South Africa has been harshly affected by the international economic crisis, which led to a fall in the GDP and an even sharper contraction in employment. While job losses levelled out in the last quarter of 2009, the crisis will continue to shape long-run development. In particular, it points to the need for a development strategy that builds more on domestic and regional demand and that focuses explicitly on employment creation as central to a cohesive and equitable society.
South Africa's GDP declined by approximately 3% between the last quarter of 2008 and the second quarter of 2009, and then increased in the third quarter of 2009. In comparison, the fall in employment proved steeper and more prolonged. The economy lost around a million jobs, or 6%, between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the third quarter of 2009, and gained only 90 000 back in the last quarter of 2009.
The employment losses following from the global crisis aggravated the deep inequalities that have long characterised the South African economy. They had the heaviest impact on low-income workers, especially in marginalised sectors like informal, domestic and agricultural work. In addition, very high levels of job loss amongst young workers had particularly negative implications for social cohesion and long-term development.
Government's short-run response included a counter-cyclical fiscal policy and substantial infrastructure investment. This response moderated the drop in investment and growth and presumably the loss of jobs. Still, the employment loss remained very large, and the government's response did not provide direct support to the self-employed informal and domestic workers who lost their incomes. Nor did it address the rapid recovery in capital inflows, which as discussed below led to a stronger rand, making the economy as a whole less competitive.
The international crisis was associated with far-reaching structural changes in the global economy. That, in turn, has implications for South Africa's longer term development strategy. In particular, profound shifts in international markets make it seem even less likely that South Africa can in future grow on the basis of manufactured exports – the traditional approach to industrial policy that has been at the centre of government's economic strategy since the end of apartheid in 1994.
The emphasis on exporting manufactured goods has largely shaped the discourse on industrial policy worldwide as well as in South Africa. It reflects the belief that the rapid economic growth in East Asia from the 1960s was rooted in vigorous industrial policies to support manufacturing for markets mostly in Europe and the US.
1. East Asian countries generally enjoyed relative equality and social cohesion , which meant both capital and workers were more likely to agree on economic growth as a social panacea. In particular, measures to raise productivity prove more acceptable in economies with high levels of low-wage employment than in economies with low employment, where growth through rising productivity in export sectors may be associated with very limited employment creation.
2. The United States provided extraordinary levels of support to the East Asian countries, which it saw at least until the 1990s as a bulwark against communism.
3. Over the past half century East Asia as a whole gradually developed logistics and market systems that vastly reduced the cost of exporting to and communicating with the global North.
The international economic crisis laid bare a fourth obstacle to a growth strategy based on manufactured exports. That strategy explicitly assumed virtually unlimited demand in the global North, and particularly in the United States. It required that if countries could produce competitively, their sales would be assured.
Yet the downturn of the late '00s could be understood as a crisis of inadequate demand. On the one hand, it resulted from deepening inequalities in much of the global North, offset in part by excessive household borrowing. On the other, it reflected the suppression of wages to support continued exports in much of East Asia, including China, as well as some European countries.
The growing global imbalance in demand that underpinned the boom of the '00s was reflected in the huge balance of payments surpluses enjoyed by the rapidly growing economies of East Asia. The recycling of those surpluses laid the basis for the credit bubble that led to the financial crisis of late 2008. Once the credit bubble burst, demand for imports by the global North contracted sharply.
The prospects for resuming export-led growth remained unclear at the end of 2009. While economic expansion resumed in China and other Asian economies, exports remained far below the levels of 2008. To replace foreign demand, these countries embarked on extensive programmes to stimulate domestic sales, including subsidies for purchasers of consumer durables as well as massive investments in infrastructure.
These developments had significant implications for the prospects of South Africa and other resource-based economies in the global South. South Africa participated in the boom of the mid-'00s essentially by exporting mining products to world markets. The relatively strong rand of this period, based primarily on huge short-run capital inflows, largely blocked manufactured exports. While the economy continued to depend mostly on mining-based exports, employment growth occurred mostly in the services and construction, essentially to meet the needs of the small high-income group and state infrastructure and redistributive programmes.
The international economic downturn meant that South African efforts to expand exports of consumer and capital goods faced even steeper obstacles than during the boom. To start with, demand was suppressed in the global North. But the inflow of short-term capital resumed nonetheless, apparently largely due to measures to enhance liquidity in industrialised economies. South Africa saw an inflow of almost USD6 billion in the third quarter of 2009 alone. As a result, in real terms the rand strengthened to values last seen in 2004.
This situation called into question the basic thrust of South Africa's industrialisation policy. For most of the period from 1994, whether implicitly or explicitly, the government's industrial policy centred on supporting manufactured exports. It contained virtually no projects to meet domestic or regional demand or to create employment while raising living standards. The auto industry enjoyed by far the largest subsidies of any industry, with tax relief used mostly to encourage exports. In contrast, the more broad-based Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) adopted by the ANC before coming into power expected housing construction and provision of government services to prove central to driving economic growth as well as improved welfare.
In the event, the conventional industrial policy pursued from the mid-1990s proved singularly ineffective. In part, that reflected inadequate resourcing and inconsistent implementation. The share of total government spending going explicitly to support agriculture, mining, manufacturing and construction fell from 4% in the mid-1990s to 3% in the mid-2000s. Moreover, the failure to limit short-run capital inflows and the consequent appreciation in the rand outweighed the limited policy support to manufacturing outside of autos. In these circumstances, exports from the mining value chain, including refined but not fabricated base metals, continued to contribute over half of all South African exports.
The global structural problems laid bare by the economic crisis point to the need for more innovative approaches to development. For South Africa, a viable growth strategy should focus on meeting needs in the domestic and regional market, including basic consumer goods and infrastructure effectively funded through the state. In addition, it would need stronger measures to enhance the overall efficiency and inclusiveness of the economy by continuing to improve core economic infrastructure; addressing the serious problems with general education systems serving most black communities; and reducing the cost of living for working people, especially for food, public transport and healthcare. Finally, it should include institutional changes to mobilise domestic resources to fund priority investments while reducing dependence on short-run inflows of financing through the stock and bond markets.
This relatively modest growth strategy might seem second-best to establishing a world-class modern industrial economy. Given the emerging constraints on global demand, however, it is more likely to succeed in laying the basis for sustained growth than a classical export-oriented industrial strategy. Moreover, it would do more to generate opportunities for the majority of southern Africans in the short to medium term, helping to overcome the employment backlogs that the international economic crisis aggravated.
Neva Makgetla is lead economist at the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA). She has previously worked for COSATU and the South African government.


"( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) Rekt"
If you notice, when you try to catch a Pokemon there's this circle which gets smaller and smaller. If you succeed and catch it with the smallest circle, you get more exp! Also, you get 500 exp per new Pokedex entry, and you can get even more when you use a Lucky Egg. One cool thing is that you can now customize your appearance even after creating your character, just go in the lower left where your character icon is and click, then click in the lower right and click on customize (don't know if it actually says "customize" since I'm translating from the italian version). Really useful stuff? Pokestops! When you visit them you can get Pokeballs and other stuff that may aid you in gym battles and Pokemon catching, also, you can use them again, after a good 5 mins.
Privjet folks, I'm Francis and today we'll play... The WORLD!


Starting today, one of my favourite beauty retailers is granting the Christmas wishes of its Twitter followers! One person will win their dream Christmas gift from Escentual, simply by tweeting about it, every day until 20 December. All you have to do is tweet 'My #EscentualWish is…' with the product link on Escentual.com, and you could be in with a chance of winning it!
Escentual asked me to share the top 3 items on my wishlist for inclusion on their site - I'm sure you can imagine how I squealed when they went and granted one of them… this gorgeous Guerlain Rouge G lipstick which I've lusted after long-time!
Luxuriously packaged in weighty chrome with a self opening mechanism to reveal a mirror, this shade is Gracey, a very wearable red with great lasting power. Thank you Escentual!
So go make an #EscentualWish and it could be you next! Read the rest of my wishlist & full details of the giveaway on Escentual's blog here.
And while you're feeling lucky, don't forget to enter my Dr Jart+ BB Cream giveaway!


text:
Q: Return a map in Java JPA? I have a table called rating as follows:
id | score | article_id

score can be from 1 to 5.
I want to have a single query that returns the number of scored-5s, scored-4s, scored-3s, scored-2s, scored-1.  Because I don't want to run 5 queries for this task.
It would be convenient if the query can be returned a map like:

*

*The key is the score from 1 to 5

*The value if the corresponding numbers of that score
Is there any way (or similar) to achieve that?
I'm using Java JPA, MySQL 5.x

A: Create normal query that return type is Object[] like:
Query query = entityManager.createQuery("Select count(r), r.score from Rating r group by r.score");
then:
List<Object[]> results = query.getResultList();
and you can iterate over it and get result from results[0] and results[1]

A: Here is a solution using CriteriaQuery:
CriteriaBuilder cb = em.getCriteriaBuilder();
CriteriaQuery<Object[]> query = cb.createQuery(Object[].class);
Root<Rating> rating = query.from(Rating.class);
query.multiselect(rating.get("score"), cb.count(rating)).groupBy(rating.get("score"));

List<Object[]> results = em.createQuery(query).getResultList();
System.out.println("score | count\n-----------");
for(Object[] object : results){
    System.out.println(object[0] + " | " + object[1]);
}

This assumes that the name of your rating entity class is Rating.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


R.F. Baumeister and M.J. MacKenzie (2011). Religion, Brain, and Behavior, 1, 244-251.
R.F. Baumeister (2011). Journal of Florida Studies, 1.
Roy talks about free will and the future at Ideas at the House, Sydney Opera House's public lecture series.


