Doug

Me too. And I remember that campaign like it was yesterday . .

"Worship" is a verb, indicating engagement, participation, action. We will worship Jehovah forever and ever. It's a way of life. "Religion" doesn't seem to fit as well. my $.02

Has anyone attended a memorial service that had an opening prayer? This is the first one I am aware of.

Well, if it's not AI, does that mean it's a real person with a terrible French accent? From our organization?

A little background . . the ruling party in Italy is Fratelli d'Italia (Brothers of Italy) led by Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, a national-conservative and right-wing populist. She advocates for "God, fatherland, family". The Council on American-Islamic Relations condemns the proposed law. A similar law was passed by the Parliament in 2011 but was not codified by the Berlusconi administration. The virginity tests and forced marriages are viewed as "religious coercion". And, as mentioned, Italy considers Islamic fundamentalism a breeding ground for terrorism. So, the proposed law probably falls under "national security".

And the proclamation will be delivered by this world's media platforms. The media decide what they want to hype up, and what they want to downplay. The media can hype anything they want; a rumor, an off-the-record comment by anonymous source. The media has a disproportionate influence over the public's perception of what's happening. The tail wags the dog. If there's any kind of development in the Ukraine war (Putin isn't going to live forever), it could be treated by the media as a domino effect following the Israel / Gaza settlement. It could be hyped-up like all of a sudden the leaders are coming to their senses. The media can sell the perception of something that isn't. They can have everyone convinced that the world is on the threshold of a new dawn. As the w23 says: "Demon-inspired propaganda will fill the earth, misleading most" That will be due to the way the media hypes it up.

Italy is about to join France, Austria, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands and ban the Muslim burka and niqab in public places. But Italy goes further. The proposed law introduces penalties for "cultural crimes" including virginity tests and raises the maximum penalty for forced marriages to 10 years in prison. An interesting statement made ~ "The spread of Islamic fundamentalism . . . undeniably constitutes the breeding ground for Islamic terrorism".

Ready or not . . Let it come, let it come.

That's what I was thinking. How much can the people put up with? Shutting down the Internet for everyone because some were looking at porn is beyond fanatical.

Madness!!!!! The Taliban in charge of Afghanistan has disconnected the country from the Internet, plunging the country into near-total digital darkness. Kabul International airport has seen all commercial flights cancelled. Banks are frozen. Monitoring group NetBlocks confirms that Internet traffic levels have dropped to about 1% of normal. The UN mission says the blackout has "left Afghanistan almost completely cut-off from the outside world". Taliban officials have defended the move as a way to curb "immorality" online. CRAZY! This report is from FOX NEWS and Reuters.

Hey Jenny, are you near Cebu and the earthquake?

I know what you mean. The only married and anointed couple I am aware of was Martin and Gertrud Poetzinger. However, there must have been lots of married and anointed couples pre-1935.

Board . . not Bored . . . of Peace 🕊️ Don't want anything lost in translation

I think the meeting will be at Quantico, VA. In any case, the military has very secure teleconference capabilities, and making commanders travel from all points on the planet to attend in person "isn't the way we do things", according to one person. Maybe the Secretary of Defense, Department of War, Pete Hegseth, is under the influence of Trump's penchant for showmanship? It will certainly be interesting to learn what it's all about.

Irrational behavior Some JW's did it in 1974-75. There will be a lot of irrational behavior during the GT. Hopefully not us.