What S. Australia did to Increase Crop Yield by 300% without GMO’s!*.
This sounds quite revolutionary to me. Maybe too good to be true? I don’t know. Where ever there is deep enough soil it should be successful. I certainly hope so.
Month: March 2015
The GI Revolt That Ended the Vietnam War
Sir, No Sir: The GI Revolt
Directed by David Zeiger (2005)
Film Review
Sir, No Sir examines the GI revolt that effectively ended the Vietnam War. While it’s common to hear about fragging* incidents which occurred in Vietnam, I was totally unaware of the vast GI anti-war movement built by three years of sustained organizing in barracks, on bases, battlefields and ships and at armed forces academies like West Point.
This documentary traces the origin of this GI resistance movement to the 1967 court martial of a dermatologist who refused to train Green Berets how to treat common skin conditions of Vietnamese civilians. Captain Howard Levy took this stand due to his personal conviction that the US torture and murder of Vietnamese civilians was immoral. Levy, who was court-martialed and sentenced to three years in prison, inspired for hundreds of other GIs once they realized the US government was at…
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Words by Abraham Lincoln
https://theconversation.com/malcolm-fraser-2012-gough-whitlam-oration-7524
In June 2012 Malcolm Fraser was asked to give the 2012 Gough Whitlam Oration and he said:
“I am honoured to be asked to make this speech.”
During his speech, Malcolm Fraser said:
“I am reminded of some words of Abraham Lincoln:
I am not bound to win,
but I am bound to be true,
I am not bound to succeed,
but I am bound to live up to what light I have.
I must stand with anybody that stands right,
stand with him while he is right,
and part with him when he goes wrong.”
I think maybe some of our politicians would do good to think a bit about these words by Abraham Lincoln.
Asylum Seeker Resource Centre
“Malcolm Fraser cites the Melbourne-based Asylum Seeker Resource Centre as providing the kind of support that should be coming from the government. The ASRC, through a small permanent staff and about 900 volunteers, gives asylum seekers help with legal issues, medical care, training, accommodation, food and more.”
You find the above comment here;
http://www.theage.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/man-of-principle-20120325-1vs5a.html
“Watch Michael Short’s full interview with former prime minister Malcolm Fraser.”
This interview took place two years ago and was published in THE AGE.
I find it significant that Fraser voiced an opinion that this kind of support like the Asylum Seeker Resource Centre should come from the government!
Morning Walk
I feel proud of myself. I went for a twenty minute walk this morning. And yesterday morning I walked all the way to the Catholic church.! Peter came to pick me up after the 9,30 Mass. That was great that I finally can walk a bit better again! 🙂
Russia warns Denmark
This is a link to an article in The Telegraph.
I am extremely worried that warships could become nuclear targets.
“Why believe the hysteria that Lithuania is Russia’s next target? It’s just an example of very bad theatre. The only people it is good for is the weapons producers,” said Mr Mikhail Vanin, Russian ambassador to Denmark.
Sunday, 22nd of March 2015
Since last night it has been raining off and on. Today the temperature is only in the low twenties (Celsius!). Still, we decided, it would be good to have lunch at the Forest Grove Cafe. Last time we went there after lunch and had only coffee there. But we like the place for we can sit there in the open with a view onto the lake. And it is only a very short drive from where we live!
So today, we went for lunch to the Forest Grove Cafe. One of the lunch specials was grilled fish. Both Peter and I ordered this dish. It came with baskets of chips as well as a good selection of salads and a dressing of our choice. We were served a huge platter of food. It was really a bit much for me. After the meal I finally remembered to take a picture of our table with Peter’s camera. Peter had taken the photos of the lake before the meal arrived.
Yesterday morning I cut once more a bit of grass using the big scissors while Peter was doing in the house some vacuuming-cleaning for the weekend. When he was finished, and it was my turn to wipe the floors, I suggested to Peter that maybe he could finish the cutting of the grass while I was wiping the floors. It did not take Peter long, to cut some more of the tall grass. Then he decided, he could really use his push lawn mover to finish cutting the grass properly. By the time I had finished with the wiping of the floors in the house. he had already finished his outside job! From inside I observed how he took to pushing the lawn mover. So I took some pictures of it through one of the windows!
The above is a view through our kitchen window (facing westwards).
I like it that we did get a bit of rain overnight, as well as a bit of drizzle today. Hopefully, very soon our little grass area is going to show a bit of green again. This grass never grows at all when it doesn’t rain enough. It is at the northern side of the house and a lot of very tall trees take the sun away from it in winter. I hope some more grass is going to grow before the dark winter months are upon us! 🙂
An Article by Matthew Knott about Malcolm Fraser
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/by/Matthew-Knott
Malcolm Fraser was planning to start a new political party before his death
Former prime minister Malcolm Fraser, who died on Friday, was in the process of setting up a new political party that would have advocated scaling back Australia’s military ties to the United States.
Mr Fraser, who led the Liberal Party from 1975 to 1983, quit the party in 2009, shortly after Tony Abbott replaced Malcolm Turnbull as leader. He campaigned for Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young at the last election because of her stance on asylum seekers.
With an election due in mid to late 2016, Mr Fraser’s new party could have potentially run candidates at the next election.
Mr Fraser, who died aged 84, would not have led the party but would have driven its policy agenda. Fairfax Media understands Mr Fraser had developed a written draft policy platform for the party that included:
ending Australia’s close military alliance with the United States
a closer relationship with South-East Asian nations
ending the offshore processing of asylum seekers
stronger anti-corruption and transparency laws
tighter regulation of the sale of arable land
Mr Fraser discussed the party with confidants late last year.