text:
Ex DIA Chief Rebukes US Foreign Policy; Woolsey Named Chancellor of World Politics Institute
Photo by Cherie Cullen for IWP
Retired Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn
In a fire and brimstone talk at The Institute of World Politics' silver anniversary gala and chancellor's dinner, retired (Army) Lt. Gen. Michael T. Flynn, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), lambasted the Obama Administration for a "floundering … no one is in charge" foreign policy.
Cherie Cullen for IWP
"Mr. President, a few drone strikes do not constitute a strategy," Flynn said of the U.S. policy in the troubled Middle East. "Let's win for a change, instead of simply participating in this perpetual conflict. Develop a winning strategy and put a winner in charge of it. Take the fight to the enemy on every single level that exists.
"Let's face it, right now, we're floundering and we're losing…..Taking our deflated ball and going home won't work." But on difficult international issues, he said, "don't hold your breath if you're waiting on this administration to make a decision."
The next administration, he said, will face enormous global policy challenges; "we [must] ask potential presidents for their long-term vision for our country."
Currently, said Flynn, "no one is in charge; our interagency process is lethargic and slow -- and that is being kind.
"Let's face it: the Russians have stolen the march on us. They identified a seam, and in their very short decision-making cycle, moved fast to close it. We have done a terrible job of identifying their unstated red lines and the imminent fall of Assad is obviously one of them. Another was the near eradication of their eastern Ukrainian enclaves, leading to direct…military intervention."
His pointed criticism of the current administration came in the keynote speech at IWP's dinner, which drew more than 420 ambassadors and diplomats, intelligence personnel, defense and foreign policy experts, students, and educators to The Ritz-Carlton in Pentagon City on Wednesday night.
The occasion coincided with the announcement that former CIA director R. James Woolsey Jr. has been elected by the board to serve as the first chancellor of the Institute, a preeminent graduate school in Washington.
Woolsey headed the CIA from Feb. 5, 1993 until Jan. 10, 1995. He held a variety of government positions in the 1970s and 1980s, including Under Secretary of the Navy from 1977 to 1979. In the 1980s, he was involved in treaty negotiations with the Soviet Union. A Phi Beta Kappa graduate from Stanford University, he has an M.A. from Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar, and a law degree from Yale.
Fox News national security analyst KT McFarland, who held national security posts in the Nixon, Ford and Reagan administrations, was master of ceremonies. She introduced performer Keni Thomas, a Nashville country singer and former U.S. Army Ranger. As a member of the Bravo Company of the 3rd Ranger Battalion, Sgt. Thomas was part of the military operation recounted in the book and movie Black Hawk Down. Thomas sang his song "Hold the Line," which was featured in the 2014 documentary, The Hornet's Nest, which tells the story of an elite group of U.S. troops sent on a dangerous mission into Afghanistan.
In her remarks, McFarland said, "Today's world is a confusing and complicated place and that's where the IWP continues to fill the vacuum of leadership….It's the only academic institution dedicated to teaching all the arts of statecraft including military strategy, the art of diplomacy, public diplomacy, opinion formation, strategic influence, intelligence, counterintelligence, economic strategy and moral leadership."
Since its beginning, the IWP has grown into a premier graduate school dedicated to developing new generations of American leaders. Key supporters are political activists Mary and Terry Kohler of Brule, Wisconsin, who were co-chairs of the gala.
John Lenczowski, IWP founder and president, said its mission is to "teach our students to see the world as it really is rather than the way they wish it to be…. What makes us even more unique is our focus on moral leadership and applied ethics. Since we teach the instruments of power, and since power can be abused, we want our graduates to exercise it responsibly, prudently, and ethically."
Among notables at the dinner was former FBI and CIA director William Webster.
IWP's campus is in downtown Washington, DC. IWP has launched a campaign to raise $10,250,000 -- of which $4.5 million has been secured -- for expansion of the student body and curriculum. The goal is to raise the balance by July 30, 2016.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


text:
Dynapac updates CS1400 roller
By Leila Steed04 February 2021
Swedish compaction equipment manufacturer Dynapac has launched the sixth generation of its CS1400 static steel three-drum roller, with changes including the use of the larger operator's cab from the company's big vibratory tandem rollers and upgrades to its watering system and electrics.
The larger cab will improve comfort and visibility for the operator, said Dynapac, while the new 24-volt electric system includes electronic drive control. The watering system offers automatic water control, dual sprinkler bars visible from the cab and dual 'Heavy Duty' sprinkler pumps and 3-stage filtering.
The Dynapac CS1400 VI roller is equipped with a Stage V/Tier 4 Deutz TD 3.6 L4 engine.
The CS1400 VI, which has the same static linear load and 2100mm (2.1m) width of the previous model, is suitable for use on asphalt courses up to 50mm thick and can be used for medium- and large-size applications. It can also be used where the ground should not be vibrated, such as on bridges or close to old buildings.
While the model is equipped with a Stage V/Tier 4 Deutz TD 3.6 L4 engine, it is also available with a Stage IIIA engine alternative for markets without ultralow sulphur diesel fuel. Both engine options come with an ECO-position on the throttle control to help reduce fuel consumption and noise emissions.
Available with either an asymmetric or symmetric cab, internally the machine is equipped with a sliding seat that can also turn 180 degrees to give a good view of the work area. The machine's steering module also includes electronic drive control and an instrument panel with colour touchscreen display.
Yellowbook The Yellow Book is now available online as a fully searchable and free-to-use directory of a wide selection of construction equipment.
Europe Global Sweden Compaction Equipment Road Building Construction Rental
Yellowbook
The Yellow Book is now available online as a fully searchable and free-to-use directory of a wide selection of construction equipment.
Dynapac CS1400 VI roller
The CS1400 VI roller offers a diameter of 2100mm (2.1m) on all drums.


text:
Board Meeting Minutes – August 18, 2017
USC STAFF RETIREMENT ASSOCIATION
University Religious Center 102
as Corrected
The meeting was called to order by the President, Mike Klineman at 10:05 am.
Present: Janett Brown, Linda Forman, Jill Hopkins, Mike Klineman, Dixon Johnson, Bill Givens, David Donovan, Harriet Servis, Donna Simmons, Victor Webb Lynn Williams
Absent: Dick Martin, Connie Horak, Fred Dear, Calvin Lau, Victor Webb
Guests: Barbara Curtis, and Evelyn Alva
Welcome and Remarks – Michael Klineman
Introduced guests. Board Members shared brief bios with the guests who are potential new SRA members, as is Pam Wallace-Thompson who has visited in the past.
Approval of minutes – Linda Forman
The July and August 2017 minutes will be presented for approval at the October 2017 meeting.
Financial Report – Dick Martin
Treasurer's report: Dick circulated a detailed financial analysis of all income and expenses for the current fiscal year, as of 8/17/2017. The USC Credit Union accounts total $34,976.52 with $21,268.39 in the checking account. The SRA share of the Endowment Account is $56,175.94 (annual earnings rate = 4.50%). Year to date for 2016-17 total funds received for dues, endowment and gifts are $13,835. As of 4/19/2017 we had 290 renewals/new members for 2016-17 (plus 134 joint members), 257 2017-18 renewals with 43 2016 delinquents. In addition, we have 121 new gold card retirees who received their first year of SRA membership free. Six (6) members renewed beyond 2018, and we have 159 Life Members.
RFA – Calvin Lau
Calvin Lau has been elected President of the Retired Faculty Association. The position of Treasurer remains open. The RFA continues its ongoing discussions of strategic direction.
Programs and Hospitality – Donna Simmons
The September 2017 SRA General Meeting will be held at the new home for the Marshall School of Business, Jill and Frank Fertitta Hall, located on UPC near Exposition and Figueroa. The tour is scheduled for 11:30 am, followed by a box lunch in the Fertitta Hall cafeteria. Choices will include Chinese chicken salad, steamed dumplings or a sandwich. The Board discussed options for directional signage and cart transportation. The Board was leaning toward paying USC hospitality to provide the services.
The annual Holiday Brunch is scheduled for Friday, December 8, 2017 at 9:00 am in Town and Gown.
For future meetings, we are exploring a USC Village tour. Other proposals include a talk by USC basketball coach Andy Enfield (great speaker!) and a tour of the Galen Center, which has meeting rooms and parking.
Emeriti Center – Janette Brown
Check the EC website for an Occupational Therapy workshop – Finding Balance in Everyday Life.
USC Emeriti College Fall 2017 Course – Climate Change: Join USC Professor Tom Flood in this intergenerational and interactive course: Climate Change: Where Are We and Where Do We Go from Here? 11:00 AM to 1:00 PM (Light refreshments, bring your lunch!) Tuesdays in October through November 14 (skipping October 17)
Tagged Climate Change, Lecture Distinguished Lecture: "The Latino Middle and Upper Classes: Mobility, Identities, Mobilization" Oct 13
Join us for the USC Retired Faculty Association and the USC Emeriti Center's intergenerational & interactive presentation with Jody Agius Vallejo, Associate Professor, Sociology/American Studies & EthnicityFriday, October 13, 2017 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm
September/October 2017 Retiree Community Newsletter is Out! The USC Emeriti Center October 2017 Newsletter highlights events, opportunities for service and more.
Emeriti Center Benefits & Resources Committee
No report. Dixon Johnson was absent from the most recent meeting.
Staff Assembly – David Donovan and Bill Givens
David Donovan is now Staff Assembly (SA) past-president, SRA representative and SA secretary. The SA meeting was held at the Brain and Creativity Institute on the UPC (Cammilleri Hall), with a talk by Dr. Antonio Damasio. Bill Givens suggests Cammilleri Hall as a venue for a future SRA meeting.
Special Events – Bill Givens and Dick Martin
A tour of the Los Angeles Times, planned by Victor Webb, has been scheduled for October 18, 2017 at 11:00 am. The tour is limited to 40 individuals, and a list of names must be made available to the Los Angeles Times 48 hours in advance of the tour. Transportation details are under development. A Wufoo form will be designed to accept reservations.
A tour of the Walt Disney Hall concert organ is being explored by Bill Givens for some time between June and September (when the Philharmonic is on summer tour). Parking at Disney Hall is $10, although some might want to go from USC via public transportation. For a group, our size (about 60) not formally affiliated with the Concert Hall, there would be a $600 fee for two speakers (one of them the builder of the instrument). The RFA is interested in this event, too, and Janette Brown said that for a SRA/RFA joint venture the EC could cover the cost. Details later.
Other ideas were mentioned for future events: A tour of the Asia Pacific Museum in Pasadena (two blocks from a Metro stop); El Segundo Old Town Music Hall (free parking); photo exhibit on Norway in the Union Station Lobby (right now); trip to the Federal Reserve downtown via DASH bus from UPC campus (to be researched by Dick Martin).
Tags:SRA Board Meeting Minutes


As Mary Magdelene once said, Jesus! I'm getting stoned.
Hey, kids! We've been working our asses off and this show is going to be awesome. Hope y'all can make it. I'm a member of the Tribe and Rishi is playing Woof. You can order your tickets from here: http://www.footlight.org/shows/131/hair.html - they recommend doing it online rather than via phone.


