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The dataset generation failed
Error code: DatasetGenerationError
Exception: ArrowInvalid
Message: JSON parse error: Missing a closing quotation mark in string. in row 17
Traceback: Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 153, in _generate_tables
df = pd.read_json(f, dtype_backend="pyarrow")
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 815, in read_json
return json_reader.read()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1025, in read
obj = self._get_object_parser(self.data)
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1051, in _get_object_parser
obj = FrameParser(json, **kwargs).parse()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1187, in parse
self._parse()
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/pandas/io/json/_json.py", line 1403, in _parse
ujson_loads(json, precise_float=self.precise_float), dtype=None
ValueError: Trailing data
During handling of the above exception, another exception occurred:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1997, in _prepare_split_single
for _, table in generator:
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 156, in _generate_tables
raise e
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/packaged_modules/json/json.py", line 130, in _generate_tables
pa_table = paj.read_json(
File "pyarrow/_json.pyx", line 308, in pyarrow._json.read_json
File "pyarrow/error.pxi", line 154, in pyarrow.lib.pyarrow_internal_check_status
File "pyarrow/error.pxi", line 91, in pyarrow.lib.check_status
pyarrow.lib.ArrowInvalid: JSON parse error: Missing a closing quotation mark in string. in row 17
The above exception was the direct cause of the following exception:
Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/src/services/worker/src/worker/job_runners/config/parquet_and_info.py", line 1529, in compute_config_parquet_and_info_response
parquet_operations = convert_to_parquet(builder)
File "/src/services/worker/src/worker/job_runners/config/parquet_and_info.py", line 1154, in convert_to_parquet
builder.download_and_prepare(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1029, in download_and_prepare
self._download_and_prepare(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1124, in _download_and_prepare
self._prepare_split(split_generator, **prepare_split_kwargs)
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 1884, in _prepare_split
for job_id, done, content in self._prepare_split_single(
File "/src/services/worker/.venv/lib/python3.9/site-packages/datasets/builder.py", line 2040, in _prepare_split_single
raise DatasetGenerationError("An error occurred while generating the dataset") from e
datasets.exceptions.DatasetGenerationError: An error occurred while generating the datasetNeed help to make the dataset viewer work? Make sure to review how to configure the dataset viewer, and open a discussion for direct support.
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AMICUS ANTHOLOGIES, PART ONE (1965-1972)
February 23, 2017 Alfred Eaker Leave a comment
With Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors (1965, directed by Freddie Francis and written by Milton Subotsky) Amicus Productions (spearheaded by Subotsky and Max Rosenberg, who previously produced for Hammer and was a cousin to Doris Wishman) established itself as a vital competitor to Hammer Studios. Rather than imitating Hammer’s modernization of Gothic classics, Amicus developed its own niche with omnibus films. They were successful enough to be in full-fledged production for a decade, establishing a reputation as the go-to studio for horror anthologies. This, their introductory portmanteau film, clearly influenced by EC Comics, sets a pattern of to-be-expected unevenness. Still, Amicus installs themselves as a horror studio to be reckoned with, sparing no expense in procuring Hammer’s top actors: Peter Cushing (who would star in all but one of the Amicus anthologies) and Christopher Lee. For its wraparound segment, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors opens to the duo (among other passengers) on a train. Dr. Schreck ((“Shreck” is German for “terror,” and a nod to the famous star of F.W. Murnau‘s Nosferatu.)) (Cushing, saddled with a terrible German accent and glued on brows) pulls out a deck of tarot cards. “Pick a card, any card, and tape it three times,” Schreck tells his fellow passengers. Each participant will hear of a fate that may await them. Among the passengers is Christopher Lee who will, of course, factor into one of the five narratives.
In “Werewolf,” Neil McCallum is an architect renovating an old dark house, which turns out to be cursed. The title monster is featured in this pedestrian tale of ancestral revenge with a “twist.”
With Alan Freeman (better known as the U.K D.J. for “Pick of the Pops”) served up as a snack for a venus fly trap, “The Creeping Vine,” thankfully doesn’t take itself so seriously. It is refreshingly lightheaded hokum.
“Voodoo” is the worst of the lot; badly dated in its stereotypes, with Kenny Lynch belting out a stolen voodoo tune.
“Disembodied Hand,” has elitist art critic Franklin Marsh (Lee) driving artist Eric Landor (Michael Gough) to suicide. Landor’s severed hand returns to exact revenge on the mean critic. It’s in the spirit of The Beast with Five Fingers, among others, and chock-full of two-dimensional caricatures of both artists and critics. It holds no surprises, but with Lee and Gough engaged in a bit of whistling-while-they-work fun, it’s easily the best episode.
“Vampire” feature a young Donald Sutherland who discovers he is married to… a vampire! It barely raises a pulse.
Seen today, Dr. Terror’s House of Horrors is more camp than horror, and its appeal is one of genre nostalgia. Still, the phenomenal box office success of Dr. Terror green-lighted a second portmanteau film in 1967, entitled Torture Garden (directed by Freddie Francis and written by Robert Bloch). It contains no torture nor any garden. Burgess Meredith (in a preposterous disguise, reminding us of the Penguin) is Old Nick himself, going by the pseudonym of Dr. Diablo and moonlighting as a carnival barker who promises a tortuous exhibit that can reveal the future. “You’ll shake, you’ll shiver, but it’s all good fun,” Diablo hammily tells his patrons. Unfortunately, only one of the four tales lives up to that promise.
“Enoch,” is the opening narrative. Michael Bryant’s inheritance money (from an uncle who took his time dying) is going to be spoiled by a mean ol’ puddy tat with a lot of doubloons.
“Over Hollywood” has Beverly Adams discovering the fountain of youth in Hollywood with robotic consequences.
“Mr. Steinway” might be seen as a poor precursor to Stephen King’s “Christine,” replacing a killer car with a killer piano. It’s as absurd as it sounds.
The first three segments are sloppily written and executed with little enthusiasm; each progressively worse, but the final segment single-handedly salvages the anthology.
“The Man Who Collected Poe” finds Jack Palance (playing against type) as an Edgar Allan Poe-obsessed geek who may have found his soulmate in fellow fanatic Peter Cushing. However, somebody’s got something—or someone—hidden in the basement and … somebody’s got the fever, which leads to a fiery finale. Cushing and Palance clearly enjoyed playing opposite one another and their chemistry, along with clever writing, making one wish the previous segments had been as enjoyable.
1970’s The House That Dripped Blood (directed by Peter Duffell and written by Robert Bloch) is a considerable improvement over its predecessors. Duffell lacks the visual astuteness of Freddie Francis, but he has superior stories to work with and a top notch cast. The connecting theme is the titular house, which has a bit of baggage left over from all who have resided there.
In “Method For Murder,” Denholm Elliott is a horror author who writes a character that becomes a tad too three-dimensional, much to his wife’s peril.
“Waxworks” stars Cushing as an uptight retired stockbroker and lifelong bachelor who visits a wax museum, only to see a figure of a woman whom he once was in love with. Obsession and unrequited love naturally go hand-in-hand, or head-on-plate.
In “Sweets to the Sweet,” Nyree Dawn Porter is hired to tutor a young, motherless child (Chloe Franks) who is unloved by her cold-hearted father, Christopher Lee. Without giving too much away, let’s just say the underlying theme is one few filmmakers would dare tackle today.
“The Cloak” is the most famous of the four episodes, remembered fondly for its absurd humor. It stars John Pertwee (best known for his portrayal of Dr. Who) as an actor who mantles the cloak of a purported actual vampire. Hammer favorite Ingrid Pitt bares her fangs and, of course, a bit more.
All four episodes feature strong acting, which is a rarity in contemporary horror and should be a model for genre filmmakers. Elliot’s restrained performance in “Method For Murder” is admirable enough to forgive the predictable “twist.” The stylish “Waxworks” features an equally stylish performance from Cushing, although narratively it is the thinnest episode. “Sweets to the Sweet” is psychologically intense with three powerhouse performances, making it the strongest entry. Although John Pertwee is a bit on-the-sleeve in “The Cloak,” his performance suits the tone; but, he’s no match for Pitt.
Asylum (1972, directed by Roy Ward Baker and written by Robert Bloch) is often cited as the best of the Amicus anthologies. It opens on Dr. Martin (Robert Powell, best known as the blue-eyed Anglo-Saxon savior plopped into the Middle East in Franco Zeferelli’s Jesus of Nazareth) showing up for his scheduled job interview with Dr. Starr for a position at the Dunsmoor Asylum. Martin is met by Dr. Rutherford (Patrick Magee), however, and informed that Dr. Starr is now a patient after going insane and becoming violent. Rutherford devises a test for Martin: he will interview four patients and if he can guess which one is Dr. Starr, then he will be hired. Naturally, this segues into four tales from Mr. Bloch.
In “Frozen Fear,” Walter (Richard Todd) is having a sordid affair with Bonnie (Barbara Parkins). When his wife Ruth (Sylvia Syms) won’t give him a divorce, Walter grabs an axe and fills his basement freezer with prime ex-wife cold cuts. Little does Walter know that the wifey was a voodoo priestess, and when that freezer thaws, big things come a-crawling in small packages—lots of them. This vignette is the most blatantly indebted to EC comics and, as such, it’s probably Amicus’ finest twenty minutes.
“The Weird Tailor” opens with tailor Bruno (Barry Morse) on the verge of being evicted. As luck would have it, Mr. Smith (Peter Cushing) walks into Bruno’s shop and orders a unique suit. With the promise of a hefty commission, Bruno obsessively begins working according to Mr. Smith’s very specific instructions. Unknown to Bruno, the suit is meant to resurrect Mr. Smith’s recently deceased son. Things don’t go according to plan. Previously adapted for Boris Karloff’s “Thriller”, this one can’t match the TV effort. Given a shorter running time for Asylum, Bloch was forced to excise the prologue, and with it gone, the suspense and menace are diminished. The original thriller was actually more perverse in suggesting Bruno’s wife’s sexual attraction to a mannequin. Additionally, Bruno’s character was less sympathetic, bringing a pronounced, and weird, abusive quality that is merely sketched here. Cushing is superb, bringing a sense of pathos to the character, but his part is little more than a cameo. Being more compressed, the schlock quality of the ending is more pronounced. Yet, for all of its comparative flaws, this is a strong second episode.
“Lucy Comes To Stay” is the weakest of the four episodes. Barbara (Charlotte Rampling) has been released from the asylum to the care of her brother, George (James Valliers) and nurse Higgins (Megs Jenkins). However, Barbara has an imaginary friend named Lucy (Britt Ekland) who doesn’t care for George or the nurse. Lucy is also handy with a knife. Disappointingly, it plays out exactly as expected, and isn’t helped by lackluster performances (Rampling being the exception).
Surprisingly, “Mannequins of Horror” is an extension of the wraparound, with the arrival of a new doctor named Byron (Herbert Lom) who has the demonic hobby of placing spirits within miniature robots and imbuing them with life, which serves as a potential gateway to immortality. Dr. Martin returns to uncover Dr. Starr’s identity in a delightfully unpleasant ending. It’s something of a mini-masterpiece that clearly proved an inspiration to later, albeit inferior films.
PART TWO will begin with Tales From The Crypt (1972) and take us to the final Amicus anthology: From Beyond The Grave (1974).
AnthologyChristopher LeeFreddie FrancisHorrorPeter CushingPeter DuffellRoy Ward Baker
Previous Post271. THE HOURGLASS SANATORIUM (1973)Next PostWEIRD HORIZON FOR THE WEEK OF 2/24/2017
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Ohmydollz Frogitaire Jurassic Pinball Kore Putt Sling Jumper 2
Franckfort
California To Enforce Stringent Auto Emission Regulations
Earlier, the state of California issued proposed emissions regulations that are expected to be enforced in the next decade. The proposed regulations, when approved, could force automakers to reduce tailpipe emissions of greenhouse gases. The latter are intimately related to global warming. Parenthetically, the state is aiming to reduce 30 percent of harmful gas emissions by passing stringent auto regulations.
California represents about 10 per cent of the overall American auto market. Auto analysts expect that if the proposed regulations are adopted later this year after the review process, it would be the very first limits in the United States regarding auto emissions of gasses linked to global warming. In addition, other states in the nation are expected to follow same regulations to further promote the wellbeing of its citizens and their environment. At least four Northeastern states are observing what California is currently doing.
The California Air Resources Board, the one responsible of the proposed regulations, said that the stringent emission regulation is made in response to a state law enacted in 2002. Said law requires automakers to produce cars, pickup trucks, sport utility vehicles and minivans that emit 30 per cent less greenhouse gases on average by 2015.
The proposed regulations are expected to increase the market value of new vehicles. However, the boards did not go into specifics by divulging the anticipated increase. With the proposed regulations, automotive emission parts are expected to become expensive due to the upgrades and innovations to come up with reduced greenhouse gases emissions. On the one hand, automakers are trying to prevent the proposal from becoming a law. California's actions have tremendous repercussions for the auto industry because the state represents about 10 per cent of the nation's car market.
The proposal entails added expenditures to automakers because of the required studies, testing, materials and modifications. Consequently, there is no assurance of a greener pasture attributed to the enhancements of emission control parts.
The upgrades needed to meet California's proposed regulations could add thousands of dollars to the price of a new vehicle, said Eron Shosteck of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. "We are happy to offer these efficient fuel-saving technologies. But consumers just don't want to buy them... Automakers believe consumers should have the option to choose." He added that the regulations would result in vehicles that are "lighter, smaller, less powerful, and less able to do what consumers want."
California has the dirtiest air in America. This is the very reason why several movements have been established to take care of the matter. In addition to these cause-oriented movements, the state's Air Resources Board is also determined to promote a cleaner air to preclude illness and other hazardous effects of global warming.
Global warming, the continuous increase of Earth's temperature, is said to be mostly attributable to human activities that results to increased atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, a colorless gas that rises into the atmosphere and traps heat. The situation further leads to warming of the atmosphere by escalating the greenhouse effect.
Global warming influences both the natural environment and human life. Its effects include sea level rise, agricultural repercussions, thinning of the ozone layer, extreme weather events and spread of disease like malaria and other infectious maladies.
California officials said automakers could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by improving gas mileage. Less fuel consumption would result in fewer emissions. They further noted that gas mileage could be improved with available technology, such as high-tech transmissions that shift automatically into the most efficient gear.
About the Author: Joe Thompson is the owner of a successful auto body shop in Ferndale, California. This 38 year old is also a prolific writer, contributing automotive related articles to various publications.
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Home - 2022 - November -
5Nov, 2022
Bernina District 2022 Top Things To Do Bernina District Travel Guides Top Recommended Bernina District Tickets For Attractions, Hotels, Places To Visit, Restaurants And Restaurants
The Bernina line runs from Italy to Switzerland, starting/ending in the Italian city of Tirano and starting/ending in the Swiss city of Chur. It passes through some of Switzerland’s most picturesque landscapes and is available for travel in both winter and summer. A train ride through the Swiss Alps is beautiful at any time of the year.
Italian high-speed trains are booked and have dynamic prices, cheaper in advance than on the day. The reservation opens up to 4 months in advance, depending on the train. Normally, you will need to change trains at least once if you want to travel from Chur to Tirano on these regular local trains.
At its highest point, the train is 7392 feet above sea level. You can also book your one-way trip with the Bernina Express and then use the regional trains to reach your next destinations, which would be included in your Swiss Travel Pass. I would also suggest doing this if you plan to get on and off the train. You will have to pay for seats again to return to one of the normal trains, as your tickets will only apply to the panoramic train. It seems that the windows of the normal wagons of the regional train open, but from what I could see, I could not reach those cars from where I was sitting. You can also stop at one of the small towns along the way to get a closer look.
In less than four hours, you’ll experience the historic mountain passes of Albula and Bernina, the famous Landwasser Viaduct, with endless views on either side of the train as you twist and turn through the landscape. The 6 limestone arches with the red train, which travel through them, are iconic and became a symbol of scenic train rides in Switzerland and Europe. Shortly after leaving Tirano, the Bernina Express begins to drive through the streets while cars stay at traffic lights, allowing it to pass. The train then climbs up the valley just outside Tirano and continues all the way to the mountainside thousands of meters above sea level. Ospizio Bernina is the summit and highest point of the route at 2,253 meters above sea level.
Travel with the Bernina Express can also be booked to/from Chur. This sensational scenic drive takes you along some of Switzerland’s most beautiful routes, such as the Golden Pass, Glacier Express, and Bernina Express. In Interlaken you travel to the top of Europe: the Jungfraujoch. Day 2, travel from Zurich to Chur by Swiss InterCity train, then from Chur to Tirano on the fantastic Bernina Express, then Tirano to Milan by regional train trenord, as seen in the previous schedule. You can use the morning train all year round or the evening train in summer. This is the 3-car Allegra unit, coupled with the panoramic cars of the Bernina Express.
This is a regional ticket with a fixed price, tickets cannot be sold out, the reservation is not necessary or possible, so you can safely buy close to the departure date, without having to commit your money in advance. In fact, tickets can be purchased at the station on the day itself at this price if you wish. You can avoid paying a reservation fee if you travel in the non-reserved seats on the Allegra unit with the Bernina Express. Since the whole trip only takes 4 hours, you can easily do it in one day.
The Express is an hour and a half by train from Zurich and runs all year round. After a break of a few hours, the train departs from Tirano station, making its way through the Treno rosso del Bernina town of Tirano and back along the same route before arriving back in Chur in the late afternoon. The whole trip takes a whole day to complete and can start at both ends.
2nd Class1st classSingle travel63101Tour116222Sterreservering+10 CHF+ 10 CHFImportantly, as shown in the table, an additional CHF 10 will be charged for seat reservation. These seat reservations can be booked in advance, we recommend this. Booking fees vary depending on the season you are travelling. If you want to travel on the Bernina Express during the cheapest time of the year, we recommend that you travel from November to January/February. It is recommended to reserve a seat if you are travelling during peak hours or want to guarantee a seat on board the daily express trains. You can reserve your seat at a Swiss train station or online.
Taxis are also not a viable option, as the journey takes several hours. The best way to get from Milan to St. Moritz is via a combination train and bus, which takes about 4.5 hours when all is said and done. You can take a train from Milano Centrale station to Chiavenna, and then change to bus line 4 to St. Moritz Bahnhof. The bus we were travelling in was bad with a clear mechanical problem from the moment we boarded in Milan.
They pride themselves on the Bernina Express going from glacial landscapes to palm-friendly climates within hours. They speak enthusiastically about the 7,638 meter high Bernina Pass. And they can’t help mentioning the line’s impressive tunnels and viaducts. It looks like a beautiful train ride and the photos are spectacular.
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To: Rules
By: Senator(s) Browning
Senate Concurrent Resolution 542
A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION COMMENDING AND CONGRATULATING INGOMAR COACH NORRIS ASHLEY FOR ACHIEVING THE RECORD OF ALL-TIME COACHING VICTORIES IN MISSISSIPPI BOYS BASKETBALL HISTORY.
