hatcheckgirl

The latest stabbing of a Bishop in Sydney on Monday was labelled a “terrorist act”. The Bishop was giving livestream mass in an Assyrian Orthodox Christian Church. The attacker was a 16 yr old Muslim boy. There was a violent riot outside the church when over a hundred mad, deranged men pelted police with rocks and anything else, delaying paramedics and causing serious injury to 2 police. Coming on the back of the other fatal stabbing in Bondi by a mentally insane 40 year old off his meds, Sydney is like a powder keg atm. There is a call for calm, but the calling of the second stabbing a “terrorist act” (which enables the police extraordinary powers of investigation), has isolated and enraged some of the Muslim community. Things are showing how close we are to imploding as a society. People are really scared at the horror in their own backyards. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-18/two-knife-attacks-bondi-junction-wakeley-terrorism-target-women-/103736578?utm_source=abc_news_app&utm_medium=content_shared&utm_campaign=abc_news_app&utm_content=link

Oh my! 😱 Was just reading about this, and it is not just a shallow earthquake on its own. Though relatively little damage was done this time, earthquake scientists in Japan linked this to the Nankai Trough. “The agency says that this is the first time since 1996, when the current seismic intensity scale was introduced, that a quake with an intensity of lower 6 or higher has hit Ehime and Kochi prefectures. A Meteorological Agency official called on people to stay alert for more possible quakes for about a week. The official says the earthquake occurred in the expected hypocenter area of the anticipated massive Nankai Trough earthquake, but with a magnitude of 6.6. He says it was below the strength suggesting a link with the Nankai Trough quake.” https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20240418_14/ An earthquake in this region (Nankai Fault) would affect the whole plate subduction zone on the East coast, so it’s the anticipated “big one”! A “mega thrust” earthquake. “A study by the Japan Society of Civil Engineers in 2018 estimated that the long-term damage from the earthquake could result in 1,240 trillion yen in economic losses over a 20-year period.[9] It is predicted that the economic damage is likely to be 10 times higher than for the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami.[10] A death toll as high as 230,000 has been suggested for such an event.[11]” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nankai_megathrust_earthquakes

My sister does this too. Those FF cards linked to a credit card can be initially more expensive. But if you can afford the yearly upfront expense, it is worth it. She also books through Qantas Hotels site (since I am referring to her having a Qantas Frequent Flyer credit card). The points she accumulates through using their hotel booking system (and they do Airbnb too) saves so much and puts points towards the next trip, which is usually free. Of course, we also check how much hotels cost separately, but in most cases, doing it through the Qantas site is better for the budget too.

Flights for me border on unaffordability. I visit my mum in Sydney twice a year from Perth. That route is still expensive and hasn’t gone back to reasonable pre-pandemic levels. So I took the cheap flights last time, because I also visited Melbourne and Brisbane to visit family. But, that when the cancellation happened (in Melbourne, waiting 9 hrs at the airport). All airlines cancel, of course. And it’s definitely happening more since the pandemic. But cheaper airlines are more prone. So, frequent flyer points gave me two free flights for the short Sydney-Brisbane leg. Maybe @Katty if you do collect ffp, look at using them for the shorter legs of your trip. I’ve also found that when flying overseas if you bundle your accommodations and flight with Expedia, Agoda or others, it brings the price of the whole trip down rather than separately.

These are scary times, but we trust our brothers have good guidance from the GB for when it all goes south. Jehovah has taught us well, and we are prepared. We have been waiting all our lives to see these prophecies fulfilled. Now they are! Scary, but exciting times.

We haven’t had asylums since the 60s and 70s. We have mental health systems. Which he was part of, until he dropped out of the public system and was left to struggle in the private. That is very expensive, and I imagined his parents did their best to help out because earlier in his life he would live with them on and off. One report says he graduated university with a Bachelor in Arts, so he would have been trying to manage as best as he could. But slowly slowly over the years, he didn’t keep contact with his family and lived in his car in a city in Queensland. He was 40 when he moved to Sydney a month ago, and was renting a small storage container. Reports today by police say it’s obvious he targeted women. So, there's the motive. Mentally ill mysogynistic misfit. It’s scary because there are a lot of misfits in society. It kicks vulnerable people to the curb and there are no services to help them anymore. You have to be blaringly mental and psychotic to be locked up in a mental ward. He was broken already. Does Satan manipulate these ones, I wonder?

