Moxy

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Posts by Moxy

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  16

  Kevin Metcalf, JW and counterfeiter

  by Kent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  alejandro n. mayorkas .

  united states attorney .

  central district of california .

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  Moxy

  larc & billygoat:
  sorry if my replies seem to jump around to different points. i think that i was just continuing a line of thought that kismet posted earlier. if you hadnt read that, my point may not have been clear. put simply, my objection is to the headline attached to the PR, "Kevin Metcalf, JW and counterfeiter" - this implies quite strongly that the individual IS a JW, and the article does not support that. he claimed he was, with clear ulterior motives. would i have been happier with the post if the words 'self-proclaimed' or 'alleged' or 'would-be' were added? probably. my questions are basically:

  how would a professional journalist have felt about this headline and why?

  what style of journalism does this more closely resemble?

  and i suppose the bigger questions, which billygoat is getting at, are:
  does it really matter what headline gets attached?

  is the purpose honest reporting or is it attracting readership?

  i agree with billygoat, that we are not expected to help provide answers for anyone. i also personally do not feel that i want that responsibility. but likely some do. if you do maintain a website that reports news, then what is your purpose? how do you feel your style of reporting impacts on that goal?

  im really just asking.

  im sorry that you feel it was my own fault that i did not wade thru the material presented on xjw sites to find the truth for myself sooner than i did. i would have liked it if you might have been more sensitive to the hurt it caused me but that's ok, i dont really want to get into that in detail. people can only read so much of the vast information available to them and JWs have strong motivation to find reason NOT to investigate too far. and in my case, remarkably poor reporting and baseless accusations were more than enough for me for several years. eventually, my desire to find the truth was stronger than my desire to avoid questionable journalism altho i really wish that it hadnt taken that long or been that difficult to find. when you see a headline about the worlds biggest hermaphrodite alien baby, do you pick up the article to find the nugget of truth for yourself or do just keep going thru the checkout line, spending your time on what you judge to be more worthwhile?

  mox
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  16

  Kevin Metcalf, JW and counterfeiter

  by Kent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  alejandro n. mayorkas .

  united states attorney .

  central district of california .

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  Moxy

  no, he is not the editor of a newspaper who was to get everything right. do the editors of newspapers try to get everything right because they 'have to' legally or because they are interesting in gaining credibility?

  if you report news on a website, would you like your reporting to more closely resemble tabloid journalism or professional journalism? would you care?

  how would you feel if your reporting style turned away JWs seeking answers because information was presented with technical correctness but with emotional verbiage or sensational headlines or misleading statements typical of the grocery store tabloids they see every day and immediately dismiss? (i had this exact experience myself some years ago. i might have been spared much pain otherwise.)

  i do not hold a grudge against kent but feel that these are important questions along the lines of those raised lately by kismet. i enjoy many of kents posts. the georgian article with the JW interview posted alongside this one was very good. i do not object to his character and do not see why this should be an issue. please do not make it one.

  as to the question of the JW-ness of the counterfeiter, it strains my imagination to believe that i even need to spell this out.

  i am not questioning whether this is an official doj press release.

  i am not questioning whether the named officials are real.

  i am not questioning whether the events happened as reported.

  i am not questioning whether or not this actually appeared in a newspaper or not and fail to see the relevance of this.

  i would never question the legitamcy of a webpage based on a GRAPHIC that appeared at the top of it. (this assertion frankly baffles me.)

  i am questioning the relevance of a man claiming he is a JW in hopes of reducing his prison sentence. this PR says nothing more than that except that the plea was rejected.

  mox
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  26

  Loss or gain?

  by Deacon in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  on sunday, i sat outside the local kingdom hall waiting for the meeting to start.

  being disfellowshipped, i was gonna go in late.... 20 minutes later.. i went to a starbucks instead.. i think im over it....i really do.. its a shame.

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  Moxy

  When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, "Come!" And I saw, and behold, a black horse, with a green circular logo, and its rider had a balance in his hand;
  and I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, "A cup of cappucino for a denarius, and three cups of coffee for a denarius-seventy-five; but do not harm the biscotti or the little rice krispie treats!"

  mox
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  8

  Men should be in charge!!!

  by Kent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  "i'm glad the men are in charge" .

  elena chernomazova .

  many muscovites have probably met a number of young men and women on the city's streets, young people with a sunny smile on their faces, who invite all passers-by to come to their place for a meeting, to learn the truth, enter into a spiritual brotherhood, etc.

