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2017: Tamed Rules and Reinvigorated Practices
December 2017 BY: STEVEN MORELLI, SUSAN RUPE
Beware of the DOL Rule
The biggest problem with 2017 is that people have been too darn happy.
That is what Erin Botsford sees as she surveys the year. Her observation might strike some as odd because Americans seem to be anything but sedate and satisfied these days.
Botsford is a financial advisor for mostly high-end clients in her 20-person practice, Botsford Financial Group, based in Dallas and Atlanta. Her problem is recruiting more clients because everybody is doing well in the stock market.
"Getting them to change from whatever they're doing to come with me has been a challenge," said Botsford, whose firm has more than $700 million under management. "Mostly because everybody's sort of fat, dumb and happy at this point."
Such is the environment at the end of 2017. Amid the noise and angry division between Americans, things aren't too bad for insurance and financial advisors.
The (rational?) exuberance of the stock market is lifting all boats in investment. But in the world of annuities, the bigger impact might have been the election of President Donald J. Trump and the loosening of what many felt was the noose of the Department of Labor's fiduciary rule.
Before the election last year, agents and insurance distributors were facing a lockout from selling annuities with money from individual retirement accounts. The rule required the signature of a financial institution for a fixed indexed or variable annuity sale with IRA money. Insurance agents and distributors, such as independent marketing organizations, were not considered financial institutions.
But that rule turned out to radiate far beyond IRA rollovers. An agent talking to a client with an IRA could be considered offering advice on the retirement funds, even if the IRA money was not disturbed.
Lawyers also sounded alarm bells over agents and advisors applying two standards in selling annuities, even potentially with the same client. That perception of offering less protection could be subject to a plaintiff attorney's withering questions in front of a jury.
The required documentation also rankled many in the industry. But perhaps the most galling for many was the sense that insurance agents and financial brokers were just not to be trusted.
Botsford, as a registered investment advisor, would not have been affected by the DOL rule but bristled at what she called the department's overreach.
So, she was happy to see Trump's election along with his push for deregulation, particularly against the fiduciary rule.
Trump ordered the DOL to reassess the rule under different metrics, with an eye toward changing the regulation if it did not meet the new standards. To do this, freshly confirmed DOL secretary Alexander Acosta pushed most of the rule's implementation to July 2019.
Not all of Botsford's fellow advisors rejoiced at the news. Many fee-only advisors supported the Obama administration's regulation, although Botsford said the rule was a blunt instrument for the specific aim of ensuring that advisors acted in clients' best interests. She said the goal was laudable but the rule was not.
Brighter Quarter
Insurance and financial company executives breathed a sigh of relief when they reported third-quarter earnings that largely exceeded expectations. It was the first full quarter since the delay was announced and since the June implementation of a small part of the rule.
"I think this pause plus the distance from June 9 is beginning to ease the impact of the DOL from a sales standpoint," said Dennis R. Glass, CEO of Lincoln Financial, during a quarterly conference call.
Glass and other executives said distributors such as IMOs were able to look away from the impending rule and back toward selling. In the first two quarters, things in the annuity world were not looking so rosy.
Early in the year, it was looking like total annuity sales might have their first down year since 2012. In the first half, fixed annuities dropped 11 percent year over year and variable annuities lost 8 percent, for an overall decrease of 10 percent, according to LIMRA.
Although analysts were pleasantly surprised by the third quarter's earnings, the effect on the industry as a whole was not yet known at press time.
But LIMRA was encouraged enough to revise its initially dour forecast for 2018. The association was projecting a 5 percent drop in annuity sales next year, but reversed that after the rule delay. LIMRA is now predicting a 5 percent increase.
In contrast, life insurance did fairly well in 2017's first half. Annualized premium and face amounts were up 4 percent year over year, although the number of policies dropped 3 percent. That dichotomy between the up premium and down policy count is a continuation of the industry's trend of selling up-market — bigger cases for fewer people.
Part of the life insurance uptick had to do with a migration of business to indexed universal life from fixed indexed annuities, which faced significant pressure under the DOL rule.
Simpler Products
Companies also indicated that they won't be pulling away from commission-based products to the extent that they had planned. But many said they will continue developing fee-based annuities that were designed in response to the DOL's rule, particularly the regulation's best interest contract exemption requirements.
Botsford said that was a good outcome of the rule. Her practice has about $350 million in variable annuities on the books, but it is mostly "legacy." She is looking more toward newer, simplified fixed indexed annuities these days because they have fewer fees than VAs.
Another advisor, Clifford Ryan of South Portland, Maine, also doesn't like the DOL rule, but does appreciate its impact on products. He is a registered investment advisor focusing on retirement-age clients in his practice, Elder Planning Advisors of Maine, with $51 million under management.
Annuities are attractive for their guaranteed income for life, Ryan said, but the fees and restrictions are usually not so pretty. He became interested in VAs when some were shorn of commissions and other restrictions starting in 2008.
"The clients and public are looking for that kind of stuff," Ryan said. "There are several VAs that can be transacted and managed by investment advisors where they really stripped away all the commissions. No surrenders, no penalties, no holding period and a very, very low cost of doing business."
Now a few new FIAs offered this year by companies such as Lincoln Financial and Athene really caught his attention.
"Once they dropped the service fees and commissions, they could take a commissionable product with a 14-year surrender charge and bring that to five years," Ryan said. "And because they're not taking money out on a regular basis to pay service fees, the caps are going from 2 percent up to 5 percent."
Ryan considers the annuity as AUM but charges a lower fee than other assets. His three-person agency usually charges 1 percent, but some hit a breakpoint where the fee drops to .25 percent overall. If clients have not hit the breakpoint, he will charge about a half percent.
"The products are becoming more viable," Ryan said.
That is exactly what Robert Kerzner wants to hear. As CEO of LIMRA, he has been preaching for fundamental shifts in the insurance industry. He has been encouraged by the new products and hopes they can chip away at the icy reception that annuities have been getting in the financial advisor world.
"They've never become a fundamental asset class and that's part of the issue," Kerzner said. "Those in the RIA community have avoided them because of all the bad press — real or imagined — but also because of the fee structure."
Not only is it important for the industry but also for the growing number of Americans retiring without a secure future. Kerzner said annuities need to catch on as a viable option in financial advisors' tool box and as a new rule of thumb.
"We need to get that community thinking about annuities, especially as we move to the income phase," Kerzner said about annuities as an asset class. "I specify that because you know advisors allocate by formula. And if we start saying and people start believing that 20 percent of your total ought to be in guaranteed income, then I think it starts to catch on. But it's got to be a fundamental change."
Merging and Acquiring
Botsford found another welcome consequence of the DOL rule. It pushed her to rethink her agency's business and she subsequently merged with two others to expand her services. She was one of many in the industry looking to diversify their practices and take advantage of economies of scale as regulators demand more processes and documentation.
The merger helped her develop a program to place new financial school graduates on a career track. She noticed that younger financial advisors may be excellent at the planning aspect of the business, but not so much on the business development.
"We're creating more of an institutional situation," she said. "It's kind of like a law firm. You come in and you are an associate and then you can move up and become a partner. They don't have to excel in prospecting. They don't have to go out on their own and sink or swim."
The program helps grow Botsford's practice, but it also addresses the insurance and financial industries' long-standing problem of high attrition rates among young advisors.
The recruiting effort fortifies the infantry in the battle against another trend of companies turning to automation in response to a declining advisor force. But Botsford is not too worried about the automation trend.
"In my humble opinion, I think all of that's going to work out just great until the next market crash," Botsford said. "Then I think robo-advisors are going the way of the dodo bird. Everything's fine as long as the market's going up."
DOL Rule Takes A Stumbling Journey Through 2017
BY: JOHN HILTON
The political winds shifted abruptly during the early morning hours of Nov. 9, 2016, when Donald J. Trump declared victory over Hillary Clinton.
In the world of financial services, the winds of change were very positive throughout 2017. Barack Obama-led regulations were reversed, or stymied, and Trump appointees worked tirelessly to enact a broad, pro-business agenda.
By far, the controversial Department of Labor fiduciary rule was, and remains, the biggest item on the minds of distributers and producers. The fiduciary rule began taking effect June 9 with the impartial conduct standards requiring advisors and agents to act as fiduciaries, make no misleading statements and accept only "reasonable" compensation.
Phase two of the rule is expected to be delayed until July 1, 2019.
Phase two deals with exemptions that regulate the sale of annuities sold with retirement funds — in particular, the Best Interest Contract Exemption, which requires a financial institution to accept liability for each contract and gives clients the right to sue over investment advice.
While the fiduciary rule timeline seems somewhat normal on paper, in reality it has been anything but, said Andrea McGrew, chief compliance officer for USA Financial, based in Ada, Mich.
"Because the political climate is so divisive right now, I feel like nothing is really going the way it would go with a president who has full support," she said. "It's brought more of a Wild West feel to this process than would have ordinarily been there."
Stutter Steps
USA Financial is a broad-based financial services firm with a broker-dealer and a registered investment advisor force. Like many competitors, the company struggled with its response to the ever-changing fiduciary rule, McGrew said.
"There were lots and lots of rabbit holes that this rule went down, with unintended consequences," she said.
The cost of complying with the fiduciary regulation is pegged at $2 billion to $3 billion by the DOL. But the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, a Wall Street trade group, said its studies put the number at closer to $4.7 billion.
USA Financial certainly saw expenditures rise, McGrew said.
"It was an expensive year," she said. "We put a lot of money into technology. We put a lot of money into procedures — a lot of manpower and time."
The DOL rule is creating problems that financial services are already dealing with, executives say. The most obvious, and predicted from the start, is the potential declining access to financial advice to smaller accounts.
USA Financial is not dropping accounts, but other firms are, according to an Insured Retirement Institute comment letter to the DOL.
