James Thomas Rook Jr.

How about a heavy three pound gold Rolex JW.ORG medallion necklace ?

It may be arguable as to whether or not the Japanese Attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7, 1941 was a sneak attack, as Washington cryptographers had broken the Japanese codes, and sent a telegram to Pearl Harbor for them to anticipate imminent attack ... but down on the ground, and in the harbor, it was a sneak attack.

2 hours ago, TrueTomHarley said:

It gets dumber. It is not just a fact that he has offered in your eyes— it is a FACT! But his opinion? Obviously he doesn’t know what he is talking about and he may even be lying. Yet when it comes to chronology you are like a child at his feet, lapping up every word—never doubting for a second his judgement, even while admitting it is over your head because you don’t really dig into things.

AND, an attack before a formal declaration of war.

That attack brought the United States into the World War against Japan, and Germany, allied with Japan.

Either you get it ....... or you don't.

3 hours ago, TrueTomHarley said:

The four windows reminds us of the four angels on the four corners of the earth holding tight the four winds of the earth. The carpet covering the dirt of the floor reminds up of the love that is to cover the sins of others. The blue reminds us of heaven where those 4 angels hang out on a nice day.

The burning question on MOST peoples' minds is:

If all four windows in the house face South .... what color is the Bear ?

I don't know ANYBODY, anywhere, in any religion, that is not a Star Wars Fan.

I like the first episode out (actually episode 3 in the series), that introduced the series, with that rolling episode opening.

It is with that first movie I began to appreciate Cinnebons, and canister vacuum cleaners

32 minutes ago, César Chávez said:

This is why, I have yet to see the Watchtower subvert the word of God in purpose, like conflicted witnesses, opposers and Christendom.

Incompetence is indistinguishable from deliberate subversion.

Entirely believable, JWI, as I have seen stuff like that and worse ....

I am a Barbarian, and my record is better than theirs for understanding what scriptures really mean, as their understanding is policy and agenda driven, and they can enforce under penalty of disfellowshipping any crazy nonsense a normal person would immediately see as nonsense.

Apparently, the Family of Richard Jewell LIKES the movie.

...Good enough for me to wait 7 months and get it delivered to my home for 78 cents, on Netflix DVD.

That's how my wife and I saw "The Mule", his previous movie, which we both enjoyed immensely.

..... total cost 39 cents each ... postage paid both ways.

26 minutes ago, TrueTomHarley said:

Still, jw.org itself would not countenance it. They are on record as to how they feel about use of their copywrited images. To be sure, they probably have bigger fish to fry.

It is my understanding that the U.S. Trademark Office denied them a "copyright", actually a registered trademark, for two reasons:

1) Somebody else already had a trademark registered that was JW.com, or something like that, and

2.) The logo was too generic.

So, unless they have changed something since I last checked, somewhere around four years ago, legally, their preferences do not  matter.... at least for the JW.ORG in the blue square.

Everything comes to him who has the patience to wait ... and hustles while he waits !

I hope he does well in his entrepreneurship.

WOW! That is one HUGE Airplane !

...and where's Beaker?

Hey... whazzup folks !

Jehovah and people of similar ethereal substance obviously do not need this physical Universe .... NONE of it.

Since by ACTUAL TEST, confirmed and documented extensively, mankind has crossed 240,000 miles of hard vacuum and landed on the Earth's Moon ... MANY times ... at at my last count we had NINE robots running around on the surface of Mars, and have explored the Sol Solar System, and have several active probes (Voyager 1, and Voyager 2) in Interstellar Space between the stars,  it seems quite clear to me, in fact IRREFUTABLE, that how we should interpret such words and phrases as "Earth, and "... vicinity of the Earth", it includes the entirety of the physical Universe.

Of course, to get there, you would need people that would live forever, as there is no evidence for faster than light travel, and psychologically, time would need to slow down as your Starship approached  significantly to the speed of light.

Cool, eh?

To the best of our knowledge and belief, that is what Jehovah has planned for flesh and blood people, and that is precisely how the physics of space travel actually works.

As Marvin Webster sez: "Y'all think about it."

....sigh .....

If taking fractional blood is OK .... and according to the Governing Body it is left up to your own conscience ...

...then why is not fractional Neutrality also left up to ones' own conscience.

......such as "Give Caesar's things to Caesar ... but God's things to God", ..... meaning you can participate in commonly deciding with your community how it is to be managed and operated (voting), but drawing the line at giving your allegiance to a political entity, and fighting to preserve it from enemies, domestic and foreign?

It seems to me that if fractional blood products are "legal", then fractional neutrality is also something that should be left to your conscience.

As Marvin Webster sez: "Y'all think about it."

=  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  =  = 

I think the issue is going to be resolved that way pretty soon, anyway, because of Norway's getting fed up with the WTB&TS getting Norwegian tax subsidies for the 112,000 Jehovah's Witnesses in Norway, when they are engaged in forbidding the JWs to vote, which they consider to be an abominable violation of basic human rights, on an elemental level, and there are several million dollars involved, and a dangerous extremist position, a cancer on THEIR society.

