Posts by expatbrit

but whoever has this worlds means for supporting life and beholds his brother having need and yet shuts the door of his tender compassions upon him, in what way does the love of god remain in him?

little children, let us love, neither in word nor with the tongue, but in deed and truth.1 john 3:17-18 nwt .

you must love your neighbor as yourselfmatt 22:39 nwt.

expatbrit

Marvin:

That is a truly disgraceful action. These people claim to be Christian, yet this action goes against every principle that is considered a "Christian" virtue!

How verifiable is this? Are there witnesses willing to talk to journalists? It occurs to me that the local Brooklyn and New York newspapers might be interested in learning the reaction of the Watchtower Society to the tragedy; seeing exactly the kind of people that they support with their taxes and charitable donations.

I'm sick. Sick to the pit of my stomach.

Expatbrit

3

BOMB THREAT TO EMPIRE STATE BLDG.

by Esmeralda in

jw
friends

stone phillips just reported via cel phone that a bomb sniffing dog has alerted police to something in the empire state building.

they are evacuating everyone, including reporters to several blocks away.. ugh.

i hope the dog is wrong.. if there is really a bomb in there, i fear for big tourist attractions, like disney world :( :( :( :( :(.

expatbrit

bbc just confirmed this via reuters

34

Planes just a diversion... Ambulances had bombs.

by biblexaminer in

jw
friends

i feel pretty sure about this, that the planes were just a diversion set to allow emergency vehicles easy access to the basement parking lot.

eye witnesses placed a large explosion just before the south building came down.

one thing is sure, the buildings did not come down as a result of the planes hitting them or any explosions due to that.

expatbrit

A further article on this subject at the BBC: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/americas/newsid_1540000/1540044.stm

85

AMERICA'S REVENGE HAS STARTED!

by nicolaou in

jw
friends

reports are coming in (bbc) of tracer fire and explosions in kabul, afghanistan.. this is of course wher osama bin laden is holed up - have the fbi/cia managed to successfully pin this atrocity on him already?.

nic'

expatbrit

American government has denied responsibility for the Kabul explosions

35

Speculation on special October 7th meeting

by Seeker in

jw
friends

we have been discussing the special meeting being held in various locations on october 7th.

note, this is the day after the annual meeting, not part of the annual meeting itself.

reports have come in that certain individual congregations have been invited to attend.

expatbrit

Esmeralda:

I'd like to add my welcome back to the db, and to say that I hope you stay and treat the above bit of pathetic abuse with the contempt it deserves.

Mad Apostate:

I dont care whether you are a genuine poster or a troll. What you posted above was completely inappropriate. You will no doubt claim to be only responding to implications of trolldom, but this kind of post is uncalled for and out of proportion.

Expatbrit

19

British History Lessons

by Utopian Reformist in

jw
friends

i desparately tried to avoid this thread about anglo & american superiority.

i truly did, until i read the "poppycock" about the british war efforts in the last century.. perhaps anglophiles should refresh their ancient and modern memories a bit before launching such laughable tirades of triviality and supposed triumph.. first, did not the english employ mercenaries during the battle of hastings to win the 100 years war?

(since "expatbrit" is correcting me--i am modifying this)-- excuse me for my trivial error).

expatbrit

Jan:

I thought you were goin' on vacation!

You are correct about the caveat. Unfortunately just about everything in history requires a gazillion caveats. So yes, the British did have concentration camps, no they were not like the Nazi ones. For all I know, we served 'em afternoon tea.

Hey! This thread is nine posts long. Isn't it about time we started calling each other names?

Expatbrit

19

British History Lessons

by Utopian Reformist in

jw
friends

i desparately tried to avoid this thread about anglo & american superiority.

i truly did, until i read the "poppycock" about the british war efforts in the last century.. perhaps anglophiles should refresh their ancient and modern memories a bit before launching such laughable tirades of triviality and supposed triumph.. first, did not the english employ mercenaries during the battle of hastings to win the 100 years war?

(since "expatbrit" is correcting me--i am modifying this)-- excuse me for my trivial error).

expatbrit

Also on the subject of bad things the British did in Africa, they pretty much invented concentration camps in South Africa.

