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By Guest Indiana
A sign that we are living in the last days is the fact that love is cooling off. Sadly, the pressures and demands of this cold world has effected many marriages. Close relationships that are full of love and warmth, can easily become cold and distant . This situation can be likened to a large mountain with each mate standing on the opposite side. How can a couple draw close again in this situation? They have to climb towards the top. In a spiritual sense, mates that have allowed some mountain to come between them have to “climb” toward Jehovah. They can do this by reading the Bible, praying and doing family worship together. When a couple puts forth the effort to draw closer to Jehovah, they will also draw closer to one another. It can be challenging, painful and exhausting, but those who put forth the effort will have a stronger marriage as a result. (Ecc 4:9-12) Indeed, drawing closer to God is the key to drawing closer to your spouse.
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By Guest Indiana
If you go outside this Labor Day weekend, don't forget the bug spray.
The dangerous but rare Eastern equine encephalitis virus is flaring up in Michigan, state health officials say, and has been confirmed in two people in Berrien and Kalamazoo counties and is suspected in five more people.
The virus, carried by birds and transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes, is deadly in 1 in 3 people who contract it, and can cause brain damage and permanent neurological disabilities in those who survive.
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By Guest Indiana
Seven were shot at a party near Indiana’s Ball State University.
At least seven people were injured, three in a life-threatening fashion, in a shooting near Indiana’s Ball State University overnight.
According to local NBC affiliate WTHR, the shooting occurred at a large off-campus house party, with shots fired inside the house around 12:45 am. Police say they are still working to piece together what happened, as most witnesses heard but did not see the shooting.
https://www.vox.com/2019/5/18/18630674/ball-state-university-indiana-party-shooting-what-we-know
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By Guest Indiana
WASHINGTON – Kirstjen Nielsen, who oversaw President Donald Trump's hard-line immigration policies as secretary of Homeland Security, is leaving her post amid tensions with some in the White House who felt she hasn't done enough to stem border crossings.
Trump tweeted Sunday that Nielsen is leaving the post she has held since the end of 2017.
"Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen will be leaving her position, and I would like to thank her for her service," he said. He said Kevin McAleenan, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner, will become the acting DHS secretary. McAleenan has held senior posts within CBP dating back to President George W. Bush's administration.
Rea more: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/04/07/kirstjen-nielsen-out-trump-secretary-homeland-security/1895285002/
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By The Librarian
What is the theme of your baptism year??
Mine was... Kingdom Truth~1982
(Although mine was at a Circuit Assembly in Natick, Massachusetts not a district convention)
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By Guest Nicole
HAVANA TIMES – Daniel Ortega has achieved what neither Putin, nor climate change, nor China, nor the immigration problem, nor Maduro nor Syria could do: he inspired nothing more and nothing less than the adoption of a bipartisan consensus between the US Republican and Democratic parties regarding his regime.
What’s more, he managed to become a point of consensus between the US Executive branch, headed by Trump, and the US Congress. It may seem a lie or an exaggeration, but no other topic during Trump’s administration has been resolved with this level of consensus.
In reacting to the decisions adopted by the organs of United States power, Ortega momentarily dusted off the old speeches that he had kept filed away these eleven years and spoke once again of interventionism, of imperialism and other expressions of the like. Then, he fell silent.
He’ll likely speak about it again once he’s assimilated the blow and has designed the course he’ll follow. Meanwhile, it’s important to recall that Nicaragua’s economic dependence with respect to the United States has broadened and deepened during this “antiimperialist” regime of Ortega’s.
Read more: https://havanatimes.org/?p=145130
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By James Thomas Rook Jr.
Since the Society does NOT recognize Civil Divorces if there is no adultery, and considers a couple to STILL BE MARRIED ... if a man and wife get divorced civilly ONLY ( perhaps for some economic reason, like bankruptcy, or estate management .... or they cannot stand each other more than a few hours a week .. (health reasons (?)) ... and they still shack up (friends, with benefits..) does the Society sanction these ones in any way?
( For those in Rio Linda ... "friends with benefits" means friends that have sex ...) ....