Nothing changes Watchtower policy faster than the idea of losing free money.

.... as it did with the blood issue after being sued by the families of those who died needing blood.

6 hours ago, Arauna said:

So no- we are NOT to consume whole  blood in any way. When it comes to fractions, it is a personal decision, 

I would VERY much like to see the scripture for that one.

It is a rhetorical comment, of course because there aren't any ... merely the personal opinions of a group of men who are trying not to be financially sued out of a job.

While you are looking that up, consider this ..... If its OK to receive everything that is blood that is fractionated .... can you also DONATE blood if you are assured it will be fractionated?

.... might be a handy source of income when a Brother or Sister's rent is due, and they don't have enough money to pay it.

Hmmmmm?

6 minutes ago, TrueTomHarley said:

What won’t save at least one life? The idiot!!!”

A case of crabs ..... depending on if you are starving ... and they are "those" kind of crabs.

My idea of "dressing up" is carrying my 15 shot 9mm handgun, instead of my usual 5 shot .38 SPL handgun.

... whatever floats yer boat!

... but you can probably tell how much Ah trusts people.

As Les Nessman of WKRP, Cincinnati Radio once said in a live broadcast Thanksgiving Promotion from a shopping mall with an overhead helicopter tossing out turkeys from about 2000 feet, and they spattered as they hit cars and pavement "they are hitting the ground like sacks of wet cement" Oh, the inhumanity of it!", and Station Manager Arthur Carlton said "As God is my witness, I thought turkeys could fly !!".

I have been thinking about writing a novel about a Jehovah's Witness that goes back in time, and successfully assassinates Adolf Hitler, and how the world progresses from that point onward.

It will have a LOT of known facts, and a LOT of stuff completely made up from my imagination. 

I think books like this are called "Docu-Novels"

In order to not be intellectually dishonest, I would have to market it as a "docu-novel", and then I would not have to have a statement inside stating that

40 minutes ago, 4Jah2me said:

“It is not claimed that the explanations in this publication are infallible. Like Joseph of old, we say: “Do not interpretations belong to God?” (Genesis 40:8)”

.... but, knowing how people ARE .... it might be a good idea to put a statement like this on the inside title page .....

...in LARGE type.

.... uh .... in order to not be intellectually dishonest,

I bet you are a LOT of fun at parties ! (NOT)

It's called casual conversation.

Not EVERYTHING has to be an epistle of epic proportions and importance.

Now, the part where I agree with you.

Your last sentence.

10 minutes ago, 4Jah2me said:

Well of course the GB / Writing dept DO have to fill up space in the magazines each month. 

I could do with a one page synopsis.

It's like being stuck in the 7th grade ..... FOREVER.

18 minutes ago, TrueTomHarley said:

This is not bad, JTR. I get your point. Don’t agree with it, but I do get it.

I am glad YOU get the point, because I did not know there was a point to be gotten.

Prostitutes are sometimes known to wear high stiletto heel shoes. This does NOT mean that all people wearing high stiletto heel shoes are prostitutes.  I just probably means they have an excellent sense of balance, and are masochists and stupid.

Opinions vary about whether "things" have meanings, or not.

Until about 20 years ago I was on a slow boil EVERY December 7, because of the treachery of the Japanese Empire, when in fact that Empire had not existed for more than 30 years.

The above video has good points, bad points and silly points, on both sides of the argument.

It's like fish ... some parts need to be eaten, and some parts thrown away.

Wisdom is knowing which ones.

I knew that already, when I could feel the pain in my frame, and axles, and my skin was yellow.

...in my dream, the buses were out racing on the weekend, or something.

When I woke up I thought "Where did all of THAT come from?"

Matthew9969:

I know where you are coming from, but I realize that in human motivations there are truly INFINITE variety.

Before my wife became a JW, about 9 nears ago, she was Catholic, and she tells me that neither she or her mother worshipped the  many idols or statues and whatnot in her church.

... and besides ... you cannot blaspheme against a person, or against God if you are misrepresenting what a person believes.

Now, you are just making stuff up.

Too true, TTH.

Saturday night I had a full color vision in a dream while I was sleeping, and woke up and told it to my wife, Susan.

In this dream I was in a race with three large bright yellow school buses, racing up a hill to a Tee intersection, in single file, along a wooded country road, and I was the third school bus in line, and being old it was a big struggle to keep up, as the other two were newer school buses with newer engines.

I was the actual bus ... not a driver IN the bus, and the other buses were the same.

As I tried to pass I was hitting logs, and potholes, and I could feel it in my frame and in my axles, and realized the probability of me getting to the Tee intersection first was slim.

... and  then, the lead school bus said to the second school bus, which I overheard above the roar of the engines and the clashing of gears "You know, when we get back, they are going to check the mileage, and they will know we have been racing ...."

I have been trying to put that into some context, but am at a loss.