--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, a_non_moose_ff <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, TurquoiseB <no_reply@> wrote: > > > > Basically, I still have enough residual trust in the > > courts of America to hope that the TMO will *lose* > > this case, and big-time. (*Especially* if Jim's lawyers > > are smart enough to show the judges photos of the Rajas > > in their robes and crowns.) > > Has mike waived his right to a jury trial?
It may not be up to him. Many states reserve the right to try non-criminal civil cases before a single judge or a panel of judges. > What part of trademak law would that violate? Is there a stealth > statue in there that "all trademarks will becom null and void > if the holders have any rajas with robes and crowns"? The issue I have in mind is one of relative sanity, not trademark rights. Try to imagine the scenario: You are in a Florida courtroom, in front of someone who is most likely a conservative Republican judge (and possibly a jury composed of equally conservative Americans, many of them terrified of cults). Mike's attorney is questioning the "certified" teachers who have filed this suit on the stand: Mike's Attorney: So this is a photo of the most recent gathering of the people who run the TM organization in Vlodrop, Switzerland. Can you tell us who these people are who are wearing the long flowing robes and crowns? True Believer: Well, they're the Rajas, of course. They are the people whom Maharishi has trusted to run his movement at this time. MA: And what did these people have to do to qualify to become "Rajas?" TB: Well, they each had to pay a million dollars each. That gives them the right to be Rajas, to wear these elegant robes and crowns, and to run things. MA: And this new policy of "recertification" that we've heard of -- in which previously-trained TM teachers are required to pay the TM organization several thous- and dollars, quit their jobs, and teach full time or not teach at all -- this policy was created by Maharishi and these "Rajas." TB: That's correct. MA: And you are one of the people who paid several thousand dollars to be "recertified" and teach TM full time, and were promised a monthly salary for life if you did this? TB: Yes, that's correct. MA: And during this "recertification" course, did you learn any new skills or teaching methods, anything that you had not learned when you were *first* certified as a TM teacher? TB: No, I did not. MA: And, just as a matter of interest to the court, how many salary checks have you received from Maharishi and the "Rajas" since you became "recertified" and learned nothing that you hadn't already learned years ago? TB: Well, I got one the first month, but none since then. MA: And how many people have you taught TM to here in Broward County since becoming one of these "recertified" TM teachers? TB: Well, none, actually. MA: And how many people has the defendant taught in that same period? TB: Several dozen, I would imagine. ...and so on... The issue IMO is that the TM organization has so completely lost touch with reality that it thinks people on a jury or conservative judges behind a bench are going look favorably on this kind of behavior, behavior which in their minds marks them clearly as cultists, being taken advantage of by an organization that is ripping them off. It *could* go the other way, but I suspect that in the political climate that is America right now, it won't... ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor --------------------~--> Join modern day disciples reach the disfigured and poor with hope and healing http://us.click.yahoo.com/lMct6A/Vp3LAA/i1hLAA/UlWolB/TM --------------------------------------------------------------------~-> To subscribe, send a message to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Or go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ and click 'Join This Group!' Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FairfieldLife/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
