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Br. Ray, I don't know how important this point is to you but this section IS publicly visible.

😘

However, before we visited Walkill and Patterson we did a bit more touring. Up through Connecticut and Massachusetts, cut through a corner of Vermont and went into New Hampshire to reach the most distant place we'd been from home - Squam Lake. I had a commitment to be in Watkins Glen after that and as we dashed back across Vermont and most of Upstate New York we were having a simply wonderful time making discoveries and seeing the sights. Once my commitments in Watkins Glen were done we were once again looking for a Sunday meeting. My choices were guided by a comment I'd made to a sister I encountered at an International Convention in Sydney ten years earlier. She told me she came from Interlaken, explaining that this was in the Fingerlakes district of Upstate New York. At that time I could only dream of taking a trip to America, but I told her, "If ever I go to America I will be going to Watkins Glen, so I will visit your Kingdom Hall!" And so we loaded our gear and ourselves into the pickup and headed across to Interlaken, guided by the GPS straight to the Kingdom Hall: Imagine my disappointment to find their meeting wasn't on! I don't know whether it was because they had an assembly, but my best guess is that's what happened. After waiting a short time to see if anyone turned up we pointed the pickup in the direction of Watkins Glen and steered our way to a late arrival at the meeting there. Late? We walked in as the second paragraph of the Watchtower Study was being discussed. Sitting down as paragraph three was being read, the Study Conductor then asked the question relating to that paragraph - and I put up my hand. "The brother who just walked in..." the Study Conductor said. And so I commented on the paragraph, but beside me my dear wife was cringing with embarrassment. Despite all of this we were able to meet several brothers and sisters and discuss both our travels and differences we were finding with meetings in Australia versus the USA. Or should I say 'similarities'? Once again we were made to feel right at home, though we didn't get an answer as to why the Interlaken congregation had left us feeling abandoned. Two Sundays in America, two meetings. Janet had decided it was too difficult to try and fit in a midweek meeting and remembering that each night we had to get into a hotel and find something to eat, yes, it would have been. But so far we were having a great time and the following day we'd be visiting Walkill and Patterson.

Global Initiative for National Governance, Intervention in Vigilance, Institutional Treaty Integration and Security. GINGIVITIS

I think of the time in the near future where I can help clean up this earth and contribute to making it the beautiful paradise Jehovah meant it to be. And yet Jehovah has a spiritual paradise that I can contribute to right now. It exist in our congregations, in our homes, in prisons in refugee camps. Anywhere his people are. It's a miracle and a constant poke at Satan and his world.

Check this out https://www.yahoo.com/news/science/articles/jwst-just-spotted-black-hole-165952805.html

Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep 🐑? Phillip K. Dick

Solaris by Stanisław Lem

GUMS?

More like Global United Mandate for Security.

Yeah, I know, but I wanted to add Survival 😁

Our next theocratic stopover came after travelling through Virginia, Maryland, Pennsylvania and New Jersey and paying a toll over the Brooklyn Bridge. Yes, we headed for what was then the World Headquarters, Brooklyn Bethel. We caught a sight of it as we crossed the bridge... ...and then struggled for a while to find somewhere to park. Once we did this we could walk towards those familiar-looking buildings: We then found the front desk... ...and pretty soon we were with a guide on the big tour. There was too much there to keep on posting pics, but a couple of things that appealed to me were the displays of Brother Russell's personal items, one of which was documents relating to the part he played in nurturing the organisation: And the slides from the Photo Drama of Creation were a testimony to the efforts of the brothers and sisters of that early era: And I'll indulge myself a little here, there was a huge photo of the Bethel family from Australia and, on closer inspection, I found my mother's older sister in the picture: My aunt was a part of the Australia Bethel family from about 1938 to her death, which was some time in the late nineties if I recall. And so we'd had a tour, met many others on the tour as well and enjoyed seeing in detail how things were done in those times. Of course, things are constantly changing and many of the technological developments displayed to us would be out of date now as the brothers keep up with the rapid improvements to help present Jehovah's word to the public. A few days later we would visit both Walkill and Patterson, so there's more of this to come.

Looking forward to more of these ...

Tim, I've always enjoyed your posts here. You have a very deep knowledge of scripture and I'm thankful that you're willing to share it online. I hope you're able to attend more meetings even if only for the "free hugs" from your brothers and sisters.

Teeth is already a plural, isn't it? Teeths?

TEETHS: Total Electoral and Executive Transfer for Humanity's Survival.