"In a July 2017 survey of IRI members, a number of IRI distributor members reported that approximately 155,000 of their clients have already been orphaned, with far more accounts expected to be impacted as implementation of the rule proceeds," according to the comment.
The awkward delineation of qualified and nonqualified accounts continues to be an issue. Of course, DOL can only regulate qualified money, per the Employee Retirement Investment Security Act of 1974.
Still, it is an issue, McGrew said.
"This bifurcated standard that we have, or could potentially have, is really, really clunky, especially for a firm like ours, where we work in both spaces — qualified and nonqualified," she explained. "It makes it really, really difficult because how are you going to say to a nonqualified account 'Well, we treat your assets differently?'"
Once the rule is fully in place, USA Financial will treat all accounts the same, McGrew said.
More Cooks in the Kitchen
While the Trump victory was a clear sign to financial services that the DOL rule was not going to survive, the road to change was a bumpy one that left many firms in an uncomfortable limbo.
Problems came quickly after inauguration. Trump's nominee for secretary of labor, Andrew Puzder, twisted in the wind for weeks while damaging personal information leaked.
By the time it was revealed that Puzder had once employed an undocumented housekeeper and he withdrew his nomination, valuable weeks were lost. Alexander Acosta was quickly nominated and confirmed, but it was already late April.
"The amount of indecision and/or ambiguity around the rule was exacerbated by the lack of leadership at the DOL for a while," said Brendan McGarry, an attorney specializing in financial services issues for Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck. "Industry participants were left waiting for specific guidance."
While Trump delayed the fiduciary rule implementation for 60 days until June 9, Acosta said he could find no legal basis to prevent the impartial conduct standards from taking effect.
From there, he zeroed in on delaying the second phase of the rule.
In the meantime, the delay created a void that state regulators and the Securities and Exchange Commission rushed to fill.
Several states are pursuing fiduciary style regulations, with Nevada being the first to put such a law on the books. This push makes financial services execs nervous.
"From my perspective, as a compliance officer, it is really challenging when you work in virtually every single state to then have to maintain, review and comply with 50 different standards," McGrew said.
SEC efforts, on the other hand, are welcomed by an industry that sees better potential for a consistent and workable standard. Chairman Jay Clayton has refused to put a timetable on when the agency might complete its fiduciary standard.
It all contributed to a big year of uncertainty swirling around the fiduciary rule. And that doesn't appear to be changing anytime soon.
"We're in a holding pattern. We're just waiting to see," McGrew said. "We put in place procedures and processes in order to make sure that we're complying with the current state of the rule."
In Attempts To Kill ACA, Obamacare Becomes Trumpcare
BY: SUSAN RUPE
President Donald Trump promised to "immediately repeal and replace" the Affordable Care Act on Day One of his presidency in January. But nearly a year later, the ACA is still law.
The Washington swamp-drainers' battle cry of "repeal and replace" turned to "maybe next year" as 2017 came to a close.
So far, the only changes made to the Affordable Care Act in 2017 were changes that came through executive order, as Congress was unable to get enough votes to pass a bill that would replace the law. House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., said in late October that his fellow Republicans won't make another attempt to tackle health care reform until 2018.
But although Congress was not able to get rid of the ACA, President Donald Trump used the pen of executive order to chip away at parts of it. Trump's executive orders weakened the ACA by:
Pulling funding for enrollment education and outreach efforts, particularly for the health care navigator program.
Instructing federal agencies to "minimize the unwarranted economic and regulatory burdens" of the health law.
Cutting the open enrollment period to six weeks from the previous 12 weeks.
Tightening the rules that enable consumers to buy coverage outside of the open enrollment period.
Ending cost-sharing reduction (CSR) payments to insurers to offset subsidies provided to low- and moderate-income people that enabled them to buy health insurance on the exchanges.
Easing the rules that allow small businesses to band together to buy health insurance through association health plans.
Allowing employers to set aside pre-tax dollars so workers can use the money to buy an individual health policy.
Easing current restrictions on short-term policies that last less than a year.
Meanwhile, health insurance carriers as well as agents and brokers were left to sit back and wonder how to survive amid the turbulence and uncertainty.
Actually, fewer agents and brokers wondered about how to survive because evaporating commissions led to fewer of them being authorized to sell health insurance on the federal marketplace this year. Only about 43,000 health agents and brokers were certified to help consumers shop for coverage on the federal exchanges for 2018, a drop of 43 percent over last year, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) reported.
And there are fewer offerings on the federal exchanges this year than there were last year, HHS reported. A total of 132 health insurance plans were offered on the federal exchanges for 2018, down from 167 offered for 2017.
Premiums on the federal exchange took double-digit rate increases for 2018. The average premium for a benchmark silver plan rose 37 percent for next year, according to a study by Avalere Health. Average premiums also are going up by double digits for different levels of coverage, including bronze (18 percent), gold (16 percent) and platinum (24 percent).
Avalere attributed those premium hikes to market instability driven by the end of CSR payments to insurance, continued uncertainty over the future of the ACA and the executive order that could lead to lower-cost health plans outside of the law.
A See-Saw Effect
But not all consumers will feel premium hikes equally.
Low-income people in about half the counties in the U.S. will be able to get a taxpayer-subsidized policy for free on the federal exchanges, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation study. The study found that in 1,540 counties, a hypothetical 40-year-old making $25,000 a year can get a basic bronze plan under the ACA next year for zero monthly premium.
A see-saw effect is the reason. The end of CSR payments to insurers led to increased premiums, which led to more consumers being eligible for subsidies to pay for exchange coverage.
For consumers who don't qualify for subsidized coverage, premiums continue going up. In particular, families with children will see a premium spike for 2018 as a result of an Obama administration rule that allows insurers to recalculate the health risks of children within a family's premium bill. The rule allows insurance companies to assign more of a family's overall premium cost to children in individual and small-group policies, starting in 2018.
It also allows insurers to charge higher rates for teens beginning at age 15 than it allows for younger children, because teenagers typically rack up bigger medical bills. Up until now, the ACA has not allowed any difference in the amount charged for children from birth to 20.
2017 a Turning Point?
Did the ACA reach its turning point in 2017? Chris Sloan thinks so. He is senior manager focusing on individual market and ACA-related work for Avalere.
"I think right now, unless there's some legislation to stabilize the market or to repeal and replace ACA, it's pretty clear that the individual market is on a downward trajectory in terms of enrollment," Sloan said. "We are seeing lower enrollment, higher premiums, less competition. Obviously less opportunity for agents and brokers."
This year was the first that had a drop in individual enrollment, which is not a good sign, according to Sloan.
"It was the first year where we saw a substantial number of counties with limited insurer participation on the exchanges," he said. "Obviously, we have a president who took office this year and who is opposed to the ACA, and the party that controls both houses of Congress is also opposed to the ACA."
Where Do Brokers Fit In?
This year has been a bad year for brokers, Sloan said.
"The whole ACA has hastened a trend away from agents and brokers," he said. "I think what's happening now is that the individual market is increasingly becoming a market of subsidized individuals and those subsidized individuals have to purchase their coverage through the exchanges. So that hurts the opportunities for agents and brokers."
If health insurance becomes a product people don't want to buy, or find too expensive, there's a limit to how much assistance an agent or broker can provide if the price is too high, Sloan said.
"And that happened a lot in 2017 and will happen next year."
The Last Shrimp Boat
Despite what he called the "turbulence" that marked the health insurance world in 2017, Michael Z. Stahl said there's a silver lining for health insurance brokers. Stahl is an executive vice president at HealthMarkets in North Richland Hills, Texas.
"We see all this as an opportunity to be like Forrest Gump's last shrimp boat," he said. "As a lot of brokers are exiting the business, there are still going to be a similar amount of consumers who need help."
Health commissions have come down, which spells trouble for brokers who are used to selling health insurance but not building a true client relationship, Stahl said. "In that case, you're in trouble and if you haven't exited the market, you probably will."
As the government cuts the navigator program, consumers can turn to brokers as a source of help — not only in obtaining health coverage but also in obtaining other products, such as life insurance, dental or vision benefits, or critical illness or accident coverage, Stahl said.
"Within turbulence, someone still can win," he said. "There's a lot of need out there, a lot of people who need someone to help them. Why not you? And while you're doing that, why not do it in a more complete fashion? And in so doing, you will do better by your client and you will earn the income to support yourself as a professional."
It's Trumpcare Now
Although the Affordable Care Act — or Obamacare, as it is commonly known — is still in force, the law has evolved to the point where we now have "Trumpcare," Stahl said.
"We have Trumpcare in the sense that what we have now is not what we had a year ago," he said. "But it's still wet cement. It's not cured as to what it will be in the final sense."
One thing that's certain is that the consumer and the health insurance broker are entwined as the market challenges continue, Stahl said.
"When it's tougher for the consumer to afford to buy, it's tougher for the agent to make sales," he said. "When it's tougher for the carriers to make money, we see the continued pressure on agent commissions. All of that is the environment we are in today."
Steven A. Morelli is editor-in-chief for InsuranceNewsNet. He has more than 25 years of experience as a reporter and editor for newspapers, magazines and insurance periodicals. Steve may be reached at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter @INNSteveM. [email protected].
Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Follow her on Twitter @INNsusan. Contact her at [email protected].
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In another coup for efficiency, next week sees the inevitable and praiseworthy pairing of booze and baked goods at the Red Velvet Lounge.
Don't be fooled. Those little bonbons might look innocent with their little frosted tufts, but inside they're filled with whiskey, espresso, rum, brandy - and God knows what other dangers.
Says the martini to the cupcake: Haven't I seen you somewhere, baby? Hop in, the vodka's cool.
As if it could get any better, Red Velvet Lounge is the newest venture for Jason Lawrence and Cole Bernard of The Eldridge and the little dangercakes are Baked By Melissa.
Just think of them as a nice little upgrade from these.
Red Velvet Lounge, opening in New York next week. Via CityStyle.


