Spoletta

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Posts by Spoletta

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  121

  What Are Your Rights?

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  rights seem to be everywhere nowadays.

  say hello to someone in the wrong way and you've violated 101 of their human rights.

  people imagine they have the right to all sorts of things - food, healthcare, housing, internet ... so many things are labelled basic rights and then you get onto their human rights - a favourite of the do-nothing bodies such as the un to declare.

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  Spoletta

  MeanMrMustard,

  Sorry, your arguments only show that capitalism is a part of what has decreased poverty, but ignores the elements of socialism that provide services that help to elevate some out of poverty. Your ideas, like those of the numerous sects of libertarians, are merely theories, with no real world examples to demonstrate their success or failure. The minarchist ideal of a state with only military, police, and courts to keep order and protect personal and property rights, could only work in a world where people can't be bribed or corrupted. Good luck with that.

  I've watched the Libertarian Presidential debates, where people such as the Libertarian Governor of New Mexico was booed for suggesting driving licenses were a good idea, and the eternal "who will build the roads?" dilemma was solved by giving everybody jet packs.

  I'm not one to recommend YouTube channels, but you might find the Majority Report with Sam Seder interesting. He challenges any Libertarian to debate, and never fails to entertain with his questions that Libertarians can't or won't try to answer. He even debates Walter Block in two short (50 minutes or less) segments, where I feel Block doesn't come off too well. Of course, you'll probably find him the epitome of eloquent logic.

  I still feel a combination of socialist and capitalist ideas work best, so we'll just have to disagree. Still, thanks for the opportunity to debate. You're a very fine writer.
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  2

  Pope Francis & International Interfaith Meeting 2019

  by mikeflood in

  1. social
  2. current

  pope francis meets grand iman ahmed el-tayeb, the most important sunni cleric, and other representatives of christianity and judaism, calling for "peace between nations, religions and races".

  also they said that "the pluralism of religions...are willed by god".. it was pope's first trip to the arab peninsula...didn't know they have catholic churches in the uae..... world would be better with more tolerance...don't you think?.

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  Spoletta

  Tolerance among religions would be a good first step, but xenophobia, greed, lack of empathy, and just plain psychopathy aren't confined to the religious.
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  20

  German got his silver sword

  by fastJehu in

  1. social
  2. current

  on saturday 02-02-2019 german jws got there silver sword.

  rumour has it that all of europe received the translation yesterday, because gerrit lösch visited the european branch in selters (germany).

  can anyone confirm that?.

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  Spoletta

  Maybe they had to wait till enough people left the ORG to match the number they'd printed.
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  64

  What Do You Think of Socialism?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you support socialism?

  is it something that you would want in your country?.

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  Spoletta

  With the exception of garbage pickup(private companies here), I find your list to be accurate.
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  44

  Big Announcement in Montreal

  by ZindagiNaMilegiDobaara in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  just got the heads up from montreal that 16 congregations will cease to exist from 1 april 2019. also 3 kh are no longer going to be used anymore.

  this was a major announcement for many and upsetting.

  wonder where the r& f are going to be dispersed with what sacrifices in the way!.

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  Spoletta

  Does anyone have information on KH sales in Oregon?
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  64

  What Do You Think of Socialism?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you support socialism?

  is it something that you would want in your country?.

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  Spoletta

  V101,

  As I understand it (I hope our Canadian friends will correct me if I'm wrong), serious, life threatening conditions are taken care of quickly, while those that are less severe sometimes have to wait. Those that have money, and don't want to wait, will come to the US.
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  26

  Trashy Watchtower Corporation Carts In Public Places, Can Cities Ban them?

  by Brokeback Watchtower in

  1. watchtower
  2. child-abuse

  they have a very big child abuse enabler international reputation in the courts can these things be a reason for banning these stupid ass carts that claims to have all the answers to mans hardest questions.. why should every library have to permit them to plant their lame ass carts close to the entrance.. i'm thinking that soon due to all the bad publicity surrounding the jehovah witness cult leaders that cart witnessing will come to be seen as a very big waste of time by all it's members that have become hall less thus missing a shit load of meeting and a beginning to start thinking for themselves.. i'm sure many jws hate this type of work even now, even though it's an easy way to get your time in and not be labeled inactive or keep the elders off your back.

  have you noticed that a lot of carts don't have a jw near by?

  i never see anybody at the carts where i live, i've even asked people nearby and nobody knew who put the cart there.