As markets bounce up and down, so too it seems there is an endless flow of words coined across the City of London's trading floors to lubricate and enliven their incessant interaction. Like all the best slang and jargon they are expressed with brevity, clarity, inventiveness and wit: it's like shorthand or a code.
But as dealing is now electronic and the practitioners come from top universities, some of this lingo is under threat. Machines don't offer any banter while the 'barrow boys', equipped with their wit, pragmatism and sharp minds that calculate numbers are no longer valued above those employed with their academic certificates.
From the days of austerity there evolved phrases such as 'lipstick indicator': the use of lipstick sales as an economic indicator (the theory being that when times are tough, women buy more low-cost comfort items such as lipstick). 'Abs-tinence' is the dropping of costly gym memberships (with daily workouts taking place on living room rugs or jogging around local parks); 'slashflow': the brutal pruning of household budgets and 'al desko': the practice of eating lunch (typically homemade) at one's desk rather than splashing out by going out.
For those on the Foreign Exchange, it's as though the slang helps to distance them from the huge quantities of money that they're dealing with. Their numbers are typically reduced to Cockney rhyming slang, so 'a Spaniard' means the number one (from the name Juan); 'a prickly' is two (from a prickly pear as in pair); 'a carpet' is three (simply because prisoners used to be allowed to have carpet in their cells after three years); 'Lady Godiva' is five (as it rhymes with fiver); 'an Ayrton' is a tenner (from Ayrton Senna, the late racing driver); 'a bully' is 50 (from the bullseye on a dartboard) and 'a monkey' is 500 (as the 500 Indian rupee note used to have a picture of a monkey on it).
lost everything on the stock market, but could still be persuaded to invest again. As for 'catching a falling knife', this is to babysit a trade (to buy a stock as its price is going down in the hope that it'll go back up), only for it to carry on falling.
The Stock Exchange also has developed some impressive vernacular with 'melting' meaning making sudden losses that are so large that the trader can't carry on trading; 'a scalper' being a high volume trader who is looking for small winners and 'tanking' a description of the market when it takes a sharp turn for the worst.


Things to Do Before You Hire Employees.
You realize that many people will often be experiencing various challenges when carrying out various activities in the right manner. There are mistakes that will make you feel overwhelmed, you should not hire fast without going through the various strategies. There is need to be safe and keep working in the right manner as this will help you have the right facilities to keep you working in the right manner. When you hire the perfect service providers you are assured of making your company progress fast, ensure that you are able to choose the right strategies to keep your company is the best. Discover what you need to choose when you are carrying the right ways of hiring employees in the right manner.
There is always the need of taking time no matter the time needed to replace the person that you need to replace. You need to ensure that you choose the right procedure to keep seeing all the documents and everything is written down. It is always good to have a budget in mind, it will help you cater to all the needs that you may have in mind.
Preparing space is something you should never forget to do as you plan to hire your employees. space where the home where your workers will be coming to work from and what they will be doing. Note that these are new people who just showed up at your house and they need to know where they can get any facility now that they are not familiar with the place. Also, here there needs to be the parking lot for their cars, extra equipment, a desk as well as making space. let your potential clients know about allergies which are prone to kids as well as pets around your home.
You might assume other thing but not about checking the background of your potential employees. As you hire your employees, you will need an assurance that they are legal and qualified to work for that kind of job you have at hand. You only would be creating more problems if your potential workers are illegally offering their services. Of course, you do not want to add problems on top of another and when you do historical checkups, you will have ensured that you are on the right side. Also, carrying an interview is essential because you get to know if the expert is qualified for this job vacancy.


text:
Full Article Title: The Impacts of Sexual Media Exposure on Adolescent and Emerging Adults' Dating and Sexual Violence Attitudes and Behaviors: A Critical Review of the Literature
Dating violence (DV) and sexual violence (SV) are widespread problems among adolescents and emerging adults. A growing body of literature demonstrates that exposure to sexually explicit media (SEM) and sexually violent media (SVM) may be risk factors for DV and SV. The purpose of this article is to provide a systematic and comprehensive literature review on the impact of exposure to SEM and SVM on DV and SV attitudes and behaviors. A total of 43 studies utilizing adolescent and emerging adult samples were reviewed, and collectively the findings suggest that (1) exposure to SEM and SVM is positively related to DV and SV myths and more accepting attitudes toward DV and SV; (2) exposure to SEM and SVM is positively related to actual and anticipated DV and SV victimization, perpetration, and bystander nonintervention; (3) SEM and SVM more strongly impact men's DV and SV attitudes and behaviors than women's DV and SV attitudes and behaviors; and (4) preexisting attitudes related to DV and SV and media preferences moderate the relationship between SEM and SVM exposure and DV and SV attitudes and behaviors. Future studies should strive to employ longitudinal and experimental designs, more closely examine the mediators and moderators of SEM and SVM exposure on DV and SV outcomes, focus on the impacts of SEM and SVM that extend beyond men's use of violence against women, and examine the extent to which media literacy programs could be used independently or in conjunction with existing DV and SV prevention programs to enhance effectiveness of these programming efforts.
Rodenhizer, K. A. E., & Edwards, K. M. (2019). The impacts of sexual media exposure on adolescent and emerging adults' dating and sexual violence attitudes and behaviors: A critical review of the literature. Trauma, Violence & Abuse, 20(4), 439–452. https://doi.org/10.1177/1524838017717745
#childonchild
#exposure


Yaseen Parkar has returned to Higgins as Director of Technical Services.
Yaseen previously worked for Higgins between August 2013 and January 2018 as Technical Manager before deciding to broaden his experience by working directly for Housing Association, L&Q as Design and Technical Director.
Yaseen comments, "I am delighted to return to Higgins in the role of Director. My time at L&Q was rewarding and I gained a wealth of experience and delivered projects from a different perspective giving me additional skills, but I realised that I wanted to pursue a long term career in the construction side of the industry.
"I was also keen to return to Higgins as I valued the family feel of the Group and the autonomy, authority and trust you are given to carry out your day to day job. I very quickly missed the team spirit of working for Higgins and the recognition you get for the role you play in the organisation. I am delighted to be given this opportunity to run the technical team and am excited about the challenges ahead.


Web Development - Jen Info Solutions Pvt. LTD.
Our approach is to work from ground level to collect all the details and requirement of the clients. And develop the site using industry standard development frameworks. It is perfectly suitable to your requirement and will be sustainable for a long time.
We have a great plan to develop a website. First we have to understand what your requirement is and what you are expecting from your site. And we implement the site based on the requirements.
We develop the site with content management system for our clients who need more attractive sites with more than basics.
Once the site is ready we should review it once and checked to ensure that the site is error free working.
Once the site is tested and declared it to ready to launch then we have to deliver the site to the customer or we can launch the site into the server.
We should take care of the website after launching into the server and maintain the site to work efficiently all the time.


text:
Cuban Pastor, Wife Sentenced to 2 Years in Prison for Homeschooling
Karin Zeitvogel/AFP/Getty Images
Frances Martel
The Cuban communist regime sentenced Evangelical Pastor Ramón Rigal to two years in prison – and his wife Ayda Expósito to a year and half – on Monday for homeschooling their children, less than a week after their arrest for promoting the practice.
"The family … were given 30 minutes notice before the trial began on 18 April, and went on throughout the afternoon but was then suspended until Monday 22 April," the aid group Christian Solidarity Worldwide said in a report on their story this week.
Homeschooling is illegal in Cuba, as it is considered a "capitalist" practice and prevents the state from indoctrinating children in Marxist atheism in public schools. Rigal has been homeschooling his children for years, forcing him into consistent confrontations with the Castro regime, and began helping other Christian families homeschool following his arrest in 2017.
The couple, from Guantánamo, faced a summary judgment on their case on Monday, according to the Miami-based Radio Martí. The presiding judge found them guilty of "illicit assembly and incitement to delinquency" for meeting with other families to teach them how to homeschool and "acts contrary to the normal development of minors."
Martí and Diario de Cuba, a Spanish newspaper, both reported that Cuban state security aggressively prevented friends and family from attending the sentencing. Their oldest daughter, 13-year-old Ruth, confirmed to both outlets that police blocked her from entering the courthouse.
"That was embarrassing, it is shameful what they have done with our parents," Ruth told Martí. "They took my mother and my father to prison and did not think of the kids, of us, that we are minors, that we need our mother and our father together."
The court also blocked independent attorney and journalist Roberto de Jesús Quiñones Haces from attending the sentencing. Media covering the story do not agree on whether Quiñones meant to attend in his capacity as lawyer for the family or to report on what happened in the courthouse. What they do agree on is that state security violently assaulted Quiñones to keep him out of the building.
"They punched me in the mouth, my shirt is bloody, and I am detained here now, I don't know why," Quiñones told Martí reporter Tomás Cardoso briefly before police confiscated his phone. At press time the lawyer remains in police custody.
The Rigal Espósito family has a right of appeal, though dissidents rarely have their sentences overturned without significant international pressure. Global outrage is precisely what saved them following their initial decision to homeschool in 2017, using a system sent to them in CD and print form by a Christian school in Guatemala. At the time, the government revoked Rigal's ability to preach as a pastor and sentenced him to a year of hard labor; Espósito received a one-year house arrest sentence.
Rigal described his sentence as "humiliating" while serving it but told Martí in 2017 the Christian faith warns of such punishment by repressors.
"You feel ashamed because they want to humble us, but that is the legacy that the Lord left us: that because of our faith and our principles we will suffer this," he said.
The government ultimately released the couple and restored Rigal's ability to legally preach thanks to global pressure from Christian aid organizations on the condition that Rigal and Espósito stop homeschooling and do not expose others to the practice. The two refused and taught several other families at Rigal's church how to homeschool their children.
Following the first arrest, the family decided to flee the country, but the Castro regime has refused them permission, treating them as criminals instead.
The Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) said in a post on their website last week that it had purchased plane tickets to bring the family to the United States after Cuban government agents urged Rigal to leave. As they prepared their departure, however, Rigal told the HSLDA that regime officials demanded he condemn the fellow Christians he shared his homeschooling materials with. Since Rigal refused, he and his wife were arrested.
The Marxist Castro regime regularly represses Christian dissidents, particularly Protestant and Evangelical groups that operate in a more decentralized, and thus harder to control, manner than Catholic associations. In the 1960s, Fidel Castro build labor camps known as Military Units to Aid Production (UMAP) to house Jehovah's Witnesses and Seventh-Day Adventists alongside other "counter-revolutionaries" such as LGBT Cubans, writers, and other creatives. Today, Cuban police arrest the Catholic members of the Ladies in White dissident group, often violently, on a weekly basis for attempting to attend Sunday Mass, the group's sole act of protest.
Rigal and Espósito were arrested during Holy Week which culminates in Easter, the most important holiday in the Christian calendar.
Follow Frances Martel on Facebook and Twitter.
FaithLatin AmericaNational SecurityChristian persecutionChristianitycommunismCubaEvangelicalsHomeschoolingLatin AmericaRamon Rigalraul castro


