Rivergang

Joined

• started 2 topics
• posted 653 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Rivergang

• 
  89

  Myth of 1914

  by peacefulpete in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the wt engages in history revisionism when insisting the world changed overnight in 1914. in fact the european power struggles that came to a head were centuries old.

  millions of lives had been lost in the wars of the 19th century, with the world a powder keg the years prior to the assassination of franz ferdinand in june 1914 which is often said, albeit rather arbitrarily, as the start of the war that escalated over the next 4 years into the great war.

  take a look at these two pages and ask if the wt's interpretation of history seems accurate to you.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Rivergang

  While not always agreeing with the claims / accusations that W. Schnell made in his 1956 work 30 Years a Watchtower Slave; what he said about 1914 was probably correct. That is, the WTS hyped up that date to take full advantage of the upheaval which the aftermath of "The Great War" left across Europe.

  Never mind that earlier wars in Europe (such as those during the time of Napoleon) had also caused major mayhem and upheaval. By 1914, those conflicts were no longer within living memory - and 100 years ago (well before the age of the Internet) there was no simple way of researching such events.
• 
  42

  WT Ruining Members' Futures

  by HiddlesWife in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what i mean by the title of this thread is what has happened to a relative of mine, one who is really upset about this factor:.

  this relative is a distant cousin on my mother's side of the family.

  she studied as a child and got baptized at 14 1/2 years old.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Rivergang

  As the old saying goes " To try is to risk failure - but to fail to try is to guarantee it".

  Here in the JWs you have a religious group that doesn't even recommend you give it a try - whether it be education, a decent job, a retirement plan, life insurance or similar. (I well recall the old, canned remark that used to be thrown around whenever the subject of life insurance came up - i.e. "The Kingdom is my life insurance policy".)

  These attitudes are certainly reinforced when their young people grow up being told things like that they will "never grow old in this system". Furthermore - when the R&F are continually being reminded that the world will be conquered "in the 1970s", or that the "preaching work" will be completed "This century" (i.e. the 20th), or at the very least it certainly will be all over "soon" - these ideas become well and truly entrenched. Of course, those that then suffer the worst from these unwise actions are the most conscientious of the Jehovahs Witnesses - like the 55-year-old mentioned in that earlier example.

  THAT is what it has to do with religion - or this one, at least!
• 
  42

  WT Ruining Members' Futures

  by HiddlesWife in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what i mean by the title of this thread is what has happened to a relative of mine, one who is really upset about this factor:.

  this relative is a distant cousin on my mother's side of the family.

  she studied as a child and got baptized at 14 1/2 years old.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Rivergang

  Religion can certainly “get” a person like booze can, that is for sure!
• 
  42

  WT Ruining Members' Futures

  by HiddlesWife in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  what i mean by the title of this thread is what has happened to a relative of mine, one who is really upset about this factor:.

  this relative is a distant cousin on my mother's side of the family.

  she studied as a child and got baptized at 14 1/2 years old.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Rivergang

  Timing, of course, has a hell of a lot to do with it, too.

  For example, when saving for retirement, it it is not the amount put away per week/month/year that counts nearly so much as the time period over which these amounts are invested (if anybody doubts that, just check the formula by which compound interest is calculated - together with a certain story about a blacksmith and his incremental rates for shoeing a horse!)

  Also, and as I found out the hard way, the best time for learning things is when you are straight out of high school. After the JWs made me throw in my apprenticeship (almost exactly 50 years ago), I attempted to pick the pieces up some six years later.

  By then, I was married with a family. The results of that ultimately proved to be fatal to both family life and the marriage, although I did come out of it a full-fledged electrician (what a price to have to pay, though!)

  Then,too, there were those in the congregation who had the daggers out for me for doing even that. (I do agree with LHG on that front - it comes to the point sometimes to forgo ones popularity and take the course which is most practical).

  It was only in very late middle age that I finally managed to acquire tertiary qualifications in Electrical Engineering. That only became possible because of the internet, and learning institutions which cater to persons like me, who were working on remote sites, and putting in eleven hour workdays.

  I am still working full time now, while staring down the barrels of 70 years of age (that is ten years older than my father was when he retired from the workforce). However, I am finally in a position when it won’t matter if my employer decides he no longer requires my services.

  The lesson I carry away from all of this?

  There are actually two:

  1) If you allow religious leaders (of any stripe whatsoever) to dictate to you as to how you live your life, then you are setting yourself up to get hurt.

