freddo

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Posts by freddo

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  60

  Russia=King of the North, USA=King of the South? New info coming in from Annual Meeting 2018

  by Jules Saturn in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it was announced in this year’s annual meeting that they believe that the king of the north is russia and the king of the south is us/britain.

  for me this is the first time hearing from the society actually identifying the identity of the king of the north.

  very interesting times!

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  freddo

  They were identifying the USSR as King of the North in the 1980's and Hitler's Germany until the end of WW2.
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  37

  Annual meeting topic

  by asp59 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  how many think they will announce in the annual meeting they just gonna have one meeting a week?

  if they dont it will be astonishing, amazing and other things..

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  freddo

  Polish Clarinet said - "I totally agree with you pale.emperor. Empty meetings, empty litterature, empty talks... for empty minds."

  You forgot "for empty halls."
  

  Also possibly some "simplification" to say that the year end figures for publishers etc. will be replaced by "highlights" (to mask the downturn)?
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  18

  Personalized Borg Number-plates!!!!

  by Disassociated Lady 2 in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  last week i was travelling in the u.k. when a car overtook me.

  i noticed its numberplate which read 'jw 04 org'!!.

  i couldnt believe it, i wonder how much the borg are charging for these?

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  freddo

  As Stan has done you can look up lists and buy available personalised numbers in the UK. They are all original numbers issued by the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency) but which you can look through and choose one that suits you.

  The very early numbers are prized most because they are often short and not broken up by prefix or suffix letters.

  Numbers up until the early 1960's would typically be three letters and one, two or three numbers e.g. XJW666 but then as the number of cars increased a suffix was added so it would read XJW666A, XJW666B etc. These also told you the year of registration 1963 being "A", 1964 being "B" etc.

  In 1983 the letters of the alphabet were use up and so they became prefixes and the numbers and letters were swapped. So now it would be A666XJW, B666XJW,
  

  Then in 2001 the letters ran out again and so a new format came out in Sept 2001 so that Y666XJW would be March-Aug 2001 but the new format (currently in use) would make it difficult to reproduce "666" together as it is in the following format ...

  2 letters 2 numbers 3 letters e.g XX-51-XJW - now the middle two represent the year (Sept 2001).

  When a car is scrapped its number is available for purchase and sometimes sold if perceived as having value. This site explains and is a sales site.

  https://www.nationalnumbers.co.uk/
  
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  19

  The Silver JW Bible

  by caves in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the year was 2010. .

  this has always infuriated me.

  i was pomi ( but didnt know it).

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  freddo

  Actually it was 2013 when the Silver bible came out.

  For me at the time it was the last high point of Watchtower - even dulling the bewilderment of the 2010 overlapping generation - but before the 2014 emotional hoopla conventions and the slow slide to GB-Rolex-TV, kingdom hall sell offs and congregation mergers.

  Then the ARC - with Justice McClellan's kind but firm fist in a velvet glove and Angus Stewart's incisive professionalism which was more silver scalpel than silver sword.
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  55

  * 2018 Mergers and changes to UK congregations *

  by truthseeker in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i have a document containing a list of all congregations in the uk.

  periodically i go through the links and check to see if they're still registered as charities and if the location of the congregation is the same.. instead of posting a large list of changes all at once, i will be adding each change that i find in a new reply to this thread.. please check back here periodically.. truthseeker.

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  freddo

  I've posted some of this before but an update.

  BATH - the historical Roman and Georgian city in North-East Somerset has a population of about 100,000 people and up until the 1990's had three congregations meeting in two of their own Victorian halls. Bought cheap - made nice and with lots of character and valuable.

  In the early 2000's one of these congregations closed and was merged with the other two.

  This summer 2018 the last Bath Kingdom hall in Oldfield Park (valuable property of course had two congregations and a Chinese group/congregation).

  Now they have been booted out - renamed Bath West and Bath East to the nearby towns of Radstock (including the Chinese group) and Trowbridge to share there.

  This means that residents of central Bath have to drive out if their own city over ten miles instead a mile or two or even on their doorstep.

