|
|
|
Is Cagan sure she's not leaving herself open to legal action? This seems quite pointed and biased to be in a simple biography, especially one purporting to be about peace. Is it wise for her to blast people whom, one assumes, she has not spoken to directly?
Is this whole book nothing but a "copy and paste" job done by EV flunkies? It would seem to be. This crap could only have been written by EV. Just who are they trying to kid? Or does prembo simply not care, and hopes to make a few bucks unloading this on premies? Seems like a desperate and dying gasp.
If prembo so doesn't care about ex-premies, why does he go to extreme terroristic lengths to find and harass them? I'm not even an ex and they tried last year to find me! For all I know, they may still be looking.
|
|
|
|
The target of the 'phishing' attempt was a site I legally owned, and it was I who published the fact that the crime had occurred. How Cagan can turn that into evidence that Rawat's critics, that she libels as a 'hate group', are exposed as 'engaging in phishing, an Internet scam in which innocent people are asked to reveal their personal information to thieves posing as financial institutions' is something that Cagan will have to explain in court when I acquire the necessary financial backing to sue her and her publisher.This isn't the only libel in this extract but is the clearest example, and I am frankly stunned that she would include such libel in her book without making the basic attempt to verify her source. John.
Modified by JHB at Wed, Feb 21, 2007, 17:12:59
|
|
|
|
I know that but when she is writing about publicly identifiable persons then she should verify her facts or face the consequences. Seriously, I can't believe she would take on face value what she has been fed and publish it under her own name.John
|
|
|
|
...like the cult has. Who are their lawyers..........
"Sneak, Snake, Horny and Fakin' "?
|
|
|
|
Modified by Premie_Spouse at Fri, Feb 23, 2007, 12:52:22
|
|
|
|
It's about the MacGregor Affair. I'll post it in an hour or so.
|
|
|
|
For what it's worth. John was not "influenced" by angry detractors. I recall (and I do have his emails somewhere to verify) is that the final drip for him was realising what an arsehole Rawat was carrying on about Macintosh computers in some meeting somewhere probably at Amaroo. So I guess he really was influenced by an angry detractor.
Secondly there was no bizarre scheme to steal information from two computers belonging to orgs that supported Rawat's work. There was one old laptop being resurrected. The information was found inadvertently and when he found out about it John requested it. They weren't caught, John posted at least some of the information on an earlier ex-premie forum and it was monitored by an EV monitor, so in a sense they were "discovered" and legal proceedings begun under a statute whose name I now thankfully have forgotten.
The court didn't decide that IRCC had done nothing wrong, their actions were irrelevant to the case which was about secret business information. I notice that they're really puffing John up a lot - quite the opposite of what they were saying before he rolled over. Never did find out the complete story about the perjury charges that were brought in privately and not by the state though he definitely did perjure himself. Anyway here is the page in question
to be unfounded. A so-called whistle-blower calling himself Andrew Carpenter dramatically appeared on the cover in dark silhouette, as if fearing for his life. In his exclusive interview with Morton, Carpenter said that after three months of research, he had filed a complaint with the UK Charity Commission-implying that Maharaji should be put in jail. But the truth was revealed as "Carpenter" (later revealed to be a fictitious name used by a detractor from South Bristol, England) was identified as a member of the hate group that had been harassing Maharaji and his students. The Charity Commission conducted an inquiry and promptly dismissed the complaint.
At the same time, John MacGregor, a Sydney-based freelance investigative journalist and ex-student of Maharaji, published an article in the Sydney Morning Herald. Previously a loyal follower, he had been influenced by some angry detractors. With no factual support, MacGregor accused Maharaji in print of keeping' a secret tax haven in the Channel Islands. MacGregor insisted that Maharaji's indiscretions included flying money out of Australia and into Swiss bank accounts.
Some of the group's covert activities were uncovered when MacGregor and another person were caught in a bizarre scheme to steal information from two computers belonging to organizations that supported Maharaji's work. The Court ruled against MacGregor in a summary judgment that stated that Maharaji and the local organization had done nothing wrong and ordered MacGregor liable for the costs of the action, which topped $ioo,ooo.
