A fairly comprehensive list for those who are interested:
betterdaze
JoinedPosts by betterdaze
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17
Free online courses from accredited schools... Your opinion
by MC RubberMallet inhttps://www.coursera.org/.
though you won't be accredited, what do you think of this program?.
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Republicans wont let guns within 7 miles of convention . . .
by nicolaou inbut want to allow them everywhere else!.
hmmm .
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betterdaze
St. Petersburg's ordinance establishes a 7.4-square-mile Event Zone that encompasses a large area around Tropicana Field, where the RNC welcome party will take place, and reaches to Tampa Bay. On Aug. 26, the day of the big party, the ordinance bars the possession of a range of items in the Event Zone that can be used as weapons or as defensive shields against police (except, absurdly due to state law, loaded guns when the owner has a concealed weapons permit). Among other items, the ordinance prohibits fragile containers, umbrellas with metal tips, light bulbs and any container with liquid except for small bottles of prepackaged soft drinks or water. These items sound pretty innocuous, but past protesters have used them to cause trouble.
Balance rights, safety during RNC party
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Ironically, city ordinances cannot trump Florida state handgun laws, so those with the proper permits will be allowed to carry concealed handguns into the event zone.
At Tampa convention, protesters can carry guns, but not puppets -
24
Anyone watch "Grimm" ?
by Glander ini have never seen an episode but my wife loves the show.
we just heard today that our 18 yr. old granddaughter will be an extra in an episode filming now.
guess i'll have to watch it.
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betterdaze
Excellent show for ex-JWs! The protagonist lives and battles with the burdens of an inherited secret world tied up in ancient myths no normal, modern person would believe or even begin to understand.
Last night's episode could be been taken from the tribal Bible: Family breaks away from backward, inbred clan. Virgin daughter is kidnapped "back into the pack" for a disgusting, incestuous fertility ritual …
But not before they disembowel a bloody tubful of innocent animals first. I mean, what belief system would be complete without a pile of bloody dead animals, or women owned and abused by male relatives?
Your daddy brought shame down on us when he took your mama and you away.
What are you going to do to me?
We're gonna take back into the pack.
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I remember when your mother went through this too. She didn't learn. You don't turn your back on your family or your traditions.
The world you ran away to doesn't understand what you are. It's the pack that protects you. -
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Deborah Frances-White - Cult Following
by betterdaze inreview: deborah frances-white - cult following.
deborah frances-white has a unique tale to tell at this years fringe and unlike a lot of other exaggerated anecdotes you may have come across, it really did happen she has the photographic evidence to prove it.
when she was 14, her parents decided the family should all become jehovahs witnesses, a suggestion she gamely went along with as a lonely teenager with no friends.
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betterdaze
Review: Deborah Frances-White - Cult Following
Deborah Frances-White has a unique tale to tell at this year’s Fringe and unlike a lot of other exaggerated anecdotes you may have come across, it really did happen – she has the photographic evidence to prove it.
When she was 14, her parents decided the family should all become Jehovah’s Witnesses, a suggestion she gamely went along with as a lonely teenager with no friends. But as she got older, she began to rebel. The comedian in her made jokes at meetings to get attention (albeit rather corny ones but she did the best she could with the material she had), and she declared she wanted to go to university, a suggestion her ‘elders’ were firmly against. Her growing doubts and some chance encounters lead her to quit the Jehovah’s for good, which she recounts in dramatic flashback sequences, before returning to her chattier, stand-up self.
On top of her personal journey from timid cult follower to a ballsy 21st century liberal, Frances-White’s story is doubly intriguing because we know so little about Jehovah’s Witnesses. We hear about elements of her former life she has to relinquish in order to join, from the predictable to the amusingly random. Then there’s the message the Jehovah’s are trying to deliver to us, which, as she points out, none of us know because we do a very good job of hiding when they come a ‘knocking.
If you’re looking for something that will have you bent double laughing, this probably isn’t for you. While there are some playful sections involving the audience and a funny manipulation of source material, these are the strongest comic sections of a show that is more of a gently amusing narrative than a riotous comedy show. Still, if you like a good story, you won’t be disappointed. Frances-White is a witty and assured raconteur and this is a compelling personal account; told with insight and depth.
http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on/comedy/deborah-frances-white-cult-following -
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What did you eat when you moved out if you didn't know how to cook?
by Aware! ini'm male, in my early twenties, and i don't know how to cook.
if one day i blow my cover i will have to move out and fend for myself.
my question is what frozen meals or quick fix meals do you recommend for a single guy?
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betterdaze
Aware, you don't even need to buy cookbooks… most of the ones recommended here can be found at your local public library free of charge.
Check out the magazine section, too. Women's and "health" magazines are loaded with articles on food/recipes and how to save money in the kitchen. -
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For those in any doubt that the Society is at war with Facebook...
by cedars in...take a look at this from page 29 of the latest october 2012 awake!.
the gloves are now well-and-truly off.
referring to facebook as a "social networking website" clearly isn't working.. the society now feels compelled to start being more specific about which websites it doesn't want you to visit!.
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NY Times-- the secret is out, reporters confess that they let politicians edit their stories!
by moshe inin order to have access to politicians, they agree ahead of time to submit their stories for "editing" before publication!
perhaps the tabloid news media is reporting the facts after all.. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/us/politics/latest-word-on-the-campaign-trail-i-take-it-back.html?_r=1.
latest word on the trail?
