Wednesday, May 24, 2017

Wed May 24th Todays News

Some things should not happen, but they do. Trotsky's dying words were reputedly of admiration for Stalin. One may be forgiven for thinking that the dying thoughts of children in Manchester's nail bombing was of Trump being too close to Putin and fighting climate change. The children that died may never have known what was happening. Those that survived will never forget. And the press have got it wrong. Donald Trump was in the Middle East for peace. Trump met with leaders in the Middle East. And terrorists. One terrorist Trump met was the so called Palestinian leader Abbas. Abbas rose through ranks to be the successor to Yassir Arafat. Arafat invented the nail bomb suicide vest, the type of device used on Manchester children. Some will tell me that suicide vests predate Arafat. Chinese soldiers used suicide bomb vests to destroy Japanese tanks in WW2. An early nail bomb was the 1970 Weather Underground 'accident' where one prematurely went off killing terrorists. Arafat was well connected with socialists around the world. Nelson Mandela was a fan. IRA collaborated with Fatah. No one who worked with Arafat ever achieved peace. Arafat got rich from exploiting his people. Likewise Abbas. No deal Trump makes with Abbas will benefit anyone other than Abbas. Were Trotsky alive today, he'd admire the work of Abbas. And if they'd known the link, the dying kids may have had thoughts for Abbas too. Because the suicide ideology which the press promotes is pro Palestinian, anti-Semitic and terrorist enabling. Much like Christian churches who promote that rubbish, yet see their people butchered by those they endorse. 

1487, the ten-year-old Lambert Simnel was crowned in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland, with the name of Edward VI in a bid to threaten King Henry VII's reign. Henry VII captured him and pardoned him, employing him in his kitchen. In 1607, One hundred English settlers disembarked in Jamestown, the first English colony in America. 1689, the English Parliament passed the Act of Toleration protecting ProtestantsRoman Catholics were intentionally excluded. 1738, John Wesley was converted, essentially launching the Methodist movement; the day is celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day and a church service is generally held on the preceding Sunday. He claimed the moment of his conversion was when he felt his heart warmed. Methodism is very good at sending out disciples to work with the poor and needy. It has an estimated 80 million adherents today. Wesley opposed Calvinist predestination doctrine, believing instead anyone could achieve the state where the love of god "Reigned supreme in their hearts" giving them outward holiness. 1798, the Irish Rebellion of 1798 led by the United Irishmen against British rule began. They were inspired by the US and French revolutions. It went badly for the rebels and many atrocities were committed. The Catholic Church opposed the rebellion at the time, but a legend grew that they supported it which they fostered later. 1940, acting on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph StalinNKVD agent Iosif Grigulevich orchestrated an unsuccessful assassination attempt on exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky in CoyoacánMexico. Another assassin got Trotsky later that year. Trotsky's dying words were of admiration to Stalin. 

I am very good and don't deserve the abuse given me. I created a video raising awareness of anti police feeling among western communities. I chose the senseless killing of Nicola Cotton, a Louisiana policewoman who joined post Katrina, to highlight the issue. I did this in order to get an income after having been illegally blacklisted from work in NSW for being a whistleblower. I have not done anything wrong. Local council appointees refused to endorse my work, so I did it for free. Youtube's Adsence refused to allow me to profit from their marketing it. Meanwhile, I am hostage to abysmal political leadership and hopeless journalists. My shopfront has opened on Facebook.






Here is a video I made Poem about Poems about Vietnam 

Jon (Howie) Stallworthy (born 18 January 1935 – 19 November 2014)   FBA FRSL was Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Oxford. He was also a Fellow (and was twice Acting President) of Wolfson College, a poet, and a literary critic. From 1977 to 1986, he was the John Wendell Anderson Professor of English at Cornell



=== from 2016 ===
I have moved to a good home. I leave behind the ice house. Dan Andrews would rather I lived with an ice addict, and that you should too. 

For some, at the moment, the Sex Party has more credibility. 
=== from 2015 ===
A brilliant Bolt Report today had the compere, Andrew Bolt, pointing out that some who gave up Australian Citizenship to join the ISIL death cult, but now want to return, are disappointing because they have gone there and are still not clear as to why Australia is better. One person who claims to want to return has said that watching a couple stoned to death was distasteful, but not wrong. He said "People want Sharia" and "That is Sharia." But, more saliently, and Bolt walked past this, journalists have gone there and said much the same thing, not highlighting why Australia is better. What many journalists espouse is a fantasy for jihadists of victimology, suggesting there is reason and purpose to what jihadists do. The truth is that ISIL atrocities are not commensurate with international law which is very low by modern standards. It might not be commensurate with Islam, but their impotent leaders aren't *really* sure. 

Impotent Islamic leadership have caused much pain for Rohingya in Myanmar. They are Muslim and subject to much state abuse. They don't necessarily wish to leave, but wish that the state wouldn't kill them indiscriminately. Meanwhile Bangladeshi who are 

Peter Greste, an Australian journalist who worked for Al Jazeera and was saved from Egypt, after political intervention, has said he wants to go back and fight for his colleagues in court. He had been convicted of news reporting damaging to Egypt's national security, and Al Jazeera's bigoted anti Israel pro jihadist material fits that bill. Greste may claim he was professional, but only to a low BBC/ABC/CNN standard which may be nuanced in a strong democracy, but which is murderous in a fractured and fractious land such as Egypt. 
From 2014
None in 2014 because of Government and public service corruption related to the petitions
Historical perspective on this day
In 1218, the Fifth Crusade left Acre for Egypt. 1276, Magnus Ladulås was crowned King of Sweden in Uppsala Cathedral. 1487, the ten-year-old Lambert Simnel was crowned in Christ Church Cathedral in Dublin, Ireland, with the name of Edward VI in a bid to threaten King Henry VII's reign. 1595, Nomenclator of Leiden University Library appeared, the first printed catalog of an institutional library.

In 1607, One hundred English settlers disembarked in Jamestown, the first English colony in America. 1621, the Protestant Union was formally dissolved. 1626, Peter Minuit bought Manhattan. 1667, the French Royal Army crossed the border into the Spanish Netherlands, starting the War of Devolution opposing France to the Spanish Empire and the Triple Alliance. 1689, the English Parliament passed the Act of Toleration protecting ProtestantsRoman Catholics were intentionally excluded. 1738, John Wesley was converted, essentially launching the Methodist movement; the day is celebrated annually by Methodists as Aldersgate Day and a church service is generally held on the preceding Sunday. 1798, the Irish Rebellion of 1798 led by the United Irishmen against British rule began.

In 1813, South American independence leader Simón Bolívarentered Mérida, leading the invasion of Venezuela, and was proclaimed El Libertador ("The Liberator"). 1822, Battle of PichinchaAntonio José de Sucre secured the independence of the Presidency of Quito. 1830, Mary Had a Little Lamb by Sarah Josepha Hale was published. Also 1830, the first revenue trains in the United States began service on the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad between Baltimore, Maryland, and Ellicott's Mills, Maryland. 1832, the First Kingdom of Greece was declared in the London Conference. 1844, Samuel Morse sent the message "What hath God wrought" (a biblicalquotation, Numbers 23:23) from the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the United States Capitol to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in BaltimoreMaryland, to inaugurate the first telegraph line. 1856, John Brown and his men killed five slavery supporters at Pottawatomie CreekKansas. 1861, American Civil WarUnion troops occupied Alexandria, Virginia. 1883, the Brooklyn Bridgein New York City was opened to traffic after 14 years of construction. 1895, Henry Irving became the first person from the theatre to be knighted.

