fulltimestudent

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Posts by fulltimestudent

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  4

  Reserve currencies and China.

  by zeb in

  1. social
  2. current

  in october 2015 there will be a huge move likely to include china into the worlds "reserve currencies".. this is likely to see a run on the us dollar and trading that is done in us dollars.. i am not predicting gloom but it will impact on all of us and perhaps may be behind the obsession of the wt to stack up as much real estate and the green stuff as they can..

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  fulltimestudent

  The Chinese have been buying US dollars over the past few month.

  I doubt that they want to destroy the value of a US dollar, its in their own interests for the US dollar to remain stable.

  What they are after is to be able to circumvent the commissions payable, when you buy a foreign currency to pay a contracted bill. The USA, in having the US dollar as the key currency in trade, got a free ride every time money changed hands. That's what's likely to come to an end, which of course will rob the USA's government of a source of income.
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  25

  Elderly sister disgusted with obscene Bethel 'Happy Song'

  by Esse quam videri in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it is reported that one elderly sister in british columbia expressed complete disgust at what she considered an obscene act in the bethel 'happy song'.

  now everything is, of course, subject to perspective.

  i would imagine her perspective is just as valuable as anyone elses.

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  fulltimestudent

  Christian moral attitudes. have "fu**ed the minds of a lot of people way up.

  I've thought of posting pictures of a "P*nis park" in South Korea, with hundreds or representations of phalluses. And, walking calmly around we can see family groups, I don't know what they talk about as they walk, but I guess the elderly sister of this topic would be getting a little hysterical by the time she got to the third representation.

  If you want to see for yourself, just go to Youtube and type, 'penis park, south korea,' into the search box.

  Like wise in Japan, they have a yearly P*nis festival, in which a giant representation of a *enis is carried through the streets by a team of near naked men. I think that traditionally they were naked, and maybe Caesar MacArthur, stopped that display of male pulchritude.

  And in Bhutan, its hard to miss the display of male symbolism painted on the walls of houses as some sort of charm.

  But, at least in the Anglosphere, we have to pretend that such an object does not exist. So please pity for a moment the poor sister and see her as a victim of screwed up, Christianity based, Anglosphere morality
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  4

  The Monkey King Returns

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current

  a new chinese re-make of an old traditional story, shows advances in chinese animation techniques and an ability to connect emotionally with contemporary audiences:.

  and some trailers have started hitting youtube:.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9jcn-xi60s.

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  fulltimestudent

  Morpheus: You may be interested in a company called pixar. They have had some small successes with animation

  
  

  Indeed Morpheus! Pixar altered the animation game.

  And, of course, if Chinese animated film makers want to succeed, they must, at least, equal the Pixar quality in some way. But you could argue, that Pixar was built on the cleverness of one man, Dr. Ed. Catmull from NYIT, while acknowledging that Pixar's success was much more complex than that.

  But it was the NYIT teams research and results that led computer graphics to where it is now. So if somewhere in the tens of thousands (understated) of Chinese technicians who must be trained and working in the field there is another genius like Catmull, who knows where the Chinese industry will end up.

  
  

  Undoubtedly, the Chinese film industry is out there attempting to be on top of the game. I know a small time player in that industry and they are certainly getting a lot of support. Who knows whether they will make it to the top? But, even if they don't, they'll be giving the tree a good bloody shake.

  
  

  The progress the Chinese have made since 1949 is quite amazing, more so since the 1970s when they were set free from ideology (remember Deng's saying that the color of a cat doesn't matter so long as it kills mice).

  
  

  From the viewpoint, of a contemporary historian, which I hope to be, what is happening in China is of major significance to the whole world. From a personal viewpoint, I watch with interest the efforts of a good friend in China. He made a lot of money importing and distributing products into China, and he is now investing in film making.

  
  

  And, in turn, you may be interested in this Wall Street Journal assessment:

  http://www.wsj.com/video/monkey-king-brings-hope-to-chinese-animation-industry/B08FB9FE-047A-4C9C-A2E7-15BE7C7A8CA6.html

  
  

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  Vidiot: Jet Li and Donnie Yen both played the character in The Forbidden Kingdom and The Monkey King: The Legend Begins, respectively. I suppose a CGI adaptation was inevitable.

  I think I'd have to take my shoes off (stale joke) to count the number of film versions of the "Journey to the West" epic. Some of which can make you cringe.

  I think the last Li/Yen version was released last year, a product of the Hongkong film industry. Even though HK is part of China, the film industry in HK is 'different' to the PRC industry, different (IMHO) in traditions and approaches.

  I think the 2014 trailer illustrates my point, from an audience viewpoint, which one looks like it can 'connect' better to modern audiences?

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCj-XP5cjOY
  

  
  
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  4

  The Monkey King Returns

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current

  a new chinese re-make of an old traditional story, shows advances in chinese animation techniques and an ability to connect emotionally with contemporary audiences:.

  and some trailers have started hitting youtube:.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9jcn-xi60s.

