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Who we are & our vision
Centre Brochures and Annual Reports
BIM Value Tool
SBEnrc News – April 2019
SBEnrc News | April 2019
BIM/DE Projects – the research that keeps on giving… value
For more than two decades SBEnrc and its predecessors have been partnering with industry, driving research focusing on the uptake and benefits of digitising the supply chain of project delivery. This Australian research initiative has been consistent with industry's call for value-adding information and communication technologies for construction and virtual prototyping for design, construction and operations identified in Construction 2020 – A Vision for Australia's Property and Construction Industry.
As early as 1998, the Construction Research Alliance (CRA) – led by SBEnrc CEO Keith Hampson – embarked upon a project that explored environmentally sustainable development using IT (ESDIT). The CRA was at the forefront of Building Information Modelling (BIM)/Digital Engineering (DE) and the ESDIT project was a forerunner to digital assessment of the environmental impact of building design and performance.
The CRA worked closely with Australia's CSIRO to bring the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) to Australia in 1998, giving our national construction industry its formative experience with BIM/DE. The IAI went on to become buildingSMART International, a thriving global organisation dedicated to standardising processes, workflows and procedures for BIM/DE. In the meantime, the outcomes of the CRA's ESDIT project fed into the research program of the Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation (CRCci) which was formed in 2001. In 2009 it released the National Guidelines and Case Studies for Digital Modelling (Buildings) under the industry leadership of Thom Fussell from the Queensland Government's Department of Public Works.
The National Guidelines for Digital Modelling have been widely referenced by building professionals globally as a forerunner to the broader uptake of BIM/DE across architecture and engineering disciplines in building and infrastructure design and construction. In 2017 an infrastructure-focused set of guidelines was released by SBEnrc, National BIM Guidelines and Case Studies for Infrastructure.
With increasing adoption of this technology in the design and construction phases, our recent applied research focus — driven by our industry partners — has particularly focussed on the application of BIM/DE in the critical operations and maintenance function of buildings and infrastructure. This whole-of-life approach across housing, buildings, and infrastructure has inspired our most recent projects, Developing a Cross Sector Digital Asset Information Model Framework for Asset Management and Unlocking Facility Value Through Lifecycle Thinking. These projects have brought together industry participants from across the built environment industry and now includes urban water utilities.
We firmly believe that the digital transformation in Australia's built environment represents a major opportunity to improve the businesses of Australian constructed asset owners. Our National Industry Research Workshops scheduled for July 2019 will tap into future industry priorities for ongoing development of applied research benefiting whole-of-life value through digitisation.
We continue to build on long term relationships and the legacy of valued outcomes achieved over the past two decades to apply to today's changing business world. Our Centre's work in this digital space in design and construction, and now in asset management, continues to benefit the community through more effective delivery of built environment facilities such as homes, schools, hospitals and infrastructure.
Launch Event – register now!
Join us for the launch of the essential guideline for supporting the operation and maintenance of key assets. Digital Asset Information Management: A Guide and Manual is the culmination of research undertaken in SBEnrc's Project 2.51 – Developing a Cross Sector Digital Asset Information Model Framework for Asset Management.
Hosted by our Core Partner Aurecon, the launch will be held in Melbourne, Australia on 28 May 2019.
More information/registration
2019 National Industry Research Workshops
WE NEED INDUSTRY PROFESSIONALS TO GUIDE OUR FUTURE RESEARCH
The input of people who face the day-to-day challenges of the built environment industry is critical to SBEnrc's ability to continue to perform meaningful research with outcomes that make a difference.
We regularly hold workshops around Australia to gather the latest perspectives on industry's challenges and innovation needs. The workshops provide a forum for professionals from across the private sector and government to share business challenges that could form the basis of our future research projects. Researchers gain an appreciation of the problems faced by industry professionals and collaborate to develop ideas for projects that can be applied to the real world. This rapid translation of industry problems to SBEnrc projects uniquely identifies the continuing relevance of our Centre's research partnerships.
Our upcoming series of national workshops to be held in July 2019 will shape development of our new Centre projects to commence early in 2020.
Do you have a complex business challenge? Share it at one of our national workshops in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Perth.
Research impact ranked as world standard
We are delighted that the quality and impact of SBEnrc research carried out by our member universities has been ranked as at, or above world standard by the Australian Research Council (ARC).
The Council's Excellence in Research for Australia (ERA) Assessment, and newly introduced Engagement and Impact Assessment report against fields of research is split into 22 divisions. Our work falls mainly into the Engineering (09), Built Environment and Design (12), and Studies in Human Society (16) categories. Research performed by Curtin University, Griffith University and RMIT University together with our industry partners was ranked as having medium or high-impact in the Engagement and Impact Report.
The assessments consider research outputs, engagement and impact measures between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2016. For more information on engagement and impact outcomes, visit the ARC Data Portal
This regular feature profiles the journeys of past collaborators who have worked with SBEnrc over the years. This newsletter, we feature the achievements of Dr Judy Kraatz.
Dr Judy Kraatz has been working with SBEnrc and its predecessor, the CRCci for more than 15 years.
Over this time she has grown her passion for embedding sustainability in the design and delivery of the built environment. Her work now focusses on the role social and affordable housing plays as essential social and economic infrastructure.
Starting her career as a design architect, Judy first became involved with the CRC for Construction Innovation (CRCci) when employed by the Centre's then industry partner, Brisbane City Council (BCC). Judy served as the industry lead on a CRC project investigating microclimatic impacts on the built environment. She then became a PhD scholar with the CRCci through its scholarship program, exploring value-mapping for major economic infrastructure projects.
In expanding her expertise in sustainability to the social housing realm, and to address the need for a stronger evidence base, since 2015 Judy has led three highly successful SBEnrc projects:
Rethinking Social Housing: Effective, Efficient and Equitable
Valuing Social Housing
Procuring Social and Affordable Housing: Improving Access and Delivery
The outcomes of these projects have been lauded as pioneering in their field. They continue to inform social and economic policy in organisations beyond SBEnrc's core partner network, including the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services, Y-Care, Q Shelter and the Fred Hollows Foundation. This work is also widely acknowledged as a great reference for researchers in social housing in Australia.
Judy is presently a Senior Research Fellow at Griffith University in Queensland and is leading the current SBEnrc project Mapping the Social and Affordable Housing Network due for completion in early 2020.
International Council for Research and Innovation in Building and Construction (CIB)presents the CIB World Building Congress 2019, Constructing Smart Cities, 17-21 June 2019, Hong Kong, China.
10th Nordic Conference on Construction Economics and Organization (CEO), Regional markets, networks and opportunities, 7-8 May 2019, Tallinn, Estonia.
Ideaction – National FM Conference & Exhibition, FM Forecast, Blue Skies, Clouds or Storms, 2-5 June 2019, Sydney, Australia.
33rd European Conference on Modelling and Simulation (ECMS 2019), June 11 – 14, 2019
Caserta, Area of Napoli, Italy.
Transport Australia Conference 2019, Shaping Australia's Transport Future, 27-28 June 2019, Sydney, Australia.
National Housing Conference, Housing Future Communities, 27-30 August 2019, Darwin, Australia.
World Engineers Convention Australia 2019, 20 – 22 November 2019. Known as the 'Olympics of Engineering' this international convention is held every four years and will attract global participants from over 70 countries. The convention program will offer three full days of content featuring six themes, with each aligning to the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Hosted by Engineers Australia and World Federation of Engineering Organizations.
As 2019 progresses, we are progressing well in the new industry-driven projects launched in October 2018:
Mapping the Social and Affordable Housing Network
Sustainable Centres of Tomorrow: People and Place
Exploring the Potential for Artificial Intelligence and Blockchain to Enhance Transport
Unlocking Facility Value Through Lifecycle Thinking
A National Economic Approach to Improved Management of Construction and Demolition Waste
We are also very pleased to have now leveraged six of our established projects to secure significant ARC funding. The ARC linkage projects enable us to extend our research into deeper, longer-term efforts, deriving even greater outcomes for industry and our nation. Our digital transformation project, Developing a Cross Sector Digital Asset Information Model Framework for Asset Management was the latest successful beneficiary of additional ARC support. At our recent Board meeting in Perth on 20 March 2019, members of our national Governing Board were delighted with this growing engagement with the international community through what is now A$4M of current industry-driven projects.
As is customary, we held a senior networking dinner in parallel with the Board meeting in Perth. Amongst other luminaries, this dinner was supported by the attendance of the Western Australian Minister for Innovation, ICT and Science, The Honourable Dave Kelly, MLA, and WA's Chief Scientist Dr Peter Klinken AC. Such influential industry and government leaders facilitate the ongoing industry government and research engagement, advancing Australia's built environment.
Best regards, Keith
Dr Keith Hampson, Chief Executive Officer
Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre
Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia
k.hampson@sbenrc.com.au
Our challenge is to continue growing the value and impact of our applied research more deeply and broadly across Australia. The Sustainable Built Environment National Research Centre (SBEnrc) is acknowledged as an excellent example of a CRC that has graduated into an independent organisation delivering unique industry, government and research collaboration.
See full newsletter here
Dr Keith Hampson
CEO, SBEnrc
John V. McCarthy AO
Chair, SBEnrc
SBEnrc News – December 2020
SBEnrc News | December 2020 Welcome to SBEnrc's final newsletter for 2020 This year really has been like no other. Many of us across the SBEnrc family have	Read more
SBEnrc News – November 2020
SBEnrc News | November 2020 As the world has continued to face the multiple challenges brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, we have remained focussed on working with	Read more
Research with us
Collaboration is fundamental to our success. You can collaborate with us by either becoming a Core Member of our Centre or becoming a research partner on one or more of our research projects.
Become a partner of SBEnrc
Research training opportunities
Email enquiries@sbenrc.com.au
© SBEnrc