When the GT starts, I'd love an update where the host would review our recent understanding of the GT prophecies. Then he would ask: so does the recent news is really fitting with our understanding? /Casual voice/ Yes. /Pause/ /Serious voice/ Yes. /Pause/ /Same voice, with even more solemnity/ This is it. I'd be faith/zeal/courage-boosted beyond any recognition

Guys even social media requires AI notices on content made with AI….😉

Public-Radio Interview — “A Stunning Shift in World Power” HOST: Good evening. I'm Daniel Brooks. Tonight, we're following what may be the most extraordinary development in international politics in generations. Governments around the world have announced an unprecedented decision: They are transferring significant power and authority to the United Nations. The announcement came with startling speed. Leaders who, only hours ago, appeared divided on fundamental questions of national sovereignty are now speaking with remarkable unity. To help us understand what we're witnessing, we're joined by Dr. Elena Marovic, former senior diplomat and widely respected scholar of international affairs. Dr. Marovic, thank you for being with us. DR. MAROVIC: Thank you. It's good to be here. HOST: Let me begin with the obvious question. What happened? DR. MAROVIC: That's precisely the question governments, intelligence agencies, and ordinary citizens are asking tonight. The speed is extraordinary. We have seen international agreements before, but this is fundamentally different. Governments appear to be acting almost simultaneously, surrendering a degree of authority that they have historically guarded very carefully. HOST: So you're saying this isn't simply another international treaty? DR. MAROVIC: No. A treaty normally involves months or years of negotiation. There are disagreements, amendments, parliamentary debates, objections from opposition parties. This doesn't look like that. What we're seeing is remarkably sudden. Governments that have disagreed on virtually everything are now saying, in effect, "We will act together." HOST: And the United Nations is suddenly at the center of this? DR. MAROVIC: Yes. The United Nations has existed for decades, but its role has traditionally depended on the willingness of individual nations to cooperate. Tonight, we're seeing something fundamentally different: Nations appear willing to place an extraordinary measure of their political authority behind the organization. HOST: Some leaders are calling this the beginning of a new era of global cooperation. Do you think that's an exaggeration? DR. MAROVIC: From a conventional political perspective, perhaps. But I would be careful about making predictions tonight. We're witnessing something so unusual that our normal political models may not adequately explain it. HOST: What would you say to people watching this who are frightened? DR. MAROVIC: I would say that uncertainty is understandable. When political structures change this quickly, people naturally wonder what happens next. The important thing is to distinguish between what we know and what we don't know. HOST: And what don't we know? DR. MAROVIC: We don't know the full consequences of this decision. We don't know how individual governments will implement it. And we certainly don't know where this leads politically. HOST: There's another remarkable development tonight. Several governments that have historically maintained close relationships with major religious institutions are now announcing measures against religious organizations. DR. MAROVIC: Yes. That may ultimately prove to be one of the most consequential aspects of what we're seeing. HOST: Why? DR. MAROVIC: Because governments have traditionally viewed religion as an important social and political force. If governments suddenly begin withdrawing their support from religious institutions on a global scale, that would represent a profound transformation. HOST: So you're suggesting that tonight's announcement may be only the beginning? DR. MAROVIC: I think everyone should recognize that possibility. We have entered unfamiliar territory. HOST: Dr. Elena Marovic, former diplomat and international-affairs scholar, joining us tonight. One final question. After watching governments around the world make a decision of this magnitude with such extraordinary speed, what do you think historians will say about this night? DR. MAROVIC: They may say that this was the night the international system changed before the world fully understood that it was changing. HOST: Dr. Marovic, thank you. DR. MAROVIC: Thank you. HOST: And we'll continue following this developing story.

My first trip began in October, 2012. The first congregation Janet and I visited was at Weston, West Virginia. We were to revel in the topography and autumnal colours of the 'Hillbilly' country and I was in that area to visit an old friend who'd worked as a teacher in Australia. We stayed at Buckhannon the night before and drove to Weston, following the Garmin GPS to... ...Kingdom Drive, which really tickled us. The first thing we noticed, and it was to us quite outstanding, was the lack of windows in the hall: Our old Dodge pickup is at the extreme left of this pic and Janet is there talking to Brother Edwin Stalnaker who I was to learn had a large part in bringing this hall into being. He provided the land and used his earthmoving equipment to level sufficient ground for the hall, also building the entry road. There'll be more about this hall much later in the thread as I returned there in 2024, but for now it was eye-opening to an Aussie couple finding their way with accents and getting to know people. One sister, Jo Ellen Fitzwater, spent some time talking with Janet and later wrote to her back home. Janet really appreciated that and it's a shame that the correspondence wasn't able to continue much longer. No, it's not a large congregation, but it's firmly established and spiritually strong. It was a nice place for us to begin our 'International Tour' and to spend valuable time with brothers and sisters.

Imagine if the UN was suddenly given complete control of every military force of its member states. It would have full control of the largest military force in the world. Truly cause to declare P&S.

My Shih tsu was called Teeth!!😅

I must OD on chocolate. Give me more!

Known as Operation TEETH