text:
Q: Homework Question: Moments Can someone please explain this question?
My work:
If we take B to be the pivot then as B gets closer to mg the torque due to mg gets smaller, but I don't really see how this affects the force F (I can only think about how this might affect the torque by F)

A: In order the beam to stay still, you must have balanced forces and torques. So if the distance from the point that mg is acting and the reaction in point B is getting smaller , the net force (reaction) in support B is getting bigger in order to have the torques balanced.
This way the force in point A is obviously getting smaller.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


	What 3 changes await you in spring ? ~ Find out best in yours.
What 3 changes await you in spring ?
What 3 changes await you in spring ? is a funny facebook application which lets users to See What 3 changes await you in spring ? by allowing a facebook application.


SEBI's proposed alternative capital raising platform: is your start-up eligible?
SEBI issued a discussion paper on a proposed alternative capital raising platform specially catering to start-ups/"new-age" companies. This is definitely a positive step by SEBI as it potentially offers a regulatory regime where start-ups can realize better valuations like in jurisdictions such as USA or Singapore,which have a head start in terms of a more conducive regulatory framework for start-ups to raise risk capital.
Review of other regulatory requirements.
While SEBI's discussion paper has definitely caught the fancy of several start-ups, one of the queries topmost on the minds of entrepreneurs is whether their start-ups can raise capital through this proposed "alternative platform". If you happen to be one of them, you may want to take this brief test to find out the answer.
Is your company planning to raise equity capital from retail Investors?
Is your company planning to raise less than Rs. 10 Lakhs from a single investor?
Is your company planning to raise funds from less than 500 Investors?
Is your company's fund-raising target less than Rs. 50 Crores?
Do you, along with other co-founders/relatives, hold more than 25% of the paid-up share capital in the company?
Answer the above questions in a simple "YES" or "NO" (without any caveats such as "I would like to raise 50 Cr. but even Rs. 25 Cr. would meet company's present growth needs…"or We don't have any preference towards retail or institutional investors…" etc.).
Done? If you have answered any of the above questions with a "YES", then your company is NOTELIGIBLE to utilize this alternative platform to raise capital. Don't get discouraged since this is only a discussion paper and not the final guidelines!
The discussion paper is aimed to elicit responses from public and entrepreneurs should individually / collectively give their suggestions / recommendations which will go in long way in improving the regulatory framework for fund raising by start-ups.Comments/suggestions are sought in the format specified on page 9 of the discussion paper and need to be sent on or before April 20, 2015 by email to capitalraising@sebi.gov.in.
You can also email me your suggestions at rajnish.pal@foxmandal.com. I will compile them and send them to SEBI for its consideration. The second part of this write-up will focus on additional conditions/requirements that you may need to consider if your company is prima facie eligible to utilize this alternative platform.
This write-up is meant for generalinformational purposes only. It is the author's personal viewand should not beconsidered as the firm's view.


With all of the normal automotive problems that can occur at any given moment such as needing to change your motor oil or getting your brake pads changed, auto detailing can unfortunately appear as a secondary auto issue. But don't delude yourself into assuming that your paint job is a frivolous extravagance. There are several valid reasons why you need to have Xpress Recon fix the scratches and chips on your car before your vehicular issues multiply.
Chipped Paint Gets WorseWith all of the normal automotive problems that can occur at any given moment such as needing to change your motor oil or getting your brake pads changed, auto detailing can unfortunately appear as a secondary auto issue. But don't delude yourself into assuming that your paint job is a frivolous extravagance. There are several valid reasons why you need to have Xpress Recon fix the scratches and chips on your car before your vehicular issues multiply.
Once you leave paint chips and scratches unattended on your vehicle, they make your automobile much more susceptible to even further damage to your car or truck's paint job, and to your vehicle as a whole. Moisture from rain, snow and regular car washes can permeate the naked scratch marks and develop rust. The sun's heat can also beam down and bubble up the paint surrounding the chips and make it flaky and fragile.
When you enter a used car lot, are you running towards the "rust buckets," the corroded cars and the spotty paint job vehicles? Neither are the vast majority of future customers when you put your own car on the "for sale" market. By maintaining a spotless paint job on your automobile with the help of Xpress Recon auto detailing, you are investing in its resale value and the durability of its metallic parts by keeping them free of rust.
Car rust is like a disease, eating its way through your dependable vehicle, weakening every iron element in sight. Rust corrodes and weakens your car's engine, chassis, exhaust system, trunk compartment and your automobile's frame. Without Xpress Recon auto detailing, your rusty car may continue to corrode until these critical components of your vehicle are no longer useful and you will incur the preventable cost of replacing them.


Augmented Reality Children's Books That Will Engage Students | The Techie Teacher® .
What do teachers do to get books into the hands of their students?
We ALL have or had students who struggle to find a passion for reading. Teachers will do anything to get an appropriate book into the hands of their students. We give students a reading interest inventory to find out their likes and dislikes. We go to the school library and pull a collection of books to bring back to our classroom. We even head to our local libraries to bring in books from outside of the school building with the hope that our students get excited about at least one of the titles.
Why do some students detest reading?
Many reasons contribute to this question but more often than not it is because they struggle. They struggle with decoding which obviously affects comprehension. Some students can decode but have difficulty making meaning out of the text they read.
On the other side of the spectrum, you have students who are really good readers but still don't enjoy getting down with a good book. Often times these students are used to being stimulated by video games and tech based activities. What can we do about this without replacing reading with completely digital content?
Why should I make augmented reality a part of my classroom library?
With that being said, I DO think it is important for children to learn how to build their reading stamina with books alone--no technology involved.
A few years ago I was walking through the library at one of my schools and noticed the Guinness Book of World Records book that was on display. These books were MY all time favorite to read as a child. As I approached the book I noticed the 3D advertisement sticker on the front. I was THRILLED. I immediately opened my iPad, downloaded the app and called the librarian over. We spent a solid half hour flipping through the pages ooohing and ahhhing as the text literally came to life right in front of our eyes! So first up on my list are the Guinness Book of World Records Books. All books posted below are Amazon affiliate links.
Let me know if you are able to find it!
This book is appropriate for beginning readers. The main character, Ernie, wishes to be someone else throughout the book. Eventually he finds the joys of being himself. (This book reminds me a lot of Edward the Emu) Ernie's Wish attempts to makes concepts come alive like counting (pine cones drop from the tree one at a time and the voiceover asks how many they counted), colors (flowers change colors when they are touched), animation (Ernie flies off the page using a jetpack when he wished he could defy gravity), etc.
This is another book for beginning readers. It is about a little boy who refuses to go to bed because he would rather play. His parents decide to take him on a trip around the world with the hopes that he will eventually tire out. Each page is animated and the text is read aloud to the child! You can demo three of the pages for FREE by clicking HERE.
This is another great AR book for small children! This book brings the alphabet to life through print, audio and video. It reminds me a lot of the app, AR Flashcards, that Anita Goodwin blogged about HERE.
This book is ideal for any child who loves fairies (I know several girls who would be obsessed with this book😍). This one is a little different since it uses a computer's webcam instead of an app along with software that comes as a CD (no internet required). Each page spread contains three different animations.
This is a story of a knight and his friends who discover an ancient treasure map. Together the friends embark on a journey to find the most valuable treasure in the world.
This popular film is now available in a children's book and contains several 3D animations! Students will have a blast seeing their favorite characters pop out of the pages.
This is another popular film that has turned into a 3D experience! This book tells about all of the characters from both Monsters Inc. movies. It isn't a story but text appears that tells all about the furry friends.
This interactive book is super cool and full of some pretty neat features. It is about a girl named Lulu who prepares ingredients and makes magical cupcakes for her sister. The app not only makes every page come to life, but you can also personalize the book by using the custom voice-recording feature!
Believe it or not, this augmented reality book is used in hospitals nationwide for therapy and relaxation. It is a great read for winding down from the day!
Explore the wildlife and their habitats with this beautiful book! Learning truly comes alive with this nonfiction text. It also comes with a full set of interactive cards.
Students will have fun learning all about the basic functions of blood cells that will open their eyes to the microscopic world.
Students will take a journey through the solar system as they learn about the history of Moon exploration as well as many other exciting facts.
This book is the PERFECT text to use when teaching severe weather. Students will experience the severity of different kinds of storms and will feel like they are right in the action.
This book captures all of the wonders of science. Learn about atoms, elements, sound waves, gravity and so much more!
This book would be great for any geology unit as it explores issues of our planet and its origin.
Where was this book when I taught Ancient Egypt in 2nd grade? Students will enjoy 3D images, music and games as they explore the world of Egypt 5,000 years ago.
These books are great for students in grades 1st-3rd and teach them how to create origami greeting cards, ornaments, decorations and more. They can use a smartphone or tablet to scan specific pages to watch videos for each project.
I could keep going! Would any of these titles interest YOUR students?
I'm so excited that you shared this! I just learned about AR in my tech class and started using it with my students. I know my students will love using AR with books that we read!!! Thanks again for sharing!
Oh good!! Your students will be amazed :) Thanks for stopping by!
Fun!! I wil definitely check them out..thanks so much!