"These are the Voyages: Season Three is an impressive work of painstaking scholarship, and [Marc Cushman's] prose style is worthy of the extensive research involved." - Jean Lisette Aroesta (writer of TOS episodes "Is There in Truth No Beauty?" and "All Our Yesterdays").
"Marc Cushman has reported the problems of the third season with a wise eye and deft pen. He's commented on Trek in perhaps the most riveting account of a show we thought we already knew and taught us there was so much more for us to learn and love. Thanks for all those hours, Marc Cushman. This is the ultimate Trek Bible." - Judy Burns, co-writer "The Tholian Web"
"Marc Cushman's exhaustive account of the making of the original STAR TREK provides insight, illumination and explanation I've waited literally my entire life to receive. From reestablishing Gene Roddenberry's own reputation as a gifted writer to finally shedding light on the origins of "Spock's Brain," THESE ARE THE VOYAGES can be considered nothing less than sacred texts for this Trekker."
- Robert Meyer Burnett - Writer/Director FREE ENTERPRISE, Producer STAR TREK: THE NEXT GENERATION Blu Ray Special Features.
"Marc Cushman has done a truly masterful job with These Are the Voyages: TOS, Season Three. This may be the best volume yet, and its contribution to the Star Trek legacy is incomparable. Marc has done a sensational job of dispelling decades of false assumptions and his focus on the real successes and failures of Fred Freiberger, including interviews with his children and would-be biographer Peter Greenwood, is both superb and eye-opening. Congratulations to Marc Cushman, with Susan Osborn, on another remarkable effort and an essential purchase for any Star Trek fan"
- Mark A. Altman, writer/producer, Free Enterprise, Los Angeles Times' "world's foremost Trekspert"
Director of Star Trek: TOS episodes "This Side of Paradise," "Metamorphosis," "Bread and Circuses," "Obsession," "Return to Tomorrow," "Is There in Truth No Beauty?," and "The Tholian Web).
"I was amazed at the thoroughness and the amount of detail. Well done!"
Director of Star Trek: TOS episodes "And the Children Shall Lead," "Day of the Dove," and "All Our Yesterdays".
"At last, the full account of how Fred Frieberger tried to keep his sanity on an almost impossible show to produce -- with a reduced budget and more problems than any one producer has ever encountered. These Are the Voyages is an amazing, insightful account [on the making of Star Trek] by writer Marc Cushman. This is a must own group of books. If you don't have a set of these books, then the question is ... why not? "


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Q: RavenDB automation - RESTful way to add users to system db for Windows Authentication? Situation:
Automated commercial RavenDB 3 server install & configuration on Amazon EC2 to a standalone server (no active directory domain).  Local Windows users are automatically created.
Problem:
Using the HTTP client API, how to add local windows users to the Raven/Authorization/WindowsSettings document of the system database?
Reference:
The docs describe a method using the Studio to achieve this:
https://ravendb.net/docs/article-page/3.0/http/server/configuration/authentication-and-authorization

A: The document is just that, a standard RavenDB document. You can operate on that using the standard JSON REST endpoints to manipulate it.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


