The Time of the Doctor' and the Doctor must sacrifice everything to save a town called Christmas from his greatest enemies...

And if that wasn't enough to whet your festive appetites, you can also watch the 10 second teaser trailer from the weekend here:http://youtu.be/DMOOLd_44Mo
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Sarah Palin
Friends,

Thanksgiving offers us invaluable time to spend with our family and reflect on our many blessings. In 1789, George Washington declared a day of national Thanksgiving for our new country to render unto God our "sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection."

But even before that first proclamation from a new nation, pioneers across America celebrated Thanksgiving as a time to give praise to God for full harvests and Divine Providence.

And indeed, America has been richly blessed. From coast to coast, we enjoy an abundance of natural resources, plentiful harvests, beautiful cities and our most precious gift of all—a people who value liberty and continue to stand as an example to the world of all that can be accomplished by a free and hard-working people.

This Thanksgiving, join me in a moment of prayer to give thanks for the thousands of American men and women in our armed forces who will spend Thanksgiving away from their homes and families, facing danger overseas to protect our way of life.

When we sit down to enjoy a family meal on Thursday, I will give thanks to God for the blessing of a strong and diverse family life that has taught me so much about loyalty, selflessness, and compassion. I will pray for God's continued blessings on my family, and on yours, and on this great nation of ours.

From my family to yours, God bless you and Happy Thanksgiving!

With an Alaskan heart,

Sarah Palin

P.S. Be sure to check out the latest video from my book tour here: http://youtu.be/hYSfpWWHpqI

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Aprille Love
We got this! Annette Melton #fitgirls #summerbod
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The Shark Fin Cove
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Aprille Love
I'm exhausted and stressed and thankful (you people know who you are), but at the end of the day, all i can hope for is that it was worth it and i made a difference. Here's to you Steve Jobs.
I was part of a collaboration effort he initiated .. iCompositions.com .. he lived his crazy dream - ed
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You may purchase tickets here at: 
http://riversideparramatta.com.au/show/the-philippine-typhoon-christmas-benefit/
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Andy Trieu
So this happened.... #Damiim #xfactor @damiim#damiNinja
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After Obama released Sufian bin Qumu in 2010 (he had been a Gitmo detainee), he went on to Benghazi .. ed
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Aprille Love
Morning! How many faces do you see!? xxx
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http://www.foxnews.com/tech/2013/11/26/sony-files-patent-for-bizarre-smartwig/?intcmp=features
If you're already over the smartwatch craze, why not try a 'smartwig'? Sony filed for a patent for a hairpiece with vibrating sideburns.
The SmartWig is jammed packed with sensors that vibrate on the user's head to send them messages. The patent also says the wig may include special fibers that look natural and can change shape.
The hair-raising idea will monitor your health, give directions and could "be made from horse hair, human hair, wool, feathers, yak hair or any kind of synthetic material."
The wig has already been tested on Sony employees who switched slides during a presentation by tapping their sideburns.
Intelligent hair .. giving hope for Obama legacy .. ed
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http://www.foxnews.com/science/2013/11/26/10000-year-old-house-and-6000-year-old-cultic-temple-uncovered-outside/?intcmp=features
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"Imagine Romney In The White House" - His Defeat Was a Significant Loss For Israel And America's National Security - Romney's Policy Is The Opposite of Obama's
By Ambassador Oded Eran, Jerusalem Post 
"When it comes to dealing with the new political leadership in Tehran, does it matter that Obama, rather than Romney, occupies the White House? The President should take a cue from his former opponent and insert some much-needed toughness into negotiations with Iran." The Ambassador made the following comments:

• Romney developed his views on the Iranian file over several years. He publicly declared seven years ago that Iran must and can be stopped, that sanctions should be toughened, and that Iran should be isolated.
• In the October 2012 debate, Romney said he would tighten economic sanctions, increase the diplomatic isolation of Iran, and indict then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. He accused the Obama administration of signaling weakness to the Iranian regime.
• Romney said he would insist on a complete halt to Iran’s nuclear effort, “To be clear, the objective is get Iran to stop spinning centrifuges, stop enriching uranium, shut down its facilities. Full stop."
• "Existing fissile material will have to be shipped out of the country.”
• Romney would not have sent his secretary of state to Congress to try and stop new sanctions on Iran.
• It is also fair to say that Romney’s secretary of state would have been more courteous to the Israeli prime minister.
• Although Romney was not elected president, it is not too late for Washington to integrate some of Romney’s ideas.

