Englishman

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Posts by Englishman

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  10

  Do You Have To Believe In God To Pray?

  by Englishman in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  or does prayer sometimes help us communicate with our own subconscious mind?.

  or maybe we're just acknowledging the power of the universe as a whole?.

  englishman.

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  Englishman

  Or does prayer sometimes help us communicate with our own subconscious mind?

  Or maybe we're just acknowledging the power of the universe as a whole?

  Or something else perhaps?

  Englishman.
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  82

  Ten killed in US school shooting

  by Simon in

  1. social
  2. current

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  another tradgedy ... .

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4370617.stm.

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  Englishman

  FreeWilly stated that the crime rate in the US has been falling in the last 20 years, whereas the UK's has skyrocketed.

  It's doubled. We had 2 shoot-outs in the last 10 years compared to just 1 in the previous 10 years.

  Englishman.
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  41

  Shunning in the 60's

  by Bryan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  as you know i just returned from visiting my great-aunt whom i hadn't seen in 40 years (she's still a jw).

  i asked her if she shunned my mother when she was disfellowshipped in 1964. she said they society did not promote shunning at this time.

  is this true?

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  Englishman

  Wow, you people are old.

  Yeah but we do lot's more bonking than you youngsters.

  Englishman.
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  17

  Does England Need The Royals?

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there's lot's of reasons why we need a monarchy.

  here's 1 reason, outlined by peter hitchens:.

  uniquely in all the world, monarchy stands for liberty...the british form of monarchy is preferable to most forms of republics.

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  Englishman

  Just pasted this:

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  In the C19th Walter Bagehot described the monarchy as being ?symbolic and ceremonial? but with little actual power. In the C21st this is even more true.

  ?The Queen reigns but does not rule?.

  What are the royal prerogatives:

  Ø The Queen has the right to appoint and dismiss a Prime Minister. However, in the C21st this is convention as opposed to reality. In fact, after an election, the Queen chooses the leader of the majority party to lead the Commons. However, what happens if the Prime Minister refuses to quit after losing a vote of no confidence is unclear ? as it has never happened in recent political history. Theoretically, the monarch can exercise powers of appointment and dismissal. How this would fit in with a democracy is difficult to decide.

  Ø The monarch has other powers of appointment (ministers, peers, senior C of E officials, head of BBC, senior civil servants etc) In reality these are chosen by the Prime Minister; only the Order of the Garter and the Order of Merit are at the personal disposal of the Queen. Therefore, a vast amount of power with regards to senior appointments rests with the Prime Minister.

  Ø The Queen opens and dissolves Parliament. She also approves all statutes of law. In reality, the date of a general election is set by the Prime Minister and the Queen, in the State Opening of Parliament, simply reads out the proposed bills for the next 5 years of a government and plays no part in deciding them. No monarch has refused to give the Royal Assent to a government bill (passed at this stage by both the Commons and Lords) since 1707. Now it would appear to be completely untenable that the Queen would refuse to sign a government bill that had passed the Commons, select committees, the Lords etc. It would spark off a major (the major?) constitutional crisis.

  Ø In theory, the monarch has the right to grant pardons and input some sentences. In reality this power is exercised by the Home Secretary; a classic example was when Jack Straw stated that Myra Hindley?s life term meant life.

  Ø The monarch, via proclamations or Orders in Council, may declare war or treaties, without the input of the Commons/Lords. In reality, the declaration of war and the signing of treaties is done by the Prime Minister acting on behalf of the Crown. The 2003 declaration of war against Iraq was done by a Prime Minister and not by the monarch. One is a democratically elected politician accountable to the electorate via an election; the other is in the position by a quirk of birth.

  The monarch is above the law and has crown immunity. The legal immunity conferred by the Royal Prerogative may extend to institutions and servants of the Crown. Cabinet ministers may try to use crown immunity to avoid the release of parliamentary documents as they are servants of the Crown. This remains an issue that lawyers discuss and analyse to this day ? can ministers of the government use the Royal Prerogative to stop an investigation in to the work that they do on certain issues?

