Ex-Premie.Org |
Forum III Archive # 22 | |
From: Aug 14, 1998 |
To: Aug 31, 1998 |
Page: 5 Of: 5 |
TD -:- Feeling Guru-vy... -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 08:47:16 (EDT) __JW -:- Very Well Done - Maharishi -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 14:12:25 (EDT) ____Robyn -:- Very Well Done - Maharishi -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 18:34:15 (EDT) ____Jim -:- Very Well Done - Maharishi -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 19:14:34 (EDT) ______JW -:- So, What Happened? -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 20:08:25 (EDT) ________Jim -:- So, What Happened? -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 21:00:46 (EDT) __________TD -:- So, What Happened? -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 21:41:43 (EDT) ____TD -:- Very Well Done - Maharishi -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 21:21:38 (EDT) __Nigel -:- Laugh, I nearly shat... -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 21:34:48 (EDT) ____TD -:- Maharaji Theme Park Tenders -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 02:14:12 (EDT) ______Gail -:- Maharaji Theme Park Tenders -:- Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 01:18:51 (EDT) ______Selene -:- Maharaji Theme Park Tenders -:- Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 02:01:39 (EDT) ________VP -:- Maharaji Theme Park Mugs -:- Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 14:15:28 (EDT) __________Selene -:- Maharaji Theme Park Mugs -:- Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 20:17:47 (EDT) ____________TD -:- Maharaji Theme Park Mugs -:- Sat, Aug 22, 1998 at 18:31:02 (EDT) __Mike -:- Feeling Guru-vy... -:- Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 15:04:21 (EDT) VP -:- He did it-off topic -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 22:20:42 (EDT) __Scott T. -:- So what-off topic -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 22:52:29 (EDT) ____VP -:- That's what-off topic -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 11:58:54 (EDT) __Katie -:- He did it-off topic -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 23:19:05 (EDT) __TD -:- One down...one to go... -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 23:22:04 (EDT) ____Sir David -:- Hope for us all -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 07:32:34 (EDT) ______Becky -:- Talent is everything -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 08:33:54 (EDT) ______Scott T. -:- Howdy Dude! -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 10:26:01 (EDT) ______TD -:- Hope for us all -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 20:58:38 (EDT) __g's mom -:- minority view.. -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 11:35:38 (EDT) ____VP -:- minority view??? -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 12:30:11 (EDT) ______JW -:- minority view??? -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 13:39:30 (EDT) ________VP -:- My prediction -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 14:42:49 (EDT) __________JW -:- My prediction -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 15:26:43 (EDT) ________Scott T. -:- some further thoughts -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 15:27:17 (EDT) __________G's mom -:- I feel better.... -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 16:11:22 (EDT) ____________John -:- a few pesos worth, free! -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 16:25:05 (EDT) ______________JW -:- a few pesos worth, free! -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 17:00:50 (EDT) __________JW -:- some further thoughts -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 16:56:41 (EDT) ____________Scott T. -:- some further thoughts -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 17:03:00 (EDT) ______________JW -:- some further thoughts -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 20:23:24 (EDT) __________VP -:- some further thoughts -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 20:34:43 (EDT) ____________g's mom -:- poor monicas -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 21:30:18 (EDT) ______________Sir David -:- poor monicas -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 06:04:25 (EDT) ______________VP -:- poor monicas -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 11:55:34 (EDT) JW -:- Disappointed -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 14:23:28 (EDT) __John -:- So tell me about... -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 15:03:40 (EDT) ____JW -:- So tell me about... -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 17:04:08 (EDT) __Jim -:- Disappointed -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 16:19:52 (EDT) ____JW -:- Disappointed -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 16:58:50 (EDT) ______Selene -:- Disappointed -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 19:05:40 (EDT) Becky -:- Scott re: Ibn Kaldun -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 08:38:37 (EDT) __Jerry -:- Scott re: Ibn Kaldun -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 09:10:36 (EDT) ____Becky -:- Scott re: Ibn Kaldun -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 10:45:23 (EDT) ______Jerry -:- Islam -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 09:11:58 (EDT) ____Scott T. -:- flawed masters -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 11:27:50 (EDT) ______Silver Spoon -:- The problem -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 11:42:51 (EDT) ________John -:- examples of problems -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 12:15:22 (EDT) ________Scott T. -:- The problem -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 12:17:13 (EDT) __________SS -:- Thanks nt -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 12:42:57 (EDT) __keith -:- Scott re: Ibn Kaldun -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 19:53:37 (EDT) ____Bobby -:- re: sufis and Chogyam Trungpa -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 22:26:59 (EDT) ______keith -:- re: sufis and Chogyam Trungpa -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 01:04:15 (EDT) ________Becky -:- Sufis and orthodoxy -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 08:22:26 (EDT) __________Jim -:- Sufis and orthodoxy -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 11:17:38 (EDT) ____________Becky -:- Sufis and orthodoxy -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 08:56:48 (EDT) ______________Jim -:- Don't curtail your options -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 11:31:32 (EDT) ________________Becky -:- I won't -:- Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 08:14:53 (EDT) __________________Jim -:- I won't -:- Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 09:52:26 (EDT) ____________________Jim -:- Qualification -:- Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 10:12:46 (EDT) ______________________Becky -:- You're still naive Jim -:- Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 08:18:12 (EDT) ________________________Mike -:- What's wrong with a... -:- Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 10:57:18 (EDT) ________________________Jim -:- No, Becky, 'fraid not -:- Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 11:23:45 (EDT) __________________________John -:- No, Becky, 'fraid not -:- Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 12:22:50 (EDT) ____________________________Jim -:- No, Becky, 'fraid not -:- Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 17:32:55 (EDT) ______________________________jethro -:- No, Becky, 'fraid not-JIM READ -:- Sat, Aug 22, 1998 at 04:57:32 (EDT) ________________________________Jim -:- No, Becky, 'fraid not-JIM READ -:- Sat, Aug 22, 1998 at 13:25:05 (EDT) __________________________________jethro -:- JIM READ -:- Sat, Aug 22, 1998 at 13:36:24 (EDT) ____________________________________Jim -:- JIM READ -:- Sat, Aug 22, 1998 at 14:48:21 (EDT) ____________________Jerry -:- You're kidding, right? -:- Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 11:20:51 (EDT) ______________________Jim -:- A matter of degree -:- Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 14:11:45 (EDT) ________________VP -:- Don't curtail your options -:- Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 12:45:34 (EDT) ________________Mike -:- It was really... -:- Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 15:11:57 (EDT) bill -:- Nigel and all. -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 02:22:03 (EDT) __CD -:- Nigel and all. -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 12:42:46 (EDT) __Jim -:- Nigel and all. -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 16:53:48 (EDT) ____Mike -:- Addendum -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 18:37:19 (EDT) ______Scott T. -:- Addendum to addendum -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 17:30:53 (EDT) ________Nigel -:- Irrelevant -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 20:49:44 (EDT) __________Scott T. -:- Relevance -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 02:14:27 (EDT) ____________Jim -:- Relevance -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 11:14:59 (EDT) ____________Mike -:- Relevance -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 12:58:39 (EDT) ______________Scott T. -:- Relevance -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 16:22:08 (EDT) ________________Mike -:- Relevance -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 17:13:04 (EDT) __________________Scott T. -:- I get a kick out of the cogito -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 17:54:59 (EDT) ________Mike -:- Addendum to addendum -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 12:16:12 (EDT) __________Mike -:- SCOTT: Oops -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 16:19:06 (EDT) ____________Scott T. -:- SCOTT: Oops -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 16:46:29 (EDT) ______________Mike -:- SCOTT: Oops -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 17:32:28 (EDT) ________________Mike -:- SCOTT: Oops -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 18:53:09 (EDT) __________________Scott T. -:- Engineering and science -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 23:29:06 (EDT) ____________________Mike -:- Engineering and science -:- Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 11:10:22 (EDT) ____Sir Cumspect -:- I see no argument -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 19:44:32 (EDT) ______Mike -:- But, there is... -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 19:55:07 (EDT) ________Sir Cumspect -:- But, there is... -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 21:09:02 (EDT) ________Scott T. -:- But, there is... -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 19:59:37 (EDT) __________Nigel -:- Scott, Scott, Scott -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 21:16:20 (EDT) __________Mike -:- But, there is... -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 12:05:45 (EDT) ______Jim -:- Ah, but there is -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 21:02:27 (EDT) ________Jim -:- Screw the links -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 21:10:39 (EDT) __________Jim -:- Dawkins on God -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 21:32:02 (EDT) ____________Sir Cumspect -:- Dawkins on God -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 22:18:06 (EDT) ______________sean -:- Forced out of lurking mode -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 23:42:28 (EDT) ________________Scott T. -:- Forced out of lurking mode -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 23:53:14 (EDT) ________________Jim -:- keep reading -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 01:05:25 (EDT) ______________Jim -:- Suit yourself -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 00:51:57 (EDT) ______________Becky -:- Dawkins on God -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 08:12:04 (EDT) ________________Jim -:- Your focus is wrong -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 11:12:05 (EDT) __________________Becky -:- Will do -:- Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 08:19:54 (EDT) ____________________Jim -:- Will do -:- Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 09:46:48 (EDT) ______________________Becky -:- Correction -:- Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 08:19:54 (EDT) ________________________Jim -:- You've got to be kidding -:- Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 11:25:55 (EDT) __________________________Nigel -:- Can you give us an example... -:- Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 18:11:26 (EDT) ____________petebear -:- Dawkins on God -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 00:55:12 (EDT) ______________Jim -:- what'd you expect? -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 01:00:50 (EDT) ________________hamzen -:- on god -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 13:36:20 (EDT) __________________Sir David -:- on god -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 14:41:29 (EDT) __________________Scott T. -:- on god, and Derrida -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 15:49:42 (EDT) __________________jethro -:- on god -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 02:13:39 (EDT) ______________Scott T. -:- Brisbnae... Freudian slip? -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 10:19:04 (EDT) __Nigel -:- Nigel and all. -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 22:00:32 (EDT) Barney -:- Sunday - no posts? -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 01:24:16 (EDT) __Betty -:- Sunday -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 02:39:12 (EDT) ____Becky -:- Collective absent-mindedness -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 08:23:27 (EDT) Rick -:- alt.cult.maharaji -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 21:08:35 (EDT) __Sir Cumstantial -:- alt.cult.maharaji -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 21:33:30 (EDT) __Selene -:- alt.cult.maharaji -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 17:35:51 (EDT) ____Robyn -:- alt.cult.maharaji -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 06:48:06 (EDT) Carol -:- Celin's wish -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 16:58:01 (EDT) __Carol -:- AGH! Caelin! not Celin! nt -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 16:59:27 (EDT) ____Scott T. -:- Question -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 17:15:01 (EDT) ______Jerry -:- Question -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 20:18:10 (EDT) ______Robyn -:- Question -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 06:50:43 (EDT) PaulR -:- Cult Game -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 15:35:14 (EDT) __RT -:- Cult Game A Gift for Premies! -:- Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 14:05:33 (EDT) keith -:- UNTITLED -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 06:25:49 (EDT) __Jim -:- Generic -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 07:20:53 (EDT) Gerry -:- True Colors -:- Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 13:15:37 (EDT) __Rick -:- True Colors -:- Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 13:21:36 (EDT) ____Gerry -:- True Colors -:- Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 13:24:53 (EDT) __Scott T. -:- True Colors -:- Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 15:05:23 (EDT) ____Gerry -:- True Colors/preemptive strike -:- Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 18:21:43 (EDT) __Jim -:- Patty's wrong, (so are you) -:- Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 18:50:25 (EDT) ____Gerry -:- Semantics -:- Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 19:02:48 (EDT) ______Gerry -:- Semantics/Preemptive strike -:- Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 19:23:24 (EDT) ________Jim -:- Semantics/Preemptive strike -:- Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 19:29:22 (EDT) __________Gerry -:- Semantics/Preemptive strike -:- Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 20:03:09 (EDT) ____________Jim -:- Semantics/Preemptive strike -:- Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 21:19:30 (EDT) __Scott T. -:- Some intriguing book reviews -:- Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 19:00:56 (EDT) ____Nigel -:- Skeptical Creationist? -:- Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 22:44:21 (EDT) ______Scott T. -:- teleology -:- Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 23:03:59 (EDT) ________Jim -:- He's as Christian as CD premie -:- Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 23:22:41 (EDT) __________Jim -:- Sorry, wrong link -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 02:40:09 (EDT) ____________CD -:- Pinker ideas -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 05:35:46 (EDT) ______________Carol -:- Pinker ideas -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 15:31:45 (EDT) ______Scott T. -:- Message in a bottle? -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 08:11:03 (EDT) ________Rick -:- Scott -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 15:18:30 (EDT) __________Scott T. -:- Scott -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 15:32:29 (EDT) ______Mike -:- Skeptical Creationist? -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 19:19:56 (EDT) ________Jim -:- Mike, don't forget -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 19:55:38 (EDT) __________Mike -:- Mike, don't forget -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 20:02:52 (EDT) ________Scott T. -:- Conversation at the QP. -:- Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 20:08:20 (EDT) __________Mike -:- Conversation at the QP. -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 12:34:33 (EDT) __________Mike -:- Just got the joke.... -:- Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 15:40:48 (EDT) ____Jerry -:- Some intriguing book reviews -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 13:13:47 (EDT) ______Scott T. -:- Sorry -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 15:30:49 (EDT) ____Carol -:- Some intriguing book reviews -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 15:07:06 (EDT) __Carol -:- True Colors -:- Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 15:53:04 (EDT) |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 08:47:16 (EDT)
From: TD Email: None To: Everyone Subject: Feeling Guru-vy... Message: Just read an article in this week's Who mag, which is the Oz version of People mag, and it's titled Feeling Guru-vy and is about the fact that it's 30 years to the week since the Beatles first made contact with the Maharishi. As a premie, I thought the Big M was so different to the Maharishi, but reading this article I'm again reminded of all the similarities. So I thought, in the vein of men's magazines here which have witty sections titled Bloke vs Bloke where they rate two celebrities on their answers to questions, I'm going to do the same, ie Guru vs Guru based on the info in the article. Here goes: Alive and well in a sprawling former monastery in Vlodrop, the Netherlands, Maharishi, now 80, continues to oversee his ever expanding organisation - a worldwide conglomerate of real estate, schools and clinics worth a reported $US3.5 billion. GURU'S OVERALL NET WORTH: Big M - 0, Maharishi - 1 point Maharishi and magician Doug Henning have even spent years trying to launch a $US1.5 billion theme park in Ontario, Canada called Veda Land (Veda is sanskrit for knowledge) that will feature a levitating restaurant and a journey through a giant flower. GURU'S SENSE OF SPIRITUAL FUN: Big M - 0, Maharishi - 1 In 1959 he arrived in the US, preaching about a stress-relieving, consciousness raising technique he had refined. GURU'S DESCRIPTION OF THEIR GIFT: Big M - 1, Maharishi - 0 'We made a mistake' Paul McCartney said. 'We thought there was more to him than there was. He's human. We thought at first he wasn't.' LENGTH OF TIME DEVOTEE BELIEVES GURU'S DIVINE: Big M - 1, Maharishi - 0 Attended by dozens of aides, Maharishi - who according to officials has no wife or children - spends up to 20 hours a day meditating and taking part in philosophical discussions broadcast around the world. ABILITY TO CON INNER-CIRCLE/OFFICIALS: Big M - 1, Maharishi - 1 In January, his disciples gathered for his 80th birthday, and a month later Maharishi held a ceremony at which a TM loyalist was awarded his weight in gold. OSTENTATIOUS EXPRESSION OF MAHATMA FAVOURITISM: Big M - 0, Maharishi - 1 Says Dutch writer Sante Brun, who has interviewed Maharishi: 'The things he preaches, end up making an awful lot of money'. SATSANG PROFITABILITY: Big M - 1, Maharishi - 1 Damn. Maharishi scores a 6 over the Big M's piss-poor 4. I'm very disappointed. I wanted my former guru to win. But then again, maybe I should do a Perfect Master vs Perfect Master or LOTU vs LOTU....hmmmmm. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 14:12:25 (EDT)
