Posts by Abaddon

5

Mormons organizing to try to cancel "Big Love"

by undercover in

jw
friends

devout mormons are forwarding this email to one another in an effort to get hbo to cancel "big love".

here's one version: (hope the formatting works).

hbo's new series, "big love", is about a polygamous family and is set in a salt lake city suburb.

Abaddon

Mmmmm...

Personally I'd go for;

Dear Sirs,

Whilst the practises of polygamous followers of Joe Smith are not representative of members of the LDS (of Utah, Inc., ™, ®, ©, Pat. Pend., Intel Absent, MMX, Reynolds 531, and don't forget the ickle spirit babies) as regards marriage (or equality of black people come to mention it), both the (unrepresentative of the LDS) polygamous fundies and the (representative of the LDS) common-or-garden Mormon are, at the end of the day, in the deepest sympathy, and with the utmost regret and no desire to offend, whacked out cult follwers of yet-another-bloke-with-a-beard-who-says-he-talked-to-god-or-is-otherwise-a-channel-of-devine-wisdom, a rather long list including Noah, Abraham, Enoch, Moses, Jesus, Saul of Ephesus, John of Patmos (mushrooms anyone?) Mohammed, all the Seikh gurus (apart from the book), Zoraster, the founder of the Ba-hai, Charlels Taze Russell, Charles Manson, the Beatle's guru, that guy at Waco, and for all we know AGuest, ad nausium, for ever and ever, Darwin..

Their religious hierachy uses certain identifiable techniques to control the actions of its members including control of information and shunning. They are high control groups.

Please feel free to parody, lampoon, satarise and humiliate them. They have perpetual open season on their literalistic credulous asses. Even if one person who would have otherwise listened to a Mormon Missionary sends them away with a flea in their ear, even if one child raised a Mormon exercises their rights of self-determination, it will be well worth the offended dignity and boo-hoos of those your program rightly targets.

How about targeting Jehovah's Witnesses next? They don't have the salacious sexual aspect of niches of Mormonism, but they will let babies die for want of a simple medical procedure. Maybe following a Hospital Liaison Committee that serve a major hospital for a few months is a good idea. They are specially trained Elders in the group who help fellow believers die because of an inconsistent and impossibly chronologically flawed piece of literalism and second-guessing. It's got everything; sick babies, machines that go bleep (least, you hope they do), dashing doctors, spunky nurses, officious fools, confused and distraught parents. Add in the dysfuntional homelife you'll witness if you follow them home, and the 'Stepford Wives' angle and you will be shitting yourself with delight when you get to edit down your footahe.

Keep up the good work!

Yours faithfully

I don't know if I get my feelings across, what do you think?

49

Historical Linguistics

by dorayakii in

jw
friends

i just thought it would be interesting to give a bit of background on philology (the study of ancient linguistic texts) historico-linguistics (the study of the history and development of languages) and etymology (the history of individual words).

by analysing different languages, linguists were able to work out that many languages had a common root.

for instance, it was obvious that english, dutch, german, danish and swedish for example, are from a common root, because certain words closely resemble each other.. english drink.

Abaddon

I had to do business in Romania in the past couple of years. I had previously assumed it was a Slavic language, but found out (its sound is a dead give-away, it sounds 'like' Italian) it was a Roamnce language like Spanish Italian or French.

Interestingly rather than "si" for yes, they use "da" ('like' Russian). As many common phrases are very similar to Italian (greetings, enquiry of name etc.) this is surprising. I don't know when they started using what seems to be a loan word for such a common word.

33

Why did Jehovah create animals that eat blood with the meat?

by moomanchu in

Abaddon

Noah was no freaking Gerlad Durrell.

Okay, you have two of each founder species, and seven of a few species. So, what, a dozen species x 7 means you have 60 'food' animals, everything else is breeding stock.

that is First thing you do is have a Bar-BQ to thank god for killing everyone but you. So, how many animals down are we now? Then god tells you you can eat animals, and the lions start looking at zebras in a completely different way...

Which part of myth don't people get?

9

Medicinal Marijuana laws going back to Federal Court

by oldflame in

jw
friends

the justices have come down against allowing the sick and dying to use the drug to ease their symptoms and possibly prolong life.

however, the door has never been fully closed, and now a federal appeals court is set to hear arguments in the latest round of legal wrangling over the issue.. the case to be argued monday before the 9th u.s. circuit court of appeals in san francisco narrows the matter to the so-called right to life theory: that marijuana should be allowed if it is the only viable option to keep a patient alive or free of excruciating pain.. it would apply only to the sickest patients and their suppliers, regardless of whether they live in one of the 11 mostly western states that allow medical marijuana.. "a victory would affect people who are very seriously ill, facing death or great physical suffering," said randy barnett, a boston university law school professor working on the case.. the case was brought by angel raich, a 40-year-old mother of two from oakland who suffers from scoliosis, a brain tumor, chronic nausea and other ailments.

she uses marijuana every couple of hours to ease her pain and bolster her appetite.. "she'd probably be dead without marijuana," said her doctor, frank lucido, who has recommended marijuana for some 3,000 patients.

