This booklet shows how to develop a positive self-image and a take-charge attitude toward life and personal growth. A lot of information -- and inspiration -- gives readers the tools they need to make good decisions about their health, and substitute healthy behaviors for unhealthy ones. 16 pages, 5 1/2" x 8"


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Reducing vulnerability and increasing adaptive capacity to respond to impacts of climate change and variability for sustainable livelihoods in agriculture sector in Nepal
Home › Solutions Portal › Reducing vulnerability and increasing adaptive capacity to respond to impacts of climate change and variability for sustainable livelihoods in agriculture sector in Nepal
Contributed by Julia J. Aguilera | published 16th Nov 2021 | last updated 26th Nov 2021
This solution has been uploaded by Julia Aguilera on behalf of FAO and the Government of Nepal
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Building climate resilience in Nepal Source: FAO, 2020.
The objective of this solution was to "strengthen the institutional and technical capacities for reducing vulnerability and promoting climate-resilient practices, strategies and plans for effectively responding to the impacts of climate change and variability in agriculture sector in four districts of Nepal".
As a mountainous country located in the central part of the Himalayas, Nepal is a nation particularly impacted by the effects of climate change, with floods, droughts, hailstorms, soil erosion, and heat and cold waves as some of the recurrent threats to the social and economic well-being of the population. Agriculture, for instance, is one of the most affected yet critical sectors to the country's economic stability. It employs around 66% of the population and contributes to 27% of the national GDP, but its highly dependent on weather patterns and effective and sustainable farming techniques. However, local communities often lack the necessary knowledge and skills to cope with this type of situations.
The development of this project emerged as a request for assistance from the national government of Nepal to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO). Its goal was to reduce the exposure of the population to climate-related risks and support the increase of resilience of the agricultural sector by promoting urgent and immediate adaptation measures and integrating adaptation priorities into local policies, plans, programs and actions in the agricultural sector. It was composed of four main components:
Component 1: Strengthening of technical and institutional capacities and integrating adaptation into national food and agriculture policies, strategies and plans.
Component 2: Assessment, monitoring and providing advance early warning information on vulnerabilities, risks of climate change and agro meteorological forecasts to assist better adaptation planning.
Component 3: Improving awareness, knowledge and communication on climate impacts and adaptation.
Component 4: Prioritizing and implementing local investment by promoting community based adaptation (CBA) to strengthen livelihood strategies and transfer of adaptation technology in targeted areas.
Mountain region
Arghakhanchi, Kapilbastu, Siraha, Udaypur districts
Ecosystem type(s)
High Alpine
Plans & policy
Impact time-scales
Slow Onset
Rapid Onset
Co-benefits
Climate risk reduction
Technical benefits
Sendai targets
Solution details
Main beneficiaries & outcomes
The project mainly benefited farming communities in the four participating districts. In total, 3,484 farmers (74% of whom were women) were trained in farmer field schools (FFS) to reduce vulnerability and promote climate-resilient agricultural approaches and adaptation measures, taking all possible efforts towards the social and economic empowerment of the most vulnerable. Numerous awareness-raising, orientation and consultation workshops, and training events were also organized at multiple levels. In addition, some 300 agricultural sector officials at national and district levels were trained in climate change adaptation approaches and provided with training skills. The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development, the Department of Agriculture, the Department of Livestock Services, and the National Agriculture Research Centre are now technically capable of mainstreaming climate change adaptation into agriculture sector decision-making.
Other relevant outcomes include: Development of one training manual on CCA at national and one at district level, testing and documentation of 36 good agricultural, livestock, poultry and forage practices, preparation and implementation of 120 community adaptation plans, formation of a national crop yield forecasting committee, provision of a set of agrometeorological devices to 120 Farmer field school groups, development and approval of eight community Risk Reduction and Adaptation Plans by respective local governments, and revision of the country's Climate Change Policy 2019.
Implementation of the project was under the responsibility of the FAO Country Office in Nepal through the Direct Execution (DEX) modality. It was executed from October 2015 to September 2019 in close collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock Development as secretary of the Steering Committee, and a Project Management Unit consisting of a national technical coordinator, support staff, and four district technical coordinators. All major stakeholders were part of the government at different levels. At the field level, project activities were the responsibility of the District Agricultural Development Offices and the District Livestock Service Offices, and at the local level, local government, Village Development Committees, and Community Based Organizations were also involved.
Outputs and activities were designed based on a climate change-focused needs assessment of the agricultural sector that was conducted at the national, district and local levels, and built on the lessons from a Technical Cooperation Program (TCP) project previously implemented that had piloted the community-based adaptation approach in the country.
The project was financed by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) through the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF).
Project Preparation Grant Amount
GEF Project Grant
2,689,498 USD
Co-financing Total
12,990,000 USD
GEF Agency Fees
15,729,498.00 USD
Source: GEF, 2021.
A number of innovative elements were included in the implementation of these solutions, especially with regard to the use of research and development linkages to ensure the transfer of adaptation practices to communities, bringing a renewed focus to reducing vulnerability and increasing adaptive capacity. The knowledge, skills and technologies for adaptation were also very innovative and were introduced with the participation of farmers. In this case, farmers especially appreciated the training on climate-smart farming techniques, as well as the introduction of the drum seeder, the zero-till seed cum fertilizer drill machine, the UMMB blocker machines, the chaff cutter and the associated knowledge and skills which were new to them.
The performance of the project was assessed in a final evaluation conducted by independent evaluation specialists. It covered all aspects of implementation at the national level and in the four project districts, from inception to completion, and took into account the following criteria: relevance of objectives and results, including appropriateness of design, achievement of results, efficiency, project implementation and execution, monitoring and evaluation, sustainability of results, and stakeholder participation. The evaluation included consultation with relevant stakeholders, as well as the inclusion of feedback from school groups in the field. Overall, the project was rated satisfactory and its overall sustainability was considered likely.
Long term maintenance and sustainability
The project design included a plan to monitor and evaluate the achievement of results on a regular basis and from a bottom-up approach. District, regional and national progress reports were prepared every six months, and a project implementation review was conducted annually. A baseline survey, a mid-term review and a final survey were also conducted.
Although the sustainability of many adaptive farming practices will depend to some extent on the support farmers receive from local and provincial government agencies, most of the project results have been rated as highly likely to sustain. The FFS groups reportedly follow a shared responsibility mechanism whereby users help protect and maintain their community's assets, and in the case of training programs, a curriculum will be integrated into regular DoA and DoLS training activities. Moreover, several crop modeling and yield forecasting systems and procedures have been developed and are now institutionalized in MoALD, who is committed to the continuity of technical functions.
Capacities for design and implementation
The experience and existing capacities of the main stakeholders proved to be very useful in this project. Initially, lessons learned from previous projects were used to design the solutions in a more reliable way, while later, similar capacities were used to implement knowledge, awareness and capacity building activities, and to provide adequate training to FFS groups and government staff members in the agricultural sector. Moreover, to continue such knowledge transfer, a wide range of knowledge products were developed throughout the life of the project, including good practices in climate adaptation that are planned to be published or disseminated online.
A District Project Technical Team established in each district provided the necessary technical assistance for implementation and monitoring of activities on the field level.
Political and legal
The motivation of the Government of Nepal for the design and implementation of this project is very clear, as it was the national government that made the initial request to FAO for the preparation of the project proposal. Its implementation was indeed intended to strengthen capacities to reduce vulnerability and to promote climate-resilient practices, strategies and plans to respond to climate change impacts in the agricultural sector. Accordingly, the project was designed in line with Nepal's priorities and needs identified under its National Adaptation Programme of Action (NAPA, 2010), the National Strategy for Disaster Risk Management (NSDRM, 2008) and the National Agriculture Sector Development Priority(NASDP) for the Medium-Term (2010/11-2014/15).
