i know that darwin wasn't alone in discovering evolution and natual selection, but i think he was a remarkable man, and i'm glad he's being so fondly remembered.. i also love all the attention evolution is getting in the media, what with darwin's 200th and the origin of species' 150th this year.. thank you mr. darwin, and all the other scientists who have contributed to this wonderful explanation of our world!.
s4.
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I know that Darwin wasn't alone in discovering evolution and natual selection, but I think he was a remarkable man, and I'm glad he's being so fondly remembered.
I also love all the attention evolution is getting in the media, what with Darwin's 200th and The Origin of Species' 150th this year.
Thank you Mr. Darwin, and all the other scientists who have contributed to this wonderful explanation of our world!
S4
this article out lines the truth about the global warming scam.
http://www.kusi.com/weather/colemanscorner/38574742.html.
"...the question is where do the majority position themselves and why?"
Oh boy. Besty hit on one of my basic rationalist's rules of thumb right there. From taping dry wall to using air guns for finish nailing or understanding evolution - do not fuck with the boys and girls who do this every day. When someone comes along with an idea that works, the majority in that field know it's right and start to use it. Otherwise they die out.
Where does the preponderance of expert opinion lie? Never, ever, ignore that question.
That's why, when you got something like 500 scientists signing the UN global climate change paper a couple of years ago, that means a lot to me.
Let me illustrate. You and a crew of three can trim out a house in a week the old fashion way, with a miter box, finish hammers and nail sets, or two carpenters can do it in a day with a finish chop saw and a finish air nail gun. Guess who gets the job? Guess what method all the experts end up using?
If the evidence doesn't support a human element in global climate change, you'll see the experts headed that way real soon. So far, that isn't happening. Just the opposite. I agree that politics applies its own pressure - but not for too long when the evidence is clear.
S4
this article out lines the truth about the global warming scam.
http://www.kusi.com/weather/colemanscorner/38574742.html.
CB,
There is a science writer at the NYTimes who has written a book or two on the subject, and he also hesitates to say to what extent GW is a human-created situation. That gives me pause in taking any sort of dogmatic stance here until I've done a lot more research.
But again, I struggle with my crude, but I think, rational metaphor: How long can you flush your toilet into the basement of your house and continue to deny that that's why the place stinks?
We may not be the only factor, but it's hard for me to believe that all the shit we pump into the atmosphere is having no effect.
S4
i was in the newton cong from about 86-96, never baptized..
I'm in nearby Vermont. I was assembly overseer of MA Circuit 3 for several years, and spoke at tons of MA district conventions. And CB, I knew the Montipolis, of course. Ran the regional building committee for years.
Gerry made a lot of enemies over the years. I remember him telling the brothers at one RBC meeting that he handled rising fuel oil prices by putting in a second oil tank and stocking up a few thousand gallons when the prices were low! Of course, why didn't all of us non-millionaire bros figure that out!
S4
this article out lines the truth about the global warming scam.
http://www.kusi.com/weather/colemanscorner/38574742.html.
Oh yes, just one other quick point:
Global climate change is the more accurate term, as what is happening produces overall warming in some areas, colder temperatures in others, turning some areas into rain deprieved deserts, others into wetter climates, etc. A climate that is getting colder actually is evidence of global climate change, not the opposite! That's what makes comments like Aniron's so pathetic.
S4
this article out lines the truth about the global warming scam.
http://www.kusi.com/weather/colemanscorner/38574742.html.
Besty, I appreciate your attempts to bring some balance into this thread. and Coffe Black, I appreciate your playing Devil's advocate here.
I'm glad Aniron was called on what I think is the most pathetic and silly response of several of the global climate change deniers on this site - "Why, we're having the coldest winter (or summer, etc) on record, which disproves global warming." As you clearly showed, local weather anomalies have nothing to do with global climate. Comments like Aniron's always scream out to me, "This person doesn't know what they're talking about!"
