osama bin laden says he's willing to call a truce.
bush administration says, " in a pigs eye, kiss @$$ !!!
is he manipulating the situation to his advantage, or does america have him on the run?
"His name is Osama bin Laden, sir" Ollie replied.
Skyman,
Good memory. Not many people remember this about Ollie. Osama was THE reason that Ollie was so concerned about a high-dollar security system. Osama was threatening Ollie for the government's action (or rather, inaction) in the waning years of the Afghan/Russia conflict. Funny how people don't realize that Osama's been a problem for nearly two decades.....
a very intersting discussion on the world news, tonite.
scotts the manufacturer of lawn and garden products has given thier workers opportunities to stay healthy while in thier employ.
in an effort to cut down on the cost of health care they pay to cover thier employees, they enlisted sweeping policy changes and guidelines towards the betterment of thier workers.
I remember not too long ago some airline employees lost their job for refusing to stop smoking.
It's an interesting paradox. While it's true you should have say-so over your life and what you do, it's becoming more common for the state and corporations to try and manage your health for you. We have seat belt laws, motorcycle helmet laws and more and more corporations telling smokers 'you can't work here'.
I see both sides of it. As a proponent of liberty and personal freedoms, it chafes me to see people be told what to do on their off time. However, who pays for people who refuse to take care of themselves? You and I. Our tax dollars (via Medicare) pay the substantial health-care costs of long-term smokers. Our insurance rates are higher, as smokers tend to take more sick days and have poorer general health. (not all, so those of you who are smokers and are the model employee please hold on). There is conflict because, as the previous poster mentioned, smokers taking breaks irritate non-smokers who feel that they don't receive the same number of breaks.
Here's the problem I have. Obesity is as dangerous to one's health as smoking. But if you try to tell someone they can't work for you because they are obese, you'll have a discrimination suit on your hands. Are they going to tell these people that they can't go to the snack machine 10 times a shift? Can they not bring their two grocery bags full of food (I'm not kidding) to eat on their shift? Will the organization set an ideal body weight and not allow employees to vary beyond a certain percentage of that?
I work in a hospital that recently went to a smoke-free campus. However, we have a number of obese employees. These people are physically less able to perform their jobs as their co-workers. In some instances, they have become so obese that the hospital has found alternate job positions for them because they can no longer do patient care. Yet there is no mention made of the unprofessional appearance, the altered job performance, or the health dangers to these individuals. If they want to infringe on someone's rights by telling them they cannot smoke on their two 15-minute unpaid breaks, or their 30-minute unpaid lunch break due to health concerns, then they need to take the same steps across the baord with unhealthful behavior.
i have a problem that im hoping you can all help me with.. my daughter who is now 11 was devastated when we left.
she loved it, our fault we did everything by th book.
she wants to go to the meetings with my parents.
I do not envy you your position at all. I understand your situation all too well.
My only suggestion is to show her maybe by using a few scriptures that a personal relationship with Jesus Christ is what is required for salvation, and that an organization is not needed as a mediator between her and God or Jesus. If that's too deep for her understanding, maybe just explain that sometimes adults make mistakes and that you have learned that being a JW is not necessary to see paradise.
You're in a very hard spot. My daughter is 16 and still gives me a hard time about raising her as a JW and now not believing - not that she necessarily does either. As difficult as it may be, you may have to tell your mother to please allow you to raise your child as you see fit, just as she raised you in a religion that she found to be the truth, even if other members of her family did not agree.
Good luck.
we tend to throw around the term apostasy quite loosely here... i was thinking the other day, what exactly (according to the wtbs) constitutes "apostasy" .
"definition: apostasy is abandoning or deserting the worship and service of god, actually a rebellion against jehovah god.
some apostates profess to know and serve god but reject teachings or requirements set out in his word.
They seek to make others their followers, thus causing sectarian divisions
Hmm...don't really see many 'postates starting their own religion. Alerting people to factual evidence is not trying to garner followers.
They may profess to believe in Christ, but treat lightly the preaching and teaching work he assigned to his followers
Notice how they minimize the person's belief in Christ if they don't follow the organization's idea about preaching. "They may profess", thus stating that if one does not agree with the Society's version of the preaching work, they are then only 'professing', not that they really believe. Additionally, one may believe in Christ and do plenty of 'informal' preaching or discussing of beliefs, but if that person does not follow the 'formal' preaching work and offer lots of literature, then they are not preaching correctly. Any Biblical basis for that claim???
They may claim to serve God but reject his representatives, his visible organization
Again, they minimize the service to God if one does not accept the visible organization. Show me in the Bible where it says "You must acccept Christ AND his visible organization"...oh wait - it doesn't say that.