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PM Current and back issues
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Book and Product Reviews
Living With the Land series
Permaculture Design Courses (PDC)
Trades & crafts
Joel Salatin's pattern for carbon farming at Polyface Farm
Maddy Harland
Monday, 29th April 2013
Maddy meets Joel Salatin and hears how Polyface Farm has restored the soil, locked up carbon and makes a healthy profit for all its micro-enterprises. Salatin-style farming is cool!
Joel Salatin, dubbed by TIME magazine to be the world's most innovative farmer, hit town yesterday and Aranya, who wrote our bestseller, Permaculture Design Step By Step, and runs RegenAg in the UK, invited me along to a one-day seminar hosted at Cowdray Hall in Sussex to learn more. I have long wanted to meet Joel, having heard about his work from Rebecca Hosking and others and watched YouTubes about his methods. I wasn't disappointed.
Joel is a force of nature and he's pretty wild as a speaker! He loves performing and he is very polished. Dressed in a pair of Levis and a shirt with Polyface Inc embroidered on the front, he is guaranteed to entertain and he certainly doesn't need a microphone. He's loud.
The day started with some technical problems with the projector. This meant Joel gave a more impromptu introduction to Polyface Farm, the history of the valley in Virginia where it is based and how his family came to own the land. He enjoyed teasing a mainly British audience about a certain 'revolution' that got rid of British rule.
I love to hear stories of nature's abundance. When the first white settlers came over the mountains and down the valley, the landscape was a natural silvopasture with grass 12 feet tall and a bountiful variety of trees spaced widely apart. It was teaming with animals, insects, and birds. By the 1960s the top soil on Joel's farm has washed into Chesapeake Bay and when his family (who fled the Junta in Venezuela) bought the farm, the land was scarred with great welts of bare rock. From abundance to total degradation in two centuries... Joel described how his dad had to get old car tyres and fill them with concrete with tubes in the middle so they could prop up their electric fencing to contain the animals, the soil erosion was so severe.
Joel told us that in 1830s two significant events happened. The McCormick Reaper was patented, a horse-drawn farm implement to cut small grain crops and Charles Darwin set sail in the Beagle. These events signified the birth of three phenomena:
1)	mechanization - suddenly we could plough way more land than before and then process the grain
2)	Evolution – that life is no longer regarded as sacred
3)	That there is no room for God in this reductionist, mechanistic world.
Joel is passionate about how we human beings can restore ecosystems and a powerful advocate of carbon farming. He told us that if we can intersect three kinds of ecosystems – forest, pasture and water – we can create maximum biodiversity. His family have done it at Polyface and entirely restored their soil whilst also locking up carbon in healthy pastures and forests and he wants to share their methods with the world. He also says that healthy pasture can lock up far more carbon than forests. We have at our feet one key soltuion to climate change.
He is concerned that the average age of farmers in the developing world is 60 years old and that within 15 years 40% of all farms are bound to change hands. He wants to seed a new generation of innovative 'lunatic' farmers, people who are willing to think outside the box. He loves farming and he doesn't want it to be viewed as a poor substitute for a career. In 1961 his small rocky farm couldn't even support one family when his dad bought it. Now it has deep soils and the original fram plus leased ones in the surrounding neighbourhood grosses $2 million a year and pays 22 salaries. All without a single bag of fertiliser.
His methods aren't for 150 acres or 15,000 acres. They can be applied anywhere. "If it is scalable up or down then it becomes an opportunity for small or large farmers." On Joel's farms there are a variety of micro-enterprises: pigs, poultry for the table and eggs, turkeys, beef, rabbits for meat, forestry, market gardening, a fabricator, farm tours, online store to retail produce direct to the customer, and now even a film maker who makes instructional videos. They fit together like a clever three-dimensional jigsaw.
Mob grazing land
In a nutshell, herbivores in the wild are packed together for protection from predators. They graze intensely and quickly over an area, manuring the ground and do not have the opportunity to selectively prune plants. They eat up all the biomass on offer. Ecologists have noted that once the herd moves on the ecology not only recovers but thrives. Mob grazing mimics the behaviour of the herd in the wild by containing animals on a piece of land and then moving them on before the pasture is overgrazed. There are various ways of doing this.
How grass grows
Joel explains why the grasses grow better in his analogy of the three ages of grass:
First there is 'diaper' grass that is overgrazed, short and slow growing.
Then there is 'teen' grass that is much faster growing
Lastly there is old folks grass that is tall and also slow growing.
Teen grass is the most efficient at converting solar energy to biomass. The role of the herbivore is to prune and restart the fast growth stage of grass when metabolic growth is at it height.
Perhaps the most critical thing about pasture is that healthy pasture locks up large amounts of carbon. Unlike forestry, we don't cut it down either, we just prune it with herbivores.
"Disturbance in life is the precursor of innovation and success," says Joel. He places 50 pigs on half an acre of paddock with two tons of feed. If the pigs weigh 100ibs they stay there for 8 days. If they weigh 200lbs he halves the time. The pigs rootle about and eat up insects. He calls it 'exercising the ecology' and afterwards the grasses regrow at a faster rate. Then he sends the pigs into the forest into 2 hectare areas. They once again grub up any brambles and saplings and eat the bugs that affect the trees and they leave their manure. The trees grow better, the pigs breathe in spores and then breath them our, spreading beneficial fungi in their wake and the income from the forest is raised.
Joel says one acre of healthy grass can sequester more carbon than 2000 grass fed cows can emit. He gives an equation for how you calculate how to mob graze, i.e. how much space to allow a herd and when to move them on:
Cows x days (calculated by the height of the grass) over
An acre (or hectare)
One cow means the equivalent to a full grown adult so if you are grazing heifers you need to work in equivalent weights. The days are calculated by the height of the grass and how long it would take the herd to eat it down but not overgraze it. The bigger the herd, the larger the paddock required. All paddocks have a moveable water supply, a mineral lick and a shade 'trailer (house on wheel). Research has shown that stockers gain 0.8lbs a day if shade is provided in a summer climate like Virginia. "If your cows seek shade then you need to provide it," says Joel. Shade cloths also prevent urine evaporation so nitrogen is capture in the soil. Joel has evolved designs for all this moveable kit. The only thing that doesn't move is the two perimeter fences. Electric fencing contains the herd at the front and the back of the strip. Joel says he has no problem moving the cows. They love being moved on to new sweet grass. All he has to do is take an electric fence down at one end and call his cows. This he does at 4 pm. Supper time!
Next come the chickens three days later. The cows have left their valuable pats in the newly pruned pasture and insects have laid their eggs. Maggots are hatching out. The chickens spread out the pats to fertilise the grasses and they create eggs as a by-product. If you have seen conventional pasture you'll recognise those blooms of nitrogen where the grass is greener. Cows don't like grazing where they have left pats so this method cleans and sanitizes the pasture and it manures it too. Chickens leave their nitrogen too, especially where they perch.
Again, the chicken house is a simple moveable design for the warmer months and the chickens are mob foragers like the pigs, being contained within electric fencing and moved to fresh ground as soon as necessary. They are fed some grain as well.
Winter accommodation
In winter, hoop houses are used to accommodate pigs, chickens and rabbits. They are stacked. The pigs live at ground level, the chicks above them and the rabbits in cages at the side. Pigs like rabbit droppings. The hoop houses provide shelter and the animals leave behind a well weeded and manured environment. In spring the hoop house is planted with vegetables. Joel says by mixing the species it 'confuses' the pathogens. He also says that placing rabbits in moveable housing on one acre of pasture can generate $40,000 per annum. They have a foraged based diet and are selectively bred by his son who started his own enterprise aged nine.
Cows are accommodated in simple barns. The deep litter is stacked high by the end of the season. In between layers of straw corn is spread and left to ferment. The hay mangers are designed to be raised so that the feed stays hygienic as are the water troughs. After the cows are put out to pasture in come the pigs. They forage for the fermented corn and turn the compacted bedding that can be up to four foot high. The anaerobic bedding becomes aerobic and composting starts. Then the compost is placed outside in piles. It is so hot rodents are deterred. At the end of the process it is bagged and sold. Another yield is possible.
Joel doesn't only stack animals in a hoop house or stack grazing regimes on a piece of land. He also stacks complimentary enterprises on the farm. He calls it 'stacked synergistic complimentary seasonal enterprises'! He got a shiitake mushroom grower farming mushrooms on the shady side under the eaves of his shed, farm tours for kids, food fairs as well as a delivery service direct to customers, all the sales from livestock and eggs.
I'll tell you about how Polyface Inc markets its produce, creates customer loyalty and structures these micro-enterprises tomorrow. One thing is for sure, Joel would succeed at anything he does. He understands patterns and accounting. He has huge energy. He is highly intelligent, a lateral thinker and he is utterly single minded. He also made me laugh. I don't know anyone in the world who makes farming more interesting.
With grateful thanks to the UK RegenAg team for organizing such brilliant events and to Cowdray Hall for their hospitality.
Rebecca Hosking on Farming for the Future - despite what the neighbours think
Read Tim Green on Bovine TB, badgers and permaculture perspective
Read Rebecca Hosking on How pigs can compost manure on a farm scale - saving you fuel and money
Watch Allan Savory on How to green the world's deserts and reverse climate change
Watch John Lui on the full length feature: Green gold - how can we regenerate large-scale damaged ecosystems?
Aranya's book Permaculture Design Step by Step is available in the USA from Chelsea Green Publishers. You can see a great talk by Aranya about permaculture design here.
Help spread the permaculture word...
Share on Facebook Tweet Widget Google Plus One
Sharing Orchard Skills Across the Channel
Homemade Elderflower Wine
Carl Legge
Permaculture in Spiritual Community
Colin Eldridge
University Combines Permaculture, Natural Materials and Survival Skills
Lorraine Ishak
The Wild Forest Garden – zoning with permaculture design
Small-Scale Market Garden Connects People with Food
Feeding 20 Families on 0.5 Acres
How to Build an Overhanging Runner Bean Frame
Jam & Sugar Thermometer
John Adams tries his hand at making his first pot of jam, helped along by Burgon & Ball's jam and sugar thermometer
Resilience, Community Action & Societal Transformation
How grassroots resilience-building initiatives are responding to the world's current problems with sustainability, permaculture and transition.
7 Ways to Think Differently
How to find solutions to economical, environmental and social problems by using 7 ways of thinking differently.
Institutions Digital & Print
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Distribution UK, Europe, RoW & USA
The material on this website is copyright 2015. You have the right to view these pages and where applicable, to copy these pages and any images to a cache for reference by yourself only at a later date. You are not granted any other rights and the Web site owner reserves all other rights.The opinions expressed on this website are not necessarily those of the publisher, Hyden House Ltd, and whilst we take every care in checking the validity of information presented here, we cannot accept any responsibility for its accuracy or any liability for any form of damages incurred by the use of such information.

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Infant HIV diagnosis as early as possible in a child's life followed by immediate antiretroviral treatment (ART) could stem the progressive rise in infant mortality among HIV-positive infants, particularly as several studies have suggested that an increased proportion of perinatal infections may occur in utero when maternal ART is received during pregnancy.This Project SOAR study, "Assessing the feasibility, acceptability, and costs of diagnosing HIV at birth in Lesotho and Rwanda," leveraged two existing cohort studies to address some critical questions related to very early infant diagnosis. The objective was to determine the feasibility, acceptability, and costs associated with the addition of birth HIV testing to the routine testing algorithm for infants born to HIV-positive women. Findings will contribute to the global guidance on whether current early infant diagnosis guidelines should be reconsidered to add birth HIV testing as standard of care.


The crew of the Artful Dodger travel to an old battlefield in search of a lost treasure and end up confronting one of Aser's arch-nemeses.
Scum and Villainy and Blades in the Dark are available on DTRPG! We had a blast with this system, and highly encourage you checking it out.


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The Westerman Foundation has distributed over $5.4 million dollars in grant funding to over 240 organizations since 2000!
Past Recipients of Westerman Foundation Grants Include:
All Faith Counseling Center
Atchison County Dream Team
Battered Women's Foundation
Bishop John Carroll School
Dallas Area Rape Crisis Center
Lawrence Community Shelter, Inc.
Ronald McDonald House of Dallas
Sacred Heart Catholic School
Wesley-Rankin Community Center
Testimonials from Past Grant Recipients
"Your commitment to helping the battered women in our community is sincerely appreciated…With the help of donations from supporters such as you we will continue to enable our clients to become self-sufficient and effectively break the cycle of abuse for themselves…There is no way we could accomplish as much as we have without the generosity of people just like YOU!"
-Mary Lou Delehant, Executive Director, Battered Women's Foundation, Texas
"…Because you have reached out to help another through your financial support of the Marian Clinic, individuals and families who have no insurance and who live in poverty will receive compassionate, quality, medical and dental care."
-Diane McDermed, Administrative Director, Marian Clinic, Kansas
"Thanks to The Westerman Foundation, middle school students at Immaculate Heart of Mary School will soon be enjoying new laptop computers."
-Jennifer Sedlack, Development Director, Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic School, Georgia
"We are in receipt of your generation donation for our Beds for Children program. It is only through generous support from our benefactors which certainly includes The Westerman Foundation that allows us to serve those people at some disadvantage here in Snohomish County."
-James P. Kehoe, Executive Director, Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Washington
"I thank The Westerman Foundation for this generous support of the Intervention Program at Providence St. Mel… which enables our school to provide at-risk students with the remediation and directed assistance required to improve their academic performance, lift their grade point average, and help them to become competitive in the classroom."
-Paul J. Adams III, President, Providence St. Mel School, Illinois
"... Jane Westermans contribution to Benedictine College has been tremendous. As well as being a major benefactor for the renovations and improvements to Westerman Hall and Freshman Hall (now Elizabeth Hall), she provided the last six figure gift for the completion of Marys Grotto. She has been a long-time sponsor of the colleges annual Scholarship Ball and the Angels Program scholarship and she served on the colleges Board of Directors from 1991 to 1999. She provided the initial funding for the Fellowship Of Catholic University Students program, which originated at Benedictine College in 1998.
- Benedictine College, Kansas


