under the radar

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Posts by under the radar

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  60

  Those keenly following umbertoecho ARC Brief Update.

  by MightyV8 in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i feel it is comfortable to say,.

  yes her arc hearing has come and gone.. yes her hearing was so powerful, her allotted time was tripled!.

  yes, information handed over "mind blowing" response from arc.

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  under the radar

  Is there a link to her specific testimony?
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  Separated at birth?

  by under the radar in

  1. social
  2. humour

  separated at birth?

  hmmm.... one was the leader of a destructive self-serving organization that put its own interests above anything else, suppressed any dissent, and longed for the destruction of an entire world of people.. the other was governor wilhuff tarkin from the original star wars movie.. just sayin'.... .

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  under the radar

  Separated at birth? Hmmm...

  One was the leader of a destructive self-serving organization that put its own interests above anything else, suppressed any dissent, and longed for the destruction of an entire world of people.
  

  The other was Governor Wilhuff Tarkin from the original Star Wars movie.

  Just sayin'...

  
  
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  29

  Local Needs part given after Ministerial Servant left the organization

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbb8rt2bem8.

  some crazy cult language in this talk.. some highlights:.

  18:15 - obey.

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  under the radar

  This talk might actually backfire and wake up some who didn't want to admit to themselves that the Society truly is a mind-control cult. Some of this stuff could have been taken directly from 1984.

  One glaring fault was that this earnest appeal to ignore "the man behind the curtain" didn't even try to address any of the issues he said were causing problems in Houston. Serious, legitimate issues that a deserve a better response than "Never mind. Don't worry about it. Just obey and don't question anything."

  The more I hear about this kind of crap, the more I hate the organization. In some ways, it's worse than the Mafia. True, there's no way to gracefully and honorably leave either. But at least the Mafia doesn't usually go after your family.

  The Society's treatment of "apostates" and those either DA or DF or even sometimes simply faded has a lot in common with the Soviet purges of the 30's, 40's, and 50's. Of course, the Society doesn't actually murder their victims, but a Watchtower article from the late 50's implied that they would if they could get away with it. More and more, JW's are pushed to treat such ones, even close family members, as if they were already dead.

  Emotional blackmail and social coercion are polite ways to term it, but that doesn't begin to describe the terrible harm it does to all concerned. Obedient JW's are often forced to suppress their natural feelings and affections and act in a way completely contrary to the way they would otherwise. It can require a complete personality change, a kind of Jekyll and Hyde effect. The ones shunned are treated as outcasts, worthless and despised. Warm and loving families can and sometimes do disintegrate into warring camps. I wonder how many lives have been totally ruined by this callous and arrogant policy masquerading as faithfulness to God.
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  22

  Tv's in Kingdom hall

  by dothemath in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  so now that the borg has taken all of the congregations money, there was just a resolution to get all new tv's, etc for the stage for the new meeting format.. i wasn't there, but it was a large sum.

  somebody mentioned over 3000$.. all the congregations in the city are likely doing the same thing, and are getting all the equipment from bethel.. i was wondering if this was happening all most everywhere?.

  can't see it in third world countries( might not even have internet).

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  under the radar

  So let me get this straight... The Society just looted the congregations' accounts of every cent except a small contingency reserve, and now wants them to pony up thousands more to buy specific TVs and other equipment IN ADDITION to "contributing" their regular monthly pledge in perpetuity. Hmmm... Sounds like a good deal for somebody. Just saying'...

  Oh yeah... "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." Direct quote from the Watchtower, November 2013 Study Edition, article "Seven Shepherds, Eight Dukes - What They Mean for Us Today," paragraph 17.
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  75

  Ray's Books. And Copyrights!

  by DwainBowman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the copyright owner has posted a message on the internet, and can be found below!.

  ray franz.

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  under the radar

  Yes, I know Cynthia died a while back, but this crap was going on long before she did, so she did in fact suffer financial loss because of the bootlegging. Now it's more a matter of principle and secondarily, helping Ms. Dykstra recover her legal costs for protecting the integrity of Ray's work. It's only fair, and she deserves whatever gain she winds up with. She's not trying to gouge anybody.
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  75

  Ray's Books. And Copyrights!

  by DwainBowman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the copyright owner has posted a message on the internet, and can be found below!.

  ray franz.

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  under the radar

  If we download or distribute a copy of Flocking the Sheep, we are helping expose some of the inner workings of a self-serving money-grubbing mind-control cult, not taking bread out of the mouth of a poor widow. Big difference.

