HotelCalifornia,
We understand. More than you know. Welcome to the site.My father is also an angry piece of work. Only the good die young according to Mr. Joel.
this is my first post.
i just had to get that statement off of my chest!
my father is one cold hearted judge mental, hypocritical, piece of s**t. i hate this religion and what it has done to my family!
i accidentally came across this youtube video, "why the west fears putin.
" curious, i watched it.
you may find it interesting also.
The average Russian isn't much different than the average American when it comes to liking politicians. Rattling sabers will almost always increase popularity, and Vlad knows this well. After some of his little green men shot down the wrong plane, the sanctions and the free fall of oil prices Vlad was in a serious funk. What better way to get yourself out of it than to conduct some 'fly-bys', blame the W and rattle some more sabers.
That will help his popularity until it doesn't. Russians are used to malaise and 'suffering' that would make the typical American scream for anarchy, or at least immediate change. Many in Russia believe the energy contract makes Russia the poor commodity provider slave to the Chinese in this process. Providing the raw materials rather than making the stuff is a losers' strategy, but Vlad is addicted to oil revenues. Until the Russian economy diversifies and loses its cocaine like addiction to easy oil $$ their economy will always be tenuously tied to sanctions, cartels, recessions and of course the price of the cocaine, I mean oil.
Vlad has also arranged things so that he is essentially a dictator who deals ruthlessly with challengers. He has shown that he can be an astute and pragmatic politico when needed, but people tend to default to their real selves when pressured - and he is feeling a lot of pressure right now.
Vlad is one scary mofo, and there are times when a lot of people, including me, wonder how far he will go. He is a cold blooded murderer, based on intel. And he does it with panache that for some reason attracts a lot of admirers.
So FTS, the Russian issue right now is centered around one personality, so it is difficult to speak rationally about Russia itself, which I believe most of the W world want to see succeed.
several times over the past few months i have had conversations, both here and in real life, with religious people making all sorts of interesting and conflicting claims.
i like to know how things work, so generally i will ask questions to net out what i am being told and see if it can be explained and make sense.. for instance, if someone said 2+2=4 and i asked how, there are a variety of ways that could be shown to me, a number line, physical objects being put together, counting on fingers and toes, etc.
indeed, in my personal life, i often have to explain how certain technologies work, sometimes planned, sometimes off the cuff, from a variety of group sizes to a varying degree of technical expertise.
Why? I don't know, but some guesstimates:
a. Pride/arrogance - Can affect smart or dumb, rational or irrational, educated or un-educated.
b. Personality Type - Feeler/Perceivers typically 'make up their minds' based on emotions and perceptions. They don't like the facts/evidence to confuse them, and they almost always seek information/knowledge that confirms their biases and reject all other sources. Rational personality types, based on the data, are more likely to analyze all of the data before making up their minds and to reject theism.
c. Education - As Bono says: "The less you know the more you believe." Studies suggest the more educated an individual the more likely they are to seek evidence before making up their minds and to reject theism.
d. Intelligence - It is what it is, and studies suggest a strong correlation between lack of intelligence and theism.
e. A combination or mixture of a, b, c and d.
can anyone confirm they seem to be having disagreement writing dept and service dept some feel that df ok as long as you do not add wholesale across the board shunning regardless of the sin ..
If the Dark Lords are smart they are working on a contingency plan to address governmental actions against DFing policies. Which means they aren't. If they were I could write the damned article for them:
"Divine Mercy Points the Way Back for Erring Ones, Part Deux"
They could spin it based on Leviticus 25, calling it a Jubilee, wherein slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven and the mercies of God would be particularly manifest. " . . ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family. . . "
can anyone confirm they seem to be having disagreement writing dept and service dept some feel that df ok as long as you do not add wholesale across the board shunning regardless of the sin ..
Few if any religions are as hated by ex-members as the Borg. Few, if any, X-tian religions are based on control of the sheeple as the Borg. DFing is the primary means of control. Do the math. I'm with Hoser and EyeUsetoBeaDub - unless governments threaten actions against such behaviors the Dark Lords will never change DFing. They might reduce the numbers of new DF cases (adopting a 'keep your friends close but your enemies closer' strategy) but do any of us really think they will break down the walls that separate US from our families and friends still trapped inside the cult?
