Posts by 144thousand_and

182

Watchtower to pay for Silentlambs trip

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

from silentlambs (bill bowen):.

on thursday of this week world wide work money will again be spent to protect a pedophile.

in addition it will also be spent to pay money to a disfellowshipped person in order to find a way to prevent them from assisting the court case of abuse survivors.

144thousand_and_one

Mary,

I'm not up to speed on the case at issue, but I'd be willing to bet that the Watchtower could care less about the interests of the perpetrator of this crime. The Watchtower is a business, and it is their own financial interests they seek to protect. If you think their defense of Mr. Berry is for Mr. Berry's benefit, I've got some investments in Nigeria I'd like to talk to you about.

I am the last person who would defend the Watchtower, as I feel victimized by them as well. But I believe in our justice system and the fundamental ideas it is founded upon, such as the notion that one is innocent until proven guilty and should not have their life, liberty or property taken from them without due process of law.

If we're going to "try" cases on this web page that is frequented almost entirely by ex-JWs, then it seems only fair to me that those making assertions in this regard be exposed to scrutiny, even if that scrutiny comes from ex-JWs (like me). Due to legal reasons, the Watchtower will not defend itself here. It's up to the rest of us on this forum to question both the statements of others here as well as their motives. I believe in questioning authority, even if that authority purports to be aligned with my own views.

DJ,

I fail to see how my post is an "overreaction." No one is trying the case here, but some are certainly presenting their side of the story, and it seems only fair that one-sided presentations ought to be scrutinized by the readers here.

182

Watchtower to pay for Silentlambs trip

by Dogpatch in

jw
friends

from silentlambs (bill bowen):.

on thursday of this week world wide work money will again be spent to protect a pedophile.

in addition it will also be spent to pay money to a disfellowshipped person in order to find a way to prevent them from assisting the court case of abuse survivors.

144thousand_and_one

[QUOTE] Watchtower is providing me with an all expense paid trip to New Hampshire in order to take a deposition from me. Plane fare, motel, rental car, food, all paid by world wide work monies. The purpose of the deposition is to question and determine my basis as an expert witness for Heather and Holly. In other words they are going to try and find a way to discredit me to prevent my testimony in their trial [/QUOTE]

Expert witnesses in any civil action are routinely deposed. The purpose of the deposition is to discover the nature of the deponent's testimony that will occur at trial. This enables opposing counsel to prepare to rebut said testimony through cross-examination and introduction of evidence that tends to refute the witness' statements. If a deponent is lying, they deserve to be discredited, regardless of their religious beliefs or status as an "apostate." This post seems aimed at sensationalizing what is a very normal part of the litigation process.

Cases like these ought to be tried in a courtroom, rather than on a web page.

6

What online games do u play?

by RubyTuesday in

http://ff.uproar.com/xappgames/password.asp

i have been playing password...it so much fun playing with other people.

if you want to play with me i'm rubyt3.

144thousand_and_one

nun.

106

My Letter to the Elders in My Late Father's Congregation

by cruzanheart in

well, guys, here it is.

it's going in the mail tomorrow.

it's for me but, dad, it's also for you.

144thousand_and_one

(((Nina)))

I'm sorry to hear of your loss and disgusted at the circumstances you set forth in that well-written letter. Letters to that congregation from others here, expressing concern over this matter, may if nothing else let them know that they are being looked at with contempt over such actions and encourage them to reconsider their conduct in this regard. I'd be happy to send one but won't do it unless you give an ok here.

I wish you the best and a speedy recovery from your grief.

144,001

110

The Dixie Chicks

by Stan Conroy in

i don't understand the logic of boycotting the dixie chicks because of the comments the singer made about being ashamed that bush is from texas.

it doesn't make sense to me.

keep in mind that i'm just a canadian, so maybe i'm just not tuned in to the american way of thinking.

144thousand_and_one

Yeru,

Whether we call it "censorship" or "inappropriate control of airwaves by a single corporate entity," something is wrong when a corporation is allowed to be in a position to control what a substantial segment of our population is permitted to see or hear. Semantics are really irrelevant to this issue.

Personally, I share the views espoused by the Dixie Chicks regarding our current president. However, my dislike of Bush has nothing to do with his actions in Iraq or Afghanistan. I prefer not to make judgments without knowing the facts, and when it comes to national security, I believe we have to support our commander in chief, regardless of our personal feelings about him. My disdain for Bush has more to do with his domestic policies, which are devastating our country and will take years to correct. When Bush was governor, Texas had the worst environmental record in the country. He has taken his disregard for the environment with him to the white house. He imposed a ban on any discussion by the EPA of perchlorate, a toxin that threatens our water and food supplies. They can't even discuss it? Which special interest is he protecting by imposing such an unprecedented gag order? Note the recent resignation of the Bush-appointed EPA chief .

Mr. Bush is also pushing to begin oil drilling in ANWAR, one of the country's last great wilderness areas (Alaska). He justifies this by asserting that we need to "break our dependence on foreign oil." However, studies have shown that drilling at ANWAR will do nothing to break our dependence on foreign oil. Much if not most of our domestically produced oil is sold overseas where a higher market price prevails. There is nothing to stop the same situation from occurring with any oil found at ANWAR. Environmentalists have predicted possible species extinctions (e.g. caribou) attributable to Mr. Bush's reckless environmental policies. Fortunately, Mr. Bush is having trouble convincing senators from his own party to back this reckless plan.