From: JW Email: None To: TD Subject: Very Well Done - Maharishi Message: Thanks for that TD, very well done. I remember how we premies looked down on TM as 'just a mantra' and 'just for relaxation,' and also that it was awfully commercialistic, when Maharaji was not. (What a crock THAT idea was!) I also remember one time in the 80s doing a bicycle trip with my sister through Iowa and we stopped in Fairfield, Iowa, which is the location of 'Maharishi International University.' [Maharishi had purchased what had been 'Parsons College,' which was a beautiful campus, but had been known as a school that, if you had enough money, but were a little dim, you could get a diploma, and it was also a good place to avoid the draft during the 60s, when one might have flunked out of some other school.] Anyway, we went to the campus and talked to the students and some of the faculty. It was very weird, and it reminded me of premies. It fact it was almost identical. There was this facade of secular learning, but it was clear that people were just programmed to believe Maharishi had the answer to everything. His picture was everywhere, people were freaked out by questioning or criticism of anything about Maharishi, and when I asked them about Guru Maharaj Ji, they laughed and said he was a complete joke, that his teachings were ridiculously simplistic, and that he ran a cult, while Maharishi did not. Sound familiar? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 18:34:15 (EDT)
From: Robyn Email: sundogs@hotmail.com To: JW Subject: Very Well Done - Maharishi Message: Dear JW, I do remember 'looking down' on TMer's for being commercial! Ha! Forgot about that. Thanks for the jolt. I don't remember much about feeling that BM was god but I know from bits and pieces that I did, because I sang arti and kissed his feet and looked down on TM because we had found the current 'Jesus'. I feel like I am at an AA meeting, I am just remembering this as I type. I always say it was just the meditation that drew me in and it was the first thing but I did buy the living lord thing as well. Creepy. I think I am breaking a few of the dams in my subconscience lately. My name is Robyn and yes I did believe BM was god maybe even God. Love, Robyn Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 19:14:34 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: JW Subject: Very Well Done - Maharishi Message: Yes, TD, always a pleasure. As for Maharishi Int'l U., I might have mentioned this before but when I used to live in L.A. I worked as a lawyer at the CFTC (the agency overseeing the commodities markets). Fraud investigation. Our biggest investigation involved a company that made literally hundreds of millions of dollars misrepresenting futures investments. They ran a number of 'boiler rooms' around the country, where their salesmen would pitch these 'low risk, high yield' options. Their msot prifitable boiler room by far was in Fairfield. Why? Because they staffed it with nothing but TM'ers who would give each other pep talks about 'relative truth' and thus rationalize ripping their customers off. 'Hey, if I feel good doing this, and my customer feels good when I talk to him on the phone, then it's a good thing. Right?' Wrong! Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 20:08:25 (EDT)
From: JW Email: None To: Jim Subject: So, What Happened? Message: Did the TM'rs at MIU get busted? Also funny how weird businesses, sometimes illegal or barely legal, come out of cults. The book buying business comes to mind, and I know people in EST had a couple of weird businesses, including a ponzi scheme involving chain letters. Remember that? And then there was Moon. Maharaji was never too inventive when it came to businesses. Slave labor and donations, and I guess the book buying business, which started and functioned DUE to slave labor, were about all he could muster. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 21:00:46 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: JW Subject: So, What Happened? Message: Can't get into the details but the Fairfield office is no longer. What amazed me about watching their training tapes -- and we watched hours and hours -- was the way these people had negotiated away their consciences with a little bit of new age gobbledygook. I remember one of their main trainers rallying the troops to 'sell, sell, sell' by telling them that he gets up in the morning, life's good, he feels FINE, he calls his customers, they feel fine, he tells them what he they like to hear, they feel even better, and he closes, closes, closes. All the while, the one objective fact about all these accounts is that almost every last investor lost amost every last dime they put in to these futures options. Transcendental meditation indeed! Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 21:41:43 (EDT)
From: TD Email: None To: Jim Subject: So, What Happened? Message: I remember one of their main trainers rallying the troops to 'sell, sell, sell' by telling them that he gets up in the morning, life's good, he feels FINE, he calls his customers, they feel fine, he tells them what he they like to hear, they feel even better, and he closes, closes, closes. Aaaah, Jim, you've just saved me $75 bucks. So that's the kind of TM mantra I'd get: 'Buy, buy, buy', 'Sell, sell, sell'. I'm going to try it free of charge! Sad about the investors losing all their cash. Mind you, if I had a TM'er ringing me up saying that kind of stuff, I'd probably buy just to get them off the phone, a bit like how on the odd occasion, I've ended up giving a Jehovah's Witness 80cents for a copy of their Watchtower mag just so I can crawl back to bed on a Saturday morn.... Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 21:21:38 (EDT)
From: TD Email: None To: JW Subject: Very Well Done - Maharishi Message: How funny. I'd loved to have seen the syllabus. Doesn't the US have strict regulations on what institutions can call themselves a University, or can anyone set up anything and call it the University of Nothing, or the like???? I remember how we premies looked down on TM as 'just a mantra' and 'just for relaxation,' and also that it was awfully commercialistic, when Maharaji was not. (What a crock THAT idea was!) Premies still think like that, and the Big M still makes cynical comments about mantras - he always talks about how he doesn't need a mantra, as his creator does his mantra for him (something like that....think he ripped it off a poem by Kabir). Regards, TD Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 21:34:48 (EDT)
From: Nigel Email: None To: TD Subject: Laugh, I nearly shat... Message: Great stuff, TD. I remember Ringo - the voice of sanity - coming back home early saying 'It was just like Butlins' (UK holiday camp for the masses) You might have also mentioned Deepak Chopra's 'Ayur Veda' foods business. This Maharishi right-hand man has made an absolute mint out of his books on his 'ancient, Indian science of health' which isn't actually ancient, Indian, scientific or particularly healthy. But I guess M doesn't have a comparable henchman here. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 02:14:12 (EDT)
From: TD Email: None To: Nigel Subject: Maharaji Theme Park Tenders Message: Yeah, OK, Deepak gets another point for the Maharishi! But you know, I’ve had enough! On behalf of premiedom, I’m not going to take this humiliation lying down. For example, I don’t see why Maharishi’s followers should get a theme park, and premies should be forced to go without! No sirree. If you’re reading this Elan Vital, I think you have a duty to stand up and be counted when it comes to Perfect Master theme parks. So, I reckon you should request tenders for a theme park - it’s not as though raising capital is a problem and think of how you could flog EV merchandise all year long. I also reckon Canada should be the location for it, as that way we can take on the Maharishi head to head and regain our former guru’s self-respect. What should we call it? Maharishi has already nicked the ‘knowledge’ title.... We should put a brief together. Here’s a few ideas I’ve been nutting out... We could divide it into different worlds, like DLM World, EV World, La Tierra del Amor World, Amaroo World showing all the different stages of premie evolution. As for rides, we could have Darshan Dodgem Cars where each car is shaped like Big M’s lotus foot. Or a Holi Jet Boat ride where you get sprayed with coloured water as you go shooting along. Mind you we’d have to have a cardboard cutout of Maharaji on the ticket-booth, so that kids the same size as him aren’t allowed on the rides (for safety reasons). There could be a ‘It’s a Small World After All’ equivalent, only you travel through all the different premie countries while listening to 'Lord of the Universe' sung in different languages (mind you, we’d have to keep Paddy from sabotaging the West African section!). And like Cinderella’s castle, a replica of the Malibu Mansion could be the centrepiece of the Park and Mahatmas/instructors could go around the park letting premie family’s take photos with them. And last but not least, let’s not forget the daily parade with Marolyn and the Big M taking pride of place on a big float, dressed as Krishna and doing a dance topless! Any other suggestions.....?? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 01:18:51 (EDT)
From: Gail Email: None To: TD Subject: Maharaji Theme Park Tenders Message: C'est ca! Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 02:01:39 (EDT)
From: Selene Email: None To: TD Subject: Maharaji Theme Park Tenders Message: TD this is too funny. I have been missning forum! Let's not forget, no matter what park and what location, the inevitable picture and trinket gallery. Huge building full of M pictures from then to now. Lots of coffee mugs, music CD's, etc. but the difference between an event and the theme park: you can actually stand in line and get an autograph for your Dya CD! OOOOO! the thrill of being up close and personal with a young woman who does this for a living. (whatever it is) and THEN - it gets better, !! Later, a live concert outside in the pavilion. And, later still, by the grace, fireworks. And it will be in a convention center type location so that all the premies can go to the local bars and smoke and drink afterwards. I can't wait. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 14:15:28 (EDT)
From: VP Email: None To: Selene Subject: Maharaji Theme Park Mugs Message: Ha ha! That sounds like the organized events in the book 3 Continents. Especially the fireworks. You know I have been trying to get some Maharaji coffee mugs...it's old news on the forum. (A baragon, too, but that is off topic). The other day my new Visions catalog comes -yippee- and guess what is in there? Mugs! But, they have swans carved in them. No photo mugs of the Lord. I don't think swans would shock my in-laws. Oh, well. Maybe next catalog. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 20:17:47 (EDT)
From: Selene Email: None To: VP Subject: Maharaji Theme Park Mugs Message: Actually VP I never saw mugs with the BM countenance upon them. Just swans and/or that emblem they had around for a while, looked sort of like a mandala. I told my husband they should sell BM toilet seat covers. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 22, 1998 at 18:31:02 (EDT)
From: TD Email: None To: Selene/VP Subject: Maharaji Theme Park Mugs Message: Mugs, eh? They'll probably sell a hell of a lot better than my bloody EV sarong. Still no takers over on the ads page! Does anybody want my friggin' never-been-worn sarong, now for free? VP or anyone, do you want me to send it to you along with the photos for you to give to some premie you know. Surprise them with it for Chrissie, perhaps?? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 15:04:21 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: TD Subject: Feeling Guru-vy... Message: Hey TD: I just saw it in this week's People, too. How do you like the picture of the mansion? M needs to see this. He'll be really disappointed in the puny little house he has... snicker... Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 22:20:42 (EDT)
From: VP Email: None To: Everyone Subject: He did it-off topic Message: Well, we knew it, but Clinton just admitted he had sex with Monica Lewinsky. Where were you when it happened? (I was on the forum) Hey, JW, the Republicans are already all over the channels screaming 'perjury'. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 22:52:29 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: VP Subject: So what-off topic Message: VP: the Republicans are already all over the channels screaming 'perjury' The interview with Tom Mann was right on the money. The congress isn't going to do anything until after the midterm elections... if ever. They're screaming 'perjury' because they want to drag things out as long as possible so as to have a chance at fielding a Republican candidate to replace a weakened Democrat presidency. Having Gore in office in 2000 would be the worst possible scenario for them. And as JW pointed out, the 'perjury dog' may not hunt even if he, in fact, lied to the grand jury in the Paula Jones case. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 11:58:54 (EDT)
From: VP Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: That's what-off topic Message: Scott, What station was Tom Mann on? I missed him because we were watching James Carville sweat it out on Larry King. Then they had Pat Robertson's wife on--she's scary. This would not have been my choice of interviews to watch, but someone else had the clicker. The polls show that the American public is sick of this whole thing and ready for it to be OVER. The Republicans had better be careful with the 'dragging it out' thing. My mama always said, 'If you dig a grave for someone, you might as well dig yourself one right beside it.' I'm entirely sick of this whole mess myself. The fact that I have to help foot the bill for an investigation into someone's sex life makes me mad as hell, too. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 23:19:05 (EDT)
From: Katie Email: None To: VP Subject: He did it-off topic Message: I heard it here first from VP - thanks Veep! You know I don't watch TV. I've been trying to get more news on the net, but as you can imagine, it's swamped. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 23:22:04 (EDT)
From: TD Email: None To: VP Subject: One down...one to go... Message: Thanks VP, just been checking out ABCNews.com.... Hey if Clinton can come clean about his 'inappropriate relationship' with a Monica, do you think the Big M will now have the courage to follow suit? Ha-ha. Hey, how come you Yanks/Brits get all the politicians with the controversial sex lives? All we get from our leaders is a whole lot of mumbling, looking after their mates and calling foreign leaders names like 'recalcitrants'...we've really got to stand up and get our own political sex-scandals....quite a poor effort really.... Wonder how long this whole thing will go on, especially with the perjury issue...might prove pretty heavy competition for chit-chat on the Big M, eh? Regards, TD Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 07:32:34 (EDT)
From: Sir David Email: David.Studio57@btinternet.com To: TD Subject: Hope for us all Message: Wild Bill Hiccup might be tall, grey and handsome but there's hope for us all. Click on the link below to see what I mean. An inspiration to all men Does anyone really care about big Bill's inappropriate relationships? He's still a choir boy compared to good old JFK. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 08:33:54 (EDT)
From: Becky Email: None To: Sir David Subject: Talent is everything Message: There's hope for men as long as they are highly intelligent, talented, with big hearts and a desire to do something 'meaningful' for the world. Clinton may have grey hair and a stubby nose but in some odd way he is sexy. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 10:26:01 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Sir David Subject: Howdy Dude! Message: David: My theory is that he gets away with everything because of an uncanny resemblance to Howdy Doody (which he shares, ironically, with Ronald Reagan). -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 20:58:38 (EDT)
From: TD Email: None To: Sir David Subject: Hope for us all Message: Truly inspirational Sir David. I remember reading about his affair - it was with his nurse, wasn't it, and I think they're now married. Mind you, like Clinton/Monica, we could question the ethics about the nurse-patient relationship being breached...!! Throughout all of this, I can't help but think of Cathy Bates in the movie Primary Colors when she's giving her monologue about being the 'dustbuster' (or something like that) and how the presidential candidate has 'poked his pecker into all kinds of trash' referring to all his extramarital flings...it's a classic scene. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 11:35:38 (EDT)
From: g's mom Email: None To: all Subject: minority view.. Message: G's mom here, I was really hoping for a more sincere apology and hoping that Clinton would not try to float the ridiculous argument that he did not perjure himself. I was saddened that he chose to use his apology as an opportunity to blame Starr for his predicament. If he wanted to do that don't do it is this very important statement. I was ready if he truly laid it all on the table both in his testimony and to the public (which does not mean he would have to tell us the ugly details in public) to say that we should move on. I now say we have to wait to hear what the details of the testimony and evidence are and withohold judgement. Could it be he did not answer all the questions and continues to say he did not lie under oath because he is still hiding something, like coercing someone to lie? I DO have a new hero. A democrat. Dee Dee Myers. This woman has character that goes beyond politics. She was on tv yesterday and this morning saying things like she was dissapointed by his blaming anyone but himself for the fact that his lie was why this has gone on so long. She expected more from her president and said so. She has integrity. I may write her a fan letter. Over and out...G's mom... Rawat has taught me one thing, draw my own conclusions.... Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 12:30:11 (EDT)
From: VP Email: None To: g's mom Subject: minority view??? Message: Every person I heard interviewed on TV last night had your view that the investigation should continue. Point for point--the same. (Except for that whipped dog James Carville, of course.) I thought that Clinton's speech was disappointing as well. He looked to me like the theif who is not in the least bit sorry he stole, but is really sorry that he got caught. I'm sorry but I believe that Ken Starr does have his part in this mess as well. He can't receive any blame for Clinton's actions, of course. But how do you feel about the fact that he spent over 40 million of OUR dollars to investigate the sex life of the president? How do you think Chelsea Clinton feels about Mr. Starr hounding her father for the past 7 months? How do you think she feels now that he had to get on TV and disgrace himself in front of her and the whole country? (Clinton could have told the truth sooner and brought this thing to faster closure. I think he was hoping he could keep it secret and NEVER have to own up to anything. You know, sort of like Reagan didn't remember the arms for hostage deal, etc.) I feel incredible sympathy for Chelsea, but I doubt Ken Starr gives a shit about the feelings of Clinton's family. I am NOT condoning what Clinton did-believe me. I think he is sleazy as hell. I also think that to exploit someone's life-even if part of it is morally shaky- for the political gain of your party or for your own glory is really sick and just as wrong as what Clinton did. The whole thing is just damn sad. The one thing that Bill did say that made a lot of sense last night was that even presidents have private lives. Or at least they should. The ones before him have. I never saw the Democrats spend forty million dollars to parade George Bush's girlfriend around on TV, for example. I am not for continuing the investigation. Enough is enough. We all KNOW what he did. It doesn't have to be spelled out for us. We don't need to hear any more evidence, see the dress, or anything. I think enough damage has been done to our President, his family, and the morale of this country. There are more important issues that need to be dealt with. For one thing, that money could have gone to a lot better use, in my opinion. If they are going to continue to waste my tax dollars, I's appreciate them doing it on something a little less sleazy than this investigation. Hey, Gerry, do you think there is any room in the libertarian party... Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 13:39:30 (EDT)
