Thanks! I agree that Github/Bitbucket may be too technical for many to contribute (although you can edit files there directly on the web, even without using git at all), but downloading is actually easier than through all these file hosting services.
Posts by mariu
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6225 YEARS of compiled yearbook statistics
by 88JM inhello again folks - as promised in my last thread here, i've been working on turning yearbook statistics into excel spreadsheets.. coincidentally, today is my 25th birthday (spare a thought for a fader).. i've now updated the spreadsheet with yearbook data all the way back to 1988 (the year i was born), therefore it now contains 25 years of statistics.. there were a lot of countries changing around and for some it was possible to create a continuation of data.
some are a simple change of name like south-west africa to namibia.
others, for example - in 1993 with czechoslovakia splitting into two countries (czech republic and slovakia) i have added an extra row that provides a continuation of the data, combining czech republic and slovakia back together as if they were still one country.
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JW's have never come to my door...
by diana netherton ini have been living at my present location for almost 6 years and there has never been one visit ever.
of course, i am not home all the time, but you would think there would have been at least one.
i don't live in a gated community either so access is not a problem.
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mariu
In the past ~15 years, JWs showed up a whopping two times at my door (when I was home). Incidentally, last time was a couple of months ago. The usual pre-memorial leaflet campaign. They put up their best smile, quickly mumbled the "invitation" line, thrust the leaflet quickly into my hands and were gone before I could say anything. A fine witness indeed!
During the same 15 years, I had dozens of visits from people soliciting donations for charities of all kinds. They were usually a lot more effective in getting their message across.
The JW door to door preaching is just pathetic.
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25 YEARS of compiled yearbook statistics
by 88JM inhello again folks - as promised in my last thread here, i've been working on turning yearbook statistics into excel spreadsheets.. coincidentally, today is my 25th birthday (spare a thought for a fader).. i've now updated the spreadsheet with yearbook data all the way back to 1988 (the year i was born), therefore it now contains 25 years of statistics.. there were a lot of countries changing around and for some it was possible to create a continuation of data.
some are a simple change of name like south-west africa to namibia.
others, for example - in 1993 with czechoslovakia splitting into two countries (czech republic and slovakia) i have added an extra row that provides a continuation of the data, combining czech republic and slovakia back together as if they were still one country.
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mariu
Speaking of corrections, something is obviously wrong with the numbers of the Faroe Islands in 2012. Perhaps mixed up with another territory?
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25 YEARS of compiled yearbook statistics
by 88JM inhello again folks - as promised in my last thread here, i've been working on turning yearbook statistics into excel spreadsheets.. coincidentally, today is my 25th birthday (spare a thought for a fader).. i've now updated the spreadsheet with yearbook data all the way back to 1988 (the year i was born), therefore it now contains 25 years of statistics.. there were a lot of countries changing around and for some it was possible to create a continuation of data.
some are a simple change of name like south-west africa to namibia.
others, for example - in 1993 with czechoslovakia splitting into two countries (czech republic and slovakia) i have added an extra row that provides a continuation of the data, combining czech republic and slovakia back together as if they were still one country.
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mariu
88JM, this is absolutely fantastic. Thank you!
Several years ago, I tried the same thing by typing all the stats into a spreadsheet...I quickly restricted myself to just a few countries of interest and stopped doing this after a while. It's a lot of work.
A suggestion: keeping files like this on file hosting services is a pain. It's also difficult to keep them updated. Have you considered uploading them to something like Github, preferably in a non-closed format? (CSV would be fine)
This would enable people to help you with corrections and updates, and it's much easier to download stuff from there.
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Meteorite hits in the Urals
by MrFreeze invideo if a meteorite crashing down in the urals:.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90omh7_i8vi.
apparently 100's were injured.
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mariu
I'm also intrigued that no footage has so far been released of the crash site
It's very well possible that there is no "crash site", at least not a very prominent one, because the object(s) simply evaporated in the atmosphere before they could hit the ground - just like many of the shooting stars we see at night. The so-far reported damage and injuries seem consistent with a shock wave, not an actual impact.
Of course, conspiracy theories will pop up anyway.
