Posts by konceptual99

35

Evolution is a Fact #11 - Tiktaalik

by cofty in

one of the biggest gulfs that life has had to cross was the transition from sea to dry land.. fish have conical shaped heads, reptiles have flat heads.

fish have no necks; their heads are attached to their shoulders by a series of bony plates.

land-dwelling animals all have necks; their heads can move independently of their shoulders.

konceptual99

Plus, in essence everything is a transitional species.

22

Daily Mirror article about JWs destroying evidence

by Tornintwo in

i can't see another thread but maybe i missed it:.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jehovahs-witnesses-paedophile-sex-abuse-7278824#comments-section.

konceptual99

My understanding (as according to Louise Goods you tube video) was that elders were told not to destroy notes that were specifically related to child abuse. But it makes me wonder if this would also be the case for other JC that dealt with border line criminal activity.
Although not a lawyer. I really don't think Wt were helping themselves in light of public opinion.

Exactly the point. I think there are plenty of troubling questions to be found simply by dissecting the facts rather than spinning things to build up sensationalist nonsense.

7

Ashia King, the little boy taken by his JW parents from a UK hospital to Spain

by nonjwspouse in

the first thought b many was that this jw family was taking their son out of the uk hospital in order to avoid the almost guaranteed need for a blood transfusion.. it was later recognized it was about the refusal of the uk health system to allow them any questions or choices in the care of their son.

they wanted proton beam therapy for the brain tumor which is much less devastating on his little body, and much more accurate.

a later interview the father admitted he was a father first, and if his son needed a blood transfusion he would get one.

konceptual99

I think it unlikely that the parents will be naive about the prospects of long term prognosis, given the father's capacity for research on the condition.

The statements from the Kings are that there is no cancer showing on scans any more and the lad is cured. If you read up on the type of cancer he had there is no possible way of knowing that is really the case for several years yet. The type of radio therapy does not affect this.

In fact, the orginal hospital offered his son no treatment, so convinced were the specialists at that hosptial there was nothing that could be done.

Not true at all. The hospital followed their standard protocol of surgery (which he had in Southampton) to be followed by radiotherapy and chemotherapy. The surgery saved his life - left untreated it would have killed him. In simple terms the other treatments are designed to remove any other cancerous cells left and help prevent the cancer returning. What Mr. King was concerned about was the effect of the conventional radio therapy. The specialists did not think that using proton beam would make a difference to the likely outcomes.

I have seen what radio and chemo does to people so I do not question the Kings' desire to find a viable alternative but to suggest the hospital were a bunch of heartless bastards is a gross misrepresentation.

I see the so-called "controversial" treatment (Proton) the specialists had questioned will be more widely available in the UK this year.

Proton beam is safer way of delivering radio therapy and has been used in the UK for some time. The NHS does refer patients it feels the treatment can work for. There are new centres opening up. There was also some research published in the past couple of days that provide more empirical data supporting it's use in a wider range of cases. Oncologists do not question proton beam in the same way they question things like special diets for the treatment of cancer. It's not "controversial" in the sense they think it's some kind of quackery. It is a relatively new technology that they have only had limited data with which to form clinical decisions. Basically, it is not suitable for all patients but perhaps it is more suitable for more people than they previously had evidence for.

The more it is used and the more results they have then I am sure that it will be more useful for more and more people. If it has worked for Aysha King then no doubt it has minimised the potential damage to healthy cells that conventional RT risks. That's a great result however it is no more likely to cure (by which we mean long term remission of over 5 years) than anything else.

22

Daily Mirror article about JWs destroying evidence

by Tornintwo in

i can't see another thread but maybe i missed it:.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jehovahs-witnesses-paedophile-sex-abuse-7278824#comments-section.

konceptual99

mmmm. I am not sure about the article. As much as I hate to say it, I don't think it really does present the facts.

The letter is a general letter related to yearly admin tasks designed to try and minimise the amount of personal data held about people.

The BOE have specific instructions on record keeping related to child abuse investigations.

There are of course plenty of worrisome things about the JW judicial process and record keeping. It's also true to say that there is a risk that some elders may ignore their own instructions and destroy some records they should be keeping but were the WTS to present their side of the story on this particular article it could be fairly easily rebuffed.

The real story here is about how the WTS have not taken the instruction to make sure no records are destroyed from the Inquiry seriously and formally advised the BOEs in the UK on the implications of this. The effort being led by Louise Goode would be a far better thing to see publicised in the press rather the fairly sensationalist nature of this report.

I would suggest it would be far more uncomfortable for WTS representative to have to respond to questions as to why they were not heeding the UK Inquiry instructions, why it was being left to a bunch of exJW activists to inform elders of the instructions and the clear demonstration that, once again, the Witness actions are opposite to their words.

7

Ashia King, the little boy taken by his JW parents from a UK hospital to Spain

by nonjwspouse in

the first thought b many was that this jw family was taking their son out of the uk hospital in order to avoid the almost guaranteed need for a blood transfusion.. it was later recognized it was about the refusal of the uk health system to allow them any questions or choices in the care of their son.

they wanted proton beam therapy for the brain tumor which is much less devastating on his little body, and much more accurate.

a later interview the father admitted he was a father first, and if his son needed a blood transfusion he would get one.

konceptual99

It's a great article and it's good to see that the young lad is doing well atm. It's also interesting to see how his father frames the comments about blood.