WHEREAS, President Richard Nixon was in the White House and those Amazin' Mets won their first World Series when Norris Ashley launched his coaching career in 1969. Little did Coach Ashley realize that, 38 seasons later, he'd become the winningest coach in Mississippi boys basketball history; and
WHEREAS, led by freshman guard Tyler Jarvis' 29 points, Ashley gained his 905th career victory Monday night, December 11, 2006, as Ingomar beat East Union 67-38 at home before an estimated crowd of 500; and
WHEREAS, Ashley, 59, is 905-412 in 38 seasons at Coahoma County and Ingomar, his alma mater. He surpassed Sam Richey, 68, who went 904-414 at Jumpertown, Wheeler and Baldwyn and won six State Championships from 1967-2005; and
WHEREAS, Ashley has won four Boys State Tournament titles with the Falcons; and
WHEREAS, a Delta State University graduate, Ashley has spent 36 of his 38 seasons at tiny Ingomar, a rural Union County town. Coach Ashley does not regret going back to his hometown school; and
WHEREAS, all-time coaching victories in Mississippi boys basketball history are:
RECORD COACH
· 905-412 Norris Ashley
Coahoma County, Ingomar (Active)
· 904-414 Sam Richey
Jumpertown, Wheeler, Baldwyn
· 867-326 Roland Ladner
Sellers, Harrison Central,
Hancock, Pearl River Central
· 866-180 Bert Jenkins
· 862-370 Isaiah Peterson
Shelby Broad Street, Coahoma County (Active); and
WHEREAS, the man Ashley overtook tipped his hat to his coaching colleague. "I knew it was coming," said Coach Richey, who claimed the state record with his 868th victory when Baldwyn topped Bruce 68-60 on January 8, 2002. "I enjoyed it while I had it. He can enjoy it for a while now, I guess." On several occasions, Ashley and Richey went head-to-head in memorable Ingomar-Wheeler matchups; and
WHEREAS, "I've always had a real high regard for him," Coach Richey said. "He's one of the best coaches in the state, if not the best. He just knows the game, and he takes advantage of the strengths of his team. His players are real disciplined, and you can tell they're always well-coached"; and
WHEREAS, Coach Ashley has no timetable on when he'll walk away from the basketball court. Does he dare to dream of 1,000 wins? Ashley said, "I'll just take it year by year"; and
WHEREAS, it is with great pride that we recognize this legendary coach who has added to his legend with this 905th win and brought honor to his school, his community and to the State of Mississippi:
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES CONCURRING THEREIN, That we do hereby commend and congratulate Ingomar High School Coach Norris Ashley for achieving the record of all-time coaching victories in Mississippi boys basketball history, and extend to him, his family and his school our best wishes for future successes.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That this resolution be presented to Coach Norris Ashley and be made available to the Principal of Ingomar High School and the Capitol Press Corps.
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The U.S.-Afghan Women's Council
After the fall of the Taliban, the United States launched a historic initiative to help elevate the status of women in Afghanistan. To accelerate progress, President George W. Bush and President Hamid Karzai announced the creation of the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council (USAWC) on January 28, 2002.
The Council promotes public-private partnerships between U.S. and Afghan institutions and mobilizes private sector resources to help Afghan women. Specifically, the Council seeks to identify concrete actions to bring real and practical benefits to the women of Afghanistan and to enable them to participate and take leadership roles in the political and economic life of their country.
To this end, the Council has made education and microfinance its top priorities.
Too bad - under patriarchy - refuge and shelter has to be the top priority. Battered women's villages - transitional living space free from abuse is the first need. But if you are from the privileged classes, you do not understand the urgency of this need.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4292425.stm
The Council meets twice a year, alternating between Kabul and Washington, D.C., to discuss programs and priorities for assisting Afghan women and to review progress.
Under Secretary of State for Global Affairs Paula Dobriansky co-chairs the Council with the Afghan Foreign Minister and the Afghan Minister of Women's Affairs. What are their names?
See http://usawc.state.gov/c10666.htm for more information about Council members.
Take a look at these people. Not one has ever organized victims of patriarchal violence. They are so removed from that world. They are wealthy. They have fundraising credentials. There is no evaluation or input by feminists who have actually changed resistant, misogynist institutions within the US - civil rights organizers and feminist organizers with track records of success.
This is primarily the fault of those organizers who have refused to work with this president even to free their own kind from slavery. Would these modern day feminists have refused to support the abolitionist movement because Lincoln was a Republican? But it is also the fault of this administration who has not appointed any real feminists to the US-Afghan Women's Council to assist in the Middle East efforts.
The Council's fifth meeting was held in Washington, DC in the Treaty Room of the White House on June 15, 2004. Members and invited Afghan and American special guests discussed several key issues, including the Afghan national elections, health care, and jobs.
President Bush, President Karzai, Secretary Powell, National Security Advisor Rice, and Secretary of Health and Human Services Thompson met with the group. First Lady Laura Bush honored the Council with a lunch.
More than 20 Afghan women attended the meeting and the lunch, including four Afghan Fulbright scholars (a U.S. Department of State educational exchange program), four Afghan women judges on a USAWC training project, and 12 U.S. Department of Agriculture Cochran Fellows in the U.S. for a U.S. Department of Agriculture program for job training in agribusiness.
The fourth meeting of the Council was held in Kabul, February 24-26, 2004.
Discussions focused on:
education, specifically the Teacher Training Institute and Afghan Literacy initiative; microfinance;
the new constitution;
and the elections in Fall 2004.
The delegation visited a women's center and met with project managers of programs supported by the U.S. Government and by the U.S.-Afghan Women's Council.
The Council's third meeting, in Washington, D.C., July 15-16, 2003, focused on the educational needs of women and girls, job skills training, business development, and the upcoming elections.
The delegation met with First Lady Laura Bush and National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice at the White House. Secretary Powell hosted a luncheon in their honor.
At the Council's second meeting in Kabul, the U.S. announced that it would provide $2.5 million for women's resource centers in 14 of Afghanistan's provinces. The Council also committed $1 million in education and exchange programs for the centers. The centers should include shelters for women who wish to escape abuse and become self sufficient.
Programs at these centers focus on basic education literacy, microfinance and small business opportunities, human rights education, and the development and management of non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Inaugural Meeting
The inaugural meeting took place in Washington, D.C. in April 2002. In response to a request from the Afghan side, the Council later announced its first initiative would bring Afghan women who work in government ministries to the United States for an educational exchange program.
The program focused on computer training, leadership, and management training, and other skills vital to their positions.
Political Participation Women's Resource Center.
USAID is building 17 Women's Resource Centers in Afghanistan.
Four centers have been completed and two more are scheduled to finish in the near future.
The centers will support outreach, advocacy, and policy formation of the Ministry of Women's Affairs, and create a space in rural provinces for training women in education, health, job skills, leadership, legal awareness, and political participation.
Through USWAC women executives of AOL(Time Warner) donated $60,000 for the construction of the resource center in Parwan.
Afghan Women Leaders Connect (AWLC) ($10,000).
This contribution supported a conference in Kabul in Fall 2004 hosted by the Women and Children Legal Research Foundation focusing on legal rights. This is in addition to the Summer 2004 grant of $10,000 that AWLC provided to the International Association of Women Judges to supplement the $75,000 grant by the State Department's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Bureau, which trained four Afghan women judges in civil and family law.What kind of civil law? Secular? Where is it codified?
Digital Video Conference.
The Council has used digital videoconference (DVC) technology to connect Kabul, Washington, DC and New York, setting up links for discussions and mentoring sessions between women in these cities.
The DVC in November 2003 focused on women's political participation in Afghanistan's draft constitution and the Afghan elections in 2004.
TheDVC in April 2003 focused on the topic of women and business.
Economic Opportunities Community Banks.
The Council views microcredit as an important means of helping women gain self-sufficiency through starting their own businesses. Through an original $10,000 donation to the Council from Daimler-Chrysler, the Foundation for International Community Assistance (FINCA), a leading NGO in microfinance, helped start two village banks in Herat.
Daimler-Chrysler contributed an additional $25,000 in February 2004 to construct another five community banks to support microfinance loans for women in Herat province.
With Additional funding from the U.S. Government and other donors, FINCA expects to assist more than 30,000 clients in Afghanistan over the next 5 years.
U.S. Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs/USAWC Department of State Grants ($750,000).
Five grants were awarded to organizations for proposals that include:
business and political leadership training (grant to World Learning);
entrepreneurship training (grant to Women for Afghan Women);
education and literacy training (grants to American Council for International Education and Institute for Training and Development);
and women's leadership training (grant to University of Delaware).
Seventy-one women have taken leadership training under the University of Delaware grant thus far.
Thunderbird Graduate School of International Management.
Fifteen Afghan women successfully completed an advanced entrepreneurship training in January 2005. The participants aim to start businesses that would create jobs for women and to serve as mentors/teachers in Afghanistan.
Global Summit of Women ($40,000).
Supported by USAID, a delegation of nine Afghan women attended the 2004 Global Summit in Seoul, Korea, in May to discuss trade opportunities and receive entrepreneurship training.
Arzu Carpet Initiative ($530,000).
This program provides training and literacy skills to Afghan women in the hand-knotted carpet industry. Connie Duckworth, a USAWC member, provided the seed money to get the project started. Arzu placed its first carpet order on International Women's Day (March 8, 2004). The project Arzu (which means "Hope" in Dari) not only creates jobs and a cottage industry, it also re-circulates some of its profits to support microcredit initiatives and additional training for women.
U.S. Department of Agriculture Cochran Fellowships.
Twelve women representing five provinces came to the United States in Spring 2004 for job training as managers and technicians in agribusiness.
Handicraft Training ($130,000).
The Global Summit of Women (July 2002 in Barcelona, Spain) donated approximately $10,000 for job-skills training for women. Through this program, Shuhada, a local organization, is training women in weaving skills. At the conclusion of the program, the women will receive their own looms to produce textiles for market. At the conclusion of the program, the women will receive their own looms to produce textiles for market. This is a big deal. Ever since the film "Afghan Unveiled", many people have wanted to get looms to Afghan women living in caves in the Bamiyan geographic location: Herat ? women and children who were living in caves without any source of fuel, nor livestock nor food. Nayak which does have a school for girls, built by American Friends Service Committee, is in central Afghanistan, near Bamiyan.
It is unclear from this fact sheet as to whether the Bamiyan women will receive the looms. More info as to how to contact Shuhada or Global Summit of Women directly would be appreciated.
Media Women Journalists.
The PBS broadcast in November 2004 of the film "Afghanistan Unveiled" created an opportunity for mentoring for another Afghan journalist, the fourth that PBS, through USAWC auspices, has trained in the U.S.
PBS provided modern digital video production and editing equipment for the women video filmmakers to use in Afghanistan and training videos for use at AINA, a Kabul-based NGO devoted to media training.
The film "Afghanistan Unveiled" for which PBS paid $20,000 in royalties and rights depicts life under the Taliban and the journalist's' journey for the truth. PBS has also optioned the rights for AINA's next film about women's human rights called "If I Stand Up."
These films and several short videos to encourage women to vote were made by the "women's project" at AINA with Department of State and USAID funding (from Summer 2002 through the October 2004 elections).
The Asia Foundation (TAF) was a partner on the original "Afghanistan Unveiled" project in 2002 and continues to host trainings and screenings of the film (California, Maryland and Sundance Festivals.)
Health Health Advisory Committee.
On July 26, 2004 the Council's newly formed Health Advisory Committee sponsored a special session to discuss health issues and create public/private partnerships to utilize resources for greater impact and sustainability.
Under Secretary Paula Dobriansky hosted the organizing meeting for the committee.
Midwife Training. The $5-million Rural Education and Community Health Care Initiative (REACH) provides health-related accelerated learning and basic literacy training for women and girls. Training will take place in the Women's Centers and will target provinces with the highest maternal mortality rates such as Ghazni, Baghlan, and Badakhshan.
In April 2004, REACH graduated its first 25 midwives from the program, after they completed an 18-month program in Jalalabad. This pilot program is being replicated across Afghanistan. For each new midwife, the U.S. is supporting a lifetime of lives saved.
Afghan Family Health Book.
In Fall 2004, U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Tommy Thompson initiated the roll-out of the "Afghan Family Health Book" across Afghanistan. This "talking book" provides useful and practical information about health practices and hygiene, focusing on health promotion and disease prevention.
The books are being distributed via hospitals, clinics, and women's. The project was developed with Leapfrog Enterprises Inc., a developer, designer, and manufacturer of technology-based educational products.
Education Fulbright Scholarships.
Five Afghan women were awarded Fulbright scholarships for the academic year 2004-2005 for advanced graduate-level study in the U.S. Women's Teacher Training Institute ($5 million).
In cooperation with USAID, First Lady Laura Bush announced a USAWC Initiative to establish a Women's Teacher Training Institute in Kabul in tandem with The Afghan Literacy Initiative, designed to help teach basic literacy to Afghan women in rural areas of Afghanistan.
The Institute opened in September 2004. The Institute's first program, Afghan Literary Initiative for 200 rural villages, is in progress.
Teacher Training.
In 2002, the USAWC initiated a teacher-training exchange to bring 30 Afghan women teachers to Nebraska every six months for training. In turn, these women will train other teachers in Afghanistan.
Adopt-a-school Program.
Church communities in Texas are providing their adopted school with supplies, textbooks, and training.
U.S. Leadership Management and Computer Education.
The Council's first major program, in September and October 2002, brought 14 women from various Afghan government ministries to the United States for an educational exchange program.
During their four-week stay, they received training in computer skills, proposal writing, communications, and leadership management.
Each participant received a laptop computer to use while training in the United States and to take home to use in Afghanistan.
The women met with President George W. Bush and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice at the White House, and with Secretary of State Colin L. Powell at a Department reception held in their honor. They also had the opportunity to interact with senior policymakers, Members of Congress, government agency officials, and representatives of non-governmental organizations.
In Austin, Texas, they studied the interaction among federal, state, and local entities. Their program concluded in New York City where the participants met with representatives of the United Nations.
See http://www.state.gov/g/WI/ for International Women's Issues
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Brooklyn Man Who Stabbed 75-Year-Old Woman and Left Her for Dead Sentenced to 75 Years in Prison
Brooklyn Man Who Stabbed 75-Year-Old Woman and
Left Her for Dead Sentenced to 75 Years in Prison
Defendant, a Friend of the Victim’s Grandson, Forced His Way into Apartment
Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson today announced that a Brownsville man has been sentenced to 75 years in prison following his conviction on second-degree attempted murder and other charges for stabbing an elderly woman repeatedly and leaving her seriously injured on her apartment floor.
District Attorney Thompson said, “This defendant savagely stabbed a defenseless 75-year-old woman all over her body, robbed her of what little money she had and then left her to die. He deserves every day of his 75-year prison sentence.”
The District Attorney said that the defendant, Shytuan Breazil, 23, of Bristol Street, in Brownsville, Brooklyn, was today sentenced to 75 years in prison by Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Vincent M. Del Guidice. The defendant was convicted of second-degree attempted murder, first-degree burglary and first-degree robbery.
The District Attorney said that, according to trial testimony, on September 18, 2013, at about 2 p.m., the victim, Alvita Morales, 75, was in her apartment on Warren Street in the Warren Gardens/Wycoff Housing Development, when she heard a knock on the door and looked through the peephole. She saw the defendant, whom she recognized as a friend of her grandson, and opened the door to tell him her grandson was not staying with her. The defendant then placed his book bag on the floor and said he had something for her grandson. When the victim tried to shut the door, he shoved her to the floor and forced his way into the apartment.
Once inside the apartment, according to trial testimony, the defendant demanded money and the victim told him she had $40 in her purse. He then took a large knife from her kitchen and put it in his pocket. The victim began to scream and the defendant placed his hand over her mouth and proceeded to stab her repeatedly. He then rifled through her belongings, stopping to check on her before leaving the apartment. The victim testified that she played dead, but after he left the apartment she managed to drag herself out into the hallway. A neighbor called 911. The defendant was soon identified and arrested the next day.
The victim sustained 15 stab wounds throughout her body including one to her neck and chest, as well as a fractured orbital bone in her right eye and two fractured ribs.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant District Attorney Kori A. Medow, of the District Attorney’s Trial Bureau V, Orange Zone, under the supervision of Thomas C. Ridges, Chief.
Brooklyn Man Convicted of New Year’s Day Shooting
Brooklyn Contractor Sentenced for Stealing Employees’ Wages
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Hero MotoCorp And BPCL Join Hands To Electrify India
In a development that is set to electrify India, Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a ‘Maharatna’ and a Fortune […] The post Hero MotoCorp And BPCL Join Hands To Electrify India appeared first on EMobility+.
In a development that is set to electrify India, Hero MotoCorp, the world’s largest manufacturer of motorcycles and scooters, and Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), a ‘Maharatna’ and a Fortune Global 500 Company, have collaborated to set up charging infrastructure for two-wheeled electric vehicles (EVs) across the country.
Aligned with its Vision to “Be the Future of Mobility” and with its aim to drive the growth of EVs, Hero MotoCorp has become the first automotive OEM to tie up with the leading Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) to set up charging infrastructure across the length and breadth of India.
Bharat Petroleum, accelerating its focus on new business segments for sustainable growth, announced in September 2021 that it is converting 7,000 conventional Retail Outlets into Energy Stations providing multiple fueling options, which will include EV charging facility also, in the medium to long term.
Dr. Pawan Munjal, Chairman, and CEO, Hero MotoCorp said, “Hero MotoCorp has always been at the forefront of propelling the industry and leading it into the future. Once again, as the automotive and mobility sectors are poised to evolve, we are taking strategic steps to lead this evolution. Through our endeavors towards both organic and inorganic business expansion, we are poised to accelerate the growth of emerging mobility trends.”
“Sustainability has been a key pillar of growth within the Hero MotoCorp global ecosystem. Now, with our Vision “Be the Future of Mobility” we are aggressively advancing our initiatives towards the technologies and solutions that will empower all individuals, societies, and industries to contribute towards the planet’s environmental targets.”
“In addition to developing world-class and tech-driven sustainable emerging mobility solutions, we are also making significant efforts towards building a robust EV ecosystem and offering the most advanced services to customers. The partnership with BPCL, which is already at the forefront of customer energy solutions, will be beneficial for both the EV segment and customers. This collaboration will also unlock opportunities for asset allocation and expansion in the future.”
In the first phase, charging stations will be set up across nine cities starting with Delhi and Bengaluru. The network will be then expanded across the country with the aim to establish a high density of charging stations.
Arun Kumar Singh, Chairman & Managing Director, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. said, “Bharat Petroleum has been pioneers in providing innovative mobility-related solutions to consumers in the field of energy. Our Pure for Sure customer promise launched at the turn of the century brought in a whole new paradigm in consumer trust and transparency at the point of sale and our expansive digital embrace has added new dimensions in convenience and personalization thereby enriching our customer engagement processes.”
“As we step into the exciting phase of the energy transition, BPCL will continue to be at the forefront of accelerating the spread of clean energy in the country and will be creating a network of 7000 Energy Stations across the country with EV charging leading our endeavor.”
“India’s personal mobility is primarily driven by two-wheelers who form the largest part of our valued customer base and the two-wheeler segment has been the early adopters of electric two-wheelers. Our alliance with Hero MotoCorp, a global leader in the two-wheeler industry and with a fine penchant for innovation, is, therefore, an extremely strategic step towards ushering in an era of best-in-class EV charging solutions for our customers in our Energy Stations and an exciting future of innovative solutions in the EV sector”.
The two mega entities will first establish a substantial charging infrastructure at the existing nationwide energy station network and subsequently may broaden the collaboration to develop more synergies within the EV ecosystem and adjacent business verticals, thereby enabling prospects throughout the customer life cycle.
Hero MotoCorp will soon commence the infrastructure development in the two cities. Each charging station will feature multiple charging points including DC and AC chargers and will be available for use to all two-wheeled EVs.