text:
Theravada and Mahayana - The Crucial Differences
I struggle with the idea that Buddhism has two warring schools and wonder why they cannot make peace.
What are the issues on which Theravada and Mahayana cannot agree?
Just bullet points would be fine. I'm not inviting an argument about who is right, just asking for the facts. A summary of key doctrinal differences is what I'm after, if this is possible.
Issues such as which scriptures are authentic may be omitted since this is not a doctrinal difference, but differences in the interpretation of those scriptures would have to be included.
EDIT: Thanks for all the answers. They make fascinating reading. The question has been answered well enough for my purposes.
theravada mahayana
Possibly related -- in this topic I questioned an essay by Ven. Bodhi which described some alleged differences -- the answers in that topic tended to disagree with that description. – ChrisW♦ Oct 20 '19 at 11:57
What other questions are allowed now? – Lowbrow Oct 20 '19 at 14:21
@Lowbrow If that comment was a question to me, I didn't understand your question? I allowed PeterJ's question (the OP), as being an example of Questions asking for an answer to a controversy – ChrisW♦ Oct 20 '19 at 15:55
I asked this question too but it wasn't allowed if I remember correctly. No worries though, it must be hard doing your job as we all change over time. – Lowbrow Oct 20 '19 at 16:52
You've got a sound question, but in a forum occupied by Theravadin/Pali followers. Agent Sankha, Dhammadhatu and Suminda are working for Theravada/Pali - their descriptions of Mahayana are all faulty, whilst Andrei for Tibetan-Buddhism - also, well, faulty. I believed you incline towards a scholastic study of subject with logical reasoning, it's hard here @PeterJ. To decipher the Morse code from all the "secret agents" (hahaa!) I suggest your enforcing the answerers must proclaim what schools they stood with and what Sutra/Sutta they studied, in the beginning of the answers – Mishu 米殊 Oct 21 '19 at 8:41
Just like with any other religion, when the author of the teachings is no longer alive to clarify what is authentic and what is not, the followers of the teachings will naturally come up with different interpretation and also mix things up with teachings of other religions or belief systems. Even in the time of the Buddha, Devadatta was able to have his own faction of monks. So Buddhism having different schools today is nothing to be surprised about.
The Mahayana school branches out to truck loads of many other schools like Vajrayana, Zen, Pureland etc. It seems to be a natural consequence of not being shy to change the original teachings of the Buddha. So these days when you say 'Mahayana' it's hard to get an idea of what you really mean.
But if you want to compare the fundamental practices of Mahayana with Theravada Buddhism, here are some differences:
Mahayana puts emphasis on attaining Buddhahood or becoming enlightened while another Buddha is alive. Theravada puts emphasis on working to become enlightened as soon as possible and actually making use of the Dhamma preached by the Buddha to do so even when he is not alive anymore. Theravada tradition generally discourages those who aspire to become Buddhas out of ego or due to their lack of understanding of the enormity of the task. However, it does give blessings to handful of people who have proven their worthiness through mastery of the Dhamma at the highest level, if they have that aspiration.
Mahayana seems to give precedence to the quality of compassion. Theravada gives precedence to wisdom. Compassion is practiced as a supportive quality of the mind for the cultivation of wisdom.
It appears that Vipassana meditation, the meditation that leads to enlightenment is mainly practiced in the Theravada school. Comparatively, Mahayana school seem to give precedence to chanting, rights and rituals.
Vegetarianism appears to be a requirement in Mahayana. Theravada Buddhism keeps to the word of the Buddha and leaves it up to the individual and does not view one's food preference as an important factor in attaining enlightenment.
Theravada tradition as a principal tries to understand the teachings of the Buddha without changing them to suit the popular worldview of the time. As a result it is widely regarded as the school which is closest to the original teachings of the Buddha.
Sankha KulathantilleSankha Kulathantille
Thanks. This seems to be a fairly typical view of Mahayana so is useful. Whether it is a correct view is not really the point here, it seems to summarise a common view and explains quite a lot. . . – user14119 Oct 21 '19 at 10:59
Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. – ChrisW♦ Oct 24 '19 at 2:40
I think it's also important to strength the claim of Theravada being closer to the original teachings. There are many sutras chanted and used in Mahayana practice, which are not attributed to the Buddha. This does imply that these teachings are of lesser quality – user279311 Oct 26 '19 at 22:31
Traditionally from Mahayana perspective, the contrast with non-Mahayana is an important part of the teaching, so the differences is something we study in-depth, in order to understand and avoid non-Mahayana mistakes. For each of the following points, there's a traditional elaboration, explaining in detail how and why each side says what it says.
In non-Mahayana, your primary goal is Nirvana for yourself, in Mahayana your primary goal is to help others.
In non-Mahayana, they recognize that self is not real (Anatta), but still consider other phenomena real. In Mahayana, all phenomena are interpretations-imputations.
In non-Mahayana, the practice is focused on removing emotional obscurations. In Mahayana, both emotional and mental obscurations are removed. In Mahayana there is a strong philosophical component designed to remove conceptual obscurations.
In non-Mahayana, Nirvana is ultimate peace. In Mahayana, Nirvana is not-abiding, having understood ultimate equality of Nirvana and Samsara, beyond peace.
In non-Mahayana, the rules and precepts are understood literally and must be followed strictly. In Mahayana, it is the "spirit" (the purpose) of precepts is what's really important, the letter of precepts can be broken when it conflicts with their purpose.
In non-Mahayana, Dharma is understood literally, in Mahayana it is understood as conceptual construct metaphorically describing subtle truths about our lives and our reality. Concepts are mere models, but if look deeper you can "get" what they point at.
Mahayana accepts most pre-Mahayana teachings but insists that they must not be understood superficially. Superficial understanding of pre-Mahayana teachings and rejection of deeper insights is what characterizes non-Mahayana.
good answer, and i liked the inclusion of the fourth paragraph. i'm surprised there's been no mention of the atman doctrine here, is it not held by early mahayanists? – user2512 Oct 23 '19 at 13:50
Mahayana vs Theravada, crucial differences
Declare--
My position is of Mahayana the Chinese lineage, selected Sutras I studied, all or parts: Agamas (& some Pali Nikayas), Perfect Enlightenment, Avatamsaka, Surangama, Lotus Sutra, Lankavatara, Saṃdhi-nirmocana-sūtra, Mahayana Parinirvana, Amitāyurdhyāna-sūtra, Diamond Sutra, Platform Sutra, Prajna Paramita (by Kumarajiva), Madhyamaka, Mahisasakas Pratimoksa, Mahāprajñāpāramitāśāstra, Bodhidharma Bloodline Sastra, Samayabhedo-paracanacakra-śāstra, Śariputraparipṛcchā... Path of Liberation (the Pali Vimutti-magga is translated from Chinese) and meditation sutras/abhidharmas, etc.
On Theravada knowledge, parts and/or by scanning/skimming: Nikayas (or from Chinese Agamas), Buddhism SE, almost all the entries on Theravada in Wikipedia incl. its Abhidhamma, Dhammawheel, articles by the Bhikkhus such as Thanissaro, Buddhadasa, Brahm, Bodhi, Sujato, Henepola Gunaratana, Ashin Dr. Nandamalabhivamsa, Walpola Rahula, etc.
A. Scriptures
1) Mahayana inherits scriptures (excl. Tantra texts) encompassing the Three Turning of Dharma Wheels expounded by the Buddha himself in his 45 years of teaching, i.e., 1st the Agamas, 2nd the Prajna Paramita Sutras, and 3rd the Tathāgatagarbha Sutras. This saying records in almost all the Vinayas and some Sutras such as:
Three Turnings of the Twelve Sections of Dharma Wheels… attained perfect enlightenment for Buddha-hood — Sarvāstivāda Vinaya, translated by Mishu 米殊
Theravada inherits scriptures of the four Nikayas which almost equivalent to the Agamas, however Sutras of the 2nd and 3rd Wheel Turning are missing.
2) Mahayana records in the Agama that the Sutras collected after the gathering of 500 Arhats in the Seven Leaves Cave were written down on white cloth to keep:
Mahakasyapa then selected 40 realized ones among all, relaying from Ananda to have the four Agamas, 1 Madhyama Āgama, 2 Dīrgha Āgama, 3 Ekottara Āgama, 4 Saṃyukta Āgama… each [was written] on 60 rolls of plain cloth. The Bhiksus said, "use these to write in the four scripts (perhaps the Brahmi, Prakrit, Kharoṣṭhī and Armanic scripts), let these be spreading in the world." …individually writing the 12 sections of the Buddha Sutras, with the Vinayas and Dharmas ready… meeting Maitreya Buddha… for liberation… — Parinirvana Sutra, Agama, translated by Mishu 米殊
According to this plus several Sutras and Mahayana tradition, the four Agamas were spread immediately to lay the foundation, the 2nd and 3rd Turning mainly the Bodhisattvayana/Mahayana Sutras were reserved for approx. 100 years later, waiting until the new generation of disciples matured and Bodhisattva-teachers born to the world after the Buddha's nirvana.
Theravada says writing was not available 2500 years ago and only transmitted by oral recitation. The four or five Nikayas are all that the Buddha taught, nothing more.
3) Mahayana (of the Chinese lineage) preserves Sutras, Vinayas, Sastras and Abhidharmas from all the Early Eighteen Schools. All the scriptures are served as reference instead of presiding over any particular school.
Theravada inherits Suttas and works from the Vibhajyavāda (meant the separatist, a sect active esp. around 300CE teaching different/ newly interpreted doctrines that contradictory to the Early Eighteen Schools). In addition, Theravada its original name was Tambapaṇṇiya (meant Ceylon School), its scriptures and works are from the Mahāvihāravāsins (monks of a monastery in Sri Lanka) only:
The Mahavihara Theravādins of Sri Lanka are descendants of the Sthavira Vibhajyavādins in South India who used the Pali language... — Vibhajyavāda, Wikipedia
4) Mahayana (of the Chinese lineage) receives the scriptures written in Prakrit, Kharoṣṭhī, Gandhari and various Sanskrit scripts, translated to Chinese by Indian Buddhists worked together with the Chinese.
Theravada keeps the scriptures written in Pali, which according to the Theravadins, was close to or same as the Buddha's mother-tongue. However, according to the Chinese sources, that the "Pali" was Sinhalese:
...會誦集結三藏教典,並以僧伽羅文字將經典寫在貝葉上成書,首次將三藏集結成書面。[9]... 在公元五世紀,覺音尊者到錫蘭大寺學習,將僧伽羅語的五部尼柯耶轉譯為巴利語及作注釋。
...reciting the Tipitaka, and use Sinhalese to write the scriptures on leaves, collecting the Tipitaka as the book for the first time... in 500CE, Buddhaghosa studied in Mahavihara of Ceylon, translated the five Sinhalese Nikayas to Pali and wrote the commentaries. — Tipitaka, Wikipedia
B. Doctrines
1) Mahayana (excl. Tibetan-Buddhism) teaches the 8 consciousnesses, incl. the Tathāgatagarbha-consciousness (如來藏識) or Alaya-vijnana. As quoted the Ekottara Āgama of Sarvastidava stated:
...此名阿赖耶。谓爱阿赖耶,乐阿赖耶,欣阿赖耶,憙阿赖耶。
...this is called Alaya. Said, loves Alaya, enjoys Alaya, rejoicing with Alaya, exhilarating in Alaya
Theravada teaches the 6 consciousnesses. Its consciousness is in an instant arising-ceasing mode. In order to facilitate the gap between the death of consciousness before the arising of the new consciousness its Abhidhamma invented the term Bhavanga, to stitch the two instant moments. It rejects Aalaya-vinnana, though similar sutta found in Pali Anguttara Nikaya (no. 128?):
...众生爱阿赖耶(aalaya-aaraama),乐阿赖耶(aalaya-rata),欣阿赖耶(aalaya-sammudita)
... the sentient loves aalaya, enjoys aalaya, rejoicing with aalaya, exhilarating in aalaya
2) Mahayana teaches the intermediate state between death and rebirth. Theravada rejects the intermediate state. However, to answer how can a dead consciousness re-arise again (much like an extinguished fire cannot re-ignite) it puts the Bhavanga to mend the fault.
3) Mahayana teaches the Samyaksaṃbuddha discovered the Dharma that was taught by all previous Buddhas, he also has to receive the "mark" (endorsement or prediction) from previous Buddhas. This designates a world-system can only have one Samyaksaṃbuddha at one time.
Theravada teaches the Sammāsambuddha only required to be self-awaken. It has no difference from a Paccekabuddha in terms of self-awakening except a Paccekabuddha doesn't teach. It is not certain how Theravada ensured multiple Sammāsambuddhas not spontaneously appeared in the world by requiring only self-awakening.
4) Mahayana teaches the Samyaksaṃbuddha with three kayas (bodies), and there are infinite Samyaksaṃbuddhas in the universe with the myriad of world-systems. Theravada teaches only one Sammāsambuddha in the whole world/universe.
5) Mahayana teaches 10 stages of enlightenment. An arhat is equivalent to the 7th stage, who realized Anatman, but still not realized Emptiness. Whilst before the 7th stage are called Bodhisattvas, after the 7th stage called Mahabodhisattvas who mastered the Dharani. Theravada doesn't have the 10 stages, with arahant as the highest enlightment. It also doesn't have Bodhisattva, only the Buddha before being Buddha was a Bodhisattva.
6) Mahayana teaches great many meditation methods. Though mentioned both in the Agamas/Nikayas, the ānāpānasmṛti, contemplation of foulness/ compassion are different from the Theravada's. Methods are such as White Skeleton, Dharma Door of Hearing, the 25 Doors in Surangama, and 12 meditations in the Perfect Enlightenment... etc. Theravada teaches anapanasati, vipassana and metta-bhavana... etc.
Mahayana scriptures covered all the meditation methods in details the Theravada has few paragraphs on, except the Goenka Vipassana, Mahasi "noting" and abodmen breathing which Mahayana scriptures not covered as that not categorized in the Buddha's teaching.
7) Mahayana the final goal is to attain Buddha-hood, all sentient have the potential to be the Buddha for all have the Tathāgatagarbha. Theravada the final goal is to be an arahant, Buddha-hood is the business for the Buddha only.
8) Mahayana teaches the path to Buddha-hood and one must track the path of a Bodhisattva. The training of a Bodhisattva is to serve all sentient beings, and help them to arrive at liberation. In order to serve, a Bodhisattva must learn and master all worldly skills and resources, this in turn helps to cultivate wisdom. Hence a Bodhisattva doesn't necessary be an ordained Bhiksu but can be in any walk of life.
Theravada the path to liberation is to reach arahantship and then go for nibbana. Hence only being fully ordained can have hope, the laypersons are just worldly followers working for better rebirth.
9) Mahayana accepts Hinayana (arhatship) the beginning stage of the path only, encourages one to reach the graduation that is Buddha-hood and Nirvana.
Theravada takes only the Hinayana goal and graduated as that.
10) Mahayana teaches not eating meat which is an extension of non-killing, following the teacher as the Buddha never ate meat. Theravada does not teach not to eat meat, but only teaches not to kill by oneself for eating the meat.
11) Mahayana teaches 5 precepts and 6 paramitas. One of the 6 is prajna-paramita (wisdom) therefore Mahayana also engages in metaphysics and philosophical contemplation. However Theravada teaches 5 precepts but not the 6 paramitas therefore often dismisses discussions by citing the poison arrow parable, emphasis is on liberating from suffering.
12) Mahayana teaches the ultimate as Suchness (Tathata), which is a fluid proposition as styled by Nagarjuna's "neither one nor different" (不一不異); it is not nondualism, nor Advaita Vedanta whose founding father Adi Shankara was born in the 8th century, 1000+ years later, making the Buddha copying any ideas from the future is absurd! Theravada teaches that the ultimate is an objective absolute reality, that nibbana is unconditional and nondual - transmundane.
Mishu 米殊Mishu 米殊
Thank you for the answer. Is this still "a post yet awaiting elaboration"? – ChrisW♦ Oct 22 '19 at 5:29
Very helpful - Thanks. – user14119 Oct 22 '19 at 10:27
I've finished the elaboration @ChrisW. Need to add a lot of references with quotes because this post is against the tide of favorite. Apart from backing with references I run short of ideas to shield from the enraged mass – Mishu 米殊 Oct 22 '19 at 15:18
the only point i'm unclear about is whether theravada says that there are no bodhisattvas? i thought it was a three vehicle system, just that theravada doesn't teach the bodhisattva's vehicle – user2512 Oct 23 '19 at 12:49
@user3293056 Bodhisattva is the rehearsal to Buddha-hood. As Theravada said the goal is Arahant, not Buddha-hood, it implies there no place for Bodhisattva. However, it does call Gotama the Bodhisattva before he's the Buddha. It just shows Theravada had conflicting doctrines, many. Example, another conflict I stated in B.3), that if Buddha is only required self-awakening, logically many self-awakened Buddha could appear at the same time. However, it states only one Buddha for the world at one time, also self-contradictory – Mishu 米殊 Oct 23 '19 at 18:46
The main difference is the vehicle. In Mahayana, everyone aspires to be a Buddha. In Theravada, many aspire for just Arahathship than being Buddhas.
Suminda Sirinath S. DharmasenaSuminda Sirinath S. Dharmasena
It appears Mahayana believes non-conceptuality is the highest thing.
There's a lot of downvoting going on here, even for one sentence answers. Yet this answer seems important and correct. . . – user14119 Oct 23 '19 at 15:34
Buddha taught Dhamma. In Dhamma there exists no divergence. Every discrepancy is poorly understood human work.
Guy Eugène DuboisGuy Eugène Dubois
either Dhamma or Dharma ;) – Andrei Volkov♦ Oct 22 '19 at 19:40
Both, Andrei ;)- – Guy Eugène Dubois Oct 22 '19 at 19:51
Theravada does not deny that there will be future Buddhas: the 'conflict' is whether the Buddha vehicle was instructed -- or just said to exist.
Though it gets a bit -- or less -- convoluted with the Lotus Sutra; it claims that Sakyamuni only taught the Buddha -- or one -- vehicle. The teaching of three vehicles was only a trick, or skillful means, because not everyone is or was ready for the truth.
Some Mahayanists will emphasize different teachings and Sutras.
So, in Mahayana -- unlike Theravada -- the Buddha taught how to reach liberation without a Buddha.
That sounds a bit like a paradox: how others can reach his nirvana. But not as knotted as how there can be happiness without a self.
nb I was asked to show who says "solitary buddhas" can appear with a buddha's teaching. An outline of the fourfold teachings p100 [translated by Daiichi Shobo], in the sectioned titled "Tripitaka Dcotrine":
Next I will explain the Stage of the Pratyekabuddha, or self enlightened. On meeting the Buddha when he appeared in the world he [the Pratyekabuddha] received the teaching of the Twelvefold Conditions of Dependent Origination [pratitya-samutpada]...
Emphasis added.
Through meditating on the twelvefold cponditions of dependent origination they realize the principle of the ultimate truth. Therefore they are called "those who achieve the realization of conditioned". Those who are called "self-enlightened" appear in a world where there is no Buddha. Living alone on a solitary summit, they meditate on the changing nature of things and realize by themselves the non-originnation [of all things]. Accordingly they are called "self-enlightened". Although the two names are different, they are the sane in regards to practice...
Emphasis added [p102].
So, two types of "Pratyekabuddha" realizing the same "truth" and at the same "stage" -- but one while a Buddha's teaching is still present, and so "called" self enlightened. I believe I have read that this was a Chinese gloss due to the similarity of 'Pratykebuddha' and 'pratitya-samutpada'.
I have seen no mention of the difference outside the 'Tripitaka doctrine'.
Do you mean 'Three Turnings'? – user14119 Oct 23 '19 at 14:55
no @PeterJ i mean the three vehicles of buddhahood, arthatship, and solitary enlightenment. – user2512 Oct 23 '19 at 14:57
read this if you like @PeterJ it may seem like a small point, but the difference -- between Theravada and Mahayana -- surely does lie in which vehicle or yana is being followed – user2512 Oct 23 '19 at 15:05
The article states - "Yana is determined by capacity and propensity of the "precious human body" wrought by merit, not by a specific teaching or lineage..." This seems correct to me. So for me these are not 'vehicles' but levels of attainnment or degrees of ambition. I haven't come across them as 'three vehicles' but perhaps they may be seen as such. – user14119 Oct 23 '19 at 15:16
It is vehicle. Or you may like to replace with "means". Like from Heathrow (samsara/ sentient) going to Oxford Street (nirvana/ buddha), you can take the tube (sravakayana, merely a passenger), the car (bodhisattva-yana, self-driving and carrying passengers), or motorcycle (pratyekabuddha-yana, riding by and with himself) – Mishu 米殊 Oct 23 '19 at 19:54
The difference between scriptures matters because the basis of scriptural authority matters. The scripture for the Tradition of the Elders is the Pali Canon and commentaries that make up the Tipitaka. The scriptures of the Greater Vehicle school include the writings of anonymous authors who, more or less, held what were effectively seances during their meditative states to attempt to communicate with the Buddha and buddhas of distant past eons. The Lotus Sutra involves Shakyamuni Buddha discussing his bodily death in the past tense, so it is clearly not a historical documents pertaining to the actual Buddha of history.
Mahayana texts are much more flexible in their interpretation, by design. The Vimalakirti Sutra suggests that a layman can be wiser than the historical Buddha's disciples were in their own lifetimes. The Lotus Sutra seems to imply that a future Buddha can be a young girl, or a dragon. The Mahayana school emphasizes "emptiness" and "non-dualism" especially in Zen. (In Zen, Shakyamuni Buddha is almost never quoted verbatim or cited as an authority.)
Other than source of scripture, I would say that the greatest difference is that Mahayana sects teach a "living" Buddha who sees present-day followers and can answer prayers; whereas a more ancient understanding of "tranquil extinction" precludes that possibility. The Rathaputta Sutra (and the Pali Canon in general) tells us that nobody, no matter how holy, has a savior or protector from sickness or suffering (so, implicitly, don't ask). However, the closing chapters of the Vimalakirti Sutra tell us that devout readers will have spirit guides who protect them from exploitation or harm.
As beautiful as both traditions are, it is inevitable that some differences of opinion would arise. If you introduce new writings as sacred, and change the meanings of key concepts, the more conservative adherents might think that you don't really believe in the faith and founder. However, in this case, both schools of thought are completely Buddhist; both believe in the Four Noble Truths, their twelve aspects, and the Eight-fold Path. Both believe in the Three Jewels, the ten good actions, the three poisons, the six perfections, the three marks of existence, and the eight difficulties. Therefore, neither school of thought is Wrong View. The only thing that is Wrong View is denying the Law of Karma according to the Buddha's Dharma.
casually readingcasually reading
Well one of the most famous lack of understanding from the 3 main indian philosophers who invented mahayana by speculating on 1 of the abidhammas, is about their fantasy of the buddha nature, especially the claim ''everybody has the potential to be enlightened'' remains false, no matter how much they love to push for the contrary.
it is as if nibanna is raising your arm, those people would fantasize thus '' human has am arm, being enlightened is raising an arm, a human has the potential to raise an arm, therefore a human has the potential to be enlightened''.
The people who claim that ''everybody has the potential to be enlightened'' fail to understand that the potential to be enlightened has nothing to do with only being alive. The potential to be enlightened is about cultivating the right behavior, which is just lots of energy to cultivate guarding the senses, cultivate lots of samadhi and lots of wisdom, but that's already too hard for the indian philosophers and they even explicit refuse to do so and clinging to their speculations that they can be good people by not training their minds. It turns out that Following the path is what builds the potential for the nirodha of delusion, greed and aversion.
here is the points on they already struggle [and that's way before putting the ''intellectual understanding'' into practice, so no chance they will get the practice successful, even for doing meritorious activities.]:
the buddha says that puhutjjanas are not enlightened
the buddha says that puthujjanas have natural underlying tendencies for 7 things
the buddha says that puthujjanas have anuyasas not for nibanna and the things he claims are good, but The obsession of sensual passion, the obsession of resistance, the obsession of views, the obsession of uncertainty, the obsession of conceit, the obsession of passion for becoming, the obsession of ignorance.
the buddha says that puthujjanas do not have natural underlying tendencies for lack of delusion lack greed, lack of aversion, all the good things he says are good
the buddha says that anybody who cultivates the ''7 factors of enlightenment'' ''do not decline'' (from nibanna), like so The limb of wisdom that is mindfulness, the limb of wisdom that is investigation of the Norm, the limb of wisdom that is energy, the limb of wisdom that is tranquility, the limb of wisdom that is concentration, the limb of wisdom that is equanimity.
These, monks, are the seven conditions that lead to non-decline. https://obo.genaud.net/a/dhamma-vinaya/pts/sn/05_mv/sn05.46.025.wood.pts.htm#p1
ie they ''slide towards nibanna'' http://obo.genaud.net/dhamma-vinaya/pts/an/04_fours/an04.037.wood.pts.htm#p1 "Mendicants, suppose a tree slants, slopes, and inclines to the east. If it was cut off at the root, where would it fall?"
"Sir, it would fall in the direction that it slants, slopes, and inclines."
"In the same way, a mendicant who develops and cultivates the noble eightfold path slants, slopes, and inclines to extinguishment.
And how does a mendicant who develops the noble eightfold path slant, slope, and incline to extinguishment? It's when a mendicant develops right view, right thought, right speech, right action, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right immersion, which rely on seclusion, fading away, and cessation, and ripen as letting go. That's how a mendicant who develops and cultivates the noble eightfold path slants, slopes, and inclines to extinguishment." https://suttacentral.net/sn45.152/en/sujato
same thing with the ''four qualities", from which ''a monk is incapable of falling away and is right in the presence of Unbinding'' https://www.buddha-vacana.org/sutta/anguttara/04/an04-037.html Even lay followers have their "Seven points of behavior on which a lay follower may decline or not" https://www.buddha-vacana.org/sutta/anguttara/07/an07-029.html
the buddha does not say that a human is ''on the verge on the unbinding'' just because this human is alive
So anybody who cultivates the ''7 factors of enlightenment'' has the potential to be enlightened, because ''having the potential to be enlightened'' means only being skilled in those ''7 factors of enlightenment'', ie fighting the bad inclinations that puthujjanas have naturally.
Anybody who does NOT cultivate those ''7 factors of enlightenment'' does NOT have ''the potential to be enlightened'', because ''having the potential to be enlightened'' never ever means ''just being alive'', and is inclined towards bad things.,
Most people you see around you do not have this ''potential to be enlightened''. most people you see around do not even care about that.
Anybody who claims that ''everybody has the potential to be enlightened'' speaks falsely and you will never ever progress on the path by listening to their creative lies.
That's the most famous wrong view they keep spreading. The next wrong view they love to spread is their obsession with non-duality. Sometimes they get so confused that they have a hard time fantasizing about the difference about mahayana and advaita. Sometimes the Mahayanists even say they do not see a difference between the two, that's how bad it gets.
With their wrong view comes their wrong practice, with their obsessions about objects
The last fantasy of their doctrine being the fantasy of the ineffability of nibanna. This puts a mysterious veil on their doctrine, allowing their appalling ''crazy wisdom'' and puts their audience in awe. But at the end of the day, they remain only puthujjanas who love to speculate ad nausean to the point of creating super long suttas which have nothing to do with the dhamma.
However all their wrong views are pretty normal. Daydreamers will always cling to their love for fantasizes and will always try to salvage them. It did not take long for people to be confused about the dhamma and after few generations after the death of the of the buddha, people already did what they love to do : speculating about what arahants can do and cannot do. Today they say 18 schools have been created, with people creating subschools, subsubschools, then schisms and sometime even slight mergers. If all those schools survived, today you would have to read 18 abidhamma pitakas, 18 vinnaya pitakas and 18 sutta pitakas and you would be left just as confused as you are today... It would be horrible.
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To summarise, this answer says in its first paragraph that there's a mahayana doctrine about "buddha-nature" that "everybody has the potential" -- after which, there is a long bit intended to contradict that (i.e. explaining why you think that particular invention/speculation/fantasy is wrong), which says that it's not everybody who has the potential, but only those who have the right inclination, which is not most people. – ChrisW♦ Oct 21 '19 at 15:09
Lastly it identifies, as being typical mahayana confusions: "non-duality"; "distinguishing mahayana from advaita"; something (unspecified) to do with "wrong practice" and "objects"; and the ineffability of nibanna (leading to confusion and, maybe, awe-struck superstition). – ChrisW♦ Oct 21 '19 at 15:09
I promised not to argue but I really cannot follow the argument here. Nor am I sure why you assume I'm confused. But it's a useful answer that sheds light on the disagreement so thanks. . , – user14119 Oct 22 '19 at 10:36
Can you criticise or improve Ven. Bodhi's description of Mahayana
The Mahayana faith and wisdom
From the perspective of Theravada, can a Mahayana follower attain Nibbana?
Philosophical and Doctrinal Differences between Theravada and Zen, and its effects
Emptiness in Theravada and Mahayana
Eternalism and Mahayana Buddhism
What are the main differences — in meditation practice and discipline — between different schools of Theravada?
Can Mahayana and Theravada learn from eachother?
Theravada and Nagarjuna


