James Thomas Rook Jr.

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How many Carpenters, ditch diggers, house cleaners, window washers or Dentists and Doctors, and Civil Engineers committed suicide during that time, in relation to the percentages of their professions to the general population?
Without a considered and careful analysis of things like THAT ... the empirical anecdotes of Bankers and Financial consultants, etc.,  committing suicide are interesting, and entertaining ... but MEANINGLESS!
One thing about those folks with a a sufficient means of life... they PROBABLY died with a well repaired set of teeth, and did not live a life of misery because they could not afford such things, and the list is endless, LIKE heat in the winter, a balanced diet, decent respectable clothes to wear, eyeglasses and money to socialize, and pay a hundred different types of bills.
OF COURSE ... we COULD live like John the Baptist, whom God and Christ loved, who we have no idea where he slept (under a rock, in a cave?) but who had to eat LOCUSTS, ... green slimy gooey ( but crunchy also!) LOCUSTS. 
I Imagine John the Baptist with teeth rotting out of his head, and green locust juice on his face ( where would YOU clean up if water was four miles away and you had to walk?), and cleaning his teeth with his finger or the end of a chewed stick, like my mother did when she grew up in extreme poverty ... and the infections in his gums destroying his heart valves.
I imagine John the Baptist wearing dirty clothes that were rags, discarded by someone who threw then away, fit only for rags.
... like the Brothers I saw in the jungles of Zaire, in the mid 1970s ... who ate rats, and cried because the Americans had soap, and they could not afford soap ... or carry drinking water from the river in a wash basin at a 40 degree angle, because it was rusted out in the middle and had a hole big enough to put an open hand through.
It is hard to keep your mind on spiritual things when you are starving, unwashed, full of bacteria and pain, and coughing your lungs out and praying ..please God! one more breath! ... or you have no money to replace your broken eyeglasses.
But, for all those things ... there is a solution that is available to EVERYBODY for situations impossible to solve,  no matter what their station in life ... both at the high income level, and at the bottom, where most of us are ....
DIE.
However, IF ( remember IF?) you are one of those few that can live like a sub-human, alongside people who don't have ANY problems  with finances .... it is the way to go.
Self induced poverty is NOTHING to brag about.
Many have died from a hand scratch, because they could not afford a dollar bottle of alcohol.

My wife and I usually eat just one meal a day, at a buffet called "Golden Corral" .  It is RELATIVELY expensive,  but the way we operate it's cheaper than buying groceries .... no preparation ... no dishes to wash ... and an incredible variety of food.
When money is worthless,  then there will be total anarchy ... as people will eat the weak.
Until then ... I give worthless money no concern whatsoever, as there is NOTHING I can do about it.
When a hamburger costs $600 ... only those with $600 will eat hamburger.
The ANIMALS usually manage to eat .. usually ... and THEY have no money.

Recently, I forgot to push the "save" (submit reply) button ... came back, and my posts WERE GONE!

"This is our son Caleb who is five years old from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
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For Family Worship we dressed up as a mystery Bible character and had to guess. Caleb wanted to dress up like young David who was getting ready to fight Goliath with his sling, bag of rocks and with the Word of Jehovah.
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He had so much fun that he didn’t want to take off his costume. He already knows which Bible character he wants to dress up for next Family Worship.”
Thank you,  Carol Peters 

I too, have been concerned about the deletion of JW-Archive posts ... but I realize I am a guest here and have NO rights whatsoever ... much the same as if you were in MY living room and being obnoxious.  The Librarian has deleted MANY of my posts, though not recently, as I do TRY to keep the foam off of my mouth when I type.
So ... who is REALLY deleting the posts that disappear?
Sometimes they are not actually deleted, but moved to more appropriate threads ... even starting new ones ... I know I have spent time searching for something that had been moved, but there are evil forces afoot, and one should never discount her.
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Hope you had a VERY good breakfast today ...

Everyone is equal in the Brotherhood ... but some are more equal than others.
(George Orwell, 1984 - paraphrased)

Here are two clips of that video, Roaslie ...... I am afraid that things like those expectations are a thing of the past, and are no longer reasonable expectations.
... and why does EVERYTHING have to be a "military secret"?
Are they ASHAMED, or PROUD of what they are doing?
Your browser does not support the HTML5 video tag.

 
 

Bathroom is down the hall and to the left.

Here are two clips of that video, Roaslie ...... I am afraid that things like those expectations are a thing of the past, and are no longer reasonable expectations.
... and why does EVERYTHING have to be a "military secret"?
Are they ASHAMED, or PROUD of what they are doing?
Your browser does not support the HTML5 video tag.

 
 

No, and I hope you have not, either.

It is a crying shame that we whose core theology is true and wholesome have lost ALL credibility because of the 85% drivel that surrounds it.
If we had not surrounded TRUTH in a swaddling cloth of drivel and fantasy, we would not have to spend 25 man-years knocking on doors to get ONE convert who will stay his whole life.
We would not have to spend billions of hours knocking on THEIR doors .... a billion of them would be knocking on OURS.

If someone from the 1950's was resurrected and began to complain how science had taken advantage of him - depriving him of a flat screen color TV whereas it hypocritically bestowed them upon later generations, would you say he had a valid point?
Time marches on. New things come to light. Positions evolve. It happens everywhere. It is not a plot to work you over.

Yes, Naboo is a planet in the Star Wars epics.  Every detail of the Star Wars movies serve as humor and cultural references here in the United States.  
It is "understood" that unless you have been isolated, and living in a cave for the past 40 years, that you instantly understand the cultural references, and sub-references, and nested sub-references.
If you saw a picture of Star Wars actor Harrison Ford (Hans Solo) holding up a sign saying "I shot first.", somewhere around 75% of people my age who are regular movie-goers, would know EXACTLY why that is funny, and tell you why.
It's  LONG story, that starts in 1977 or thereabouts.