The involvement of local farmers was critical to the implementation of the project's climate adaptation measures in the field. They actively participated in farmer field schools, which helped them to accept, adopt and adapt to the climate-adapted crop varieties and associated technologies introduced, and contributed to improving their knowledge and resilience to climate change impacts. On the other hand, other inhabitants of the target regions, who did not participate in the FFS, also showed real interest in the new practices, to the extent that they paid close attention to the introduced practices and replicated them. In the final evaluation report, these details are recognized as probably the best evidence not only of the social acceptance but also of the social sustainability of the project's agricultural practices.
NGOs or private institutions were not included as stakeholders in the project implementation and their participation was limited to the procurement of technical services through outsourcing.
Julia J. Aguilera
Master Student at UNIGE
Simon Allen
Senior Scientist at UNIGE
Participating Organisations
FAO - Final Evaluation Report

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Happy New Year to all my readers!!! I wish you all the very best and a great year to come!
I don't know what 2020 will bring for the most part, but one thing I do know for sure: there will be plenty of amazing books to read! I have listed 10 novels that are already on my wishlist. I have read and loved previous novels from 9 of these authors and there's one author I haven't read yet but her debut novel has a 3.91 average on Goodreads so I have a good feeling I'll love her writing, and her next novel sounds like one I don't want to miss either.
Here are 10 of my most anticipated books:
The Wicked Sister by Karen Dionne
You have been cut off from society for fifteen years, shut away in a mental hospital in self-imposed exile as punishment for the terrible thing you did when you were a child.
But what if nothing about your past is as it seems?
And if you didn't accidentally shoot and kill your mother, then whoever did is still out there. Waiting for you.
For a decade and a half, Rachel Cunningham has chosen to lock herself away in a psychiatric facility, tortured by gaps in her memory and the certainty that she is responsible for her parents' deaths. But when she learns new details about their murders, Rachel returns, in a quest for answers, to the place where she once felt safest: her family's sprawling log cabin in the remote forests of Michigan's Upper Peninsula.
As Rachel begins to uncover what really happened on the day her parents were murdered, she learns–as her mother did years earlier–that home can be a place of unspeakable evil, and that the bond she shares with her sister might be the most poisonous of all.
You Are Not Alone by Greer Hendrickx and Sarah Pekkanen
You probably know someone like Shay Miller.
She wants to find love, but it eludes her.
She wants to be fulfilled, but her job is a dead end.
She wants to belong, but her life is so isolated.
You probably don't know anyone like the Moore sisters.
They have an unbreakable circle of friends.
They live the most glamorous life.
They always get what they desire.
Shay thinks she wants their life.
But what they really want is hers.
Beast by Matt Wesolowski
In the wake of the 'Beast from the East' cold snap that ravaged the UK in 2018, a grisly discovery was made in a ruin on the Northumbrian coast. Twenty-four-year-old vlogger, Elizabeth Barton, had been barricaded inside what locals refer to as 'The Vampire Tower', where she was later found frozen to death.
Three young men, part of an alleged 'cult', were convicted of this terrible crime, which they described as a 'prank gone wrong'. However, in the small town of Ergarth, questions have been raised about the nature of Elizabeth Barton's death and whether the three convicted youths were even responsible.
Elusive online journalist Scott King speaks to six witnesses – people who knew both the victim and the three killers – to peer beneath the surface of the case. He uncovers whispers of a shocking online craze that held the young of Ergarth in its thrall and drove them to escalate a series of pranks in the name of internet fame. He hears of an abattoir on the edge of town, which held more than simple slaughter behind its walls, the tragic and chilling legend of the 'Ergarth Vampire'…
Both a compulsive, taut and terrifying thriller, and a bleak and distressing look at modern society's desperation for attention, Beast will unveil a darkness from which you may never return…
The Switch by Beth O'Leary
Eileen is sick of being 79.
Leena's tired of life in her twenties.
Maybe it's time they swapped places…
When overachiever Leena Cotton is ordered to take a two-month sabbatical after blowing a big presentation at work, she escapes to her grandmother Eileen's house for some overdue rest. Eileen is newly single and about to turn eighty. She'd like a second chance at love, but her tiny Yorkshire village doesn't offer many eligible gentlemen.
Once Leena learns of Eileen's romantic predicament, she proposes a solution: a two-month swap. Eileen can live in London and look for love. Meanwhile Leena will look after everything in rural Yorkshire. But with gossiping neighbours and difficult family dynamics to navigate up north, and trendy London flatmates and online dating to contend with in the city, stepping into one another's shoes proves more difficult than either of them expected.
Leena learns that a long-distance relationship isn't as romantic as she hoped it would be, and then there is the annoyingly perfect – and distractingly handsome – school teacher, who keeps showing up to outdo her efforts to impress the local villagers. Back in London, Eileen is a huge hit with her new neighbours, but is her perfect match nearer home than she first thought?
His & Hers by Alice Feeney
There are two sides to every story: yours and mine, ours and theirs, His & Hers. Which means someone is always lying.
Anna Andrews finally has what she wants. Almost. She's worked hard to become the main TV presenter of the BBC's lunchtime news, putting work before friends, family, and her now ex-husband. So, when someone threatens to take her dream job away, she'll do almost anything to keep it.
When asked to cover a murder in Blackdown–the sleepy countryside village where she grew up–Anna is reluctant to go. But when the victim turns out to be one of her childhood friends, she can't leave. It soon becomes clear that Anna isn't just covering the story, she's at the heart of it.
DCI Jack Harper left London for a reason, but never thought he'd end up working in a place like Blackdown. When the body of a young woman is discovered, Jack decides not to tell anyone that he knew the victim, until he begins to realise he is a suspect in his own murder investigation.
One of them knows more than they are letting on. Someone isn't telling the truth. Alternating between Anna's and Jack's points of view, His & Hers is a fast-paced, complex, and dark puzzle that will keep listeners guessing until the very end.
The Keepers by John Marrs
Everyone has secrets. They know yours…
In the 21st century information is king. But computers can be hacked, files can be broken into. So a unique government initiative has been borne. Five ordinary people have been selected to become the latest weapon in thwarting cyber terrorism. A revolutionary medical procedure has turned them into the ultimate secret keepers – the country's most secretive information has been taken offline and turned into genetic code implanted inside their heads.
Together, the five know every secret – the truth behind every Government lie, conspiracy theory and cover up. Only somebody has discovered who the secret keepers are. And one by one, they are being hunted down…
Little Secrets by Jennifer Hillier
From the author of Jar of Hearts, a mother driven to the edge by the disappearance of her son learns her husband is having an affair with the woman who might have kidnapped him.
Four hundred and eighty seconds. That's how long it took for someone to steal Marin Machado's four-year-old son.
Marin had the perfect life. Married to her college sweetheart, she owns a chain of upscale hair salons, and Derek runs his own company. They're admired in their community and are a loving family. Up until the day Sebastian is taken.
A year later, Marin is a shadow of herself. The FBI search has gone cold. The publicity has faded. She and her husband rarely speak. The only thing keeping her going is the unlikely chance that one day Sebastian reappears. She hires a P.I. to pick up where the police left off, but instead of finding him, she discovers that Derek is having an affair with a younger woman.
Kenzie Li is an artist and grad student—Instagram famous—and up to her eyeballs in debt. She knows Derek is married. She also knows he's rich, and dating him comes with perks: help with bills, trips away, expensive gifts. He isn't her first rich boyfriend, but she finds herself hoping he'll be the last. She's falling for him—and that was never part of the plan.
Discovery of the affair sparks Marin back to life. She's lost her son; she's not about to lose her husband, too. Kenzie is an enemy with a face, which means this is a problem Marin can fix. But as she sets a plan in motion, another revelation surfaces. Derek's lover might know what happened to their son. And so might Derek.
The Night Swim by Megan Goldin
In this new thriller from the author of The Escape Room, a podcast host covering a controversial trial in a small town becomes obsessed with a brutal crime that took place there years before.
