StarTrekAngel

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Posts by StarTrekAngel

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  29

  How will many JW's react ?

  by Phizzy in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i did not believe i would see the demise of the wt in my lifetime, and maybe i will not, they may be able to ride out their present problems.. but how do you think this will affect the average, loyal, believing jw ?.

  usually most things just wash over them, if there is a slight niggle, they use their well-worn way of explaining things to themselves as in "the end is near" or "jehovah knows best" etc etc.

  but the huge sea-change in corporate policy that we see unfolding, all construction work stopped, except warwick and maybe their biggest project, chelmsford u.k. huge bethel layoffs, and the lifestyle of the remaining staff reduced to virtual slavery, more bethel closures, spiritual food reduced for the public as well as the r&f, and all of this being the opposite of what they have claimed was evidence of jehovah's blessing ???.

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  StarTrekAngel

  Well I keep seeing more and more of this construction halt on pro-JW sites. Someone even said there will be another letter speaking about that after the annual meeting. We shall wait and see. I seriously doubt they will announce such set back to all JWs.
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  37

  I'm a coward.

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  since the move, it has been so enjoyable to not have jw's breathing down our necks asking why we didn't make the meeting, or having to pretend to be "spiritual" in front of family all the time.. 90% of my week is virtually stress free.

  then, my mom calls or texts wanting to talk to her grandkids.

  every dang call, she asks about the new congregation, if we went to the meeting, etc.. why can't i tell her to fk off?

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  StarTrekAngel

  Hang in there cappy. You have done most of the work. Take a break. Can you may be avoid the calls citing busy work day?
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  42

  Why are GMO's bad?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh4bi60alzu.

  first person to say, "this scishow episode is a monsanto conspiracy," is a rotten egg..

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  StarTrekAngel

  So may be we can start by making a differentiation here. GMO as an applied field of science may be a good thing. May be it can produce safe food but such does not automatically means that the industry is using the technology ethically. It seems to me that they are not so interested on feeding the world as they are interested in their own pockets.

  Sorry to insist but a week ago, saying that car makers cheated on their emissions testing could have sounded like an environmentalist conspiracy theory. See the technology to make an environmentally friendly diesel engine is there, but there is a trade off. A trade off (low power) that if admitted openly, would cause the consumer to reconsider. The technology was applied during the emissions testing but not during normal production. What re assure us that the same isn't happening with GMO? This is where the problem relies. Allowing a corporation to toy with nature like this just because is safe could be a ticking time bomb. There should be more check and balances, at the very least, to ensure that a few greedy corporations are not going to dictate what we put in our mouths.

  An example of that, I remember, was cited during the swine flu outbreak. Apparently the WHO has the power to remove patent rights on vaccines when a pandemic is declared, so that enough vaccine can be made available.
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  42

  Why are GMO's bad?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh4bi60alzu.

  first person to say, "this scishow episode is a monsanto conspiracy," is a rotten egg..

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  StarTrekAngel

  My understanding is that in most cases, the company that sells or creates the products tests it. The FDA or the USDA don't have that much of an ability to conduct long term testing on each individual product. They can make certain studies, specially when health issues arise. But they are not able to test each product themselves. They review the tests done by the companies themselves and I assume they have people capable of understanding the science. But once again, is the government we are talking about here.

  Oh and be the way, on my previous post, lets not forget that a week ago, saying that car makers cheat on their emissions testing could have sounded like conspiracy.
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  42

  Why are GMO's bad?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh4bi60alzu.

  first person to say, "this scishow episode is a monsanto conspiracy," is a rotten egg..

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  StarTrekAngel

  I really don't care, at this point, buying GMO or not. I'll like it when the label tells me straight out what's is it but I have no reason to believe that either crowd has a definite answer. If anything, you could say that organic is the safe way but, at the same time, I can understand that the risk of eating GMO vs the risk of not eating at all are not comparable. Rather eat something. In the grand scheme of things thought, if kids in Africa are lacking a certain vitamin, we should put more efforts into knowing why we can't get food to these kids rather than figuring out how to surge their vitamin intake. Not saying the latter isn't necessary. In other words, GMO foods can be a tool for progress but science should carefully consider wether there are other alternatives and wether our choice of alternatives is driven by compassion or greed.

  Even some of the products labeled as non-GMO can contain GMO ingredients. Even as he mentioned in the video, sometimes GMO feed is given to cows. I can't help but to see loose ends anyway but I like to reaffirm that each side of this religion-like debate has its shortcomings when it comes to producing facts. For example, a GMO fish that produces more growth hormones may be safe to eat in a sense, but do we know what this excess hormone would do to us? We know that in the frenzy of producing so much milk, cows are milked constantly. The cows being pregnant at some point, means that a lot of milk is loaded with estrogen. While it is not the only source, other non-related studies suggest that overconsumption of estrogen and estrogen mimicking substances can have an impact on our health. I know GMOs have been around for decades but so have been low fat products and just now we are beginning to understand that low fat was not necessarily well understood.

  If the industry has to redefine the meaning of organic or twist the label to claim "non-GMO", then I will doubt all the information out there is accurate. Does it remind you of the overlapping generation? I also very much against putting intellectual rights on genes. Is just a step in a very bad direction.

