TrueTomHarley

Publically, IBM said quite the opposite: (ga 84 4/22) In Brooklyn the team developed excellent programs, or software, using principally IBM equipment, or hardware. IBM later called this program the “Integrated Publishing System,” or IPS. The respected Seybold Report on Publishing Systems, Volume 12, No. 1, September 13, 1982, commented: “IBM is trying once again to increase its presence in the industry, and the vehicle by which it hopes to do so is an interesting package called the ‘Integrated Publishing System’ (IPS). IPS was not developed by IBM,” the report acknowledges, but “[by] Watchtower, the publishing arm of the Jehovah’s Witnesses, where it was created primarily for their internal use.”.... In concluding its report, Seybold said: “We have nothing but praise for the enterprise, initiative and insightfulness of the Watchtower people. There are few today either ambitious enough or courageous enough to undertake such an application, especially virtually from scratch. . . . We don’t know just how the credit should be parcelled out, but they all deserve a lot of kudos.”

Every Witness has heard the one about the 40 different writers, from wildly diverse backgrouds...some kings, and some day laborers....over a period of some 2000 years. What are the chances that they will write a coherent book? And yet the 40 that are Bible writers have done so, steadily advancing the theme of God's kingdom arrangment developing. The speaker Sunday followed up with a comparison I have not heard before. It was that of 45 United States Presidents, all cut from basically the same cloth, over a far shorter period of time. Yet, would anyone say that they advance the same vision? Just ask Obama and then Trump. The speaker also flashed a $20 bill on the overhead screen. The point was that it contained telltale signs, and that if one put a few minutes into the effort, one could tell whether it was counterfeit or not. He likened it to similar signs that the Bible is authentic. The $20 was used early in his talk...in the introduction. The speaker thanked the chairman for leaving it in place on the speaker stand when introducing the talk. Apparently, another chairman had removed it, thinking it some inadvertant leftover from another activity. (thinking it was a tip, the speaker said  ) Thus the chairman had, quite literally, stolen the speaker's illustration.

As the whole-wide-world international version of Newsweek ran the cover of religious persecution in Russia, the American cover was of Bernie Sanders. I mean, Bernie Sanders is so 'been there done that.' This country is insane over politics. I thought I had taken the following out of 'No Fake News but Plenty of Hogwash' when I revised it to remove much of what was political, but instead I recalled that I had merely modified it, liking it for the family reference: "It is steering the supertanker for four-to-eight years through rough seas and around treacherous shoals that will not matter in the long run. It polarized families. I saw it in my own extended family. One cousin I hadn’t seen in years began to extol the virtues of Trump. “Well, let me tell you about your Mr. Trump,” another cousin whom I also hadnÂ’t seen in years cranked up. Everyone else cleared the room. The exodus was considerable, for I come from a dairy farm family where the kitchen table might easily be twelve feet in length, and it will figure into this book in later pages. Years after everyone left their agrarian roots, we would still refer to such reunions as ‘going down to the farm.Â’" The insanity over politics only intensifies and it peaks in the routine reports that 'Trump falsely stated" or "Trump charged without evidence." Now, there have been (and are) countless liars, villains, scoundrels, and neer-do-wells throughout history, but I have never heard a, for example, "Putin falsely stated," "Kim falsely stated," "Benedict Arnold falsely stated," or even "Hitler falsely stated." No matter what sort of drivel or poppycock anyone serves up, media just repeats it without pre-screening. I get it, already. They hate him. It is almost like inviting guests into your home and they proceed to hash out their battles right in your living room. It gets so old.

On the other hand, i will tone down the "nobody" to "others did not." After all it is not my intention to wave a red flag before a bull.

I am speaking of prior to any ARC or other investigation. I think most will not misunderstand the use of 'nobody' and 'never.' Witnesses long made a point of looking at their own conduct with regards to applying what they learned of morality. Other religious organizations did not. "Preach to them Sunday, and let that be the end of it. If they apply it, they apply it," was, and still is, the predominant attitude.