After the first season of her true crime podcast became an overnight sensation and set an innocent man free, Rachel Krall is now a household name―and the last hope for thousands of people seeking justice. But she's used to being recognized for her voice, not her face. Which makes it all the more unsettling when she finds a note on her car windshield, addressed to her, begging for help.
The small town of Neapolis is being torn apart by a devastating rape trial. The town's golden boy, a swimmer destined for Olympic greatness, has been accused of raping a high school student, the beloved granddaughter of the police chief. Under pressure to make Season Three a success, Rachel throws herself into interviewing and investigating―but the mysterious letters keep showing up in unexpected places. Someone is following her, and she won't stop until Rachel finds out what happened to her sister twenty-five years ago. Officially, Jenny Stills tragically drowned, but the letters insists she was murdered―and when Rachel starts asking questions, nobody seems to want to answer. The past and present start to collide as Rachel uncovers startling connections between the two cases that will change the course of the trial and the lives of everyone involved.
Electrifying and propulsive, The Night Swim asks: What is the price of a reputation? Can a small town ever right the wrongs of its past? And what really happened to Jenny?
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
In the latest thriller from New York Times bestseller Riley Sager, a woman returns to the house made famous by her father's bestselling horror memoir. Is the place really haunted by evil forces, as her father claimed? Or are there more earthbound—and dangerous—secrets hidden within its walls?
What was it like? Living in that house.
Maggie Holt is used to such questions. Twenty-five years ago, she and her parents, Ewan and Jess, moved into Baneberry Hall, a rambling Victorian estate in the Vermont woods. They spent three weeks there before fleeing in the dead of night, an ordeal Ewan later recounted in a nonfiction book called House of Horrors. His tale of ghostly happenings and encounters with malevolent spirits became a worldwide phenomenon, rivaling The Amityville Horror in popularity—and skepticism.
Today, Maggie is a restorer of old homes and too young to remember any of the events mentioned in her father's book. But she also doesn't believe a word of it. Ghosts, after all, don't exist. When Maggie inherits Baneberry Hall after her father's death, she returns to renovate the place to prepare it for sale. But her homecoming is anything but warm. People from the past, chronicled in House of Horrors, lurk in the shadows. And locals aren't thrilled that their small town has been made infamous thanks to Maggie's father. Even more unnerving is Baneberry Hall itself—a place filled with relics from another era that hint at a history of dark deeds. As Maggie experiences strange occurrences straight out of her father's book, she starts to believe that what he wrote was more fact than fiction.
He Started It by Samantha Downing
From the twisted mind behind mega hit My Lovely Wife comes the story of a family—not unlike your own—just with a few more violent tendencies thrown in….
Beth, Portia, and Eddie Morgan haven't all been together in years. And for very good reasons—we'll get to those later. But when their wealthy grandfather dies and leaves a cryptic final message in his wake, the siblings and their respective partners must come together for a cross-country road trip to fulfill his final wish and—more importantly—secure their inheritance.
But time with your family can be tough. It is for everyone.
It's even harder when you're all keeping secrets and trying to forget a memory—a missing person, an act of revenge, the man in the black truck who won't stop following your car—and especially when at least one of you is a killer and there's a body in the trunk. Just to name a few reasons.
But money is a powerful motivator. It is for everyone.
So are any of these on your list too? Any other novels that I should know about? Do let me know!
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I Know Who You Are by Alice Feeney #BookReview @alicewriterland »
30 thoughts on "10 most anticipated reads of 2020"
Happy new year, lovely 😘 Almost all of these are on my list too 😍
Thank you Kelly! Awesome to hear we'll be reading lots of the same books (hopefully)!
Mugfullofbooks
Great list! The Switch and The Keepers are on my list already, might have to add some of the others as well!
Thank you! John Marrs will have The Echoes too coming out (style of The One and The Passengers), I saw it on Instagram, but there's no info to be found on GR yet…
Ooh, I'll have to keep any eye out for that one too, thanks
Yesha - Books, Teacup, and Reviews
Interesting titles and list! Happy New Year!
Thank you Yesha! Best wishes to you (and your family) too !!
Thebookreviewcafe
Great list most of these books are on my list, Happy New Year 🎉📚🎉
Thank you Lorraine!! I'll probably read about them first on your blog then, I look forward to it 😉
alilovesbooks
Happy New Year Inge!
I don't really have a most anticipated list this year, I'm trying to focus more on the older books I've not read yet but I am ridiculously excited about The Switch. I just hope I'm not building it up too much.
I didn't realise Downing had a new book coming, I loved My Lovely Wife, so it's definitely going on the TBR. I'm a little on the fence about Alice Feeney, I loved her first book but wasn't so keen on the second. I'll no doubt give her new one a try but probably not going in with high expectations.
I expect a lot from The Switch too ☺ and I still have My Lovely Wife on my wishlist! 😘😘
Happy New Year what a fab list Inge! xx
Ha can't believe I wished you a happy birthday first 😋 but happy New Year to you too lovely! Thank you ❤
Happy New Year! Thanks for making me aware of books I knew nothing about haha!!
Thank you and you're very welcome. There are so many more though but we'll have to make a start somewhere right ☺
I cannot wait to read Beast! And also I had no idea that John Marrs has a new book coming out but now that I do that will go straight in my list as soon as it is published. Thanks for bringing all these books to our attention, Inge!
Beast is the only book I already have so I'll be reading it soon! Just so you know, John Marrs will have more than one book coming out next year 😉 😘
Oooh exciting! Thanks for letting me know 😀
Dang, I've written all these titles down to research as they all sound interesting, Inge. And yes, here's to a great reading year for us all. I am so looking forward to doing a lot more in 2020, from reading to writing, to publishing. 😀 Happy New Year, Sweetie, you deserve the best!
You'll be hearing about these novels again in the course of the year and I hope they'll all be as amazing as they seem. Thank you soooo much, really, and I wish you everything your heart desires 😘
Good, I count on hearing what you think, to weed out the boring reads for me. ☺ Meanwhile, thank you, Sweetie, I hope this is a better year for everyone. 😘
Nice list! The Wicked Sister and You Are Not Alone are on my TBR. I'm intrigued by His & Hers now that I've read the summary. Hmmm… I may have to keep an eye out for this one.
Thank you Betty ❤ I'm reading her last novel (I know Who you are) now and I love it, she's definitely an author for me ☺ so I definitely want to read His & Hers too.
I still haven't read that one, either. I need to get caught up on her books!
alwaysneedmorebooks
I love these posts that put even more books on my radar!
Thank you!! 😘
Oh, they all sound pretty awesome! I especially look forward to reading the new Matt Wesolowski & John Marrs books ❤
You can never go wrong with these two authors, you know it will be money well spent 😁 Thank you!
I definitely can't wait to read all of these either! Fantastic list. xx
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Posted 2012-05-04 ; filed under Friday's Finds.
I started Friday's Finds three years ago, in an attempt to make my finds on Twitter more explicit. I had been using Twitter actively for over a year at this time and realized that I was not making much sense of it. Now I make a weekly summary of my favourites: reviewed, filtered and reassessed. The actual tools I use for personal knowledge management are quite limited. Google Reader is my aggregator; I link my Delicious & Diigo social bookmark accounts together but mostly use Diigo; I write my half-baked ideas regularly on my blog; and I engage in many conversations on Twitter which I curate here. That's about it.
I prefer simpler tools that force me to think and connect by myself. If it was automatic I wouldn't think about it much, but that's what I want to do; think more, not less. As I mentioned in Personal Information management for Sense-making, George Siemens complaint that, "Too many aspects of my sense-making system are manual", is what I see as a strength of PKM. By keeping sense-making activities "manual", we are forced to do something. For me, the act of writing a blog post, a tweet, or an annotation on a social bookmark, all force me to think a bit more than clicking once and having it served up from an automated system. The weekly routine of reviewing my Twitter favourites and creating Friday's Finds is another manual routine that I find helps to reinforce my learning and (hopefully) add to my knowledge.
