Mephis

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Posts by Mephis

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  84

  Wednesday Hearings LIVE LINK NOW

  by Mad Sweeney in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-study/636f01a5-50db-4b59-a35e-a24ae07fb0ad/case-study-29,-july-2015,-sydney.

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  Mephis

  3 members of the branch are scheduled as witnesses. They're building up the facts and the evidence of what happens.
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  40

  Is the two-witness rule really unreasonable?

  by stillin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm picturing a situation in which a savvy 12 year old doesn't like the house rules that mom's new husband has put into place.

  or something along that line.

  i can certainly agree that protection of children is paramount, but who protects the real victim in those cases?

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  Mephis

  johnamos, that case is of adults making false allegations, not children. Even the niece herself, someone with a mental health problem, was 26 when she went to the police with her allegation - which was disproved by a DNA test.
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  40

  Is the two-witness rule really unreasonable?

  by stillin in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i'm picturing a situation in which a savvy 12 year old doesn't like the house rules that mom's new husband has put into place.

  or something along that line.

  i can certainly agree that protection of children is paramount, but who protects the real victim in those cases?

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  Mephis

  Surely that's why such things should be passed to child protection agencies and the police as the default? They're equipped and trained to deal with these cases. The elders are not.

  Just for the record and because it needs to be said, false accusations of child abuse by children are very rare. Very rare. In fact, the opposite is true. Children are much more likely to minimise what has happened to them, or even not to disclose at all.

  I am a qualified secondary school teacher, and part of my training was that if a child came to me and even hinted that they had been abused that I should take it seriously and pass it to someone more qualified to help the child directly. I also had a responsibility to make sure appropriate agencies were informed. The one thing which is an absolute 'no' is to suggest in any way you fail to believe a child, because if they've found the strength to talk to you about something like this, then it's your responsibility as a sensible adult to make sure that they are safe and get help.
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  84

  Wednesday Hearings LIVE LINK NOW

  by Mad Sweeney in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-study/636f01a5-50db-4b59-a35e-a24ae07fb0ad/case-study-29,-july-2015,-sydney.

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  Mephis

  The implication I took from that is that the commission will come down on how they isolate themselves from reality as well as label everything negative as 'apostate lies'. There's been a few occasions when they've pressed witnesses on that aspect. The culture of the religion is a huge factor here, and it's going to be hammered.

  @FadingTruth - some things have made me question some assumptions which are still there in me too.
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  84

  Wednesday Hearings LIVE LINK NOW

  by Mad Sweeney in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-study/636f01a5-50db-4b59-a35e-a24ae07fb0ad/case-study-29,-july-2015,-sydney.

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  Mephis

  Kevin Bowditch's silence speaks louder than any words when asked whether any consideration of those outside the congregation was made when deciding to just JW 'discipline' sex offenders who may reoffend in the community. Absolutely nailing that issue. Who exactly is my neighbour Lord?
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  4

  Inside the famous Denisova cave in Siberia

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current

  when our ancestors first migrated out of africa around 60,000 years ago, they were not alone.

  at that time, at least two other species of hominid cousins walked the eurasian landmassneanderthals and denisovans.

  as our modern human ancestors migrated through eurasia, they encountered the neanderthals and interbred.

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  Mephis

  If you want some good talks about Neanderthal man, and also evolutionary stuff in genetics, John Hawks is an engaging speaker and has a fair amount on youtube. Some of it is related to the open online course and is interviews with some of the leading experts in anthropology. Absolutely fascinating insights into how man has adapted to his environment and also in turn how we've adapted our environment to ourselves.
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  84

  Wednesday Hearings LIVE LINK NOW

  by Mad Sweeney in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-study/636f01a5-50db-4b59-a35e-a24ae07fb0ad/case-study-29,-july-2015,-sydney.

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  Mephis

  They turn off the sound when they're discussing people by name who should not be named openly because it may help directly identify the victim.
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  84

  Wednesday Hearings LIVE LINK NOW

  by Mad Sweeney in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-study/636f01a5-50db-4b59-a35e-a24ae07fb0ad/case-study-29,-july-2015,-sydney.

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  Mephis

  He can't think away from what the governing body has told him is the right way to do things. It really is that simple, and that dangerous. Horley yesterday could, and it rocked him. Ali's absolutely blind to it.
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  84

  Wednesday Hearings LIVE LINK NOW

  by Mad Sweeney in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  http://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/case-study/636f01a5-50db-4b59-a35e-a24ae07fb0ad/case-study-29,-july-2015,-sydney.

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  Mephis

  Just in all the craycray Ali stuff, the idea that the pressure of being interrogated by three elders is sufficient to pull out a false confession from a Ministerial Servant but still isn't inappropriate to put children and young women through...?!

  There are times when an exdub would be handy for them sitting on their shoulders. So many instances of Ali (and others) vanishing into WT doublespeak to imply one thing when reality is different. eg Elders/MS not a position of honour in congos? So why are they called 'privileges' then?
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  8

  Australian child abuse enquiry.

  by notoneoftheboys in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  lies and more lies.

  a question was asked by the court on having someone in the room for moral support with a minor child or frightened girl when being questioned by the elders over allegations of child abuse.

  the elders book makes it clear no one else is allowed.

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  Mephis

  The CO who claimed that was making it up as he went along. To be charitable, he's elderly and he's locked into the idea that the WT is on top of child protection issues because their god's institution. To be less charitable, he was full of bluster and bs, and his claims were debunked by counsel and commissioner.

  @Aude - I found Ali a perfect example of how men can do terrible things while genuinely believing they were doing the right ones. And all because he turns off his brain and his own conscience when the WT tells him to. The commissioner's questioning and attempts to lead them to a reasonable way of thinking about things is a constant feature so far. Dark humour moment was Ali attempting to gain a shared background with the commissioner by likening himself to a 'judge'. And I sat there and thought which of those two men would I want to be judging me if I was an abuser, and which would I want to be judging the case if I was the one who had been abused. The one who can believe a child but do absolutely nothing about it, or the one who thinks it outrageous to have a young woman sat alone in such a meeting.