In 1900, Second Boer War: The United Kingdom annexed the Orange Free State. 1901, Seventy-eight miners died in the Caerphilly pit disaster in South Wales. 1921, the trial of Sacco and Vanzetti opened. 1930, Amy Johnsonlanded in Darwin, Northern Territory, becoming the first woman to fly solo from England to Australia (she had left on May 5 for the 11,000 mile flight). 1935, the first night game in Major League Baseball history was played in Cincinnati, Ohio, with the Cincinnati Reds beating the Philadelphia Phillies 2–1 at Crosley Field. 1939, first issue of Fashizmi was published in Tirana. 1940, Igor Sikorsky performed the first successful single-rotor helicopterflight. Also 1940, acting on the orders of Soviet leader Joseph StalinNKVDagent Iosif Grigulevich orchestrated an unsuccessful assassination attempt on exiled Russian revolutionary Leon Trotsky in CoyoacánMexico. 1941, World War II: In the Battle of the Atlantic, the German Battleship Bismarck sank then-pride of the Royal NavyHMS Hood, killing all but three crewmen. 1943, The HolocaustJosef Mengele became chief medical officer of the Auschwitz concentration camp. 1948, Arab–Israeli War: Egypt captured the Israeli kibbutz of Yad Mordechai, but the five-day effort gave Israeli forces time to prepare enough to stop the Egyptian advance a week later. 1956, conclusion of the Sixth Buddhist Council on Vesak Day, marking the 2,500 year anniversary after the Lord Buddha's Parinibbāna. Also 1956, the first Eurovision Song Contest was held in LuganoSwitzerland. 1958, United Press International was formed through a merger of the United Press and the International News Service.

In 1960, following the 1960 Valdivia earthquake, the largest ever recorded earthquake, Cordón Caulle began to erupt. 1961, American civil rights movementFreedom Riders were arrested in Jackson, Mississippi, for "disturbing the peace" after disembarking from their bus. Also 1961, Cyprusjoined the Council of Europe. 1962, Project Mercury: American astronautScott Carpenter orbited the Earth three times in the Aurora 7 space capsule. 1963, Baldwin–Kennedy meeting on race relations in the US 1967, Egyptimposed a blockade and siege of the Red Sea coast of Israel. 1968, FLQseparatists bombed the U.S. consulate in Quebec City. 1970, the drilling of the Kola Superdeep Borehole began in the Soviet Union. 1976, the London to Washington, D.C.Concorde service began. Also 1976, the Judgement of Paris took place in France, launching California as a worldwide force in the production of quality wine. 1981, Ecuadorian president Jaime Roldós Aguilera, his wife, and his presidential committee died in an aircraft accident while travelling from Quito to Zapotillo minutes after the president gave a famous speech regarding the 24 de mayo anniversary of the Battle of Pichincha. 1982, Liberation of KhorramshahrIranians recaptured the port city of Khorramshahr from the Iraqis during the Iran–Iraq War. 1988, Section 28 of the United Kingdom's Local Government Act 1988, a controversial amendment stating that a local authority could not intentionally promote homosexuality, was enacted.

In 1991, Israel conducted Operation Solomon, evacuating Ethiopian Jews to Israel. 1992, the last Thai dictatorGeneral Suchinda Kraprayoon, resigned following pro-democracy protests. 1993, Eritrea gained its independence from Ethiopia. 1994, four men convicted of bombing the World Trade Center in New York in 1993 were each sentenced to 240 years in prison. 1999, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia in The Hague, Netherlands indicted Slobodan Milošević and four others for war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Kosovo. 2000, Israeli troops withdrew from southern Lebanon after 22 years of occupation. 2001, Mountain climbingTemba Tsheri, a 16-year-old Sherpa, became the youngest person to climb to the top of Mount Everest. Also 2001, the Versailles wedding hall disaster in Jerusalem, Israel killed 23 and injured over 200. 2002, Russia and the United States signed the Moscow Treaty.
=== Publishing News ===
This column welcomes feedback and criticism. The column is not made up but based on the days events and articles which are then placed in the feed. So they may not have an apparent cohesion they would have had were they made up.
===
I am publishing a book called Bread of Life: January. 

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

January is the first of the anticipated year-long work of thirteen books. One for each month and the whole year. It costs to publish. It (Kindle version) should retail at about $2US online, but the paperback version would cost more, according to production cost.
If you have a heart for giving, I fundraise at gofund.me/27tkwuc
===
Editorials will appear in the "History in a Year by the Conservative Voice" series, starting with AugustSeptemberOctober, or at Amazon http://www.amazon.com/dp/1482020262/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_dVHPub0MQKDZ4  The kindle version is cheaper, but the soft back version allows a free kindle version.

List of available items at Create Space
Happy birthday and many happy returns Vn Dragon. Born on the remarkable day which in 1738 John Wesley experienced a spiritual rebirth. 1830 saw the first class 1 railroad in the US and in 1991 Israel began the remarkable Operation Solomon. I don't know what you plan .. but I'm sure it will be remarkable.
Deaths
May 24Pentecost (Western Christianity, 2015); Independence Day in Eritrea (1993)
Princess Victoria Louise of Prussia
We tolerate large quantities of alcohol. Try a little lamb. Remember when royalty was grand? Kennedy didn't listen. Kola has a point, and bubbles. Let's party. 
===
Tim Blair


JUANITA TO THE RESCUE

Wednesday. 5am. A terrifying blast shatters Sydney’s pre-dawn calm.
24 May
===
Andrew Bolt


===

Bill Shorten is all at sea with wishy-washy policies

Piers Akerman – Saturday, May 23, 2015 (11:39pm)

Opposition Leader Bill Shorten seems intent on keeping Labor in the political wilderness as he fights the Abbott government, his own fractious MPs and the Greens.

 Continue reading 'Bill Shorten is all at sea with wishy-washy policies'
===

It’s easy to blame Cardinal George Pell but that misses target

Miranda Devine – Saturday, May 23, 2015 (11:42pm)

“DIE Pell” was the headline on The Age newspaper’s Facebook page, over a photograph of Cardinal George Pell.

 Continue reading 'It’s easy to blame Cardinal George Pell but that misses target'
===

THEY BELIEVE ANYTHING

Tim Blair – Sunday, May 24, 2015 (2:34pm)

The Age‘s economics editor falls for an obvious gag:


As a disclaimer at that site points out: “For the avoidance of doubt: most stories here are works of fiction, and you would have to be a moron to believe them!” 
(Via Monsterdome
===

NARRATED BY JULIA!

Tim Blair – Sunday, May 24, 2015 (12:15pm)

An irresistible Amazon audio book offer:


(Via Kae) 
===

Fantasy bidding

Andrew Bolt May 24 2015 (3:45pm)

If money were no object at the next Mossgreen auction:
UPDATE
Reader mem sounds like someone who knows:
Your eye is improving. I notice that again there is a Tim Storrier in your selection. It’s one of his more complex works, so therefore stands out from his seemingly endless burning rope series. It is very strong and intriguing, but also very large requiring viewing space and nothing else in near competition. Great for a ware house. The Kemp has excellent depth, is smaller but still quite large. It should work well with other paintings though and I think, is appropriately priced but may possibly exceed estimate as there have not been many of this quality on the market in recent times. And it is within reach of the nouveau fine art buyer. (Do I buy the Kemp or the new car or pay off the mortgage?). Keep dreaming.
The important details of the Storrier aren’t obvious from this picture. Go to the site and you’ll see better. 
===

The Bolt Report today, May 24

Andrew Bolt May 24 2015 (6:49am)

On Channel 10 at 10am and 3pm.
My guests: Parliamentary secretary Christian Porter; Janet Albrechtsen of The Australian ; Nicholas Reece, former adviser to Prime Minister Julia Gillard; and Nick Cater, columnist of The Australian and head of the Menzies Research Centre.

Plenty to debate:  boats, jihadists. the media and George Pell, t the silence of the churches, the fall of Bill Shorten and two excellent reasons for stripping the Australia Council of arts grants funding.