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By Raquel Segovia
l cáncer de mama es el tumor femenino más frecuente (iStock) Los fabricantes de medicamentos se están enfocando en qué pacientes de cáncer se beneficiarán de las nuevas terapias inmunológicas y cómo encontrar muchas más de las que los escépticos habÃan pensado.
Por primera vez, un ensayo clÃnico mostró que un tratamiento con una nueva generación de medicamentos diseñados para desencadenar el sistema inmunológico del cuerpo contra los tumores puede ayudar a algunas mujeres con el tipo de cáncer más agresivo a vivir más tiempo. El estudio fue presentado por Roche Holding en la conferencia de cáncer más grande de Europa.
Estas medicinas, lideradas por la exitosa Keytruda de Merck & Co., se venden para más de una docena de diferentes tipos de cáncer, y las compañÃas farmacéuticas están trabajando obsesivamente para expandir sus aplicaciones con versiones más nuevas y mezcla de tratamientos. Según el Instituto de Investigación del Cáncer, financiado en gran parte por los fabricantes de medicamentos que buscan una buena parte de una previsión del mercado,para 2024 hay unos 1.300 tratamientos basados en el sistema inmunitario.
"Esto es solo la punta del iceberg", subrayó Axel Hoos, jefe de investigación y desarrollo en oncologÃa del gigante farmacéutico del Reino Unido GlaxoSmithKline, que está tratando de volver a la oncologÃa después de vender sus productos existentes a Novartis AG en 2015. "Hay un poco de exageración, pero hay mucha sustancia".
 En la reunión de la Sociedad Europea de OncologÃa Médica, Roche reveló los resultados de un estudio que mostró que un grupo de pacientes cuyos tumores de mama dieron positivo a una proteÃna llamada PD-L1 vivió un promedio de 25 meses cuando recibieron una terapia inmunológica llamada Tecentriq: aproximadamente 10 meses más que otras que solo recibieron quimioterapia.
Las terapias inmunitarias irrumpieron en escena hace unos ocho años, cuando Yervoy de Bristol-Myers Squibb se convirtió en el primer medicamento de este tipo en extender la vida de las personas con melanoma, un cáncer de piel letal. Los éxitos en los cánceres de riñón y pulmón siguieron poco después.
Cuando las terapias inmunitarias funcionan, el efecto puede durar años, una de las razones por las que se las considera revolucionarias. Pero en la mayorÃa de los pacientes no ocurre nada útil, incluso en los tumores de la piel y los pulmones, donde se han observado algunos de los efectos más dramáticos.
"Hay algunos cánceres en los que el sistema inmunológico simplemente no puede reconocerlo", comentó Mace Rothenberg, directora de desarrollo para oncologÃa del gigante farmacéutico Pfizer Inc. Al volar bajo el radar protector del cuerpo, los cientÃficos se refieren a ellos como "tumores frÃos".
Las compañÃas están empezando a repensar su estrategia para los casos más difÃciles, según dijo Dan O'Day, jefe farmacéutico de Roche. La prueba de los tumores de los pacientes para detectar proteÃnas y genes especÃficos ayudará a identificar a los que tienen más probabilidades de beneficiarse.
"Queremos alejarnos del concepto de administrar inmunoterapia contra el cáncer al 80 por ciento de los pacientes y que solo la mitad responde", indicó en una entrevista. "Busquemos las otras opciones de tratamiento para los otros tipos de pacientes".
El estudio de cáncer de mama de Roche ayudó a respaldar la idea de que hay formas en que los médicos pueden identificar más cánceres y someterlos a la terapia inmunológica. El medicamento utilizado en el estudio, Tecentriq, bloquea la proteÃna llamada PD-L1 que dificulta el ataque del sistema inmunitario contra los cánceres, y solo sirvió en las mujeres cuyos tumores tenÃan niveles altos de proteÃna.
O'Day sugirió que otro indicador en la búsqueda de respondedores podrÃa ser la gran cantidad de mutaciones en un tumor. Es una estrategia que puede extender aún más el alcance de las terapias inmunológicas, como lo indican los estudios presentados en la conferencia. Los estudios de cánceres de colon y recto, que han sido menos sensibles a la terapia inmunológica, demostraron que los tumores con daño genético grave pueden ofrecer mejores objetivos para medicamentos como el Opdivo de Bristol y Yervoy.
