Palimpsest

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Posts by Palimpsest

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  54

  Does the Watchtower contain photo's of the Devil

  by jwfacts in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have not been able to find any photo's of satan the devil in the watchtower.

  there are photo's of the serpent with eve, satan's hand offering kingdoms to jesus and a shadowy cloaked figure speaking to jesus on the mountain.

  apart from that i cannot locate any of a proper looking devil.

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  Palimpsest

  Photos? How do they get him to pose long enough? I always thought he was a speedy fellow...
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  12

  How to place your magazines without leaving home

  by St George of England in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i have noticed a growing trend for jw's to advertise current magazines and books on the internet using ebay.

  they are advertised at 0.01, as you cannot start at 0.00 and the buyer is told not to pay when they win the item.

  if someone else bids on the item then they are told not to put on another bid but to e-mail the seller or wait for another copy of the magazine or whatever.

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  Palimpsest

  I've seen them on Freecycle listings. People say they'll leave copies outside their home for people to come pick up.

  I especially like it when posters say they're "ideal for teachers." They know that elementary school teachers like used magazines to use for art projects, and I guess they hope the teachers for older grades will be stupid enough to believe their "science" articles are worth anything.
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  78

  Are You For Or Against The Death Penalty?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i clearly am for it if it's proven without a doubt that a person murdered another in cold blood.

  recently, in connecticut, a man was convicted of killing 2 young girls and their mother.

  the animal raped them and almost killed the defenseless husband/father who could do nothing while these atrocities were being carried out in his own home!.

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  Palimpsest

  I live right up the road from the epicenter of the infamous Connecticut murders, so it's been nothing but non-stop coverage of this for three years now.

  Something I've found interesting over the past few days has been reading interviews with jurors. Several of them have said that the reason they voted for death penalty was that the offenses were classified as capital crimes. (Seems a bit circular, right?) They've been quick to stress that they are personally opposed to the death penalty, but because the prosecution went for it, they almost felt like they were supposed to do it. Likewise, the prosecutor said that he went for it because, "If not this case, when?" Very few people, other than the victims' family, seem to be saying that he was given the death penalty because people agreed with it as a form of punishment -- they're instead saying that he was given the death penalty because that's what was on the books, and they were enforcing the law.

  Whether you agree with capital punishment or not, that mindset is something to consider. Do all juries really believe in the death penalty, or is it given because they feel that it's a duty? This was not unanimous at first...it took a few days of convincing to get everyone on the same page. And even then, some of the jurors reportedly hesitated when polled by the judge on their decisions.

  Don't get me wrong -- there are absolutely people, many people, who want to see Hayes and Komisarjevsky die. I can't say I'll cry for either. But when the jury is reported to be crying while offering up their punishment recommendation, and they're coming out and saying in interviews that they didn't want to do it, it makes you stop and wonder.

  I think part of the problem is that people only have these discussions when emotions are high -- for example, in response to cases like this. It's usually framed as, "Do we want these particular killers to die for these particular crimes?," instead of the more philosophical approach of, "Do we believe this punishment really should exist?" I think that, until people can find a way to separate the two, it will continue to be hard to have open and honest discussions about capital punishment.

  EDIT: Also forgot to mention...it's also interesting to me that Connecticut just elected our first Democratic governor since the '80s, and a major part of his platform and political identity is his opposition to capital punishment. Even with this case going on, people still supported him. And today, the state's major daily came out with an editorial opposed to the practice, even though this is a paper that endorsed Bush both times and traditionally favors moderates. For all the uproar here about this case, the opposition is pretty active. All you hear lately around here is, "I'm opposed to the death penalty, but I'm in favor of it in this case." Not sure you can have it both ways.
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  54

  Has Anyone Gone Back to College Post 40?

  by daringhart13 in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i'm admitting to be very pissed off.....and bitter.

  i'm sick of having no job security (i know its relative), but mostly because i did not go to college....... has anyone gone back to school post 40?

  how was the experience?

