Posts by umbertoecho

13

Update on Royal Commission - "Child sex abuse inquiry hears 4000th testimony"

by OrphanCrow in

newcastle heraldchild sex abuse inquiry hears 4000th testimonyby joanne mccarthy sept. 10, 2015, 10:30 p.mthe royal commission into institutional responses to child sexual abuse held its 4000th private hearing in a jail in august as britain followed australias lead in tackling child sexual abuse.the royal commission heard evidence on august 19 from a prisoner who had been sexually abused as a child.in britain, the head of its newly established independent inquiry into child sexual abuse praised the remarkable response to the australian commission.in a speech to australian church leaders on thursday, royal commissioner justice peter mcclellan said he was pleased the british inquiry would closely follow successful australian arrangements.more than 1500 people were waiting for a private hearing and about 40 people a week requested a private hearing, justice mcclellan said.the royal commission has received 16,361 allegations involving 3566 institutions since it was established in november 2012 following the newcastle heralds shine the light campaign for a royal commission into historic child sexual abuse.more than 7000 allegations relate to religious institutions, with 4418 against the catholic church, and more than 3600 against government institutions.allegations against other churches are: anglican, 871; uniting church, 411; presbyterian, 123; methodist, 69; salvation army, 519; jehovahs witnesses, 137; jewish, 80; baptist, 59; seventh day adventist, 56; australian christian churches, 50; lutheran, 32; brethren, 30; mormon, 18; coptic orthodox, 4; and greek orthodox, 2.justice mcclellan said the royal commission had referred 727 matters to police to investigate with a view to prosecuting alleged offenders.in the past few weeks, the royal commission had reported to the federal government on a national redress scheme for victims of abuse.it was clear that time limits presented a considerable, and sometimes an insurmountable, burden for survivors wishing to commence civil proceedings against child sex offenders and institutions, he said.the royal commission should also mark the end of the societal norm that children should be seen but not heard, he said.when the required silence of the child was accompanied by an unquestioning belief by adults in the integrity of the carer ... the power imbalance was entrenched to the inevitable detriment of many children, justice mcclellan said.we must ensure that in the future the institution does not silence the child.

umbertoecho

I sorry to be the harbinger of doom but regarding the UK inquiry. If the government are trying to suppress child abuse allegations made against their own MP's , I can't imagine the UK inquiry being very successful!

Oh. Don't worry about that. There is a collective consciousness at work here. This is not some Freudian Theory. Whoever is exposed will go down. I have complete faith in the basic good of mankind. I know we focus on the bad for it is newsworthy. However, I will always pump out the energy that supports the good in people..."The thought gives birth to the deed" and such sayings.....

10

NOW THAT I AM OUT.

by Guy Montag in

jw
friends

i used to be jon preston.

now that i've escaped the watchtower i have much to report on.

in just a year i left the cult, started living, reset my kids' brains, had my spouse cheat, move to a new location, and started a new job.

umbertoecho

"I'd rather have questions I can't answer than answers I can't question"

And isn't that true! I am watching with great interest the reactions of those who are deeply compassionate toward those who are fleeing into Europe. Hungaria is showing i'ts "many decades of antipathy toward those in need". Germany is definitely compensating for it's inherited past. ( the average German is so lovely; honestly, so fun loving and optimistic)

The thing is to reclaim your' mind. It is yours. You have every right to develop your thoughts and reactions, based upon good evidence. I think it might be helpful to drop all religion for one year. You may need this time to recover some of what you may have lost.

You may even need to restrict yourself in regard to forums, or only read the posts that are gentle to the soul. There are some hurting people here and some very kind ones too.

