ralis

To further explain what I mean in regards to the Lamaism hierarchy, a few points are in order: 1. When the teacher (Lama) enters the room, everyone stands in humble prayer pose toward the Lama. 2. The Lama does his 3 prostrations toward the altar. 3. The Lama sits down and everyone does 3 prostrations toward the Lama. 4. It is taboo to point ones feet toward the Lama during a teaching. I guess one winds up in an eternal hell realm for doing so. 5. Everyone sits on the floor below the Lama sitting on his throne. 6. The Lama hierarchy is dominated by men. 7. Guilt, fear and superstition are the psychological tools used against the followers. Which include the threat of hell realms for certain periods of time. Maybe eons. 8. There is one offense against a Lama (can't remember what it is) where one can be sent to a hell realm forever. You call this enlightened religion? This is not free will, but constitutes abuse and slavery! This is nothing more than an authoritarian, theocratic, dark ages cult. ralis

You are a really sensitive Buddhist. Way too serious! BTW, the Joker is a very ancient archetype. Of course, if the Buddha didn't mention the Joker archetype, I guess it doesn't exist. ralis

Now you are making a moral judgment. Interesting! I thought in your point of view, all phenomena are empty. Seems as though your judgment is empty and illusory. Doesn't mean a thing! ralis

Why not lighten up and stop taking everything so seriously. Life should be fun! ralis

You are fun to play poker with! Every time I throw the out the bait, you chase it. In a poker game, you would be the fish at the table. :lol: Chasing you around! Is this your own private forum? ralis

The Buddha makes some claim and you meditate to prove the claim. That happens all the time in various religions. It is called a self fulfilling prophecy. Wanting to believe and hallucinating the experience. I studied Buddhism before you probably knew such a philosophy existed. I found it dogmatic, limited, authoritarian, hierarchical, ostentatious and no different than any other religion. What I mean by that, Buddhism was an impediment to my direct experience with life (Tao). Furthermore, I grew weary of listening to men in skirts sitting on their thrones dispensing so called wisdom. I no longer needed the exotic trappings Buddhism had to offer. I used to live 1 mile from the Tibetan Kagyu center here in Santa Fe. I spent countless hours meditating in the Stupa and taking all the teachings. Clearly, I have insight into the Buddhist religion. To me it is obvious by your incessant parroting of Buddhism and what you have bought into as an absolute teaching, tells me you never have questioned authority. One last thing I might add, is that I was tired of the guilt trips around karma. It became clear to me, the Lama's in charge were in their position because of some good karma and everyone else was considered a heathen due to bad karma. ralis

Apparently you are unable to see past your own myopic point of view. Your untenable point of view that there is no a priori cause can neither be proven nor disproven. Not by logic, the Buddha says so, or any appeal to emotion. Yet you post this point ad infinitum. Do you really believe your argument is new and unique? Special somehow? Hardly! This age old argument has been debated and fought over by humans for ages. Actually your view falls into the mechanistic school. I suggest you read up on it. ralis

CFR conspiracy? Quit believing everything you read! Get a life! ralis

You are so certain that you have all the facts. You posit many fallacious arguments that are untenable. 1. Environmentalists are to blame for drilling in 5000' of water! Therefor BP has no choice? BP is a private corporation and could drill off the coast of China or somewhere else. 2. If you want to know who signed the executive order to stop offshore drilling, then read this. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/07/14/national/main4257757.shtml?source=RSSattr=HOME_4257757 Looks like President Bush by executive order in 1990. 3. You blame everyone except BP and their sloppy engineering. 4. There is evidence from survivors of the Deepwater Horizon, that BP cut corners. Insufficient concentric rings that hold the casing in place. Cheap casing that collapsed when the concrete was pumped into the well. The BOP gasket (o-ring was damaged) 1 month prior. If these corporations are to serve the public good, then tighter regulations must exist, to protect life! Not more deregulation as you propose. The last 30 years since Reagen have shown this country what damage deregulation has done. ralis

