...and as ANYONE who's been in brautiful Washington State knows, the only town with an AROMA is TACOMA!
The paper mills embue the environs with the smell of cooking cabbage.
Nathan Natas
JoinedPosts by Nathan Natas
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Rodriguez vs WBTS in newsradio in Seattle today
by Calico_Cat inkiro reported the lawsuit filed by erica against the elders in.
her former eastern washington congregation and against the governing body for not doing anything about her sexual molester.
according to the news, that when she went to the elders to expose belize--the elders threatened to disfellowship her if she go to court.
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Millions of flies now living may NEVER die!
by Nathan Natas infrom: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_502610.html?menu= .
scientists move closer to finding 'elixir of life' .
scientists working on a discovering an elixir of life say it has already worked on fruit flies.. the drug is said to increase longevity while maintaining youthful health.. us researchers are confident enough to be planning a new set of experiments on mice.
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Nathan Natas
FROM: http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_502610.html?menu=
Scientists move closer to finding 'elixir of life'Scientists working on a discovering an elixir of life say it has already worked on fruit flies.
The drug is said to increase longevity while maintaining youthful health.
US researchers are confident enough to be planning a new set of experiments on mice.
The processes involved could open up important new leads in understanding ageing.
The drug is called 4-phenylbutyrate (PBA) and has already been approved in the US for treating cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anaemia.
Its influence on lifespan was discovered by accident while the scientists were investigating its effect on fruit flies with neurodegenerative disease.
Giving the drug to healthy flies extended their maximum lifespan by more than 50% and their average lifespan by a third.
But the most significant outcome was the fact that there was no price to pay for the extra time, New Scientist magazine reports. Previous research has indicated that normally there is a trade off between long lifespan and health and sexual vigour.
The flies, far from paying for their longevity with a weaker constitution, survived better than those not given PBA. Their weight remained normal and they produced normal numbers of offspring.
Kyung-Tai Min, leading the research team from the National Institutes of Health and California Institute of Technology, said: "We are going to test more, but so far, it seems they are perfect."
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Are We Animals?
by Satanus inthe way i understand it, evolution posits that we are just a higher species of animal.
if that is true, then it follows that everything that humans have invented, such as societal rules, politeness, high technology, spirituality, are just another evolutionary adaptation to survive better.. christianity, on the other hand claims a vast gulf, an order of magnitude division between man and beast.
we are divine, although flawed.
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Nathan Natas
"To pose is human, to perve divine."
When I was eight I told my newly Dubbed mom that we were animals and she hit the fan. The way I saw it, we were either animal, vegetable, or mineral. It just made sense.
I'm an atheist and an evolutionist.
Where did man's "higher functions" (e.g., altruism) come from? If we dismiss the "finger of God" theory we are left with one possible explanation - our so-called "higher functions are NOT unique in the world and in fact exist in other denizens of earth as well as in ourselves. Only 17th century species-ism blinds us to seeing this. Personally, I have had the pleasure of experiencing the moment when, like with young Helen Keller, a light goes on within the animal's mind. A couple of dogs, a cat, a wolf and a beluga whale. All minds work with pictures, not words.
Compassionate professional workers with animals see it, as does anyone who has shared their life with an animal companion who has made the simplest attempt to see the world through their pet's eyes.
These "lesser animals" have a sense of personal identity, social preferences, and for all we know, religions.With some species the language barrier is being broken, and someday I hope we will be able to "make contact" with cetacians or our chimpanzee cousins.
This is not anthropomorphism, it is reality. To think otherwise is like thinking that of all the people in your neighborhood, only YOU have dreams.
"...we now return control of your telelvison set."
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A Good and Decent Elder?
by DakotaRed ini was wondering if any of the rest of you ever knkew an elder who you considered to be a good elder, one that was really into the bible more so than the watchtower and who actually took his eldership seriously enough to actually care about the flock more than himself?
i knew one.. he would spend all his spare time studying the bible and gave pretty good talks.
he was actually there any time someone needed him.
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Nathan Natas
It's good to hear that Jehovah is still watching over the righteous and the reigning King jesus is protecting the flock.
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insanity
by flower ini am definately insane although i dont think it can all be blamed on the knowledge i've obtained recently and trying to deal with the aftermath.
at least part of the reason is probably genetic.
so where are the angels of mercy for people with incurable insanity?
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Nathan Natas
Flower,
"Show me your insanity."
That's a derivation of a Zen Koan. I'll bet you're no more insane than most of us here.
Do you have an organic disorder that causes your insanity, like Huntington's Disease? I hope not, and I doubt that you do.
You are more likely a product of poor programming practices. Mental programming. Bad memes and lost dreams.
