soft+gentle

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Topics Started by soft+gentle

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  172

  Britain | Jehovah's Witnesses hushed up child sex scandal | July 16, 2013

  by jwleaks in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  church officials hushed up a child sex scandal in their ranks and refused to co-operate with police.. .

  jehovah witness ministerial servant gordon leighton admitted sexually abusing a child when he was confronted by his church elders, a court heard.. but during the official police investigation, the 53-year-old who made headlines in the 1990s when wife yvonne, 28, died after refusing a blood transfusion after childbirth on religious grounds denied any illegal wrongdoing.. and when detectives asked elders simon preyser, harry logan and david scott to make statements about the confession, all three refused and said what they had heard was confidential.. for three years, the elders refused to co-operate with the criminal investigation and kept up that stance when the case was brought before newcastle crown court after the victim made a complaint to police.. each was issued with a witness summons which they fought to overturn before being ordered to testify by judge penny moreland citing public interest.. their barrister richard daniels said the men had a duty to god not to breach confidence.. he added: privileged communication between members of the congregation and ministers is an absolute right and duty and there is no power in law to breach such a confidence.. judge moreland said: it is apparent that the three elders who were present when this conversation took place are in possession of relevant evidence as to a point which is of real significance in this case.. they claim the right of confidentiality, they claim that what they heard said by the defendant during the course of that meeting ought to be subject to privilege, as ministers of religion.. judge moreland refused to withdraw the summonses and said: public interest is clearly in favour of this evidence being given.. what was said by the defendant on that occasion is of great significance in the trial.. despite the judges ruling, the men still refused to make statements to police until just hours before they were called before the jury.. leighton, who has since been expelled from the church at lambton kingdom hall in washington, denied two charges of indecency with a child and seven of indecent assault.. he was yesterday found guilty of two charges of indecency with a child and six of indecent assault.

  he was found not guilty of one indecent assault charge, on the direction of the judge.. he was remanded in custody until he is sentenced next month but warned he is facing a lengthy spell behind bars.. prosecutor katherine dunn told the court the victim, who is now an adult, broke her silence in 2009.. the court heard how at a special church meeting, leighton admitted sexual abuse and made excuses for his behaviour.. miss dunn said: the elders conducted their own investigation.

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  I lost my pet today...

  by tooktheredpill in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  she was a 12 year old maltese.

  the best pet in the world.

  my wife and i never had kids, so she was our only daughter.

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  I feel elated - with last semester's results.

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  in my studies, i've settled into a routine of two units per semester, which gives me time to explore interesting side-roads, away from the assigned readings.

  this semester past, i attempted on study unit at macquarie u and one at sydney u.. macquarie results were released last friday, and for that study unit (rome's persian wars) my aggregated mark was 78 and so a distinction.. and, at sydney u, released yesterday, my aggregated mark for, japan in asia from 1840 to today, was 90, which meant a high distinction.. .

  i feel so pleased, not only am i acheiving my goal of understanding the historical processes that have formed modern asia, but i am mastering the process of critical thinking that is the basis of modern scholarship.. so for semester 2, i've enrolled in byzantium at macquarie, and which will give me a chance to explore the way the christian church became a theocratic government in the eastern empire's cities.. .

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  10

  Life and the Universe Most Astounding Fact

  by still thinking in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  astrophysicist dr neil degrasse tyson was asked by a reader of time magazine...."what is the most astounding fact you can share with us about the universe"?.

  this is his answer..... https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=70fwivcntc4#at=207.

  video is 3min 50sec.

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  Zimmerman Not guilty

  by mouthy in

  1. social
  2. current
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  Christian Fraternity of God's People website - some changes

  by EdenOne in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  just wanted to let you know that a few changes were made to my website, christian fraternity of god's people (cfgp).. "news" section removed"comments" section removedforum created (with some limitations)new font used across the websitesurvey added to the welcome page (now with ongoing results displayed)thanks to all who have visited the website.

  the peak of unique visitors in one day was 493, established on june 22, 2013. .

  eden.

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  If you were on the Zimmerman jury, how would you vote? 2nd degree murder, manslaughter or innocent?

  by UnConfused in

  1. social
  2. current
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  Missing my Mountains

  by jgnat in

  1. social
  2. entertainment

  here's an album of my recent artwork.

  the watercolors i whipped up in the last few days, as a distraction.. https://plus.google.com/photos/101031800144975623378/albums/5897865355980960561.

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  Black or white what Racial Discrimination have you experienced?

  by usualusername in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i could give you hundreds of experiences but let me kick off with the following.

  i boarded a train at 4am heading to an airport a few weeks ago.

  in my carriage there were at least 100 people.. .

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  cantleave you have a pm

  by soft+gentle in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  thanks.

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