John Lindsay Barltrop

".........It really does seem that the court has already made up its mind and is just going through the motions of a trial." After reading through the transcript, they were exactly my thoughts as well..........up to this point it just seems rather farcical........every request by the defence is denied........and that is justice!!!! I guess considering the times we are living in, we should expect no more. There is of course one thing that we can be sure of, and that is, whatever Jehovah wills, will be done.

".........Jesus was not summoned before Pilate to receive a good citizenship plaque, was he?" Tom, this comment reminded me of an experience that I had, not long after the Memorial campaign began. An older lady, after she took the invitation and the Watchtower, asked me if I knew who killed Jesus, I replied, "Of course I do, it was the first century religious leaders of the Jews" That said her whole demeanor changed and went on to tell me that all her family were very strict Jews and said, that it was the gypsies that instigated the death of Jesus, and something about the "golden key" she went to great pains to tell me not many people knew that.......I think that she may be right on that account ............must be one of the "Brothers Grimm" fairy tales!!!!!.........I guess there is first time for everything??

With all the wars that mankind has fought, he still has not learned that there are no winners in war............everyone loses, even if they do not lose their life. How this reflects the words of James 4:1-3 What is the source of the wars and fights among you? Do they not originate from your fleshly desires that carry on a conflict within you? 2 You desire, and yet you do not have. You go on murdering and coveting, and yet you are not able to obtain. You go on fighting and waging war. You do not have because of your not asking. 3 When you do ask, you do not receive because you are asking for a wrong purpose, so that you may spend it on your fleshly desires. Revelation :4 Another came out, a fiery-colored horse, and it was granted to the one seated on it to take peace away from the earth so that they should slaughter one another, and he was given a great sword.” This rider of this red horse represents warfare, he takes peace away not from just a few nations but the whole earth. In 1914, we had World War 1..........no lessons learned........World War 2 culminating with two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki......."same bone" as they say in Mah Jong......still no lessons learned.........Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, et-al As Jehovah's people we can look forward to this prophecy, (one of many) at Isaiah 2:2-4 In the final part of the days, The mountain of the house of Jehovah Will become firmly established above the top of the mountains, And it will be raised up above the hills, And to it all the nations will stream. 3 And many peoples will go and say: “Come, let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, To the house of the God of Jacob. He will instruct us about his ways, And we will walk in his paths.” For law will go out of Zion, And the word of Jehovah out of Jerusalem. 4 He will render judgment among the nations And set matters straight respecting many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares And their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, Nor will they learn war anymore............and as promised these former things will not be brought to mind.

Isn't it amazing how some photographs actually look like paintings, especially because of the colouring............for example: We certainly have a lot to praise our loving creator for........not only with magnificent scenery........but, importantly, in the way that he created us, to see these scenic views in full colour, and for our brain to be able to compute what we see, and keep it (only to a certain extent) in our memories..........thank you, Jehovah, for we certainly are, wonderfully made.

In the last frames of that video it showed a Koala...........an interesting bit of "trivia" on the Koalas I picked up the other day............Koalas usually obtain sufficient liquid from the leaves of the eucalyptus trees that they feed from and never needed to drink water...........however, in many areas where Koalas are found researchers have set up water drinking "stations," because due to climate change, with its increase in heatwaves and average temperatures, and drier conditions it was found that Koalas need this extra water "if they are going to survive" ...........BUT, there is no such thing as anthropogenic climate change.......ask Donald "Duck" and rasPutin.........its all a hoax!!!! PS I forgot to say thank you for the video, I really enjoyed it.

Shiwii.......you certainly do have a "chip on your shoulder,".............two things I would suggest to you are: 1. Change your source of information concerning the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society........I may suggest that you go to the website, jw.org, and get correct information from "the horses mouth" 2. If you "have an axe to grind" please go to a suitable "blog" and grind it somewhere else. If you have a genuine question or questions that you would like answered, we can certainly oblige. PS If you wish to state a scripture that you may feel, that we, as Jehovah's Witnesses, are doing something that is scriptually incorrect, state the reason(s) as to why you think that is the case.

What you have said there Tom certainly agrees with news items that I have read over the past week or so............I try to keep abreast of world news, because I find it to be useful in the ministry, it can assist in having a friendly chat to someone, who initially, may not be interested in the message we bear concerning the Good News........this way, I find, can start the conversation off in "neutral territory"........but, of course it does not work all the time!

