Posts by fulltimestudent

44

Is North Korea Changing ?

by fulltimestudent in

there's a good chance that a process of change is occurring in nk, which i'll come back to, as first i'd like to briefly explain how korea became divided.. i've spent a lot of time this past calendar year on the history and development of korea, this last semester focussing on modern korea with all its sadness, commencing with the japanese takeover in 1905, and the full annexation and military occupation in 1910. .

many korean's (naturally) opposed the japanese occupation.

some actively fought the japanese as guerilla's in the mountains.

fulltimestudent

Some news of the Eric Schmidt "expedition" to NK. in his daughter's blog.

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/asia/the-very-very-strange-world-of-north-korea-as-blogged-by-daughter-of-google-boss-8460716.html

Tim Walker, the Independent's writer for the article calls it a 'rare insight into the secretive state.' If Tim had availed himself of the information that can be accessed, including reports from previous visitors (a little of which I've posted here) I think he may have re-written that.

My big complaint about western journalists, they often come across as bloody lazy.

From the perspective of his daughter's blog, Eric Schmidt wasn't given any special access to NK 'secrets'. But then, we would hardly expect he'd be taken on a tour of a 'corrective education' facility, or the latest military facility or even of the rocket research facility.

A few of Sophie Schmidt's comments have some insight. For example, she,

(Quote) "... describes the pastel-shade plasterwork of many of Pyongyang's buildings as "almost playful." She also noted more pedestrians than expected on the city's clean, wide boulevards, including "stylish women in heeled boots and make-up."

Schmidt's delegation was accommodated in (quote) " ... a Spartan guesthouse on the outskirts of the capital, where they had access to just three television channels: "CNN International, dubbed-over USSR-era films, and the DPRK channel, which was by far the most entertaining. My tolerance level for videos of Kim Jong Un in crowds turns out to be remarkably high."

The accommodation aspect is interesting. I feel sure that many official delegations are quartered in much better accommodation, unless, Sophie's home standards are so high, that what is 'nice' for most of us, is 'spartan' to her. Must ask Leonid Petrov about that.

Her comment about Kim Jong-un is also interrsting, (unless she was being sarcastic at that point), she may have observed ( as I think I have) that the 3rd Kim is quite personable and comes across at times as charming, and in control of himself and the situations he is in. His father, in contrast often looked extremely uncomfortable.

12

India- The Maha Kumbh festival- the world's largest demonstration of faith

by fulltimestudent in

the world's largest religious festival, and arguably the most fascinating is underway right now in the city of prayag (also known as allahabad) in the north india state of uttar pradesh.

for 55 days, hindu worshippers from all over the world (including many western converts) will converge on the area for a ritual cleansing in the ganges at the point where ganges, the yamuna and the (mythical?

) saraswati converge.

fulltimestudent

Some newcasts and other videos of this and previous events:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D6md4IvMxtE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u1lxNYEgtls

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qw3bAbwmoB8

And, warning: Do not watch this one if male nudity offends:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZsqaXMAP34

12

India- The Maha Kumbh festival- the world's largest demonstration of faith

by fulltimestudent in

the world's largest religious festival, and arguably the most fascinating is underway right now in the city of prayag (also known as allahabad) in the north india state of uttar pradesh.

for 55 days, hindu worshippers from all over the world (including many western converts) will converge on the area for a ritual cleansing in the ganges at the point where ganges, the yamuna and the (mythical?

) saraswati converge.

fulltimestudent

This year, Harvard university is sending a team of students to study the festival. They are intending (it is said) to examine how the festival is organised. Different faculties and departments will attempt to map the festival including, Harvard's Faculty of Arts and Sciences (FAS), School of Design, Harvard Business School, School of Public Health, Harvard Medical School, Harvard Divinity School and Harvard Global Health Institute.

Since the JWs were once claiming that Assembly organisation was evidence of Yahweh's superior spirit operating on the witnesses, can we now conclude from this festival, which has been operating at least from the 8th C. CE and which gives evidence of even greater deeds than the JW organisation that the spirit of the Hindu gods is much greater and much superior to Yahweh's puny efforts.

At this festival (for example) accommodation of many types has to provide shelter and food for millions upon millions of visitors :

Quote:

"This city, laid out on a grid, is constructed and deconstructed within a matter of weeks ... Creating this huge encampment entails multiple aspects of contemporary urbanism, including city planning and management, engineering and spatial zoning, an electricity grid, water lines and sanitation systems, food and water distribution plans, hospitals and vaccination centres, police and fire stations, public gathering spaces, and stages for entertainments and plays, the university said. "This is probably the first time that Harvard is doing something like this, where we've pulled together...different disciplines in a way that all faculty and students are going to be together to look at a phenomenon," Associate Director of Harvard's South Asia Institute, Meena Hewett, said in a statement.