The videos of the shows appear here.
===

Smearing Pell

Andrew Bolt May 24 2015 (6:00am)

Some of the media vilification of George Pell today is astonishing - and astonishingly ill-informed. You’d think from Claire Harvey and Peter FitzSimons, for instance, that Pell had not responded to the allegations against him on oath al ready. You’d think he hadn’t given evidence to the royal commission twice already.
And you certainly wouldn’t know what Miranda Devine says:
David Ridsdale told the royal commission last week that he phoned Pell in early 1993 to inform him about the sexual abuse he had suffered at the hands of his uncle, and that Pell said: “I want to know what it will take to keep you quiet.” 
Ridsdale says he remembers those exact words and his response: “F… you, George, and everything you stand for.”
This has been reported as fact and underpinned the venom against Pell last week. But the allegation does not even make sense. 
At the time of the alleged phone conversation, Gerald Ridsdale had already been charged and had pleaded guilty to 46 charges involving 21 children. There was no reason to keep anything quiet.
I am not clear on that exact timing, but even David Ridsdale acknowledges police had already decided to charge his uncle
===

Bernardi gets a sorry

Andrew Bolt May 24 2015 (5:42am)

Is it at all surprising that the victim of The Saturday Paper’s foul and preposterous smear is a conservative?
Apology to Senator Cory Bernardi 
On February 21, 2015, The Saturday Paper published an article by Kate Doak regarding Senator Cory Bernardi.
In discussing the financial and business dealings of Senator Bernardi, the article falsely alleged that one of the Senator’s companies had been forced to surrender its security dealers’ licence after a review by ASIC, that the Senator improperly used his electoral office as a place of business, that the Senator withheld funds from a children’s charity, and that the Senator breached parliamentary obligations in failing to comply with parliamentary disclosure requirements. 
The Saturday Paper and Ms Doak retract those allegations and apologise to Senator Bernardi for the distress and damage caused to him by their publication.
That’s what comes of holding a cartoonish view that conservatives are not simply wrong but evil. You’ll then believe anything of them. 
===

A paper which abuses Abbott so violently is neither compassionate nor reasonable

Andrew Bolt May 24 2015 (5:18am)

The Age cheered Labor’s scrapping of the border laws - a disastrous act of “compassion” that cost 1200 lives and $10 billion, and brought over 50,000 people we did not choose and struggle to assimilate.
Yet it has the hide to now abuse Abbott for maintaining the policies which ended the deaths, cut the costs and reserved refugee places for people who were truly fleeing violence:
The Prime Minister’s wall of negativity says much about this nation’s failures but far more about his government’s appalling lack of compassion and its globally embarrassing hypocrisy and moral bankruptcy ... Mr Abbott will never be a community father figure, nor a statesman who garners respect. He practises policies that are devoid of empathy.
That is sheer abuse and simply untrue. It is also demanding Abbott do a Rudd - show “compassion” rather than achieve real good..
The Age is angry that Abbott won’t take in Rohingya and Bangladeshis on boats that Thailand and Malaysia were refusing to let land, hoping to stop a vicious people trafficking:
It will do “absolutely nothing” because, according to Mr Abbott’s flawed logic, doing something would encourage people smugglers to press on.
Yet Abbott is right, and our own bitter experience proves that The Age was wrong and has learned nothing from being so.
The Age also ignores the fact that most of the people it’s talking about are actually Bangladeshi laborers, who are poor, badly educated Muslim laborers who, like the Rohingya, would almost certainly struggle to fit in here. It also ignores that far from doing nothing to help, Abbott has just increased our aid to the Rohingya by $5 million. The boat people are being rescued and the people trade of laborers to Malaysia, involving prison camps, ransoms and mass graves, is now being stopped. Burma has meanwhile agreed to take more responsibility for the Rohingya. Simply accepting a few thousand more boat people would have done nothing to fix the wider problem, and almost certainly have made it worse.
The Age is run by people who emote, not analyse. Their vicious hatred for Abbott - and their policies - both belie their claim to greater “compassion"/ 
===

Ireland votes for gay marriage

Andrew Bolt May 24 2015 (5:10am)

I am wary of the damage I fear could be done to the tradition, but support this manner of changing something so fundamental:
The people of Ireland have voted overwhelmingly to legalise gay marriage following a historic referendum… 
Irish people from around the world travelled home to take part in the referendum, which came only 22 years after homosexuality was decriminalised.
As crowds gathered at Dublin Castle to celebrate the result… it was confirmed that Amendment 34 to the Irish constitution had passed by 62% to 38%. 
Yes to a popular vote; no to a political one. 
===

Victorian Labor powerbroker and Shorten ally accused

Andrew Bolt May 24 2015 (4:50am)

Something doesn’t feel right about this Socialist Left Government:
THE Andrews Government has been rocked by its first scandal, with Small Business Minister Adem Somyurek stood down pending an investigation into claims of bullying. 
Premier Daniel Andrews called a snap press conference yesterday to reveal Mr Somyurek had been accused by his chief of staff Dimity Paul of “threatening and intimidating” behaviour…
It is understood Mr Somyurek’s office has experienced problems recently, with internal tensions and disagreements between the minister and key staff. One member of staff left the office last week.
Sources said last week’s Public Accounts and Estimates Committee hearing, which Mr Somyurek attended as Small Business, Innovation and Trade Minister, was a catalyst for heated arguments.
The Coalition at that hearing leapt on Mr Somyurek and what it said was his lack of preparedness..
The sensational claims caused an immediate flurry of internal Labor tension, with ­allies of Mr Somyurek — a key factional powerbroker in the Government — quick to jump to his defence....
In 2009 Mr Somyurek was chastised publicly by then premier John Brumby after he was given a one-month suspended jail sentence and $300 fine for driving his taxpayer-funded car while disqualified and while talking on his mobile phone.
How much of this is politics?
The alleged misconduct – which Mr Somyurek has strenuously denied – is said to have taken place over the past few months, and relates to a number of employees in his ministerial office, including his chief of staff, Dimity Paul. 
At least one incident is alleged to have been physical, which led to Ms Paul feeling “unsafe” in his presence… Some Labor insiders have suggested that part of the scandal could be tied up in a political power-play between Mr Somyurek and Ms Paul, whose factions fell out following a recent realignment within the Right of the Victorian ALP.
UPDATE
Mr Somyurek was one of a group of Labor right-wing MPs who recently shifted allegiance from the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees’ Association section of the Right faction to the dominant Centre Unity grouping effectively headed by Victorian federal frontbenchers Bill Shorten and Stephen Conroy.
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This happens quite a lot. Just remember: 1 = 1st2 = 2nd3 = 3rd4 -10 = 4th-10th
Posted by Grammarly on Friday, 22 May 2015
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Do you see it? Is it bothering you??
Posted by KHOP @ 95.1fm on Sunday, 11 May 2014
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It's true!  The new laws were voted in last night.Amazing idea.  Hopefully more countries follow their lead!
Posted by 92.9 The Bull on Friday, 22 May 2015
It is a bureaucratic idea which will make things worse by making the more expensive option the only choice. Robespierre would be proud.
===
Author Dan Sheehan is giving veterans a voice through his writing. Watch his story here this Tuesday.
Posted by Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing on Saturday, 23 May 2015
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Pun for your weekend via sardonicsalad.com.
Posted by Grammarly on Saturday, 23 May 2015
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WHO CHOSE WHO?