The entire user charging experience will be controlled by a Hero MotoCorp Mobile-App and will be a cashless transaction model.
The massive Bharat Petroleum energy station network will also provide accelerated opportunities to expand the scope of operations and services. The companies may utilize the gateways created to make additional investments into building a robust EV ecosystem.
The post Hero MotoCorp And BPCL Join Hands To Electrify India appeared first on EMobility+.
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Boletín de Hª de la Ciencia, la Medicina y la Tecnología. ISSN: 1576-4826
Novedad bibliográfica: Immunization and States The Politics of Making Vaccines
Edited By Stuart Blume & Baptiste Baylac-Paouly
Globally, there has been a move away from national public sector vaccine development over the past 30 years. Immunization and States: The Politics of Making Vaccines explores vaccine geopolitics, analyzing why, and how this move happened, before looking at the ramifications in the context of Covid-19.
This unique book uses eight country studies – looking at Croatia, India, Iran, the Netherlands, Romania, Serbia, Spain, and Sweden – to explore the role of public sector vaccine institutes, past and present. Raising questions about national sovereignty, the erosion of multilateralism, and geopolitics, it also contributes to debates around public interest and privatization in the health sector. An extended introduction sets the chapters in an international context, whilst the epilogue looks forward to the future of vaccine development and production.
This is an important book for students, scholars, and practitioners with an interest in vaccine development from a range of fields, including public health, medicine, science and technology studies, history of medicine, politics, international relations, and the sociology of health and illness.
15/01/23 - 22/01/2312
08/01/23 - 15/01/237
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Heathcare For Humanity
Bolivia / Paraguay
LaRae Kemp, M.D. M.P.H Medical Director
Rev. Tyrone Kemp
John Kronawitter
Rev. Cecilia Kronawitter, Founder
President / Chairman of the Board
After many years working in the healthcare business as a developer, Rev. Cecilia Kronawitter founded the Foundation for Healthcare for Humanity (FHH) to provide free healthcare and medicines in the third world country and in the needy areas of the United States.
Rev. Kronawitter has extensive experience in designing, developing, managing and marketing healthcare facilities. She is an efficiency expert for hospital facilities. She has achieved a strong track record and valuable contacts in the fields of medical facility development, design, management and marketing.
She remains a very active member of the medical team and delivering the Word of God from the pulpits.
© 2023 Heathcare For Humanity - All Rights Reserved.
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Autism May Spur Eating Disorders in Adolescence, Study Finds
MONDAY, May 18, 2020 (HealthDay News) -- Autism may be a risk factor for eating disorders, a new study suggests.
Previous research has shown that 20% to 30% of adults with eating disorders have autism, and the same is true for between 3% and 10% of children and teens. But it wasn't clear if autism developed before eating disorders or vice versa.
To find out, researchers assessed autism traits in nearly 5,400 children in the United Kingdom at ages 7, 11, 14 and 16, and signs of eating disorders (such as fasting, purging, prolonged dieting or binge-eating) at age 14.
The research team found that autism traits appeared first, suggesting that it may be a risk factor for eating disorders, according to the study published online recently in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
Children with more autism traits at age 7 were 24% more likely to have weekly signs of disordered eating at age 14. However, eating disorders at age 14 did not appear to increase autism traits by age 16, the investigators found.
"The next step is to learn more about why those with autistic traits have a higher risk of developing an eating disorder so we can then design interventions to prevent eating disorders," said study co-author William Mandy. He's a senior lecturer in health education and psychology at University College London (UCL).
"Around a fifth of women presenting with anorexia nervosa have high levels of autistic traits -- and there is some evidence that these women benefit the least from current eating disorder treatment models. People with autism and eating disorders may need a different approach towards treatment," Mandy said in a university news release.
Senior study author Glyn Lewis, a professor of epidemiological psychology at UCL, said parents and caregivers of children with autism should be aware of the risks. "Being alert to eating disordered behaviors and seeking help early could be helpful," Lewis noted.
The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health has more on eating disorders.
SOURCE: University College London, news release, May 12, 2020
Helping Your Teen Manage Asthma
Autism Quiz
Eating Disorders Quiz
An Eating Disorder's Legacy: Stopping the Cycle
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Discover the certification
Certified websites
About Health On The Net
The Health On the Net Foundation (HON) was born in May 1996, during the beginning of the World Wide Web, from a collective decision by health specialists, guided by the late Professor Jean-Raoul Scherrer, and under the impetus of former Geneva State Councilor Guy-Olivier Segond.
Because the Internet is a free space that everyone shares, a search for quality information is like a shot in the dark: neither will reliably hit their target. Health On the Net Foundation's origins go back to the September 1995 meeting on the Use of the Internet and World-Wide Web for Telematics in Healthcare, when some of the world's foremost experts on telemedicine gathered in Geneva, Switzerland. The visionary experts who created HON anticipated the need for trustworthy health information online.
Thus, HON was created to promote the deployment of useful and reliable health information online and to enable its appropriate and efficient use. Two decades on, the HONcode is the oldest and most valued quality marker for online health information. It is a pragmatic solution that has been adopted by more than 8,000 websites. HON is a not-for-profit international foundation and non-governmental organization.
At HON, we work to develop realistic and applicable solutions related to our mission: “to promote the effective and reliable use of the new technologies for telemedicine in healthcare around the world.” Over the past two decades, we have identified two main challenges for which we develop schemes, conduct research activities to use on pragmatic and concrete services, and collaborate with other entities on multiple projects:
how to discern reliable health content;
how to provide access to trustworthy resources.
HON has been granted consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations (ECOSOC). This status facilitates relations with United Nations bodies, including special relations with the World Health Organization (WHO), and reinforces our consultative role with government ministries in several countries where HON has contacts.
HON also holds the status of “Liaison A” to the Health Informatics Technical Committee (ISO/TC 215) of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO). This status allows us to contribute to the elaboration of standards developed by ISO/TC 215, particularly in the domains of data structure, semantic content and security.
HON's Structure
Links to tools
HON and your data
Your rights on your data
Author : Team HON
Last Reviewed : March 2020
© 2020 Health On the Net - Non-Gouvernemental Organisation (NGO) - HON is a non-State actor in official relations with the World Health Organisation (WHO)
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Live Review: Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Murs; Lincoln’s Once a Pawn…
Category: Blog — @ 12:26 pm April 19, 2006
I’ve never parked so far away for a Sokol show — a block north of Bam’s near the church, maybe a 1/4 mile from the venue. What’s the deal? I’ve always parked closer, even for sold-out shows. I don’t know if last night’s Yeah Yeah Yeahs Yeahs show was a sell out or not, but I’ve never seen it so packed in the auditorium before. I got there at 10, just in time for the Yeahs’ set. On the back of the stage hung a huge Show Your Bones scrim, red and black like a giant flag representing the United States of Yeahs. With no fanfare at all, on walked the band, including a fourth guy who played acoustic guitar, keyboards and, on one song, bass! So here were the Yeahs with added fire power, and despite that, they sounded less epic than they did when I saw them as a trio two years ago, back when the show was literally a showcase for Nick Zinner’s blowtorch guitarwork. Maybe it was the fact that I was sandwiched in the very back of the hall, but Zinner’s guitar sounded buried in the mix, tucked away somewhere beneath Karen O’s vocals and the rest of the cacophony. Overall, a lackluster show. I blame their new record, which is less inventive and interesting than Fever to Tell (or maybe I’m just getting too familiar with the formula). With Nick in the background, O’s theatrical prancing took center stage. Dressed in a red-and-black jumper and wearing one glittering glove on her right hand, she looked and sounded like a cross between a bobbed Chrissie Hynde and a modern-day Wicked Witch of the West. I never heard her once address the audience, instead blowing through the set of new songs non-stop. The crowd didn’t seem to care, though. They were too busy doing a modified pogo and flashing devil horns. After 45 minutes, I figured I’d seen enough and high-tailed it down to the Underground. I’m told that shortly after I left the band kicked off a three-song encore that included the night’s best performance.
Meanwhile, downstairs, a hip-hop show was in high gear. Here’s where anyone with even a surface knowledge of the genre can click away to some other blog or news as you’ll find nothing valuable in my comments (just make sure you come back in a sec and read about Once a Pawn, below). I don’t know the name of the crew on stage who were opening for Murs, but they weren’t bad. They featured three MCs and a turntable guy who pumped out dense but rather minimal beats beneath their rapping. Before their last number, they passed on a story about running into Conor Oberst at a party in Atlanta. “And like all emo parties, there was only one hot girl there,” the MC said. Just as he was about to swoop down on his prey, Oberst walked up to her and leaned against the wall, blocking his approach. He shoots, he scores! “It was tight,” added another MC, while the lone white MC said, “We still like his music.” Murs joined them for their last song, and it was like turning on switch to a power grid. Night and day. The first crew walked off and Murs stayed up there and tore into his set. Compared to the last crew, he was magnetic, pouncing on an audience that looked 10 times as punk as the crowd that was standing around listening to the Yeahs above them.
End of review. Intro to this week’s feature: Without a band story assignment, Reader editor Andy Norman called me last week and asked if I could do a little sumpthin’ on Once a Pawn, whom I’d never heard of. I’m glad he did. I listened to the Lincoln trio’s tunes on Myspace and made some calls. Read the results here and check them out at Scenefest this weekend. The fourth annual event seems a bit throttled back from years past, but is still an impressive showcase of Lincoln talent, all at Duffy’s this time.
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MOIS History and Achievements
MOIS History
Madinat Al-Oloum International School is a K-12 international educational institution that reflects the diverse cultural and demographic community of the city of Riyadh in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The students and the teaching and administrative staff are a mixture of more than 10 nationalities from all over the world.
Madinat Al-Oloum is an Arabic term which means “The Science City”. The name of the school was conceived in a vision of creating an educational institution that promotes science and technology in the modern world guided by the teachings of the Islamic religion.
The school is located along King Abdullah Road near King Abdullah Palace. It was founded in 2009 with an initial enrollment of 313 students and with a total of 43 teachers and administrative staff. By now, the enrollment has increased to more than a thousand (1110 as of the academic school year 2016-2017), and as a result, the total number of teachers and administrative staff has also increased to more than two hundred (219 as of the academic year 2016-2017). This change in the number of enrollees made the school to establish another branch to house nursery, kindergarten, and grades 1 to 3 classes. At present, the school has three buildings, two are in Marwa Street along King Abdullah Road where the grades 4 to 12 girls’ and boys’ sections are located, and the other is in Jareer Street where KG and grades 1 to 3 for both boys and girls are located.
To achieve the school beliefs and aims, and to meet the school expectations and the need for modern education in the changing times, the school was established with programs that follow an American curriculum and that is based on the Common Core State Standards.
On September 30, 2010, the school received its first recognition and accreditation from the North-West Accreditation Commission which later on became a part of the AdvancED Accreditation Commission in April of 2012.
Aiming to meet the school vision and mission, the school did its best to increase the school’s strength every year. Throughout its history, Madinat Al-Oloum Intenational School has maintained a commitment to providing the highest caliber of artistic, scientific, religious, cultural, and educational experience to all students including the skilled, the talented or the gifted students, and the academically struggling students as well.
Madinat Al-Oloum International School (MOIS) offers kindergarten to high school programs (K-12) that are based on the Common Core State Standards followed by American international schools. MOIS focuses on integrating programs based on American curricula and educational practices that enrich the Arab heritage and reflect the Islamic culture.
Upon its founding, the school board aims to establish MOIS as an American international school where students are well-educated with high morals and good manners with special emphasis on Islamic values.
MOIS prepares students for American standardized tests like the SAT and Subject SAT which would qualify them to get the American Diploma that will enable them to join most Arab and international universities according to their GPA and scores. Moreover, the school also offers IELTS course sessions specifically to grade 12 students because of the fact that most international universities require this standardized test in admitting students whose first language is not English.
MOIS also prepares students to respond to the future challenges of their college education; hence, the school requires students to prepare projects as final requirements for graduation. The computer department for instance required all graduating students to submit projects using vb.net or visual basic application for programming. Among these projects are (1) SAT Tansik Calculator, (2) A program that provides profiles for each member of the school including the students and the staff, and (3) Developing Windows application to help senior students choose a university.
As future leaders, the students are also required to join community services. Such services include hygiene and sanitation, helping the poor in the streets of Riyadh, and assisting and serving the entire community of the school such as the school library, the school laboratory, and the school staff rooms among others.
To meet the school aims and to strengthen all the aspects of the school, the administration created various committees headed by competent staff members. These committees are for curriculum development, integration, skills development, technology development, Islamic awareness, maintenance and hygiene, communication, policies and assessment, and feedback and performance diagnostics among others. The school collaborates these school aims and efforts to stakeholders by establishing the Parents’ Council and the Students’ Council to make all school stakeholders be aware of all these recent developments, and to make parents and students one of the main contributors of the school’s development.
As one of the finest international schools of the city of Riyadh, the school always finds ways to inculcate among students the school vision – “Learn Today, Lead Tomorrow”. This vision is reflective of the school mission in creating well-prepared individuals cognitively and behaviorally while focusing on developing their psychomotor skills. Guided by the school’s vision and mission, the teachers and the staff in collaboration with the parents and the community, all work hand-in-hand to make sure that all students become successful not only in the school, but in their lives as a whole.
MOIS Achievements
(For 2016-2017 till February 2017)
From: MOIS Administration
To: All Stakeholders
Based on the previous students’ results diagnostics, stakeholders’ survey results analysis, and assessment of different school activities and practices, MOIS has created an improvement plan to improve the school’s performance in different aspects. Though the improvement plan is still ongoing, it is important to communicate our school’s achievements with all of the school’s stakeholders, as partners in the education process.
Based on what are mentioned above, we have listed below the school achievements since the establishment of the school till February of 2017, focusing on the major achievements that would lead to noticeable changes and development. We are hoping that they meet your expectations.
General Achievements
1- Opening a new branch of the school in Jareer Street for grade levels K to 3. The new building is suitable for the learning needs of these grade levels.
2- Providing a suitable learning environment for students such as suitable classrooms based on modern standards and conditions, and by not utilizing 90% of the 3rd floor.
3- Developing the school building facilities including the schools plumbing cycle, and the playground’s floor cover; fixing, updating, and developing the Science lab, the computer lab, the multimedia room, and the library ; changing the school’s roof cover by adding a protection to the ceiling to prevent rain leak problems; changing the whiteboards, and many others.
4- Establishing the school’s electronic system or E2SKOOL. The electronic system will facilitate communication with parents on different levels. The system is dynamic to make it easy for parents to communicate with the school at any time for the purpose of getting information about his children in their academic progress and behavior reports; getting informed about the school’s financial requirements; asking for excuses and permissions; and communicating problems. Some aspects of the system are still currently working on static a mode, and it is on an ongoing development process to reach the mentioned target.
5- Submitting the weekly plans through the school’s electronic website, and the school’s Facebook page.
6- Applying modern technology applications, like smart boards for grade levels 7 to 12, and computer devices for grade levels 4 to 12.
7- Applying a number of surveys that covers all stakeholders. The survey’s results were successfully analyzed. The analyzed data are to be used to update the school plans to reach stakeholders’ expectations.
8- Choosing highly qualified teachers according to the regulations and conditions of the Ministry of Education.
9- Activating successfully the Students’ Council. The council board was chosen based on internal school elections. The council is a basic link between the school’s administration and students in all grade levels.
10- Activating a number of school committees including :
- Skills Development Committee that focuses on developing the skills of teachers, students and parents which help in achieving the school vision and mission.
- Integration Committee that focuses on integrating learning between all subjects for students and for teachers as well, to meet the school vision and mission.
- Technology Committee that focuses on developing technology applications in the school, which is required to reach the school’s purpose.
- And other committees such as, Islamic Awareness Committee, Stakeholders Feedback Diagnostic Committee, Students’ Performance Diagnostic Committee, Curriculum Development Committee, Executive Summary Committee, and Improvement Plan Committee among others.)
11- Meeting the members of the Parents’ Council to discuss basic concerns of stakeholders. An effective parent’s council had three meetings during the current year, and valuable suggestions were presented by the members to solve the noted problems. Positive discussions between the council and the governing body were so helpful to develop MOIS plans.
12- Training on the Crisis Plan was successfully conducted. The school personnel and students were successfully trained on the crisis plan, especially the evacuation process. The students were trained on both methods of instructions theoretically and practically.
13- Disseminating school-wide hygiene awareness. Different activities were applied by the school clinic to spread hygiene awareness, to follow up students’ health, and to support students who need medical care.
1- Reaching a qualified degree of systematic communication and documentation processes.
2- Having better and effective means of communication with parents, through different channels like – parents’ meetings , teacher-parent individual meeting , Facebook page, the school website, letters, and memos.
3- Unifying the vision of the whole school, allowing departments to have noticeable integration.
4- Encouraging and supporting the application of new approaches that serve the educational process.
5- Developing the Parent/Student Handbook for the KG section. The handbook includes all the required information that a parent or a student needs to know about the school.
6- Conducting meaningful successful events as well as involving students in community service such as “Helping the Needy Day”and “Volunteering” among other community services.
7- Assessing the effectiveness of many programs and the tools that are needed to build attainable and sustainable future plans, such as students’ diagnostic test, teachers’ evaluation tool, activity weeks, morning broadcast, and many others.
8- Allowing teachers to be a part of the evaluation process.
9- Applying earnestly the modern methodology of teaching and learning this year – the task-based learning methodology.
10- Employing the controlled/free activities as a major part of all stages of a lesson – the lead-in, the pre-teaching stage, making prediction stage, introducing the TL/the receptive skill stage, and the final productive skill stage.
11- Applying the cross-curricular projects this year as a means to build connection with life-time education as well as with different subjects. For example, a project allowed high school students to research, present, and assess materials related to historic figures who contributed to the progress of humanity. Another project allowed students to form group seminars in which they discussed and assessed free reading materials. In some other grade levels, math projects that integrate Art, Science, and Social studies with Math were applied. Other cross subject projects were applied as well.
12- Helping high school students develop their presentation skills. Even those who found difficulty expressing themselves orally were encouraged to overcome this obstacle. Peer assessment motivated students to work as critics and not only as audience or recipients.
13- Utilizing some technology applications to grade levels 4 to 12 concerning Virtual Laboratory. Qur’an and English departments are using simple phonics lab.
14- Applying several competitions including:
- The schools 7th Science Fair competition that focuses on the steps of the scientific methods, and helping students to develop cooperation skills and leadership skills, as well as developing their science information and interest.
- Applying Qur’an memorization and reading competitions for both students and parents.
- Applying writing competition for grades 7 to 12.
15- Designing programs for low-achieving students in all subjects, and another program for gifted students.
16- Applying a full plan of (Subject Activity Week) that focuses on teaching students based on different types of activities that meet students’ different types of learning. Creating a link between the student and the subject by applying varieties of activities that match their interests, skills, backgrounds, and needs.
17- Providing new resources for the redesigned SAT which helps our high school students to get a good SAT score.
18- Presenting a successful SAT parents’ conference to high school parents. The conference was the 4th parent SAT conference, and it included a detailed discussion about the redesigned SAT, Subject SAT, and how the school prepares students for both. The conference successfully answers parents’ questions and the most frequently asked questions that are related to this topic.
19- Training workshops were presented to all of the school’s personnel, including teachers and administrators. MOIS started to apply a plan that covers 24 training hours for all of them. The training topics covers different school requirements including Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, Classroom Management, Lesson Planning, Teaching Strategies , Computer Skills, Data Analysis, Reporting, and other topics.