Throughout the last two weeks, we have been closely covering a series of popular apps on Windows 10 from across the Windows Store. While we've already visited the top productivity, security, travel, and health and fitness apps, today we turn our attention towards food and dining. What follows is a look at 5 popular food & dining apps for Windows 10.
When you're in the kitchen there is a lot to accomplish, and staying organized is one of the keys to making a delicious meal. Thankfully, with the Kitchen Tools app, you can keep your cooking and shopping organized to accomplish just that. The app includes a recipe book, unit converter, weekly menu planner, and even a shopping list for added organization.
One of the greatest struggles of being a chef (or even a mom or dad) is figuring out what to cook for the family, kids, or guests. This Universal Windows 10 app helps solve that problem by giving your recipes and recommendations based on your tastes. It features the most powerful recipe search available on a Windows 10 app (1 million + recipes!) a digital recipe box, support for personalized diets, allergies and more. The app has been featured on the Today Show, and will no doubt help you create a personal food experience.
Let's face it, not everyone is the perfect chef. If you're one of these people, then the Pizza Hut app is for you. This app is built around Pizza Hut's website, and lets you order pizza, check out your local Pizza Hut's menu, and explore daily deals. For faster checkout for the next time you're hungry, you can even add in credit card options to the app without creating a Pizza Hut account.
One of the biggest problems with dining out is that a table might not always be available at your favorite restaurant once you've left the house and arrived there. With the OpenTable app, this problem will be history. OpenTable helps you book a table at restaurants across the US, Canada, and Mexico.
The app is simple to use, and all it takes is to choose a date, time, and party size to see all the available restaurants in real time, in a list, and on a map. You can even narrow your search based off your favorite neighborhoods, types of cuisine, or the price you are willing to pay. As an added bonus, you can use the app to browse menus and reviews, and even make out of town reservations for when you're traveling away from home.
OpenTable being used to find restaurants in Queens, NYC.
Not everyone can handle (or be responsible) when faced with a cup (or more!) of an alcoholic beverage. If you're planning to make non-alcoholic beverages to go along with a dish for for folks as such, then this is the app for you. The app features over 200 alcohol-free drink recipes to choose from, and has the ability to save drinks to the favorites menu for quick access later on. You even can share, search, and record comments against certain recipes, and use a map to search for store locations.
And so, that was a look at 5 popular Food & Dining apps for Windows 10. Which of these apps do you think wil be useful in your life? Have you ever explored the other food and dining apps on the Windows Store? As always, please let us know what you think by dropping us a comment below!
Which of these apps do you admire the most?


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The exploration of vaccines has led to the near elimination of several important diseases and has a great impact on health for a relatively low cost. However, most vaccines in use today were developed by techniques that were pioneered more than 50 years ago and do not represent the full potential of the field. The introduction of genetic engineering has triggered rapid proposal in vaccine technology and is now prominent to the entry of new products in the merchandise.
Global immunization against certain diseases has led to the abolish of smallpox and has almost complete elimination of many other infectious agents including those causing diphtheria, tetanus, poliomyelitis, measles, mumps, rubella, and Haemophilus influenza type B invasive disease. However, three biggest killers—human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, tuberculosis, and malaria—have not yet been adequately concentrated by a vaccine effective enough to accomplish a similar result. In addition, some common vaccine-preventable diseases such as influenza and pertussis continue to cause significant anguishment and fatality. Current advances in vaccine technology deriving from the function of genetic engineering are now providing the liberty to target new diseases. The use of plasmid-based methods also has the capability to urge the production of reassortant vaccines.
use of adjuvants system
virosomes
oil in water emulsions
Aluminium salts
Related Conference of Advancements in vaccines and therapeutics
Advancements in vaccines and therapeutics Conference Speakers

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


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Borderlands Justice Social Justice
Migrant families sue over 'extraordinary harms' of family separation
By Vandana Ravikumar/Cronkite News
Immigrants turn themselves in to a Border Patrol agent after crossing the Rio Grande near Los Ebanos, Texas, to enter the U.S. in June. The Trump administration, which took heat for a 2018 policy of separating migrant families, has recently proposed holding families together indefinitely in detention. (Photo by Kris Grogan/Customs and Border Protection)
WASHINGTON – Five asylum-seeking families have sued the government for the "substantial and ongoing trauma" they say they suffered after being separated from one another when they crossed the border from Mexico into Arizona last year.
The lawsuit was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Phoenix on behalf of five mothers and their children, all from Guatemala, who were separated in May 2018 and kept apart for at least two months, during which the mothers had little to no communication with their children.
Although all of the families have since been reunited and now reside in the U.S., they still grapple with lingering emotional damage their attorneys say "was no incidental byproduct of the policy" of the family separation enforced by the Trump administration last year.
"It was the very point. The government sought to inflict emotional distress in order to deter parents and children from seeking asylum in this country," the suit says.
The Department of Homeland Security said it would not comment on pending litigation as a matter of policy.
The family separation policy stemmed from an April 2018 announcement by then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions, who promised that people trying to enter the U.S. illegally would be met with "the full prosecutorial powers of the Department of Justice."
After a public outcry, President Donald Trump issued an executive order in June 2018 blaming Congress for failing to fix immigration law and saying that, while the administration would enforce the law, its intention was to "maintain family unity" where possible.
But thousands of parents and children were separated in those few months, including the Guatemalan mothers and their children, who are only identified by their initials in the complaint.
All five families crossed the border in Arizona before being separated. Some were then transferred to facilities run by U.S. Customs and Border Protection or Immigration and Customs Enforcement in California, Texas, Nevada and New York.
Audit shows deep, worsening trauma for migrant children in custody
"Some of them (the mothers) were told that this would be a permanent separation – they really were left with no real idea if, or when, they would see their children again," said Mary Kenney, directing attorney of the American Immigration Council and one of the attorneys in the case. "And the children were young, and often had no idea what was happening, and were being sent to strange places with strange people, not understanding any of it."
An American Immigration Council news release on the suit said all five children continue to show signs of emotional and physical distress, even after being reunited with their mothers. It said one 7-year-old boy refuses to talk about the time he spent in a New York shelter and is reluctant to eat, while one 6-year-old girl has nightmares about her experience and "often screams out to her mother in the night seeking protection from people who might separate them again."
The lawsuit said the effects of the separation were intentional, that the "trauma suffered by asylum seekers would deter other would-be asylum seekers from seeking refuge in the United States for fear of suffering the same fate."
"Administration officials at the highest levels thus planned and implemented a policy of separating families both knowing that the policy would cause severe harm to the people it affected and specifically intending that it would cause such harm," the complaint said.
The suit noted that even after officially backing off of the family separation policy, Trump in December was tweeting that if families are not separated "FAR more people will come. Smugglers use the kids!"
While the government would not comment on the case, one immigration attorney in Tucson said he would be surprised if government lawyers tried to argue that deterrence was not a goal of the family separation policy.
"They are using child separation as a means of punishing the families and trying to send a message to others," said Mo Goldman, the Tucson attorney. "I mean, that seems to be their modus operandi here. And it's not the right way to approach this problem – there's got to be solutions that are not going to break up families and cause long-term psychological damage to children."
The suit seeks damages to help the families with the cost of therapy and other treatment for the trauma they endured, according to their attorneys.
"They deserve justice, which includes compensatory damages that will help them access resources they will need to heal from this experience," said Kate Melloy Goettel, associate director of litigation at the National Immigrant Justice Center, in the press release.
But while the migrants "absolutely want to be compensated for the harm that was inflicted on them," they also have a larger goal, said Erik Walsh of Arnold & Porter, a Washington, D.C., firm on the suit.
"Each one of them has also said that one of the main reasons they're doing this is in hopes that the United States government doesn't do this to other families," Walsh said. "They were so traumatized and horrified by what happened to them, and they view this lawsuit as a way of saying, 'This cannot happen again.'"
Vandana Ravikumar
Borderlands Reporter, Washington, D.C.
Super Bowl 57: The teams are set, and so are betting lines, ticket prices
Music, food, gambling and – oh, yeah – golf all make up the WM Phoenix Open experience


The new Toyota 86 is a performance-focused rear-wheel-drive sport coupe built to entice drivers set on tight steering, sharp acceleration, and a sense of driving fun and passion that's missing from so much of the modern automotive world. With 2.0L flat-four engine pumping 205 hp through chrome-tipped dual exhaust, The Toyota 86's performance credentials show that it's made to exhilarate, and it takes you to lofty heights.
What Goes Into the New Toyota 86?
Even through the tightest of Aurora, Oak Brook, or Joliet corners, the Toyota 86's body-strength reinforcement maintains torsional rigidity, all while the sport-tuned suspension nurtures an intimate relationship between its sport steering wheel and the road below. Wind streams over the matte-black rear wing, while rear bumper black "86" applique, black body stripes, and exclusive 17-inch alloy wheels distinguish the vehicle at standstill. And there's more here than pure muscle — with available dual-zone climate control, leather-trimmed heated front sport seats, and a 7-inch touchscreen display, the Toyota 86 offers plenty in the way of comfort and technology. As noted by Edmunds.com, "the 86 will remind you of what driving a lightweight sport coupe or sports car is all about." Contact us today to experience it firsthand.