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Weird rumor I heard - JWs in Sweden
by sir82 ini heard this from a "friend of a friend of a friend...." at least 3 or 4 intermediate steps before i heard it.. so it is likely distorted, but i'll throw it out there in case someone in or near sweden can clarify it.. .
i heard that the wts branch in sweden instructed all jws there to "get rid of" all (empahasized all) of their printed literature, and rely exclusively on the content of jw.org for their literature.. .
that's the entire extent of it - i also got a few speculations about "what it might mean" (the society is expecting persecution!
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mariu
Just by virtue of their surroundings, they are more reasonable and intelligent.
I agree, but this mostly affects superficial stuff - like the dresscode (e.g. beards), the demons/smurfs nonsense, and some other non-core-doctrine aspects of JW life. They just don't make the crazy so obvious, because that would make them stand out much more.
Behind that, it's still the same crap. They still firmly believe in shunning, armageddon, creationism, refusal of blood transfusions, no sex outside of marriage and everything else that's not a "matter of conscience".
Actually I've come to believe that makes the JWs in such "liberal" countries even worse - they're bonkers just the same, but with better camouflage. But as you say, the general population sees them for who they are and nobody converts, it's been all born-in kids and a precious few immigrants for decades now. There are few JWs who aren't second or third generation...
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what will the JW's say about the Pope resigning
by suavojr insoon babylon will fall!
because the government will be able to prosecute the ex-pope because of past sins.
it will be interesting to see what spin will the wt give to this news....
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mariu
Some generic Babylon the Great rambling and the fulfillment of prophesies and whatnot.
Of course, they would say exactly the same thing if he had died or lost his funny hat or done nothing at all.
It's been quite obvious for a while that he's an old, frail man and it's probably a good idea for him to step down now. Conspiracy theories will certainly abound, but the JWs don't have a monopoly on that. ("Anyone who isn't blinded by the evil corporate main-stream media should know that the Illuminati forced him to step down because he accidentally found the Holy Grail or proof for the existence of UFOs or the really truest truth on 9/11 or ..." ).
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e-Transactions, the paperless world
by designs infewer checks are written these days.
do you feel vulnerable or secure with your debit card transactions.
mostly it goes ok but yesterday my business checking account was hit with two fraudulent transactions just days apart and by the same socalled 'business'.
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mariu
There are still places in the world where cheques are written?!
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For those of you who read/understand German
by Nika Bee inthere was a documentary about jehovahs witnesses (in austria) on the austrian tv channel orf2.
http://tvthek.orf.at/programs/4204899-kreuz---quer/episodes/5322965-kreuz-und-quer.
for some reason i can't hear the sound, just read the subtitles.. i am watching it at the moment, so i cannot say much yet, but might post something later or tomorrow..
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mariu
I watched this and wasn't sure what to think. But now I really believe it's rather damaging to them, they all seem quite lifeless just from their own words. Heck, just the fact that some scenes are obviously scripted and rehearsed before. And the newly baptised girl who's mute as a goldfish (with about the same body language), with her JW friend doing all the talking - what else do you need to know?
So I really like this non-confrontational style, it's a lot more revealing and credible and doesn't put off those who are already in the JW mindset.
As a complement to that, one of the best websites I've ever found on the German-speaking web was "Zeugen Jehovas auf den zweiten Blick" ("a second glance on JWs"), and I can thank the author for preventing at least one baptism. Why? It's not an ex-JW site, it's not particularly negative, doesn't quote lots of strange WT stuff, it's just kind of like a friendly but skeptical raised-eyebrow look on the religion, stating facts and some (not very strong) opinions. So JWs and those on the way to being sucked in can read it without their apostate alarms going off immediately.
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Finnish Newspaper raises awareness about the JW cult
by His Excellency inhttp://yle.fi/uutiset/religion_outcasts_struggle_to_craft_new_identity/6472460.
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mariu
In pretty much all of Northern Europe, the JWs have been on a slow but steady decline for about two decades now. Not the least because it's perfectly okay there to speak out against cults, with no "political correctness" excuses.
From what I can see in Scandinavia, many congregations are stagnant with only a few born-in kids and an immigrant here and there ever getting baptised.