From: JW Email: None To: VP Subject: minority view??? Message: Yeah, there are more important things, but the independent counsel is a runaway train and isn't going to stop. Probably that ludicrous independent counsel law will be changed as a result of this whole incident, but it's too late for Clinton and the democrats, I am afraid. I agree that Clinton didn't seem to be be very contrite. In fact, he sounded angry. But I think a supposed heartfelt apology would have sounded fake, even for him, because I don't think he IS sorry. I think he had a good time with Monica, thinks he deserved to, and only feels bad because he got caught. So, I guess the lack of contrition, and the anger, might have been more appropriate. I believe this, and I also believe that he should never have been asked about this stuff in the first place, and that Kenneth Starr is on a dangerous, destructive, partisan rampage, ruining the lives of many people. But how the people who steadfastly supported Clinton through this, and running up huge legal bills, now knowing they have been lied to, can continue, is beyond me. I still recall Hillary, Madeline Albright, Donna Shalala, Al Gore, and others, believing his lies and putting themselves on the line for him and supporting him publicly. Hillary is obviously the saddest case. It's one thing to know your husband is a philanderer, it's something else to know that he stood by and let you humiliate yourself in public. I thought it was interesting that while this was going on, Al Gore was in Hawaii, the farthest away he could be and still be in the United States. I think that says a lot. My prediction: Unless the Republicans go on a vitriolic witch hunt, Democrats will be demoralized and stay home in droves on election day in November and the Republicans will pick up a bunch of seats in the house and the senate. It might just affect the outcome of some other close elections like the governor of California, and Barbara Boxer's senate seat as well. His party will be none to pleased with Clinton about that. The Democrats picked up 43 house seats after watergate, mostly because Republicans were demoralized and stayed home. We may see something like that this year. As time goes on more party stalwarts will abandon Clinton. He probablly won't be impeached, but his presidency is effectively over and I think he has done in Al Gore as well. He might still get the nomination, but I doubt he can get elected. People might rally around Clinton for a little while, but as time goes on people will start to see what a disaster for the country all this has been. Especially after Starr makes his report, and the story is all hashed over again. And the bottom line is, even though most people don't want to hear the details, I don't think anyone can get past the idea that a 50-year-old president had sex with a 22-year-old intern, and then lied about it, including to his own family and supporters. It shows either incredible stupidity and bad judgment, or maybe just the actions of somebody who has always gotten whatever he wanted and never had to pay the price for it. No matter how good the economy is, I don't think people can overlook that. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 14:42:49 (EDT)
From: VP Email: None To: JW Subject: My prediction Message: 'I agree that Clinton didn't seem to be be very contrite. In fact, he sounded angry. But I think a supposed heartfelt apology would have sounded fake, even for him, because I don't think he IS sorry. I think he had a good time with Monica, thinks he deserved to, and only feels bad because he got caught. So, I guess the lack of contrition, and the anger, might have been more appropriate. I believe this, and I also believe that he should never have been asked about this stuff in the first place, and that Kenneth Starr is on a dangerous, destructive, partisan rampage, ruining the lives of many people.' You said that much better than I did! Agreed. 'As time goes on more party stalwarts will abandon Clinton.' Last night George Stephanopholus (sp?) definately distanced himself from Clinton. He looked like a huge turncoat, though. It really didn't do him any good. Al Gore has been purposely absent. Others supporters lately included Barbara Striesand, Tom Hanks and Steven Speilberg who were reportedly helping him with his legal fund. The economy is in great shape, but the Republicans I know are taking all of the credit for this because of the congress. A Republican witch hunt is NOT in their best interest, that is for sure. That doesn't mean they will figure this out,though. Who are they looking at to run for President next time around? I doubt Gore will win myself. No matter what happens, my prediction is that we will have to endure listening to the most conservative sickening family values nonsense from our candidates again come election time. We'll be lucky if one real political issue is actually ever debated. GOD (or Dawkins) help us all. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 15:26:43 (EDT)
From: JW Email: None To: VP Subject: My prediction Message: A Republican witch hunt is NOT in their best interest, that is for sure. That doesn't mean they will figure this out,though. Who are they looking at to run for President next time around? Yes, it will be interesting to see if Newt Gingrich can keep control over the more retrograde members of his side of the aisle. I think George W. Bush from Texas seems to be the early favorite for Republican nominee. You should check out his webpage. It's very elaborate. He is clearly running for president. No matter what happens, my prediction is that we will have to endure listening to the most conservative sickening family values nonsense from our candidates again come election time. I think you're right. We are already hearing from that Senator Ashcroft from Katie's state (insufferable man) and that joke from your state, what is his name? -- Bob Barr? (Please!) And you're right, the real damage is that nothing else is going to get done, despite the many things that need to be done. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 15:27:17 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: JW Subject: some further thoughts Message: Joe: As time goes on more party stalwarts will abandon Clinton. He probablly won't be impeached, but his presidency is effectively over and I think he has done in Al Gore as well. He might still get the nomination, but I doubt he can get elected. People might rally around Clinton for a little while, but as time goes on people will start to see what a disaster for the country all this has been. Especially after Starr makes his report, and the story is all hashed over again. What dawned on me as he began to make his case about the perjury thing is that the credibility of the US president on any issue is toast. People now have incontrovertable proof that he lies with a straight face, so they've got no credible reason to believe him about anything without corroboration. Offhand I can't think of instances where that would matter, but not being able to make credible promises could be a huge handicap in a crisis. I've been trying to figure out which Democrats have the clout to go tell him to vacate, but the only person with that capability is Hillary. She could tell him his presidency is over, for the good of the party and the country, in a heartbeat. Who else? -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 16:11:22 (EDT)
From: G's mom Email: None To: all Subject: I feel better.... Message: Joe, I tend to dissagree about Al Gore being too hung out to dry on this one. It is a character issue, not a policy issue, I see nothing about this that really taints Gore too much. (He wasn't exactly in a position to take Bills you know out of her whatz its was he? Or is that how come Clinton doesn't recall if they were ever alone? ) He, Gore,has a reputation of having great integrity doesn't he? I think most people would not see this as refelcting upon him. No matter what your politics? I think if I were Al Gore I would be in Hawaii too. I think the fact the President went on TV and lied to all of us the American people in such a delibrate and stupid way ( why DID he think he would get away with it) is really scary. As for the Chelsea question, well, it is Clinton who got himself into this position with his daughter. No one else. I think if Clinton was carrying on with one of her friends at Stanford at Martha's Vinyard that would be in the PRIVATE realhm. I think that carrying on with an intern ( someone he is in a positon of power and respect over), in the OVal Office, is not his private business. And frankly, with his history of being an advocate of women's rights and the rights of employees not to be sexual harrassed in the workplace, he would think it was not private business either if it involved anyone's neck but his own on the chopping block. As someone said today....why should it take 4 years and 40,000,000 for us to get our President to tell the truth...? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 16:25:05 (EDT)
From: John Email: None To: G's mom Subject: a few pesos worth, free! Message: Politicians DON'T tell the truth. We all know that. Politics is not about 'Truth', it's about saying what people want to hear. There really ought to be a group for sex maniacs, similar to AA for alcoholics, that Clinton can now join. That way he can make the point that his need to seduce women is something he recognizes as a problem and one that he is seeking help for. My own theory is that he would be just as successful with seducing women even if he were a truck driver. It really has nothing to do with his being president. Some people have no problem getting people to fall into bed with them. I don't think Gore will be hurt by this. I think he'll be hurt by the fact that voters sometimes like to change. If the republicans can offer someone interesting, I think they can win. Gore is a bit too liberal and dull to win against someone good. Now if the Republicans nominate someone as exciting as Dole...then yeah Gore will have no problem. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 17:00:50 (EDT)
From: JW Email: None To: John Subject: a few pesos worth, free! Message: Some people have no problem getting people to fall into bed with them. Well, this certainly has been true for me! I admit it. It is such a curse! Do you think I need a 12-step program of some sort? But maybe bad breath, some polyester shirts and gold chains, and a beer gut would take care of the problem. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 16:56:41 (EDT)
From: JW Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: some further thoughts Message: Who else? Maybe no ONE person, (maybe Jesse Jackson) but probably a chorus of people, representing the president's staunchest supporters, African Americans, women, some labor groups, and some party leaders, such as: Jesse Jackson, Patricia Ireland, Diane Feinstein, Patrick Moynihan, and maybe a couple of other senators like Tom Daschle, Diane Feinstein, Christopher Dodd. I don't think Al Gore can say too much, and neither can Ted Kennedy, at least publicly. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 17:03:00 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: JW Subject: some further thoughts Message: Joe: It's true there is strength in numbers, if they can come to agreement. Add to that list a significant number of his DLC buddies. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 20:23:24 (EDT)
From: JW Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: some further thoughts Message: Scott, is there a DLC anymore? Didn't it just BECOME the Democratic party? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 20:34:43 (EDT)
From: VP Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: some further thoughts Message: Scott, The guy is a liar. I don't believe a word he has to say. His presidency IS over. I doubt he is a big enough man to admit it and do what he should. I agree some Democrats need to give him a nudge in the right direction. g's mom, Yeah, Clinton is to blame for the actions that embarrass his daughter today, but thousands of men cheat on their wives and their kids never find out. Ken Starr was just scummy enough to expose it publically and grind it in. I'm with JW, this was nobody's buisness and a damn witch hunt. I think we are going to have to agree to disagree on this one point anyway. I understand your point about men in power and sex, but do you see Monica as an opportunist in any way? What about the other older man she had an affair with? She babysat for his kids and pretended to be the wife's friend, right? I hate it when people blame the woman, so I am not suggesting we do that. I am suggesting that she was a consenting adult--just like he was. Twenty two is not that young. (Sheesh, I remember having sex at 22...it was pretty awesome, too!) I have friend who is 60 and married to a thiry year old. I also have a friend who is 72 and married to a 33 year old--the truth. The age difference is not that big of a deal in my opinion. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 21:30:18 (EDT)
From: g's mom Email: None To: VP Subject: poor monicas Message: Nope, neither of the Monica's is a poor Monica. I agree she sounds like a girl who went to Washington with the wish to have sex with men in high places. But I don't care if she danced nude on the Presidential Seal....I think he was fully capable of saying no. I would imagine Presidents like other men in power have groupies and should be able to say no and not see it as a perk of the job. I reiterate I do not see this as a private matter. He is a very powerful man and she was a low level government intern. Their sex occured in the White House. The age disparity does make it worse but the balance of power in the workplace in which it occurs is what makes it not just the Presidents business. Interesting about the other Monica...what a power disparity there! One is God... the other a Gopi....and Durga stood by her man too. But when you are married to God I suppose you figure you deserved it. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 06:04:25 (EDT)
From: Sir David Email: David.Studio57@btinternet.com To: g's mom Subject: poor monicas Message: Bill's Monica stands to make a mint from her innapropriate relationship. I don't think she'll be poor and will probably write a book, be on chat shows and do a world tour. Sex can make a bif difference to some women if it's done with the right people. Even if it's just a quick blow job with an actor in the back of his car. It seems you have to get caught out for it to work, though. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 11:55:34 (EDT)
From: VP Email: None To: g's mom Subject: poor monicas Message: 'But I don't care if she danced nude on the Presidential Seal....I think he was fully capable of saying no.' Ha ha ha ha ha ha! This visual image is too much to take. Can you imagine it? Thanks for the interesting discussion, g's mom. Even if we don't agree on everything, we do agree about that above quote. Have a great week, VP Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 14:23:28 (EDT)
From: JW Email: None To: Everyone Subject: Disappointed Message: Based on Jim's glowing review, I went to see that movie 'Saving Private Ryan,' but only because we couldn't get into (for the second time) 'The Opposite of Sex,' with Christina Ricci. Damn. Anyhow, I would say that the first hour was pretty good, it was the next two hours that were boring. The movie could have been at least an hour shorter and not changed too much. After an absolutely brilliant re-creation of D-Day,(with great sound effects and neato keen scenes of blood and body parts flying everywhere, and the satisfaction of seeing some Germans barbecued in their bunker for doing that to our boys), and a really well done setting up of the whole premise of the movie, with the war department, the mother of the dead brothers, etc., which takes maybe 45 minutes, the rest of the movie was damn boring. You spend the next 2 and a half hours in a basic buddy war movie, (remember the TV show 'combat?' It was not better than that, just longer) with the obligatory Brooklyn street guy, the Jewish guy, the sweet, angelic, medic who has regrets about his mother, the big tough guy with a heart of gold, etc. and Private Ryan is that all-American perfect kid. We are talking lots of cliches and really bad writing. And what about those awful sets in that French town? Was it just me, of did it look like nothing more than some pretty fake looking ruins on a Hollywood back lot. God, Speilberg had it right for the first 45 minutes. What happened? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 15:03:40 (EDT)
From: John Email: None To: JW Subject: So tell me about... Message: the other movie, The Opposite of Sex. Like, what's it about? (I swore after seeing The Color Purple that I would never go to another speilberg movie. I hate his style of directing.) Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 17:04:08 (EDT)
From: JW Email: None To: John Subject: So tell me about... Message: Yeah, the Color Purple was a real giveaway about the way he Speilberg does films, I guess. Well, I haven't seen 'The Opposite of Sex' because it's always sold out, both in San Francisco and in Berkeley, the two places I have tried to see it so far. So, I don't know too much, except people I respect enormously loved it. Christina Ricci supposedly plays this young woman who gets pregnant and then seduces her gay brother's boyfriend and, I think, accuses him of being the father of her kid. [Obvious funny things could happen from there.] Lisa Kudrow is also in it and I think she's good too. One of these days I'll get to see it, maybe. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 16:19:52 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: JW Subject: Disappointed Message: And what about those awful sets in that French town? Was it just me, of did it look like nothing more than some pretty fake looking ruins on a Hollywood back lot No, that was just you, I think. Joe, cliches are what they are because they represent common traits, etc. You'd be surprised at how many of my clients seem straight out of 'central casting'. I don't quibble with the characters in the movie. There WERE people like that and the classic war movie mix has its dramatic advantages as well. I didn't have a problem with the sets. Maybe I should have, I guess, but I didn't. I liked the way it was played out and I thought the acting was excellent. 'Damn Boring'? Too bad. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 16:58:50 (EDT)
From: JW Email: None To: Jim Subject: Disappointed Message: The problem Jim, is that Speilberg treated them like cliches, the characters I mean, and not like real people. In the course of the movie, you should get beyond the cliches with at least a couple of characters, if the movie is any good. He has a history of doing this, so it shouldn't be surprising. He can't direct people, only special effects. And that's what makes his movies so bad. And the writing was real bad. I mean real bad. No amount of violin music in the background, or even good acting, or even special effects, could make up for that, and I think Tom Hanks is almost always good, but he had so little to work with it isn't his fault. As I said, the first 45 minutes were pretty good (partly because there was almost no dialogue), and maybe ONE, as opposed to TWO hours of the army buddy film after that might have made it okay. As it was, it was pure self-indulgence on Speilberg's part. I was literally falling asleep, the movie was so over-long. To Mr Speilberg: It's called an editor: get one! And I wasn't the only one who felt that way about the sets (and the length). The two people I was with felt the same way. The town at the end was especially bad, but that part where the French family were crouching in what was left of their living room was pretty bad too. [And, of course, one guy gets killed because he is over-sentimental and wants to take the French girl with him. Pure realism, there.] In Schindler's List he kind of got away with bad sets because it was in black and white, but in the full color of the California sun, they looked awfully fake. Look at it again, Jim. While you are at it, take a look at that 'river' in the town. The river was green and the water wasn't even moving. Yeah, it is too bad. I paid $7.50 to see that film. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 19:05:40 (EDT)
From: Selene Email: None To: JW Subject: Disappointed Message: Whatever you do, avoid 'Deep Impact' talk about rip-off sentimentality, I felt violated they used all the tacky tricks in the book to try to get the audience sobbing for at least 1.5 hours. ugh. so I do sympathize though I haven't seen Private Ryan. I tend to avoid blockbuster type movies, especially Speilburg. But if you want quality video I think the 'lipstick tapes' are still in circulation. heeee... Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 08:38:37 (EDT)
From: Becky Email: None To: Everyone Subject: Scott re: Ibn Kaldun Message: yes, Islam is vast. the negative things that exist in it, and that the west sees, are so off-key to what Islam is really about. Just study a few Sufi masters to find out. (A good little book: 'Thinkers of the East by Idries Shah). Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 09:10:36 (EDT)