Although MacGregor had been a respected journalist, the Queensland Supreme Court found that he had violated civil law in the unlawful acquisition of confidential computer data. He was found in contempt of court in the conduct of his defense, and it was later discovered that he had perjured himself. When an arrest warrant was issued, he fled the country and went to hide in the mountains of northern Thailand, where he soon developed a psychological condition.
Modified by ocker at Thu, Feb 22, 2007, 02:17:30
|
|
|
|
Let me get this straight. In this book, it says that John MacGregor is a perjurer and a thief, who has fled to Thailand and has a "psychological condition." And yet it is John MacGregor who is used as the reliable source identifying members of a hate group. Hmmm. So credible. If former followers of Rawat who criticize him are such a small and marginal and ineffectual group, why does the cult even bother to mention us? Why do they spend so much time calling us names and devote whole sections of the organizations' websites to us? Curious, no?
|
|
|
|
And of course the affidavit which he signed in Bangkok, upon which this sloppy garbage is based, was witnessed by someone whose signature is little better than an 'X', & that was presumably after he developed the 'psychological condition', & so is worthless.
So here we have someone who started to have doubts about his lifetime involvement with the personality cult around Mr.Prem Pal Singh Rawat, & who dared to write about it in the public prints, ended up totally fucked to not put too fine a point upon it, possibly because he underestimated the malevolence of the man, & the lengths to which Rawat was prepared to go in order to protect his dead in the water reputation.
Why isn't it mentioned that MacGregor's nemesis was an 'Anton Pillar order', a little known legal device designed to protect intellectual property rights, in his case sought by one of Australia's most heavy hitting & therefore expensive in the hiring, legal specialists.
It seems to me that the essential tragedy of this story has been missed by the airhead Andrea Cagan, not to mention the light it throws upon the true nature of the man & his reptilian sidekicks.
|
|
|
|
Promise of Peace isn't described as an "authorized biography," but, it is endorsed by TPRF and Prem Rawat. See the TPRF website linked below for the endorsement. Somebody ought to take a snapshot of it before lawyers have Linda Pascotta direct Jossi Fresco delete that page off the web. Is there any way to authenticate it came from TPRF because I remember EV removing documentation about their legal actions against Jagdeo and later insisting that ex-premies fabricated the snapshots of it. Joe, I applaud your efforts to attempt discussions with premies about this, but personally, I've taken enough verbal abuse from premies for one lifetime. That's all they are dishing out to you and it's apparent from reading the responses to you and Marianne that they have been well-brainwashed into adopting one particular story about ex-premies being a hate-group and being a small group at that.  Another thing: It's obvious that Visions International didn't let Andrea Cagan anywhere near their extensive archive of Maharaji materials. It appears, based on the excerpts of PIP here, that she was spoon-fed items. That's not biographical writing. Nothing about that cult or the behavior of current devotees of M surprises me anymore. Doesn't that inner circle cult group know what a huge blunder this project has become by libeling everyone in their path that has a critical word to say about Prem Rawat? What a bunch of morons. They really do believe they have his grace to protect him from the law! With all the legal fees they've paid so far to attack exes in the past fewyears, it's unbelievable that no one fact-checked the book or ran it by a legal team like all publishing houses do! It's as if because the book has been published and placed on Amazon makes it all true, lol! LOL! It's just the stupidest thing to come out of that cult thus far.
Related link: TPRF endorsement of PIP
Modified by Cynthia at Thu, Feb 22, 2007, 07:33:37
|
|
|
|
It's breathtaking how much she has gotten wrong. She's gotta be a premie. It's horrendous and horrible. But, given that Mighty River Press owner Mr. Cohen is a premie from Pennsylvania and isn't interested in fact-checking his one publication, the biography of Prem Rawat, as all other bona fide, reputable publishers do for non-fiction works, Cagan, Mighty River Press, Prem Rawat, anyone that assisted Cagan, including PAMs, and all his associated organization, have now opened themselves up to a huge libel liability. The fact Prem Rawat thinks he's the lord of the universe doesn't preclude him from libel liability. Maybe Rawat and his cohorts won't be flying high much longer on that new jet.