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Local colleges: AU baseball overcomes seven-run deficit
AUBURN — Daniel Robert homered, and Bo Decker had three RBIs as the Auburn baseball team overcame a 7-0 deficit to beat Florida A&M 12-8 on Wednesday.
It was Auburn's largest come-from-behind win since May 7, 2013, against Jacksonville State. The Tigers trailed JSU 8-0 in that contest before ultimately winning 12-8.
Edgewood graduate Cole Lipscomb (1-0) earned the win with 1 1/3 relief innings pitched.
Auburn begins a weekend series with Holy Cross at 2 p.m. Friday.
Alabama 12, Southern Miss 5
TUSCALOOSA — Chandler Avant had three RBIs, and Cobie Vance and Gene Wood each added two RBIs for the Crimson Tide (3-1).
Relievers Zac Rogers (1-0) and Davis Vainer tossed the final four scoreless frames and combined for five strikeouts.
Alabama hosts Oral Roberts at 5 p.m. Friday.
Alabama State 7, UAB 2
Carlos Ocasio had a home run, and Hunter Allen added four RBIs. Winning pitcher Burke Echelmeier (1-0) gave up no runs on five hits and struck out five in six innings. Austin Bizzle gave up four runs on two hits and struck out three in three innings for the save. ASU faces Iowa and Morehead State in the Hoover Classic, beginning Friday.
AUM 9, North Alabama 8
Tanner Russell had a three-run homer and five RBIs for the Warhawks (5-6). Nathan Langley and Curtiss Johnson each had two RBIs. AUM hosts Spring Hill at 4 p.m. Friday.
Washington and Lee 10, Huntingdon 5
Wes Powell had two RBIs and a run scored for the Hawks (2-7). Huntingdon reliever Joseph Calvert gave up two hits, striking out four in two innings. Starter Jeremy Peterson (0-2) took the loss. Huntingdon hosts Emory at 6 p.m. Friday.
Jessie Rosa AUM's new AD
AUM alumna and former women's soccer player Jessie Rosa was named the Warhawks athletic director, effective March 1.
Rosa previously served as AUM's associate athletic director and senior woman administrator. She served as interim AD since the departure of Jim Herlihy.
Following her athletic career, Rosa spent two years as a graduate assistant before moving up the ranks, including a stint as senior program associate and assistant athletic director for finance.
Rosa earned a bachelor's degree in communication and a master's degree in business administration at AUM. She's been active in the Montgomery community, participating in the Leadership Montgomery Torchbearers Leadership Class, the Montgomery Dixie Lions Club, and serving as a mentor with Partner's in Education.
Alabama 2, North Florida 0
TUSCALOOSA — Caroline Hardy had a solo home run, and Bailey Hemphill added an RBI triple for the Crimson Tide (8-2). Sydney Littlejohn (3-0) gave up four hits and struck out 10 in 51/3 innings. Alexis Osorio struck out five in 51/3 innings for her first save of the season. Alabama will host the Easton Bama Bash this weekend and will face Central Florida at 4 p.m. Friday.
Millsaps 2-12, Huntingdon 0-0
JACKSON, Miss. — Raina Lanier (0-5) took the loss, giving up two runs on three hits, striking out five. Lindsey Selph (0-3) lost the second game. Huntingdon (0-10) travels to Judson for a doubleheader at 3 p.m. Monday.


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Get a fresh perspective of people, events and trends that shape our world. A mix of news, features, interviews and music from around the world presents an engaging portrait of the global community.
Placido Domingo returns to Philadelphia after 25 years
Placido Domingo will spend one day in Philadelphia to sing here for the first time in 25 years. He's performing a concert of arias, operetta, zarzuelas and American and Latin American popular standards, at The Kimmel Center's Verizon Hall on Monday the 16th. Domingo's life reads like an encyclopedia of opera, yet he's known for constantly taking risks by tackling new roles ranging from Wagner to operas composed a few years ago. His adoring audiences have followed him from concert halls and opera houses to historic settings and YouTube. WHYY's Elisabeth Perez Luna has this report.
[audio: arts20090211domingo.mp3]
Credit: Photos by David Swanson, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Local theater company got caught in Facebook's sweep of QAnon
The tiny Paper Doll Ensemble used Facebook to promote an anti-Trump discussion event, triggering an automated ban from the platform.
Opera Philadelphia uses 'Soldier Songs' to explore post-traumatic stress
The opera-turned-film is based on interviews with combatants in five different American wars.
Black, Southern, gay poetry collection selected for One Book, One Philadelphia
Pulitzer-winning "The Tradition" by Jericho Brown has been picked for One Book One Philadelphia, the first time the citywide reading project chose poetry.


of the 2019 date and Honoree!
For more information, call 305.755.6096 or email assistant@miamiccj.org.
MCCJ honors journalists who uphold MCCJ's mission through their reporting by drawing attention to prejudice and discrimination, and highlighting individuals and communities that work towards building an inclusive society. The headliner award is presented at a breakfast each spring where the award recipient is celebrated by the community.
Past Headliner Awards have been bestowed on John Quiñones (2013), Leonard Pitts (2012), Walter Cronkite, Barbara Walters, and other journalists who are leaders in their profession.


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Fm-bx Society Tape Vol. 1
S-s Records
"S.S. Records is pleased to present the first vinyl edition of the FM-BX Society Tape Vol. 1. Originally released in 1981 on only cassette, with a limited run of 200, FM-BX V1 was the first in a series of compilation tapes released by the staff of a radio station in Brussels, Belgium. Needless to say, not many tapes made it around, and very few survive today. I'd say that is a shame but with this vinyl release, the word will get out about the bands on this tape, albeit a few decades after its initial release! FM-BX V1 features three bands, two from Belgium, one from Scotland. The Belgium bands are ISOLATION WARD and UNIT 4. Isolation Ward are known in underground synth collector circles, as they had a bit of a run after their debut on this release. Bleak and futuristic, Isolation Ward fuse post punk with early 80s synth sounds and a DIY approach. The stars of FM-BX are the all-woman foursome Unit 4. Little is known about the band or their current whereabouts. No problem because their music is all you need to tell you that they had something special going. By their sound, the influences are obvious: Kleenex, Delta 5, and the Raincoats all reverberate here though less 'slick' than any of those bands. Unit 4's aesthetics are more akin to the Petticoats and, at times, the Shaggs. This is truly wonderful punk rock. From Scotland comes the TOPPLERS. If the name sounds familiar, it is doubtful that it is because of the band. One of the Topplers is a guy named ALLAN HENRY, who runs the excellent DIY label Topplers Records. In fact, it is Allan who turned me on to FM-BX to begin with. His band The Topplers? Great stuff. Teens with an ear towards the TV Personalities, The Times, and Subway Sect. They only existed for a couple years but wound up on this tape and, as a result, with an opening slot for Golden Earing! These are the only recordings that exist. Had they come out at the time on a 7"s, I have no doubt DIY collectors would be fighting over copies. 500 pressed, housed in a sleeve cobbled together from the original cassette release. Brief liner notes by The Topplers' Allan Henry."—S.S.
Somewhere Between: Mutant Pop Electronic Minimalism & Shadow Sounds Of Japan 1980-1988
Four Stars (****)
Swineken (NL)
(colored) I Am The Center: Private Issue New Age In America 1950-1990
Brown Acid - The Eleventh Trip
Riding Easy
How The River Ganges Flows
Third Man
Hi Tide Groove
Proletariat, The
Soma Holiday
Bad Bad
Twinkeyz
Alpha Jerk
Pony Time
Rumours 2: The Rumours Are True
Life Stinks
You'll Never Make It