Tim Blair – Friday, May 24, 2013 (5:48pm)

Network Ten’s Canberra chief Stephen Spencer suffered a severe case of panty bunchitis back in March when people criticised Julia Gillard’s appearance with Kyle Sandilands at Kirribilli House: 
2Day organised it. Gillard didn’t choose Kyle, 2DAY chose Kiribilli … Kyle asked pm if he could use Kirribilli for charity event for sick and dying kids. She said yes. End of story. 
Maybe not. Gillard’s communications boss John McTernan, defending Gillard’s latest Sandilands shenanigans, now says that he organised the March event: 
“[Kyle] is a popular and talented broadcaster and is listened to by more than a million people every morning.
‘’His work with charity is well known but it apparently disturbs you that the Prime Minister hosted Kyle and Jackie O and kids from Bear Cottage at Kirribilli House. Well I will never apologise for arranging that.
‘’Perhaps one day you will know what it is like to entertain and touch the hearts of millions of people like Kyle and Jackie O do every day. And perhaps then you will reflect on the darts of the pygmies who sneer at success.’’ 
Whatever, John. Over to Spencer for clarification. Was he perhaps misled by the Prime Minister’s office?
===

LEAF SENTENCE - DAY THREE

Tim Blair – Friday, May 24, 2013 (11:06am)

Occupy Windowsill is on course to outlast the Occupy movement:
===

MESSAGE UNHEARD

Tim Blair – Friday, May 24, 2013 (11:24am)

You can’t help but feel a little bit sorry for your average Muslim terrorist. They go to all the trouble of blowing up children in Boston, killing US Army personnel in Texas, detonating bars in Bali, flying jets into New York skyscrapers and now basically removing a soldier’s head in a London street, all in the holy name of Islam.
But where’s the credit?
Where’s the respect?
===

MR BIG

Tim Blair – Friday, May 24, 2013 (5:11am)

An alleged people smuggler charged in Jakarta: 
Indonesian police have arrested an Australian resident refugee they are treating as a major people-smuggling suspect.
The Iranian man, Mohammad Abdi, 36, was arrested at an apartment in West Jakarta early yesterday along with two other Iranians.
A senior Indonesian National Police source said Mr Abdi, also known as Said Ali, was “a big smuggler”. 
Big is the word:


The arrest of Abdi, who denies any smuggling involvement, follows the exposure last year of smuggler and Canberra trolley skipper Captain Emad.
UPDATE. “Polisi di Jakarta telah menahan seorang pengungsi,” reports Radio Australia. “Yang memegang dokumen perjalanan Australia tapi belum menjadi warganegara Australia, ditahan bersama dua orang lainnya.” Well, obviously.
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JUST A TINY $1,000,000,000 PER YEAR

Tim Blair – Friday, May 24, 2013 (5:02am)

ABC columnist and big thinker Tim Dunlop stands up for the weeny community broadcaster: 
Kind of funny how much the very existence of the ABC gets up some people’s noses; this tiny redoubt against all-conquering marketisation 
The ABC receives more than $1 billion in taxpayer funds every year and claims to be the nation’s single-biggest employer of journalists. Dunlop, an expert reporter, is currently writing a bookabout the media.

===

PARANORMAL ACTIVITY

Tim Blair – Friday, May 24, 2013 (4:45am)

Tasmanian behaviour recorded: 
A man who set up a video camera to capture paranormal activity in his kitchen instead recorded evidence of his partner engaging in a sexual relationship with his 16-year-old son, the Supreme Court heard ... 
Well, it’s Tasmania. Aim for paranormal, get normal.

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BIG OIL WINS AGAIN

Tim Blair – Friday, May 24, 2013 (4:28am)

The jug ban is over: 
A European Union ban on the use of unmarked olive oil jugs on restaurant tables has been dropped following a public outcry across Europe.
The climb down overrides an EU decision last week requiring that olive oil “presented at a restaurant table” must be in factory packaged bottles with a tamper-proof “hygienic” nozzle and printed labelling in line with Brussels standards. 

===

MICHAEL BECOMES MUJAAHID

Tim Blair – Friday, May 24, 2013 (2:20am)

Details emerge about South London machete maniac and Koran convert Michael Adebolajo, theman with the blood on his hands
Former neighbours of Michael Adebolajo have described him as a “nasty kid” who once punched a young girl neighbour in the face.
Whilst some have described his family as devout Christians, others have painted a different picture and blamed his home life for his alleged actions.
One 68-year-old Romford resident, who did not want to be named, said she was informed by a young girl’s brother that she had been attacked by him.
“He said Michael had spat in her face and then punched her. I looked out the window and he was stood in his front garden in a rage. The police turned up but I don’t think he was ever arrested,” she said.
She continued … “Michael would regularly have a large group of friends over and they would sit in the garage with music blaring. They would also bring in lots of beer.” 
Then he heard Islam’s siren call
Counter-terrorism officers and the security services are examining Adebolajo’s links to the banned extremist group al-Muhajiroun. It is understood he was radicalised around 10 years ago, changing his name to Mujaahid, which means “one who engages in jihad” …
Adebolajo was frequently seen in Woolwich handing out Islamist literature in the High Street.
Anjem Choudary, the former leader of al-Muhajiroun, has confirmed that he knew Adebolajo …
Choudary said Mujaahid had converted to Islam in 2003 and was a British-born Nigerian. He said he had attended meetings of al-Muhajiroun from around 2005-11, but stopped attending the meetings, and those its successor organisations, two years ago.
At the meetings he heard an interpretation of Islam preached by the group’s founder, Omar Bakri Mohammed, which many Muslims would consider extreme.
Choudary said: “He was on our ideological wave-length.” 
It’s a wave-length that SBS can’t pick up.

===

HAZEL HAWKE

Tim Blair – Friday, May 24, 2013 (1:00am)

Hazel Hawke, the universally admired former wife of ex-Prime Minister Bob Hawke, has died at 83.
===

Don’t mention the pause, or there may be Nazis

Andrew Bolt May 24 2013 (12:58pm)


An emeritus professor from Sydney warns me to cease and desist:
I have read several times and hear your statements on TV that there has been no change in the Earths temperature for 10 years ( in todays paper 15years) 
Though there has been no change for 10 years ( if you believe the modeling), its really only half the story and so is misleading. Simple regression analysis of the calculated data would fit such points as “experimental scatter” on the best fit to the data since the industrial revolution. This is probably because other things which contribute to global warming or cooling than carbon dioxide vary somewhat. Water vapour effects are not well understood.

Put in simple terms its like using the arguments that the weather has been warmer this winter demonstrates global warming, it does not. Your arguments are as invalid in supporting no climate change over the industrial revolution period.

The problem with such half information, the normal method of argument of lawyers I am sad to say, is that it misleads the public, especially the public who are scientifically ignorant.
At best this gives ammunition to the rabid left, who can see inconsistencies in logic while ignoring their own, at worst it leads to such disasters in change in public opinion such as with Eugenics and the Nazis.
UPDATE
To readers who asked: yes, he is an emeritus professor in a field of science.
Reader gbees responds:
Andrew, I take umbrage at the remark “especially the public who are scientifically ignorant”. I have 3 degrees and they are all loaded with the mathematics used in climate science, epidemiology, econometrics, engineering science etc.. etc. The maths is the same in all those disciplines…

I also wish to take the good professor to task on a couple of his comments. But where we do agree is that 10 years is not long enough to determine the climate is changing due to CO2 and neither is the years since the start of the industrial evolution. In fact, there are not enough data points. One has to go back, way back thousands of years to get enough data points. And when that is done there is no empirical evidence that the temperature fluctuations are anything other than natural and certainly not from man made CO2 emissions.

His comment “there has been no change for 10 years ( if you believe the modeling)” - the assumption here is that the data you have been providing in your graphs is from a computer model. In fact your data is empirical (observed), so the professor got that wrong.

Further ‘simple regression’ is not the way to interpret the data of climate science. One needs at a minimum a well constructed multiple regression algorithm including numerous variables because the climate is driven by many different sources. It’s quite a complex system. And that’s the real issue. It’s not well understood. Simple linear regression just does not cut it.

Further, as far as I’m aware you have always stated that there is no statistically significant, discernible increase in temperature since 1998. I think that’s a fair enough conclusion at this stage. Although I would always like you to add that there’s no evidence that CO2 is the driver of temperature change.

All in all, there is still no empirical scientific evidence that human CO2 emissions are causing runaway catastrophic global warming, which is what AGW proponents want us to believe.

Keep up the good work. You’re on the right track ..