"Están realizando pruebas en cada tumor diferente que puedna imaginar", indicó Richard Gaynor, jefe de investigación y desarrollo de Neon Therapeutics, una empresa de inmunologÃa oncológica. "Habrá subconjuntos de pacientes dentro de cada grupo que puedan beneficiarse".
Y en muchos casos, la terapia inmunológica puede necesitar ayuda. La pregunta es cómo empujar el sistema de protección del cuerpo para que actúe contra ciertos tumores, de acuerdo al director ejecutivo de Incyte Corp., Herve Hoppenot. Su compañÃa probó la estrategia a principios de este año, combinando su fórmula experimental con Keytruda de Merck, y fracasó.
Aún asÃ, Incyte y otros fabricantes de medicamentos continúan en su búsqueda de formas de detectar tumores que hayan eludido la inmunoterapia.
"Estamos arañando la superficie", comentó Luciano Rossetti, jefe de investigación y desarrollo global para biofarma de Merck Egaa con sede en Alemania. "Tenemos una primera ola de emoción real".
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By Guest Nicole
A Florida couple is recalling a distressing experience on a Carnival Cruise after finding a hidden camera pointing at their bed.Â
In an interview set to air Monday, Chris and Dana White told Inside Edition that they discovered a recording device hidden among TV wires in their stateroom last October on the Carnival Fantasy, a three-day Caribbean cruise departing from Mobile, Alabama.Â
"I said, 'Is that what I think it is?' " Chris White said. "And she looked at it and she became concerned. And we were just really flabbergasted that there's a camera in the room and it's plugged up and it's working."
The couple called Carnival security and used their cellphone to film an employee who inspected and disassembled the device. "I was thinking, 'I can't believe this is actually happening to us,' " he said.
https://www.usatoday.com/videos/travel/2018/10/29/couple-claims-secret-camera-aimed-bed-carnival-cruise/1809350002/
https://www.usatoday.com/story/travel/news/2018/10/28/travelers-found-hidden-camera-their-carnival-cruise-bedroom/1800150002/
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By Guest Nicole
Legislators ‘need to stopÂ’ working for institutions
Dave Kohler, of Allentown, was abused by an ordained minister in the JehovahÂ’s Witnesses in November 1965. He was 9 years old.Â
When Kohler was 17, his abuser told him to never talk about the abuse again.Â
“So I obeyed and kept my mouth shut,” Kohler said.Â
He’s been coming to Harrisburg for about five years to show his support for statute of limitations reform. “Individuals vote them in, and then they work for institutions,” Kohler said of the state legislators. “That needs to stop.”
If reform is passed that would allow Kohler the opportunity to sue his abuser, Kohler said he knows what he would do with any money he could collect.
“I will hopefully be able to afford therapy,” he said.
Dave Kohler, who said he was abused by an ordained minister in the Jehovah's Witnesses in Kutztown and Emmaus, talks about his experience, during the demonstration for statute of limitations reform to the state's childhood sexual abuse laws at the state capitol in Harrisburg on Monday. (Photo: Paul Kuehnel, York Daily Record)
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By Guest Nicole
SCHOHARIE, N.Y. — It was an intersection of two highways, one a steep downhill road, that residents had long warned was notoriously dangerous.
On Saturday afternoon, their worst fears were realized: A limousine lost control, careening through the intersection and striking an empty car. The crash killed all 18 people in the white limousine and two pedestrians in an accident that left deep tire tracks in the ground and a small upstate New York town reeling.
“That limo was coming down that hill probably over 60 miles per hour,” said Jessica Kirby, 36, the manager of the Apple Barrel Country Store, where she said customers were hit near the parking lot. “All fatal.”
“I don’t want to describe the scene,” she added. “It’s not something I want to think about.”
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/07/nyregion/wedding-limo-crash-schoharie-ny.html
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By Guest Nicole
'Biased assumptions'
While most of the comments on the post in the Facebook page debated the merits of the celebrations and the priorities of the district, some focused on the religious beliefs of those who don't celebrate Halloween.