Increasing your level of physical activity might be helpful. No marathons; just take a walk around your neighborhood or a park you feel safe in a few times a week. Take up boxing or ballroom dancing.
Don't go searching for a partner - search for yourself and you'll find a partner.
You think you're insane - HA! - I can run rings around your insanity, unless you're a pyromanic vivisectionist sociopath.
...but just in case, stay away from pets and matches until you feel better, OK?
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Elvis impersonators
by SoulJah inany one remember any brothers that did elvis impersonations at the jw wedding receptions?
man they sure did stumble me!
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Nathan Natas
My Elvis impersonation consists of washing down Quaaludes with Jack Daniels.
"...Thank you very much."
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Dr. Martin Luther King Day
by Thirdson inmonday in the usa is mlk day and many will reflect on the life and work of the great civil rights leader and the dream he set in motion.. while generally i agree with being law-abiding to the utmost degree i hope that if i had lived in the us during the 60's i would have stood up for the rights of minorities in america.
this leads me to my question.
what was the watchtower society's stance on the civil rights movement?
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Nathan Natas
Pureheart said,
Martin Luther King... was one of the greatest men to live on the earth.
I'll bet you can't tell me WHY you believe this.
...go ahead, I'm waiting...
"If Martin Luther King and Ghandi had a fight, who do you think would win?"
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Dr. Martin Luther King Day
by Thirdson inmonday in the usa is mlk day and many will reflect on the life and work of the great civil rights leader and the dream he set in motion.. while generally i agree with being law-abiding to the utmost degree i hope that if i had lived in the us during the 60's i would have stood up for the rights of minorities in america.
this leads me to my question.
what was the watchtower society's stance on the civil rights movement?
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Nathan Natas
"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a
nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by
the content of their character."
-- Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-68), speech in Washington DC, August 27, 1963We have a dream. Someday, in this great land of ours, people, including even lawyers and political activists, will come to believe that character really does matter.
We have a dream. We will no longer deify people who plagiarize their
doctoral theses. If a man takes the title of Reverend, we'll expect him to honor at least a few of the Ten Commandments. If a married man
competes with Hugh Hefner for sexual conquests we won't feel compelled
to listen to his moral wisdom.We have a dream. Someday black churches in America will not be
manipulated as institutional power bases by ambitious black men. We're
starting to worry that the good reverends are using the Borgia Popes as their role models. We dream that the day will come when lawyers and
politicians stop cynically using race as leverage to increase their
wealth and power.We have a dream. Someday, quiet people leading lives of unheralded
virtue and real productivity will be honored. Someday all people, black
and white, will realize that the real heroes aren't the ones giving
speeches filled with bombastic rhetoric. Real heroes are quietly doing
real work: building houses, writing software code, nursing the elderly, parenting the young - the whole cornucopia of human endeavor that actually results in better lives for real people.We have a dream. Someday holidays will really matter, instead of serving as crass, meaningless tools of political correctness. People will actually give thanks on Thanksgiving. Christians will actually celebrate the birth of Christ on Christmas. New Year's Day will mean something other than recovering from a hangover and watching football on the tube.
We have a dream. Someday Americans will realize that there's something
perverse about the idea of devoting an equal amount of time, and
reverence, to:· A single civil rights leader
· All of America's presidents including founding fathers like George
Washington and Thomas Jefferson· And the thousands of men and women who have died defending the United States in wartime.
Yet we have one day for Presidents Day, one day for Memorial Day, and
one day to celebrate the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.We have a dream. Although we're as sentimental as the next fool, we hope that someday we'll all realize that early death does not qualify one for sainthood. Whether it be John F. Kennedy, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley, Princess Diana, or Martin Luther King Jr., dying young may be the road to legend, but hardly a guarantee that the life was worth remembering, much less celebrating.
Our final dream is that the day will come in America when one can
criticize black cultural icons without being labeled a racist. We call
this the impossible dream.Copied from : www.theoutrage.com
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Terrorism; the Saudi connection
by Nathan Natas ini found this very interesting.... it's from: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/540730/posts.
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terrorism has a name - wahhabism.
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Nathan Natas
I found this very interesting...
It's from: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/540730/posts
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Terrorism has a Name - Wahhabism
Anthem Press | Stephen SchwartzPosted on 10/5/01 1:26 PM Pacific by databoss
Stephen Schwartz on the extreme Islamic sect that inspires Osama bin Laden as well as all Muslim suicide bombers - and is subsidised by Saudi Arabia
Washington
The first thing to do when trying to understand ‘Islamic suicide bombers’ is to forget the clichés about the Muslim taste for martyrdom. It does exist, of course, but the desire for paradise is not a safe guide to what motivated the appalling suicide attacks on New York and Washington last week. Throughout history, political extremists of all faiths have willingly given up their lives simply in the belief that by doing so, whether in bombings or in other forms of terror, they would change the course of history, or at least win an advantage for their cause. Tamils are not Muslims, but they blow themselves up in their war on the government of Sri Lanka; Japanese kamikaze pilots in the second world war were not Muslims, but they flew their fighters into US aircraft carriers.