I'm describing this in more detail here as some of these issues came up during our PKM Workshop this week.
So without further ado, here are some of the observations and insights that were shared via Twitter this past week.
But six will survive, say Messrs Brynjolfsson and McAfee, no matter how fast and smart computers become. Those skills are: statistical insight; managing group dynamics; good writing; framing and solving open-ended problems; persuasion; and human nurturing. These will define the jobs they think will exist at the end of the universe.
… Indeed, when we view the two researchers' six skills from the perspective of the boardroom, what appears strikingly absent is any reference to taking decisions.


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Replanting oil palm may be driving a second wave of biodiversity loss
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Rufous-backed dwarf kingfisher habitat is lost when forests are cleared for oil palm plantations © Muhammad Syafiq Yahya
The environmental impact of palm oil production has been well publicised. Found in everything from food to cosmetics, the deforestation, ecosystem decline and biodiversity loss associated with its use is a serious cause for concern.
What many people may not know, however, is that oil palm trees – the fruit of which is used to create palm oil – have a limited commercial lifespan of 25 years. Once this period has ended, the plantation is cut down and replanted, as older trees start to become less productive and are difficult to harvest. Our research has now found that this replanting might be causing a second wave of biodiversity loss, further damaging the environment where these plantations have been created.
An often overlooked fact is that oil palm plantations actually have higher levels of biodiversity compared to some other crops. More species of forest butterflies would be lost if a forest were converted to a rubber plantation, than if it were converted to oil palm, for example. One reason for this is that oil palm plantations provide a habitat that is more similar to tropical forest than other forms of agriculture (such as soybean production). The vegetation growing beneath the oil palm canopy (called understory vegetation) also provides food and a habitat for many different species, allowing them to thrive. Lizard abundance typically increases when primary forests are converted to oil palm, for example.
Palm oil boycott could actually increase deforestation – sustainable products are the solution
This does not mean oil palm plantations are good for the environment. In South-East Asia, where 85% of palm oil is produced, the conversion of forest to oil palm plantations has caused declines in the number of several charismatic animals, including orangutans, sun bears and hornbills. Globally, palm oil production affects at least 193 threatened species, and further expansion could affect 54% of threatened mammals and 64% of threatened birds.
Second crisis
Banning palm oil would likely only displace, not halt this biodiversity loss. Several large brands and retailers are already producing products using sustainably certified palm oil, as consumers reassess the impact of their purchasing. But as it is such an ubiquitous ingredient, if it were outlawed companies would need an alternative to keep producing products which include it, and developing countries would need to find something else to contribute to their economies. Production would shift to the cultivation of other oil crops elsewhere, such as rapeseed, sunflower or soybean, in order to meet global demand. In fact, since oil palm produces the highest yields per hectare – up to nine times more oil than any other vegetable oil crop – it could be argued that cultivating oil palm minimises deforestation.
That's not to say further deforestation should be encouraged to create plantations though. It is preferable to replace plantations in situ, replanting each site so that land already allocated for palm oil production can be reused. This replanting is no small undertaking – 13m hectares of palm oil plantations are to be uprooted by the year 2030, an area nearly twice the size of Scotland. However, our study reveals that much more needs to be done in the management and processes around this replanting, in order to maximise productivity and protect biodiversity in plantations.
Palm oil: scourge of the earth, or wonder crop?
We found significant declines in the biodiversity and abundance of soil organisms as a consequence of palm replanting. While there was some recovery over the seven years it takes the new crop to establish, the samples we took still had nearly 20% less diversity of invertebrates (such as ants, earthworms, millipedes and spiders) than oil palm converted directly from forest.
We also found that second-wave mature oil palm trees had 59% fewer animals than the previous crop. This drastic change could have severe repercussions for soil health and the overall agro-ecosystem sustainability. Without healthy, well-functioning soil, crop production suffers.
It is likely that replanting drives these declines. Prior to replanting, heavy machinery is used to uproot old palms. This severely disrupts the soil, making upper layers vulnerable to erosion and compaction, reducing its capacity to hold water. This is likely to have a negative impact on biodiversity, which is then further reduced due to the heavy use of pesticides.
How Indonesia's election puts global biodiversity at stake with an impending war on palm oil
Without change to these management practices, soil degradation is likely to continue, causing decreases in future biodiversity, as well as the productivity of the plantation.
Ultimately, palm oil appears to be a necessary food product for growing populations. However, now that we have identified some of the detrimental consequences of replanting practices, it is clear that long-term production of palm oil comes at a higher cost than previously thought. The world needs to push for more sustainable palm oil, and those in the industry must explore more biodiversity-friendly replanting practices in order to lessen the long-term impacts of intensive oil palm cultivation.
Simon Willcock receives funding from the UK's Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC; ES/R009279/1 and ES/R006865/10). He is affiliated with Bangor University, and is on the Board of Directors of Alliance Earth. This article was written in collaboration with Anna Ray, a research assistant and undergraduate student studying Environmental Science at Bangor University.
Adham Ashton-Butt receives funding from The Natural Environment Research Council. He is affiliated with The University of Hull and the University of Southampton.
source: The Conversation: Environment
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Our Communities Apply For Residency
About 2Life
Building Community Impact & Accountability Leadership Partners & Funders
Expanding Affordability Real Estate Development Thought Leadership
Ways To Give Volunteer Careers Partner With Us Events
DEVELOPING INNOVATIVE, AFFORDABLE HOUSING FOR BOSTON-AREA SENIORS
We're developing the future for accessibility, affordability, and sustainability.
2Life develops, owns and operates every one of our communities. We also provide services that make our communities engaging, supportive places for Boston-area seniors to live. This level of involvement means we make decisions based on what's best for current residents, as well as those who will live with us 30 years from now.
As innovators, problem-solvers and thought leaders, we're constantly looking at how we can best serve older adults who may have been priced out of traditional community living opportunities. And we're asking questions like where should we build? What physical features should our campuses have? How can we create communities that will adapt to the changing needs of residents? And how can we improve our existing campuses?
Leading the charge to make community living affordable for all.
2Life currently offers 1,320 affordable apartments on 5 campuses in the greater Boston area.
We serve 1,600 older adults from 30 countries with a median annual income of just over $12,000.
We plan to double our portfolio by 2030, with a goal of serving more than 2,500 older adults.
Projects Currently In Development
2Life is constantly innovating and looking for ways to serve older adults in the greater Boston area. Our Real Estate Development team is currently creating more safe, high-quality communities for older adults of all backgrounds to meet the tremendous need for service-enriched, supportive, affordable senior housing. The following projects are currently in development.
If you have questions or would like to receive periodic updates on any of the projects below, please contact us.
Opus — Newton, MA
Expanding on our mission, Opus is a new community concept for senior adults "in the middle" — those with too much income to qualify for subsidized housing and who aren't comfortable with traditional upscale options. The first of 2Life's Opus communities will be built on the Leventhal-Sidman JCC Campus at Winchester and Nahanton Streets in Newton, MA.
Learn More about Opus
Golda Meir House Expansion — Newton, MA
2Life has been awarded development rights to a 16,900-square-foot parcel adjacent to Golda Meir House and owned by the City of Newton. This will enable us to expand the community with 68 new apartments that will be affordable to senior adults with a range of incomes. Nine apartments will be designated for chronically homeless individuals with supportive services provided by hearth, Inc., in collaboration with 2Life staff. The expansion will also include improved outdoor spaces and gardens, and reconfigured parking with additional spaces.
The expansion is expected to be complete in the spring of 2023. Applications for residency will be made available and a lottery will be held several months before the end of construction. To receive a notification when the application period opens, please contact us.