|
|
|
|
I mean, she had no editor and wrote just what she was told. The fact that she interviewed no one, appears to have done no research and has zero citations or footnotes, means this is not a serious endeavor. She just wrote what the cult told her to write and put her name on the book, in exchange for money. Then a dummy cult publishing company put out the book. Can't wait until Andrea Cagan comes to my town on a book tour, or appears on C-Span. Can't stop laughing at the thought. Like Burt Wolf, Andrea Cagan was just the paid-for mouthpiece to shovel out the Rawat propaganda. I wonder how much she was paid for doing so very little.
|
|
|
|
Here's a New York Times review of Andrea Cagan's book about Grace Slick of the Jefferson Airplane. The critic's comments seem to echo those made here about the Rawat book. Today the book is number 1188 on Amazon. I guess after the cult bought all those books for the Grammys and the Oscars, the book dropped like lead in the ratings. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9502E6D91E3EF933A1575AC0A96E958260
|
|
|
|
So Andrea Cagan wrote a book about Grace Slick and another one about slick "grace". Kabir
|
|
|
|
Then a dummy cult publishing company put out the book. Can't wait until Andrea Cagan comes to my town on a book tour, or appears on C-Span. Can't stop laughing at the thought. Book tour? That is funny. The only credibility she has is that she co-authored Grace Slick's biography, the rock star who did LSD while pregnant. don't get me wrong, I loved Grace Slick when she was with Jefferson Airplane and her voice, but BFD, and so what? She also collaberated with Marianne Williamson, for cying out loud. She's just like Prem Rawat, no fame of her own, she just gloms onto others who have a name, like a parasite for personal recognition, while taking their money. The L.A./Malibu fame mentality. LOL! I bet she has a nice tan, too.
Modified by Cynthia at Thu, Feb 22, 2007, 15:45:00
|
|
|
|
Amongst all the other spirits he purports to have spoken with. I've given up bigger beliefs than him. (Place the accent where you like)
He has always spoken as if he were god and we were specks of maya.
Modified by Lp at Thu, Feb 22, 2007, 07:51:23
|
|
|
|
A small and innocent misdemeanour and one which would go unnoticed among premies, because they have become blind and numb to the fact that they do that all the time in real life. (Passing on unsubstantiated opinions because they came from above.)
But in the world of literature into which they have stepped, an arena in which many lions walk, Plagiarism is a serious mistake.
You can fail a degree, like that, in a paragraph.
But our initial scanning overview has only begun with the main issues of the contents: plenty of time for a more literary critique: after it has been shown that the author picked about the worst subject in the world to write about without true research.
But here, on a book review forum, it is frowned upon as a dishonourable literary act like, say, cowardice in war time. Moreover the literary world should be indignant that a book should try to use it's aura of credibility as a cloak to hide its lies and propaganda.
It will sell, but mostly as a reference book to compare with the other records which exist. To see where they differ. The subject is likely to be the whole arena, this time, of spiritual gurus. He helps to show the flaws present in all religions, he helps to show how religions got started on earth long ago.
He is a great teacher; but not of the subject he intended. In any treatise on gurus, his name will feature, and the words of Andrea Cagan will be immortalized by those honest researchers, who will find Peace is Possible an excellent example of qualites hidden within all who/which form cultlike bodies.
He shows us a caricature of a mad priest and a silly guru. There are plenty of others: stereotypes hiding behind more normal presentations in the hall of mirrors: who are also secretly building young "religions" like star births.
We can learn about our own cultures and their history by studying these behaviours: but keep a close eye on them when they start to remind you of guru Maharaj ji.
Modified by Lp at Fri, Feb 23, 2007, 07:10:08
|
|
|
|
well observed point LP! I remember noticing myself doing exactly that as a premie...especially after an event (the fact that Rawat had said it being all the substantiation) ...and thinking, even then, that it was false of me. And Rawat does the same. I can't remember him really crediting, thanking or acknowledging contempory people or sources (Can anyone else?). In one Amaroo satsang he 'taught' the premies about how the disease cancer starts. I presume that he had just seen a TV programme or read a magazine. He liberally quotes past 'masters' and saints .. ..not really thanking them though...merely appropriating their legitimacy. best Tim
|
|
|
