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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
World
Ewen MacAskill

New Transcendental Defence System

Happy news from my homeland, Scotland. American film-maker David Lynch and former pop star Donovan announced in Edinburgh today a plan for a new university based on twice-daily transcendental meditation.

Lynch, according to the Associated Press, said: "For a country the size of Scotland it would take only 250 students meditating to protect Scotland from its enemies and to bring peace, to stop violence and drug abuse."

I'm no expert on transcendental meditation. Would 250 students meditating in the US provide a similar protective shield? Or does the number of those meditating have to rise as a ratio of the population? So 250 students meditating in Scotland would require 15,000 to protect the US with its 300 million population.

A more pressing case is Iran, facing a possible US strike next year. With a population of 65 million, Tehran would need 3,250 students meditating. On the other hand, maybe Iran's threat to choke off Gulf oil supplies might provide a more effective shield.

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