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  Spoletta

  Is there a limit to how many can man a cart? I imagine that carts would be useful if a congregation needed extra hours to make them look good. A cart used 16 hours a day, with rotating shifts of 2 publishers at a time, would equal close to 6000 hours a year.
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  64

  What Do You Think of Socialism?

  by minimus in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  do you support socialism?

  is it something that you would want in your country?.

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  Spoletta

  Pure Socialism is a no-go. A mix of socialism and capitalism has been proven to work. Many equate socialism as being communism, linking it to fears of the Cold War era. Not true.

  The secret is finding the balance.
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  121

  What Are Your Rights?

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  rights seem to be everywhere nowadays.

  say hello to someone in the wrong way and you've violated 101 of their human rights.

  people imagine they have the right to all sorts of things - food, healthcare, housing, internet ... so many things are labelled basic rights and then you get onto their human rights - a favourite of the do-nothing bodies such as the un to declare.

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  Spoletta

  JeffT,

  You make some good points about divisiveness, we need less rancor, and more truth about what this country needs, but I think it needs more empathy, and less righteousness (in my opinion).

  You realize that Social Security was not meant to be enough to survive on with no other resources. My wife and I are retired and couldn't survive on Social Security alone, so made sure that we owned a home by the time we retired. We couĺd never make it on S.S. alone, and never expected to. Unfortunately, many, by no fault of their own, are forced to, but that's a topic for another day.

  We've always been self employed, paying our own Social Security, property taxes, and living expenses. Being lucky, we live in a state that chose to embrace Medicaid, so we weren't bankrupted by my heart attack 10 years ago, though thankfully we're on Medicare now, and don't have to worry about medical costs.

  We were both in the Performing Arts, so like 90% of performers, we struggled at times, but still made our house payments, and though at times we qualified for food stamps, we always had enough money for food, and didn't feel right about taking advantage of the system, as we felt that others had more need of the help.

  I suppose that many here would consider us leeches for accepting Medicaid, and not getting well paying jobs with benefits, but I'm not ashamed of it. As a result of it, we have two sons, one of whom went to university, and now has an excellent job, pays taxes, and contributes to society. The other is studying the Performing Arts, and will probably struggle like we did, but we are proud of them both, because in their own way, they'll provide something of value to the world.

  I realize that there are some who take advantage of the system. But I'm not petty enough to deny the help that a wealthy nation should extend to the disadvantaged, just to prevent a few from cheating.

  I sympathize with many here who were always on the cusp, too much income to qualify for benefits, but too little to really make ends meet, but that's not the fault of those who qualify. Despite the naysayers here, a country that can spend trillions on ineffective wars, and give those who don't need it huge tax breaks, should easily pay for healthcare and education for all.

  So, despite the avalanche of dislikes from the conservatives that will likely appear, I'm proud to be among those who benefited from the humanity of leaders like Roosevelt, who, while advantaged, realized that we should take care of our own who are poor, uneducated, unlucky, and yes, even undeserving, because who knows when it might be them or their children and loved ones that might need the help.(speech accompanied by stirring fanfare!)

  Anyway, that's where I stand.
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  121

  What Are Your Rights?

  by Simon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  rights seem to be everywhere nowadays.

  say hello to someone in the wrong way and you've violated 101 of their human rights.

  people imagine they have the right to all sorts of things - food, healthcare, housing, internet ... so many things are labelled basic rights and then you get onto their human rights - a favourite of the do-nothing bodies such as the un to declare.

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  Spoletta

  Simon,

  I'm sorry to say, YOU are the liar! In your comment you've parroted one of the talking points that those who study history would never make. I wonder if this has to do with one of Sean Hannity's recent monologues, that puts out the same garbage.

  With that statement, you have just become one of the ignorant mass that the right delights in.