kaik

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Posts by kaik

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  155

  Headline: "Islamic Invasion: Europe now scrambles for guns." How true is this?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a year to a year and a half ago, i would have taken this article at face value and believed it.. now, i realize this article comes from a dubious source.

  world news daily has a die-hard right-wing bias.

  so, in an effort to get real information, i'm asking my european exjw's, is this article all true?

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  kaik

  Another personal experience I have traveling back to Czech Republic is any visit in the Northern Bohemia and Moravia. Some places are extremely dangerous. While Prague is safe and has much lower crime rate than Copenhagen, Berlin, or Stockholm, the industrial north is overrun by crime. The government invested a huge amount of money to keep Prague safe and it is done for tourist business and visitors. Foreigner will never venture to large industrial cities in the north where people get killed, beaten, robbed, and raped all the time. Cities like Most, Ostrava, Karvina, Usti, Varnsdorf, are dangerous. Almost everyone is armed. After dark, cities are deserted. I feel often less safe there than on Manhattan. In small communities without present and permanent police force, gun can mean survival. This was not like that in the 1990's or even first half of the 2000's. Since 2011 some communities were put under militarized police control in the Czech Republic to suppress demonstrations, crime, and violence due collapsing public order.
  
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  155

  Headline: "Islamic Invasion: Europe now scrambles for guns." How true is this?

  by cappytan in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a year to a year and a half ago, i would have taken this article at face value and believed it.. now, i realize this article comes from a dubious source.

  world news daily has a die-hard right-wing bias.

  so, in an effort to get real information, i'm asking my european exjw's, is this article all true?

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  kaik

  Yes, the article is correct in the way, that number of guns among population is increasing. However, there immigration is only partial story. The other part missing from the article is failed states experiencing increasingly ineffective apparatus unable to deal with almost any issue lets be economy to social security to safety. The number of guns in the Central-East Europe is increasing, and coincide with the weakening of the centralized state and public safety. Czech Republic has liberal gun laws as is it has USA. They already had mass shooting in February 2015 when retiree gunned down people in the restaurant. People are arming because they do not believe state will protect them. The number of illegal guns in Central Europe is incredible. While immigrants are generally adding oil to the fire, the trend started years earlier.

  Another big unspoken fear is that present neo-communist multi-culti ultraliberal regime will crack down on civic liberties. This already caused weakening such institutions of democracy like freedom of press and speech. Germany which used to be top five most free press country slipped 14 below the Czech Republic. Press is getting censured. Discussion are blocked, and people get prosecuted by government by disagreeing with handling current migrant crisis. In region which experienced both left and right wing dictatorship, people are not ready to be put to slaughter in the name some of the social experiment. People on the left, right, and middle are arming for that specific reason.

  Very simple review is how passive was public in the 90's in Central Europe and radicalization today, where you can see mass demonstration all the time. Couple years ago, a dude stolen tank in the armory in Hungary and drive to it in front of parliament buildings. In Slovenia, people burned the town halls during the riots. Similar riots against government institution happened in Latvia. East Germany experiences large violent demonstrations on weekly basis. Yesterday bunch of people were injured in Dresden. German press even does not bother to report the evens at all. Huge demonstrations happened in the Czech Republic since 2011. Once the flood gate will open, I am pretty sure Europe will experience civil war between masses and the establishment. Immigrant crisis will strain the economy which still operates bellow 20088 level. Even wealthier countries like Netherlands and Finland never recovered to the pre-crisis level.

  Look for problems in the under performing economy and nothing will change that. Over the weekend, liberals were totally routed out in Poland. While Polish economy expanded by 25% since the crisis, current young Polish generation will experience significant reduction of the living standard. Bad economy, ineffective state apparatus is always receipt for disaster.
  
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  51

  How bad do the JWs need to be doing financially

  by cognac in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  before they just go ahead and file chapter 7 or 11?

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  kaik

  For example, the branch operation in Prague was closed in 2008, and they tried to sold the facility. However, recession arrived in later of that year and lingered for a while. Property prices in Prague plummeted and Czech currency devaluated, yet, the facility is still not sold, only maintained by skeleton crew. My mom told me that they will put the facility again for sale as all operations are made from Bratislava, Slovakia, which uses Euros.
  

  If you look into it from financial perspective, it does not make a sense to sell facility with loss in the middle of the Great Recession. They would lose money. Now, when Czech economy is recovering, and there is possible strengthening the currency to parity to Euro it had in 2009, they will sell it for profit. WT used to have various facilities around Prague and Bohemia, even a villa in luxurious part of the city. So they can walk away with a profit of several millions of euros just from it. Multiple these operation across globe, you have incomes of tens of millions tax free.
  
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  51

  How bad do the JWs need to be doing financially

  by cognac in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  before they just go ahead and file chapter 7 or 11?

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  kaik

  WT will not go bankrupt. The squeeze will affect their balance sheet, but before there is a huge imbalance between assets and liabilities, they will split off the divisions into something that can channel money and wealth into, and close unprofitable operations. They will not deplete their assets to zero. They have 140 years of wealth management and money world wide. If economic performance would be bad for very long time, there is a possibility for major assets restructuring. Operations in industrialized countries will be closed, and production, publishing, and other work outsourced into 3rd world country. Do not expect they HQ to move to Kinshasa, Poland or Brazil, because they have tons of followers there. These people on top expect comfortable life and will remain in NYC, London, or even in Switzerland. They can manage the tax free office even on Manhattan with penthouse near by. Publishers will slave door to door, while printing can be done remotely from any location with low labor, energy, and transportation costs.
  