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  Palimpsest

  I try not to give away too many details about myself, but I hold an academic position at a college with a sizable non-traditional (24+) student body. All of my non-traditional students are hard workers, responsible students, and socially accepted. They're an absolute pleasure to work with, and aside from some of the usual first semester complaints -- especially that writing can be hard for them -- they all seem to have an outstanding experience. Also, many community colleges offer special programs for non-traditional students to help them ease into academic life and better integrate themselves into the student body. There are so many support services now that being a non-traditional student is nowhere near as scary or uncommon as it used to be.

  Bottom line is, you'll never know until you try. Sign up for a community college course and see what you think. If you want any detailed information about going back, let me know. :)
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  97

  Are you suspicious of LURKERS?

  by VampireDCLXV in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  we all know they're here but we don't really know who they are.. they are people who sign up here and then never comment (or rarely ever do).. doesn't that make any of you regulars here at the very least a tiny bit suspicious?.

  why would a person sign up to a forum like this and then never say a damn thing?

  it seems to me that there is a primary reason why some folks sign up and then never comment on anything: to spy.

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  Palimpsest

  Lurkers are such an integral part of Internet culture that I can't imagine a board without them, regardless of subject. It's very rare that they mean any harm. Sure, many of the lurkers here are active Dubs within the hierarchy, but the majority are likely faders and the curious who want to see what life on the "outside" is like.

  The question is then WHY SIGN ON? You can read almost everything here without having to do that... Just sayin...

  Lots of reasons. They might want to save their preferred username to use in the future. They might want to send PMs. They might want to read posts in the members section. Whether they register or not, they can still read your posts here (unless you're posting only in the members section), so who cares if they sign up? Makes no difference to you either way.

  If you're concerned about people reading your posts, then be careful with what you post. Good general advice for everyone.
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  29

  When are you putting up your Christmas Tree?

  by AwSnap in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i haven't decided.

  maybe i'll put it up the week of thanksgiving... i am so excited i cant wait .

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  Palimpsest

  I'm not doing one this year, but I plan to do a small table-top tree next year. My birthday falls right after Christmas, and it's a milestone one this year, so I'm saving up my energy (and money) for that. I hope people post pictures of their trees, though! :) There's something especially beautiful about trees put together by people who didn't grow up with Christmas...they seem like more love is put into them. :)
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  24

  harder for people of color to get on gb than getting on kitchen staff?

  by booby in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

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  Palimpsest

  Palimpsest! Where have you been? Haven't seen ya in a coons age...

  I'm a regular on JWR. I check in here as often as I can, but I guess not as often as I should. :)

  My father is an unbeliever so other JW's treated me like a (spiritual) bastard child, me and my sisters. They ignored my mother because of that as well.
  My mother still speaks with a heavy accent and again, my family got ignored because of that too. I hardly had any friends when I was growing up and the same went for my mother and sisters.

  As a whole, my family was ignored and treated like crap because we weren't like everyone else. JW's CLAIM to be the kindest, most loving, most non-discrimnitory people on the face of the planet. The JW's discriminating against my family is one of many things that prove otherwise...

  Are you positive that was due to ethnic origin, though? I don't like defending the JWs, mind you, but I have a hard time imagining them objecting to an accent. My guess is that you were a social outcast due to your father, not your ethnicity. It's pretty standard for children of non-believers, especially non-believer fathers, to be isolated like that.
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  17

  Does the Catholic Church Still Teach...

  by Mad Dawg in

  1. social
  2. current

  that it is a sin to eat meat on friday?

  if so, it seems that it is ok to kill man on friday as long as you don't eat him..

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  Palimpsest

  Thank you for the insight, it is most interisting. How did the U.S. manage to get an exemption?

  You're welcome! :)

  The Code of Canon Law allows individual conferences to appeal to the Holy See if they feel that a particular law is too difficult for adherents to meet based upon local culture and needs. With the U.S. not being a majority Catholic country -- and most food here being pre-packaged/processed instead of made from scratch -- asking Catholics to completely abstain from all forms of meat (which can include gelatin, broths, etc.) was considered too problematic. Also, this happened during the 1960s, when Catholics in the U.S. were trying to ride on Kennedy's coat tails by becoming more "normal" and accepted within the larger culture, so the conference was sensitive to Catholics being seen as "weird" for the meat thing. Basically, they were trying to make life easier for adherents and also do a little PR work. The See approved it, so that's how the exemption happened -- but again, it's with the caveat that Catholics are supposed to substitute with another form of abstinence.

