Peace and Security, Great Tribulation, Armageddon

[New World Explorer]

2 minutes ago, Dages said:

Maybe a krach is coming and they will turn to religion to get the money back  

Australian dollar is crushing badly... things are not looking good at all

[JennyM]

17 hours ago, Doug said:

Just back from the "Not Ashamed of the Good News" Circuit Assembly with Branch Representative.  It was Jeremy Clark.

 

One thing he said about money; Jehovah has promised we will have what we need, food, clothes, shelter.

But if we're going after wealth, we're on our own. Don't expect Jehovah to bless the pursuit of wealth.

 

He had a lot to say about our worries and fears too, including persecution.

Im excited with our own circuit assembly. 

Unfortunately, some go with material pursuits and cant serve 2 masters at the same time. 

 

The deceptive power of riches is so strong. 

Edited yesterday at 10:23 AM by JennyM

[Mike047]

16 hours ago, Doug said:

Regarding persecution, he quoted 2 Tim 3:12 "All those desiring to live with godly devotion in association with Christ Jesus  will also be persecuted".

Yes, that was said, along with not an 'if' but a 'when', so we should all be focussing on helping a our families and our congregations to keep their spiritual focus.

Also good to keep up to date with the personal experiences of our brothers in Russian detention. Their fine examples, and the way they keep spiritual things to the fore, are examples we should not forget.

[Shawnster]

On 4/5/2025 at 10:12 AM, LeolaRootStew said:

I think Trump is trying to bring manufacturing back to America by removing the incentives to choose foreign products over domestic. This could theoretically work if we weren't in the last days, but I think the way he is shaking things up could lead directly to the GT - hopefully

 

This is what I conclude, too. The big hurdle that I see insurmountable is the time it will take to bring the manufacturing back to America. If it takes longer than 4 years, then what's the point? Trump will be gone and his successor will undo all of this. 

 

I think it would take longer than 4 years to bring production back to the States. 

[chuck83]

14 hours ago, ChrisW said:

Trump and the UN sound the same to me. 

But don't get me wrong all politicians speak the same language.

Like they say, you know politician is lying because he’s moving his lips.

[Doug]

1 hour ago, Shawnster said:

 

This is what I conclude, too. The big hurdle that I see insurmountable is the time it will take to bring the manufacturing back to America. If it takes longer than 4 years, then what's the point? Trump will be gone and his successor will undo all of this. 

 

 

It would take awhile to bring manufacturing back, years .  But there's already manufacturing in the US, so I think it's a matter of the consumer deciding they will buy domestic and manufacturing will come back if they want in on the market.

 

A simple comparison is "Why hire someone (an outsider) when you can do the job yourself and save? Keep it in the family."  Like when we need help and we look for a JW if possible.

 

I don't think the pendulum will always swing back and forth every election.  If there's an administration that produces real results, and life improves for the common man, then probably the party can hold the office .  It used to be that one-term presidents was rare; Carter, Ford, George H.W. Bush and for reasons that are well known.

 

In any case, we can hope there won't be another US presidential election to endure in this system.  As Br. Jackson said, changes can happen suddenly.

[Dhanyel]

Goldman Sachs raises odds of US recession to 45%, second hike in a week

https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/goldman-sachs-raises-odds-us-recession-45-2025-04-07/

[LeolaRootStew]

On 4/6/2025 at 7:38 AM, jeje said:

However, the merchants only complain after the destruction of religion, so shouldn't that the economy work well until the destruction ? Not sure we would need to expect financial collapse for the moment

 

It could go either way. They might attack religion for its wealth [they will eat up her fleshy parts] and then regret the financial loss that comes with the holidays not being celebrated.

[ChrisC]

Regarding an increase of manufacturing multi-part products in USA, instead of paying tariffs:

 

If this does happen then I’m guessing the manufacturers will be ‘given permission’ to ignore a multitude of patents/copyrights belonging to other countries.

That will go down well!

[New World Explorer]

5 hours ago, Doug said:

 

It would take awhile to bring manufacturing back, years .  But there's already manufacturing in the US, so I think it's a matter of the consumer deciding they will buy domestic and manufacturing will come back if they want in on the market.

 

A simple comparison is "Why hire someone (an outsider) when you can do the job yourself and save? Keep it in the family."  Like when we need help and we look for a JW if possible.

 

I don't think the pendulum will always swing back and forth every election.  If there's an administration that produces real results, and life improves for the common man, then probably the party can hold the office .  It used to be that one-term presidents was rare; Carter, Ford, George H.W. Bush and for reasons that are well known.

 

In any case, we can hope there won't be another US presidential election to endure in this system.  As Br. Jackson said, changes can happen suddenly.

