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Tuesday, August 3, 2010
Get Ready for the Future
We say this mostly because the future was some unattainable goal, far down the road and only in some sort of hypothetical world where the Jays budget suddenly increases, and all of the draft picks pan out and the Yanks and Sox decline and the Rays return to the mean and the Orioles continue to suck. Once you start using that many cards to build your house, it's easy to see how it falls apart before you even have it built.
But the past week has been an interesting one for us. Maybe we've dropped our rationalistic guard a bit, or maybe we're just a little more attuned to what's going on inside. Whatever it is, we have to admit to feeling very differently about this team. Much of this new, weird feeling likely comes from the lead up to the non-waiver trade deadline, and what the action (and lack thereof) says about the direction that's being taken, and the current state of the franchise.
As the Jays moved from the spring to the summer months, the conventional wisdom held that the team would eventually stop competing and sell off just about everything that wasn't nailed to the turf. It's the sort of thing that signals to the fans that you've given up, and that you're just trying to make the most of whatever shit sandwich platter you have in front of you. But the moves made through Alex Anthopoulos' inaugural season at the helm have shown exceptional foresight, and an ability to recognize that moving early in some situations and standing pat in others can remove you from the perfunctory urgency brought on by the arbitrary dates on the baseball calendar.
Acquiring Fred Lewis early in the season and Yunel Escobar well ahead of the trade deadline helped set the Jays up to a point where they didn't need to move near the deadline. Moreover, the decision to move Brett Wallace - heartily criticized by yours truly on Twitter in the moments after it was announced - was facilitated by the fact that the Blue Jays have a plethora of corner infield and outfield options that are under control and reasonably priced. Even without Wallace's high ceiling bat (and fat ass) next season, there's a full cupboard for now and next year, and something (in Anthony Gose) for down the road.
As we've been moving the tiles in the slide puzzle around, it amazes us how many premium pieces there are already on the Blue Jays roster, and how little room there will be next year for new faces in new places on the 25 man roster. The Blue Jays could legitimately not pick up a single piece in the offseason, and still assemble a roster that has the potential to win 90 or more games in 2011. J.P. Arencibia and Kyle Drabek may well shift into the big club's plans for next year, as will Brad Mills, Josh Roenicke, and Marc Rzpeczynski.
A new first and/or third baseman may need to be found, although the Jays won't need to shell out in free agency or the trade market to pull in someone, especially when internal options include moving either Aaron Hill or José Bautista to third and possibly Adam Lind to first. Or they can settle for a player who is posting a 106 OPS+ in the coming year. Say what you will: Edwin Encarnacion is not a bad option.
(And to drive home the point, as Wilner has through much of this season: EE's career OPS is 30 points higher than Aaron Hill's. Cover their names, and you'd almost certainly pick EE to be on your roster.)
Through all of this, we're finding something to grasp that isn't a vision of the Jays that we're talking ourselves into. (If you want examples of that particular mindset, may we suggest the 1500 or so posts on this blog.) To us, the future seems less like something tantalizingly out of reach, and more like something that's about to come sharply into focus.
It's truly an exciting time to be a Blue Jays fan.
23 comments:
- Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...
This has no doubt been the most exciting Blue Jays season in recent memory.
(And to drive home the point, as Wilner has through much of this season: EE's career OPS is 30 points higher than Aaron Hill's. Cover their names, and you'd almost certainly pick EE to be on your roster.)
Mind: blown.
- August 3, 2010 at 12:51 PM
- The Ack said...
Can't you save The Epic material for mid-week or so? You know how bad this makes me look coming off my weekend keyboard mashing?
- August 3, 2010 at 12:55 PM
- Drew GROF said...
And to drive home the point, as Wilner has through much of this season: EE's career OPS is 30 points higher than Aaron Hill's. Cover their names, and you'd almost certainly pick EE to be on your roster.
I would be more inclined to agree with this if Aaron Hill's nickname was E-ron Hill or E4 Hill. Defense matters! As does not being a fat guy!
- August 3, 2010 at 1:16 PM
I love the post. I do wonder, however, if once we start seeing the line drives scream their way towards Adam Lind at first base or Lind stretching for Ill-thrown balls to first, whether some sort of posthumous Lyle Overbay Commendation Affiliate might spring up next year. Jays fans have been pretty hard on Lyle over the past year & as things appear right now I fear we may miss him when he's gone. Any further thoughts about first base?
- August 3, 2010 at 1:16 PM
- Tao of Stieb said...
Folks are gonna miss Lyle Overbay when he's gone. That's for damned sure.
Because we had a decade of Carlos Delgado at first, people got the impression that you could put any stiff there and it doesn't matter what they do. But if you take a moment over the last few weeks of the season and watch Lyle Overbay's footwork at first, you'll be stunned at just how good he is over there. He rarely takes a wrong step, which is pretty critical at first.
Having seen Adam Lind run the bases, and how his feet can get tangled, I worry about the transition to first, supposing that he goes there.
Frankly, I could see Snider as a better fit, although I'd bet he still wants to play the outfield long term.
One other notion: Maybe JoBau ends up at first. Might seem like a waste of a great RF arm, but if you need to find lineup spots for good bats...
- August 3, 2010 at 1:56 PM
- Ty said...
Another post where you took everything I was thinking, and said it much more succinctly than I ever could have. Agree 100% - it's a very exciting time to be a Blue Jays fan.
I've seen a few people touting EE's offensive resurgence since being recalled from AAA, but credit where credit is due: dude has been playing some very good defense as well. He's made a few spectacular plays, but even better, I no longer cringe when he has to throw the ball across the diamond; his throws have been strong and accurate.
- August 3, 2010 at 1:57 PM
- Tao of Stieb said...
The defensive part is obviously the stick in the rudder to that equation.
But check this out:
2010 UZR: EE -1.4, Hill -2.0
2010 UZR/150: EE -4.3, Hill -4.0
Cover the names...
- August 3, 2010 at 2:00 PM
- Navin Vaswani (@eyebleaf) said...
Jesus. I thought I couldn't quite possibly become even more disappointed and disillusioned with Aaron Hill. I was wrong.
- August 3, 2010 at 2:05 PM
- Tao of Stieb said...
In Aaron's defense: His BABIP is ridiculously low this year. Then again, he's hitting fewer line drives and a lot more fly balls. Which means there's something fucked with his swing.
- August 3, 2010 at 2:11 PM
- Drew GROF said...
Good point, though I'll (safely) counter that UZR is a long for stat.
The last two years bring Hill closer and closer to simply league average, with +3 UZR/150 for his career. Dewan's +/- (or DRS) loves him though, giving him a +19 last year and +5 this.
EE comes with a -12 UZR/150 for his career, with DRS echoing the thoughts - though they support that he's about league average in 2010.
Hill's slippage is troubling, no doubt. His offense offers few, if any, glimmers of hope this year. He's a streaky dude but this is sick.
- August 3, 2010 at 2:16 PM
- Drew GROF said...
For the record, I meant "safely" in the "chickenshit bet-hedging" sense.
Not "safely because I'm right", as I'm likely not.
- August 3, 2010 at 2:17 PM
Regarding Aaron Hill: I'm still under the belief that his injury in April affected him long after he came off the DL, at least defensively. He had almost zero range in the early part of the season and I was beginning to think his days of being the second coming of O-dog were gone and his new days of being Dan Uggla were upon us. However, over the past month or so his defensive range has improved considerably and he looks close to the Aaron Hill of old. I see a major resurgence in his overall game for the rest of the year and next year as well.
- August 3, 2010 at 2:17 PM
- MJK said...
And to drive home the point, as Wilner has through much of this season: EE's career OPS is 30 points higher than Aaron Hill's. Cover their names, and you'd almost certainly pick EE to be on your roster.
in addition to the points made by others, years removed from his best offensive season:
Hill: 1
i don't know anyone who thinks E5 is going to OPS 830 again. most people expect Aaron to bounce back.
- August 3, 2010 at 2:20 PM
- Drew GROF said...
The ugly side of this debate comes back to optics. EE appears slightly out of shape, had a bad rep coming in. Aaron Hill is a gritty gamer.
I think the bad rap and our inability to shake our preconceived notions of the kind of player we're talking about weighs heavier than the hushhushracialhushhush issues we ARE NOT talking about.
- August 3, 2010 at 2:28 PM
- Tao of Stieb said...
I don't doubt that people believe that Aaron is going to bounce back and Edwin won't. That's half of my argument here: People want to believe in Aaron Hill, and they don't have any time or inclination to like anything about EE.
The point is that people somehow have made up their minds that Aaron Hill is an up and comer, and that EE is done, even if EE is younger.
Here are a few more things to consider:
Number of seasons with OPS over .800: EE 2, Hill 1.
Number of seasons with OPS over .750: EE 4, Hill 2.
(And plus, I know that people are going to want to think that EE is an aloof dude who doesn't hustle and doesn't care, and that Hill is a Gordie or Dougie, and deserves the captain's C on his chest. But in every interview that I see of Hill, he comes off like a prick. Yeah, you heard me: A dickhead. There. I said it. Let the hate mail come pouring in.)
- August 3, 2010 at 2:31 PM
- The Ack said...
Gotta say, I don't see where that comes from re: Hill comes off like a prick.
I loved his attitude heading into the season, urging the "young guys" to recognize the opportunity they have, etc.
I just don't see what you're seeing there, I suppose.
- August 3, 2010 at 2:41 PM
- Tao of Stieb said...
I don't know. I guess I see him on those Blackberry videos, and he seems like a jerk.
- August 3, 2010 at 3:12 PM
Aaron Hill Hatred Advisory readings, anyone?
- August 3, 2010 at 4:13 PM
- Ty said...
And with the future in mind, tonight we get to see Lind's first professional start at first base. And Snider stays in LF, with Fred Lewis DHing again.
Four months ago, I never thought I'd say this, but so much has changed since then: I love Cito Gaston.
- August 3, 2010 at 4:18 PM
Basically, Overbay has been (since the contract) the worst first basemen with an everyday job.
A .327 won't make me miss Overbay.
- August 3, 2010 at 7:39 PM
@ Ty:
I agree EE has been much better of late. I wonder if, even when he has his dumpster fire defensive outings that we don't realize how lucky we were to watch Rolen at third. I was always amazed at how that guy would pick the ball and then fire it to first so accurately that Richard Simmons could have caught it.
- August 3, 2010 at 9:50 PM
- Steve G. said...
I agree with Anon 739 - Overbay stinks. I don't really care if he picks it like Doug Minky, his line is 249 / 330 / 414, he plays first and he's 33. He was OK last year, due to a 12-point spike from his career average in OBP, but he was just passable in 2008 and well-below average in 2007. So in five Toronto years, he's been bad in two, good in two and great in one (2006). If he'll come back for less than $2 million, maybe it's worth kicking the tires on him, but otherwise, he looks cooked. (Where's Randy Ruiz when you need him?)
Also, isn't Aaron Hill a second baseman? It's much harder to find a decent bat at that position than 3B, or at least, it usually is. His performance record is as spotty as Overbay's and EE's, but there aren't as many viable offensive options there as with 1B and 3B.
- August 3, 2010 at 11:13 PM
My friend met Aaron Hill in the Skydome Hotel two weeks ago as he had a drink with Buck Martinez after a Saturday game.
She had got a ball at the game and she sheepishly asked him to sign it, which he did without hesitation. She said they chatted and he was very nice, and then his wife and kid came into the bar and he acted like an excited Dad, picking his daughter up and playing with her... y'know just being a regular guy.
A prick would tell my friend to fuck off. Although, her undeniable hotness probably didn't hurt...
- August 4, 2010 at 12:55 PM