  Also - to have a city as historical and as prestigious as Bath with NO kingdom hall must be a real demoraliser on the ministry.

  Even the Christadelphians have a hall in Bath ... here it is!

  https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@51.38221,-2.365685,3a,75y,67.21h,88.65t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sWBa-w-tgfLDRkZyPvejEkQ!2e0
  
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  90

  Is attendance down in your location too?

  by StarryNight9 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was commenting on another thread about how local kh attendance is down.

  memorial attendance was also way down and the circuit assembly had hundreds less people than what is typical.

  my jw family has even mentioned it.

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  freddo

  The congregation I know well has a territory which is compact and so no-one is further than 5 miles from the Kingdom Hall. It is quite normal that midweek out of 65/70 publishers you will have 40 at the hall and 10 dialling in from home.

  I remember when we would have 90% attendance AVERAGE in the 1980's. And that is backsides on seats - not listening in.

  Attendance definitely down.
• 
  90

  Is attendance down in your location too?

  by StarryNight9 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was commenting on another thread about how local kh attendance is down.

  memorial attendance was also way down and the circuit assembly had hundreds less people than what is typical.

  my jw family has even mentioned it.

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  freddo

  Love these comments ...

  LTPF - "Seems the merging JW's came to get a quick look-see and went back to their fishing business."

  Waton - "Midweek meetings are a bore except for bullies, so the rank and file senses that and voting with their slippers at home."
  

  
  
• 
  90

  Is attendance down in your location too?

  by StarryNight9 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i was commenting on another thread about how local kh attendance is down.

  memorial attendance was also way down and the circuit assembly had hundreds less people than what is typical.

  my jw family has even mentioned it.

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  freddo

  Down round my way. 20 years ago high 80's on a Sunday, now 50 ish. Midweek 45 with highs of 55 and lows of 35.

  Publishers gone from near 90 to mid 60's.

  Two congs within 5 miles dissolved in the last five years.
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  67

  Russia Uses Nerve Agent to Assassinate Spy

  by cofty in

  1. social
  2. current

  what started as news of a man and woman being found unconscious on a park bench 12 days ago is escalating into an international incident.. sergei skripal had worked as a double agent for british intelligence mi6 before he was discovered and imprisoned in russia in 2006. he was later flown to england as part of a spy-swap in 2010. on sunday 4th march he was discovered along with his 33 year old daughter yulia close to a shopping centre in salisbury.. since then the story has become increasingly bizarre.

  a policeman who was first to attend the scene also became critically ill and remains in hospital.

  government scientists at porton down have confirmed that the cause is a russian military-grade nerve agent novichok.

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  freddo

  Now come on Corney! If you had three days sightseeing in London after flying in from Moscow it's obvious that ...

  You would travel 90 miles to see Salisbury Cathedral (twice) because the English early spring snow put you off travelling to Stonehenge. I mean you're a Russian from Moscow aren't you?

  Snow would be so scary for a Russian wouldn't it? (Even if it didn't land on Salisbury for a three days after you went there.)

  And after all why would you stay in London? Nothing to see or do there ...
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  28

  What are they trying to hide

  by UnshackleTheChains in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  ok. we are all aware of the scandal around the non reporting of child abuse cases to the authorities by the elders and how it was part of watchtower policy.. this has probably been discussed before, which i apologize for now if it has.. the obvious view that most of us make as to why the gb are so reluctant to comply with the authorities by revealing their database around child abuse allegations, is that the leadership at watchtower hq likely were trying to safeguard the reputation of the organisation.. however, (just a theory) are they hiding something more sinister which could in effect devastate the organisation ie could it be they are hiding some things within the gb itself, whether it be some individuals within the gb of the past or even present who might have had some serious allegations made against them which the authorities are never going to know about?

  i mean why the hell are they going to such lengths to hide everything???.

  any thoughts?

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  freddo

  Is it my imagination or did I read on one of the "exjw forums" that Pat Garza died several years ago? Maybe even before Jaracz died?

  Would Barbara Anderson know?