Posts by Elsewhere

as an atheist, i do not pray, however sometimes i will go to someone's house or to a restaurant for dinner and the others at the table will hold hands and pray.. when this happens, i politely decline and abstain while they do their thing.. .

is it rude for an atheist to politely decline to participate in a hand-holding group prayer, or is the act of hand-holding prayer a form of religious coercion and itself rude?.

Elsewhere

I agree with both of you... however after posting about the same thing on another site (unrelated to JW's) quite a few people got VERY pissed when I mentioned that that I politely declined to pray under such circumstances.

They basically said I needed to "be polite and hold hands". I disagreed. They became very angry.

11

www.un.org New Tab: Peace and Security What gives?

by _Atlas in

jw
friends

i just being told by an jw of the new tab on the un web page... peace and security... what gives and what do they claim now?

is the un crying "peace and security" on their eyes?.

Elsewhere

The phrase "Peace and Security" is JW ear-porn.

That phrase has been used by many people and organizations for millenia... but JWs still get a boner every time they hear it.

8

Dinner hand-holding prayer at someone else's house (or at a restaurant)

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

.

as an atheist, i do not pray, however sometimes i will go to someone's house or to a restaurant for dinner and the others at the table will hold hands and pray.. when this happens, i politely decline and abstain while they do their thing.. .

is it rude for an atheist to politely decline to participate in a hand-holding group prayer, or is the act of hand-holding prayer a form of religious coercion and itself rude?.

Elsewhere

As an atheist, I do not pray, however sometimes I will go to someone's house or to a restaurant for dinner and the others at the table will hold hands and pray.

When this happens, I politely decline and abstain while they do their thing.

Is it rude for an atheist to politely decline to participate in a hand-holding group prayer, or is the act of hand-holding prayer a form of religious coercion and itself rude?

2

$6 gas by summer?

by NeckBeard in

$6 gas?

could happen if dollar keeps getting weakera dollar plumbing three-year lows is hitting americans squarely in the gas tank, and one economist thinks it could drive prices as high as $6 a gallon or more by summertime under the right conditions.. .

with the greenback coming under increased pressure from federal reserve policies and investor appetite for more risk, there seems little direction but up for commodity prices, in particular energy and metals.. weakness in the us currency feeds upward pressure on commodities, which are priced in dollars and thus come at a discount on the foreign markets.. one result has been a surge higher in gasoline prices to nearly $4 a gallon before the summer driving season even starts, a trend that economists say will be aggravated as demand increases and the summer storm season threatens to disrupt oil supplies.. "all we have to have is a couple badly placed hurricanes which could constrain some of the refinery output capacity in some key locations," says richard hastings, strategist at global hunter securities in charlotte, n.c. "if you get weakness in the dollar concurrent with the strong driving season concurrent with the impact of one or two hurricanes in the wrong place, prices could go up in a quasi-exponential manner.".

Elsewhere

The irony of all of this is that as the US Dollar drops in value, it becomes less attractive to off-shore our jobs and manufacturing.

It also results in more people overseas wanting to buy cheaper US goods.

For the last 50 years the US has enjoyed the benefits of cheap goods imported from other countries. As the dollar drops relative to other currencies, we will finally see what things really cost around the world.

In the end, a lower dollar will result in more exports from the US and more jobs returning to the US that had previously been sent overseas.

1

The Good Book: A Humanist Bible

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

an interesting new book was just released.

i received my copy in the mail yesterday.

it is based on many non-religious sources of inspiration around the world to produce a "bible" that is 100% secular.. while reading it i did find that it has a "feel" very similar to the bible in that it is written in chapter and verse with lots of metaphors and storytelling.. i haven't read it much yet due to not having time, but i did read a few pages and thumbed through it a bit.

Elsewhere

An interesting new book was just released. I received my copy in the mail yesterday. It is based on many non-religious sources of inspiration around the world to produce a "bible" that is 100% secular.

While reading it I did find that it has a "feel" very similar to the bible in that it is written in chapter and verse with lots of metaphors and storytelling.

I haven't read it much yet due to not having time, but I did read a few pages and thumbed through it a bit.

It's a thick book... just like the chrisitian bible.