Learn More About the Golda Meir Expansion
The New Leland House — Waltham, MA
2Life Communities, the Leland House, and Deaconess Abundant Life Communities — three nonprofit organizations with a longstanding commitment to serving senior adults — have united under a shared vision to preserve the Leland House as a pillar of the Waltham community. Originally developed in 1891 as a "rest home," the Leland House will be transformed into a modern, thoughtfully designed community with approximately 68 one- and two-bedroom affordable apartment homes. It will also serve as a Village Center and a hub of activity for both residents and community neighbors.
Learn More About the Leland Expansion
J.J. Carroll Redevelopment — Brighton, MA
2Life Communities is partnering with the Boston Housing Authority (BHA) to redevelop the J.J. Carroll Apartments located adjacent to our Brighton Campus. Our team has worked closely with J.J. Carroll residents and the BHA on a plan to replace the existing buildings with a new building that is more comfortable, energy efficient, accessible, and integrated with 2Life's Brighton Campus, giving residents access to all its programs, services and community spaces. The redeveloped community will also be home to a brand-new, purpose-built PACE Center (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) as well as publicly accessible open space and intergenerational play space.
Learn More About the JJ Carroll Redevelopment
Union Hospital Redevelopment — Lynn, MA
2Life Communities is partnering with local developer David Solimine and Element Care, a Lynn-based PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) provider, to redevelop the former Union Hospital. When complete, this new community for adults age 62+ will include 150 affordable apartments, extensive amenity, program and outdoor spaces — including public green space and intergenerational play areas — and an on-site PACE Center.
Learn More About Union Hospital
2Life's Real Estate Development Philosophy
2Life's Real Estate Development team combines compassion, expertise and innovative thinking to create communities that support older adults of all income levels in leading fulfilling, engaging, purposeful lives. We work side-by-side with the staff and residents at each of our campuses to ensure that any decisions we make about our buildings will continue to support the programs and services that are a hallmark of our Defiantly Joyous Aging philosophy. And each new project we undertake seeks to demonstrate new and creative ways to support aging in community by adhering to the following principles.
The high cost of housing in Massachusetts is the single biggest cause of economic insecurity among older adults. We leave no stone unturned when piecing together financing to create housing that is affordable to anyone who has been priced out of the supportive senior housing market. This includes groundbreaking work on a new initiative called Opus — a creative approach to providing aging in community options for seniors who are over-income for housing with government subsidies but who do not make enough to afford market rate options.
Village Centers
Research has proven that community is the best antidote to the loneliness and social isolation experienced by so many older adults. We make it easy to be part of the community, both by building on main streets and near public transportation, and by creating vibrant program spaces on our campuses that are accessible to residents and neighbors alike.
We're committed to all 2Life residents, and work to ensure they can continue to live in our communities even if their financial circumstances change. In addition, our apartments are designed to adapt to each individual's changing physical and intellectual needs as they age.
Sustainability and Emerging Technology
In addition to developing highly efficient buildings, we are experts in "grey-green technology" that saves money on operations, is good for the planet, and is informed by how seniors use technology. 2Life Communities has been recognized by the Department of Energy for its energy-saving practices and achievements.
Life Cycle Investing
As a long-term owner and operator, we live with what we build. Our projects are smart, comprehensive, and informed by best practices, prioritizing high-performing materials and systems that last. In addition to being more environmentally and financially sustainable over the life of the building, this helps us create more livable homes for residents.
Design Innovations
Older adults' ability to age in community is directly affected by the physical spaces that surround them — their apartment homes and the "Village Center" common areas built into each of our communities. With more than 50 years of experience building and managing apartment buildings for older adults, we've learned what works best for residents and staff. With each project 2Life has undertaken, we've built on best practices in universal design and focused on adaptability while pursuing the highest standards of quality, affordability, and sustainability. Now, we're sharing what we've learned to make our experience available to others and contribute to the conversation about how buildings can best support older adults.
Created with support from the Enterprise Rose Architectural Fellowship, Design Guidelines for Aging in Community summarizes 2Life's design practice with recommendations for each type of space, architectural specifications, and a list of sample products. These recommendations are born out our decades of experience as well as recent projects in which we weighed trade-offs and discussed priorities with staff in our resident services, programs, capital projects and maintenance departments.
Download Design Guidelines
If you have questions or feedback — or if you'd like to share other age-friendly design strategies — please reach out to a member of our staff:
Press Contact: Allison Daskal Hausman
Project Contact: Zoe Weinrobe
Real Estate Development Team
Lizbeth Heyer
Chief of Real Estate & Innovation
For Lizbeth, ensuring everyone has a safe, affordable home is her life's work. She has more than 35 years of nonprofit and public sector experience in affordable housing development, planning, policy, and advocacy. Since joining us in 2014, Lizbeth has led our growth and innovation initiatives, developing and modernizing more than 1,000 subsidized apartments; launching Opus, our new middle-market...
Email Lizbeth Heyer
Lizbeth Heyer's Profile
Zoe Weinrobe
Director of Real Estate
Zoe has devoted herself to the field of affordable housing finance and development for nearly two decades. Since joining 2Life Communities in 2016, she has overseen completed development projects totaling more than $100 million, projects in development totaling over $200 million, and a number of potential prospects to realize our long-term growth strategy. Prior to 2Life, Zoe served as vice...
Email Zoe Weinrobe
Zoe Weinrobe's Profile
Rose White
Housing Finance Specialist
Creating innovative solutions at the intersection of housing and financing is Rose's forté. She brings to the task more than 20 years of experience in the field of affordable housing finance and development, with particular expertise in supportive housing. Rose supports our pipeline development efforts and has created a new financing model, without public subsidy, to provide aging in community for...
Email Rose White
Rose White's Profile
Elise Selinger
Real Estate Innovation Manager
Helping people age in community is a passion for Elise. For more than a decade, she has devoted herself to expanding affordable housing, including both new construction and renovation. Here at 2Life Communities, Elise focuses on our subsidized housing projects as well as our Opus middle market senior housing developments. For Opus, she manages strategic program development and implementation in...
Email Elise Selinger
Elise Selinger's Profile
Lisa Kozol
Real Estate Development Specialist
Community development, affordable housing, and economic development finance are central themes in Lisa's career. She has devoted herself to these complementary fields for more than 25 years. Most recently, as director of real estate finance at Anser Advisory, Lisa oversaw the completion of a $26 million YWCA in Central Massachusetts financed with state Supportive Housing sources, New Market Tax...
Email Lisa Kozol
Lisa Kozol's Profile
Ithzel Polanco-Cabadas
Real Estate Project Manager
Ensuring housing is both affordable and inclusive is a mission that has guided Ithzel throughout her career. Her experience in affordable housing began at MetroHousing Boston where she coordinated the Family Self-Sufficiency (FSS) program and the Family Economic Stability (FES) program. More recently, she worked as the inaugural inclusionary housing program manager for the City of Somerville...
Email Ithzel Polanco-Cabadas
Ithzel Polanco-Cabadas's Profile
Real Estate Committee
Rob Gifford, Co-Chair
Noah Maslan, Co-Chair
Donald Bloch
Lydia Chesnick
Howard Furman
Rob Gifford
Donna Kalikow
Bernard Kaplan
Jason Korb
Jeff Sacks
Ed Saxe
Esther Schlorholtz
Bill Shaevel
Harold Tubman
Harold Stahler
David Zaltas
To learn more, ask a question or share an idea, simply contact us.
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Brighton, MA 02135-4753
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After receiving some update packages from the fedora repository some weeks ago (sorry, do not know the exact point of time and what packages were updated) it was first not possible anymore to print.
After trying to reconfigure the printer using hp-setup, even this fails with the error message "
/error:  Printer queue setup failed.  Please restart CUPS and try again.
error:  Fax queue setup failed.  Please restart CUPS and try again.