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Genevra Pittman
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A new study suggests that kids who are born only a year or two after an older sibling might be more likely to be diagnosed with autism than those with a bigger age gap.
Of all second siblings whose mothers became pregnant with them less than a year after giving birth to the older sibling, about 7.5 in every 1,000 were diagnosed with autism. When mothers became pregnant three years or more after giving birth, about 2.5 out of every 1,000 younger siblings were diagnosed with autism.
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Because they were interested in the impact of the length between pregnancies on autism, the researchers focused on tracking second siblings that were born with or without autism following a first sibling that didn't have the condition. Out of more than 600,000 pairs of siblings in which the older sibling didn't have autism, about 3,000 younger siblings were diagnosed with autism.
When the authors controlled for certain characteristics that may affect the risk of autism - including the mother's age and race, and the child's gender and birth year - the pattern of spacing and autism rates remained the same.
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One possible explanation is that mothers who got pregnant soon after giving birth the first time had low levels of certain nutrients like iron and folate, or that their bodies were still under stress from the first pregnancy, and that affected the second child's development.
While it could also be that something about parents who choose to have children close together - such as their genes or hormones - makes them more likely to have kids with autism, the authors say this is probably not the case. If it were, firstborn children in closely spaced sibling pairs would also be more likely to have autism, but that pattern didn't turn up in the results.
The trend could, however, be explained by social factors, Cheslack-Postava said. Parents may be more likely to take a younger sibling to the doctor to be checked out for autism if they remember that only a year or two ago, when their older sibling was the same age, he or she was much farther along in development in certain areas.
If that were true, some younger siblings in pairs who were spaced far apart might not have been diagnosed yet by the time the researchers collected the study data.
Future studies will need to look more closely at specific factors that could explain the link between close pregnancy spacing and autism risk, Cheslack-Postava said. For now, it's too early to make recommendations to parents about how to space their children if they are trying to minimize the chance that a child will have autism, she said.
"There are a number of reasons for why people would choose to have children closer together or farther apart," Cheslack-Postava said. "It's a very individual decision including many factors." And the findings, she said, shouldn't have any impact on that decision.


