Saturday, March 15, 2014

Sat Mar 15th Todays News

The coup which claimed the life of Julius Ceaser on this day in 44 BC was serious. But after the murder, and after all the murder that followed, nothing much changed. Julius was remarkable, and possibly satisfied at his own assassination, happening before he lost the strength of youth. He never had to be graceful and indulgent to get by, as those who are elderly must learn. The Roman Republic was still a republic, and although the individuals wielded extraordinary powers, the business of empire remained. The infighting that a dictator was supposed to prevent was not prevented. Lots of people dead, lots of money spent, nothing much changed .. it resembles ALP government. 

Fittingly, on this day, in 1672, Charles II issued a royal indulgence. One guesses he was getting old. Before the law could become real steak and vegetables, parliament opposed it. It would have allowed into public service people who believed in transubstantiation. Today, no one is supposed to discriminate on religious grounds. Meaning that public servants back then were supposed to be bigots. In all probability, knowledge of transubstantiation might preclude someone of becoming a public servant today, as a well educated person might not be willing to walk over victims in jack boots. And so one sees the truth that regardless of law, everything remains the same. It is a libertarian view that much legislation is meaningless. But today, you can be convicted of saying so. 

For twenty two years I have been responsibly addressing an issue, and I cannot carry on. I am petitioning the NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell to remedy my distress. I leave it up to him if he chooses to address the issue. Regardless of your opinion of conservative government, the issue is pressing. Please sign my petition at http://www.change.org/en-AU/petitions/nsw-premier-barry-o-farrell-remedy-the-persecution-of-dd-ball?
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Hatches
Happy birthday and many happy returns Steve Barbuto, old friend. Born the day after Pi's birthday. Although you have forgotten many of them, the blessing of each birthday grows. So that the more you have, the longer you live. Your backstabbing friends taught me that. Be where in the Ides of March.
Matches
Despatches
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DISHING IT OUT

Tim Blair – Saturday, March 15, 2014 (2:56pm)

The Sydney Morning Herald‘s Mike Carlton is angry about Chris Kenny’s legal action against the ABC: 
Kenny’s behaviour is pathetic. There is an ancient convention that if you have your own media outlet, you don’t sue. You are able to hit back. But this is typical of the ratbag right, which dishes it out but can’t take it. 
Kenny was obscenely defamed by a program broadcast nationwide. His response seems, to me, to be proportionate. But what sort of person threatens legal action over a relatively minor Twitter feud? Well, take a look at this, from just last month:

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Carlton’s behaviour is pathetic. So is his spelling of “off”.
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ABC FAIL

Tim Blair – Saturday, March 15, 2014 (1:58pm)

hand-wringing confession from the ABC’s Drum editor: 
Here at The Drum website we are aware that, despite our best efforts, we have failed to achieve gender parity in our own editorial line-up. 
He should fire himself, obviously.
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YOU’RE A TERRIBLE INTERVIEWER

Tim Blair – Saturday, March 15, 2014 (1:03pm)

If you think Piers Morgan got a hard time from Brett Lee, it was nothing compared to the treatment dished out byChelsea Handler:

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Something you’d have never read under Labor

Andrew Bolt March 15 2014 (9:45am)

Boat people policy

For three months, no boats. And once again, we’ve had a week in which more boat people have gone home than turned up:
Operation Sovereign Borders Joint Agency Task Force update (9am Friday 7 March to 9am Friday 14 March):
During this reporting period there were no illegal maritime arrivals transferred to Australian Immigration authorities.Twenty illegal maritime arrivals were transferred to the offshore processing centre in Nauru.
Eight illegal maritime arrival transferees were voluntarily returned to their country of origin after electing to go home from an offshore processing centre— five to Lebanon, two to Iran and one to Sudan.
Two illegal maritime arrival detainees were voluntarily removed—one to Iran and one to Pakistan.
As at 9.00am Friday 14 March 2014, there was a total of 1314 people on Manus Island, 1136 people in Nauru and 1707 people in the Christmas Island facilities.
Labor should explain. Why could they not do this? Why did they claim it could not be done?
Meanwhile, artists (the lesser ones, of course) are so furious with this result that they are even biting the hand that has fed them.
(Thanks to reader Peter.) 
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Can the ABC apologise to a conservative?