Some facts about benzene which is one of the major ingredients in Corexit, which is the dispersant(solvent) being used to break up the oil into small globules. http://www.bt.cdc.gov/agent/benzene/basics/facts.asp ralis

While all of you are discussing from the rarefied air of Buddhism, the planet is being threatened by the Gulf oil gusher. Maybe you aren't aware of that fact. Why not come down to earth and deal with real life! ralis

I agree! The idea of a corporate legal person hood is atrocious! Corporations were originally chartered for the common good and were dissolved after a number of years. With the Citizens United case, corporations can last forever and pour unlimited amounts of money for political influence. Chief Justice Roberts actively pursued this case last year so that he could make certain it come before the court again. One problem yet to be discussed is that if the well is damaged beyond repair with no way to seal it, the Atlantic could very well be destroyed. If that happens, the oxygen levels in the atmosphere will severely decline. It is obvious what that means. ralis

A good friend of mine was a vegan and she was a fanatic. She gave it up and now eats meat and a regular diet. ralis

This just came out from the hearings in Congress today. This is another corporations need to be reigned in. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/17/gulf-oil-spill-rig-owners_n_616390.html ralis

Veganism can leave one very ungrounded. ralis

Where did you draw up the conclusion that I am against drilling? Please provide a quote! How long do we wait if there is no money to pay for the damages? The Exxon Valdez (BP) took over 20 yrs. to settle and the SCOTUS cut the monetary damages considerably. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exxon_Valdez_oil_spill What if the gusher lasts for years and destroys vast amounts of ocean, while BP litigates this case for decades. Eventually it will end up with the SCOTUS and being the corporate shills they are, will let BP off the hook with minor costs. SCOTUS has already set a precedent for corporate favors. See the Citizens United case. BTW, I am still on topic here. To refresh your memory, we are discussing the far reaching ramifications of this horrific man made event. ralis

If BP isn't footing the bill, then who should? The taxpayers? Boehner Rep. GOP Ohio said the taxpayers should pay. Prove BP will not have to pay more "down the road." Your statement doesn't hold water! Whenever I discuss the problems around this disaster, you never respond. You must be in the "drill baby drill" at all costs crowd. BTW, I am not an apologist for this administration. I am only discussing the facts around what may become the worst man made environmental disaster. ralis

Morality, created by religions, is nothing more than crowd control. The religious moralists appeal to the universal or absolute higher cause and if one doesn't sacrifice to their higher cause, then one is immoral. The emotional root of this manipulation is fear and guilt. Sheep will respond well when fear is used. ralis

Rep. Barton GOP (Texas) shill apologizes to BP for having to pay 20B into a fund to begin paying for damages. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/17/gop-outraged-by-shakedown_n_615686.html ralis

Well stated! I just wish he and others like him would take time to understand just how fallacious their arguments are. Maybe that is just too much to ask. ralis

At the present time, it serves no purpose to debate the politics around this problem. There is a very real possibility this well and the damage it is sustaining may blow out of control. What does that mean? The BOP is damaged and is tilting. What that means is the seal on the bottom of the BOP is deteriorating. Most likely from subsidence of the sand silt layer at the seabed. Therefor, if the BOP collapses then we are looking at a full blowout. Also there is evidence of other leaks at some distance from the wellhead, which means the casing is damaged. Furthermore, according to a Russian deep water research vessel crew member, there is evidence of subsidence in the surrounding area of the wellhead and another leak 7 miles away. I will provide links later. Comments and links on the use of the dispersant Corexit and the use of it needs to be stopped. http://www.thomhartmann.com/forum/2010/06/corexit-dispersant-rains-could-destroy-north-america ralis

Succinctly put! ralis

It doesn't matter if the Jones Act is suspended or not, this oil gusher disaster is almost beyond hope! The problem is that no one really knows how to fix it. The link I am providing has excerpts of engineers stating their opinions from www.theoildrum.com. http://motherjones.com/blue-marble/2010/06/worst-already-true-BP-well-now-unstoppable

More Republican talking points! ralis