Halloween began as the Celtic festival Samhain, where people would light bonfires and wear costumes to frighten ghosts, according to History.com. Due to its roots, the holiday isn't celebrated by certain religions or groups, including Jehovah's Witnesses, some Christians, Orthodox Jews and Muslims.
"It is the stated strategy of some to use our own laws against us," reads on comment on Facebook. "Wake up people. Nothing is an 'American Tradition' anymore. (And many who move here aren't doing so to become American)."
Another comment asked "Who is ruining traditions?" The response from a different person, which has since been deleted, read: "Muslims."
Kucinski said statements such as these are "very hurtful to people who are equally American but may be of a different culture, religion, or hold different beliefs than those who are making these comments."
"This discussion has emboldened certain voices in our community to make sweeping biased assumptions against groups of people that may or may not be the ones that are holding their kids home from school," she said. "Does it matter what group or groups are keeping their kids home and missing a fun celebration at school? No."
Littman said it's anyone's right to not celebrate a holiday, though others don't have to follow suit.
Read more:
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By Guest Nicole
Many of the children described conditions at US Customs and Border Protection facilities, where they were taken and processed during the first days after crossing the border. In the reports they were only identified by their first names. Timofei, 15, from Russia, who sought asylum on the border with his parents for his beliefs as Jehovah's Witnesses, said they were crowded night and day in the closed and crowded room, detained along with other boys. He said there was only one window that opened onto an empty hallway and that they did not have soap in the bathroom, and that only sometimes, they gave him a toothbrush for individual use. He also said that he was offered a shower when he arrived at the facilities in San Ysidro, California, but he did not and the second or third day there did not allow him to do so.
https://www.clarin.com/mundo/trataron-chicos-separados-padres-frontera-relatan-dias-detenidos-unidos_0_SJh7dyam7.html
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By Guest Nicole
Being widowed, divorced or never married increases the risk of heart disease.
Being married may reduce the risk of heart disease and cardiovascular death, a review of studies has found.
Researchers pooled data on more than two million participants in 34 studies carried out in the United States, Britain, Japan, Russia, Sweden, Spain, Greece and eight other countries.
They found that compared with married people, those who were unmarried — whether never married, widowed or divorced — were 42 percent more likely to have some form of cardiovascular disease and 16 percent more likely to have coronary heart disease. The unmarried also had a 43 percent increased likelihood of coronary heart disease death and a 55 percent increased risk for death from stroke. Stroke risk was increased for the unmarried and divorced, but not for the widowed.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/29/well/marriage-heart-married-divorced-single.html?rref=collection/sectioncollection/well
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By Guest Nicole
FARGO — About 4,000 Jehovah's Witnesses will be in Fargo this weekend for a massive three-day regional convention at Scheels Arena.
The "Be Courageous!" 2018 convention here beginning Friday, June 29, through Sunday, July 1, is one of many around the country and globe, including Hungary, Japan and Australia.
Convention spokesperson Stephen Mostad, of Blackduck, Minn., said the convention for the Dakotas and Minnesota has been held at Fargo's Scheels Arena since 2012 with the exception of 2015, when it was held in Milwaukee.
Mostad said Fargo is a central location for the 55 congregations in the tri-state area that flock here.
Each summer, he said a little more than 500 conventions are held throughout the U.S., where Jehovah's Witnesses make up less than 1 percent of the population. Worldwide, there are nearly 8.5 million Jehovah's Witnesses, though they are banned in some countries like Russia.
The Pew Research Center came out with a study in 2016 following the death of Minnesota's superstar musician Prince, who became part of the Christian religion as an adult.
Other famous members of this denomination include Michael and Janet Jackson, athletes Venus and Serena Williams and Larry Graham of Sly and The Family Stone. President Dwight D. Eisenhower was raised a Jehovah's Witness, but left the religion as an adult, as did musicians Patti Smith and Donald Glover.
Jehovah's Witnesses are most known for door-knocking and prophesying with pamphlets. They don't serve in the military or celebrate birthdays and holidays. Mostad said these guidelines are from their interpretations of the first-century model of the Bible that regulate personal decisions.