  For British Politics Index - click here

  [email protected]

  April 2004
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  82

  Ten killed in US school shooting

  by Simon in

  1. social
  2. current

  .

  another tradgedy ... .

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4370617.stm.

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  Englishman

  I think the guns help. I mean, just standing there shouting ?BANG!?. That?s not going to kill too many people, is it?" - Eddie Izzard

  I think that our police have it off to a T. They rarely use guns, they just shout "stop"! Then if the criminal doesn't stop, they shout "stop"! a second time. That really scares 'em.

  Englishman.
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  17

  Does England Need The Royals?

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there's lot's of reasons why we need a monarchy.

  here's 1 reason, outlined by peter hitchens:.

  uniquely in all the world, monarchy stands for liberty...the british form of monarchy is preferable to most forms of republics.

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  Englishman

  Did you know that the Queen has her own website?

  It's pretty cool too: http://www.royal.gov.uk

  Englishman.
• 
  41

  Shunning in the 60's

  by Bryan in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  as you know i just returned from visiting my great-aunt whom i hadn't seen in 40 years (she's still a jw).

  i asked her if she shunned my mother when she was disfellowshipped in 1964. she said they society did not promote shunning at this time.

  is this true?

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  Englishman

  DF'ing was rare indeed back then. Most people were put on probation. If they sinned the same way again during their probation period, they were automatically DF'd. If they sinned the same way again, after the probation was over, the original offence had no bearing on the later offence.

  I was once put on a secret probation. The complications of that were incredible....like being asked by the unaware WT servant to open the meeting with prayer and you had to say "No"!...More on that later.

  Englishman.
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  57

  Shots fired during UK rap concert

  by Xena in

  1. social
  2. current

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4370601.stm pair jailed after fatal shop raid

  http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/nottinghamshire/4371059.stm

  calls for tougher laws on knives

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  Englishman

  Violent crime is on the increase, although gun crime is still comparitively rare. However, it is much higher than it used to be.

  Englishman.
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  20

  Need a little advice on calorie counting and weight loss

  by Leander in

  1. social
  2. physical

  i just started working out again over the last month after a layoff of about 10 years.

  so my questions are how can i find out how many calories a 280 pound guy burns off just doing everyday activities?

  how do i determine how many calories i need to take in to maintain the muscle i have but still burn off fat?.

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  Englishman

  The average guy, leading a fairly sedentary life, uses about 2500 calories per day. I'm back to very active, but even that only burns up 3250 calories oer day. So exercise, while being useful, doesn't burn up much excess weight.

  If you eat 500 calories too much each day, then you put on around 1 pound of weight every week. So 3000 calories daily instead of 2500 loads you up by about 50 pounds in a year.

  Eat 500 calories a day less than you require - that is the most sensible way to lose weight - you lose about a pound a week. If you eat less than that, your body will go into panic and hold onto what fat it has.

  Last year, I lost 14 pounds in 14 weeks. I concentrated on eating fat-burning fods like celery, leeks, cabbage and sprouts. They're not low in calories, but for every 100 calories you consume, your body burns up 170 calories in digesting it!

  Englishman.
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  17

  Does England Need The Royals?

  by Englishman in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  there's lot's of reasons why we need a monarchy.

  here's 1 reason, outlined by peter hitchens:.

  uniquely in all the world, monarchy stands for liberty...the british form of monarchy is preferable to most forms of republics.

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  Englishman

  Course we do!

  There's lot's of reasons why we need a monarchy. Here's 1 reason, outlined by Peter Hitchens:

  Uniquely in all the world, monarchy stands for liberty...The British form of monarchy is preferable to most forms of republics. Its not like other monarchies. It's not like an autocracy, it hasn't been since the middle ages...Monarchy provides colour and majesty in a nation. And a sense of history and continuity. It's much better it seems to me to have a gold coach going down the mall with an escourt of lifeguards, then it is to be in the kind of country where you celebrate the majesty of the state with a parade of red tanks going through red square, or a torchlight procession through the middle of Berlin. These things are necessary - monarchy provides them in a much more civlised way then fascism, national socialism or communism.

  More on the way!

  Englishman.