===

Confront the construction thugs

Andrew Bolt May 24 2013 (12:19pm)

A victory for the rule of law and the right to go to work without fear of harassment and intimidation:
THE construction workers union has been convicted of contempt of court for illegally blocking access to Grocon sites during its bitter dispute with the building giant last year. 
Victorian Supreme Court judge Anthony Cavanough today ruled that 30 charges against the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union had been proven in relation to its blockade of the Melbourne Emporium site and a Footscray development site in August and September.
The industrial protests saw Melbourne’s CBD brought to a standstill for two weeks as the streets filled with hundreds of construction workers, goaded by union officials on loudspeakers.
Justice Cavanough singled out Victorian state secretary John Setka for his “hostile and insulting” response to a Grocon worker who told him: “We just want to go to work, John. This is not our blue.” 
“You f . . king dogs,” Mr Setka replied.
More needs to be done to counter an astonishing escalation of the tactics of intimidation: 

THE building industry’s corruption watchdog has become the target of a vicious campaign.  Victoria Police is investigating the circulation around Melbourne of a leaflet in which Nigel Hadgkiss’s wife, Moira, is named and photographed. 
The leaflet, which the Herald Sun understands is part of a larger file on Mr Hadgkiss, shows Mrs Hadgkiss in the family driveway. It also shows the number plate of the car in the drive, and reveals it is registered to the Department of Treasury and Finance…
Mr Hadgkiss is the director of the State Government’s Construction Code Compliance Unit and has been compiling a report on corruption and bikie links in the building industry for more than six months.
The Construction Forestry Mining and Energy Union denied any involvement with the flyer, which state secretary John Setka said had been circulating around government offices in recent weeks.
He questioned whether it was right for Mrs Hadgkiss to use a taxpayer-funded car.
Even more sinister:

A senior Comanchero and two other members of the outlaw bikie club barged into the family home of one of Australia’s leading builders in a suspected standover attempt to force the construction firm owner to pay a disputed debt. 
Master Builders Association federal vice-president Trevor Evans was at his suburban Melbourne home when the bikie trio, led by Comanchero sergeant-at-arms Norm Meyer, entered his house through an unlocked door and confronted him over money that a subcontractor claims he is owed. 
There is something very sick in the construction industry. Tony Abbott’s promise to restore the Australian Building and Construction Commission - so recklessly dismantled by Julia Gillard - is a good first step. 

===

The Bolt Report on Sunday

Andrew Bolt May 24 2013 (11:25am)

On The Bolt Report on Network Ten at 10am Sunday: Opposition industry spokesman Sophie Mirabella, Peter Reith and Cassandra Wilkinson.
What Ford tells us about the trouble we’re in.
How useless are hand-outs to car-makers and other corporate teat-suckers?
Are the Liberals just Labor-lite?
The trouble with Islam. And global warming vultures.
Also invited on the show: Julia Gillard and other Labor Ministers.
The twitter feed.
The place the videos appear.

===

Global warming preachers burn the gases we must not

Andrew Bolt May 24 2013 (7:46am)

Frequent-flying hypocrites: 

A LABOR senator has questioned Climate Commissioner Tim Flannery’s decision to snub a budget estimates hearing next week to fly overseas on a private trip. 
Committee chair Senator Doug Cameron said Mr Flannery, paid a reported $180,000 for his part-time job, should have attended.
Two other key CEOs of climate bodies established by the government have also sent apologies - because they are off to Europe.
Anthea Harris, head of the Climate Change Authority which reviews and makes recommendations about the carbon tax, and Chloe Munro, head of the Clean Energy Regulator which administers the carbon tax, will be at a carbon expo in Spain… 
A return flight to Spain is likely to produce more than five tonnes of carbon.
I won’t believe the planet’s future depends on me slashing emissions until Tim Flannery acts like he really believes it, too.
(Thanks to reader Case.) 

===

More climate alarmism from the ABC’s Lateline

Andrew Bolt May 24 2013 (7:16am)


Showing a graphic of temperature change since 1997 might have solved the issue for ABC viewers, who were last night treated to a puff-piece on warming extremist Bill McKibben: 

TONY JONES: Let’s start with the statement most frequently used by climate change sceptics: the planet has stopped warming since 1998 and started to cool, actually cool, since 2003. True or false? 
BILL MCKIBBEN: Completely false. The data is unfortunately abundantly clear here. Not only is the air temperature continuing to go up, but a whole slew of studies in recent months have shown that in fact the rate of warming in the oceans is accelerating and of course that heat will eventually make its way back out into the atmosphere…
TONY JONES: Let’s just look at that figure though. 1998 was pretty much the planet’s hottest year, at least some argue that it was, since accurate temperature recordings were done. It appears there was a spike in that year, a spike in the temperature and since then temperatures have actually gone down? 
BILL MCKIBBEN: No, temperatures haven’t gone down. The last decade was the warmest by far on record. 1998 was a very strong El Nino year and so it set a new record, a record we’ve now broken twice by small margins, but in general the pace of climate change continues unabated.
Lateline last night also puffed this deeply deceptive claim: 

KERRY BREWSTER: Research fellow John Cook has studied thousands of scientific papers to gauge the level of consensus among climate scientists. 
JOHN COOK: What we’ve done is actually look at the last 21 years of climate research and looked at - just identified all the papers that state a position on whether - just that simple question: whether humans are causing global warming. And we identified about 4,000 papers that stated the position on this, and among those 4,000 papers, more than 97 per cent endorse human-caused global warming.
In fact: 
First, the papers which explicitly endorsed the standard global warming theory were outnumbered by those which explicitly denied it: 
...This study found ~4,000 abstracts that say humans cause some amount of global warming. Only 143 of those indicate how much warming humans are responsible for. Of those, 65 say its a lot, 78 say it isn’t much.
Second, a theory is not proved by the number of scientists who believe it. And however popular, it can be disproved by a single fact.
Third, Cook’s study missed key papers by sceptical scientists. 
Fourth, some of the papers Cook claims endorse global warming theory do not. Says who? Say the scientists who wrote them...

===

Costello endorses Abbott

Andrew Bolt May 24 2013 (7:05am)

Peter Costello makes it harder this time for Labor to quote him:
PETER Costello, the Liberal treasurer who featured in a Labor Party attack ad during the last election campaign accusing Tony Abbott of being an economic illiterate, will tonight praise the Opposition Leader’s budget reply speech as “the best in decades”. 
Australia’s longest-serving treasurer and Mr Abbott’s senior cabinet and party colleague for all his years in the Howard government ministry will declare that the Coalition, under Mr Abbott, is ready to “rescue” the economy.
“Tony Abbott’s budget-in-reply speech was the best in decades,” Mr Costello will say at a gala Liberal function at the Melbourne Museum tonight in his honour. 
“It shows that the Coalition understands the dimension of the task ahead and is ready to rescue the situation.”

===

No hijab for you

Andrew Bolt May 24 2013 (6:47am)

 Egyptian journalist Riham Said confrontsfundamentalist Islamic cleric Yousuf Badri on Egypt’s Al-Nahar TV.

The great Italian journalist Oriana Fallaci did the hijab thing first, with Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini:
Fallaci makes an attempt at poking fun by asking Khomeini how it is possible to swim in a veil, which irritates the Imam again: 
“This is none of your business. Our customs are none of your business. If you do not like Islamic dress you are not obliged to wear it. Besides, Islamic dress is for good and proper young women.”
Funny enough, the suggestion that she is not a “good and proper” young woman angers Fallaci: 
“That’s very kind of you, Imam. And since you said so, I’m going to take off this stupid, medieval rag right now. There. Done...”
(Thanks to reader John.) 

===

Muslims riot in Stockholm for fourth day

Andrew Bolt May 24 2013 (5:49am)

Swedish multiculturalism:
Stockholm was braced for a fifth night of riots as violent unrest that began almost a week ago in the northern suburbs of the Swedish capital continued to spread to other corners of the city… 
Up to 40 cars, a police station and a restaurant in the southern suburb of Skogas were set ablaze on Wednesday. Fire crew were pelted with stones – mainly by young men with their faces covered – as they attempted to douse the flames. Around 300 cars have been set on fire this week. The unrest began on Sunday in the rundown, mainly immigrant, northern suburb of Husby… Groups from local mosques have been patrolling the streets of Husby, pleading with youths for calm. 
So very few reports are frank about who precisely is rioting, preferring the euphemism “youths”. However:
The riots began on Sunday in Husby, just outside of the capital, where about 80 percent of the population is either first or second generation immigrants. Most of them come from largely Muslim countries like Turkey, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, and Somalia… 
“We see a society that is becoming increasingly divided and where the gaps, both socially and economically, are becoming larger,” said co-founder Rami Al-Khamisi with the group Megafonen, which purports to represent suburbs and minorities… “We have institutional racism.”