Oded Eran was Israel’s ambassador to Jordan and the European Union. He is now a fellow at the Institute for National Security Studies in Tel Aviv.

No conservative will ever lean far enough to the left to get leftwing support. Yet hardcore conservative leaders like Howard got support from some in the left by being true to his own policy. The best GOP candidates didn't run because it isn't the GOP's turn. Reagan won out of cycle and although he was great, the parties became unbalanced. Democrats became even weaker .. All you need do to rattle a left wing leader and make them question the very things they most value in their existence is to say they aren't popular. - ed
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<$900 headphones. "Wear them at the gym," it says...haha, yep, right.>
http://www.ebay.com/itm/NEW-V-MODA-Crossfade-LP-Over-Ear-Noise-Isolatin-wbr-g-Metal-Headphone-Pearl-White-/190761118074?&_trksid=p2056016.l4276
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Deric Ly
We are back... Choco Tart & Vanilla Slice to Frangipani Tart & Cookies and Creme... From $3.50 to $4.50 Get yours today at Hamel Road Bakery...33 Hamel Road Mount Pritchard
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Sarah Palin'
They’re still pulling the wool over some eyes, friends. So let’s call them out yet again. I was recently interviewed on Fox News Sunday. One question I answered was prefaced with the supposed “fact” that “30 million MORE people will be covered by Obamacare.” That statistic is about as credible a promise as “if you like your health care plan you can keep your health care plan.”

Obamacare is presently hitting people who buy insurance on the individual market because they may not receive health coverage through their employers. It’s hurting millions! But you ain’t seen nuthin' yet. Just wait until the Obamacare employer mandate kicks in next year. As I told Fox News Sunday, despite what the White House and media report, tens of millions more Americans are set to lose their employer provided insurance plans. The ramifications of this WILL fundamentally transform America.

The article linked today at the top of Drudge confirms my point, which is significant because my point was mocked until this article confirmed it. Headline: “Almost 80 million with employer health care plans could have coverage canceled, experts predict.”

Companies that provide health insurance plans that aren’t compliant with new burdensome Obamacare mandates will obviously decide it’s cheaper to dump employees into the government-run Obamacare exchanges and pay the penalty than try to provide an expensive Obamacare-approved plan.

No one in America will be left unscathed by Obamacare. Please trust me on this. The media can repeat all the bogus White House stats they want about false claims like the individual mandate “only affects 5% of the public,” but they can’t change reality – NUMBERS DON'T LIE – and America is about to get “mugged by reality” very soon, to paraphrase Irving Kristol.

Far from providing more Americans with insurance, Obamacare is ironically hurting the very people it was sold to as some kind of health care savior. More people will choose to pay the IRS penalty and go without insurance because they can’t afford the increased rates slamming them, plus they now have fewer options in this one-size-fits-all expensive bureaucratic exchange which forces people to buy coverage for things they don’t want nor need. We’re talking about one-sixth more of our economy controlled now by big government, remember.

Do not forget that Obamacare contains health care rationing. When I warned America about “death panels,” I was denounced as a liar. But now the reality of “death panels” is openly admitted, even touted by some liberals as their solution. Just yesterday yet another prominent liberal media lapdog joined the chorus in finally admitting that death panel-style rationing is “built into the plan. It's not like a guess or like a judgment. That's going to be part of how costs are controlled." This guy and his ilk need to apologize to all of you, NOW, who knew what I was talking about, repeated my warnings, and were mocked and criticized for it. (Don't hold your breath.)