From: Jerry Email: None To: Becky Subject: Scott re: Ibn Kaldun Message: yes, Islam is vast. the negative things that exist in it, and that the west sees, are so off-key to what Islam is really about. It's still a religion at the center of which, is a mortal man given the power of God by his followers. After Catholicism and Maharaji, I've had enough. Neither of these satisfied. Are you satisfied with Islam? Have you finally arrived at the way of life that truly suits you? Or is this just the latest spiritual infatuation in your life? For me, it's doubtful I'll ever turn to a religion or latest craze again. Like the saying goes, 'Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me.' Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 10:45:23 (EDT)
From: Becky Email: None To: Jerry Subject: Scott re: Ibn Kaldun Message: Personally I believe that there are Prophets. The buddha was one. They are all mortal men. I haven't looked deeply into Islam yet to say whether I am 'satisfied' or not. I am not looking for 'satisfaction'; I am satisfied already. This is what I discovered with Maharaji - that actually I was perfectly happy without him. Islam is more than just about happiness. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 09:11:58 (EDT)
From: Jerry Email: None To: Becky Subject: Islam Message: Becky, If you don't mind my asking, if your interest in Islam isn't about satisfaction or happiness, what is it about? I'm curious. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 11:27:50 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Jerry Subject: flawed masters Message: Jerry: It's still a religion at the center of which, is a mortal man given the power of God by his followers. Unfortunately they all seem to have this flaw. It reminds we of George's complaint on Seinfeld that he never seems to like the women who like him, and vica versa. That Jerry replies that it's all part of God's plan to keep us from getting together. Perhaps the whole 'flawed master' thing is just a bad customer support system, and all we're ever going to get are canned FAQs that don't really have anything to do with the problem. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 11:42:51 (EDT)
From: Silver Spoon Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: The problem Message: < Perhaps the whole 'flawed master' thing is just a bad customer support system, and all we're ever going to get are canned FAQs that don't really have anything to do with the problem. Scott, I'm interested on your take as to what the ''problem'' is. Thanks Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 12:15:22 (EDT)
From: John Email: None To: Silver Spoon Subject: examples of problems Message: I have no idea what Scott thinks 'the problem' is but here's a few examples: 1. we don't know what happens to us when we die 2. suffering and pain are integral aspects of life 3. I don't like suffering and pain But, I am pleased as punch to be here in this human body, regardless of those minor problems I listed above. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 12:17:13 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Silver Spoon Subject: The problem Message: SS: I guess I meant that either 'the problem' is highly individual, or it's general but too complex to solve. i.e. the business cycle, income inequality and social injustice, why my parents never listened to me, take your pick. Of course the religious marketers all seem to know about these shortcomings, and claim to address them. As far as I can tell the only real progress came with the Scottish enlightenment (John Locke, et al) which helped establish the notion if individual rights, etc. Next to that the contribution of religions has been pretty pathetic. I'm not an idealogue. Just making an objective assessment. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 12:42:57 (EDT)
From: SS Email: None To: Scott T. and John Subject: Thanks nt Message: nt Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 19:53:37 (EDT)
From: keith Email: None To: Becky Subject: Scott re: Ibn Kaldun Message: Dear Becky , I have read Idries Shah . And he seems to me to be one of those wonderful mystics who embody the beauty of the religious attitude. But neither he nor the Sufi's in general are typical of Islam as a whole . Every religion has its small (often monastic) group of transcendentalists , meditators and universalists . Thomas Merton , for instance within Catholism ; or perhaps the late Chogyam Trungpa within Buddism . These individuals do not reflect the othordoxy of the masses nor of the leadership or hierarchy of their respective religions . They are tolerated outcasts . Others make a more or less full break with their religious background ; like Jiddu Krishnamurti did . In this context , I feel that Maharaji has broken with the external face of his past but not with its underlying mythos . The central and elevated position of himself as THE MASTER is an aspect of Hinduism that he has reformed in the West for easier public consumption . So , in this way new off-shoots (sects) and sometimes new religions are born . Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 22:26:59 (EDT)
From: Bobby Email: None To: keith Subject: re: sufis and Chogyam Trungpa Message: You're right about the sufi's not being representative of Islam. Sufis are a mystical sect, rather a collection of sects. Some of these sects are rather universally oriented, drawing from the teachings of various world spiritual traditions. Chogyam Trungpa was not so 'outcast' as one might think. In Tibetan Buddhism there are rich traditions of crazy wisdom. The types of behaviors that Chogyam Trungpa exemplified were for the most part well-tolerated within the Tibetan Buddhist orthodoxy. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 01:04:15 (EDT)
From: keith Email: None To: Bobby Subject: re: sufis and Chogyam Trungpa Message: Hi there Bobby , Yes , I take your point regarding Trungpa and crazy wisdom. Hope you are well . Mirabai says hello . Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 08:22:26 (EDT)
From: Becky Email: None To: keith Subject: Sufis and orthodoxy Message: Yes, Sufis are out of the orthodox. However, even within the orthodox you can have completely different interpretations of one thing, which is why Islam is not monolithic like people think. For example, there is a hadith that exhorts women to cover their bosom with their cloak. Hence, women today wear headscarf etc. But if one looks a little further at the reason WHY this was said, it is that the female Muslims could then be IDENTIFIED as pious women and not be hassled. The thought behind the hadith was that the women, if they were modest and pious, should avoid being abused in the street etc. however, in the west nowadays, I may need to identify myself as someone who desires to be left alone simply by wearing trousers and no make-up or such like. There is a big debate in Islam about these two directions: to make society like it was in the time of the Prophet (an impossible and negative thing in my view), or to go forward and re-interpret the message in the light of modern times. By the way Jim, are you interested in the details of clan in-fighting, the Constitution, Qurayza and medina? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 11:17:38 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Becky Subject: Sufis and orthodoxy Message: By the way Jim, are you interested in the details of clan in-fighting, the Constitution, Qurayza and medina? Only to the extent that they shed light on Mohammed the man. Look, Becky, the idea of the angel Gabriel appearing for this guy sits about as well with me as the idea of the angel Maroni appearing for Joseph Smith. I can barely take it seriously enough to talk about it. But, yes, I have and so we are. Okay, hit me with whatever. By the way, what IS your opinion of the Mormom legend? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 08:56:48 (EDT)
From: Becky Email: None To: Jim Subject: Sufis and orthodoxy Message: What the hell is the Mormom legend? Re: Gabriel. I think Gabriel is a name that Mohammed and others gave for the relevations that they received. I do not believe Gabriel was a guy with wings. I do believe that there are beings other than ourselves that exist in other dimensions to ourselves. Medina: Having read M. Watt, its vertially impossible to put this in a nutshell, but I shall try. Basically at Medina there was a system of tribes and clans who were constantly at war with each other. There was also the Arab system of paying blood money, of avenging any of one's tribe who had been killed; there were complex alliances which constantly changed. Not all practicing Jews were Jewish, but were Arabs, so alliances were made sometimes on basis of religion, sometimes on basis of race. For up to 100 years there had also been continuous raids and wars in which tribes were displaced, their lands taken, their women and children taken as prisoners or slaves (remember slavery was not the kind of 18th century West Indian slavery that the Europeans perpertrated). since the land was very barren, the quickest and easiest way of augmenting a tribe's power was to displace others and take their land. This is was Mohammed did with the Qunayqa and the An-Nadir, who were plotting to kill Mohammed, even though they affected to be in alliance with him. If he had not displaced them, he and all the Muslims would have been assassinated. After they were displaced, they came back with reinforcements to kill the Muslims (see battle of Bu'ath). The Qur'an says that Mohammed was stupid to let them go. When the situation of the seige came, and Mohammed was faced with what to do with the Qurayza (if he let them go they would return with reinforcements to assassinate him & the Muslims),they asked for a mediator. Sa'ad ibn Mu'ath was selected by them. Mohammed agreed.'A man like Sa'd must have realised that to allow tribal or clan allegiance to come before Islamic allegiance would lead to a renewal of the fratricidal strife from which they hope the coming of Muhammad had saved Medina' (M.Watt. p215 Muhammad at Medina.)The Qurayza had broke the treaty, the oath, the Muslims therefore had no obligation any longer to the Qurayza. A severe penalty was imposed on the Qurayza, using their own Jewish law so as to prevent further battles, fratricide, threats, plots etc. This may still sound tyrannical; all I can do to, rather than write the whole history of Islam here, is to ask you to look at books that tell of the reforms that Mohammed made, and the culture in which he lived. His 'opponents' were certainly not the innocent lambs that you have made them out to be. As for what attracts me to islam, Jerry, how long do you have? Islam is many things for me: a frequency through which I realise myself, a code of morals and fairness, a means of increasing one's dignity and understanding how to treat others in the highest, most dignified way possible, a place where I can be alone with God (whatever God is), a teaching of responsibility for oneself and one's actions, a way of life in which one cleanses and purifies oneself. This and more. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 11:31:32 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Becky Subject: Don't curtail your options Message: This may still sound tyrannical; all I can do to, rather than write the whole history of Islam here, is to ask you to look at books that tell of the reforms that Mohammed made, and the culture in which he lived. His 'opponents' were certainly not the innocent lambs that you have made them out to be. No, that's far from all you can do. What else you can do is reject any worship of the man as being guided by the hand of god. That is, unless you're willing to say that god was just a bit rough back then and is learning, all the time, how to be a nicer deity. The mormon legend is that the nagel, Moroni, appeared to Joseph Smith with a few tablets of new commandments. A bunch of 'good citizens' (his friends) saw it all happen but then the tablets were taken up again. Makes exactly as much sense as the Muslim legend. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 08:14:53 (EDT)
From: Becky Email: None To: Jim Subject: I won't Message: People believe things like that all the time. What counts is whether there is any authenticity and proof in their claims. If one studies the Qur'an one finds many things in it that (Muslims claim) Mohammed could not have known, such as the formation of a child from a cell divided, becoming an embryo in the womb. It is not the force of 'truth' or 'light' or God that is brutal; it is the times in which the message came. Had Mohammed been born in a peaceful, well-organised, tolerant society then these measures would not have been 'necessary'. He could simply have spread the message through his mouth and personal conduct (ie, through prayer, acting justly etc etc). As I said before, I'm not buying into this like a blind sheep,I am simply looking at things from both sides, and examining things before I make a judgement. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 09:52:26 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Becky Subject: I won't Message: Had Mohammed been born in a peaceful, well-organised, tolerant society then these measures would not have been 'necessary'. He could simply have spread the message through his mouth and personal conduct (ie, through prayer, acting justly etc etc). Becky, You know as well as I do that if Mohammed had been born in more modern times he wouldn't have gotten more than a few people to believe in or care about his trip. He only had the effect he had because of the incredibly suggestible nature of people in his time and culture. We've since been informed by science, history and inured to prophets and purported harbingers of 'Truth'. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 10:12:46 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Jim Subject: Qualification Message: I meant 'MORE inured'. Obviously, the odd cult still makes a run for the brass ring now and then. Really, Becky, the fact is, Islam is a murderous problem in the world today. We'd all be a lot better off without it. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 08:18:12 (EDT)
From: Becky Email: None To: Jim Subject: You're still naive Jim Message: Jim, of course it would be more difficult for people to accept that someone was inspired today - I mean GENUINELY inspired. However, in spite of Science and all that, has man grown LESS VIOLENT, LESS BLOODTHIRSTY, LESS GREEDY, MORE MORAL, KINDER, MORE TOLERANT? I don't think so. America is a country that is a pioneer of science. Has it managed to solve its own problems of racial discrimination, sexual harrassment, violence, rape, economic inequality? True Islam is a moral code as well as a focus on who we are in the Universe. The fact is that whatever higher aspirations some men/women and prophets have, no matter how much they care, no matter what truth they speak, there are still human beings who are closer in nature to cavemen, who choose not to better themselves, to transcend themselves. Islam spread to countries that were also the centres of science and was accepted by people who were the greatest thinkers and philosophers of their time and our time: look at Byzantium, Persia, China, Indonesia. Were they poor little gullible mugs incapable of making an informed decision? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 10:57:18 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Becky Subject: What's wrong with a... Message: Becky: What's wrong with cavemen? I lived in a cave for a while during my younger years and I thought it was quite delightful. Got in touch with my roots, so to speak..... he he he. Lots of fun, too. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 11:23:45 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Becky Subject: No, Becky, 'fraid not Message: Becky, Yes, indeed, we have MUCH more civil societies than existed in the past. The problems you mention are an absolute JOKE compared to the generally savage way people treated each other say, a thousand or so years ago. 'Sexual harrassment'? Oh you've got to be completely crazy to argue that. Why not complain about the five day work week? No, Becky, with this post you've drifted into cartoon land, I'm afraid. Romanticizing the past with unfettered wishful thinking. How silly. Similarly, Islam is what Islam does. Look around you. What we're talking about is a completely ugly and dangerous mental virus that is literally murdering people worldwide. Tell me this: can you honestly say that the world wouldn't be MUCH better off now if Islam completely disappeared off the edge of the planet never to be heard from again? That would be fantastic as far as I see. And why not? What would we miss? A few hoary, old mosques? Hey, keep 'em as souvenirs of a religion that oppressed millions of people worldwide. You can even keep some of the news clippings of the current set of fatwa's making the rounds. Keep a few veils too, if you like. But just get rid of that terrifying cult that's got a stranglehold on far too much of the world for comfort. No, no, no, Becky, the people in the past who accepted the illusion of design and fell for a religion like Islam to accept it weren't idiots. It would be absolutely stupid to judge them on today's standards of knowledge. They knew no better, is probably the simplest way to put it. But we do. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 12:22:50 (EDT)
From: John Email: None To: Jim Subject: No, Becky, 'fraid not Message: Just curious Jim, why this personal crusade against Islam? It's not really Islam that's the problem. There is an Islamic group in our area that does good stuff for society, just like there are christian churches that do good. In Ireland, Islam is not the problem, but there is still a problem. Why? People. People are the problem, not religions. People are the ones who should all be destroyed. If all the people were destroyed then all the evil would automatically be removed from this planet. But seriously, I do agree with you that we are actually in a progression of improvement. I believe that people are getting smarter and through technology we are learning how to improve the world. That's why I believe so strongly in education, in people embracing their intellects ( not running away from their minds.), using their brains to think (yeah, isn't thinking an incredibly exciting thing to do?), and to use the knowledge (real knowledge, not M's brand of baloney) that others have discovered. But that's not easy, that requires work, that requires exercising our brains to analyze and understand. I guess what I don't understand about your Islam comments is why don't you just say in place of the word 'Islam', 'all religions'? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 17:32:55 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: John Subject: No, Becky, 'fraid not Message: Just curious Jim, why this personal crusade against Islam? It's not really Islam that's the problem. There is an Islamic group in our area that does good stuff for society, just like there are christian churches that do good. In Ireland, Islam is not the problem, but there is still a problem. Who said anything about THE problem? There are lots of problems and I say Islam sure is one of them. Yes, other religions wreak a lot of havoc and destruction. Islam is by far the worst offender among current, large-scale faiths. Really, in spite of all the bloodshed that's done in the name of Christianity, Islam leaves all other religions in the dust. Honestly, don't you think the world would be a much better place without it? That question's too easy. Whatever good is done in the name of the faith is overwhelmed by the bad. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 22, 1998 at 04:57:32 (EDT)
From: jethro Email: None To: Jim Subject: No, Becky, 'fraid not-JIM READ Message: 'Whatever good is done in the name of the faith is overwhelmed by the bad. ' Did you hear of the recent fatwa(agya) issued by the Taliban leader, its says 'that it is every Muslim's duty duty to kill any American wherever, whenever, they can'. This will certainly inspire Muslim youth. Here in the UK the Protocols are being quoted by more and more Muslims, as fact. jethro PS did you get my post Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 22, 1998 at 13:25:05 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: jethro Subject: No, Becky, 'fraid not-JIM READ Message: Jethro, if by 'post' you mean email, no I didn't? Or did you mean 'post' as in 'post'? Yes, I am aware of the what's-his-name's new fatwa. Of course that has NOTHING ata ll to do with Islam. FORGET IT! MY religion don't have no fatwas of any kind. It's miles better. Islam is a dangerous, ugly but frighteningly successful mnetal virus. Who gives a shit if a couple of centuries ago it was relatively tolerant (compared to the other big mental virus of the time). When you're kidnapped, you're kidnapped, whether the kidnappers let you watch your favorite tv shows or not. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 22, 1998 at 13:36:24 (EDT)
