Forscher

Joined

• started 33 topics
• posted 1,825 times   see topics posted on
• send a message

Posts by Forscher

• 
  18

  JW, XJW MOVIE STARS IN THE NEWS

  by one in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  some big and small news are floating around about.

  prince, out to help mj.

  michael jackson, back to the goodoldusa, will he stay?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Forscher

  Thanks for the info MsMcDuckett!

  Forscher
• 
  79

  Who thinks Killing or Dying for your country is a good Idea?

  by new boy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well since maybe you are no longer a jw any more..............you have that option!.

  good idea?.

  giving your sons or daughters to the "gods of war" .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Forscher

  To expand on my thought a little.

  I think my quotation of Sun Tsu should make clear that my answer to the question is no, killing or dying for any country is not a good idea. And I agree with the ancient master of War that the job of our leaders is to make sure that our enemies are so aware that attacking us will lead to their own demise that they do not take the step of attacking us in the first place. To have to go to war is usually a failure on the part of a country's leaders of some sort or another.

  That being said, I also realise that there are folks out there who can't be dissuaded from attacking others by any means short of assasination. The Quakers learned that the hard way dueing the French and Indian war of the 18th century. The result is that Quakers, who are committed pacifists for religious reasons, are now permitted and do take up arms to defend our country under certain circumstances. Richard Nixon, a Quaker, was an officer during the second world war. We learned the same lesson on Dec. 7, 1941. The pacifist factions were so powerful that they kept us out of the war, thinking that if we stayed out of Europe's business we would never have to fight. However, staying out of the fight didn't work and we were dragged into it by the Japanese anyway.

  The problem we have now is that those who want to blame the US for all the world's problems refuse to wake up and smell how rotten the roses really are, period. They stay in denial, despite the fact of 3,000 dead here in the US and others dead in Brittain, Spain, Indonesia, and Israel should be more than enough evidence that we are now in the midst of another war with folks who resent the fact that they couldn't conquer Europe when they tried both before and after the crusades. Those humiliating defeats have festered, added to by the prosperity of our culture in contrast with the poverty of their own. Instead of fixing what is wrong with their economies, they want to blame us for all of their troubles and that resentment is now boiling over. They long for the days when the world trembled at the sound of the boots of the Moorish and Ottoman armies!

  Some four administrations failed us before Bush Jr. even took office. Carter failed to deal effectively with the Ayatollah and sat by while he put together a network of terror which was a clear danger. Reagan, was so focussed on ending the cold war with the Soviets that he sat back while the Iranians further built that network thoughout the middle east and didn't bother to take action against them when they attacked and killed our own troops in Lebanon and elsewhere. Those two can almost be forgiven their lapse because the cold war with the Communists was the big issue of the day and it had the highest priority in the public eye. Note, I said thay could almost be forgiven. If they had nipped that one in the bud when it was still in the womb, so to speak, Iran wouldn't be the danger it is now. That is one case where even the fundies would've agreed with a form of abortion!

  There is no excuse for Bush Sr. and Clinton. The danger was there, plain for any to see who just looked. But these leaders from both ends of the political spectrum ignored the threat and hoped that if we didn't bother the Jihadists they would just go away. Talk about wishful thinking! Rather than deal with the growing threat from both Wahabists and Shia, Bush Sr. chose to start reducing our military strength at a time when we could ill afford it. Clinton carried on that policy with a vengance to the point that when he left office our military was at only half the strength it had when he took office with more reductions mandated by law. He also shit-canned vital weapons programs (reduced the order for F-21s by around two-thirds and delayed the production and deployment of those few left in the order for one such example) and wasted a whole lot of advanced weaponry in Bosnia without bothering to replace it. And all of this with one attack on the World Trade Center, attacks on several American embassies, and the attacks on our troops in Saudi Arabia, among other things which should've made it plain to a blind man that making our military weaker was the wrong thing to do.

  Since military strength is such a vital component to deterence, as Sun Tsu observed some 2,500 years ago, is it any wonder that what Bush II inherited from Clinton both in terms of military strength as well as effective intelligence capacity was so weak that it had ceased to deter our enemies and we were gifted with 9/11? Our military and intelligence complex was so gutted that even if Bush had tried to start fixing it the day he took office 9/11 still would've happened.

  The sober truth is that by Sun Tsu's definition every president since Gerald Ford has been an abject and utter failure, and that includes Reagan even though he did his best to build, rather than reduce the deterent effect of our military, something all the others did the exact opposite of. The lessons which should've been learned by being caught with our pants down around our ankles by WWI and WWII, weren't.

  What has to be done is to build our military to a strength which will make anyboy else think three or four times before tempting fate by messing around with us. We also need to build an effective intelligence community, which Sun Tzu observed in the last chapter of his book, The Art of War, is so cost effective and vital to our security that only an idiot would short it. Then we need to have the will to use that intelligence appratus to uncover threats to our security and deal with them long before it becomes necessary to do the bad thing and send our troops out to kill and die.

