Doug

What you said is true. And everyone can say the same thing simply by changing the number to 50, 60 , 70 , years ago. Here's another perspective ~ If Adam and Eve had not sinned, you and the rest of us would not have been born. We are alive as a result of every little thing that happened since they had their first children. If they had not sinned, the human race would have gone in an entirely different direction. It seems weird, but we live because they sinned and Jehovah deemed their yet-to-be-conceived children as deserving of life. In Br Winder's talk "Manifest Godly Patience", he makes the point that God's patience is purpose oriented, he wants to give people a chance to change. But, his patience is not due to babies being born every day, and wanting to give them a chance to grow up and have the opportunity to know him, to make a choice. If that was the case, the end would never come. Jehovah's attributes are perfectly balanced, and the time will come when patience can no longer be warranted. At that time, justice and righteousness demand action. We understand that the 'good news' will be preached right down to the end. So, Jehovah exercises patience, holding out the opportunity to know him, until it can't be warranted, and he knows when that time is. It's on the divine calendar.

No one. From Br. Winder's talk "Manifest Godly Patience": "God is patient only as long as it is in harmony with justice, righteousness and wisdom. The fact that patience is exercised when a bad or provocative situation exists shows that it is meant to give opportunity for those involved in the bad situation to change, to straighten up. When matters come to a point where it is seen that there is no hope of such change , justice and righteousness would be violated if patience should continue. Then God acts in wisdom to remove the bad situation. His patience comes to an end."

I was being clever, not literal. "Born again" christians start hot but cool rapidly. The UN's survival will be more of a death bed conversion.

0 - 2 PRO TIP: Stay out of the stock market

It will be a "born again" UN, but a very temporary revival.

New support is urgently needed for the UN to continue. Secretary-General has sent a letter to members declaring a financial emergency. He said the ship must right itself by June or it's a race to bankruptcy, "As of early 2026, the organization is grappling with a severe liquidity crisis driven by record-high arrears from member states - notably the USA, China and Russia - and outdated financial rules". But, Guterres has been Secretary-General for 9 years, and this problem has persisted on his watch. One official said Guterras will have the legacy of the worst SG in the history of the UN. The UN was the hope of the world, but now is viewed as an irrelevant, failed idea. There are four things converging on the UN: The deeply-rooted systemic problems resulting in a financial collapse. A new Secretary-General needs to be selected, acceptable to the security council plus 4 rotating nations. Trump's new Board of Peace alternative. Rev. 17:17. Only by an act of God will the UN last long enough to carry out one final mission, destroy religion.

Somehow , someway , it fits in.

I learned something new to me about Ezekiel 7:19. I used to think it was as you put it, "They will be throwing their money into the streets" as worthless. But, the verse doesn't use the word "money". It says "They will throw their silver into the streets, and their gold will become abhorrent to them". Will silver and gold literally be worthless? Only in the sense that those precious metals will not be able to save them in the day of Jehovah's fury. So, what good are they?

Bearing in mind: "Believe nothing you hear, and 1/2 of what you see", Iran has claimed they have the unstoppable hypersonic missile. It travels so fast there is no defense against it. So, the USS Abraham Lincoln is very much on their radar, according to the hyperbolic messaging.

Very silly indeed!!! In 2010 there was a mood of some optimism, and the clock went backwards from 5 minutes to 6 minutes. Two years later, 2012, back up to 5 minutes. 2015 ~ 3 minutes (big jump) 2020 ~ 100 seconds (another big jump) 2023 ~ 90 seconds (they can foresee that they need to be careful with the big jumps) 2025 ~ 89 seconds (one second? seriously??) 2026 ~ 85 seconds (they can milk this for a looong time)

In the age of "good is bad, and bad is good", the station may decide that a straight hostess brings shame on them. If she's not gay, or bi , or pan , or whatever , she is then guilty of being close-minded, narrow thinking, and for that she brings shame on her employer. *sarcasm* Remember when a TV sit-com had to have a person of color, or had to have a gay character, if it was going to last? It was seen as a requirement to keep their audience.

Apparently this crisis is related to a snap election scheduled for February 8. A snap election is usually due to a vote of no confidence in the incumbent. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has proposed a massive $135 billion dollar spending plan and a suspension of the sales tax on food. It sound like the platform Zohran Mamdani ran on and won in New York City. Free bus rides and rent control. This appeasement to keep the people sedated goes back to Rome's "bread and circus" . Still works apparently.

Trump has said if his administration doesn't win the tariff case at the Supreme Court, it's the end of the country. I think so too. If I remember correctly, the US spends one trillion dollars (Austin Powers) just on the interest of the debt each year.

Meet you at the beach!

A scam , or an illusion ~ "The wealth of the rich is like a protective wall in his imagination" Pr. 18:11 More probably a scam. I won't ask about 401k's. But I was investigating the Uniform Retirement Loan (URL) as a tax shelter for self-employed contractors. Would you call it credible, or scam? It's off-topic of course, but I'm only curious what you think. I'm not going to start one.