I made bags while incarcerated in Taiwan

If we are talking about Buddhism, my understanding is that Buddha taught the perception of self and the assumption of an unchanging part of self is an illusion, not that there isn’t something there at all.

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That woman is bad-ass…she can sleep in a sitting position!

I watched an interesting SciFi movie last month that had a crazy prison concept for the future.

A drug was invented that made realistic VR (Virtual Reality) experiences in the brain possible. You could experience VR for weeks or years in your brain while just a few hours passed in real life.

So the government came up with the idea to ‘rehabilitate’ people faster (cheaper) by letting them stay in VR prison for years. You can not escape and just wake up a few hours later while your brain experienced prison for the whole time.

The movie is: OtherLife (2017)

ol

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https://youtu.be/qav2Z0TgYMA

And here is the Star Trek episode of that same concept:

https://youtu.be/7CBIq78hTQU

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I guess so. Nothing like being kept in one place to have time to think and write. I think his writing is good to read as a reminder of how things are for others. One thing that I didn’t read or perhaps I missed it was regret. I didn’t get that he regretted his choices.

Maybe he just really believed in his product…:sunglasses:

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One infamous ex-Conadian also worked in that very same bag shop. Was an exemplary prisoner, elevating himself quickly to the rank of shop foreman where he had a window and view. He is now fluent in Mandarin and Taiwanese and has been an inspiration to all his friends from the moment he got grassed.

He did his time, has left the country and is fitter than the proverbial fiddle. His face has aged though, like an American president.

I’d love to get his take on this. But I would never ask him for it.
FWIW.

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O’Brien must suffer

So can most people here. They’re used to napping at their desks after lunch.

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Drooling on your desk in forehead-plant position doesn’t count.

I was going to suggest that the average office drone does it for about 8 hours a day, with their eyes open. Nap time is just when they stop pretending to work :slight_smile:

Even the people here who are having a go at him probably wouldn’t disagree with this. Prison is such an insanely bad “solution” that it’s incredible we haven’t come up with something more sensible after, what, 10,000 years of human civilisation. Thing is though, a few people do come out of prison with their heads more-or-less straight and are able to write objectively and compellingly about their experiences. This guy would have done himself a few favours by not writing about it (at least publicly) until he’d spent a bit of time navel-gazing.

Absolutely. At a guess, I’d say he’s probably not a “bad person”. He’s just a bit of dick.

Looks like I need to think seriously about upgrading my professional skills.

We need to stop using the “MJ” word. It’s racist.

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I’m always happy when “”“journalists”"" who write such amazing pieces are willing to put their names and social profiles next to articles like this one. Having a look at his Twitter feed was better than most comedy shows.

“Cannabis” sounds too much like “cannibal”. If I were a marketing person, I’d try to get people to call them all-natural hemp cigarettes.

I think “the Devil’s weed” has more of a ring to it.

I don’t disagree. He’s ultimately responsible for his own actions. But I’m just pointing out this is an example of how a person can go through prison and come out the other way this way. I very few people care about the prison system unless they’ve been through it and understand how things are. Some do come out better, but many people I know were significantly worseoff. Living in a isolated society of criminals where acting like a criminal there actually means you’re high up on the social hierarchy so not exactly going Reform many people.

Yep, there is a self and there is no self

And here’s the Christmas special. :slight_smile: :santa:

Racist or not, it’s kind of silly, in an Indo-European language, to replace an Indo-European word* of thousands of years’ standing with a parvenu Mexican Spanish word of unknown provenance. :face_with_monocle:

*(with possible Semitic ancestry, as explained below)