Malawian man gets 6months in jail for wrongly predicting the end of the world!

Source

Yet another funny story... I spose thats what you get for fear mongering.. even if you are only handing out pamphlets!

You have to be pretty damned spot on when predicting the end of the world.. as if it doesnt come to pass... then your just another david icke! lol

reptilian soup anyone?

Your thoughts please?

Peace.

reply to post by w3nd1g0

Hmmm...Wonder if they'll give you the death sentence if you predict it Correctly?
LOL

Either way, it's kind of a lose lose situation.

Predict a massive and catastrophic event correctly = You run the risk of dying.
Predict a massive and catastrophic event and have it not come true = You run the risk of dying.

A little extreme, but I agree with the sentiment. These false prophets should be held responsible for the lies they tell and the harm they could cause. As we saw with Heaven's Gate and even the Manson Family these apocalyptic predictions can lead to tragedy. As we approach 2012 we must keep in mind that no doomsday prophet has been right in the past, and all evidence points to them not being right this time. Do not buy into the charlatans merely trying to make a quick buck. Don not put yourself into a position that could lead to financial ruin, or even death just because some fraud tells you that the world will end next year. However, no matter how much I and others do to dispel the falsehoods of 2012 I know that lives will still be ruined and I hope that those supporting a 2012 doomsday scenario in the media are held accountable for the damage they will have caused.

What about his free speech?

Wasn't a guy in Taiwan jailed for the same thing?

Originally posted by Mercurio
What about his free speech?

Wasn't a guy in Taiwan jailed for the same thing?

edit on 16-6-2011 by Mercurio because: (no reason given)

If your actions have the potential of harming others then It should be acted against legally i guess.

Its a tricky stand point really. as another member already stated.. what about the heavens gate collective?

Do we say no to doom and gloomers when they try to convince other weak minded sheeple of their bizaar future prophecies? Or do we let them encourage people, families and children to endanger themselves by acting on such things?

Its a tricky one all right! I suppose my personal oppinion is one of "give them a slap on the wrist and call them out for being stupid and gullible". How many times has the end of the world been predicted.. and how many times has it never happened.

And lets face it.. if a super global world ending scenario was to kick off... then we really wouldnt have much to do but run and hide and hope... regardless or your preparedness.. you'd never really know what to expect anyway.

*sigh* I could sit on the fence all day on that argument tho

So....erm... are we going to petition S.O. and Springer to make this part of our T&C now??Like 6 month post ban and public flogging?

All I have to say is Harold Camping or Mitchell Coombes better not move to Malawi..

Originally posted by w3nd1g0

Originally posted by Mercurio
What about his free speech?

Wasn't a guy in Taiwan jailed for the same thing?

edit on 16-6-2011 by Mercurio because: (no reason given)

If your actions have the potential of harming others then It should be acted against legally i guess.

Its a tricky stand point really. as another member already stated.. what about the heavens gate collective?

Do we say no to doom and gloomers when they try to convince other weak minded sheeple of their bizaar future prophecies? Or do we let them encourage people, families and children to endanger themselves by acting on such things?

Its a tricky one all right! I suppose my personal oppinion is one of "give them a slap on the wrist and call them out for being stupid and gullible". How many times has the end of the world been predicted.. and how many times has it never happened.

And lets face it.. if a super global world ending scenario was to kick off... then we really wouldnt have much to do but run and hide and hope... regardless or your preparedness.. you'd never really know what to expect anyway.

*sigh* I could sit on the fence all day on that argument tho

It's their own fault for taking it seriously, not the person screaming end of the world. It's their choice whether they want to believe him, or treat him as another crazy doom-sayer. The people that quit their job due to Harold Camping, I don't blame Harold Camping at all, I blame that person for doing something so reckless in response to some random guy's prediction.

Heaven's Gate comparison is ridiculous. That was a cult of people who were manipulated into killing themselves. Different from making a prediction. Where were their apocalyptic predictions anyway? I don't remember any. They killed themselves because they wanted a ride on the spaceship around Halley's Comet.

reply to post by Mercurio

Heaven's Gate comparison is ridiculous. That was a cult of people who were manipulated into killing themselves. Different from making a prediction. Where were their apocalyptic predictions anyway? I don't remember any. They killed themselves because they wanted a ride on the spaceship around Halley's Comet.

Here, let me refresh your memory:

As with some other New Age faiths[5][6] they combined Christian doctrine (particularly the ideas of salvation and apocalypse) with the concept of evolutionary advancement and elements of science fiction, particularly travel to other worlds and dimensions....

Heaven's Gate members believed that the planet Earth was about to be recycled (wiped clean, renewed, refurbished and rejuvenated), and that the only chance to survive was to leave it immediately. ...