  Unfortunately, the crowd which is in denial and wants to blame America for all the world's ills refuses to face those facts of life, and they own the media and educational system and use them to form public opinion along their own line of thinking (with the exception of Radio and part of the net of course). The last few years have proven that it is going to take alot more than the bones of the 3,000 dead which have already littered the streets of New York City to wake those people up to reality.

  Its a little late now to debate the merit of killing or dying for our country. And the real irony is that all of this could've been avoided long before those towers fell.

  Forscher
• 
  18

  JW, XJW MOVIE STARS IN THE NEWS

  by one in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  some big and small news are floating around about.

  prince, out to help mj.

  michael jackson, back to the goodoldusa, will he stay?.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Forscher

  Selena??? That wasn't covered in her movie.

  She most certainly was Nellie. Since I haven't seen the whole movie I'll take your word for it that it wasn't mentioned in it. Although she met a tragic end, I give her parents credit for encouraging her not to give up her dreams to devote everything to the organization. I know some of that was because the family needed the kids to work in order to stay afloat. But still, they did give that encouragement and appear to still be doing so.

  Does anybody know if Selena's husband, Chris Perez, was a Witness? Since the Quintanillas were very much against Selena and Perez's involvement with each other and tried to break them up, I always assumed he wasn't. He's a pretty good guitarist in his own right and I still enloy his solo parts from Selena's songs.

  Forscher
• 
  20

  Who was the biggest cheapskate that you knew in the Truff?

  by JK666 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  my sister, what a joke!!!

  she and her tight arse husband would drive out in service in the winter, but would not use the heater in the car because they thought it would take more gas!!!

  i could go on, but what is the point!

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Forscher

  In the spirit of Blondie's definition:

  I knew an elder who was on the service committee of the congregation. He was not without the means for a comfortable living, but. Whenever he went out in service, he expected others to pay for his treats when the group went on the inevitable morning "coffee break" and give him a little gas money if his car was used. He expected others to pay for his expenses when he went to the assemblies (including the hotel room, eats, basically everything).

  He expected the publishers of the congregation to cut the grass in his yard, clean his house (his poor little wife had an injured neck from an auto accident, but the only time I ever saw her wear a court collar [Emt's know what I mean there] was on the day she went to court when they sued the other driver), and even fix most of their meals for them. Those who wouldn't play ball with him found themselves on the congregation shit list and were not allowed at private gatherings, etc...

  And it got even better. Anybody who had the misfortune of being between jobs would always find themselves hauled before an "investigative committee" and be informed that

  they

  were lazy parasites who didn't deserve any help from the friends and that the word was to be put around that they were not to be helped in any way. I guess he was like the government, he couldn't tolerate any competition for the charity of the congregation.

  That particular elder nows lives in North Carolina, and I hear he is still just like that. I won't name him of course, but I pity the congregation that has him as an elder!

  Forscher
• 
  42

  Why be obedient to god?

  by nicolaou in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  if a creator god is real and he is the source of life well then i would certainly acknowledge that and give him thanks for my existence and for the universe i live in.

  but obedience?.

  my mum and dad gave me life, ensured my education, looked after my health and wellbeing, loved me, taught me the value of kindness and friendships and so much more.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Forscher

  Maybe because God's laws are not as burdensome as many think.

  Most of the laws we think of as "God's laws" are really laws imposed by men who were into control. There were something like 700 laws agreed to by the Jews with Moses as the mediator. But that was a different situation than the one under which Christians find themselves. Israel was a confederacy set up by God with himself as its head initially. That required more laws simply in order to keep order like any other country.

  Christians, on the other hand, are a people without a nation since their "kingdom" is yet for the future. So they were freed from a voluminous law code and given freedom to "use their Little gray cells," As Agatha Christie's Hercule Poirot would put it, to figure out what God wanted as they grow in their understanding of him. Likely that was because being a people who had to live among the rest of mankind and be subject to the laws of the nations, that would leave them wiggle room to conform with laws which might not square with a code built perfectly on God's views without worry of displeasing him.

  Think about it. The only place in the Bible where we those most prominent in the early Christian movement in agreement as to just what constitutes "requirements" encumbent upon all is in the fifteenth chapter of Acts. Those laws are as follows:

  1. Abstain from foods polluted by idols.
  2. Abstain from sexual immorality.
  3. Abstain from the meat of strangled animals.
  4. Abstain from blood.

  That is it.

  Of course, common sense would tell us, that a few other things (not worshipping other gods, no stealing, etc.) would fit the short list of what is required of Christians, but think about it, go all the way through the NT and you will find that list short and sweet. The point is that we are incapable of keeping a perfect law faithfully, as demonstrated by the failures of the Jews in that regard, so God doesn't place that sort of burden on our shoulders. Men, however, do. The whole sordid history of institutions like the Catholic Church, Jehovah's Witnesses, the Mormons, and many more illustrates that one quite well.

  God didn't call people under the Christian church for the burden of law, he called us to freedom, and gives us the benefit of the doubt as long as we do our best. That is what gets lost in all the noise of men trying to impose their own consciences on others in God's name.