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  fulltimestudent

  A new Chinese re-make of an old traditional story, shows advances in Chinese animation techniques and an ability to connect emotionally with contemporary audiences:

  And some trailers have started hitting Youtube:

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9JCN-XI60s

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YmIbnfh-2DA
  
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  63

  How dishonest was the Apostle Paul?

  by opusdei1972 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  may be some of you will be shocked by this question.

  however, when i was studying the bible with critical eyes i detected that paul ( or saul of tarsus) misquoted the hebrew bible in order to get false support for his arguments.

  of course, this tricky kind of use of the "scriptures" was not only used by him, but others, like the author of the gospel of matthew got unsupported doctrines misquoting verses.

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  fulltimestudent

  It can be suggested that the people of Palestine, including Jesus and the disciples, were multi-lingual.

  Since no recordings of speeches or conversations exist, we have to turn to written words. Epigraphy (the study and interpretation of ancient inscriptions) comes to our rescue. Public inscriptions were displayed to instruct the public in some way, so they would be inscribed in a language the local people understood. Private inscriptions, such as those on tombs and graves, were more private and personal. but still meant to be readable by those passing by. What language(s) do these documents in stone use?

  Professor Lee Levine in his 1998 study (note1) assessing the impact of Greek culture on Jewish thought, lists the percentage of funerary inscriptions in Greek in various cities.

  In second temple Jerusalem: 35% in Greek.

  In Bet She'arim (Note 2): 78% in Greek.

  In Jaffa (Note 3): 90% in Greek

  And for comparison, in Rome: 78% in Greek

  Draw your own conclusions.

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  Note 1: The book cited is "Judaism & Hellenism in Antiquity," (1998, University of Washington Press) Professor Lee I. Levine, teaches at The Institute of Archeology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is a noted Jewish scholar, if anyone has doubts as to whether he may know what he's talking about, please check his list of publications: http://archaeology.huji.ac.il/depart/classical/leel/publications.asp
  

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  Note 2: Bet She'arim. An archeological site, with a large number of tombs, located in the southern section of Lower Galilee. It is now a world heritage site, described as follows:

  The town's vast necropolis, carved out of soft limestone, contains more than 30 burial cave systems. Although only a portion of the necropolis has been excavated, it has been likened to a book inscribed in stone. Its catacombs, mausoleums, and sarcophagi are adorned with elaborate symbols and figures as well as an impressive quantity of incised and painted inscriptions in Hebrew, Aramaic, Palmyrene, and Greek, documenting two centuries of historical and cultural achievement. The wealth of artistic adornments contained in this, the most ancient extensive Jewish cemetery in the world, is unparalleled anywhere. Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beit_She%27arim_National_Park

  Most of the tombs date from the second century.

  

  The entrance to the cave of coffins.

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  Note 3: Jaffa. The oldest part of the city now known as Tel Aviv.
  
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  63

  How dishonest was the Apostle Paul?

  by opusdei1972 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  may be some of you will be shocked by this question.

  however, when i was studying the bible with critical eyes i detected that paul ( or saul of tarsus) misquoted the hebrew bible in order to get false support for his arguments.

  of course, this tricky kind of use of the "scriptures" was not only used by him, but others, like the author of the gospel of matthew got unsupported doctrines misquoting verses.

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  fulltimestudent

  opusdei1972: May be some of you will be shocked by this question. However, when I was studying the Bible with critical eyes I detected that Paul ( or Saul of Tarsus) misquoted the Hebrew Bible in order to get false support for his arguments. Of course, this tricky kind of use of the "scriptures" was not only used by him, but others, like the author of the Gospel of Matthew got unsupported doctrines misquoting verses. For instance, how could post 70 christians sustain that Mary was virgin after conceiving Jesus?, by quoting Isaiah 7:14 which uses the word virgin in the LXX (not in the Hebrew Bible). Joseph Rutherford seemed to learn this kind of interpretative tricks when he wanted to invent a type anti-type teaching, and so on. Freddy learnt this from him.

  It is noted that opusdei1972 thinks he should have used the word 'misuse' in lieu of 'misquote.'

  
  

  Either word is OK, but the question is predicated on a modern understanding of what 'scripture' is.

  Ask this question:

  What Bible did Jesus use? What language did he and his disciples use in their daily conversations? Palestine had been under Greek domination for at least 200 years and prior to that had been under Iranian domination for something like 300 years.

  Was there really an "accepted" version of scriptures? The witnesses claim that there was, but there is little evidence that this mythical thing really existed.

  And, the evidence we have points to collections of single books available in different languages and probably with slight variations due to translation problems (not all words in one language have direct equivalents in other languages) and scribal errors.

  
  
  

  
  

  
  

  
  
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  21

  People who study for years ??

  by Clambake in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  in my cong ( my wives cong.

  ) there is a lady who attends every meeting , minus the field service just like a regular dub.

  it just seems odd she has not taken the dip yet.

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  fulltimestudent

  sparrowdown: These people aren't slow they're smart, putting off baptism puts off accountability.

  haha! It's always been like that.