20- Conducting a standardized diagnostic test to grades 3, 5, 7, and 9. A diagnostic test called MAP test was applied to grade levels 3 (as an indicator for early elementary stage), grade 5 (as an indicator for the elementary stage), grades 7 and 9 (as an indicator for the intermediate stage). SAT trial test is applied at the end of every year for grade 10, and SAT results are to be analyzed for grades 11 and 12.
The purpose of the diagnostic test as mentioned in the sent letter is to decide students’ academic level based on an international test.
21- Analyzing summative assessments through a concept-based method. Students summative assessment results were concept-based analyzed to determine the concept weakness in each grade level which helps in the school’s annual curricula design.
22- Applying an intensive course for low-achieving students in grades 1 – 3 in both English and Math subjects. The course includes the basics of each of the subjects to help students reach the required background knowledge for his grade level educational expectations.
23- Communicating successfully the student’s level of performance to parents by more than one method such as report cards, evaluation follow up sheets, and progress reports.
24- Applying a multiple intelligence test for grade levels (1 – 3). The test gives an indication about the most popular types of intelligence for each student. Results were used to redesign the lesson strategies according to the type of learning.
25- Applying a survey to students who graduated from MOIS to gather information about how much our program is convenient to different university requirements. The results admit that the school program is strong and effective for our graduates.
26- Supporting and enriching the school’s Arabic and Islamic Studies curricula by incorporating additional standards from the Ministry of Education to guarantee full advantage of studying the said subjects.
27- Encouraging students to read is one of the school's basic interests. Different activities were prepared for a long term reading festival. The festival includes reading and discussing books in all grade levels starting from K to 12; providing a Book Fair in the school; and facilitating different parents' involvement activities.
28- Preparing the Teacher's Handbook for each department to guarantee that all teachers are applying a unified school strategy. The handbook includes all of the required instructions that help meet the school purpose.
MOIS Vision & Mision
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PCS| Ashley Madison Summary Data and Paid for Delete for SC
Aug 30, 2015 | Blog Posts
The Ashley Madison Agency, established in 2001, is home to around 33 million users. Of the 33 million users from around the world, about 0.6% were from South Carolina. With that being said, South Carolina has been ranked at number 36 for most unfaithful state in America.
While analyzing the data from South Carolina, we found 218,840 users signed up for service. That is a staggering 85% male and 15% female. If you crunch those numbers is comes to 185,700 male users and 33,140 female users.
These users may have never paid for the service offered but they did create a profile. Ironically, we also found that there were 2,015 users in South Carolina that had paid for their account to be deleted. That means 1% of South Carolina users paid for delete. Of the 2,015 South Carolina users that paid for delete, 1,857 were male users and 158 users were female.
It has been interesting to learn about the users involved in the Ashley Madison leak. We analyzed the data with social media platforms and learned more about the people who had signed up with Ashley Madison. However, due to legal concerns, we will only be sharing summary data here.
In the coming days, we will release more data and analytics regarding Ashley Madison users from South Carolina.
PCS | Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows 7, Windows 8, and Windows 10
PCS | Stay Secure Online!
PCS | Data Recovery!
PCS | System Requirements for Today’s Windows Operating Systems…
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COMMONWEALTH vs. REYNALDO ALCEDO JIMINEZ (and five companion cases [Note 1]).
November 13, 1985 - May 30, 1986
Present: GRANT, KAPLAN, & SMITH, JJ.
A police officer's action in positioning his cruiser so as to follow a short distance behind an automobile to observe its operation, which resulted in his observation that the validation sticker on the vehicle's license plate had expired, could not properly be characterized as pursuit and did not encroach upon any privacy interest of the occupants of the vehicle. [289-290]
A police officer who concededly had probable cause to search an automobile for weapons was entitled to extend his warrantless search to the trunk of the car after finding a firearm and contraband in the passenger compartment. [290-291]
At a criminal trial there was no error in the judge's questioning of two police witnesses for the purpose of clarifying matters relative to the admission of certain evidence, where neither officer was a witness to the crimes for which the defendant was on trial, where the testimony elicited was technical in nature, and where the judge instructed the jury to attach no significance to the fact that he had asked the questions. [291-293]
A judge did not abuse his discretion in discharging one of the jurors after the close of the evidence at a criminal trial so that she could attend an employment interview, and in substituting an alternate juror before deliberations had commenced. [293-295]
Any weakness in the chain of custody of a firearm admitted in evidence at a criminal trial affected the weight rather than the admissibility of that evidence. [295]
Evidence at a criminal trial was sufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the length of the barrel of a firearm was less than eighteen inches, where the weapon itself was placed in evidence and where two police witnesses described it as a "sawed-off shotgun." [295]
There was no merit to a defendant's contention that he was entitled to a required finding of not guilty on a criminal charge because a statutory citation in the indictment was typed incorrectly. [295-296]
INDICTMENTS found and returned in the Superior Court Department on September 28, 1983.
A pretrial motion to suppress evidence was heard by Robert J. Hallisey, J., and the cases were tried before Elbert Tuttle, J.
Richard P. Desjardins for Jorge Mayans.
Antone B. Cruz, Jr., for Reynaldo Alcedo Jiminez.
Dana A. Curhan, Assistant District Attorney, for the Commonwealth.
SMITH, J. The defendants, Reynaldo Alcedo Jiminez and Jorge Mayans, were indicted for (1) unlawfully carrying a firearm (a nine millimeter "Mac 10" weapon), (2) unlawful possession of an altered firearm (a sawed-off shotgun), and (3) unlawful possession of cocaine, with intent to distribute, said cocaine being in excess of 200 grams. Both defendants were convicted on all three indictments following a jury trial. On appeal, they allege several errors which they claim require reversal of their convictions.
1. Denial of suppression motions. Prior to trial, both defendants filed motions to suppress certain evidence that had been seized by the police as a result of a warrantless search of their automobile. After a hearing, a Superior Court judge denied their motions and filed a memorandum that contained his findings of fact. Those findings of fact are "binding in the absence of clear error . . . and [we] view with particular respect the conclusions of law which are based on them." Commonwealth v. Correia, 381 Mass. 65, 76 (1980). While the judge's ultimate findings of fact and rulings of law, as they bear on issues of constitutional dimension, are open for reexamination by this court, such ultimate findings are "entitled to substantial deference by this court." Commonwealth v. Bookman, 386 Mass. 657, 661 n.6 (1982). "Questions of credibility are, of course, for the . . . judge to resolve. Commonwealth v. Meehan, 377 Mass. 552, 557 (1979)." Commonwealth v. Bottari, 395 Mass. 777, 780 (1985). We now summarize the judge's findings of fact.
On September 14, 1983, at 1:30 A.M., Trooper Richard Whitehead was on routine patrol and driving south in a marked cruiser on Route 95 in North Attleborough. He turned off the highway at an exit and then drove onto the ramp leading to Route 95 north. At that point, he observed a late model Oldsmobile travelling north on Route 95 within the speed limit. He noticed that the automobile had its high beam headlights on. Another automobile was following it. Trooper Whitehead paced his cruiser so that both automobiles passed him before he entered the highway from the ramp.
The trooper observed that after the second automobile passed the Oldsmobile, the driver of the latter automobile did not lower the high beams. Thereupon, he closed the distance between his cruiser and the Oldsmobile to within two car lengths. From that distance, he observed that the validation sticker affixed to the license plate had expired at the end of August of 1983. At that point, he put on the dome lights and high beams of his cruiser and signaled the Oldsmobile to stop. He did not inform his headquarters that he had stopped a vehicle.
Trooper Whitehead got out of the cruiser and walked toward the Oldsmobile. He noticed that there were two males in the automobile. The driver of the Oldsmobile, subsequently identified as Jorge Mayans, stepped out of the automobile. He put his hands in the air, head high, palms forward, in a position commonly thought of as one of surrender. He started to walk toward Trooper Whitehead. This unusual behavior aroused the trooper's concern. He ordered Mayans to get back in his automobile three times, but Mayans failed to do so. Mayans then stated that he did not have a license and that he was driving because the passenger was ill.
The trooper then escorted Mayans to the passenger door of the automobile. As he did so, he saw the passenger, who was still in the automobile, and was later identified as Reynaldo Alcedo Jiminez, reach down very quickly toward the bottom of the passenger seat. Trooper Whitehead ordered Jiminez out of the automobile and asked him for some identification. Jiminez gave him a Florida license in the name of Alcedo. The license appeared to be in order. The trooper asked Jiminez
about the ownership of the automobile. He replied that it was a rental automobile and showed the rental agreement to Whitehead. The trooper noted that the agreement was in the name of one Castillo, not Alcedo. He asked Jiminez for some explanation and was informed that Castillo was a member of the family.
At this point, the trooper asked Jiminez why he had ducked down quickly while sitting in the passenger seat. Up to the time the trooper asked that question, Jiminez had been very courteous and polite. However, upon hearing this question, his expression changed and he appeared shaken, grim, and anxious. He looked at Mayans and did not answer the question. Officer Whitehead then became concerned about his own safety. He ordered the two men to walk forward to the front of their automobile, where he had them stand in front of the headlights. The trooper then positioned himself behind the passenger door. He swept his hand under the front passenger seat, where he discovered a loaded nine millimeter Mac 10 semi-automatic weapon. Trooper Whitehead asked the men if either had a license for the gun. Jiminez responded, saying that he had a Florida license but not with him. The trooper then told the men that they were under arrest. He ordered the two men to lie on the ground, which they did after the order was repeated several times.
Trooper Whitehead went back to his cruiser and radioed for assistance. Two police officers from North Attleborough arrived and, shortly thereafter, a State police cruiser. After the two defendants were placed in the cruiser, Trooper Whitehead continued the search of the defendants' automobile. Over the visor on the passenger side, he found a foil packet with a white powdery substance inside, which was later determined to be cocaine. Trooper Whitehead then removed the keys from the ignition and opened the trunk. He found a loaded sawed-off shotgun. Next to the shotgun was a brown paper bag with two parcels inside. Both parcels, it was later determined, contained cocaine.
a. The "pursuit" of the defendants' automobile by the police. The defendants claim that Trooper Whitehead "pursued" their automobile without legal justification before he observed that
the validation sticker on the license plate had expired and, therefore, they contend that their rights under the Fourth Amendment to the United States Constitution were violated.
Prior to the time that he signaled the driver of the defendants' automobile to stop, Trooper Whitehead's actions could not be characterized as a "pursuit." After he first saw the automobile, the trooper simply positioned his cruiser a short distance behind the defendants' automobile in order to observe its operation. At that point he did not attempt to stop it, nor was he pursuing it "to effect a stop." Commonwealth v. Thibeau, 384 Mass. 762, 764 (1981). The following of an automobile by the police did not "clash[ ] with individual rights [of the defendants]." Commonwealth v. Wooden, 13 Mass. App. Ct. 417, 419 (1982). In addition, we note that Trooper Whitehead and the defendants were travelling on a public highway at the time the cruiser was following the defendants' automobile. Surveillance of an automobile by a police officer does not encroach upon the privacy interests of the occupants where, as here, the officer makes his observations from a place where he is legally entitled to be. See Commonwealth v. Oreto, 20 Mass. App. Ct. 581, 584-586 (1985).
b. Search of the automobile trunk. Neither defendant challenges the judge's decision upholding the warrantless search of the passenger compartment. Mayans argues, however, that the extension of that search into the trunk was illegal because it was not justified by probable cause or exigent circumstances.
Over sixty years ago the Supreme Court established an automobile exception to the warrant requirement when it held that a warrantless search of an automobile by a police officer who has "reasonable or probable cause for believing that the automobile which he stops . . . has contraband . . . therein" does not violate the Fourth Amendment. Carroll v. United States, 267 U.S. 132, 156 (1925). More recently, the Court upheld the warrantless search of an automobile trunk. United States v. Ross, 456 U.S. 798 (1982). In Ross the Court held that "[i]f probable cause justifies the search of a lawfully stopped vehicle, it justifies the search of every part of the vehicle and its contents that may conceal the object of the
search" (emphasis supplied). United States v. Ross, supra at 825. See Commonwealth v. King, 389 Mass. 233, 247 (1983). Here, Mayans concedes that the police had probable cause to search the automobile for weapons. Once a firearm and contraband had been found in the passenger compartment the police were justified in searching the trunk, "the trunk clearly being a `part of the vehicle' capable of concealing `the object of the search,' [i.e. drugs or weapons]." [Note 2] United States v. Rickus, 737 F.2d 360, 367 (3d Cir. 1984), quoting from Ross at 825. [Note 3]
2. The questioning of Commonwealth witnesses by the judge. As part of its case against the defendants, the Commonwealth introduced firearm certificates (G. L. c. 140, Section 121A) and drug analysis certificates (G. L. c. 147, Section 4D). To lay the foundation for introduction of these certificates the Commonwealth called two police officers as witnesses. During the course of their respective examinations the judge asked several questions of each officer. The defendants contend that in questioning these witnesses, the judge abdicated his role as an impartial arbiter and assumed the mantle of the prosecutor, thereby depriving them of a fair trial. We rule, however, that there was no error.
The first police officer, in answer to the prosecutor's questions, testified that he delivered the firearms found in the defendants' automobile to the ballistics laboratory in Boston. When the Commonwealth moved for admission in evidence of
the related firearm certificates, however, the judge refused to admit them, ruling that the Commonwealth was also required to establish when the witness retrieved the weapons from the laboratory in Boston. [Note 4] The judge then proceeded to ask the witness a half dozen questions regarding the date when the witness retrieved the weapons from the laboratory. The answers were apparently satisfactory, because the firearm certificates were subsequently allowed in evidence.
The second police officer who was the subject of judicial questioning testified, in response to questions from the prosecutor, that he had taken three packages containing a white powdery substance to the laboratory in Boston for analysis. When the Commonwealth moved to admit in evidence the three corresponding certificates of analysis, the judge sustained the defendants' objections to their admission on the ground that the certificates had not been linked to the packages submitted for analysis. The prosecution then asked the witness for the laboratory number assigned to the three packages. At that point, the judge took over the questioning of the witness. He asked the witness several questions about the laboratory number and eventually admitted the drug analysis certificates. [Note 5]
A trial judge is the "`guiding spirit and the controlling mind at a trial.'" Commonwealth v. Dias, 373 Mass. 412, 416 (1977). As such, he "may properly question a witness, even where to do so may strengthen the Commonwealth's case, so long as the examination is not partisan in nature, biased, or a display of belief in the defendant's guilt." Ibid. Furthermore,
he may "ask questions to clarify a point, to prevent perjury, or to develop trustworthy testimony." Commonwealth v. Fitzgerald, 380 Mass. 840, 847 (1980). A trial judge, of course, should use his "power to ask questions with restraint". Ibid.
The questioning of the witnesses in this case was not partisan, nor did it convey to the jury the impression that the judge believed the defendants were guilty. Neither police officer questioned by the judge was a witness to the crime, and their testimony was technical in nature. The judge's questioning was obviously intended to clarify certain points relative to the introduction of the certificates in evidence. Moreover, the judge told the jury not to attach any significance to the fact that he asked the questions. [Note 6] "We are not unmindful of the observation of Francis Bacon on the `overspeaking judge' and we have not favored except in extenuating circumstances the takeover of questioning by a judge during the course of trial." Commonwealth v. Campbell, 371 Mass. 40, 45 (1976). However, in the circumstances presented here, there was no error.
3. Discharge of empanelled juror. After the close of the evidence and prior to the commencement of deliberations, one of the empanelled jurors requested to be excused from further service. The judge held a hearing in open court, outside the presence of the jury panel. The juror stated that she was presently employed but had just learned of a job opportunity at another company. She called that company for a job interview but was forced to accept an appointment which conflicted with the next scheduled court day. In response to a question from the judge, she stated that she could call the company and attempt
to postpone the interview but was unsure whether the job would be left open for her. She also stated that the job interview was important to her. At the conclusion of the hearing, the judge discharged the juror, over the objections of defense counsel. [Note 7] They claim that the judge abused his discretion in dismissing the juror.
There do not appear to be any cases that deal with the procedure involving the discharge of an empanelled juror prior to the commencement of deliberations. [Note 8] However, cases that are concerned with the interpretation of a statute that permits a discharge of a deliberating juror form a useful background for our analysis. Commonwealth v. Haywood, 377 Mass. 755, 765-770 (1979). Commonwealth v. Webster, 391 Mass. 271, 275-276 (1984). Commonwealth v. Connor, 392 Mass. 838, 842-847 (1984).
General Laws c. 234, Section 26B, as amended through St. 1979, c. 344, Section 9A, provides for substitution of an alternate juror if a deliberating juror "dies, or becomes ill, or is unable to perform his duty for any other good cause shown to the court." Those occasions mentioned in the statute are precisely the same circumstances that would permit the discharge of an empanelled juror prior to the commencement of deliberations. State v. Trent, 157 N.J. Super. 231, 239 (1978), rev'd on other grounds, 79 N.J. 251 (1979), cited in Commonwealth v. Connor, 392 Mass. 838, 845 n.4 (1984). The Commonwealth contends that the juror was discharged for "good cause". It has been held that "good cause," as it appears in Section 26B, "includes only reasons personal to a juror, having nothing whatsoever to do with the issues of the case or with the juror's relationship with his fellow jurors." Commonwealth v. Connor, supra at 844-845. Here, that standard was met, as the juror was
discharged because of a personal situation, not connected to her relationship with her fellow jurors or her views on the case. We recognize that not every personal situation will justify the dismissal of an empanelled juror prior to deliberations (see note 8, supra). However, in this case the job interview was important to the juror. A continuation of her jury service might well have resulted in a hardship in light of a possible loss of a job opportunity. In the circumstances, the judge did not abuse his discretion in discharging the juror prior to deliberations.
4. Other issues. The other issues raised by the defendants are without merit and do not warrant extended discussion.
a. The judge's decision to admit in evidence the firearm discovered underneath the passenger seat was not error. It was authenticated by Trooper Whitehead, and there was adequate evidence of the chain of custody. Any weaknesses in the chain affected the weight rather than the admissibility of that evidence. Commonwealth v. Berth, 385 Mass. 784, 791 (1982).
b. Jiminez's motion for a required finding of not guilty on the charge of unlawful possession of a sawed-off shotgun on the ground that no evidence was introduced as to the length of the barrel was properly denied. There was ample evidence in regard to the barrel. The firearm itself was placed in evidence. The jury could readily observe that its barrel was several inches less than eighteen inches. Two police officers described the firearm as a "sawed-off shotgun." See Commonwealth v. Sperrazza, 372 Mass. 667, 670 (1977) (testimony that weapon in question was a "revolver" or a "handgun" held sufficient to support the conclusion that the barrel was less than sixteen inches, as revolvers or handguns are ordinarily short firearms). In sum, the evidence was sufficient to establish beyond a reasonable doubt that the length of the barrel was less than eighteen inches.
c. The citation to the statute under which Mayans was charged with unlawful possession of a sawed-off shotgun was typed incorrectly. [Note 9] Mayans filed a motion for a required finding of
not guilty based on the defect. His motion was denied by the judge.
The body of the indictment listed the date and location of the alleged crime. It correctly stated the nature of the crime with which the defendant was charged. The description satisfied art. 12 of the Declaration of Rights of the Massachusetts Constitution and Mass.R.Crim.P. 4(a), 378 Mass. 849 (1979). Moreover, Mayans does not even claim that he was prejudiced by the defect. His contention that the judge erred borders on the frivolous.
d. Mayans' contention that G. L. c. 94C, Section 32E(b)(3), as appearing in St. 1982, c. 650, Section 11, is unconstitutionally vague was rejected in Commonwealth v. Maracic, 18 Mass. App. Ct. 722 (1984).