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Gangs are still gathering to smoke and drink in Nottingham tunnel despite lockdown
Calls have previously been made for CCTV in the area
Ben ReidSEO writer
Updated 14:54, 30 MAR 2020
Underpass in The Meadows beneath Robin Hood Way (Image: Nottinghamshire Live)
Hooded men continue to gather in an underpass "drinking and smoking drugs" despite strict lockdown measures in place.
Residents in The Meadows say gangs keep gathering in the underpass at Robin Hood Way.
The coronavirus lockdown, issued by the Government, means people they can only leave their home for a strict number of reasons in a bid to combat Covid-19's spread throughout the UK and reduce the number of deaths.
Shoppers returning home from their trip for supplies said they felt "intimidated" by people still hanging around the underpass.
Calls have previously been made for CCTV in the area, where reports have been made of antisocial behaviour and graffiti.
Harvinder Singh, 44, of The Meadows, said: "People don't seem to get it. It's a bit concerning to see that they aren't listening.
"There's always been issues in the tunnel, mainly hooded gangs hanging around drug dealing, smoking drugs and drinking.
"But it's especially worrying to see it now given the advice we are told. People are dying."
The Bridges Community Trust aims to support people and improve life in The Meadows.
A spokesman for the trust said on the issue: "The trust has always worked in partnership with the local police force, CPOs (Community Protection Offices) and NDO (Neighbour Hood Development Office) to promote the safety of the Meadows community.
"It is unsettling to hear that groups think they can take advantage of the current crisis to gather in areas around the Meadows and cause a concern to members of the public.
"However, it is very much reassuring to look out of your window and see an increased presence from our local CPOs and police force, they are continuing to do an excellent job in this challenging time and we are confident that these groups will soon be dispersed (and get the message they are not welcomed) due to their continued hard work."
Another resident who did not wish to be named added: "It's quite intimidating walking through when there's a gang with bikes all messing around.
"I nip out to the Co-op and have seen people there a few times since the lockdown was announced. They don't say anything but it's still annoying to see."
A Nottinghamshire Police spokesman said: "Neighbourhood Policing Inspectors across the force have proactive patrol plans for their teams ensuring they are engaged with the public and explain national guidelines and encouraged to stay indoors to help save lives.
"Where areas are highlighted as having an issue, they will be added to the patrol plan."
Assistant Chief Constable Kate Meynell, who is leading Nottinghamshire Police's response to Coronavirus, has thanked communities for complying with the new laws.
ACC Meynell said: "I am really pleased to report that due to a combination of our considered approach to the new laws and compliance from the public, we issued no fines over the weekend.
"Where our Neighbourhood Policing Teams engaged with those ignoring the new legislation, we were really pleased with the positive response from the public.
"Obviously, we can't be everywhere at once and we acknowledge that some members of the public have expressed their concerns on social media.
"We welcome these reports and will do everything in our power to ensure their concerns are addressed. This is an extraordinary situation and the response from the majority of the public has been nothing short of phenomenal.
"However, I'd like to take this opportunity to remind everyone that we police by consent and will only use these enforcement measures as a last resort.
"We need to remember why we are doing this. We need to stay at home, protect our NHS and save lives. Our decisions we make right now will contribute to cutting the spread of the disease and I hope everyone continues to take these measures seriously."
Nottinghamshire Police
FamilyMrs Hinch responds to fans as she issues an 'honest' family updateThere has been some speculation the internet star is pregnant
Outrage as life insurance advert features serial killer Harold Shipman
A great-grandson of one of Shipman's victims has branded the advert 'despicable and unacceptable'
'Hidden' knives and needles found in Nottinghamshire park
Police have taken on Racecourse Park in Mansfield and used metal detectors searching for weapons.
Nottingham Forest could 'shelve' transfer plans after huge Steve Cooper boost
Latest Nottingham Forest transfer news from Nottinghamshire Live as Steve Cooper reportedly opts against bringing in a new goalkeeper after receiving positive news on Dean Henderson's injury
Nottingham Forest dream transfer scenario explained amid Keylor Navas interest as deadline looms
Latest Nottingham Forest transfer news from NottinghamshireLive as Reds expect ins and outs before January window closes
ITV This Morning chef's clever 20 minute hack to cook jacket potatoes in the oven
This Morning's chef Phil Vickery shared a way to reduce the cooking time of a jacket potato by using a spoon.


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Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump arrives to speak about foreign policy at the Mayflower Hotel on April 27, 2016 in Washington, DC.
Photo by Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty
Can Donald Trump block Paul Ryan from chairing the RNC convention?
By Ari Melber
House Speaker Paul Ryan on Monday said if Donald Trump were to ask him to step down as chairman of the RNC convention, he would. Ryan's comments, in which he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that if Trump is the GOP nominee, "I'll do whatever he wants with respect to the convention," came after former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin said over the weekend that Ryan could be ousted over his "disrespect" for Trump as the GOP's presumptive presidential nominee.
Trump earlier on Monday distanced himself from Palin's comments, calling her Palin a "free agent." Still, the former Alaska governor raises a legitimate question as to whether Ryan could be asked to forfeit the convention over his reluctance to back Trump. Here's what you need to know:
Can Paul Ryan even be blocked from chairing the RNC convention?
While the top-ranking Republican in the House typically chairs the party's convention, it is not automatic. The standing rules for the convention – which are a guide but can be changed anyway – do not actually stipulate who chairs the convention.
Instead, the rules provide a committee process for naming the chair. A committee on the "Permanent Organization of the convention" formally submits the name of the chair to the convention. The committee is made up of delegates from around the country.
Most years, that process is just a technicality – the RNC staff writes the draft report for the committee, then it names the top House Republican as chair. But if there were a major dispute, someone else could be selected.
RELATED: Palin Says She'll Work to Oust Paul Ryan
How would a different chair be named?
A different chair could be named if enough delegates on the committee, or at the convention, unite around naming a different chair. The options are:
(1) A majority of delegates on the Permanent Organization committee could name an alternative.
This requires fighting with the RNC staff, who usually guide the committee. If a committee majority named an alternative to Speaker Ryan, that name would be submitted to the entire convention for approval.
Last thing Paul Ryan wants is a fight over *himself* at the start of the convention - he will get out of the way of Trump Train beforehand.
— Ari Melber MSNBC (@AriMelber) May 9, 2016
(2) Or if the committee named Speaker Ryan as convention chair, and a majority of delegates on the convention floor could reject him and name an alternative, from the floor.
This would require a messy floor fight on one of the first items of business at the convention.
Does it really matter who chairs the convention?
It can. The convention is run under the House rules (not Roberts Rules of Order), which gives the Chair more power.
The Chair has discretion to make key procedural calls. For example, at recent conventions, both parties used the Convention Chair to reject voice votes on controversial issues that could have led to floor fights (sidelining Ron Paul votes for the GOP, rebuffing attempts to change the DNC platform on Jerusalem as Israel's capitol).
RELATED: What Is a Brokered Convention? GOP Rules Favor Trump
Any nominee who wants to be protected from disputes over rules, delegates and the platform wants to have the most loyal chair possible.
So if there is a dispute over the chair, will it be resolved at the convention?
Even if this remains a point of contention between Trump and Ryan, it is in both of their interest to resolve this before the convention.
As the presumptive nominee, Trump understandably wants a clear supporter leading the convention for his nomination – and no signs of disunity during the convention.
As Speaker, Ryan does not want a convention fight that risks a high-profile rejection by the party – especially for a role that he said he wasn't even aware he had until assuming the job of Speaker.
So the rules and process likely provide a baseline for leverage in this dispute – there is a clear path for Trump to oust Paul Ryan – but it's more likely to be resolved behind closed doors than at the convention.
Donald Trump, Elections and Paul Ryan
Trump taps Christie to lead transition team
Author: Racism is embedded in the courts


An "experimental" beach club with a proven theory of mixing one part youthful nostalgia with two parts pulse-pounding summer love you've come to expect from Ibiza.
This beautiful beachfront restaurant is beckoning all of you bronzed bohemian beach babes! Gather with up to 250 of your fabulous friends and enjoy a sweet Spanish sunset, hand-crafted cocktails and fabulous, fresh fare.
The concept is simple - exquisite décor, breathtaking sunsets, and the freshest ingredients marrying the finest cocktails all mixed together to create a happy mess, a jolly time, a memorable mélange for your special day. Experimental Beach Ibiza opened its doors onto the beaches of southern Ibiza's Ses Salinas in May 2013. The restaurant, bar and beach is the latest opening from the group behind Experimental Cocktail Club in London, Paris and New York, as well as Paris' Beef Club, Fish Club & Ballroom and London's latest Compagnie des Vins Surnaturels, Seven Dials. The new venue brings a fresh, youthful nostalgia mixed with the innocence of summer love to Ibiza. From the golden, hazy sunrise to the striking beachfront sunset, Experimental Beach will be the ideal place for your private beach ceremony and for you and your loved ones to escape for marvelous cocktails, fresh local food and an unforgettable evening.
Tax, service charge are additional. Venue fees are are inclusive of a minimum spend, applicable from April - October. The minimum spend includes a hire fee, catering & drinks.
An on-site villa can be hired, with enough notice. The villa has 6 bedrooms & a private pool.
Experimental Beach is JUST about the sunsets, though they are some of the best on the island. During the day, we have sunbeds aplenty, wonderful lunches, cocktails and fresh juices - the perfect lazy day on the White Isle!
Experimental Beach is set amongst the picturesque Salinas natural park. The bar & restaurant is set on the beach, overlooking the sea where the sunset is one of the best on the island. The bar, with drinks by the team behind Experimental Cocktail Club, is set in a vintage boat making for stunning pictures.
Experimental Beach was designed by Dorothée Meilichzon (designer of the year, Maison & Objet 2015). The space is awash with a hippy chic, bohemian vibe. Picture light blues & whites, ikat prints scattered amongst sunbeds and an outdoor dining room.