Others in Sweden lashed out at immigrants and massive immigration in general, saying the riots illustrated the “failure of multiculturalism” and the problems with allowing too many foreigners in without a real plan. 
As the debate over immigration raged, the Sweden Democrats party, which seeks to implement broad restrictions on further immigration, has now become the third largest political party based on recent polls.
Is this what Sweden envisaged with mass immigration? A more divided society, with ethnic and religious riots?
Not working out as the starry-eyed imagined:
This is not the first time the Scandinavian country has seen riots among immigrants. 
In 2010, up to 100 youths threw bricks, set fires and attacked the local police station in the immigrant-heavy suburb of Rinkeby for two nights. And in 2008, hundreds of youths rioted against police in the southern Swedish town of Malmoe, sparked by the closure of an Islamic cultural centre in the suburb of Rosengaard that housed a mosque.
When mass Muslim immigration requires such an effort from the host country to make work, with such a high price for failure, is it worth it?
[Integration Minister Erik] Ullenhag explained that the unrest is not a question of young people against society. 
“I’ve seen in the international media that this is a riot between young people in some parts of Stockholm and the society, but this is not true. It’s a small proportion. The majority of young people in Tensta, Husby, Rinkeby, they go to schools and they want to have opportunities in Sweden, and it’s important to tell that story,” he said.

Ullenhag added that he was looking into reforms targeting such areas that would create a much more individualized process when it comes to integrating immigrants. 
“For someone with no formal education, the best way to learn Swedish is probably to have an internship and to combine that with studying Swedish,” he explained. 
Note how the onus falls on the Swedes to make immigrants adapt, and not on the rioters.
Some of the immigrants in Husby are smarter than the Integration Minister:
Marianne Farede ...  agreed that high youth unemployment was part of the problem, she put more blame on parents rather than a lack of support programmes from the Swedish state.
“It’s how they’ve been raised. Everything comes back to their parents,” she explained. “It’s not the state’s fault. You have to take control of your life…
“If I lived in my homeland, I wouldn’t have it as good as I do now. That’s something I really appreciate,” the Lebanon-born Farede explained.
“There aren’t enough who do appreciate what they have. They want even more...”
Shahnaz Darabi, ... a native of Iran who has lived in Sweden for 19 years, also cited a lack of involvement by parents as a contributing factor to the riots.
“Parents are ultimately responsible. They need to set boundaries. They need to have more of a check on their children’s lives,” she said…
Darabi believes that too many immigrant parents fail to integrate into Swedish society, thus making it harder for their children.
“Many sit at home and watch television from their home countries, don’t learn the Swedish language, they are out of work and living on benefits and can’t move forward. They are stuck,” she said. 
“It’s the individual and parents who need to take responsibility. But many don’t; they only think about money and how to get benefits this month and next month. That affects their children. There has to be a limit. The state has given them too much, frankly.”
Sweden has swallow something it cannot digest. 

===

Car cash can’t stop Ford crash

Andrew Bolt May 24 2013 (5:17am)

The fall of Ford shows the folly of taxing good industries to prop up the bad - and failing anyway: 

Bill Scales, who chaired the Industry Commission and the Automotive Industry Authority that implemented the Button car plan under the Hawke government, said it was “foolish in the extreme to be trying to create industry or firm-specific assistance”.
“This is the worst of all worlds because not only do they try and target an industry, but the current industry assistance tries to target assistance to meet the needs of a particular firm,” Mr Scales told The Australian. “There’s no evidence, no evidence in any reasonable, well-recognised study that says this works…
“But in most cases, it shows that that investment is foolhardly and that’s what this particular decision I think shows, that once again this form of investment simply does not work.” 
The government’s current commitment to the entire car industry until 2020 under the “New Car Plan” is $5.4 billion.
So what did we get for all that?

Ford has collected an estimated $1.1 billion in federal assistance over the past decade.
How hard did we make it for the businesses who had to pay the taxes to “save” Ford? 

===

SBS can’t spot a Muslim killer even when he quotes the Koran

Andrew Bolt May 24 2013 (12:01am)

IslamismMedia
 Within an hour or so this film was on YouTube. It records one of the killers of an unarmed British soldier in London shouting:

There are many, many ayah throughout the Koran that we must fight them as they fight us, an eye for an eye a tooth for tooth. We — I apologize that women had to witness this today, but in our lands our women have to see the same. You people will never be safe. Remove your government. They don’t care about you.
But SBS, in a report nearly seven minutes long, somehow fails to mention even once the words, “Muslim”, “Islam”, “Allah” or “Koran”. Listen to this stunning example of non-reporting - a deliberate and deceptive evasion.
SBS reporter Hannah Sinclair even asks directly:
What kind of attack was this? 
London-based Australian journalist Adam McIlrick actually refers to the film above, in which a killer explains exactly what he’s about, yet claims:
Everything was captured [on film] which makes this so much harder to understand.
Harder to understand? When the killer actually confesses?
Sinclair tries - tentatively - again:

Is there any indication of the background of the suspects involved?
McIlrick pretends to be blind to the appearance of the killers and deaf to their cries:
No indication… Links to extremist organisations are being investigated.... Nothing clear has emerged… It hasn’t been confirmed that this is a terror attack.
This is astonishing. Scandalous, even. What else does SBS refuse to tell its audience?
UPDATE
The taxpayer-funded SBS also publishes an analysis written by Monash University academic Andy Ruddock for the taxpayer-funded Conversation which somehow twists a murder by Islamists into an interrogation of not the perpetrators or their ideology but of those reacting to them.
It. too, astonishingly fails to mention “Muslim”, “Islam”, “Allah” or “Koran”. The only hint it gives of the motives of the killers is this line damning the killers’ critics:

Journalist Laurie Penny used the same platform to warn of “ugly racism and Islamophobia”.
What name can you give this cowardly. deceptive and intellectually dishonest kind of reportage?:
A man has been horrifically and wilfully murdered in public. Footage of this appalling crime has spread through global media outlets. 
The world has seen one of the alleged murderers, cleaver in his bloodied hand.
What has happened is clear.
Why it happened, and what the murder means for British society, is another matter.
Social media users have acted quickly to frame the event.
British National Party chairman Nick Griffin immediately turned to Twitter to relate the attack to his anti-immigration agenda.
Journalist Laurie Penny used the same platform to warn of “ugly racism and Islamophobia”.
At this time, when so little is known, it’s worth noting that images of the crime are not neutral – they will play an active part in deciding what the Woolwich murder means – and what is done about it.
The images we are all consuming with disgust are doing more than just showing us something horrible.
There’s a political twist on the old adage about pictures being worth a thousand words.
In the 1950s, semiotician Roland Barthes explained how a simple image of a black soldier saluting the French flag, on the cover of the Paris Match magazine, conveyed a complicated apology for French Imperialism.
At a time when France’s colonial investments were a matter of intense political debate, the picture was hardly disinterested.
In the immediate attempts to connect Woolwich with particular positions on British multiculturalism, we see the same ideological struggle coming into play.
Behind the simple truth, here’s a man saluting a flag, here’s a man holding a bloody cleaver: different camps are jockeying to secure the significance of the visuals.
Mind you, SBS has form for covering up for Islamic extremists:
SBS after the September 11 attacks destroyed tape it had filmed of the then mufti of Australia praising suicide bombers in his mosque. 
SBS told me it wanted to stop you jumping to an “unfair” conclusion about this hate-preacher.
UPDATE
The facts: 