Andrew Bolt March 15 2014 (9:37am)

Piers Akerman is right. The challenge now is to the ABC. Will it issue an apology and correction?:

The [ABC Chairman Jim] Spigelman approach dances around the real issue that was on display on Q&A;Monday night, when my colleague Andrew Bolt was subjected to a torrent of abuse from academic Marcia Langton, who falsely claimed he was a “fool” who believed in “race theories” and had subjected one of her colleagues to “foul abuse … simply racial abuse”, arguing that the colleague “had no right to claim that she was Aboriginal” and that he had hurt this colleague to such a degree that she “withdrew from public life”.
Langton apologised to Bolt. No apology to Bolt had been posted on Q&A;’s website when I checked yesterday.
When the ABC’s Leftists thought I might have offended prime minister Julia Gillard by stating the obvious about press gallery gossip about her relationship with Tim Mathieson after the topic was introduced by Insider host Barrie Cassidy, the ABC removed the segment from its website and sent out letters to viewers casting doubt on my professionalism. Can we expect the ABC to respond similarly?
Of course not, and that’s why Spigelman should offer his resignation.He is defending the indefensible, just as surely as the ABC is defending the indefensible by spending taxpayers’ money trying to justify its disgusting vilification of The Australian’s columnist Chris Kenny.
(Thanks to reader Peter of Bellevue Hill.)
UPDATE
On Tuesday night I sent Q&A the following email - with a copy to ABC boss Mark Scott - asking for an apology and correction:

Icon Arrow Continue reading 'Can the ABC apologise to a conservative?'
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A call to jail climate sceptics

Andrew Bolt March 15 2014 (9:33am)

Jail sceptics for pointing out the global warming science isn’t actually settled, argues Lawrence Torcello, assistant professor of philosophy at Rochester Institute of Technology:
What are we to make of those behind the well documented corporate funding of global warming denial? Those who purposefully strive to make sure “inexact, incomplete and contradictory information” is given to the public? I believe we understand them correctly when we know them to be not only corrupt and deceitful, but criminally negligent in their willful disregard for human life. It is time for modern societies to interpret and update their legal systems accordingly.
This demand for the criminalisation of doubt appears in The Conversation, a media outlet run for academics and paid for by Australian taxpayers.
The closing of the academic mind…
UPDATE
The Old and Unimproved Dave quotes Henry Lawson:
Twist and tangle and mystify, bully, and weep and bluff;
Marry the truth to a glaring lie, and say it is good enough;
Boast of your vice and villainy — in your virtue rant and bawl —
But that great waiting silence is over the people all!
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Class is not a marker of a class system here

Andrew Bolt March 15 2014 (9:14am)

Far more interesting than the fact Barnaby Joyce rang in as a Radio National talkback caller is what he actually said about class in this country:
Introducing himself as “Barnaby from New South Wales”, he argued there was no class system in Australia and said he was not sure whether “bogan” was “a pejorative or an accolade”.
“If people honestly believed there was a class system (in Australia) then it would be clearly identifiable as you walk down the street,” he said.
“And I think even the discussion today between, these pejorative or an accolade – bogan and what would otherwise be middle class – and I think in many instances that’s just a consumer choice.
“We can have people who are obviously vastly wealthier who are so-called bogans than other people in the middle class.”
One member of the radio talkback panel, academic Christopher Scanlon, suggested there was a visible class system in Australia because tradespeople were easily identified because of there high-vis work gear.
But Mr Joyce hit back: “They probably earn more than you.”
Mr Joyce took a swing at the station, saying it attracted “elitist” listeners and wouldn’t be popular on building sites.
“I would presume that on many worksites at the moment that people with tool-bags are probably unlikely to be listening to this program, even though it’s a great program,” he said.
Joyce is right. To some extent, the class system we have is more one of taste than of income.  Without doubt one of the biggest bogans I even had misfortune to meet was the host of a party in Toorak. The very walls - expensively decorated with tat - screamed bogan.
Among the true gentlemen I know are a taxi driver and a builder. One of the greatest ladies I ever met didn’t even have the money for airconditioning. She left me a bust of one her favourite composers, minus the tip of his nose, and it sits above my CDs in the cupboard on my left as I write.
Again: judge the individual by the content of their character and not their class ... or “race”. 
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The ABC has a chance to improve its diversity

Andrew Bolt March 15 2014 (8:11am)

Will Radio National Breakfast finally be entrusted to someone who is as much of a conservative as Fran Kelly is of the Left?