With social-care.tv online dementia care training, you don't need to buy two or three dementia courses or products to get the whole picture.
This dementia care training course covers all you need to know in an interesting and informative way, just what you're looking for.
Whether for newcomers to providing dementia care or those with considerable experience, this course will be just as useful.
If it is for induction, vocational, refresher or management training, for example, QCF or the Care Certificate, this is a course you will find invaluable.
As a guide, this course should take between 50 to 65 minutes. Remember, of course, different people learn at different rates for various reasons.


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Still More Politicized Pseudo-Science?
On Sunday, December 14, 2014 No Comment
THE NEONICS AND HONEYBEES SAGA TAKES INTERESTING, POTENTIALLY FRAUDULENT TURN
by Paul Driessen, ©2014
(Dec. 14, 2014) — Widening efforts to blame neonicotinoid pesticides for honeybee "colony collapse disorder" and other "beepocalypse" problems have taken a fascinating turn.
Insisting that scientific evidence shows a clear link between neonics and honeybee population declines, EU anti-insecticide campaigners persuaded the European Union to impose a two-year ban on using the chemicals. Farm organizations and the Union's Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Department unsuccessfully opposed the ban, arguing that evidence for a link is not persuasive, and actual field studies in Canada and elsewhere have found little risk to bees from the pesticides.
Then this year's canola (rapeseed) crop suffered serious losses of 30-50 percent, due to rampaging flea beetles. Over 44,000 acres (18,000 hectares) were declared a total loss. Euro farmers blamed the ban.
Now it appears that the campaign against these newer, safer pesticides – and the scientific papers that supposedly justify the ban – were all part of a rigged, carefully orchestrated environmentalist strategy.
A recently leaked memorandum, dated June 14, 2010, summarizes a discussion earlier that month among four European scientists who wanted to block neonic use. The memo says the four agreed to find prominent authors who could write scientific papers and coordinate their publication in respected journals, so as to "obtain the necessary policy change to have these pesticides banned."
"If we are successful in getting these two papers published," the memo continues, "there will be enormous impact, and a campaign led by WWF etc could be launched right away. It will be much harder for politicians to ignore a research paper and a policy forum paper" in a major scientific journal. Initial papers would demonstrate that neonics adversely affect bees, other insects, birds and other species; they would be written by a carefully selected primary author and a team of scientists from around the world. Additional papers would be posted online to support these documents – and a separate paper would simultaneously call for a ban on the sale and use of neonicotinoids.
(The WWF is the activist group World Wildlife Fund or World Wide Fund for Nature.)
One meeting attendee was Piet Wit, chairman of the ecosystems management commission of the environmentalist organization International Union for Conservation of Nature. Another was Maarten Bijleveld van Lexmond, who became chairman of the IUCN's Task Force on Systemic Pesticides, which was inaugurated in March 2011, just after the European Union agreed to finance the Task Force to the tune of €431,337 ($540,000). Vouching for the Task Force as an "independent and unbiased" scientific "advisory" group was the same Dr. Maarten Bijleveld, who is also a founding member of the WWF's Netherlands branch and an executive officer of the IUCN's environmental committee.
Further underscoring the "independent" nature of these organizations, the EU awarded the IUCN €24,014,125 ($30,000,000) between 2007 and 2013. Moreover, IUCN task force membership is by invitation only – making it easier to implement the Systemic Pesticides Task Force's stated purpose: to "bring together the scientific evidence needed to underpin action on neonicotinoid pesticides."
The entire operation is odorously reminiscent of ClimateGate orchestration of alarmist research and banning of studies questioning "dangerous manmade climate change" assertions, and the Environmental Protection Agency's 1972 DDT ban, regarding which then-EPA Administrator William Ruckelshaus later admitted that he had not attended a single minute of his own task force's lengthy hearings or read a single page of its findings, which concluded that the insecticide was not dangerous to humans or most wildlife.
The IUCN/WWF campaign also recalls the equally well coordinated effort by Fenton Communications, CBS "60 Minutes" and the Natural Resources Defense Council to ban Alar (a chemical used to keep apples ripening longer on trees), in a way that would channel millions of dollars to the NRDC. It reminds me of former Environmental Defense Fund senior scientist Charles Wurster's assertion that, "If the environmentalists win on DDT, they will achieve a level of authority they never had before."
Never mind that the Alar scam sent many family apple orchards into bankruptcy – or that millions of African and Asian parents and children have died from malaria because radical greens have made DDT largely unavailable even for disease control. For them, humanitarian concerns rarely enter the discussion.
As science writer Hank Campbell observes, all these campaigns reflect proven strategies "to manipulate science to achieve a political goal." They follow the Saul Alinsky/Big Green script summarized by Madeleine Cosman: Select and vilify a target. Devise a "scientific study" that predicts a public health disaster. Release it to the media, before legitimate scientists can analyze and criticize it. Generate emotional headlines and public reactions. Develop a government "solution," and intimidate legislatures or government regulators to impose it. Coerce manufacturers to stop making and selling the product.
Environmental pressure groups have repeatedly and successfully employed these steps.
In a recent speech, Harvard School of Public Health Professor Chensheng Lu claimed that his "Harvard Study" clearly demonstrated that neonics "are highly likely to be responsible for triggering Colony Collapse Disorder." However, pesticide expert and professional pest exterminator Rich Kozlovich says the vast majority of scientists who study bees for a living vigorously disagree. They cite multiple problems, including the fact that small bee populations were fed "astronomical" levels of insecticide-laced corn syrup, and the colonies examined for Lu's paper did not even exhibit CCD symptoms.
Obama has nevertheless relied heavily on all this pseudo-science to support his June 2014 memorandum instructing relevant U.S. agencies "to develop a plan for protecting pollinators such as honey bees …in response to mounting concerns about [their] dwindling populations on American crops." The "serious" problem, Mr. Obama insists, "requires immediate attention."
He is playing his role in the Big Green script but, as my previous articles have noted (here, here and here), nothing in honest, actual science supports his call for yet another Executive Branch end-run around the Legislative Branch and a proper vetting of what we do know about neonics and honeybee problems.
Neonics are vital for numerous crops: canola, soybeans, wheat, winter squash, citrus groves and others.
Derived from a synthetic form of nicotine and often applied to seeds, "neonicotinoids" are incorporated into plants to defend them against pests. This allows growers to be much more targeted in killing crop-threatening insects: only those that actually feed on the plants are affected. This approach (or spraying) also means growers can successfully grow crops with far fewer large-scale insecticide applications, and dramatically reduce reliance on more toxic pesticides that do harm wildlife, including bees. Real-world field studies have shown that bees collecting pollen from plants treated with neonics are not harmed.
Other research has identified serious problems that truly are afflicting bees in Canada, the United States, Europe and elsewhere. Varroa mites carry at least 19 bee viruses and diseases – and parasitic phorid flies, Nosema intestinal fungi and the tobacco ringspot virus also cause significant colony losses. Beekeepers have accidentally killed entire hives, while trying to address such problems.
Colony Collapse Disorder has shown up from time to time for centuries. A hundred years ago it was called the "disappearing disease." It now seems to be ebbing, and bee and beehive numbers are climbing.
We need to let real science do its job, and stop jumping to conclusions or short-circuiting the process with politicized papers, anti-neonic campaigns and presidential memorandums. We need answers, not scapegoats. Otherwise, bee mortality problems are likely to spread, go untreated and get even worse, while neonic bans cause widespread crop failures and huge financial losses for farmers.
Paul Driessen is senior policy analyst for the Committee For A Constructive Tomorrow (www.CFACT.org), author of Eco-Imperialism: Green power – Black death and coauthor of Cracking Big Green: To save the world from the save-the-earth money machine.
Big Green, CFACT.org, climate change, colony collapse disorder, EPA, honeybees, malaria, neonics, Paul Driessen, pesticides, World Wildlife Fund, WWF
Still More Politicized Pseudo-Science? added on Sunday, December 14, 2014
Bee Facts Changed – Green Agendas Did Not
What Happened on Oahu Didn't Stay on Oahu
A Bee in Their Bonnet
Holding Greenpeace Accountable
What Really Drives Anti-Fracking Zealots?