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A semitrailer rolled on Highway 40 near Steamboat Springs, rupturing the truck's fuel tank and spilling about 150 gallons of diesel fuel.
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- Carte Blanche
- Discover
- Smoke-Free Facility
- Number of Floors: 9
- Total Number of Rooms: 269
- Number of Suites: 13
- Number of Non-Smoking Rooms: 269
- Number of Accessible Rooms: 8
- Connecting Rooms Available
- Current Renovation: 2019 To 2020
- Hotel is currently under going public area renovations from Aug 2019 - June 2020.
- Public Spaces Renovated in: 2016
- Guest Rooms Renovated in: 2013
- Public Entrance
- Guest Rooms
- Elevators
- Public Restrooms
- Registration Desk
- Exercise Facility
- Business Center
- Pool
Accessible Hotel Areas
- Registration Area
- Accessible Guest Rooms
- Business Center
- Meeting Room
- Exercise Facility
- Pool
Hotel Areas with Accessible Routes from Accessible Public Entrance
- Accessible Self-Parking
- Van Accessible Self Parking
- Ramp Access
- Portable Bathtub Seats
- Closed Caption TVs
- Telephone with TDD
- Visual Alarm/Alert in Guest Rooms
- Visual Alarm/Alert in Public Spaces
- Communication Kits with Visual Alarms
Provided by Hotel


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Ishkoshim, On the Afghan-Tajik Border, 28 September 1998 — In a powerful appeal to all Muslims in Afghanistan, Shia and Sunni alike, His Highness the Aga Khan, Imam (spiritual leader) of the Shia Ismaili Muslims, outlined a basis for constructing a new and more stable civil order in Central Asia. "All Afghans should, as promptly as possible, re-establish open and brotherly dialogue among themselves, as our Faith instructs us to do, so that Islam's ethic of peace becomes a national reality." "We are not allowed to live in hate." Announcing his intention to continue humanitarian relief programmes in Afghanistan, the Aga Khan made a commitment to also support the rehabilitation of education, healthcare, agriculture and infrastructure.
These efforts will commence in areas where collaboration with local communities and other agencies can facilitate the transition to long-term development. Addressing crowds of tens of thousands at centres along the Pyanj River that marks the border between Afghanistan and Tajikistan, the Aga Khan credited the establishment of peace in regions of Tajikistan still emerging from civil strife for the success of agrarian reform, health, education and economic regeneration programmes undertaken by the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). Speaking to Sunni and Shia Muslims at Porshniev, Tem, Roshorv, Vanj, Langar, Ishkoshim and Yogit during an eight-day official visit to Tajikistan, the Aga Khan noted "with great pain and sadness, Muslims fighting against Muslims in Afghanistan." "We must respect the sanctity of life," the Aga Khan enjoined, citing a verse of the Holy Qur'an which says "And whoso saves a life, it is as if he had saved the entirety of mankind." He observed that "because the ethical premises of civil life are the same in all schools of Islam, we have the remarkable opportunity to build the future of civil societies in which we will live, on premises which will unite all Muslims, and not divide them." "Wealth and power," the Aga Khan said, "are not objectives in themselves, but are to be used in the service of others." "Those whom life has marginalised are to be helped… to free themselves from their constraints."
"Anything to do with drugs," he emphasised, "is to be rigorously avoided." It is on these ethical premises, said the Aga Khan, that we need to "bring peace to Afghanistan, to eliminate hate and division, and thereafter rebuild the country for the benefit of all Afghans." By mobilising US$ 110 million in collaboration with international donors over the past six years, the AKDN's efforts in Tajikistan in humanitarian assistance, the privatisation of agriculture, investment in health and education, and the creation of entrepreneurial opportunities, have significantly enhanced living conditions for populations in an area covering half the country.
Tajik communities that faced starvation only five years ago, now expect to be food self-sufficient within three years. AKDN programmes have nearly tripled wheat yields and doubled potato yields in parts of the country most affected by the civil war. Today, former combatants in the Garm Region, once the stronghold of the armed opposition, have become successful farmers. AKDN has provided emergency inputs and technical assistance to sustain and improve the delivery of educational and healthcare services.
Through scholarships and innovative educational programmes, AKDN has increased the capacity of universities across the country to teach English, market economics and humanities with a focus on the cultures of Central Asia. Localised microcredit programmes have created new jobs and are transforming the barter economy by revitalising entrepreneurial activity. AKDN is investing in infrastructure through projects in the power and road construction sectors.
At earlier meetings in Dushanbe with Tajikistan's President Emomali Rakhmonov and Sayid Abdullo Nuri, the Chairman of the Commission for National Reconciliation, the Aga Khan emphasised that the country's peace process and economic development are mutually reinforcing. The opportunities that peace can bring were highlighted by major new initiatives discussed during the Aga Khan's visit. A primary and secondary school, the Aga Khan Lycee, was inaugurated as a "centre of excellence" to serve as a model for educational institutions throughout Central Asia.
The Network is actively supporting completion of the Darwaz-Kulyab Road, complementing the Network's funding of the Murghab-Kulma segment of a new "Silk Route" connecting Central Asia to the Indian Ocean through both China and Pakistan. Planning for an international university for Central Asia specialising in the problems of high mountain societies has commenced, on the basis of the submission by an international group of prominent experts of a report jointly commissioned by President Rakhmonov and the Aga Khan.
The Aga Khan Development Network is a group of private, non-denominational development agencies and institutions with specific mandates that range from health and education to rural development, culture, the built environment and the promotion of private sector enterprise. These agencies and institutions, working together, seek to empower communities and individuals, often in disadvantaged circumstances, to improve living conditions and opportunities.
For further information, please contact:
The Information Office Aiglemont
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E-mail: email@example.com