From: jethro Email: None To: Jim Subject: JIM READ Message: I sent you an email and a parcel in the post some weeks ago. Did you receive the parcel? jethro Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 22, 1998 at 14:48:21 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: jethro Subject: JIM READ Message: Jethro, Right, of course. No, I DIDN'T get it! I'd forgotten all about it. Shit! But, you know, it's not unheard of for mail, especially parcels, to get bogged down at the border for weeks on end, sometimes even longer. They usually DO make it, though. I think. Of course I'll contact you immediately when it does come. Thanks again, Jim Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 11:20:51 (EDT)
From: Jerry Email: None To: Jim Subject: You're kidding, right? Message: He only had the effect he had because of the incredibly suggestible nature of people in his time and culture. I can't believe you said this. This generation isn't suggestible, right? How do you account for the success of M? Or new-age thinking which is rampant? We've since been informed by science, history and inured to prophets and purported harbingers of 'Truth'. Right. That's why when M came into my life, I knew right away that he was full of shit, because I was such a scientific expert who knew his history. Rhadoasomi? Rahdoasoimi, what? Yeah, I knew all about that. If I hadn't known, I would have been M's sucker but good. Right? Please. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 14:11:45 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Jerry Subject: A matter of degree Message: Jerry, You're right, of course. There are countless examples of demagoguery and stupid sheep mentality in the modern world on the small, medium and large scales. Just look at Hitler. Still, I think it's true that, in normal circumstances, in modern society, there's a generally greater level of sophistication than was common in ancient times, informed by science, education and, yes, the media, that would make it impossible for someone like Mohammed or Jesus to start a religion like they did. What we're more prone to see from here on in are cults like Maharaji's. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 12:45:34 (EDT)
From: VP Email: None To: Jim Subject: Don't curtail your options Message: The Mormons are declaring war on you, Jim For more nonsense, check out: http://nowscape.com/mormons1.htm Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 15:11:57 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Jim Subject: It was really... Message: Very good northeastern mushrooms. You know, the Amanita variety. he he he. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 02:22:03 (EDT)
From: bill Email: None To: Everyone Subject: Nigel and all. Message: I'm a weekender only at this point. I'm not near a computer all week. And i'm swamped on weekends. I read the posts of the week and Hello to all you guys. Nigel, I'm glad you are willing to cover this topic, I am also into the buddhist/eastern theology topic lately and my tibetian buddhist co-worker gave me his dog eared copy of a book by Da free john as his response to my questions to him and so that is on the radar screen also. Dawkins seems impressive on first glance and I read 'river out of eden' and was glad to read it. By the time I read his article from the 'sceptic Mag' web site, I was stunned by his obvious religious and unscientific approach and his angry tone of a zealot. Then I read 'the blind watchmaker' and thought he would have done better by just excerpting the interesting pages 141-150 (i think) from that book and used that instead of his article of strident nonsense. You need to read his stuff carefully to see where he just makes unscientific leaps and how he is actually deciteful in his approach to presenting science and so he slants and omits honest data. Every group wants me to applaud the leader with the mission but I am very demanding at this point and dawkins doesnt make the grade. Replicators; In ACTUAL science, clay is thought to perhaps have somehow provided information storage templates. Just a guess, no one has a clue how that might have actually been done. RNA is guessed as perhaps a follow up to clay as an info. storage template for protein synthesis. But existing RNA is too chemically inept to serve this role. So again, no one has a clue. No one has any clue as to how DNA entered the picture. No one has even made any remote guess as to the likely ancestors of RNA and DNA. In dawkins examples of random and cumulative selection he gives the examples of recreating a library by random or cumulative selection of letters. But, you need an information storage processor to insert the letters in thier proper slots. That is a key point and he skirts the issue completely. Leaping off to the next assumption. Guys like dawkins are actually on a mission to seek converts to the religion they like, which is that conciousness is purely a product of matter. By your post I see that you believe them but you realize that there is no science to back that up. It is an assumption. It is doing the unscientific thing, which is twisting data to support an unsound conclusion. The comment about the eye, a second reading of that chapter reveals that he is not saying he has any science to back him up, but that IF you will ASSUME his method and allow for whatever amount of steps it takes, wala! you can have an eye. This is not science, it is a hopeful construct to fill a few pages of a book whose sole aim besides make money and win the cheers of other devotees, is to try and convince me -without science to back it up- that there is only matter. I dont think it is out of line to demand so called scientists to stick with what they know for a fact and clearly identify theory when they banter it about. But no, it is presented in a way that I am an idiot if I decide to think for myself and who the hell am I to view it otherwise? Well, you can see the distain dawkins has for anyone who dares squeak against him by his article in the 'sceptic'. Of course I am to be branded a non-scientific creationist even though I am not. I know YOU are not like that. But do you see? Just by your post, all the science and theory are lined up together and -do I want to be on the -smart- side? Don't I want to be lined up with '95% of the biologists'? (assumption) The way maharaji has grafted himself onto the breath is exactly what these guys do to science. 'Don't I see the truth m is showing?' 'Doesn't your breath feel good?' Yeah but m is a falsely combining the two and so are all the materialist theology types. Theory and science. Now, every little discovery of the way things are is run through the grid of materialist theology instead of science being free. Instead of me being able to read your post and seeing free data, I have the (fun) challenge of extricating real data from it's ideological slant and pre-ordained assumption. 'Conciouness doesn't just exist, it has to be created by all these biological phenomena.' Please know that I've read your posts these many months and I love that you expose your once forbidden mind to us. I have to start driving now and thats that. So I will have to wait a week to get into your interesting four essential ingredients. And others posts. Bye all! Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 12:42:46 (EDT)
From: CD Email: None To: bill Subject: Nigel and all. Message: Dawkins Info Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 16:53:48 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: bill Subject: Nigel and all. Message: Bill, I can't see how you say what you do if you've read the Blind Watchmaker. But then I couldn't disagree with you more about Dawkins' piece in Skeptic either. I also think you've got a really mixed up notion of how science works, how scientists theorize and how they attempt to rank unproven theories according to likelihood. I also think you're a little paranoid and jump at shadows a bit. You think Dawkins is on thin ice in places, so you excitedly accuse him of deceiving and attmepting to establish some sort of faux-science cult. I guess the fact that you'll never find any support for your thinking in the 'so-called' scientific community must make you feel there's no time to waste in driving a stake through this particular vampire. Once the scientists are gone who can we trust? Bill, I find it particularly disturbing that you're driving so quickly down this street ostensibly marked one-way in the other direction. Yes, something tells you that it's improperly marked -- and maybe it is! -- but you should be a bit more cautious. You're NOT a biologist, are you? You're NOT trained in any of these areas, are you? Do you have any scientific background at all? Maybe you should be take you rfoot off the pedal and ask around a bit more before deciding that everyone honking at you just 'doesn't get it'. My read on Dawkins is that he's more than happy to admit the limits of his or human knowledge. We don't know how DNA started and maybe never will. But that doesn't mean he can't appreciate some very strong factors indicating support for modern Darwinian theory. It's like with the eye. Again, Bill, your slam above is way off the mark. Dawkins offers a theoretical explanation for how the eye evolved that, to me, is incredibly appealing. It's just plain stupid to say that such thinking isn't science. Where in the world did you get that idea? But then I guess you think no scientists are doing science if they theorize and speculate, is that it? So you're going to straighten them all out? Do I have that right? You're going to free science from 'materialist theology' AND topple the cult of Richard Dawkins while you're at it? Bill, get serious. I guess what must have pissed you off so was Dawkins' dismissal fo your kind of breath worship: 'Ezekiel called upon the four winds to put living breath into the dry bones. What is the vital ingredient that a dead planet like the early Earth must have, if it is to have a chance fo eventually coming alive, as our planet did? It is not breath, not wind, not any kind of elixer nor potion. It is not a substance at all, it is a property, the property of self-replication. This is the basic ingredient of cumulative selection. There must somehow, as a consequence of the ordinary laws of physics, come into being self-copying entities or, as I shall call them, replicators. In modern life this role is filled, almost entirely, by DNA molecules but anythnig of which copies are made would do. We may suspect that the first replicators on the primitive Earth wee not DNA molecules. It is unlikely that a fully fledged DNA molecule would spring into existence without the aid of other molecules that normally exist only in living cells. The first replictors were probably cruder and simpler than DNA.' , p. 128. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 18:37:19 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Jim Subject: Addendum Message: Jim, Here's an addendum to your comments: Einstein postulated his theory of relativity LONG before it could be proven. The Big Bang theory was developed, by Steve Hawkings and company, a LONG time before it was proven, as well. First we postulate, then we try to prove/disprove it. Usually this means that we postulate or theorize, then come up with a way to MEASURE it. In the case of the big bang, a new technology had to be developed for the measurements to occur (e.g. radio electronics operating at extremely low noise temperatures). Once the technology had been developed, the noise was detected (in this case, by someone that wasn't even looking for it). Theorize and prove IS the scientific method. The problem with theology is that for as long as it has existed (and THAT IS A LONG LONG LONG TIME), it has not a shred of evidence for the existence of a supreme being. So... how many angels really can dance on the head of a pin? (Don't tell me until you can measure it!) Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 17:30:53 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Mike Subject: Addendum to addendum Message: Mike: Theorize and prove IS the scientific method. I thought you were an engineer? I believe you have things backwards in the case of the big bang theory. The measurements preceeded the theory: a clear case of sicence driven by engineering (which is the rule rather than the exception, I might add). If you read 'The Double Helix' you'll see that theories about the structure of DNA went hand in hand with electron spectroscopy. Since it was a recursive chain the old linear version of the scientific method is pretty anachronistic. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 20:49:44 (EDT)
From: Nigel Email: nigel@redcrow.demon.co.uk To: Scott T. Subject: Irrelevant Message: Scott, Mike's only talking about the way things tend to happen, not prescribing the way things should be. Of course the observation will sometimes precede the hypothesis. Where do theories come from in the first place, if not from somebody making a logical deduction from earlier observations? The main point here is that once the hypothesis/claim/argument exists it must be further tested, replicated, falsified... before anybody starts passing it on as a given truth, or anybody else starts believing it... Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 02:14:27 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Nigel Subject: Relevance Message: Nigel: Mike's only talking about the way things tend to happen, not prescribing the way things should be. Of course the observation will sometimes precede the hypothesis. My point was that Mike was wrong about the way things tend to happen. You began by deriding Bill for having 'a really mixed up notion of how science works, how scientists theorize and how they attempt to rank unproven theories according to likelihood.' How did you get to be so much more clear about science than Bill? In my experience scientists first look for a question that is answerable, interesting, and that will have some sort of impact... if only on the community of scholarly peers. They then conduct the research using whatever instruments are available, examine the data produced, and only after having thoroughly turned the soil and having construced a credible and supportable thesis do they propose a theory. They then back over everything and write it up as though everything proceeded from a theory. There are occasional exceptions, but the theory nearly always comes last, except in cases where you have to have a theory before you can even create any data (which is why the Manhattan Project was an exception). Again, Bill was merely stating his opinion that Dawkins is engaged in a non-scientific foray into non-science, and the only explanation for why he would do that is that to some extent the scientific community has some properties in common with religion that are not related to any 'scientific method.' Your reverence for an idealized version of the method merely emphasizes that point. The main point here is that once the hypothesis/claim/argument exists it must be further tested, replicated, falsified... before anybody starts passing it on as a given truth, or anybody else starts believing it... The point is that scientists, when they are legitimate, make hypotheses that are falsifiable. I believe Bill's point was originally that Dawkins routinely comes up with speculations that are not only non-falsifiable but inaccurate. Then Mike made the not-so-convincing argument that all a scientist need do, his only charge, is to field a theory, whether it is falsifiable or not. He then has the burden of proving that his theory is true, so he need not measure up to any test of legitimacy as to whether he is being a scientist rather than an eight-year-old. Someone else's problem, apparently. My point was that Dawkins is stretching the rules, waiving a mystical magic wand of science in order to invest arguments with an original credibility that they would not have otherwise. What, exactly, is the anomaly that necessitates Dawkins' theories about the apriori condition of self replication, save the salt-in-the-wound that evolutionary theory (his baby) is a side-show, and cannot now, nor ever, provide answers to these larger questions. Where it IS relevant is when religion claims it is scientific, or when it proposes something about the 'real world' that is testable. (I think Dawkins did make this point once.) Let me put it more plainly. Dorkins claims that science and especially evolutionary theory have something to say about whether claims that the divine telos gave things a push are true. Horseshit. It's merely his ego that wants to play in that sandbox. I say that science has nothing to say about that, because it's a question w/o a determinate answer for society. It is not a scientific statement in the first place, but a statement of faith, since it's not falsifiable. But Dawkins is bound and determined to prove that it is a scientific statement, a position that quite frankly mystifies me (which is probably why he does it). Nice side-show, but...? He's just playing to his audience. In other words, the burden of proof IS on Dorkins to prove that the question belongs in the realm of science. Not w/o reason did Descartes determine that it wasn't in the realm of science, and decided to become a monk. Getting scientific method in the correct order, and getting one's facts straight about how science actually works, is clearly relevant to 'how science orders it's priorities,' whether it's pedantic or not. If you still think it's irrelevant, let's just see how things play out. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 11:14:59 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: Relevance Message: Scott, I'm the one who said that to Bill. Tell me, what exactly have you read by Dawkins? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 12:58:39 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: Relevance Message: Scott: You misunderstood what I was saying, almost completely. I NEVER said that 'all a scientist need do, his only charge, is to field a theory, whether it is falsifiable or not.' The point I was trying to make was that a scientist MUST FURNISH some proofs for any theory. Of course, anyone following the scientific method tries to find fault with their own theory. To not do so would very likely incur the 'wrath' of the scientific community as a whole (with attendant loss of personal/professional credibility). To tie this whole thing together (and bring it back on topic): Theologians have NEVER, repeat NEVER, supplied any proof of the existence of an all-knowing, all-powerful god. They have never tried to disprove the existence of god, either. It is NOT up to the scientific community to disprove a theory that is without any merit (read that: proofs). It is up to the theologians to come up with some measurable proofs first, then publish those proofs and let the scientific community poke holes in them. A story (e.g. the Bible) doesn't count as proof of god's existence any more than a few stories by Doyle prove the existence of Sherlock Holmes. Both are fictional characters by this yardstick. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 16:22:08 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Mike Subject: Relevance Message: Mike: Point taken about your reasons for discussing the scientific method. Only one comment: It is up to the theologians to come up with some measurable proofs first, then publish those proofs and let the scientific community poke holes in them. A story (e.g. the Bible) doesn't count as proof of god's existence... I am not sure it's up to theologians to come up with any measurable hypotheses. They appear to be in the business of coming up with unmeasurable statements. As for 'proof' of God's existence, if the religious community wasn't so enraptured by science they wouldn't be bothering to engage in debate on this level. I agree with David that science has divested us of most of our ancient dogma and if there is 'proof' of God's existence it is probably in the realm of personal and subjective experience. That is certainly the case with me. It is non-scientific, which is to say that it fits into that category of things that are legitimately beyond the realm of science (though perhaps not beyond the realm of rational debate). I wondered when you were going to pick up on the 'QP' reference. The only difference here is that we can't tank up on coffee and tease the waitress. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 17:13:04 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: Relevance Message: Scott: Good one. Sorry, this flu bug has had me down for way too long (including when I did the original posts). My timeline and thought process were/are somewhat diminished. You are right, I really don't expect theologians to answer any of these questions. BUT, the natural fallout from their inability to prove/disprove is that I can no longer blindly follow what ANY theologian says god is or is not. I'm on my own... (GOOD... no more cults...) I guess that's the whole point, when it comes right down to it. It's the blind leading the blind. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 17:54:59 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Mike Subject: I get a kick out of the cogito Message: Mike: Personally, I think Descartes got to the point of irreducible duality and then based his decision about belief on personal experiences. That's usually not the way it's presented, however. They usually say that he made some sort of mystical calculation of probabilities, which I think is nonsense. I think you are right that we are thrown back on our own resources, at least regarding that basic belief or non-belief. Those who claim that either camp 'proves' its basic premise are believers. But, they ironically have a certain amount of belief in the legitimacy of the other side's contentions, or else proof (for the religionists) or spirit (for the scientists) would be irrelevant. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 12:16:12 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: Addendum to addendum Message: Scott: Yes, I am an engineer. The big bang theory didn't derive from the detected noise. The theory was independently driven by Hawkings and company. The Bell labs folks were, in fact, detecting the evidence, but had absolutely no idea what was causing the noise they were detecting. They thought it might be a dirty feedhorn or some other local physical cause (pidgeons in the antenna, other local radio signals, etc). When the thought that the big bang would have left a signature was first theorized, another set of scientists went about attempting to 'detect' the noise by building sensitive receivers that they thought would be necessary. The Bell labs folks called those other scientists for assistance with their 'noise problem' and that is when the team that was actually searching for evidence of the big bang knew they had been scooped. So, yes, the technology had been developed prior to the discovery, but it definitely did NOT drive the discovery. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 16:19:06 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Mike Subject: SCOTT: Oops Message: Scott: What I said in the earlier post was 'slightly' inaccurate (understatement). Actually, Gamow, Alpher and Herman were the scientists that were searching for the origin of the elements. They surmised that this would have left a 'signature' of about 5 degrees Celsius above absolute zero (cosmic background radiation). They didn't have the technology to detect it at the time, so it went unproven for about 20 years. This was actually the beginning of the big bang theory (although they didn't call it that). The scientific team that was going to try to detect it (once the technology was available) were a group from Princeton. The Bell labs guys, Wilson & Penzias, were the people that scooped the Princeton team. Sorry, I've got Hawking on the brain. But, the point still remains: The big bang theory (under a different name) was around for two decades before the measurements were made that supported it and the temperature differential was responsible for the elements. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 16:46:29 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Mike Subject: SCOTT: Oops Message: Mike: Thanks for the clarification. The version I heard was that Wilson and Penzias 'scooped' everyone completely by accident. That is, they noticed the background radiation and perceived it as a problem for radio transmissions. They didn't even know about the theory until later. So, in effect they had no hypothesis... just data and a problem. That is not quite the way most people think the scientific method works, but it's actually pretty common. Something similar happened with the theory of plate tectonics, which was proposed by Churchward and other non-scientists as far back as the 1920s. His theories about continental drift were scoffed at until some anomalies were found that they couldn't explain and someone commented: 'Hey maybe that nutcase, Churchward, had something after all.' In other words the scientists freely borrowed concepts that came form the 'third world' of ideas, which did not even originate within the scientific community. Of course Churchward deserves no credit because he wasn't in the club. He was a 'theologian.' -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 17:32:28 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: SCOTT: Oops Message: Scott: The Princeton team (according to their own writing) was just a few days behind the Bell guys and they actually knew what they were searching for. Man, talk about dumb luck. But hey, that's what Nobel prizes are made of... he he he. Because so much of my background was/is 'theoretical,' when it comes to astrophysics, I do tend to think in a rather linear fashion concerning the scientific method. Hey, I started my training many years ago... gimme a break...he he. But your points are well taken. Just like the 'pinball' effect, there are certainly many answers, readily available, to questions that haven't even been asked. From these answers, I am sure, there will be many theories to explain them. It's funny, but it seems our ability to 'observe and measure' has far outstripped our ability to do pure theoretical work. Not necessarily a bad thing, though..... My current trek into the astronomical realm has to do with cepheids.... no no no, way off topic.... Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 18:53:09 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Mike Subject: SCOTT: Oops Message: Scott: After rereading our series of posts, I wasn't sure if I had misled you concerning Bell's scoop. Judging from your response, I thought you 'might' have interpreted my post as saying that the Bell guys knew what they were searching for (e.g. cosmic background radiation). To clarify: The Princeton team knew what they were searching for, NOT the Bell guys. That's what I meant by dumb luck in the prior post. The Bell labs folks were trying to figure out where the noise was coming from and they called on the Princeton team to help them. When the Bell labs folks described the problem, in detail, the Princeton team (that was within days of making their historic discovery) knew they had been scooped. SO.... there it is in a nutshell. If you already understood this, then sorry for the repetition. (Again, forgive me... I probably should stop posting until I'm over the flu... adle-brained, ya know). Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 23:29:06 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Mike Subject: Engineering and science Message: Mike: It's funny, but it seems our ability to 'observe and measure' has far outstripped our ability to do pure theoretical work. Not necessarily a bad thing, though..... There is a great book about the invention of the turbojet, mostly by the British, that demonstrates that the entire process was driven by engineers, not 'scientists.' Even the effort to come up with a riveting system led to discoveries about microturbulence that revolutionized theories about drag. Incidentally, the authors say that the reason the discoveries weren't made by Americans was that Americans didn't participate in speed racing, and were more interested in designing large cargo planes. In that area they just never ran into the sorts of problems that would motivate the turbojet. A friend of mine says that if engineers had been better writers the whole history of science might be different. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 11:10:22 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: Engineering and science Message: Scott: What's the name of the book? Sounds very interesting. I tend to agree with the sentiment concerning writing ability. I'm sure that I fall into that category. I've been out of school for a rather lengthy stretch. One of the classes I've been looking at is creative writing, as opposed to technical writing. I think the two go together, in an odd sort of way. When I get down to writing a treatise on a particular subject, I tend to lose my audience because it's so technical. The ability to turn a theoretical subject into lay terms is a very valuable skill, in my opinion. Yes, I was astonished by Carl Sagan's ability to do just that when describing some incredibly complex concepts to a general audience. He was one of the best emissaries for the astronomical sciences. He overused a few phrases like, 'billions and billions,' but I think those were more like a personal signature than a distracting cliche. IMHO I still have the remnants of the flu, but I'm at work. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 19:44:32 (EDT)
From: Sir Cumspect Email: David.Studio57@btinternet.com To: Jim Subject: I see no argument Message: Having read the paragraph you included in your post by Dawkins, I can see that I have absolutely no argument with it. I have only read some of Dawkins but a lot more of Darwin (at school). I have very little argument with science. I like it and have always been fascinated by it. I really don't think we have an argument about science. What I do have an argument about is people making claims that science says there is no God or that there is no consciousness beyond what exists here. There may or may not be a God. Science has not proved or disproved of the existence of God. What science has done is smash our medieval notions of how we thought the universe and life in it, came into being. I have always enjoyed Arthur C Clarke's science fiction but when I saw him on cable TV making some arrogant and impossible to prove statements about the impossibility of there being life after death I could see that he was a better fiction writer than a scientist. Indeed, his statement was not even scientific because he said that we could count out the possibility of an afterlife, with no evidence to back it up. I love science and while it does dispel the old beliefs about creationism as we knew them, I don't see anything truly that conflicts with my own personal beliefs. While Darwin exploded the myth of a seven day creation, he did not have anything to say about the existence or non existence of a God. I presume that Dawkins' publications can be interpreted and used to pose an argument of atheism but I would be very surprised if Dawkins himself would claim to do this. I he does then I would be most disappointed because there would be no need for it. It would be an inkblot on a neat scientific theory and an unnecessary one at that. Since in reality, it's not been proved either way and need not come into the picture. From what I know of his lechtures at Oxford, he did not preach atheism but was incredibly enthusiastic about the science of evolution. And Oxford being Oxford, such personal beliefs or non beliefs would not enter into any of his lectures. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 19:55:07 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Sir Cumspect Subject: But, there is... Message: Sir: (I really like that title). It's NOT up to science to prove or disprove the existence of god because scientists didn't postulate the existence of god. It's up to the THEOLOGIANS to prove the existence of god, because THEY postulated the existence of god. If a scientist makes a rediculous claim, it is up to him/her to PROVE it, not someone else. Look at ANY scientific journal and you will see that what I am saying is true. Heck, just look at the claim of life-on-mars? Who was it that had to prove life? Was it the scientists that made the claim or did other scientists do it for them? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 21:09:02 (EDT)
From: Sir Cumspect Email: David.Studio57@btinternet.com To: Mike Subject: But, there is... Message: 'It's NOT up to science to prove or disprove the existence of god because scientists didn't postulate the existence of god.' Well then we're in agreement. Science is there to prove what can be proven with the data we can get from research. I don't think God has seriously come into scientific research and any results from the sporadic research done so far, has been inconclusive. But you seem to agree with my main point, that I say that Dawkins has not set out to preach atheism. I'd be very surprised if he'd bother with such a venture. Steven Hawking is the other great published scientist over here. He's more popular than Dawkins and much more widely read. Much of his popularity is due to the admiration he's engendered from continuing to lecture at Cambridge despite being totally paralysed from motor neuron disease. He's on TV a lot and is a household name. He's certainly not a professed atheist and has often hinted at the possibility of a God. He realises he's only put forth indications of there being a God and he would be the first to admit that there's no proof either way. Now regarding life on Mars. There's an opinion over here that the results of the tests on the meteor were inconclusive but NASA needed more funding so they persuaded everyone that the meteor found in the antarctic showed signs of life on Mars. Wild Bill Hiccup went along with the story and suddenly we have more Mars missions coming up. I'm very excited about the Mars missions but admit that in reality we don't know whether there was ever life up there or not. Take a few scientists needing funds, stir in a large corporation which depends on space travel for its existence and add a touch of President who knows a vote catcher when he sees one and what do you get? Little green thingies, crawling about on Mars. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 19:59:37 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Mike Subject: But, there is... Message: Mike: You either need an editor, or you need to reread your stuff before posting it. What the heck does this passage mean? If a scientist makes a rediculous claim, it is up to him/her to PROVE it, not someone else. Look at ANY scientific journal and you will see that what I am saying is true. Heck, just look at the claim of life-on-mars? Who was it that had to prove life? Was it the scientists that made the claim or did other scientists do it for them? As Karl Popper demonstrated with a good deal of credibility, the essence of science is not about proving verities but about falsifying theoretical models. You have stated the method exactly backwards. You don't pose preposterous or iconoclastic models and then try to prove them, you pose reasonable or probable models that fulfill the theoretical conditions, and then try to falsify them. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 21:16:20 (EDT)
From: Nigel Email: nigel.redcrow.demon.co.uk To: Scott T. Subject: Scott, Scott, Scott Message: Scott, Why are you being so excessively pedantic here? Until around twenty five years back, everybody (scientists included) thought about science in terms of 'proof', and that is still the way most people look at it. And in a very important sense that is still the correct way of looking at it: The burden of proof is on the claimant . As true as ever. Not everybody here is as fully au fait with Popper's contribution to the philosophy of science as toi et moi, and Popper's central point about theories not being provable, only falsifiable, is essentially correct, but this is hardly an epistemiological quodlibet that ever bothered the God-botheres when making their own unproven/non-falsifiable claims. Again, I think your contribution here is completely irrelevant. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 12:05:45 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: But, there is... Message: Scott: Sorry I haven't answered sooner (suffering from the flu). Yes, I am an engineer (in answer to a previous post). Popper's is ONE OPINION about scientific method (and not a bad one). However, the point that it is up to the person making a claim to PROVE it, is basically correct. Of course, any reasonable scientist will attempt to find fault with their own theory. That is an intrinsic part of the process. Once published, the rest of the scientific community, then tries to poke holes in the theory/supposition, as well. Making a CLAIM that there is an omnipresent, omniscient, benevolent being called god, then supplying NO PROOF whatsoever (given thousands of years to try to find some) is not for scientists to disprove. There is NO PROOF, just blind faith. The key word is BLIND! A supposition without the slightest hint of proof is just a REDICULOUS CLAIM, nothing more. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 21:02:27 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Sir Cumspect Subject: Ah, but there is Message: Science has not proved or disproved of the existence of God. What science has done is smash our medieval notions of how we thought the universe and life in it, came into being. David how we thought the universe was was dependent on this mysterious force called God. The biggest selling points God had were 'miracles' in nature (like eclipses) and apparent design. Plants, animals and men seemed surely to have been put together by some wonderful consciousness, God. But now we understand that the 'miracles' might be wondrous to look at but they're all explained by simple physical laws of nature. And, thanks to Darwin and those that followed him, we see that the 'design' is an illusion too, that 'natural selection' (which really is poorly named as it still misleadingly suggests a 'selector') accounts for the appearance of design although, in actuality, there's no such thing. So where are we at? Well, those still enamoured of the God idea retreat, like Mike mentioned in his 'addendum' post, to higher, ground. Where's God? Where's the proof of his existence? In the areas science hasn't yet been able to map out with any certainty. Consciousness? Now that seems like a nice safe place to store a little God, doesn't it? Who's going to be able to crack that code? And as along as we've got a mystery we can always pretend that that's where we thought God REALLY was all along. That is, sure, we'll surrender eclipses, rain and even, if we have to, the eyeball. But there's no way you're going to tell us God isn't behind human consciousness! Well, guess what? That wall, secure as it might have been way back when, is crumbling too. Pinker ('How the Mind Works') or Dennett ('Darwin's Dangerous Idea') and all the other guys working in that realm, may not have it right yet. And for everything they do discover there's so much mystery left, but they're getting somewhere. They're learning a LOT about consciousness. They're seeing how it does indeed fit the evolutionary model so well and learning the details of the mind's mechanisms like never before. And, needless to say, they're not bumping up against God anywhere. There are no 'keep out, trespassers' signs. There's nothing of the sort. Dawkins does indeed argue the impossibility of God. His reason is quite simple. God, by definition, must be some very sophisticated intelligence to say the least. But one thing evolutionary theory teaches us is that intelligence evolved over time along with the physical bodies that contain it. Thus, even if you wanted to argue that an all-powerful God set the ball in motion way back when you'd be stymied. There simply is no reason to think there was any such intelligence at the world's inception. It'd be like saying that yes, man evolved physically, but there was also a fully developed -- make that super-developed - man overseeing the start of man's evolution right at the beginning. No way, Jose. Here are three links to interviews and speeches Dawkins has given on the subject: Dawkins 1 Dawkins 2 Dawkins 3 Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 21:10:39 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Jim Subject: Screw the links Message: For some reason, when I tested the three links I just tried to make, they didn't work. Here are the url's: http://www.humanist.net/publications/humanist/dawkins.html http://starbridge.net/sb_scifilinks/pages/dawkins.html http://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/dawkins/lecture_p1.html Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 21:32:02 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Jim Subject: Dawkins on God Message: David, Dawkins is indeed a proselytizing atheist. Here's another lecture of his on point which ends with the following: 'Science offers us an explanation of how complexity (the difficult) arose out of simplicity (the easy). The hypothesis of God offers no worthwhile explanation for anything, for it simply postulates what we are trying to explain. It postulates the difficult to explain, and leaves it at that. We cannot prove that there is no God, but we can safely conclude the He is very, very improbable indeed.' Here's the page: http://www.spacelab.net/~catalj/religion.htm Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 22:18:06 (EDT)