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betterdaze
Dan Rather chimes in on CNN: 'Quote approval' a media sellout
. . . As someone who's been covering presidential campaigns since the 1950s, I have no delusions about political reporting. Candidates bargaining access to get the kind of news coverage they want is nothing new. The thicket of attribution and disclosure deals is a deep maze reporters have been picking their way through even before my time. But this latest tactic by candidates revealed by the Times gives me, to say the least, great pause. It should give every citizen pause.
. . . Let us mark well this Faustian bargain. It is for the benefit of the politicians, at the expense of readers, listeners and viewers. It is not in the public interest; it is designed to further the candidates' interests.
Political operatives cannot be blamed for wanting this. We, the press, should be held accountable for letting them have it.
Thomas Jefferson said: "The only security of all is in a free press." A free and truly independent press -- fiercely independent when necessary -- is the red beating heart of freedom and democracy. One of the most important roles of our journalists is to be watchdogs. Submitting to these new tactics puts us more in the category of lapdogs.
. . . Please know that there is no joy in calling attention to these things. I respect and empathize with reporters and editors who must compete in today's environment. And I know full well that when I've been covering campaigns, which I still do, I've made my mistakes and have been far from perfect.
About all of us doing this line of work, I'm often reminded of a sign in an old Wild West cow town saloon that said, "Please don't shoot the piano player, he's doing the best he can."
But we journalists can do better. We must. -
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African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
by snowbird inwas first organized in new york during the late 18th century.. prominent members included sojourner truth, harriet tubman, and frederick douglass.. many black churches followed suit and added zion to their names.. i know of a greater zion tabernacle, little zion missionary baptist church, and big zion ame church.. charles russell decided to drop zion from his magazine title because many people were associating his publication with a "colored" church.
his explanation as follows is from the december 15, 1908 wt.. .
with the new year we expect to drop the word "zion's" in the title of our journal, because many of the friends inform us that the word is objectionable, having been so much used by mr. dowie and his followers.
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betterdaze
Many Black churches followed suit and added Zion to their names.
I grew up near this one, landmarked just a few months ago. Centennial AME Zion Church:
(1933) http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalital/6979644925/in/photostream/
(Today) http://www.flickr.com/photos/kalital/6979644941/in/photostream/
North Jersey historic preservation efforts tend to focus on the Revolution and early Dutch era, so I am positively delighted they were able to save this gem from becoming yet another parking lot.
"The church was built in 1896 by the descendants of freed slaves and is beloved for both its history as well as its charming architecture. Historical experts say the building is significant because of its association with the 19th century African American freed slave community of Skunk Hollow, now known as Alpine, and its relationship with Bishop Alexander Walters. Walters was born a slave, became a founder of the NAACP and subsequently spoke at the church’s dedication.
The church is praised for being one of the few tangible reminders the area has left of the freed slave community that had settled in the region."
Closter church, a symbol of slave emancipation, gets historic landmark status -
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NY Times-- the secret is out, reporters confess that they let politicians edit their stories!
by moshe inin order to have access to politicians, they agree ahead of time to submit their stories for "editing" before publication!
perhaps the tabloid news media is reporting the facts after all.. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/07/16/us/politics/latest-word-on-the-campaign-trail-i-take-it-back.html?_r=1.
latest word on the trail?
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betterdaze
James, I beg to disagree in this particular instance. Regardless of the Times' perceived political bent, forked-tongued politicians and their cronies of all stripes are holding the press in a hostage situation.
This political reporter should be commended for holding them accountable to the voters whose interests they feign to represent.
Follow-up article: National Journal Bars Quotations Tweaked by Sources
By JEREMY W. PETERS
Published: July 22, 2012National Journal said it would ban the use of quotations that had been massaged or manipulated by its sources, joining a growing chorus of news organizations that are objecting to a practice that has become increasingly common in political journalism.
In a memorandum to the staff, Ron Fournier, National Journal’s editor in chief, said, “If a public official wants to use NJ as a platform for his/her point of view, the price of admission is a quote that is on-record, unedited and unadulterated.”
Quote approval has become accepted in Washington and on the campaign trail, with politicians and candidates often refusing to grant interviews unless they have final say over how their quotations appear in print. The New York Times examined the issue in an article last week, drawing attention to a part of news gathering that journalists had long complained about but felt pressured into accepting.
Both the Obama and Romney campaigns routinely demand that reporters consent to quote approval when giving interviews. If the reporters agree, quotations from campaign officials, advisers and candidates’ family members have to be sent to a press aide for the final go-ahead. Quotes sent back to reporters are often edited for style and clarity.
If reporters refuse, they are not granted an interview. National Journal is among several news outlets that have said they find quote approval to be troubling, especially now that it has become standard for many politicians.The Times has said that it encourages its reporters to push back against sources who demand quote approval and that it is reviewing how its policies might address the issue. The Washington Examiner said last week that it, too, would not accept interviews granted under the condition of quote approval.
Politico’s editor in chief, John Harris, said he advised reporters to resist such conditions for interviews and expressed dismay that political figures were becoming more comfortable avoiding on-the-record interviews.
“Journalists need to work hard to make sure we are doing everything possible to insist on accessibility and accountability,” Mr. Harris said last week. -
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Katherine Jackson missing, says Huffingpost Post
by ShirleyW inthe story sound very bizarre, paris tweeted that she hasn't heard from her in a week, i thought she was living in the same house with her anyway?
then article goes on the say that last time she was heard from she was rebbie so i have a feeling that they're all at the district assembly somewhere !.
article goes on to say that paris' tweets were deleted.
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betterdaze
Katherine Jackson is safe, with family: Sheriff
Paris allegedly tweeted: "I will defend my beloved family member with all I have, even if it means from other family members."That there is Watchtower speak.