Hmmmm... I wonder how many instantly know this reference that come here to the JW-Archive?
 

... later on that month ....

If it ever comes to pass that I take up ALL the room living rent free in your head, TTH .... your head and face will morph to look like MINE!
You didn't need all that hair, anyway!

College does not propose that education there is vital to 1.) please the Almighty God, and  2.) if you don't, you DIE.
A BIG carrot, and a BIG stick ....... works better.
Of course, SOME brainwashing is necessary and good, and some INTENDS to be but fails along the way .. and some is evil.
Infinite Variety.

What I caught was not to tell what happened until others get a chance to see it tomorrow 

These are the most significant changes I think we've ever seen at an Annual Metting even though all of the changes have already been part of a predictable trend for the last few years.

The annual meeting entertained briefly the notion that angels, too, may have played a role in the building - I think they said in legal and safety issues, for example.
That was a novel thought - angels participating! With only minor imagination, one can imagine the following heavenly scene, in the spirit of that conference to fool Ahab:
Brother Wingedwarrior strode into the room and asked for his daily assignment. The other angels looked strangely relieved, but the one in charge looked sheepish.
Finally, he said: "Brother, your assignment today is to monitor @James Thomas Rook Jr." (give me artistic licence here. I admit this is a stretch)
"Aw, C'mon!!" Wingedwarrior cried in disgust, throwing his clipboard on the table so violently that it spilled the coffee urn, splashing angels nearby, even soaking their wings, which are not supposed to get wet. It was an accident, but since angels are perfect, several in the room looked at him suspiciously. "Why me? You guys  have it in for me!"
"Look, brother, you know how it is. We drew lots. It fell on you."
"Well, it's a dumb system, anyway, named after some loser who didn't know enough to get out of Gay City! I'm not going to let it dictate my life!"
"See here, Brother WW, we all must make sacrifices. Of course, you'd rather work with someone appreciative - we all would - but many assignments in God's service are lowly - and some are downright disgusting. As you know, James bought that huge warehouse in Mt. Moron, New York, and he has converted it into a graphics studio. We hear he plans 400 releases in the upcoming year. Someone has to watch him. Just look at the idiot stuff he has displayed. It's hard to believe he is an adult:
"Think of the love you'll be showing to God. Think of the love for your brothers. Think of the love for those creatures below whom the Word likes," the head angel continued smoothly.
If they lay the 'love' stuff on long enough, they can get you to do anything. At last, Brother WW grumbled:
"Alright, alright, I'll do it. Where is a hard hat?"
"Ha ha! Brother WW, you are too funny. We are spirit creatures and we have no need of har..."
"LOOK, YOU ASSIGNED ME TO MONITOR JTR!!!! NOW, WHERE IS A HARDHAT?!!!!"
For one brief moment, the head angel seemed taken aback. Presently he murmured: "We'll look about. They may be one kicking around here somewhere."

They probably don't want to start a trend, as it could become touristic.

Saturday, October 10, 2017
At the televised Annual Meeting today at the Kingdom Hall the last four speakers were
1. GB member Samuel Herd
2. GB Member Stephen Lett
3. GB Member Geoffery Jackson, and
4. GB Member Anthony Morris III.
I THINK I heard Bo. Morris say that starting January 1st, 2018 ( among many other things...) each issue of the Watchtower would be on ONE subject ONLY, and that as a carpenter uses the same tools in his toolbox, over and over, that the Watchtower was only going to be ONE issue a YEAR.
Did I hear that correctly?
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... LIKE ONE PORPOISE SAID TO ANOTHER PORPOISE ... " I AM WAITING WITH BAITED BREATH !"

No, and I hope you have not, either.

Nice catch JWI, I didn't see that. "Sign that boy up."
IRONY: the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of it's literal (intended) meaning; a manner of organizing a work so as to give full expression to contradictory impulses; an outcome of events contrary to what was, or might have been expected.                               INTELLECTUAL DISHONESTY: characterized by a biased, dishonest attitude ie. relevant facts and information are purposely omitted when such things may contradict one's hypothesis; facts are presented in a biased manner and twisted to give misleading impressions to to support one view over another. 
The "irony" here is that intellectual dishonesty was used to support the contention that the original quote was intellectually dishonest. It is noteworthy and fair to note that Srecko did acknowledge his error. Not so great was still trying to spin it into a negative right after...
 
That is a point well worth considering, especially when the GB start making predictions of things that haven't happened yet. It's fair enough when they admit that "this is our understanding at this time, but that could change." It's another thing entirely when they present uninspired predictions as fact and become dogmatic about it. That plays right into the hands of those who quote Deuteronomy to make the "false prophet" accusation. With what seems to be an almost 100% failure rate, I would say: "it's time to lose the crystal ball guys." True we have said in the past that "prophecy is best understood after it has happened," but really, we don't even get that right, making changes to our understanding even a century later. If it was Jehovah's will that we go "beyond the things written" and start predicting details of how things will work out, he would have given us a miraculous ability to see the future as he had with his prophets in the past. Our mandate is to preach the good news of the kingdom, teach and make disciples. We can commend our brothers on the GB for overseeing and accomplishing this great task. But please, enough already with the predictions. It makes it hard to defend our position as doing a prophetic work with a straight face - especially with the dismal track record we have established and the selective definition of a prophet opposers would like to impose on us.