Does anyone else think that the quotes from Prince here have a very similar style to Fred's posts?
Hmmmmmm......
Expatbrit
expatbrit
JoinedPosts by expatbrit
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12
Party like it's 1899, uh - 1914 - I mean, 1975...
by Michael3000 inthe party's really over, folks.
from the associated press.... .
--michael .
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I am stunned!!...CharitablePlanning
by sf ini feel like i did when i first read ray's book crisis of conscience"; like i was punched deep in the gut and can't catch my breath.. i took someones suggestion here to call the: .
charitable planning office.
watchtower bible and tract society of pennsylvania.
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expatbrit
Tucked away in the WB&TS of Britain's 2000 financials is a little note under creditors detailing the amount of conditional donations. It reads as follows:
Provision for repayment of conditional donations UKP492,560
The trustees have for a number of years, on the basis of experience, considered adequate a provision for 50% of the total balances of conditional donations which amounted to UKP985,120
This is approximately US$1,500,000 in conditional donations for Great Britain alone (120,000 publishers).
Expatbrit
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Apostate Update: "Prince"
by dshields1 innew license plate seen in brooklyn: apost8 .
prince in the watchtower kingdom.
the watchtower which is the mother organization of what are commonly referred to as jehovah's witnesses wants prince for his lyrical abilities says long time watchtower door knocker willie awake.
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expatbrit
COMF:
It's like a ^%#$*^, only more ^*#%&(@.
Expatbrit
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Bonsai Kitty
by suzi mayhem inok.. i know i've been a bit of a buster in the past, but this is for real.
there is a site out there, and apparently a demand, for modified housepets.
in a nutshell, what these ahem... [people] do is take a kitten, sedate it, insert the poor thing into a glass bottle with air holes drilled into it, and run tubes into it to feed it, and tubes into it to take care of everything else.
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expatbrit
Seeker:
do you believe this in all circumstances?
Yes, people should take responsibility for what they say. However, the consequences vary. And, like so many areas in issues such as freedom of speech and moral responsibility, black and white absolutes simply don't work. My comments here were specifically related to this particular instance, and are my opinion only, like everyone else's comments.
Each particular circumstance is unique and should be considered on it's own merits when deciding how much of a measure of responsibility/blame authors should take for the results of their work, and the consequences to them that result.
For instance, Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment is a valuable piece of social analysis, the exploring of which benefits the reader and society in general. Someone may say "Dostoevsky influenced me do it" and this may indeed be the case. Yet the value of the work justifies the relatively small risk incurred of this happening, in the view of society in general. D. does share some responsibility (I know he's dead), but the judgement of society as to the value of his work prevents serious consequences to him (or his reputation, since he's dead).
On the other hand, a person inclined to violent tendencies may read a piece of homophobic or anti-Semitic hate-literature and then, after beating up a few gay or Jewish people, use the defense of being influenced by the literature he read. This would certainly not be a valid defense for him, but would this mean that the authors of said hate-literature bore no responsibility for the results of their work? I think they do. Given that such hate literature is a crime in most enlightened countries, so does society in general. The consequences to the authors are therefore more severe.
Bonsai Kitty, in my opinion, fits into the latter category rather than the former, since it has no value or benefit to society, but is merely an irresponsible indulgence in puerile humour. The consequences to them should also be more severe. Note that, in the case of a child copying the site in real life, responsibility is not limited just to one individual. The parents, the child, the website authors, all bear responsibility and should bear the consequences.
Another example is the WT. Their writings on blood have caused the needless deaths of hundreds, maybe thousands. Are they free to say and write what they like? Yes and correctly so. Should they accept a measure of responsibility for the deaths of people influenced by their writings? Again yes, together with the consequences that follow.
I believe in freedom of speech, but I also believe in the responsibility that comes with freedom of speech not to abuse it.
Society draws a subjective and judgemental line in the sand regarding these issues. In a specific circumstance close to the line, individuals will differ as to which side of the line they agree with. A good job too, since the conglomeration of all these differing viewpoints tends to result in a moderate society.
Expatbrit.
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5
Russia: Moscow lower court's verdict quashed
by expatbrit inrussia: moscow lower court's verdict in favour of jehovah's witnesses quashed .
bbc monitoring service - united kingdom; may 30, 2001. .
text of report by russian news agency ria .
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expatbrit
Russia: Moscow lower court's verdict in favour of Jehovah's Witnesses quashed
BBC Monitoring Service - United Kingdom; May 30, 2001Text of report by Russian news agency RIA
Moscow, 30th May, RIA "Novosti" correspondent Mariya Lokotskaya: On Wednesday [ 30th May], the Moscow city court upheld the protest lodged by the public prosecutor's office of the capital's northern administrative district and quashed the verdict of the Golovinskiy intermunicipal court, which , on 23rd February 2001, refused to ban the activities of the Moscow group of the Jehovah's Witnesses organization and liquidate it.