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January 9, 2023 adminslot
The slot is a three-reel, three-pay line, machine that can be played for cash or free. Most modern machines feature multiple lines of play, which increases the odds of winning. However, they can also lead to financial ruin if you play too much. Luckily, there are a number of strategies that can help you win more money with your slots.
One of the most popular is the Hold&Spin feature. This allows players to spin the reels several times in order to create additional winning combinations. For a slot to qualify as a hold&spin, the symbols have to stay on the screen until another symbol appears. In some cases, a special symbol may also appear on the screen.
Another popular feature is the wild symbol. It is a symbol that can replace any other symbol on the reels, thereby increasing your chances of a payout. Other bonuses include a bonus round. If you are able to trigger a bonus round, you will usually be awarded a large reward.
The jackpot is a high-impact bonus that offers a big payout. It is often found in the bonus mode of the game, which may also include special scenes on the LCD screen. Depending on the slot, it may also be associated with a special music track.
Aside from the jackpot, other special bonuses can be awarded. Many of these feature sound effects. Sometimes, they are hidden within the help menu.
Pragmatic Play is a casino software developer that produces a range of video slots. These games are well designed with impressive graphics and features. Their product lineup includes more than 150 titles. Some of these titles are more traditional, while others have unique themes. They also have some hits that players love.
Pragmatic Play slots offer features that harken back to traditional arcade games. They often have fruit and other traditional symbols. Additionally, they offer a number of bonuses, including intro screens, quick spins, and sound effects.
Pragmatic's portfolio isn't as large as that of its competitors. However, it has a wide variety of slots, many of which are highly rated. While some of them lack a little uniqueness, most of them have some cool things to offer.
One of the most important bonuses is the hold&spin feature. This allows players to spin the wheels repeatedly in order to earn larger rewards. The hold&spin feature is not available in every game. Nevertheless, it can be very useful in certain instances.
Pragmatic Play has recently released a new demo slot, the Wild West Gold. It has four reels and a cowboy theme. Players can expect to experience a 97% return on their investment.
As for the jackpot, it has an RTP of 89%. That isn't too shabby. But the most impressive part of the jackpot is the fact that it has a jackpot of up to a million dollars. Since this game is high-risk, you should only play it with a considerable bankroll.
The Megaways engine is used in some of the newer Megaways titles. It is also used in adaptations of older hits.
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December-January is fire season in the Blue Mountains. But fire doesn't follow a calendar and when it arrived on a spring day last year, its very untimeliness delivered some lessons on life that Helen Hedges says she might not have otherwise learned.
Two months ago, with the memories fresh, I posted a blog on Nurse Uncut about my experiences last October 17. I wrote that my morning began with a walk with a friend on Linksview Road, Springwood. The wind was gusting as it usually does in spring. But for brief moments this pattern was broken by stronger wind surges that pooled dry leaves around us. The insect noises seemed louder.
A few hours later the bush I had walked through delivered a catastrophe that changed my attitude to how I live my life, as it no doubt did for many others. The strong wind that had sent leaves swirling around us had damaged power lines and helped spark a conflagration that ultimately destroyed 193 houses.
Back home, after my walk that day, the house was noisier than usual. Pine tree branches were slamming into the roof and windows and there was a howling noise from the garage that sounded like an angry monster. My dog refused to go outside even for a drink of water.
My husband and I had a plan for emergencies. I would take care of the children and the dog and he would take care of the house. In retrospect it wasn't much of a plan. By 14.15 news reports had students being evacuated from a nearby high school. The fire had burned through 2000 hectares of bush in two hours and 250 fire fighters were battling the blaze in the Winmalee/Springwood area.
As I drove to collect my daughter from school traffic was moving normally, but at the school I could sense composed panic in the administration office.
Now helicopters were roaring above us delivering warning messages. I decided I needed to get home to pick up my dog. I also knew that my husband, who has a medical condition that restricts his movement, would have to be physically removed from our burning house to keep him alive. He can be stubborn sometimes.
As we got close to our gate, the right side of the bush was flame-red, angry and hot, pushed by strong winds. I simply did not expect such a dramatic sight. This was October, fires happened in December and January, if at all, in our section of the mountains.
I was unable to go back to our street as fire fighters had prevented traffic in that direction. I feared for my husband and my dog. I settled in a safe area and a couple of hours later, after numerous attempts to reach home by phone, my husband responded to tell me that he was safe. Our dog was also safe, curled up under the bed. We lost 14 pine trees and the side shrubs and part of the back fence was burnt. Luckily, my house remained intact.
That day's experience made me much more reflective about what is important in life. In October I had no time to pack anything, we got caught out because there was no indication beforehand of what to expect. I don't think even the Rural Fire Service was prepared because it happened too quickly. They couldn't have done more than they did.
Since then I have become more aware of many things. I certainly didn't rush into the Boxing Day sales this year to buy stuff I don't need. There are more important things, like spending time with my husband. I've de-cluttered my house; I've had my dog's long hair shaved for safety. We have put a fire extinguisher in the front of the house, cut down a few trees and generally been more aware of safety. We are re-connecting with neighbours, where before relationships were strained.
Now what is important, like our family photos and the older kids' degrees, is wrapped and kept in a suitcase ready to go if it happens again. For a couple of days after October 17 we were worrying that we didn't know what would happen next. Then I realised that we never really know what will happen next.
Just as I have become much more reflective and appreciative of what I have, I have also accepted that nobody can prepare for everything that might happen in life, whether they live near the sea in places like Thailand where you have tsunamis, or in the mountains of Australia where you have fire.


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News | Consortium for the Liberal Arts in Prison
Washington University graduates its first class of students in prison
By Blythe Bernhard, St. Louis Post Dispatch 5/22/2019
Faculty at Washington University in St. Louis worked together with BPI to design and launch the Washington University Prison Education Project (PEP), which joined the Consortium in 2014. In 2019, PEP students celebrated the program's first graduation with the ten students earning Associates degrees from the University of Washington.
The graduation ceremony was like any other — tearful family members, caps and gowns, "Pomp and Circumstance" — only with added security.
The first 10 graduates of the Washington University Prison Education Project received diplomas Wednesday in the visiting room at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center state prison for men.
The students, all convicted of felonies, earned associate degrees by completing 60 credits in courses taught by Washington U. professors. They take two to four classes each semester, all for free. Course offerings this spring included Chinese Civilization, Introduction to Macroeconomics and Greek Mythology.
"We've created this liberal arts environment in the middle of a prison," said Robert Henke, comparative literature professor and director of the program. "You get your books and it's Homer's Odyssey and you start talking about the text. You're the professor and they're not criminals, they're not inmates, they're college students."
Graduates of Washington University's Prison Education Project speak with its director, Robert K. Henke, in front of the visitation bays at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific before ten inmates received associate degrees on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
About 30 prisoners are enrolled for the summer session where they can study religion, calculus or ethnography. Some 50 to 60 inmates apply each year for the coveted 10 open spots in the program. Applicants must have a high school diploma or equivalent, take an exam and write a personal essay. The students are relieved of prison work duties while enrolled.
Washington U.'s "Pacific campus," as it's known, includes a computer room and study hall that hosts a speakers' series, reading group and tutoring.
The program helps the prisoners feel less marginalized and more like contributing members of society, said graduate Kareem Martin of St. Louis.
"It awakened something in me that needed to be awakened," he said.
Classes are also offered to prison staff, which improves relationships by providing a shared goal with the prisoners, said Emily Haslag, the facility's activity director.
Inmate Larry Marshall hangs out with his nephew D'Andre Carson, 16, after graduating with the first class of Washington University's Prison Education Project at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Ten men received associate degrees in the commencement held in the prison's visitation room. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
The project is one of about 200 sponsored by universities at prisons nationwide. St. Louis University's Prison Program launched in 2008 at the corrections facility in Bonne Terre and now enrolls 10 students and staff members each year for work toward an associate's degree. None of its graduates have returned to prison.
Stanley Andrisse, an endocrinologist and assistant professor at Howard University, gave the commencement address. Andrisse, of Ferguson, has three felony convictions and was sentenced to 10 years in prison where a mentor from SLU convinced him to pursue his education.
"You have a piece of paper that will open doors that you never imagined would be opened," Andrisse told the graduates. "Education is transformative. Use it to rewrite your story."
Andrisse runs the From Prison Cells to PhD organization and said it was a full-circle experience to return to a Missouri prison as a professional guest speaker.
The Washington U. program is primarily funded by the university and is part of the Bard Prison Initiative of 11 U.S. colleges. It is administered by the school's University College continuing education division.
Inmate Harvey Galler is greeted by instructor Victoria Thomas as the first graduates of Washington University's Prison Education Project received their associate degrees at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Compared to undergraduates in St. Louis, the students at the prison have an increased sense of urgency. Their life experiences bring added passion to debates and discussion, Henke said.
"There's something at stake for these students in the prison," he said. "They work really hard under sometimes not perfect conditions. It's not the quietest place in the world."
The graduation ceremony paid tribute to Maggie Garb, one of the founders of the prison education program. Garb, a Washington University history professor, died of cancer last year.
Graduate Torey Adams said he appreciated that the courses were not watered down for the prisoners.
"My papers always looked like red coloring books when you were done editing them," Adams wrote in a letter to Garb after her death. "It was through you that we knew that Wash. U. did not come to change us, brainwash us, but on the contrary to accept us as we are, but still make us better in the process."
Inmate Jimar Johnson (third from left) joins other graduates as they enjoy a moment during the first class graduation of Washington University's Prison Education Project at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Ten inmates received associate degrees. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Another of her students, Danien Cobb, gave a speech at the ceremony about Garb's influence on the prisoners' lives, taking them from "society's outcasts to mighty men" capable of great achievement.
Cobb expects to complete his associate's degree next spring while continuing to serve a 20-year sentence for armed robbery. Because of his education, Cobb said, he has been "freed to dream."
Washington University Prison Education Project graduates first class
Graduates of Washington University's Prison Education Project wait in front of the visitation bays at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific before the inmates received associate degrees on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. From left are Jimar Johnson, Jerome Taylor, Larry Marshall, Carl Brock and Torey Adams. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Reflected in a security mirror, inmate Carl Brock walks across the stage with his associate degree, one of ten in the first graduating class of Washington University's Prison Education Project at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Inmate Mark Frisella (center) marches with instructor Jami Ake as the first graduates of Washington University's Prison Education Project attend the ceremony in the visitation room at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific, before ten inmates received associate degrees on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Carl Brock (left), Mark Boyd and Torey Adams congratulate a fellow inmate as the first graduates of Washington University's Prison Education Project received their associate degrees at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Inmate Larry Marshall glances at a prison guard after graduating with the first class of Washington University's Prison Education Project at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Ten men received associate degrees in the commencement held in the prison's visitation room. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Torey Adams (left) embraces a fellow inmate as participants and graduates of Washington University's Prison Education Project wait to attend the ceremony for its first class at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Inmates Mark Boyd (left) and Torey Adams sing the alma mater following the first graduation of Washington University's Prison Education Project at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Prison uniforms peek from the robes of some of the ten graduates in the first class of Washington University's Prison Education Project at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Inmates and associate degree recipients Carl Brock (right) and Torey Adams meet Washington University Chancellor Mark S. Wrighton before graduating from the university's Prison Education Project at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Larry Marshall is congratulated by an unidentified fellow inmate during the first graduation of Washington University's Prison Education Project at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Ten men received associate degrees during a commencement in the prison's visitation room. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
An inmate watches graduation from the visitation bays at the Missouri Eastern Correctional Center in Pacific, as the first graduates of Washington University's Prison Education Project received associate degrees on Wednesday, May 22, 2019. Photo by Robert Cohen, rcohen@post-dispatch.com.
Celebrating Two Years of the Women's College Partnership
By Zelideh Martinez Hoy
BPI and The Appeal Explore College Education in Prison
Summer Residency 2020