Here is more information about it from Amazon.com:

The Good Book: A Humanist Bible by A. C. Grayling ( Hardcover - Mar 29, 2011) Description: Few, if any, thinkers and writers today would have the imagination, the breadth of knowledge, the literary skill, and-yes-the audacity to conceive of a powerful, secular alternative to the Bible. But that is exactly what A.C. Grayling has done by creating a non-religious Bible, drawn from the wealth of secular literature and philosophy in both Western and Eastern traditions, using the same techniques of editing, redaction, and adaptation that produced the holy books of the Judaeo-Christian and Islamic religions. The Good Book consciously takes its design and presentation from the Bible, in its beauty of language and arrangement into short chapters and verses for ease of reading and quotability, offering to the non-religious seeker all the wisdom, insight, solace, inspiration, and perspective of secular humanist traditions that are older, far richer and more various than Christianity. Organized in 12 main sections----Genesis, Histories, Widsom, The Sages, Parables, Consolations, Lamentations, Proverbs, Songs, Epistles, Acts, and the Good----The Good Book opens with meditations on the origin and progress of the world and human life in it, then devotes attention to the question of how life should be lived, how we relate to one another, and how vicissitudes are to be faced and joys appreciated. Incorporating the writing of Herodotus and Lucretius, Confucius and Mencius, Seneca and Cicero, Montaigne, Bacon, and so many others, The Good Book will fulfill its audacious purpose in every way.

19

Skeptic/Major Physicist Validates 'Cold Fusion'

by metatron in

jw
friends

http://pesn.com/2011/04/07/9501805_rossi_cold_fusion_validated_by_swedish_skeptics_society/.

the bone head media keep ignoring a continuing story that could change the world profoundly!

economics, politics, environmentalism, the middle east...... everything!.

Elsewhere

> Enough blatherspeak. How much are they selling a unit for at Home Depot?

That is my position on this too. As the saying goes: "Show me the money". I'll believe it when I can buy a device and call my electric company to disconnect service. (Keep in mind that, assuming it works, the device will need to be evaluated to determine if it is safe enough for installation in a private residence.)

With that in mind, I like to follow "free energy" news and debunk the technologies (one of my videos: http://tinyurl.com/3f47bes ). So far I have held back from debunking Rossi's E-Cat (Energy Catalyzer) device because of two simple facts:

1. He is the first and only Cold Fusion guy I know of who has said that his technology is "commercial ready" and he will finish constructing a 1 Megawatt power plant in October 2011. This 1 MW plant will NOT generate electricity; instead it will generate heat for industrial uses. Rossi says that he will not charge for the devices in the plant. Instead he will only charge for the actual energy generated and provided to the clients.

2. I have never seen him solicit funding. According to the reports I'm reading, Rossi has sold many of his own assets to finance his research and the 1 MW power plant, though I have no means to verify this. If someone knows how to track down his assets and verify this, please let me know.

I have been following the news of this Cold Fusion / LENR by Rossi for some time now and am still skeptical, but hopeful. I did read Rossi's paper and played around with the math a bit. His paper reads like a a novel that is missing the last chapter *doh!*. That last missing "chapter" is the final piece of the theory of how the device really works and what, extactly the atomic process is that releases energy.

Going beyond that statement, I must add that we currently use many technologies that are not really understood beyond the fact that they work. As an example, next time you fill a prescription at the pharmacy, take the time to read that folded piece of paper with the extremely small type. You will find a section that is devoted to explaining how, exactly, the medication works. For most medications this section basically says in so many words: "We have NO idea how or why it works, we just know it does work".

> It would make him and all of his colleages INCREDIBLY rich with patents and the inevitable Nobel prize,

This is the reason why he has so far refused to publicly release information about his "secret sauce" (the internal design of the reactor and a catalyst that he claims makes the device work). He is currently trying to patent the method and apparatus. The patent office has so far been reluctant to issue a patent because of a standing policy to dismiss all "cold fusion" claims as frivolous.

http://www.journal-of-nuclear-physics.com/files/Patent_WO-2009-125444.pdf

Bottom line:

I’m just going to sit back and wait for October to see if he really does start selling the devices.

11

OK guys, we're off the hook!!!

by JeffT in

jw
friends

http://www.themedguru.com/20091206/newsfeature/stare-boobs-longer-life-study-86131320.html.

frankfurt, germany, december 6 -- a rather bizarre study carried out by german researchers suggests that staring at women's breasts is good for men's health and increases their life expectancy.. .

according to dr. karen weatherby, a gerontologist and author of the study, gawking at womens breasts is a healthy practice, almost at par with an intense exercise regime, that prolongs the lifespan of a man by five years.. .

Elsewhere

Boobies!

I don't care if looking at them is beneficial or not. I'm still going to look!

Oh, and ladies, if you don't want me looking at your boobs, then tell them to stop staring at me!

11

Where has Elsewhere been???

by Elsewhere in

jw
friends

i noticed a few people inquiring where i've been.

the simplest way to explain: been busy with life.

i guess i reached a point where i no longer "needed" to come here for catharsis.

Elsewhere

I noticed a few people inquiring where I've been. The simplest way to explain: Been busy with life.

I guess I reached a point where I no longer "needed" to come here for catharsis. However I have no intention of making one of those "I'm leaving!" posts. I do have every intention to continue to pop in from time to time.

Yesterday I poked around a bit and couldn't help but notice the cruel conservatives beating the kind sheep here. I could not let that stand, so I put them in their place. (Matt. 24:49-51)