Michel's Blog

[Jhanon]

And what would David's username on here be? Or am I completely confused?

[Alexander]

Discerning Attainment: http://fruitofthecontemplativelife.org/forum/index.php/topic,777.0.html

And what would David's username on here be? Or am I completely confused?

http://fruitofthecontemplativelife.org/forum/index.php/topic,743.0.html - fqmorris

[Jhanon]

Yes, that is what I thought. I read it a week ago. I feel really bad for the guy, because it's obvious where and how things broke down. I hope he's able to overcome it in this lifetime.

[Michel]

 Excellent article by Chris Hedges titled "How Some Prisoners Are America's Most Exploited Workers"

Opening paragraph:
 
"Prisons employ and exploit the ideal worker. Prisoners do not receive benefits or pensions. They are not paid overtime. They are forbidden to organize and strike. They must show up on time. They are not paid for sick days or granted vacations. They cannot formally complain about working conditions or safety hazards. If they are disobedient, or attempt to protest their pitiful wages, they lose their jobs and can be sent to isolation cells. The roughly 1 million prisoners who work for corporations and government industries in the American prison system are models for what the corporate state expects us all to become. And corporations have no intention of permitting prison reforms that would reduce the size of their bonded workforce. In fact, they are seeking to replicate these conditions throughout the society."

Full article here: http://www.alternet.org/chris-hedges-how-some-prisoners-are-americas-most-exploited-workers?page=0%2C0

[Jhanananda]

Interesting point of view.  When I spent 5 days in jail for being a dead-beat dad, I found I had no right at all, and if I was lucky, then I got to work in the kitchen all day, where I got a meal, that is it.  Yes, I agree prison is the new slavery, but what else are you going to do in prison, but work?

[Jhanon]

I know a few ex-cons who discovered jhana while in prison--if that's what you're getting at, jhananda

[Michel]

If this is an omen of things to come then the future looks very dim. Here in Canada we're headed in a similar direction. Our first for profit private corporate managed prison appeared in 2001.

[Michel]

Why Psychiatry Holds Enormous Power in Society Despite Losing Scientific Credibility: http://www.alternet.org/why-psychiatry-holds-enormous-power-society-despite-losing-scientific-credibility

[Jhanananda]

Thank-you, Michel for posting this important link.  I completely agree with the following quote:

Why Psychiatry Holds Enormous Power in Society Despite Losing Scientific Credibility
What’s a guy gotta do around here to lose a little credibility?” asked ProPublica reporter Jesse Eisinger in a 2012 piece about top Wall Street executives who created the financial meltdown but remain top executives, continue to sit on corporate and nonprofit boards, serve as regulators, and whose opinions are sought out by prominent op-ed pages and talk shows.

Wall Street is not the only arena where one can be completely wrong and still retain powerful influence. Influential “thought leader” psychiatrists and major psychiatry institutions, by their own recent admissions, have been repeatedly wrong about illness/disorder validity, biochemical causes and drug treatments. In several cases, they have been discovered to be on the take from drug companies, yet continue to be taken seriously by the mainstream media.

[Michel]

I thought I'd share this beautiful and sorrowful piece of music for strings by the little known composer Sean Beeson. It titled Light Gracing:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkEgfqKU5h4

[Jhanananda]

A very nice piece, which I enjoyed.  Thank-you.

[Michel]

I just read this article about why it is better to kill than injure pedestrians with your automobile in China. I felt a mixture of laughter and pathos at the complete insanity of humans. It reminded of a chapter tilted "Jolly Hunting in Automobiles" from Hermann Hesse's novel Stepphenwolf.

Why many drivers in China intentionally kill the pedestrians they hit: http://news.nationalpost.com/news/world/why-many-drivers-in-china-intentionally-kill-the-pedestrians-they-hit

[Alexander]

They have a completely different approach to things there. Life is very hard, even harder than it is here, and human life is cheap. That is the situation in places like China. The cause of this seems to be an irrationality in the law... it's more expensive to injure a person than kill him. But, the PRC is too corrupt to fix its laws.

[Michel]

I think what they have in common with Westerners is placing a higher value on money than human beings. I think that the cultural milieu, the way they penalize pedestrian accidents, and the difficulties of life in China have a certain degree of influence on the way they behave, as you point out. But they are just as fettered by the insanity of greed, hatred and delusion as we are. So they are motivated by the same forces as we are, but under different circumstances. This is the human condition.

[Cal]

Michel ^.^