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One of Us, Pt 1
Campus: Carlsbad
Series: One of Us
Preacher: Mike Prato
In 1991, Hal and Lori Seed came to Oceanside to open a new church – one that would welcome people from all walks of life, no matter their spiritual depth or background. Since that time, New Song has seen many lives changed by the Spirit of Jesus and the love and friendships of members of the church.
New Song is a welcoming place. We're a multi-ethnic, multi-generational church where people find hope and love every week. We worship together on weekends, meet together in Life Groups during the week, serve our city by partnering with local missions and ministries, and train church planters all over the world.


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marks1117 needed a new logo design and created a contest on 99designs.
A winner was selected from 50 designs submitted by 33 freelance designers.
Create a logo that is both professional and updated/innovative. We provide services to active individual investors so logo needs to try and reflect the "finance/trading" angle.
Proven Trading Strategies since 1996
Desired Color Scheme:
Blue, Green and others o.k. - probably not red
Desired Style:
Innovative, Themed to Product
Accepted File Formats:
Standard Web Formats (.jpg, .gif or .png); Vector Formats (.eps, .pdf or .ai)
The logo is for a company that is in the financial space but we do not want the logo to be overly dry/boring as is sometimes the case in finance. However, at the same time we have to balance it still looking professional and cutting edge without going too far and making it cartoonish. Â
 Our past logo incorporated "arrows" such as a stock going up in the letter "N" and the dot over the 'i' --in our name. However, by no means does that need to be included - it's just to have you think about trying to convey investing/trading into the logo somehow.
 The logo will be primarily used on our website.
Thanks for your consideration/participation.Â
Find out how a design contest works or learn more about our logo design services.


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Isaac Hayes' character in Escape From New York was far from positive, but you root for him from the moment he comes onscreen. Why? Chandeliers.
Yes, Isaac Hayes put chandeliers on the front of his '77 Fleetwood Brougham. It is the most pimptastic customization ever fitted to a car. It was such quality, you didn't care he was the bad guy.
Much in the same way, we didn't care if Julian Assange is the good guy or the bad guy in this whole London/Ecuador asylum thing, so long as there's a totally badass chase to the airport.
We all had some outstanding ideas on how Assange should flee, so we put a few together.
He just needs to do it Saigon-style.
Take a helicopter to Shaftesbury and find a theatre showing Miss Saigon. The authorities won't want to be mistaken for wasting taxpayer money or being homosexual, so they'll wait several blocks away. Then he can sneak out the back to Charing Cross station and high-tail it to Gatwick before curtain call.
Better still, I think we should get 10,000 Assange dopplegangers to storm out of that place and just run for dear life. The real Assange would have a prearranged destination where he will be picked up by helicopter. In the helicopter, they will shave his hair and eyebrows, give him a new Ecuadorian passport with a new name and identity, and drop him off at Waterloo station. There, he takes the Eurostar Chunnel Train to Brussels. Once in Brussels, he can get on a normal passenger jet to Morocco, assuming they have connecting flights. Take a one-way flight to Ecuador. Boom.
What, the Ecuadorians don't have emergency jet-packs? That's some Model UN-league shit right there.
Remember to put your best escape strategies in today's QOTD. The weirder, the better.
Photo Credit: Escape From New York/IMCDB


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Why I'm Talking to You
NYU Professor Barry Friedman compares the Prop. 8 trial to the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, both more "morality plays" than legal cases. Of cases of major political salience, Friedman writes:
The thing about social change through the courts is that it invariably rests on what the broader public thinks. Consider the famous social change cases: Brown vs. Board of Education on segregation in public schools; almost any abortion case; Lawrence vs. Texas on gay rights and anti-sodomy laws. In these cases the court did not buck or define social views so much as confirm them. More and more, for better or for worse, Supreme Court decisions on social issues reflect opinion polls. […]
The high court, perversely, felt broadcasting should be banned precisely because "this case . . . involves issues subject to intense debate in our society." The majority stressed that studies had not shown "the effect of broadcasting in high-profile, divisive cases." What, imaginably, could that bad effect be? That the American people might have views on the subject and debate them? […]
It's wrong, of course, to think the Supreme Court will "resolve" this issue, any more than it managed to resolve the issues of segregation, abortion, the death penalty or gay rights, for that matter. But what the court ultimately decides (if it decides), and on what basis, will profoundly affect the terms of the debate. If matters of social change are going to be debated in the courts, we all should get to view the process — and, through our reactions, to participate in it.
Friedman just came out with a book, The Will of the People: How Public Opinion Has Influenced the Supreme Court and Shaped the Meaning of the Constitution, which comprehensively examines the Court's responsiveness to public opinion up through the early part of this century.
Despite Friedman's–and others'–disappointment that the Prop. 8 case will not be televised, the people who camp out to see Perry v. Schwarzenegger at the district court and, ultimately, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court, are the ones whose reactions to the process are so strong as to compel them to participate through viewing the arguments in the flesh. And here, Perry is not unique: the same lines form for the cases of great public interest that never had Perry's prospect of live broadcast.
For this reason, by waiting out in line, I seek to test the Roberts' Court's sensitivity to its surrounding political climate as represented by the sample of citizens who care enough about the case and/or the Court to get to One First Street before the sun rises. It's still too early to tell what I'll find, but I'm sure I'll find something. Perhaps I'll put my interviews on video. That would be the next best thing, wouldn't it?
One Response
[…] Slate Readers! Posted in Endorsements by Mike Sacks on January 25, 2010 Huge thanks to Barry Friedman and Dahlia Lithwick for linking to F1@1F! One of the defining features of the John Roberts Court is […]