RADIO National breakfast host Fran Kelly will host the Sunday morning ABC1 panel show, Insiders, from April 27.
Kelly, who has been a regular panellist on the program and is a former political correspondent for ABC Radio and The 7.30 Report, will replace long-time host Barrie Cassidy, who is taking long-service leave to write another book…
ABC Radio is yet to announce a replacement for Kelly at RN breakfast.  
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Now we’re told the missing plane was flown towards the Andaman Islands

Andrew Bolt March 15 2014 (7:48am)

Who knows what really happened or which claim to trust?
MALAYSIA Airlines Flight MH370 was deliberately flown across Malaysia towards the Andaman Islands, military radar-tracking reportedly suggests.
Two sources told Reuters that an unidentified aircraft that is believed to be Malaysia Airlines flight MH370 was following a route between navigational waypoints — indicating it was being flown by someone with aviation training — when it was last plotted on military radar off Malaysia’s northwest coast.
The military radar’s tracking system last plotted the unidentified plane heading towards India’s Andaman Islands, a chain of isles between the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal…
A third source familiar with the investigation told Reuters inquiries were focusing increasingly on the theory that someone who knew how to fly a plane deliberately diverted the flight, with 239 people on board, hundreds of kilometres off its intended course from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing.
But Cameron Stewart sums up what we know - which is almost nothing - from the publicly available information:
The only certainties as of last night were that there is still no sign of the plane, not even wreckage. There were no distress calls, no warning and still no clear proof of the plane’s last movements. Terrorism, sabotage or pilot suicide are all still possible causes, but so is structural or mechanical failure or simple pilot error…
But this key claim that the plane flew off course for hours remains hotly disputed. Unnamed US officials were quoted by both Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal claiming the plane was sending signals to a satellite four hours after it went missing, but Malaysian officials continued to insist yesterday that there is no clear evidence that the plane strayed from its intended course or stayed in the air longer than the time it vanished from radar.
Even so, White House spokesman Jay Carney said: “It’s my understanding that based on some new information that’s not necessarily conclusive, but new information, an additional search area may be opened in the Indian Ocean, and we are consulting with international partners about the appropriate assets to deploy.”
And then there is this possibility:
2003.
By mid-week, Malaysian authorities ... said publicly that their investigation was now also looking at whether the crew or passengers had personal or psychological problems which could be to blame for the aircraft’s disappearance.
In other words, the terrifying notion of pilot suicide was now being considered…
Over the past 20 years at least three commercial flights have crashed due to suspected pilot suicide. The best known was the crash of EgyptAir flight 990 in October 1999 during a flight from New York to Egypt when the first officer used the temporary absence of the captain to cut the plane’s engines, causing the plane to plunge into the Atlantic Ocean killing all 217 on board.
Pilot suicide was also suspected on SilkAir Flight 185 from Jakarta to Singapore in December 1997 when the plane inexplicably dived from its cruising altitude to the ground in less than a minute and investigators found no obvious mechanical fault.
A list of pilot suicides.
UPDATE
No more likely than any other theory:

Police investigating the backgrounds of all 239 people aboard the missing Malaysia Airlines flight are paying “special attention” to a 35 year-old Chinese Uighur man who undertook flight simulation training, according to a report in a leading Malay language newspaper in Kuala Lumpur.
The Uighurs Muslim ethnic minority group from the north-western Chinese province of Xinjiang have been battling for independence since they were brought under Chinese control in 1949, claiming they are oppressed by China’s authoritarian government and face religious restrictions and widespread discrimination.
Earlier this month the Uighurs, who make up 45 percent of the population of Xinjiang, were blamed for a violent attack at a Chinese train station.
(Thanks to reader David.) 
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Qantas unions seem to want us to fly Virgin instead

Andrew Bolt March 15 2014 (7:22am)

Qantas unions have a bizarre method of saving their members’ jobs. Right now it involves persuading the public that Qantas planes are unsafe and filthy:


Qantas aircraft sent for maintenance in Asia have been found with corrosion on the wings, multiple cracks, faulty engine indicators and, in the case of a 747 jumbo, three of four engines not held on properly, the aircraft engineers’ union has alleged in a dossier detailing a litany of errors…
In a bid to stop the government from relaxing the Qantas Sale Act, the Australian Licensed Aircraft Engineers’ Association’s federal secretary, Steve Purvinas, has used parliamentary privilege to release the dossier detailing errors on Qantas planes following heavy maintenance in Singapore, Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur.
And:
The Transport Workers Union Queensland claims Qantas plans to reduce interior plane cleaning crews from six to three, and to restrict cleaning to first and business classes and the first nine rows behind them.
“This management has turned this company upside down, and now they want their paying customers to sit in an uncleaned space,” TWU Queensland state secretary Peter Biagini said.
It’s like Qantas unions would rather we flew Virgin, but kept their Qantas members in jobs with subsidies. 
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More Wilkinsoniasm