"...........Germany have all these laws but do not apply these in other countries and do not compensate as they know they should." My dear Arauna,..........it is not only Germany, it is ALL countries, or shipping nations, more correctly, that take advantage of these shipbreaking yards and most Western countries have the same or similar laws to Germany. Here is another quote: Ship recycling plays a vital role in the lifecycle of a ship, and is fundamental to the industry. For the last twenty years the ship-recycling yards in Bangladesh, China, India, Pakistan and Turkey have been recycling 97% to 98% of all the tonnage that is recycled in the world. The economies of these five countries are characterised by a great appetite for scrap steel for their steel making needs. Of these, the three South Asian countries are less developed and poorer, and this ensures that the local ship recyclers have the market to sell virtually every part of the ship: steel, machinery, fittings, equipment and even furniture. Consequently, the three South Asian countries are the most competitive in terms of the prices they pay for buying end-of-life ships and in the last ten years have dominated the international market by recycling more than two thirds of the world’s recycled tonnage. On the other hand, underdevelopment and poverty are usually linked to lower safety, social welfare and environmental standards, giving rise over the years to pressures for the development of an international convention to regulate safety, health, environmental protection. This led to the adoption of the Hong Kong International Convention for the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships (HKC) by IMO in 2009. Not all yards have yet achieved desirable safety and environmental standards, and unfortunately there are many yards that still use poor practices during the ship recycling process. GMS has long been a supporter of the entry into force of the HKC so that compliance with its rigorous safety and environmental standards becomes mandatory. This would introduce a level playing field for all yards to work from. Until this is achieved, owners have the power to drive change by choosing yards that exercise good standards for safety and environmental protection (known as responsible recyclers, or “green yards”). This sends a strong market message that unsafe practices are no longer socially or environmentally acceptable, or economically prudent, and that the market will hold them accountable for such practices. This was quoted from an article in the "Hellenic Shipping News- Worldwide" The ones making the "Big bucks" are the owners of the yards.

"............with no danger pay" You do jest..........their entire pay is just a mere pittance Just a little more info on this: • Since the early 2000’s, a number of international organisations have offered guidelines on protecting workers’ health and safety, and preventing environmental damage, yet the most basic health and safety standards are not implemented and hazardous waste continue to pollute the water and soil. • International regulation aiming at a safer and more sustainable ship recycling has been adopted, but is not yet in force. The Hong Kong Convention on the Safe and Environmentally Sound Recycling of Ships was adopted in 2009, but is so far only ratified by 4 countries. The convention does not ban the beaching method, but does set out a list of requirements enter alia in relation to the management of hazardous waste. Early implementation efforts are made by the IMO who has issued guidelines to assist ship owners as well as ship recycling yards. Since September 2015, a handful of ship recycling yards in India has received a “Statement of Compliance” with the convention issued by a classification society. This has caused a debate as leading NGOs maintain that the requirements set forth in the convention are not met, and call for transparency of the certification process. • The EU Ship Recycling Regulation was adopted in 2013 and will become gradually applicable from 2018, after which EU-flagged ships must go to EU-approved ship recycling facilities. The regulation sets out a list of requirements that have to be met for approval of ship recycling facilities, and may in practice exclude the shipbreaking yards in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan from such approval. The European Community Shipowners’ Association is lobbying the European Commission to apply “the spirit of the regulation”, to the protests of local NGOs The IMO (International Maritime Organization) have also tried to improve safety in these facilities, but, in the main it falls on deaf ears...........as the saying goes "You can lead a horse to water, but, you cannot make it drink"..........I have been involved in the maritime industry, as a marine engineer, for more years than I care to remember (60+ years, I retired 15 months ago at 75 1/2) and this subject has cropped up many times over the years........the response always seems to be the same.......NOTHING changes, or if it does not by very much. This was just a small excerpt from: "Shipbreaking Practices in Bangladesh, India and Pakistan" An Investor Perspective on the Human Rights and Environmental Impacts of Beaching written by International Law and Policy Institute (ILPI) (an independent institute focusing on good governance, peace and conflict, and international law.) PS As I pointed out CLEARLY this is not just a problem for Germany, but, ALL shipping companies WORLD WIDE.

"........Russian President Vladimir Putin conducted a guarded tour of the blast site, and residents of the country’s second city voiced their anger in the wake of the attack. “Shock, I felt shock. It’s disgusting,” said Andrei Gontarevsky, 51, to my colleagues. “It's unthinkable. This was always a quiet city, and I think it shows the times are turning bad now.”....... I found this interesting little snippet in a news blog..............I guess one could say "Little does he know how correct his thoughts are"...........he REALLY needs the Good News of God's Kingdom.

I THINK?? that most of the world shipping companies and Naval forces use these ship breaking yards.............why just pick on the German shipowners..........do you have something against Germany..............by the way I am not German, I am Australian. There have been several "docos" on these ship breaking yards, in particular, India and Bangladesh and the appalling, or probably a better word is atrocious, conditions that the workers face.........in most cases "SAFETY" is not in their vocabulary...........unfortunately, the people in those areas cannot find employment elsewhere.

It is always sad to hear of these extremist terror attacks, no matter where in the world that they occur, however, one thing that it it will not be.............is an attack by the "extremists" known as Jehovah's Witnesses.............Mr Putin and co., this is what REAL extremists do, and you can be assured that ALL of Jehovah's witnesses are as appalled as yourselves by the events that have taken place in St. Petersburg, including our Brothers in the Russian Federation.