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Noer Fauzi Rachman, or 'Oji' as his friends know him, is an activist, author, lecturer, and former policy advisor to the President of Indonesia, Joko Widodo. His life's work has taken him from social activism, to the University of California, Berkeley, to the echelons of power in his own country.
The International Land Coalition sets a new history in the agrarian reform journey in Indonesia through the Global Land Forum 2018 Opening Ceremony on September 24th, 2018.
The regional assembly accepted the new members as well as the new elected Asia Steering Committees (ASC) for 2019 – 2021 period.
Following the expiration of the land acquisition and distribution (LAD) component of the Comprehensive Agrarian Reform with Extension and Reforms (CARPER) in June 2014, the issuance of Notices of Coverage (NOCs) was stalled – leaving the remaining 600,000 hectares undistributed as of 2016.
Indonesia has been granted the opportunity to host the Global Land Forum (GLF), which to be organized during 24-26 September 2018 in Bandung.
'After the acquisition of joint land ownership I feel powerful in my household. Now, I have also access to land which we both (husband and wife) use for growing our children's well-being." Pangula Tharu and Chahari Tharuni, Bardiya.


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In the dock
In The Dock informs the public of the work of the criminal justice system across West Yorkshire.
Following a risk assessment, adults given custodial sentences at the county's crown courts will have their names, photographs, details of the crime they have committed and the court's sentence published on these pages.
Additionally, adult convictions at Magistrates courts which are of significant public interest may also be included.
If there are no cases available for publication, please continue checking back for further updates.
Click on an image to read more information.
Want to comment on our "In the Dock" pages? Please use our feedback forms.


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Robert Senn Studio is a professional photography studio located in Canfield, Ohio. We specialize is High School Senior Portraits, Wedding Photography, Bridal Portraits, Engagement Portraits, Children and Family Portraits, Business Portraits, and School Photography.
We also offer Event Photography, First Communion, Passport Images, Pet Sessions, Commercial Photography, Location Photography, Class Reunions, Dance Photos, Framing and Image Restoration.
Robert Senn Studio is a proud member of the Professional Photographers of Ohio and Professional Photographers of America.
Robert Senn Studio is ready to meet your photography needs servicing the Cleveland , Akron , Canton , Niles , Youngstown , Mahoning County , Trumbull County , Columbiana County , and West Pennsylvania.


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Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) - update
10 November 2013 - WHO has been informed of an additional laboratory-confirmed case of infection with Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in Qatar.
The patient is a 48-year-old man with underlying medical conditions. He became ill on 25 October 2013 and was admitted to a hospital on 31 October 2013. He is in currently in a critical condition. Preliminary investigations reveal that he frequently visited animal barns. The patient did not recently travel and has had no contact with a previously laboratory-confirmed case with MERS-CoV.
Globally, from September 2012 to date, WHO has been informed of a total of 151 laboratory-confirmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including 64 deaths.
Based on the current situation and available information, WHO encourages all Member States to continue their surveillance for severe acute respiratory infections (SARI) and to carefully review any unusual patterns.
Health care providers are advised to maintain vigilance. Recent travellers returning from the Middle East who develop SARI should be tested for MERS-CoV as advised in the current surveillance recommendations.
Patients diagnosed and reported to date have had respiratory disease as their primary illness. Diarrhoea is commonly reported among the patients and severe complications include renal failure and acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) with shock. It is possible that severely immunocompromised patients can present with atypical signs and symptoms.
Health care facilities are reminded of the importance of systematic implementation of infection prevention and control (IPC). Health care facilities that provide care for patients suspected or confirmed with MERS-CoV infection should take appropriate measures to decrease the risk of transmission of the virus to other patients, health care workers and visitors.
All Member States are reminded to promptly assess and notify WHO of any new case of infection with MERS-CoV, along with information about potential exposures that may have resulted in infection and a description of the clinical course. Investigation into the source of exposure should promptly be initiated to identify the mode of exposure, so that further transmission of the virus can be prevented.
WHO does not advise special screening at points of entry with regard to this event nor does it currently recommend the application of any travel or trade restrictions.
WHO has convened an Emergency Committee under the International Health Regulations (IHR) to advise the Director-General on the status of the current situation. The Emergency Committee, which comprises international experts from all WHO Regions, unanimously advised that, with the information now available, and using a risk-assessment approach, the conditions for a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) have not at present been met.


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Monday, February 6, 2012
Valentine's Day Brownies
I didn't grow up celebrating Valentine's day. Should I even attempt the stereotypical sentence that Paris is romantic every day of the year and that we don't need a special day to celebrate love? I wouldn't dare. But the truth is, it's not a day of the year we that we're particularly attached to in France. Or at least not a day that really marked my young teenage years. I see a lot more marketing around the holiday when I go back to France now, but while I was in high school I saw it as a North American celebration that you really only understand from cheesy American movies.
Now that I live on this side of the world, I've got to admit, I have a love/hate relationship with it. Yes, it really is a consumer-driven holiday. The cards, the chocolate, the teddy bears, the teddy bears made of chocolate, the hearts, the flowers - is that really what we are waiting to receive? That part isn't really enticing to me in any way. However, the love part I'm all for. Although I don't believe in set days to remember to show affection, I will never say no to an added day of the year that's about a little bit of giddiness.
To mark the occasion, I've got an an easy update on a classic. Deliciously sweet brownies, all-dressed up for Valentine's Day! I like to use the Baked brownies (my all-time favourite!), cut the cooled brownies with a heart-shaped cookie cutter and add a few decorative Smarties.
11 comments:
- Cakebrain said...
these look so adorable!
- February 6, 2012 at 10:34 PM
- Katie said...
Aww they are so cute!!
- February 7, 2012 at 2:31 AM
- Juanita said...
Giddiness is exactly the right word to describe the feeling that encompasses Valentine's Day :-)
Your heart-shaped brownies with a colourful trim are delightful.
- February 7, 2012 at 3:30 AM
- My candy kitchen said...
- February 7, 2012 at 4:16 AM
- Chocolate Shavings said...
Juanita: Thank you! We could all use a little more giddiness year-round so it's nice to set a day aside for it.
- February 7, 2012 at 7:51 AM
- thelittleloaf said...
These are so cute. I can't think of anything I'd rather eat on Valentine's Day than a delicious chocolate brownie.
- February 7, 2012 at 8:26 AM
- Chocolate Shavings said...
thelittleloaf: I couldn't agree more!
- February 7, 2012 at 10:28 AM
- Hazel - Chicken in a Cherry Sauce said...
So simple yet so perfect for a delicious Valentine's treat!
- February 7, 2012 at 2:00 PM
- Мъх said...
These look so yummy!
- February 8, 2012 at 2:50 PM
- Feed Products said...
Nice looking & it will be tasty. Chocolate is all time favourite of almost everyone. It is not necesary that we must have it on valentine but we can make it anytime. Thanks for this yummy sharing.
- February 10, 2012 at 6:34 AM
- blue roses said...
yum yum yum yum.
i don't like the idea of celebrating valentine's day, at least not in the commercial and contrived sense, but, all that lovely sugar and chocolate is compelling!
- February 11, 2012 at 12:54 PM