  2) And as my late father warned me back in the day, “Religion is like whisky and beer - you can live without it.”
• 
  10

  Who Will Conquer the World in the 1970’s?

  by FatFreek 2005 in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  this quote is from a kingdom ministry, advertising to its members (i was one until 1977) in the year 1970.. "a new circuit assembly program is scheduled to begin in september.

  we believe you will find it most informative and upbuilding.

  the public talk will be “who will conquer the world in the 1970’s?” kingdom ministry announcements, july 1970, p. 3".

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Rivergang

  A sneaky way of putting a time on it, without actually stating “The day or the hour”.
• 
  22

  I`m going out on a limb here ! ....PIMO

  by smiddy3 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  pimo , as i said i`m going out on a limb here and i might upset some people ,but i really don`t think this is a real strategy that works and doesn`t help the person who is still in.. while you may be doing this to keep the peace in the household and keep relations somewhat stable in the family arrangement ,it`s not helping the person who is still under the control of wt/gb to break free from it ,and isn`t that what you would really like to happen ?.

  and are their children involved as well ?

  that`s another issue ,the longer they are subject to this control the harder it will be for them to disengage get free.. maybe you should re-evaluate what you could do more to help your partner / spouse or whatever to free themselves from this bondage they have involved themselves in.. [ of course their may be others who are quite happy to have their partners/mates under the control of the wt/gb.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Rivergang

  If it were an “ordinary” church we were talking about here, being PIMO would not be too much of a problem. As long as you attend church at Christmas, Easter and the odd time in between, throw a few coins in the collection plate, nobody is likely to bother you.

  As we all know, though, it is totally different with the JWs. To quote W.C. Stephenson in his 1968 work The Inside Story of Jehovahs Witnesses, “no other religious group demands so much of its adherents, in return for so little.”

  Being PIMO whilst a JW would surely tear a person up?
• 
  146

  Science News article: ‘Case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans

  by Disillusioned JW in

  1. social
  2. current

  a news article has the headline of " ‘case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans"; see https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/19/case-closed-999-of-scientists-agree-climate-emergency-caused-by-humans .

  the article says in part the following.. 'the scientific consensus that humans are altering the climate has passed 99.9%, according to research that strengthens the case for global action at the cop26 summit in glasgow.. the degree of scientific certainty about the impact of greenhouse gases is now similar to the level of agreement on evolution and plate tectonics, the authors say, based on a survey of nearly 90,000 climate-related studies.

  this means there is practically no doubt among experts that burning fossil fuels, such as oil, gas, coal, peat and trees, is heating the planet and causing more extreme weather.. a previous survey in 2013 showed 97% of studies published between 1991 and 2012 supported the idea that human activities are altering earth’s climate.. this has been updated and expanded by the study by cornell university that shows the tiny minority of sceptical voices has diminished to almost nothing as evidence mounts of the link between fossil-fuel burning and climate disruption.. the latest survey of peer-reviewed literature published from 2012 to november 2020 was conducted in two stages.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Rivergang

  The preferred battery for EVs is the Lithium-Ion type, which is constructed from lithium, cobalt, manganese, graphite and nickel.

  Battery technology has move on considerably in the 15 years since the first hybrid cars were released onto the market, and rare earths are no longer required for their construction. (The Nickel-Metal Hydride cell enjoyed some brief popularity during the mid-2000s, but was quickly overtaken by progress).

  Conversely, a rare earth material, cerium, is used in vehicles which are powered with internal combustion engines. It is one of the materials used in the catalytic converters. In fact, 26% of the rare earths which are mined are used as catalyst materials. These are to be found primarily either in car exhaust systems, or else in the petroleum refining industry.

  As one wag recently summed matters up: "There are a total of 17 rare earth elements in the Periodic Table, and none of them are named lithium, cobalt, manganese, carbon (graphite) or nickel".
• 
  146

  Science News article: ‘Case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans

  by Disillusioned JW in

  1. social
  2. current

  a news article has the headline of " ‘case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans"; see https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/19/case-closed-999-of-scientists-agree-climate-emergency-caused-by-humans .

  the article says in part the following.. 'the scientific consensus that humans are altering the climate has passed 99.9%, according to research that strengthens the case for global action at the cop26 summit in glasgow.. the degree of scientific certainty about the impact of greenhouse gases is now similar to the level of agreement on evolution and plate tectonics, the authors say, based on a survey of nearly 90,000 climate-related studies.

  this means there is practically no doubt among experts that burning fossil fuels, such as oil, gas, coal, peat and trees, is heating the planet and causing more extreme weather.. a previous survey in 2013 showed 97% of studies published between 1991 and 2012 supported the idea that human activities are altering earth’s climate.. this has been updated and expanded by the study by cornell university that shows the tiny minority of sceptical voices has diminished to almost nothing as evidence mounts of the link between fossil-fuel burning and climate disruption.. the latest survey of peer-reviewed literature published from 2012 to november 2020 was conducted in two stages.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Rivergang

  Whichever way we go - whether renewables or fossil fuel - mining is still going to an inevitable activity.