I have to set up the print queue the "standard" way using 'system-config-printer'. However, this does not set up my scanner and fax.
This bug/incompatibility is really annoying as the printer/scanner/fax usage with F12 was smoother than even with Window$. Everything was set up and configured perfectly for my needs.
Should work as before bug occured. hp-setup should run without problems and set up all queues/configurations as expected.
> was first not possible anymore to print.
Can you can use "yum history list" and "yum history info $ID" to find out?  I very much expect it was the first update to hplip-3.10.2 that caused printing to stop.  This (being able to print to hpcups queues) should already be fixed in hplip-3.10.2-4.fc12.
> 'system-config-printer'. However, this does not set up my scanner and fax.
> configured perfectly for my needs.
It is meant to be able to set up fax queues for HPLIP, so something's wrong there.
Yes.  For the hp-setup crash, please follow bug #584492.
I'm going to treat *this* bug report as: system-config-printer does not set up fax queues.
Please find attached the requested yum history information.
reg. 1.: What information exactly do you need?
As I am not very experienced with printer setup I am not sure what you are aiming for.
In my opinion the primary goal - from my end user point of view - should be to have 'hp-setup' running again as it did before as this was the easiest and most comfortable way of printing/faxing/scanning.
> reg. 1.: What information exactly do you need?
> comfortable way of printing/faxing/scanning.
That's great for users with HP printers.  The system-config-printer utility has a wider-reaching goal, of working for all users.
As I mentioned, I know that hp-setup is not working correctly at the moment, and this is being tracked in a separate bug report.
*This* bug report, however, is following up on your comment that system-config-printer does not create fax queues.  It is intended to create fax queues, so if that is not working for you I'd like to understand why that is.
Please find attached requested debug information with printer set up using "system-config-printer" before (incl. printing test page).
Please find attached requested debug information with printer NOT set up before test.


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Fall. Wolf River x Niedzwetzkyana. NY Stn, 1938.
One of the best and largest of the red-fleshed apples. Although usually considered way too tart for eating out of hand, the medium-large fruit with opaque solid rusty-red skin is absolutely great in pies, makes wonderful jelly, and turns sauce and cider red. We love this apple.
Flesh is two-toned: deep pink fading to white around the core. The flowers are also two-toned, deep pink, tipped with small white lightning bolts. And the bronze-red foliage adds further interest all season. Bears young, annually, and shows some insect resistance in our trials.


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What is the URL for my replicated website?


LuvFree.com is a 100% free online dating and personal ads site. There are a lot of Mount Olive singles searching romance, friendship, fun and more dates. Join our Mount Olive dating site, view free personal ads of single people and talk with them in chat rooms in a real time. Seeking and finding love isn't hard with our Mount Olive personals.
I enjoy traveling to new places. I enjoy hanging g out with friends and family. I enjoy sightseeing. I am friendly and enjoyable to be around. I love animals.


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article 1 May, 2014
May the fourth be with you: may the hope conquer the hype
Star Wars Day (May the 4th) has come a bit early this year as the rumours have been laid to rest about the cast of the latest Star Wars film. For those of you who have somehow missed the onslaught of news, the long talked about Episode VII cast has been revealed. It will feature several familiar faces from the original trilogy: Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher and even Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) to name a few. Directed by JJ Abrams, who was responsible for the 'reboot' of the Star Trek series, the latest instalment will be set 30 years after Return of the Jedi (the third of the original trilogy).
As filming starts in the UK at Pinewood studios in the coming weeks, we'll no doubt be hearing a huge amount of speculation combined with the facts about the story, who's playing who and what we can expect from the latest episode. If the in-depth analysis of the positions of the stars in the official cast photo is anything to go by, the rumours and theories should keep the bookmaking industry in the black until the film's released in December next year! I will admit that I am a fan of the original trilogy and can hold my own in a pub quiz based on my knowledge of the films*, but I am still in awe of the amount of hype — and hope — that the latest film has inspired.
Nostalgia is a powerful thing, so for my generation the promise of a reunion of the original cast brings back memories – and excitement — of where and when we saw the original films and a hope that the new Episode VII will renew that magic. But is nostalgia (and a new director) powerful enough to erase the fact that Yoda is now starring in Vodafone ads and that the more recent trilogy failed to engage a whole new generation of fans as they'd hoped? Without wishing to be a pessimist, the nagging voice in the back of my mind keeps comparing the media response and speculation around the latest film to the coverage before every Wimbledon during Tim Henman's career – one of heighted and over-inflated expectations.
Nearly 40 years have passed since the original Star Wars: A New Hope hit the silver screens and times have changed. Happily, though, this fact not lost on the producers and promoters. Motion capture expert Andy Serkis (Lord of the Rings) has been named alongside our favourite Rebel Alliance cast members, so the film's special effects are clearly being taken seriously – that elusive sense of magic may yet shine through.
Whatever the case, there will be A LOT of noise in the run up to the film. Star Wars fans have long been purveyors of blogs (I am awaiting the inevitable appearance of 'Jedi News' on Have I Got News for You) and other social media channels, so there will be no shortage of opinions being thrown around. Episode VII's Facebook page already has 44,276 'likes'. Small by comparison, its corresponding @OfficialWars Twitter handle only has 3,552 followers so far. I will watch with interest to see how the story unfolds and keep my fingers crossed (and pessimism at bay) that hope will prevail in spite of the hype!
*Han definitely shot first!
"Next slide please." How data will shape the post-pandemic news agenda
How 'slow news' has emerged in a fast-changing media landscape
Fourth Day turns 18


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Today's the Day: Let's Save Net Neutrality
Call To Action by Elliot Harmon
You might have noticed something unusual when you visited the EFF website today: our site was "blocked" unless you shelled out for "premium" Internet access.
As part of the day of action to support net neutrality, we decided to imagine what might happen if FCC Chairman Ajit Pai caves to industry pressure and abandons the net neutrality rules the FCC adopted just two years ago. If you don't want to live in that future, it's time to take action.
speak up for net neutrality
To make it easy for Team Internet to do just that, we've created a special site called DearFCC.org where we'll help you write your own comment to the agency. We'll offer some suggestions to get you started, but you can say whatever you like. What's most important is that the FCC hears from you.
The fight over net neutrality isn't just about consumer protection: it's about your freedom of speech.
Some large ISPs say they support net neutrality, but that they just want the FCC to go enforce it under a different legal provision, or have Congress pass a specific net neutrality law. But this is just a trick—they already know that if the FCC goes back to classifying broadband as an information service, its net neutrality rules will fail (just like they did last time). They also know that Congress isn't likely to pass a real net neutrality statute anytime soon, if ever, given the millions that telecom giants have invested in making sure they get to write any regulation of their industry.
Make no mistake: if we want to FCC to do its part to protect a free and open Internet—where Internet service providers don't discriminate between different types of content or communications—we can't let the agency go forward with its plan to abandon Title II (the legal foundation for today's net neutrality rules). Competition between ISPs won't guarantee net neutrality, especially when most of the country has only one option for broadband Internet access.
The fight over net neutrality isn't just about consumer protection, though: it's about your freedom of speech. What makes the Internet great is that anyone can use it to get their voice heard. Your message, your idea, or your story can reach millions of people, just as many people as large broadcasting companies can reach. If big ISPs win this fight, the next iteration of the Internet might look something more like cable TV, where providers have a great deal of influence over which messages their members hear—and they can deprioritize or even flat-out block content they don't like.
If you love the Internet the way it is, then speak out now.
Deeplinks Blog by Christoph Schmon, Karen Gullo | January 15, 2020
Rights Groups to European Commission: Prioritize Users' Rights, Get Public Input For Article 17 Application Guidelines
The implementation of Art 17 (formerly Article 13) into national laws will have a profound effect on what users can say and share online. The controversial rule, part of the EU's copyright directive approved last year, turns tech companies and online services operators into copyright police. Platforms are liable...
