Posts by scratchme1010

26

Xmas / New Year - Time to Review Your Finances

by Simon in

it's that time of the year again, when most people spend too much buying too much crap for people .... it's also a good time to take advantage of the few days off to look at your finances and make sure you're not being "gouged" by the big companies that, well, like to extract as much money from people as possible.. for us, one of the biggest culprits was telecoms.. think about it: years ago you just had to buy a tv and probably paid to have a phone line.

nowadays you have cell phones for everyone in the family and a million and one tv channels (all showing crap or repeats of crap) and extra for movies and pay-per-view.

you can easily be paying hundreds of dollars per month.. it can all add up, quickly.

scratchme1010

Anyone else have any money-saving tips?

I love your money saving tips. I think they are practical and realistic, based on the actual way people live. Many times I see people talking about canceling services and IMO that's not realistic since it's pretty much something that people want/need to have.

So I guess my tip is have a nice attitude about money and be realistic about the lifestyle you want/can have vs an attitude of complacency and/or keeping up with the joneses.

Money is to be respected, and it also has to flow for it to grow. The right attitude about money and the business part of life is something that I as an ex-JW had to learn.

Prepare, save and plan for retirement

Increase credit car payments; use debit when possible

Pay your student loans, avoid defaulting on them and use the advantage of disbursement if/when necessary, but pay them off.

When it comes to technology and electronics, it's not wise to have the absolute latest (ask anyone who went ahead and got a Samsung Note S7)

Buy clothing that can be reused (ass opposed to trendy clothes that go out of style in three months)

Save to buy a house instead of renting

Stop credit diarrhea and borrowing money

A trip to the mall doesn't have to involve a large latte and other things that people normally don't plan to spend additional money on

Keep track of your expenses for one or two months, record every penny spent; that can give you a realistic idea of what your actual budget should be (You'll be surprised!)

13

Vatican launches website for preventing clerical sex abuse

by AndersonsInfo in

https://cruxnow.com/vatican/2016/12/06/vatican-launches-website-preventing-clerical-sex-abuse/.

inés san martín .

december 6, 2016 vatican_correspondent.

scratchme1010

Looks a lot like the phony rules, laws, city ordinances and policies that exist all over the USA to protect minorities and do absolutely nothing.

12

Possible new light on 70 years

by Saltheart Foamfollower in

i may be reading more into this than is there, but here is what i've spotted from today's watchtower study (oct 2016 study edition) page 14 paragraph 8. concerning daniel it says "thus, some 70 years after his arrival in babylon, he was still known by his hebrew name" referring to an event in the first year of darius ie 539/538 bce.

however, according to the wtbts chronology daniel went to babylon in 617 bce - more like 80 years earlier.

could this (finally) be a step towards ditching 607?.

scratchme1010

Could this (finally) be a step towards ditching 607?

Who knows? Who cares? If it's already established that they say one thing and later say another, why continuing entertaining their nonsense?

10

Will the GB ever humble themselves as Jesus admonished in Matt 20 20-28

by UnshackleTheChains in

in his book crisis of conscience, raymond franz likened the governing body to the proverbial 'iron fist in a velvet glove'.

this would seem harsh if it weren't for the fact that there is ample proof that their policies and teachings have caused much pain amongst the friends.

for example, many families have been torn apart through their shunning policy.

scratchme1010

Will the GB ever humble themselves as Jesus admonished in Matt 20 20-28

No.

21

wt on a slide, " 1914's generation is not only overlapping, but also composite.

by prologos in

doctrines projected by wt writers can be compared to the slides in the old carousel slide shows, the jw audience was kept in the dark, but the next images' bright filtered new light had their rapt attention.

often these doctrine images came around again but modified, often totally changed, turned upside down.

think superior authorities, resurrection ----, .

scratchme1010

Really, I'd had a little respect for them if they actually said that they are wrong about that 1914 thing (granted, that can open the door to being wrong in pretty much everything else, including their own existence, but that's besides the point). They are so effing shameless in their stupid silly explanations. What a disgusting organization.

7

Have you been to Brooklyn lately?

by lrkr in

i happened to be in brooklyn yesterday and decided to take a spin around the old hq.. the factory buildings have cool retail at ground level and offices or loft apartments above.

the whole factory complex area looks very cool- now that it is not jw'd..

scratchme1010

Brooklyn, where's that?