Conventions are a "spiritual highlight" for all ages, Mostad said.
"Its encouragement. We enjoy being together," he said. "We find in the world we live in experiencing challenges and tragedy, it's nice to find a little oasis where you can be spiritually refreshed."
The free, public event will consist of presentations on family life and prophecies with a feature film on Sunday. Programming starts each day around 9:20 a.m. and lasts until 5 p.m. On Sunday, programming ends at 4 p.m.
More information about the convention is available at www.jw.org.org.
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By Guest Nicole
Three-day convention expected to draw around 3,500 people from around the region
Thousands of Jehovah’s Witnesses will be in Barrie for their annual summer convention this weekend.
Dozens of volunteers were busy on Thursday preparing the Barrie Molson Centre for this weekendÂ’s three-day gathering. From those building the stage and assembling video screens to crews cleaning the arena top to bottom to make it spick and span, it was a hive of activity.
The convention will draw people from several towns in the area, from Collingwood to Shelburne, Barrie to Aurora and north up to Bracebridge.
A similar gathering was held in Barrie in 2016 and had 3,700 people in attendance.
However, Steve Brown, who is handling media for the event, which runs from Friday to Sunday at the BMC, said he expects around 3,500 people this weekend because fewer congregations have been invited.
“When the announcement was made that we would be going back to Barrie, there was loud applause,” Brown said. “We love coming to Barrie for our convention.”
Brown called the city “an ideal location.”
“The city is relatively easy to get around (and) we feel welcome by our hosts at the BMC, hotels and restaurants,” he said.
Brown said the waterfront is also “perfect” for attending families to stretch and play after a day at the BMC.
“Barrie is an ideal location for a variety of reasons,” Brown said. “Of course, its central location makes it very convenient for the majority of delegates from this area.
“However, it is also ideal because the convention venue is the perfect size for our needs,” he said. “Additionally, Barrie has the great hotels, restaurants and shopping facilities that are required to care for the needs of several thousand visiting delegates.”
Brown said the convention is a great way to connect.
“Our conventions are three wonderful days in a spiritual paradise,” he said. “Family groups, young people, couples and our dear older ones all eagerly attend.
“The Bible-based program is the primary reason for the delegates to be there,” Brown added. “Nonetheless, the opportunity to associate with our brothers and sisters before and after the sessions is an unmistakable highlight.”
The convention includes talks, interviews and the sharing of experiences as well as music, videos and a feature film. Â
“We are always delighted by the quality of the teaching and how interesting the program is,” Brown said.
This year’s theme is ‘Be Courageous’ and all presentations will focus on courage.
“We all need courage in our daily routines,” Brown said. “At school and in the workplace, people may be exposed to bullying, harassment, ridicule and other unwelcome pressures.
“Living by Bible standards, as we strive to do, requires extra courage because it sometimes puts us out of step with what’s going on around us,” he said.
World conditions can also cause fear and concern, Brown added.
“This convention program will provide much in the way of reminders, suggestions and encouragement to forge ahead, doing what is right , even when it is difficult to do so,” he said.
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By Guest Nicole
Waverly, Ohio (CNN)On the eve of Memorial Day weekend, Jennifer Slone wants you to know that bug bites are more than just itchy. They can be deadly.
And they're pretty easy to avoid.
For two weeks last summer, Slone, a librarian from Waverly, Ohio, languished in the hospital as doctors struggled to get her fever down from over 104 degrees. She developed meningitis. Her liver was suffering. She became septic, an infection raging through her bloodstream. She needed three blood transfusions.
Slone had ehrlichiosis, a bacterial infection from a tick bite.
Read more: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/05/25/health/tick-disease-prevention-tips/index.html
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By Guest Nicole
About 3,500 Jehovah's Witnesses will meet in Billings Friday through Sunday at Rimrock Auto Arena at MetraPark for their annual regional convention.
Members come from the eastern half of Montana, western North and South Dakota and northern Wyoming, said media spokesman Joe Kurkowski. The public is also invited to attend any of the sessions, he said.