23

I've decided to make a difference that REALLY matters

by Mrs. Eden in

hello friends!today is a sad day for me, as seven months have gone by since my mother passed away after a decades-long fight with breast cancer..

because the witnessing/preaching/teaching work doesn't make any sense to me anymore; because it's not about any "truth"; and because it's basically useless, i've decided to quit doing it.

instead, i've decided to do something that actually can make a real difference in other people's lives.

umbertoecho

Brilliant and so pro active of you. I honestly admire you xxxxxxx

2

Interesting lecture that gives some insight into why JWs hate/fear dissenters.

by Island Man in

the actual lecture starts around the 10 minute mark.. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bvjzqwy9dve.

umbertoecho

I have never allowed myself to watch any sort of material regarding atheism. I have just finished watching this one. I gained the author of a book that I will now get by John Updike: " In the Beauty of the Lilly's" A book about a minister (can't recall his faith now) Who announced from his pulpit that he no longer believed in god.

It's a fictional story but could also be a thesis by the sound of it.

Thanks for uploading the video.

18

Anyone miss "Scholar" who used to post here? Found him!

by sir82 in

jw
friends

...in the jwtalk thread covering the september broadcast re: "generation".. http://jwtalk.net/forums/topic/22665-september-broadcast/page-5.

poor neil, he comes on this forum, he gets hammered.. goes on the virulently pro-jw forum, gets hammered.. you'd almost think he was a troll.....no, couldn't be..... .

umbertoecho

Yes, he does manage to displease everyone with his comments and I think he is searching for substantial evidence that he has got the right "truth". They hammer him for being disappointed and so it goes........

Having just read that thread, they are all "pleased" with Splanes explanation. Yet, what all witnesses seem to forget about this passage re Christ and..... This Generation not passing away.... Is that he is talking in the present tense in his address to the Apostles.

Many times I have heard and used the expression the younger generation or the older generation to identify certain people who were contemporary to that time. My generation came from the hippy era. My mothers from the post WW2 generation.

"This generation" sounds like Jesus is talking about the here and now of his time, his peers ........Not that I'm preaching, not at all. It's the improper use of the "this" that is misapplied by the GB.

It's also the lack of research on all levels that allows them to swallow anything they are told. So much easier that way.

5

JW September broadcasting "this generation"

by Olivia Wilde in

this month on "this generation" reminded me of the movie "book of eli" first scene with eli & carnegie's .

"i need that book ... i'll kill ya.

i'll take the book," threatens carnegie in a face-off in the middle of the street reminiscent of a western shootout.. .

umbertoecho

Olivia Wilde. This is one of my favourite movies. I have watched it so often and I can't say it's a pretty movie, but it seems to hit home with me every time. I thought the role of Gary Oldman was well done.....and of course Denzel.

There was so much truth in that scene. It couldn't be ignored could it? And that's exactly how it has been used all these years. As a weapon it has been terrible. As a teaching tool, it has been utterly distorted and accepted by people (not all) who just don't want to think or take any responsibility for their choices.

How many witnesses do I know who are fully aware of the lies and inaccuracies, dishonesties, false hopes and lack of clear evidence...? Many. But they won't do anything. For many are too lazy to change, to involved in their social lives or hanging in there just incase IT really happens....the big A.

At some point though, when all the evidence is out there and we realise that we have given our lives over to a group of "Popes" of all sorts of religions...we just have to stop...

These ones that I know all say the same thing to me "....This is Jehovah's Organization. And he will punish it first then the other religions. Meanwhile we have to stay and "sigh" put up with the things that are going on.....". Where is the proof of the accuracy of this name? It is entirely made up from consonants...No vowels exist in that OT language.

This unbelievable lack of moral courage is unacceptable to me. I couldn't go along with anything once I found it was a pack of lies.

You know what? I had a nervous breakdown when it fully hit me that I had been duped all my life and abused too..It hit me so hard that I could not leave my home, could not be anywhere public, I hid for over two years in this place.

Then I joined this forum and was too afraid to post anything. Too afraid of everything.

To realise that these semi awake people are still willing to "Wait on Jehovah" is stunningly gutless (unless you stand to lose your kids and spouse. I think that is different) They are not going to escape the circle of Karma or what ever goes around. I truly believe that. If something is wrong and you know it, there's not a chance in hell that you can say.."I was only following orders" and expect the ethical people to accept this impoverished excuse.