Learn how to program in Python, one of today's hottest computer languages. Then apply your new programming skills to solve cyber security challenges, such as how to encrypt data, authenticate users, and automate system administration tasks. No prior experience necessary: just a commitment to learn a lot quickly.
Time: 9am - 2pm daily.
Girls Create with Technology will engage 20 middle and high school girls in computer science and STEM activities through a four-day summer camp. Girls will receive advanced training in various aspects of Computer Science. Dr. Cindy Howard will teach girls to program robots that they build with arts and crafts supplies and a computer control board using Scratch and Python and how to build a wireless control system for robots using a Raspberry Pi.
Date: June 17-July 12, 2019.
STARTALK is one of the projects of the National Security Initiative, a multi-agency effort to expand foreign language education in under-taught critical languages by funding new and existing programs and to provide incentives and rewards for foreign language learning.
STARTALK's overall mission is to increase the number of young Americans learning and speaking critical need foreign languages by offering creative and engaging summer learning experiences for students (K-16).
Lewis University has been offering Startalk Program since 2009.
This year's summer program will offer its participants an intensive instruction in beginning Russian. The course will be conducted on the Lewis University Romeoville campus from June 17th to July 12th.
Explore the possibilities for your life's call with new friends as partof a diverse and engaged college community – learning from each other's stories.
Are you interested in learning more about leadership? Do you want to develop your own skills with team building, communication and positive group dynamics? Do you envision yourself as a leader?
The Learning to Lead program is made possible through this year's sponsor, Meijer.
Join Lewis University at Aviation Flight Camp this summer and enjoy a week of learning about various aspects of aviation. Participants will learn from Lewis University professors and flight instructors about topics including Aviation Flight, Air Traffic Control and Unmanned Aircraft Systems. Our campers will get to fly our flight simulators and in our fleet of Cessna 172S model aircraft as well as log flight time in a pilot logbook. Participants will also enjoy two industry tours. Lunch will be provided each day, please note any dietary restrictions.
Register early as space is limited to 20 participants.