Stories about child sexual abuse are not nothing, and it is easy to see why a journalist would go there. Chapter 12 of 'Dear Mr. Putin - Jehovah's Witnesses Write Russia' serves to supply background information, the absence of which leads to a seriously distorted picture. The real story should never be ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses investigated child sexual abuse in their ranks but did some aspects of it wrong.’ The real story should be: ‘Nobody else even attempted the job.’ All Christian groups should have. In fact, any group professing that their beliefs contribute to better conduct should take measures to see that that is in fact so. The Book of Romans says “You, the one preaching, “Do not steal,” do you steal? You, the one saying, “Do not commit adultery,” do you commit adultery?’ The Witness organization was proactive at a time that no one else was to combat a great moral ill. They were not proactive enough, however, to realize that their vigilance made them de facto enforcers for the greater authorities. Data found in Case Study 54 of the Australian Royal Commission suggests that a child is up to six times safer in the JW community than in the overall Australian world. Thus, the Witnesses vigilance along with their teachings have paid off. It is fine to handle a case of child sexual abuse properly. But it is far finer if the abuse does not happen in the first place. It is similar to calling in the grief counselors in the wake of a school shooting. Of course, it is a good thing to call them in, but how much better to not need them at all. A case of child sexual abuse ‘properly handled’ does not mean that it did not occur, and the child is only somewhat less damaged than if the case was properly handled. In 2005, evangelical leader Ronald J. Sider wrote a book called ‘The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience,’ in which he observed that ‘church discipline’ was once an accepted aspect of many denominations, but in “in the second half of the twentieth century, it has largely disappeared.” Due to this, he laments, the conduct of the evangelical church member today is indistinguishable from that of the overall world, whereas the entire draw of the Christian religion is that it is to be an oasis from illicit conduct having free rein outside. Important as it is to handle abuse cases properly, it is not so important as preventing them. JW’s vigilance and relative success in this should always be a part of any story about them. Otherwise, a reporter does his readers a disservice, painting one of the ‘cleanest’ organizations around as one of the foulest.

Did you get to the part yet where my pioneer partner opens a quarry, files a DBA of ‘Mike’s Millstones’ and is doing a brisk business? I don't do much '2 witness' in the book other than to comment that it might be useful in other areas. That way, we would not have the current fiasco of an accusation alone ruining a person as happens constantly on media, all the more so if the accusee is someone unpopular. Time was when you had to prove things. That said, with plain statements in print and digital that anyone is free to report abuse to outside authorities, surely any victim will fell free to do it. Those plain statements will also serve to correct any who would raise objections to it. I am not aware of the two witness rule not being applied across the board for all wrongs. it is bedrock of Western law, after all, or was until recently.

According to the group InvisibleChildren.org, 1 out of 5 children in the United States will be sexually abused before they turn 18 years old. It follows that you should be able to look anywhere and find a bumper crop of abuse cases. Most likely, child sexual abuse within the Jehovah’s Witness community is significantly less prevalent than in the greater world. The reason abuse is linked with Jehovah’s Witnesses is that the latter make a point of investigating wrongdoing in their ranks for the purpose of applying discipline and safeguarding congregation members from such ones. There are cumulatively a lot of child sexual abuse cases, but there are many more anywhere else. However, they are never linked with religion (how often do you hear religious affiliation when an abuser is nabbed by the authorities?) because no one else is proactive enough to look into such things in their own ranks. Witnesses worldwide attend annual Regional Conventions, for (usually) three days of instruction based upon Bible teachings. During 2017 a section dealing with child sexual abuse was a part of the program. Especially emphasized was the fact that a perpetrator is likely to be someone a child knows and trusts. If a relative, or friend, or anyone else, seems overly attentive to your child, it is a reason to be watchful, said the program speaker. If there are tickling sessions, if there are sleepovers, if there are trips alone to the public restroom, if—there were several other scenarios. They are all potential red flags: maybe harmless, but maybe not, and the parent must be aware. Nobody, but nobody, assembles their entire membership as Jehovah’s Witnesses did and reviews detailed scenarios under which abuse might happen so that parents, the first line of defense, can educate their children and themselves. Thus the Witness organization is quite proactive at combatting what has turned out to be a worldwide pandemic. It is not accurate to say that Jehovah’s Witnesses are forbidden to contact outside authorities in the event of child sexual abuse; plain statements appear on both their printed and digital literature that they are free to do so. I would not challenge, however, that many, especially in the past, have been loath to do so, as it is the very opposite of what they aspire to be and of what they advertise. The new ebook addresses the topic in a chapter of 9000-some words. After relating matters pertaining to the Russian ban, Part 2 explores the accusation s made against the Witness organization and the defences on might make. (Pedophile charges did not come up there, but they do in other areas) The ebook is entitled Dear Mr. Putin – Jehovah’s Witnesses Write Russia, and can be downloaded for free in PDF and EPUB version at https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/815620 There is also a version that is exactly the same except that all quotes from extremist sources are redacted: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/826384 Chapter 12 is entitled Pedophiles.

I hate when people do this. Ford had just assumed the presidency and pardoned Nixon. At a NYC District Convention the next day, the speaker held aloft the NYDaily headlines - "Peace and Security!" and said: "Have you seen this headline??!!!" It was irresistable. I would have done it, too.

Interviewed, the dog said that it was quite distressed at several Bible verses speaking disrespectfully of his kind.