17

Did you ever think about being persecuted?

by Funchback in

i was introduced to the jw religion at the age of 7. i can't recall when i was taught about having to suffer persecution in the so-called last days, but i do remember thinking that i would crumble under pressure.. as i entered my young adult years, i imagined how governments would persecute us.

i had thoughts of being tortured for information and then how i would say anything to the torturer just to stop the pain and then be labeled a modern-day judas, missing out on everlasting life.. the jw way of life and expectations are both scary and unrealistic.. i am glad i have canceled armageddon.

also, if i should ever be tortured for some belief or principle, i shall remain strong until the end.

scratchme1010

By other jws, yes, and I was, called the gossip mill.

Blondie, this is so on point! The gossiping that goes around in congregations, the negative, ill-intended gossip and character assassination that goes on is just insane. You are right, that is the real persecution.

27

JW Policy Regarding "Marking" From The Nov 2016 WT

by JW_Rogue in

jws will deny that local needs parts are often just a way to mark those in the congregation who are deemed to be "bad association" or who don't fall in line with the elders viewpoints.

now, for the first time in a long time the wt discusses their marking policy and how it works in the nov study wt:.

recall paul’s counsel regarding disorderly ones in the congregation.

scratchme1010

I view my marking as a badge of honour, its all quite stupid though as the markee is never formally informed he is marked, well at least I was'nt

In similar thought, to me their mark has no relevance in any way, shape or form. The only time I cared for anything they had to say was when they attempted to slander me, and I put those JW--its in their place. Other than that, they are just a big giant piece of nothing. They don't matter.

21

The Evils of Aluminum

by NeonMadman in

aluminum was an issue that became a real “tempest in a teapot” for the watchtower.

it influenced their teaching for almost 50 years and, frankly, created an impression among observers that their members were off-the-wall fanatics.

for all those years, the golden age and other watchtower publications took the position that aluminum cookware and utensils were one of the great health hazards of the 20th century.

scratchme1010

...They actually published over 130 articles on the topic between 1925 and 1969. This is a great example of the Watchtower’s propensity to eagerly subscribe to theories of quack medicine and junk science...

...Now, ironically, some studies today are suggesting a link between the use of aluminum cookware and Alzheimer’s disease. I suppose that any JW’s who hear about that might feel that the WTS is being vindicated, but there was no scientific evidence of that back when they were publishing their articles, and their accusations about the effects of aluminum were completely off the mark...

There's something I find difficult to understand about many posters in this forum. People keep talking about the WT teachings and stances on things as if they are based on actual reasoning or if there's any depth of knowledge to it. That is the phony bullshit WT propaganda under the glaze of education.

The WT is a manipulative controlling cult. THEY ARE NOT INTERESTED IN TEACHING ANYTHING. The aluminum thing in cookware is a display of how stupidly simplistic their mentality is. If people were to be away from aluminum they could never enter any building. Aluminum is pretty much everywhere in a lot of structures, in soda cans, in zippers, I mean, the presence of that element (one of the most versatile metals) is everywhere.

I quoted this (what is quoted above), because again, the entire thing neglects to look at the entire picture. There is an entire political element in anything and everything that the WT does. What will be interesting to find here is what was the political reason to have such ridiculous stance on aluminum.

Finally, and therefore, there's no such "vindication" about the WT being right on anything simply because they say it. The fact that they state something that turns out to be right doesn't make that filthy pedophile protecting organization any better. Nor does it change any of the other dirty deals and actions that such organization has taken.

Furthermore, the relationship between Alzheimer's and aluminum is weaker than the claim that people are going to live 1,000 years. Aluminum is not only present in cookware

4

4 million year old superbug in a cave in New Mexico

by schnell in

http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/12/10/504691357/million-year-old-hero-bug-emerges-from-cave.

this is pretty fascinating.

paenibacillum is not pathogenic, but is absolutely battle-hardened as far as bacteria go, having spent 4 million years in a 1600' deep cave that takes 10,000 years to get water from the surface and never sees sunlight..

scratchme1010

Interesting, schnell. There are a few species that have adapted themselves to the environment, like a fish that lives with no eyes in an area of the planet where there's acid instead of water.

Come to think of it, smiddy, the dark pool of acid is as good for your analogy.