There are two sides to this story and whilst I don't for one minute question the actions of the Kings in seeking what they felt was the best treatment for their son I really hope that they have not been premature in their assessment of his long term prognosis.

For his type of cancer he is very likely to have several years of remission and it's where his health is in 4 or 5 years time that remains a clinical question. Let's hope the hope and expectations of his parents are fulfilled and he remains free of this evil illness.

15

Babylonians Discovered Calculus

by cofty in

it had been assumed that rudimentary calculus was developed in europe in the 14th century but now it turns out that the babylonians worked it out more than 2000 years ago.. researchers have deciphered a detail on a cuneiform tablet held at the british museum and revealed that it describes the movement of jupiter.. babylonians believed that jupiter's position was integral to predicting the weather, the price of goods, and the fluctuating river levels throughout the year.. "the now-decoded 'text a' describes a procedure for calculating jupiter’s displacement across the ecliptic plane.. by tracking jupiter’s speed as a function of time and determining the area under a time-velocity curve.".

konceptual99

And yes konceptual99 it was a joke. Seriously I am wasted on this crowd.

Phew! You had me worried for a minute!

15

Babylonians Discovered Calculus

by cofty in

it had been assumed that rudimentary calculus was developed in europe in the 14th century but now it turns out that the babylonians worked it out more than 2000 years ago.. researchers have deciphered a detail on a cuneiform tablet held at the british museum and revealed that it describes the movement of jupiter.. babylonians believed that jupiter's position was integral to predicting the weather, the price of goods, and the fluctuating river levels throughout the year.. "the now-decoded 'text a' describes a procedure for calculating jupiter’s displacement across the ecliptic plane.. by tracking jupiter’s speed as a function of time and determining the area under a time-velocity curve.".

konceptual99

So much for evolution!

Really SBF...? Has this got to be debunked as well? I can't tell if you are being ironic or not :-)

121

Hey ya'll! My first post. Please help. In need of advice/comfort.

by Stepford Wife in

jw
friends

hey ya'll!

i have been lurking for years on this site and others but never had the courage to post anything.

actually i was afraid of posting on an apostate site in the event i was wrong.

konceptual99

You cannot be d/f for being inactive, but if you answer the "loyalty" question wrong (Do you believe this is Jehovah's organization?) then you might be in line for some kind of sanctions, although I can't imagine a single response to a single question would trigger d/f-ing. Still, maybe it's happened to someone out there.

Answering the those questions in the negative with two elders present can lead directly to being DF'ed. The critical factor is how much the elders want to get you.

If you are not on the radar as an apostate, a first "offender" and not causing problems then you just might get away with it.

If you have been making noises or have rubbed any elders up the wrong way then they will use it to cook your goose. 100%.

121

Hey ya'll! My first post. Please help. In need of advice/comfort.

by Stepford Wife in

jw
friends

hey ya'll!

i have been lurking for years on this site and others but never had the courage to post anything.

actually i was afraid of posting on an apostate site in the event i was wrong.

konceptual99

Welcome SW. I am on a slow fade purposely to try and avoid raising the attention of the elders as things can escalate if you are not careful.

With this is mind if you are very careful never to express a view that the F&DS are wrong, never discuss your views with others and never go into detail then there is every chance you can stop going without attracting too much attention.

If the elders do come and see you then keep calm and simply say something along the lines of "I am finding some things difficult and I would rather not talk about it now". If they continue digging, repeat the mantra. If they ask you either directly or indirectly the F&DS loyalty question just deflect it with something like "why are you asking me that? I simply am finding things difficult at the moment and, rather than respecting what I have said about not wanting to discuss it, you are pushing me with such a question. I find that really upsetting." I am sure they will back right down.

Don't forget as well that the elders treatment of you will be affected by and have an effect on your husband. Any aggressive or harsh actions could backfire on the elders and they should show some caution and respect for the headship arrangement. As far as the WTS is concerned your husband is your spiritual head and you can use that to shackle the scope of any interest from the elders, e.g. "sorry brother but this is something that I think I should only discuss with my husband".

Nothing wrong with using theocratic warfare against them...

90

Evolution Hole #1 - Origin of Life

by shadow in

disclaimer: my graduate degree is in business, not science so i'm writing as a layman in this field.

yes, i know that someone is going to say that evolution does not encompass this topic and should be sectioned off under abiogenesis.

i'm not trying to argue semantics here but it seems like a case of avoiding an uncomfortable subject.

konceptual99

"----interaction of chemical, biological--" It could hardly be biological, because "bio" was still in the future, when all the fortuitous circumstances came together.

Fair point.

Words do matter. I am referring to the Einstein conversations about Wirklichkeit, The Reality that has it's root in Werken, work. I am not a theist, but the existence we live in calls for more than random fluctuations as their origin, IMO

I agree that words do matter. It's how much they matter. Much of the initial comment on this thread is about the semantics and contextual relevance of evolution, the origin of life and abiogenesis. I still stand by my point that the etymology of the word "laboratory" has no relevance as to whether or not the "spark" of life was initiated by a third party or through a combination of purely naturalistic events.

TBH I've not read up on Einstein and Wirklichkeit. A little bit of googling has thrown some context on this and it is interesting. Thanks - I will look at it a little more. My only comment on it right now is that it would appear to take the conversation into a potentially more philosophical direction. That is interesting however for me the most critical question to resolve is the fundamental reality that life is here now so was it always in existence and if not, did it require a third party to initiate it and, by extension, to manage it's progression in some way?