Has anyone noticed how horrible the US economy has performed under the leadership of Mr. Bush? I lost $4,000.00 on my stocks the day he became president. Governmental spending has reached an all-time high under Mr. Bush, yet he has signed a bill to give the country a $350 billion tax cut, with most of the benefit going to the wealthy. Even Alan Greenspan, a conservative and obviously extremely well-respected economist (as well as chairman of the federal reserve), has criticized the Bush plan as "premature." When you increase spending and decrease your revenue, the result is deficits. The tax cut is obviously motivated by Mr. Bush's desire to be reelected. The next generation can pay for his deficits, right?

27

Do you remember why the "donation" arrangement came about?

by Jourles in

jw
friends

over ten years ago when the society changed their format from a contribution basis(pay us for the literature) to a complete donation arrangement, what were you told as to the reason for making this change?

simplification?

easier on the brothers to receive literature?

144thousand_and_one

The case that forced the Jehovah's Witness' hand on this issue is Swaggart v. Board of Equalization. The Jehovah's Witnesses filed an amicus brief ("friend of the Court" brief) with the Court on this case. Amicus briefs are filed by individuals and/or entities that are not parties to a given court action but whose interests may be affected by the outcome of the case. Years back, I read the amicus brief filed by the Witnesses in that case and found that they claimed (paraphrased from my memory) that every Jehovah's Witness is a door to door publisher. If my memory serves me correct, there were always several Jehovah's Witnesses who did not engage in "field service." That representation, made to the highest court of our country, seemed dishonest to me. I've raised the issue with several witnesses, and was told there was nothing dishonest about that statement. They said "if you're not going from door to door, you're not a witness." That "new light" continues to flow! Is there a radiation leak?

What's really hilarious about that brief is that in effect, it was advocating a decision in favor of Jimmy Swaggart. Imagine; Jimmy and the org as a team? The possibilities are scary!!!

110

The Dixie Chicks

by Stan Conroy in

i don't understand the logic of boycotting the dixie chicks because of the comments the singer made about being ashamed that bush is from texas.

it doesn't make sense to me.

keep in mind that i'm just a canadian, so maybe i'm just not tuned in to the american way of thinking.

144thousand_and_one

Yeru:

You said, "Basic fact for ya, most people do not consider individual radio stations choosing not to carry someone's music as censorship. Most rational people consider censorship something directed from the government. The Radio station has made a choice. You don't like that choice. Boycott that radio station, it's the american way."

The issue here is not individual radio stations making such a choice; rather, the issue is companies like Clear Channel, which controls a substantial segment of the airwaves (over 1,000 radio stations), imposing their views on the rest of us. Clear Channel is not a governmental entity, yet it exercises significant control over the airwaves, making its control akin to the control exerted by the government in this regard. Their ability to "censor" the airwaves is obvious and it seems stricter governmental regulation of companies like Clear Channel is warranted. Boycotting an individual radio station is easy, it's much harder to boycott 1,000+ radio stations owned by a conglomerate bully with censorship objectives.

Thank you and all others who serve in our military for fighting to defend America and its interests. Among the American ideals defended by our military is the right for our citizens to dissent. Our country is founded upon dissent and dissent continues to play a very important role in our "system of things." Intolerance of dissent leads to totalitarian regimes like Saddam's and the Watchtower.

110

The Dixie Chicks

by Stan Conroy in

i don't understand the logic of boycotting the dixie chicks because of the comments the singer made about being ashamed that bush is from texas.

it doesn't make sense to me.

keep in mind that i'm just a canadian, so maybe i'm just not tuned in to the american way of thinking.

144thousand_and_one

It's one thing when fans boycott an entertainer, it's entirely different when bloated, powerful media conglomerates use their muscle to snuff out the work of successful artists like the Dixie Chicks, solely for their stated political views. The Dixie Chicks have recently found it very difficult to get airplay, despite overwhelming past success at it. Allowing a few big media conglomerates to censor artists for their political views is unamerican, and we, the consumers, ought to express our indignation with their conduct by boycotting radio stations that don't respect the values this country was founded upon.

27

For Hamas

by Yerusalyim in

thought i'd start a new thread for this conversation.. .

first, you didn't respond to the charter for the organization hamas.

it is indeed an islamic (radical) group dedicated to erradicating israel.. .

144thousand_and_one

I was beginning to feel sorry for the Palestinians, but when I saw them celebrating after 9/11, my sympathy was replaced by disgust. Regardless of their issues, celebrating the death of the thousands of innocents who died on that day is subhuman at best. These people have been indoctrinated in a culture of violence and seem incapable of existing in peace with others.

I don't like George Bush and I didn't vote for him. But I won't criticize his handling of these events, including the Iraq war and current occupation. Mr. Bush is privy to information that none of the rest of us in the US know about, and we will have to trust him to do what's right for our security. Sometimes the best defense is a good offense.

45

If you could spend a whole day with anyone .......

by azaria in

jw
friends

dead (resurrected ) or alive who would you choose?.

mood barometer: a little melancholy, but basically .

every once in a while i think of who i would like to meet.

144thousand_and_one

Dr. Timothy Leary

144thousand_and_one

Posts by 144thousand_and_one