Everything looks beautiful in theory … but let me give you example. (I know this first hand from big USA publisher Jamie S - publisher of Wingspan, Tapestry, Finspan etc) 
There are millions of Boardgames produced in China every single year. 
Cost of boardgame (retail version) is around $10-20 US dollars … for which consumer in the USA pays $50-$70 dollars. (distribution, taxes, profit margins included) 

Now… to set up production in US 🇺🇸 would require importing printing machines, laser cutters and molders that do not exist in US. 
The machinery has tariffs on them so to build factory and get equipment is very expensive and would require 4-5 years of construction and setting up manufacturing. But the problem is that USA is more expensive than China … labour costs and others would be much higher so the game that is now possible to produce in China for $10-20 would jump to $30-40 and the final product in the shop would cost instead of $50-70 ….if imported from China ….it would jumped significantly to higher prices like $100-130 which means less volume sells …. Normal consumer who can afford to buy several games a year would be spending less if the cost is higher … there is vicious loop with this solution and no matter how we look at it … its not good for normal people like you and me. Also if the factory is build in US it can sell Boardgames only to US people (very narrow market) as the rest of the world would be still buying them from China (for example here in AUSTRALIA we do not have those tariffs and Jamie S distribution goes China - Australia direct. See the problem for US manufacturing?????? 
 

[Shawnster]

1 hour ago, ChrisC said:

If this does happen then I’m guessing the manufacturers will be ‘given permission’ to ignore a multitude of patents/copyrights belonging to other countries.

 

 

I don't think that's how this works in this case. The vast majority of imports are not unique or proprietary. 

 

It's like this. Canada is the tomato growing capital of the world. The US imports tomatoes. Those tomatoes are now subject to tariff. Want to avoid the tariff?  Buy tomato grown in the US. 

 

Are you a car dealer? Sell cars made in the USA? No cars are made in the USA? Build a manufacturing plant. 

 

Alcohol is subject to this tariff. You want to sell Canadian Mist whiskey? Pay the tariff. Want to avoid that extra fee? Sell whiskey made in the USA. 

 

Blankets, lights, televisions, telephones, oranges, eggs, bicycles, etc... the vast majority of imports can, in theory, be replaced with US products. However, how many US companies can immediately ramp up production to fill the gap? 

 

Some companies, like Costco and Walmart (I think) are going to continue to sell the imported products. They are going to pass on the expense to us, the end consumer. Those tomatoes are going to be expensive. 

Edited 14 hours ago by Shawnster

[trottigy]

If I was a US company and I saw that the imported widgets which sold for less than I can make the suddenly are higher - I'd sell for less, but no that much less. In other words - few people in a greedy society are going to sell USA made for a lot less than imported - this means ALL the prices go up.

[New World Explorer]

Certain president from certain country threatens additional 50% tariffs on China  (if China does not remove it's tariffs)https://edition.cnn.com/

Ok... I will grab coffee and donut and observe how this system goes down! 

 

Tip: Stock up on cheap stationary from China like pencils etc because if additional tariffs are enforced then pencils will be luxury goods very soon LOL 

Or you can book trip to Australia and buy pencils here and recover the cost of travel... LOL  (we do not have tariffs on China) 

[Tortuga]

57 minutes ago, New World Explorer said:

Certain president from certain country threatens additional 50% tariffs on China

 

Be careful with your china..

 

[Dustparticle]

1 hour ago, New World Explorer said:

Ok... I will grab coffee and donut and observe how this system goes down! 

 

 Will the donut be chocolate covered?

[New World Explorer]

20 minutes ago, Dustparticle said:

 

 Will the donut be chocolate covered?

Depends on the tariffs LOL 😂 

[Dages]

Trump and China are fighting over Tariff right now... it's really KotS vs KotN

[Desert Dan]

5 hours ago, Shawnster said:

It's like this. Canada is the tomato growing capital of the world. The US imports tomatoes. Those tomatoes are now subject to tariff. Want to avoid the tariff?  Buy tomato grown in the US. 

 

Quick Fact Check:   Canada hardly produces tomatoes compared to other countries.   It was like #41.

List of countries by tomato production - Wikipedia

 

As I came from the Central Valley in California, I know California technically produces the most tomatoes in the United States though.

 

Edited 9 hours ago by Desert Dan

[Shawnster]

Sorry, I misremembered the quote. 

 

Leamington, Ontario, Canada is known as the "Tomato Capital of Canada" due to its history as a major tomato farming and processing region, particularly for ketchup production. 

. https://www.leamington.ca/en/discover/history.aspx#:~:text=Known as the "Tomato Capital,of greenhouses in North America.

 

The cherry tomatoes we buy at Costco are from Leamington (well, just outside). 

 

 

There are tomatoes in there. 

[Cool.As.Ice]

Like shooting oneself in the foot really…really hard to remain neutral with situations like this

[LeolaRootStew]

6 minutes ago, Cool.As.Ice said:

Like shooting oneself in the foot really…really hard to remain neutral with situations like this

 

This system isn't going to end with a series of intelligent decisions made by governments.

[New World Explorer]

2 hours ago, Dages said:

Trump and China are fighting over Tariff right now... it's really KotS vs KotN

How come there are not tariffs on Russia but there are tariffs on UK and Australia .. ?????

38 minutes ago, Cool.As.Ice said:

Like shooting oneself in the foot really…really hard to remain neutral with situations like this

Stay cool as ice …. My brother 

[Richie]

53 minutes ago, New World Explorer said:

How come there are not tariffs on Russia but there are tariffs on UK and Australia .. ?????

1 hour ago, Cool.As.Ice said:

They are friends😂😂🙄

[Dustparticle]

1 hour ago, Cool.As.Ice said:

Like shooting oneself in the foot really…really hard to remain neutral with situations like this

Don’t vote me in into this discussion.

Edited 6 hours ago by Dustparticle

[JennyM]

Ill be buying more pens now. I think Id like to my new phone now.