I have stated before that I believe the ex-JW activists would be more effective if they developed a political action committee or established a lobbying organization in major world capitols to try to get legislation passed to curb or end DFing based on it being a hate crime that destroys families, thereby causing real problems for governments. It would likely only take one major W country to ban religions from DFing to make the Dark Lords change the policy.
why ukraine, georgia and moldova should choose the eu ...www.forbes.com/.../why-ukraine-georgia-and-moldova-should-ch...forbe.
oct 13, 2014 - by vasil jaiani - despite the risk, ukraine, georgia and moldova are still ...russia has been fiercely opposing integration of the former soviet ...russia's punitive trade policy measures towards ukraine ...www.ceps.eu/.../russias-punitive-trade-policy-measures-towards-ukraine.... sep 25, 2014 - russia's punitive trade policy measures towards ukraine, moldova and georgia.if you don't have adobe reader, you can download it here.eu signs pacts with ukraine, georgia and moldova - bbc.comwww.bbc.com/.../world-europe-280526...british broadcasting corporation.
jun 27, 2014 - ukraine, georgia and moldova have signed partnership agreements with theeuropean union, in a move strongly opposed by russia.
Scotoma,
Obviously (sent from my box). Good luck. You will need it.
i accidentally came across this youtube video, "why the west fears putin.
" curious, i watched it.
you may find it interesting also.
Thanks Kalk,
As always excellent analysis. I've avoided responding to the Vlad bromance comments because they are not really what the OP is about. Vlad, as I've pointed out before, is KGB through and through. Since he came to power, anyone in Russia directly confronting or challenging him has died swiftly and mysteriously, and he is leading Russia into a recurring 2nd world status economically. To think he is now the moral example for anyone other than mafia hit men or napoleonic wannabes is laughable.
He has accomplished some positive things for Russia, including modernizing the military and getting the economy out of the hole created by Yeltsin and others, but his threats and actions in the Crimea and the Ukraine suggest a return to the worst of the 20th Century. No one blames them for wanting to secure Mother Russia, and their desire to spread their influence there is of course reasonable. But the 'little green men' firing high tech guided missiles and operating the other military equipment in E. Ukraine are not Ukrainians - they are a Russian trained and equipped assault force. And the population has not welcomed them with wine and roses as he had hoped. He isn't likely to get any of the former republics back, which appears to be his desire, without a lot of bloodshed and a possible escalation of the conflagration to a worldwide level.
He is a lot of things - a moral compass isn't one of them. Ask the oligarchs; all of them have established an offshore presence, and their moving more of their assets to other countries in a large manner since the recession has really angered Vlad, which is why one of them is now in a Siberian prison. The oligarchs made a deal with the devil so to speak by agreeing to give up any political power in return for their ability to become rich. And stay alive.
He is also waging 'war' with Russians who don't agree with him, creating laws to punish dissenters quickly and harshly, including by his own paramilitary hit men more reminiscent of the Fedayeen Saddam than anything approaching western views of democratic reform.
why ukraine, georgia and moldova should choose the eu ...www.forbes.com/.../why-ukraine-georgia-and-moldova-should-ch...forbe.
oct 13, 2014 - by vasil jaiani - despite the risk, ukraine, georgia and moldova are still ...russia has been fiercely opposing integration of the former soviet ...russia's punitive trade policy measures towards ukraine ...www.ceps.eu/.../russias-punitive-trade-policy-measures-towards-ukraine.... sep 25, 2014 - russia's punitive trade policy measures towards ukraine, moldova and georgia.if you don't have adobe reader, you can download it here.eu signs pacts with ukraine, georgia and moldova - bbc.comwww.bbc.com/.../world-europe-280526...british broadcasting corporation.
jun 27, 2014 - ukraine, georgia and moldova have signed partnership agreements with theeuropean union, in a move strongly opposed by russia.
Scotoma,
You promised: "I don't plan on writing anymore about prophecy. If anyone has a real interest they can message me.
Sorry for boring everyone."
what's the problem with prophecy?prophecy primarily requires a pattern recognition or insightful strategy not an analytical strategy.
prophecy rarely gives names whether of empires or their rulers.
even the name of the messiah - yeshua -wasn't foretold.
similarities between, jw:ism, stalinism, putinism, and mullahism, popeism and maoism..
all these leaders has been elected by un elite group controlling big values in form of real estate, bank account, enthusiastic voluntary working task forces, almost willingly to die for their leaders.
the workers (slave class), is never ever supposed to question the leaders decisions.
The difference between a Totalitarian regime and the Borg is that one of them is a regime based on subordination of the individual and strict control of all aspects of the life and productive capacity of the individual especially by coercive measures.
While the other one operates out of cities such as Pyongyang and Riyadh.