Many patients with breast cancer report cognitive issues following their chemotherapy.
Cancer-related cognitive impairment (CRCI) is prevalent among survivors of and patients with breast cancer. CRCI can be related to disease, surgery, chemotherapy, radiotherapy, hormonal therapy, and immunotherapy, and includes problems with executive function, attention, and processing speed.
Because some previous CRCI research is limited by small samples, heterogeneous populations, lack of prechemotherapy, use of normative data, and lack of generalizability, researchers sought to evaluate the incidence of CRCI in patients with breast cancer in a large prospective, longitudinal, nationwide study.
For the study, researchers enrolled 581 patients with breast cancer receiving care at community oncology clinics, including 48% who had anthracycline-based chemotherapy, and 364 age-matched noncancer controls. Researchers assessed cognitive function using the Functional Assessment of Cancer Therapy-Cognitive Function (FACT-Cog) at prechemotherapy and postchemotherapy and at a 6-month follow-up.
Investigators found that patients reported significantly greater cognitive difficulties on the FACT-Cog total score and 4 subscales from prechemotherapy to postchemotherapy compared with controls, and from prechemotherapy to 6-month follow-up (all P <.001).
Results further showed that increased baseline anxiety and depression and decreased cognitive reserve were significantly associated with lower FACT-Cog total scores in patients from postchemotherapy to 6 months of follow-up.
From prechemotherapy to postchemotherapy and from prechemotherapy to 6-month follow-up, patients with breast cancer were more likely to report a clinically significant decline in self-reported cognitive function than controls.
Although this study, which possesses multiple strengths, suggests that perceived CRCI is a substantial problem for breast cancer survivors, this researcher does not explain the longer-term impact of CRCI assessed by FACT-Cog.