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Zajas is an Albanian village a few kilometres north of Kicevo. It is the home of Ali Ahmeti, the leader of the National Liberation Army (NLA) during the 2001 conflict. The demands of the Albanian community, as well as the role and importance of the Ohrid Agreement provisions, can be better understood in rural places like Zajas.
During the industrialisation campaign in socialist Yugoslavia many ethnic Macedonians in the region left their villages in search of jobs in the factories of Kicevo. For residents of Albanian villages like Zajas, this option was much more difficult. The communist authorities looked at the Albanians – many of whom had collaborated with the Germans during the war – with a great deal of suspicion; they were reluctant to give them jobs. Albanians thus had little choice but to stay in their villages or emigrate, mostly to Western Europe or America. In 2002, municipal officials estimated that almost every household in Zajas had at least one relative abroad. The rebel leader Ali Ahmeti is no exception. In 1986 he left Zajas and sought political asylum in Switzerland, where he lived until his return in 2001.
Members of the Zajas diaspora support their relatives back home. Some have built large houses, symbols of foreign wealth, though many of these are vacant. Remittances have been a form of support rather than a source of productive investment. Jobs remain scarce in the village. In 2002, the largest private company in Zajas had 10-12 employees. Official statistics showed 155 registered shops, a restaurant, a motel and a bakery. 135 people were employed as teachers in Zajas' primary schools. These figures suggest that the great majority of Zajas' 2,000 households had not even a single formally employed family member. The 2002 census registered 4,127 women over the age of fifteen. Only 48 of them were employed.
Private sector development in Zajas is also hampered by low education levels. A 2002 study found that 87.5 percent of the village's population had failed to attain secondary-level schooling. This, in addition to earlier systematic discrimination, was also a barrier to jobs in the civil service.
One of the key provisions of the Ohrid Agreement concerns the decentralisation of government. A strong centralisation drive after independence in the early 1990s had left villages like Zajas largely cut off from the state's resources and services. This isolation became particularly acute after the 1996 reforms in local government, when the number of municipalities was increased from 34 to 123. Municipal boundaries are a sensitive issue, as they determine whether a town or district is predominantly ethnic Macedonian or Albanian.
Zajas municipality was one of four new rural municipalities carved out of the former socialist municipality of Kicevo. These new municipalities found themselves detached from their traditional administrative centre, Kicevo town, with little or no public institutions or infrastructure. In 2002 Zajas municipality had seven staff working in a temporary shelter the size of a family apartment. Its core budget was €54,000, roughly €5 per inhabitant. The municipality was home to 19.3 percent of the Kicevo area's population, but received only 1.9 percent of the funds allocated for the water and canalisation programme between 1997 and 2001. It would be fair to say that the presence of the Macedonian state in the village was virtually non-existent.
The Ohrid agreement set out a plan for new laws on local government, strengthening local responsibilities and increasing financial resources. Some of the municipal boundaries were also redrawn.
The Kicevo area was one of the most contested cases. The 1996 boundaries had left some 20,000 Albanians spread across two completely rural municipalities, Zajas and Oslomej, thus providing Kicevo town with an ethnic Macedonian majority. Albanians now wanted the rural areas to reunite with the urban Kicevo municipality, while ethnic Macedonians were against.
The compromise reached in 2004 between the ruling Social Democrats and their Albanian partners in the DUI was that Kicevo would be "reunified", but only in 2008 (the date, in the meantime, has been postponed to 2009). This triggered huge local protests, however. A "committee for the rescue of Kicevo" was set up, including local SDSM representatives. In the summer of 2004 numerous demonstrations took place; these included the blocking of the main road to Ohrid on weekends, which caused tremendous traffic jams. After a couple of weeks, however, the protests died down. During the municipal elections which took place less than a year later, the reunification was no longer an issue.
The entry for Zajas municipality in the Directory of Macedonian Municipalities provides evidence of a modest improvement in public resources. The provisional budget for 2005 was equivalent to €183,000, or €16 per inhabitant. The municipality's employees had increased to 10.
Rifat Huseini is the mayor of Zajas, the village where Ahmeti was born. He sees the impact of the Ohrid Agreement on the villagers' lives. Tensions, he says, have almost disappeared.
"Before 2002, there were only two Albanians working at the Zajas police station. Today, out of 23-24 policemen 17 are Albanians, and there is respect between the police and the people. Cooperation has become much better. This is the result of the 2001 Ohrid Agreement and the events of 2001. Since then the Albanians are better represented in the administration."
- ESI report: Ahmeti's Village (October 2002)
May 2008