I admit I need to study this issue a lot more, but I've done enough research to know, as Coffee Black stated, that no one is denying that the global climate is changing. What is being questioned is whether this is just a normal occurence or is it being acerbated by humans and our pollution of the atmosphere. Two years ago I interviewed a scientist that I respect, Tom Wessels, the author of "The Myth of Progress," and asked him straight out about this controversy. I quote from my article:
When asked about the critics of climate change, those who say there is not enough data over a long enough period to know if we’re experiencing real climate change at least in part because of human activity, Wessels has no hesitation in his answer.
"There’s not one research climatologist who says that. Not one. You’ll hear that from the non-scientific community and you’ll hear that from people who have an ideological point of view, but the science (about global climate change) gets stronger all the time. There’s really not a debate in the scientific community at all that this is happening, or that humans are responsible for it. The debate is shifting to what is going to be the degree of change and what is the change going to look like regionally. We know that the change is going to be much more dramatic the higher in latitude you go. We’re already seeing that."
Since that interview, there have been petitions signed by literally hundreds of international scientists essentially stating what Tom told me in that quote. Yes, there is some controversy as to the human impact on this, but denial that something is happening and it is serious is becoming rarer.
From a non-scientists perspective, it's hard for me to imagine that we can continue to dump massive amounts of pollution into the environment and then deny that it has any effect. As a rationalist, that makes no sense to me. How long can you flush your toilet into the basement of your house and continue to deny that that's why the place stinks?
I know the businesses in my state take it seriously. There are about a half dozen major ski areas here in my part of Vermont, and they for damn sure know something is happening to the climate. Their success or failure depends on having enough snow, and they know they can no longer depend on that happening naturally, despite having two winters back to back with great natural snow.
S4
I'm really pleased so far.
He hit the ground running, and if the Republicans can get the hell out of the way, maybe we can get some money into the states and get people working again. I agree that the Republicans are off base thinking that tax cuts for the rich is the answer to every financial crisis.
I loved the wage cap for companies receiving federal funds, I'm glad we're no longer a country that tortures our POWs, and I'm relieved that we're closing our secret prisons, and some not so secret ones. I'm starting to feel proud that America is a leader again, and not the neighborhood psychopathic thug and bully.
For three weeks or so, what I see is amazing.
S4
when i think back of how the elders were viewed, even when i was a kid, i recognize that many people were deathly afraid of the elders.
my brother had been appointed in the 70s shortly after the elder arrangement was put into effect.
so my family always had an "in" because of our theocratic connections----not that my brother was very forceful.
Min,
I stepped down in the early/mid 1990s, with no intention of fading. I was very depressed for about 24 hours, when suddenly I began to feel like this huge weight was lifted off me, just like you said. When the CO and another elder visited me 48 hours after I'd told them I was stepping down, I was absolutely sure I had made the right decision.
The CO really tried to talk me into reconsidering, but there was no way I was going to go back. I can remember how wonderful it felt not to have that weight on me.
I didn't start fading for another year or so. I also came to the realization that being an elder was all about position and following authority, and had little or nothing to do with a person's true level of spirituality. For many brothers, it is a huge ego trip.
S4
as mentioned in the thread - http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/171251/1/jws-on-bbc - on the bbc website under the beliefs section they state that "elders disfellowship 50,000 to 60,000 witnesses around the world every year.
each year, however, 30,000 to 40,000 are reinstated having "come back to their spiritual senses".".
does anyone know where they could have got those stats?.
The disfellowshipping number roughly falls in the area that I've heard about for a few decades - and I can't imagine that that figure is going down! The saying used to be that c. 40,000 were DFed every year, but I'm not sure if that was just the US or a worldwide figure. I would guess it was just the US.
Reinstated is hard to say. That figure seems high to me, as from my experience most of those disfellowshipped never come back, and that indicates that over half are reinstated. My personal experience would indicate that maybe 20% come back - not 50%. But, I have no data to back that up.
I would also guess that fewer people seek reinstatement in this age of the Internet once they are out.
S4
no not the jws.
its killing the obama people who are now finding out he's just as stupid/crooked as gwb.
"give him a chance".
BTS,
I hope you're wrong. But, I think we can agree that we'll need more time to tell. For all the Obama-worship on one side, from where I sit, the obssessive Obama-paranoia on the other side is just as loud.
I think reality lies somewhere in between the two extremes, and I think it will be for the better.
There's that damn optimist speaking again!
S4