From: Sir Cumspect Email: David.Studio57@btinternet.com To: Jim Subject: Dawkins on God Message: I've just read the Dawkins lecture you gave the URL of and I must say, I'm not changed. Dawkins is anti religion and all his points made seem to stem from his beliefs and not from proven fact. I just see it as two schools of thought. I love to read Stephen Hawking and I could quote (if I had the time) quite a few things of Hawking which say that his branch of science moves him towards the belief in the possibility of a God. Here we have two learned men in totally different scientific fields. Dawkins even quotes Hawking's belief in God in his lecture. I even think that Dawkins' branch of atheism is pretty simplistic in its content and all he seems to be doing is deriding religion, which I'd agree with. Of course, either Dawkins or Hawking is right. One is right and the other is wrong. There either is or isn't a God. We have two options. You go with Dawkins and I go with Hawking. Funny how their names are almost the same. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 23:42:28 (EDT)
From: sean Email: seanl@texas.net To: Sir Cumspect Subject: Forced out of lurking mode Message: >>We cannot prove that there is no God, but we can safely >>conclude the He is very, very improbable indeed. Maybe so, but the existence of God seems less improbable than a creation which can produce self awareness, without a creator, in my uninformed opinion :) Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 23:53:14 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: sean Subject: Forced out of lurking mode Message: Hmm... How can two exhaustive and mutually exclusive scenarios be improbable at the same time? No matter how improbable they each may seem separately, the actual probability must me something like p = 0.5 Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 01:05:25 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: sean Subject: keep reading Message: Maybe so, but the existence of God seems less improbable than a creation which can produce self awareness, without a creator, in my uninformed opinion :) Interesting that you mention this. Dawkins deals with this common misconception quite well about mid-way through The Blind Watchmaker. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 00:51:57 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Sir Cumspect Subject: Suit yourself Message: David, You just go on believing whatever you want. It's a free country, isn't it? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 08:12:04 (EDT)
From: Becky Email: None To: Sir Cumspect Subject: Dawkins on God Message: I think I agree with you, that Dawkins seems to believe that what he says is impenetrable, unchangable, obvious fact. However, like you I feel that this mode of thinking/belief is as you say, a school of thought. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 11:12:05 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Becky Subject: Your focus is wrong Message: I think I agree with you, that Dawkins seems to believe that what he says is impenetrable, unchangable, obvious fact. However, like you I feel that this mode of thinking/belief is as you say, a school of thought. You guys are really paddling backwards by focusing on how much you think Dawkins does or doesn't believe in hwat he says. Like, that's REALLY not going to accomplish anything. Get substantive. Take some time and really understand the theory. Find out why the theory either is or isn't as compelling as all that. Read the fucking book! (And really read it. I don't know what Burke did with it but I can't imagine that he actually read it.) Then you can talk about how strong the EVIDENCE is, not whether or not someone else (i.e. Dawkins) is impressed by it an unseemly amount or not. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 08:19:54 (EDT)
From: Becky Email: None To: Jim Subject: Will do Message: Have read part of it (very bad written) but will certainly endeavour to look deeper into it. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Thurs, Aug 20, 1998 at 09:46:48 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Becky Subject: Will do Message: Have read part of it (very bad written) but will certainly endeavour to look deeper into it. What's 'bad written'? Your sentence or the book? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 08:19:54 (EDT)
From: Becky Email: None To: Jim Subject: Correction Message: Jim, I meant 'badly written'. At least i have you as my editor. Seems like Dawkins had no editor Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 11:25:55 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Becky Subject: You've got to be kidding Message: Becky, Dawkins is a SUPERB writer. Even his critics universally acknowledge that. You're just what? Envious? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 21, 1998 at 18:11:26 (EDT)
From: Nigel Email: None To: Becky Subject: Can you give us an example... Message: ...of Dawkins' bad writing, please? Dawkins is a great writer, in my opinion: economical, clear, eloquent and with a great talent for metaphor. I believe that writing good non-fiction is far harder than writing good fiction, and Dawkins is a master. As Jim said, you don't have to agree with all of his ideas to recognise the writing talent. I'm really puzzled by your comment. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 00:55:12 (EDT)
From: petebear Email: petebear@ozemail.com.au To: Jim Subject: Dawkins on God Message: Jim, Long ago (1978) I attended a number of University athiest group meetings. I think I went along as a premie looking for a chance to convert someone. Anyway the thing that struck me was that every session was devoted to proving the inexistence of God and deconstructing the myth of Jesus Christ. They did it quite well but I was amazed at their need to disprove. They reminded me of some aspects of myself at the time - highly focussed, lucid arguments, paasionate and very smug in their correctness. Anyway these were athiets from Canberra Australia so I can't speak for other athiest groups. Cheers for now peter Howie Brisbnae Australia Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 01:00:50 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: petebear Subject: what'd you expect? Message: Anyway the thing that struck me was that every session was devoted to proving the inexistence of God and deconstructing the myth of Jesus Christ. They did it quite well but I was amazed at their need to disprove. They reminded me of some aspects of myself at the time - highly focussed, lucid arguments, paasionate and very smug in their correctness. But what else would you expect from an atheist club? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 13:36:20 (EDT)
From: hamzen Email: None To: everyone Subject: on god Message: Maybe someone can help me here, I'm really confused. Say, purely for conjectures sake, that God did exist. That God would have to be infinite, all-pervading, at least connected to all reality in some way or other, be beyond duality as we experience it. Language can only exist by comparisons. Black cannot exist without white. A word can only exist in relation to another word. How then can any word, conversation or whatever convey anything meaningful on any level about the topic? Is my logic faulty? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 14:41:29 (EDT)
From: Sir David Email: David.Studio57@btnternet.com To: hamzen Subject: on god Message: I don't fully understand what you mean. However, if God exists then everything is God. That is the usual assumption. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 15:49:42 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: hamzen Subject: on god, and Derrida Message: hamzen: Say, purely for conjectures sake, that God did exist. That God would have to be infinite, all-pervading, at least connected to all reality in some way or other, be beyond duality as we experience it. Language can only exist by comparisons. Black cannot exist without white. A word can only exist in relation to another word. How then can any word, conversation or whatever convey anything meaningful on any level about the topic? Is my logic faulty? According to the guy who originated this deconstructionist argument, and who applies it skillfully and entertainingly, there is no logic that's relevant to the issue. Everything, according to him, is 'logocentric,' meaning that all oppositions sort of swirl around a central condition or identity which is up for grabs. I figure his basic intention is to create confusion. Are all language concepts oppositional to the point that they are essentially meaningless? I think not. It's just entertainment. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 02:13:39 (EDT)
From: jethro Email: None To: hamzen Subject: on god Message: Most belief systems that I have met say that 'God is beyond this' and 'God is beyond that'. So by definition one has to accept that 'God' is beyond us. Then a philosophy/living system is built up around this 'God' (although of course noone can know God). Those people who worship the sun are condemned as idol worshippers, while those doing the condemning worship 'that which they cannot know'. Religion is the ultimate semantic copout. Jethro PS The Life of Brian should be compulsory in all education systems. John Cleese is the real satguru. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 10:19:04 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: petebear Subject: Brisbnae... Freudian slip? Message: Petebear: Just kidding. Everyone knows that B'nai brith is not strictly a religious organization. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 22:00:32 (EDT)
From: Nigel Email: nigel@redcrow.demon.co.uk To: bill Subject: Nigel and all. Message: Hi Bill, Have a great trip (I mean it). I have nothing to add on this subject that I haven't already said in the 'Consciousness' thread. Of course I am to be branded a non-scientific creationist even though I am not. I know YOU are not like that. But do you see? I don't know exactly what you believe, Bill, but I didn't brand you a non-scientific creationist, OK? - I don't know enough about you to make any such assumption. Just by your post, all the science and theory are lined up together and -do I want to be on the -smart- side? Don't I want to be lined up with '95% of the biologists'? (assumption) I wasn't talking about you, I was talking about biologists. I don't know what it is about biologists, but they seem far less inclined to allow God in by the back door than, say, physicists. I don't think my estimate of 95% is far out. I'm still interested in how you are so sure that I am '100% wrong'. I'd like you to get back on this. Thanks, Nigel Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 01:24:16 (EDT)
From: Barney Email: None To: Everyone Subject: Sunday - no posts? Message: no posts today? hard to believe Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 02:39:12 (EDT)
From: Betty Email: None To: Barney Subject: Sunday Message: Summer Vacation time! Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 08:23:27 (EDT)
From: Becky Email: None To: Betty Subject: Collective absent-mindedness Message: aehga Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 21:08:35 (EDT)
From: Rick Email: None To: Everyone Subject: alt.cult.maharaji Message: Anyone been over to alt.cult.maharji lately? The latest post is by Red Heels: The website being hailed as a premie website is actually a site set up and monitored by ex-premies who just want to watch and inspect premies. There is no premie website, and from what I understand Maharaji prefers it that way. What Red Heels forgets to mention is that BM prefers her not to be on the Net altogether. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 21:33:30 (EDT)
From: Sir Cumstantial Email: David.Studio57@btinternet.com To: Rick Subject: alt.cult.maharaji Message: And any minute now you should be getting the reply posted by Web Watcher. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 17:35:51 (EDT)
From: Selene Email: None To: Rick Subject: alt.cult.maharaji Message: Watch and inspect ??????? That's funny. What is that supposed to mean? As if they are so interesting. I haven't even been there once. What for? Seems RH is more interested in us than vice versa. I wonder why? Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 06:48:06 (EDT)
From: Robyn Email: sundogs@hotmail.com To: Selene Subject: alt.cult.maharaji Message: Dear Selene, I haven't been there twice yet myself as I think I did post there at the first and then Red Heels told me I was hostile. I've had to much to do and now I hope to have to much fun relaxing to interfere with them whatever they decide to do about the site. Love, Robyn Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 16:58:01 (EDT)
From: Carol Email: None To: Everyone Subject: Celin's wish Message: My son Caelin, 10 years old, wants me to get off the computer right now and go somewhere!!! But, I want to share his wish. If he only had one wish it would be (he's going to type it): I would wish that I could do every thing I can Imagine and control any thing I want; but I would still want people to like me for who I am. (Carol again. He sounds like a benevolent dictator!) Last night he said he wanted a world where 'all money would disappear and all people had unlimited access to what they wanted and needed and there was no sickness or anything that hurts; but if you got hurt instead your brain would tell you.' He said,' I'd get rid of all lies except 'white lies'. (What kind of system would this be?) Gotta go, I'm getting 'mom'ed to death!Happy Saturday to you all! Carol Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 16:59:27 (EDT)
From: Carol Email: None To: all Subject: AGH! Caelin! not Celin! nt Message: nt Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 17:15:01 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Carol Subject: Question Message: I must have missed something somewhere. What does 'nt' mean? -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 20:18:10 (EDT)
From: Jerry Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: Question Message: It means 'no text'. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 06:50:43 (EDT)
From: Robyn Email: sundogs@hotmail.com To: Scott T. Subject: Question Message: Dear Scott, I just learned the same difficult lesson. nt=no text. :) And here I thought you knew everything! Love, Robyn Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 15:35:14 (EDT)
From: PaulR Email: pgrobinson@hotmail.com To: Everyone Subject: Cult Game Message: I thought some people here might be interested in viewing this FREEWARE game, called 'CULT'. The player looks for non violent ways of investigating a cult. Also it fits on a 1.44 floppy disk so you can get it from a public access place to take home as I do. requires W95, does not work on NT (which is what I use), but I've requested a patch. The following URL http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/cgi-bin/texis/swlib/hotfiles/info.html?fcode=000OPE gives a description of the game and download instructions. (cut the text from here, save to a notepad file and later paste into the URL Locator)This method is better than using a link on the site because ex-premie.com does not then have to pay for the bandwidth in going to the site. or go to http://hotfiles.zdnet.com/ and type in CULT in the search engine. I'd like to know what people think of the game. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Tues, Aug 18, 1998 at 14:05:33 (EDT)
From: RT Email: mmmm To: PaulR Subject: Cult Game A Gift for Premies! Message: Hi Paul. I got it last week and enjoy the dialogs. It's simple but can be a teaching tool for kids. Glad you joined the cult!... Welcome. You have Grail. RT Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 06:25:49 (EDT)
From: keith Email: None To: Everyone Subject: UNTITLED Message: The identity with oneself can be so easily rigid . Same with groups too . Part of the psychology of stasis is a deep rooted need to maintain equilibriam . Don't rock the boat! This need for the security of non-change or minimal change is the conservative trend that also tries to prevent self examination . The overly confident and rigidly conservative status quo will stifle challenging modes of communication if it can . The deep fear of anarchy and chaos prevents the conservative psyche from exploring radical approaches to lifes enigma that extend one too far out from ones comfort zone. The fear of madness too has deep, deep roots . And these fears have been expoited by generations of rulers , both secular and religious. But at the end of the spiral , evolution still occurs. Genes are interpenetrated by memes ; memes are interpenetrated by quarks and the entire cosmic symphony (and cacophony) dances on towards its ineviatable climax ; or at least towards its next phase. One echo from these amazing times is the message ; consciousness is omnipotent and omniscient ; and mind is the potentially wonderful instrument of spirit . Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 07:20:53 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: keith Subject: Generic Message: Sheer nonsense. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 13:15:37 (EDT)
From: Gerry Email: None To: Everyone Subject: True Colors Message: Hi gang, Well, I've been trying on a lot of new suits these days and none of them seem to fit, so I have come to a few conclusions I'd like to share with you all. Remember that rather bitter John Lennon song where he sang I don't believe in Bible, I don't believe in Gita, I don't believe in Beatles, etc? At the end all he believed in was himself. Himself and Yoko. I'm there! I don't believe in Christian I don't believe in Democrat I don't believe in Republican I don't believe in communism I don't believe in capitalism I don't believe in ET I don't believe in Skeptics I don't believe in Atheist I don't believe in believing I guess you get the picture. I just believe in me Patty and me. I'm not fooling around here. I've come to this place for real. I really don't believe in anything. It's all just fucking belief systems, BS. Somebody ALWAYS has a compelling argument for the opposite position. So what's the truth. I exist. You exist (I think). Other than that, how the fuck do I know? And guess what? It doesn't matter. The secret to happiness has been revealed to me. No, not by Nadeen. That's tonight. I got 'knowledge' last night. It's real simple. I was having fun stomping around the forum last night, shitting on everybody's opinion and throwing in a few screwballs like 'Abortion is murder' when I asked Patty what she believed. She said, ' Well, I don't believe anything. I just enjoy the moment. I guess that's why people ask me what I'm so happy about and the answer is nothing. It's real easy for me to slip into.' When we went to visit Jim and Laurie in Victoria a couple of weekends ago, Jim asked me 'Is she always like this?'' 'Like what?' I asked. 'You know, smiling and contented.' I though for a second and realized that, yes she was. Most always anyway until I rain on her parade with some petty bullshit that's bugging me. And then it only lasts minutes, or until I shut up. So there it is, friends, the secret to happiness. Works for her and it's working for me, more and more when I stop resisting what is and accept things as they are, not how I'd like them to be. Now, the human condition being what it is, I know some of you are going to say what about social injustice, and the environment etc. Well this doesn't me we have to lie down and take all the ugliness in the world with a happy face. No indeedley-do. We go forth with great vigor and do what we can but, without beating one's head against the wall. Big diff. That's all the wisdom I have for right now. I'm still learning from her. But a lot has rubbed off through proximity, much more than I realized. Hey, maybe I'll wrap her up in a sari and send her out on the guru circuit. That's where the big bucks are. Nah that'd spoil it. By for now. I'm already way over my monthly time allotment with my ISP and every minute costs me more dough so I'll be scarce for a while. Hope nobody's nose is too bent. Love, Gerry Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 13:21:36 (EDT)
From: Rick Email: None To: Gerry Subject: True Colors Message: I liked your post, Gerry. All except for the part where you said 'more and more'. Do you really still say that? Rick Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 13:24:53 (EDT)
From: Gerry Email: None To: Rick Subject: True Colors Message: Thanks Rick, I don't think I say ''more and more'' when speaking. And I think I'll be writing it less and less... Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 15:05:23 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Gerry Subject: True Colors Message: Gerry: I believe in a number of things, with reservations. There's a concept in Synergetics to the effect that every principle discribes less than 100% of a system, and would be meaningless were that not the case. In other words, the fact that a principle is incomplete is what makes it meaningful. Just another diviant thought from yours truly. Incidentally, I loved Lou Reid's take on 'true colors' in the VU album. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 18:21:43 (EDT)