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My First Guest Author, John Wills, Returns and Talks About his New Release
MA: Today I am pleased to welcome back not only a veteran guest-blogger, but the first author who appeared as a guest when I launched my blog two years ago. John Wills "guested" with me back in November 2009, and you can go back and read that original interview here: Fellow Writer John Wills is Mike Angley's First Guest-Blogger! John and I are fellow, former law enforcement officers, and it was through this affiliation (and via a website called PoliceLink) that we met and networked to join the same publishing house a few years ago. John, welcome back! Please tell us about your law enforcement career because I know it has shaped your life and it has informed your writing.
JW: I spent 33 years in law enforcement, including the Chicago Police Department and FBI. That background was a natural springboard for me to write about what I had been doing most of my life. As an FBI agent, much of your time is spent writing things such as affidavits for search and arrest warrants, interviews with witnesses and informants, etc. The problem is that once you've created a document it has to go up the line for approval, sometimes all the way to FBI headquarters. By the time it returns to you it hardly resembles your first draft. Once I retired I felt the bonds of oversight were severed and I was free to create whatever I wanted. One caveat . . . if a former agent writes a book, the manuscript must first be approved by the FBI. Why? The Bureau must ensure that no active cases are being written about and no covert techniques or national security issues are compromised.
MA: With such a broad LE background, you must have had a lot of experiences to draw from in crafting your fiction, right?
JW: I had thousands of stories knocking around inside my brain from my time on Chicago PD as well as with the FBI. I began writing professionally as soon as I retired, confining myself to articles on officer survival, firearms, ethics, and training. To date, I've had more than 100 articles published on sites such as Officer.com and LawOfficer.com, as well as several print magazines. But those articles were non-fiction; I was interested in telling some stories and giving them a twist that would engage the reader emotionally.
MA: I've read your first two books which I thoroughly loved, tell my readers about the series itself.
JW: I created a fictional series, The Chicago Warriors™ Thriller Series, in which two Chicago Police detectives investigate not only the violent crimes they are assigned, but often times the political machine that is part and parcel of Chicago. The books are part of the mystery/thriller genre, but with a twist. Both characters rely on their faith to see them through the challenges that big city police work presents.
MA: Now, you don't have a single protagonist in your stories, rather, you have two. Tell us about them.
JW: The male protagonist, Pete Shannon, is an amalgamation of several cops and agents I've worked with through the years. The female detective, Marilyn Benson, is based on a real FBI agent who I helped train in my years at the FBI Academy. I've also continued to mentor her since she is still an active FBI agent. Both characters are very strong, tactically. I've ensured they utilize the proper firearms and street survival tactics. I think it's important to be correct in describing police work of any kind to ensure authenticity and credibility. In terms of their weakness . . . they are both heavily invested in personal relationships, including friendships. This sometimes has a pejorative influence on how they react to certain situations.
MA: And what about antagonists?
JW: Each book in the series has its own unique bad guy, including bad cop(s). That's how I bring a fresh perspective to each story and create a bad guy that my readers have to flesh out as the story progresses.
MA: I know from your real police work that you were involved in a whole lot of action, so how did that makes its way into your stories?
JW: Yes, I've been involved in several shootings, been involved in SWAT operations, execution of search and arrest warrants, and of course, experienced many of the challenges in my own life that I transfer onto my protagonists.
MA: You have a new release in the series, so please tell us about that and what else you are working on.
JW: I continue to freelance, writing articles for magazines and websites. I've written several award winning short stories and have had others printed in several anthologies. I've also contributed several stories to a daily police devotional entitled, Cops on The Street, which was released in December.
I am working on a new novel, non-fiction, entitled, Women Warriors: Stories from the Thin Blue Line. The book will be a collection of true stories, written by the women who've lived them. I include not only female police officers, but also corrections, dispatchers, chaplains, and prosecutors. If any of your readers know of a woman who might like to share their story in the book, which will be released sometime this fall, please direct them to my website; http://johnmwills.com/
In my latest release, TARGETED, I've brought the FBI into the story which may allow me to take a totally different direction in future novels.
All of my books are also available in eBook format on both Kindle and Nook.
MA: John, thanks again for coming back to my website. I wish you well with the new release and with all your writing endeavors.
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There are more than one G. Perlee wagons. The intro cap shot seems to better match this wagon: Photo credits to elrina753And when you look on the back of the wagon you will see that it is where the Chips were spotted!
Hope they go to Anne Frank House!!!!
U-Turn spec: Chippendales>>Texas; Texas>>Addie\RyanI don't see how Abbie and Ryan survive this leg unless it's another NEL.
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Captain Beefheart
Captain Beefheart
A fantastic new artist, Jen Murdza
2007 BMW K1200R Sport (abs),2007 Suzuki dl650 V Strom (abs),2004 Honda VFR (abs),1972 Honda Trail 90,
2001 Moto Guzzi V-11 Rosso Mandello
I love Christian music. With that said, Bill Gaither's Vocal Band. Especially the older ones with Guy Penrod, Mark Lowrey, and David Phelps.
My kind of soul healin', road pounding music!
Monsters of Rock at Castle Donnington
This record is just great...
From 8/14/09
Fell across this guitar savant on you tube. If I was 20 I would sleep on her front porch.


