redvip2000

So i have a lean air condition on my VW passat. I used a smoke machine and noticed smoke coming off the brake booster.

I looked at the brake booster and i can see a bleeder hole or air intake hole on it. I imagine the purpose of it is to allow air into the the brake booster.

Now, when i turn on the engine, i see air being sucked in through that hole into the air booster and naturally going into the vaccum system.

My question is... Should air be sucked it like that all the time even without pressing the brakes. Or should air just be sucked in when you apply brakes. I don't see how air being taken in like that makes any sense, because it's obviously causing a lean condition on my car.

For those who don't know, JW Talk dot net is a website where JWs go and exchange ideas and chat.

I was there looking around and was reading threads to see what JWs were talking about. In one of the threads a JW "sister" made the following comment which i found interesting:

"At our visit to Brooklyn we met Brother Loesch and talked a little bit with him. When my husband said we came to see the HQ for the last time before they move to Warwick, Brother Loesch told us that they don't think they will make it out of N.Y. completely before the end. The end is that close! And when do they plan to finish Warwick? 2016 I believe......That gives me such a deep feeling of satisfaction, contentment, and yes---goosebumps!!!"

So she is saying that a member of the Governing Body told her, that "the end" will come before 2016. There you go folks, the predictions continue. All we need now is for someone to print this in a Watchtower and everybody will get goosebumps as well.

How will you celebrate?

As we near the 100th anniversary of the imaginary date of 1914, based on a fictional date of the destruction of Jerusalem, it begs to ask how many more years can this fallacy last until JWs around the world wake up and realize that 100years of "last days" are beyons anything reasonable?

Will JWs around the world finally see that it makes no sense for a king to be in power for 100 years and yet do absolutely nothing to change things in this planet?

I couldn't help notice on one of the latest publications of the Watchtower society, the organizational chart shown in an image

Check it here:

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/9767490/jworgchart.jpg

One must then ask: Where exactly is Jesus in this structure? The picture shows the throne of God and below the Governing body (?).

This simply illustrates the mentality of the Watchtower leadership, where they like to present themselves as the quasi-mediator to God, while relegating Jesus to nothing more than a backstage personality. How sad... for men to present themselves as 'The way to God" in such a disturbing manner.

Many news organizations are dedicating articles about failed "end of the world" predicitons and inevitably the Watchtower must be included.

http://www.mnn.com/lifestyle/arts-culture/stories/...

Http://uk.news.yahoo.com/mayan-apocalypse-2012--five-doomsdays-that-never-happened-143929918.html

Many of my JW contacts have been telling me that at the meetings since the tragedy in Newtown CT, the victims were not remembered in the prayers that both start and end the meetings. In one of the congregations even the prayers of the circuit overseer didn't ask for confort or help to the affected families.

I'm sure that many individual JWs did remember the victims in their prayers, but why the lack of interest at a higher level inside the organization?

During hurricane Sandy, my JW mother in law's neighbor invited her to go to his church. Evidently his church had power, warmth and food, and logically he thought it would be the christian thing to do.

She declined, and later told me that she would never accept to walk into another church, and instead would rather sleep on the street if necessary. This just illustrates how unreasonable many JWs are when in comes to understanding the basic principles of christianity.

Here you have a person who out of kindness and christian principles extends his goodwill to his fellow neighbor, putting aside irrelevant religious differences, and on the other end is a proud and petty JW who ignores a major principle of christianity in favor of "drawing a line on the ground", trying to make a point that his chuch is not good enough for her to go to.

All history books and common knowledge, mark the start of WW1 in July of 1914. However according to Watchtower cronology, it actually started in October. Let us explain:

The cronology of the Watchtower marked the end of the Gentile times in the middle of October of 1914. This meant that Jesus expelled Satan from heaven and hurled him down to earth along with evil demons. In turn the devil influenced the world governments to wage war on each other which led to WW1.