Deeplinks Blog by Rebecca Jeschke | January 14, 2020
Strange Bedfellows: EFF Sides with PTO in Trademark Battle Over 'Booking.com'
EFF often criticizes the Patent and Trademark Office (PTO) for granting bad patents, but a case in the Supreme Court has us on the same side. On Monday, EFF filed an amicus brief asking the court to reject trademark protection for "Booking.com," pointing out that other travel companies...
EFF Asks Supreme Court To Reverse Dangerous Rulings About API Copyrightability and Fair Use
Washington D.C.—The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) today asked the U.S. Supreme Court to rule that functional aspects of Oracle's Java programming language are not copyrightable, and even if they were, employing them to create new computer code falls under fair use protections.The court is reviewing a long-running lawsuit...
Dodging Bullets on the Path to a Decentralized Future: 2019 in Review
The Internet's decentralized nature has historically been its greatest super-power, granting it the ability to shrug off censors and spies and redistribute power away from corruptible gatekeepers out to the creators and innovators on its edges. But it's only been in the last few years that the Net's own corporate...
Deeplinks Blog by Katharine Trendacosta | December 22, 2019
Yet Another Year of Fighting a Bad Copyright Bill: 2019 Year in Review
There is certainly more than enough room in this world for new copyright laws that would improve the lives of artists and their audiences. And then there's the Copyright Alternatives in Small-Claims Enforcement Act (CASE Act), a proposal which doesn't help the artists it claims to be for and would...
Deeplinks Blog by Katharine Trendacosta, Ernesto Falcon | December 21, 2019
The Year We Fought to Get Net Neutrality Back: 2019 Year in Review
Ever since the FCC repealed net neutrality protections in 2017, we've been fighting to return as many protections to as many Americans as possible. In 2019, the battles in the courts and Congress both kept those committed to a free and open Internet very busy. Mozilla v. FCC Takes Center...
Deeplinks Blog by Elliot Harmon | November 22, 2019
Nonprofit Community Stands Together to Protect .ORG
EFF and 26 other organizations just sent a letter to the Internet Society (ISOC) urging it to stop the sale of the Public Interest Registry (PIR)—the organization that manages the .ORG top-level domain—to private equity firm Ethos Capital. Our message is clear: .ORG is extremely important to the non-governmental...
Deeplinks Blog by Michael Barclay, Katharine Trendacosta | November 20, 2019
Finally, the Supreme Court Agrees to Review the Federal Circuit's Dangerous Decisions in Oracle v. Google
Good news! The U.S. Supreme Court has finally agreed to review the Federal Circuit's dangerous decisions in the long-running case of Oracle v. Google. The Supreme Court now has an opportunity to reverse the damage done by the Federal Circuit. The Court can explain why copyrighting Application Programming...


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Some French red wine values to ward off the chill
The fall chill in the evening air has turned our attention from the crisp whites and light-bodied reds we've been shopping lately to richer red wines from the most reliable sources of great value: Southern France, Spain and South America.
We've noted before that one of the best importers of such wines is local, Fran Kysela of Kysela Pere et Fils, Ltd out of Winchester, VA, whose wines are sprinkled all over our Top 5 Value Wines lists. A perennial favorite among our Top 5 French Red Wine Values is a Kysela wine from the Castelmaure cooperative in Corbières, a district within the larger Languedoc region that produces an ocean of both red and white wine values. Both the $9 Castelmaure Col des Vents Corbières, and its richer, pricier big brother Castelmaure Grand Cuvèe at $15 a bottle, are great values.
We tasted (and bought) an even pricier Castelmaure bottle, the 2008 Pompadour, for $17 at The Bottle Shop in Rockville last week that underscored out enthusiasm both for the Castelmaure co-op and the wines of Corbières. The region was only granted status as its own distinct winemaking district – known as an AOC, short for "appellation d'origine controlee" under French wine regulations – in 1985.
"Powerful aromas of red fruits and blackberry, spices and garrigue," is how the February issue of Wine Enthusiast magazine described the 2008 Pompadour, awarding it 91 points. "Round and ample in the mouth, a silky texture, ripe flavors and vanilla notes. Great length."
The Rhône-style red blend made from 50 percent carignan, 30 percent syrah and 20 percent grenache – a blend almost identical to the $9 Col des Vents – is a bit expensive for everyday drinking, but especially at its more typical price of about $15 a bottle ($14.99 at Calvert Wine and Spirits in the Hunt Valley Towne Centre, for example), it's a worthwhile splurge.
The $15 Castelmaure Grand Cuvèe, also a worthy splurge, was among the half dozen Langeudoc wines featured in an August tasting conducted in honor of the 99th Tour de France – which had two of its stages end and begin on the outskirts of the Langeudoc region. The "virtual tasting," sponsored by the French trade group Conseil Interprofessionnel des Vins du Languedoc (CIVL), featured several outstanding reds from Corbières, including the new 2010 vintage of a red we recommended in both the 2005 vintage and again earlier this year when the 2008 was part of a LivingSocial six-bottle deal.
As we noted in February, Domaine Sainte-Eugenie Corbieres Rouge nearly made the cut for our Top 5 French Red Wine Values list, but didn't quite have the necessary track record of solid reviews from the critics in consecutive vintages. Our sampling of the 2010s for both the regular Corbieres Rouge ($9 a bottle at Montgomery County Liquor stores) and the slightly more expensive La Réserve ($13) gave every indication that it's just a matter of time before Domaine Sainte-Eugenie demonstrates the type of consistency we look for in a Top 5 Value.
"This crisp red features red berry and cherry flavors that are accented by slate notes," wrote Kim Marcus of Wine Spectator, awarding the Domaine Sainte-Eugenie Corbières 85 points. "White pepper accents mark the finish."
"Rich and muscular, with graphite and spice notes to the dried red fruit flavors," is his description of the 89-point Corbières La Réserve 2010. "Well-sculpted, with dark chocolate on the long, cream- and jam-filled finish."
Marcus liked the La Réserve at $18 a bottle, but it's just $12.99 at MacArthur Beverages in the District and just $13.05 a bottle in Montgomery County. When we tasted these rich reds in August, it didn't seem the right time of year to recommend them, in midst of one of the hottest summers on record in and around Washington. (We did taste one white as part of the "Tour de Languedoc" – the newest vintage of a perpetual favorite, Picpoul de Pinet Cave de Pomerols, which tops our Top 5 French White Wine Values list. But its crisp refreshingness just didn't seem newsworthy.)
Now is a good time to start squirrelling away a few bottles of these tasty and affordable wines from Corbières for the Autumn chill that is beginning to show up this time of year.
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Organisational culture key to whistleblower wellbeing
Professor A J Brown, Project Leader, Centre for Governance & Public Policy, Griffith University
Presenting at the inaugural Whistleblowing, new rules, new policies, new vision conference, Professor A J Brown delivered new research highlighting the importance of organisational culture and risk management assessments on the wellbeing of whistleblowers.
Last month I had the pleasure of presenting our latest research on whistleblowing - Whistling while they work 2 - at our inaugural national Whistleblowing Conference. Here, I share some of our key findings.
Whistleblowing is widely recognised as important for organisations. It drives positive organisational reform and change. Yet, there is a significant contrast between this recognition and the continuing poor outcomes for those reporting corruption and misconduct. Furthermore, the proportion of public sector whistleblowers experiencing mistreatment appears to have changed little in the decade since the first Whistling while they work research. In our latest study, those who reported wrongdoing said they were treated badly by managers and/or colleagues in 41 per cent of cases, and experienced some form of negative repercussions in 81 per cent.
For this study, we examined the performance of whistleblowing processes in 46 organisations using the experience of 17,778 individuals. Although we included large and small public sector, private and not-for-profit organisations in the study, we found - perhaps surprisingly - the sector had little bearing on the dynamics of whistleblowing.