The Harvard team would seek answers to the "question of 'How on earth is an event of this size possible'," city-based writer Logan Plaster, who would be part of the team visiting the Kumbh Mela, said. "To fully grapple with this question, the scale of the Kumbh needs to be put in perspective". The Graduate School of Design team would study the Kumbh Mela as a case study for the "pop-up mega-city" and would map flows of people and infrastructure. The FAS team would look at various religious and cultural aspects of the event, including the kinds of religious groups present at the festival, devotional practices, tourism and environmental concerns, while the health team would study water quality, sanitation techniques, health clinic readiness and presence and networks of hospitals and public health facilities."

12

India- The Maha Kumbh festival- the world's largest demonstration of faith

by fulltimestudent in

the world's largest religious festival, and arguably the most fascinating is underway right now in the city of prayag (also known as allahabad) in the north india state of uttar pradesh.

for 55 days, hindu worshippers from all over the world (including many western converts) will converge on the area for a ritual cleansing in the ganges at the point where ganges, the yamuna and the (mythical?

) saraswati converge.

fulltimestudent

Firmly stuck in my young memory are the very large JW Assemblies of 1953 and 1955 (I think I remember the dates correctly- correct me if I'm wrong) and the associated temporary accommodation, of which Watchtower PR flacks boasted as being an amazing demonstration of faith. I worked in the PR department for a while. In Australian the urbane ex-Canadian Don Maclean was often in charge. I wonder when he sent out news releases full of statistics if he'd ever heard of the Maha Kumbh festival, and the statisitics associated with it.

Here are some statistics that beat a JW Asssembly statistics by a million miles:

Quote:

'The Kumbh City - a 51-kilometer makeshift venue - is a microcosm of a real city. It hosts hundreds of tents, 125 ration shops and 12 warehouses to cater to the visitors' daily needs for grains, groceries, vegetables and fruits. According to state officials, 22 doctors and 120 ambulances are in attendance round-the-clock. Near the riverbed, 156 km of new metallic plate roads have been laid and 571 km of water pipelines constructed to cater for the pilgrims' needs. Over 800 km of electric wires provide electricity to the venue through 48 power sub-stations.

Over 30,000 policemen will be guarding the venues supervised by 30 new police stations and 70 new companies of paramilitary forces. "The heavy and visible deployment of police is a huge deterrent for trouble makers," explains sub-inspector Ram Asray. "It also ensures that rivalries of the assorted religious groups over the sequence of bathing does not trigger violence or a stampede." '

And, if you're not humble enough to rought it with the mob, for just $200 a night, you can rent a luxury tent, with your own bathroom (you may need it after bathing in the highly polluted river water), your own dressing room. I presume that Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta Jones, who are said to be among the visitors who will choose luzury over a harsh treatment of the body/

12

India- The Maha Kumbh festival- the world's largest demonstration of faith

by fulltimestudent in

the world's largest religious festival, and arguably the most fascinating is underway right now in the city of prayag (also known as allahabad) in the north india state of uttar pradesh.

for 55 days, hindu worshippers from all over the world (including many western converts) will converge on the area for a ritual cleansing in the ganges at the point where ganges, the yamuna and the (mythical?

) saraswati converge.

fulltimestudent

The world's largest religious festival, and arguably the most fascinating is underway right now in the city of Prayag (also known as Allahabad) in the north India state of Uttar Pradesh.

For 55 days, Hindu worshippers from all over the world (including many western converts) will converge on the area for a ritual cleansing in the Ganges at the point where Ganges, the Yamuna and the (mythical?) Saraswati converge.

How many worshippers will attend? Some reports state 100 million will attend this year. Other forecasts based on the area suggest tht a more realistic number is around 10,000,000 at any one time. This year is a special year, according to Hindu thought. The planetary juxtasposition covering this years event occurs only every 147 years.

The festival can also be described as the world's greatest manifestation of faith. The faithful often purposely endure hardship in travel, often arriving on foot, and sleeping on the ground in cold weather in the belief that enduring hardship will enhance their ritual bath and their souls will cleansed and they could be liberated from the cycle of birth and death.

An Indian web-site tells you more: http://www.kumbhamela.net/

86

The Other Side of the Indian Rape Story

by fulltimestudent in

i'm posting this story, not to defend an indefensible act, but to try to provide some balance.

the fact is that so many indians exist in a poverty so deep that it's difficult for westerners to even understand.

the youngest of the rapists in the now world known rape story, according to this uk, independent newspaper story, grew up in that world that seems hopeless.

fulltimestudent

The first post on this thread did have an explanatory comment, Still thinking.

I'll re-post it.