In his last book, Dangerous Allies, published last year, Mr Fraser argued that Australia should become a “strategically independent country” and that the ANZUS Treaty with the United States was possibly the biggest threat to Australia’s security.
“If a war between China and the United States were to occur with a continuation of current policies, it would be very hard, if not impossible, for Australia to become involved,” he wrote.
Mr Fraser advocated closing down the US military base in Darwin and the Pine Gap communications facility
Mr Fraser had been a staunch defender of the US alliance during the Cold War but changed his view radically in his later years.
Mr Fraser was also deeply unhappy with the tough asylum-seeker policies of both major parties, including the use of mandatory detention and the offshore processing of asylum seekers.
Last year Mr Fraser tweeted in support of the creation of a federal Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC).
As prime minister, Mr Fraser introduced several measures to increase transparency of government decision making. These included the creation of the Commonwealth Ombudsman in 1977 to handle complaints about government agencies. He also introduced Australia’s first freedom of information laws and created the Australian Human Rights Commission.
Carnival Spirit
Around a quarter past eleven a.m.we arrived yesterday at Circular Quay Railway Station in Sydney.
From the top of the railway station Peter immediately took some pictures of this huge ship that was anchored in Sydney Harbour.
Soon we met Monika, our daughter, as well as Mark and some friends of Mark. Mark’s mother and sister were already on the Carnival Spirit. Monika, Mark and his friends had already booked in for this cruise. They were expected back on board by around 3,30 p.m.
Mark and Monika suggested we could have lunch with them at the German restaurant in the rocks area. It was a lovely walk towards the Rocks. It was promising to be another beautiful warm summer day in Sydney. The temperature actually soon reached thirty degrees Celsius. We had only a very light lunch.
You can find a lot more pictures of the Carnival Spirit here in google:
Foundation Program
Peter helped me to find the following write up about this Foundation Program. We googled the Collingwood Football Club. There were a lot of websites to be found about this club. Eventually we found the following:
http://www.cfcfoundation.com.au/programs/
Programs
Magpie Nest Housing Program
The Magpie Nest is a partnership between the Collingwood Football Club Foundation and the Safe Exits Project 614 team from the Salvation Army.
Magpie Nest aims to make a genuine difference to the lives of people experiencing homelessness by providing a newtork of services; long term safe and affordable accommodation; and individual case management support.
Magpie Nest targets the most vulnerable people in our community – people sleeping rough on the streets and living in unsafe rooming houses, and provides quality housing, safe accommodation; reduced rents; links to mental health services; and employment and training assistance.
The program currently hosts twenty seven houses with up to 75 places for people in Melbourne. The CFC Foundation hopes to expand the project further with the goal of reaching 50 houses by the end of 2015.
The Salvation Army’s Project 614 Team Case Workers, funded by the State Government, identify and support participants and oversee the day to day operation of the houses. By treating people with respect and care our case workers are able to build relationships and trust. By taking people out of the city and placing them in local communities and a settled home environment we are able to provide our tenants with access to proper health care and support. It also makes it possible for our tenants to seek employment and transition into independent living.
Magpie Nest at Hamadova Cafe
Magpie Nest also partners with the Project 614 team to support the Magpie Nest at Hamadova Cafe, a cafe for homeless people located at Westwood Place behind the Salvation Army at 69 Bourke Street Melbourne.
The cafe provides free meals and direct links to a range of support services for people who are homeless or at risk including free legal advice and representation; housing assistance; and drug, alcohol and mental health services.
Magpie Nest Partners
We are grateful to the following organisations for their generous support of the program:
The Victorian State Government; Westpac; Smile Solutions; Hocking Stuart Real Estate Preston; Good Guys Brighton; Adriatic Furniture.
We are also proud to be a charity of choice for Heston Blumenthal and The Fat Duck Restaurant at Crown.
Barrawarn Program
The Barrawarn Program is an Indigenous Employment and Education Program managed by the Collingwood Football Club Foundation in partnership with AFL SportsReady. The program commenced in 2012, providing educational and employment support for 15 young indigenous Australians in metropolitan and regional Victoria.
The CFC Foundation is now also working in partnership with the Victorian Government Department of State Development, Business and Innovation to provide full time employment placements.
We are proud to have achieved 35 new work placements for Indigenous Australians over the past 18 months. Collingwood works with the State Government and AFL Sportsready to identify and support organisations to create new Indigenous Employment programs.
We are grateful to the following organisations for their generous support – Westpac, Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre; Linfox; and the Commission for Child and Young People.
Epworth Hospital Rehabilitation Program
The Collingwood Football Club works closely with the Epworth Hospital to provide support for the Rehabilitation Unit and assist therapy teams. The aim of the program is to help patients and their families adjust to ongoing changes in their lifestyle.
Alan Toovey makes weekly visits to the hospital to assist rehabilitation specialists with programs for patients. This can involve participating in activities, or simply having a chat. The patients can be in the early stages after emerging from a coma, through to those addressing issues related to their return to community living.
The club also provides the Epworth with tickets to various games throughout the season, to provide patients and their families with some time away from the hospital.
Other
The Collingwood Football Club also supports and works in partnership with a number of other organisations and causes throughout the year including the Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre (Peter Mac Cup); Robert Rose Foundation (Robert Rose Cup); RSL (ANZAC Day game); Royal Children’s Hospital (Good Friday Appeal and various hospital visits); Yuendumu Community Football Club/Industrial Magpies; Collingwood Knights (Reclink competition); Finnan’s Gift; City of Yarra; The Pratt Foundation; Collingwood FC African and Multi-Cultural Programs.
I think you’ll agree that these programs look wonderful. I do wish them every success! If you are in a position to donate to these programs, please, go to here:
AuntyUta 