Posts by Mephis

12

Say goodbye to privacy in the UK..

by GodZoo in

internet firms to be banned from offering unbreakable encryption under new laws.

companies such as apple, google and others will no longer be able to offer encryption so advanced that even they cannot decipher it when asked to under the investigatory powers bill.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/terrorism-in-the-uk/11970391/internet-firms-to-be-banned-from-offering-out-of-reach-communications-under-new-laws.htmlso.. david cameron and the conservatives have decided that because of a handful of potential terrorists and some people exchanging nude photos of kids that the remaining and innocent 64 million united kingdom residents are no longer allowed to have any privacy..

Mephis

The current law in Britain allows for you to be sent to prison for refusing to give an encryption key to law enforcement. Surveillance in Britain has been present since means were available to do it. Not sure where the right balance is with this for us in Britain. Just to give perspective to the terrorism argument, it is real and we've got teenagers trying to get hold of bombmaking stuff. I know of four individual cases within a few miles of where I live over the past three or four years. And that's just one city, where a bomb not so long ago led to the whole city centre being rebuilt.

Difficult one really because the protections and safeguards should be in the use of powers to intercept and open, not in the ability to do it once judicial permission has been given. Need to see more details of what's intended and the checks and balances which are going to be present. Conservatives have in the recent past been a bit stupid with their thinking on the internet generally, so they don't start from a particularly good place.

25

Bethel layoff question

by CookieMonster in

hi,.

with the layoffs of bethelites and special pioneers, does anyone know if they get some sort of "redundancy" payout?

.

Mephis

Ah found it.

In December 2007, the Spanish authorities decided that any Witness, regardless of a vow of poverty, who worked in their printing facilities in Spain would be eligible for a pension from the organisation. The organisation's response was to move the printing out of Spain.

That pretty much summarises their attitude towards social responsibilities and provisions for Bethelites.

16

Don't lie with a beast. Leviticus 20;15,16 and 18:23

by James Mixon in

are we sure this is talking about a four-legged beast here.. if it were, god would not demand the death penalty for a dumb animal.

with no reasoning power that was raped.

call it what you want but.

Mephis

Mindful of Simon's caution above.

Bestiality is attested to in Egyptian and Greek sources, which would be two major cultural influences for the Jews when things were being written down, and there's even depictions of it from Egypt too. Some debate over how far things did go, as opposed to them being symbolic, but it's not a stretch to imagine it being something which did happen and therefore the commandments addressing that.

6

“The Babylonian Exile shaped the future”

by Doug Mason in

the theme of my study, the babylonian exile shaped the future, is simple:.

(1) the hebrews considered themselves to be gods chosen people, yet israel had been dispersed by the assyrians and judah was dominated by egypt and then by babylon..

(2) in response to judahs captivity, its prophets promised the nation that god would restore them to their rightful position and that god would forever maintain the throne of david..

Mephis

As ever, immaculately sourced and thoroughly researched. Thanks Doug. The apocalyptic heritage aspect is especially interesting to me. Loved the 'coming soon' dominoes :D

25

Bethel layoff question

by CookieMonster in

hi,.

with the layoffs of bethelites and special pioneers, does anyone know if they get some sort of "redundancy" payout?

.

Mephis

Wasn't there an issue in Spain where they require people thrown out to sign away their rights to what they could legally claim in compensation under Spanish law?

11

What I Hate About Halloween....

by konceptual99 in

jw
friends

....is that it has totally wiped away the distinct celebration of november 5th and bonfire night.

fireworks and bonfires are still ubiquitous this time of year but it's just merged in with halloween which, whilst always being celebrated, was not as promoted and so overwhelming as it is now.. bring back the guy!.

Mephis

It amused me greatly that the local bonfire here is held in the field with the memorial for when the Pope visited and gave a speech on that spot.

Will likely head to one of the displays, though I live on a hill above the city so I just need to look down and the whole skyline is a display. Bit Billy No Mates doing it this year, but I really need a badly cooked jacket potato at some point or my Winter diet will not be complete.

96

Special Pioneer Couple Living at a Kingdom Hall In Miami FL, get the dreaded Letter

by James Jack in

just got a phone call from an older sister saying that a couple that got re-assigned from bethel 4 years ago to live at their kh apartment as special pioneers, just received a letter saying "as of january 2016, your special pioneer assignment will be discontinued".. they live in a south miami kh(snapper creek congregation).. this couple had only served in bethel for 15 years before they were sent out into the special pioneer work.

they are now in their mid 50's and the sister said that they have to find part time jobs to support themselves.. the older sister (does not have a pc or internet), says that the couple are just devastated!

.

Mephis

I do feel empathy for those who've built their entire lives on a lie, and now suddenly find themselves thrust out without major skills to adapt and prosper in the world outside. But that's something many of us have been through, and we do it without even the social network of dubland. Cruel cult. Love does not mean what they think it means.

6

“The Babylonian Exile shaped the future”

by Doug Mason in

the theme of my study, the babylonian exile shaped the future, is simple:.

(1) the hebrews considered themselves to be gods chosen people, yet israel had been dispersed by the assyrians and judah was dominated by egypt and then by babylon..

(2) in response to judahs captivity, its prophets promised the nation that god would restore them to their rightful position and that god would forever maintain the throne of david..

Mephis

Look forward to reading this Doug.

211

Where are you from?

by BeautifulMind in

jw
friends

i know we are all anonymous for our own personal reasons, so i understand if you would rather not say.

but if you don't mind sharing that would be cool.

i currently live in georgia, usa.

Mephis

Originally Wales. Now Manchester, UK. Agree with Simon, wonderful city. Love living here.

80

ANNOUNCEMENT CLIP ...2015 Annual meeting Sam Herd confirming what we knew a month ago about slow down and halt of worldwide construction

by Watchtower-Free in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_h68ktwpim&feature=youtu.be.

Mephis

It's a longer term trend than just the new compound in the US, but it seems that has really pushed them over the edge. Wasn't there hints from one member of the GB that it was a tough call whether they did it or not?

Donations seem pretty stagnant, at least on a per publisher basis, in the countries where they have to release accounts. With flatlined growth, their revenue is flat. So if they're reliant on third world growth then there has to be a cross-country subsidy to maintain what they've been doing. So would that explain it? Over-expansion, over-optimism as they come up with new ideas which stretch them too far financially without the donations ever catching up? They may not have taken enough corrective action soon enough, doing the whole Jehovah-jireh 'Armageddon will be here next year' thing, and they're now forced to make major spending cut-backs.

Definitely think JeffT's point that their ability to sell land/buildings means they're still a long way off from a true financial meltdown. They have assets there to sell. They've already shown that they'll ride roughshod over local congregations to do that when they want to. They're mutating again so wouldn't surprise me to see them making even more moves to consolidate congregations in areas where either growth is absent or there's a real decline in numbers.