The Islamofascist ideology of Osama bin Laden and those closest to him, such as the Egyptian and Algerian ‘Islamic Groups’, is no more intrinsically linked to Islam or Islamic civilisation than Pearl Harbor was to Buddhism, or Ulster terrorists - whatever they may profess - are to Christianity. Serious Christians don’t go around killing and maiming the innocent; devout Muslims do not prepare for paradise by hanging out in strip bars and getting drunk, as one of last week’s terrorist pilots was reported to have done.
The attacks of 11 September are simply not compatible with orthodox Muslim theology, which cautions soldiers ‘in the way of Allah’ to fight their enemies face-to-face, without harming non-combatants, women or children. Most Muslims, not only in America and Britain, but in the world, are clearly law-abiding citizens of their countries - a point stressed by President Bush and other American leaders, much to their credit. Nobody on this side of the water wants a repeat of the lamented 1941 internment of Japanese Americans.
Still, the numerical preponderance of Muslims as perpetrators of these ghastly incidents is no coincidence. So we have to ask ourselves what has made these men into the monsters they are? What has so galvanised violent tendencies in the world’s second-largest religion (and, in America, the fastest growing faith)? Can it really flow from a quarrel over a bit of land in the Middle East?
For Westerners, it seems natural to look for answers in the distant past, beginning with the Crusades. But if you ask educated, pious, traditional but forward-looking Muslims what has driven their umma, or global community, in this direction, many of them will answer you with one word: Wahhabism. This is a strain of Islam that emerged not at the time of the Crusades, nor even at the time of the anti-Turkish wars of the 17th century, but less than two centuries ago. It is violent, it is intolerant, and it is fanatical beyond measure. It originated in Arabia, and it is the official theology of the Gulf states. Wahhabism is the most extreme form of Islamic fundamentalism, and its followers are called Wahhabis.
Not all Muslims are suicide bombers, but all Muslim suicide bombers are Wahhabis - except, perhaps, for some disciples of atheist leftists posing as Muslims in the interests of personal power, such as Yasser Arafat or Saddam Hussein. Wahhabism is the Islamic equivalent of the most extreme Protestant sectarianism. It is puritan, demanding punishment for those who enjoy any form of music except the drum, and severe punishment up to death for drinking or sexual transgressions. It condemns as unbelievers those who do not pray, a view that never previously existed in mainstream Islam.
It is stripped-down Islam, calling for simple, short prayers, undecorated mosques, and the uprooting of gravestones (since decorated mosques and graveyards lend themselves to veneration, which is idolatry in the Wahhabi mind). Wahhabis do not even permit the name of the Prophet Mohammed to be inscribed in mosques, nor do they allow his birthday to be celebrated. Above all, they hate ostentatious spirituality, much as Protestants detest the veneration of miracles and saints in the Roman Church.
Ibn Abdul Wahhab (1703-92), the founder of this totalitarian Islamism, was born in Uyaynah, in the part of Arabia known as Nejd, where Riyadh is today, and which the Prophet himself notably warned would be a source of corruption and confusion. (Anti-Wahhabi Muslims refer to Wahhabism as fitna an Najdiyyah or ‘the trouble out of Nejd’.) From the beginning of Wahhab’s dispensation, in the late 18th century, his cult was associated with the mass murder of all who opposed it. For example, the Wahhabis fell upon the city of Qarbala in 1801 and killed 2,000 ordinary citizens in the streets and markets.
In the 19th century, Wahhabism took the form of Arab nationalism v. the Turks. The founder of the Saudi kingdom, Ibn Saud, established Wahhabism as its official creed. Much has been made of the role of the US in ‘creating’ Osama bin Laden through subsidies to the Afghan mujahedin, but as much or more could be said in reproach of Britain which, three generations before, supported the Wahhabi Arabs in their revolt against the Ottomans. Arab hatred of the Turks fused with Wahhabi ranting against the ‘decadence’ of Ottoman Islam. The truth is that the Ottoman khalifa reigned over a multinational Islamic umma in which vast differences in local culture and tradition were tolerated. No such tolerance exists in Wahhabism, which is why the concept of US troops on Saudi soil so inflames bin Laden.