"There are no collections taken and it's a completely free event," Kurkowski said.
The morning session begins at 9:20 a.m. each day. The afternoon sessions start at 1:25 p.m. on Friday and at 1:35 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Similar conventions are held throughout the United States and around the world between May and September, Kurkowski said. The theme this year at all the conventions is "Be Courageous."
For more information, go online to www.jw.org
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By Guest Nicole
Thirty U.S. states have enacted medical cannabis laws, and all but one of them include cancer in the list of conditions allowed. Such laws give cancer patients across the country access to a substance that remains illegal under federal law.
Anecdotal reports suggest marijuana is helpful in managing symptoms of chemotherapy, like pain and nausea. But it's unlikely curious patients are getting clear guidance from their doctors on whether they should try marijuana, which form might work best and how much to take. A new survey of 237 oncologists from around the country finds that while roughly 80 percent talk with their patients about marijuana, fewer than 30 percent feel they have sufficient knowledge to advise them about its medicinal use.
Despite their shaky knowledge of the drug, nearly half of all oncologists do recommend medical cannabis to their patients, according to the study, which was published Thursday in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. But more than half of those suggesting it, don't consider themselves knowledgeable to do so, says Dr. Ilana Braun, a cancer psychiatrist at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, Mass. and the study's lead author.
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By Guest Nicole
Polls conducted by ABC News and The Washington Post revealed 36 percent of U.S. respondents in 2017 term themselves as Protestant faith members. A sharp drop from 2003's 50 percent. The statistics include a drop of eight points in evangelical white Protestant numbers. The number of Christians all in all has mirrored the predicament of Protestants. From the 83 percent of 2003 to 72 percent in 2017, the declining numbers are in stark contrast to the section of the U.S. population responding with “no religion” which have almost doubled to 21 percent. Self-identification of Catholics at 22 percent remain constant during this time. The number of adults who identify with other strands of Christianity like Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses went up marginally, from 11 percent to 14 percent. Trends are more pronounced among the American youth; only 19 percent of all adults under 30 years of age in 2003 claimed to have no religion. In 2017, that percent went up to 35 percent. These figures can be compared with the 22 percent who term themselves to be affiliated with any kind of Protestantism. These figures are significant as they denote a perceptible shift in power.
Read more at World Religion News: "Sharp Drop in White Evangelicals in U.S." https://www.worldreligionnews.com/?p=51977
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By Guest Nicole
Along with Bible teachings and online lessons on how to lead a good life and find peace and happiness, the Jehovah Witnesses website at JW.org also offers serious insight and words of caution to parents about sexual child abuse.
And, that makes the recent Philadelphia Inquirer story alleging that Jehovah's Witness elders have repeatedly covered up sexual abuse of members' children, shunned members and victims who raised complaints of child abuse and have impeded police investigations into abuse allegations even more shocking.
Among the victims of the Witnesses' shunning and stonewalling tactics interviewed by Inquirer reporter David Gambacorta were:
The parents of a 4-year-old New Cumberland girl who was molested at the Jehovah Witness Kingdom Hall in Red Lion A Spring Grove woman who was molested when she was a teen by a Witness who was a family friend A York woman who was molested in her teens by a couple she knew through the Jehovah's Witnesses. Three defendants identified in the Inquirer investigative piece were prosecuted and sentenced in York County. A fourth is awaiting prosecution.
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By Guest Nicole
Ashya King, Charlie Gard y Alfie Evans. Tres casos distintos de niños con enfermedades que tienen un fuerte nexo común: las incoherencias del sistema sanitario y judicial británico. Los dos últimos no podrán dar testimonio de los avances de la medicina, sin embargo el primero -gracias a un hospital en República Checa- sí.
Desde el año 2014 hasta hoy, la sociedad europea es testigo de cómo la autoridad británica trata de imponerse a las decisiones de los padres que tienen hijos enfermos. El último ejemplo ha sido Alfie Evans, ingresado en un hospital de Liverpool por una enfermedad degenerativa. Ni la intervención del Papa Francisco, ni todas las ofertas del gobierno italiano pudieron frenar la decisión de los jueces de retirarle el soporte vital que lo mantenía con vida.