Judgments affirmed.
[Note 1] Two of the companion cases are against Jiminez and three are against Jorge Mayans.
[Note 2] Mayans relies on Commonwealth v. Ford, 394 Mass. 421 (1985), for his argument that the search of the trunk was unreasonable. In Ford, a police officer opened the trunk of an impounded automobile for the purpose of securing certain personal property. He saw a rifle in the trunk and seized it. The court held that the warrantless search was unreasonable because the storage search was not conducted pursuant to standard police procedures. In addition, the court noted that "there was neither probable cause to search nor any special circumstances, such as an emergency, to justify a warrantless search without probable cause." Commonwealth v. Ford, 394 Mass. 421, 427 n.4 (1985). In the instant case, there was probable cause to search the automobile.
[Note 3] United States v. Rickus, supra, also illustrates the wide variety of materials that some defendants have been found to have carried in the trunks of their automobiles. In that case the police found a .22 caliber semi-automatic pistol and a mask of Leonid Brezhnev.
[Note 4] The correctness of that ruling is not before us.
[Note 5] It was not until well after the judge questioned the second witness that the defendants objected to the judicial questioning and requested a mistrial. The objection and the request were not timely. "While we understand the natural reluctance of trial counsel to object to questions . . . coming from a judge, sometimes trial counsel's duty to protect his client's rights requires him to object, preferably at the bench out of the jury's hearing." Commonwealth v. Fitzgerald, 380 Mass. 840, 846 (1980). An examination of this record does not show that counsel for either defendant was reluctant to object to any action by the judge. Therefore, as there was no justification for the defendants' failures to make timely objection, we examine their contentions under the "substantial likelihood of a miscarriage of justice" standard. Commonwealth v. Freeman, 352 Mass. 556, 563-564 (1967).
[Note 6] During the course of his remarks to the jury the judge told them not to "draw any inferences from anything that I may ask in the questioning. I'm known as a judicial interferer, the lawyers don't like it sometimes, but I stick my nose in and ask questions and they may not like my asking questions." Counsel for the defendants have seized on the phrase "judicial interferer" and argue that it supports their argument that the judge improperly interfered with the trial.
As we have noted in the body of the opinion, the judge's intervention in the case by asking questions was not error. The fact that the judge stated to the jury that he is known, apparently by some lawyers, as a "judicial interferer" did not turn his intervention into an example of judicial interference.
[Note 7] Because alternate jurors had been empanelled, the verdicts against the defendants were returned by a twelve person jury.
[Note 8] The matter is now covered in G. L. c. 234A, Section 39, as amended by St. 1984, c. 189, Section 158, which provides in part: "The court shall have authority to excuse and discharge an impanelled juror prior to jury deliberations after a hearing upon a finding of extreme hardship." That statute did not apply to jury trials in Bristol County at the time of the judge's action.
[Note 9] The indictment refers to G. L. c. 269, Section 10C, rather than G. L. c. 269, Section 10(c). The miscitation is repeated on the front of the indictment.
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Todd St Hill and Giancarlo M.
What’s next for the Queen City rebellion?
In the days after Keith Lamont Scott was killed by police, Charlotte, North Carolina, was the site of daily protests that spread out and mobilized people around the state. Todd St Hill and Giancarlo M. recount the story of the struggle so far, look at the challenges that protesters face and outline elements of a strategy that can achieve justice.
FOR OVER two weeks, hundreds and thousands of people have kept the rebellion against police terror alive in the Queen City. Despite the ramping up of police repression, organizers have continued to build protests and push through with their demands for justice.
It all started on September 20, when Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department (CMPD) officers shot and killed 43-year-old Keith Lamont Scott as he sat in his car, waiting for his son to get off the school bus.
That same night, hundreds of Charlotte residents took to the streets in protest, launching what has materialized into #CharlotteUprising, a collective of local organizations with support from statewide and national organizations such as Tribe, the Queer and Trans People of Color Collective, Southerners On New Ground, Black Youth Project 100, Showing Up for Racial Justice, the Southeast Asian Coalition and Workers World, among others.
On the second night of marches, riot police fired tear gas and rubber bullets into the crowd, injuring many. During the protest 26-year-old protester Justin Carr was shot and killed. While several witnesses say they saw Carr struck by a rubber bullet fired by police, the CMPD and city of Charlotte continue to defend their claim that Carr was shot by a civilian. Later that week, 21-year-old Rayquan Borum was arrested on charges of first-degree murder.
Protesters march to demand justice for Keith Lamont Scott
The blatant display of brutality and abuse of power continued throughout the following days.
On Saturday, thousands of people gathered at Marshall Park for a rally and march that made stops at various locations around Charlotte, including the courthouse, CMPD headquarters, the county jail and Bank of America.
At each stop, speakers highlighted the connections between police killings and the immense amount of money that flows through Charlotte--a major corporate hub for Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Duke Energy--and the systemic racism embodied in those institutions.
The multiracial and multigenerational crowd also stopped outside the Omni Hotel, the site of the killing of Justin Carr, for a moment of silence.
AFTER THE march, demonstrators returned to the police station where a press conference was underway to announce the release of a police body-cam video--a decision undoubtedly forced by the protests as well as the release of cell-phone footage taken by Rakeyia Scott, Keith's wife, which went viral a day earlier.
The first body-cam video footage was incomplete and without audio, raising more question than answers. Suspicions of an attempted cover-up grew stronger as other videos were released and police acknowledged that the officer who killed Scott "failed to turn his camera on." Video from a patrol car dash cam showed Scott walking backwards with his hands by his side, contradicting the already questionable report by the CMPD.
The next day, hundreds of people were back in Charlotte's Uptown, this time at the gates of the Bank of America Stadium to protest outside a Carolina Panthers football game, which authorities decided to keep in Charlotte despite the state of emergency declared by city officials.
During the national anthem, protesters took a knee and raised their fists, following the example of San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick, who has inspired other athletes to follow his decision to not stand for the anthem in solidarity with oppressed people and in opposition to police killings.
On Monday, fast-food workers with Raise Up for $15 went on strike in solidarity and to make connections between the low-wage workers' struggle and the Movement for Black Lives.
Later that evening, hundreds packed the City Council's community forum, with hundreds more rallying in the lobby of City Hall. With very few exceptions, speaker after speaker took the podium to demand justice for Scott and condemn the lack of action. Many also demanded the resignation of Police Chief Kerr Putney and Major Jennifer Roberts.
The forum lasted over two and a half hours and was full of passionate and emotional speeches, including that of 9-year-old Zianna Oliphant, whose moving words went viral:
It's a shame that our fathers and brothers are killed and we can't see them anymore. It's a shame that we have to go through that graveyard and bury him. We need our fathers and brothers to be by our side...We are Black people, and we shouldn't have to feel like this. We shouldn't have to protest because you are treating us wrong. We do this because we need to, and we have rights.
THE POLICE repression in Charlotte has reached a level similar to what we've witnessed in Ferguson and Baltimore.
National media outlets reported that National Guard was dispatched and a curfew implemented to "restore peace." What wasn't as widely broadcast was the presence of state and local police stationed at every highway off-ramp to Uptown and outside major businesses. Police from the city of Greensboro, located two hours away, were spotted throughout Charlotte, and the personnel from the security firm AlliedBarton Company Police patrolled the Uptown bus terminal.
The presence of the National Guard, state troopers, local police and private security clearly gave the CMPD the opportunity and confidence to ramp up their racist and repressive practices.
From almost the beginning of the protests, activists report police targeting and arresting organizers on trumped-up charges and holding them in jail for anywhere between from two and 12 hours. The Charlotte Jail support team reported that while white protesters were typically released with two to four hours, Black demonstrators were held from four to six hours, and sometimes as long as 12.
Over 100 people have been arrested in connection with the protests so far, and some are yet to be released. Bail for some was set as high as $300,000.
Police harassment has continued in other ways. Police reportedly infiltrated a hub that demonstrators used to store food and supplies needed to deal with the tear gas, concussion grenades and rubber bullets being used against them. The jail support team has reported multiple attempts to infiltrate their operation. The #CharlotteUprising website, and especially its link to donate to the bond fund, has suffered multiple cyber attacks.
In another incident, police ran over and then arrested a demonstrator who was part of a protest that attempted to take over a highway. When other protesters tried to help the injured man, they were pepper-sprayed and pushed away.
It's clear to organizers and demonstrators that the intensified surveillance and repression by the CMPD was a reaction to the success of the uprising in garnering support from sections of Black, Brown and working-class white communities across North Carolina.
AS MANY people in Charlotte observed since Scott's killing, the eruption of righteous protests in Charlotte has been brewing for decades.
The police killings of Keith Scott, Justin Carr and Jonathan Ferrell can't be separated from the long and complicated history of racial integration and resegregation in the Queen City.
As historian Tom Hanchett explained in an interview with the Think Progress website, in the post-Civil War period, "Charlotte was one of several southern burgs where class solidarity briefly trumped racial division." According to Hanchett, the 1890s witnessed what became dubbed as the Fusion Movement, in which Blacks:
came together with ordinary white folks and voted out the men of property and standing. The landowners, the railroad owners, many of them former slave owners, got voted out of both houses of the legislature and also the governor's chair in 1896...The Fusion movement redrafted the state constitution, including a passage aimed at guaranteeing working-class economic security long before the American labor movement began.
Along with other eruptions of multiracial struggle during the high point of Southern Populism, this example didn't last long. When the white ruling class regained power, it embarked on a campaign of white supremacy meant to break cross-racial solidarity and solidify segregation in all modes of life.
It took until the 1950s and '60s before the rise of the civil rights movement finally defeated Jim Crow segregation, at least legally. Judged against other North Carolina cities, Charlotte led the way in desegregating schools. But that impressive feat has been reversed over the past 15 years.
Meanwhile, the number of people living in poverty in Charlotte-Mecklenburg grew from 159,000 in 2000 to 314,000 today. According to the UNC Charlotte Urban Institute, the percentage of people in poverty in Mecklenburg County was 11.3 percent in 2005, compared to 13.3 percent nationally. By 2010, that percentage had grown to 15.3, tying with the national average.
Despite all efforts to keep them poor, many Blacks experienced socio-economic mobility and established neighborhoods such as McCrorey Heights and Brooklyn--home of the first free Black library in the South.
But as Charlotte rapidly expanded, city officials intentionally planned the construction of highways through these communities--which made the protesters' shutdowns of Interstates 77 and 85 all the more symbolic. Today, Charlotte has the worst statistics for social mobility rates among poor Black people of all large cities in the U.S.
WHILE THAT long and painful history continues to inform the present struggles of Black and Brown people living in Charlotte, it also teaches us important lessons about the power of solidarity and the importance multiracial organizing--lessons that are being relearned today as thousands are called upon to show up for more protests.
Within the first week, the demonstrations had already had a significant impact on the profits of many hotels and businesses, which were suffering financial blows due to boycotts in response to state's anti-trans House Bill 2 According to the Charlotte Observer, the Westin had nearly 4,000 room-night cancellations over the first weekend of protests, amounting to nearly $2 million in lost profits.
Much of the coverage by mainstream media highlighted how these financial woes for Charlotte business trickled down to the waiters, cooks and hotel staff--a blatant attempt to pin working people against one another. What the media failed to report was the fact that many of those marching downtown past curfew were these same workers, often still in uniform.
The events that led to the ongoing resistance in Charlotte have---like many other incidences of police brutality and murder---activated ordinary people, young and old, across racial identities, to demonstrate against racist policing. The particular social, economic and political landscape of Charlotte has fostered a certain resistance to efforts to divide the people who were in the streets over the last two weeks.
The conditions for many people who live in Southern cities like Charlotte provide the potential for bringing different people together under what could be a shared goal of stopping police brutality, divesting from and abolishing prisons, and divesting from the banks and corporate institutions that fund them and benefit from the militarism of the police.
The organizing on the ground in Charlotte has been done across racial line, by queer, trans* lesbian, gay, and straight members of the Southeast Asian community, Latinx community and Black community. This capacity for achieving solidarity has frightened the ruling class of Charlotte, leading to the intensified police crackdown--but it can and should be a beacon of hope for the struggle against capitalism and for liberation.
Lauren Fleer
Larry Krasner and the fight to break the cages
A civil rights attorney who was elected Philadelphia’s top prosecutor is credited with “unprecedented” reforms. What’s the record?
Nicole Colson
Bearing witness for Laquan at a Chicago court
Activists are mobilizing around the murder trial of the cop who shot Laquan McDonald to demand justice for all victims of police violence.
Alex Moyle
Using dogs as a tool of racist repression
Police exploit people’s love of dogs to make the abuse of human beings by K9 units and the abuse of the dogs themselves seem acceptable.
Damián Reyes Rodriguez
Why is Scout dead?
The shooting of a Georgia Tech student by campus police raises questions about the lack of mental health care and other support.
Dave Zirin
The police versus Michael Bennett
The Las Vegas police union is going all out to attack NFL player Michael Bennett after he spoke out about their abuse.
The Trumpification of American politics?
From the top of the party to the bottom, Republicans are going “full Trump.” What does this mean for the midterm elections and U.S. politics?
The alt-right order amid the chaos
Trump is getting grief for his Putin lovefest, but the left can’t neglect the need to confront his ongoing right-wing agenda of nationalism and class war.
How Marx became a Marxist in five easy steps
...And you can to! Here's an introduction to the theoretical leaps Karl Marx made on his way to developing a theory and vision that changed the world.
Our answer to the miserable State of the Union
Donald Trump celebrated the crimes and outrages of his first year, and outlined the ones he has in store for the future. Here's the socialist response.
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3-1 Deficits are Hard to Overcome – But Trail Blazers Have Plenty of Motivation
April 30, 2009 by AlexV · Leave a Comment
Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge, the anchors of Portland's team, aim to bring the series back to Oregon for a decisive game seven tonight in Houston at 9:30pm on TNT.
In NBA playoff history, only eight teams have ever come back from a 3-1 deficit. There have been plenty of times where the team facing elimination has forced games sixes and even games sevens, but it is just that hard to beat a team three straight times. The Portland Trail Blazers face that same dilemma and have already closed the deficit to 3-2. But what kind of motivation does this team have to win the series… it’s quite simple
The Trail Blazers seem to be a team suffering from the playoff willies. They’re young. However, they should convert that youthful inexperience into youthful enthusiasm to try and beat the Rockets tonight in Houston with the lingering thought in the back of their minds that if they can pull it off, they go back to Portland for game seven. They need to use this to remember that the pressure is on Houston as they definitely want no part of a game seven on the road.
I definitely think the Blazers can pick up the win as they were one of the hottest teams going into the playoffs, and in the final week of the regular season they beat Denver and L.A. who are the top two seeds in the west. So don’t be surprised if Portland becomes the ninth team in NBA history to win a series after being down 3-1.
Tagged: brandon roy, houston rockets, lamarcus aldridge, NBA, NBA finals, nba playoffs, portland trail blazers, series
It’s Official: Brandon Roy Sets the Tone for the Portland Trail Blazers
December 19, 2008 by AlexV · 1 Comment
Say hello to the league's next young equalizer.
Coming into this season, everyone knew that Brandon Roy was one of the rising stars in the league. However, up until his 52 point performance against the Phoenix Suns last night, he may very well be a rising super star.
I think the most widespread feeling across the league is that guys like Brandon Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge would make nice compliments to Greg Oden. However, until Greg Oden can begin to score twenty plus points per game, that cannot be said. Brandon Roy at this point is the player that you say “The team goes as far as Brandon Roy goes,” and his main man and sidekick is Aldridge, and not Oden.
Now, with Portland jumping to a 17-6 record which is good for 5th in the western conference, and coming off a recent three-game slump, the huge performance in Portland should propel the team to hit off some three to five game win streaks here and there for the next few weeks.
Go Brandon Roy.
Tagged: Basketball, brandon roy, greg oden, lamarcus aldridge, NBA, nba basketball, phoenix suns, portland trail blazers
NBA First Quarter MVP?
December 2, 2008 by AlexV · 2 Comments
Dwyane Wade, aka Flash, may very well be holding the MVP trophy at the end of the season.
Who is the Man whose momma spells the name “Dwayne” as “Dwyane?” Who is the Man who leads his team to victory by being the league’s top scorer at 28.7 points per game, almost a full point over the one they call “King” with 27.8 in Cleveland? Who is the former Marquette Master that let his team sit back and watch as he carried them to four straight victories once upon an NBA Finals ago? Who is this Man you say? D-Wade?
Yea… that and Dwyane Wade.
For those of you who it isn’t too early to be talking MVP yet, Dwyane Wade ought to be your man. He has no Shaq, and at 9-9, has his team just four wins shy of the 13 total they had all of last season. To say he has gotten much help would be a bit of a stretch.
Sure, Michael Beasley has been turning in a pretty fine rookie season at 14.7 points per game with a 45% field goal percentage. Other than, they have no big men and their pick up from last season, Shawn Marion has not presented himself as much of a scoring threat with just 12.3 points per game (coupled by a big 9.3 rebounds per contest), but at 6ft 7in, he is shorter than rookie Michael Beasley at 6ft 9in!
Thus far, Dwyane Wade has played like a man who wants no part of the shame and deplorable play his city and fans suffered through last season, and definitely does not want to be watching most of the playoffs as opposed to playing in at least part of them.
As long as Dwyane Wade can keep carrying his team to victory, especially in the fourth quarter, he has my vote for MVP right now… D-Wade! All the other usual and potential names, Kobe Bryant, LeBron James, Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett, Steve Nash, Tim Duncan, Brandon Roy, Chris Paul, or Chauncey Billups have an at least decent supporting cast around them.
Tagged: brandon roy, chauncey billups, Chris Paul, Dwayne Wade, dwyane wade, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, lebron james, NBA, NBA finals, Paul Pierce, steve nash, tim duncan
NBA Quarter-Mark Outlook
November 30, 2008 by AlexV · Leave a Comment
So far in the NBA a few teams are back up to their old tricks, a few have been somewhat disappointing, and a good number of upstarts from last year as well as some surprising newcomers have begun to surface.
The newcomers that need to be involved in this discussion are as follows; in the east it’s Miami, New York, and New Jersey and in the west all of the other teams with playoff aspirations are of no surprise at this point in the season. Miami, led by top scorer in points per game, Dwyane Wade, are currently 9th in the eastern conference standings. Last year, everyone remembers how atrocious they were. New York seems to be hitting its stride under the tutelage of former Phoenix head coach, Mike D’Antoni as they are 8-8 and 8th in the standings. Finally, the previous season’s trade between the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey Nets has finally begun to payoff, as the Devin Harris led Nets are 8-7, 6-4 in their last ten, and 7th in the east.
The Upstarts from last year that are proving their worth are as follows; in the east it’s the Orlando Magic, the Atlanta Hawks, while in the west we have Portland and Denver. The Magic currently sit at 3rd and atop the eastern conference standings at 13-4 going 9-1 in their last ten. Dwight Howard, Jameer Nelson, Rashard Lewis, and Hedo Turkoglu and company are really hitting their stride. The continued and improved production of guard/forward Keith Bogans and the extra lift provided by off season veteran pick up Anthony Johnson as point guard have been stalwart.