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  Moxy

  lol

  And how do people feel about you?

  Basically, they say that they've got enough worries. We meet Devil
  worshippers, too.

  How can you tell?

  They chase us away.

  mox
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  16

  Kevin Metcalf, JW and counterfeiter

  by Kent in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  alejandro n. mayorkas .

  united states attorney .

  central district of california .

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  Moxy

  ok, a man whos being sentenced wishes to show the court how abberrant his criminal behaviour is by pointing to his religious and charitable activities. yeah, thats unbiased. what possible motives could he have for claiming that? i think ill pick up kismet's line (i think hes getting bored with this debate himself) and also ask how kent's headline distorts the article, despite the fact the article is faithfully reproduced and referenced. ie, if the newspaper (sorry, press release) had used kent's headline instead of the one they did, would they have been forced to print a retraction?

  mox

  edited for parenthetical insertion.
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  10

  London Bethel

  by Jim Dee in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  given the impending move from mill hill to derby or mk.

  should the society ask brothers for additional donations?.

  the conservative estimates are that they will get approx 193.5m for the site (inc bittacy hill) and the new greenfield site (whichever) wil cost less that 35m.

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  Moxy

  back to top in hope of more corrobative answers.
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  10

  "Present Understanding"

  by TweetieBird in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  for those of you that have been away from the borg for a while, there is a new catch phrase that has been popping up in the meetings, assembly talks, co's talks, etc.

  it seems to me that i started hearing this term shortly after the "generation" explanation fiasco.. of course, i am referring to the term, "present understanding" or "current understanding.".

  i always thought it was amusing, even when i was believing the bs, but now i find it puzzling that so many are gullible to this new phrase.

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  Moxy

  ok, first of all, 'present truth' is not an invention of russel or adventists. its in the bible: Jas 1:12 KJ

  Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though ye know them, and be established in the present truth.

  this was a poor translation and obscured the true connotation of 'present' here as 'evident' rather than 'current' the way it was used by JWs.

  secondly, given that the phrase 'present truth' has erroneous origins and is also just a plain dumb contradiction-in-terms, i have no objection to the phrase 'current understanding.' as in cosmology, i might say, 'our current understanding of the universe is that it is about 15 billion years old' with the implication that our understanding is ever open to refinement. the problem is how you TREAT the idea of current understanding and how dogmatic you are about it. particularly amusing to me is when someone on the writing committee would comment on an issue on which changes were coming. he could not answer a question, say, on the generation issue back before 95 in straight terms, 'i believe...' or 'i understand...' and then go on to give the official interpretation of the time - that would be a lie. but he would have to answer, 'well, our current understanding...'

  its the restrictiveness and secrecy thats tied up with the idea of 'current understanding' that i object to.

  mox
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  48

  Kent's Tabloid Journalism = lies??

  by Kismet in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  kent has recently undertaken posting more and more 'headlines' fashioned much like those found in tabloid rags such as the national inquirer.

  such headlines skirt the issue but rarely are an accurate representation of the real story.. case in point a headlines such as:.

  never marry a jw!

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  Moxy

  I often quote myself. It adds spice to my conversation.

  - George Bernard Shaw
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  7

  WT and Ghostbusters

  by Moxy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  the jw obsession with demons has been a theme of late, but i haven't heard much about the wt views on the physical processes actually involved in demonic activity.

  ever heard of ectoplasm?

  you know, like 'i've been slimed!

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  Moxy

  lol@alan. 'college equivalent education' indeed

  mox
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  8

  No clinking allowed

  by ozziepost in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  with the weekend almost upon us, thoughts may be going to those pleasant social gatherings where you might like to share a drink with friends.

  i was reminded of the "no clinking" rule last night when at a gathering i met up with a couple of former bethelites.

  we, my daughter, the couple and myself took glasses of champagne in hand and the ladies were about to clink glasses when they halted.

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  Moxy

  i wasnt aware that this was officially declared a conscience matter. altho of course, as you mention ozzie, unofficially it seems to be regarded as silly by the few who remember it. was this addressed in the same article about traditions that justified the use of wedding rings and calendars a few years ago?

  mox