konceptual99

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Posts by konceptual99

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  75

  Apostasy: The Movie - Directed by Daniel Kokotajlo

  by darkspilver in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  daniel kokotajlo's new film apostasy has it's world premiere at the toronto international film festival in september 2017. apostasy.

  family and faith come into conflict for two jehovah’s witness sisters in manchester, when one is condemned for fornication and the other pressured to shun her sibling.. this fresh, unadorned first feature from director dan kokotajlo carries an unmistakable note of authenticity from its very first scenes.

  set in a jehovah's witness community in england, the film's strength and power lies in its directness.. apostasy depicts the growing rift in a family — a mother and two daughters — who are rigorously devoted to their religion.

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  konceptual99

  Nice one DS - do we know anyone from here who is going?
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  45

  Britain Branch to Cease Printing Sooner Than Expected

  by The Searcher in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  i've received the following news from a reliable and trusted source: .

  the demise of printing literature in the u.k. is being brought forward by one year - to march 2018. graphic design and printing support will go too.

  large numbers of "disposable" bethelites will now have to make their own way in the world, when their "mother" abandons them.

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  konceptual99

  Dunno what DS has to say regarding your question SBF but my gut feel is that book production will reduce down to the minimum they feel is required to facilitate the public preaching work. They will continue to have a greater need for physical media in parts of the world than others so I don't see a completely digital publishing business any time soon.

  They have already made big steps in centralising printing and production in key hubs. I suspect they are keeping tabs on literature requests and have a threshold in mind where they stop shipments of all but essential physical media to congregations to be used only for preaching and insist that individuals use digital instead for everything else and "print at home" if they want a physical copy.

  We may see the evolution of digital carts over time as well where there are no publications.

  I also expect even more use of video. I can see the presentation of more of the meetings in the form of complete talks on video. They might increase the number of global broadcasts, move CA talks to pre-prepared videos or split the public talk into a video segment top and tailed by a local brother. CO visits will likely have more video presentations, especially for the pioneers and MS/elder meetings.

  Overall I see the use of video as a way of ensuring a consistent message that has all the right hooks for propaganda and indoctrination neatly incorporated. It also paves the way for enabling RCs to be distributed to the assembly halls since the overhead of running the event would be reduced.

  As for branch personnel it's all about downsizing as we know but they have hit upon a great method for keeping up the manpower requirements they do have. They are increasing the number of commuters and remote workers. These have the advantage that many of them are not officially Bethelites. They are ones who are substituting pioneering for service to the organisation in other ways. They work part time and pay their own expenses. It's an absolute winner for the org.
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  7

  Of hurricanes and 9/11

  by zeb in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a poster commenting on the houston sit and closed kh's made reference to '9/11' referring to the failure of the wt/bethel to offer first aid support to people fleeing from the crashes.. could someone enlighten me please..

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  konceptual99

  I recall that they locked the doors of Bethel but I am happy to be corrected.
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  45

  Just A Thought Regarding The Bunker Video

  by pale.emperor in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  as ridiculous as the bunker video was, a few things popped into my consciousness as i was riding the train today.

  firstly, why did they go to all the expense and effort to not only create a bunker, but to furnish it like a living room complete with coffee table, armchair, shelves etc?

  i mean, a bunker should be a bunker... boxes of tinned food, tools, medical supplies, emergency gear etc.

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  konceptual99

  Like many things discussed on forums like this, let's not confuse our perception of a WTS scenario with how the WTS and the faithful see it.

  As WiFiBandit says, the WT has never termed it "bunker", it's simply a representation of how the WTS speculate things could be if Witnesses are under ban or otherwise restricted. TBH, meeting discretely and in secret has been a feature of their work in a number of lands over the years where Witnesses have been persecuted - this simply is set in a US house basement bringing it home to us softies in the West that this is what could happen.

  Of course, it's fear mongering and playing up to the narrative they have around Armageddon etc. but it's not really much more than them showing how groups would have some kind of designated place to meet in the event of a severe crackdown and be under the responsibility of their group overseer.
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  8

  A retraction and apology - I posted incorrect information.

  by doubtfull1799 in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  it was recently brought to my attention by the person who was with me on the carts at the time, that a comment i made six months ago about the cart work on this forum was incorrect.

  i apologise and in the interests of honesty and accuracy i feel it is only right to issue a public retraction.

  i have quoted the post in question below as i am not sure how to correct or delete the original.

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  konceptual99

  TBH, one or two people taking literature during however many hours you did cart work is still hardly a ringing endorsement of this method of preaching.
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  27

  ANGOLA - JW Regional Convention target of attack.

  by EdenOne in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  according to news sources in luanda, angola (read it here, although it's in portuguese language), a regional convention of the jw's taking place this weekend at the outskirts of capital luanda was targeted yesterday, friday, by what may be described as a 'terrorist attack'.. more than 400 attendees (mostly female) passed out in rapid succession in the vicinity of a toilet at the convention place.

  reportedly, toxic gas devices were planted there by 3 young members of unita, the main political party that opposed mpla, the dominant regime party in angola since its independence in 1975.