Abaddon

It is such a waste of time...

Here in Holland Cannabis has been decriminalised for two decades now.

If you're over 18 and want some you go to a Coffee Shop. It costs from $7 a gramme.

The Netherlands is still a peaceful country, and such social ills as there are aren't caused by the availability of pot.

For example, whilst a Dutch teenager is more likely to have tried pot than an English one, more English teenagers use pot on a weekly basis. There is no ''dealer-on-dealer" crime to speak of, and few people would need to steal to support a pot habit. Smoking too much/often, in a public place or ordinary club or bar are all viewed as sad by the vast majority (and most Ducth people don't smoke pot). You will not be offered hard drugs in a Coffee Shop (unlike a normal dealer), and prehaps most convincingly of all, the average age of Heroin addicts has risen steadily for years, as so few young people become addicts most addicts are getting on a bit now.

Why, of all people, should sick people be denied what may well be a drug of benefit that you cannot overdose on and has few side effects and has been in use for thousands of years?

Even if the US still thinks (as most of Western Europe) that the sky will fall if you have controlled supply of pot, surely the USA can withstand some sick people sparking up? It is sad.

Of course, no profit for drug companies (as there's a lot less to be made in making a drug based on a chemical in the public domain) ... less jobs for the boys in Law Enforcement, a whole US Agency with not a lot to do... hell the War on Drugs (cost billions, has lead to wider availability and lower prices of all recreational drugs) has too many vested interests benefiting from it to call a ceasefire. It didn't work during Prohibition and it doesn't work now.

Start with pot, wait a couple of decades (if that), realise that;

1/ People will get drugs even if they are illegal

2/ The supply of illegal drugs which inevitably follows their being made illegal leads to crime (other than that of supply), massive profits for criminal enterprises which then diversify their criminal activites, and the creation of thousands upon thousands of government jobs.

3/ Uncontrolled supply of illegal drugs leads to greater risks of progression to harder drugs.

4/ Illegal drugs (not especially pot) are often adulterated and this and their ad hoc manner of use can lead to health problems over and above those of a user in a drug tolerant environment.

... after pot being freely available doesn't make the sky fall on everyone's head, just remove the whole idea of illegal drugs and create controlled supply, backed by decent drug education on the lines of "Just Say Know". Educated use is safer than ignorant use.

We will always have sucessful users of recreational drugs (I include alcohol) and abusers of recreational drugs. The legality of the drugs doesn't change this.

If we will always have sad little drunks/stoners/junkies, why base law around them? They will happen ANYWAY. Make the law about minimising the damage through controlled supply and drug education, and allowing those who can take or not take and live a normal life despite that (I include alcohol) to have the freedom to pursue a recreational pastime without being criminalised.

Think of it as enlightened self interest; if Heroin were legal, junkies would not need to steal my VCR, as Heroin is not expensive, it is only expensive because it is illegal.

If someone on drugs breaks a law that matters, such DWI laws, theft or assault, a crime against the person, there are already laws to put them in jail.

44

Lookin for a JW boy?

by TashaWebber in

hiya im natasha, ive had a study b4 with the jws but im not a baptized jw!

i would like 2 start back up with a study and im lookin for a friendship/relationship with a jw boy to help me through it!

tasha.

Abaddon

Earnest

but earthquakes have taken a larger toll because in many cases cities have been built just where the crust is weakest. Why? Because the shifting of the crust in the past has created changes in the water table, raising the water closer to the surface. You cannot have a large population without water and so cities have been built in earthquake zones despite the risk.

I'd love to see that research.

Nevertheless, the figures quoted by James Jackson were impressive. In the last thousand years earthquakes causing 10,000 or more deaths occurred around 1 year in 20 from 1000-1600, around 1 year in 5 from 1600-1900, around 1 year in 3 in the twentieth century, and so far this century just about 1 year in 1. Here is a summary of his talk if you are interested.

That's no more impressive than making much of increased death-toll per passenger plane crash whilst ignoring the fact that planes are larger.

There is no increase in frequency. It does not say "and due to massive cities requiring good water supplies, a disproportionate number shall be built in areas likely to suffer earthquakes, so that the death toll from earthquakes increases greatly even though the frequency of earthquakes remains the same."

Therefore all else is moot, besides the point, apologism.

36

I have this really crazy idea, please help ( nope not fluff)

by lola28 in

jw
friends

for a really long time i have believed that there is no such thing as god.

last night i had a talk with someone and this one idea came to me, what if there is a god, but he is not perfect, and where did this idea of god=perfect come from?

is there any scipture that says god is perfect?

Abaddon

God is not perfect?

God is not?

God is?

Lola, what difference does it make what the Bible says? What makes you think the Bible is a reliable source of information?