Andrew Bolt March 15 2014 (7:11am)

No mirrors in the house on the Left. The perfect example:
An event meant to celebrate diversity and combat racism at a Washington state community college has been cancelled after a flier emailed to guests said white people weren’t invited.
UPDATE
To explain the headline, this from Q&A:


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Pastor Rick Warren
The #DanielPlan is helping tens of thousands get healthy! It's been a Top 10 New York Times bestseller (sometimes #1) for 14 weeks. I am thrilled at how God is using this book, and the amazing life-changing testimonies that people are sending me.
You could start a get healthy group too! Check out https://www.danielplan.com./ Saddleback members lost over 250,000 pounds, and got healthier in all 5 AREAS last year!
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"No man's words should ever be judged by an ordinary newspaper summary, which in many instances is a vile caricature." C. H. Spurgeon
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Cheer up. According to God, here's where history is inevitably headed: "MANY NATIONS will be joined with the Lord in that day and will become my people." Zechariah 2:11
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MADU Odiokwu Pastorvin
FATHER,I thank you for the miracle you have done in my life.You have proved that you are God.I believe because your word will never return void.
"So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;It shall not return to Me void,But it shall accomplish what I please,And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it".Isaiah 55:11. Thank you so much for the devil is defeated.A big Amen.
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One way that you can get better rather than bitter is to develop a thankful heart. You must learn to be grateful to the Lord with whom we shall spend eternity. Your morning prayer should always begin with, O Thou who has given me so much, I pray that you give me yet one more thing--a grateful heart.I do that.You are blessed for the day.
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I Want You To Activate Your Faith and Experience Victory!
We all deal with fear, but that doesn’t mean we have to be controlled by it. Activate your faith,not fear.It’s a simple choice you and I get to make every day.The Scripture says, “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” (2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV) Let me tell you.God is bigger than that problem you are passing through.That means you can say “no” to fear, doubt and insecurity because those things are not from God. Instead, you can say “yes” to faith and live a bold, victorious, fearless life. Success is knocking on your door.Believe it in Jesus Name,Amen.
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PRAY.
Father,I thank You for equipping and empowering me for victory in this life. Instead of letting my thoughts drag me down, I’ll let Your word build me up! I will declare Your truth that sets me free all the days of my life in Jesus’ name! Amen.
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I Want You To Talk To Yourself In the Right Way
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.(Philippians 4:13, NKJV) “I can handle it.I can do it. I am ready for and equal to it. Why? Because Almighty God, the Creator of the universe has infused me with strength. He has equipped me, empowered me, anointed me, crowned me with favor, put royal blood in my veins, and called me to reign in life as a king.” You can do it as well.God bless you.
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We only pray when we're in trouble.God does not like it.Look, if you've been unfair with your relationship with God now is the time to catch up. "I pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping, it changes me." Isn't that true? We all desperately need God and we're all helpless without Him. The problem is, we sometimes act as if our relationship with God is "optional." NO,It is a must.You are chosen.God bless you.
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There’s a difference between living a “good Christian life” and allowing the Spirit of God to transform you from the inside out. The difference is not a small difference, but a drastic one.Galatians 5:22 suggests, this is difference between a life full of the fruits of the spirit (love, joy, peace, patience, etc.) and a life full of the fruits of the flesh (greed, resentment, bitterness, arguing and competition).Evidence that the Holy Spirit has control of your life.1. The Spirit will make you passionate about worship and prayer.

I’m not passionate about praying and worshipping because I am a quiet introvert who loves to meditate and reflect on nothingness. Not even close. Look Child of God,You are going through the wide gate.I’m passionate about prayer because I know I’m having a real conversation with a real God, who loves me and hears me, and the more I allow the Spirit to rule my life, the more satisfying that experience becomes.Yes,you are a through child of God.This week, while I was praying, God told me to send a verse to a friend of mine, to remind her that God hears her prayers. She wrote me later to tell me how she had really been struggling with this—wondering if God was hearing her. Sometimes she wondered if God even loved her.