Ingresado en el Hospital General de Southampton
¿Quizás por la inseguridad de que se llevaran otro chasco y de que quedaran en ridículo delante de todo el mundo? Quizás. Esta última polémica hace remontarnos a cuatro años atrás, cuando un pequeño, hijo de un matrimonio perteneciente a los Testigos de Jehová, se encontraba ingresado en el Hospital General de Southampton librando una batalla contra el cáncer.
El principio de la historia comienza con la sugerencia de los padres, Brett y Naghemen King, de suministrar a su hijo un tratamiento que consistía en una terapia de protones. Ellos consideraban que sería menos dañino que la radioterapia convencional que ofrecía por aquel momento el Servicio Nacional de Salud de Reino Unido (NHS). Primeramente le habían eliminado con éxito y mediante cirugía el meduloblastoma.
Arrestados en España durante 24 horas
Tras las desavenencias entre los progenitores y el equipo médico del centro, decidieron que la mejor opción era sacar al menor de allí y buscar otra alternativa fuera del país, por lo que el 28 de agosto de 2014 se embarcaron en un ferry dirección Francia. El trayecto los llevó hasta Vélez -Málaga- donde por una Euroorden fueron arrestados durante 24 horas. Recibieron el apoyo de multitud de personas y tras una dura lucha judicial se les retiró la solicitud de extradición.
El asunto fue llevado hasta el Tribunal Supremo, que el 5 de septiembre dictaminó que Ashya podía recibir el tratamiento en Praga. A pesar de las negativas previsiones del hospital británico -los médicos auguraron que los efectos secundarios de la terapia de protones serían los mismos que los de una radioterapia convencional- los King tiraron para adelante.
Totalmente curado
En marzo de 2015, pasada ya la estancia en el Proton Therapy Center de Praga, un escáner cerebral verificó la buena nueva que todos estaban esperando: el pequeño estaba libre de cáncer. Tres años más tarde, el menor –de ocho años ya- ha vuelto a ser examinado y la luz blanca brilla de nuevo: está plenamente curado. Una noticia que llena de felicidad a los padres y que pone en jaque a aquellos que quieren tomar decisiones por encima de nadie.
El diario EL MUNDO publicaba el pasado 5 de mayo un breve reportaje en el que informaba que estos padres habían declarado no guardan rencor ni al hospital ni a los jueces británicos. Probablemente los Evans o los Gard, no puedan decir lo mismo.
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By Guest Nicole
Anyone who regularly takes the el or subway has seen them.
They stand quietly smiling with carts of religious publications, out on the sidewalk when it's nice out, and in the "unpaid" area of the station near the Ventra machines or turnstiles when the weather is inclement. The women are dressed modestly but sharply, and the men look natty as well, often wearing sport jackets and fedoras.
They are volunteers from the Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian denomination that claims 8.4 million members in 240 countries.
Though I'm not interested in converting, I sometimes stop and say hello and pick up a copy of The Watchtower or Awake! out of courtesy, since I find their cheerful vibe oddly comforting. They're certainly more agreeable than the Old Navy Street Preacher, who hangs out at Randolph and State railing against fornicators and cigarette smokers.
But not everyone appreciates the Jehovah's Witnesses' presence at transit stations. Kevin Havener, an Edgewater resident who often commutes via the Red Line, contacted me to share a message he sent to the transit authority, to which he says he never got a response. He claimed that the Witnesses' practice of offering literature inside el stations violated a guideline in the agency's Rules of Conduct warning against the distribution of written materials on CTA property.
"I find this inexplicable permission deeply, personally offensive," Havener's message read. "Would the CTA allow other religious proselytizing [by groups] such as [Orthodox Jews], or Buddhists, or Hare Krishnas? OF COURSE NOT."
Havener eventually revealed to me that he has a horse in this race. About a decade ago he and other members of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, an activist group, wanted to hand out leaflets inside the Fullerton el stop in Lincoln Park. When they asked the CTA customer assistant for permission, they were told they needed to be out on the public sidewalk far away enough not to block any station doors. "That made perfect sense, and that's what we did," he said.
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