Posts by blondie

RB, I have heard Joe Walsh sing this song and loved it. I think he was in the Animals who also covered this song. I heard him sing this song the first time I saw the Eagles in person.

38

A Must Read Update on WBTS and Darkspilver from reddit

by ZindagiNaMilegiDobaara in

jw
friends

many of us know that watch tower (yes, two words in this case) has issued a subpoena to reddit to try to gain darkspilver's identity due to accusations of copyright infringement:.

tl;dr: on april 9, watch tower filed a response to the eff's motion to quash (filed march 26) regarding the subpoena submitted to reddit in an attempt to find /u/darkspilver's identity.. the wt response is publicly available here as a pdf, from the site court listener.. a number of other documents relating to the case are available on the same site, here.. and the eff's motion to quash is available on the eff's website here.. details: as i'm sure many of us know, watch tower (yes, two words in this case) has issued a subpoena to reddit to try to gain /u/darkspilver's identity due to accusations of copyright infringement.

specifically, watch tower is claiming copyright infringement for two things: first, darkspilver posted the back page of the november 2018 watchtower which was an article entitled "what gift can we give to jehovah?” which explained how to donate.

blondie

peaceful pete,

This seems to be the article

Copyright Infringement or Censorship?

A federal judge cast more doubt Thursday over a case that a Jehovah’s Witnesses group calls a copyright dispute, and that a digital rights group fears is a pretext for silencing detractors.

In last week’s hearing, U.S. District Judge James Donato of the Northern District of California raised an eyebrow over the continued legal avenues for Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ administrative organization that subpoenaed Reddit in January for the identifying information of a foreign user who reportedly infringed two of Watch Tower’s copyrights.

The user allegedly infringed the copyrights when he posted a one-page magazine advertisement encouraging readers to make online donations to the church, and a Watch Tower chart that describes its personal data gathering policies. Both the works have since been removed from the site.

“The poster is outside the territory of the U.S.; the church’s main concerns have been addressed by the takedown,” Donato said. “Isn’t that enough to call it a day?”

Let’s backtrack a bit. Earlier this year, Reddit declined to share the identity of the anonymous user. That person, identified only as Darkspilver, uses the forum to question the teachings of the church without fear of excommunication or “disfellowship” from the Jehovah’s Witnesses community he was raised in.

The subpoena seeks Darkspilver’s subscriber information, name, telephone number, address, email and IP addresses, citing infringement under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. In June, U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim of the Northern District of California ruled that Reddit must reveal the identity of Darkspilver, but only to attorneys involved in the case. The internet freedom advocacy group Electronic Frontier Foundation intervened on behalf of Darkspilver to try and quash the subpoena, which the EFF argues is a thinly veiled attempt at uncovering the identity of a “leaker.”

So, before getting into the merits of the case during Thursday’s hearing, Donato had to determine whether Kim’s order stood.

EFF argued that Darkspilver never officially consented to a dispositive motion in front of Kim, which is required for a magistrate judge to have the authority to issue an order. That argument came despite Darkspilver’s attorneys submitting briefings and appearances in the case.

Known among my colleagues for being the most prepared person in the room, Donato rattled off several cases, including Roell v. Withrow, to suss out implied consent. In Donato’s opinion, “if you come to the party and drink the punch, you can’t say you weren’t a guest.” However, precedent says otherwise in Allen v. Meyer. “The circuit has expressly declared that simply submitting briefs and attorney arguments just is not enough,” he said. “I’m not sure if that’s the answer, but that’s the answer I’m left with.” Donato subsequently suggested taking Kim’s ruling as a recommendation instead of an order.

With that out of the way, the judge returned to the copyright argument. Watch Tower’s in-house counsel Paul D. Polidoro said the church became a digital media organization virtually overnight. Polidoro claimed the infringing posts drew traffic away from the organization’s website and Watch Tower had a right to protect its site, an official conduit for Jehovah’s Witnesses teachings.

“That’s what the notification and takedown process is for,” Donato said.

Alex Moss, an EFF staff attorney representing Darkspilver, said the DMCA could be invoked to unmask other anonymous internet posters who won’t have the EFF or anyone else defending them if Donato rules in Watch Tower’s favor. However, Moss said Donato’s questions had her leaving in a good mood.

“We weren’t surprised that Judge Donato came to the hearing extremely well-prepared, but we were pleasantly surprised by the indications he gave, particularly with respect to procedural questions about the appealability of the magistrate judge’s order and the practical necessity of Watch Tower getting access to client’s name now that the images at issue have since been removed from Reddit,” she said. “We hope that Judge Donato’s decision will take into account the nature of our client’s fair use and the harm that compelling Reddit to disclose a user’s identity under these circumstances would do for the anonymous fair use commentary.”

32

"Gem from the November 2019 WT. Reject apostate material because JWs trust in "their brothers."

by Daniel1555 in

dear friends.

i didn't post for a while, but i still enjoy the great jwn community.. just wanted to share a "gem" from the november 2019 study watchtower.. paragraph 8 from the article "are you maintaining your large shield of faith?".

satan, “the father of the lie,” uses those under his control to spread lies about jehovah and about our brothers and sisters.

blondie

Yes, Brock Talon, the WTS is always changing things to suit new developments that make the old "obsolete." I used to ask when the marriage of the bride and Christ would take place. It seemed that if some of anointed lived not die before Armageddon, would they miss the wedding. Also, those individuals were not heaven how could they have a part in destroying the wicked along Christ and the angels (another teaching)?