From: Gerry Email: None To: All Subject: True Colors/preemptive strike Message: I copied this from another thread. The italics is G's Mom; the regular type is Gerry. But believing in things does make life a little more troublesome. Throwing away one's values when they become unpleasant in a given situation would make life a little happier I guess. Values are not the same as belief systems. For example: I believe in the boogyman. I value human life. Someone can convince me the boogyman doesn't exist; no one can convince me human life has no value. Belief systems can and do change; as we get older, as we learn, as we experience new things. Value are for life. The two are not the same. Throwing away values would be disasterous. Chucking belief systems is liberating. Does this make sense? Can you see the difference? And no, I don't think it's possible to live with NO belief systems. Fanciful, yes, but probably not possible. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 18:50:25 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Gerry Subject: Patty's wrong, (so are you) Message: I asked Patty what she believed. She said, ' Well, I don't believe anything. I just enjoy the moment. I guess that's why people ask me what I'm so happy about and the answer is nothing. It's real easy for me to slip into.' Patty, bless her heart, is mixing things up a bit when she says that she doesn't believe anything (and 'just enjoys the moment'). Like anyone, Patty believes all sorts of things. In fact, she conveyed several beliefs and opinions when we spoke over the couple of days you guys were here. She's got opinions about the art world, Maharaji, the people on your street, New York City, HER art, YOUR walkabout mandolins, Victoria, and a whole lot of stuff. She's just not inclined, I guess, to debate things that much. Fine. But it's a real misnomer for her or you to consider her without beliefs. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 19:02:48 (EDT)
From: Gerry Email: None To: Jim Subject: Semantics Message: Are opinions and beliefs the same thing? nooooooo. Apples and oranges here, Jim. Sure we all have our opinions, likes, dislikes on everything. We see something and make a judgement on it. That's the way it works. That's miles from adopting and incorporating belief systems. And of course, there will be vestiges of inherited BS's in everyones' thinking. It's called conditioning. And it's these BS's and conditioning that makes us crazy. I say let 'em rip if you can. But keep your values, please. There's enough sociopaths around as it is. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 19:23:24 (EDT)
From: Gerry Email: None To: Jim Subject: Semantics/Preemptive strike Message: Opinions: Victoria's a great city; The Walkabout dulcimer rules; Patty's art is not commercially viable; the neighbors are neanderthals; Jim's pigheaded. Belief Systems: Islam; psychoanalysis; knowledge; creationism; socialism. There IS a difference. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 19:29:22 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Gerry Subject: Semantics/Preemptive strike Message: Gerry, You said 'beliefs', now you say 'belief systems'. Big difference. The five you mentioned all require acceptance of some unchallengable fundamentals. I don't like that. But you included 'skepticism' in your initial list. How is that a belief system like those you've mentioned? (Hint: it isn't) Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 20:03:09 (EDT)
From: Gerry Email: None To: Jim Subject: Semantics/Preemptive strike Message: Good point. I mean belief systems, for sure. Sorry about the confusion. I believe that skepticism could be considered a BS in some instances. For example, somebody may be totally invested in defending the status quo at any cost. Just to toe that line of that thinking. I realize this is a bit of a stretch. The original list was before people here caused me to sharpen my thinking on this. I my have to get my red pencil out. The one with the eraser. It happens. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 21:19:30 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Gerry Subject: Semantics/Preemptive strike Message: I believe that skepticism could be considered a BS in some instances. For example, somebody may be totally invested in defending the status quo at any cost. Just to toe that line of that thinking. I realize this is a bit of a stretch. It sounds like you're confusing skepticism, which is a really just a movement to encourage scientific rigour in consideration of ideas, with radical conservatism. If there's any place for skepticism at all in the world, it's because people are NOT prone to carefully scrutinize their beliefs according to scientific principles. They'll accept, fully or tentatively, ideas that don't pass scientific muster. Skeptics, whose amibition is to distinguish valid ideas from invalid, the wheat from the chaff, will always seem like 'nay sayers' to people who don't want to apply that high (i.e. scientific) standard of proof to their ideas. But that's a far stretch from 'protecting the status quo at all costs'. Mind you, that's a common ad hominem counter-attack proponents of indefensible ideas throw at skeptics. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 19:00:56 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: freewheeling@mindspring.com To: Gerry, et al Subject: Some intriguing book reviews Message: Gerry, et al: The following link is to a series of reviews for four books that deal with the intersection of science and religion: Spiritual Evolution: Scientists Discuss Their Beliefs (edited by John Marks Templeton & Kenneth Seeman Giniger), Science and Theology: The New Consonance (edited by Ted Peters), Skeptics and True Believers: The Exhilarating Connection Between Science and Religion (Chet Raymo Walker), and Darwin's Black Box: The Biochemical Challenge to Evolution (Michael Behe). Scientists Peer Into the Cosmos of Spirituality I'm especially intrigued by the Behe book. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 22:44:21 (EDT)
From: Nigel Email: nigel@redcrow.demon.co.uk To: Scott T. Subject: Skeptical Creationist? Message: Thanks Scott, By why are you intrigued by the Behe book? - Well I shouldn't have asked that, since I am intrigued as well, but probably for different reasons... Seriously, Scott, are you looking for evidence for the 'argument from design'? Do you think this guy has really found some? You only have to consider the lop-sided grin of a flat fish or shake a panda's thumb to appreciate that randomness is all. But now we are told, there is a crack in the door. Cells, it seems, were designed , but organisms presumably did it for themselves while the designer was having his coffee break... It seems natural selection can engineer the complexity of an eye, but not that of a cell, if you believe what is written here. Why I am I so certain that Behe's theory will be as dead as Kuhn himself in a couple of years, if not sooner? (but time enough to flog a few books to Christian Scientists, I guess - pardon my cynicism) Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 23:03:59 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Nigel Subject: teleology Message: Nigel: I don't think Christians are his target audience. The notion of 'natural rights' rests ultimately on a designed universe, so there are people who are quite rational in other respects that have an interest in the conception of teleology. The focus on cells probably has to do with the fact that it's hard to get any closer to first causes, which is the basic problem with theories of evolution. All theories of evolution have a problem with first cause, or with infinite regress. Any honest and knowledgable evolutionist will admit that. The dishonest ones bluster, or claim it's not a problem. The people at the Sante Fe Intituted wave the magic want of 'complexity' but are really beneath contempt. The issue is that evolutionary theory cannot be shown to be fundamental without also giving away the whole store of social conventions upon which civilization rests. If you think there is any need for a real basis to law, beyond simple arbitrariness, then evolutionary theory is pretty helpless. It can explain how rules evolve, but can't help you talk about justice. And people don't obey rules that are not deemed to be just. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Fri, Aug 14, 1998 at 23:22:41 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: He's as Christian as CD premie Message: Behe is most decidedly a Christian writing for a Christian audience. Absolutomento! They're his people. He eats in their tent and dances with their women. There is no question. Do a net search and you'll quickly see that Behe's the great white hope of the fraudulent Scientific Creation movement. This isn't an issue of first cause at all. Behe's focusing on the cellular level which IS within the reach of evolutionary theory, unlike atomic structure which is, as far as I know, still anybody's guess origin-wise. For just one of many damning reviews of Behe's work by the scientific community, read: http://www-polisci.mit.edu/bostonreview/BR22.1/coyne.html DickeySoft Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 02:40:09 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Jim Subject: Sorry, wrong link Message: No, that's not it. I've got to find that one again. I'm not sure what happened. But this link does lead to a response by Steven Pinker to a review of his book How the Mind Works which is pretty interesting. Don't know where that other page is right this second. Sorry for the confusion. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 05:35:46 (EDT)
From: CD Email: None To: Jim Subject: Pinker ideas Message: Pinker Speaks How the Mind Works - according to Pinker Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 15:31:45 (EDT)
From: Carol Email: None To: CD Subject: Pinker ideas Message: Thanks for the link. It also has links to other subjects of my interest including Asperger Syndrome, a form of high-functioning autism that my 10 year old has. I wonder if Pinker has done any study of those with brain who are 'hard-wired' differently. Carol Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 08:11:03 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Nigel Subject: Message in a bottle? Message: I find this fascinating. Scientific Method has two core difficulties: 1. There has been an ongoing search for a minimum particle that dates from Democratus' first proposition of the atom; and 2. It is an uphill battle to argue that life evolved from non-life. I don't see that there is any real chance that such a thing as a minimum particle exists, which places this enterprise smack in the middle of Zeno's paradox. On this basis one can confidently make the following prediction: If a minimum component exists, out of which everything else is composed, it must of necessity be non-material (meaning, non-energetic). This conclusion is almost unavoidable, but will involve an enormous paradigm shift since the present paradigm is bounded by the condition of energy, and energetic phenomena. I am less confident about the fate of the second problem. First the Santa Fe folks make what appears to be an argument in favor of evolutionary theory and the origins of life, based on the emergence of systems that have life-like behavior and are composed of simple agents interacting according to immutable mechanical rules. Essentially they are trying to deal with evolutionary theory's Achilles heel. Then the creationists make an argument from irreducible complexity that purports to counter and undermine evolutionary theory, by saying that the basic life-like structure, a euchariotic of prochariotic cell, is too complex to have emerged from simple non-alive components. I don't see how this is especially heretical, but it might be the case that everyone is trying to generate a little mystique to help their cause? If life evolved through complexity and chaos then it is whimsical to ask whether that supports the views of the creationists or the evolutionists, or whether it even matters? What I find intriguing about the 'damning' arguments against Behe is that 1. He doesn't publish in the major journals designed to mop up after the Darwinian paradigm, and 2. He hangs around with the wrong crowd. Stephen Klein, at Stanford, has made a career out of the argument that a great deal of time and energy would be saved if specialists would read the journals of other specializations. In other words, if they'd become less specialized they'd discover that some of their pet assumptions and core beliefs had been known to be false for a long time. So arguments that a particular expert doesn't go to 'our' party are not, in themselves, impressive. I'm fascinated that Behe is using an argument related to those of the evolutionists. The question is, is there an anomaly large enough to warrant a paradigm shift? Since evolutionary theory deals with the evolution of life, rather than it's origins, I don't see them getting into any serious trouble that they can't mop up unless someone proves that there were humans around before apes. (In fact, it would probably take dozens of such discoveries to have an impact, and rightly so.) But the fact that most serious thinkers seem to dismiss evolutionary theory as irrelevant to the big questions probably nags them enough that they'll keep trying to bolster the Santa Fe arguments. It makes you wonder what they're proving though. I mean perfect chaos or randomness would entail no direction, or telos. As I've said before, honest evolutionists will admit this. But perfect randomness is as un-natural as, well, a Creator that looks like Santa Claus. So, how could the first 'push' be a random event, with any certainty? That's the rub. It seems to haunt everyone. I can either claim, with uncertainty, that everything is based on randomness, or I can claim that there is design behind everything, and rely on uncertainty as the evidence. That is where things stand. Rawls thinks this dilemma could be the basis for a system of justice, as does Buchanan. It's sort of like: 'can't ask, can't tell.' Is anyone listening? -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 15:18:30 (EDT)
From: Rick Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: Scott Message: Hi Scott. Can I email you? I wanted to get your perspective on something. Rick Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 15:32:29 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: freewheeling@mindspring.com To: Rick Subject: Scott Message: Rick: Sure, go ahead. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 19:19:56 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Nigel Subject: Skeptical Creationist? Message: Nigel, it all started with the 'slightest' (a few tenths of a degree kelvin, I think) temperature change during the big bang. Without that change in temperature during the bang, 'nothing would be made that was made.' The more we go back, the more elemental it becomes. Why is randomness so hard to accept? Why is 'design' required? Now the pope agrees with S. Hawkings... The pope said this may be how creation started, but stern words followed to Mr. Hawkings, to wit: Don't look any further back, behind the big bang, because this is the realm of god... Isn't it amazing how god seems to stay one step ahead of us, according to theologians, when it comes to discovering how things work? And, yet, no one (including theologians) has proven that god (or any portion thereof) even exists! Let's see... how many other times has this discussion occurred... 'Don't go beyond dry land, for the sea is the realm of god,' 'Don't go beyond earth, for this is the realm of god,' 'Don't study the stars for this is the realm of god,' 'Don't go looking into the dna molecule for this is the realm of god,' 'Don't mess with atomic (subatomic) structures for this is the realm of god.' Sounds, to me, like his/her realm is shrinking more and more every day. So tell me, theologians, where oh where is his/her realm, EXACTLY... (Yes, I want Right Ascension and Declination coordinates, please). Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 19:55:38 (EDT)
From: Jim Email: None To: Mike Subject: Mike, don't forget Message: 'A man has to know his limits.' -- Chris Dickey, 1998 Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 20:02:52 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Jim Subject: Mike, don't forget Message: You're right.... I forgot to reign-in my ego today... Sorry! Snicker...snicker... Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Mon, Aug 17, 1998 at 20:08:20 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Mike Subject: Conversation at the QP. Message: Mike: Nigel, it all started with the 'slightest' (a few tenths of a degree kelvin, I think) temperature change during the big bang. Without that change in temperature during the bang, 'nothing would be made that was made.' The more we go back, the more elemental it becomes. Why is randomness so hard to accept? Why is 'design' required? It isn't that there's a psychological barrier against accepting randomness. It's that one can't accept it with certainty. That's the rub. And Mike, what the heck is this about 'a few tenths of a degree' making all the difference. Where did you read that? Doesn't something have to exist before a temperature increase? I have no problem with the notion that equilibrium (no temperature) is untenable. But, I can't claim to know that with certainty, because equilibrium might very well be tenable, for all I know. If it is, then the universe was started by a telos. No getting around it. If equilibrium is tenable then it wouldn't change... ever. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 12:34:33 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: Conversation at the QP. Message: Scott: Read Steve Hawkings (all of his works). What existed prior to the bang? Not sure, yet. However, the COBE satellite that just finished mapping the known universe, detected the small temperature changes that caused the elements, as we know them, to come into existence. Had there been no temperature differential, the state you refer to as 'equilibrium' would have existed. What caused the temperature differential hasn't been determined, yet. There are some amazing theories about that subject, but it would be WAY OFF topic. BTW, my chosen major was Astrophysics with a minor in CS (that's why you hear me talking astronomy, once in a while). Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Wed, Aug 19, 1998 at 15:40:48 (EDT)
From: Mike Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: Just got the joke.... Message: Hey Scott: Man, I must still be feeling the effects of the flu. I just got the QP joke in the subject line. he he he he. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 13:13:47 (EDT)
From: Jerry Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: Some intriguing book reviews Message: I started to read the link you posted and then realized that it was a production of the Christian Science Monitor. I would rather these people did a scientific study of their own Christian beliefs. The basic belief of a Christian is that Jesus is the Son Of God, the savior of mankind. How do you prove that scientifically? I can't even imagine where to begin. I don't think these people have any business calling themselves scientists. They're only interested in protecting their beliefs, not in finding out the truth about them. Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 15:30:49 (EDT)
From: Scott T. Email: None To: Jerry Subject: Sorry Message: Jerry: I understand that the CS Monitor might be somewhat biased in their reviews, but it is generally not thought to be a biased newspaper in spite of it's association with the 'Mother Church.' For instance, it was the Monitor that broke the story on the atrocities in Bosnia, and it was David Rhode, reporting for the Monitor, that kept on top of the story when the networks had lost interest. Just consider the source. CS is a 'science' only in the sense of the popular usage of term in the 19th century, which is not valid by today's standards. The Monitor is probably a better paper than most. -Scott Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 15:07:06 (EDT)
From: Carol Email: None To: Scott T. Subject: Some intriguing book reviews Message: Those look like very interesting books,Scott. I reserve the right to be very open and flexible regarding what I believe, because we are always getting new information and forming interpretations. Good to see you back! Carol Return to Index -:- Top of Index |
Date: Sat, Aug 15, 1998 at 15:53:04 (EDT)
From: Carol Email: None To: Gerry Subject: True Colors Message: Dear Gerry, I'm so glad to have met you and Patty. I have watched as you changed 'suits' several times. I'm glad that you reserve room for the possibility of 'GOD'. I perceive that you sometimes like to argue from different sides or points of view just for the fun of it (part of that Gemini duality, I guess!)I also see that doing so helps you form sense of your world view. Even while rejecting belief systems, I think that some of us (like me)cannot help but want to have a handle on a basic world view; and perhaps a value system provides an adequate grip. It is also certainly helpful for me, and obviously for you, to have a partner who is mostly contented and not personally critical of my thrashing about with beliefs. Carol Return to Index -:- Top of Index |