Since Watchtower cronology is always right and the secular cronology is always wrong, this means that thousands of history books and countless documentaries will need to be re-written to show that WWI actually started a few months later. The fact that soldiers were already fighting for months can easily be forgotten..

Well there you go. The Watchtower society has set the record straight once more. They are right and you are wrong

The January 2013 watchtower reinforces the position that JWs should take toward family members who are disfellowshipping. It says:

19 On the other hand, if you choose the path of resentment

toward Jehovah, you will distance yourself from him.

Really, what your beloved family member needs to see is

your resolute stance to put Jehovah above everything else

—including the family bond. So to cope with the situation,

be sure to maintain your own spirituality. Do not isolate

yourself from your faithful Christian brothers and sisters.

(Prov. 18:1) Pour out your feelings to Jehovah in prayer. (Ps.

62:7, 8) Do not look for excuses to associate with a disfellowshipped

family member, for example, through e-mail.

(1 Cor. 5:11) Stay absorbed in spiritual activities. (1 Cor.

15:58) The sister quoted above says, “I know that I must stay

busy in Jehovah’s service and keep myself in a spiritually

strong condition so that when my daughter does come back

to Jehovah, I will be in a position to help her.”

Aren't our hearts warm with such christian compassion? ....you see, from time to time the governing body forgets that most JWs are inherently decent people, that naturally are moved to show love for their family regardless of religious labels....

ahh those tricky brothers, who are sneaking some loving emails to their DFed family. The governing body must put a stop to that immediately.

And the arrogance of using terms such as "return to Jehovah". How ridiculous...they equate this un-christian organization with God, and of course the rank and file JWs lap it all up....shameful..

idenity?

It has taken the governing body of Jehovah Witnesses over 120 years to realize who the faithful and discreet slave is.

Observers like us, can see through the reasons for this change, but for the indoctrinated JWs, they simply accept this, and move right along as if Jehovah simply took his time in identifying his slave.

The governing body is pretty much showing the level of lack of respect for the intelligence of the 7 million people. It's lamost as if they don't care what anybody thinks anymore, it's either take it or leave it.

Yet again, the Governing body of Jehovah Witnesses in a ridiculous assault on the intelligence of 7 million people has changed one of it's core "organizational" beliefs.

The organization has taught for decades that the faithful and discreet slave was composed of the entire number of annointed christians on earth.

But once more in the typical zig zagging path to nonsensical "crazyville", the governing body with a flick of a finger changes this arbitrarily to a new understanding. The faithful and discreet slave is now composed of a whopping 7 members, while the rest of the annointed went from having the responsibility of "feeding" the entire brotherhood to just patiently waiting for scraps to fall off the table of these old men...

Isn't Jehovah loving for this new arrangement? " applauuuse" ...ahhh yes...

One can only wonder at what point will active Jehovah Witness have the "balls" to stand up and slam the door on this zig zagging train to nowhere.

Today after going through some of my papers, i stumbled across a transcript of the Douglas Walsh trial of 1954 where the Watchtower's leadership was put on the witness stand and interrogated.

I am posting here a small portion of it, where Hayden Covington (chief legal counsel of the WT at the time) admitted on the stand that : 1- the watchtower made erroneous prophecies and 2 - that JWs will be disfellowshipped if they dont' believe in them. Enjoy:

-----

Q. Is it a most vital consideration in the present situation of the world to know if the prophecy can be interpreted into terms of fact, when Christ’s Second Coming was?

A. That is true. And we have always striven to see that we have the truth before we utter it. We go on the very best information we have, but we cannot wait until we get perfect, because if we wait until we get perfect, we would never be able to speak.

Q. Let us follow that up just a little. It was promulgated as a matter which must be believed by all members of Jehovah’s Witnesses that the Lord’s Second Coming took place in 1874?

A. I am not familiar with that. You are speaking to a matter that I know nothing of.

Q. You heard Mr. Franz’s evidence?

A. I heard Mr. Franz testify, but I am not familiar with what he said on that, I mean the subject matter of what he was talking about, so I cannot answer any more than you can, having heard what he said.