THE WOOLWICH suspected terrorists, who allegedly hacked a British soldier to death in the street are believed to be British citizens with a Nigerian background who converted to a radical form of Islam
The men, who are being treated in separate hospitals while under arrest, are most likely to have converted to a radical form of Islam from Christianity but are not thought to have links to West African terrorist group - Boko Haram.
One of the men has been identified as 28-year-old Michael Adebolajo who grew up in east London and converted to Islam some 10 years ago… He was the alleged killer in black seen ranting on video shortly after the murder.
UPDATE
THE off-duty soldier slain in London has been identified as a young father of one ...
UPDATE
More stuff SBS will have trouble reporting, except for the Christian bit, of course:

Michael Adebolajo, one of the men arrested over the Woolwich murder, was a polite and well-mannered schoolboy rapper who turned to militant Islam after rebelling against his devoutly Christian family… 
Anjem Choudary, the former leader of the banned Islamist organisation, Al Muhajiroun, confirmed that he knew Mr Adebolajo, who converted in 2003 and attended meetings of the group and its successor organisations for eight years…Al Muhajiroun, founded in 1983 by Islamist Omar Bakri Muhammad, became notorious for attempting to justify the 9/11 attacks. Mr Choudary, who has long been a controversial figures in Britain’s Islamist circles, has been an outspoken critic of British military involvement in Iraq and Afghanistan.
More inspiration:
In 2008, Parviz Khan, 37, of Birmingham, was sentenced to 14 years’ jail for plotting to kidnap and behead a British soldier. In covert recordings he was heard making plans for the killing - and to film it, to ensure the terror message hit home in Britain. ‘’This was not only a plot to kill a soldier but a plot to undermine the morale of the British Army and inhibit recruitment,’’ High Court judge Justice Richard Henriques said… 
This was an attack from the al-Qaeda handbook. The terrorist group’s English-language magazine, Inspire, produced in the Arabian Peninsula, exhorts people to carry out ‘’lone wolf’’ attacks. Articles and advertisements urged readers to use knives and run people down in vehicles...
(Thanks to reader H.) 

===
Whoever finds me finds life, and obtains favor from the LORD(Proverbs 8:35, NKJV)
Today, I declare over your life that in the coming days and weeks ahead, God is going to unleash His unprecedented favor on you — favor like you’ve never seen before. The key is to stay connected to Him, stay in fellowship with Him through prayer, worship and reading His Word. Let Him direct your steps and mold and shape your character. As you pour yourself out to Him, He will pour out Himself on you. He’ll pour out His grace, mercy and supernatural, undeserved, unearned, unexplainable favor on every area of your life.God bless you.
===

===
When you forgive...you heal. When you let go...you grow. When you cry out to God...you surrender. When you love unconditionally...you show others Christ's love. Holly
===

Barbaric textbooks handed out in Saudi Arabian schools teach children how to cut off a thief's hands and feet under Sharia law, it has emerged.
The shocking books, paid for and printed by the Saudi government, also tell teenagers that Jews need to be exterminated and homosexuals should be 'put to death'.
Recent editions were obtained by the Institute for Gulf Affairs in Washington, D.C., which says they should raise fears in the West over the use of jihadist language.
===
Saudi Columnist: Clerics Have Corrupted The Mind Of The Youth With Violent And Bloodthirsty IdeologyIn an article in the Saudi daily Al-Jazirah, columnist 'Abd Al-'Aziz Al-Samari criticized Arab society in general and Saudi society in particular, saying that they reject diversity of opinion and see anyone who voices dissenting views as an enemy. He added that some Saudi clerics preach extremism and have corrupted the minds of the youth with violent and bloodthirsty ideology. He called upon the Saudi authorities to purge the school curricula of extremist content, and to replace the current education methods, based on rigid indoctrination, with a comprehensive cultural program to foster pluralism and respect for the other.
===
I was in a pet shop when I noticed a girl in Islamic dress with the most amazingly coloured parrot perched on her shoulder.

"Where did you get that from ?" I asked.

" Birmingham !!!... There's thousands of 'em!" ........said the Parrot.
===
mm banner28413-0
JensenSutta-Malkin-2
Photo credit: www.jensensutta.com
Hi everyone! Here's the MichelleMalkin.com newsletter for May 23rd. Enjoy!

From the Blog

Your reading assignments before Obama’s Gitmo speech

Later today, President Obama will address the National Defense University and is expected to initiate renewed efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facility and transfer accused jihadists back to their home countries — despite record-high Gitmo recidivism rates...

Why did former IRS Commish visit White House 118 times in 2 years? Easter Egg Roll, for starters

Here’s one of the more ridiculous exchanges from today’s congressional hearing in regards to why the former IRS commissioner would have visited the White House 118 times in two years...

After gruesome beheading in London, jihadist swears by Allah: ‘We will never stop fighting you’

Dhimmitude has consequences...

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This morning on "FOX & Friends," Michelle discussed jihad in London and the Feds' targeting of journalists.

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FTR Radio and Smart Girl Politics are teaming up to host a three-hour radiothon to benefit Mercury One Charity 2013 Midwest Tornado Relief Fund. The fundraiser kicks off tonight at 8 p.m. ET, and allof the proceeds will go toward tornado relief in Oklahoma.
For more information, including how to make a donation, click here.

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Thanks for proving the point, Gene.

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May 24Saints Cyril and Methodius Day in Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Russia; Independence Day in Eritrea (1993)
John Wesley
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Births[edit]

Deaths[edit]

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“Each of us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.” - Romans 15:2
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Morning and Evening by Charles Spurgeon

Morning


"The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me."
Psalm 138:8

Most manifestly the confidence which the Psalmist here expressed was a divine confidence. He did not say, "I have grace enough to perfect that which concerneth me--my faith is so steady that it will not stagger--my love is so warm that it will never grow cold--my resolution is so firm that nothing can move it"; no, his dependence was on the Lord alone. If we indulge in any confidence which is not grounded on the Rock of Ages, our confidence is worse than a dream, it will fall upon us, and cover us with its ruins, to our sorrow and confusion. All that Nature spins time will unravel, to the eternal confusion of all who are clothed therein. The Psalmist was wise, he rested upon nothing short of the Lord's work. It is the Lord who has begun the good work within us; it is he who has carried it on; and if he does not finish it, it never will be complete. If there be one stitch in the celestial garment of our righteousness which we are to insert ourselves, then we are lost; but this is our confidence, the Lord who began will perfect. He has done it all, must do it all, and will do it all. Our confidence must not be in what we have done, nor in what we have resolved to do, but entirely in what the Lord will do. Unbelief insinuates--"You will never be able to stand. Look at the evil of your heart, you can never conquer sin; remember the sinful pleasures and temptations of the world that beset you, you will be certainly allured by them and led astray." Ah! yes, we should indeed perish if left to our own strength. If we had alone to navigate our frail vessels over so rough a sea, we might well give up the voyage in despair; but, thanks be to God, he will perfect that which concerneth us, and bring us to the desired haven. We can never be too confident when we confide in him alone, and never too much concerned to have such a trust.

Evening

"Thou hast bought me no sweet cane with money."
Isaiah 43:24
Worshippers at the temple were wont to bring presents of sweet perfumes to be burned upon the altar of God: but Israel, in the time of her backsliding, became ungenerous, and made but few votive offerings to her Lord: this was an evidence of coldness of heart towards God and his house. Reader, does this never occur with you? Might not the complaint of the text be occasionally, if not frequently, brought against you? Those who are poor in pocket, if rich in faith, will be accepted none the less because their gifts are small; but, poor reader, do you give in fair proportion to the Lord, or is the widow's mite kept back from the sacred treasury? The rich believer should be thankful for the talent entrusted to him, but should not forget his large responsibility, for where much is given much will be required; but, rich reader, are you mindful of your obligations, and rendering to the Lord according to the benefit received? Jesus gave his blood for us, what shall we give to him? We are his, and all that we have, for he has purchased us unto himself--can we act as if we were our own? O for more consecration! and to this end, O for more love! Blessed Jesus, how good it is of thee to accept our sweet cane bought with money! nothing is too costly as a tribute to thine unrivalled love, and yet thou dost receive with favour the smallest sincere token of affection! Thou dost receive our poor forget-me-nots and love-tokens as though they were intrinsically precious, though indeed they are but as the bunch of wild flowers which the child brings to its mother. Never may we grow niggardly towards thee, and from this hour never may we hear thee complain of us again for withholding the gifts of our love. We will give thee the first fruits of our increase, and pay thee tithes of all, and then we will confess "of thine own have we given thee."
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Balaam

[Bā'laam] - a pilgrim, devouring or lord of the peopleA diviner, son of Beor and resident of the town of Pethor (Num. 22; 23; 24; Deut. 23:4).