Many producers keep older ewes or buy in old Angora goat ewes.
How do these ewes perform when compared to younger ewes?
How the older ewes are best managed to maximise reproductive performance?
The age of the ewe has a significant effect on reproduction of Angora goats.
The practice of keeping ewes older than seven to eight years of age in the breeding flock is detrimental for optimising overall productivity. Not only will it slow down genetic progress, but income of the current herd is also adversely affected by retaining unproductive older ewes.
To optimise productive and reproductive efficiency and rate of genetic progress, breeders should keep a maximum of 5 to 6 dam age groups.
The effect of reduced kid (ewe replacement) weight at 8 and 16 months is the impact on future reproductive performance of these kids. The lower reproductive efficiency of young ewes is largely be ascribed to their lower body weight. A body weight of 25 to 27 kg at 18 months of age is generally regarded as a minimum to ensure that young ewes conceive and are able to carry their foetuses to parturition. However, 40 % of young ewes in this study had mating body weights of less than 25 kg; the range being from 15 to 45.8 kg, depending on the respective rearing environments. Young ewes with mating weights less than 25 kg also had lower survival rates of their kids.
Body weight, age of the ewe and management system all have a significant effect on reproduction of Angora goats.
More ewes in this study that received either flushing treatment or were run on pastures before mating were pregnant at scanning than ewes that were run on veld without any supplementation before mating.
Ewes should not be underfed between days 61 and 120 of pregnancy.
In this survey, 84 % of the ewes that were run on veld without supplementation during pregnancy and was scanned pregnant, did eventually kid, compared to 92 and 93 % of the ewes that either received supplementation during the last part of pregnancy or were run on pastures.
Delay the onset of milk and colostrum production.
Lead to poor mothering instinct.
Most veld types in the Angora goat areas are unable to fulfil the protein and energy requirements of late pregnant and lactating Angora goat ewes which is reflected in the trial - lower reproductive performance of ewes run continuously under veld conditions.
OF SOUTH AFRICAN ANGORA GOAT EWES.


text:
Q: Serial port programming My requirement is to detect port no to which any communication device is connected
also how we can add drivers of any communication device in package which can be installed along with installation of my package

A: Option Explicit
'******************************************************************************
' Description: Scans machine using the WIN32 API for all available comm hardware
' Usage:    main program calls the 'CommSettings' sub, passing the
'           name of the communications control and a combobox name.
'******************************************************************************

Dim CommCntrl             As Control                                  ' the communications control
Dim cmboPort              As Control                                  ' combobox to populate
Dim bNoComm               As Boolean

Private Const MAX_COMM = 16                                           ' 32 max port # to check

Private Const GENERIC_READ = &H80000000
Private Const GENERIC_WRITE = &H40000000
Private Const OPEN_EXISTING = 3
Private Const FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED = &H40000000
Private Const INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE = -1

Private Declare Function CreateFile Lib "kernel32" Alias "CreateFileA" _
                                    (ByVal lpFileName As String, _
                                     ByVal dwDesiredAccess As Long, _
                                     ByVal dwShareMode As Long, _
                                     ByVal lpSecurityAttributes As String, _
                                     ByVal dwCreationDisposition As Long, _
                                     ByVal dwFlagsAndAttributes As Long, _
                                     ByVal hTemplateFile As String) As Long

Private Declare Function CloseHandle Lib "kernel32" ( _
                                     ByVal hObject As Long) As Long

Public Sub GetPorts(serialCntrl As Control, comboBox As Control)
    '******************************************************************************
    ' Usage:    Pass the name of the communications control, a combo box, and the
    '           current com port setting in the calling routine.
    '******************************************************************************

    Dim iCntr             As Integer                                  ' loop counter
    Dim hRet              As Long                                     ' api return value
    Dim sCom              As String                                   ' comm port name

    On Error Resume Next

    Set cmboPort = comboBox

    Set CommCntrl = serialCntrl
    Err = 0

    cmboPort.Clear

    ' Close the port if it's open
    If CommCntrl.PortOpen = True Then
        CommCntrl.PortOpen = False
        DoEvents
    Else
        bNoComm = True
    End If

    ' Scan for all possible hardware so we can display all available ports
    ' in the combo box. Dynamically adjusts for PC's with addin cards
    For iCntr = 1 To MAX_COMM
        ' try to open the port.
        ' \\.\ required for ports > 9, works for all ports
        sCom = "\\.\Com" & CStr(iCntr) & vbNullChar
        hRet = CreateFile(sCom, GENERIC_READ Or _
                                GENERIC_WRITE, 0, vbNullString, OPEN_EXISTING, _
                          FILE_FLAG_OVERLAPPED, vbNullString)

        If hRet <> INVALID_HANDLE_VALUE Then
            hRet = CloseHandle(hRet)
            cmboPort.AddItem Format$(iCntr)
            Debug.Print iCntr
        Else
            ' dll error 5 = already open
            ' dll error 2 = no harware
            If Err.LastDllError = 5 Then
                cmboPort.AddItem Format$(iCntr) & " - Busy"
            End If
        End If
    Next

End Sub


practice of preparing out-of-date, paper-based reports about security.
be permanent and subject to Senate Confirmation.
Oh, how I would love to see the day come when Information Security wasn't dominated by people who can't do a damn thing to mitigate risk but do a great job talking the talk and writing the copy about it. I cannot count how many times I've run into a supposed "expert" who couldn't even begin to pull apart a packet capture or tell me the difference between a Layer2 address and a Layer3 address. It is, as they say, Frustrating.