The truth is the “enlightened ones” knew all along that rationing was in the plan. They were angry with me for saying it out loud. The twin pillars of Obamacare have always been redistribution and rationing. Take away one of those pillars and the whole thing crumbles. That’s why Obamacare is doomed. You were smart enough to know that, while they were arrogant enough to keep up a deceitful ruse until their White House control was guaranteed. They’re busted now, though. And that’s why they’re scrambling to distract you and hope you won’t realize how enormously important upcoming elections are to save our economy.

The redistribution aspect will be Obamacare’s undoing. Not enough young or healthy people will apply for Obamacare because it’s simply unaffordable. It makes NO economic sense for them to voluntarily sign up. They’ll choose to pay the IRS fine instead. This will bankrupt the whole Ponzi scheme, which is premised on young and healthy people paying for those who are sick or have pre-existing conditions. And when Obamacare fails, the left will push to have us move to full socialized medicine under a so-called “single payer plan.” This is exactly what Barack Obama touted as a candidate, as did many of his bureaucratic appointees, but the media glossed over that all these years.

Friends, the only way to fix Obamacare is to scrap this stuffed turkey and start over with genuine free market, patient-centered reforms that allow people to purchase insurance across state lines, enact tort reform, and give individual insurance buyers the same breaks we give employer provided insurance. And we need to elect leaders who will fight for us to get it done.

Keep all of this in mind this week as we break for Thanksgiving. Be warned the White House is arming leftist supporters with “talking points” to try to convince family and friends around the Thanksgiving table that Obamacare is the greatest thing since sliced pumpkin bread. You should politely let them know you’re not swallowing that turkey.

Thank you for doing your own homework, for trusting the truth I've expressed, and for refusing to let the “enlightened ones” keep America in the dark.

- Sarah Palin

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Ah, my friends .. and yes .. I know I will die .. and so you will view this as double edged. But know this. I know that I will one day go home. I don't know his plan for me. I only know the promise. I'm not looking for death, but to live. Isn't that what everyone does? No. Some fear death so much .. they don't live. - ed===

It is very hard for a balanced person to understand politics with such memes as this .. Bush appropriately responded to many attacks. Obama corruptly tossed cash and weakened the world. - ed
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The Hypocrisy of death...
http://liberallogic101.com/?p=4092
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Roma Downey
"Life is short; we haven't much time to gladden the hearts of those who travel the way with us. So be quick to love; make haste to be kind!" -- Henri Frédéric Amiel, Swiss philosopher, poet and critic.
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Dai Le
To my friends on this page, I have been involved in creating the Diverse Australasian Women's Network (DAWN). 
And we're finally going to launch, this Friday, November 29th.
So, three (3) Days to go till the launch of DAWN!!! 

The night will be filled with amazing company, great women (and men supporting women), food, raffle prizes (signed copy of Manu Feildel's cook books, Lancome gifts packages worth $500 each, Coach handbag, Pandora bracelet, Lean In books by Sheryl Sanberg...and more!!!
We will be entertained by Tropical Soul Dance Studio's Brazilian and Salsa dancers, as well as performances by Trio Compay.

I want to say thank you to the women who have made this possible and have been there for me:
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Pastor Rick Warren
"Surely it was for my benefit that I suffered such anguish. In your love you kept me from the pit of despair." Isaiah 38:17
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Jerusalem Post's Glick: Iran Deal 'Betrays' US Allies By Bill Hoffmann
http://www.newsmax.com/NewsmaxTv/iran-deal-us-betrayal/2013/11/25/id/538569#ixzz2loqtI52C

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http://www.israelunseen.com/israel-2013-czechoslovakia-1938-2/
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http://sultanknish.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/jewish-culture-revelation-and-continuity.html
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http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4067/diplomacy-is-best-but
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Allyson Christy
Caroline Glick has 'nailed it' and then some, summarising an analysis quite encompassing a sinister, yet menacing scope of the Obama Administration's underlying political goals. 