Q. Leave me out of it.

A. That is the source of my information, what I have heard in court.

Q. You have studied the literature of your movement?

A. Yes, but not all of it. I have not studied the 7 volumes of “Studies in the Scriptures”, and I have not studied this matter that you are mentioning now of 1874. I am not at all familiar with that.

Q. Assume from me that it was promulgated as authoritative by the Society that Christ’s 2nd Coming was in 1874?

A. Taking that assumption as a fact, it is a hypothetical statement.

Q. That was the publication of a false prophecy?

A. That was the publication of a false prophecy, it was a false or an erroneous statement in fulfillment of a prophecy that was false or erroneous.

Q. And that had to be believed by the whole of Jehovah’s Witnesses?

A. Yes, because you must understand we must have unity. We cannot have disunity with a lot of people going every way. An army is supposed to march in step.

-----

Priceless....

I've said recently that it's becoming obvious that the Watchtower society is in financial decline ( cut back on pages per magazine, 16% of branches were closed last year, etc etc)

Now on the November Watchtower magazine, the organization made sure to remind all "Jdubs" of all the ways they can give money to the "mothership". To quote from the magazine:

"Each month, congregations forward these contributions to the office of Jehovah’s Witnesses that serves their country. It is also possible for you to send donations directly to a legal entity that is used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in your country. To learn the name of the primary legal entity used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in your country, please contact the branch office that serves the country. The address of the branch office can be found on www.jw.org. The types of donations that you can send directly are the following:

OUTRIGHT DONATIONS

•Donations of cash, jewelry, or other valuable personal property.

•Include a letter indicating that the cash or the items are an outright donation.

CONDITIONAL DONATION ARRANGEMENT

•Donations of cash with the condition that it can be returned if needed by the donor.

•Include a letter stating that the donation is conditional.

CHARITABLE PLANNING

In addition to gifts of money and valuable personal property, there are other methods of giving to benefit Kingdom service worldwide. These are listed below. Regardless of the method or methods you would like to use, please first contact the branch office that serves your country to see which methods are available in the country. Since legal requirements and tax laws vary, it is important to consult qualified tax and legal advisers before choosing the best way to donate.

Insurance: A donation made by specifying an entity used by Jehovah’s Witnesses as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or a retirement/pension plan.

Bank Accounts: Bank accounts, certificates of deposit, or individual retirement accounts set up as a trust or made payable on death to an entity used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in accord with local bank requirements.

Stocks and Bonds: Stocks and bonds donated to an entity used by Jehovah’s Witnesses as an outright gift or by means of a Transfer on Death agreement.

Real Estate: Salable real estate donated to an entity used by Jehovah’s Witnesses, either by making an outright gift or, in the case of residential property, by reserving a life estate to the donor, who can continue to live in the residence during his or her lifetime.

Gift Annuity: Money or securities donated to an entity used by Jehovah’s Witnesses under an arrangement where the donor, or someone designated by the donor, receives a specified annuity payment every year for life. The donor receives an income-tax deduction for the year in which the gift annuity is established.

Wills and Trusts: Property or money may be bequeathed to an entity used by Jehovah’s Witnesses by means of a legally executed will or by specifying the entity as the beneficiary of a trust agreement. This arrangement may provide certain tax advantages.

As the term “charitable planning” implies, these types of donations typically require some planning on the part of the donor. To assist individuals desiring to benefit the worldwide work of Jehovah’s Witnesses through some form of charitable giving, a brochure entitled Charitable Planning to Benefit Kingdom Service Worldwide has been prepared in English and Spanish. The brochure was written to provide information on a variety of ways that gifts may be made now or later, as through a bequest at death. The information covered in this brochure may not apply fully to your situation because of tax or other laws in your country. Hence, after reading the brochure, you should confer with your own legal or tax advisers. By using such methods of charitable giving, many have been able to help support our religious and humanitarian activities worldwide and maximize their tax benefits. If available in your country, the brochure may be obtained by requesting a copy from the secretary of the local congregation."