He was not a terrorist, at least. I think we all initially worried it might have been because that’s a big Jewish area. However, he was struggling all his life with mental illness. Though known to police, it was not in the criminal sense. He had been living rough for many years in his car. So, it makes it scary to think how he was pushed to this atrocity. This shows how broken we are as a human race.

Katty, I think you’ve done very extensive research into travelling on a budget. I’ve never needed to go into that much effort, so good on you! I mainly use frequent flyer points to lower the cost. I’ve noticed since the pandemic flights are still very expensive, the cheapest flights fly at awful hours, and you pay more for the add-on that were complementary before. So while budgeting is important, you are travelling with a baby. It might be better not to do a “red eye” cheaper flight. Exhausting (used to do it). Another thing I avoid is long layovers. These are usually the cheapest flights too. When you search flights, filter by lowest cost and duration. Lastly, flight delays and cancellations. This is more common since the pandemic. You can really get stuck. The best thing is to have good travel insurance and pay extra for your flight tickets to have some flexibility. I waited 9 hrs in the airport (and caught covid) when my flight was cancelled, and even with insurance I didn’t have a full refund (because the airline managed to rebook me on the last flight). What can we do? It much harder flying now. Even though we budget and plan, nowadays it’s best to pay extra to remain flexible. I’m off to Japan next month, and planning was more difficult compared to all my previous trips. The world is very different since the pandemic.

Our stamps in Australia quietly increased to $1.50 from $1.20 on 3 April. We were caught off guard and now have to buy 10c stamps to make up the difference. That’s a 30% increase. And all other postal services have also jumped up around 20-25%. https://auspost.com.au/disruptions-and-updates/pricing-updates/bpr-letter-pricing-update

Well, I knew this past summer over in the West parts of Australia was particularly punishing. A walk in the bush tells us that there are many trees and bushes really struggling, and drying. When we go witnessing, people's gardens are much drier and more plants have died. It’s April, and we have not seen rain in many months, making it a record-breaking spell. Fears of another 'forest collapse' event in Western Australia after record dry spell So, it's not just me then….. Other parts of Australia are suffering their 12th flood of catastrophic proportions in 4 years. We are sick of hearing “unprecedented” and “once-in-a-hundred years flood”. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-11/shoalhaven-farmers-flooded-for-12th-time-in-four-years/103685588 Are you seeing catastrophic changes in your local climate too?

Not earthquake, but Mt Etna blowing smoke rings is sorta cool

And, isn’t the spiritual food we're getting currently absolutely mind-blowingly on point for what we are needing (just finished the WT pre study). This also reinforces where we are in the stream of time. V E R Y. C L O S E.

Yes, his lack of vocabulary is shocking! Like he's still limited to primary school playground language.

I can understand why the hospital would do this. They have to cover themselves. We must have our directive up to date and on us, or we really are leaving ourselves open to this. I think everyone is being reasonable, even the judge and the family, who thanked the hospital for their treatment so far. It’s good the judge said: “the hospital could return to court and seek to discharge the order if the man's health improve to the degree that he regains capacity and is able to give clear instructions about his treatment.”

Well, it’s a good reminder to remain neutral. He does disgust me, due to all that’s mentioned above. It’s a struggle to keep my emotions out of it. He, Hitler, Attila the Hun. History is full of such people. Leaving it in Jehovah’s hands (but I feel it’s going to be quite a basket case time over there this year 🤪🤪)

Bro Mikey, thank you for updating us. This is just one more (obvious) threat we have to our existence. Everything now is globally connected through the internet - the cables under the sea and the satellite above. Electricity is generated by computer driven systems, and computer driven systems need heaps of energy to run. Would it take much to tip this delicate balance? Without a working internet, no food, no shops, no petrol stations, no transport, no water, no sewage system, no electricity, no data delivery systems, nothing would work. You have pointed out a threat I personally haven’t considered yet. We can add that to the many existential anxieties of this world. Of course it makes sense that our faithful organisation would use skills such as yours to protect its assets in these treacherous dark days. I’m sure we are going to see amazing things without needing electricity during Armageddon, but until then, may Jehovah keep using your generous gifts, and thank you. I now also understand a tiny bit more about quantum computing.