When I sent her the verse, she thought: “How did you know?” But the truth is I didn’t know.God knew. And when we pray, worship and draw close to Him, His Spirit begins to lead through us.I urge you to get use to prayer and fasting.Jesus withdrew Himself to the solitary to hear from His Father,we must do the same.God bless you.
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SEND YOUR PRAYER REQUEST!
Join other people to experience the power of an answered prayers.God is not dead, don't be shy,don't be proud,send your prayer request in any area,such as financial struggles,physical and mental illness,alcoholism and addition,late marriage,loneliness,broken relationships...etc. It is time to stage a Spiritual intervention and bombard Heaven for those in trouble.He still answers prayers...join others.God bless you.
=== Posts from Last Year ===

4 Her, so she will see how I see her
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SCROTAL RECALL

Tim Blair – Friday, March 15, 2013 (6:49pm)

Reader Waxing Gibberish asks: “Why didn’t Tim Flannery warn us about this?” 
Large kangaroo scrotums are in short supply for a souvenir-making taxidermist after the continuing rain drove kangaroos beyond the range of shooters. 
Good question. But at least Flannery warned us about the impending poley extinction
Polar bears will be extinct within 25 years as global warming shrinks the ice cover they depend on for feeding and giving birth, says a renowned Australian scientist.
The Arctic ice cap is shrinking by eight per cent a year and polar bears are already showing signs of severe stress, says Tim Flannery …
“Polar bears are going to go with the ice cap. They’re not going to actually last that long,” Flannery told a news conference Friday. 
That was seven years ago. Poleys are doing fine.
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HIDDEN IMAM

Tim Blair – Friday, March 15, 2013 (6:54pm)

The imam of Makkah, whoever he is, cancels his local appearance: 
An event billed as Australia’s largest ever Islamic peace conference is set to begin at Melbourne Showgrounds, but the mystery imam billed as the star attraction will not be there.
The Australian Islamic Peace Conference, which goes until Sunday, promises interfaith dialogues, musical performances and more than 20 local and international speakers, some of whom will appear over the internet.
However, organisers now say key speaker, the “Imam of Makkah”, will not attend for “personal reasons”. 
Maybe the imam of Macca’s could take his place. Or perhaps Mark Steyn could visit to tell the story of 70-year-old Lars Hedegaard: 
The other day in Copenhagen, he answered his doorbell and found a man in his early twenties who appeared to be “a typical Muslim immigrant” pointing a gun at him. He fired from a yard away, and, amazingly, missed. The bullet whistled past Lars’s ear, and the septuagenarian scholar then slugged his assailant. The man fired again, but the gun jammed, and, after some further tussling, the would-be assassin escaped. He has yet to be found.
The attempted murder of an “Islamophobe” is part of the scene in today’s Europe. Among those targeted have been such obvious “right-wing extremists” as secular feminist Ayaan Hirsi Ali, gay hedonist Pim Fortuyn, and coke-snorting anti-monarchist Theo van Gogh. While I was in Copenhagen paying a visit to Lars’s Danish Free Press Society, a young Chechen jihadist opposed to all this outrageous Islamophobia prematurely detonated while assembling his bomb in his hotel room, and we all had a good laugh. But sometimes, as on Lars’s doorstep, the jihad wannabe is less incompetent and gets a little closer. 
It was a one-man peace conference, after a fashion. Steyn continues: 
As I said, Lars is 70. But I would rather have him fighting my corner than the young, self-neutered eunuch-men of a cowed media, watching the lights go out on free speech and slipping easily and painlessly into the accomplices of thuggery. 
“The young, self-neutered eunuch-men of a cowed media.” Perfect.
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NERD INDICTED

Tim Blair – Friday, March 15, 2013 (6:37pm)

Someone might be going away
The deputy social media editor for Reuters has been indicted by the US Justice Department for allegedly conspiring with members of the hacktivist movement Anonymous. 
According to the Guardian: “Keys has worked at Reuters just over a year. He has a widespread following on Twitter among journalists.” 
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STAND UP AND SAY THE RIGHT THING

Tim Blair – Friday, March 15, 2013 (12:33pm)

Shrieking greenist Clive Hamilton discusses threats to freedom of speech – in 2007: 
I think there’s a huge role in history for courageous individuals who stand up at the right time and say the right thing. A lot of the doubts and worries that others are having suddenly crystallize and people shift …
There are powerful political forces exerting influence in various ways, and that has meant that people realize the consequences of resisting or speaking out are much more serious, potentially. It only takes one or two people to be made examples of – everybody gets the message pretty quickly ...
I suppose, even with McCarthyism, what we’re experiencing now in Australia doesn’t get close to that. There are certainly some similarities, but in terms of the intensity of it, the U.S. in the 1950s was a very scary place for any sort of independent thinking. The fact is that in Australia alternative opinion still can be expressed, although often at some cost to the critic.
Some of the laws restricting free speech that have been introduced recently go too far and represent a significant threat to our civil liberty. 
Via Tony Thomas, who asks: “Clive, you’re a good man, a brave man. Now go tell all this to Stephen Conroy!
UPDATE. Finally, a valid reason for greater press control: zombies!
UPDATE II. Conroy fans get active.
UPDATE III. Time for another Australian media inquiry
Four journalists have been arrested on suspicion of phone hacking at the Mirror group in the UK, Scotland Yard says.
Three men, aged 40, 49 and 46, and a 47-year-old woman were arrested at separate addresses in south London at 6am on Thursday morning. 
Let’s hear some hard questions.
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Gillard abandons child

