Topics Started by cofty
-
11
Pope Francis' Collusion in Child Sex Abuse
by cofty inread it if you can bear it — it's heart-wrenching.. anybody who has any association with the roman catholic church has no self-respect.. the sex abuse of deaf orphans in pope francis’ backyard....
-
113
EU Court Ruling Against WT on Data-Protection
by cofty intoday's london times reports on the july ruling of the eu court that forces the organisation country to comply with data protection.. the action originated in finland but the ruling will affect every eu country.
the cult tried unsuccessfully to argue that the notes taken by jws in the door-to-door work were personal and not accessed by the congregation.
the court ruled that they are acting under the auspices of the congregation and therefore they must comply with data-protection laws.. keeping lists of do-not-calls also falls under this ruling.. why does the cult always feel that it is above the law?.
-
26
Dirt Fishing - Latest Coin Finds
by cofty init's that time of year again when i can get back on the fields with the metal detector looking for ancient stuff.
the first field to be harvested was full of peas - ideal as it leaves no stubble and it's a two minute walk from my house.
it has given up two coins in two visits this week.. the first one is a cut-half silver penny from the reign of henry ii.
-
32
This Article Won't Change Your Mind - Great Read
by cofty inthis article won’t change your mind - the facts on why facts alone can’t fight false beliefs.
brilliant article in the atlantic by julie beck discussing the phenomena of cognitive dissonance and how it affects religious and political beliefs.
it includes some interesting thoughts on how social media has magnified the problem.. spoiler - she is not optimistic about the possibility of successfully reasoning with members of religious cults.. the article also has a link to the 45 minute audio version.. link....
-
69
Austria Begins Closing Mosques and Deporting Imams
by cofty inaustria, a member of the eu since 1995, is a country of 8.8 million people with a muslim population of around 600,000 mostly turkish immigrants.
in 2015 it passed an 'islam law' prohibiting foreign funding of religious groups and creating a duty for muslim organisations to have 'a positive fundamental view towards state and society'.. many mosques in austria have continued to receive money from turkish muslim organisations so the new right-wing government have decided to enforce the law.
seven mosques have been identified for closure and 60 imams are to be either deported or refused visas.
-
11
North American History - Red George MacDonnell
by cofty ingreetings to the colonies .
i have come across this individual in the course of some local history research - back in the late 18th c his aunt and her husband owned the estate where i now live and his parents settled nearby.
he gets credit for a victory at ogdensberg in the war of 1812.. is 'red george macdonnell known to the average american/canadian or is he an obscure figure?
-
8
Mary Magdalene - Movie Review
by cofty inso mrs cofty and i went to see the new movie last weekend on the gospel story told from the perspective of mary magdalene.. the first ten minutes are excellent and then jesus turns up and it's all downhill from there.
it was pope gregory who decided in 1591 that mary m was a penitent prostitute, even though the gospels contain no such reference.
was she the mary from whom seven demons were cast or was she just unlucky to share a name with a different mary?
-
67
Russia Uses Nerve Agent to Assassinate Spy
by cofty inwhat started as news of a man and woman being found unconscious on a park bench 12 days ago is escalating into an international incident.. sergei skripal had worked as a double agent for british intelligence mi6 before he was discovered and imprisoned in russia in 2006. he was later flown to england as part of a spy-swap in 2010. on sunday 4th march he was discovered along with his 33 year old daughter yulia close to a shopping centre in salisbury.. since then the story has become increasingly bizarre.
a policeman who was first to attend the scene also became critically ill and remains in hospital.
government scientists at porton down have confirmed that the cause is a russian military-grade nerve agent novichok.
-
20
Don't Try to Choose Your Beliefs
by cofty inbeliefs are not things to be chosen like new clothes; authentic beliefs happen to us without our conscious attention.. i have often seen comments from ex-jws to the effect that they are now unsure about what they 'ought' to believe.
others express offense when their chosen beliefs are challenged and well-meaning bystanders protest that everybody is entitled to believe whatever they wish.
this misunderstanding of what it means to believe something is unhelpful.. it's natural to want to quickly replace our old beliefs when our worldview has collapsed around us.