Oh, sorry, got all carried away again....Book of Eli is a great movie.

128

Participate In The EX-JW Personality Test!

by C0ntr013r in

first of all; i must admit that i'm not a huge fan of putting people in boxes like this, it is not an exact science.

but i still think the data can be quite interesting and i intend to collect it and share it in a structured way with you guys.

so without future ado here are the details.. link to test: .

umbertoecho

These two are very similar. I am the same as you but on each test I came out the same ....INTP.... It's best to do it a few times at different times of day. This seems to make a difference.

EdenOne,On the 16personalities one I got INTP

On the human metrics one I got INTJ

128

Participate In The EX-JW Personality Test!

by C0ntr013r in

first of all; i must admit that i'm not a huge fan of putting people in boxes like this, it is not an exact science.

but i still think the data can be quite interesting and i intend to collect it and share it in a structured way with you guys.

so without future ado here are the details.. link to test: .

umbertoecho

This is a good one but should still identify fairly accurately what type you are.

INTP-A A for assertive....The Logician. It seemed I was devoid of all those lovey feely things. Not true, I think I am loving. I just don't like being smothered by ...um..anyone.

personally trust this version more:

http://www.humanmetrics.com/cgi-win/jtypes2.asp

It would be interesting if anyone else tries & compared.

43

WTB&TS has invested $40,000,000 in November 2007 in a Hedge fund located in the Cayman Islands, a tax haven

by sammy in

wtb&ts has invested $40,000,000 in november 2007 in a hedge fund located in the cayman islands, a tax haven.

the document is from the official website : securities and exchange commission:.

http://www.sec.gov/archives/edgar/vprr/07/9999999997-07-048801 .

umbertoecho

Benefits of relocating or setting up in Cayman’s tax-free Zone are:

100% exempt from corporate tax
100% exempt from capital gains tax
100% exempt from sales tax
100% exempt from income tax
100% exempt from import duties
5 year Work/Residence visas granted for staff in 5 days
10 day fast-tracked set-up of operations
IP owned offshore and licenced internationally
Strategic base giving easy access to global markets
On NY/EST time zone*
Immense collaboration and cross-marketing opportunities

Other Benefits include guidance in the set-up process, a warm welcome into the Cayman Islands jurisdiction and of course the fantastic diverse lifestyles that only Cayman offers.

12

Just lost one more friend

by paradisebeauty in

i used to talk weekly on skype, with a sister from another country.

i didn't tell her much about my research and change of beliefs, until today ... in the conversations some doctrines came up and i told her i don't believe 1914, first, then i went on to tell her that i also don't believe there are 2 classes of christians, that i did not believe the government of the kingdom will be in heaven while the kingdom en earth, that i believe the whole kingdom will be on earth, and that from what i read, jesus was pretty clear that he will come back to earth, visibly.

the "god always had an organization" dogma was dropped and i told her it is not true, out of 9000 years of human history, it's not sure there were 1000 years when god had a loyal organization ..... i did not plan to tell her all this things, but it just happened, and things came up in the conversation... and once i dropped one bomb i dropped them all .... she said i do not sound like i am one of the jehovah's witnesses any more ... and even though we ended the call with "see ya" i have the feeling i will not hear from her any more ... .

umbertoecho

PB. Oh dear. I do get it though. You were just bursting with information and had to tell her. I found it so hard to agree with my sister that it came to a nasty head in the end. She is so utterly devout that it is like a ....a......mad indoctrination going on inside her head all the time. It has devoured what ever her true personality might have been. I recall vaguely a time when she was full of fun. No more..No more humour,....and no more having her even in a limited way as a sister.

It feels devastating when someone dumps us, because we don't tow the line. Strange isn't it, how even a long distance friend dropping out of your life can hurt so much?

I hope you find another three or four open and honest people to speak with and be carefree with. It will not happen within the confines of this religion though....