Red Spinach Stir Fry | Senkeerai Poriyal is a healthy and tasty recipe from South India. This Poriyal goes well with Rice varieties, Red Spinach is rich in Vitamins, Minerals and acts as a antioxidants. It supports to improve the immune system of our body. Red Spinach is rich in fiber and very low in calorie and high in nutrition.
Clean and wash the Red Spinach (senkeerai) well.
In kadai add oil,when the oil became hot add the dry red chills and onions.
When the onion became transparent add the Red Spinach (senkeerai )and salt .
Cover with lid and keep the flame as low.
Leaves for 5 minutes the water in the keeari will comes out.
Now add little amount of water to the keerai.
After the water evaporate, add the grated coconut and switch off the stove.
Tandoori Chicken Tikka is a wonderful Indian recipe with different variations in different areas of Indian Sub-continent.Tandoori was originally originated from India particularly North India and nowadays very popular in all over the world particularly in India and Pakistan.
Normally for making Tandoori Chicken we use Tandoor but here I used Oven for cooking.
Clean and wash the chicken well.
Made cuts on the chicken pieces.
In a pan add the gram flour and fry for 1 minutes without burning it.
In a bowl add yogurt,lemon juice,ginger garlic paste,salt and all the masala powders mix it well.
Now add the gram flour to the yogurt mixture, mix well without any lumps.
Apply the yogurt mixture to chicken and refrigerate it for 6 hours.
Preheat the oven for 20 min at 200 c.
Bake the chicken pieces for 30 min or until done.
Heat a pan add the chicken pieces cook it for 20 min.(keep the flame in low).
In a vessel put the eggs and add water to it.
Now boil the eggs,when the eggs hard-boiled clean the shell.
Cut the hard-boiled eggs into small pieces and keep it aside.
In a pan add oil,when the oil became hot add onions .
Fry the onions until become transparent .
Add the masala powders fry for a minute.
Now add the eggs,coriander leaves and salt.
Give gentle stir and fry for 5 minutes.
Healthy Dates Cake is a easy to bake Cake. For preparing this cake it need only very less sugar that also optional, because of adding dates paste which gives enough sweet so it is a very healthy cake recipe and good for all ages. Normally dates contain lot of Iron so try for your children who hate the raw Dates taste. so try this healthy and tasty Dates Cake recipe and give your suggestions and comments below.
Boil the milk and keep aside ,while the milk is in warm temperature add this to the mixing bowl and add the dates paste.
Now add the baking powder, baking soda, vanilla essence, almonds, sugar, raisins and oil and mix it well.
In a preheated oven keep the cake inside the oven and bake it for 180 degree for 30 to 45 minutes .
* You can add any sugar free as a optional.
* You can add low fat butter as a optional.
* If you like Eggs add 1 egg.
You can use whipping cream for decoration with some fruits so kids will like to eat.


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News, Races
2021 Desert Solstice Track Invitational Results: American Records Galore
Results from the 2021 Desert Solstice Track Invitational.
By Alex Potter on December 12, 2021 | Leave a reply
Sustained speed was on full display at the 2021 Desert Solstice Track Invitational on Saturday and Sunday, December 11 and 12. The invite-only meet, taking place on a traditional track, brought together a fascinating combination of quick-footed trail and road specialists in the 24-hour and 100-mile event, and a number of those runners took home new American overall, track, and age group records, including Nick Coury, Camille Herron, and Pam Smith.
The weather was excellent, with temperatures ranging between 45 and 70 degrees Fahrenheit and low humidity, during the late fall event in Phoenix, Arizona. Though the Aravaipa Running race was open to spectators both in-person and on live stream, just 25 elite runners participated, the event pitting them against the eternal question, "How far can I run in a day?"
Any ultramarathon of this length holds surprises, and the 2021 Desert Solstice was no exception. Records were set, some runners finished at 100 miles or 200 kilometers into the event, and by the time it was all over, just three women and four men participated in the final hours of the 24-hour race.
2021 Desert Solstice Men's Top Performances
The top performance of the weekend goes to Nick Coury, who nabbed a new men's American 24-hour record. Previously held by Mike Morton at 172.45 miles, Coury ran a masterclass of a race to finish in 173.01 miles. He ran nearly every single lap under 2 minutes and 10 seconds, with a few at 2:20-plus sprinkled in there for refueling and bathroom breaks. Incredibly, his last eight laps were under 2:00, and his last few at or under 1:30 – that's six-minutes-per-mile pace! Coury also won the 2020 Desert Solstice 24 Hour by posting 155 miles.
A post shared by Aravaipa Running (@aravaiparunning)
Another record fell on the men's side this weekend, this time by Jacob Jackson. Jackson, who came in second in the 24-hour race with 157.33 miles, set a men's American 40-to-44 age group record for 200 kilometers. He broke it handily, coming in at 17:51:17, beating the previous 18:00:12 record by nearly nine minutes.
The final two men who stayed in the 24-hour race were Scott Traer, who finished with 152.36 miles, and Matthew Urbanski, who clocked 131.77 miles.
David Laney was the one to watch for the men's 100-mile race, and he surpassed that distance faster than everyone else, clocking 12:34:59.
Full results.
2021 Desert Solstice Women's Top Performances
The winner of the women's 24-hour race was Marisa Lizak in 140.18 miles. Lizak ran a gutsy race: she was on a great pace for the first 265 laps, with all of her laps under a 2:10. After about 87 miles, her pace gradually declined, and it was clear she was gritting through a lot of pain. Lizak was seen limping around the track for the last few hours and collapsed to the ground after her 24-hour victory.
Coming in second for the 24-hour race, Jian Springer set women's American 50-to-54 age group records for 24 hours with 135.17 miles, 100 miles in 16:36:11, and 200 kilometers in 21:41:31.
Mandie Holmes was the third and final woman standing in the 24-hour race, finishing with 133.67 miles.
At the 100-mile distance, Camille Herron reset her own women's American 100-mile track record to 13:21:51 from her previous 13:25:00. Herron, who looked strong and smooth throughout the race, was also the 2018 Desert Solstice champ, where she set the women's 24-hour world record.
Pam Smith set four women's American 45-to-49 age group records during her 100-mile effort: 50 miles in 6:40:49, 100 kilometers in 8:21:36, 83.59 miles for 12 hours, and 100 miles in 15:15:02. She beat the previous records handily, each by 40 to 60 minutes.
Viktoria Brown bested the women's Canadian 100-mile record, lowering the time from 15:19:45 to 14:47:13.
Aleksandr Sorokin Runs New 24-Hour World Record Lithuania's Aleksandr Sorokin sets the 24-hour world record by running 309.400 kilometers (to be confirmed). ...
The Revival of the American Ultra-Distance Track Race A look at ultra races on the track and an introduction to the inaugural Desert Solstice 24 Hour race....
The Rise of American Ultrarunning Speed (and 2013 Desert Solstice Preview) A look at the recent revival of fast American ultrarunning....
Tagged: Camille Herron, Desert Solstice, Jacob Jackson, Jian Springer, Nick Coury, Pam Smith, Viktoria Brown
Alex Potter is a contributor and former editor at iRunFar. Following a nearly decade-long hiatus from running after college, she has found a new love in trail running. As a photojournalist, Alex has reported throughout the Middle East and East Africa for publications like 'National Geographic,' 'The New York Times,' and 'The Washington Post.' She lives in Alaska with her partner Pete and her two cats.
View all posts by Alex Potter


text:
from geocode import getGeocodeLocation
import json
import httplib2

import sys
import codecs
sys.stdout = codecs.getwriter('utf8')(sys.stdout)
sys.stderr = codecs.getwriter('utf8')(sys.stderr)

foursquare_client_id = "PASTE_YOUR_ID_HERE"
foursquare_client_secret = "YOUR_SECRET_HERE"

def findARestaurant(mealType,location):
	#1. Use getGeocodeLocation to get the latitude and longitude coordinates of the location string.