The Hawks slid a bit after starting off 5-0 mainly because of losing Josh Smith for the next few months, but have regained form and are now 10-6 and 5th in the eastern conference.
In the west the Portland Trailblazers, continue to look like a team of the future with stars Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and the potential of first-year NBA players like Rudy Fernandez, and Greg Oden. They are now tied with Phoenix, Denver, and Houston at 11-6 while going 7-3 in their last ten games.
Denver’s success can be attributed to the trade of Chauncey Billups for Allen Iverson. The Nuggets are 11-6 and 7-3 in their last ten while holding 3rd place in the west. They have had many impressive victories and performances as they beat Boston in Boston, and took the Lakers to the brink of a loss in L.A.
Now come the disappointments. The Detroit Pistons are hovering somewhere between average and above average. Although they are 10-5 and in 4th place in the east, they are suffering some inexcusable losses, most recently a 10+ point loss to Minnesota, do not yet seem to have their act together with Allen Iverson skipping the thanksgiving day practice (however, I do give huge props to Michael Curry for taking charge by suspending him for one game), and are not nearly as consistent as they were when they had Chauncey Billups in the lineup.
The other eastern disappointments for the eastern conference are the Toronto Raptors, Philadelphia 76ers, and Washington Wizards.
The Raptors just 8-7 and are barely holding a spot in the eastern conference as the 7th seeded team. With capable point guard Jose Calderon, and former all-start Jermaine O’Neal, they should be doing better.
The Sixers were a team last year that without Elton Brand finished 6th in the east and took Detroit to six games in the playoffs. Now with virtually the same team and Elton Brand, they are struggling to find their rhythm and are 7-9 and 5-5 in their last ten. As for the “Wiz Kids,” although without injured star Gilbert Arenas they may not have been a playoff contender anyway, they are still abysmal with their 2-12 record which is good for worst in the east. Last season they played without Arenas for the most part, but still managed to finish above .500 and make the playoffs. They have now fired their coach Eddie Jordan and are in a state of disarray.
The disappointments in the west are the New Orleans Hornets, Dallas Mavericks, and L.A. Clippers. The Hornets finished second last year and were one game away from the western conference finals. They are now 9-6 and 7th in the standings in the west. The Mavericks are 8-8 and look like they are ready to get their act together one game, and then go back to mediocrity the next. As for the Clippers, you would think they could be more competitive than their 3-13 record would suggest with the pickup of marquee point guard Baron Davis. Oh well.
As for the Spurs, I’m sure a lot of people would like to put them in as a disappointment, but they have been playing without Manu Ginobli for the entire season (who is set to return soon), and Tony Parker has just returned from his injury earlier in the season. To further their defense, they are now 9-7 and 7-3 in their last ten while being 8th in the west.
Finally we come to the top dogs in the league.
In the east you have the Cleveland Cavaliers with their 14-3 records, 9-1 in the last ten games, and 2nd place spot in the standings. They have put together a bevy of blowouts on their opponents this season, and the addition of a scoring point guard in Mo Williams has been absolutely huge for them.
The second team that has picked up right where they left off from last year is the Lakers. They are 13-1 and making mince meat out of would be superpower teams and have the best record in the NBA.
But the pinnacle of all teams continues to be the Boston Celtics. They’re 16-2 and are still dominating defensively and continue to get great production from their supporting cast members. And although the Lakers get much help from their bench and up and coming players, let’s face it… the Celtics are still the champs.
The last three teams I must mention are the Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, and Utah Jazz. To me, these three teams are in a state of limbo. Houston would look to be an upstart, but they can’t seem to keep their stars, Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming, healthy. The Suns seem like the same team as last year, which wasn’t a contender anyway, and the Jazz keep being a team with potential that can’t seem to build on it.
That would about sum up the NBA season at or around its quarter mark. We’ll look to see who shifts from wherever they were in this discussion and who remains where they are in the coming weeks. As for those that I did not include in this article… you really just aren’t worth mentioning (Chicago, Indiana, Milwaukee, Charlotte, Golden State, Minnesota, Sacramento, Memphis and Oklahoma City).
Tagged: allen iverson, amare stoudamire, andre kirilenko, andrew bynum, antawn jamison, atlanta hawks, baron davis, Basketball, Boston Celtics, brandon roy, carlos boozer, carmelo anthony, caron butler, chauncey billups, chris bosh, cleveland cavaliers, corey maggette, dallas mavericks, denver nuggets, derek fisher, deron williams, detroit pistons, devin harris, dirk nowitski, Dwayne Wade, dwight howard, dwyane wade, elton brand, gilbert arenas, greg oden, houston rockets, jason kidd, jason terry, jermain o'neal, joe johnson, josh smith, Kevin Garnett, Kobe Bryant, L.A. Lakers, lamar odom, lamarcus aldridge, lebron james, manu ginobli, Miami Heat, michael beasley, mike bibby, mo williams, Nate Robinson, NBA, new jersey nets, New York Knicks, orlando magic, Pau Gasol, Paul Pierce, phoenix suns, Playoffs, portland trailblazers, quentin richardson, rafer alston, rasheed wallace, Ray Allen, rudy fernandez, san antonio spurs, Shaq, shaqueal o'neal, shawn marion, standings, stephone marbury, steve nash, tim duncan, tony parker, toronto raptors, tracy mcgrady, utah jazz, vince carter, yao ming
Spurs Offense Sputtering without Star Manu Ginobli?
November 1, 2008 by AlexV · 1 Comment
With Manu Ginobli out, the trio of Duncan, Parker, and Finley look to be the big three for San Antonio.
The San Antonio Spurs are not at their best, obviously, when Manu Ginobli isn’t in the lineup, and many league analysts attribute the loss of his extra offense to their early woes. However, I believe their problems originate elsewhere.
Last night, it wasn’t a lack of offense that kept San Antonio out of the game. The cutting and driving lay-ups and mid-range jumpers of Tony Parker (24pts), and hooks and short J’s of Tim Duncan (27pts) kept the Spurs in the game. But still, their were two other contributors for the Spurs last night; starter Michael Finley chipped in 16 points, and off-season free-agent acquisition Roger Mason scored 14 on 6-7 shooting… also helping to keep San Antonio in the game. The four player’s point totals adds up to 81 of the 99 their team posted altogether. That really isn’t bad considering teams like the Washington Wizards get an average of 70+ points from their big three, Gilbert Arenas (when actually healthy), Antawn Jamison, and Caron Butler, and are still one of the highest scoring teams in the Eastern Conference, if not the entire NBA.
The problem with last night’s loss wasn’t a lack of offense for the Spurs, but a lack of defense, and the fact that they allowed 13 offensive boards and countless second chance points to the Trail Blazers. Add that to a hot 10-18, 26 point, shooting night by Brandon Roy, and the Spurs still only barely lost.
For all the grief the Spurs offense is receiving, the problems look to be emanating more from a lack of fundamental basketball skills, a phase of the game that this team has shown to be the greatest at over the past several years. If they can get back to actual Spurs basketball and not allow a team so many offensive boards, they’ll be back on track as one of the top five teams in the West.
Don't count out Roger Mason Jr. He may become a sleeper for the Spurs this season.
Tagged: brandon roy, injury, manu ginobli, michael finley, NBA, portland, roger mason, San antonio, spurs, tim duncan, tony parker, trail blazers
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Buffy:
by Ian Dawe | in Articles | Sun, 25 May 2014
After six issues that were essentially standalone stories, some of which were very experimental one-off character or thematic explorations, Jane Espenson’s five-part “Retreat” arc is a vital turning point in Buffy Season 8. In fact, with its self-contained setting and story, solid character arcs and numerous little “Whedonesque” moments, issues #26-30 are a true high water mark in Buffy’s comics adventures.
In fact, it’s reminiscent of nothing so much as The Empire Strikes Back, not in its narrative specificity, but the general tenor of the story. The Slayer Army is at a truly low point, but, unlike the far flung activities of the previous issues, this time they’re all together, united in a common battle (there’s literally a battle) against impossible odds. But they also have to deal with very old and long-festering personal issues, make important character revelations and pinpoint what’s going to be the central struggle from here until the end of Season 8.
At the beginning of the story, Buffy, Xander and Willow are still holding down the fort with the Slayer Army in Scotland, but things aren’t going well. They’re facing increasingly monstrous threats and Twilight knows where they are. Faith and Giles are holed up in a bunker in Berlin (Faith points out the irony), also hiding from human and demon forces. And Andrew leads a contingent through the catacombs in Rome, where Slayers are being hunted. It seems as if everyone is going to have to do some relocating, and fast.
The entire gang eventually finds its way back to Scotland, where Buffy and Giles, for one, have a tearful reunion. But there’s no time to savour their status as demons driving tanks and sporting Medieval Siege Engines are soon storming the Scottish castle, under the leadership of Twilight. It turns out that Twilight has been tracking Willow’s magic use, and the magic use of the other wiccans she has recruited. What Willow perceives as their greatest strength has led the enemy right to their gates. Willow, by the way, has been enjoying magic a bit too much and this has made everyone nervous, given her history with the forces.
Buffy eventually just orders retreat, and the entire army takes refuge in the submarine (appropriated from North Korea and introduced a few issues back). Now it’s up to Willow to perform, as Buffy sees it, one last big act of magic. She teleports the submarine and everyone in it from the North Atlantic to a field in Tibet. Where Oz, meditating peacefully in a temple overlooking the valley that now contains the sub, gives his trademark thoughtful “huh”.
The relationship between Oz and Willow, the honesty with which the writers committed to their emotions, was one of the things that made Buffy the TV series so much better and more insightful than so many of its contemporaries. Buffy seemed to understand, in a way that most other shows and many people do not, that sexual orientation is a lifelong journey for some people and that individual circumstances and emotions are very much a part of that. A lesser show would have had Willow realize one day that she wasn’t straight, have an affair with Tara and just leave Oz out completely, since he wasn’t a major character. Instead, Whedon and company allowed Oz to break Willow’s heart in a very human way, allowed her time to grieve and when she met Tara it wasn’t so much a case of “deciding to be with a woman” as deciding to be with that woman. Similarly, when Oz returns and expects him and Willow to pick up where they left off, no one is the “enemy” and no one is “wrong” in that situation. Tara is scared and hurt and Willow is confused. They muddle through, imperfectly. But Oz is emphatically not a homophobic “bad guy”. Whedon is too smart for that. Which is why it’s impressive to see that dynamic, and that very mature approach to the subject, continued here.
The Slayer Army arrives to find that Oz has married a wonderful woman named Bayarrma (or “Bay”) and they have a little boy named Kelden. Bay helped Oz deal with his affliction (he’s a werewolf) through meditation and spiritual exercises that help him redirect the magical energy into the earth itself. This is, as she tells it, an old Tibetan trick. It isn’t long before the Slayer Army, and Giles in particular, hits upon the idea of directing all the group’s magical energy into the earth, allowing them to “hide” from Twilight’s magic detecting abilities. It would give them time to think and rest and heal, at least, so goes the logic.
Healing is very much on Willow’s mind, who is the most conflicted and confused in this new situation. Her challenges are on a number of fronts. For one thing, she’s now being forced to “give up” her magic and direct it back into the earth. Although she sees the logic of it, it isn’t easy for Willow to lose the one thing that makes her special and powerful. She’s also struggling personally, bitterly jealous at seeing her former lover happily married with a child, just as she always dreamt for them. Whereas Willow’s personal life, with Kennedy and all the drama of the Slayer Army, seems difficult and painful next to Oz’s idyllic life. In Star Wars terms, Willow is ripe to be tempted by the dark side.
Giving up the magic isn’t easy for anyone, by the way, including many in the Slayer Army. Slayers are by their very nature “magic all day every day,” as Buffy puts it. Giving up their strength to avoid detection leaves them weak and vulnerable. They try their best to occupy themselves being useful to their hosts, planting crops and milking the Yak and such, but frustration and fear grow. And then, of course, the inevitable happens and Twilight finds them.
Before getting to the epic battle between Twilight and the newly-weakened Slayer Army, there’s more significant character developments. Buffy and Faith get to spend some time together and find much of their former hostility is gone in the face of a new enemy and a more grown up sense of themselves. Buffy starts to realize that she’s attracted to Xander, but is shocked and confused when she finds that Xander and Dawn are “together”, and very affectionate with each other. (Georges Jeanty makes masterful use of eye-lines, here, playing out many scenes of kissing etc between Xander and Dawn with Buffy sneaking a peek out of the corner of her eye.)
And we shouldn’t forget that Buffy’s ex Riley Finn is ostensibly working for Twilight. Riley is one of many soldiers that contribute to the massive battle involving Tanks, Jeeps and military equipment. The Slayer Army also has to resort to that most dreaded of weapons: the gun. They don’t have their normal powers, and they don’t have Willow’s magic, so they use whatever Chinese weapons are available. And, of course, the submarine.
Here is where the Empire Strikes Back or even the Return of the Jedi elements come into play. The long battle (spread over two issues, it could easily fill one) is far more interesting than the repetitive yelling and clanking of most battle sequences, playing out in a series of vignettes that are sometimes heroic and sometimes quite funny. The best consisted of a group of Slayers rigging one of the now-abandoned submarine’s torpedoes on a sled and sliding into the enemy forces, only then asking themselves, “Do torpedoes work on land?” The next frame, with the army celebrating and yelling, “torpedoes work on land!” reaches almost Archer- level satire.
Two big plot points emerge during the epic Buffy “war movie” that forms the last part of “Retreat”. One is that Riley is revealed to be on the side of the Slayer Army the whole time, working undercover in Twilight’s organization. Buffy saves him and nurses him back to heath at the Slayer’s improvised hospital. The second involves the forces that Willow, her witches, the Slayers and Oz (as well as some fellow werewolves) have been pumping into the earth. With a very mild spell, those forces are pulled back out with a vengeance, taking the forms of ancient Asian Goddesses and tearing the Twilight army to pieces. Unfortunately the Goddesses aren’t that easily controlled and Buffy finds herself in the hands of one during the final skirmish.
Dropped to the earth by a giant blue Goddess (we should point out that this would probably not be the way they would go on TV), Buffy is knocked unconscious but wakes up floating high in the air, watching the battle unfold beneath her. The next two major arcs, “Twilight” and “Last Gleaming”, will bring us to the epic and tragic end of Buffy Season 8.
Tagged Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Georges Jeanty, Joss Whedon. Bookmark the permalink.
RSS feed for Ian Dawe
@iandawe42
Independent scholar Ian Dawe has been writing for Sequart since November 2013. Before that, he had a mixed background, initially in science (Molecular Biology and Biochemistry), where he earned an MSc from Simon Fraser University and then an MA in Film from the University of Exeter in the UK. He spent a decade teaching at the college level, delivering courses in Genetics, Biochemistry, Cell Biology, Biological Anthropology and Film History. His academic work includes peer-reviewed papers on the work of Alan Moore, Harvey Pekar for Studies in Comics and a dissertation on Terry Gilliam for the University of Exeter. He has presented papers at several major academic conferences including Slayage 2014, Magus: Transdisciplinary Approaches to the Work of Alan Moore in 2010 (in the wizard's hometown of Northampton), Comics Rock and the International Conference of the Humanities in 2012, and at the Southwest Popular Culture Association Conference in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 2014 and 2015. He has contributed to several books, including a chapter about the TV show Archer in "James Bond and Popular Culture" and two chapters on Breaking Bad for "Breaking Bad and Masculinity", both now available from McFarland. At Sequart, he has authored a chapter for New Life and New Civiliations: Exploring Star Trek Comics, A Long Time Ago and two more upcoming books on Star Wars comics. He has also contributed to books on Alan Moore and 1970s Horror Comics. He is currently planning a full-length book on Better Call Saul. Ian currently lives in Vancouver, BC.
See more, including free online content, on Ian Dawe's author page.
Also by Ian Dawe:
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Endowed Professorship in Eating Disorders, Open Rank
Lubbock, TX, USA
Texas Tech University, Community, Family and Addiction Sciences Department
Application Due: January 31, 2023
Type: Nine-month, Tenure-track/Tenured
Position Availability: September 1, 2023
Salary: Competitive and commensurate with qualifications
The Addictive Disorders and Recovery Studies (ADRS) program in the Department of Community, Family, and Addiction Sciences at Texas Tech University invites applications for an open rank tenure track faculty position. The position includes an Endowed Professorship in Eating Disorders. This tenure-track/tenured position is financially supported by a significant endowment of nearly $1 million, and is open to all ranks and all research areas related to eating disorders (e.g., anorexia, bulimia nervosa, food addiction/binge eating disorder, obesity, OSFED, and feeding disorders, etc). Candidates who have very strong records of scholarship supported by extramural funding and who have the proven capacity or clear potential to bring externally sponsored research to Texas Tech University are encouraged to apply. The preferred applicant will have a productive, visible, and well-funded research program that exemplifies an integrative approach to studying eating disorders or clear potential to develop one, experience working with diverse student populations and first-generation students, and a proven track record of successfully mentoring doctoral students. The preferred applicant will also complement the existing research that ADRS faculty are currently conducting within the broadly defined areas of addiction and recovery. Applicants for all ranks including assistant, associate, and full professor are encouraged to apply. The review of applications will begin on January 31, 2023.
The successful applicant is expected to develop multi-disciplinary research projects, teach undergraduate and graduate courses, and supervise ADRS doctoral students. Service duties include program-building, as well as a commitment to extra-curricular activities. Service to the department, college, and the university are expected. This position is financially supported by a significant endowment of nearly $1 million, which provides the successful applicant with annual funding to support their research and salary.
The College of Human Sciences and the Office of the Vice President for Research offer generous research and seed grants and research start-up packages to new faculty. The Office of the Vice President for Research and the TTU Teaching Learning and Professional Development Center offer a variety of excellent services and free workshops to faculty. Texas Tech University is a Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI) making it eligible for unique funding opportunities that aim to serve and benefit our diverse student population.
About Texas Tech University, Community, Family and Addiction Sciences Department
Applicants with dual-career considerations can find university jobs such as professor jobs, dean jobs, chair / department head jobs, and other faculty jobs and employment opportunities at Texas Tech University and at other institutions of higher education in the region on www.AcademicCareers.com
To receive email alerts when new jobs at Texas Tech University are posted, sign up at new job openings at Texas Tech University.
