Posts by Rivergang

59

Guns...Are You For or Against Legally Owning Them?

by minimus in

jw
friends

there is a surge going on of people buying guns, especially first time buyers.

with talk of police defunding and rioting in the neighborhoods, some people want to protect themselves.. do you support owning and using a gun if needed?.

Rivergang

Joey,

I have certainly seen that - some bumbling amateur with a 9mm automatic.

The only safe person within this guy's vicinity was the one he was trying to shoot!

59

Guns...Are You For or Against Legally Owning Them?

by minimus in

jw
friends

there is a surge going on of people buying guns, especially first time buyers.

with talk of police defunding and rioting in the neighborhoods, some people want to protect themselves.. do you support owning and using a gun if needed?.

Rivergang

I have never had any issue with the legal ownership of firearms.

Having grown up around farms, I learned at a very young age to shoot with a .22 calibre rifle. This was out of sheer necessity, as pest control was (and still is) a major problem in that district. Furthermore, my father worked for a time as a professional hunter. As a consequence, there were always firearms and ammunition readily at hand around the house. Later on, I took up small bore shooting as a hobby - something I have only given away in recent years, after my eyesight deteriorated too badly to be able to continue with it. (All the blessings of growing old!)

Just a word, though, about that article that appeared in The Federalist:

https://thefederalist.com/2018/04/13/britains-knife-control-bad-parody-gun-control/

The homocide situation London compared to New York is in fact rather more complicated than the way it has been presented by this source. It is true that during the month of February 2018, for the first time ever, London reported more homicides than did New York City -15 versus 14 (a fact widely reported on the social media sites). However, what The Federalist did not report that this trend was very much an abberation. For example, the three months January to March of 2018 saw 57 homicides in New York City, while London reported 45 such crimes during the same time period. Furthermore, by the end of June of that year, New York had recorded 141 homicides for the year, almost double London's total of 80 for the same six months.

Consistently over the years, New York's homicide rate has significantly exceeded that of London, as witness last year (2019); in which New York recorded 311 homicides, while London saw 149. Given the two cities have similar sized populations, that makes New York's homicide rate double that of London (despite what that article in The Federalist would have us believe).

While having never visited either city, I have had more than a few encounters with serious crime. For quite a number of years, I was an expatriate worker in a certain Third World country, whose capital city is recognised as being one of the more dangerous in the world. Furthermore, many of its outlying districts - such as where I was based - are even more lawless. There are in fact large rural areas that are scarcely under any form of government control. (To a degree, this was almost inevitable, given the way that that country was propelled literally from out of the Stone Age and into the mid-20th Century in just a few short years). Along with almost all other Expatriates who have ever lived there, I could spend an entire afternoon recounting anecdotes that include such subjects as tribal fighting, armed hold ups, terrorism, political assassinations, mass murders and many other such events:

- But all coming under the general classification "In that particular country, the truth is stranger than fiction!"

58

When did WT lose the spirit?

by Smiles in

at what time would you say that the watch tower schema lost the spirit?.

like the ancient nation of israel which struggled maintaining divine blessing due to a long series of grave errors that eventually culminated in definitive loss... how and when did watch tower lose the spirit?.

can we pinpoint a time or event?.

Rivergang

TD

from a purely pragmatic standpoint, the pinnacle for the JW's occurred during the age of the "New World Society" during the 50's and 60's.

I believe you are correct, together with the reasons you advanced for saying so.

Other than that, I cannot quite get my head around the OP's position of somehow pretending they ever had a "spirit" that could ever be lost in the first place!

66

Now we have a Mary Trump book coming out ...

by RubaDub in

jw
friends

i have to admit, this president can stir up shit.

.

other than some people who failed 10th grade or have a confederate flag on the back of their pickup trucks, who actually likes him?.

Rivergang

LHG,

Like it or not, what is also at stake here is leadership of the Western World. That makes it inevitable that this subject will draw comment from beyond the borders of the USA. As you have noted, not all this commentary is necessarily informed.

HOWEVER:

Yes, it’s sad that these two people are supposedly the ‘best’ America has to offer.

That fact, at least, is fairly obvious to most onlookers!

114

Riots one reason to own an AR15 and several 30 round or 100 round mags.

by phoenixrising in

i hear this from the leftist idiots all the time.

if someone breaks into your home 6 bullets are enough.

well if its a one of i would argue that i still my need more round for even just one person.

Rivergang

LongHairGal,

I never said I live in a “bad” area, but rather one that many would describe as somewhat “disadvantaged.”

Bloody hell, there is a difference!

114

Riots one reason to own an AR15 and several 30 round or 100 round mags.

by phoenixrising in

i hear this from the leftist idiots all the time.

if someone breaks into your home 6 bullets are enough.

well if its a one of i would argue that i still my need more round for even just one person.

Rivergang

Curious Mind, I too have a rather “curious mind” as to why the difference between here (Australia) and the USA. I live in what might be termed a “disadvantaged” neighbourhood:

i.e. A low socio-economic area, with a significant “indigenous” population and a large number of immigrants (a real “spot the Aussie” type suburb).

Despite all this, there are few serious law and order issues - and without the population being armed to the teeth.

By contrast, we are being told on this forum that in the USA, one is not safe unless fully equipped with an AR15, 30 round magazines and (presumably) enough ammunition to fight a small war. How that situation came about would make interesting reading!

23

That was quick!

by BoogerMan in

the joke's on the dolts who have swallowed & defended all the covid 19 b.s.

the chickens are coming home to roost even earlier than i expected.

remember this from 12 days ago?:.

Rivergang

There are a few more effective vaccines around besides those for polio and smallpox!

This is amply demonstrated by the record of the two world wars.

In earlier times, diseases like typhoid took a heavy toll on the battlefield.

For example, during the Boer War of 1899-1902, the British Army lost more soldiers to typhoid that died as battle casualties. After that, typhoid innoculations were made compulsory in the army. The result of this was in WWI, typhoid was almost unheard of - despite the insanitary conditions in the trenches (particularly at places like Gallipoli). Furthermore, the US Army had a very similar experience after the Spanish-American War, which likewise saw more deaths to typhoid than to battle casualties.

Prior to WWII, the British Army introduced mandatory innoculations for tetanus, whereas (rather surprisingly) the German Army did not. This was reflected in the death rates for tetanus between the two armies - practically nil in the British forces, but prevalent in the German Army.

The list goes on. As other have pointed out, what used to be childhood killer diseases such as diphtheria and whooping cough were practically eradicated by vaccination. Measles was almost eradicated, until the anti-vaccine mob frightened enough parents away from having their children vaccinated.

I add my signature to the group who cannot quite figure out the anti-vaccination lobby!

35

Memories of Maryland Conventions!

by Atlantis in

jw
friends

posting for brother x. petra!.

if you were a child during the years of 1960 to 1970, the question isn't; do you remember these conventions?

the question is; how could you forget?

Rivergang

Smiddy,

My father stood his ground against his newly-converted JW mother, and refused to bring up his three children as JWs. No doubt the guilt trick was used on him - i.e. "Your children are going to die".

For what he did, I cannot thank him enough.

(As an aside, the only JW assembly I ever enjoyed was the 1973 "Divine Victory" international assembly, in which I fell in love for the first time!).

24