Comments for Lost in Panama!

Comment on 33.5. ESL and language quirks by tristanverboven

tristanverboven — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 16:13:25 +0000

“…there’s nothing critical to preserve in languages with trans-national potential.”

In fact, by protecting the traditional anomolies of the language, we may be stunting its evolution. Many of the current spellings of words have been deliberately kept to honour their foreign origins. In doing so they have been preserved indefinitely. This standardization of the language seemed like a good idea in the 19th century. But, with the current overwhelming global demand for the language, not to mention its application to digital media, our values have changed. English is no longer squarely in the hands of English academics. Since it belongs to everyone, it is no longer a mark of cultural identity.

English is my mother tongue, but I have no sentimental attachment to it. Im all for pairing it down to essentials. Two billion English learners would probably agree:

http://tristanverboven.wordpress.com/2009/06/09/whocaresaboutenglish/

Comment on 68. Curing the Criminal by Pat Palmer

Pat Palmer — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 20:32:48 +0000

Pelagian7,
Thank you for your kind regards. If you want to read the 2 previous posts that led to this third one, then go to my blog at http://bhavatitdhyan.wordpress.com/ and look up posts 66 and 67. I worked on a three year study at the Vermont Corrections System which occurred in 1981-1983. The program was refused further funding because the various prison chaplins complained of the state supporting “paganism”.

There was other prison research in in many other states and nations, but most notably in Senegal where TM was adopted as nation-wide policy and after a few years more than half of the prisons were closed due to lack of recidivism. As you can see, solutions could be viewed as threats to some.
Sincerely, Pat Palmer

Comment on 68. Curing the Criminal by pelagian7

pelagian7 — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 01:51:16 +0000

Missed your first posting. We should be doing something other than treating criminals like animals. I was a corrections officer for three years and watched people get hardened.

They generally fed off each other, exchanging stories of how they got screwed. When they left, they figured, it didn’t matter what they did they’d never get a fair shake.

This attitude is inspired by feeling as though they have no control over their life. Meditation or other things that require discipline are exactly what they need.

In addition to discipline they become indoctrined to establishing a routine.

Unfortunately, I learned who runs the jails, politicians; and they are usually not concerned with what works, but, what the public thinks will work.

Great posting, Pelagian7

Comment on 57. The Reincarnation of TM by Pat Palmer

Pat Palmer — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 07:18:51 +0000

Their social goal is to create world peace and near-universal material fulfillment by reversing the collective consciousness of the entire human race. This would be accomplished by employing a relatively few people (the square-root of 1% of the population of each country) in the job of meditating (advanced style -called TM-Sidhi) full-time in a group setting. Sort of like what the Catholic Church did in the dark ages: established monasteries all over Europe and the middle east. This eventually spawned the age of enlightenment. So TM wants to create a new world-wide age of enlightenment. 82 million Germans need only 906 Sidhas. Since there are already many thousands of TM’ers in Germany, it is only a matter of paying for facilities and support for the Sidha group. Multiply this by over 180 nations and it is a big job, but do-able. There are millions of TM’ers world-wide already, so recruiting more is unnecessary.

Comment on 57. The Reincarnation of TM by Sophia Marsden

Sophia Marsden — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:24:48 +0000

“they have enough world-wide to accomplish their goals, using their new approach”

Oh but my curiosity is way peaked! What goals?

Comment on 57. The Reincarnation of TM by Sophia Marsden

Sophia Marsden — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 10:23:41 +0000

Thanks and all Mr. Palmer but as someone who aspires to become a Christian I am not sure it would be prudent for me to involve myself in such things.

I was just astonished with the… mercantile outlook of the post.
You don’t often see that.

Comment on 57. The Reincarnation of TM by Pat Palmer

Pat Palmer — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:41:43 +0000

As I implied in my post about TM, the processes of Scientology were not of interest to us; as any therapy which involves the intellect is doomed to fail: what has psychiatry accomplished in 130 years (outside of drugs)? As Scientology has contracted in popularity, so has TM; but the latter doesn’t need any more converts, they have enough world-wide to accomplish their goals, using their new approach.

Comment on 57. The Reincarnation of TM by Pat Palmer

Pat Palmer — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 09:27:10 +0000

Sophia, I hope that you can separate the technique from the organization. Look at my next post in a few days (it’s not up yet). I believe that TM is the most powerful and effective mental technique of its kind. But, at $2500 in the USA, it is now aimed at the wealthy as an exclusive treat. If you are interested in learning it anyway, then I am sure that one of the many dis-enfranchised TM teachers would help you to have it unofficially. –Pat

Comment on 57. The Reincarnation of TM by xenu8d

xenu8d — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 15:09:51 +0000

If anything has been learned, organizations must be able to withstand public criticism in the age of the Internet. The Scientology way of confront and shatter suppression by all means necessary has shown to be a failure. Indeed since the 1990’s Scientology has been declining since the first battles on the net, then at the Usenet newsgroups. The monthly worldwide protest since Feb 10, 2008 has no sign of stopping.

Comment on 57. The Reincarnation of TM by Sophia Marsden

Sophia Marsden — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 06:26:52 +0000

Well I am 300 times more cynical than I was before I read that post :/