	#2.  Use foursquare API to find a nearby restaurant with the latitude, longitude, and mealType strings.
	#HINT: format for url will be something like https://api.foursquare.com/v2/venues/search?client_id=CLIENT_ID&client_secret=CLIENT_SECRET&v=20130815&ll=40.7,-74&query=sushi

	#3. Grab the first restaurant
	#4. Get a  300x300 picture of the restaurant using the venue_id (you can change this by altering the 300x300 value in the URL or replacing it with 'orginal' to get the original picture
	#5. Grab the first image
	#6. If no image is available, insert default a image url
	#7. Return a dictionary containing the restaurant name, address, and image url
if __name__ == '__main__':
	findARestaurant("Pizza", "Tokyo, Japan")
	findARestaurant("Tacos", "Jakarta, Indonesia")
	findARestaurant("Tapas", "Maputo, Mozambique")
	findARestaurant("Falafel", "Cairo, Egypt")
	findARestaurant("Spaghetti", "New Delhi, India")
	findARestaurant("Cappuccino", "Geneva, Switzerland")
	findARestaurant("Sushi", "Los Angeles, California")
	findARestaurant("Steak", "La Paz, Bolivia")
	findARestaurant("Gyros", "Sydney, Australia")

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Eallabus House ist ein Herrenhaus nördlich der schottischen Ortschaft Bridgend auf der Hebrideninsel Islay. Es liegt nördlich der weitläufigen Ländereien des Islay House, etwa 500 m nördlich von Islay House und der Islay Home Farm. Direkt nördlich des Gebäudes passiert der kleine Bach Eallabus Burn, der wenige hundert Meter nordöstlich aus Loch Skerrols abfließt und südwestlich in die Meeresbucht Loch Indaal mündet. Am 20. Juli 1971 wurde das Gebäude in die schottischen Denkmallisten in der Kategorie B aufgenommen.

Eallabus House ist der Geburtsort von John Crawford, der an der Seite von Lord Minto gegen die niederländische Besitzungen auf Java zog. Im Jahre 1820 verfasste er das Werk History of the Indian Archipelago.

Beschreibung
Das exakte Baudatum des Hauses ist nicht angegeben, sodass nur das 18. Jahrhundert als Bauzeitraum angegeben werden kann. Das dreistöckige Gebäude wurde im Georgianischen Stil gebaut. Es besteht aus zwei länglichen Trakten, die längsseitig miteinander verbunden sind. Das Gebäude wird durch einen mittig in die Vorderfront eingelassene Tür betreten. Diese ist mit Blendpfeilern verziert. Beiderseits der Eingangstüre treten zweistöckige Ausluchten mit flächigen Sprossenfenstern hervor. Oberhalb ist ein großes Drillingsfenster verbaut. Im zweiten Obergeschoss sind drei Zwillingsfenster symmetrisch angeordnet. Ziersteine rahmen die Fenster ein und sind entlang der Gebäudekanten als Bänder verbaut. Die Fassaden sind in der traditionellen Harling-Technik verputzt. Beide Gebäudeteile schließen mit schiefergedeckten Satteldächern ab. Westlich des Hauptgebäudes steht ein einstöckiges Wohngebäude. Zu den weiteren Außengebäuden zählen eine westlich gelegene Scheune mit Walmdach sowie eine Stallung mit Satteldach. Nördlich sind zwei weitere Scheunen gelegen, von denen eine einen hexagonalen Grundriss besitzt.

Einzelnachweise

Weblinks

Herrenhaus in Argyll and Bute
Erbaut im 18. Jahrhundert
Islay
Georgianisches Bauwerk in Schottland
Kategorie-B-Bauwerk in Argyll and Bute
Klassizistisches Bauwerk in Argyll and Bute

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaWikipedia


text:
Update – The end of the F-22?
Home » Update – The end of the F-22?
By Peace Action
In Arms Sales and Military Aid, Peace Action West News
Update – The end of the F-22?2009-07-222009-07-22https://www.peaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/asset-6600px.pngPeace Actionhttps://www.peaceaction.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/asset-6600px.png200px200px
The Senate voted this week to accept the Levin-McCain amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act. The Amendment (passed 58-40) will eliminate the $1.75B slated for the development of new F-22s, and end production after the 187 currently on order. These planes were described as cold-war relics by Sec. Robert Gates. R. Jeffery Smith in the Washington post finds numerous federal sources lamenting the plane's shortcomings:
The United States' top fighter jet, the Lockheed Martin F-22, has recently required more than 30 hours of maintenance for every hour in the skies, pushing its hourly cost of flying to more than $44,000, a far higher figure than for the warplane it replaces, confidential Pentagon test results show.
The aircraft's radar-absorbing metallic skin is the principal cause of its maintenance troubles, with unexpected shortcomings — such as vulnerability to rain and other abrasion — challenging Air Force and contractor technicians since the mid-1990s, according to Pentagon officials, internal documents and a former engineer.
We cannot allow such spending on such a wasteful project. However, the parts for the F-22 come from districts spread across 44 states, so the battle over the F-22 is far from over, as the funding may still be put back in the process to reconcile the House version of this bill with the Senate's.
However, today remains a victory for peace activists who joined us in writing their representatives. It's was also a blow to the powerful weapons lobby, in the name of smarter defense spending:
In April, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates announced plans to invest more defense funds in intelligence and personnel and to shift money away from big weapons systems like the F-22. And President Obama had lobbied intensely against funding the planes, threatening what would have been his first veto.
The vote count crossed party lines. Fifteen Republican senators voted to scrap the F-22 while fifteen Democrats voted to keep the pork barrel spending in their states. Make your representatives accountable to you and not the military contractors.
However, today peace activists can celebrate a vote that demonstrated a glimmer of accountability — something we have precious little of in defense spending.
f-22, porkbarrel, wasteful spending
Peace Action
$7.6 billion buys a lot of Valentine candy
Committee members demand accountability for nuclear weapon costs
So no one has any idea how much nukes cost us?
Congress, for the moment, is forced to put education before war
The House takes small step toward challenging Obama on AfghanistanPeace Action West News
Day of Action with Peace Action West and Amnesty InternationalPeace Action West News


Custom printed 3.375 x 3.375 x 3.375 non-adhesive memo cubes 2 colors, 1 design attract with their exact cube design and imprints in 2 colors. Personalized memo cubes can make impressions by lending large workspace and its color theme. It suits most marketers in small budgets and they can bulk order it to grab more savings. Personalized note cubes can be gifted individually, as a tote bag insert and complement with some in-store purchases. Along with edges, marketers can get their brand information imprinted on sheets in the colors of their choice.
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Product Size : 3.375 in. x 3.375 in. x 3.375 in.