  I've also heard, but have never verified, that school lunches had something to do with it. By the 1960s, more and more Catholic schoolchildren were enrolled in public schools that weren't particularly keen on adjusting their menus to cater to particular religious subsets. It's not a problem for lower school students, but for high schoolers (14+), that could be a challenge. But again, not positive on that particular part.

  I'm from a heavily Catholic and Jewish area, and we always had meat-free lunches on Fridays and during Lent (even for lower grades), and we also had everything kosher. But we're definitely an outlier there, I have to imagine...
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  17

  Does the Catholic Church Still Teach...

  by Mad Dawg in

  1. social
  2. current

  that it is a sin to eat meat on friday?

  if so, it seems that it is ok to kill man on friday as long as you don't eat him..

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  Palimpsest

  It's part of Canon Law, so whether individual Catholics observe it or not, they're technically required to unless a) their conference has special permission from the Holy See to substitute it with another act of penitence and/or b) they meet one of the exemptions (like being sick or pregnant). This website explains it well, especially in the second paragraph, so no point in me restating it:

  The law of abstinence requires a Catholic 14 years of age until death to abstain from eating meat on Fridays in honor of the Passion of Jesus on Good Friday. Meat is considered to be the flesh and organs of mammals and fowl. Also forbidden are soups or gravies made from them. Salt and freshwater species of fish, amphibians, reptiles and shellfish are permitted, as are animal derived products such as margarine and gelatin which do not have any meat taste.

  On the Fridays outside of Lent the U.S. bishops conference obtained the permission of the Holy See for Catholics in the US to substitute a penitential, or even a charitable, practice of their own choosing. They must do some penitential/charitable practice on these Fridays. For most people the easiest practice to consistently fulfill will be the traditional one, to abstain from meat on all Fridays of the year. During Lent abstinence from meat on Fridays is obligatory in the United States as elsewhere.

  So basically, if you're not abstaining from meat on Fridays in the U.S., you're supposed to be doing something else penitential. Maybe that's why so many Catholics in the U.S. think it's not required any longer. Though I wonder if they realize they're supposed to be doing something else in its place...

  Interesting aside: My mother came very close to becoming a Benedictine nun (left as a novitiate) and one of her brothers was a Jesuit priest. Coming from such a strong religious tradition, my mother has still never broken her Friday abstinence habit (no pun intended). I always find it funny that Ms. SuperPioneer is still, perhaps unconsciously, participating in one of "Christendom's" evil practices. ;)

  EDIT: Oh, and regarding St. Christopher, and St. George...St. Christopher doesn't have a feast day any longer in the Roman Catholic Church, but he's still considered a martyr and is eligible for devotion. He's definitely still a saint for Orthodox Catholics. St. George's feast day is optional for Roman Catholics (outside of England, naturally), but he's still a saint. I'm not sure about St. Nicholas. :/

  More reasons why the '60s was a wild time for Rome. :)
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  27

  Why move magazine printing from the U.S. to Canada?

  by factfinder in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the january 2011 issues were printed in canada so the change was made.. the wts spent millions of dollars enlarging and updating the printing operations in wallkill so they could consoladate the book and magazine printing at the one location.

  it was in 2004 that they stopped the presses in brooklyn and began book production in wallkill.. now just 6 years later they suppossedly sold several of their presses from the u.s. and canada, bought a large new very fast press for canada and had to enlarge the printery there to accomodate it.. now the canada branch will print over 260 million magazines for the u.s.each year and all the expansion done in wallkill was for nothing.. does anyone know why this was done?.

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  Palimpsest

  But they didn't move people, right? So they're just using the Canadian Bethelites that were already there, and I don't think they downsized Brooklyn's staff...did I miss something on either of those counts? Unless they were moving people up to Canada, I don't see how the health insurance thing plays in. :/ Either way, it's all about the dollar. Everything in life is, especially with the WTBTS.