well its that time again when the ghouls come out to play.
i personally think halloween is a bit irresponsible and inappropriate from a sociological perspective.. there's something about the intent of frightening young impressionable children minds with frightening objests.
and feeding them candy which most likely cause tooth decay and stomachs is irresponsible activity conducted by adults.
Here in Australia it's still not widely practiced but the supermarkets try to push it as hard as they can. Each year gets worse and worse with more and more themed products being put on the shelves for sale.
Many of us see it as an American tradition and are happy for them to keep it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_h68ktwpim&feature=youtu.be.
Billy - What can publishers think of this? "Oh good, WT isn't short on cash, and they're cutting expenses on the organization level. Now I don't have to feel obligated to keep donating as much as I have been. Why should I keep paying the same money now that I'm getting less magazines and all this cost-cutting? My family needs a vacation! That's where I'll earmark my money instead."
I was thinking the same. That is what happens when you're not transparent. You would think that they learnt their lesson the first time when they announced that their loans were forgiven and many took that to mean they didn't need the money.
Then they'll come out again and beg for money. The organization has always been full of mixed messages.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_h68ktwpim&feature=youtu.be.
can you truly love someone if you dont fully trust them and you are not willing to confide in them?
true love is a two way street right?
i just listened to the 2015 agm broadcast.
Like little children the flock trust them regardless. As mature adults that is not the smart thing to do.
Without being upfront about finances they do not deserve to be trusted because they cannot prove themselves worthy of it.
Does God really expect us to have blind trust in an organization?
apologies if this has been posted previously, but this news item has appeared today regarding the proposed redress for abuse victims following the australian royal commission:.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-27/labor-pledges-payments-for-sex-abuse-survivors/6886864.
what's interesting is that in january it was proposed that the federal government contribute almost half of an estimated $4.3 billion redress scheme.
It's a bit difficult for the Commission to come up with a plan for compensation. It's not just religions that they are looking into but many other organization's, most of them have limited finances and many of them would be seen to be providing services that would normally have to be provided by the Government if they didn't exist. There are many that the Government already provides funds to or give generous tax breaks just so they can exist. It is not in the Governments interest to see them go bankrupt. Most would never have envisaged this extra cost.
We aren't necessarily talking about the crimes that had been committed by the organizations being investigated. The crimes have generally been committed by the abusers and will be dealt with separately. The problem is more one of negligence rather than a crime. This negligence isn't identified by Police but rather only when the party damaged begins a court process and it is determined by a Judge. It is not clear cut. It is going to be difficult to set the one dollar payment for redress when it is clear that one organization has been more negligent than another organization and the abuse incurred on one individual is very different to that of another individual. I don't know how they are going to do it if the Government doesn't make the payment. Maybe the best they could do is set up a legal bureau that becomes an intermediary between the victim and the organization to facilitate negotiations and recommendations.
how do you guys feel when you hear people say this?
whenever i tell people that i'm not religious, a humanist, they said i'm not religious either, i'm spiritual.
i consider myself to be a humanist, and i can't tell you guys how happy i am being a humanist.
... just received!
london bethel: last year a couple in their fifties were laid off from bethel and made special pioneers.
in january they will be demoted to regular pioneers.
Compared to some other stories we are hearing, that couple probably aren't as bad off.
If the org were serious about sending Bethelites back to the more important work of preaching and at least a bit kind, they would have offered all those leaving Bethel the opportunity to be assigned as Special Pioneers with a clear direction that it would only be for a year or two before being reassigned to Regular Pioneers if they so wished. Their money woes must be huge.
after some considerable thought i have decided that i will no longer post on this forum because i want to return to jehovah.
thank you for all the kindness and many interesting discussions over the years.
i wish you all well in the future and the decisions you make.
wifi is great.
it's so easy and convenient.
but it can be slow.. years ago when it first came out you maybe had a pc and a couple of other devices at most.
We just bought one and any are still trying to connect it. It does not have WiFi capabilities so you need a cable to connect it to a device. My son is trying to connect t it to another modem which has WiFi but hasn't figured out how to do it yet.
Our is only 500mbs and won't reach anywhere near that speed but he says that is sufficient for what we need. There are some good reviews for the gigabit ones.
