Posts by Mephis

10

Damn Satan at it again tampering with evidence!

by notsurewheretogo in

jeepers...we all know that humans have only been on this planet for 6,000 years...stupid scientists getting confused again...must be that satan bloke who goes round fiddling with all the evidence that humans have been on this planet longer than 6,000 years!.

http://www.sciencealert.com/nasa-can-t-explain-who-made-these-huge-8-000-year-old-glyphs-in-kazakhstan?.

back in 2007, a series of huge, mysterious geoglyphs were discovered in the grasslands, or steppes, of kazakhstan.

Mephis

Most amazing if they can make the dating stand up. This is the area where one would expect to find Indo-European culture developing, if one of the main theories of human language/culture development is correct, so this is huge really for that.

Gobekli Tepe has already re-written the textbooks on ideas of when humans began to shift into settled communities, and the ability to order a labour force to create something of significant size, so there's plenty of room for other things to chip away at once established ideas.

Very exciting, but they need to establish the dating first. So far it's guesswork from everything I've seen, and evidence has to drive theory.

32

Being interviewed by police tomorrow

by moley in

well tomorrow is a big day for me.

i'm finally going to be interviewed by the police about what happened to me as a kid.. im running the whole gamut of emotions at the moment.

sad, anxious, angry, guilt, fear and many more that cannot be quantified.. i feel physically sick, cannot sleep, have lost my appetite and i am desperately trying not to self harm.. i've got my sister to thank for getting this far.

Mephis

All the best for tomorrow moley. Sure you have the strength to do it, and that the police will show sensitivity and kindness for what they know is a very difficult thing to do.

Please look after yourself. If you're not getting any help with some of the thoughts and feelings you have, may be worth seeing if there's some available for you so you have a wee bit of support there for yourself right now. (GP, Community Mental Health Team, as you're in Britain the police may offer some support too via victim support, so it's there if you want and/or need).

12

Say goodbye to privacy in the UK..

by GodZoo in

internet firms to be banned from offering unbreakable encryption under new laws.

companies such as apple, google and others will no longer be able to offer encryption so advanced that even they cannot decipher it when asked to under the investigatory powers bill.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11970391/internet-firms-to-be-banned-from-offering-out-of-reach-communications-under-new-laws.htmlso.. david cameron and the conservatives have decided that because of a handful of potential terrorists and some people exchanging nude photos of kids that the remaining and innocent 64 million united kingdom residents are no longer allowed to have any privacy..

Mephis

It's an argument for proper scrutiny of legislation more than anything. Councils acted unlawfully using RIPA like that. Wasn't the solution for magistrates and judges to have oversight of its use, as should have been the case in the first place?

12

Say goodbye to privacy in the UK..

by GodZoo in

internet firms to be banned from offering unbreakable encryption under new laws.

companies such as apple, google and others will no longer be able to offer encryption so advanced that even they cannot decipher it when asked to under the investigatory powers bill.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11970391/internet-firms-to-be-banned-from-offering-out-of-reach-communications-under-new-laws.htmlso.. david cameron and the conservatives have decided that because of a handful of potential terrorists and some people exchanging nude photos of kids that the remaining and innocent 64 million united kingdom residents are no longer allowed to have any privacy..

Mephis

The current law in Britain allows for you to be sent to prison for refusing to give an encryption key to law enforcement. Surveillance in Britain has been present since means were available to do it. Not sure where the right balance is with this for us in Britain. Just to give perspective to the terrorism argument, it is real and we've got teenagers trying to get hold of bombmaking stuff. I know of four individual cases within a few miles of where I live over the past three or four years. And that's just one city, where a bomb not so long ago led to the whole city centre being rebuilt.

Difficult one really because the protections and safeguards should be in the use of powers to intercept and open, not in the ability to do it once judicial permission has been given. Need to see more details of what's intended and the checks and balances which are going to be present. Conservatives have in the recent past been a bit stupid with their thinking on the internet generally, so they don't start from a particularly good place.

25

Bethel layoff question

by CookieMonster in

hi,.

with the layoffs of bethelites and special pioneers, does anyone know if they get some sort of "redundancy" payout?

.

Mephis

Ah found it.

In December 2007, the Spanish authorities decided that any Witness, regardless of a vow of poverty, who worked in their printing facilities in Spain would be eligible for a pension from the organisation. The organisation's response was to move the printing out of Spain.

That pretty much summarises their attitude towards social responsibilities and provisions for Bethelites.

16

Don't lie with a beast. Leviticus 20;15,16 and 18:23

by James Mixon in

are we sure this is talking about a four-legged beast here.. if it were, god would not demand the death penalty for a dumb animal.

with no reasoning power that was raped.

call it what you want but.

Mephis

Mindful of Simon's caution above.

Bestiality is attested to in Egyptian and Greek sources, which would be two major cultural influences for the Jews when things were being written down, and there's even depictions of it from Egypt too. Some debate over how far things did go, as opposed to them being symbolic, but it's not a stretch to imagine it being something which did happen and therefore the commandments addressing that.

6

“The Babylonian Exile shaped the future”

by Doug Mason in

the theme of my study, the babylonian exile shaped the future, is simple:.

(1) the hebrews considered themselves to be gods chosen people, yet israel had been dispersed by the assyrians and judah was dominated by egypt and then by babylon..

(2) in response to judahs captivity, its prophets promised the nation that god would restore them to their rightful position and that god would forever maintain the throne of david..

Mephis

As ever, immaculately sourced and thoroughly researched. Thanks Doug. The apocalyptic heritage aspect is especially interesting to me. Loved the 'coming soon' dominoes :D

25

Bethel layoff question

by CookieMonster in

hi,.

with the layoffs of bethelites and special pioneers, does anyone know if they get some sort of "redundancy" payout?

.

Mephis

Wasn't there an issue in Spain where they require people thrown out to sign away their rights to what they could legally claim in compensation under Spanish law?

11

What I Hate About Halloween....

by konceptual99 in

jw
friends

....is that it has totally wiped away the distinct celebration of november 5th and bonfire night.

fireworks and bonfires are still ubiquitous this time of year but it's just merged in with halloween which, whilst always being celebrated, was not as promoted and so overwhelming as it is now.. bring back the guy!.

Mephis

It amused me greatly that the local bonfire here is held in the field with the memorial for when the Pope visited and gave a speech on that spot.

Will likely head to one of the displays, though I live on a hill above the city so I just need to look down and the whole skyline is a display. Bit Billy No Mates doing it this year, but I really need a badly cooked jacket potato at some point or my Winter diet will not be complete.

96

Special Pioneer Couple Living at a Kingdom Hall In Miami FL, get the dreaded Letter

by James Jack in

just got a phone call from an older sister saying that a couple that got re-assigned from bethel 4 years ago to live at their kh apartment as special pioneers, just received a letter saying "as of january 2016, your special pioneer assignment will be discontinued".. they live in a south miami kh(snapper creek congregation).. this couple had only served in bethel for 15 years before they were sent out into the special pioneer work.

they are now in their mid 50's and the sister said that they have to find part time jobs to support themselves.. the older sister (does not have a pc or internet), says that the couple are just devastated!

.

Mephis

I do feel empathy for those who've built their entire lives on a lie, and now suddenly find themselves thrust out without major skills to adapt and prosper in the world outside. But that's something many of us have been through, and we do it without even the social network of dubland. Cruel cult. Love does not mean what they think it means.