  In later Roman times, after the Emperor Constantine made early Christianity legal, it was quite the fashion for people to wait to be baptised until late in life, or even just before their death. They were likely emulating the Emperor himself, who although taking strong stands on some church issues, like the Arian/Athanasius controversy, as illustrated by this sketch

  

  He also called Church councils and attended, and financed an enormous church construction program. But did all that without ever being baptised.

  The Wikipedia entry regarding his baptism, fits within the generally accepted scholastic view of Constantine's late baptism:

  "Constantine had known death would soon come. Within the Church of the Holy Apostles, Constantine had secretly prepared a final resting-place for himself.[250] It came sooner than he had expected. Soon after the Feast of Easter 337, Constantine fell seriously ill.[251] He left Constantinople for the hot baths near his mother's city of Helenopolis (Altinova), on the southern shores of the Gulf of İzmit. There, in a church his mother built in honor of Lucian the Apostle, he prayed, and there he realized that he was dying. Seeking purification, he became a catechumen, and attempted a return to Constantinople, making it only as far as a suburb of Nicomedia.[252] He summoned the bishops, and told them of his hope to be baptized in the River Jordan, where Christ was written to have been baptized. He requested the baptism right away, promising to live a more Christian life should he live through his illness. The bishops, Eusebius records, "performed the sacred ceremonies according to custom".[253] He chose the Arianizing bishop Eusebius of Nicomedia, bishop of the city where he lay dying, as his baptizer.[254] In postponing his baptism, he followed one custom at the time which postponed baptism until after infancy.[255] It has been thought that Constantine put off baptism as long as he did so as to be absolved from as much of his sin as possible*.[256] Constantine died soon after at a suburban villa called Achyron, on the last day of the fifty-day festival of Pentecost directly following Pascha (or Easter), on 22 May 337.[257]

  Note, that I've left the footnote reference numbers in the text, so that anyone interested can check the sources for themselves.

  Link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constantine_the_Great

  * In reference to his "sins," while supposedly a "Christian Emperor," we can note that he had both his son Crispus and his wife Fausta murdered. I guess that may weigh on one's conscience a little.

  Christianity is such a big con. trick.
  
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  21

  People who study for years ??

  by Clambake in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  in my cong ( my wives cong.

  ) there is a lady who attends every meeting , minus the field service just like a regular dub.

  it just seems odd she has not taken the dip yet.

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  fulltimestudent

  Good topic! And here's a story of one perceptive woman.

  I spoke to her after I was kicked out, and she had finally terminated her long-running study when her brother was kicked out. A wife of a high-ranking Bethel brother studied with her for years. I don't believe she ever became a regular meeting attender, but perhaps enough to satisfy the criteria of "making some progress."

  Anyway, I knew of her, while I was 'in,' and after we were both disconnected, I met her in a shopping centre one day. We chatted about past Jesus/Yahweh glories and I asked her why she never went, 'all the way?' (grin!!!)

  She looked at me and said,

  "I have a lot of people in my life, who try to tell me how to run my life, and the last thing I needed was another whole bloody congregation of people telling me what to do!

  I'm not a bloody fool."
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  27

  Options for the EU? - A cartoon from the Lebanese Daily Star

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current
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  fulltimestudent

  Two forecasters who got it right:

  There are others, but two will suffice. From: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-15/nine-people-who-saw-the-greek-crisis-coming-years-before-everyone-else-did

  First there was Wynne Godley, a British economist wrote about his own concerns in a 1992 article for the London Review of Books:

  What happens if a whole country—a potential ‘region’ in a fully integrated community—suffers a structural setback? So long as it is a sovereign state, it can devalue its currency. It can then trade successfully at full employment provided its people accept the necessary cut in their real incomes. With an economic and monetary union, this recourse is obviously barred, and its prospect is grave indeed unless federal budgeting arrangements are made which fulfil a redistributive role. ... If a country or region has no power to devalue, and if it is not the beneficiary of a system of fiscal equalisation, then there is nothing to stop it suffering a process of cumulative and terminal decline leading, in the end, to emigration as the only alternative to poverty or starvation.

  And second, Arnulf Baring, a German political scientist (?) who offered dire predictions in his 1997 book Scheitert Deutschland? Here's an English translation:

  They will say that we are subsidizing scroungers, lounging in cafés on the Mediterranean beaches. Monetary union, in the end, will result in a gigantic blackmailing operation. When we Germans demand monetary discipline, other countries will blame their financial woes on that same discipline, and by extension, on us. More, they will perceive us as a kind of economic policeman. We risk once again becoming the most hated in Europe.

  
  

  
  
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  2

  Youth Unemployment in Europe - Will there be Social Consequences?

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current

  think for a moment about this chart and wonder as to effect that unemployment may have on young people.. .

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  fulltimestudent

  kaik: The issue in the south is that entire generation is growing without gaining employable skills and working habits like waking up for work and having responsibilities.

  Yes! And worse, that someone else is going to support them, whether its family or government!