Quote:

I'm posting this story, not to defend an indefensible act, but to try to provide some balance. The fact is that so many Indians exist in a poverty so deep that it's difficult for westerners to even understand. The youngest of the rapists in the now world known rape story, according to this UK, Independent newspaper story, grew up in that world that seems hopeless. Also, for males who exist in that world, satisfaction of their personal sexual needs is as far off as their next meal. I think we should also appreciate that there is little in their future that may give hope of change.

The Independent tells the story better than I can, so here it is: (endquote)

I do not resile from posting, except it may have been better to use the word "insight" rather than balance. Apparently some feel 'balance' is an undesirable quality.

I'll ask another question now. Was the Independent newspaper wrong to send a journalist to interview the boy's family? For those who answer yes! to the question, may I ask why? Surely it only added to our understanding (insight) of the entire problem.

Some posters seemed to think that the 'other side' of the story did not matter. My response would be that in courts of law (in Australia anyway) the defense has a right to submit for consideration, "mitigating circumstances" which may or may not be taken into consideration. Surely the background of this young man should be considered.

It is not wrong to want to understand as much as possible about situations. I spent a semester studying India, and had a specific assignment on women. Our lecturer was Indian, a thoughtful and considerate man. Preparing for that assignment I came across the problem of 'dowry related crimes,' in which whole families gang up on the new wife of a man to either get full control of the dowry or to get more money off the wife's family. Often torture and murder is part of the scenario. I asked my lecturer about it. He became visibly upset and could barely discuss it, suggesting that it was a huge problem without a solution in sight. While the bad 'mother-in-law" is a stock figure in western literature, nothing quite prepares you for the treatment of women in India.

86

The Other Side of the Indian Rape Story

by fulltimestudent in

i'm posting this story, not to defend an indefensible act, but to try to provide some balance.

the fact is that so many indians exist in a poverty so deep that it's difficult for westerners to even understand.

the youngest of the rapists in the now world known rape story, according to this uk, independent newspaper story, grew up in that world that seems hopeless.

fulltimestudent

A glimpse of Indian slum life:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsKNVhYS7oY

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=orIFs72HGmM

86

The Other Side of the Indian Rape Story

by fulltimestudent in

i'm posting this story, not to defend an indefensible act, but to try to provide some balance.

the fact is that so many indians exist in a poverty so deep that it's difficult for westerners to even understand.

the youngest of the rapists in the now world known rape story, according to this uk, independent newspaper story, grew up in that world that seems hopeless.

fulltimestudent

First - the story was run in The Independent, a (I think) a good 'thoughtful' newspaper. I spoke to their facts, not mine.

My 'agenda' is simply to understand - I do not condone the rape, I made that clear in the first line. And, the thread on that particular incident that I started ( http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/social/current/244166/1/Sexual-Violence-and-Contempt-for-Women-A-World-wide-Problem ) attempted to show the depth of this problem that exists even within our own world.

I would now like to add, that if you guys cannot get, that all the world is not like our own self-satisfied, over-stuffed society, then you ought to travel the entire world in bare-feet in atonement for your sin of arrogance.

And Cofty - who I deeply respect from past association. The problem of sex is that we have sexual desires. Do you remember being 17/18? It's alright to say that we have to have self-control - but even for educated people who have the hope of a life of comparative fulfillment, that can be difficult - witness the 'footballer' rapes that bedevil professional sport. The interplay in those rapes between the victims and the victors is most complex. And, remember that even in Yahweh's paradisaical organisation, 'illegal' (i.e. officially unapproved) in which the two parties, cannot control their desires, 'unapproved' sex is the largest reason for ex-communication.

But to come to the point, for this young man to marry, a complex process would have to occurr. A process involving his parents, a probably marriage facilitator and most important a dowry. Consider the family, what chance do you think that that process could occur. So the reality is that there is almost zero chance that he could ever look forward to marriage. So what next? Prostitution? That requires some surplus money. Even poor prostitutes want to be paid - and the sex industry is big-time in India. What's left? Poor people copulating - both Muslims and Hindu cultural outlooks mitigate against that. The final possibility - male-male sex play. Yes that occurrs, but if your desire is for a woman, its relief, but no satisfaction.

But, above all - why should I have to defend posting a news story that adds to understanding?

65

What's Your Favorite Comfort Food?

by minimus in

jw
friends

this weekend i had the most delicious chicken pie filled with white meat, a few veggies, gravy and the chicken pie had a hard crust, not puff pastry.

yum!

that with a soft wheat roll and butter......

fulltimestudent

Dunking shortbread biscuits in coffee.

21

Family in Ruins Lead to my Fade

by CADSkin in

id like to give the reason i faded away from the wbts.

not for any personal reason other than the fact that i enjoy reading others heartfelt and very real experiences and feel it may help others.

my mom was dfd for being cheated on.

fulltimestudent

CADskin, I'm so sorry for your mother's terrible experience at the hands of ignorant and stupid men who also revealed an arrogance beyond belief.