Yet distressingly, clarity comes finally into focus, of those who have craftily hurled accusations of lunacy, insanity, war-mongering and a desire for bloodshed relative to the dynamics of security's integrity.

Ms. Glick has effectively outlined a twisted, yet prevailing mode of grave disproportion of diplomatic magnitude; one of far-reaching and dangerous manipulation facilitated and presently implemented by the current White House. 

The situation with America's leadership-helm is far worse than I'd even imagined until just very recently.
……………………..
"With Iran building military bases all over Central and South America, Obama never bothered trying to make the case to the American people that they would be more secure with this regime in possession of the capacity to kill millions of Americans with one bomb.

He never explained how allowing Iran to continue to enrich uranium decreases the likelihood of war.

So what did Obama need the last year for? If he wasn’t concerned with getting a less dangerous deal, and he didn’t care what the American people though about his facilitation of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, what prevented him from okaying the agreement last year?

To ascertain the answer, it is worth considering Finance Minister Yair Lapid’s comments Sunday morning. Beyond noting the nuclear deal’s danger to Israel’s security, Lapid said, “I am worried not only over the deal but that we have lost the world’s attention.”

And indeed, Israel has lost the world’s attention. 


Its appropriately deep concerns over Iran’s nuclear behavior were belittled, ignored and derided, first and foremost by the Obama administration. 

Worse than belittling Israel’s concerns, which are completely shared by the Sunni Arab world, Obama and Kerry have castigated as warmongers those Americans who agree with Israel’s concerns and have attacked them as traitors who seek to push America into an unnecessary war. 

At the same time, they have presented the dispute as one of Israel against the rest of the world, ignoring that the Sunni Arab world shares Israel’s concerns.

The US has also weakened Israel’s capacity to take steps short of war to prevent Iran from becoming a nuclear weapons possessing state by leaking key components of Israel’s covert operations against Iran’s nuclear program." - excerpts

Read the article…..truth is sometimes disgusting and despicable.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/2013/caroline-glick/the-goal-of-obamas-foreign-policy/#.UpSuxMy16v8.facebook
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"When I first ran for president, I said it was time for a new era of American leadership in the world, one that turned the page on a decade of war and began a new era of engagement with the world," added Obama. "As president and as commander in chief, I've done what I've said." And he sure has, in every foolish and treacherous way.
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G'day, no prize for guessing what inspired this one.

Godspeed
Zeg
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HonestReporting's Israel Daily News Stream: Everything You Need to Know About Media Coverage of Israel and the MidEast

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Friend,
It's hard to believe Thanksgiving is just around the corner and that 2013 will soon be coming to a close.  Karen and I love this time of year and are so thankful for the many blessings in our lives.  We want to take a moment to thank you for your faithful friendship and support over these past years.  We are grateful to you and look forward to working with you in the months and years to come as we continue the fight to protect our shared values.  We wish you and yours a happy and blessed Thanksgiving!
Warmly,
santorum-signature

Rick Santorum 
thanksgiving 1.30
Patriot Voices Radio
Join us today on Patriot Voices Radio at Noon ET.  Listen live at www.patriotvoices.com/radio or by phone at (347) 857-3462.   We'll be talking about Iran's nuclear program, The Christmas Candlemovie, ObamaCare and the United Nations Disabilities Treaty (CRPD).  If you have a minute, please call our shout out line at (512) 827-0033 where you can record a message about a blessing in your life as we prepare to celebrate Thanksgiving.  We may play your message during the show!
The Christmas Candle
The Christmas Candle movie had a strong opening weekend!  Despite tough competition at the box office, The Christmas Candle did well for an independent film.  If you haven't seen the movie yet, I encourage you to take your family and friends over the holiday weekend.  This is a great movie to get you into the Christmas spirit.  Find a theater near you at www.christmascandlemovie.com/tickets.  