Andrew BoltMARCH152013(3:54pm)

image
When I pointed out this transparent and ridiculous spin, I received an angry text of complaint. But now I see Gillard has misplaced her child in her latest Twitter incarnation. How careless of her:
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One year before Iran crosses Obama’s “red line”

Andrew BoltMARCH152013(9:58am)

So what will he actually do about it? 
Iran is about a year away from developing a nuclear weapon and the United States remains committed to doing everything in its power to prevent that from happening, President Barack Obama said in an exclusive interview aired Thursday on Israeli TV…

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The Comet and San Francisco — in San Francisco, CA.
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Only 20 milk chocolate egglets? We're gonna need about 3x that many, Easter Bunny!
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Houstache
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The guys and girls talking through the show rundown just before we got suited up! #team9lives #eventcinemas #gijoepremiere #eventgeorgest #sydney
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Two years ago, IDF Naval forces intercepted a cargo vessel, the Victoria. On board, they discovered a range of weapons destined for Hamas in Gaza. Til today we are working constantly to protect Israel by keeping weapons out of the hands of those who seek to destroy our home. http://www.idfblog.com/2013/03/15/two-years-on-the-victoria-weapon-smuggling-interception/
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Martin's Beach. 

This place has been controversial to say the least. I was harassed here for "trespassing" on a beach that was illegally privatized. Nice huh?

The surfrider legal team is now going after the owner of this place and I hope they win. I've posted the story of exactly what's going on in the comments section below.

In this picture, I am about to go up to my hips in the swelling surge of the stormy Pacific ocean.
www.sfgate.comThe historically good vibe was ruined, however, when the landowner blocked the only road, provoking an ugly battle that could turn the picturesque enclave into a test case for public coastal access in California. The money man behind the deal has not been revealed, but the plaintiffs have said, and...
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It's a trap
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Chocolate covered strawberry shots. Vanilla vodka, Godiva liquor, and some chocolate syrup for a delicious shot in an edible glass.
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'Share' nature's music
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Another shot of the comet with the full windmill.
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20 Dangerously Powerful Bible Prayers

Here are 20 powerful prayers that these
believers in the Bible prayed...and when they did God's power showed up!

READ MORE ► http://r.beliefnet.com/rprayer2ILJO
— with Marvin PumarenAutumn BurrellFrunk LukyRichard SpringaelCamelia PlumeyGuben MacaseroAriel Britni TailleurDarlyn S. Dorado,Michael H. BiglerTeresa Joyce Henley and Bob Starr.
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March 15Ides of MarchPurim begins at sunset (Judaism, 2014); National Dayin Hungary (1848)
Blank map of Maine
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Events[edit]

Births[edit]

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Holidays and observances[edit]