It does seem like sin that the clergyman could turn his other cheek to

An 'anti-cult expert' I keep my eye on invites his followers to watch him on a TV iterview, where he makes the point that Trump was elected due to cult influences. If you think half the country fell victim to cult influence, does it not mean that you have drunk too much of the Kool-Aid yourself? Time was when the word meant something. If you fell under the spell of a charismatic leader and withdrew from normal life, you just might be part of a cult. These days simply thinking outside of the box suffices, and the definition expands to include ‘people we don’t like.’ Can Witnesses be a cult (the latest slam)? How can it be? You cannot join them without a period of study and experimentation, seldom lasting under a year. All the while you are 95% in familiar routine and surroundings. College is more cult-like by this definition, where a student is separated almost 24/7 from family and prior stabilizing influences. It is only because Witnesses come to think outside the mainstream that they are called a cult by those who permit no deviation.

Yikes! The perfect batter will never miss a grand slam and the perfect pitcher will never permit a hit! I’ve seen the light! I quit.

Possibly you could use it as a neck band. No, Tom, no. Don't say it. Be like the One that you claim to imitate.

To the extent that it is unambiguous, it is a good thing, no doubt.

Yikes! Without more instruction it could be taken as a plea that you need some.

Quit your bellyaching and get your credit card out to pay up.

If you knew Leroy White, you knew this fellow: "Ladies and gentlemen, did anybody lose this?" The flight attendant was holding something aloft, but 30 rows back, I couldn't quite make out what it was. "Now that I have your attention, ladies and gentleman, I'd like to direct it to the flight attendants demonstrating proper use of the safety equipment in the event of a ..." And as his two helpers acted out life preservers and breathing masks, he retreated unseen, but could still be heard chuckling at his little joke. (Hee, hee, hee) Only an older black man, like Leroy, could pull this off. A white man doing the same would come off as a prankster or a wise-acre, and the essential good will of the man would be missed. I mean, Leroy ... yes, I always joked with him that he should do my funeral talk, if he hadn't had gone and died first. "Hee, hee, hee - he was a good ol boy, that Tom Harley, but he's dead now. D-E-A-D. We won't be seein that boy till the 'raise ser rection, no sir' This is the same Leroy White who came up from Louisiana and who the younger brothers, young enough to be grandchildren, would set in and jam with, for Leroy knew the blues. At his funeral it was related how he passed up the chance to tour with B.B. King for fear it would mess up his spiritual routine. As for the flight attendant, who drawled only slightly less tha Leroy, he was the only one who did not repeat the Southwest mantra about how they realize one has choices in travel and so 'thank you for choosing Southwest' and yet still came across as more genuine than any of them. Not that the others weren't. He was just more so. I hope he doesn't hear about it. Usually if you can improve on the company line they will let you run with it, but every so often there is some unimaginative anal manager that can picture only going by the book. Meanwhile, it consistantly happens during the few emergencies there are that passengers misuse the safety equipment, so airlines strive to be innovative in getting them to pay attention to shows as to how to use it. This fellow did it the best of anyone. (Hmm. Before I post this, I went searching for a photo. This seems to be a Southwest 'thing' to do flight entertainment ) photo: Huffington Post  Â

Each morning Todd would drive to the overlook so as to watch the sunrise. Toward the end of our stay, I began to accompany him. He would say things about God's timetable being precise, and so forth. He would pull up with a minute or two to spare, watch the sunrise launch safely through his windshield, then drive back to where he came from. It doesn't take long for me to run with something like this and pad it a little (or a lot). For example: It is actually his job to put the sun up every day, just like the company custodian was entrusted to raise the flag every day, (when they cared about such things and didn't leave it up continually as it flapped itself to shreds) and I could take an overcast day as proof that he had slept in that day. And if he didn't raise it 'right' in the morning, it might wobble all day - be a little surly, or refuse to go down on time, or go down too early, or cause the sea to sizzle when it sank. It is a great meme, and I think it will be a permanent one with him. But I can't really do it in front of him, though. He doesn't get mad. He doesn't refuse it. But he doesn't quite know what to make of it. He pushes it away, for it seems to suggest to him that he is being made to look like God, raising and setting the sun. Yes, he knows it is a joke. But his inherent modesty is too much for him to join in the humor. Or maybe it is only me who thinks it is funny and it constitutes more evidence that I live in my own oddball world. Photo: Little Gasperilla sunrise

Don't get me going on these guys.

What we have is nothing of the sort. It's a good thing you didn't write any of the Bible. What a dull book it would be. I guess they were about to learn a thing or two, weren't they? Not only can God do it - his Son can also.

As a general rule, I do not like it when someone calls attention to their own special insight or qualifications. It seems to me that this fellow does it in spades. I actually don't mind speculation or added commentary as long as it clearly is labeled for what it is and does not run down everyone that is not yet so enlightened.

Since we will will have to wait and see what happens (for once you do not tell it), why are you so quick to say what the WT says is wrong?

I'd just as soon not see it play out. It is not as though Russia has nothing but pea shooters.