So now that marriage of the bride will take place shortly after the great tribulation.

marriage of the Lamb.” (2Co 11:2; Re 19:7, 8)

it-2 pp. 783-793 - Insight, Volume 2

“The Lamb’s marriage.” These as a body are called his (prospective) “bride” (Re 21:9); they are promised to him in marriage, and they must be resurrected to the heavens in order to take part in “the marriage of the Lamb.” (2Co 11:2; Re 19:7, 8)

w13 7/15 pp. 9-14 - The Watchtower—2013

First, the “when” question. Jesus said: “At that time the righteous ones will shine.” The phrase “at that time” evidently refers to the event that Jesus had just mentioned, namely, the ‘pitching of the weeds into the fiery furnace.’ That occurs during the final part of the great tribulation. Thus, the ‘shining brightly’ of the anointed must occur at that future time as well. Second, the “where” question. Jesus said that the righteous ones will ‘shine in the kingdom.’ What does that mean? All faithful anointed ones who are still on earth after the initial part of the great tribulation has passed will already have received their final sealing. Then, as indicated in Jesus’ prophecy about the great tribulation, they will be gathered to heaven. (Matt. 24:31) There they will shine “in the kingdom of their Father,” and shortly after the battle of Armageddon, they will share as Jesus’ joyous bride in “the marriage of the Lamb.”—Rev. 19:6-9.

236

Do You Think Trump Bares Any Responsibility For The Mass Shootings Occuring?

by minimus in

jw
friends

when any mass shooting happens is it the president’s fault?

i’m talking over the last few decades..

blondie

Well, David Duke seems to be doing what the WTS did in 1989, allying themselves with Jimmy Swaggart Ministries, covering all their bases. What is his status now in the KKK? In the quote below, it seems he said he left the KKK in 1980.

The Amicus Curiae (Friend of the Court Legal Brief) filed by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society (Jehovah's Witnesses) in June 1989 re: a Supreme Court case between Jimmy Swaggart Ministries and the State of California. At issue was whether religious materials distributed by a ministry could be taxed. The Supreme Court ruled against Swaggart stating that such materials could be taxed. In 1990, the Watchtower Society stopped asking for a fixed donation price for literature distributed and began offering all materials on a voluntary donation basis. Supreme Court legal briefs are public domain items.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/6419715/David-Duke-Nick-Griffin-was-lynched-on-Question-Time.html

Duke told The Daily Telegraph that he left the Klan in 1980 because he disliked its associations with violence and could not stop the members of other Klan chapters from doing "stupid or violent things."

32

"Gem from the November 2019 WT. Reject apostate material because JWs trust in "their brothers."

by Daniel1555 in

dear friends.

i didn't post for a while, but i still enjoy the great jwn community.. just wanted to share a "gem" from the november 2019 study watchtower.. paragraph 8 from the article "are you maintaining your large shield of faith?".

satan, “the father of the lie,” uses those under his control to spread lies about jehovah and about our brothers and sisters.

blondie

Even if you are right and the WTS is wrong, you are wrong to point it out to others.

You must obey:

"All of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not." Watchtower 2013 Nov 15 p.20

15

Cost of Attending the International Conventions

by RubaDub in

jw
friends

i have never been invited/requested/applied to any international convention, other than it happening to be our own convention in new york city where we were already assigned (i think back and maybe this happened two times or so when i was growing up).. anyway, people here keep commenting about the cost to attend; the inflated airfares, rooms, transportation, etc.. does anyone have some actual numbers to provide?

i realize that the cost of attending a convention in a different country will be affected by some variations in airfare from the departure city but generally how much do these things cost?

are they comparable to a tour from an expedia, travelocity or other travel site?.

blondie

Cash is more confidential. The accounts servant sees checks, and if your donation is over $250 in cash in the US, a taxpayer is required to get a special form from the congregation for IRS tax purposes. Soon cash will not be used per some news stories; I hardly use cash myself, though I make sure we have some for those stores/individuals who do not accept credit cards.

24

Funerals

by Theonlyoneleft in

so i have a question about a not so spoken subject.

so if you feel inappropriate please feel free to ignore me!

has anyone given a thought about what they would like for their funeral one day?.

blondie

Upright burial takes up less space. In some cemeteries today and in the past became so crowded, that people were buried in layers and some were dug up and discarded to make room for new dead. I saw a program that explained why the catacombs in Paris with many skulls carefully stored. It seems it was to make room for a housing development in the 19th? century. Yes, cemeteries were crowded even then, mostly in urban areas.

Cremation is what I prefer, less space and cheaper. Now green burials do not appeal to me. Some people donate their bodies to "body farms."

236

Do You Think Trump Bares Any Responsibility For The Mass Shootings Occuring?

by minimus in

jw
friends

when any mass shooting happens is it the president’s fault?

i’m talking over the last few decades..

blondie

The Democratic party is not the same Democratic party today, In the election of 1860, the northern Democrats opposed the expansion of slavery while the southern Democrats believed that slavery should exist across the US. Since then this has been a great divide regarding Democrats.

Here is a summary of the switchover from democrat to republican.

In the presidential elections of 1952 and 1956 Republican nominee Dwight David Eisenhower, a popular World War II general, won several Southern states, thus breaking some white Southerners away from their Democratic Party pattern. The passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was a significant event in converting the Deep South to the Republican Party; in that year most Senatorial Republicans supported the Act (most of the opposition came from Southern Democrats), but the Republican Party nominated for the Presidency Arizona Senator Barry Goldwater, who had opposed it.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Democrats

So it is possible that some southern Democrats in past supported and were backed by the KKK.