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“For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” - 2 Peter 1:5-8
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon
March 14: Morning
"Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall." - 1 Corinthians 10:12
It is a curious fact, that there is such a thing as being proud of grace. A man says, "I have great faith, I shall not fall; poor little faith may, but I never shall." "I have fervent love," says another, "I can stand, there is no danger of my going astray." He who boasts of grace has little grace to boast of. Some who do this imagine that their graces can keep them, knowing not that the stream must flow constantly from the fountain head, or else the brook will soon be dry. If a continuous stream of oil comes not to the lamp, though it burn brightly today, it will smoke to-morrow, and noxious will be its scent. Take heed that thou gloriest not in thy graces, but let all thy glorying and confidence be in Christ and his strength, for only so canst thou be kept from falling. Be much more in prayer. Spend longer time in holy adoration. Read the Scriptures more earnestly and constantly. Watch your lives more carefully. Live nearer to God. Take the best examples for your pattern. Let your conversation be redolent of heaven. Let your hearts be perfumed with affection for men's souls. So live that men may take knowledge of you that you have been with Jesus, and have learned of him; and when that happy day shall come, when he whom you love shall say, "Come up higher," may it be your happiness to hear him say, "Thou hast fought a good fight, thou hast finished thy course, and henceforth there is laid up for thee a crown of righteousness which fadeth not away." On, Christian, with care and caution! On, with holy fear and trembling! On, with faith and confidence in Jesus alone, and let your constant petition be, "Uphold me according to thy word." He is able, and he alone, "To keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy."
Evening
"I will take heed to my ways." - Psalm 39:1
Fellow-pilgrim, say not in your heart, "I will go hither and thither, and I shall not sin;" for you are never so out of danger of sinning as to boast of security. The road is very miry, it will be hard to pick your path so as not to soil your garments. This is a world of pitch; you will need to watch often, if in handling it you are to keep your hands clean. There is a robber at every turn of the road to rob you of your jewels; there is a temptation in every mercy; there is a snare in every joy; and if you ever reach heaven, it will be a miracle of divine grace to be ascribed entirely to your Father's power. Be on your guard. When a man carries a bomb-shell in his hand, he should mind that he does not go near a candle; and you too must take care that you enter not into temptation. Even your common actions are edged tools; you must mind how you handle them. There is nothing in this world to foster a Christian's piety, but everything to destroy it. How anxious should you be to look up to God, that he may keep you! Your prayer should be, "Hold thou me up, and I shall be safe." Having prayed, you must also watch; guarding every thought, word, and action, with holy jealousy. Do not expose yourselves unnecessarily; but if called to exposure, if you are bidden to go where the darts are flying, never venture forth without your shield; for if once the devil finds you without your buckler, he will rejoice that his hour of triumph is come, and will soon make you fall down wounded by his arrows. Though slain you cannot be; wounded you may be. "Be sober; be vigilant, danger may be in an hour when all seemeth securest to thee." Therefore, take heed to thy ways, and watch unto prayer. No man ever fell into error through being too watchful. May the Holy Spirit guide us in all our ways; so shall they always please the Lord.
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Gog 
[Gŏg] - a roof or a mountain.
1. A Reubenite, and grandson of Joel (1 Chron. 5:4).
2. A prince of Rosh, Meshech and Tubal, and not the mystic character of Revelation 20:8-15. Who is this dominant figure Ezekiel pictures as leading a great host of Northern nations against Israel? Ezekiel 38:2, 3, 14, 16, 18; 39:1, 11 are passages to be closely studied.
The Man of the Future
Gog is mentioned as the son of Shemaiah, in the line of Reuben, as above. Here in Ezekiel Gog appears as the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and is foretold as being defeated and five-sixths of his army destroyed as he comes up from "the north parts" and invades "the mountains of Israel."
There are those who affirm that Gog merely represents a title of royal dignity, similar to the Egyptian word Pharaoh. It has also been suggested that as Ezekiel represents Gog as being accompanied in his invasion of the land of Israel by the Persians, Ethiopians, Libyans and others, that the term may be a general designation for all the enemies of Israel. Those who hold this theory find confirmation for it in Revelation 20:8-10 where Gog and Magog are linked together as if they were persons who seem to symbolize all the future foes of Israel. This may be the reason why various writers in the seventh century identified Gog with the Antichrist.
Historically, Gog may have been an actual ruler of a non-Semitic nation over against the north of Palestine and Asia Minor, Armenia, Syria or Scythia.
Prophetically, Gog is to be the chief prince, the fearsome force in the great Northern Confederacy in which Russia will play a prominent part.
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Eunice
The Woman Whose Son Became a Famous Evangelist
Name Meaning: Eunice implies "conquering well," and was a name expressive of a good or happy victory, and in its origin doubtless commemorated some such event. Nice or "nike" was a favorite ending of female names in the Macedonian age. Eunice lived up to her name for she conquered in the effort to bring up her son in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Family Connections: Eunice was the daughter of Lois whose name is of Greek origin. Scripture is silent as to the identity of her father. A Jew, Eunice married a Gentile, and as nothing is said of him it can be assumed that he was dead by the time Paul contacted the family.
The commanding feature of the Scriptural record of Eunice and her mother is their religious influence upon Timothy who, from childhood days had known the Scriptures (2 Timothy 3:14-15). These two godly women had trained him up in the way he should go (Proverbs 22:6). How gratified they must have been when Timothy set out to do the work of an evangelist! 2 Timothy 4:5 ). His name, Timothy, means "one who fears God," and must have been chosen by his Jewish mother, and not by his Gentile father who probably had little leaning Godward. Evidence seems to point to the contention that Lois, Eunice and Timothy were won to Christ by Paul on an earlier visit to Lystra where the family lived Acts 14:6-7 ). Although Lois and her daughter were women and well-versed in Old Testament Scriptures, and taught the child Timothy the same, it was Paul who brought them to see that the One who died upon the cross to save sinners was the long-promised Messiah. That the Apostle led Timothy to Christ is proven by the way Paul speaks of him as his "beloved son" and his "son in the faith." How grateful to God Eunice must have been when Paul chose her much-loved son to be his companion in his evangelistic work! How she would appreciate the word of Solomon, "She that bare thee shall rejoice" Proverbs 23:25).
Hereditary piety and personal faith are implied in Paul's reference to the unfeigned faith which first dwelt in Timothy's grandmother, Lois, then in his mother, Eunice, and then in himself also. While one parent's faith can sanctify a child 1 Corinthians 7:14 ), it is a personal faith in Christ that saves the soul. Notice is taken of the faith of Timothy's mother, but not of his father. After Paul's reference to Lois and Eunice in his second epistle to Timothy, they are not mentioned again. There may be a veiled reference to them, however, in what Paul had to say about widows and the children of widows 1 Timothy 5:4-5).
The important feature we glean from the record of Timothy is that of the value of a positive Christian training in the home. Paul seems to be saying to Timothy in effect, "That you have always been schooled in the Scriptures represents an inestimable grace, for which you ought always to thank your God." We can be sure that Timothy constantly praised God for a home wherein His honor dwelt. Augustine always confessed the debt he owed to his saintly mother, Monica. Not all children have godly parents and the safeguard of a Christian home, but those born into a home where Christ is its Head are privileged and grow up to bless God for their spiritual heritage. Alas, the heartache of godly parents is to have a child or children who, as they come to the age of accountability, spurn the Christian influences of the home created for them!
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Today's reading: Deuteronomy 22-24, Mark 14:1-26 (NIV)