  I am more inclined to label transparency so that we can make informed choices rather than have to trust the industry to give us the right things.
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  29

  How will many JW's react ?

  by Phizzy in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i did not believe i would see the demise of the wt in my lifetime, and maybe i will not, they may be able to ride out their present problems.. but how do you think this will affect the average, loyal, believing jw ?.

  usually most things just wash over them, if there is a slight niggle, they use their well-worn way of explaining things to themselves as in "the end is near" or "jehovah knows best" etc etc.

  but the huge sea-change in corporate policy that we see unfolding, all construction work stopped, except warwick and maybe their biggest project, chelmsford u.k. huge bethel layoffs, and the lifestyle of the remaining staff reduced to virtual slavery, more bethel closures, spiritual food reduced for the public as well as the r&f, and all of this being the opposite of what they have claimed was evidence of jehovah's blessing ???.

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  StarTrekAngel

  I know the letter is there but the letter says nothing about construction work. The rest so far seems to be speculation based on input that we may be able to trust. I am talking about hard proof.
• 
  29

  How will many JW's react ?

  by Phizzy in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i did not believe i would see the demise of the wt in my lifetime, and maybe i will not, they may be able to ride out their present problems.. but how do you think this will affect the average, loyal, believing jw ?.

  usually most things just wash over them, if there is a slight niggle, they use their well-worn way of explaining things to themselves as in "the end is near" or "jehovah knows best" etc etc.

  but the huge sea-change in corporate policy that we see unfolding, all construction work stopped, except warwick and maybe their biggest project, chelmsford u.k. huge bethel layoffs, and the lifestyle of the remaining staff reduced to virtual slavery, more bethel closures, spiritual food reduced for the public as well as the r&f, and all of this being the opposite of what they have claimed was evidence of jehovah's blessing ???.

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  StarTrekAngel

  What proof do we have so far that the construction work has stopped? I mean construction of KH, not HQ. How do you bring up material proof that this has indeed happened, meanwhile collections are still being made from the congregations?

  Sincerely asking because I would love to get hands on some of it.
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  79

  Right everyone watch this video its insane!

  by username in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  i'm just watching this video.

  now bare in mind this guy has never been a jehovah's witness so he has no investment in this cult.. https://youtu.be/_ry-onhbkya.

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  StarTrekAngel

  I have not read all of the other threads about the fund. Would any of it save them from saying that even thought they are just the beneficiary, they are not exempted from making sure they don't have blood money in their hands? I remember talks where they said that we should not work for questionable enterprises and that we should find out what their real business is. I also remember them teaching me how the Harlot (aka the catholic church) had investments in porn companies. In fact, not long ago someone made that comment in JW-Archive.

  I also remember my wife saying that if she ever won the lottery she would make a big donation, just to have my MIL tell her that they would never accept it. I would close the case saying that I am sure they will not ask where you get it from.
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  7

  Summary of "Imitate Jehovah" convention

  by StarTrekAngel in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  this is just a brief summary of the convention this past weekend at the ah in la feria, tx .

  attendance was 1100 and 9 baptized, two of them very young.

  the elder that gave the baptism speech let out that the day before there was 6 baptisms.

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  StarTrekAngel

  This is just a brief summary of the convention this past weekend at the AH in La Feria, TX . Attendance was 1100 and 9 baptized, two of them very young. The elder that gave the baptism speech let out that the day before there was 6 baptisms. I speculate attendance was about the same the day before. Our circuit just got reorganized not too long ago and now the assemblies are a bit smaller than they used to. We stayed in for lunch and you could pretty much hear the silence inside the hall. Total cost for the one day assembly was $8,300. By mid afternoon there was a deficit of over $5,000. Accounts person also mentioned a $1,500 deficit from the previous assembly in February. Long gone are the days where I would estimate that a $0.50 donation for each attendee would cover. Not the case anymore.

  The assembly itself was pretty dull. I always prepare myself from what I am about to hear so I try to tune out most that I can. However, they never stop surprising me. We have a new CO in the circuit. Guy with first assignment, fresh out of the school. He seems to have a lot of energy and willingness to be strong worded.

  In the terms of money, there was a pretty big speech regarding giving more time and money, off course. There was also a demonstration of how to keep a simple life and avoid unnecessary expenses. You know, the less you spend, the more you can give. In the demonstration the kid approaches his dad with the latest offer from his cell phone carrier. The dad can't deny that paying $200 for the latest phone on a new two year deal is a good bargain. Never the less, he begins to lecture his son on how much more useful that money would be if they put it forth for kingdom interests. With the end so near and so much need for new construction, he said.

  Later, the CO started the public talk about how God sees religion. His opening remarks were about how disappointed people are with religions. Among many things, he mentioned the abuse of children by the clergy. At that point I had to get up and walk outside. I knew there was a pretty self righteous speech ahead. I can stomach the speech, but I knew I would not be able to stop myself from having a conversation with the wife later that day. So I rather not hear it.

  This is the first time I had to get up and walk out. I am afraid more will come.
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  8

  Pope praises the Wild Beast (UN)

  by Quarterback in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  the pope stated at his un address that, "if it wasn't for the un's work on the world's conflicts, the world would be alot worse".

  i just wonder how that statement will be taken in jw land.

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  StarTrekAngel

  People have already been making prophetic comments about this picture in pro-JW facebook pages. You bet they will be doing even worst with the UN