I certainly would agree that the British are not superior in morals or practices to anyone else. British people have indeed committed crimes and atrocities in other countries, and because the British have had a more active world history than probably any other country, there are many examples of both good and bad, intelligent and stupid, efficient and muddled actions carried out by British people.

I enjoy history. It has huge value and relevance to the present day. But, if in reading history we allow past and unchangeable events to create division, dislike and even hatred, then history becomes a trap, not a beneficial educational tool.

Btw, I live in Canada. It bugs the hell out of me when I see fellow Brits walking around indulging in braggadocio and "we won the war" bullshit. It irritates and shames me when British tourists misbehave and are rude to the people whose country they are guests in. I try always to be conscious that modern Canadians views of Britain will be formed largely by the British they meet in Canada.

It's said that "history is written by the victors". Not accurate history. You're right about not just reading history books from one perspective. As usual, the "truth" lies somewhere in the middle!

Expatbrit

14

"Mom, I hate the Kingdom Hall"

by Esmeralda in

jw
friends

i think that they are making all this stuff up.".

this is the breakfast conversation that i had with my five year old daughter this morning.. "oh, really?

" i said, trying not to choke on my coffee.. "mom, what if i get disfellowshipped someday?

expatbrit

I got a question: At what age can a child be classified as a "mature minor", able to make their own decisions as to this type of issue?

Expatbrit

19

British History Lessons

by Utopian Reformist in

jw
friends

i desparately tried to avoid this thread about anglo & american superiority.

i truly did, until i read the "poppycock" about the british war efforts in the last century.. perhaps anglophiles should refresh their ancient and modern memories a bit before launching such laughable tirades of triviality and supposed triumph.. first, did not the english employ mercenaries during the battle of hastings to win the 100 years war?

(since "expatbrit" is correcting me--i am modifying this)-- excuse me for my trivial error).

expatbrit

A brief blurb on Hessians:

During the American Revolution, Germany was divided into over 300 principalities. Many of these tiny countries supplied soldiers to the British army in its fight against America, but by far the largest group came from Hesse-Cassel. As a consequence, during the war and ever since, all of the Germans fighting with the British were lumped together and called Hessians.
The Hessians' services were bought and paid for by George III, who simply did not have enough soldiers in his own army to supply the needs of his commanders in America. German soldiers had served many European nations in a similar fashion for years, but they were not true mercenaries. Most of the Hessians received no compensation for their services beyond their daily bread. It was the Prince of Hesse-Cassel, Frederick II, who made off like a bandit in his dealings with George III. He sold the services of 12,000 Hessians to the English at [sterling]7 4s. a head.
In total, nearly 30,000 German soldiers fought for the British in North America. Once there, they discovered a thriving German-American community of almost 200,000 people. For many Hessians, the possibilities in this rich, new land with its growing German population was a great enticement to desertion---a fact that Americans worked hard to promote with promises of free land for Hessians willing to switch sides. An estimated 5,000 Germans stayed in this country, when their fellow countrymen returned home.

As for the Canadians and Australians fighting during WWI and II, they were proud to do so, and Britain has acknowledged and appreciated their contributions ever since. Canadian servicemen I've met have invariably recounted their wartime experiences in Britain with pride and pleasure. At the outbreak of the war, I believe that both Canada and Australia were self-governing, and they freely volunteered their support of Britain.

The Ghurka regiment is a proud group of men. I suggest if you ever meet a current or previous Ghurka you do not speak of them as a subjugated mercenary. Again, former soldiers from empire lands have always remembered their service with pride, in my experience.

My grandfather served under Monty in North Africa. He certainly did not dine while foreign troops faced the Afrika Korp. Indeed, I have never been able to get him to speak of some of the experiences he endured during that campaign.

It is true that Britain "takes the credit" as you put it for many military victories in which large numbers of non-British soldiers fought. This is not uncommon for any country, since generally the victory is ascribed to the main protagonist country and it's military commanders. What you ascribe with negativity to the British is a routine occurence through thousands of years.

I'm curious now though. Why your Anglophobia?

Expatbrit