Health Sciences/OT/PT/KinesiologyHuman Development/Family/Consumer SciencePsychologySocial & Behavioral Sciences
School Psychology Professor Open Rank
1 University Pkwy, University Park, IL 60484
Full Time Faculty – Psychology (Temporary Two-Semester, Fall 2023)
Glen Ellyn, IL, USA
Lecturer/Senior Lecturer and Practicum Coordinator in Early Intervention and Early Childhood Special Education
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Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre is Reborn in Lincoln Center Revival
Reviewed by Dwight Casimere June 12-16 at Lincoln Center
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre Company photos by Christopher Duggan and Paul Kornik
pictured: Alvin Ailey's Revelations
Artistic Director Robert Battle address the audience onstage on Opening Night
Celebrity Chef Marcus Samuelsson of Red Rooster Harlem with Ailey Board Members Jufdith Byrd and David E. Monn
NEW YORK--There was a celebratory mood as Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre held a seven- performance, five day engagement at Lincoln Center, its first in that eponymous arts center in more than a decade. The venue has particular significance, not only to Ailey fans, but to the organization's new artistic director, Robert Battle, who first laid eyes upon its grand facades and plaza as a student at the Julliard School. "I know this is our first time in Lincoln Center in a while, but C'mon!" Battle gently chided the crowd, who were perhaps overwhelmed by the grand surroundings. It wasn't long before they broke out in foot-stomping, shouts and applause as the company members pranced on stage to the Afro-centric rhythms and moves of Jamaican-born choreographer Garth Fagan's electrifying From Before, a pastiche of African polyrhythms, Caribbean dance, precision ballet and street hip hop that set the audience on its collective ear. The Ailey Company premiere is the first time this dizzying work from the Tony Award winning choreographer for The Lion King has ever been performed by a company other than Garth Fagan Dance. The fluid, acrobatic movements of the dancers was mesmerizing. At times, the repetitious movements took on an hypnotic characteristic, which, at times seemed monotonous to the untrained eye. To those familiar with the well-spring of Caribbean and African tradition from which mark Fagan's oeuvre', the repetitive nature of the dance is a vital part of its almost ritualistic roots in Afro-Caribbean tradition and culture. The jazzy percusive score by Trinidadian Grammy winner Ralph MacDonald and colorful costumes by the choreographer himself and Original Lighting by C.T. Oakes made for a perfect eye-popping opening statement for the evening and painted a clear picture of the company's new direction and renewed vitality under Mr. Battle. Now in his second season as Artistic Director, he has stepped from beneath the long shadows of founder, Alvin Ailey and Artistic Director Emerita, Judith Jamison, to give the company his own unique stamp.
The kinetic energy of dancer Yannick Lebrun filled the stage in Takademe, choreographed by Mr. Battle with propulsive electronic music by Sheila Chandra. One of his first creations, Mr. Battle's Takademe combines the taut rhythms and deconstructed moves of Indian Kathank dance with the fast-paced polyrhythms of Chandra's New Age jazz score. The music is layered with vocalized symbols that at times mimic the 'click' songs of the Tsosa tribe of South Africa. Lebrun's quick, almost superhuman leaps, thrusts and acrobatic flips were almost exhaustive to behold. The sheer dynamic of his scissoring jumps, torso contractions and deep-bending stomps occurred in such rapid succession that it was difficult for the mind to assimilate them as quickly as the eye could see them. Grace, Ronald K. Brown's landmark creation for the company in 1999 was brought back in a dazzling new production that show the best of what the 'new' Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre is all about. Combining West African dance idioms with elements of Afro-Pop and modern dance, the work began with Duke Ellington's classic Come Sunday, followed by Roy Davis's Gospel hit Gabriel concluding with Fela Kuti's James Brown-inspired Afro-Pop music. Grace promotes the very contemporary idea, through motion, that we are all somehow touched by spiritual grace and the healing power and reach of the soul as we travail through the various ups and downs of our day to day lives. Revelations, which ended every performance during the five-evening run, is a loving tribute to the company's founder, Alvin Ailey. Created by Ailey in 1960 to spotlight the illustrious dancing of the company's principal dancer and now Artistic Director Emerita Judith Jamison, it is at once a recreation of a landmark event in the world of modern dance and a touchtone to what is a living memorial to Mr. Ailey and his vision. Set against recordings of Traditional Black Church music, Ailey's masterpiece was intended to give the audience a glimpse into his remembrances of the Baptist Church services attended as a child in rural Texas. Infused with the soul-stirring emotions of youthful religious fervor and later superimposed with the writings of African American authors James Baldwin and Langston Hughes and even later influences of Brueghal paintings and Oriental Theatre, Revelations still has the power to inspire. An elderly woman seated next to me, accompanied by her daughter, was moved to tears, as were many others. Youngsters, who had been brought to the performance by their parents, seemed transfixed by its power and majesty.
Other notable works from the long weekend's performances included Four Corners,a World Premiere by celebrated choreographer and Ailey favorite Ronald K. Brown and Petit Mort, a really superb example of the company's mastery of classic ballet forms and the technical prowess and almost overwhelming sensuality of Alvin Ailey's unique brand of dance technique. Petit Mort, choreographed by renowned European dance master Jiri Kylian and set against the music of Woflgang Amadeus Mozart's two most popular piano concertoes, really showcases the company's towering capabilities and showed why the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre is one of the most in-demand companies performing today. The company is celebrated globally and is designated "A vital American cultural ambassador to the world" by a 2008 U.S. Congressional resolution. This summer, the company prepares for a fall tour of Brazil and Argentina and will be conducting numerous education and performance programs at its world headquarters at the Joan Weill Center for Dance in Manhattan, the city's largest building solely dedicated to dance. The building, designed by Bibliowicz Architects, is home to The Company as well as Ailey II, which performs in the Chicago area Friday, October 25 in two performances at Governors State University at The Center for Performing Arts in south suburban University Park, Illinois. For advance tickets and information, visit alvinailey.org or call 708-235-2222. Also this summer, The Company will operate AileyCamp, a unique program that combines dance classes with personal development workshops, creative communications classes and field trips for under-served youth aged 11-14 in cities such as Atlanta, Miami, FL, Berkeley/Oakland, California, Kansas City, KS and MO Bridgeport, CT and New York City. In addition the company will be hosting world-wide auditions at its headquarters in New York and in Bari, Italy in the Puglia region. The Ailey School continues, educating more than 5,000 students of all ages throughout the year with Arts in Education and Community Programs being simultaneously held by The Ailey Organization in classrooms and community centers, bringing dance into the lives of more than 100,000 people of diverse backgrounds around the country and around the world. This was the vision of Alvin Ailey, born January 5, 1931 in Rogers, Texas. He founded the company in 1958 with the idea of enriching American modern dance heritage with the uniqueness of the African-American cultural experience. His untimely death in 1989, did nothing to dim that vision. As evidenced at Lincoln Center, it lives on in the dancers who are the apostles to
his cultural movement and in the souls of audience members who witness his genius onstage.
Posted by Dwight the Connoisseur at 12:58 PM
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ABT's Sylvia Showcases Dazzling Principal Dancers...
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre is Reborn in Li...
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Mr. and Mrs. George Sainsbury
The WSB began as The Weston Boys Band, founded in 1921 by George Sainsbury. Sainsbury began his musical life playing in a fife and drum band in his hometown of Fawley, England at the age of 12. Before emigrating to Canada in 1905, he founded his own fife and drum band which became a Brass Band in Littlehampton, England ( later to become the present day Littlehampton Concert Band ).
Weston Town Band 1900
Shortly after his arrival, he became bandmaster of the Weston Town Band. The outbreak of World War I brought civilian banding to a halt and Sainsbury took charge of the 220th Battalion Band and later, the Headquarters Band of Military District No.2
World War II saw the majority of band members enlisting in the armed forces and the band ceased operations for the first and only time in its history, becoming the official band of the Canadian Field Artillery, before reforming under Sainsbury’s baton in 1946. With instruments in poor repair and financial support a continuing issue, the band became incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1947.
From its top place finishes during the heyday of band contesting at the Canadian National Exhibition Band competitions in the 1960’s and 1970’s to its entry in the North American Brass Band Association’s competitions in North Carolina and Indianapolis in the 1980’s, the WSB continued to represent the proud tradition of brass banding in Toronto and the province of Ontario.
In 1995, the WSB hosted the NABBA competition in Toronto which saw 15 bands from Canada and the US competing for top honours. Later in the year, Weston was honoured to be one of two bands representing NABBA at the Great American Brass Band Festival in Danville, Kentucky.
US Open Brass Band Championships -2009
The past decade has seen a revitalization of the band and organization, building a reputation for excellence musically as well as organizationally and receiving great reviews. Five time winners of the Hannaford Cup (2008, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2016), an annual Award of Excellence at Toronto’s Festival of Brass, as well as Best Soloist awards for members Brad Norton, cornet (2011) and Robert Miller, euphonium (2013) and Matt Ross (2015), the WSB has recently gained international recognition as a performing ensemble. In November 2009, the WSB became the first Canadian band invited to compete at the US Open Brass Band Championships, in Chicago, Illinois and placed third overall. In 2010, WSB Euphonium virtuoso Robert Miller was awarded US Open Best Soloist.
North American Brass Band Championships – 2015
In 2014, the WSB returned to competition at the North American Brass Band Championships after an 18 year hiatus, and is the first and only Canadian Brass Band to win section titles at the contest, winning first place honours in the 2nd section in 2014. Moving up to First Section in 2015, the WSB repeated their top prize winning result. Following a 2nd place finish in 2016, the WSB decisively reclaimed 1st place at The Championships in March 2017 and placed second in 2018. Weston Silver Band is the only Canadian Brass Band to ever win section titles at the contest.
Presently, the WSB presents a concert series during the fall and winter season in Toronto at CBC’s Glenn Gould Studio, and maintains a busy performance schedule in venues throughout the GTA and southern Ontario.
Richard Marshall with the WSB – 2011
Weston Silver Band has been the host to a number of internationally renown brass soloists and clinicians, including Doug Yeo (Boston Symphony), Richard Marshall (Principal cornet, Black Dyke Band UK), Paul Duffy, Heather Bambrick, TorQ Percussion, Samba Squad and legendary Canadian jazz artist, Guido Basso.
Brass bands have a long and proud history in Ontario and the WSB honours its history of providing a valuable and unique contribution to the rich musical heritage of this province. Our thanks to our supporters and we look forward to many more successful years of brass banding!
Weston Silver Band Conductors
1920 – 1950 George Sainsbury
1950 – 1955 Horace Sainsbury
1955 – 1956 Arthur Burgin
1956 – 1958 Albert Dobney
1958 – 1966 Wallace Mason
1966 – Ted Robbins
1966 – 1967 George Fitzgerald
1967 – Percy Merritt
1967 – 1969 George Swaddling
1974 – 1978 Laurie Hiscock
1978 – 1986 Douglas Field
1986 – 1989 Robin McCubbin
1989 – 1991 Morley Calvert
1991 – 2002 Ron Clayson
2003 – present Larry Shields
Weston Silver Bands
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Click Here for Items Related To - Dow Jones Industrial Average
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity indexes. Many professionals consider it to be an inadequate representation of the overall U.S. stock market compared to a broader market index such as the S&P 500. The DJIA includes only 30 large companies. It is price-weighted, unlike stock indices which use market capitalization. Furthermore, the DJIA does not use a weighted arithmetic mean. The value of the index can also be calculated as the sum of the stock prices of the companies included in the index, divided by a factor which is currently () approximately 0.152. The factor is changed whenever a constituent company undergoes a stock split so that the value of the index is unaffected by the stock split. First calculated on May 26, 1896, the index is the second-oldest among U.S. market indices, after the Dow Jones Transportation Average. It was created by Charles Dow, the editor of '' The Wall Street Journal'' and the co-founder of Dow Jones & Company, and named after him and his business associate, statistician Edward Jones. The word ''industrial'' in the name of the index initially emphasized the heavy industry sector, but over time stocks from many other types of companies have been added to the DJIA. The index is maintained by S&P Dow Jones Indices, an entity majority-owned by S&P Global. Its components are selected by a committee. The ten components with the largest dividend yields are commonly referred to as the Dogs of the Dow. As with all stock prices, the prices of the constituent stocks and consequently the value of the index itself are affected by the performance of the respective companies as well as macroeconomic factors.
the Dow Jones Industrial Average consists of the following companies, with a weighting as shown:
Former components
As of August 31, 2020, the components of the DJIA have changed 57 times since its beginning on May 26, 1896.
General Electric General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the capital city, state capital a ...
had the longest continuous presence on the index, beginning in the original index in 1896 and ending in 2018. Changes to the index since 1991 are as follows: * On May 6, 1991, Caterpillar Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase, and the Walt Disney Company replaced American Can, Navistar, and U.S. Steel. * On March 17, 1997, Travelers Inc., Hewlett-Packard, Johnson & Johnson, and Walmart replaced Westinghouse Electric, Texaco, Bethlehem Steel, and F. W. Woolworth Company. * On November 1, 1999,
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation, multinational technology company, technology corporation producing Software, computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at th ...
, Intel, SBC Communications, and Home Depot replaced Goodyear Tire, Sears Roebuck, Union Carbide, and Chevron Corporation. Intel and Microsoft became the first and second companies traded on the NASDAQ to be part of the Dow. * On April 8, 2004, American International Group, Pfizer, and Verizon Communications replaced AT&T Corporation, Kodak, and International Paper. * On February 19, 2008, Chevron Corporation and Bank of America replaced Altria Group and Honeywell. Chevron was previously a Dow component from July 18, 1930, to November 1, 1999. During Chevron's absence, its split-adjusted price per share went from $44 to $85, while the price of petroleum rose from $24 to $100 per barrel. * On September 22, 2008, Kraft Foods Inc. replaced American International Group (AIG) in the index. * On June 8, 2009, The Travelers Companies and Cisco Systems replaced Motors Liquidation Company (formerly
General Motors The General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest automaker in the United States and ...
) and Citigroup. Cisco became the third company traded on the NASDAQ to be part of the Dow. * On September 24, 2012, UnitedHealth Group replaced Kraft Foods Inc. following Kraft's split into Mondelez International and Kraft Foods. * On September 20, 2013, Goldman Sachs, Nike, Inc., and Visa Inc. replaced Alcoa, Bank of America, and Hewlett-Packard. Visa replaced Hewlett-Packard because of the split into HP Inc. and Hewlett Packard Enterprise. * On March 19, 2015, Apple Inc. replaced AT&T, which had been a component of the DJIA since November 1916. Apple became the fourth company traded on the NASDAQ to be part of the Dow. * On September 1, 2017, DowDuPont replaced DuPont. DowDuPont was formed by the merger of Dow Chemical Company with DuPont. * On June 26, 2018, Walgreens Boots Alliance replaced
, which had been a component of the DJIA since November 1907, after being part of the inaugural index in May 1896 and much of the 1896 to 1907 period. * On April 2, 2019, Dow Inc. replaced DowDuPont. Dow, Inc. is a spin-off of DowDuPont, itself a merger of Dow Chemical Company and DuPont. * On April 6, 2020, Raytheon Technologies replaced United Technologies. Raytheon is the name of the combination of United Technologies and the Raytheon Company, which merged as of April 3, 2020. The newly combined conglomerate does not include previous subsidiaries Carrier Global or Otis Worldwide. * On August 31, 2020, Amgen, Honeywell, and Salesforce.com replaced ExxonMobil, Pfizer, and Raytheon Technologies.
Investment methods
Investing in the DJIA is possible via index funds as well as via derivatives such as option contracts and futures contracts.
Mutual and exchange-traded funds
Index funds, including mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETF) can replicate, before fees and expenses, the performance of the index by holding the same stocks as the index in the same proportions. An ETF that replicates the performance of the index is issued by State Street Corporation (). ProShares offers leveraged ETFs that attempt to produce three times the daily result of either investing in () or shorting () the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Futures contracts
In the derivatives market, the CME Group through its subsidiaries the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) and the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT), issues Futures Contracts; th
E-mini Dow ($5) Futures (YM)
which track the average and trade on their exchange floors respectively. Trading is typically carried out in an open outcry auction, or over an electronic network such as CME's Globex platform.
Options contracts
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) issues option contracts on the Dow through the root symbol DJX. Options on various Dow-underlying ETFs are also available for trading.
The following table shows the annual development of the Dow Jones Index, which was calculated back to 1896.
In 1884, Charles Dow composed his first stock average, which contained nine railroads and two industrial companies that appeared in the ''Customer's Afternoon Letter'', a daily two-page financial news bulletin which was the precursor to '' The Wall Street Journal''. On January 2, 1886, the number of stocks represented in what is now the ''Dow Jones Transportation Average'' dropped from 14 to 12, as the Central Pacific Railroad and Central Railroad of New Jersey were removed. Though comprising the same number of stocks, this index contained only one of the original twelve industrials that would eventually form Dow's most famous index.
Initial components
Dow calculated his first average purely of industrial stocks on May 26, 1896, creating what is now known as the ''Dow Jones Industrial Average''. None of the original 12 industrials still remain part of the index. * American Cotton Oil Company, a predecessor company to Hellmann's and Best Foods, now part of
Unilever Unilever plc is a British Multinational corporation, multinational Fast-moving consumer goods, consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cr ...
. * American Sugar Refining Company, became Domino Sugar in 1900, now Domino Foods, Inc. * American Tobacco Company, broken up in a 1911 antitrust action. * Chicago Gas Company, bought by Peoples Gas Light in 1897, was an operating subsidiary of the now-defunct Integrys Energy Group until 2014. * Distilling & Cattle Feeding Company, now Millennium Chemicals, formerly a division of LyondellBasell. *
, still in operation, removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 2018. * Laclede Gas Company, still in operation as Spire Inc, removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1899. * National Lead Company, now NL Industries, removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1916. * North American Company, an electric utility holding company, broken up by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in 1946. * Tennessee Coal, Iron and Railroad Company in Birmingham, Alabama, bought by U.S. Steel in 1907; U.S. Steel was removed from the Dow Jones Industrial Average in 1991. * United States Leather Company, dissolved in 1952. * United States Rubber Company, changed its name to Uniroyal in 1961, merged with private Goodrich Corporation in 1986, tire business bought by Michelin in 1990. (The remainder of Goodrich remained independent several more years but was acquired by United Technologies in 2012 and became a part of UTC Aerospace Systems, now Collins Aerospace, a Raytheon Technologies subsidiary.)
When it was first published in the mid-1880s, the index stood at a level of 62.76. It reached a peak of 78.38 during the summer of 1890, but ended up hitting its all-time low of 28.48 in the summer of 1896 during the Panic of 1896. Many of the biggest percentage price moves in the Dow occurred early in its history, as the nascent industrial economy matured. In the 1900s, the Dow halted its momentum as it worked its way through two financial crises: the Panic of 1901 and the Panic of 1907. The Dow remained stuck in a range between 53 and 103 until late 1914. The negativity surrounding the 1906 San Francisco earthquake did little to improve the economic climate; the index broke 100 for the first time in 1906. At the start of the 1910s, the Panic of 1910–1911 stifled economic growth. On July 30, 1914, as the average stood at a level of 71.42, a decision was made to close down the New York Stock Exchange, and suspend trading for a span of four and a half months. Some historians believe the exchange was closed because of a concern that markets would plunge as a result of panic over the onset of
World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. An alternative explanation is that the United States Secretary of the Treasury, William Gibbs McAdoo, closed the exchange to conserve the U.S. gold stock in order to launch the Federal Reserve System later that year, with enough gold to keep the United States on par with the gold standard. When the markets reopened on December 12, 1914, the index closed at 74.56, a gain of 4.4%. This is frequently reported as a large drop, due to using a later redefinition. Reports from the time say that the day was positive. Following World War I, the United States experienced another economic downturn, the Post–World War I recession. The Dow's performance remained unchanged from the closing value of the previous decade, adding only 8.26%, from 99.05 at the beginning of 1910, to a level of 107.23 at the end of 1919. The Dow experienced a long bull run from 1920 to late 1929 when it rose from 73 to 381 points.Dow Jones Closing Prices 1921 to 1930
. Automationinformation.com. In 1928, the components of the Dow were increased to 30 stocks near the economic height of that decade, which was nicknamed the Roaring Twenties. This period downplayed the influence of the Depression of 1920–21 and certain international conflicts such as the Polish–Soviet War, the Irish Civil War, the Turkish War of Independence and the initial phase of the
Chinese Civil War The Chinese Civil War was fought between the Kuomintang-led government of the Republic of China and forces of the Chinese Communist Party, continuing intermittently since 1 August 1927 until 7 December 1949 with a Communist victory on m ...