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text:
You are at:Home»The Explorer»Spas»Spa of the Month: Soar Mill Cove
Spa of the Month: Soar Mill Cove
By Anna Selby on	 October 10, 2016 Spas
Getting to Soar Mill Cove is an adventure in itself. All Devon lanes tend to be narrow with high hedges. But getting to the Cove they're eventually so narrow you can barely fit a single car and the high-banked hedges get so high they tower above you. Then suddenly you're there with green, sheep-dotted hills rolling down to Soar Mill's own tiny cove, all caves and rushing streams, perfect for rock pooling, picnics on the shingle or lounging on the sand. When we walk down to the sea during that Arctic snap that had spring running for cover in late April, we almost take off in the wind and we're the only people on the beach. There are sheep and lambs watching us solemnly from the other side of a stream, the meadows are covered in buttercups, daisies and tiny violets and the banks are blanketed in primroses.
Soar Mill Cove is a family affair in so many ways. For one, it's now on to its third generation of the same family who run it in a very personal hands-on way. It all started with an ad in a catering magazine that caught the attention of the mother of the current owner, Keith Makepeace. She was a cook, her husband a carpenter and they fell in love with the place and, essentially, ran away to the sea.
And it's a place that caters very much for families, too, even including their dogs – and this is doggy heaven though they have to be kept on the lead around the sheep. And sheep are not the only wildlife. There are wild deer, pheasants, hares. Sky larks were singing their endless melodies when I was there. It's a place that manages to be both wild and secluded – and staggeringly beautiful.
As if all this wasn't enough to create a perfect haven, there's the food. The chef, Ian MacDonald, isn't a Makepeace but he is regarded as part of the family and he produces food that is very fresh and very local – scallops, crabs and lobster, as well as beef and pork from nearby farms. There are even traditional Devon teas. After that first walk, we had one with the thickest clotted cream, runniest jam and crumbliest scones, everything being homemade. So it's not a place for strict regimes, clearly.
It does, though, have a spa that's much related to its seaside setting. The pool, for instance, has salt water and is deliciously warm. You swim under bright roof lights next to a huge blown-up photo of nearby Salcombe packed with boats. (Salcombe, incidentally, is the most deliciously picturesque seaside town in England and deemed by the Daily Telegraph to have the sixth coolest street in the country – think the Boden catalogue come to life.)
The treatments, too, focus on sea-sidey elements. They use Spa Find products that feature plenty of seaweed and Dead Sea mud with added vitamins, herbs (sage, yarrow, lemon balm, wild thyme, horsetail, rosemary, marshmallow and many more) and plant extracts from aloe vera, ginger, coconut and fruits. Dead Sea Mud is unequalled in its ability to enrich, enhance and hydrate and the sand and salt from the Dead Sea are used, too, as natural exfoliators. Bearing all this in mind, I decided to opt for the Marine Miracle Body Treatment.
My therapist, Sophie, started with an all-over salt scrub, that she then removed in two layers, first damp, afterwards with the softest of dry flannels. Then she applied a serum, smelling somewhat reminiscent of brandy and a faint whiff of spice like Xmas pudding, though it really comprises Dead Sea water, lemon and caffeine to detoxify, tighten and firm the skin. After this, she applied the mud full of seaweed extracts, Dead Sea salts and menthol which meant it not only felt very cold when it went on, it stayed that way the whole time.
While that was cooking (or chilling) Sophie gave me a wonderful 20 minute long scalp massage using scented coconut oil to enrich my hair. Then she peeled off the mud – I felt like a snake shedding its skin, though rather less attractive as it comes off a very dull grey. Then I was sprayed with something called Heavenly Hydration (it certainly had a heavenly scent) followed by Sophie's special lymphpatic drainage massage. It took a blissful 90 minutes and was much slower and more in depth than I expected. All very relaxing.
But it wasn't over yet. My express facial started with a lovely neck and shoulder massage with a very rich moisturiser for my dry skin, then my face was cleansed, a toner was spritzed on and exfoliation followed – all accompanied by nice slow massages so it didn't feel "express" at all. Then there was a mask and while that one cooked, Sophie gave me a quick foot massage. Finally, she applied serum and day cream.
And then it was time for a not-so-abstemious dinner, the highlight being the wonderfully plump local scallops. From the restaurant, we all watch the sun set behind the ridge, painting the clouds pink above the sea and highlighting the sheep who had artfully arranged themselves along the skyline and down the irregular patterns of steep, dry stone walled fields. The whole restaurant watches mesmerised by the changing light, the sea and the sky. Even without those lovely treatments, you can't help be relaxed at Soar Mill Cove.
For more information about Soar Mill Cove, including details of self-catering options, news and offers, visit www.soarmillcove.co.uk.
Spa of the Month: Hotel Plunhof, South Tyrol
The Spa at South Lodge
Spa of the Month: The Old Course Hotel and Spa, St Andrew's


text:
Q: Magento : Unprotected development files? patch How to apply "Unprotected development files?" patch in magento EE 1.14.2.3.In my mage report it shows Unprotected development files? as medium so i want to apply this.Please explain
I found need to give permissions to dev folder and .htaccess file.How to do it please

A: The best option is to delete the dev directory from the server and exclude it from your deployment.
Otherwise you have the same options like with the downloader directory, as described here: Recommended method to protect /downloader?


text:
package com.yuqirong.greendao;

// THIS CODE IS GENERATED BY greenDAO, DO NOT EDIT. Enable "keep" sections if you want to edit.
/**
 * Entity mapped to table "CHANNEL_ENTITY".
 */
public class ChannelEntity {

    private Long id;
    private String name;
    private String tId;
    private Boolean isSelect;

    public ChannelEntity() {
    }

    public ChannelEntity(Long id) {
        this.id = id;
    }

    public ChannelEntity(Long id, String name, String tId, Boolean isSelect) {
        this.id = id;
        this.name = name;
        this.tId = tId;
        this.isSelect = isSelect;
    }

    public ChannelEntity(String name, String tId, Boolean isSelect) {
        this.name = name;
        this.tId = tId;
        this.isSelect = isSelect;
    }

    public Long getId() {
        return id;
    }

    public void setId(Long id) {
        this.id = id;
    }

    public String getName() {
        return name;
    }

    public void setName(String name) {
        this.name = name;
    }

    public String getTId() {
        return tId;
    }

    public void setTId(String tId) {
        this.tId = tId;
    }

    public Boolean getIsSelect() {
        return isSelect;
    }

    public void setIsSelect(Boolean isSelect) {
        this.isSelect = isSelect;
    }

    @Override
    public String toString() {
        return this.name;
    }
}


text:
Premier Amory speaks on passing of the late former Deputy Governor General of Nevis
NIA CHARLESTOWN NEVIS (August 02, 2017) — The following is a statement by Premier of Nevis Hon. Vance Amory on August 01, 2017, on the passing of the late former Deputy Governor for Nevis Mr. Eustace John on July 27, 2017.
Mr. Eustace John, the late former Deputy Governor General of Nevis
Today, it is with a degree of sadness but also with respect that I speak of the passing of the late Deputy Governor General for Nevis Mr. Eustace John.
He was a consummate public servant but also an outstanding media person, having served as the manager of ZIZ and perhaps was one of the first persons in St. Kitts and Nevis to study Mass Communication in the new University of the Virgin Islands programme, dealing with mass communication and the media.
Outside of that, Mr. John served in so many capacities in the Public Service of St. Kitts and Nevis. He served in the Treasury as the accountant general and served as a very senior officer in so many other ways.
When we decided in 1994, to find someone to replace the then late Deputy Governor General Mr. Weston Parris, he was a clear choice for us because of his experience, because of his long service in the public service and also his knowledge of the rules and regulations which govern the public service, which is an important part of the duties of the deputy governor general.
His death, coming so soon after his retirement, sends to me a really strong message that we have to be able to so manage our years, that we do have some time for ourselves.
There were times when I visited Mr. John after his hospitalisation, after his retirement and I was really very moved because he was clearly suffering very seriously.
Today, we are looking at how do we deal with a man that has served his country so well, so long? More than 30 years in the public service as a civil servant, over 20 years as the Deputy Governor General for the island of Nevis.
During that time as Deputy Governor General, I was able to draw very strongly on his knowledge and on his willingness to give guidance to me as a minister of government and as leader of the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), so that we acted in a way which would not create difficulties for those who served in the public service and those who entered the public service.
These are the kinds of attributes and qualities which I remember and which I would want to indicate to all of us, that he had those qualities and that willingness to serve professionally as a consummate professional. I feel his life should be, in fact, an example to those of us who are left to mourn his passing.
I wish on behalf of the Administration and the entire Public Service and on behalf of all the people of Nevis, to extend to his family, to his dear wife Delia and to his children our deepest condolences and to pray that they will find comfort, knowing that God understands and God does things well.
May his soul rest in peace.


In the wintertime, my family loves to have soup. My mom will make pretty much any type of soup, from creamy roasted butternut squash soup to spicy African Peanut Chicken soup (similar to this one!). But a few years ago she started to make escarole soup with turkey meatballs. Now, as much as I love soup, I dislike the bitter taste of raw escarole and don't eat meat very often, so this soup did not sound appealing to me at all. Of course, my mother being a mother, she made me eat it anyway, and much to my surprise I actually liked it! Cooking the escarole eliminates its bitterness, and the turkey meatballs add a nice texture to the soup. My mom's Escarole Soup with Turkey Meatballs has become one of my favorites – hearty and easy to make, it's the perfect comfort food for a cold winter day.
Sarah McAnaw is a junior at American University where she studies International Studies and Biology. After cooking (and eating!) her way through a semester in Florence, Italy last fall, she's headed south to Haifa, Israel this spring to study the Arab-Israeli conflict and experience the culinary flavors of the Middle East first hand.
Note: While my mom uses chicken stock, beef or vegetable stock would work just as well. Same goes for the meatballs – feel free to substitute ground beef, veal or chicken for the turkey if you want.
Pour enough olive oil into a large soup pot to coat the bottom (roughly 2-3 tablespoons) and warm up the oil over medium-high heat. Once the oil is hot, add the chopped escarole and cook until wilted. Pour in the chicken stock and 2 cups of water and bring to a slow boil.
While waiting for the stock to get hot, make the meatballs. Season the ground turkey with whatever you would like – my mom and I have used dried herbs such as basil and oregano, or just salt and pepper – and mix with the egg, chopped onion and breadcrumbs. Roll the meat mixture into 1-inch balls. Once the chicken stock has started to boil, add the meatballs to the soup and cover the pot. Allow the meatballs to cook through, about half an hour.
When the meatballs are done, stir in the orzo and cook for an additional 10 minutes to let the orzo cook. Season the soup with salt, pepper and rosemary. Ladle the soup into a bowls, top with grated cheese, and enjoy!