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Political Will Necessary for Farmland Preservation
May 11, 2018 | Marie Versteeg
This May, the Christian Farmers Federation of Ontario is reaching out to provincial candidates on three key issues for farming communities: agri-food sector success, farmland preservation, and water stewardship.
This week's focus has been on farmland preservation.
CFFO district leaders across the province reached out to candidates and local media to voice concerns about the long-term protection of this precious resource.
Forty-two percent of Ontario's prime cropland, including two specialty crop areas, can be found within the Greater Golden Horseshoe (GGH). This same area is also slated to see a population increase of four million people by 2041.
Feeding Ontario and finding homes for all these people is a significant challenge for planners and politicians. More than ever, our prime farmland needs to be protected.
The CFFO is asking candidates to support measures that will protect farmland in areas facing significant growth, both within and beyond the Greater Golden Horseshoe.
Productive farmland is essential to the success of farming communities and agri-food sector strength for the province. But protecting the land isn't enough. Protecting farmland for farming means protecting the infrastructure that sustains it—businesses and services that support farms and rural communities.
Agriculture system policies have been incorporated into land use planning in the Greater Golden Horseshoe. The Agriculture System maps agricultural production, land use, infrastructure, and agri-food businesses and services across the region. It's designed to help municipalities make informed planning decisions that strengthen the agri-food value chain as a whole.
The CFFO sees a strong case for extending agricultural system and land-base mapping to other growing regions in the province, as well. Good farmland, once paved over, cannot be replaced, irrespective of whether it's in the Greater Golden Horseshoe or not.
Expanding this policy to other parts of the province would not only protect productive farmland; it would also encourage land-use planning and economic development that incorporates the necessary infrastructure—feed mills, processing plants, abattoirs, and the like—to support a prosperous agri-food sector, province-wide.
The CFFO believes that land should be set to its best purpose: the best food-growing land should grow food; the most environmentally sensitive land should preserve nature. Good planning and density targets can prevent urban sprawl, but without government intervention, farmland will continue to be converted to low-density housing as long as building outward remains more profitable than building upward.
Agriculture and agri-food can be a cornerstone of the Ontario economy, but political will is necessary to help it thrive.
The CFFO Commentary represents the opinions of the writer and does not necessarily represent CFFO policy. The CFFO Commentary is heard weekly on CFCO Chatham, CKXFM Chatham, and CKNX Wingham. It is also archived on the CFFO website, www.christianfarmers.org. CFFO is supported by 4,000 family farmers across Ontario.


Victoria and Kim, Founders of House of Sun invite you to their first SUNRISE morning ritual.
This workshop will teach you a simple morning routine to feel happy and productive everyday.
We've all heard of you"snooze you loose " by pressing snooze and essentially delaying getting up and out of bed until the last minute means that you are delaying living your life.
Sustaining a morning routine is the most effective way to create the lifestyle you've always dreamed of.
Based on the method of Hal Elrod best selling author of Miracle Morning and there own practice Victoria and Kim put together a 60 minute practice that will change your life.
The Life S.A.V.E.R.S are six practices that guarantees are going to help you reach your full potential. These are personal development practices with the aim of helping you to find the forces within you that will help you change and transform your life.
we lead busy fast-paced lives that are constantly noisy. Being actively silent can be life-changing, it allows you to increase your self-awareness while simultaneously reducing stress.
we will use visualisation as a tool to imagine the lifestyle, behaviours and future you want, once you have visualised this, it will be easy to put it into action.
A key aspect of personal development is learning and gaining knowledge. One of the best ways to do this is by reading.
We will read you texts for 10 minutes that we find inspiring .
writing is the final personal development practice. journaling, even for 5-10 minutes a day as a way to get thoughts out of your head and onto paper. This can help eliminate stress, clear the mind and help you discover breakthroughs and new ideas.
See you on the beach , with a journal , a pen , comfortable clothing , warm jacket and towel.