  For example, 50% of this country's electricity is still being provided by coal-fired generation plant, and an open-cut coal mine is hardly the most picturesque place on the planet! However, there is no need to demonise mining per-se. Mine operators can clean up after themselves, and in fact do so when compelled to.

  - See the following link for some examples of this.

  Australian mine rehabilitation: Projects leading the way (mining-technology.com)
  

  For as long as we continue to use metals, and/or use concrete, gravel and bricks for building works, there will be mining activities (after all, what is a gravel pit or a rock quarry but a mine with a different name?). It is definitely not a case of Fossil Fuels = No Mining / Renewables = Mining.

  However, there is no need to "throw the baby out with the bath water", as the saying goes!

  Miners can be made to rehabilitate their workings once mining operations have ceased. (Having worked in recent years at GEMCO's manganese mine in the Gulf of Carpentaria, I have seen first-hand some excellent results of this).
• 
  146

  Science News article: ‘Case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans

  by Disillusioned JW in

  1. social
  2. current

  a news article has the headline of " ‘case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans"; see https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/19/case-closed-999-of-scientists-agree-climate-emergency-caused-by-humans .

  the article says in part the following.. 'the scientific consensus that humans are altering the climate has passed 99.9%, according to research that strengthens the case for global action at the cop26 summit in glasgow.. the degree of scientific certainty about the impact of greenhouse gases is now similar to the level of agreement on evolution and plate tectonics, the authors say, based on a survey of nearly 90,000 climate-related studies.

  this means there is practically no doubt among experts that burning fossil fuels, such as oil, gas, coal, peat and trees, is heating the planet and causing more extreme weather.. a previous survey in 2013 showed 97% of studies published between 1991 and 2012 supported the idea that human activities are altering earth’s climate.. this has been updated and expanded by the study by cornell university that shows the tiny minority of sceptical voices has diminished to almost nothing as evidence mounts of the link between fossil-fuel burning and climate disruption.. the latest survey of peer-reviewed literature published from 2012 to november 2020 was conducted in two stages.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Rivergang

  Oh, I see - it's all just an invention of the MSM, so nothing to worry about.

  She'll be right mate!

  Don't worry about a thing - until you wake up one morning and notice this happening to your property:

  But she'll be right, mate!

  
  
• 
  146

  Science News article: ‘Case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans

  by Disillusioned JW in

  1. social
  2. current

  a news article has the headline of " ‘case closed’: 99.9% of scientists agree climate emergency caused by humans"; see https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/oct/19/case-closed-999-of-scientists-agree-climate-emergency-caused-by-humans .

  the article says in part the following.. 'the scientific consensus that humans are altering the climate has passed 99.9%, according to research that strengthens the case for global action at the cop26 summit in glasgow.. the degree of scientific certainty about the impact of greenhouse gases is now similar to the level of agreement on evolution and plate tectonics, the authors say, based on a survey of nearly 90,000 climate-related studies.

  this means there is practically no doubt among experts that burning fossil fuels, such as oil, gas, coal, peat and trees, is heating the planet and causing more extreme weather.. a previous survey in 2013 showed 97% of studies published between 1991 and 2012 supported the idea that human activities are altering earth’s climate.. this has been updated and expanded by the study by cornell university that shows the tiny minority of sceptical voices has diminished to almost nothing as evidence mounts of the link between fossil-fuel burning and climate disruption.. the latest survey of peer-reviewed literature published from 2012 to november 2020 was conducted in two stages.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Rivergang

  I like the way it has gone from "Ocean levels are not rising in the Southern Hemisphere" to "It doesn't really matter if they are"!

  The fact is sea levels can be measured, and sea level data has been recorded since at least the turn of the 20th Century.

  Furthermore, sea level records for Australia and New Zealand show an overall rising of sea levels throughout that period, with the rate accelerating since 1993.

  Coastal sea-level rise | Stats NZ

  https://ecos.csiro.au/sea-level-rise-how-do-we-best-prepare/

  Also, these statistics only confirm what even Blind Freddy can easily enough see for himself - with the cutting in half of Bribie Island being just one example of many.