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Today's Old Testament reading: Deuteronomy 22-24

If you see your fellow Israelite's ox or sheep straying, do not ignore it but be sure to take it back to its owner. 2 If they do not live near you or if you do not know who owns it, take it home with you and keep it until they come looking for it. Then give it back. 3 Do the same if you find their donkey or cloak or anything else they have lost. Do not ignore it.
4 If you see your fellow Israelite's donkey or ox fallen on the road, do not ignore it. Help the owner get it to its feet....

Today's New Testament reading: Mark 14:1-26

Jesus Anointed at Bethany
1 Now the Passover and the Festival of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were scheming to arrest Jesus secretly and kill him. 2 "But not during the festival," they said, "or the people may riot."
3 While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
4 Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, "Why this waste of perfume? 5 It could have been sold for more than a year's wages and the money given to the poor." And they rebuked her harshly....
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Today's Lent reading: Matthew 13-14 (NIV)

View today's Lent reading on Bible Gateway
The Parable of the Sower
1 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the lake. 2 Such large crowds gathered around him that he got into a boat and sat in it, while all the people stood on the shore. 3Then he told them many things in parables, saying: "A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop--a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear...."
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Today's Prayer

Almighty God, whose blessed Son was led by the Spirit to be tempted by Satan; Come quickly to help us who are assaulted by many temptations; and, as you know the weaknesses of each of us, let each one find you mighty to save; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen. -- Book of Common Prayer

Today's Scripture Reading: 1 Peter 3:18-22

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 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. 19 After being made alive, he went and made proclamation to the imprisoned spirits-- 20 to those who were disobedient long ago when God waited patiently in the days of Noah while the ark was being built. In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, 21and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also--not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God. It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, 22 who has gone into heaven and is at God's right hand--with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.

Today's Quote

The Lord, though he was God, became man. He suffered for the sake of those who suffer, he was bound for those in bonds, condemned for the guilty, buried for those who lie in the grave; but he rose from the dead, and cried aloud:

"Who will contend with me? Let him confront me. I have freed the condemned, brought the dead back to life, raised men from their graves. Who has anything to say against me? I," he said, "am the Christ; I have destroyed death, triumphed over the enemy, trampled hell underfoot, bound the strong one, and taken men up to the heights of heaven: I am the Christ."

"Come, then, all you nations of men, receive forgiveness for the sins that defile you. I am your forgiveness. I am the Passover that brings salvation. I am the lamb who was immolated for you. I am your ransom, your life, your resurrection, your light, I am your salvation and your king. I will bring you to the heights of heaven. With my own right hand I will raise you up, and I will show you the eternal Father." --Melito of Sardis, 2nd century church father

Something to Think About

As we begin the second week of Lent, what is on your heart? Has God placed on you any special concerns, convictions, or reminders?



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