The Deal with Iran
I wanted to share with you my thoughts about the deal that the Obama administration struck with Iran over the weekend.  CNN covered my comments here, and here is a quick recap for you: 
" This deal does nothing to dismantle Iran's nuclear program.  It provides vital resources for a ruthless regime to continue to oppress its people, threaten its neighbors, support terrorism, stabilize its economy, and violate numerous U.N. resolutions pertaining to its nuclear program.  The agreement does no more than pay billions for Iran to hit the pause button on some of its activities that do little to slow down their march toward a nuclear weapon...
While Iran made some concessions in exchange for access to frozen assets, no uranium is being removed, construction of the Arak heavy water reactor can continue in violation of a U.N. resolution and nothing bars Iran from continuing to enrich uranium contrary to several U.N. resolutions.   And our ally Israel, who is most directly affected by President Obama's new deal, has openly and vigorously opposed it...
What happened this weekend is an act of a desperate president who is willing to abandon our allies in the Middle East just so he can change the political narrative of continuing failure here at home.  The failure continues."
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Ministry Leadership Is All
About Serving Others
In the world, you build a pyramid and you climb to the top. But Jesus said, “No, he who serves best leads best.” Servanthood is leadership. The better you serve the more God raises you up to leadership. Leadership is not a matter of getting people to serve your interests. Leadership is a matter of serving the best interests of others. Jesus said, If you want to be great, you learn to be the servant of all.

God is much more interested in why you do what you do than He is interested in what you do. Check out your heart on these...
  
And in case you missed Pastor Rick's article last week...
18 Ways to Keep Yourself Motivated In Ministry
Pastors: How to End the Year Faithfully
By Ronnie Floyd

With the holiday season looming, how can you end the year faithfully? In other words, Pastor, what should your focus be for these last few days of the year? You can lead aimlessly to nowhere or aim purposefully.
 
I would like to challenge you personally and professionally. Here are some challenges that I believe will help you end the year faithfully.
  

More Stories
from Pastors.com

How to Share the Gospel With an Atheist
By Greg Stier

Church Planters Are Spiritual Entrepreneurs
By Dave Page

How to Bring Joy to Your City
By Brandon Cox

If You Visited Your Church and Didn't Know the Code
By Geoff Surratt

5 Assumptions that Set Small Group Coaching Up to Fail
By Mark Howell

One Thing That Will Increase Your Online Influence
By Justin Lathrop
Leaders: Your charisma may attract new staff but only your character will keep them loyal for 20 years. #CharismaFades

Rick Warren via Twitter
Pastor, You Need the Refuge of a Gospel Community
By Ben Reed

Men: How to Begin to Develop a Healthier, Stronger Marriage
By Kenny Luck

Should a Wife Keep Her Husband's Sexual Sin a Secret?
By Marsha Fisher

10 Guest Preaching Tips So They Want to Invite You Back
By Brandon Hilgemann
Copyright © 2013 Saddleback Church, All rights reserved. 
Thanks for opting into Rick Warren's Pastor's Toolbox at pastors.com. 

Our mailing address is: 
Saddleback Church
1 Saddleback Pkwy
Lake ForestCA 92630
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Photo credit: John W. Pope Civitas Institute
Hi everyone! Here's the MichelleMalkin.com newsletter for November 26th. Enjoy!

From the Blog

Latest Obama strategy: Sorry, I can’t help you because as you know I’m constrained by the Constitution

As evidenced by President Obama on Monday, gone are the days of “I won’t wait for Congress to act,” and he’s now entered “The Constitution Zone”...

According to Obama, there are two parties now: The Democrats and the Impediments

In 2005, President Obama said legislative tactics such as the filibuster were established by the Founding Fathers to protect the minority from a tyranny of the majority, but now those same things are speed bumps on the road to Progress...

More From the Right Side of the Web

Featured Video

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How is "sellin' hope like sellin' soap"? Check out Remy's latest to find out.