Not only do they abandon the true faith but they then "beat" their former associates, using public criticism and other methods to hinder their work; the efforts of such apostates are devoted to tearing down not building upWhen an organization does not change from within, public pressure is the only way to achieve change. Additionally, since the WTS does not inform it's membership when it lies or practices deceit, the public forum is the only way to get that information disseminated. "Apostate" effort is devoted to something positive - getting people out of a high-control organization.
Ummmm...why is a professed JW a city councilman?
here is my letter to the writer who authored this piece: .
http://www.southeasttexaslive.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=15921650&brd=2287&pag=461&dept_id=512588&rfi=8 .
dear jamie,
Blindersoff,
Good letter. Nice touch including the quotes from the literature to prove that the thoughts are not simply those of an 'embittered ex member.'
far too many times i have heard the accusation that all x-jws want to do is tear down the wts.
we scrounge around digging up every piece of information that we can that will put the wts in a bad light.
"they" being those who seek to defend the wts and forget the past because ... well it is the past and there is so much "new light".
As always, LadyLee, great post. Thoughtful question...
I'm always willing to give anyone the benefit of the doubt. However, the problem with the WTS is that they are not willing to give anyone a break. They constantly point out the wrongdoings of other religious organizations. They do not give their membership a fair break, and use their transgressions as a way to publicly humiliate and punish. They are the utmost in hypocrisy on any number of fronts.
My biggest reason is that they usurp the position of Jesus Christ as the way to salvation. They teach that they are the channel to God. The salvation of the individual JW depends on blindly following rules set down by this organization. They expect their membership to be almost perfect, and while they pay lip service to their 'infallibility', they don't seriously give the impression that they are infallible. Because they are so hypocritical, so haughty and arrogant, they open themselves up to severe criticism.
When you tell your followers and the world that if you don't do as they tell you then you will lose your salvation, you'd better be ready to back it up and be SQUEAKY CLEAN. If they were a little more humble, well, maybe they wouldn't be such a target then.
w98 10/15 p. 31 questions from readers ***
"consequently, while it is entirely a private matter if christians choose to take note of their wedding anniversary, there are good reasons why mature christians abstain from celebrating birthdays.
notice it say's mature christians.
He worries that his separation is not "scripturally based", and therefore he won't have "privileges" (carrying microphones, reading Watchtower, etc.) within the congregation.
The only reason privileges are important is because they help break up the monotony of the meeting. What was cooler than cruising around in the aisles with the mic while all the other poor suckers had to sit still in their seat for another hour...
here the latest gem i've found from a jw message board.. under the topic "afraid this board will become apostate" the moderator writes:.
this is one of my greatest worries and so i am a over protecter of this site and believe me i have a big fear letting anyone post i find unforthcoming in their request to join.
unless i trust you sorry you will not be posting on the site.
That is why we have new members but we are not growing as fast as you would think....we should have close to 200 and because I have deleted a bunch that is why net numbers stay the same.
Sounds like the organization in general - by booting out dissenters they cancel out any growth....I guess Sherry learned well from her 'mother'...lol.
You guys beat the 'strong faith' argument pretty well, but it's so true. Their faith is so strong, and the Bible says to be ready to defend your faith, but I guess you can't defend it to 'ex' members - only the uninitiated. Wonder why that is? Because we have seen through and know all the 'defense' tactics they will use, we are ready to counter them. They can only argue with the ignorant because their arguments are so weak. If they were truly strong and ready to defend, then nothing we could say would ever shake their faith.....
let's say you have 20 seconds (give or take) to make an impression on a jw.
to say something that will stick in their head and make them really think.
because you know, that once they realize you are an apostate, they will shut down anything else that you have to say.. what do you say?.
The truth of the matter is they sit on their lazy butts, except when they're standing before their pew-warming flock tickling their ears.
Hmmm...from what I've seen, many of "Christendom's" leaders work harder than many JW elders. Well, let me rephrase that - they work harder at actually helping their flock and not spying on them or reviewing the latest judicial rulings to see who they can df next. I've been in healthcare for 15 years and can count on one hand the number of times I've seen JW elders visit sick members of the cong. Yet the pastors of local churches are up here all the time. Many of them tend daily to church functions. They have prayer groups, they have to prepare their sermons - many times from scratch. No 'public talk outlines' are available for them.
And why do you assume they are 'tickling the ears' of the flock. Because they preach a positive message instead of saying "You will all die unless you sell more books and magazines and everyone else is going to die anyway"? I'm sure some tickle the ears, and I'm sure some are lazy. They just aren't quite as shiftless and useless as you seem to think they are.
