bemused

Joined

• started 11 topics
• posted 228 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by bemused

• 
  39

  Powerful photo

  by zakharijah in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi,.

  i just stumbled upon this photo on facebook (pic by david j. m. coleman), and as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.... .

  .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  bemused

  jam - I'm pretty sure that's a Royal Mail van in the background, so it must be in the UK somewhere.

  The guy on his phone looks like he's positioned himself to make it look like he's reading the book on the top of the placard!
• 
  83

  Blown away-- where to go from here

  by All for show in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i stumbled upon this website a few weeks ago due to the jw.org ridiculousness, since then i haven't been able to pull myself away.

  the thoughts, feelings, and concerns i have had the past few years aren't just mine.

  it's global.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  bemused

  Hi AFS and thanks for sharing your story.

  I was never a witness but am concerned about relatives who are, hence my visits here. All individual circumstances are different but, from what I've read here, fading from the org generally seems to be the easiest way out. Confrontations, judicial hearings etc seem to cause a lot of heartache and I've never really understood why anyone would want to go through that, even if there is an element of catharsis in 'having your say'.

  Others on here are much better informed than I am about flaws in WT doctrine but if you're looking to read wider than that then I strongly recommend 'The Magic of Reality' by Richard Dawkins. It's quite short and very readable and even if you retain a belief in a creator at least you'll understand where many atheists are coming from.

  Best wishes

  Bemused
• 
  41

  ISIS Recruits Children To Perform Beheadings, Shoot Rifles, Carry Out Terrorist Attacks

  by Bangalore in

  1. social
  2. current

  isis recruits children to perform beheadings, shoot rifles, carry out terrorist attacks.. .

  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/isis-training-children-behead-launch-terrorist-attacks-article-1.1921995.

  bangalore.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  bemused

  Don't call me Shirley - thanks for the response. I probably shouldn't have bothered commenting initially and I certainly won't comment again on this thread, but I'll have one final go at explaining my point.

  You may well be right that it was inappropriate for Sammie to use that figure in her argument. I don't know and I don't care. I had no interest in bolstering her argument or otherwise. The one and only point that I was trying to make is that, regardless of the appropriateness of using that statistic in her argument, 100,000 is not a ridiculous over-estimate of the number of Americans who are injured or killed by a gunshot in a typical year.
• 
  41

  ISIS Recruits Children To Perform Beheadings, Shoot Rifles, Carry Out Terrorist Attacks

  by Bangalore in

  1. social
  2. current

  isis recruits children to perform beheadings, shoot rifles, carry out terrorist attacks.. .

  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/isis-training-children-behead-launch-terrorist-attacks-article-1.1921995.

  bangalore.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  bemused

  Don't Call Me Shirley - thanks, yes I do know what 'non-fatal' means. The original phrase used was victims of guns I think, which can reasonably include aggressive non-fatal injuries although perhaps accidental injuries are slightly more questionable to categorise in this way.

  I got the figures from this web-site http://www.factcheck.org/2012/12/gun-rhetoric-vs-gun-facts/.

  Not sure why they use different years (perhaps most recent figures?) but in the spirit of honesty I pointed out that they were not all the same year. I shouldn't think it makes much difference though as I wouldn't imagine that the figures would vary hugely year on year, so it seems that there are typically of the order of 85,000 people a year injured or killed by guns in the US.

  That's it really - I'm not commenting on gun control or how these statistics should or should not be used in an argument.
• 
  41

  ISIS Recruits Children To Perform Beheadings, Shoot Rifles, Carry Out Terrorist Attacks

  by Bangalore in

  1. social
  2. current

  isis recruits children to perform beheadings, shoot rifles, carry out terrorist attacks.. .

  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/isis-training-children-behead-launch-terrorist-attacks-article-1.1921995.

  bangalore.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  bemused

  Throwing knives?! .... now that is dangerous ;)
• 
  30

  Introductions

  by Onager in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i've made a few posts here already so i thought i'd introduce myself.

  i'm an ex-jw from cheltenham pittville (uk) congregation.

  i've been free and clear for a few years now so i'm through the anger phase and in the happily getting on with my life phase.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  bemused

  Yes they work. Your pup looks a bit serious in that first photo!
• 
  41

  ISIS Recruits Children To Perform Beheadings, Shoot Rifles, Carry Out Terrorist Attacks

  by Bangalore in

  1. social
  2. current

  isis recruits children to perform beheadings, shoot rifles, carry out terrorist attacks.. .

  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/isis-training-children-behead-launch-terrorist-attacks-article-1.1921995.

  bangalore.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  bemused

  AlphaMan - not sure if your comment was aimed at me but I was simply pointing out that Shirley's claim that Sammie's figure of 100,000 gun victims per annum in the US was fr from the 'wild overstatement' that he claimed it was.

  I fully agree with you that what ISIS is doing is completely different to learning to shoot.
• 
  41

  ISIS Recruits Children To Perform Beheadings, Shoot Rifles, Carry Out Terrorist Attacks

  by Bangalore in

  1. social
  2. current

  isis recruits children to perform beheadings, shoot rifles, carry out terrorist attacks.. .

  http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/isis-training-children-behead-launch-terrorist-attacks-article-1.1921995.

  bangalore.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  bemused

  Is Sammie's number really that far out? US statistics from Factcheck.org:

  Gun Murders in 2010 - 11,078

  Gun Suicides in 2010 - 19,392

  Non-fatal gun injuries in 2011 - 55,544

  So about 86,000 gun victims in the US per year.
• 
  14

  JW Stained Glass Windows!

  by Atlantis in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  found this over on one of the jw sites.. .. stained glass.

  jehovahs witnesses assembly hall, montreal,.... .. .. petra.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  bemused

  Perhaps they think that people may have been prepared to meet in a glorified warehouse when they believed the end was near, but when your prophecies keep failing and it looks like you're in for the long haul you'd better make the place of worship a bit more pleasant.
• 
  67

  Child with brain tumour taken from UK hospital by JW parents

  by Fe2O3Girl in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-28978655.

  a five-year-old boy with a brain tumour has been taken without consent from hospital by his parents, sparking a major police hunt for the family.. ashya king was taken from southampton general hospital and is now believed to be in france with his parents and six siblings.. police said he needs constant medical care and there are "serious concerns" for his life if he is not found today.. brett king, 51, and naghemeh king, 45 removed him from the ward on thursday.. ashya's father was pictured taking him from the hospital"everyone is sending their love now.

  we love you so much and we want to see you very soon and i love you so much and can't wait to see you.".

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  bemused

  It's being reported today that the family are looking to sell a house in Spain to fund treatment in the Czech Republic. That's fine but what I can't understand is why the father couldn't go off and do that himself - why on earth would you subject a desperately ill child to a gruelling journey with no access to skilled medical care?