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  29

  Why do people kill each other?

  by The Rebel in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  why do there have to be wars?

  why is there so much hatred?.

  the collective answer i came up with is natalisam, or maybe the correct word should be politics?

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  kaik

  Because humans are part of the animal kingdom. Animals kill each other all the time. Lion kills offspring of other lion or lioness, if she refuses to mate with him. Monkeys, apes, and other primates wage a war with other clans all the time. Humans are not different. We are genetically programmed to kill each other. Religion or economy is just a simple justification of the deed.
  
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  30

  Will Adam Eve be resurrected? If not why? WT tell us.

  by James Mixon in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jan. 15, 1960 wt.

  page 53.

  "since the supreme judge never makes a mistakes, there is no need for him to take under.

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  kaik

  Resurrection or permanent damnation of Adam and Eve is one of the flip-flop doctrines in JW theology. JWs never had definitive answer on this issue, but in the 1980's they taught that both of them will not be resurrected. New light could change that as it happened several times since 1870's.
  
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  10

  Thinking about converting to Judaism after I leave the JW cult. Any Jews here?

  by tragical in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  just a question, any savvy jewish lawyer shark types here who would like to go after the throat of this jw cult and send them to hell?

  maybe take them to court over any number of topics and expose them for the evil cult they are?

  pick your choice of child abuse, personal slander, mental cruelty and torture, and thousand of other topics.

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  kaik

  There are several Jewish people here on this board and we debated Judaism extensively. I am not Jewish, but I am married to one. There is also a huge difference between Judaism as a faith, and Judaism as part of someone cultural and social heritage. Some Jewish people are not affiliated with any Jewish religion, but they feel themselves as a part of Jewish community. Jewish people and Israel in general has one of the highest rate of hard core atheist in the world on per level of such countries like Czech Republic, Estonia, Sweden, or France with widespread atheism. So, while converting into Jewish faith is possible, becoming a Jew in cultural sense and national heritage is much harder, even impossible.
  
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  5

  The machines helping to build China's vast network of high speed rail

  by fulltimestudent in

  1. social
  2. current

  high speed rail (in china, anyway) is a railway that travels faster than 200 km/hour.

  while other countries in europe and japan have developed high speed rail, china now has the largest network in the world, with both mainlines and connecting links often providing 300km/hour travel.

  the network now comprises more than 16,000 km of dedicated track and another approx.

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  kaik

  Problem with European high-speed rails across continent are numerous. While EU has one the best and most sophisticated high-speed rails, its development is hindered by many problem:

  1. First of all, there are three main traction in EU. Germany has own traction, while countries east and west have different. While this is solved with current train engines, it is expensive and makes it much harder to implement across entire EU.
     
  2. Each country has different train regulations and most of the rails are in the state hands since the 19th century.
  3. Most of the countries thinks within its border, and transcontinental rail link is not effective. Rails are good within 500km, but on further distances, planes are cheaper and faster.
  4. Various interstate rail networks plans between Brest in France and Brest in Lithuania remain on paper; they will never be implemented across multiple countries.
  5. EU states are improving rails and they are much better than in USA, railways are indeed model of transportation for 19th century versus 21st century, where movement of people and goods in individualistic.
  6. Railway transportation was NEVER profitable. Never. Even in the 19th century, which was plagued by train boom and bust. For example widespread global crisis in 1873-1879 was tied into railway boom which never brought profit to the investors. From Germany to Italy to Hungary, there are hundreds of miles unfinished imperial railway lines from this specific bust. 140 years, and there are bridges, tunnels, and other structures that never saw single train! Similar bust happened in 1890's affecting local rails from USA to Europe. Chinese rails would face the same problems as did European and American ones 1.5 century ago.
     
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  48

  Where has all the money gone?

  by gingerbread in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a number of years ago when i was still active, our service group was having a coffee break with the visiting circuit overseer.

  during the conversation he mentioned that the "society" was now being run like a business.

  being raised in the "truth" i thought that rather odd (and my eyes began to be opened!

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  kaik

  The money went nowhere, only someone else has the possession of it.
  
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  9

  Enjoying autumn

  by kaik in

  1. social
  2. family

  for some reason, i love autumn .

  i always did as kid.

  warm days, and cool nights, changing leaves, sunny days of the indian summer or eastern european equivalent called "grandma summer".

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  kaik

  For some reason, I love autumn . I always did as kid. Warm days, and cool nights, changing leaves, sunny days of the Indian summer or Eastern European equivalent called "grandma summer". Adding Halloween and Thanksgiving into the season, only increases my love for this time of the year. I find Thanksgiving to be the nicest American holiday, and true heritage of the nation. This weekend we will do some decoration for Halloween, and carve pumpkins. I got couple plastic gravestones and I need to buy a tons of candies.

  Another reason I love autumn weather that some of my shrubs blooms in the fall. I have camellias that bloom either in the fall or spring, but only the fall one are scented. I have several species that are rare with a huge peony flowers that squirrels love to pick and eat. Also my encore azaleas only bloom in the fall until the first frost. Daphne reblooms after it goes dormant over the summer.

  Do any of you doing anything special as a family during the fall? Do you carve pumpkins and decorate for Halloween?