text:
Home Mangalorean News Local News SACAA Team Wins the Prof Bennett Pinto Memorial Cricket Tournament Trophy
SACAA Team Wins the Prof Bennett Pinto Memorial Cricket Tournament Trophy
Alfie Dsouza, Team Mangalorean.
SACAA (St Aloysius College Alumni Association) Team Wins the Prof Bennett Pinto Memorial Cricket Tournament Trophy organized by St Aloysius College Alumni Association, Mangaluru held on the St Aloysius Centenary Ground. The Tournament was also held in the memory of Late Benjamin D'Souza, who was the Physical Director of St Aloysius College, and under his tenure the College SIMPLY ROCKED in Sports and other Games
Mangaluru: Yes, following close on its heels, after the end of the IPL cricket, the same kind of Cricket fever was back in town, and it was at the St Aloysius Centenary Ground-Mangalore, when St Aloysius College Alumni Association (SACAA), Mangaluru organized the Prof Bennett Pinto Memorial Cricket Tournament.
Just like the IPL, this tournament became a proper platform for the upcoming cricket talents of Alumni of SAC, Priests, Teaching and non-Teaching staff of SAC to step into greater heights in the cricket field. SIX teams, namely Degree College XI; AMIT (St Aloysius Institute of Management & Information Technology-Beeri) XI; Rector's XI; PUC Non-Teaching Staff XI; College Non-Teaching Staff XI; and SACAA XI, participated in the Overarm Cricket Tournament, with FIVE overs each.
Quoting Pop Singer Daniel Boone's lyrics from his song "Beautiful Sunday"- "Sunday morning, up with the lark, I think I'll take a walk in the park Hey hey hey, it's a beautiful day. Hi hi hi, beautiful Sunday, This is my my my beautiful day, Hi hi hi, beautiful Sunday…."- Oh yeah, it was indeed a Beautiful and Sunny Sunday, a perfect day for outdoor activities and games and it was a perfect day to have this Cricket Tournament. The Tournament was inaugurated by Fr Melwin Pinto SJ, the Rector of St Aloysius Institutions, Mangaluru, joined by Dr Alwyn Veigas, the Registrar of St Aloysius College, and a few board members of SACAA.
St Aloysius College Degree XI Team
St Aloysius Institute of Management & Information Technology (AIMIT) -Beeri XI
RECTOR'S XI Team
In his inaugural address, Fr Melwin Pinto SJ said, " Cricket is a passionate and unpredictable game – Ultimately the winner comes out with a sportsman spirit. First of all, you should all know that winning in this tournament is not important, but participating in it is. You are all winners already by taking the bold step in coming forward to fight in this tournament. You need to play with determination and enthusiasm, play with a smile on your face and anxiousness- and not in a sober and grumpy attitude. You have all come here to unleash your sporting talents, so do it with love and determination. This is a ground where India Cricketer K L Rahul played and has now reached greater heights in the cricket field. Maybe you could also be one of the budding cricketers of India. Wish you all best of luck in the tournament-play with faith and truth, don't argue or blame the umpires, play with a motto and dream to win. If you don't win this time it's okay, you'll have more chances later- Try, try and you'll succeed. All the best".
St Aloysius PUC Non-Teaching XI Team
St Aloysius College Non-Teaching XI Team
St Aloysius College Alumni Association (SACAA) XI Team
The commentators for the cricket tournament were Manoj Fernandes- lecturer in BBA at St Aloysius College, Sumit Rao (SACAA member) and evergreen Hero who is the Registrar of SAC Dr Alwyn Veigas. After a tremendous game of hitting sixes and four boundaries, SACAA team emerged as winners and the runners-up were AIMIT-Beeri, and both took home the trophies and cash prizes. SACAA secretary Naveen Mascarenhas was one of the coordinators of the tournament, while Conrad Nazareth of SACAA was the scorekeeper.
Anyways, in this time of pandemic where rest of the people were enjoying their Sunday taking a nap on their bed, while few others were sipping on cold ones at a pub or a lounge, but for these hardcore Cricket enthusiasts, the Sunday was a memorable and worthful- because you never know all those who have played on this ground for the tournament may reach to the level of becoming Cricket stars like K L Rahul, Sanath Kumar and others, who are where they are now by playing on St Aloysius grounds.
Click Here To View More Photos
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text:
From Dontavius Jackson's presser to announce his verbal commitment to Georgia:
(PHOTO COURTESY POUYA DIANAT / AJC)
Just win, baby.
If you're looking for a handy, dandy chart of the contending schools' chances to emerge from the SEC East and go to the SECCG, The State has one here, although it should be noted that Vanderbilt isn't included, and the Commodores haven't been mathematically eliminated from the race.
What's obvious is that Georgia has no margin for error at all. There isn't a single [ed. note – three or four team] tiebreaker scenario that resolves itself in the Dawgs' favor.
Filed under Georgia Football, SEC Football
Just how smart is Mark Richt?
Upon initial reflection, I thought The Celebration was a brilliant move on Mark Richt's part because it got Georgia's players out of the funk they'd been in for much of the previous three games. As the game went on, I was even more impressed because I saw the effect it had on Florida's players, too.
But after reading this overwrought letter posted for public consumption by one Franz Beard, who is the managing editor of Gator Country, a Florida online site (h/t Best of the SEC Blogs), my attitude is beginning to border on flat-out awe.
When this guy writes "I shake to think what might have happened", I don't doubt it. My bet is that he was still shaking with righteous indignation when he wrote the letter. Listen carefully and you can hear his voice quiver.
… I've been at Florida-Georgia games since 1962 and I know the hair-trigger emotions both on the field and in the stands. One ill-timed remark, one bump of a Georgia player into a Florida player and we could have very easily had an on the field incident that would have made Miami-Florida International look like something you see on Sesame Street. It is only by God's grace and the restraint of the Florida coaches, who prevented the UF team from charging the field by their quick, positive response, that there was no incident on the field.
I've got to tell you, I had no idea of the grave danger I was in at that moment.
But skip that – my point here isn't to mock what Franz Beard wrote (BestofSEC does a fine job of that all on his lonesome). It's to note that Mark Richt and Georgia football are in their heads. All of that Gator superiority we've come to know and love have vanished from this guy's mindset. It's all ghosts now. Three out of the last eighteen? Gone. Visor Boy? Gone. Danny the All-American? Gone. At this point, Franz may not even remember that his team won the last MNC, so consumed is he with wrath over Richt's perfidy.
And this from a guy who runs what I presume to be a popular Gator fan site and shares a conviction about Florida football with a large following. He's representative, in other words.
This ain't going away anytime soon, folks. It's going to eat at the Gator Nation at least until next year's WLOCP. And with that one little gesture, Mark Richt has managed to destroy the psychological status quo of this series that Spurrier built and had grown over the better part of two decades. Easy, comfortable arrogance has been replaced with a burning desire to even the score.
The worm has turned. What do you think Urban Meyer is going to hear at every Gator Club breakfast, lunch and dinner meeting he attends in the offseason next year? He's gonna hear the same incessant complaint that every Georgia coach has been forced to suffer through for nigh on about twenty years: Coach, you gotta beat Georgia this year. You just gotta.
How delicious.
And so I ask one more time: just how smart is Mark Richt? Did he actually see this coming? Because if he did, all I can say is, man, I can't wait to see what he has up his sleeve for next year's game.
UPDATE: For all my Gator commenters in denial, here's more of what I'm referring to. Feel free to keep insisting otherwise, though.
(h/t Dawgbone)
That was different.
Ah, hell, I said I wouldn't revisit the subject, but I can't help it.
Please note this great moment in sportsmanship in 2007, as the Florida Gators get their pregame on by stomping on the Tiger logo on LSU's home field:
Gator fans, I share your outrage. Shall we move on now?
Filed under College Football, Crime and Punishment
The SEC down the stretch
With two thirds of the season in, there are a couple of things we can see about the SEC this year: (1) the difference in quality some thought they saw in separating the Southeastern Conference from the remaining BCS conferences is not as apparent at the top, at least with regard to the Pac-10 and, arguably, the Big 12; and (2) the quality of the SEC at the middle and lower parts of the conference, on the other hand, is apparent.
The result of these two factors has been one of the most competitive, exciting conference races I can remember. No team in the SEC East as I type this has been mathematically eliminated from going to Atlanta. The West isn't quite as bunched up, but it still boasts three teams that have a shot at the SECCG.
In a season that's seen Kentucky go from beating the #1 team in the country and being ranked as high as #7 to getting blown out by Mississippi State at home a couple of weeks later, I feel a little queasy ranking the teams, but I'll give it a shot nevertheless.
LSU (7-1 overall, 4-1 SEC). The Tigers' loss at UK looks weaker now, but, in spite of that, not too surprising, given their track record under Miles. Still sporting the best talent in the conference, LSU shouldn't lose again. That doesn't mean it won't, though. If LSU beats 'Bama, it's pretty close to over in the West, as LSU would have the tiebreaker advantage over its two closest rivals.
Good, But Not Elite
Georgia (6-2 overall, 4-2 SEC). All but given up for dead three weeks ago after a horrendous loss at Tennessee, the Dawgs may have found their identity in that thrilling win against Florida. Then again, who knows? Auburn and Kentucky are both winnable games, but Georgia is a team that isn't good enough to win just by showing up and bringing its "C" game. I thought at the beginning of the season that this team would win anywhere from 8 to 10 games with a shot at the SECCG, and it's still on track to accomplish that. However, the ride will continue to be a wild one for the rest of the season. Hold on to your hats.
The Rest Of The Ranked
Alabama (6-2 overall, 4-1 SEC). Really, there isn't much of a gap between the schools on this tier. I give 'Bama the slightest of nods because it's the only school in this bunch that doesn't have three losses. Saban has done a fine job masking this team's shortcomings, but he's going to have his hands full this Saturday. The win over the Vols was impressive, but I have a hard time getting worked up over a program that's lost to FSU this year. I still think eight wins looks likely for this bunch, but we'll see.
Florida (5-3 overall, 3-3 SEC). Wow, isn't it special to be the best three loss team in the country right now? Georgia exposed some flaws with this team. The holes in the defense weren't unexpected, but the coaching staff's inability to adjust to game developments was. The Gators are teetering on the brink of a four or five loss season if they don't fix a few things. That being said, this is a talented group that has the resources to rebound quickly.
Auburn (6-3 overall, 4-2 SEC). Great defense, mediocre offense. Very good coaching staff. All of that translates into eight or nine wins, tops.
Tennessee (5-3 overall, 3-2 SEC). Yes, the Vols have the inside track to Atlanta from the East. How many of you are ready to bet the ranch that they'll actually be there?
South Carolina (6-3 overall, 3-3 SEC). Like Tennessee, the 'Cocks are ranked in the AP poll, so I'll list them here. It feels like the bloom is wearing off the rose a little with this team and the OBC doesn't seem to be working his magic on offense consistently. There are no gimmes left on the schedule, either. The 'Cocks will be doing quite well to get to eight wins, but may very well have to settle for less.
The Few, The Proud, The Unranked
Kentucky (6-3 overall, 2-3 SEC). They are freefalling. Fast. With the 'Cats remaining schedule, we'll see if Rich Brooks is the coaching guru every pundit claimed he was three weeks ago. All of their games are winnable – and if you're a Georgia fan, you probably ought to hope that's truly the case with the season finale against UT.
Arkansas (5-3 overall, 1-3 SEC). Yes, the season is toast for the Nuttster. But this team shouldn't be dismissed out of hand. Any time you trot that backfield out, you've got a chance. Monk is back, although clearly not up to top speed at this point. There are no gimmes in the final four games, however, the Hogs definitely have a chance to screw with some other teams' seasons. It's hard to see more than seven wins, though, which is not where they should have finished with this schedule.
Vanderbilt (5-3 overall, 2-3 SEC). One win away from bowl eligibility, although it's not going to be easy to get there. Surprisingly tough on defense. Six wins, max – and if they get it, it's been a good year.
Mississippi State (5-4 overall, 2-3 SEC). The Croom Abides. This is not a very talented team, but it plays to the limits of its abilities most weeks. If you want to beat MSU, it's pretty simple: don't turn the ball over. That being said, this team looks like it will be bowl eligible by season's end. Good on 'em.
Bringing Up The Rear
Mississippi (2-7 overall, 0-6 SEC). There was a brief moment in midseason when it looked like things might be starting to come together for the Rebels, but that turned out to be a mirage. Three wins, none in the conference, seems likely from here. If you're fired after losing to MSU when they're favored, have you been croomed?
Filed under SEC Football
Did you order the Code Red?
I dissed Zemek's article in CFN yesterday, so it seems only fair to point out what Pete Fiutak has to say about the WLOCP today. It's pretty good. My favorite line:
I guarantee you the first thing that went through Meyer's mind when he saw what was happening was, "Aw crap. I wish I had thought of that first."
UPDATE: Tater Tot agrees. (But check out Tuberville's courageous fence straddling.)
Filed under Media Punditry/Foibles
My last post on class
It's hardly a point worth mentioning, but I'll mention it anyway. Class, or the lack thereof, manifests itself in many ways.
You tell me how this looks:
After Florida wins, usually between seven and 10 players are made available to the media, whether at home, on the road or at a neutral site.
After Saturday's game only three Gators (quarterback Tim Tebow, linebacker Brandon Spikes and safety Tony Joiner) were brought into the interview room with Joiner and Spikes staying less than five minutes combined. The excuse given was the players needed to catch the team bus.
Last year after Florida's victory against Georgia, numerous players — starters and backups — stuck around for interviews for close to an hour. The bus waited.
Despite having a much longer trip home, Georgia players and coach Mark Richt were still speaking to reporters more than 90 minutes after the contest had ended.