The Good, Bad and Ugly - Sydney v Carlton — The Mongrel Punt Become a Patron!
It was a fight. And a tough one. Seemingly in control for most of the second half, the Swans found themselves challenged in the final quarter, but responded through their young star, Isaac Heeney to steady the ship and walk away with their first win of the year.
With genuine highlight match-ups in Kennedy v Cripps and Liam Jones v Franklin, the game itself was great as a neutral spectator, with plenty to take away.
I was dying to use that title… I would've even if Cripps had a shocker.
It turns out he didn't but it was one of the best "Bloods" that was better. It's time to pay homage to Josh Kennedy.
I've been ready to write Kennedy's eulogy for a while now. He looked like he struggled quite a bit last season, and was going up and down on the spot at times. But after an off-season to rest up, Kennedy has returned and picked up right where he left off, notching 31 touches, seven clearances, eight tackles and seven inside 50 deliveries.
It was a vintage Kennedy performance, made all the more impressive by the head-to-head clash he had with Patrick Cripps in the first half.
Taking on the responsibility, Kennedy went to Cripps at stoppages and worked his backside off to limit the effectiveness of the Carlton captain.
It was the kind of performance the Swans needed from their leader. He was strong enough to compete with Cripps at the coalface, and won plenty of his own ball in the process. I guess who won is a matter of opinion, but if you're asking me (Hey Mongrel… which player won?) I'm going with Kennedy. Let's marry up their stats and see if I can back that up.
They both sent the ball inside 50 on seven occasions, and were level in both tackles (8) and goals (1). Cripps had the edge in score involvements (9-5), as took more marks (5-3) yet I still feel as though Kennedy came into the game with a mission and executed it well.
Cripps' two previous encounters netted disposal totals of 32 in each outing. The fact Kennedy was able to have Cripps -4 in disposals, whilst being +2 himself is enough to convince me.
But I guess I am open to being told I'm incorrect.
I was saddened to see Sinclair go off in the last quarter with a nasty cut under his eye. He was on target to break his career-high of 45 hit-outs in this one, but that ten minutes off the ground cost him the chance. He finished with 40.
He must have been licking his lips at the prospect of taking on Matthew Lobbe, who despite being a high draft pick all the way back in 2007 (pick 16) has become just a third string ruckman. Lobbe is more or less useless once the ball hits the deck, and Sinclair got on his bike to not only collect 16 disposals, but also kick a goal and dish one off as well.
He also had five clearances himself, which set the Swans running on multiple occasions.
Sinclair, and Sam Naismith when he gets back, will be pivotal as to whether the Swans can be in finals contention again this season. As much as people focus on Heeney, and Buddy and Kennedy, Sinclair is one of Sydney's most important components, and he more than earned his keep today.
There's a separate section for how the Swans were able to work out a system in the middle to combat their failure in the first two rounds, but individually, Zak Jones had the best game I've seen him play.
Working mostly in the guts, and dropping back into defence, Jones was instrumental in aiding Kennedy in the Swans' engine room, collecting 31 touches and adding seven clearances. He drove Sydney inside 50 on six occasions and bobbed up repeatedly when the heat was on in the last quarter, his clean hands under pressure the difference between a clean chain of possessions and a potential turnover.
Jones' willingness to take contact and draw an opponent to him, creating space for teammates in the process was valuable today, and his quick acceleration at stoppages made him very dangerous.
Whilst not the Carey-Jakovich of the competition at the moment, these two engaged in a ripping battle in the Swans' forward line.
Franklin finished with two goals, indicating that Jones more than did his job, but Buddy could've had three, and did end up with nine score involvements with his 12 touches, so when he did get a touch, he made things happen.
Jones really lifted in the second half, getting his hands on the ball at points where I thought Buddy was going to eat it up. Additional points go to him for not collecting any of his teammates.
Just how effective Jones was on Franklin in one-on-one contests was evident in the dying seconds, as Franklin, extremely frustrated with the attention he'd been receiving from Jones, grabbed him and locked him in a WWE-style hip toss as they ran back toward the Swans goal. As Franklin complained, Jones smiled.
And I reckon he smiled because he knew he took the points today.
Look, I know the bloke can't kick – hopefully he can work on that, but I've always found that blokes either know how to take a contested mark, or they don't. It's not something you learn once you're in the game- you just know how to do it.
Harry McKay knows how to do it.
He clunked six big contested marks today to be far and away the biggest aerial threat on the ground. If the mids knew how to kick it to his advantage a little more often, we may have seen him with quite a few more.
Somehow, the AFL app is telling me that he had 11 contested touches, despite listing him as having ten disposals… that's pretty impressive, but it does tell me that he went at 40% efficiency. That's probably not what you want from a guy getting his touches inside forward 50.
So the Blues saw the future (yet again) today. But what do they do with it? They have a problem most clubs would like to have (problem is, they have plenty of other problems as well). They have McKay who is now leading the competition in contested marks, and they have this bloke named Charlie Curnow, who everyone thinks is going to be something special – which one do you play closer to goal?
Curnow is supposed to have the tank to run all day – I doubt we'll see McKay winning any beep tests at Princes Park. The solution seems simple, doesn't it? Curnow as the long-leading forward, with McKay dropping back, trying to manufacture a one-on-one contest.
I guess the issue is patience. Carlton fans are sick to death of being patient, and I can't say I blame them. They're constantly being asked to be patient as the kids develop. They don't want to be patient as the Blues work out the Curnow-McKay combination. They want it to work now!
If they can get these blokes to work in unison this season, there'll be some exciting games this season, and if they get support from some smalls, maybe a few wins, too.
The Swans have looked SLOOOOW through the midfield in the last two weeks, and Horse Longmire resisted the urge to throw Heeney into the guts (and wasn't that a wise move!).
Instead, the Sydney coach unleashed both Zak Jones, and in the second half, Tom Papley into the middle.
Papley looked classy and elusive in his time in the middle, collecting 19 touches for the game and using the pill at 84%. He had 10 score involvements (second only to Heeney), and three direct goal assists (game-high).
With both Papley and Jones being given space by the inexperienced, and at times fumbly Blues mids, they were able to spread and create havoc on the wings and into the half forward line. Papley in particular, was able to create scoring chances off his own boot as Jones did more of a clean-up job down through the wing and into the half back line.
So, if this the answer to what ailed them in the first two weeks or an anomaly?
Playing the Blues (how many wins in the last couple of years?) must be taken into account. Against both Adelaide and the Western Bulldogs, the Swans mids were shown up by more mature, hard running bodies. They weren't given licence to do as they pleased as they were against Walsh, Fisher and Dow. Next week will be the test, as they come up against a hardened Melbourne midfield desperate to make good on the promise they showed last year.
It'd just be like Sydney to smash them. I'm looking forward to it.
He's got that sort of name that rolls off a commentator's tongue, huh? A name not out of place in a school yard as kids fly for a screamer.
But there's more to him than high marks. He is a classy player in body-to-body contests, and at ground level.
At one point I heard one of the talking heads (not David Byrne) state that his opponent, Lachie Plowman was no slouch. Yes he is – compared to Heeney, he is an absolute battler.
Playing in the forward line for 90% of the day, Heeney had his way, collecting 26 disposals, 11 score involvements, three contested marks (don't under-sell this in light of McKay's efforts) and added four clearances to his four goals as well. For someone spending his time camped in the forward 50, it was a brilliant four quarter effort.
Heeney has superstar written all over him, and if he can stay injury-free, will go a long way to establishing himself as not just a future star, but a current star of the competition.
He's 22 years old… far out.
Dispute this if you like – I know what I saw.
In the first quarter, Ed Curnow went to Jake Lloyd and proceeded to expose his loose checking by slotting two goals. Instead of allowing Lloyd to revert to playing a purely defensive role in order to shut Curnow down, Longmire shuffled the deck to free Lloyd up to play his more attacking football.
It was a good counter by Longmire, as losing the run and carry of Lloyd (who just knocks up getting by himself) would be disastrous for Sydney. Instead of panicking, and sending the runner out to Lloyd to blast him for not manning-up, Longmire moved Lloyd a little further away from goal to allow him to get his hands on it, on his terms.
The result? A classic Jake Lloyd game, where he racked up 32 touches, rebounded out of 50 eight times, and went at a brilliant 88% efficiency.
So, with all that happening, what options did Brendon Bolton have to reduce Lloyd's effectiveness?
I would like to have seen either of Cam Polson or Michael Gibbons go over and stand next to Lloyd. They weren't getting any of the ball themselves – why not try stopping the most prolific ball-winner on the ground, or at least get that efficiency down a little bit? Maybe Will Setterfield could've had a crack – he wasn't doing much of anything. With McVeigh hurty in the last quarter, a quiet Lloyd would've meant shifting the responsibility of spotting up a teammate to a less-skilled player. Alas, Bolton opted not to make that move.
You know what I wouldn't have done? Nothing! But that's what Bolton did. His first plan was foiled, and then what did he have up his sleeve? His arm? That's about it.
I liked the initial move. I liked Longmire's adjustment. I did not like Bolton's inability to adapt after that… but I did like Jake Lloyd doing what Jake Lloyd does despite the early hiccup. That's a good player, right there.
Whilst many will focus on the exploits of Sam Walsh, the inability of second year star, Paddy Dow to find his place in this game is concerning.
Dow looked hesitant and uncertain whenever the ball found him in the first half, and either double-grabbed at it, or completely wasted it when he did get hold of it. I thought, with Walsh coming on board and capturing the attention (and imagination) of Carlton fans, we'd see Dow emerge as the midfielder that Carlton needs.
He still might, but it wasn't on display today.
He finished with 14 touches, but his first half was a nightmare.
Ben Ronke is struggling in his second year as well. He burst onto the scene in 2018 with a seven goal bag against the Hawks, but has started 2019 like a young fella uncertain of his place in the team.
He had nine touches today, with just four of them effective. When a small forward has a quiet day at the office, you expect them to have input in other ways, but Ronke was as quiet defensively as he was offensively, finishing with just one tackle for the game.
But wait, there's more. Lachie O'Brien matched Ronke's first half output of just two touches, looking all at sea. He finished with 11 touches and went some way to redeeming himself, but the same can't be said for the next bloke.
Though technically a third year player (he had one game in 2017), Cameron Polson absolutely stunk it up. With just two effective touches for the game, Polson played the game of a slightly mobile witch's hat. If you're a Carlton fan, you might want to hang your hat on the 18 pressure acts he had, but if all you do is pressure, and your fellow small forwards aren't getting a touch either, you're not doing much good.
And I reckon that's the last we'll see of Michael Gibbons for a while, too. He was nowhere near it today. Four touches for him meant that between him, Polson and O'Brien, the Blues simply could not find a small man to capitalise on the good aerial contesting of Harry McKay.
If not for Ed Curnow, this could've been messy.
Settle down Carlton fans – I know he went off injured. Looked comfortable on the bench with hamstring tightness, but for mine, he has not looked right all pre-season, and all season so far.
Prior to heading to the bench, he had five touches and three marks. He did kick an amazing goal over his head (maybe he overstretched the old hammy then?) but he's not looking like a great investment just yet.
With Curnow out of the team, Gov was probably the number one option up forward going into this game. In the grand scheme of things, and looking at today's game in context, I reckon he's now the third option on that team, which is probably about right.
People have talked up Steven May not being in shape, and even though McGovern was hampered by a back injury in the pre-season, he looks pretty far removed from being right. As he sat on the bench next to one of the other Blues, the difference in their bodies was painfully apparent. One had put the hours in. The other had not.
I'm sure this will come back to bite me, but third forward is about the ceiling for McGovern, in my book. And that's a shame, because I reckon he could be so much more.
Before I forget, did the way Nick Blakey ran on the wing toward half forward, with his shoulders hunched as he sent the ball inside 50 remind anyone else of the way Wayne Carey used to waddle around with the ball in hand?
Quick shout out to the umpires.. After last night's… errr… display, they were pretty good today. None of those horrible ticky-touch free kicks for pushing, no stupid double 50 metre penalties, and no panicking when two players happened to make contact in a contest. I actually think they umpired the game in a way I liked.
That said, Franklin almost had his head kicked off by his former teammate. Maybe they thought they were still on the same team when play on was called?
I liked the game of Ed Curnow playing a little deeper than he has in the last couple of weeks. His four goals indicate he may have enjoyed himself as well. He works hard, and draws the footy, but unlike every other smaller forward they had, he wasn't a one-and-done player in terms of effort.
You look at those early misses from the Blues and wonder what could've been. They were probably the better team in the first quarter, even though they gave up six goals. They kicked five goals, themselves, but those early misses to Dow and McKay were so costly.
Tom McCartin in defence? I like it!
Rampe really had his hands full in the air with McKay, but his work at ground level was excellent again. His 20 touches, and some of that run out of defence really set the Swans off in the second half.
Seeing Jarrad McVeigh go down in the last quarter was concerning. He was having a belter, and was on target for 600+ metres gained when hurt himself in an innocuous incident. Hope it's not serious.
Harry Cunningham is probably one of the most underrated link man in the game. He doesn't miss many targets, and has a bit of poise when he gets it.
I didn't think George Hewett was at his denying-best today. Once he switched with Josh Kennedy in the first quarter, I reckon Cripps picked up a few disposals and clearances on him that he wasn't getting against Kennedy. I was almost relieved to see Kennedy go back to Cripps after a few minutes.
Another "almost" game from Sam Reid. Far out this guy threatens a lot. He gets his hands to so many opportunities, but just seems to have this knack of spilling the ball when marking it seems the likely outcome.
Unassuming 28 touches for Cal Mills off half back. Between him, Lloyd and McVeigh, geez there's some class in that backline.
59% disposal for Marc Murphy… not good enough. Sam Walsh wasted it a bit too, but he hasn't had 252 games to get his disposal right just yet. Walsh gets a pass mark. Murphy… does not.
I already know the answer to this… Carlton fans; how tired are you of honourable losses?
And that'll do me. My daughter needs to eat, and is also demanding that I dance with her. A Dad's gotta do what a dad's gotta do.
Nice win in the end by the Swans. Not entirely convincing, but a win's a win, particularly when it's your first for the year.
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