Michelle's Top Tweets

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And ... Our Hate Tweet of the Day

Screen Shot 2013-11-26 at 8.40.08 AM
At least it's original.
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November 27Hanukkah begins at sunset (Judaism, 2013)
Nicolae Iorga
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Events[edit]

Births[edit]

Deaths[edit]

Holidays and observances[edit]

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“Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe,”Hebrews 12:28NIV
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning

"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might."
Ecclesiastes 9:10
"Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do," refers to works that are possible. There are many things which our heart findeth to do which we never shall do. It is well it is in our heart; but if we would be eminently useful, we must not be content with forming schemes in our heart, and talking of them; we must practically carry out "whatsoever our hand findeth to do." One good deed is more worth than a thousand brilliant theories. Let us not wait for large opportunities, or for a different kind of work, but do just the things we "find to do" day by day. We have no other time in which to live. The past is gone; the future has not arrived; we never shall have any time but time present. Then do not wait until your experience has ripened into maturity before you attempt to serve God. Endeavour now to bring forth fruit. Serve God now, but be careful as to the way in which you perform what you find to do--"do it with thy might." Do it promptly; do not fritter away your life in thinking of what you intend to do to-morrow as if that could recompense for the idleness of today. No man ever served God by doing things to-morrow. If we honour Christ and are blessed, it is by the things which we do today. Whatever you do for Christ throw your whole soul into it. Do not give Christ a little slurred labour, done as a matter of course now and then; but when you do serve him, do it with heart, and soul, and strength.
But where is the might of a Christian? It is not in himself, for he is perfect weakness. His might lieth in the Lord of Hosts. Then let us seek his help; let us proceed with prayer and faith, and when we have done what our "hand findeth to do," let us wait upon the Lord for his blessing. What we do thus will be well done, and will not fail in its effect.

Evening

"They shall rejoice, and shall see the plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel."
Zechariah 4:10
Small things marked the beginning of the work in the hand of Zerubbabel, but none might despise it, for the Lord had raised up one who would persevere until the headstone should be brought forth with shoutings. The plummet was in good hands. Here is the comfort of every believer in the Lord Jesus; let the work of grace be ever so small in its beginnings, the plummet is in good hands, a master builder greater than Solomon has undertaken the raising of the heavenly temple, and he will not fail nor be discouraged till the topmost pinnacle shall be raised. If the plummet were in the hand of any merely human being, we might fear for the building, but the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in Jesus' hand. The works did not proceed irregularly, and without care, for the master's hand carried a good instrument. Had the walls been hurriedly run up without due superintendence, they might have been out of the perpendicular; but the plummet was used by the chosen overseer. Jesus is evermore watching the erection of his spiritual temple, that it may be built securely and well. We are for haste, but Jesus is for judgment. He will use the plummet, and that which is out of line must come down, every stone of it. Hence the failure of many a flattering work, the overthrow of many a glittering profession. It is not for us to judge the Lord's church, since Jesus has a steady hand, and a true eye, and can use the plummet well. Do we not rejoice to see judgment left to him?
The plummet was in active use--it was in the builder's hand; a sure indication that he meant to push on the work to completion. O Lord Jesus, how would we indeed be glad if we could see thee at thy great work. O Zion, the beautiful, thy walls are still in ruins! Rise, thou glorious Builder, and make her desolations to rejoice at thy coming.
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Today's reading: Ezekiel 27-29, 1 Peter 3 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: Ezekiel 27-29

A Lament Over Tyre
1 The word of the LORD came to me: 2 “Son of man, take up a lament concerning Tyre. 3 Say to Tyre, situated at the gateway to the sea, merchant of peoples on many coasts, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says:
“‘You say, Tyre,
“I am perfect in beauty.”
4 Your domain was on the high seas;
your builders brought your beauty to perfection.
They made all your timbers
of juniper from Senir;
they took a cedar from Lebanon
to make a mast for you.
6 Of oaks from Bashan
they made your oars;
of cypress wood from the coasts of Cyprus
they made your deck, adorned with ivory.
7 Fine embroidered linen from Egypt was your sail
and served as your banner;
your awnings were of blue and purple
from the coasts of Elishah.
8 Men of Sidon and Arvad were your oarsmen;
your skilled men, Tyre, were aboard as your sailors.
9 Veteran craftsmen of Byblos were on board
as shipwrights to caulk your seams.
All the ships of the sea and their sailors
came alongside to trade for your wares....

