Posts by Mephis

5

Russia threatens to shut down branch

by wannaexit in

jw
friends

https://www.jw.org/en/news/releases/by-region/russia/threaten-shutdown-jw-national-headquarters/

Mephis

Some background from HuffPost recently, echoing many of the other reports I've linked on similar threads about this not just being a JW issue:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/armine-sahakyan/hopes-of-religious-freedo_b_9509396.html

Many people expected a flowering of faith when the Soviet Union disintegrated in 1991.
But it hasn’t happened, largely because the countries that emerged from the ashes of the USSR have repressed most religions, the main exceptions being Russian Orthodox Christianity and certain brands of Islam.
The repressed have included denominations of Christianity that are widespread in other countries, such as Catholics, Baptists, Methodists, Lutherans and Presbyterians.
As with other regrettable trends in the former Soviet Union, Russia has set the tone for the repression of religion.

35

Judgment handed down by Court of Appeal in legal challenge to Charity Commission inquiry opened in 2014

by OrphanCrow in

this is good news.

the wt have lost in their attempt to stop the uk charity commission's inquiry into their affairs.

however, the wt is still digging in their heels about turning documents over to the charity commission.https://www.gov.uk/government/news/court-of-appeal-gives-judgment-in-court-case-by-jehovahs-witness-charityjudgment handed down by court of appeal in legal challenge to charity commission inquiry opened in 2014.today, the court of appeal handed down its judgment regarding the commission’s statutory inquiry, opened in 2014, into the watch tower bible and tract society of britain (the leading jehovah’s witness charity in the uk).

Mephis

Not UK citizens, but complaint must involve a congregation or other registered charity (eg WBTS as registered in UK) in England or Wales.

Hope that's useful.

11

Ferris Bueller, and life after the JWS

by talesin in

ferris bueller's day off was an huge flick when i was young, and it's a many-layered story.

i was watching this vid, and realized that one reason i love this movie, is that it could be one metaphor for my life.

i took the lead, did it my way, and have had one helluva lot of fun on the journey.

Mephis

Withnail and I, and that feeling that I've come on holiday by mistake ;)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQtB_ZfP-Ew

And this song is just pure joy for me.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l14kECX08NE

15

A blog post on my 65th birthday

by JeffT in

jw
friends

putting this out there for everybody.

.

http://pathologicallyintellectual.blogspot.com/.

Mephis

Happy birthday Jeff.

30

"508 Million Year Old" Exceptionally Preserved Embryos Found

by Perry in

actually, they we found over 100 years ago.

but because so many dinosaur bones have yielded soft tissue, blood cells, dna fragments etc.

, many have predicted (including myself) when all this really broke loose in 2005, that many more similar discoveries would be made simply by going back and cracking open old fossils and having a look inside.

Mephis

Butt's a shill. Melanin is the answer he studiously pretends not to know. Squid ink is melanin concentrated, Melanin is not particularly prone to decay at all.

One cool result of the ink is that it potentially opens the way to better treat skin cancers because it's allowed the very slight rate of decay in one type of melanin to be measured.

"Because melanin survives so long, an analysis of the melanin from old cancerous tissue samples could give researchers a useful tool for predicting the spread of melanoma skin cancer in humans."

http://phys.org/news/2013-06-melanin-jurassic-era-mollusk-tool-cancer.html

Crazy what can happen when science goes on.

30

"508 Million Year Old" Exceptionally Preserved Embryos Found

by Perry in

actually, they we found over 100 years ago.

but because so many dinosaur bones have yielded soft tissue, blood cells, dna fragments etc.

, many have predicted (including myself) when all this really broke loose in 2005, that many more similar discoveries would be made simply by going back and cracking open old fossils and having a look inside.

Mephis

The key word here is "preserved", presumably un-fossilized, ie. original material.

They're fossils Perry. They're in an exhibition of fossils. Exceptionally well preserved means that whichever way they were fossilised managed to, well, preserve them exceptionally well and allow them to be studied.

Creationism is really, really, really bad at science.

21

JW TV - Britain Branch Report

by Listener in

although it is titled as "britain branch report" it's not much of a report.

it only goes for just over 6 minutes and half of it is some 'wild talk' about romeo and juliette, i say wild talk because it has nothing to do with the british branch and if there was any point to it, it's lost on me.. anyway, about the only thing said that is of any importance was this (at the 2.20 mark) -.

"the governing body, very kindly, have given us permission to continue construction once we have reviewed the scope of the building so we hope to be underway very soon".

Mephis

They investigate 300 sites, a local council approaches them to present a derelict, "heavily contaminated" site (quote from their own public consultation document) and it's God doing it? Jehovah is obviously the God of toxic waste disposal judging from Chelmsford and Warwick (USA) being his preferred options then.

8

JW-Facts--Here is that Circuit Assembly Financial Report Form you wanted!

by Atlantis in

our "spy" was able to get in and get out undetected.

we thank him/her for their kindness and courage.

remarks were made that the assembly this person attended only kept the women in their place.. i remarked to this person that one of these days the watchtower is going to "put down" the wrong woman who is going to clean their clock with a massive discrimination lawsuit!.

Mephis

@Jeff - it's in WF's linked guidelines.

"4. ...It is understood that whenever a need arises for these funds, the assembly overseer and the accounts overseer may request that they be returned.” A brother authorized to transfer circuit funds can log in to the jw.orgWeb site, view the current balance, and request an amount to be returned."

35

July 2016 W T Article Gives Reassurance to Aging Publishers

by BluesBrother in

congregations are full of older ones who were led to expect the end when they were still young enough to work ,and stay forever young.

now these ones face a sparse old age with little provision set aside.

the article ""do not be afraid .

Mephis

Isn't Jehovah a loving God? He's directed his organisation to address the needs of all the poor souls who genuinely thought they'd never die. What loving counsel it is to tell them that if they're up a creek without a paddle it's because they've not got enough faith.

11

Walking Fish - evolution or adaptation?

by Earnest in

a recent article in nature reports on a fish that has a pelvic girdle with features associated with terrestrial vertebrates.. discuss..

Mephis

Why is there only one common ancestor? Why is there no evidence of other "common ancestors" which were not as successful? Was there no competition to be the "first" common ancestor?

There are certain basic building blocks (eg DNA/RNA and the genetic code) to all known life on Earth which implies a specific way in which life came to be - 'the common ancestor'. Until the mechanisms of how that initial life came to be are known for sure, or at least to a high degree of probability, then the 'why' and related questions are unanswerable really. One of the reasons finding evidence of life elsewhere within the solar system (and beyond) would be so important is that it would help to begin to identify the causal factors more precisely. But so far as we know currently, life exists on Earth and it's all based upon the same basic building blocks and has a common origin. If there were other forms of life on Earth then they are obviously no longer with us and would seem to also be beyond our ability to detect. I don't think the mystery so much lies with 'alien' life on Earth, life here is adapted for Earth, but in how (if) life develops elsewhere and in different conditions.