Posts by under the radar

3

My Brother Lives in Watertown, MA

by Band on the Run in

jw
friends

i tried six different phone numbers trying to reach him.

the police came to his door.

he said that after the police spoke to him, he felt much safer although the suspect was not yet in custody.

under the radar

Hey Band! I'm so glad your brother is ok. The authorities did an excellent job of identifying and then tracking down the suspects as quickly as they did. And it was wonderful how the public cooperated with the police in these unusual circumstances and how they all pulled together to keep themselves safe while the police did their work.

By the sheerest of coincidences, I was in Cambridge Thursday evening just a couple of hours before all the excitement there began. I was meeting a young Russian guy (not a student) to show him a computer I was selling on craigslist. Very nice guy. LIves nearby in Watertown. We spent about an hour together and he wound up buying the computer on the spot. I left there about 8 pm. So glad I was back home when the fireworks began.

The next day, Friday, about 6 pm, one of my Significant Other's co-workers called. She is also a friend, and she works from home for medical reasons. Turns out she lives right next door to the house where the other four suspects were arrested. She and her family were hunkered down in their house when suddenly a bunch of police cars showed up with lights flashing and surrounded the house next door. They could hear the police using bullhorns to talk to the people in the house and order them to come out with their hands up. They wound up arresting three men and one woman. Haven't heard much about them since. The lady who called said they were very frightened when it all began, but the police were great and did what they could to reassure them and keep them safe.

What a small world, huh?

6

I am thinking about buying ipad. I would like to know if it works with JWN?

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

under the radar

JWN works great on my iPad. Haven't figured out editing a post yet (on the iPad), but regular posting works fine.

By the way, download the Atomic Web browser from the App Store to use with JWN. Works great, even blocks those annoying ads. (Sorry, Simon.)

Open Atomic Web, then go to Settings, then select Identify Browser As, and select Firefox 15. That makes the browser think its running on a desktop.

Just my 2¢ worth...

54

Our family wishes to extend our sympathies to Gregg [Greybeard from JWStruggle]...

by Newly Enlightened in

jw
friends

gregg, we are deeply sorry for your loss.

you will be with us in our thoughts & prayers.

under the radar

So sorry for your loss, Greg. When my sister tried to ban me from a family gathering, I told her I would not live my life based on someone else's superstitions. That seemed to take her aback, and I went anyway. Don't know if that would work in your circumstances, but hang in there. We're all pulling for you.

73

Congregation had to relocate Memorial...thanks to me

by Shepherd Book in

so, the two local congregations were planning to hold their memorial together at 7:30 at the local community center, but they had to make a last-minute change to their own hall, and i'm pretty sure it was because of me.. let me explain.... at work on monday afternoon, a co-worker returned from her lunchbreak and showed me the memorial invitation that was waiitng in her door when she went home for lunch.

i noticed the sticker on the back indicated the memorial was being held, not at the local hall, but at the community center.

from a past (non-jw) event i attended there, i knew they didn't allow alcohol (unless you pay for security guards), so i wrote to the center's coordinator:.

under the radar

At the risk of bring flamed, I thnk this kind of crap gives us apostates a bad name. It also undermines our legitimate actions to thwart the mind-control cult from its really harmful activities. I also think it was a childish and pointless exercise in tit-for-tat gamesmanship.

You know very well there was to be no actual use of alcohol, certainly not any abuse thereof. You just inconvenienced a group people you don't like just for the pure sport of it. The JWs do many harmful things, but observing the Memorial is not one of them.

Reasoned discussions, even arguments, against their false doctrines, cult-like qualities, flawed child abuse policies, and mind-control techniques are fine and deserve to shouted from the rooftops. But interfering with their right the peacefully assemble in public facilities goes too far. It's spiteful and gives them ammunition to whine about how hateful those "nasty apostates" are.

57

40 years on - and still in Damage Control mode!

by Bungi Bill in

earlier this morning, i posted off to the the institute of engineers an application for membership as an "engineering associate":.

- today being just over 40 years since the congregation's retards elders made me abandon my apprenticeship.. (in this part of the world, the pre-1975 hype was taken to that level.

not being content to prevent young persons attending university, they went one step further and treated with hostility any youngster who would "tie up five years of their lives" by entering into an apprenticeship.

under the radar

Best of luck to you, Bunji. It really is never too late. I finally got my degree 11 years after high school, and it was another 6 years before I got started at the ground floor of the career I'd always wanted. But it all paid off. And it can all pay off for you too. Congratulations on never giving up and continuing to pursue your ambitions. Soon we'll all be able to lift a glass to the newest Engineering Associate. Cheers!