Today's New Testament reading: 1 Peter 3

1 Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives,2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers....
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Stewarding Our Gratitude

Today's reading: Isaiah 54:1-17
In Isaiah 54 God promises not to hide his face permanently from Israel. As such, it provides an extended statement of God's steadfast love-a beautiful illustration of how God provides for and stewards his people.
What's the appropriate response to so great an overture of undeserved forgiveness? As stewards of God's grace and peace, we owe it to the rest of our world to spread the news and share the bounty.
Christian apologist and novelist C. S. Lewis (1898-1963) writes of a vision of a time and place where goodness, gratitude and peace will reign. As Christians each of us is somewhere along the route; we're poised at varying points along the spectrum of eternity.
I think all Christians would agree with me if I said that though Christianity seems at first to be all about morality, ... it leads you on, out of all that, into something beyond. One has a glimpse of a country where they do not talk of those things, except perhaps as a joke. Every one there is filled full with what we should call goodness as a mirror is filled with light. But they do not call it goodness. They do not call it anything. They are not thinking of it. They are too busy looking at the source from which it comes. But this is near the stage where the road passes over the rim of our world. No one's eyes can see very far beyond that: lots of people's eyes can see further than mine.
No matter how far ahead our squinting eyes can see, the stark fact is that we simply aren't there yet; both Lewis's vision and God's share a future element that calls our praise up short every time. Our gratitude here and now takes an effort. It's a stewardship thing. Author Beth Moore reflects:
This morning I called my firstborn and could tell she was having a rough Monday morning. Like many of us working girls, she was trying to get her home in order after a busy weekend and still make it to her desk on time. There's nothing like trying to be Domestic Goddess and Employee of the Week at the same time, is there, Sister? I told her that one of the most powerful mood changers God had ever taught me was to open my mouth and say, "I choose joy. I may not feel it, but God has appropriated it and I choose it." About an hour later, I received the following e-mail from her ...
See if you can relate to this:
"I'm choosing joy ... The Lord has refreshed my spirit and given me a new perspective. What a minute cross I have to bear on any given day. I had to repent of being a spineless clot of grievances. Honestly, I would be an absolute MESS without the Lord! I need Him more and more every day!"

Think About It

  • What would your life look like if you got what you deserved?
  • What keeps you from praising God?
  • How might you better steward your gratitude to God for his good gifts?

Pray About It

God, remind me that your love is steadfast. In a world of constant change, I thank you for your gifts, and I praise you for who you are.
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Today's reading is from theNIV Stewardship Study Bible
by Zondervan


Discover the remarkable privilege we have as stewards of God's design for life through the study of Scripture.