I can see people who realise we are not ever going to “return to normal” losing all hope. The desperation is already here, with no affordable housing, food prices skyrocketing, medical costs no longer being subsidised so much more to pay out of pocket. This is in Australia, “the lucky country” as we once were. These ones we are trying to appeal to with our new way of witnessing. They are like stunned mullets. If they turn to Jehovah and “repent… so that seasons of refreshing may come from Jehovah himself”, he will help them, even without much preparation (thinking of the great mixed crowd out of Egypt). However, for those who just are wallowing, not wanting to listen because they are truly blinded, they will soon be taking things into their own hands to find relief. I always remember how vicious things got in the supermarkets over the toilet paper shortage. It was scary to see. No zombie or apocalyptic movie can capture the desperation and degrading survival instinct that will be motivating them pre Armageddon. We will only survive because we have Jehovah’s protection.

French school head resigns over Paris veil row and death threats https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-68673112 Religious extremists have sent death threats to a school principal when he enforced the “no veil at school” government policy, and has resigned. Both sides of politics are up in arms about this - the extreme left and the extreme right both agree and expressed outrage, claiming that it is “a defeat of the state” and that “this government is incapable of protecting our schools.” The Islamist threat to French schools is taken extremely seriously since the murders of two teachers. Then there is a Russian disinformation campaign, with over 30 bomb threats at schools, which means closures as they all have to be taken seriously. “Prime Minister Gabriel Attal warned earlier this month that the Kremlin had embarked on a "massive destabilisation enterprise" to undermine French support for Ukraine.” Religion, extremists and politics 🙄

He had an incredible sense of humour, and he was very much loved for that. Looking forward to seeing him very soon. Much love and condolences to Chuck's wonderful family 🌹

You guys in the US have a special kind of trial with this basket case situation over there. 😳🤪

I think this is the part that is so upsetting - those poor people stuck in war zones. We can’t just not be affected, everyone’s mental health will crack at seeing these horrific things on our news cycle. And when you add all the misinformation in this digital age, it almost breaks the brain with worry. Which is why the only way out of this insanity is Ps 56:3 When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. What a very comforting scripture for all of us this year, hey? It’s going to get a lot worse before it gets better. But, we all have to keep trusting in Jehovah 🌹

So, one of the articles posted by Sofia says Russia believes the US is recruiting Daesh and Isis fighters, training them in Syria, and sending them off to Russia to “exsanguinate” Russia. 🤔 More pushing North vs South if this is true. I really don’t care. They are fulfilling prophecy and we know that the time is short. 👍

Do we know why Isis has done this to Russia? Islam is not being suppressed as a religion in Russia (atm). But interestingly, a lot of the mobilisation came from the Muslim regional states such as Dagestan. I read ages ago now that a higher proportion of those killed come from the countryside, in the Muslim regions. They may be fed up with being fodder for the Ukraine war? Or, they may be retaliating because Russia has opposed the ceasefire in Gaza? Whatever the reason, it now has a distinct religious flavour rather than political. You can really see how politics is going to hate the harlot.

Yes, I’ve seen this movie. It’s very good, very moving, and seen from the Japanese perspective living through it.

I've always wondered about this. I've visited Hiroshima, and it is a vibrant, bustling city. No one would imagine in their wildest dreams it's the same city that suffered that enormous destruction. The Peace Park with the blast epicentre has the building, Genbaku Dome, with a lot of it still intact left as a memorial. It doesn't really look any worse that a normal bomb blast effect would. And I wondered how come we are all allowed to walk around ground zero. Now I know. Thanks.