AuldSoul

I wasn't aware they'd made such great strides in the study of abiogenesis. Interesting.

Just out of curiosity, what do you know about abiogenesis? It's very easy to say what you say (which gives a certain impression) and know next to nothing about it. I could say;

"I wasn't aware they'd made such great strides in snowboarding. Interesting."

However, my ability to foretell future advances in snow boarding is severely hampered by knowing next to nothing about it.

Is your sarcasm justifiable or deceptive.

And what do you know about abiogodesis? Unless you can come up with a conclusive theory of abiogodesis, the lack of a conclusive theory regarding abiogenesis is irrelevant, as you have no pot to piss in either.

How can a particle be both neutral and massless and still be a particle, when mass is a requisite for definition as a particle?

Well, experts in the field certainly aren't bothered by calling a gluon a particle, so in common usage your question is meaningless even IF the dictionary definition precludes masslessness.

Going small or large, we reach a point where we just have to face the fact that we don't know

Yup. Some seem drawn to conjecturing in favour of 'god' when they reach this point. Others seems drawn to conjecturing against the existence of 'god' when they reach that point.

Given that 'god' is not required at any point in science until we reach the point where we don't know (if then), introducing the idea at such a late stage in the process of knowledge seems rather ad hoc. Most progresses in scientific knowledge have consisted in pushing back the 'god' frontier, the 'we don't know' frontier back and discovering yet more knowledge we didn't posses previously and a remarkable lack of god, e.g. evolutionary theory.

What makes you think the 'we don't know' barriers we currently face are atypical? Why are we going to find god lurking in amongst the gluons or hiding behind abiogenesis this time?

I don't believe science ever can prove the existence of God since it starts by precluding the possibility of life that exists outside of physical reality.

The ultimate in apologism; setting yourself up for long tern failure...!

What, you mean like scientists won't ever be able to prove the existence of fairies since it starts by excluding stuff that there is no physical proof of?

Why does lack of physical proof make you immediately assume there is a good reason for this (other than something not existing, LOL). Isn't it like a kid coming up with an ad hoc reason why there's no proof of fairies - for example, grown-ups can't see them.

In physics, is a "force" physical or spiritual,

In PHYSICs a force is PHYSICal; see Merriam Webster; 1 a : having material existence : perceptible especially through the senses and subject to the laws of nature physical

is measurable by weight, motion, and resistance -- Thomas De Quincey> b : of or relating to material things 2 a : of or relating to natural science b (1) : of or relating to physics (2) : characterised or produced by the forces and operations of physics.

Semantics will not prove god exists, people have tried this before.

22

Sout Park Scientology-episode online

by Hellrider in

here it is, the whole episode: .

http://youtube.com/watch?v=ssj9gc36bw8&search=scientology.

...it`s one of the funniest sout-park-episodes ever, i laughed till i dropped.

Abaddon

Any one who believes that the (hell, any) creation account is literal is just as deluded as a Scientologist.

21

Top 17 Bumper Stickers

by Frannie Banannie in

yall got any more?these are the top 17 bumper .

stickers that everyone wants to see.... jesus loves you...but everyone else thinks you are an ass.

impotence...nature's way of saying "no hard feelings,".

Abaddon

I think it's good Americans are being encouraged to speak English. It would make a pleasent change.

12

Actual Dinosaur Flesh Discovered, Creationists Rejoice

by metatron in

jw
friends

in case you missed this, apparently real soft tissue and blood cells from a t. rex were discovered, causing no small controversy.

as to how such survived for 65 million years.. www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11385533.

creationists are turning cartwheels on this discovery.

Abaddon

This is hysterical.

Creationists (the Muslim, Hindu and Christian Creationists all disagree with each other, by the way) and their apologists running around like they have ever, even once proved anything), over a discovery that merely makes scientists go "Oooo, I didn't know that could happen. How does that happen?"

An understanding of the nature of science (that it is formative and not summative) would make someone realise that this doesn't effect evolution theory in the least bit. The fact of whether soft tissues can or cannot survive millions of years in fossilised bone does not falsify the multiple methods of dating that are used to place a specimen chronologically.

Evolution isn't about single pieces of evidence making that much difference (fosillised Nikes from the Cretaceous excepted). It is about how a vast web of evidence all fits into the theory.

But as I have yet to meet a Creationist or ID'er who can accurately define evolution correctly, people tilting at windmills is inevitable. Additionally, the fact that their beliefs are revelatory, in other words summative, tends them to leap to unsupported conclusions.

17

controlling circuit overseers

by primitivegenius in

jw
friends

got a story for yall.

new circuit overseer came to my familys cong.

hard ass about working at night or basicly any time a meeting is being or could be held.

Abaddon

Actually, if we go at a tangent, wouldn;t it be fun to control circuit overseers...

... press some buttons and have one go into "Get On Up" in his opening talk to a congregation, full James B stylee... or hypn0tise them to mime fellatio with the nearest elder whenever they hear "We're Jehovah's Witnesses"...