  Forscher
• 
  19

  I feel uncomforatable when my children ask about God....

  by flip4diz in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i don't know what to say.. for some background: .

  i have been out for 10 years.

  it was the birth of my son, who just turned 11 ... that brought me out.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Forscher

  Well flip.

  I like JWdaughter's take on the issue. There is nothing wrong with telling your children that you are not so sure on the issue because you have found out that you may have been taught things that were not correct about God. The real issue is that you need to figure out what to believe before you can be definative as to what to tell them. Don't let their curiosity rush you into that decision as you want to make sure you have made the right decision. They can wait a few more years if that is what it takes. By then, the older one might be old enough to be told your story and understand why you took your time.

  I will second the call not to let what some zealots have done turn you off to the probabilities concerning God. I know that many of those who make the argument for athieism sound so high minded and educated, but remember they may still be wrong. The way many of them talk down about those who believe puts them on the same level as religious zealots in my opinion and makes them just as unbelievable as the religious zealots I can do without.

  Just take your time and examine the evidenc for yourself with a mind open to all possibilities. That way you will have the best chance to make a reasonably informed decision on whether there is a God and what are the more accurate teachngs concerning him if you conclude there is.

  I wish you the best.

  Forscher
• 
  73

  Why do apostates lie about where they get their information?

  by slimboyfat in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it does no good.

  i don't understant it - who do they think they're foolin'?.

  i have just been listening to the judicual committee that disfellowshipped rick and laverne townsend and it is cringeworthy, to say the least, to listen to them cover-up, distort and outright lie about the sources of their information and the real background to their dissent.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Forscher

  Why do apostates lie about where they get their information?

  If one is asking in regards to JC committeee hearings, the answert is quite obvious as pointed out by others. It is to avoid instant DF'ng. If one is asking about private conversations with other Dubs, the answer is pretty much the same. In other contexts the answer just might be the sloppy citation practices learned from the mother organization more than any intended dishonesty friend.

  I, for one, don't even worry about it.

  Forscher
• 
  79

  Who thinks Killing or Dying for your country is a good Idea?

  by new boy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well since maybe you are no longer a jw any more..............you have that option!.

  good idea?.

  giving your sons or daughters to the "gods of war" .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Forscher

  "Nobody wins a battle by dying for your country, you win by making the other guy die for his."

  But Sun Tzu wrote that "Supreme excellence in the commader consists in attaining victory without committing ones troops to battle." I think any reasonable person would prefer that to what Patton said.

  Forscher
• 
  79

  Who thinks Killing or Dying for your country is a good Idea?

  by new boy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  well since maybe you are no longer a jw any more..............you have that option!.

  good idea?.

  giving your sons or daughters to the "gods of war" .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Forscher

  I agree that war is bad

  However, I am realistic enough to realise that it is not always avoidable. The Quakers basically believe that it is wrong to go to war. But during the French and Indian war they ran up against the wall of reality when the Indians started making war on them and killing their bretheren and caring off their women at the behest of the French. In the end they decided on a pragmatic view since their pacifist stance didn't protect them and they went to war in their own defense. Since then it has been their stance that they avoid military service unless the US is defending itself like we did in WWII.

  Sometimes one does encounter an enemy they didn't attack who just won't leave one alone. That is what happened to us on 9/11. We can argue all day whether the invasion of Iraq was justified or not and get nowhere. The real problem with that war is that the administration, listening to the rhetoric of its critics, converted that invasion into a police action with no clear objective in mind just like happened in Vietnam with the same sad results. That is what happens when one doesn't let the military do its job. As for "invading" Iraq, Bush's action is not without precedent. Anyone ever hear of Grenada or Panama? Or Cuba and the Phillpines, where lies were indeed used as the basis for an invasion? The difference between those actions and the current one is that the US went in to win decisively and completely whereas the mission in Iraq was not so clearly defined and prosecuted. That, unfortunately, is the habit the US has gotten into over the last 57 years with Grenada and Panama being notable exceptions.

  Still, we didn't pick the larger war, it was imposed on us. The difference between us and most of the rest of the world is that we have the guts to defend ourselves, even if we've made the one big blunder in the process. Say what you will, but the idiots who think like Neville Chamberlin will lose big time in the long run. I just hope that the current political situation here does not signal a long term triumph for those idiots in the US.

  Forscher
• 
  43

  I'm going home, and I got a call from my dub uncle....

  by Stealth453 in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  i am shipping out on thursday for home.

  i have been away from my home and family since august 1, this year.

  my brother, (ex-dub) is hosting a dinner for me tomorrow, at his house.

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Forscher

  Personally I would've told my uncle he was out of line and gotten myself uninvited to my own party!,/p>

  The nerve of folks! I would've been nice about it at one time. In fact, when my stepson got married my wife's ex showed up. I was asked to not start anything. Guess who got in my face? You guessed it, my wife's ex. When we arrived at the reception, my wife and I we asked to leave because my presence upset Mrs. Forscher's ex! Pissed me off that a chronic adulterer and wife beater was considered better company than me. Since then I've stopped taking crap. Its led to some interesting confrontations (I have martial arts training and folks know it), but that is my policy.

  Have fun and let us know how it goes!

  Forscher