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Madhva (1238—1317)
The Dvaita or "dualist" school of Hindu Vedanta philosophy originated in 13th-century South India with Sri Madhvacarya (Madhva). Madhva, who considered himself an avatara of the wind-god Vayu, argued that a body of canonical texts called the "Vedanta" or "end of the Veda" taught the fundamental difference between the individual self or atman and the ultimate reality, brahman. According to Madhva there are two orders of reality: 1. svatantra, independent reality, which consists of Brahman alone and 2. paratantra, dependent reality, which consists of jivas (souls) and jada (lifeless objects). Although dependent reality would not exist apart from brahman's will, this very dependence creates a fundamental distinction between brahman and all else, implying a dualist view. By interpreting the Vedanta materials (especially the Upanisads, the Bhagavadgita and the Brahmasutras) along these lines, Madhva deliberately challenged the non-dualist reading in which the atman was identified with brahman. Madhva argued that the scriptures could not teach the identity of all beings because this would contradict ordinary perception, which tells us that we are different both from one another and from God. Madhva and his followers call their system tattvavada, "the realist viewpoint".
Table of Contents
- Madhva and Sankara
- Madhva and Ramanuja
- Dvaita Vedanta
- Canonical Sources
- References and Further Reading
1. Madhva and Sankara
The main tenet of Madhva's Dvaita Vedanta is that the Vedic tradition teaches a fundamental difference between the human soul or atman and the ultimate reality, brahman. This is markedly different from the earlier Advaita Vedanta, which Madhva often vociferously attacked. Sankara's A-dvaita or "non-dualist" Vedanta (9th century) argued that the atman is completely identical with brahman. According to Sankara, the atman experiences a false sense of plurality and individuality when under the influence of the delusive power of maya. While maya has the ambiguous ontological status of being neither real nor unreal, the only true reality is brahman. A soul becomes liberated from the cycle of rebirth (punar-janma) by realizing that its very experience of samsara is an illusion; its true identity is the singular objectless consciousness that constitutes pure being or brahman.
2. Madhva and Ramanuja
While Ramanuja's system of Visistadvaita Vedanta or "qualified non-dualism" modifies Sankara's position on the soul's identity with brahman, Madhva also rejected it. Ramanuja assumes a plurality of individual souls whose identity remains intact even after liberation but maintains that the souls share the essential nature of brahma. The souls are eternal particles issuing from brahman, who as their source retains its transcendence. Ramanuja maintains Visnu's distinct difference from the human soul and his supremacy as creator and redeemer. Ramanuja identifies brahman with Visnu, holding that brahman is saguna, i.e. possesses attributes, in contrast to Sankara's attributeless or "nirguna" brahman.
3. Dvaita Vedanta
Like Ramanuja, Madhva identifies brahman with Visnu. However, he argues that any system that allows for any identification of the atman with brahman undermines Visnu's supremacy, compromises His status, and strips devotional acts of their meaning. Madhva's insistence on the modal distinction between the atman and brahman, wherein the former is inalterably dependent upon--and therefore, fundamentally different from--the latter, insures Visnu-as-brahman's complete and utter transcendence of the human soul. For Madhva, this view alone makes devotion [bhakti] an essential component of religious belief and practice. Attaining Visnu's grace is the soul's only hope of achieving liberation [moksa] from the cycle of rebirth (samsara).
Like Ramanuja, Madhva opposes Sankara's conception of Brahman as nirguna or without qualities and as a pure self- consciousness. Madhva views Visnu as preeminent above all other deities on the basis of His unique characteristics. This emphasis on Visnu's particular collocation of attributes that renders Him distinct from all other gods, human souls, and the material world reveals another critical component of Madhva's philosophy which is his acceptance of an ontological plurality as a fundamental facet of being. Indeed, Madhva rejects the notion that brahman is the only truly existent entity (tattva) and he maintains that, even though living beings and inert matter are dependent upon Brahman, such dependence differentiates them from Him and makes them discrete entities (tattvas). Thus, reality in Madhva's system consists of three basic elements: God, the souls (jivasi), and insentient matter (jada).
Madhva's pluralistic ontology is founded on his realist epistemology, which in turn affects his Vedic hermeneutics. He argues that God and the human soul are separate because our daily experience of separateness from God and of plurality in general is presented to us as an undeniable fact, fundamental to our knowledge of all things. Madhva's emphasis on the validity of experience as a means of knowledge is intended to refute the nondualist position that the differences we experience in daily life are ultimately a shared illusion with the ambiguous ontological status of being neither real nor unreal. In Madhva's view, Advaita's denial of the innate validity of knowledge acquired through sense perception completely undermines our ability to know anything since we must always question the content of our knowledge. This questioning would encompass our knowledge of the sacred canon, which is accessible to us only through our ability to perceive it and to draw inferences from it. Madhva argues that perception and inference must be innately valid and the reality they present us with must be actually and ultimately real since such a position is the only one that allows us to know the content of the Vedas. The Vedas alone are responsible for teaching us about the nature of the self and brahman.
This aspect of Madhva's realist epistemology is important not only because it bolsters Madhva's claim that the atman and brahman are permanently distinct as revealed to us by experience, but because it means that the sacred texts must be read in consonance with the data we receive from our everyday experience, even though the Vedas present us with knowledge of a supra-sensible realm. Madhva argues that the Vedas cannot teach non-difference between the atman and brahman or a lack of true plurality since this would directly contradict our experience. In Madhva's view the sacred texts teach pancabheda, the five-fold difference between 1. Visnu and jivas 2. Visnu and jada 3. jiva and jada 4. one jiva and another and 5. one form of jada and another.
Madhva's belief in the innate difference of one soul from another led to some interesting doctrines in his system. He believed in a hierarchy of jivas, based upon their innate configurations of virtues (gunas) and faults (dosas). For example, Visnu is supreme because He possesses all qualities in their most fulfilled and perfect form. Furthermore, because Madhva believed that souls possess innate characteristics and capacities, he also maintained that they were predestined to achieve certain ends. This perspective put Madhva at odds with traditional Hindu views of the karma theory wherein differences in social and religious status are explained via past moral or immoral acts. For Madhva, each individual being possesses an innate moral propensity and karma is merely the mechanism by which a given soul is propelled towards his or her destiny.
4. Canonical Sources
Madhva's attempts to locate his controversial views in the canonical Vedanta texts often proved difficult. He is perhaps most famous for his idiosyncratic rendering of the Chandogya Upanisad's statement tat tvam asi or "you (the atman) are that (brahman)." By carrying over the 'a' from the preceding word, Madhva rendered the phrase atat tvam asi or "you are not that." Some scholars have speculated on "foreign," particularly Christian, influences on Madhva's thought but current scholarly consensus maintains that political and social changes in Madhva's region prompted a new approach to old religious convictions.
Madhva's Dvaita Vedanta is recognized as one of the three major schools of Vedanta (besides Sankara's Advaita and Ramanuja's Visistadvaita Vedanta). It has been further developed by such major figures as Jayatirtha (1356-1388) and Vyasaraya (1478-1589) and is kept alive by a still flourishing community [Madhva sampradaya] in India with its main center at Udipi (Karnataka).
5. References and Further Reading
- Sharma, B. N. K. Philosophy of Sri Madhvacarya. Rev. ed. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1986.
- Sharma, B. N. K. Madhva's Teachings in His Own Words. Bombay: Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, 1961.
- Siauve, Suzanne. La Doctrine de Madhva. Pondicherry: Institut Francais d'Indologie, 1968.
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A smiling Pope Benedict XVI arrived in the United States on Tuesday afternoon to start the six-day, two-city journey that will take him from the White House to the halls of the United Nations.
The papal plane, Shepherd 1, touched down at Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland to cheers from a crowd of invited guests gathered for the event.
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CNN's Jeanne Meserve, Jim Spellman and Mary Snow contributed to this report.
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