  There is no monetary value to Flocking the Sheep. The Watchtower's copyright for it and other "confidential" material is purely an effort to hide their true machinations and intentions from their victims, uh, I mean, followers. The Society has always been legalistic, but now more than ever it has become duplicitous and underhanded, greedy and grasping, and evermore self-aggrandizing, arrogant, and presumptuous.
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  75

  Ray's Books. And Copyrights!

  by DwainBowman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the copyright owner has posted a message on the internet, and can be found below!.

  ray franz.

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  under the radar

  I am very glad Ray's books will be legitimately available again. I have two hardback copies of each, plus a password protected PDF of each, ALL purchased from Commentary Press while Ray was still alive.

  After Ray's death, when some here would talk of downloading bootleg copies, I would always try to discourage that by saying it was like stealing from Ray's widow.

  I have no doubt that those who promoted downloading copies or even sold unauthorized reprints were well-intentioned. Maybe they thought the copyright died with Mrs. Franz and that profits from sales could no longer benefit her anyway. But now that they know the copyright survived her and the books are being put back in print legitimately, they should do whatever they can to make things right. One way they can demonstrate that their motives were pure would be to donate all profits they have made to the legitimate copyright holder and immediately stop selling any more copies. They should also stop distributing bootleg PDFs or e-books or even telling others where to find them online.

  I'm going to suggest that Ms. Dykstra hire a professional narrator to record the books as audiobooks or mp3's and offer those as add-on or stand alone products. The guy who did Watchtower Comments would be my first choice. I have no idea who he is, but he has an excellent voice and I'm sure he would do a great job. I, for one, would be glad to pay for an audio version recorded by him or someone like him. That would make it easy to enjoy the books while walking or driving. And for those who can't have a hard copy at home for whatever reason, it would be a way to hear what Ray had to say without jeopardizing their personal situation.
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  6

  The greatest movies ever made.......

  by The Rebel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  and they were amazing, 8 years of my boy growing up captured on a few films i once made.. the past is of course not the only thing to look forward to, but as i watch these movies i see so many acts of love and so many perfect times that i had forgotten.. so my question is do you have " the greatest ( photos) or movies in your collection" that you may have neglected?

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  if so my xmas present to you is, take them out the drawer and dust the cobwebs away...... the rebel..

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  under the radar

  I love old family films and videos! The videos you take today will be treasure family heirlooms one day when you're long gone and your kids look through them.

  After my folks were gone, my sister and I shared the cost of having all of their videos transferred to DVD. The original VHS tapes are pretty fragile, so it's probably not a good idea to play them very much. But the digital copies on computer and DVD make it very easy to watch them anytime and anywhere and share them with other family members too. I'm in the process of putting them in order, editing out the bad spots, and making an index to the major scenes so we can find exactly the one we want without a bunch of searching back and forth. As each one is done, I post it as Unlisted on YouTube and then share the link with whoever I think might be interested. It's a great way to share family videos and pics without having to burn DVDs and mail them out.

  I'm doing the same with all my folks' 8 mm films. I transferred those myself by taping them on Hi8 as they were being projected into a small device with mirrors made specifically for this. Then I converted the Hi8 tape to digital using an adapter and software from Elgato. Now I'm using iMovie for editing and enhancements before burning to DVD or sharing on Facebook. It takes some time, but it's well worth it and lots of fun to do. I've already found lots of family gold in scenes I never knew existed.
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  14

  Back again

  by Lostandfound in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  been absent for more than 10 years as i have had surgery sand radiation etc for brain tumour.

  was in icu for 6 months and lost hearing in one ear, most of sight and physical disabilities.

  was a member then just before simon emigrated to us, he had lived quite near me in uk.

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  under the radar

  Hello Lostandfound! We don't know each other, but welcome back. I'm so sorry for all you've gone through, but very glad to see that you've recovered enough the rejoin us here.

  Just a thought: if it's worth the effort to you, perhaps if you'd PM Simon with what you remember of your old log-in, threads you started or remember posting on, etc., he might be able to recover your old ID and posting record and merge it with your new ID. Or maybe you would choose to take up your old ID where you left off. Either way, reading your old posts might help with your memory issues and give the rest of us some context of where you're coming from.

  Regardless, welcome back! Looking forward to hearing whatever you want to say. Take care.
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  10

  HOMECOMING (The story of two people I met in a bar)

  by Terry in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  homecoming.

  my good friend bob and i usually try to get together on friday to listen to live music someplace and decompress from the week's pressures.

  robby knew betty back in high school.

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  under the radar

  Great story, Terry. You do indeed have a knack for story-telling. Looking forward to your next one.