. After a peak of 381.17 on September 3, 1929, the bottom of the 1929 crash came just 2 months later on November 13, 1929, at 195.35 intraday, closing slightly higher at 198.69. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 and the ensuing
Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The Financial contagion, ...
over the next several years returned the average to its starting point, almost 90% below its peak. Overall for the 1920s decade, the Dow still ended with a healthy 131.7% gain, from 107.23 to 248.48 at the end of 1929. In inflation-adjusted numbers, the high of 381.17 on September 3, 1929, was not surpassed until 1954. Marked by global instability and the Great Depression, the 1930s contended with several consequential European and Asian outbreaks of war, leading up to catastrophic
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
in 1939. Other conflicts during the decade which affected the stock market included the 1936–1939 Spanish Civil War, the 1935–1936 Second Italo-Abyssinian War, the Soviet-Japanese Border War of 1939, and the
Second Sino-Japanese War The Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945) or War of Resistance (Chinese term) was a military conflict that was primarily waged between the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. The war made up the Chinese ...
of 1937. The United States experienced the Recession of 1937–1938, which temporarily brought economic recovery to a halt. The largest one-day percentage gain in the index happened in the depths of the 1930s bear market on March 15, 1933, when the Dow gained 15.34% to close at 62.10. However, as a whole throughout the Great Depression, the Dow posted some of its worst performances, for a negative return during most of the 1930s for new and old stock market investors. For the decade, the Dow Jones average was down from 248.48 at the beginning of 1930, to a stable level of 150.24 at the end of 1939, a loss of about 40%.
Post-war reconstruction during the 1940s, along with renewed optimism of peace and prosperity, brought about a 33% surge in the Dow from 150.24 to 200.13. The strength in the Dow occurred despite the Recession of 1949 and various global conflicts.
During the 1950s, the Korean War and the
Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of Geopolitics, geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term ''Cold war (term), co ...
did not stop the Dow's climb higher. A nearly 240% increase in the average from 200.13 to 679.36 ensued over the course of that decade.
The Dow began to stall during the 1960s as the markets trudged through the Kennedy Slide of 1962, but still managed a respectable 18% gain from 679.36 to 800.36.
The 1970s marked a time of economic uncertainty and troubled relations between the U.S. and certain Middle-Eastern countries. The 1970s energy crisis was a prelude to a disastrous economic climate along with stagflation, the combination of high unemployment and high inflation. However, on November 14, 1972, the average closed at 1,003.16, above the 1,000 mark for the first time, during a brief relief rally in the midst of a lengthy bear market. Between January 1973 and December 1974, the average lost 48% of its value in what became known as the 1973–1974 stock market crash, closing at 577.60 on December 4, 1974. In 1976, the index reached 1,000 several times and it closed the year at 1,004.75. Although the Vietnam War ended in 1975, new tensions arose towards
Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
surrounding the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Performance-wise for the 1970s, the index remained virtually flat, rising 4.8% from 800.36 to 838.74.
The 1980s began with the early 1980s recession. In early 1981, the index broke above 1,000 several times, but then retreated. After closing above 2,000 in January 1987, the largest one-day percentage drop occurred on Black Monday, October 19, 1987, when the average fell 22.61%. There were no clear reasons given to explain the crash. On October 13, 1989, the Friday the 13th mini-crash, which initiated the collapse of the junk bond market, resulted in a loss of almost 7% of the index in a single day. During the 1980s, the Dow increased 228% from 838.74 to 2,753.20; despite the market crashes, Silver Thursday, an early 1980s recession, the 1980s oil glut, the Japanese asset price bubble, and other political distractions. The index had only two negative years in the 1980s: in 1981 and 1984.
The 1990s brought on rapid advances in technology along with the introduction of the dot-com era. The markets contended with the 1990 oil price shock compounded with the effects of the early 1990s recession and a brief European situation surrounding Black Wednesday. Certain influential foreign conflicts such as the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt which took place as part of the initial stages of the
Dissolution of the Soviet Union The dissolution of the Soviet Union, also negatively connoted as rus, Разва́л Сове́тского Сою́за, r=Razvál Sovétskogo Soyúza, ''Ruining of the Soviet Union''. was the process of internal disintegration within the Sov ...
and the Revolutions of 1989; the First Chechen War and the Second Chechen War, the Gulf War, and the Yugoslav Wars failed to dampen economic enthusiasm surrounding the ongoing Information Age and the "irrational exuberance" (a phrase coined by Alan Greenspan) of the dot-com bubble. Between late 1992 and early 1993, the Dow staggered through the 3,000 level making only modest gains as the biotechnology sector suffered through the downfall of the Biotech Bubble; as many biotech companies saw their share prices rapidly rise to record levels and then subsequently fall to new all-time lows. The Dow soared from 2,753 to 8,000 between January 1990 to July 1997. In October 1997, the events surrounding the 1997 Asian financial crisis plunged the Dow into a 554-point loss to a close of 7,161.15; a retrenchment of 7.18% in what became known as the October 27, 1997 mini-crash. However, the Dow continued climbing past 9,000 despite negativity surrounding the 1998 Russian financial crisis along with the subsequent fallout from the 1998 collapse of Long-Term Capital Management due to bad bets placed on the movement of the Russian ruble. On March 29, 1999, the average closed at 10,006.78, its first close above 10,000. This prompted a celebration on the trading floor, complete with party hats. Total gains for the decade exceeded 315%; from 2,753.20 to 11,497.12, which equates to 12.3% annually. The Dow averaged a 5.3% return compounded annually for the 20th century, a record Warren Buffett called "a wonderful century"; when he calculated that to achieve that return again, the index would need to close at about 2,000,000 by December 2099.
On September 17, 2001, the first day of trading after the September 11 attacks, the Dow fell 7.1%. However, the Dow began an upward trend shortly after the attacks, and quickly regained all lost ground to close above 10,000 for the year. In 2002, the Dow dropped to a four-year low of 7286 on September 24, 2002, due to the stock market downturn of 2002 and lingering effects of the dot-com bubble. Overall, while the NASDAQ fell roughly 75% and the S&P 500 fell roughly 50% between 2000 and 2002, the Dow only fell 27% during the same period. In 2003, the Dow held steady within the 7,000 to 9,000-point level and recovered to the 10,000 mark by year end. The Dow continued climbing and reached a record high of 14,198.10 on October 11, 2007, a mark which was not matched until March 2013. It then dropped for the next year due to the Financial crisis of 2007–2008. On September 15, 2008, a wider financial crisis became evident when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy along with the economic effect of record high oil prices which had reached almost $150 per Barrel of oil equivalent, barrel two months earlier. The Dow lost more than 500 points for the day, returning to its mid-July lows below 11,000. A series of bailout packages, including the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, proposed and implemented by the Federal Reserve and United States Department of the Treasury did not prevent further losses. After nearly six months of extreme volatility during which the Dow experienced its largest one-day point loss, largest daily point gain, and largest intraday range (of more than 1,000 points) at the time, the index closed at a new 12-year low of 6,547.05 on March 9, 2009, its lowest close since April 1997. The Dow had lost 20% of its value in only six weeks. Towards the latter half of 2009, the average rallied towards the 10,000 level amid optimism that the Late-2000s recession, the United States housing bubble and the financial crisis of 2007–2008, were easing and possibly coming to an end. For the decade, the Dow saw a rather substantial pullback for a negative return from 11,497.12 to 10,428.05, a loss of a 9.3%.
During the first half of the 2010s decade, aided by the Federal Reserve's loose monetary policy including quantitative easing, the Dow made a notable rally attempt. This was despite significant volatility due to growing global concerns such as the 2010 European sovereign debt crisis, the Dubai World 2009 debt standstill, and the United States debt-ceiling crisis of 2011. On May 6, 2010, the Dow lost 9.2% intra-day and regained nearly all of it within a single hour. This event, which became known as the 2010 Flash Crash, sparked new regulations to prevent future incidents. Six years after its previous high in 2007, the Dow finally closed at a new record high on March 5, 2013. It continued rising for the next several years past 17,000 points until a brief 2015–16 stock market selloff in the second half of 2015. It then picked up again early 2016 and climbed past 25,000 points on January 4, 2018. On November 9, 2016, the day after Donald Trump's victory over Hillary Clinton in the 2016 United States presidential election, U.S. presidential election, the index soared, coming within roughly 25 points of its all-time intraday high to that point. Volatility returned in 2018 when the Dow fell nearly 20%. By early January 2019, the index had quickly rallied more than 10% from its Christmas Eve low. Overall in the 2010s decade, the Dow increased from 10,428.05 to 28,538.44 for a substantial gain of 174%.
Despite the emerging COVID-19 pandemic, the Dow continued its bull run from the previous decade before peaking at 29,551.42 on February 12, 2020 (29,568.57 intraday on the same day). The index slowly retreated for the remainder of the week and into the next week, before coronavirus fears and an 2020 Russia–Saudi Arabia oil price war, oil price war between Saudi Arabia and Russia sent the index into a 2020 stock market crash, tailspin, recording several days of losses (and gains) of at least 1,000 points, a typical symptom of a bear market as previously seen in October 2008 during the Financial crisis of 2007–08, financial crisis. Volatility rose high enough to trigger multiple 15-minute trading curb, trading halts. In the first quarter of 2020, the DJIA fell 23%, its worst quarter since 1987. The market recovered in the third quarter, returning to 28,837.52 on October 12, 2020, and peaked momentarily at a new all-time high of 29,675.25 on November 9, 2020, at 14:00 ET, following that day's announcement of the success of the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine in Phase III clinical trials. The Dow (as reported by the UPI) closed over 30,000 on December 31, 2020, at a record 30,606.48. On November 24, following news that the presidential transition of Joe Biden was approved, the Dow increased by more than 500 points, closing at 30,046.24.
To calculate the DJIA, the sum of the prices of all 30 stocks is divided by a divisor, the Dow Divisor. The divisor is adjusted in case of stock splits, spinoffs or similar structural changes, to ensure that such events do not in themselves alter the numerical value of the DJIA. Early on, the initial divisor was composed of the original number of component companies; this initially made the DJIA a simple arithmetic average. The present divisor, after many adjustments, is less than one (meaning the index is larger than the sum of the prices of the components). That is: : \text = where ''p'' are the prices of the component stocks and ''d'' is the ''Dow Divisor''. Events such as stock splits or changes in the list of the companies composing the index alter the sum of the component prices. In these cases, in order to avoid discontinuity in the index, the Dow Divisor is updated so that the quotations right before and after the event coincide: : \text = = . the Dow Divisor is 0.15172752595384 and every $1 change in price in a particular stock within the average equates to a 6.590761918 (1 ÷ 0.15172752595384) point movement.
Issues with market representation
With the inclusion of only 30 stocks, critics such as Ric Edelman argue that the DJIA is an inaccurate representation of overall market performance compared to more comprehensive indexes such as the S&P 500 Index or the Russell 3000 Index. Additionally, the DJIA is criticized for being a price-weighted index, which gives higher-priced stocks more influence over the average than their lower-priced counterparts, but takes no account of the relative industry size or market capitalization of the components. For example, a $1 increase in a lower-priced stock can be negated by a $1 decrease in a much higher-priced stock, even though the lower-priced stock experienced a larger percentage change. In addition, a $1 move in the smallest component of the DJIA has the same effect as a $1 move in the largest component of the average. For example, during September–October 2008, former component AIG's reverse split-adjusted stock price collapsed from $22.76 on September 8 to $1.35 on October 27; contributing to a roughly 3,000-point drop in the index. Goldman Sachs and UnitedHealth Group are among the highest-priced stocks in the average and therefore have the greatest influence on it. Alternately, Cisco Systems and Coca-Cola are among the lowest-priced stocks in the average and have the least sway in the price movement. Critics of the DJIA and most securities professionals recommend the capitalization-weighted index, market-capitalization weighted S&P 500 Index or the Wilshire 5000, the latter of which includes most publicly listed U.S. stocks, as better indicators of the U.S. stock market.
Correlation among components
A study between the correlation of components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average compared with the movement of the index finds that the correlation is higher when the stocks are declining. The correlation is lowest in a time when the average is flat or rises a modest amount.
* Closing milestones of the Dow Jones Industrial Average * List of largest daily changes in the Dow Jones Industrial Average * William Peter Hamilton * S&P 500
Dow Jones Industrial Average at NASDAQ
Dow Jones Industrial Average at NYSE Euronext
{{Authority control Dow Jones Industrial Average, 1896 establishments in the United States American stock market indices Dow Jones & Company S&P Dow Jones Indices
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Another Young Floridian Gets Arrested For Engaging In Ruff Sex With Her Dogs
Meet Miranda Johns.
The 21-year-old Floridian was arrested this week after her boyfriend provided cops with photos and videos allegedly showing her engaging in sexual contact with her two dogs, according to a police report.
Cops contacted Kurtz Villavicencio, 30, in connection with an allegation that he had sexually battered Johns. As reported by a Collier County Sheriff’s Office deputy, Villavicencio “provided me with his phone to show me evidence that he did not sexually batter Miranda.”
The phone, Villavicencio said, contained "disturbing photos and videos" sent to him by Johns.
Specifically, a cop noted, multiple videos showed Johns’s dogs “giving her oral sex while she masturbated.” One video showed Johns attempting to have a dog penetrate her, while a text message from Johns to Villavicencio noted that one of the animals “likes the taste of your cum.”
After seizing the phone, investigators confronted Johns, who claimed that Villavicencio (seen at left) was “interested in her having sex with animals.” Other statements Johns made to police have been redacted from the report.
Johns, a Naples resident, was arrested on three misdemeanor counts of engaging in sexual conduct with an animal. She was released from custody Monday after posting $6000 bond, and is due in court on April 13.
Last June, another Florida woman, Ashley Miller, was arrested on charges similar to those filed against Johns. The 19-year-old Miller, who was accused of having sexual contact with her pit bull, recently entered into a deferred prosecution agreement that will result in the dismissal of criminal charges if she completes a pre-trial intervention program.
animal sex, Florida
Twerp, 18, Tells Cops He Has Job And Money, But Burglarizes Cars To Ease His Boredom
Man Arrested For Failing To Return VHS Movie He Rented In 2001
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Tag Archives: brainstorming
Making of Tom Taps
Joben has a wonderful 10-year old son named Tom. Tom, being an energetic and witty kid that he is, has a hard time expressing his feelings, needs and wants as he is non-verbal and was diagnosed with autism when he was 2.
Using his software development skills, Joben started tinkering on his iPad and developed a simple communication app that will work best with Tom’s needs. It wasn’t much before, it was very simple, it was mostly black, but the concept behind it answers all of Tom’s needs. He called it Tom’s App for the time being.
Tom’s App was simple and easy to use, but has a big room for improvement. He noticed the potential of Tom’s App in helping other kids struggling with being non-verbal, and looked for a team to start working on converting the app into a product. He found two developers in the person of Abby and Xerez, and a graphic designer in Roxy. The three started with Tom’s App with this in mind: To provide a high-quality and affordable mobile communication application that will help kids with special needs to express themselves better.
While the passion to use their skills is there, there is no doubt that the team has a lot to learn when it comes to dealing with special needs. They started their learning journey by researching existing hardware and software products . They discovered that the market already has a considerable number of mobile apps targeted to assist people with special needs, and surprisingly, most of these are motivated by the same situation: they know somebody who needs it. This tidbit of information, while being a challenge to the business, was actually inspiring. Having to learn that there are others trying their hardest to provide the best services to people who need it the most, encouraged the team to dedicate time and effort into making this app.
Learning from the internet is not enough, however. They needed to get out of the building to talk to people who knew more about the subject matter, learn from their experiences, and identify the pains and needs that are still not addressed by existing solutions. With this, the team visited from one speech therapy centre to another, talking with occupational and speech therapists, teachers and parents alike. Discussions about the app and conversations about their experiences enlightened everybody about the pains and rewards of having a person with special needs in their life. We also had the opportunity to play with the kids at the centre and with much delight, observe how they learned in the school environment. With this newfound knowledge, the team geared up for work.
One of the centres visited was ABLE, owned and managed by Teacher On. He taught us about the importance of learning about the self first, and thus we gave much emphasis on the “I” on our first Speak Version.
The app Words and Blocks was made to have Tom and the other kids test it and for us to be able to take down notes on their reaction when using a tablet.
Abby started development work on the iOS. Initial modules and content were provided by Tom’s mom, Lizle, and Jasmine, a former special education teacher. Roxy, with the help of graphic designer Glomark, drew the first batch of 300 cards in the first version. During this time, the Bubble Sort app, a sorting game, was being developed by Xerez on the side. The whole team was excitedly bustling with work, keeping images of the kids in their minds while doing what they did best.
The group started by making low-fidelity designs that will focus on the placement of elements so they can make sure it will work when it comes to making the real thing.
The team loved discussing and brainstorming on the possible features of the app.
The first design had different colours depending on the preference. It also revolved around having only categories to navigate around the cards.
Two months of developing, drawing, discussing and testing led to the first version of the app: a clean, easy-to-use, intuitive and kid-friendly app catering to the communication needs of people with developmental disabilities. Since the team wanted Tom’s App to catch worldwide attention to be used and to be able to help people, something had to be done about the generic name. They wanted to keep the essence of being inspired and continually motivated by Tom, and so the team kept Tom’s name. On the other hand, they felt the need to identify themselves as a technology-driven company, to emphasise their utilisation of the mobile technology, and to pay tribute to this breakthrough that was able to help a lot of people. And so, the team thought: If the 90’s and the early 00’s was the era of “clicking”, the trend now can attest that the era today is the advent of “tapping”. Thus, the team finally called the app “Tom Taps”.
Upon deployment, Tom Taps was able to receive warm reception from mothers, fathers, teachers, even with people with special needs. Testimonials, stories, feedback and suggestions were received by mail every now and then. The heartwarming response was a wonderful reward for the work the team put into making the app. It was more interesting to note that people who took notice of the app consist not only of those directly affected by the cause, but also those who want to learn more about the situation. From then, Tom Taps knew that this just evolved from being a side project, to being a full-blown product, to being a worthy advocacy.
Tom Taps was invited by the student organisation in St. Scholastica College in Manila to talk about autism and Tom Taps Speak.
Being a technology company, the team participated in the first PSIA Softcon as an exhibitor. Tom Taps was able to attract attention as having a product with a unique target audience.
As part of the initiative to get involved in the special needs advocacy more, Tom Taps attended 2014’s Angels Walk for Autism, where 10,000 other angels participated in spreading awareness about autism in the world and in the Philippines.
The work does not stop on the first version, though. The wonderful suggestions given by the people using the app has to be accomplished, one of these was about having a customisation feature. The team had to re-assess and redo the flow of the app to take into consideration the user experience, the improvement of the existing features and the introduction of the new capabilities. After months of development from scratch, Tom Taps is now on its second version to answer all your needs, and then some.
You will now be able to add your own cards and boards using your photos or our pre-made pictures.
Now, there is a letter board for those who have a more comfortable time typing.
If you can’t say it with anything else, say it with a doodle! Tom Taps Speak Version 2 now has a whiteboard feature for your artistic streaks.
If you are a special needs teacher, an occupational or speech therapist, drop a line using the contact form in the website and we’ll give you a free trial for the features stated above.
Send us your thoughts, Tom Taps loves having them. Truly, the work never stops, and the team will continue to strive to deliver the service that best fits the needs of the kids who have a lot to say.
aac, brainstorming, communication app, development, ideas, tom taps speak
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Tom Taps
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