Bin Laden is a Wahhabi. So are the suicide bombers in Israel. So are his Egyptian allies, who exulted as they stabbed foreign tourists to death at Luxor not many years ago, bathing in blood up to their elbows and emitting blasphemous cries of ecstasy. So are the Algerian Islamist terrorists whose contribution to the purification of the world consisted of murdering people for such sins as running a movie projector or reading secular newspapers. So are the Taleban-style guerrillas in Kashmir who murder Hindus. The Iranians are not Wahhabis, which partially explains their slow but undeniable movement towards moderation and normality after a period of utopian and puritan revivalism. But the Taleban practise a variant of Wahhabism. In the Wahhabi fashion they employ ancient punishments - such as execution for moral offences - and they have a primitive and fearful view of women. The same is true of Saudi Arabia’s rulers. None of this extremism has been inspired by American fumblings in the world, and it has little to do with the tragedies that have beset Israelis and Palestinians.
But the Wahhabis have two weaknesses of which the West is largely unaware; an Achilles’ heel on each foot, so to speak. The first is that the vast majority of Muslims in the world are peaceful people who would prefer the installation of Western democracy in their own countries. They loathe Wahhabism for the same reason any patriarchal culture rejects a violent break with tradition. And that is the point that must be understood: bin Laden and other Wahhabis are not defending Islamic tradition; they represent an ultra-radical break in the direction of a sectarian utopia. Thus, they are best described as Islamofascists, although they have much in common with Bolsheviks.
The Bengali Sufi writer Zeeshan Ali has described the situation touchingly: ‘Muslims from Bangladesh in the US, just like any other place in the world, uphold the traditional beliefs of Islam but, due to lack of instruction, keep quiet when their beliefs are attacked by Wahhabis in the US who all of a sudden become “better” Muslims than others. These Wahhabis go even further and accuse their own fathers of heresy, sin and unbelief. And the young children of the immigrants, when they grow up in this country, get exposed only to this one-sided version of Islam and are led to think that this is the only Islam. Naturally a big gap is being created every day that silence is only widening.’ The young, divided between tradition and the call of the new, opt for ‘Islamic revolution’ and commit themselves to their self-destruction, combined with mass murder.
The same influences are brought to bear throughout the ten-million-strong Muslim community in America, as well as those in Europe. In the US, 80 per cent of mosques are estimated by the Sufi Hisham al-Kabbani, born in Lebanon and now living in the US, to be under the control of Wahhabi imams, who preach extremism, and this leads to the other point of vulnerability: Wahhabism is subsidised by Saudi Arabia, even though bin Laden has sworn to destroy the Saudi royal family. The Saudis have played a double game for years, more or less as Stalin did with the West during the second world war. They pretended to be allies in a common struggle against Saddam Hussein while they spread Wahhabi ideology everywhere Muslims are to be found, just as Stalin promoted an ‘antifascist’ coalition with the US while carrying out espionage and subversion on American territory. The motive was the same: the belief that the West was or is decadent and doomed.
One major question is never asked in American discussions of Arab terrorism: what is the role of Saudi Arabia? The question cannot be asked because American companies depend too much on the continued flow of Saudi oil, while American politicians have become too cosy with the Saudi rulers.
Another reason it is not asked is that to expose the extent of Saudi and Wahhabi influence on American Muslims would deeply compromise many Islamic clerics in the US. But it is the most significant question Americans should be asking themselves today. If we get rid of bin Laden, who do we then have to deal with? The answer was eloquently put by Seyyed Vali Reza Nasr, professor of political science at the University of California at San Diego, and author of an authoritative volume on Islamic extremism in Pakistan, when he said: ‘If the US wants to do something about radical Islam, it has to deal with Saudi Arabia. The “rogue states” [Iraq, Libya, etc.] are less important in the radicalisation of Islam than Saudi Arabia. Saudi Arabia is the single most important cause and supporter of radicalisation, ideologisation, and the general fanaticisation of Islam.’
From what we now know, it appears not a single one of the suicide pilots in New York and Washington was Palestinian. They all seem to have been Saudis, citizens of the Gulf states, Egyptian or Algerian. Two are reported to have been the sons of the former second secretary of the Saudi embassy in Washington. They were planted in America long before the outbreak of the latest Palestinian intifada; in fact, they seem to have begun their conspiracy while the Middle East peace process was in full, if short, bloom. Anti-terror experts and politicians in the West must now consider the Saudi connection.
--- Stephen Schwartz is the author of Intellectuals and Assassins, published by Anthem Press.
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"Sex In the Sect" Book by Vicki J.
by VM44 innote: this is the text from a 1996 image of a website that no longer.
sex in the sect.
sex in the sect.
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Nathan Natas
I'm unable to find a copy anywhere on the internet, If any of our friends in Oz happen to stumble across a box of these, I'd buy a copy.