  43 people were rushed to the hospital and a few remain there, under medical surveillance.

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  konceptual99

  This is the kind of publicity that the Governing Body constantly craves. They could care less about the innocent victims. As long as they can use this to monopolize the "persecution" arena, that's all they care about. I'm sure they're grinning ear-to-ear right now.

  1. I doubt it. Even the GB are not completely without some level of compassion. Sure the persecution card is likely to be played but I am sure they have a level of concern for the victims.

  2. (OT) Why is it US English uses the phrase "could care less"? It's "couldn't care less". Which of the following statements makes logical sense? "The GB could care less about the victims" or "The GB could not care less about the victims". **steps off soap box**
  
  
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  49

  Let's talk about Blood again....

  by stuckinarut2 in

  1. watchtower
  2. medical

  i know we have all talked about this topic before, but for some new ones on the forum, or to refresh ourselves, i wanted to start this thread.. the society likes to go on about the sacredness of blood, and how it should not be transfused etc.. they liken it to a symbol of life itself.

  something that should be respected and therefore not transfused.. but, what is more important: real life, or a symbol of life?.

  an illustration came to mind.. if we give a bunch of flowers to a loved one as a symbol of our love for them, are those flowers more important than the love itself?

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  konceptual99

  People have also died from BT and only known pathogens can be tested for in blood. I remember when the AIDS epidemic, everyone that ever received a BT was going around like a nervous wreck.

  Even the WT does not claim that the bad consequences of the unsafe use of blood is a justification for their interpretation of the biblical texts.

  Surgeons take calculated risks every time they operate, with the risk factors escalating with severity of the condition, level of medical urgency, age and physical state of the patient on so on. Generally they do their best to inform the patient before hand and allow the patient to make educated choices. Sometimes they perform operations in far more risky situations than others (to use an extreme example; the difference between treating a soldier with severe blast injuries in a field hospital v. elective cosmetic surgery in a private facility).

  The point is that with blood the risks generally are far outweighed by the benefits, especially when considered in emergency medical situations.

  I would agree however that sometimes there is some pretty emotive language used in the argument and, whilst understandable, I think the subject is served best when treated simply on the facts.
  
  
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  15

  Current 2018 outlines ca with br says do not communicate with apostates or Df ones

  by poopie in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  how is that possible if your child is df living at home..

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  konceptual99

  I don't think there is anything to made of the WT statement beyond the obvious. It's the same old admonition to keep away from DFed ones and apostates.

  There is no contradiction with the situation in a family, it's just a broad statement. They don't need to qualify it with a "except when the DFed person is in the family home" statement. 99% of Witnesses will take it in the context it's meant. Any Witness that is shunning family members in their own home is already not following the WTS directions (which is clear as per Blondie's post) so any qualification means nothing.

  There's no need to twist the statement into a perceived contradiction either intentionally or unintentionally. There's enough ammo in the whole shunning arrangement to shock most sensible people as it is.
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  42

  Jah Jireh Care Homes

  by pale.emperor in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  http://www.jah-jireh.org/.

  they have care homes in england and wales: wigan, leyland, blackpool, methyr.and one in canada http://www.jah-jireh.on.ca/.

  these are not funded or subsidized by watchtower.

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  konceptual99

  Thanks Stan - interesting info. So from what you know is the constant pressure on social care budgets having no or limited impact on care homes themselves? I keep hearing information to the contrary and I know that it has become increasingly difficult for anyone with any kind of assets to get care without using savings and property to top up to the levels being charged by homes.

  Is this just the sector bleating and in fact owners of care homes are still raking in the profits?
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  42

  Jah Jireh Care Homes

  by pale.emperor in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  http://www.jah-jireh.org/.

  they have care homes in england and wales: wigan, leyland, blackpool, methyr.and one in canada http://www.jah-jireh.on.ca/.

  these are not funded or subsidized by watchtower.

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  konceptual99

  on the balance of probability--i would think the majority of elderly dubs in the UK are "poor"---just getting by on the state pension. so--when they go into care--its most likely the care home fees will be paid by the local authority ( the council ). so--in the case of these jah jireh homes--yes--a very profitable business. good supply of new customers---fees guaranteed. good supply of staff--no doubt on the minimum wage. thank goodness the regulatory authority--CQC--has teeth !

  Not sure about this Stan. As pointed out by other posters there is a growing gap between the funding available at state level and that which is generally charged by care homes. Even though JJ don't say they cannot take state funded residents they 100% require top ups through some additional funding as an relative of an in-law has recently gone to one and this was a big issue as her home is being used to fund the excess and the family are seeing their inheritance rapidly diminish. The knock on of this is that they were all needing the inheritance to cover financial issues caused by poor decisions that are biting them thanks to the Big A not coming. Now they are facing financial destitution in their old age.

  There is the question about how much it actually costs and what care homes may be taking to cover increasing staff costs and maintain profits but I have a contact who made big money in care homes and he is adamant that it's not anywhere near as good as it was 15, 20 years ago and he's glad he got out when he did.