Enrique.........first, I would assume, that English is not your first language, do not take this as a criticism, it is only an observation on my part. Secondly I am not sure where you received you information, I would like to make one or two points on your comments: (1) Although this may alter, a rough calculation, of the number of baptised Witnesses, world wide divided by the number of congregations, world wide, comes out to roughly seventy persons/congregation.........Kingdom Halls are "generally" built to have a seating capacity of approximately 100-120 persons.....hence, that is why the Kingdom Halls may appear to an onlooker, as you say, "half empty".........one needs to also bear in mind that families can sick, etc. One of the reasons this is done is so that interested persons can attend any of the special events that a congregation may have during the year. (2).....and lastly.......as I said, I do not know where you get your information from, BUT, you are dead wrong on "in fighting in Congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses"...... Brotherly love {agape (Greek)}, and peace are, but, two of the fruitages of God's spirit that we all endeavour to display, even as imperfect humans.

Brother Steve certainly is a fine example, not only for young ones, but for all to emulate.......these types of experiences are certainly faith building..........and we know that there are thousands more like this among Jehovah's people.

Pardon me Sister!.............excuse my ignorance, but, is that a bridge to nowhere??

Very nicely put Queen Esther

I have just come home from a delayed, video Special Meeting, that was from the Australasian Branch, Bethel in Sydney, it was very upbuilding and faith strengthening. The Special Talk was given by Brother Patrick LaFranca, an assistant to the GB. Towards the end of his talk, which happened to be "All Things are Possible with God"........he spoke of our brothers in Russia, a number of key points that I noted were: 1. This should come as no surprise to us, (John 15:19) If you were part of the world, the world would be fond of what is its own. Now because you are no part of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, for this reason the world hates you. He then used (1 Peter 4:12-14)  Beloved ones, do not be surprised about the fiery trials that you are experiencing, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 On the contrary, go on rejoicing over the extent to which you are sharers in the sufferings of the Christ, so that you may rejoice and be overjoyed also during the revelation of his glory. 14 If you are being reproached for the name of Christ, you are happy, because the spirit of glory, yes, the spirit of God, is resting upon you. 2. Our Brothers in Russia are joyful and are enduring and they will keep on preaching the Good News of God's Kingdom, irrespective of the outcome. (1 Thessalonians 2:2) 2 For although we had first suffered and been insolently treated in Phi·lipʹpi, as you know, we mustered up boldness by means of our God to tell you the good news of God in the face of much opposition. 3. There are positive reports in the media, including many in the Russian media, and the world is taking notice of the unity of Jehovah's Witnesses..........the Brother pointed out that this is a miracle..........that the world could not do it.......BUT, as the title of the talk said "All things are possible with God" (Revelation 14:6, 7) . . .And I saw another angel flying in midheaven, and he had everlasting good news to declare to those who dwell on the earth, to every nation and tribe and tongue and people. 7 He was saying in a loud voice: “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of judgment by him has arrived, so worship the One who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and the springs of water.” I think that Brother LaFranca's words are a true source of encouragement for all of us.

True Tom, your mention of Kim Jong Un reminded me of this cartoon: ........and of course we have rasPutin, "he mad monk" and Donald "Duck" in the US oops..........the mad monk........sorry, forgot the "t"

...........and just think..........no rasPutins, or Donald "Ducks"!!!!!

Isn't the resurrection a marvelous hope that we hold on to Queen Esther. Thinking of those times we will see our loved ones once again..........to many, that is too good to be true..........but, we, as avid students of God's Word, have that firm faith that our Almighty and merciful God, Jehovah, will indeed bring this about through His son, Jesus Christ, king of God's Kingdom, who showed the power he has over death, with three resurrections, whilst a perfect man, when he was on earth. What better testimony could we have?......NONE!..........."Just Around the Corner"

Yes I agree Queen Esther that all cats are unique...........and many are very clever..........some of those big cats are fascinating to watch, especially in the David Attenborough series he has filmed in Africa and other countries. Oh yes, very very clever !! Can open doors, a cooler - door, many cupboards and much more

This video reminded me of cat my mother used to have, many years ago, his name was Fred...........he used to sit on a stool at the end of the kitchen table, my mother would place his meal on his saucer, in front of him and he would pick up each piece of meat with one of his front paws and put it in his mouth. He would not start eating until we were at the table and started to eat.

This brought back memories of the past. Many years ago at one of our regional conventions I was in the drama on on Moses and the crossing of the Red Sea............must have been in the seventies, I think??

There is unfortunately a sad PS to this story............the cockatoo has died.

..........methinks I will leave Jehovah to sort my brain out during the 1 000 years, as we grow back to perfection............he will also sort our HEARTS out as well...........especially since Adam and Eve and our most evil contenders, Satan and his demons appeared on the scene...................after all as we know the heart is so vital in our love for Jehovah, e.g. Psalm 51:10; Matthew 22:37..........and, of course, our heart, can also be the seat of negative things, e.g. Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:19