95

Forum Owner and Member Integrity

by Simon in

some people recently raised concerns about security of the site relating to whether forum members could be watchtower plants trying to obtain information about people.

apparently, this was because a previous forum that was setup was either owned by or later handed over to someone who used it to collect personal information about people which was then used to harrass them.

i don't know all the details, i'm just paraphrasing what i've heard and recognize that it's a concern to some people.. i want to first of all put people's minds at rest: i've been running this site for what will be 13 years next month.

under the radar

Simon and Angharad, I too appreciate all your hard work in making this site available. It is absolutely my favorite website and I usually check in at least once a day. Many here have been badly hurt by the WT, far more than I was, and having this site as a place to find comfort and solace lets them know they are not alone. Who knows how many lives have been brightened, maybe even saved, just by the friends they've made and the things they've read here. Thanks again, and keep up the good work!

41

We are in for a blizzard!

by coffee_black in

jw
friends

the winter storm watch has just been upgraded to a blizzard watch.

from where i sit, just outside of boston, it looks like up to 2 feet of snow from friday to saturday with high winds that will make travel very difficult if not impossible.. .

coffee .

under the radar

We're all snuggled in and cozy in Manchester, NH. Only about 50 miles from you, Coffee. My sweetheart has next week off for vacation anyway, so she's working from home today and then the festivities begin! Plenty of time to cuddle up and watch old movies and play on our computers.

Hope everyone stays safe and warm. A little "down time," even if forced by the weather, can be a good thing.

47

My grandson is interviewing with Harvard tomorrow

by coffee_black in

jw
friends

i'm doing the happy dance!

just got word a few minutes ago.

his odds are pretty good!

under the radar

Congratulations, Coffee! You must be bursting with pride. And best wishes to your grandson. What a great opportunity he has. I'm keeping my fingers and toes crossed that all goes well.

23

Just had an elder drop in for a visit

by biometrics in

just had an elder drop in for a visit.

asking why i hadn't been to the meetings for over two years.

i told him there's a lot of things i don't agree with.. .

under the radar

Commencing rant.

"He started talking about how the Organization doesn't have everything correct and they're starting to acknowledge it. How the meeting format has changed, focusing less on 'details' and more on how to live a good life."
"He also said it he doesn't like the term 'the truth', and thinks it's a presumptuous term, because they don't have 100% truth ."

"We have had some wrong expectations about the end. But we are more concerned with obeying Jesus and saving lives than with avoiding criticism. - w2013 1/15, p. 8"
"We agree with the sentiment of longtime Witness A. H. Macmillan, who said: "I learned that we should admit our mistakes and continue searching God's Word for more enlightenment.""

All the above would be well and good IF the Society didn't require total and unquestioning acceptance of whatever "new light" appeared in the latest WT or was announced at some special meeting. No matter what you were REQUIRED to believe yesterday or might be REQUIRED to believe tomorrow, even though some of those beliefs directly affect peoples' very lives. "Don't bother to ponder, reason, or do outside research on spiritual matters. We have brothers at Bethel who are assigned to do just that! We'll let you know what to think. Don't worry your pretty little heads."

The Society values "unity" above freedom of conscience and a personal relationship with Jesus. They are presumptious to an astonishing degree, and seem determined to be the masters of your faith. They are spiritual bullies in a very real sense, and I hope they pay a heavy price in the end.

Rant completed. Resuming normal operations.

For what it's worth, I agree with the other posters who advised you to be very careful with this "friend." He may be setting you up, even unintentionally. If he repeats anything you've said, even innocently, it could easily lead to an investigation into your "apostate leanings." He may feel compelled to jump on the bandwagon to deflect questions about his own thinking. There is no way this would end well for you. I highly recommend you be as noncommittal as possible. Say little and avoid conversations like this like the plague, unless you are ready to be out of the Borg completely and officially.

37

Visited Beth Sarim today

by exwhyzee in

my sister in law has been shunned by the family since she da'd herself at the age of 18 and moved out of the house.

i always insisted that my wife keep in contact with her and made sure she knew she had a soft place to land,with us, should she need it.

even at the risk of it getting us in hot water with the pioneer,elder,bethelite family members there was no way we were going to let her disappear into the wild blue yonder on her own.

under the radar

My hat's off to you, Sir. That's what Christian love is all about. Really, that kind of real love and concern for fellow human beings, especially family members, shouldn't be limited to the term "Christian." It transcends anything defined by any particular set of beliefs.

I hope to visit Beth Sarim one day myself. Purely for historical reasons, of course. The same reasons I'd love to discover the VIN numbers of those Cadillacs Rutherford had. It would be very interesting indeed to find out what happened to them. Hmmm...

Anyway, congratulations on caring for and about your sister-in-law all those years. I'm sure your little excursion to Beth Sarim was time well-spent and drew all of you a little closer.