As the importance of whistleblowing is recognised by more organisations, more policies and procedures are being put in place. Importantly though, we found limited evidence of the presence or absence of official policies and procedures, alone, affecting outcomes for reporters.
Instead, we confirmed that a supportive organisational culture has the biggest influence on treatment. As supervising managers are often the first point for employee disclosure, their role in determining what happened was pivotal. We now have compelling evidence that where managers support whistleblowers, repercussions fall. As one would expect, this is especially true if it occurs in organisations with more positive ethical culture, but also across the board.
How do they do it? We found concrete evidence that where assessment of the risks of detrimental outcomes are made, and acted on, negative repercussions again tumble. This is a huge opportunity for organisations - less than 10 per cent of wrongdoing reporters said any risk assessment took place. But where it did, it was the trigger for massively different outcomes. Steps were taken to then proactively manage problems in a high proportion of cases. Most of all, when risks were assessed early, reporters ultimately perceived that they were treated better, and the overall quantity of negative repercussions dropped by half.
We now finally have more concrete evidence that instilling good organisational culture around reporting wrongdoing and enforcing practices that better protect employees, through early risk assessment and support, make a genuine difference. Whistleblowing comes with many challenges, but the organisations that confront these head on stand to be rewarded - not only by increased levels of reporting, but the knowledge that they are looking after their employees' welfare and properly respecting their trust.
This work is part of the collaborative research project Whistling While They Work 2: Improving managerial responses to whistleblowing in the public and private sector organisations, funded by the Australian Research Council and 23 partners and supporters, including IBAC.


You are here: Home / EARLY CHINA IMPORTS / 1898 ARTICLE – NY Paper reports of the new fad in London of owning Chow dogs.
1898 ARTICLE – NY Paper reports of the new fad in London of owning Chow dogs.
I am heading up this very early newspaper article from our breed history with another outstanding find in my personal archives. It depicts just 3 years after the article, a chow dog being "catered" to in the famous Kensington Gardens of London. It sets into perspective how quickly this Chow fad took hold in all parts of England ,from the late 1890's onward. You will find some incredible tidbits about the smooth coat variety and where they may have originated from. My jaw hit the floor when I researched the Tonkin area of China . In our travels to Hanoi Vietnam and Kunming China ( both in close proximity to the Gulf of Tonkin) I took many photos of what looked like smooth chows with black tongues , straighter rears and very chow features. More on that later!!


Located in the Red Hook Houses, this farm provides free produce to the tenants and employees of Brooklyn's largest public housing project.
I tried, but it was already closed. I think there's a logical flaw in those instructions.
Fitted with a perforated cap that allows about 25 gallons of water per minute to spray into the street, this fire hydrant serves as a neighborhood sprinkler in which children and other young-at-heart hydrophiles can cool off and frolic. Even though the fire department provides these spray caps for free, many young New Yorkers prefer to illegally crack open their local hydrants, setting them on full blast. An unthrottled hydrant (like this one) can release upwards of 1000 gallons of water per minute, noticeably reducing water pressure in the area and lowering the flow into the hoses of any firefighters who may be trying to put out a nearby blaze.
To deal with the prevalence of these illegal street geysers during the summer months, the Department of Environmental Protection sends out teams of professional killjoys: those unfortunate workers assigned to hydrant duty, whose job it is to go around and turn off all the open fireplugs, trampling the sweet, naïve joy of countless youngsters who just want to enjoy a nice shpritz, and incurring the wrath of heat-crazed, projectile-equipped onlookers.
The Brooklyn College Summer Archaeological Field School, under the guidance of Professor H. Arthur Bankoff, will be working this site on a regular basis. Dr. Bankoff is the head of the Anthropolgy Department at Brooklyn College, and is recognized as a leader in his field of archaeology.
With the property owner's consent, they will be carefully searching the site for any evidence which may connect these grounds to the village of Red Hook and its Revolutionary War heritage.
We request all persons to treat this property with the respect it deserves during and after this archaelogical mission.
Contact RedHookHistory@aol.com for any information.
Who says you can't auto-tune a Hasid?


One of my favorite things to do in the morning is stand on my back deck with a hot cup of coffee. I love the feel of the heat of the day coming in.. first cool, but you can feel it in the air…. a warmness of things to come.
I am saddened this morning to admit that it feels like my hazy days of summer are a distant memory for 2011.
This mornings trip outside to the deck, coffee cup in hand… was a brief one. The air is crisp, the fog rolling over the lawn adds an unwelcome dampness to my skin that did not give me a "yay fall!" feeling all over.
I know some of you have had a HOT HOT summer, Ryan, Laurel, Amanda, to name a few. We had a couple weeks of that, but not enough. I am sooooo not ready for what feels like it will be an early winter.
Tonight a group of my friends are meeting at Cindy's house for our annual campfire. We will be grilling burgers, probably eating some unhealthy sweets, and catching up. I look forward to the "friend time" and the warmth of the fire.
Morning Meanderings… HELP! I Need A Book For A Project!
I try not to but I really love when seasons change…I yearn to eat soupy food in chilly weather…I love holding that hot cup of coffee in my chilly little hands…and that first smell of pumpkin spice…I am overwhelmed with joy!!!
I love fall! I know I've mentioned this a few hundred times…LOL. And you know why I do, since you've acknowledged me and some others (thanks!) with hot weather this summer (and every summer!).
But, to be fair, this summer was a lot better than some. The summer of 2006 here had the temperatures as high as 115 (and ranging between 113-115 for a week!). I skedaddled to the coast!
But I don't like freezing weather, either. I guess I should live in one of those places with "moderate" temperatures.
Enjoy your evening by the fire!
I hate being cold Laurel 😀 Glad the weather wasn't too bad to you this year!
Funny that Patty mentioned pumpkin spice since I was craving a cup of pumpkin spice coffee this morning. It is a fall favorite of mine. It has been so stinking hot and humid this summer and now the ragweed is in full swing so I am ready for a good frost myself. Although in January I will be wishing for heat and humidity! I guess I need to move back to the San Diego area. Near perfect weather year round! And no ragweed!
Mmmmm…. Pumpkin Spice coffee sounds delicious!
I'm not ready for fall either, and we've had a dog of a summer. Tropical Storm Lee has dumped lots of rain on us and cooler temps. But, Noooooooooo. I want summer to last. I'm looking forward to reading your review later today.
I know you so dislike cool weather, but I'm thrilled by our temps in the 70s and actually bummed by the ever-rising weekend forecast temps (89° one day, now?!?!).
Sounds like you have a good view Barbara!
We've had a cool summer up until now. It looks like our hottest temperatures are going to be in September this year. We've been in the 90s all week, and we've got heat warnings for this weekend (high 90s). It's just so odd for Oregon in September.
We had the hottest summer on record here and I'm still not ready for the cool weather.
OOH I would take them Amanda!
We had the super hot weeks too and now we are dealing with flooding and closed roads and school cancelations. I usually love fall, but I am so ready for these storms to be gone. That said, summer could go on for another month or two and I'd still love it, just not all the rain.
Ugh so sorry about the weather Jill… sounds like a tough time! Hang in there!
I am not ready for Fall, either! We had a pretty nice, warm August, but that's about it. Thankfully it looks like the sun's still going to stick around for another week or so. But then it's back rain, rain, and more rain.
Sorry, but I'm so ready for winter. I don't even care if fall only lasts a week or two. I've even had a few dreams about snow, so I think I'm ready.
I am never ready for fall, or for that matter, winter. Let's see… My flowers, veggies and herbs die, it gets cold, my allergies kick in, it gets dark too early, the birds fly south, and did I mention brrrrrrrrr. So yeah, I'm a summer gal. Today's newspaper said there's a good chance for a warm fall in the Midwest, so I'm going to believe them.
Moving title, "The Knife That Never Lets God." Can't imagine…..