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Mercy for the Impetuous

Chris Larson
Peter didn't just blow it, he blew it badly. "Though they all fall away...I will never fall away" (Matt. 26:33 ). Peter's resolution we admire for its confidence and bravery. But it is a statement relying on one's own strength and it is doomed for shipwreck. A few hours go by and we find him alone and weeping (v. 75).
We can relate, can't we? We've made promise after promise to the Lord, resolution after resolution, only to come to the end of ourselves. The sinking feeling churns in our stomach, our earlier words of bold resolve pour like fuel on the fire of guilt and self-condemnation.
Godly sorrow doesn't remove the sting of sin's consequence. Falling short of the glory of God every day in word, thought, and deed is the norm, not the exception (Rom. 3:23). We may be surprised when we blow it, but our sins do not surprise the omniscient, holy God.
So often we want to hide from the Lord when we sin. Yet after Peter's very public failure, he doesn't hide. He waits. Notice what Peter did when he heard it was Jesus on the beach. His exuberance leaps off the pages of the Bible when we read how he throws himself into the water and swims to shore ( John 21:7).
Peter's interaction with Jesus instructs us on biblical restoration. It was Jesus who restored Peter. It was Jesus who knew He would bring Peter back to a place of useful service (Luke 22:31-32 ). In fact, Jesus knew Peter's journey through this dark path would only bring greater fruit as he ministered to those around him. The remarkable trials the first-century church faced required humble, God-dependent leaders who knew their strength rested not within themselves. "God is more willing to pardon than to punish. Mercy does more multiply in Him than sin in us. Mercy is His nature" (Thomas Watson, All Things for Good).
The impetuous disciple resolved to be faithful, but his stumbling has served Christians for millennia who have looked at that event in Peter's life and found the comfort coming from a God of mercy. The Lord overrules our frailty, restores the fallen, and grows His church.
Chris Larson is director of communications at Ligonier Ministries.
INTO the WORD daily Bible studies from TableTalk Magazine, Matthew Studies. Copyright © 2008 by Ligonier Ministries.
Subscribe to Tabletalk magazine and receive daily Bible studies & in depth articles from world class scholars for only $23 per per year! That's only $1.92 per month. And you can try it out for three months absolutely free! Bringing the best in biblical scholarship together with down-to-earth writing, Tabletalk helps you understand the Bible and apply it to daily living. 
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COUPLESenewsheader-Bibles-Sep2011

What We See in Each Other

"The LORD does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart."
1 Samuel 16:7
Samuel was sent to the house of Jesse to find a new king. When he got there, Samuel saw Eliab, one of Jesse's sons. "Surely, he is the one God has chosen to be the next king," Samuel thought. Evidently, like the previous king, Saul, Eliab was tall and striking. But Eliab was not the one God had in mind.
God warned Samuel not to assess people by their physical appearance. God reminded the old prophet that he doesn't look at the outside; he looks at the inside. So each of Jesse's sons passed before Samuel, but God did not indicate that any of them was the man God had sent him to find. Finally, David, the youngest son, came in from the fields. Then the Lord spoke to Samuel, telling him this was the right one.
When we look at someone's outward appearance, we often fail to see what God sees. This message was clearly illustrated to writer John Fisher when he was speaking at a seminar. "A couple came in late, and I could see that they were in love," Fisher said. "I couldn't help but notice the woman was very attractive, while the guy was a real nerd.
"What could she see in him?" Fisher wondered. From the outside, this couple didn't look like a match. "Then I realized she was blind," Fisher said.
"What did she see in him? She saw everything that was important in a person. She saw love. While another woman might not have gotten past this man's unimpressive exterior, she was blind to that. She only saw his heart. Blessed are the blind, for they can see people as they really are."
Like Samuel, we often make judgments based on what people look like. But God doesn't use looks as his criteria. He evaluates people by what's in their hearts. He sees their character, their faithfulness and their commitment to him.
During courtship, we can be charmed by someone's good looks, attentiveness or flattery. All of that can be fleeting. Over the course of a marriage, the real person breaks through. Perhaps as your marriage ages, your spouse's outward appearance starts to change. Your spouse grays, loses hair or gains a little weight. Perhaps the two of you fall into a rut, and the special treatment that marked your dating period begins to wane. That's when we need to remember what the Lord said to Samuel about focusing on what's in the heart rather than what's physically noticeable.
The success of a marriage comes, not in finding who we think initially is the "perfect" person for us, but in our willingness to adjust to the real person we married.
Jennifer Schuchmann

Let's Talk

  • What characteristics initially attracted us to each other? What qualities do we treasure most today?
  • The blind woman never saw her partner's appearance. Like God, she only saw his heart. Would we rather have people look at our appearance or at our heart? Why?
  • What steps are we taking to improve our faith, our character and our commitment to God?
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NIVCouplesbibleToday's reading is from the
NIV Couple's Devotional Bible
by Zondervan


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