RIA "Novosti" was told by lawyer Galina Krylova, the spokeswoman of Jehovah's Witnesses in the court, that according to the higher court's decision, the civil case concerning the liquidation of and the banning of the activities of the Moscow group of Jehovah's Witnesses has been returned to the Golovinskiy court for a new hearing.
The civil case concerning the liquidation of and the banning of the activities of the Moscow group of Jehovah's Witnesses was instituted by the northern administrative district's public prosecutor at the request of the public organization "The committee for saving young people from totalitarian sects". The public prosecutor's submission to the court accused group members of stirring up religious dissension, forcibly breaking up families, harming citizens' personality, rights and freedom, refusing blood transfusions in cases of emergencies, as well as of involving minors in the organization's activities without the knowledge of their parents.
Bringing the first civil case of this kind became possible on the basis of section 14 of the law "On freedom of consciences and religious associations". The trial began on 29th September 1998.
The lawyers of Jehovah's Witnesses regarded the judicial process in the Golovinskiy court [as received, presumably Moscow city court is meant] as "a political one, aimed at harming the rights of a religious organization". In their view, the public prosecutor's office, had been unable to present a single piece of evidence or specific fact which would have confirmed the accusations.
In Moscow, Jehovah's Witnesses were registered by the capital's justice directorate as a religious organization in 1991.
Source: RIA news agency, Moscow, in Russian 1653 gmt 30 May 01
/BBC Monitoring/ © BBC.
World Reporter All Material Subject to Copyright
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Bonsai Kitty
by suzi mayhem inok.. i know i've been a bit of a buster in the past, but this is for real.
there is a site out there, and apparently a demand, for modified housepets.
in a nutshell, what these ahem... [people] do is take a kitten, sedate it, insert the poor thing into a glass bottle with air holes drilled into it, and run tubes into it to feed it, and tubes into it to take care of everything else.
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expatbrit
My initial reaction when seeing websites like this is that the "jokers" should receive a shot in the head and an unmarked grave. But (taking a deep, calming breath), it is just a parody, and parody is not illegal.
However, should a bonsai kitty turn up in someones trash can in the future because a real sicko decided to try it out for real, then the web site creators should share in the consequences e.g jail time.
People should take responsibility for the results of the things they write and publish, after all.
Expatbrit
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Spot the difference....!
by MacHislopp inhello expatbrit and others,.
how can we reconcile, to the eyes of the.
brothers and sisters worldwide, the " financial documents".
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expatbrit
Mac:
That's interesting.
I'm not sure whether the zero assets and revenue indicates a lack of information at Guidestar, or if the New York corporation actually is a zero company (in which case all the assets and revenue are routed through the Penn. company).
Have you requested the audited financial statements?
Expatbrit
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7
Spot the difference....!
by MacHislopp inhello expatbrit and others,.
how can we reconcile, to the eyes of the.
brothers and sisters worldwide, the " financial documents".
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expatbrit
Why:
That's hopefully next.
Expatbrit
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Who Is This Larouche Guy Anyway?
by Englishman ini keep falling over the sayings of mister larouche everytime that i take a peek at you knows posts.. i decided to investigate some of his writings.
it seems to me that he has 2 bees in his bonnet, the first is that the usa is about to plunge into economical decline, the second indicates that 'lil' ole england wants to subvert the entire united states and pinch all it's wealth.. can someone give me some background on this fellow?
is he a respected sort of guy or is he a shrimp short of a seafood salad?
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expatbrit
Actually London is the centre of international finance. New York has by far the larger domestic stockmarket, however London conducts approximately $1 trillion dollars a day of currency dealing, and has twice the number of international banks operating in its environs than NY.
Stating a circumstance that happens to be true doesn't validate all of the nonsense conspiracy theories expounded by Larouche and his disciples, though.
Larouche is a fraud, hoping to claw his way into positions of power by playing on Americans fears and paranoias. No wonder YK is caught up in his cult, it's just like the WT.
Expatbrit
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WHY THE DOLLAR IS DOOMED
by You Know injesus pointed out the hypocrisy of those in his day whose faithlessness led them to become intransigent in the face of jesus' credentials as the messiah and all that that entailed as to jehovah's judgments.
likewise, the prophets indicate that ridiculers and apostates will proclaim themselves to be unconvinced concerning the evidence of christ presence and impending judgment of this system.
jesus' rebuke is equally applicable today, where he acknowledged that his generation was expert in using their powers of reason to interpret the changing clouds and winds to accurately predict the next day's weather, and yet jesus said of them: "hypocrites!
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