Another New Age belief that Applewhite and Nettles adopted was “the ancient astronaut hypothesis. The term ‘ancient astronauts’ is used to refer to various forms of the concept that ufonauts visited our planet in the distant past.” (Lewis, 2001, p.16) Applewhite and Nettles took part of this concept and taught it as the belief that “aliens planted the seeds of current humanity millions of years ago, and have to come to reap the harvest of their work in the form of spiritual evolved individuals who will join the ranks of flying saucer crews. Only a select few members of humanity will be chosen to advance to this transhuman state. The rest will be left to wallow in the spiritually poisoned atmosphere of a corrupt world.”...

Wikipedia

Is any of this starting to sound familiar? It should; you read it on ATS every day. The story has an unhappy ending: convinced that a spaceship was approaching Earth in the wake of Comet Hale-Bopp, the cult chose to shed their earthly bodies and move on to the next level by committing mass suicide. Maybe now you can see why some people have an aversion to Terral and the Doom Patrol.

reply to post by Mercurio

What about his free speech?

It's Malawi and not another country. I had to trim off 1 inch of hair all around to enter the country. I was told at the border that no "Rasta-man" was allowed. That was okay with me. I liked Malawi and the people that live there. It's a fine place.

Free speech has its limits. There are limits to what can be stated in all countries. For instance, where I live I cannot tell people to commit crimes.

"Mitchell !!"

"I'm busy predictin' stuff, mom, what do you want ?"

"Come out of your room, honey, there are some police here to see you."

reply to post by w3nd1g0

OP's source

A judge released Mwamben on bail, but ordered him to come back for a hearing after May 21 to prove that he'd given out wrong apocalyptic information.

Judge: Did you or did you not claim that the world would end on May 21, 2011, which was...ahem...yesterday?
Defendant: I did, Your Honour.
Judge: The charge is spreading false rumours about the Apocalypse. How do you plead?
Defendant: Not guilty, Your Honour.
Lawyer for the defense, under his breath: Duuuude!

reply to post by Mercurio


This whole 2012 thing is becoming a cult in its own right. Just look into the 2012 forum and see how many people are vehemently defending an End of the World scenario despite mountains of contradictory evidence. We have already had at least one leader of this cult (Nancy Lieder) tell their followers to do something extreme (kill their pets) because the world was coming to an end. These people should at least be brought up on charges of fraud, as they are financially benefiting from their false predictions.

I'm not too upset about this, I'm sick of all the end of the world predictions that turn out to just be another normal day. 6 months might be a little extreme though, put him in the stocks, let people throw tomatotes at him and boo

Originally posted by Xcalibur254
reply to post by Mercurio

 

This whole 2012 thing is becoming a cult in its own right. Just look into the 2012 forum and see how many people are vehemently defending an End of the World scenario despite mountains of contradictory evidence. We have already had at least one leader of this cult (Nancy Lieder) tell their followers to do something extreme (kill their pets) because the world was coming to an end. These people should at least be brought up on charges of fraud, as they are financially benefiting from their false predictions.

So you want to imprison thousands of people who make predictions, or just the ones who make money? Should we jail scientists who say "The Big One" in L.A. or the Yellowstone eruption could happen at any moment?

reply to post by Mercurio


Are you trying to be funny or sad?

There are no scientists calling for the big one in Yellowstone. OK. So you made that up for hyperbole. You are mixing apples and oranges. You know, or should know it.

reply to post by Mercurio


There's a difference between what scientists do and what these charlatans do. Scientists claim that these events are inevitable, which they are, however they make no real claims as to a timeframe. The false prophets however, make claims that involve a specific time and place and then attempt to sell this information to the public. Scientists are generally only writing for other scientists but they make no money from their journal articles. Furthermore, the methodology is completely different. Scientists start by collecting data and then drawing their conclusions from it. Doomsayers on the other hand start with the conclusion then try to cherry pick data to support it.

reply to post by w3nd1g0


lame...idiots have a right to be idiots...what, it's a crime to offend someone now?



Free speach. Look it up.

CJ

reply to post by ColoradoJens


Except there are limits to free speech. One cannot yell fire in a crowded theater due to the potential of someone being harmed. That is essentially what these fearmongers are doing. Except in this case their making money by doing it. There have already been enough people who have been rendered financially ruined, injured, or dead due to doomsday prophecies. Do we really need to see more suffer before people start to realize that the words of these people are dangerous?

reply to post by Xcalibur254


No, not the same. If I put someone in immediate danger by yelling fire, which is real and does kill people, I should be held responsible. If I say "The world will blow up next Friday" while handing out pamphlets, well, just walk on by if you don't like it. I'm not putting you in any danger...see?

CJ