The Man Who Heard an Ass Speak


Peter, Jude and John deal with Balaam as a historical presence (2 Pet. 2:15; Jude 11; Rev. 2:14).

In Balaam we have a fitting yet tragic illustration of our Lord's teaching about the light in us being darkness. Balaam had ahead full of light but a heart that was dark - and great was the darkness! This man of Mesopotamia, counted a prophet, yet followed the unholy practice of Eastern soothsayers.
Balak the king, greatly alarmed because of the Israelites swarming the Plains of Moab, sent for Balaam to pronounce a curse upon the people of God so that he would have nothing more to fear. Balaam refused and declared that all who blessed Israel would be blessed. Balak sent for Balaam again and again, tempting him with bribes but Balaam remained firm. In a further approach of Balak, Balaam was more cautious in his refusal. Instead of saying with Daniel, "Thy gifts be to thyself and give thy rewards to another," Balaam caught the bait held out and proved that he loved the wages of unrighteousness.
Balak's messengers were not immediately dismissed. Balaam asked for time to consult God as to what he should do. The line of duty, however, was perfectly clear. There was no need to pray. God allowed Balaam to go, but he did not carry divine approval with him. Sometimes God punishes us by allowing us to have our own way. Thus Balaam started to Balak but did not reach him. Suddenly the ass he was riding stopped and could not be induced to proceed. God's angel was before him although Balaam could not see him standing in the way with his drawn sword. Then the ass, the most stupid of all beasts, was made to speak and reprove one of the wisest of men. Awestruck at what had happened and trembling with fear, Balaam confessed, "I have sinned." Balaam must have known that his whole conduct was displeasing to God and that he had been wilfully blind.
Back Balaam went and with a great parade built seven altars and offered bullocks and rams on every altar. But God was not pleased with such offerings. Yet God employed Balaam for His own purposes, for He put into his mouth some of the most blessed and glorious words spoken concerning His people Israel. With his heart turned towards the eternal world Balaam wanted to die the death of a righteous man, but his end was far from righteous. He died in a general massacre and we have no record of his repentance. He died in his sins.
Clearly evident are the lessons to be learned from this renowned man who was self-willed (Num. 22:5-22); saved from death by a beast (Num. 22:33); double-minded in that he was eloquent in prophecy but presumptuous in seeking to alter the divine plan (Num. 23; 24); a failure in his mission (Num. 24:10); an evil counselor (Num. 31:16); overcome by the besetting sin of avarice ( 2 Pet. 2:13):
The clearest knowledge without grace is worthless.
The presence of any sin is ruinous, especially covetousness.
The most pious wishes are sometimes vain. The road to hell can be paved with good resolutions.
To die well one must live well.
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Elisabeth


The Woman Who Bore a Son in Her Old Age

Scripture Reference-Luke 1:5-80

Name Meaning -Elisabeth means "God is my oath" that is, "a worshiper of God." In his hymn of praise, uttered soon after the birth of his son John, Zacharias alludes to the significance of his wife's name when he said, "the oath which God swore to Abraham." The son was called John by divine command, and means "the mercy or favor of God."
Family Connections-Luke describes Elisabeth as "one of the daughters of Aaron" which means she came of an honored priestly line (Exodus 6:23 ). She was the wife of a priest, Zacharias, of the course of Abia, that is one of the sets of priests who ministered in the Temple from Sabbath to Sabbath (1 Chronicles 24:10). There was thus a priestly descent on both sides. Priests were allowed to marry pious women (Leviticus 21:7). Elisabeth became the mother of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Jesus Christ. Assessing the life and character of Elisabeth we know that she was prominent as-
A Godly Woman
It is said of both Elisabeth and Zacharias that they were "righteous before God, walking in all the commandments of the Lord blameless." What a coveted commendation! The priestly wife was a woman of unusual piety, strong faith and spiritual gifts. All through her life she preserved the blessed traditions of Aaron and his descendants.
A Childless Woman
Righteous toward God and most faithful to her husband we yet have five words containing a world of heartbreak and disappointment, "And they had no child." For years they had both prayed and longed for a child; now they were both well-stricken in years and the prospect of natural childbearing was past. A childless state, more so for the daughter of a priest and the wife of a priest, was humiliating, for in Israel it was the dream of every woman that it might be her privilege to be the mother of the Messiah, promised to Eve, earth's first mother.
A Privileged Woman
For this beloved wife with a pious heart and cultivated intellect, God performed a miracle, as He did for Mary her cousin. "She conceived a son in her old age." It was while Zacharias was exercising his holy office in the sanctuary that the angelic messenger appeared and said, "Thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John." Although beyond the age when the birth of a child was possible, did Zacharias and his wife believe that God was able to do the impossible, and even at their advanced age remove their "reproach among men"? Well, the miracle happened. God gave Elisabeth conception, and after six months of her pregnancy, another miracle happened when without cohabitation Mary conceived by the Holy Spirit.
Zacharias, who had been struck dumb as a sign that God would fulfill His word and grant him a son, had his speech restored when John was born. He hailed John's birth with a God-glorifying song in which he said of the God-given child, "Thou shalt be called the prophet of the highest." This famous son, who came to prepare the way of the Lord, was privileged to have such godly parents to teach him ineffaceable lessons. But John was also directly nurtured by God in the deserts where he lived "till the day of his shewing unto Israel." Thus, as Donald Davidson reminds us in Mothers of the Bible-
It was not at his mother's knee that John learned the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven, but out on the lonely desert where in the silence and the solitude he found close fellowship with God, and came to know the secrets of His will.
Because of their old age when their son was born, we can assume that Zacharias and Elisabeth both died years before their godly son was cruelly murdered by Herod.
But Elisabeth was a privileged woman in another way in that she was the first woman to confess Jesus in the flesh. When she was six months with child she was visited by her cousin Mary and as soon as the Virgin entered the home, the babe leaped in Elisabeth's womb, as if to welcome the One whom Mary was to bear. Both mother and child were affected by the Holy Spirit, and Elisabeth gave Mary the most honorable of names, "The mother of my Lord." Elisabeth knew the Messiah was come and she prayed to Him and confessed Him. All Messianic hopes were about to be fulfilled for, "There, beneath that woman's clothes, my Saviour is concealed." It was her Spirit-filled greeting which prompted Mary to reply in a song called, The Magnificat (Luke 1:46-56; compare 1 Samuel 2:1-10).
For queens and females of all walks of life Elisabeth has been a favorite name, evidenced by the fact that in America alone there are almost two million females bearing such an honored name. If only all who bear this name would be "righteous before God" and blameless in character, what a mighty spiritual force they would be in the life of the nation of which they are a part. The present sovereign of Great Britain is Queen Elizabeth II, who seeks to live a life beyond reproach, and who manifests deep interest in Dr. Billy Graham's work.
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Today's reading: 1 Chronicles 19-21, John 8:1-27 (NIV)

View today's reading on Bible Gateway

Today's Old Testament reading: 1 Chronicles 19-21


David Defeats the Ammonites

In the course of time, Nahash king of the Ammonites died, and his son succeeded him as king. 2 David thought, "I will show kindness to Hanun son of Nahash, because his father showed kindness to me." So David sent a delegation to express his sympathy to Hanun concerning his father....

Today's New Testament reading: John 8:1-27

Dispute Over Jesus' Testimony
12 When Jesus spoke again to the people, he said, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."
13 The Pharisees challenged him, "Here you are, appearing as your own witness; your testimony is not valid."
14 Jesus answered, "Even if I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is valid, for I know where I came from and where I am going. But you have no idea where I come from or where I am going...."
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