-- In light of this, isn't is interesting that JWs usually boast about their church not having a collection plate???

Looking back at all the hours i put in, i can't help thinking it was a big waste of time. 90 percent of the time is really spent going for coffee, talking in the car, driving, or stopping to chit chat between houses.

Truly innefective, most days you would perhaps get a chance to speak to one person if lucky. Did you have similar experiences??

I have much better results now, speaking to others informally during "real" conversations.

following year?

I've noticed a lot of sellers make improvements prior to sale, which make sense. But assuming they got permits for the upgrade, won't the buyer be penalized for this, soon after the purchase?

And how should you interpret this?

On occasion i hear Jehovah Witnesses boast about how the Watchtower organization is the fastest growing religious group. The rate of growth last year was 2.4 percent (1.2 in developed countries).

Is this impressive?

I think the fact is that one must undestand that they are also one of the smallest religious groups around, so any increase will likely be more impressive percentage wise than others.

To illustrate this let's say there is a religious group with 1000 members. Small right? Maybe, but let's say they are able to bring in 500 new members. That is a shocking 50 percent increase. Yes they only grew by 500 and that is less than other religious groups, but percentage-wise they had more growth.

Casually glancing at the 2011 activity report we again see how ineffective the "organized preaching" work that Jehovah Witnesses do, really is...

It now takes 6,487 hours per new baptism. This means that if you are a Jehovah Witness preaching around 10 hours per month, it will take you about 54 years to be able to lead someone to baptism.

Of course we know that the even the majority of these are kids and family of existing JWs, so this number is actually much smaller. It likely takes 200 years or more to convert someone (although it's impossible get an accurate number)

It's truly amazing that the publications that the greatest publishing company of religious materials on earth produces, have so little effect on the population that it targets.

If Jehovah Witnesses spent one tenth of their preaching time helping out in community centers or soup kitchens like many other christians, they would have a greater impact on their fellow men - showing love for their brother, and witnessing by actions instead of peddling literature for Watchtower Society.

the end is so near?

Let's examine what is happening:

- At the start of 2005 the number of printed pages between the Awake and Watchtower magazines was 128 per month. Now it's only half at 64 pages.

- It has cut down on the hours or preaching required for each pioneer.

- It laid off a significant part of Bethel workers in 2008 in multiple countries.

- It has now closed a significant amount of branches bringing the number of branches to the lowest amount in almost 20 years.

- It is selling off valuable property in Brooklyn during a buyer's market.

The sale of property in brooklyn will likely keep the Watchtower afloat for now, even with the 250 million project upstate New York.

But how interesting is it, that at a time when the Org is preaching the eminent end of the work and the need to expand and reach out to everybody, they instead cut back and consolidate.

is going through?

We are starting to see cutbacks across the board which indicates cost saving measures associated with cash flow issues related to operating expenses.

Edit:

Interestingly i came across a quote from a book written in 1985 by M. James Penton a professor who wrote a book about Jehovah Witnesses. In the last chapter, he writes:

"... as the witnesses expand in the so-called developing world at a much faster rate than in the industrialized nations, the Watchtower may well begin to experience financial problems. Most of the money it uses to finance it's publishing empire comes from the developed world, and if growth in Europe and North America continues to slow, as it has in recent years, the society will have to press harder to obtain the funding necessary to carry on it's activities."

What tremendous insight Penton had on this, even back in 1985 - i was impressed on how good his analysis was...

This is clearly a time of "tightening up the belt" for the Watchtower organization. There are cut-backs across the board. From cutting back on the amount of pages per magazine, to reducing the amount of magazines and books printed, to closing a number or branches in some countries..

The Watchtower society is obviously cutting costs across the board. Does this mean you will personally reduce the amount you donate, since the expenses will go down as well?